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(FreedomWire.org) – The Manhattan District Attorney, at least according to Donald Trump, is going to arrest the former president for a misdemeanor campaign finance violation, and right in time, a skeleton just crawled out of Hillary Clinton’s closet, that just might save Trump.

Hillary Clinton was busted breaking campaign finance laws and paid a fine, along with the DNC, to settle the issue, and she was never arrested.

From Politico March 2022:

The DNC and the Clinton campaign collectively agreed to pay $113,000 in fines, according to separate conciliation agreements the agency made with both parties. The DNC will pay $105,000 and the Clinton campaign $8,000. The FEC conciliation agreements were made public Wednesday.

The conciliation agreements found “probable cause to believe” that both the campaign and national party “misreport[ed] the purpose of certain disbursements” when they said certain payments to Perkins Coie were for legal fees.

The pair of agreements were signed for the Democratic groups on Feb. 16 by Graham Wilson, an attorney who was formerly at Perkins Coie and is now at the Elias Law Group.

In the agreements, the DNC and Clinton campaign contend that they believed they properly disclosed the spending. The agreements read that the party and campaign do “not concede, but will not further contest the Commission’s finding,” in order to settle the matters and not incur more legal costs.

According to CBS:

The Federal Election Commission has fined Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign $8,000 and the Democratic National Committee $105,000 for obscuring their funding of the “Steele dossier,” a 2016 opposition research report that sought to highlight alleged links between Donald Trump and Russia.

The bipartisan election commission also dismissed a complaint against Christopher Steele, the author of the dossier that caused a firestorm of allegations and investigations that shook the early months of Trump’s presidency.

The campaign mislabeled Steele’s work as “legal services” and “legal and compliance consulting” in campaign filings, the FEC concluded.

Steele and the campaign were notified of the FEC’s decision Tuesday. A spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee acknowledged that it agreed to pay the FEC’s fine, but said it had “settled aging and silly complaints from the 2016 election about ‘purpose descriptions’ in our FEC report.” 

The FEC’s ruling was in response to a complaint filed in 2018 by the conservative advocacy group the Coolidge Reagan Foundation. Paul Kamenar, a member of the Coolidge Reagan Foundation’s advisory board, called the DNC spokesperson’s description “appalling” in a phone call with CBS News.

“It’s outrageous that the DNC would minimize the serious violation that took place by calling campaign disclosure laws ‘silly’ violations,” said Kamenar, who added that he believes the FEC should have made a criminal referral to the Justice Department.

(FreedomWire.org) – California Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters has paid her daughter over $1.2 million since 2004, which included the younger Waters getting another six figures in payments in the 2022 cycle.

“Karen Waters pocketed $192,300 from her mother’s campaign to keep her ‘slate mailer’ operation afloat between Jan. 2021 and Dec. 2022, a Fox News Digital review of Federal Election Commission filings shows. The setup involves outside campaigns paying Waters’ campaign to appear on the slate mailers – or endorsement mailers – sent out to constituents in the Los Angeles area,” Fox News reported.

“The practice is highly unusual on the federal level, and Waters appears to be the only national politician using it to grab committee cash. Slate mailers, however, are commonplace in her home state of California, though critics say it involves deceptive practices over one campaign paying another for a politician’s backing in an election. Waters received the green light to run the operation from the Federal Election Commission in the fall of 2004. Since then, Karen Waters has received more than $1.2 million in payments from her mother’s campaign,” the outlet added.

It’s legal for federal lawmakers to employ family members on campaigns, but the practice is frowned upon by ethics experts.

Now, Republicans are aiming to put a ban on lawmakers from putting family members on the campaign payroll after many prominent Democrats have been called out over the practice.

Republican Texas Rep. Pat Fallon has introduced legislation called the Family Integrity to Reform Elections Act, which would prevent campaign funds from going to a candidate’s immediate family.

The bill, if passed, would also make the candidate directly responsible for knowingly violating the provision.

