SOROS 3

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ESTB 2/22 TARGET 4 TERROR bs 3 9 25

MERRI OK

WH ANTIFA BS MTG 10 25

KIRK SHOOT 9 25 YIKES JIHAD DEFUND LEFT TARGET TRUMP TERROR

see anti-semitism, bogeyman

SEE PAID PROTESTER TOWN HALL MTG

see conspiracy (ADL: in rabbit hole, always one click away from anti-sem , ur-conspiracy

aha: soros is 3-fer: not xian, elite, koch/oligarch mirror

see globalist WEF davos lizard reptile ppl

see projection bogeyman reductionism conspiracy

aha often accused of being a funder but actually not, eg Bragg and ERIC

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AN 8 26

Last year, the Trump administration hired a cybersecurity firm to investigate White House claims that voting equipment in Puerto Rico had been “compromised” in the 2020 election, but after the company found no evidence to support voter fraud, it has gone on to become the target of a smear campaign by the president’s loyalists.

According to new reporting by CNN, “After hearing that the firm had found no evidence of vote tampering, allies of President Donald Trump derailed the cybersecurity firm’s work with the government in part by spreading false claims that the firm was funded by liberal billionaire George Soros, according to the firm’s executives and documents they provided to CNN.” Jason Wareham, CEO of the firm, called Mojave Research, has revealed that a group of “White House-adjacent” Trump allies was “dissatisfied” that he “was not willing to name and shame at that moment and to say, ‘Turns out 2020 was a landslide for Trump. Nobody knew.’”

CNN notes that “Mojave Research had no prior experience in testing election systems when the Office of the Director of National Intelligence contacted them in the spring of 2025 as part of the agency’s broader probe into voting equipment. ODNI hired the firm to analyze a specific voting machine made by Liberty Vote (formerly Dominion Voting Systems) that the agency acquired from Puerto Rico. Mojave did the work in six weeks in Wareham’s basement in Reston, Virginia, according to Wareham.”

While Mojave submitted its report in July 2025, Wareham says that it has still not been made public. The company’s Chief Technology Officer Manbir Gulati, however, spoke about it at the DEF CON cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas last week, saying, “We found extensive and largely unacceptable weaknesses, but we did not find evidence that those weaknesses were actively exploited or that votes were altered.”

“After the company made clear what it had found, multiple figures aligned with Trump began to cast doubt on the integrity of Mojave.” According to CNN, “What Wareham’s team found — and didn’t find — in his basement would become a Rorschach test for Trump administration officials focused on election issues. It’s a cautionary tale of how a company that says it wanted to provide the administration with unbiased election security analysis was rejected by a group of officials who still dispute the results of the 2020 election and have Trump’s ear. The Trump administration’s revisiting of the 2020 election has extended to Arizona, where the FBI has obtained records of an audit that confirmed Joe Biden won the state.”

“I lost count of the number of times I heard ‘Maricopa County is a crime scene,’” Wareham said. As CNN explains, “Maricopa County is Arizona’s largest county and has been at the center of Trump allies’ false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.”

According to Gulati, “What we encountered [were] a lot of competing factions within the government — people who want the boogeyman to be out there and are willing to do anything to find it and then people who actually do genuinely care about the issue [of election security]. There was a huge faction that was like, ‘Mojave doesn’t know what they’re doing.' They’re dummies and that’s why they can’t find evidence of compromise.”

CNN reports that “Wareham, a Republican, submitted a declaration in September under the penalty of perjury to the Trump administration to refute the notion that his company was ‘some form of deep plant meant to ensure the suppression of truth around compromised elections or election systems,’ the declaration says. Wareham submitted his declaration and financial statements to ODNI to prove he was not affiliated with Soros, who has long been the subject of antisemitic conspiracy theories about secret levers of power. The next month, Wareham said he received an email, reviewed by CNN, which said that ODNI had issued a ‘stop-work order’ on the contract.”

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MMA

Fox News defends Texas man convicted of murdering Black Lives Matter protester and attacks DA who prosecuted the case

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that he would seek a pardon for convicted murderer Daniel Perry after Fox's Tucker Carlson asked him to

Written by Spencer Silva

Research contributions from Torri Lonergan

Published 04/12/23

Fox News personalities are rallying behind Daniel Perry, a Texas man who was convicted of murdering a Black Lives Matter protester, and attacking the district attorney overseeing his case.

On April 7, a Travis County jury convicted Perry of murdering a protester at a Black Lives Matter rally in 2020. Perry, then an active-duty Army sergeant and ride-share driver, shot and killed an armed protester named Garrett Foster. In June 2020, a month before the shooting, Perry texted a friend saying, “I might have to kill a few people on my way to work, they are rioting outside my apartment complex.” Perry’s attorney claimed that he was acting in self-defense, but witnesses indicated that he was driving dangerously close to protesters and that Foster never aimed his weapon at Perry. The jury sided with witnesses who contradicted Perry.

Nonetheless, Tucker Carlson and other Fox News personalities defended Perry and attacked Travis County District Attorney José Garza, whose office prosecuted the case, claiming that Garza unfairly targeted an upstanding conservative and is a shill for philanthropist George Soros.

Carlson campaigns for pardon and rails against “Soros-funded” DA guilty of “legal atrocity”

The same day Perry was convicted, Carlson dedicated a segment of his show to arguing that Perry had acted in self-defense against a “mob of rioters” that included Foster, whom Carlson smeared as “a militant with a history of waving his rifle at people.” Carlson also blamed Austin’s “Soros-funded” district attorney for engineering a politically motivated murder charge, claiming that “means in the state of Texas, if you have the wrong politics, you’re not allowed to defend yourself.”

Carlson ended the segment by criticizing Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for his apparent unwillingness to discuss the “legal atrocity” on Carlson's show. Abbott’s absence, Carlson argued, amounted to an endorsement of the murder conviction. “So that is Greg Abbott’s position: There is no right of self-defense in Texas.”

The next day, Abbott answered Carlson’s call and tweeted that he was “working as swiftly as Texas law allows regarding the pardon of Sgt. Perry.”

Video

Citation

From the April 7, 2023, edition of Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tonight

Carlson and Fox News have demonstrated a pattern of blaming “Soros-backed” district attorneys and prosecutors for supposedly allowing crime to go unchecked, but then reflexively defending acts of violence committed against left-wing protestors by perpetrators sympathetic to its right-wing audience. Perhaps the most memorable example is Kyle Rittenhouse, the Illinois resident who shot several protesters — killing two — during a 2020 protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and subsequently rose to right-wing fame.

In fact, Carlson called upon Rittenhouse to help him plead Perry’s case during his April 10 prime-time show. The two spent an entire segment petitioning Abbott to pardon Perry. Rittenhouse told Carlson that Perry “defended himself” and argued that Perry “knows what he did was right.” For his part, Carlson said, “George Soros can’t pay for people to put his political opponents in jail and then have a Republican governor ignore it.”

After Rittenhouse was acquitted of homicide charges in 2021, Carlson lavished praise on Rittenhouse, calling him a “sweet kid,” while other Fox personalities and guests described Rittenhouse as “a bit of an icon” and a “good kid” who just did “what the government should have done.”

Fox personalities lionize Perry and criticize “activist DA” who “doesn't believe in law and order”

As with Rittenhouse, Fox News is lionizing Perry and framing him as a victim of a “Soros-backed” district attorney with a political agenda:

On Fox & Friends First, guest co-host Ashley Strohmier described racial justice protests as “riots” before noting of the district attorney, “Garza is being criticized for letting numerous criminals off easy,” and interviewing the family of a murder victim in Austin who said Garza “cherry-picks who he would like to prosecute and who he lets go.”

Video

Citation

From the April 11, 2023 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends First

Fox & Friends guest co-host Lisa Boothe asked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — who is under federal investigation for allegedly using his position to solicit bribes — if he agreed that “progressive district attorneys are trying to do across the country is nullify our right to self-defense.” Paxton responded that Soros is “dropping nuclear bombs on our state.”

In other segments, Boothe claimed that, in Perry’s situation, “I would shoot” and argued that the “far-left Austin DA” and other progressives do not want citizens to defend themselves. “What it comes down to is these DAs, these progressive DAs in the country, they don’t want you to engage in self-defense,” she argued. “I guess you're just supposed to allow yourself to die?”

On America Reports, one of Fox News’ so-called “straight news” programs, Fox guest Leo Terrell applauded Abbott for “doing the right thing” and argued that Perry had “acted in self-defense.” Terrell then argued that Garza was a “DA who doesn't believe in law and order; he believes in George Soros.” (Guest co-host Bill Melugin also described Garza as “Soros-backed” during a follow-up question.)

During the same segment, co-host Sandra Smith played a clip featuring Perry’s mother pleading her son’s case. Smith described her sympathetically as “a mother who has gone through quite a lot here, and understandable, her emotion here.”

Video

Citation

From the April 10, 2023, edition of Fox News' America Reports

During the April 11 edition of Outnumbered, Fox panelists agreed that Perry had been the victim of a rogue district attorney. Co-host Kayleigh McEnany argued that Garza had “campaigned on prosecuting cops” and cited a local crime commission’s charges that Garza had withheld critical evidence from investigations. “When you're a rogue DA funded by George Soros, you get results like this,” McEnany said.

Meanwhile, right-wing radio host Ben Ferguson argued that Perry had been the victim of an “activist DA” who targeted him for being in the military. “You go to the police, you tell them where you are, you tell them what happened. They say you're good. It's self-defense. You're OK. And a year later, an activist DA comes in and says no, you're in the military. I'm going to go after you because you're in the military."

Video

Citation

From the April 11, 2023, edition of Fox News' Outnumbered

Tucker Carlson claims that George Soros is funding the “collapse of civilization”

09/13/22 8:50 PM EDT

Tucker Carlson claims America is under government run anarchy thanks to a “Soros-inspired justice system”

04/03/23 8:32 PM EDT

Fox News has ignored Trump's incitement of violence and racist attack on DA Alvin Bragg

03/24/23

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RWW

06/26/2026

Kyle Mantyla

David Barton declares that George Soros is "one of the most wicked people we've had in modern history": "He is dedicated to overthrowing everything good, everything Christian, everything godly, everything that is self-government. He an anarchist. He is a bad dude."

rww

12/12/2025

Kyle Mantyla

Rep. Chip Roy says that Republicans in the House of Representatives will be holding hearings to expose how George Soros, NGOs, and the United Nations have been using the SPLC and antifa to promote "Marxists and Islamists who want to take this country over."

"Prophet" Mark Taylor fumes that "Susie Wiles and her people are the ones responsible for single handedly KILLING the America First Agenda!": "She is a demonic infiltrator in the highest order sent in to destroy the President and the America First Agenda."

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Arabella Archives - The Automatic Earth

Arabella is the mothership of over 200 NGOs.

Trump Calls For RICO Charges Against Soros; Gates Foundation Severs Ties (ZH)}:

The “dark money” network operated by Arabella Advisors has reportedly lost one of its top funding sources: a leftist billionaire’s foundation. Equally significant in the news cycle this morning, President Trump stated on Truth Social that George Soros and his radical leftist son, Alex Soros, “should be charged with RICO because of their support of violent protests.” A New York Times report indicates that the Gates Foundation has halted funding to nonprofit funds managed by Arabella, choosing instead to work directly with some partners rather than through intermediaries. In its internal announcement, dated June 24 and sent to some Gates employees who oversee grant programs, foundation officials did not mention politics. Instead, they cited a desire to engage more directly with grant recipients and cut back on the use of intermediaries like Arabella entities.

*> Trump: "George Soros, and his wonderful Radical Left son, should be charged with RICO because of their support of Violent Protests, and much more, all throughout the United States of America." pic.twitter.com/KBxuyAaisF

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 27, 2025

“Teams are increasingly working directly with programmatic partners — organizations that are deeply embedded in the communities we serve and closely aligned with our mission,” the note reads. “As we look ahead, this is a chance to build deeper, more durable relationships with those partners — and to reinforce the kind of legacy we want to leave behind.” -NYT” Tracing the Arabella network’s donors is tricky. But according to the NYT, the Gates Foundation has plowed $450 million into the network since 2008, which in turn funneled money into other nonprofit entities, ranging from radical leftist climate groups to abortion initiatives, and even supporting the permanent protest-industrial complex against President Trump.

https://twitter.com/seamusbruner/status/1933626755358863457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1933626755358863457%7Ctwgr%5E1e0fde66960c2c75df873fe2087d2cf266f22afb%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fgates-foundation-cuts-ties-arabella-advisors-linked-funding-radical-leftist-causes}:

With President Trump back in the White House and investigations focusing on corruption across the Democratic Party’s funding and nonprofit infrastructure, as well as ActBlue investigations, the risks for Bill Gates’ progressive NGO empire have never been greater. The move to cut ties could have happened even sooner, according to two people, one close to the foundation and one with knowledge of Arabella’s internal operations. Over the last few years, Arabella has become a target of conservative watchdogs because of its work with groups that funnel money toward progressive causes. With President Trump back in the White House, the political risks have only mounted. -NYT Peter Schweizer and Seamus Bruner of the Government Accountability Institute recently revealed a report that detailed how the rogue anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ front group, waging a permanent protest against all things Trump, “bagged $114.8 million from the Arabella dark money network.”*

The Gates Foundation told NYT that the move to sever ties with Arabella was “a business decision that reflects our regular strategic assessments of partnerships and operating models.” NYT’s report on Arabella comes hours after NBC News confirmed Gates met with Trump at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. More details from the report: • Some nonprofits are distancing themselves from Arabella to keep Gates funding. • Several groups have started exiting Arabella’s New Venture Fund (NVF), which serves as a fiscal sponsor for 170+ projects and has funneled billions into progressive causes. • While Gates once accounted for a significant share of NVF funding, in 2023 its contribution was only 2%. Still, losing Gates threatens Arabella’s influence and revenue streams.

