Tag: corruption

McIver trial pushed back as judge mulls whether to toss charges

A federal judge has indefinitely delayed Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-Newark)’s trial on assault charges, previously set to begin on Monday, while he mulls whether to toss the charges against her entirely.

District Judge Jamel Semper wrote in a brief order today that the November 10 trial is “adjourned without date pending resolution of the pretrial motions.”

McIver was charged with assault in May following a scuffle with federal immigration officers at the Delaney Hall immigrant detention center in Newark. The first-term congresswoman pleaded not guilty to the charges, and filed a series of motions over the summer arguing both that the indictment runs afoul of the Constitution’s Speech or Debate clause protecting official legislative acts and that the attempt to prosecute her is politically motivated.

At an October 21 hearing, Semper heard oral arguments from McIver’s legal team and from the Department of Justice, which has asked Semper to dismiss McIver’s efforts to derail the indictment. Two and a half weeks later, Semper has yet to issue a ruling on the matter.

There has, however, been some activity on a different motion to force the Trump administration to take down “extrajudicial statements” that denigrate McIver. Semper said during oral arguments that the Department of Justice needed to “redouble their efforts” to take down offending social media posts and statements, and some have been removed in the weeks since then, but McIver’s attorneys wrote in a new letter today that other prejudicial posts still remain available.

Also still lacking a resolution is a separate court decision over whether to allow disputed acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, who has led the prosecution against McIver, to continue serving in her role; three judges on the Third Circuit Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in that case on October 20, but have yet to come to a decision.

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LSAT Suspends Online-Testing In China After Alleged Data-Theft Tied To Chinese Prep Companies

Chinese companies preparing students for the American Law School Admission Test (LSAT) have gained unauthorized access to U.S.-based LSAT preparation companies and stolen information, according to the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC), the organization that administers the American LSAT.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, LSAC began permitting remote LSAT administration. In China, that shift fueled a lucrative market of firms exploiting loopholes in LSAC’s online security—enabling hired test-takers, armed with fake identification, to impersonate students and complete the exam from abroad.

LSAC announced in August that it had suspended online testing from mainland China. The suspension came amid concerns that Chinese actors compromised and penetrated remote testing systems and services.

New reports, including one by Dave Killoran, the CEO of PowerScore, an American LSAT prep company, reveal just how these Chinese companies are scamming the LSAT. 

Killoran said that a Chinese whistleblower, told him last May that he had access to what appeared to be stolen LSAT questions. The whistleblower was frustrated how easy it was to gain access to cheat materials. 

Killoran told The Washington Free Beacon that screenshots of the test questions are “compiled into PDFs and sold to students who can’t pay the high fees for a proxy test taker.”

Chinese companies have been charging up to $8,000 for the stolen information. These firms advertise “guaranteed results” through encrypted social media channels and claim to have access to upcoming LSAT questions weeks before the exam.

Actors reportedly stole this information through a variety of means, one of the most prominent being hiding high-definition cameras to photograph in-person and remote exam questions.

This is not the first time that Chinese influence has penetrated American higher education. The Hudson Institute conducted a report on Harvard University published in June, that highlighted how Harvard was training Chinese government officials.

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“Grift To Enrich Herself”: Ways And Means Committee Responds To Stacey Abrams Dissolving Shady Nonprofit

Radical leftist and twice-failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams has officially shuttered her dark-money-funded nonprofit network, including the New Georgia Project and its affiliate, the New Georgia Project Action Fund, a pair of organizations used to drive voter registration and turnouts across the state.

Last week, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) released a statement that said the move to dissolve Stacey Abrams-founded New Georgia Project comes after the committee launched an investigation into whether the nonprofit illegally funneled millions into Abrams’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign. Smith urged the IRS to revoke its tax-exempt status. 

Smith continued:

“The entire world watched Stacey Abrams turn her twice-failed gubernatorial campaign into a grift to enrich herself in the name of Democrat ‘Get Out the Vote’ and ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ efforts. The New Georgia Project’s decision to dissolve further confirms the Ways and Means Committee and Georgia State Ethics Commission’s findings that the organization broke the law when it failed to disclose more than $7 million in illegal contributions and expenditures designed to prop up Abrams’s failed 2018 campaign.

“This decision also raises further questions about whether Abrams or other organizations she is linked to have engaged in illegal activity. The Department of Justice should take a close look at every Abrams-linked nonprofit, especially given recent discoveries that Joe Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency awarded $2 billion to a group with ties to Abrams.”

