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Friday, September 13, 2024

Georgia Judge Dismisses Three Counts Against Donald Trump in RICO Case

Washington Examiner: A Georgia judge dismissed three criminal charges on Thursday in the 2020 election interference case involving former President Donald Trump. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee dismissed two counts brought against Trump, and additionally dropped one charge against some of Trump’s allies. The initial 41-count indictment accused Trump and several of his co-defendants of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia, and Trump was initially listed on 13 counts. McAfee ruled that state prosecutors lacked the authority to pursue charges related to the alleged submission of false documents in federal court. But he declined an effort to dismiss the entire indictment. Despite these dismissals, the rest of the case will proceed, including eight remaining charges against Trump. In March, McAfee dismissed six other counts in the indictment, including three for which Trump had been charged (Washington Examiner).

Congress Demands Answers From FBI Over Lack of Answers Surrounding Assassination Attempt on Trump

Katie Pavlich: It’s been two months since Thomas Crooks attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. In his attempt to kill Trump, who was shot through the ear, Crooks murdered 50-year-old Corey Comperatore and severely wounded two others in the crowd. Members of Congress have been demanding answers from the Secret Service and the FBI about what happened. Given a lack of information, lawmakers have launched an independent investigation into the situation and have visited the site where it happened. According to Republican Congressman Michael Waltz, the FBI is slow walking information about Crooks and his motivation to murder Trump (Townhall). Rep. Mike Waltz: The FBI is telling us LITTLE of substance about what motivated Thomas Crooks to try to kill President Trump. Do you think they’d be slow-rolling so much if it was Kamala that had been attacked (X)?

New York Court Rejects Trump’s Gag Order Appeal

Just the News: New York’s high court rejected former President Trump’s appeal of a gag order in his hush money criminal case on Thursday. The gag order prevents the 2024 GOP presidential nominee from speaking publicly about the prosecutors or their family members. The gag order does not cover Judge Juan Merchan or Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat… Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 26 (Just the News). Axios: The former president has repeatedly criticized the gag order as a violation of his first amendment rights, lashing out at the restriction as “illegal, un-American, unconstitutional” earlier this year (Axios).

Census Reveals Household Income Lower Than 2020

Daily Wire: Census data released Thursday showed Americans are less well off than they were four years ago. Across the board, average household income was down by $1,221 after taking into account inflation, according to the Annual Community Survey, whose 2023 numbers were released by the Census Bureau on Thursday. The portion of households with income of less than $10,000 in 2023 grew by a full percentage point compared to 2019, from 4.3% to 5.3%. Fewer American households are making $75,000 or more per year, once past earnings are put into 2023 dollars that factor in inflation spurred by massive government spending. Compared to 2019, the percentage of households making $150,000 to $200,000 has dropped 0.2%, while the share making more than that remained the same. The Census figures deal a blow to Vice President Kamala Harris, whose presidential campaign is built on a pledge that Harris will fight inflation (Daily Wire). Newsmax: Real median rental costs, defined as rent plus the average monthly costs of utilities once inflation is taken into account, increased 3.8% last year while real median home values rose 1.8%. Every year between 2011 and 2019, real rental costs increased by less than 3.0% (Newsmax).

John Kirby Dismisses Veterans’ Concerns

Libs of TikTok: Fox reached out to John Kirby, the National Security Communications Advisor, for comment about veterans criticizing him for covering for Biden’s disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal. He mistakenly hit “reply all.” His response said “Obviously no use in responding. A “handful” of vets indeed and all of one stripe.” Disgraceful (X). Fox News: Kirby’s message was sent in error, with him following up with a Fox News Digital reporter, “Clearly, I didn’t realize you were on the chain.” Kirby sent the email while traveling with President Biden on the anniversary of 9/11 (Fox News). Greg Price: John Kirby gives you the inside look on what the Biden White House actually thinks of veterans (X).