:{Read more …

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BB BS

GAI’s Seamus Bruner Reveals Left-Wing Funders Such as Roy Singham Behind Antifa Riots

PIX PEACE SIGN Elizabeth Weibel9 Oct 2025

Seamus Bruner, the Director of Research at the Government Accountability Institute (GAI) revealed that left-wing funders such as billionaire Neville Roy Singham were behind left-wing Antifa riots and protests.

During a roundtable event on Antifa with President Donald Trump, Bruner explained that he, GAI President Peter Schweizer, and their team “followed” a trail of money and “followed it to the top of what” they called the Protest Industrial Complex, or Riot Inc. Bruner explained that the so-called “Riot Inc.” was made up of many different divisions, and that “dozens of radical organizations” have received millions of dollars from Riot Inc.

“We found a network of NGOs, it’s not just the Soros network, the Open Society Network. It’s other funding networks, the Arabella Funding Network, the Tides Funding Network, Neville Roy Singham and his network, foreign cash,” Bruner explained. “And, it’s also big left-wing funders — some of them are not citizens of this country.”

Bruner continued to note that these left-wing funders were “pouring money into this entire ecosystem.”

Bruner continued to share “three money facts” about Riot Inc., explaining that there were “many divisions” such as “PR divisions, marketing divisions” and even a “well-funded legal division.”

“Number two, we have identified dozens of radical organizations, not just the decentralized Antifa organizations, but dozens of radical organizations that have received more than one hundred million dollars from the Riot Inc. investors,” Bruner added. “These would be the lawyer groups, these would be the groups that advocate for calling good, honest Americans fascists.”

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“And then, three, I think the most shocking thing is that we have found that more than one hundred million dollars in U.S. taxpayer funding has flowed into these funding networks, including at least four million dollars to these very groups themselves,” Bruner added.

Bruner’s mention of Singham comes after an investigation by the Breitbart News Foundation reported that while “records from the United Kingdom confirm” that Singham resigned from Thoughtworks, Inc., which he founded in 1993, “Chinese government records suggest otherwise.”

After founding Thoughtworks, Inc. in 1993 and building the company into a software consulting powerhouse, Singham helped orchestrate its sale in October 2017, for approximately $785 million to a group of funds managed by London-based private equity firm Apax Partners. Corporate records from the United Kingdom confirm Singham’s resignation from Thoughtworks the same month, and his own LinkedIn profile says he has been retired since 2017. Thoughtworks’ English-language website relegates him to its “alumni” section, reinforcing the image of a clean break.

But Chinese government records suggest otherwise. These records list Singham as a corporate officer of Thoughtworks’ Chinese subsidiary, Thoughtworks Beijing, as recently as June 17, 2025, and for at least as far back as 2022. These records are from the National Enterprise Credit Reporting System (NECIPS), China’s corporate registry. Other documents, including trade show profile and “help-wanted” ads, listed Singham as Thoughtworks Beijing’s official contact in 2021.

The New York Post reported in June that Singham was set to be called to testify before a congressional committee regarding him funding “radical anti-Israel and Marxist groups” behind the Los Angeles riots.

In an article written by Bruner in June, Bruner detailed how the GAI had uncovered how the “official partners” behind the “No Kings” protests “bagged $114.8 million since 2019 from the Arabella Avisors dark money network an how professional protest organizations use tax dollars as a force multiplier.”

Bruner reported:

The expected worldwide mobilization of protests against President Donald Trump this weekend will hardly be a spontaneous eruption. On the contrary, the tumult is a carefully plotted production organized by The Indivisible Project and financed by the progress dark money network managed/advised by Arabella Advisors, which has perfected the mounting of made-to-order protests. Since 2019, the Arabella network has dumped more than $100 million into the coffers of the official “No Kings” protest partners—including the creator of the official protest song book.

This “grassroots” “nationwide days of defiance” targets Trump and his “billionaire allies,” according to organizers. The Arabella network’s biggest benefactors are the left’s own billionaire heroes, including George Soros, Bill Gates, Hansjorg Wyss, Mark Zuckerberg, and Reid Hoffman.

During the roundtable event, Bruner vowed to “keep following the money,” and expressed that he appreciated “everything” Trump was doing.

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ref sig heil

Tyler O'Neil @Tyler2ONeil

Tyler O'Neil is senior editor at The Daily Signal and the author of two books: "Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center," and "The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government."

americans took to the streets Saturday for the latest round of protests targeting Tesla and condemning Elon Musk for his work with President Donald Trump, but these protests trace back to a larger movement with funding from the Left’s dark money network.

Some of the organizations that encouraged and helped organize the protests have raked in millions from arms of George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and from other nonprofits that act as middlemen between the Left’s major donors and its operations on the ground. (Open Society claims that it does not fund or direct protests, though public records show that it has funded at least one of the groups helping to organize them.)

In the “Tesla Takedown-Day of Action” Saturday, protesters targeted more than 275 Tesla dealerships in the U.S. and over 500 worldwide, Fox News Digital reported. Protesters held up a sign reading “Burn a Tesla: Save Democracy” at a protest in New York City.

The Daily Signal depends on the support of readers like you. Donate now

Former Wall Street Journal reporter and propaganda expert Asra Nomani teamed up with the Fairfax County Times to create a chronology of the protest actions, building a public database of anti-Tesla protests published on ActionAlert.com and Mobilize.us. According to Nomani, the Seattle-based protest organization Troublemakers and the Philadelphia-based group Disruption Project have sponsored about 70%, or 220, of the protests. Local chapters of Indivisible Project, a Washington-based nonprofit, have organized about 29%, or 87, of them, according to Nomani.

Indivisible Project told The Daily Signal that it did not organize the Saturday protests, but several of its local chapters participated in them. Indivisible Project may not have directly organized the protests, but it did publish a guide for organizing protests against Musk.

“Indivisible is not focused on Tesla as a business,” Sarah Dohl, Indivisible’s chief communications officer, told The Daily Signal in a statement Tuesday. “This is not about cars, dealerships, or private enterprise. What we are focused on is educating communities and drawing urgent attention to the fact that Elon Musk—an unelected billionaire—is now operating as a de facto government official, wielding power over federal agencies and public resources that families depend on without a single vote cast in his name.”

“Indivisible unequivocally condemns violence and property destruction,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department has brought charges against at least four defendants for lighting Teslas, a Tesla dealership, and Tesla charging stations on fire using Molotov cocktails. The attacks took place in Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, and South Carolina. Last week, the FBI opened a special task force examining the rash of attacks.

“The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism,” Attorney General Pam Bondi declared in March. “The Department of Justice has already charged several perpetrators with that in mind, including in cases that involve charges with five-year mandatory minimum sentences. We will continue investigations that impose severe consequences on those involved in these attacks, including those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes.”

Musk called for arresting people for funding the attacks, though he did not establish any direct tie between the protests and the attacks.

“It is time to arrest those funding the attacks,” he posted on X Sunday. “Arresting their puppets and paid foot-soldiers won’t stop the violence.”

IFrame Content

Indivisible Weighs In

Dohl, the Indivisible spokeswoman, drew a clear distinction between the peaceful protests and the arson attacks.

“These were regular people holding posterboard signs on sidewalks, exercising their First Amendment rights to free speech and protest,” she said. “Any attempt to conflate these community events with the ‘violent attacks’ you reference is both dishonest and reckless.”

“Tesla Town Halls are just one small tactic in a larger recess guide we distributed to our members—alongside advice for attending congressional town halls, organizing ’empty chair’ events, and pushing for accountability from elected officials,” she added. “That’s what democracy looks like.”

“We do not pay protesters,” Dohl told The Daily Signal. Her organization does reimburse Indivisible groups for “food, flyers, or a stack of poster board,” however.

“If your story is really about communities peacefully organizing to stop a billionaire from rigging our government for himself and his donors—yes, Indivisible is proud to be part of that,” she said.

“Small-dollar donors are the backbone of Indivisible’s budget, and we’re proud to be accountable to a nationwide grassroots base, not a single donor or interest,” Dohl added.

Yet she acknowledged funding from two massive left-wing foundations.

Both Indivisible Project and the Disruption Project have received funding from the Left’s dark money network—the system of foundations I expose in my book, “The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government.” My book reveals which far-left nonprofits infiltrated and advised the Biden administration, using the administrative state to force woke ideology on the American people.

So, who funds these groups?

Open Society Funding

Indivisible Project has received at least $8 million from organizations under the umbrella of Open Society Foundations, the funding network established by Hungarian American billionaire George Soros and now run by his son, Alex.

According to IRS records, the Open Society Policy Center gave Indivisible $875,000 in the year ending in December 2021; $1.135 million in the following year; and $3 million in the year after that. In 2023, Open Society Action Fund awarded Indivisible with a $3 million grant over a two-year period. (The years of IRS records may or may not align with calendar years.)

Open Society insisted that it does not fund protesters or direct protests.

“The Open Society Foundations do not fund protesters or direct protests,” the foundation told The Daily Signal. “We condemn all acts of violence and any unlawful behavior.”

“Our work is dedicated to promoting human rights guaranteed by the Constitution, protecting fundamental freedoms, and strengthening American democracy,” the foundation added.

The foundation also pointed to a statement from May 2024 stating that while some grant recipients “seek to articulate and amplify dissenting voices” through “petitions, meetings, and peaceful public protests,” most recipients of Open Society money “have no involvement with protests of any kind.”

Dohl, the Indivisible spokeswoman, noted that Open Society funding “does not determine or direct our work.”

She also called Open Society “a legitimate, globally respected foundation that has supported democratic movements, human rights, and civil society for decades.”

The Tides Foundation

The Tides Foundation and its sister nonprofit, Tides Advocacy, have funneled more than $3 million to Indivisible.

The Tides Foundation gave Indivisible: $1.27 million in the year ending December 2018; $50,000 the following year; $230,000 in the year after that; $147,000 in the year ending December 2022; and $100,000 in the following year. The total adds up to more than $1.8 million.

Tides Advocacy gave Indivisible $2.24 million in the year ending December 2018 and another $150,000 in the year ending December 2020.

Tides Advocacy gave $20,000 to the Disruption Project in the years ending in December of 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, for a total of $80,000.

The Movement Voter Project

The Movement Voter Project, which directs leftist donors’ funds to activist groups, sent the Disruption Project $5,000 in the year ending in December 2020 and another $8,400 two years later.

The Daily Signal also reached out to the Tides Foundation, Tides Advocacy, the Movement Voter Project, Troublemakers, and the Disruption Project for comment, but did not receive a response by press time.

No related posts.

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OMFG

an 9 25

In between his highly publicized designation of Antifa as a domestic terror organization and his indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, US President Donald Trump signed a little-reported national security memorandum that gives law enforcement new tools to target his critics.

Trump signed National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7) on Thursday. The directive, titled “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence,” focuses exclusively on “anti-fascist” or left-wing activities, and mandates a “national strategy to investigate and disrupt networks, entities, and organizations that foment political violence so that law enforcement can intervene in criminal conspiracies before they result in violent political acts.”

“I don’t want to sound hyperbolic but the plain truth is that NSPM-7 is a declaration of war on anyone who does not support the Trump administration and its agenda,” journalist Ken Klippenstein wrote in a piece raising alarm about the directive on Saturday.

Klippenstein argued that the memorandum was worrying on several fronts. For one, its focus on preventing crimes before they are committed opens the door to rights violations.

“In other words, they’re targeting pre-crime, to reference Minority Report,” Klippenstein wrote.

IFrame Content

For another, the memorandum casts a very wide net, targeting groups, individuals, funders, and “entities” and listing several protected beliefs as “indicia” of extremism.

These include:

“Anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity;

Support for the overthrow of the United States Government;

Extremism on migration, race, and gender; and

Hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.”

What’s more, the memorandum entrusts enforcement to the FBI’s over 4,000-strong Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF), which removes the legal challenges to directing the National Guard or other military forces to quash domestic dissent.

“For the Trump White House, the beauty of using an already existing network is that it bypasses Congressional oversight and scrutiny and even obscures federal activity to governors and legislatures at the state level,” Klippenstein wrote.

The types of activities that will be targeted are also quite broad, with the document defining “organized doxing campaigns, swatting, rioting, looting, trespass, assault, destruction of property, threats of violence, and civil disorder” as “domestic terrorist acts.”