“The Family Integrity to Reform Elections (FIRE) Act is a critical step to reducing nepotistic practices in American campaigns. Allowing direct family members to be on the take of campaigns must come to an end. For example, Maxine Waters, the worst perpetrator, has given her daughter over $1.1 million in campaign funds. This is utterly egregious, and I will not stand by as the integrity of our elections is further diminished,” Fallon told the Daily Caller.

“Maxine Waters [paid] $1.1 million to her daughter from campaign funds,” Fallon said in a statement. “Ilhan Omar, $2.9 million to her husband from campaign funds. James Clyburn, over $200,000 to multiple family members from his campaign.”

“The numbers speak for themselves,” Fallon added. “Americans are sick of politicians abusing their voters’ hard-earned money. This modern-day spoils system must end. My bill shines a light on shady campaign finance practices while punishing those who take advantage of these funds to enrich their families.”

“Karen Waters, who has been organizing slate-mailing operations to bolster her mother’s re-election for nearly two decades, and her company, Progressive Connections, have received more than $1.2 million since 2003 for campaign services, including ‘slate mailer management’ fees and ‘campaign managing services,’” Fox News reported.

“A Citizens for Waters campaign committee filing from earlier this week shows that the younger Waters received $24,000 from the committee between January and March 2022. Slate-mailing is an uncommon practice in federal elections, where a consulting firm is hired to create a pamphlet of sorts that contains a list of candidates or policy measures and advises voters on how to cast their ballots,” the report added.

“The Family Integrity to Reform Elections (FIRE) Act, to be introduced by Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) on Monday, would bar any candidate running for federal office from compensating immediate family members for campaign services,” the New York Post reported back in June.

“It is currently legal for lawmakers to employ family members to work on campaigns. However, Federal Election Commission regulations prohibit paying candidate relatives a salary unless they are ‘providing bona fide services to the campaign” and the salary represents “fair market value of the services provided.’ The legislation – first reviewed by The Post – would extend the ban to any political committee ‘established, maintained or controlled by a candidate or an individual holding Federal office’ – blocking any current lawmaker from compensating a family member for working on their campaign,” the report added.

(FreedomWire.org) – Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, announced her candidacy for president on Tuesday. The announcement makes her the first major challenger to former President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination.

Whoopi Goldberg had a meltdown over the announcement by Haley.

“The View” played a portion of Haley’s campaign announcement video on Tuesday. She is calling for a “new generation” of political leaders to right America’s floundering ship. Trump is the only other Republican so far to declare his candidacy for the presidency in 2024. Haley’s actual announcement is set to take place on Wednesday.

“Some look at our past as evidence that America’s founding principles are bad. They say the promise of freedom is just made up. Some think our ideas are not just wrong but racist and evil. Nothing could be further from the truth,” Haley declares in the video as you see a clip of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) play. “Even on our worst day, we are blessed to live in America.”

After addressing American values, Haley points out in her announcement that Republican presidential candidates have lost the popular vote seven times in the last eight elections.

“That has to change,” she asserts. “It’s time for a new generation of leadership, to rediscover fiscal responsibility, secure our border, and strengthen our country, our pride, and our purpose… You should know this about me, I don’t put up with bullies. And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels. I’m Nikki Haley, and I’m running for president.”

Goldberg evidently sees Haley as a threat to Democrats because she denigrated her despite the fact that Haley would be a minority female candidate for office.

“Since you have been asleep this whole time and you just woke up, you’re just finding out that there are things about our country that are not perfect and for us to pretend that it is and that nothing happened is ridiculous, so you’re not saying anything new,” Goldberg viciously and predictably stated. “And you of all people should know better, you used to actually have some sanity and knew right from wrong and then you lost your mind and went into some new direction, so don’t do that!”

“She’s part of the invasion of the body snatchers,” co-host Joy Behar sneered during the segment. “There are these politicians on the right who now have become mentally crazy.”

