Pelosi's Tweet Reveals the Real Intentions Behind Trump’s Indictment - Rajan Laad

 

​ by Rajan Laad

This is a win for the likes of Pelosi who want to turn the U.S. into a third-world dictatorship where government agencies such as law enforcement and the judiciary are used to target opponents and outlaw political opposition.

 

The reaction to the unprecedented indictment of President Trump was predictable.

Most of Trump adversaries responded with unrestrained jubilation.

The former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, James Comey reacted to the news with delight.

Yes, this is the former head of the foremost law enforcement agency in the U.S.

What a fall in standards.

Now that a fall in standards has been mentioned, we examine a tweet from Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Pelosi claimed that the Grand Jury has acted upon the facts and the law.

So let’s look at the facts first.

President Trump has denied the affair with Stormy Daniel. In a 2018 letter that surfaced recently, Daniel also denied that the affair ever occurred, despite claiming otherwise in public.

Another 2018 letter proves that neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction. Also, Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen was not reimbursed for the payment by any organizations affiliated to Trump.

Since the transaction didn’t occur at Trump’s behest, the case has no basis.

Even if Trump had directed Cohen to make hush payments and the Trump Organization had reimbursed him for the payment to Daniels but billed them as legal expenses, it would constitute a misdemeanor for which the statute of limitations has run out.

Back to Pelosi’s tweet. Pelosi wrote:

“No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence.”

This is nothing short of a shocking statement, especially from a lawmaker with many decades of experience. The presumption of innocence is the standard in any civilized democracy -- anyone accused of any crime is considered innocent until proven guilty. The legal burden of proof lies on the prosecution, which must present compelling face-based evidence to before a judge or a jury. The prosecution must prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If reasonable doubt remains, the accused must be acquitted.

The presumption of innocence is also an international human right under the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 11.

This is the legal standard in the U.S.

Let's look at what the law specifically states:

“It is a cardinal principle of our system of justice that every person accused of a crime is presumed to be innocent unless and until his or her guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt. The presumption is not a mere formality. It is a matter of the most important substance.

The presumption of innocence alone may be sufficient to raise a reasonable doubt and to require the acquittal of a defendant. The defendant before you, [__________], has the benefit of that presumption throughout the trial, and you are not to convict [him/her] of a particular charge unless you are persuaded of [his/her] guilt of that charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

The presumption of innocence until proven guilty means that the burden of proof is always on the government to satisfy you that [defendant] is guilty of the crime with which [he/she] is charged beyond a reasonable doubt. The law does not require that the government prove guilt beyond all possible doubt; proof beyond a reasonable doubt is sufficient to convict. This burden never shifts to [defendant]. It is always the government's burden to prove each of the elements of the crime[s] charged beyond a reasonable doubt by the evidence and the reasonable inferences to be drawn from that evidence. [Defendant] has the right to rely upon the failure or inability of the government to establish beyond a reasonable doubt any essential element of a crime charged against [him/her].

If, after fair and impartial consideration of all the evidence, you have a reasonable doubt as to [defendant]'s guilt of a particular crime, it is your duty to acquit [him/her] of that crime. On the other hand, if, after fair and impartial consideration of all the evidence, you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt of [defendant]'s guilt of a particular crime, you should vote to convict [him/her].”

It is unlikely that Pelosi isn’t aware of the legal standards in the U.S. Perhaps her feeling of schadenfreude got the better of her, or maybe this is a warning for others who support the MAGA agenda. Pelosi know that such claims will receive no condemnation in D.C. because the target is President Trump.

Thankfully Elon Musk’s Twitter flagged Pelosi’s Tweet and presented context to it in the community notes feature.

So are there any countries where the accused is guilty until proven innocent?

They are mostly third-world countries or theocratic or military dictatorships where the might of the law is used to target opponents and dissidents. Irrespective of what their constitution says, dissidents were presumed guilty until proven innocent.

This is how the law operated in Stalin's Russia, Nazi Germany, Mussolini's Italy, Franco’s Spain etc.

It is not just President Trump who has been the recipient of this treatment. The January 6^th protestors held in the District of Columbia jail have complained of being subjected to inhumane conditions. The constant delays in hearings and postponements dragged out for over a year caused so much trauma to one of the accused that he committed suicide.

This remains the goal behind the exercise, to make the process the punishment.

To drag the trial along, and to drain all their resources and spirits of the accused. To sully reputations permanently. To make the accused feel worse than the worst of criminals in the U.S.

They know that these stories spread like wildfire and most people seeking a life of peace for themselves and their families choose to refrain from challenging the Democrats merely to avoid hardships.

Doubtlessly many citizens must have refrained from showing any overt support to the MAGA cause for fear of being persecuted by the Democrats.

This is a win for the likes of Pelosi who want to turn the U.S. into a third-world dictatorship where government agencies such as law enforcement and the judiciary are used to target opponents and outlaw political opposition.

Their goal is to have a single-party state.

Yes, there will be Republicans and Democrats who disagree in minor issues, but on all the major issues of consequence there is a total consensus.

The ball is now in the court of the Republicans and the citizens all over the nation.

In perilous times, there is no greater sin than inaction.

Image: Twitter

Rajan Laad

Source: https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/04/pelosis_tweet_reveals_the_real_intentions_behind_trumps_indictment.html

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Biden Admin Boycotts Israel - Daniel Greenfield

 

​ by Daniel Greenfield

Straughn informed the organizers that the State Department canceled her authorization to fly.

 

This is governmental BDS, but it also reminds me of how the Obama administration gamed the shutdown by forcing the cancellation of all sorts of events and venues just to make a point. If this story is accurate, then part of the Biden admin’s pressure campaign on Israel involved the cancellation of completely apolitical events.

Astrophysicist and deputy project scientist of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Amber Straughn canceled her scheduled Israel Physical Society conference appearance due to tensions between Israel and the United States.