The memorandum also targets any individual or group who might fund activity the administration deems terrorism and directs the Internal Revenue Service to “take action to ensure that no tax-exempt entities are directly or indirectly financing political violence or domestic terrorism,” which could be a means of threatening the status of nonprofits.

Finally, as Drop Site Newspointed out, the memo authorizes the attorney general to designate domestic groups as terrorist organizations for the first time in US history.

“By targeting beliefs and protest activity, the directive positions dissent itself as a potential crime,” Drop Sitewrote.

The Trump administration’s focus on violence associated with left-wing beliefs and groups is not supported by the facts. National Institute of Justice data found that right-wing violence had led to 520 deaths since 1990 compared with 78 deaths due to left-wing violence. However, the administration removed that study from the Department of Justice website shortly after Charlie Kirk was killed, The Guardianreported earlier this month.

The administration’s efforts, while accelerated, build on processes that began during the US response to the September 11 attacks, as Klippenstein explained:

A “pre-crime” endeavor, preventing attacks before they happen, is core to the post-9/11 concept of counterterrorism itself. No longer satisfied to investigate acts of terrorism after the fact to bring terrorists to justice, the Bush administration adopted preemption. Overseas, that led to aerial assassination by drones and “special operations” kill missions. Domestically, it led to a counter-terrorism campaign whose hallmark was excessive and illegal government surveillance and the use of undercover agents and “confidential human sources” to trap (and entrap) would-be terrorists.

However, the Trump administration is expanding the War-on-Terror mandate with fewer guardrails.

“Now, with Donald Trump’s directive retooling the counter-terror apparatus to go after Americans at home, this means monitoring political activity, or speech, as an investigative method to discover ‘radicalism,‘” Klippenstein said, noting that the NSPM-7 breaks with post-Watergate national security documents by failing to mention the First Amendment rights to protest and organize.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is already eager to make use of the document.

“We are witnessing domestic terrorist sedition against the federal government,” he wrote on social media on Friday. “The JTTF has been dispatched by the Attorney General, pursuant to NSPM-7. All necessary resources will be utilized.”

In an interview with Greg Sargent for theNew Republic, Trump ally Steve Bannon confirmed that Miller and others in the administration were preparing to go after left-liberal groups and media whose criticism of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could be interpreted as “goading” on violence against the agency.

Referring to Miller’s comments that calling ICE authoritarian incited violence and terrorism, Bannon responded, “Stephen Miller is correct—more importantly he’s in charge.

The threats of investigations put liberal and left-leaning organizations in a tough place. On the one hand, they want to prepare as best they can. On the other, they do not want to obey in advance.

“Officials at these groups tell me they must strike a balance between being clear-eyed about how bad this could get while not letting it discourage political activity,” Sargent wrote. “That latter form of surrender is exactly what Trump and Miller want. And under no circumstances should anybody willingly hand it over to them.”

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dem dock 9 25

Trump signed a memorandum Thursday directing the federal government to investigate and dismantle “domestic terrorism networks.”

The move appears targeted at left-leaning progressive nonprofit groups, which Trump days ago vowed to dismantle, falsely claiming they fund and support political violence and terrorism in the U.S.

The memo directs the FBI’s National Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to go after “anti-fascist” movements in the U.S.

“This ‘anti-fascist’ lie has become the organizing rallying cry used by domestic terrorists to wage a violent assault against democratic institutions, constitutional rights, and fundamental American liberties,” the memo reads.

Trump signed the memo shortly after the New York Times reported that the Department of Justice directed several U.S. attorneys offices across the country to open investigations into the Open Society Foundations, a progressive grant network founded by Democratic megadonor George Soros.

Asked what specific people or organizations the memo seeks to target, Trump named Soros, who Republicans have long claimed without evidence funds violent protests in the U.S.

“Soros is a name certainly that I keep hearing,” Trump said. “I don’t know. Soros is a name that I hear.”

Trump earlier this month asserted Soros must be “jailed” because “he’s a bad guy,” while Vice President JD Vance baselessly claimed that Soros and the Open Society Foundations pay “the salaries of terrorist sympathizers” and “promote violence and terrorism.”

The Open Society Foundations in a statement to Democracy Docket said the Trump administration’s “accusations are politically motivated attacks on civil society, meant to silence speech the administration disagrees with and undermine the First Amendment right to free speech.

“When power is abused to take away the rights of some people, it puts the rights of all people at risk,” it added.

“The Open Society Foundations unequivocally condemn terrorism and do not fund terrorism. Our activities are peaceful and lawful, and our grantees are expected to abide by human rights principles and comply with the law.”

“Our work in the United States is solely dedicated to strengthening democracy and upholding constitutional freedoms. We stand by the work we do to improve lives in the United States and across the world.”

Trump also named LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, one of the largest donors to the Democratic Party. Hoffman founded the Aphorism Foundation, a California-based private grantmaking group that focuses on noncontroversial causes such as supporting universities and hospitals.

Through a separate nonprofit, Hoffman provided financial support for writer E. Jean Carroll’s sexual assault lawsuit against Trump.

In terms of specific actions, Thursday’s memo ordered the commissioner of the IRS “to ensure that no tax-exempt entities are directly or indirectly financing political violence or domestic terrorism.”

“In addition, where applicable, the Commissioner shall ensure that the [IRS] refers such organizations, and the employees and officers of such organizations, to the Department of Justice for investigation and possible prosecution,” the memo reads.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has repeatedly threatened to strip left-leaning organizations of their tax exemptions.

Federal law bars senior executive branch officials from directing the IRS, which is currently headed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in an acting capacity, to audit any taxpayer or nonprofit organization.

However, the Trump administration could create pretext triggering an IRS audit through several different means.

The White House has repeatedly attempted to link the recent murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk to progressive causes and groups. The effort has heightened fears that Trump and his allies seek to exploit the killing to further attack institutions that power the political left.

The Trump administration has also specifically targeted the Ford Foundation, another progressive philanthropic organization.

Earlier this week, Trump signed a separate memo claiming to designate “antifa,” a leaderless and decentralized anti-fascist movement, as a “domestic terrorist organization.”

Trump and many of his fellow Republicans have long used antifa as a catch-all designation against protests or speech they disapprove of.

Senior White House officials Thursday claimed that large-scale nationwide protests in recent years, such as the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, were organized by unspecified organizations and amounted to terrorism.

“This is the first time in American history that there is an all-of-government effort to dismantle left-wing terrorism, to dismantle antifa, to dismantle the organizations that have been carrying out these acts of political violence and terrorism,” Stephen Miller, Trump’s homeland security advisor, said as the president signed the memo.

“Whether it be going back to the riots that started with Black Lives Matter and all the way through to the antifa riots, the attacks on [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] officers, the doxing campaign and now the political assassinations, these are not lone isolated events,” Miller added. “This is part of an organized campaign of radical left terrorism.”

Miller recently referred to the Democratic Party as “not a political party. It is a domestic extremist organization.”

*This breaking news story has been updated with additional details throughout.

Next Up

DOJ Obeys Trump, Indicts Comey Days After Order to Pursue President’s Foes

Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted on two criminal counts days after President Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue his perceived enemies more aggressively.

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GUK 9 25

Trump issued a presidential memorandum on Thursday aimed at reining in what he has called a radical leftwing domestic “terror network” but which seemed likely to meet fierce legal pushback from critics depicting it as a licence for a broad crackdown on his political opponents.

Prompted by journalists, Trump suggested that George Soros, the billionaire Hungarian-born philanthropist who funds the Open Society Foundations, could be in his sights. He also identified Reid Hoffman, a billionaire venture capitalist, adding: “I hear about him. Maybe it could be him. It could be a lot of people.”

Earlier, the Open Society Foundations had hit back at reports that the justice department was planning to target the group and criticized the Trump administration for “politically motivated attacks on civil society”.

Hina Shamsi of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in a statement: “After one of the most harrowing weeks for our first amendment rights, the president is invoking political violence, which we all condemn, as an excuse to target non-profits and activists with the false and stigmatizing label of ‘domestic terrorism’. This is a shameful and dangerous move.”

At a signing ceremony in the Oval Office, the memorandum was presented as aimed at “establishing a comprehensive strategy to investigate, disrupt and dismantle all stages of organized political violence and domestic terrorism”.

It was said to be part of an administration-wide response that would include the FBI’s joint terrorism taskforces, the Department of Justice and the Department of Treasury.

The ACLU said in a statement that joint terrorism task forces “already have a long history of investigations that wrongly target protestors, communities of color, and those engaged in dissent”.

Surrounded by members of his cabinet, Trump said the goal was to target “the funders of a lot of these groups”, some of whom he claimed to know. But he was vague when asked which groups he meant or who the funders were.

“These are anarchists and agitators, professional anarchists and agitators, and they get hired by wealthy people, some of whom I know, I guess, probably know,” he said. “You wouldn’t know at dinner with them. Everything’s nice, and then you find out that they funded millions of dollars to these lunatics.”

Daniel Richman, a professor at Columbia Law School and former federal prosecutor, said the memorandum itself probably doesn’t carry much legal weight. “You can’t by executive order create new crimes. This does not create new crimes. This says you will use the Terrorism Task Force to go after things they would usually go after,” Richman said.

But, he added: “The concern is that this administration has made clear it is only interested in pursuing politically oriented terrorism that disagrees with its political agenda.”

The Trump administration does not need to create new crimes in order to do this, he said. Laws already on the books “have and continue to provide the ability to go after ideological opponents”.

Though the memorandum may not hold up in court, “I fear how far they are going to take this,” said Jason Charter, a former activist who faced charges during Trump’s first term in connection with efforts to tear down the Andrew Jackson statue in front of the White House. “Antifa is antifascism, and antifascism is a very widely shared thing, and being against fascism should not be illegal.”

“It’s trying to slap terrorism charges on people doing protected activities under the Bill of Rights,” Charter said.

The memorandum comes amid a rightwing clamor for retribution in the wake of the 10 September murder of the far-right pundit Charlie Kirk, which Trump and his supporters have blamed on an organized leftwing network, despite early indications that the suspect acted alone.

It also followed Wednesday’s deadly attack on a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facility in Dallas that killed one detainee and injured two others. One of the bullets used in the attack was inscribed with the message “anti-Ice”.

The memorandum lumps together a series of apparently unrelated episodes, including a foiled 2022 assassination attempt on the supreme court justice Brett Kavanaugh, the murder of the CEO of United Healthcare in Manhattan last December, last year’s two failed attempts on Trump’s life, and unrest on the streets of Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon.

Stephen Miller, the influential White House deputy chief of staff – who has been vocal in the administration’s previous calls for a crackdown – called the initiative “historical and significant”.

“This is the first time in American history that there is an all-of-government effort to dismantle leftwing terrorism, to dismantle antifa, to dismantle the organizations that have been carrying out these acts of political violence and terrorism,” Miller said. The joint terrorism taskforce, a unit inside the FBI, would be “the hub” of the effort, he added.

He said “an entire system of feeder organisations” were funding “harassment, doxing, intimidation and, ultimately, attempted assassinations” of public officials.

“It is all carefully planned, executed and thought through,” said Miller. “It is terrorism on our soil. We are going to use the entire force of the federal government to uproot these organizations, root and branch.”

Trump and his allies have portrayed political violence as a phenomenon primarily associated with the left, overlooking recent incidents in which Democrats have been targeted by people who are believed to be rightwing extremists or incidents in which the perpetrator’s motives are unclear.

Postingon his Truth Social network on Wednesday, Trump clearly tied the Ice facility attack to the Democrats and their criticism of his immigration crackdown in a manner resembling his response to Kirk’s killing.

“This violence is the result of the radical left Democrats constantly demonizing law enforcement, calling for ICE to be demolished, and comparing ICE Officers to “Nazis,” he wrote. “The continuing violence from Radical Left Terrorists, in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, must be stopped. ICE Officers, and other Brave Members of Law Enforcement, are under grave threat.”

But authorities on Thursday said that they did not find evidence that the suspect was a member of “any specific group or entity, nor did he mention any specific government agency other than Ice”.

In the wake of Kirk’s killing, Trump issued an executive order designating antifa, a loose network of groups that has been involved in confrontations with the far right, as a “domestic terrorist organization”.

The new memorandum states: “This political violence is not a series of isolated incidents and does not emerge organically. Instead, it is a culmination of sophisticated, organized campaigns of targeted intimidation, radicalization, threats, and violence designed to silence opposing speech, limit political activity, change or direct policy outcomes, and prevent the functioning of a democratic society.

“A new law enforcement strategy that investigates all participants in these criminal and terroristic conspiracies – including the organized structures, networks, entities, organizations, funding sources, and predicate actions behind them – is required.”

“Intimidation tactics against those standing up for human rights and civil liberties are sadly not new in the history of this country,” Shamsi, the director of the ACLU’s national security project, said. “In an earlier era, civil rights movement leaders were also labeled security threats and investigated, monitored, threatened, and even arrested.”