“I’ve seen her take on dictators straight to their face. In every room I’ve been in with her, she’s the smartest in the room,” Alyssa Farah Griffin said, evoking almost immediate laughter from Goldberg who seems to forget that Haley was absolutely fearless on the floor of the UN.

“That doesn’t say much,” Behar quipped.

Sunny Hostin also jumped in, going after Haley with her claws out, dubbing her “election denier adjacent.”

“I think she’s very much a political grifter and a chameleon and the bar is very low because it’s on the ground,” Hostin sniped before voicing agreement with Behar that the bar is actually “below the ground.”

“I don’t see her as a step up from anything,” Hostin commented.

(FreedomWire.org) – One of the House’s top Democrats paid six figures in campaign cash to family members during the 2022 midterm election cycle, according to federal records.

Fox News reported that Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, who was instrumental in helping then-Democratic candidate Joe Biden win his state’s presidential primary in 2020, paid tens of thousands of dollars “to a company linked to his son-in-law,” while he also gave “nearly $100,000 to his grandson, Federal Election Commission records show.”

“While it’s legal for federal politicians to pay family members from their campaigns, ethics experts have generally disapproved of the practice.”

The outlet noted further:

Clyburn’s family payments the last election cycle include $57,500 to 49 Magnolia Blossom LLC for rent expenses, filings show. That company has close ties to his daughter, Jennifer Clyburn Reed. According to South Carolina business records, Clyburn Reed’s husband, Walter A Reed, is the registered agent of the limited liability company. 

Clyburn also paid out $94,000 to his grandson Walter A.C. Reed during the midterm election cycle for “campaign management fees,” his filings further show. 

The South Carolina Democrat has never faced a serious challenge to his House seat since first being elected to the state’s 6th Congressional District in 1993. After he helped Biden secure the state’s primary victory, the president returned the favor by nominating Clyburn’s daughter, a former teacher, as federal co-chair of the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission in 2021. The Senate narrowly confirmed her for the post; the commission works to relieve poverty in the southeastern U.S.

Another long-serving Democrat, California Rep. Maxine Waters, paid her daughter over $1.2 million since 2004, which included the younger Waters getting another six figures in payments in the 2022 cycle.

“Karen Waters pocketed $192,300 from her mother’s campaign to keep her ‘slate mailer’ operation afloat between Jan. 2021 and Dec. 2022, a Fox News Digital review of Federal Election Commission filings shows. The setup involves outside campaigns paying Waters’ campaign to appear on the slate mailers – or endorsement mailers – sent out to constituents in the Los Angeles area,” Fox News reported separately.

“The practice is highly unusual on the federal level, and Waters appears to be the only national politician using it to grab committee cash. Slate mailers, however, are commonplace in her home state of California, though critics say it involves deceptive practices over one campaign paying another for a politician’s backing in an election. Waters received the green light to run the operation from the Federal Election Commission in the fall of 2004. Since then, Karen Waters has received more than $1.2 million in payments from her mother’s campaign,” the outlet added.

It’s legal for federal lawmakers to employ family members on campaigns, but the practice is frowned upon by ethics experts.

Republicans are aiming to put a ban on lawmakers from putting family members on the campaign payroll after many prominent Democrats have been called out over the practice.

Republican Texas Rep. Pat Fallon has introduced legislation called the Family Integrity to Reform Elections Act, which would prevent campaign funds from going to a candidate’s immediate family.

The bill, if passed, would also make the candidate directly responsible for knowingly violating the provision.

“The Family Integrity to Reform Elections (FIRE) Act is a critical step to reducing nepotistic practices in American campaigns. Allowing direct family members to be on the take of campaigns must come to an end. For example, Maxine Waters, the worst perpetrator, has given her daughter over $1.1 million in campaign funds. This is utterly egregious, and I will not stand by as the integrity of our elections is further diminished,” Fallon told the Daily Caller.

“Maxine Waters [paid] $1.1 million to her daughter from campaign funds,” Fallon said in a statement. “Ilhan Omar, $2.9 million to her husband from campaign funds. James Clyburn, over $200,000 to multiple family members from his campaign.”