Straughn told the conference organizers at Bar-Ilan University that the cancellation was due to instructions from the U.S. State Department.

In addition to her appearance at the conference, which was slated for next week, Straughn was also scheduled to give a lecture this week sponsored by the university’s physics department to some 300 students and researchers. She additionally was set to hold a lecture open to the public at Jerusalem’s Bloomfield Science Museum on Friday.

Straughn said at the start of the week that NASA and the State Department might order her to cancel her appearance due to bilateral tensions.

On Tuesday afternoon, a few hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he was pausing his government’s judicial overhaul legislation, Straughn informed the organizers that the State Department had, in fact, canceled her authorization to fly.

That is really ugly, if true.

One issue with this story is that it’s Haaretz, an extreme left publication, one that is a longtime opponent of Israel and its government, and which has credibility issues. Also it seems like a story out of Bar-Ilan University would not be the immediate vector to Haaretz.

But the premise is credible enough. If this were happening, then it would be part of a broader package of similar canceled events. We’ll see if that turns out to be the case. The lack of response by Jewish groups to this entire situation is disgusting and predictable.

A petition has been created challenging the culture of lies about democratic judicial reform that all of this has been based on.

It notes that…

We have different views on these reforms, but many of them parallel existing practice within the United States and all are compatible with democracy. The U.S. Constitution even allows Congress to eliminate most of the federal judiciary, and President Joe Biden himself has considered “packing” the Supreme Court.

There is room for criticism and debate, and good friends can disagree, even on fundamental issues. But the attacks have gone too far. They echo the worst claims of Israel’s enemies in the “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions” (BDS) movement — an antisemitic effort to isolate Israel, as the White House is now doing.

It is a slander against the Jewish state to claim that its government is mounting a “coup” because its newly-elected legislature is engaged in the democratic process of lawmaking.

With stories like these, we see that the campaign against democratic judicial reform has become BDS.

Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, is an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical Left and Islamic terrorism.

Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/biden-admin-boycotts-israel/

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U.S. Marshals Were Banned From Arresting Leftist Supreme Court Protesters - Daniel Greenfield

 

​ by Daniel Greenfield

This is what a tyranny looks like.

 

A culture of authoritarian lawlessness is one in which there are two very different standards.

Everyone has probably seen the videos of gun control activists and transurrectionists storming legislatures. But even well before Jan 6, massive BLM riots, including a direct attack on the White House, had politicians and the media denouncing the use of force against the mostly peaceful rioters. Gen. Milley has spent the rest of his career atoning for walking with Trump to the Church of Presidents which BLM had tried to burn down.

Since then, Jan 6 rioters have been tracked down and locked up while BLM rioters are getting multi-million dollar payouts from cities like New York and Philly.

More recently, the FBI was sent in to bust non-violent pro-life activists even as it ignored dozens of arsons and attacks on pregnancy centers by Jane’s Revenge, a pro-abortion group, until the GOP took the House when it began making a handful of arrests.

Now there’s direct evidence that the Biden administration not only refused to protect Supreme Court justices in the wake of the Dobbs decision pro-abortion protests at their homes, but specific orders were given not to arrest the leftists.

Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) unveiled a series of training slides used to prepare Marshals for their assignments as she grilled Attorney General Merrick Garland at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing Tuesday.

The slides instructed the Marshals to “avoid​, unless absolutely necessary,​ any criminal enforcement​”​ ​involving protesters and that “making arrests and initiating prosecutions was not the goal” of their being stationed outside the residences of the court’s six conservative jurists.

Just in case there was any ambiguity…

Another slide directed Marshals not to “engage [in] protest-related enforcement” and to allow the protesters to exercise their First Amendment rights except to protect the justices and their families.

​Britt said the slides were obtained from a Justice Department whistleblower who objected to Garland’s March 1 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

At that hearing, Garland insisted that Marshals were empowered to decide in the field whether to make arrests.

However, another slide cited by Britt directed Marshals to clear any “enforcement action” with the local US Attorney’s office “in advance” and warned: “It is counter-productive to make [probable cause] arrests on cases that the USAO will not charge and prosecute.”

Garland, of course, insisted that he knew nothing about it, and that may even be true. Garland and a lot of other Biden cabinet members and top officials, strike me as the equivalent of ‘Biden’, old white guys with lots of career experience whose role is to serve as the shields and fall guys for the younger radicals who are actually running their departments, divisions and agencies.

The policy however is painfully clear.

The Marshals were aggressively warned not to interfere with the leftist protesters and to allow them to engage in their illegal harassment, and to do nothing short of an actual terrorist attack.

These were the orders for BLM and Antifa as well.

This is what a two-tier system looks like. There’s zero tolerance for actions taken by your political opponents but maximum tolerance and zero enforcement for actions taken by your side that are even worse.

We’ve seen plenty of this with violations of the law with the Clintons and Trump, but we’ve also seen plenty of it with protest activity, domestic terrorism and riots.

A two-tier system may operate under the pretense of the law, but it’s still a tyranny. A lawful system objectively and even-handledly enforces the law.

What we have is the old Cold War joke about an American and Russian arguing.

The American says that he can go to the White House and shout that Reagan is a war criminal and the Russian replies that he can also go to the White House and shout that Reagan is a war criminal. In China, you can protest in support of Xi, but not against him. In America, you can protest for the Left, but not against it.

That’s tyranny.

Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, is an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical Left and Islamic terrorism.

Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/u-s-marshals-were-banned-from-arresting-leftist-supreme-court-protesters/

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Nikki Haley: Outrageous for Biden to lecture Israel on its domestic policy - Israel National News

 

​ by Israel National News

Former US Ambassador to the UN and 2024 Presidential hopeful condemns administration for involvement in judicial reform issue.