*Lauren Gambino contributed reporting

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AN 9 25 BADASH

Trump, explaining his controversial decision to attempt to label Antifa a terrorist organization, said burning the American flag is an “incitement to riot,” as are organized protests — which he claimed lead to “death.”

“They have signs and they’re all professionally made,” Trump told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum on Thursday, apparently referring to those suspected of celebrating the murder of Charlie Kirk, NBC News reported. “Real protesters make them in their basement.”

After suggesting without offering any evidence that philanthropist George Soros might be behind organized protests, Trump declared, “it’s incitement to riot. That’s a criminal act. And people are dying because of it. So it’s really, you know, it’s death.”

IFrame Content

Speaking about his executive order to designate Antifa — which is not an organized group that does not have leaders — a terrorist group, Trump said, “They are.”

IFrame Content

Asked, “do you believe that there is a vast terrorist movement in the United States that people need to be aware of, and is it responsible for Charlie Kirk’s killing, for the attempts on your life, for these CEOs that we saw in New York City?” Trump replied, “You never know, and we’ll find out, maybe.”

“But in the meantime, we’re gonna do a big thing with respect to Antifa. It’s a sick group, a very, very sick group.”

“They love burning the American flag. I think it’s terrible that they burn the American flag. And we’re saying it incites riots, and therefore, you go to jail for one year, if you burn the American flag.”

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that it is not illegal to burn the American flag, it is a protected form of free speech.

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BLM FUNDER?

AN 9 25

On Tuesday, September 16, prosecutors announced that Tyler Robinson — the 22-year-old suspect in the fatal shooting of MAGA activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk — is being charged with aggravated murder and said they will seek the death penalty.

The New York Times' Michael Barbaro discussed the case with reporters Jack Healy and Kenneth P. Vogel in a podcast posted on September 17. While Healy talked about the suspect's possible motives, Vogel got into what Barbaro described as a "rational for cracking down on left-wing groups across the country."

Vogel noted recent comments by Vice President JD Vance and White House adviser Stephen Miller calling for a crackdown on left-wing groups.

The Times reporter told Barbaro, "Miller (made) a really impassioned proclamation about how he and the federal government was going to use every resource at their disposal to go after and disrupt and dismantle and destroy these networks that he says, on the left, are making America unsafe."

IFrame Content

When Barbaro asked Vogel if there is "a sense" of "which groups specifically" Vance and Miller "are referring to," Vogel responded, "I think there are a number of groups that could probably fit into this category based on my conversations with people around the White House, around Trump's orbit."

"Two organizations specifically have come up," Vogel told Barbaro. "One of them is Open Society Foundations, and that's George Soros' philanthropic organization. And the other is the Ford Foundation. Now, they don't really do programming of their own. So, what seems to be at issue here is the organizations that they fund and what those organizations, in turn, are doing."

When Barbaro asked Vogel what groups Open Society and the Ford Foundation fund, the Times reporter explained, "Open Society, for instance — and, I believe, the Ford Foundation — were big funders of sort of racial justice groups around the Black Lives Matter movement. And some of those groups clearly were involved in organizing protests."

Vogel continued, "And it is theoretically possible that at some of the protests where some of these groups were involved in the organization, there may have been vandalism or violence…. But for people around the White House, it's really about what they think of as a broader network of liberal nonprofit groups and firms that administer them that they believe are stoking violence through really extreme rhetoric and polarization. And they attribute to these groups other seemingly disconnected acts of vandalism."

*Listen to the full New York Times podcast at this link (subscription required).

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DEFUND LEFT SOROS PAID PROTESTERS TERROR NETWORK

mma

On the killing of Charlie Kirk, political violence, and the right’s response

Written by Matt Gertz

Published 09/12/25

Charlie Kirk, a powerful right-wing activist, popular podcaster, and close friend and ally to President Donald Trump, was shot and killed while speaking at a college in Utah on Wednesday. Politicians of both parties and commentators across the spectrum, including myself, have responded with condemnations of the act as both the tragic murder of a young husband and father and an act of political violence that must be anathema if we hope to preserve our country as a liberal democracy.

Rational people on all sides of the political spectrum abhor political violence and want to ratchet down the temperature, but this requires an honest assessment of what is happening: There have been far too many cases of political violence in recent years, and the targets are not limited by party, ideology, or creed.

Yet within the right-wing media bubble, long before there was even a suspect in custody, commentators cited Kirk’s killing as proof the left is at war with them. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) on Thursday called out right-wing pundits who took Kirk’s death “as an opportunity to say we're at war so that they could get some of our conservative followers lathered up over this.” He added: “It seems like a cheap, disgusting, awful way to pretend like you're a leader of a conservative movement.”

Tillis cited two commentators in particular, but such rhetoric has been a staple throughout the right-wing media ecosystem since news broke that Kirk had been shot. It is what right-wing audiences are hearing right now — and what they have been hearing, to one extent or another, for quite some time.

“They are at war with us!” Fox News star Jesse Watters said on The Five, his network’s most-watched show, shortly after Kirk’s passing was announced.

“Whether we want to accept it or not, they are at war with us,” he continued. “And what are we gonna do about it? How much political violence are we going to tolerate? And that’s the question we’re just gonna have to ask ourselves.”

“THIS IS WAR,” posted Libs of TikTok. “Civil war,” was Andrew Tate’s take. “This is war,” commented Ian Miles Cheong. “This is a war, this is a war, this is a war,” Alex Jones said on his livestream. According to Steve Bannon, “We are at war in this country.” “We’re not supposed to say this,” posted Shaun Maguire. “But the truth is we’re at War.”

Many on the right were Kirk’s friends and are mourning his death. Some of them may fear for their own safety. But the narrative they have constructed relies on ignoring the recent spate of attacks targeting Democrats, the gruesome contemporaneous response to those attacks from some of the most influential voices on the right, and the chorus of Democratic officials who have condemned Kirk’s assassination.

There is no war, no righteous, violent struggle between a “left” and a “right.” A man was killed. His killer deserves to be brought to justice. Turning that into a “war” can only make the situation worse.

Terrorists have targeted political leaders of both parties

It is not true, as Eric Trump and both claimed in right-wing media interviews since Kirk’s slaying, that violence is “only going one way,” or, as right-wing radio host Dana Loesch put it on Watters’ prime-time show, that “it's not the right killing the left, it's the left killing the right.”

It seems both pointless and morally inappropriate to try to weigh attacks against one another to determine who has it “worse,” but it’s impossible to have a conversation if we can’t agree that political violence goes both ways.

The ideology of people who attack political figures doesn’t always map neatly onto a political party, in no small part because the assailant typically suffers from some form of mental illness. But Democrats have certainly been the targets of political violence in recent memory: In October 2022, a man broke into the home of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seeking to kidnap her, and brutally assaulted her husband, Paul. In June, an assassin allegedly murdered a Democratic state legislator and her husband and wounded a second and his wife in Minnesota. Last month’s lethal attackon the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by someone who authorities say “wanted to send a message against COVID-19 vaccines” should also be placed in this category.

It’s worth revisiting how right-wing media covered those domestic terror attacks, as it speaks to how its audience likely interprets them in an increasingly fragmented media landscape in which people can pick and choose news sources that confirm their biases.

After a man broke into the Pelosi residence and attacked Paul Pelosi with a hammer, MAGA influencers claimed based on effectively no evidence that the attacker, who turned out to be a deranged individual steeped in right-wing fever swamp conspiracy theories, had actually been let into the speaker’s house by her husband for the purposes of sex and subsequently attacked him as part of a lovers’ quarrel.

Donald Trump Jr. posted a photo of a pair of briefs and a hammer on a bed with the caption: “Got my Paul Pelosi Halloween costume ready.”

For months afterwards, Fox hosts including Watters alluded to such wild claims on their nationally broadcast programs, undeterred by body camera footage from the scene of the attack or basic human dignity.

Prominent MAGA social media influencers likewise responded to the Minnesota shootings by spinning up a false profile of the killer — in reality a Trump supporter who railed against abortion and the LGBTQ community — as a far-left supporter of Gov. Tim Walz. Laura Loomer and Mike Cernovich even suggested Walz might have orchestrated the attacks as political hits.

Fox’s right-wing propagandists, meanwhile, all but buried that story. There were no soul-searching reflections about political violence targeting the left on the programs of Watters, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, or Greg Gutfeld — instead, discussion on those shows the week after the attacks was limited to correspondent reports and headline reads. The week after the CDC shooting, those programs didn’t cover it at all.

Looking further back, the leading lights of the right-wing media aggressively sought to minimize and sanitize the Trump mob’s assault on the U.S. Capitol in 2021, and they alternatively blamed “incivility” from the left for a Trumpist sending mail bombs to a host of left-wing and Democratic targets and suggested those attacks were a “false flag.” And that’s to say nothing of other attacks apparently fueled by right-wing extremism that targeted Jewish, Latino, and Black Americans in Charleston, South Carolina; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Buffalo, New York; and El Paso, Texas.

If you downplay right-wing violence against left-wing targets, it’s much easier to convince your viewers that the violence is all going in the other direction.

### MAGA wants “the Left” to be “crushed with the power of the state”

While the repeated declarations that they are at “war” with a murderous left are obviously corrosive, there have not been widespread direct calls for retaliatory violence from prominent right-wing media figures. But many are urging President Donald Trump, his administration, and congressional Republicans to respond with widespread political repression of the left and the Democratic Party.

“We can honor him [Kirk] and honor his memory and make it a living thing that we use this to take down the apparatus that's well-funded that is at the core of this anti-Americanism,” Steve Bannon said on his streaming show Friday. “It has to be a all-of-government approach. ... Let's go kick down some doors and perp walk some folks today.”

Laura Loomer, a conspiracy theorist and streamer who has Trump’s ear and regularly gets federal officials fired for insufficient demonstrated fealty to the president, declared Wednesday, “It’s time for the Trump administration to shut down, defund, & prosecute every single Leftist organization.” She later added: “All of the Leftist groups that pay for these radical protests need to be prosecuted. … More people will be murdered if the Left isn’t crushed with the power of the state.”

MAGA influencer Mike Cernovich demanded “congressional hearings now” on Wednesday, which he said should include “every billionaire funding far left wing extremism,” naming George Soros, Bill Gates, and Reid Hoffman. He also called for “massive RICO investigations now” to scrutinize “every dollar” and tagged Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel.

Former GOP Senate candidate Blake Masters echoed Cernovich, adding, “Either we destroy the NGO/donor patronage network that enables and foments” violence, “or it will destroy us.”

Sean Davis, co-founder of The Federalist, posted Wednesday that “the Democrat party is a domestic terrorist organization” and “terrorist Democrats will not stop. … And until they are stopped—until every single nutjob inciting this madness and cheering it on is held accountable and removed from civil society—it will not stop.” His outlet published a piece which declared that Democrats “need to be treated like the domestic terrorists they are.”

“The last time the radical Left orchestrated a wave of violence and terror, J. Edgar Hoover shut it all down within a few years,” Manhattan Institute senior fellow Christopher Rufo said. “It is time, within the confines of the law, to infiltrate, disrupt, arrest, and incarcerate all of those who are responsible for this chaos.”

YouTuber Benny Johnson claimed that “the modern Democrat party is a terrorist organization” and that the left-wing movement must be “ripped root and stem from our American republic and thrown into the fire where it belongs.”

Some are even suggesting that because the threat to the right is so clear, if Republican leaders don’t respond with such steps, the result will be some on the right taking matters into their own hands.

Davis posted on Thursday that if congressional Republicans don’t take “proper action” to protect “a population being hunted for sport,” then the result would be “improper reaction,” which he described as “a response that cannot be contained once it is out.”

Likewise, Cernovich wrote: “I’m choosing my words mindfully, don’t twist them. This is a prediction, not a preference. If Congressional GOP and Trump don’t act swiftly and ferociously, there will be retaliatory actions due to lawful means not being used. This is always what happens. RICO these fucks now!”

Trump appears to be responding to these demands for political retribution.

### The elephant in the room

It is impossible to have a rational conversation about topics like lowering the political temperature and pushing back against the spread of political violence when the president of the United States is interested in those issues only as a cudgel against his political opponents.

On Wednesday evening, the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal urged Trump, himself the victim of two assassination attempts, to take advantage of “an opportunity for leadership” by seeking to lower the tenor of political rhetoric.

Any other president would not need to hear such advice — but Trump’s previous responses to attacks on Democratic targets demonstrate his lack of interest in bringing the country together. He mocked the brutal assault against Pelosi, said following the Minnesota shooting that it would be a “waste of time” to call Gov. Tim Walz because he is “so whacked out,” and completely ignored the CDC attack.

In an Oval Office address a few hours after Kirk was killed, Trump characteristically ignored the Journal’s counsel. He offered a testament to Kirk’s life and promised that the shooter, who at that point had not been publicly identified or taken into custody, would be brought to justice.

But he also attributed blame far beyond the person who took Kirk’s life, saying that the “rhetoric” of “the radical left” was “directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today.” He went on to promise that his administration would go after the individuals and organizations he said “contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence,” adding that “radical-left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives.”