“The numbers speak for themselves,” Fallon added. “Americans are sick of politicians abusing their voters’ hard-earned money. This modern-day spoils system must end. My bill shines a light on shady campaign finance practices while punishing those who take advantage of these funds to enrich their families.”

(FreedomWire.org) – Parents Defending Education, a parental rights group, filed an ethics complaint on Thursday against Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot after a report showed her reelection campaign encouraged Chicago Public Schools (CPS) teachers to offer class credit to students who volunteered, according to a press release.

The education group is asking the City of Chicago’s Board of Ethics to open an investigation into the campaign following reports that Megan Crane, Lightfoot’s deputy campaign manager, contacted teachers’ official work accounts asking that they promote the campaign’s volunteer “externship program” to students. Lightfoot blamed Crane for sending the emails, calling the effort a “mistake,” according to the New York Post.

“Tragically, far too many students in Chicago Public Schools are unable to read or write at grade level – even prior to the Chicago Teachers Union-led school closures, which disproportionately impacted the city’s disadvantaged children,” Nicole Neily, president of Parents Defending Education, said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Chicago students should be sitting in classrooms and focused on making up this learning loss so that they have the opportunity to make a better life for themselves – not being conscripted as foot soldiers in Mayor Lightfoot’s re-election campaign.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois said that the email from the campaign “may have violated federal law,” according to WTTW News. Chicago Public Schools Inspector General Will Fletcher opened an investigation Thursday to determine “which, if any, policies have been violated” by the campaign.

Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates called the email “unethical” and worried that if teachers did not listen to the email, they would face retaliation, according to WTTW News.

“We’re simply looking for enthusiastic, curious and hard-working young people eager to help Mayor Lightfoot win this spring,” the email from Crane to CPS teachers said, according to WTTW News.

Following the scandal, Lightfoot’s campaign released a statement defending its actions.

A campaign spokesperson told WTTW that the emails were meant “to provide young people with the opportunity to engage with our campaign, learn more about the importance of civic engagement and participate in the most American of processes.”

Lightfoot’s campaign also claimed it is “a common practice that has been utilized in city, state, and federal level campaigns for decades.”

In a later amended statement, the campaign said, “All [Lightfoot for Chicago] campaign staff have been reminded about the solid wall that must exist between campaign and official activities and that contacts with any city of Chicago, or other sister agency employees, including CPS employees, even through publicly available sources is off limits. Period.”

The mayor made her first public remarks regarding the emails on Thursday, calling the campaigns’ actions “clearly a mistake.”

“The outreach to the CPS teachers via their emails was a mistake, should not have happened, and is not going to happen again,” said Lightfoot.

She pinned the blame on a “younger staffer” and claimed her campaign’s leadership was unaware of the emails, even though the emails listed Lightfoot’s deputy campaign manager as the sender. She added that the “well-intentioned” staffer would not be fired.

“This young woman understands the magnitude of the issue and is, frankly, mortified,” Lightfoot said. “She gets it, 100%.”

According to Chicago Public Schools inspector general Will Fletcher, his office “has opened an investigation into this matter and we are currently gathering information to determine which, if any, policies have been violated.”

Lightfoot stated that she plans to “cooperate fully” with any investigation.

(FreedomWire.org) – New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is under a House Ethics investigation, a statement from the Ethics Committee revealed on Wednesday.

“The Acting Chairwoman and Acting Ranking Member of the Committee on Ethics have jointly decided to extend the matter regarding Representative Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez, which was transmitted to the Committee by the Office of Congressional Ethics on June 23, 2022,” the letter states. The acting chairwoman is Democrat Susan Wild (D) and the acting Ranking member is Michael Guest (R).

It also states that the “fact of a referral or an extension and the mandatory disclosure of such an extension and the name of the subject of the matter, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee.”

“The Committee will announce its course of action in this matter following its organizational meeting and adoption of Committee Rules in the 118th Congress,” it concludes.