 

Former US Ambassador to the UN and candidate for the 2024 US Presidential election Nikki Haley criticized the Biden Administration for interfering in Israel's domestic politics by getting involved in the controversy over the Israeli government's proposed judicial reforms.

"It’s outrageous for Joe Biden to lecture Israel on a matter that is entirely their domestic concern. We would never want the Israeli government to push America on issues surrounding our Supreme Court, and they wouldn’t do it. We should let Israelis decide this themselves," Haley said Wednesday.

Haley was not the only Republican politician to criticize the administration for its response to the judicial reform controversy in Israel.

Earlier Wednesday, Senator Ted Cruz wrote on Twitter: "Utterly disgraceful. Biden gleefully hosts anti-American radicals like Lula, while shunning close American allies like Netanyahu. It's clear that Biden and his officials are high from funding what they believe to be successful anti-government protests in Israel."

On Tuesday, Biden commented on the judicial reform issue, stating: “Like many strong supporters of Israel, I'm very concerned. I'm concerned that they get this straight. They cannot continue down this road. I've sort of made that clear.”

Israel National News

Source: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/369399

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Leadership Crisis in America - Pete Hoekstra

 

​ by Pete Hoekstra

Americans have seen so many examples of outright government deceit.

• These numbers should frighten everyone. It is hard to imagine how a country functions effectively if only 21% of its citizens believe they can trust their government to do the right thing most of the time. What does this mean and why are the numbers so low?

• Many of the people present on January 6^th did not accept the results of the 2020 presidential election and were protesting the outcome. They simply could not be convinced that Joe Biden won fair and square. Believing in free and fair elections is a bedrock principle of representative government; without it, the critical support needed to underpin our entire system is gone.

• As I noted, however, in 2006 based on an intelligence report I demanded be declassified, there were WMDs found in Iraq. They were in varying states and conditions, and led to the injury of some members of our Armed Forces, but they did not point to the ongoing program Americans had been led to believe existed. The New York Times more recently validated this WMD finding, which had largely been swept under the rug for political expediency.

• Among SVB's customers are many Chinese companies that are being fully covered while citizens impacted by the East Palestine train derailment have found out they do not qualify for traditional FEMA disaster assistance. It is hard to build trust in citizens when the government seemingly treats one group better than it treats others.

• Americans have seen so many examples of outright government deceit. FBI and intelligence leaders fostered the notion that President-elect Trump was compromised by Russia. The "Russia hoax" persisted for more than two years as a cloud over the head of President Trump and incapacitated the country. Congressional leaders such as House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff promised the American people that he had direct evidence about Trump that warranted the president's impeachment. Later, it became clear that he did not, but that has not stopped him from continuing to push his fabrication as he mounts a Senate bid in California. Fifty-one intelligence professionals and leaders signed a letter implying that the Hunter Biden laptop was disinformation and not real. They were all wrong.

• Investigations into the origins of the COVID pandemic, continuing attempts to set up some version of a Department of Misinformation and Disinformation – read: the government deciding for you what "truth" is, then punishing citizens who might disagree -- and the weaponization of the government against citizens ongoing in the House of Representatives may expose even more examples of the federal government bureaucracy being deceitful in its interactions with the American people.

• On key policies [the federal government] has failed miserably, from 9/11 to the latest crisis rocking the banking industry. That is 20 years of epic, systemic government failures. Throw in deception by some of the highest-ranking government officials and bailouts of foreign interests while U.S. citizens are left hanging, and you get why barely a fifth of Americans have faith in their leaders.

America is in crisis. More and more Americans are increasingly distrustful of America's leadership. It is hard to imagine how a country functions effectively if only 21% of its citizens believe they can trust their government to do the right thing most of the time. What does this mean and why are the numbers so low? Pictured: US President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden in Johns Island, South Carolina on August 13, 2022. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

America is in crisis. More and more Americans are increasingly distrustful of America's leadership across the board. In one of the latest surveys, Pew Research found only 21% of respondents said they "just about always" or "most of the time" – 2% and 19% respectively -- trusted the government to do the right thing. In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, that number was 49%. These numbers should frighten everyone. It is hard to imagine how a country functions effectively if only 21% of its citizens believe they can trust their government to do the right thing most of the time. What does this mean and why are the numbers so low?

If the numbers are peeled back, there are more insights into how the American people perceive their government, according to a Partnership for Public Service survey. Fifty-five percent believe that the impact government has on the country is negative. Fifty-five percent of the people do not believe that the government helps people like them. Almost two thirds believe that government is not transparent and does not listen to the public. These numbers are so low, it is little wonder the number of people who trust the government has not gone above 30% in Pew's surveys since 2007.

The American people do trust business leaders more. A Harvard Business School survey suggests that 61% of the American people trust businesses (Of note, the trust for government in this poll was 52%). The Harvard researchers say for a group to be identified as trusted they must have a 60% favorable rating. Government and media both fail to reach this target, and both have fallen significantly in recent years while business has remained relatively stable.

The key point here is regardless of what poll you are looking at, America's institutions do not consistently meet thresholds that most individuals believe indicate a strong public support. This is highly problematic for our nation. Some would argue the events on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021, are a clear indicator of this lack of trust in government. Many of the people present on January 6^th did not accept the results of the 2020 presidential election and were protesting the outcome. There were clearly just too many irregularities (such as here, here and here) for them to believe that Joe Biden had won fair and square. Believing in free and fair elections is a bedrock principle of representative government; without it, the critical support needed to underpin our entire system is gone.

How is it that so many Americans have such negative views about our leadership and the direction of our nation? For 15 years I worked for a company, Herman Miller, recognized for its leadership principles. The company stressed the importance of servant leadership: leaders served those who worked for them. They also had a responsibility to customers, shareholders, vendors, and their community. It was a balanced approach with multiple constituencies. Integrity and honesty were fundamental to effective leadership. Finally, accountability and results were key parts of the leadership equation that were expected parts of doing your job. It is concerning that so many of these good, honest tenets have been lost across our society today -- especially in our government.