Trump did not name the targets of the action he promised to carry out. But a “straightforward reading of his rhetoric,” as The Atlantic’s Jonathan Chait noted, is that “the president of the United States is treating the political opposition as accessories to murder and threatening to use the full power of the government to attack it.”

On Friday, Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt pointed to “radicals” on both the right and left and asked the president, “How do we fix this country? How do we come back together?”

Trump’s response made clear that he is uninterested in doing so. He excused “radicals on the right” as people who “don’t want to see crime,” saying, “They don't want these people coming in, we don't want you burning our shopping centers, we don’t want you shooting our people in the middle of the street.”

“The radicals on the left are the problem, and they are vicious and they are horrible and they are politically savvy,” he added, before running through a litany of grievances with his critics.

That message is echoing across MAGA media, a powerful information apparatus with a rare and unmediated grasp on its audience. It will fuel more vitriol, making it harder, not easier, to have honest conversations and reduce the threat of political violence in this country.

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SEE TRAITOR BS 7 25

NY Times reported John Durham found the “Clinton Plan” emails were likely created by Russian spies. Right-wing media are running with them as legitimate.

Figures have suggested Clinton should be “behind bars,” argued the debunked scandal will “make Watergate look like a jaywalking ticket,” and likened it to a “soft coup attempt” and “treason”

Written by Noah Dowe, Pete Tsipis & Lis Power

:{Published 08/01/25

The right-wing media ecosystem has exploded with false claims about a newly-declassified annex to special counsel John Durham’s report on Russian collusion with Trump’s 2016 campaign. Right-wing media are claiming that the annex provides evidence of a “plot” by the Clinton campaign to undermine then-candidate Donald Trump. However, the newly-declassified assessment found that the documents in question were “not credible” and “likely made by Russian spies.”

Conservative media figures have ignored this assessment, instead calling for Hillary Clinton to be put “behind bars” for coordinating a “soft coup attempt.” And although they previously heralded Durham’s efforts, some in right-wing media are now arguing he “failed the American people.”

## Despite right-wing media claims, the declassified Durham annex found that the “Clinton Plan” emails “were likely made by Russian spies”

- On Thursday, the New York Post falsely claimed that newly declassified documents showed Clinton approved a plan to “smear” Trump with the Russia collusion narrative. The Post pointed to what it claimed are “explosive intelligence files declassified” this week, that purportedly show a “plot” in emails between Clinton’s campaign and allies to smear Trump with Russian collusion narratives. The evidence allegedly comes from Durham’s probe. New York Post, [7/31/25]

- In reality, the declassified documents show the opposite: the report’s conclusion was that the supposedly scandalous emails “were likely made by Russian spies.” Reporting from the New York Times noted that Durham’s assessment was that “a key piece of supposed evidence for the claim that Mrs. Clinton approved a plan to tie Mr. Trump to Russia is not credible” and was “probably manufactured.” Furthermore, Durham’s assessment was that the purported emails “were ultimately a composite of several emails that were obtained through Russian intelligence hacking of the U.S.-based think tanks.” New York Times, [7/31/25]

- The disclosure — which the Times called “the latest in a series of disclosures about the Russia inquiry, as the Trump team seeks to distract from the Jeffrey Epstein files” — follows weeks of outrage from some right-wing media over the administration’s handling of Epstein’s case. While some outlets have aided the administration’s attempt to deflect attention from Epstein, others, especially the hosts of online shows, have called the disclosures a “distraction” meant to make supporters “stop paying attention to Epstein.” Media Matters, [7/9/25, 7/23/25, 7/28/25, 7/30/25; New York Times, 7/31/25]

## Right-wing media are pushing debunked claims about the declassified annex

- Right-wing podcast host Megyn Kelly argued “Hillary Clinton should be behind bars, and so should the people who work for her who did this.” Referring to the alleged bombshell news, Kelly continued, “She wanted to distract from her email scandal. She cooked up a plan to accuse Trump of being a Russian agent in order to distract from her own legitimate scandal.” SiriusXM, *The Megyn Kelly Show*, [7/31/25]

- Right-wing influencer Benny Johnson suggested the annex “confirms Hillary Clinton personally approved the plot to frame Donald Trump with fake Russia collusion—despite intel proving it was false.” He added, “This was a coordinated criminal cover-up to protect Clinton and take down Trump. Christopher Wray must be investigated immediately.” Twitter/X, [7/31/25]

- Johnson: “It would hurt the feelings of this audience if nobody did anything on this.”YouTube, *The Benny Show*, [8/1/25]

- Fox contributor Byron York said the documents prove the “Clinton campaign played an important role in creating the whole Trump-Russia narrative” and suggested, “All those Republicans who think Soros is a big villain, well, they’ll be confirmed in this one.” Fox News, *Special Report with Bret Baier*, [7/31/25]

- Fox host Jesse Watters claimed “George Soros’ people worked with the DNC to roll out the hoax and the FBI was in on it the whole time.”Fox News, *Jesse Watters Primetime*, [7/31/25]

Citation

Fox News

- Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo claimed that the documents point “right, straight to Hillary Clinton as she was the key voice signing off on the entire Russiagate scheme” and pushed for punishment, saying, “The statute of limitations does not apply when it comes to conspiracies.” Fox Business Network, *Mornings with Maria*, [8/1/25]

Citation

Fox Business

- New York Post: “Read the documents that prove Hillary Clinton OK’d plan to ‘smear’ Trump with Russia collusion.”New York Post, [7/31/25]

- Fox legal analyst Gregg Jarrett said the documents “further implicate Barack Obama as deeply embedded in the hoax.”Fox News, *Hannity*, [7/31/25]

- OnThe Will Cain Show, OutKick’s Buck Sexton said the annex proved a “soft coup attempt.”Cain replied, “I don't think there's any words that would rise to the level of hyperbole. You couldn’t outdo yourself if you said soft coup or treason.” Fox News, *The Will Cain Show*, [7/31/25]

- Fox host Sean Hannity: “I've been saying that this is going to make Watergate look like a jaywalking ticket in the end, and I believe this smoking gun out today proves that comment to be correct.” On his radio show, Hannity continued, “What I believe we are looking at is probably what Chuck Grassley classified as the biggest political scandal in American history.” Premiere Radio Networks, *The Sean Hannity Show*, [7/31/25]

- National Review news writer James Lynch claimed Clinton “approved a plan devised by her campaign to falsely smear Donald Trump with claims of Russian collusion.” National Review, [7/31/25]

- Gateway Pundit: “Declassified Durham Appendix Shows Hillary Clinton PERSONALLY Approved Trump-Russia Hoax.” The Gateway Pundit, [7/31/25]

- The Federalist wrote, “Hillary Clinton approved the Russia collusion hoax but then lied to the FBI about her knowledge of the plot.”The Federalist, [7/31/25]

- Washington Examiner: “Declassified Durham annex reveals FBI ignored evidence of a Clinton plan to create Russia hoax.”The Washington Examiner, [7/31/25]

- Former Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer claimed, “The Clinton campaign in coordination with Team Soros weaponized US government law and intel agencies to manufacture a lie and media was complicit.” Twitter/X, [8/1/25]

- Fox & Friendsco-host Brian Kilmeade said the documents “appear to show that Hillary Clinton approved a plan to smear Trump in that summer prior to the RNC with the Russia collusion documents and brought Vladimir Putin along with her.”Fox News, *Fox & Friends*, [8/1/25]

Citation

Fox News

- Infowars author Sean Miller claimed the annex revealed “a conspiracy between the Democrat National Committee [DNC], Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Foundation and the Barack Obama administration to formulate a fraudulent claim that then-candidate Donald Trump was a Russian asset.” Infowars, [7/31/25]

## Some in right-wing media attacked Durham, arguing he “failed the American people” with his initial report

- Blaze Media host Liz Wheeler: “How did John Durham miss all this evidence? Did he intentionally ‘miss’ it?” Twitter/X, [7/21/25]

- Right-wing commentator Bill Mitchell called Durham “the most useless special prosecutor in the history of Earth” and argued he intended to “kick the can down the road until they could install Biden and run this beyond the SOL.” Twitter/X, [7/27/25]

- Newsmax host Greg Kelly said Durham “failed the American people” because he was loyal to “the swamp.” Newsmax, *Greg Kelly Reports*, [7/31/25]

- Former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell said “Durham clearly did not do justice” to the case. Twitter/X, [7/31/25]

### Fox News has mentioned Obama over 3 times more than Epstein since Tulsi Gabbard released her report

07/23/25 4:07 PM EDT

### Fox News since Monday: 85 minutes talking about Sydney Sweeney, 3 minutes talking about Epstein

07/31/25 2:12 PM EDT

### Fox News has aired 168 segments about Tulsi Gabbard's revisionist claims regarding Russia, Obama, and the 2016 election

07/30/25

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an 3 25

LEXINGTON — More than 900 people gathered Saturday morning for what was billed as a People’s Town Hall at the Kentucky Theatre. Many waited in line to address an empty chair on stage next to a sign that said “Reserved for Congressman Andy Barr.”

Multiple speakers, including Brady Blanton of Richmond, alluded to Republican Barr’s earlier suggestions that attendees were “liberal activists” or paid to be there.

“I’m not a paid protester; I’m a blue collar worker,” Blanton said. “I am a child of Social Security survivors benefits and Medicaid after my father passed away 15 years ago and they kept my family afloat.”

Blanton, 26, told the Lantern he works for a plastics manufacturer in Winchester. He said he still depends on Medicaid to provide his 2-year-old daughter’s health insurance and that he worries that cuts to Veterans Affairs will hurt his grandfather, a veteran of the Vietnam War.

Blanton noted that the U.S. House’s budget blueprint would increase defense spendingby $100 billion while cutting $880 billionfrom health and human services such as Medicaid, which covers 196,729 people in the 6th Congressional District or 26% of Barr’s constituents. Almost 1 in 3 Kentuckians are enrolled in Medicaid.

Barr says don’t worry about Trump and Musk, but declines chance to reassure upcoming town hall

IFrame Content

The Department of Veterans Affairs would lose 80,000 jobsunder a planned reorganization by the Trump administration, according to an internal memo obtained by the Associated Press. VA provides health care and other services to veterans.

Older speakers talked about their fathers’ military service, including fighting fascism in World War II, and their distress at what they see as Republican President Donald Trump’s embrace of authoritarianism while giving longtime allies the cold shoulder.

Describing himself as a lifelong Republican, Edwin Gibson said his father had served in the Navy during the Korean War and that he himself had been stationed in the Army in Germany during the Cold War. “Congressman Barr, you are complicit in the betrayal of our democracy,” Gibson said.

Barr, of Lexington, who is mulling a run for U.S. Senate next year to succeed retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell, took to X (formerly Twitter)Saturday morning to “set the record straight” in response to what he called “the handful of people who falsely claim they cannot reach anyone in my office or that I ‘refuse to hold town hall meetings.’”

Barr in his X post said that he and his staff are in daily contact with his constituents and that they host monthly office hours in every county of the district. He said he is hosting a telephone town hall Monday night.

“What we will not do is provide a forum for individuals more interested in grandstanding than engaging in a respectful and constructive conversation,” Barr said.

Organizers with the nonpartisan group Gathering for Democracy said that after not getting a commitment from Barr in response to their invitations, they decided to schedule the town hall to give people “distressed by what is happening in our government” an opportunity to come together and talk about their concerns.

“The intent is to invite dialogue,” said Judith Humble, one of the event’s organizers. She said volunteers handed out 800 cards for attendees to fill out before running out of cards.

Speakers were filmed and the video will be sent to Barr; attendees could write a question and tell their story to the congressman on the cards, which also will be sent to Barr. Former Lexington Mayor Steve Kay moderated.

Concerns voiced during the gathering ranged widely from cuts to the U.S. Forest Service cited by a speaker who identified himself as an archaeologist to worries that the elimination of the U.S. Agency for International Development will cancel expansion of the University of Kentucky’s partnernshipwith the underserved community of Santo Domingo, Ecuador.

Students, faculty, staff and community members participate in UK’s Shoulder to Shoulder Global,described on the program’s website as “transformative, short-term experiences in global health.” Plans to start a physical rehabilitation center as part of the program are on hold because a federal grant has been frozen, said physical therapist Lynn English.

Barr also took to X after the gathering saying: “Nice to see Soros + the left lighting money on fire. No amount of manufactured outrage by paid activists will stop the mandate for total overhaul of DC” and reiterating his support for Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson has advised Republicans to avoid town halls after some GOP representatives have faced hostile crowds.

The Kentucky Democratic Party and former U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth of Louisville plan to hold a town hall in Lexington Wednesday at the Lyric Theatre & Cultural Arts Center from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com.

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Corbin Bolles @ The Daily Beast: Trump’s MAGA Media Enforcer Is Having ‘the Time of His Life’

Donald Trump’s FCC chairman Brendan Carr is boasting to friends that he is having “the time of his life” after launching an all-out attack on the media, the Daily Beast has learned.

ref

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no lnx

Trump’s MAGA Media Enforcer Is Having ‘the Time of His Life’

BITE BACK

FCC chairman Brendan Carr has vowed to target all of Donald Trump’s enemies.

