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Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Congressional Task Force Determines Security Failures Led To A “Preventable” Assassination Attempt Against Donald Trump

National Review: The House task force investigating the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump in July released a scathing report Monday detailing law enforcement’s planning failures and the communication breakdown leading up to the shooting. Gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, fired eight shots at Trump and his supporters during a campaign rally in Butler, Pa from an American Glass Research building near the stage where Trump spoke…The task force found that shaky lines of communication between the Secret Service and local law enforcement prevented information about Crooks from flowing as quickly as it should have (National Review). Reporter Elina Shirazi: House task force releases key findings on Trump shooting (X). Washington Post: A bipartisan House task force has released a preliminary report on the July 13 shooting at a Trump rally, calling it the “preventable” result of security failures (X).

60 Minutes Acknowledges They Edited Kamala Harris’ Interview

Just the News: CBS News’ program “60 Minutes” responded on Sunday night to former President Trump accusing the show of deceitfully editing the interview with Vice President Kamala Harris…CBS News released a statement defending its editing decision in response to Trump on Monday evening. The outlet has not provided a full transcript or raw video of the interview was Harris. “Former President Donald Trump is accusing 60 Minutes of deceitful editing of our Oct. 7 interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. That is false. 60 Minutes gave an excerpt of our interview to Face the Nation that used a longer section of her answer than that on 60 Minutes. Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response,” the show said in a statement (Just the News). Speaker Johnson: 60 minutes has now confirmed what we all know: they edited the video. Now release the FULL transcript and video (X). Trump War Room: Two weeks after being caught, 60 Minutes has now released a very defensive statement claiming they did not “deceitfully edit” Kamala’s word salad. Well, we have good news for you, 60 Minutes: There’s a simple way you can clear it all up. RELEASE THE FULL, UNEDITED TRANSCRIPT (X)!

Supreme Court Denies Michael Cohen’s Lawsuit Against Trump

Fox News: The Supreme Court dismissed ex-lawyer Michael Cohen’s appeal to revive a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump on Monday, shutting down Cohen’s accusations for the last time. Cohen had claimed his 2020 imprisonment was retaliation by Trump’s administration for publishing a book critical of the former president. The lawsuit had sought monetary damages from Trump, former U.S. Attorney General William Barr, federal prison officials and the federal government. Cohen had served three years behind bars for several federal crimes relating to his work for Trump, including lying to Congress. He was released on home confinement during the pandemic, but was sent back to prison after refusing to sign an agreement limiting his postings on social media and contacts with the press (Fox News). Jonathan Turley: The Supreme Court just rejected Michael Cohen’s last bid effort to revive his lawsuit against Trump for his incarceration as a politically manipulated case. Cohen’s effort to claim victimization is belied by his prior admission to criminal and unethical acts (X).

Biden Administration Deflects Questions About Pentagon Leak

Katie Pavlich: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre was pressed Monday about a severe leak of top secret information out of the Pentagon over the weekend that exposed Israel’s retaliation plans against Iran. She punted questions from reporters back to the Department of Defense. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are calling the leak an act of treason (Townhall). CBS: President Biden is “deeply concerned” by the possible leak of U.S. intelligence documents regarding Israeli preparations for an attack on Iran, which the Pentagon is investigating, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday. Kirby told reporters the Biden administration can’t yet say if the classified information that became public over the weekend on the messaging app Telegram was leaked or the result of a hack, but the president will be “actively monitoring” the progress of the investigative efforts (CBS). Townhall: “We are certainly aware of the reports. We are very concerned. I’m not going to get into specifics. I’m not going to get into details.” Karine Jean-Pierre fails to provide any answers following reports of a major intelligence leak at the Pentagon over the weekend (X).

FEMA’s Strategic Plan Prioritizes DEI Rather Than Aid

Just the News: The Federal Emergency Management Agency is taking fire for its increased focus on migrants, and diversity, equity and inclusion polices while its response to recent hurricanes is under scrutiny…FEMA’s 2022-2026 strategic plan, an overarching document created by agencies to lay out their priorities, named its first goal not as disaster relief, but instead diversity, equity and inclusion. In its first goal, the plan promised to “Instill equity as a foundation of emergency management.” It’s second named priority is to “lead whole of Community in climate resilience.” FEMA’s “readiness” comes in as the third goal in the plan. “Diversity, equity, and inclusion cannot be optional; they must be core components of how the agency conducts itself internally and executes its mission,” the plan reads. FEMA makes clear in its plan that equity, which includes racial identity, will be taken into consideration when distributing aid, highlighting that there should be “equitable and fair distribution of assistance to all those affected – especially those disproportionally impacted” (Just the News).