Russian Aircraft Spotted, Intercepted Near Alaska

Newsweek: The United States scrambled fighter jets after Russian military aircraft were detected near Alaska. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said Wednesday that it detected, tracked, and intercepted two Russian military aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). NORAD said U.S. fighter jets had conducted the intercept (Newsweek). NORAD: This Russian activity in the Alaska ADIZ is not seen as a threat, and NORAD will continue to monitor competitor activity near North America and meet presence with presence (X). ABC: United States and Canadian fighter jets in July intercepted four Russian and Chinese bombers flying in international airspace near Alaska, officials said at the time (ABC).

IDF Declares Hamas’ Rafah Brigade Defeated

Times of Israel: The Hamas terror group’s Rafah Brigade has been decimated, at least 2,308 of its operatives have been killed by the Israel Defense Forces, and over 13 kilometers (8 miles) worth of tunnels have been destroyed, military officials told reporters in the Gaza Strip’s southernmost city on Thursday. Now, as the IDF maintains control of the entire city and the border area with Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, combat engineers are completing their investigations of a few dozen Hamas tunnels that have not yet been demolished, an operation that will not take longer than a few weeks (Times of Israel). Jewish News Syndicate: Troops destroyed some 80% of tunnels located near and beneath the Philadelphi Corridor, the army statement noted (Jewish News Syndicate).

Poll: Harris Had Better Debate Performance, But Trump Leads by 20 Points On Economy, Immigration

Catholic Vote: In a poll conducted by SSRS for CNN on Tuesday, a strong majority of respondents indicated that Democratic nominee Kamala Harris performed better than Republican nominee Donald Trump in the debate. The text message poll found that 63% of respondents thought Harris did a “better job” in the September 10 debate, compared to 37% who said Trump had a better showing… When it came to the economy, widely named by voters to be the most important issue in determining their presidential choice in November, respondents said Trump would do the better job by a 20-point margin – 55% to Harris’ 35%. The result comes as critics scrutinize several of Harris’ announced economic policies, including her proposed ban on “price gouging” and a tax on unrealized capital gains for the wealthy (Catholic Vote). Johnny Maga: The BBC visited a Diner in a swing Pennsylvania county to talk with voters about the election. Both the waitress and the patron they spoke to are 100% voting Trump — cite the economy. “Does that change how you’re going to end up voting in November?” “Absolutely. We haven’t gone anywhere. It’s been 4 years — it’s been hell” (X).

North Dakota Judge Strikes Down Abortion Ban Citing State’s Constitution Protects Right to Access

Associated Press: A state judge struck down North Dakota’s ban on abortion Thursday, saying that the state constitution creates a fundamental right to access abortion before a fetus is viable. In his ruling, state District Judge Bruce Romanick also said that the law violates the state constitution because it is too vague. Romanick was ruling on a request from the state to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the ban in 2022 by what at the time was the sole abortion clinic in North Dakota. The clinic has since moved across the border to Minnesota, and the state argued that a trial wouldn’t make a difference. The judge had canceled a trial set for August (Associated Press).

10.

President Trump Remains Favorite to Win Electoral College in Post-Debate Poll

Hugh Hewitt: It is also widely agreed across the center to the right to have been the worst moderated, most biased presidential debate since they began in 1960. This will eventually be admitted by the left after the election is over. Harris performed well and Trump did not… But while Trump lost the battle he may have won the war. The naked suppression of news, the oozing bias, the ignorance of or refusal to reference key facts—Snopes has debunked the Charlottesville chestnut for goodness sake! —made ABC and Disney the real loser Wednesday night (Fox News). HotAir: Nate Silver, who is one of the nation’s preeminent pollsters, and who is a Democrat openly supporting Kamala Harris, has been under withering, relentless attacks from the far left because his forecasting has increasingly shown Donald Trump with at least a 60-40 or better chance of winning the Electoral College in November. Here’s his first forecast, post-debate (HotAir).