The dramatic decline in government support numbers can perhaps be traced to the response and aftermath of 9/11. While the "rally round the flag" effect led to an initial positive response to the government's actions, people soon began to focus on one basic fact: The government had failed in its most important function, which is to protect its citizens from attack. The war in Iraq that followed was based on an inaccurate intelligence assessment that Saddam Hussein had an active weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program. This became a bitter partisan divide with some believing that the decision to go to war was based on incorrect information, while others believed that the Bush administration had lied to build support to invade Iraq.

As I noted, however, in 2006 based on an intelligence report I demanded be declassified, there were WMDs found in Iraq. They were in varying states and conditions, and led to the injury of some members of our Armed Forces, but they did not point to the ongoing program Americans had been led to believe existed. The New York Times more recently validated this WMD finding, which had largely been swept under the rug for political expediency.

We recently marked the 20-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq; since that time, our country has experienced the financial crisis of 2008, the Arab Spring and war with ISIS from 2011-2015. The aftermath of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya all had negative outcomes. The Biden administration's deadly and disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 only contributed to the view that the federal government is failing in doing its job effectively.

Beyond government mismanagement of multiple U.S. war efforts, Americans have seen so many examples of outright government deceit. FBI and intelligence leaders fostered the notion that President-elect Trump was compromised by Russia. The "Russia hoax" persisted for more than two years as a cloud over the head of President Trump and incapacitated the country. Congressional leaders such as House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff promised the American people that he had direct evidence about Trump that warranted the president's impeachment. Later, it became clear that he did not, but that has not stopped him from continuing to push his fabrication as he mounts a Senate bid in California. Fifty-one intelligence professionals and leaders signed a letter implying that the Hunter Biden laptop was disinformation and not real. They were all wrong.

Investigations into the origins of the COVID pandemic, continuing attempts to set up some version of a Department of Misinformation and Disinformation – read: the government deciding for you what "truth" is, then punishing citizens who might disagree -- and the weaponization of the government against citizens ongoing in the House of Representatives may expose even more examples of the federal government bureaucracy being deceitful in its interactions with the American people.

Another recent and galling example of government double dealing that has frustrated citizens is President Joe Biden's push to make taxpayers pay off other students' loans. It is clear that those students who took out loans are receiving better treatment from the government than those students who saved, worked hard, and paid their college tuition. Those who decided to enter the trades or decided not to attend college at all will receive no benefit from this latest example government largesse, apart from the dubious distinction of paying higher taxes to cover the loans of people who did have a higher education and presumably should be helping the very people bailing them out, not preying off them.

Finally, customers of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), primarily high-tech startups and their employees, will have all of their deposits insured by the government while customers at other regional banks might not. Among SVB's customers are many Chinese companies that are being fully covered while citizens impacted by the East Palestine train derailment have found out they do not qualify for traditional FEMA disaster assistance. It is hard to build trust in citizens when the government seemingly treats one group better than it treats others.

The federal government has clearly not demonstrated the characteristics of "servant leadership" that our nation so desperately needs. On key policies it has failed miserably, from 9/11 to the latest crisis rocking the banking industry. That is 20 years of epic, systemic government failures. Throw in deception by some of the highest-ranking government officials and bailouts of foreign interests while U.S. citizens are left hanging, and you get why barely a fifth of Americans have faith in their leaders. Incompetence, deception, and working against the interests of the American people leave little wonder as to why people have lost trust in our government.

Pete Hoekstra was US Ambassador to the Netherlands during the Trump administration. He served 18 years in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the second district of Michigan, served as Chairman and Ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee and is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19540/leadership-crisis-in-america

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Feds give pass to Stanford, Harvard Med for racial discrimination favoring blacks - Greg Piper

 

​ by Greg Piper

Department of Education's referral of Harvard Med complaint to EEOC, which doesn't appear to have jurisdiction, could be "a strategy to derail a valid complaint," professor says.

Much like Stanford Law School's refusal to sanction or even identify students who knowingly and repeatedly violated its policies against disruption of guest speakers, the federal government shrugged in response to Stanford taking no action against a student government that violated the university's funding conditions.

The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights resolved a complaint filed against the university last fall by a former Trump administration education official, Adam Kissel, for racial discrimination by its Graduate Student Council, a branch of Associated Students of Stanford University.

The GSC, funded by a mandatory student activities fee, reserved 100 movie tickets to "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" and bus rides to an off-campus theater for black students. All races were then eligible for remaining movie tickets and bus seats on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Kissel, now chairman of West Virginia's charter school board, shared the Thursday response he received from OCR with Just the News.

Signed PDF Stanford 09232068-C.pdf

"OCR determined that while events planned by student groups are typically approved by staff, the Graduate Student Council student leadership organized this event and the lottery system [for distributing tickets to black students] without obtaining staff approval," OCR San Francisco Chief Attorney Anamaria Loya wrote to Kissel.

Stanford's investigation confirmed "the event was not consistent with the University's non-discrimination policy," and it conveyed that finding to the GSC, which "affirmed that they will not plan a similar event in the future," Loya said.

Because her office has "credible information indicating that the allegation has been resolved, and there is no systemic allegation," OCR will close the complaint, she wrote. 

That suggests the Biden administration, at least on paper, has not changed its predecessor's reversal of the Obama administration's practice of opening wide-ranging education civil rights investigations to find evidence of systemic violations.

Loya's letter makes explicit that Stanford is subject to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination by recipients of federal funding, but doesn't explain how documented racial discrimination by a student government under the university's control does not violate Title VI.

