Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) has sent a formal complaint to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct regarding Justice Arthur Engoron.
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Ocasio-Cortez, Greene among lawmakers urging Biden to drop Assange extradition, prosecution
A group of lawmakers including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called on President Biden to drop the extradition and prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
“As members of Congress deeply committed to the principles of free speech and freedom of the press, we write to strongly encourage your Administration to withdraw the U.S. extradition request currently pending against Australian publisher Julian Assange and halt all prosecutorial proceedings against him as soon as possible,” a letter dated Wednesday by the group reads.
The group of lawmakers also includes Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Rep, Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.), Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
The unity of the far-right and far-left lawmakers in the letter is notable, as many in the group have traded barbs with each other during their time in Congress. In the same week as the letter regarding Assange, Greene was a leader in the effort to censure Tlaib for her recent anti-Israel statements.
The WikiLeaks founder was arrested in 2019 in the U.K. on a U.S. warrant and has been fighting in British court to try and avoid being extradited to the U.S. to face charges.
The Wednesday letter follows another letter by Tlaib, Pressley, Bowman, Ocasio-Cortez, Casar and Omar in April urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to drop the charges against Assange.
“Press freedom, civil liberty, and human rights groups have been emphatic that the charges against Mr. Assange pose a grave and unprecedented threat to everyday, constitutionally protected journalistic activity, and that a conviction would represent a landmark setback for the First Amendment,” that group wrote at the time.
Go to Source: Administration News | The Hill
James Comer Rips Dan Goldman for Defending Hunter Biden’s Subpoenaed Art Buyer
The House Oversight Committee ripped Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) for defending Hunter Biden’s art buyer, Elizabeth Naftali, from a subpoena.
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Blue State Blues: 50 Years of Excuses for Palestinian Terror Are Enough
The one question that unravels them, every time, is: “What kind of Palestinian state do you want?” They don’t know.
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‘Woke’ Joint Chiefs Chair General Brown Pressures Israel to Give Up on Eliminating Hamas
Newly-confirmed Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. is pressuring Israel to give up on the idea of eliminating the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, claiming a prolonged war risks turning more of the Palestinian population into terrorists.
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U.N. Rights Chief Demands End to Israel’s Strikes Against Gaza-Based Hamas Terrorists
Israel’s use of high-impact explosive weapons against Hamas terrorists hiding in Gaza must end, the U.N. human rights chief demanded Friday.
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L.A. Rabbi: Those We Marched with on Racism, LGBT Issues Are Ignoring Us, It’s Easier to Virtue Signal than Be Virtuous
On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Laura Coates Live,” Senior Rabbi of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles Steve Leder stated that “most people are better at virtue signaling than they are at behaving virtuously. And that’s what we’re experiencing and that
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GOP senators demand DOJ give answers after it allegedly spied on House, Senate staffers during Russia probe
Senate Republicans are demanding answers from the Justice Department amid revelations that the agency “engaged in a campaign of covert surveillance” of congressional staffers, calling the move “a true attack on our democracy.”
Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa; Ted Cruz of Texas; and Mike Lee of Utah penned a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland after a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Empower Oversight revealed that the Department of Justice had subpoenaed a Senate staffer’s private phone and email logs as both House and Senate lawmakers investigated the origins of the Trump-Russia probe during the Trump administration.
“We write to express deep concern regarding recent revelations that the Department of Justice engaged in a campaign of covert surveillance of the personal communications of attorneys advising congressional oversight committees,” they wrote. “The decision by unelected government bureaucrats to investigate the elected congressional representatives and congressional staff trying to hold them accountable is a true attack on our democracy.”
The FOIA request revealed that the Department of Justice had subpoenaed Google for all telephone connection records and text message logs for the chief investigative counsel to the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Jason Foster. At the time, Grassley was the chairman of the panel and was investigating DOJ misconduct.
The senators also pointed out that further records indicated that the personal records of a House staffer working on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence were additionally “targeted as part of this vendetta campaign.”
“Notably, in January 2018, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein threatened to subpoena HSPCI staff personal records during a confrontation over the Justice Department’s failure to comply with the committee’s compulsory process,” they wrote. “But even so, the targets of the Department and FBI were not limited to Republican staffers.”
The senators noted that Democrats in Congress have also called for investigations into the targeting of their private communications.
The senators said that Empower Oversight had submitted a FOIA request for all relevant documents, including grand-jury subpoenas, communications between various offices and correspondence with the press, but stressed that “additional measures must be taken to ensure openness and accountability.”
