Durham Filing Rebuts Inspector General Horowitz’s Claims on Missing Cellphones, Hints at Growing Rift

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A supplemental court filing by special counsel John Durham confirms previous reporting that Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz concealed crucial information from Durham in connection with two separate investigations—the ongoing prosecution of former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann and the criminal leak investigation of former FBI General Counsel James Baker.

The Jan. 28 filing by Durham updated the court on precisely when Durham first learned of two cellphones that had been used by Baker while he was with the FBI. The existence of these phones was first mentioned in a Jan. 25 filing, in which Durham claimed that the Inspector General’s Office (OIG) had failed to disclose its possession of two FBI cellphones belonging to Baker.

Following the Jan. 25 filing, Horowitz’s office apparently told Durham that the existence of one of the cellphones may have been mentioned on a conference call that took place four years ago.

“The OIG Special Agent had a conference call with members of the investigative team, including Mr. Durham, during which the cellphones likely were discussed,” reads the Jan. 28 court filing.

However, Durham states in the filing that he not only doesn’t recall the conference call, but also that he had no knowledge of Horowitz’s possession of Baker’s cellphones before being informed of their existence by a separate investigative team within the FBI on Jan. 6. (Read more from “Durham Filing Rebuts Inspector General Horowitz’s Claims on Missing Cellphones, Hints at Growing Rift” HERE)

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Manchin: Build Back Better Is ‘Dead’

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Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin told reporters Tuesday that President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill was “dead” when asked about the status of renewed negotiations.

Manchin preceded his remark by saying that “there is no Build Back Better bill,” adding, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The centrist Democrat came out against the bill in December 2021, criticizing its size and scope amid decades-high inflation. His lack of support effectively killed any chance the bill had of passing the evenly-divided Senate, given Republicans’ unanimous opposition to it.

Though Manchin did not support the House-passed bill and was unable to reach a compromise with his Democratic colleagues, he has not shut the door to potentially restarting negotiations in the future. He has also signaled support for several individual policies in the bill, including but not limited to climate change mitigation measures and universal pre-K. (Read more from “Manchin: Build Back Better Is ‘Dead'” HERE)

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It’s On: Censorship Mob Wants Joe Rogan’s Head; Biden Surgeon General Calls on Big Tech to Blacklist Comedian

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By Breitbart. Biden-appointed U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said Silicon Valley tech companies have an “important role to play” in preventing the spread of alleged coronavirus “misinformation.” His comments came during an MSNBC interview that specifically mentioned Joe Rogan.

Murthy made the comments during an appearance on MSNBC, in which host Mika Brzezinski asked Murthy what should be done about alleged misinformation from Joe Rogan and social media posts.

“What do you think are the best ways to push back on misinformation about COVID that continues to be aggressively pushed, whether it be Joe Rogan’s podcast or all over Facebook?” asked Brzezinski.

“We can have the best science available, we can have the best public health expertise available. It won’t help people if they don’t have access to accurate information,” responded Murthy. “People have the right to make their own decisions, but they also have the right to have accurate information to make that decision with.” (Read more from “It’s On: Censorship Mob Wants Joe Rogan’s Head; Biden Surgeon General Calls on Big Tech to Blacklist Comedian” HERE)

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Neil Young Asks Artists to Join His Anti-spotify Crusade After Joe Rogan Ultimatum Failed

By Breitbart. Left-wing rocker Neil Young is now pushing for other artists to pull their music from Spotify, calling the audio streaming service a “damaging force” that is causing “24 year old’s” to end up on “the wrong side of the truth.”

Young’s call comes after Spotify said it would pull the singer’s music from its platform following his demand that the company either remove his music or blacklist Joe Rogan and his popular podcast.

On Wednesday, Young continued his attacks against Spotify on his website, claiming that the company “has recently become a very damaging force,” and urged others to join him in removing their music from the platform. “I sincerely hope that other artists and record companies will move off the Spotify platform and stop supporting Spotify’s deadly misinformation about Covid.”

In his diatribe, the former Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young member also suggested that content needs to be censored on Spotify because most of its listeners are “24 years old,” which makes them “impressionable.”