Corbin Bolies

Media Reporter

:{Updated Feb. 10 2025 tdb

Donald Trump’s FCC chairman Brendan Carr is boasting to friends that he is having “the time of his life” after launching an all-out attack on the media, the Daily Beast has learned.

Carr has spread dread through top-ranked media executives since taking office at the same time as Trump. He has opened an investigation into CBS over its 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, threatening to upend its parent company’s merger with Skydance Media; reopened investigations into ABC and NBC over the Trump-Harris presidential debate and her appearance on Saturday Night Live; opened inquiries into NPR and PBS that questioned whether they deserved government funding; and sent a letter to a George Soros-owned California radio station over a report on immigration raids—and vowed not to stop.

Brendan Carr and Donald Trump.

FCC commissioner Brendan Carr has remained laser-focused on President Donald Trump's enemies.

Brandon Bell/Getty

Many of his actions parallel Trump’s own private legal cases—particularly the pursuit of 60 Minutes, which Trump is suing for $20 billion, claiming it “doctored” the Harris interview to help her, which CBS denies—and are amplified by a gleefully pro-Trump personal twitter account.

The dizzying pace since Trump was sworn in has left television and media executives shaken. They fear that the FCC will pounce on minor errors to pursue lengthy and expensive investigations.

“It’s a stressful moment for everybody who’s just trying to do the good work that they’ve always thought they could do by recognizing that, if they do get it wrong, that the implications are—it used to be, you’d be embarrassed about a correction," one media executive told the Beast. “Now it can go into the stratosphere.”

pic.twitter.com/og0VBW0mxR

— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) January 22, 2025

There are also fears that the FCC will seek to find ways to target other legacy brands traditionally been part of its remit, said another executive. The FCC regulates outlets that operates on broadcast airwaves, whether on television or radio—not cable.

“We have to see what they end up proposing, but I wouldn’t be surprised if our legal team is looking into it,” they said.

Kamala Harris and Maya Rudolph.

Kamala Harris' pre-election "Saturday Night Live" appearance is the subject of an FCC inquiry.

Amir Hamja/The Washington Post via Getty

The weekslong spree has achieved Trump’s desire to put media outlets on notice, prompting some media executives to work overtime to make sure they don’t become Carr’s next target.

“The change now is, it’s really, really important to, frankly, be near-perfect every day,” one media executive told the Daily Beast. “I think that’s kind of the the burden that exists, that we are under an incredible microscope.”

CBS Reveals Truth About Harris Interview Trump Is Suing Over

DOCTORED? NO

Corbin Bolies

Bill Whitaker and Kamala Harris.

Carr himself—a 46-year-old communications lawyer who has been on the FCC since 2017—has set out his stall in a series of Fox News appearances. The FCC declined a request for comment from the Beast.

Fox & Friends anchor Brian Kilmeade asked Carr last week whether CBS' release of the 60 Minutes interview will prevent news organizations from editing interviews with high-profile figures.

“Are you worried about the precedent of asking for these transcripts?” Kilmeade asked.

“No, not at all,” Carr said. “It’s actually interesting. Here is a precedent we’re following is the precedent that the Democrat FCC set when it came to Fox. There was a complaint lodged against Fox, and so they opened up a public proceeding on that. And we’re simply applying that precedent.”

CBS Reveals Truth About Harris Interview Trump Is Suing Over

DOCTORED? NO

Corbin Bolies

Bill Whitaker and Kamala Harris.

Carr appeared to refer to a 2023 complaint filed by the Media and Democracy Project to prevent Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corp-owned Philadelphia station from renewing its FCC license.

The complaint, filed alongside ex-Murdoch official Preston Padden, claimed the Murdochs decision to broadcast lies about the 2020 election on Fox News, and the station’s airing of Fox News Sunday, should force it to lose its license. Former FCC chairperson Jessica Rosenworcel dismissed the complaint alongside those against ABC, CBS, and NBC last month.

Padden told the Daily Beast Carr’s claim about applying the law evenly was “bulls---.” He said the only reason Carr did not reinstate his FCC complaint was to appease Trump.

“Brendan Carr has one litmus test for the public interest, and that is whatever the Sun King of Mar-a-Lago wants,” he said. “Any FCC-licensed broadcaster who broadcasts anything that this president doesn’t like is going to be fair game for retribution by Brendan Carr. He is simply an agent of President Trump.”

Padden said a mutual friend told him that Carr was “having the time of his life.”

Perhaps the most pointed of his investigations is not the most high-profile.

Last week, the FCC sent a letter of inquiry to San Francisco radio news station KCBS 740 AM, asking it to justify reporting a statement from a pro-immigrant group that described the cars and locations of supposedly undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducting raids in San Jose.

George Soros

George Soros' Soros Fund Management has become one of Audacy's largest shareholders.

Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty

A news host had read out claims by the group, called the Rapid Response Network, saying, “The County’s Response Network says agents in San Jose were in unmarked vehicles,” and describing the color, make and models of the cars and the streets they were seen on. Carr told Fox News it may break the “public interest” test for radio licenses, then tied it to what he claimed were “Democrat leaders in Congress saying it’s time for people to take fights to the street against Trump’s agenda.”

What he did not say—although Kilmeade did mention—was that the station’s owner, Audacy, is majority owned by an investment fund controlled by Soros Fund Management, the investment vehicle for MAGA bogeyman George Soros. Republican senators condemned the FCC last year for approving the purchase.

Carr said in November he intended to “take a very hard look” at the Audacy deal, claiming the FCC “bent over backwards” to give Soros the stations. Last week he echoed another MAGA trope about double standards as he explained his shock and awe attacks on the media.

“There are a lot of people who have been on this sort of upper road of the two-tiered system of government,” Carr told Fox News on Thursday. “And what I’m here to do is apply the law evenly.”

Media Reporter

corbin.bolies@thedailybeast.com

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Vivek, Trump and the Puppet Master Trope: MAGA’s Soros Obsession Inflames Raging Antisemitism on the Right

By Peter Montgomery | September 30, 2024 rww

Vivek Ramaswamy stumping for Donald Trump. (Image from video posted on X)

Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, now a Fox Nation host and cheerleader for Donald Trump’s campaign, used his account on the social media site X (formerly Twitter) to spread a dangerous antisemitic trope among his 2.6 million followers last week.

After philanthropist Alex Soros posted a photo of himself with Democratic vice-presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz, Ramaswamy reposted it with the comment, “If you squint, you can see the strings on the marionette.”

Alex Soros is the son of philanthropist George Soros, a longtime funder of progressive and pro-democracy causes. As Media Matters noted, “The ‘puppet master’ imagery is a classic antisemitic trope, and right-wing media and have used it for years to smear George Soros.”

It is so recognizably antisemitic, in fact, that three years ago Fox News deleted social-media posts with a cartoon portraying Soros as a “puppet master” after critics called them out.

But that hasn’t stopped MAGA activists. Last year, when a podcaster asked Ramaswamy about having received a scholarship funded by George Soros’s late brother Paul, Ramaswamy said, “I think the big question that comes up is who’s the bogey man pulling the strings. I have no tie to George Soros other than criticizing him.” Ramaswamy later said he was unaware of the podcast host’s record of peddling tropes about Jews owning “almost everything.”

Trump himself has used the “puppet master” trope to rile his followers and motivate them to send him money. Last year, Trump sent a fundraising email that attacked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as a “bought-and-paid-for Soros prosecutor” carrying out his “puppet master’s plot to put me in JAIL for committing NO CRIME.”

Trump and other right-wing leaders revere Hungary’s “illiberal” leader Viktor Orbán, who deployed antisemitism in forcing a university funded by George Soros to leave the country where he was born, and has continued to use antisemitic narratives—more recently targeting Alex Soros—to maintain his grip on power. Orbán’s heavy-handed moves to impose ideological control over the judiciary, media, education, and culture have made him a hero to U.S. right-wing leaders like Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, who views Orbán as the model for the kind of strongman they would like Trump to be in his second term.

Often the promotion of antisemitism is more coded than overt. While Ramaswamy has publicly criticized antisemitism as “morally outrageous” and “a symptom of something that is broken in our society,” he has also participated in the MAGA movement’s embrace of antisemitic conspiracy theories. Last year, when Ramaswamy was running for president, The Atlantic’s Adam Serwer dubbed him “The new face of the ‘great replacement.’”

The BBC describes “great replacement” as “the far-right idea that a cabal of people—often named as ‘globalists,’ ‘elites,’ or Jews—is deliberately plotting to change the demographic of Western countries,” and “a version of the ‘white genocide’ conspiracy theory that there is a plot to entirely ‘eliminate’ white people.” Proponents of this theory—including Trump and Carlson—sometimes blame George Soros directly for this imagined scheme.

As Right Wing Watch has noted, “the theory that global elites are out to ‘replace’ white people motivated mass murderers who killed Muslims in New Zealand, Jews in Pittsburgh and San Diego, and Latinos in El Paso, Texas. It also inspired organizers of the deadly Unite the Right protest in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, where protesters chanted, ‘You will not replace us’ and ‘Jews will not replace us.’”

But none of that has stopped right-wing pundits like Tucker Carlson or far-right openly antisemitic figures like white nationalist Nick Fuentes from promoting great replacement rhetoric.

The poison is spreading within the MAGA movement. Trash-talking commentator Candace Owens Tucker Carlson in 2021 that George Soros’s philanthropy was designed to “undo American civilization.” Owens, who lost her job at the Daily Wire earlier this year, has veered into antisemitic territory that is uncomfortably close to what is spewed by Fuentes.

Owens’ antisemitic rhetoric was called out by some conservatives. Yet two months after Owens’ highly publicized departure from the Daily Wire, Ramaswamy was urging BuzzFeed, where he had just bought a significant stake, to hire her. Owens is still promoted on the Turning Point USA site, whose founder Charlie Kirk is touring colleges with Ramaswamy this fall.

Carlson, meanwhile, recently hosted Holocaust revisionist Darryl Cooper on his online show—a top-rated podcast—and Cooper followed up with a social media post saying that Hitler had tried to “work with the other powers to reach an acceptable solution to the Jewish problem.”

The Atlantic’s Yair Rosenberg cited the episode in his recent article, “The Anti-Semitic Revolution on the American Right,” which noted that Carlson was given a prime-time speaking slot at the 2024 Republican National Convention. “Anti-Semitism has always existed on the political extremes, but it began to migrate into the mainstream of the Republican coalition during the Trump administration,” Rosenberg writes.

Rosenberg notes that the MAGA movement’s angry anti-elite populism “readily maps onto the ancient anti-Semitic canard that clandestine string-pulling Jews are the source of society’s problems.” That brings us back to Ramaswamy and other MAGA insiders. “Trump fundamentally refuses to repudiate anyone who supports him,” notes Rosenberg, who cites a conservative columnist who told him last year, “What you’re actually worried about is not Trump being Hitler. What you’re worried about is Trump incentivizing anti-Semites” in a way that brings them real political power.

There are other strains within the right wing of American politics that threaten to foster the marginalization of American Jews.

Among the “illiberal” and “post-liberal” thinkers that J.D. Vance pals around with is Yoram Hazony, whose Edmund Burke Foundation sponsors the National Conservatism conference at which Vance has spoken repeatedly in the past few years. Hazony believes that in a Christian majority country, “public life should be rooted in Christianity and its moral vision, which should be honored by the state and other institutions both public and private.” When journalist Katherine Stewart asked about minorities in such a society having outsider status, Hazony said, “That simply is reality,” adding that minorities would not get the same treatment as the majority, but “should be grateful for the fact that you’re not persecuted as minorities often have been in history.”

Like Trump, American religious-right groups loudly declare their support for Israel’s government and love for the Jewish people. But some of the movement’s increasingly aggressive, exclusionary, and dominionist Christian nationalist leaders declare that the U.S. is meant to be a Christian nation, with certain kinds of Christians ordained to rule. Some claim that the U.S. was founded with a national mission to advance the Christian faith. Some assert that Christian beliefs should be amended into the Constitution and that public officials should be required to be Christian. One has called for public worship by non-Christians to be banned.

Religious-right groups have also attacked Soros’s philanthropic support for progressive religious groups, calling it “evil.”A letter circulated among right-wing evangelicals several years ago portrayed George Soros as a global schemer whose goal may be “the imposition of a global monoculture” but is “at least the destruction of our national identity through demoralization, open borders, drugs, crime, law-fare and media propaganda — the ‘fundamental transformation’ (weakening) of American civil society for the leveraged power of global ‘elites.’” Signers included broadcaster Eric Metaxas, anti-LGBTQ activist and New Apostolic Reformation figure Jim Garlow, and the Family Research Council’s Jerry Boykin.

Trump himself has inflamed antisemitism on the right since his 2016 campaign rhetoric electrified white nationalists. He has routinely disparaged American Jewish voters for not supporting him more widely based on his support for Israel’s far-right government. And Trump recently threatened to blame American Jews if he loses the election. What could be more calculated to inflame the antisemitism already surging through his conspiracy-embracing MAGA movement?