 

"Dear OCR SF: The Graduate Student Council is a part of ASSU, which is recognized by @Stanford, yet it is discriminating on the basis of race. See evidence at https://t.co/gvpcGr4fg6 and please investigate and resolve this matter." That should do. @Mark_J_Perry

— Adam Kissel (@kissel_adam) November 18, 2022

 

"This is a win against discrimination," Kissel told Just the News. "If OCR had thought there were facially no violation in the first place, it would not have opened an investigation."  

Stanford is still under investigation for other claims he has brought about its "pervasive" discrimination, Kissel said, sharing the December response letter he received from Loya: "Its institutional discrimination teaches students to be discriminatory and intolerant in turn."

Signed PDF Stanford 09212136 C.pdf

OCR passed the buck in response to a more recent racial discrimination complaint against Harvard Medical School for creating a "Black Staff Caucus" that excludes nonblack staff.

Filed by Do No Harm, which advocates against "antiracist" ideology in medicine, the complaint notes that Harvard Med promoted the three-year-old racial affinity group in a January Q&A that touted BSC's awards from Harvard's diversity-focused Culture Lab Innovation Fund and President's Administrative Innovation Fund.

OCR Boston rejected the complaint on the grounds that it doesn't allege an applicable Title VI violation, instead referring the matter to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission office in Boston as employment discrimination under Title VII. Do No Harm redacted the official's name.

The rationale is puzzling because "OCR agreed to evaluate eight different Title VI complaints against universities sponsoring segregated race-based affinity groups for faculty, and it opened three of those complaints for federal investigations" in just the past year, Do No Harm senior fellow Mark Perry said.

One of those three was against Harvard's public health school, where BSC has a presence, "for race-based affinity group sessions for students and employees," according to Perry, an emeritus economist at the University of Michigan who says he has filed 800 federal civil right complaints. The school agreed to discontinue those sessions to resolve the complaint.

EEOC generally requires potential complainants to have "legal standing" — in this case, a Harvard employee who alleges personal discrimination — suggesting OCR's referral could be "a strategy to derail a valid complaint," Perry said. Do No Harm crowed a week earlier that OCR had recently opened four investigations based on its Title IX and Title VI complaints.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened investigations into several universities for federal civil rights violations.

Read the full list: https://t.co/YvwB3u3ANm pic.twitter.com/1eK1nAWGfZ

— Do No Harm (@donoharm) March 27, 2023

 

Even though Stanford didn't concede the GSC event violated Title VI, just its own policy, the resolution of Kissel's complaint is "a solid win" and "the best that can be expected" under the circumstances, Perry told Just the News. 

Promising not to let such an event happen again rather than challenging Kissel's allegations "is to me equivalent to an admission of guilt by Stanford that it violated Title VI," Perry wrote in an email. Federal financial assistance "is never really in jeopardy" for most violations, and even an apology is unlikely "because there is no plaintiff with legal standing."

The bigger problem is "race-based discrimination and sex-based discrimination are so widespread and systemic in higher education that new discriminatory programs, events, scholarships, quotas ... are being introduced all the time," meaning few realize they are illegal or even consider getting "legal clearance" from campus authorities, he said.

The case also shows "OCR never proactively monitors" schools to enforce popular violations of Title VI and Title IX, according to Perry.

The Department of Education declined to comment, while OCR San Francisco and Boston didn't respond to queries.

 

Greg Piper

Source: https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/education/feds-give-pass-stanford-harvard-med-racial-discrimination-favoring-blacks

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Video: Christine Douglass-Williams on Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Call for Third Intifada - Frontpagemag.com

 

​ by Frontpagemag.com

A terror group tries to exploit the turbulence in Israel.

 

In this interview, Frank Gaffney interviews Frontpage Magazine Associate Editor Christine Douglass-Williams about Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) calling for a third Intifada in Israel. She unveils how the PIJ is  capitalizing on the turbulent time for Israel.

In an update, PIJ has now declared the “IDF disintegrating before our eyes” due to inside protests against judicial reforms. PIJ has also met with Hizballah head Hassan Nasrallah to “strengthen the rebellion against the Zionist enemy.”

Don’t miss this interview!

Frontpagemag.com

Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/video-christine-douglass-williams-on-palestinian-islamic-jihads-call-for-third-intifada/

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Signature verification software used by Maricopa County says 10% is 'high-confidence' match - Natalia Mittelstadt

 

​ by Natalia Mittelstadt

Maricopa County has contracts with Runbeck Election Services for Verus Pro signature verification software.

 

With Kari Lake's legal complaint alleging systematic signature verification failures in Maricopa County remanded by the Arizona Supreme Court to trial court, closer examination of the signature verification software used by the county reveals a strikingly low threshold for signatures to qualify as "high-confidence" matches.

Since falling about 17,000 votes short in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election to Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs, Lake has continued to contest the election results in court, arguing that there were ballot chain of custody and signature verification issues in addition to thousands of Republican voters disproportionately disenfranchised on Election Day, when voting machine errors occurred in nearly 60% of the voting centers in Maricopa County. Lake has requested that the election results be invalidated or that she be declared the winner. 

Last week, the Arizona Supreme Court remanded Lake's claim alleging massive signature verification failure to the trial court, ruling that because Lake is challenging the failure to adhere to current policy rather than the policy itself, her suit was not filed too late, as the lower court had found in dismissing her case. The former candidate must "establish that 'votes [were] affected "in sufficient numbers to alter the outcome of the election"' based on a 'competent mathematical basis to conclude that the outcome would plausibly have been different, not simply an untethered assertion of uncertainty,'" the state's high court ruled.

According to 2020 emails between Maricopa County officials and an employee of the county's election technology vendor, Runbeck Election Services, the election firm's Verus Pro application for signature verification ranks signature matches on a scale of 0 to 100. However, only scores "lower than 10" are "not marked as Accepted by Verus Pro," according to an email from a Maricopa County official, which the county provided to then-Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich after a public records request.