The rags-to-riches story of Abrams is fascinating. By 2023, amid the so-called climate crisis, Democrats used the Inflation Reduction Act, better known as the Green New Scam, to funnel billions in green subsidies into their dark web of nonprofits. Abrams, hired as senior counsel, helped secure nearly $2 billion in federal funding for Rewiring America.

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Ex-French President Nicolas Sarkozy to be released from prison less than 3 weeks into 5-year sentence

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy will be released from prison and placed under judicial supervision, a Paris appeals court ruled Monday, less than three weeks after he began serving a five-year sentence over a scheme to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya.

Sarkozy, 70, was expected to leave Paris’ La Santé prison in the afternoon.

He will be banned from leaving the French territory and from being in touch with key people including co-defendants and witnesses in the case, the court said. An appeals trial is expected to take place later, possibly in the spring.

Sarkozy became the first former French head of state in modern times to be sent behind bars after his conviction on Sept. 25. He denies wrongdoing. He was jailed on Oct. 21 pending appeal but immediately filed for early release.

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Outrage At Harvard Grade Inflation Report Reveals The Rot In Higher Education

The recent reactions by students of arguably the nation’s most prominent university to a report about grade inflation read like they came from the pages of The Babylon Bee, a satirical website. That they came instead from the Harvard Crimson speaks to the crises plaguing higher education.

The melodramatic wailing by Harvard students regarding the school’s grading policies does more than represent a parody of Ivy League education and woke “snowflakes.” It reinforces that taxpayers are propping up a sclerotic, dysfunctional educational system that has problems extending far beyond rampant antisemitism and radical leftist politics.

Everyone Above Average?

Unfortunately, the Harvard report that drew such harsh student condemnation remains hidden on the university’s intranet, but a Crimson article gives the gist. The study “found that more than 60 percent of grades awarded to Harvard undergraduates are A’s, compared to only a quarter of grades two decades ago. It concluded that Harvard’s current grading system is ‘damaging the academic culture of the College.’”

Cue the outrage from students, as documented in a separate Crimson story. One said the faculty’s desire to ensure consistently high academic standards undermined her struggles, saying:

The whole entire day, I was crying. … I skipped classes on Monday, and I was just sobbing in bed because I felt like I try so hard in my classes, and my grades aren’t even the best. … It just felt soul-crushing.

A glib commenter might point out that skipping an entire day’s worth of classes due to the report’s release appears slightly inconsistent with “try[ing] so hard” academically. 

But from a more substantive and sympathetic viewpoint, these types of comments demonstrate the mental health challenges facing our nation’s youth. Another student made comments in a similar vein: “I killed myself all throughout high school to try and get into this school. I was looking forward to being fulfilled by my studies now, rather than being killed by them.”

Both sets of comments imply students’ belief that effort will necessarily equal results — that everyone who puts in X number of hours will automatically get A’s. But the world does not work that way, and neither should Harvard. That these students truly believe in this type of “bargain,” and react so harshly when someone questions it, speaks to how our culture has coddled many students into expecting that excellence will come easily, leaving them emotionally unprepared for any setbacks that arise.

Students wanting to be “fulfilled by my studies” seem not to understand the purpose of higher education. Most notably, the act of learning itself — of absorbing and applying knowledge — should serve as its own source of fulfillment and enjoyment, notwithstanding society’s bottom-line focus on grades. 

Skewed Priorities

Another student made a similar complaint, telling the Crimson, “What makes a Harvard student a Harvard student is their engagement in extracurriculars. … Now we have to throw all that away and pursue just academics. I believe that attacks the very notion of what Harvard is.”

At the risk of sounding like Ronald Reagan circa 1980, as a federal taxpayer, I am paying for the education of students like this, even if this particular student doesn’t receive federal student aid. And I have zero interest in subsidizing such students to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars per year just to see them spend most of their time playing Quidditch or joining Students for Justice in Palestine.

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Trump Pardons Rudy Giuliani, Others Involved in Bid to Challenge 2020 Election

President Donald Trump has pardoned a number of prominent figures involved in his effort to challenge the 2020 election outcome, according to U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin on Nov. 9.

A proclamation document shared by Martin on social media named more than 70 individuals, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and attorneys Sidney Powell and John Eastman, all accused of involvement in Trump’s bid to challenge the 2020 election results.