===

September 25, 2024, edition of Fox News' The Ingraham Angle

LAURA INGRAHAM (HOST): You got Alex Soros meeting with Tim Walz. You have the global establishment, the World Economic Forum types, Oprah, Taylor Swift, you know, these are the billionaires, not that Trump doesn't have a few billionaires, but most of the billionaires are for Kamala Harris. What do they want to preserve, Vivek, so the viewers out there tonight fully understand what's at stake?

VIVEK RAMASWAMY (GUEST): So, look, I have no objection to being a billionaire, speaking of somebody who has lived the American dream myself. But what I do have an objection to is the kind of puppet-tearing that you see now in the Democratic Party. Look at those images of Alex Soros standing next to Tim Walz. Looks like if you squint really closely, you can even see the puppet master pulling the strings right there.

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===

rww

Prophet' Joseph Z appearing on YouTube video of Sept. 11, 2023 livestream.pix]

Right Wing Watch reported last week that FlashPoint, a prominent Christian dominionist and MAGA-minded television show, had featured “prophet” Joseph Z claiming that “the antichrist spirit” had chosen Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz to fit in with the “wicked overlord lizard mafia” and its “goblin masters.” Right Wing Watch readers commented that such rhetoric is grounded in antisemitic conspiracy theories, which encouraged us to follow up on that post.

The FlashPoint program was not the first time Z has used such rhetoric. An of his podcast posted last September is entitled “EVIL LIZARDS ATTEMPTING TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD.” In a portion of the podcast focused on the World Economic Forum and its founder Klaus Schwab, Z referred to “wicked lizard goblin pervert mafia scumbags” and “lizard wicked scumbags trying to take over the world.” Z also used the phrases “global domination plan,” “dominion spirit,” and “right out of the antichrist playbook.”

Z’s previous episode is notable because FlashPoint host Gene Bailey, a prominent Trump backer who was invited to Mar-a-Lago last year to interview the former president, vouched for Z on last week’s show, saying he had been watching the “prophet” closely for a year.

The World Economic Forum and its call for an economic “great reset” after the COVID-19 pandemic have spawned an array of conspiracy theories promoted by right-wing media and grounded in the idea that “a group of world leaders orchestrated the pandemic to take control of the global economy.” These claims are variations on an older “New World Order” conspiracy theory, which has antisemitic origins, and taps into the same strain of conspiracist thinking promoted by the infamous antisemitic forgery “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” Among those promoting “great reset” and COVID conspiracy theories has been the vehemently antisemitic far-right broadcaster Stew Peters.

In Z’s earlier “lizard” video, the “prophet” also referred to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “Castro’s kid” – a reference to another false conspiracy theory that Donald Trump promoted recently during his interview with far-right online personality Adin Ross, who has a history of promoting racism and antisemitism.

In a 2021 NBC story about a conspiracy theory about reptilian aliens hiding among humans to achieve world domination, cultural historian Lynn Stuart Parramore explored its roots in both science fiction and antisemitic conspiracy theories:

The notion of shape-shifting, blood-sucking reptilian humanoids invading Earth to control the human race sounds like a cheesy sci-fi plot. But it’s actually a very old trope with disturbing links to anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic hostilities dating to the 19th century.

…

The world-ruled-by-lizard-people fantasy shot to prominence in recent years in part through the, a popular British sports reporter-turned-conspiracy theorist known for his eccentric ideas. note: **Icke’s son is among the [promoters of Great Reset conspiracy theories.]

Icke would have you believe that a race of reptilian beings not only invaded Earth, but that it also created a genetically modified lizard-human hybrid race called the “Babylonian Brotherhood,” which, he maintains, is busy plotting a worldwide fascist state. This sinister cabal of global reptilian elites boasts a membership list including former President Barack Obama, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and Mick Jagger.

This nonsense is espoused by a variety of internet conspiracy-mongers, including far-right, Trump-loving QAnon adherents, one of whom was accused in 2019 of murdering his own brother because he thought he was a lizard. As many as 12 million Americans believed in this lizard people conspiracy in a 2013 Public Policy Polling survey. It’s safe to assume the number is higher today.

The outlandish trope has roots in the second half of the 19th century, when the Industrial Revolution, Darwin’s theory of evolution and rapid scientific advances upended time-honored traditional ways of life, leaving people unsettled and unsure what to believe. It emerged more strongly toward the end of the century, when anxieties about perceived outsiders, especially Jewish ones, were fueled by waves of immigrants flooding urban centers in Great Britain and the United States in search of economic prosperity and religious freedom. The tide of immigrants ignited cultural conflicts, as well as health and sanitation crises, in cities that lacked adequate infrastructure for the millions of arrivals.

…

Does any of this sound familiar? It should, because today’s internet postings by conspiracy theorists often carry traces of just the sort of anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic tensions that show up in history whenever segments of the population feel betrayed by elites and fear loss of their own social and economic status.

…

Billionaire George Soros is a frequent bête noire among this crowd, and he is often depicted as a world-dominating reptile.

Parramore also noted that Anthony Quinn Warner made statements about a conspiracy of lizard people taking over the planet before setting off an explosion in downtown Nashville, Tennessee on Christmas Day 2020. A 2021 Business Insider story on that bombing noted, “Like the lizard-people theory, QAnon draws on centuries-old anti-Semitic tropes.” The Daily Beast reported that a man who stabbed his brother to death—claiming that God told him his brother was a lizard—was also a QAnon adherent and had tried to join the Proud Boys.

Literary Hub cited another example of the lizard conspiracy theory turning deadly:

In August 2021, the owner of a Christian surf school in Santa Barbara, California, drove his two young children to the Mexican resort town of Rosarito, where he killed both children (ages two years and ten months) and left their bodies by the side of the road. He would later claim that his wife “possessed serpent DNA” and he had killed his children out of fear of “interbreeding” between humans and reptilians—a theory he seems to have adopted through the work of ex-athlete and Green Party politician David Icke.

Z’s references to goblins may have been influenced by controversy about whether or not the portrayal of goblins in the Harry Potter books and movies—particularly an evil banker—was promoting age-old antisemitic tropes. Comedian and commentator Jon Stewart was among those who raised the issue, though he later said people were taking his “light-hearted” comments too seriously. When the goblin controversy reemerged last year with the release of the video game “Hogwarts Legacy,” the Times of Israel noted that following Stewart’s comments, the UK’s Campaign Against Antisemitism released a statement saying that “the portrayal of the goblins in the Harry Potter series is of a piece with their portrayal in Western literature as a whole” and “is a testament more to centuries of Christendom’s antisemitism than it is to malice by contemporary artists.”

===

pro pub 7 24

...“There’s a perceived gap of ‘We aren’t getting the support from big-name, big-dollar donors that we deserve and want and need.’”

That’s where Ziklag comes in.

Speaking late last year to an invitation-only gathering of Ziklaggers, as members are known, Charlie Kirk, who leads the pro-Trump Turning Point USA organization, named left-leaning philanthropists who were, in his view, funding the destruction of the nation: MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos; billionaire investor and liberal philanthropist George Soros; and the two founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

“Why are secular people giving more generously than Christians?” Kirk asked, according to a recording of his remarks. “It would be a tragedy,” he added, “if people who hate life, hate our country, hate beauty and hate God wanted it more than us.”

“Ziklag is the place,” Kirk told the donors. “Ziklag is the counter.”

...

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Right-wing media and social media users spread conspiracy theories about the Trump rally shooting

WRITTEN BY ALEX KAPLAN & PAYTON ARMSTRONG

RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM JASON CAMPBELL & NOAH DOWE

PUBLISHED 07/16/24

Following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, right-wing media figures and social media users have spread baseless conspiracy theories and claims about the shooting.

They have amplified a 4chan hoax that the Secret Service gave a stand-down order during the shooting; made baseless allegations that Alex Soros was connected to the shooting; falsely claimed a protester at a 2016 Trump rally was the shooter; suggested the shooting could be attributed to the intelligence community, the “deep state,” foreign actors, or an “RNC/Israeli hit job”; and connected the assassination attempt to biblical prophecy and “the hand of God.”

## A gunman attempted to shoot Trump at a July 13 rally

On July 13, a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania, injuring Trump, killing one rally attendee, and seriously wounding two others. The 20-year-old suspected gunman reportedly opened fire from a rooftop near the rally, and was fatally shot by the Secret Service. His motivation remains unclear. The New York Times, [7/14/24]

## Far-right figures spread a 4chan hoax that there was a stand-down order before the shooting

A 4chan poster falsely claimed to be a law enforcement sniper who was at the Pennsylvania rally and said the Secret Service “refused to give the order to take out the perp.” A user on 4chan’s far-right “politically incorrect” message board (commonly known as “/pol/”) claimed to be “the officer in the famous photo of the two snipers on the roof at Trump's rally” and said that they “had the assassin in my sights for at least 3 minutes, but the head of the secret service refused to give the order to take out the perp.” The Associated Press reported that the claim was false, noting that “the Secret Service and the Butler Police Department say they have no agents, officers or employees with the name of the person claiming to be the sharpshooter.” 4chan, [7/14/24; The Associated Press, 7/15/24]

Social media users earned tens of thousands of shares and likes promoting the 4chan post. Multiple users, including QAnon figure Nicholas Veniamin, shared the 4chan posts or its claims, raking up tens of thousands of shares and “likes” on X and Instagram. According to CrowdTangle, posts on Instagram sharing the 4chan hoax received more than 80,000 interactions. Twitter/X, [7/14/24, 7/14/24, 7/14/24, 7/15/24; Instagram, 7/14/24; CrowdTangle, accessed 7/16/24; Media Matters, 3/4/22]

A post amplifying the 4chan hoax was one of the top posts on Reddit’s conspiracy subreddit. On the prominent subreddit “r/conspiracy,” a user posted an image of the 4chan post — though they added, “BIG grain of salt recommended.” The post was one of the top posts in terms of “upvotes” in a 24-hour period between July 14 and July 15. Reddit, [7/14/24, 7/15/24; Media Matters, 9/18/23]

## QAnon figures revived a baseless conspiracy theory that Alex Soros had threatened Trump, apparently suggesting it was connected to the shooting

In January, Alex Soros was baselessly accused of threatening Trump after posting an article from The Atlantic on social media. Conspiracy theorists baselessly accused Alex Soros — the son of billionaire philanthropist George Soros and a frequent target of right-wing attacks and antisemitic conspiracy theories — of threatening Trump after he posted an Atlantic article that featured stock photos of a bullet hole and someone holding cash on X (formerly Twitter). Media Matters, [1/23/24]

QAnon figure Woke Societies after the shooting: “Don’t forgot Alex Soros posted this in January of this year. Demons.” Telegram, [7/13/24; Media Matters, 4/18/22]

QAnon figure Pepe Lives Matter: “Remember when Alex Soros tweeted a bullet shot with the number 47 in this ominous tweet that people thought was about Donald Trump and now he was just shot.” Telegram, [7/13/24, 1/7/21]

QAnon figure Ben Moore, known online as “Sun Tzu,” responded to a user claiming Alex Soros “hinted at what was coming in a X post” by asking if George and Alex Soros should “be designated as enemy combatants at this point.” Twitter/X, [7/15/24; Media Matters, 4/24/24]

Ann Vandersteel, who has promoted QAnon, posted an image of Alex Soros’ tweet with the text “Remember this?” Twitter/X, [7/13/24; Media Matters, 6/7/24]

A user on the online forum GreatAwakening, which is dedicated to the QAnon conspiracy theory, shared a post saying “Y’all remember when Alex Soros posted $47 and a bullet hole?” GreatAwakening, [7/14/24; Media Matters, 6/30/20]

## Far-right figures falsely claimed a protester at a 2016 Trump rally was the shooter

QAnon figure QAnon John falsely claimed that “a guy affiliated with ANTIFA” was actually the shooter. John Sabal, known online as “QAnon John,” falsely posted that the shooter was actually “a guy affiliated with ANTIFA that was actually arrested back in 2016 for being involved in an Anti-Trump protest in Pittsburgh,” and that in response he was “calling on the FBI, DHS & DOJ to designate ANTIFA AS A DOMESTIC TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.” Reuters reported that the claim is false, noting that the 2016 protester was “not the suspect identified by the FBI as the shooter” and that the photo shared online “does not resemble the suspect identified by authorities.” Gab, [7/14/24; Dallas Observer, 8/31/21; Reuters, 7/15/24; WTAE, 4/14/16]

Longtime Trump ally Roger Stone claimed that “a number of people have contacted me to say that the shooter is not the man they’ve identified.” During an appearance on conspiracy theory network Infowars, Stone said that “a number of people have contacted me to say that the shooter is not the man they’ve identified, but rather” someone else — the same person mentioned by QAnon John — “who appears to more closely resemble the picture we've been shown that is allegedly the corpse of the shooter.” [Infowars, The Alex Jones Show, 7/15/24]

## Far-right figures baselessly suggested the shooting could be attributed to the “intelligence agencies,” the “deep state,” foreign actors, or “an RNC/Israeli hit job”