The statement does not reveal why Ocasio Cortez is under investigation. 

Shortly after taking office, conservative groups filed complaints alleging that she misused congressional resources. She also faced scrutiny for her involvement with the Super PAC Justice Democrats.

Ocasio-Cortez’s fellow “Squad” members, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, have also faced ethics scrutiny. Omar hired her then-boyfriend and now-husband as a campaign vendor for her 2018 bid, possibly violating rules that prohibit members from using campaign funds for personal use. Tlaib paid herself a salary from campaign funds after being elected to Congress, in possible violation of the same rule.

AOC has also faced ethics complaints with the Office of Congressional Ethics over allegations that she illegally funneled cash through a PAC to her boyfriend, the Washington Examiner reported.

AOC was also hit with an ethics complaint after she accepted a free ticket for the Met Gala in September of 2021. 

The American Accountability Foundation’s Thomas Jones wrote in an ethics complaint that AOC broke House rules by accepting “an impermissible gift.”

(FreedomWire.org) – Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy attacked political elites during a Sunday campaign speech given on behalf of Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker.

Known for his one liners, Kennedy released a campaign ad telling voters who want to defund police that they should “call a crackhead” next time they need assistance. During 2020’s race riots, he referred to Chicago as “the largest outdoor shooting range in America.”

“They’re all over Washington, DC, these high IQ stupid people. And they’re in charge. Most of them are woke. Most of them are members of the berserk wing of the Democratic Party,” Kennedy said.

“These woke, high IQ stupid people, they walk around with zip lock bags of kale that they eat to give them energy. Now, if you want to eat kale that’s up to you. I don’t eat kale. You know why? Because kale tastes to me like I’d rather be fat.”

Kennedy is a frequently sought after Republican surrogate, he also appeared during the 2022 midterms. Kennedy won his own reelection bid by 44 points.

Kennedy gave a campaign speech on behalf of Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker on Sunday.

Walker and incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock advanced to a runoff after neither candidate cleared 50% in the November general election. Georgians must cast their ballots by Tuesday, Dec. 6 in the election. Several polls have shown Warnock with a slight lead.

Prominent Republicans have campaigned for Walker throughout the race, which determines whether or not Democrats will have majorities in Senate committees. Democrats have already clinched 50 seats, giving Vice President Kamala Harris the opportunity to cast tie-breaking votes. However, they can avoid another power-sharing agreement with Republicans if Warnock wins.

Both candidates have pointed to various scandals as evidence the other is unfit for office. Walker has been dogged throughout the race by allegations of domestic abuse, as well as reports that he paid for at least two mistresses to have abortions. Several news outlets have also reported that Warnock attempted to evict low-income tenants from a building that his church owns.

(FreedomWire.org) – With little more than a week remaining until the midterms Democrats are pulling out all the stops on the campaign trail, save the “millstone” that President Joe Biden has become as perception becomes reality and the party made clear, “They don’t want him.”

The likelihood of the red wave has seemingly only increased in the countdown to election day as, rather than a question of if, debates have centered around how big the change in power will be. To stem the bleeding, campaigns in swing states have employed first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and now even former President Barack Obama, but after a Friday fundraiser in Philadelphia the president retreated once again to his home in Delaware.

“I think it’s exactly where Democrats want him to be,” Targeted Victory Vice President Matt Gorman said to Fox News Digital. “They don’t want him within 100 miles of any competitive race.”

By contrast, Jill Biden was in New Hampshire campaigning for Sen. Maggie Hassan (D), Harris was at an event for Democrats in Baltimore, MD and Obama in Michigan and Wisconsin stumping for Govs. Gretchen Whitmer and Tony Evers respectively along with Wisconsin Senate candidate Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.

Kellyanne Conway, then-candidate Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign manager and administration counselor, spoke with Fox News Digital and said, “Biden is back in his basement in Delaware while his Democratic Party struggles to retain control of the House and Senate. This is fitting, given that Biden’s disastrous policies and habit of ignoring the will of the people as expressed in polls has contributed to his own disapproval rating and the existential threat to a Democratic majority.”