“Notwithstanding the investigation by the Department’s Inspector General, Congress is entitled to conduct its own parallel review of this important matter,” they wrote.
Grassley, Cruz and Lee are demanding the DOJ provide all names of all DOJ officials who “drafted, supervised, or approved the issuance of the grand jury subpoenas in question or otherwise related to the consolidated leaks case.”
They also requested the names of all people employed in both the Senate and House who received subpoenas, and the names of all people in the Senate and House for which subpoenas were sought.
The senators requested the “specific predicate, criteria or evidence that justified” the DOJ seeking those grand jury subpoenas for personal records belonging to members of Congress and their staffers and families.
Grassley, Cruz and Lee are also demanding information on “all other means” the DOJ used to search for information, including specific databases and use of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
FISA COURT OPINION REVEALS A US SENATOR, STATE SENATOR, STATE JUDGE GOT SWEPT UP IN 702 QUERIES
They also are seeking information regarding former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s involvement in the approval or issuance of the subpoenas, or information to prove that they were executed “without his knowledge or consent.”
The senators requested that the DOJ identify all organizations subpoenaed, such as Google, Verizon, Apple AT&T and others, as part of the leaks case for information on members of Congress, their staffers and their families.
“This extensive and far-reaching effort to use grand jury subpoenas and perhaps other means to gather the personal communications records of congressional staffers and their families with little or no legitimate predicate is absolutely unacceptable,” they wrote. “The executive branch overreach and gross violation of separation of powers apparent in this case no doubt shocks the conscience and shakes public confidence in our justice system to its core.”
They added: “The public deserves answers.”
The senators gave the Department of Justice a deadline of November 22 to respond.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
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Suspicious letters now reported at election offices in five states
Suspicious letters have been reported at election offices this week in Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada and Georgia.
Fentanyl was found in four of the letters, according to a statement from the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, per The Associated Press.
“Law enforcement is working diligently to intercept any additional letters before they are delivered,” the statement said, according to the AP.
On Thursday, the office of Washington’s secretary of state confirmed envelopes with “unknown powdery substances” were received in elections offices in four counties. The offices in King, Pierce, Spokane and Skagit counties were evacuated, according to a press release.
“The safety of staff and observers is paramount as elections workers across the state open envelopes and count each voter’s ballot,” Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said in the release. “These incidents underscore the critical need for stronger protections for all election workers. Democracy rests upon free and fair elections. These incidents are acts of terrorism to threaten our elections.”
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger also confirmed that there was an envelope headed toward Fulton County that was tested and found to have fentanyl.
“This is domestic terrorism, and it needs to be condemned by anyone that holds elected office and anyone that wants to hold elective office, anywhere in America,” Raffensperger said in a press conference.
Devon Ashbridge, a public information officer for Lane County, Ore., said staff in an elections office in the county “received a piece of suspicious mail” Wednesday. Ashbridge said they reported it to local law enforcement and the elections office was closed for the rest of the day.
“It’s certainly a somber mood today, but we’re very grateful that the people who came into contact with that piece of mail, haven’t reported any symptoms or medical issues,” Ashbridge told The Hill Thursday. “So, we’re grateful that everyone is safe, but it’s certainly a chilling reality to come back to work knowing that someone out there, at minimum wanted to terrorize you, and potentially wanted to cause you harm.”
The United States Postal Service was able to intercept suspicious envelopes headed to elections facilities in Los Angeles and Sacramento, according to the AP.
In a statement sent to The Hill, the FBI said it “along with our law enforcement partners, responded to multiple incidents involving suspicious letters sent to ballot counting centers in several states.”
“As these are ongoing matters, we do not have any further comment, but the public can be assured that law enforcement will continue to keep the public’s safety as its top priority,” the emailed statement continued. “The FBI would also like to remind everyone to exercise care in handling mail, especially from unrecognized senders. If you see something suspicious, please contact law enforcement immediately.”
The Hill has reached out to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Go to Source: Administration News | The Hill
Iowa police arrest suspect after alleged sexual assault of former Arizona Sen. Martha McSally: report
Police in Council Bluffs, Iowa reportedly have arrested a suspect after former Republican Arizona Sen. Martha McSally said she was sexually assaulted Wednesday while running along the Missouri River on the Iowa-Nebraska border.
The suspect, identified by police as 25-year-old Dominic Henton of Papillion, has been taken into custody, WOWT reported Friday.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
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