The pardons apply to conduct tied to the individuals’ involvement in activities surrounding the 2020 presidential election, as well as any conduct related to “their efforts to expose voting fraud and vulnerabilities in the 2020 Presidential Election,” according to the document.

“This proclamation ends a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people following the 2020 Presidential Election and continues the process of national reconciliation,” the document states.

The pardon would only cover federal charges brought against those listed. The proclamation also explicitly states that the pardon does not apply to Trump.

Neither Trump nor the White House released a statement regarding the pardons. The proclamation was signed by the president on Nov. 7, according to the document.

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Dutch court upholds arms exports to Israel despite acknowledging ‘grave risk’ of genocide

A Dutch appeals court on 6 November confirmed the dismissal of a case filed by pro-Palestinian organizations demanding that the Netherlands end arms exports to Israel and cease trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In its written judgment, the court said it was not within the judiciary’s authority to dictate such measures, stating that the decision lies with the government.

The plaintiffs argued that as a signatory to the 1948 Genocide Convention, the Dutch state is obliged to take all available steps to prevent genocide, citing Israel’s ongoing mass killing of civilians in Gaza. 

The court agreed that the Netherlands holds that legal obligation and acknowledged “a grave risk” that Israel is committing genocide.

However, the judges maintained that the government already evaluates the risk of human rights abuses before approving military exports and noted that some applications have been denied.

The court also upheld an earlier ruling from December last year that sided with the Dutch state, which claimed it had taken sufficient precautions and halted certain shipments.

The pro-Palestine groups had alleged that Dutch companies supplied Israel with radar systems, F-16 components, warship equipment, police dogs, surveillance cameras, and software. 

The government countered that it has stopped most arms exports to Israel and now only authorizes deliveries of parts used in defensive systems such as the Iron Dome.

Israel has rejected all accusations of genocide, despite a UN inquiry officially announcing it in mid-September, insisting its Gaza campaign targets Hamas.

The appeals court concluded that the pro-Palestine organizations failed to demonstrate that the state systematically neglects its obligations when assessing export risks and therefore could not justify a blanket ban on arms or dual-use items.

Despite their public condemnations of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, European nations remain the largest buyers of Israeli-made weapons, purchasing over $8 billion worth last year, according to Bloomberg. 

Demand is projected to grow further as NATO members prepare to raise defense spending to five percent of GDP by 2035.

The move is heavily dependent on Israel’s deeply integrated defense industries, including Elbit Systems, Rafael, and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

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FIREWORKS! “DO NOT ANSWER THAT!” – Fulton County Board of Elections Chair LOSES IT When Member Asks “Do We Have the 2020 Ballots?”

During an tense exchange at a Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections meeting on Friday, boardmembers had a revealing argument over the 2020 elections records, including ballots, which are now subject to a Department of Justice investigation as well as previous Georgia State Election Board subpoenas. 

The only question is: where are the ballots?

This was asked by the lone Republican boardmember, Julie Adams, sparking a heated debate.

Chairwoman Sherri Allen immediately interjected when Adams asked Elections Director Nadine Williams, “Do we have the 2020 ballots?”

“Miss Williams, Do not answer that. That is a matter that is currently, I believe, in litigation as well. And Ms. Adams, you well know that as well,” Allen shot back before Adams defended her right to ask the question.

Williams contempously told Adams, “As you’ve been told several times, the ballots are in the possession of the Clerk of Superior Court. She continued, “They are physically in the Clerk of Superior Court warehouse and secured in that location. They have been there for five years.”

When Adams stated that she was told the ballots were in the County’s posession at the warehouse, Williams accused her of lying, stating, “ Nobody told you that. They are in the clerk’s posession.” Chairwoman Allen then shut the debate down, arguing that the matter is before the court and the public will just have to wait for their ruling “soon.”

The board faced numerous public comments about the outstanding questions surrounding the 2020 election and ongoing investigations by the DOJ. Prior to the exchange over 2020 ballots, Julie Adams had questioned whether decisions about the subpoenas and 2020 election are subject to backroom executive session discussions. Sherri Allen had refused to hold any further public discussion or actions on the 2020 election subpoenas when Adams asked the golden question.