“Most of the listeners hearing the unfactual, misleading and false COVID information on SPOTIFY are 24 years old, impressionable and easy to swing to the wrong side of the truth,” the singer wrote. (Read more from “Neil Young Asks Artists to Join His Anti-spotify Crusade After Joe Rogan Ultimatum Failed” HERE)

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This Senate Rule Could Stop Democrats From Confirming Biden’s SCOTUS Nominee

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With Justice Stephen Breyer officially announcing his retirement on Thursday (a full 24 hours after the White House announced it for him), Senate Democrats will have a chance to fill a Supreme Court seat, likely before the 2022 midterm elections in November.

But ever since 2017, when Senate Republicans invoked the nuclear option to confirm Supreme Court justices at a simple majority, instead of at the usual 60 votes necessary to break a filibuster, there has been procedurally little minorities can do to prevent a nomination from moving forward (the outright lies, smears, and chaos tactics Senate Democrats employed against Justice Brett Kavanaugh notwithstanding).

This conventional wisdom, however, is true only of Senates that present a clear minority-majority differential. The Senate of 2022 is tied, with 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, which presents Republicans with an interesting procedural option: denying a quorum in the Senate Judiciary Committee, thus preventing the nomination from being reported out of committee and placed on the calendar, and ultimately moved to the Senate floor.

In parliamentary practice, a quorum is the number of members that must be present to hold votes and conduct official committee business. By failing to show up to vote on the nomination in committee, Republicans could prevent the nomination from reaching the Senate floor by appealing to the Senate’s Rule 26, which requires that a majority of members, physically present, report the bill out of committee. (The Senate’s Rule 14, which allows senators to bypass committee consideration for legislation, cannot be used for nominations.)

What has made this strategy ineffective in the past — namely, a Senate majority being able to present a numerical majority of their members in committee — is what makes it work in 2022, where the Senate’s committee membership, reflecting the makeup of the Senate, is in a tie. (Read more from “This Senate Rule Could Stop Democrats From Confirming Biden’s SCOTUS Nominee” HERE)

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Biology Class Compares Transgenderism With Tree Frogs That Change Sex

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A biology class at a Massachusetts high school compared transgenderism in humans to clownfish and a species of tree frog, both of which can change their sex under certain conditions.

The comparison was part of a series of slides that discussed variation in human biology in regards to sex, gender, gender expression, and sexual orientation.

The slides, which were obtained by the parent activist group Parents Defending Education and reviewed by the Washington Examiner, say that “humans are conditioned to view sex and gender as binary.”

In a slide that discusses “human biological variation,” the lesson mentions “intersex people” and that “only mentioning biological sex as male and female marginalises intersex people who have been persistently discriminated against.”

Intersex is a rare genetic condition caused by the presence of multiple sex chromosomes, resulting in the presence of both male and female physical characteristics. The Needham High School lesson says that intersex is found in close to 2% of the population, which Erika Sanzi, the director of outreach for Parents Defending Education, said was false. (Read more from “Biology Class Compares Transgenderism With Tree Frogs That Change Sex” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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Surprise! Religious Rights Victory Is Wonderful News for Children

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In a victory for religious rights across America, the state of Michigan has agreed to settle a lawsuit with a provision that allows a religious adoption agency to decline to place children with same-sex duos, because that would violate members’ faith.

The state also will be paying the agency $550,000 for its fees and costs in the dispute.

The Washington Examiner reported the conclusion of the case involving Michigan and St. Vincent Catholic Charities is that “faith-based adoption agencies and foster care organizations contracting with the Michigan government will not be required to grant children to same-sex couples.”

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced in a statement that it was resuming contracting with agencies that disallow adoptions by same-sex duos.

Officials cited a June 2021 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, on the same dispute in Philadelphia, in which Chief Justice John Roberts wrote Philadelphia’s discrimination against those organizations violated the First Amendment. (Read more from “Surprise! Religious Rights Victory Is Wonderful News for Children” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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Professor Placed on Leave After Blasting Biden’s Vow to Elect Black Woman to SCOTUS

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Georgetown Law School placed an incoming professor on administrative leave after he deleted and apologized for a tweet that condemned President Joe Biden’s affirmative action commitment to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court, according to an email from Georgetown Law’s Dean.