When Maricopa County was testing Verus Pro for the 2020 general election, county election official Rey Valenzuela called the rollout of the software a "sh-t show" in an October email to Runbeck.

A July 2022 contract extension between Maricopa County and Runbeck explains how the signature verification program scores signature matches.

OPS - County Contracts - 220121 - PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTION BALLOTS-013123.pdf

Signatures sent to Runbeck "are assigned a score," reads the contract, "based on the verification; signatures with a score of 10 or higher are routed to a high-confidence manual signature verification queue, and signatures with a lower score are routed to a low-confidence signature verification queue."

The contract was obtained through a public records request and given to former Arizona Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Wright after she left office. Wright shared it with Just the News.

Maricopa County "won't admit to using the software," but the contracts show it does, Wright said.

Some additions in the 2022 contract, which extends a 2020 agreement, include "the ability to turn Signature Verification on or off."

Under the performance criteria stipulated in the extension, Verus Pro was bound to process "at least 3,600 signatures/hour" and "correctly assess if a signature is present on at least 80% of inbound images" of early ballot envelopes.

Signature verification applies to early ballots, when voters' signatures on the ballot envelopes are checked against signatures in voters' files to ensure they match. There were more than 1.3 million early ballots cast in Maricopa County's 2022 general election.

Under Arizona law, the "county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall compare the signatures thereon with the signature of the elector on the elector's registration record."

Duly authorized election officials are responsible for resolving any discrepancies. "If the signature is inconsistent with the elector's signature on the elector's registration record," reads Arizona statute 16-550, "the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall make reasonable efforts to contact the voter, advise the voter of the inconsistent signature and allow the voter to correct or the county to confirm the inconsistent signature."

The statute doesn't mention using third parties to complete signature verification or curing, Wright told Just the News Friday.

Runbeck used to have Verus Pro listed on its website, but it doesn't appear to anymore, at least when using the search tool. Runbeck told Just the News that a website update may have caused a previous website link to Verus Pro to no longer work. Runbeck has yet to provide Just the News with a new link to Verus Pro on its website.

According to a 2020 contract and video posted by Maricopa County, the county used Verus Pro in that election. In the video, the bottom of an election worker's screen reads "low confidence" for a signature.

When early ballot envelopes signatures don't match voters' files, Maricopa County must contact the voters about the inconsistent signatures.

Maricopa County told Just the News on Thursday, "Signatures are cured by calling, mailing, texting and emailing the voters." 

When asked about using Verus Pro for signature verification, the county told Just the News, "Maricopa County does not use Verus Pro for signature verification."

Maricopa County has yet to respond to follow-up questions about what voters must do to confirm or cure their signature or what the county uses Verus Pro for since its current contract with Runbeck says it's for signature verification.

Lake's lawsuit is being held up by the state Supreme Court as it considers whether she should face sanctions for bringing her case. The trial court judge, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson, had set a schedule to reexamine the signature verification issue after the Arizona Supreme Court remanded the case to him, but he rescinded his order after the high court set its schedule for considering sanctions.

On Friday, Lake tweeted that Maricopa County election officials wouldn't allow her legal team to inspect ballot signatures.

"Maricopa County has confirmed what we all knew to be true: Ballot signatures DO NOT MATCH," Lake wrote on Twitter. "Election Officials brazenly HIDING EVIDENCE from us. This is the smoking gun. Unfortunately for them, I'm not giving up — even if that means legally forcing them to hand over evidence."

Maricopa County didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

Wright told Just the News on Friday that if Lake was asking to examine ballot affidavit envelopes, then those are public record and there "should be no reason" for her legal team to be denied access to them, especially since Maricopa County has electronic copies that are easily accessible.

Shelby Busch, the cofounder of We the People AZ, told Just the News on Wednesday that how Maricopa County uses software for signature verification is "absolutely pertinent" to Lake's case.

"The county leans on signature verification as the last line of defense," viewing it as a "failsafe" that assures "the election is safe," Busch said.

"But policy violations of signature verification" by involving "a third-party contractor" and providing them "access to [Personal Identifiable Information] and signatures on file of these voters … is huge," she added. Noting that it was "something the courts tried to prevent people from seeing," she said she is "absolutely thrilled that it's going to see its day in court."

Natalia Mittelstadt

Source: https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/signature-verification-software-used-maricopa-county-says-10-high

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Maryland school district says parents can't opt their kids out of learning gender identity ideology - Charlotte Hazard

 

​ by Charlotte Hazard

Montgomery County Public Schools made it clear that students can still opt out of sex education, but have to participate in lessons on gender identity ideology.

 

A Maryland school district informed parents via email that they are not allowed to opt their children out of "engaging with any instructional materials" related to gender identity ideology. 

Last week, parents in Montgomery County Public Schools received an email that informed them that they would not be notified anymore about the instructional materials used for that subject matter.

The email said that students could not opt out of the lessons like they used to be able to, in order to create a more "inclusive environment."

"MCPS expects all classrooms to be inclusive and safe spaces for students, including those who identify as LGBTQ+ or have family members in the LGBTQ+ community," the district stated. 

"A broad representation of personal characteristics within curricular or instructional materials promotes this desired outcome," the statement continued. "Therefore, as with all curriculum resources, there is an expectation that teachers utilize these inclusive lessons and texts with all students."

Montgomery County Public Schools made it clear that students can still opt out of sex education, but have to complete lessons on gender identity. 

Charlotte Hazard is a reporter for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter for more stories.

Source: https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/education/maryland-school-district-says-parents-cant-opt-their-kids-out-learning

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McCarthy on Trump indictment: NY prosecutor 'irreparably damaged' America, Congress will intervene - John Solomon

 

​ by John Solomon

Speaker says House will punish Alvin Bragg for "unprecedented abuse of power."