She went on to add, “this is not ‘Biden Hidden’ – this is Biden being unpopular and unwelcome on the campaign trail,” and further suggested, “Former President Obama is popular, especially within his own party, but his record of delivering electoral victories for candidates other than himself is lacking: Over his eight years as president, Democrats lost a net 12 governors, nine U.S. senators, dozens of House seats and 950 state legislative seats.”

Meanwhile, Biden himself suggested there was nothing out of the ordinary with his retreating for a weekend getaway with mere days left until the election telling reporters after casting an early vote in Wilmington, DE Saturday, “I’m feeling good. I mean, I’ve been in I guess now 36 constituencies. Either to campaign for a specific candidate or going with a candidate who is doing something like at the bridge out at Pittsburgh.”

Though he went on to add, “I’m going to be all around the country,” the president is only scheduled for a trip out to New Mexico and California in addition to stops not far from home in Pennsylvania and Maryland.

While appearing on MSNBC, White House press secretary Karine Jean- Pierre was asked “Why is the former president on the campaign trail, and not the current president?”

As Biden’s popularity has sunk so too has the favor of being seen with the president for Democrats ceding ground, but his divisive qualities had pushed party members away with Barnes previously avoiding an event on Labor Day, less than a week after the infamous Independence Hall speech.

Axiom Strategies vice president of communications Matt Wolking told Fox News Digital, “Joe Biden is a millstone around the necks of most Democrats–whether he spends the final days of the election snoozing at the beach or talking with TikTok trans activists won’t move things much in either direction,” leaving it no wonder that the president has preemptively begun to blame Republicans for the troubles his policies will bring in the coming year.

(Freedomwire.org) – Hillary Clinton and California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom teamed up as co-chairs of Yes on Prop 1.

Proposition 1 , which — if passed — would expressly add a woman’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom — code for the ability to terminate their pregnancy up until birth — to the state’s constitution.

Last week, Clinton posted a campaign advertisement from the group on Twitter. At the 0:03 mark in the video below, a young woman is seen crying on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., moments after the reversal of Roe v. Wade was announced on June 24. The word “SAD” appears over her image in the clip. The intended message, of course, is that she was overcome with emotion because American women would soon lose their right to reproductive freedom.

There was a problem with the ad, however. The young woman in question is Macy Petty, a pro-life activist who, in reality, was crying tears of joy over the repeal of Roe v. Wade.

She posted the ad on Twitter with the caption, “Hey Hillary, I’m the girl crying in this video. I am pro-life and those are HAPPY tears because I just witnessed a MIRACLE!”

In a separate post, Petty explained, “In the full video, it is obvious I am crying tears of joy upon the announcement of the Dobbs decision. I am holding a ‘Students for Life’ banner and am with friends who are also holding pro-life signs.”

“You selected the portion in which I fell to my knees in tears. At this moment, I witnessed a miracle,” she wrote. “As I continued to witness history, I pondered how lucky I was to witness such an event. I thanked the Lord for this decision and for opening my eyes to the evil of abortion. That is what brought me to tears.”

“Could you not find an early 20-year-old who was truly sad about the Dobbs decision,” she asked.

Petty demanded that Clinton and Newsom remove her from the video immediately.

In the updated video below, the clip of Petty has been replaced with that of another distraught young woman, presumably one was who was truly upset by the Supreme Court’s decision.

A WPA Intelligence poll released exclusively to The National Review last week found that “U.S. voters believe that the mainstream Democratic Party’s position on abortion is ‘more extreme’ than the mainstream Republican position by a nearly two-to-one margin.”

The poll asked 1,000 voters to choose which of two options they considered to be more extreme: “allowing abortions up until 9 months of pregnancy for any reason” or “restricting abortions to only in cases of rape, incest, and when the life of the mother is in danger.” Democrats might be surprised that 57 percent chose the former and just 29 percent, the latter. Fourteen percent were unsure.