Dean William Treanor sent an email to students on Jan. 31 announcing that the school placed CATO Scholar and incoming professor Ilya Shapiro on administrative leave after hearing the “pain and outrage” from the Georgetown community. Treanor said in his email that there was outcry “particularly from our Black female students, staff, alumni, and faculty” to remove Shapiro from his incoming role.

“Ilya Shapiro’s tweets are antithetical to the work that we do here every day to build inclusion, belonging, and respect for diversity,” Treanor’s email reads.

“I have placed Ilya Shapiro on administrative leave, pending an investigation into whether he violated our policies and expectations on professional conduct, non-discrimination, and anti-harassment, the results of which will inform our next steps,” he continued.

“Racial stereotypes about individual capabilities and qualifications remain a pernicious force in our society and our profession,” Treanor said. “I am keenly aware that our law school is not exempt.” (Read more from “Professor Placed on Leave After Blasting Biden’s Vow to Elect Black Woman to SCOTUS” HERE)

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BLM Co-Founder Tied to Other Groups With Spending ‘Red Flags’: Report

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Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors — who resigned in the wake of a Post expose of her spending spree on lavish homes — is tied to several other fundraising organizations whose finances raise “potential red flags,” according to a new report.

One of the groups, Reform LA Jails, in 2019 collected more than $1.4 million, of which $205,000 went to a consulting company owned by Cullors and her spouse Janaya Khan, New York magazine said.

Another $211,000 was paid to Cullors’ pal Asha Bandele, who co-wrote her memoir, and about $86,000 was paid to an entertainment, clothing and consulting company called Trap Heals, which was started by Damon Turner, the father of Cullors’ child, according to the report.

Reform LA Jails also reportedly paid $270,000 to a consulting company run by its treasurer, Christman Bowers, who’s also known as Shalomya Bowers and has signed tax documents as the deputy executive director of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, which reportedly has $60 million its coffers but no leader since Cullors quit under fire in May.

Bowers is also involved in at least three other groups that Cullors started or helped lead — including Dignity and Power Now, JusticeLA, and the Justice Teams Network — between which money has passed, New York said, citing official filings. (Read more from “BLM Co-Founder Tied to Other Groups With Spending ‘Red Flags’: Report” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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Biden Says There’s ‘a Way to Go’ on COVID Two Years Into the Pandemic

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President Biden sounded shaky Monday about his administration’s ability to lead the US out of the COVID-19 pandemic and back to normal, telling a group of governors at the White House that “we got a way to go on that, in my view” as Americans grow restless with social restrictions nearly two full years into the pandemic.

The president made the comment to members of the National Governors Association while discussing how he’d like states to standardize their coronavirus policies.

“I know you spoke today with … the head of my COVID team [Jeff Zients] in here,” Biden said. “We got a way to go on that, in my view, but we’re moving. And so I think it’s all about making sure we have the same standards we’re applying across the board.”

Seconds later, Biden said the administration was “gonna try like the devil to keep schools open,” even as several districts return to virtual learning, citing a surge in cases caused by the Omicron variant.

“We do know — study after study, as all of you know and you’ve done, the great universities in your states have done them — is that, you know, losing a semester can put a kid back a year and a half,” Biden said. “And so, there’s a whole lot we can — have to do, in my view, to focus. And I think that keeping schools open is a big part of that.” (Read more from “Biden Says There’s ‘a Way to Go’ on COVID Two Years Into the Pandemic” HERE)

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Biden’s Border Plan: Fix Foreign Countries *First*

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President Joe Biden met with American governors at the White House on Monday, but only spoke briefly about migration and the crisis on the southern border.

The president acknowledged that border security was an issue, claiming he was “working a lot with neighboring countries” on the migrant crisis.

But he stressed the most important thing he wanted to do is fix the foreign countries from which migrants were coming.

“There’s a lot to do.” he said. “There’s a lot. I think one of the fundamental things we gotta do in addition to some of the changes we’ll make — we won’t get into them today — is that if we figure out why they’re leaving in the first place.”

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, along with cabinet officials, met with governors from the National Governors Association. (Read more from “Biden’s Border Plan: Fix Foreign Countries *First*” HERE)

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