Elon Musk States He is Risking Being Assassinated Because of His Politics

Townhall: In an X post, Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk wrote that the mainstream media “are actively working” to have himself and former President Donald Trump assassinated. Musk’s caption was posted with a screenshot of a magazine cover calling him “enemy no. 2” with an edited photo of his face meshed with Trump’s. The image was from Germany’s largest news magazine, Der Spiegel. In the image, Musk is referred to as Trump’s “buddy” and that he is working toward “the dismantling of liberal democracy” (Townhall). Elon Musk: With their relentless hit pieces, legacy mainstream media are actively encouraging the assassination of Donald Trump and now me (X). Mario Nawfal: ELON: “So, dramatically increasing my risk of being assassinated and engaging in politics are not what I want to do. I do not have a death wish, but the stakes are so high that I really feel I have no choice but to do it, and that’s the reason” (X).

Pro-Palestine Protesters Barricade Themselves Inside University of Minnesota Campus Building

Minnesota Daily: Roughly 20 pro-Palestine protesters occupied and barricaded a University of Minnesota administration building late Monday afternoon. A SAFE-U emergency alert at 4:40 p.m. said protesters restricted access to the building and damaged University property, advising those still within Morrill Hall to safely exit the building if possible. Protesters barricaded the building with metal tables and chairs, bike racks, wooden pallets and locked the doors with bike locks around 4 p.m. after marching from a rally outside Coffman Memorial Union. Inside the building, door windows were smashed with broken glass on the ground and protesters removed filing cabinets and chairs to build onto the barricades. Morrill Hall houses University President Rebecca Cunningham’s office and other administrative functions. Members of the University’s Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) chapter organized the demonstration, protesting the University’s protest policies and investments in Israel and arms companies (Minnesota Daily). Reporter Dustin Grage: Morrill Hall at University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus is being occupied by anti-Israel protestors. Building access has been restricted and property damage is being reported. This is Tim Walz’ Minnesota (X). Commentator Eyal Yakoby: Hamas demonstrators at the University of Minnesota have taken over and barricaded themselves inside a building. Every single one should immediately be expelled and face legal consequences (X).

Early Voting Turnout in North Carolina Surpasses 2020 Records During Hurricane Helene Recovery Efforts

Associated Press: More North Carolina residents turned out to cast ballots on the first day of early voting this year than in 2020, even as residents from the mountainous western portion of the state continued to recover from the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene. Preliminary data shows a record 353,166 people cast ballots at more than 400 early voting sites statewide on Thursday, compared to 348,599 on the first day in October 2020, the State Board of Elections said Friday… Helene was the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since Katrina in 2005, decimating remote towns throughout Appalachia and killing at least 246 people, with a little over half of the storm-related deaths in North Carolina (Associated Press).

Drug Cartel Allows Members to Shoot at U.S. Border Patrol Agents

New York Post: Border Patrol agents in western Texas were warned they may come under cartel gunfire as Sinaloa Cartel leaders permit members to shoot at the US officers after its cofounder’s July arrest, according to an internal memo. The cartels have historically held off on violent encounters with United States-based law enforcement for fear of insurmountable backlash. But the arrest of cofounder Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, on July 25 has loosened these creeds, especially among younger members (New York Post). Daily Mail: The battle for control has since cost more than 190 lives in the gang’s Culiacán powerbase in the Mexican province of Sinaloa. But the violence has started to spill across the border after contractors working on a ranch in Eagle Pass, Texas, reported being fired upon through the border fence on October 15 (Daily Mail). News Nation: NewsNation asked former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump about this during a recent interview. Trump said the troops needed to be brought in to fix the problem. “We need a military operation. These people have become military,” Trump said. “They’re very rich, have a lot of money. They’re among the richest people, probably in the world.” This all comes as former Mexican security chief Genaro García Luna was sentenced to over 38 years in U.S. prison for taking bribes from the Sinaloa cartel. The judge compared him to cartel boss El Chapo, saying he enabled violence and drug deaths (NewsNation).

10.

Jim Jordan Releases Transcript of Nathan Wade Deposition

Townhall: The lover of Fulton County DA Fani Willis and ex-Trump prosecutor Nathan Wade spilled the beans before Congress in a damning deposition last week. The GOP-led House Judiciary Committee, which is investigating the anti-Trump DA’s financial affairs and prosecution of former President Donald Trump, released the 132-page testimony Monday in a move sure to spur Willis, who had demanded that Wade not answer certain questions under oath due to the “confidential” nature of the information (Townhall). Daily Wire: The committee released a transcript of an interview with Wade, which was compelled by subpoena, in which he said that Willis was preparing to prosecute Trump even before she took office, and that she put Wade on a “search committee” to find a prosecutor, which ultimately chose him for the job (Daily Wire). Rep. Jim Jordan: Today we released the transcript of Nathan Wade’s deposition before the House Judiciary Committee. Read it here (X).