 

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Thursday night his chamber will hold Alvin Bragg to account for an "unprecedented abuse of power," saying the Manhattan district attorney's unprecedented indictment of former President Donald Trump has "irreparably damaged our country."

House Republicans sent Bragg a letter last week demanding he answer questions about why he was pursuing criminal charges against the 45th president that were based on a seven-year-old financial transaction with porn actress Stormy Daniels and legal statutes that had expired.

Bragg declined to answer questions and his office Thursday informed Trump's lawyer Joe Tacopina that it had secured an indictment from a grand jury.

McCarthy immediately reacted to the news on Twitter, making clear Congress would not stand idly by on what Trump and his allies believe is an attempt to use the legal system to hijack the 2024 presidential, in which Trump is currently leading the GOP field by a wide margin.

"Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election," McCarthy said. "As he routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public, he weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump. The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account."

John Solomon

Source: https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/all-things-trump/mccarthy-trump-indictment-ny-prosecutor-irreparably-damaged

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The violent rhetoric of trans activists has to stop - Eliza Mondegreen

 

​ by Eliza Mondegreen

The shooting in Nashville is a wake-up call

 

Transgender MMA fighter Alana McLaughlin wearing a top with the words ‘End trans genocide’

It’s hard to make sense of this week’s mass shooting at a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee, no matter what revelations may lurk in the shooter’s manifesto. But it is possible to understand the context for this outbreak of violence. 

The truth is that the subculture that has grown up around trans identities too often excuses, legitimises, and even glorifies violence. That includes violence directed at the self — where self-harm and suicide demonstrate sincerity and commitment to trans identity in the face of adversity — and violence directed outward at perceived enemies. This goes hand-in-hand with a toxic dynamic called phobia indoctrination: the attempt to instil irrational fears in members of a high-control group in order to manipulate them.

There’s no clearer example of how phobia indoctrination operates within trans communities than the invention and propagation of ‘trans genocide’ narratives. 

As red states across the US have restricted or banned pharmaceutical and surgical interventions for gender-questioning youth, the trans community has gone to some very dark places — even going so far as to claim that a ‘trans genocide’ is underway. 

On Reddit, users panicked about the idea that future policy changes might force people to detransition and invoked threats of suicide and mass violence in response. But these conversations didn’t stay on Reddit. Instead, the rhetoric of trans genocide has spilled out into the real world, skewing public discourse and inspiring a planned Trans Day of Vengeance (originally scheduled for April 1). 

Take trans activist and American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Chase Strangio. Two years ago, the ACLU lawyer argued that legislation that restricts access to hormones and surgeries for gender-questioning youth is “akin to killing us” and has since claimed that Republican legislators “want to control and eradicate us.”

To be clear: this is wild hyperbole, not reality. Adults who care about the wellbeing of gender-questioning kids should offer reassurance when states restrict access to transition to over-18s. Those who didn’t transition until adulthood should talk about how they made it through adolescence without shutting down their pituitary glands or amputating their breasts. Adults should promise children that it gets better. But instead of reassurance, too many adults are pushing an apocalyptic and militant rhetoric.

What we’re witnessing here is not trans genocide but trans radicalisation. The warning signs are everywhere: grimacing skulls that promise “DEATH BEFORE DETRANSITION”, knives, baseball bats wrapped in barbed wire, assault rifles painted in the pastel tones of the trans flag, torrents of rape and death threats, the grim vow that “EVERY DAY IS TRANS DAY OF VENGEANCE.” 

In the wake of Monday’s mass shooting, online trans communities erupted with panic and self-pity — even self-justification. The Trans Resistance Network released a press statement lamenting the “second and more complex tragedy… that Aiden or Audrey Hale… felt he had no other effective way to be seen than to lash out by taking the life of others, and by consequence, himself,” and vowing that trans people “will not be eradicated or erased.” Rather than repudiating a dangerous narrative that produces violence against the self and others, the Trans Resistance Network reinforces it.

Buried in the comments section of a Reddit post, however, there was one voice of reason: “The murderous and suicidal rhetoric,” the user wrote, “the violence against women and children, should’ve stopped years ago. Another good time to discontinue it would be now.”

Minutes later, the comment disappeared. Reddit administrators had intervened. But that dissenting voice — however swiftly muffled — spoke an uncomfortable truth. When a community mythologises martyrs, that community will recruit martyrs. A responsible, sane trans movement that was truly concerned about the wellbeing of its most vulnerable members would not look or sound or act like the trans movement we’ve got. It’s way past time to bring sanity and a sense of responsibility back.

Eliza Mondegreen

Source: https://unherd.com/thepost/the-violent-rhetoric-of-trans-activists-has-to-stop/

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Elon Musk and other tech innovators call for pause on AI experimentation - Charlotte Hazard

 

​ by Charlotte Hazard

The open letter encouraged AI labs to pause giant AI projects until it was certain that potential risks would be manageable.

 

Twitter CEO and Tesla Founder Elon Musk and other tech leaders, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, signed a letter urging a temporary halt to artificial intelligence experimentation.

The open letter to AI labs encouraged them to pause giant AI projects until it was certain that potential risks could managed. 

"Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable," the letter reads. 

The letter signed by the various tech leaders warns that there are big risks of propaganda and uncertainty with AI at its current stage.

"AI labs and independent experts should use this pause to jointly develop and implement a set of shared safety protocols for advanced AI design and development that are rigorously audited and overseen by independent outside experts," the letter states.

"In parallel, AI developers must work with policymakers to dramatically accelerate development of robust AI governance systems," the letter continues. 

Others who signed the letter include Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque and AI heavyweights Yoshua Bengio and Stuart Russell. 