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The Fraud That Won’t Die: Obamacare’s Endless Deceptions

While the government shutdown continues and health-care reform remains gridlocked, Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act) burdens taxpayers with out-of-control costs. For more than a decade, Obamacare has been riddled with systemic fraud that has been denied by Democratic Party bureaucrats, ignored by much of the media, and paid for by weary taxpayers.

Built on lies including “if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor,” Catholics continue to bitterly recall the duplicitous role that Sr. Carol Keehan, CEO of the Catholic Healthcare Association, played in passing Obamacare—despite the pushback by the Catholic bishops because of its inclusion of abortion funding and the contraception mandate. Sr. Keehan’s mendacious shepherding of the health-care program was rewarded with a silver signing pen from President Obama.

Intensifying the pressure today on an already overburdened health-care system, the influx of several million undocumented immigrants has pushed government-funded health care to a breaking point. According to an October 2024 CBO report to Rep. Jodey Arrington, federal and state governments spent $27 billion on Emergency Medicaid for noncitizens ineligible for full Medicaid coverage between 2017 and 2023. In 2023, the estimated cost of health care for undocumented immigrants in the United States was approximately $3.8 billion, specifically for Emergency Medicaid services.

Hospitals are bound by law to provide emergency services to undocumented patients under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), enacted in 1986. This is a federal law that requires hospitals to provide emergency medical care to all individuals, regardless of immigration status or ability to pay. Under EMTALA, any hospital that receives Medicare funding must conduct a medical screening exam for anyone who arrives at the emergency department and must provide stabilizing treatment for emergency medical conditions, including active labor. This mandate applies to undocumented immigrants as well as uninsured citizens and legal residents—and most of us strongly support the provision of this care to all on an emergency basis.

Unfortunately, such care is costly. According to the Trump administration, the estimated cost of emergency health care in 2024—including labor and delivery and postnatal care of the mothers and newborn babies—of undocumented immigrants in the United States rose 142 percent from the year before to an astonishing 9.1 billion dollars of taxpayer funds to pay for the emergency health care of those in the country illegally. Between 2020 to 2024, Medicaid taxpayer health-care dollars provided to illegal immigrants tripled.

Though critics argue that the Trump administration’s numbers are inflated, few challenge the fact that the nation’s hospitals are facing a fiscal crisis. In January 2024, Dr. Donna Lynne, CEO of Denver Health, publicly voiced concern over the financial strain caused by uncompensated care for undocumented individuals. Speaking at a finance and governance committee meeting, she stated, “Where do you think the migrants are getting care? They are getting care at Denver Health…It’s going to break Denver Health in a way that we didn’t even anticipate.” Her remarks highlighted the hospital system’s mounting fiscal challenges, noting that Denver Health treated over 8,000 undocumented immigrants in 2023, accounting for approximately 20,000 visits. Uncompensated care costs surged from $60 million in 2020 to $136 million in 2023.

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Comey’s Daughter Reportedly Sought To Cut Deal With Epstein To Smear Trump

The former cellmate of Jeffrey Epstein claimed that James Comey’s prosecutor daughter offered the billionaire pedophile a deal to implicate President Donald Trump.

Maurene Comey, who recently resigned as the walls closed in on her notorious FBI father, began serving in 2016 as assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

That put her front and center in the investigations of Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell after Epstein was arrested in July 2019.

While detained in New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center, Epstein was assigned to a cell with Nicholas Tartaglione, a former police officer who was serving time for kidnapping  and quadruple murder.

Tartaglione was convicted of killing a man he suspected of stealing some $250,000 in drug money, as well as his nephews and a family friend who “were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” prosecutors said, according to the New York Post.

During the month that Epstein was incarcerated before his apparent suicide, Tartaglione claimed in a recent pardon application that his cellmate had the opportunity to save his skin by throwing the sitting president under the bus.

“Prosecutors … told Epstein that if he said President Trump was involved with Esptein’s crimes he would walk free. in a petition to be pardoned,” according to the Post, which said it had obtained a copy of the filing.

“Epstein told me that Maurene Comey said that he didn’t have to prove anything, as long as President Trump’s people could not disprove it,” the pardon application added.

“According to Maurene Comey, the FBI were ‘her people, not his [President Trump’s].’”

Maurene Comey’s father was forced out of his role as FBI director roughly two years prior. However, questions have continued to swirl about the dubious loyalties of officials including then-Attorney General William Barr and then-FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Even so, questions about Tartaglione’s credibility may outweigh the suspicions against the Deep State.

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