Charlotte Hazard

Source: https://justthenews.com/nation/technology/elon-musk-and-other-tech-innovators-call-halt-ai-experimentation

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Leftwing groups attempting to block congressional oversight of Biden may violate law, conservative org warns - Fred Lucas

 

​ by Fred Lucas

Democratic operative David Brock and dark money groups have promised 'maximum pushback' against Congress' oversight of the Biden admin

 

Two organizations trying to shield the Biden administration from congressional oversight risk running afoul of the law by obstructing hearings and intimidating witnesses, according to a conservative legal group calling for an investigation and — if warranted — arrests. 

After Republicans recaptured the House in November, the Congressional Integrity Project — backed by an arm of the liberal dark money funder Arabella Advisors — and Facts First USA (run by Democratic operative David Brock) have blasted GOP House members that will be leading oversight matters, chiefly House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer of Kentucky and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio. 

An October memo from Brock called for "direct attacks," "an environment of backlash," and "maximum pushback" politically speaking, against Republican lawmakers. 

America First Legal warns this could lead to obstruction of congressional hearings, harassing members of Congress and intimidation of both witnesses and whistleblowers — reminiscent of liberal protesters who followed and taunted Republican senators during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.

HOUSE OVERSIGHT CHAIR COMER SAYS 6 OR 8 BIDEN FAMILY MEMBERS' POTENTIALLY INVOLVED IN BUSINESS SCHEMES

Democrat groups are reportedly trying to shield the Biden administration from congressional oversight risk. (Joe Raedle)

"Mr. Brock’s plan is simplistically derivative," says Reed D. Rubinstein, director of investigations for America First Legal Foundation (AFL) in a March 16 letter to the House Sergeant at Arms William McFarland. "But in 2018 (for example), similar tactics were employed against Congressional staff and members to influence, obstruct, and impede Congressional hearings regarding Brett Kavanaugh. Therefore, there is ample reason to take seriously the promises made by Mr. Brock and his dark money affiliates of ‘direct attacks,’ ‘backlash,’ and coordinated ‘maximum pushback’ against members, staff, and witnesses."

The AFL letter chiefly focuses on the words of Brock, the leader of Facts First USA. But the top of the letter says the subject matter is about potential violations by both Facts First USA and the Congressional Integrity Project of 18 U.S.C. § 1505, which is in the U.S. Code as "obstruction of proceedings before departments, agencies and committees."

HOUSE GOP CLAIMS BIDEN, DOJ ‘COLLUDED’ IN ‘POLITICE OFFENSIVE’ AGAINST PARENTS AHEAD OF VA GOV RACE

"Here, congressional oversight of Mr. Brock and his dark money network may also be appropriate to expose the breadth of and funding sources for the planned interference, obstruction, or disruption of House oversight activities," Rubinstein's letter continued. 

"But as sergeant of arms, you have the power to make arrests and enforce the laws of the United States within the geographical area containing all House members, their staff, and committee hearing rooms," the letter adds. "Federal law grants you the same law enforcement authority as a member of the Capitol Police. Intimidation of congressional witnesses or whistleblowers, obstructing official congressional investigations, or otherwise interfering with constitutional obligations and rights are all crimes within your purview." 

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky. (J. Scott Applewhite)

Facts First USA referred Fox News Digital to its own March 17 letter to McFarland, the House sergeant at arms, and noted it is an entirely separate entity from the Congressional Integrity Project. 

HUNTER'S BUSINESS PARTNER WHO PAID BIDEN FAMILY $1M WAS FREQUENT WH VISITOR DURING BIDEN VICE PRESIDENCY

"That AFL is acting at the behest of House Republicans is really the only way to make sense of an organization that otherwise contends that it is ‘committed to an unwavering defense of… freedom of speech’ seeking to have us investigated for our speech. And, it does help explain why AFL would turn to the sergeant at arms of the House of Representatives to conduct such a review," says the letter signed by co-chairs David Jolly, a former GOP House member from Florida, and Maria Cardona, a former TV anchor.

The letter went on to allege that AFL President Steven Miller’s one time boss — former President Donald Trump — engaged in witness intimidation in the past.

"In any event, we are delighted that Mr. Miller and his colleagues believe so strongly that witnesses tampering and intimidation warrant criminal investigation and charges — though this view appears to be newfound given their personal history with alleged interference of Congressional investigations," the letter continued. 

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed in 2018. (Reuters)

Brock, a former conservative writer-turned-Democrat operative, founded the liberal Media Matters for America and the American Bridge 21st Century super PAC. He founded Facts First USA in 2022 ahead of the midterm election, when it was widely anticipated Republicans would win at least one chamber of Congress in that year’s midterms.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS DEMAND BIDEN ANSWER ON CHINESE TIES TO COLLAPSED SILICON VALLEY BANK

The 15-page Brock memo on Oct. 25, two weeks before the election, described the plans for Fact First, with a tone the AFL argued suggests disruption of Congress. The Brock memo calls for "coordinating among like-minded groups for maximum pushback and consistent messaging."

The memo also defends Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden under investigation by the Justice Department on financial matters, and by the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.

Hunter Biden (L) and President Joe Biden (R). (Paul Morigi)

"Hunter Biden has been unable to mount any public defense of his actions. That has allowed a one-sided narrative to become more mainstream, even among Democrats who do not know the facts," the Brock memo says. "That will need to be ferociously countered — both with pointed responses and direct attacks against the congressional inquisitors."

The memo adds: "We will create an environment of backlash against the Republicans so that the 2024 elections can be decided on the merits."

The Congressional Integrity Project has reportedly gotten about $1.5 million in donations from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a nonprofit that is fiscally sponsored by Arabella Advisors, a liberal dark money outfit. The CIP did not respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital for this story.

 

Fred Lucas

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/leftwing-groups-obstruction-congressional-oversight-biden-conservative-legal-group-warns

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