White nationalist Nick Fuentes floated the idea that “the intelligence agencies” could have been behind Trump‘s shooting. During an X Space discussion following the attempted shooting, Fuentes claimed that “it was either the intelligence agencies or it was these other guys who are gonna benefit with a more favorable advocate in the White House” — after listing people and entities including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Ukraine — who “tried to knock him out” with the attempted shooting. Twitter/X, [7/13/24]

Alex Jones claimed that the Trump shooting was “clearly” done by the “deep state.” In the X Space with Fuentes, Jones claimed of the attempted shooting, “Clearly this was deep state.” He said it was evidence of “the deep state trying to kill him,” adding, “This was no accident, in my view.” Twitter/X, [7/13/24]

White nationalist Stew Peters baselessly claimed it was “an RNC/Israeli hit job.” According to Peters, “Everyone is blaming Biden and the Dems when this was clearly an RNC/Israeli hit job.” Twitter/X, [7/13/24; Media Matters, 3/13/23]

Right-wing personality Candace Owens said that if she were a conspiracy theorist, she might think the FBI was behind the Trump shooting. While discussing on her YouTube show the FBI’s efforts to access the alleged shooter’s phone (which it has since done), Owens said, “If I were a conspiracy theorist, and I’m not — I’m not a conspiracy theorist — some people might be thinking, though, those conspiracy theorists might be thinking, like, maybe it’s because the FBI did it. Maybe the FBI doesn’t want to get into the phone that connects the kid to the deep state.” YouTube, *Candace Owens*, [7/15/24; The New York Times, 7/15/24]

QAnon figure Clandestine claimed, “Whether this was a CIA-coordinated plot, or just a lone shooter, the Deep State are responsible regardless.” Jacob Creech, known online as “Clandestine,” added, “Either they planned the hit, or their years of violent rhetoric and endless MSM propaganda, created the vitriol that led to the attack.” Telegram, [7/14/24; Anti-Defamation League, 4/5/22]

## Far-right Christian media and right-wing social media influencers invoked biblical prophecy and “the hand of God” in discussing the shooting

Charisma News, which has been a sponsor of the ReAwaken America Tour led by Michael Flynn, published multiple articles linking the assassination attempt to biblical prophecy. An article titled “3 Prophecies Fulfilled with the Trump Assassination Attempt” claimed that “at least three different prophetic voices have had words about something massive that was coming to America.” Another article, titled “Prophecy Foretold Attempted Assassination Months in Advance” and focused on a March 2024 interview with guest Brandon Biggs, stated that “the events of Saturday, July 13, appear to have fulfilled the prophecy Biggs gave in startlingly accurate fashion.” Charisma News, [7/14/24, 7/14/24; Rolling Stone, 2/28/23]

Self-described prophet Amanda Grace said “prayer matters” because the assassination attempt was “meant to kill him and by the hand of God it grazed him” and claimed the “Lord warned” her that it would happen. Grace added: “Saul did this to David. This is that same spirit rising up. Saul attempted to kill David on multiple occasions and never was able to succeed.” She also suggested that God had warned her multiple times that Trump would be hurt, claiming that “the Lord warned [on] June 8” and “he warned it again two days ago.” YouTube, *Ark of Grace Ministries*,[ 7/13/24 ; Media Matters, 5/30/24] VID]

While discussing the assassination attempt on FlashPoint, commentator and self-described prophet Lance Wallnau mentioned a prophetic “decree” and attributed Trump’s survival to “the impulse of God or an angel that enabled him to not be hit.”Wallnau said that “the brush with mortality is a moment also for President Trump to realize that God himself is preserving him. And let’s agree together in this decree that he will have an ear to hear in every key situation what the spirit of God is actually saying. And he’ll wisely and shrewdly navigate, turning to the left or to the right as the wisdom of God dictates, and that he will stay one step ahead of death.” Twitter/X, [7/13/24; Rolling Stone, 9/29/22]

Far-right figures Dom Lucre and Jack Posobiec shared a video of supposed prophet Brandon Biggs predicting three months ago that Trump would be injured. Lucre wrote that “the prophet Brandon Bible’s prophecy about Donald Trump’s assassination attempt from 3 months ago has resurfaced” and said, “This has been biblical since day one.” Posobiec, who has a penchant for spreading conspiracy theories, amplified the video to his 2.5 million followers. Twitter/X, [7/14/24, 7/14/24; The Washington Post, 8/15/17; Forbes, 7/27/23]

Christian nationalist pastor Sean Feucht shared the video of Biggs and wrote, “Prophecy from March 14, 2024 about Trump being shot in the ear in an assassination attempt!” Twitter/X, [7/14/24; Media Matters, 9/14/23]

---

3 24 lara trump soros anti-sem

...OVID-19 public health guidelines as being under “totalitarian rule in so many aspects of our lives.” Trump also falsely claimed there was “virtually no difference in COVID transmissions” between schools in which children wore masks and those that did not, declaring, “Get the masks off our kids.” The New York Times reported that removing mask mandates in school “was associated with an additional 44.9 Covid cases per 1,000 students and staff members.” Fox News,*Fox & Friends First,* [2/18/22; The New York Times, 11/10/22]

- Trump defended her father-in-law’s use of hydroxychloroquine to prevent COVID-19, arguing that the drug has “been taken worldwide without issues” and said that she once took it during a family trip to Ecuador to prevent malaria. “What does everybody think about the fact that we found out that President Trump has now been taking it [hydroxychloroquine]?” Trump added, “The drug experts say it [hydroxychloroquine] is not only an ineffective treatment” for COVID-19, but is also associated with “serious heart problems” in some cases. “How dumb does every member of the media probably look right now?” Right Side Broadcasting Network, *The Right View*, [5/20/20; Mayo Clinic, accessed 3/13/24]

- Discussing former President Trump’s use of hydroxychloroquine with Fox host Sean Hannity, Trump said “we all know that Donald Trump, anything he does is demonized, even if it is so helpful it would save lives. Fox News, *Hannity*, [6/3/21; CBS News, 5/19/20]

* ## Lara Trump has attacked trans people and spread conspiracy theories about litter boxes in classrooms

- Trump echoed guest Liz Wheeler’s characterization of gender-affirming surgery as “mutilating your body,” and described the medical community as “sick” for authorizing such care.“Mutilating your body, having your breasts cut off, having your genitals mutilated in some way, that now falls under the care guidelines of this sort of disorder,” Trump said. “And that's really kind of sick on behalf of the medical community.” Right Side Broadcasting Network, *The Right View*, [6/27/23]

- Trump argued that “identifying as an alien is not that much different than identifying as a different gender.”Right Side Broadcasting Network, The Right View, [3/22/23]

- Trump repeated long-debunked claims that schools are accommodating children who identify as cats, asking, “What do you say to kids who have children in their classroom identifying as furries who need a litter box in the corner of the room?” “And I wish that was a joke, but this is reality right now in so many schools in America, and it's not just in the Democrat-run cities and states,” Trump continued. “Social media is showing this to everyone.” Right Side Broadcasting Network, *The Right View,* [5/30/23; NBC News, 10/14/22]

Echoing “great replacement” conspiracy theory rhetoric, Lara Trump

baselessly accused Democrats of bringing migrants into the U.S. to sway elections
- During an interview with former Rep. Vernon Jones (R-GA), Trump stated that the Democrats think they will “just automatically — they think — get the vote of illegal immigrants.” Trump also claimed that Democrats see the tens of millions of illegal immigrants in the U.S. and think “those people will be voting Democrat.” Right Side Broadcasting Network, *The Right View*, [3/9/21]

- Trump on Democrats’ border policies: “I guess the goal, keeping the border open, has been, 'Let’s get all the voters in.'”She continued, “So I guess the goal was just like, open the border, let all these people in, we’ll do away with voter ID laws, and we’ll just hope these people vote Democrat in perpetuity.” Right Side Broadcasting Network, *The Right View,* [10/17/23]

- Trump speculated that policies promoting voting access were “planned” to coincide with mass migration into the US.Trump speculated that “maybe part of their [the Democrats’] plan is, I don't know, to get millions of illegal immigrants in America that have the opportunity to just go vote because you're not checking to see if the person is who they say they are, if they’re an American citizen — like nothing.” She continued, “It does seem suspicious — all the timing and all of it — almost like maybe it was planned.” Right Side Broadcasting Network,*The Right View,* [4/8/21]

## Lara Trump has repeated several other extreme talking points, including an antisemitic conspiracy theory about George Soros and attacks on people who have expressed solidarity with Palestinians

- Trump referred to abortion as “murder” on The Right View.During a Fox News appearance,Trump claimed that reproductive rights advocates want “you to have an abortion, as opposed to giving you the choice to choose whatever you want.” Right Side Broadcasting Network, *The Right View*, [7/30/20; Fox News, The Big Sunday Show, 6/26/22, via Twitter/X]

- Echoing Christian Nationalist rhetoric, Trump called the criminal indictments against her father-in-law “spiritual warfare” during an appearance on Hannity. “This is not just about Republican versus Democrat,” she claimed. “This is about good versus evil.” Fox News, *Hannity*, [3/31/23]

- On The Right View, Trump argued that financier George Soros seems to be to blame “any time there’s anything,” and claimed that he is “hell bent” on “destroying not just America, but the entire world.” She said, “It’s kind of shocking to me, we go back to, I feel like, the same guy every single time. Anytime there’s anything — Black Lives Matter protests, 2020 election, you know, kind of nefarious things going on. Here we are back again at George Soros.” As the Southern Poverty Law Center noted, the right’s deeply antisemitic rhetoric about Soros being an all powerful liberal boogeyman is meant to conjure “the notion that shadowy forces, dark money and disloyal individuals seek to overturn and upend American society.” Right Side Broadcasting Network, *The Right View*, [10/31/23; Southern Poverty Law Center, 6/8/23]

- Trump argued that a female progressive group of lawmakers known as “the Squad” “hate Israel” and “have shown their antisemitism at every turn.” Trump claimed, “They have shown their antisemitism at every single turn, and it's horrible to see.” Fox News, *Fox & Friends*, [9/23/21]

- Trump claimed that pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses “have no idea what they’re talking about” and argued that the Israel-Hamas war is “about murdering Jewish people.”“A lot of people -- at least I think a lot of these college students who have been out there carrying around Palestinian flags — again who have no idea what they’re talking about — are of the assumption that somehow the Palestinians are just trying to get some land back and are fighting for their right to be there,” she said. Trump added, “That is not what’s going on. Very clearly this is about murdering Jewish people.” Right Side Broadcasting Network, T*he Right View,* [10/17/23]

Fox News drops any pretense, hires Lara Trump

03/29/21 11:39 AM EDT

### Fox News contributor Lara Trump repeatedly lied and misled about 2020 election results

03/29/21 4:40 PM EDT

### Fox contributor Lara Trump says the COVID vaccine has been about controlling people “from day one”07/13/21

===

Top Oklahoma education official Ryan Walters cheers conspiracy theorist while appearing on her show | Media Matters for America

Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters praised conspiracy theorist DeAnna Lorraine during a nearly 25-minute interview on the December 19, 2023, edition of her show. Walters and Lorraine also spread a conspiracy theory about supposed Marxist infiltration in Oklahoma public schools, and Walters touted his efforts “to ensure that we're running the left wing out” in order “to put folks that share our conservative values in this agency.”

Lorraine is a former Infowars host and failed congressional candidate with a long record of spreading outlandish conspiracy theories, including Pizzagate and the QAnon conspiracy theory. (In recent posts, Lorraine said that “Q is the greatest Psyop ever told” and “we’ve been played.”) She also attended the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and has proposed that we “arm our children” to stop school shootings. Her streaming show, Shots Fired with DeAnna Lorraine, is part of the media network of white nationalist Stew Peters, who has spread extreme and violent rhetoric including calling for the deaths of LGBTQ people, journalists, Democratic politicians, and Catholic charity workers.

As Oklahoma’s state superintendent, Walters has pushed right-wing propaganda into public school curriculum and used far-right media programs to attack the state’s education system and teachers. Walters appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press days before his interview with Lorraine, arguing that he is responding to a “higher education push to drive left-wing, Marxist propaganda into classrooms.” Walters previously suggested that he has taken education policy advice from right-wing media personalities, including the anti-LGBTQ social media account Libs of TikTok and a BlazeTV pundit who disparages public schools as “Satan’s youth ministry.”

In the December 19 Shots Fired interview, Walters claimed that Oklahoma’s “education system has been run by Marxists for far too long” and the host agreed, suggesting there has been a communist plot since the 1950s to take over public education. Lorraine also compared the left to “cockroaches” after Walters claimed that “liberals embed themselves” in government agencies. He referred to the state superintendent’s office under his Democratic predecessor as “a captured entity,” and bragged to Lorraine: “I fired over 100 people from our agency in the first six months, and we are continuing to ensure that we're running the left wing out, and we're going to put folks that share our conservative values in this agency.”

Walters also claimed that George Soros — a frequent target of antisemitic conspiracy theories — has “financed” school boards and “government bureaucratic apparatuses.”

:{:{Video}:

CitationFrom the December 19, 2023, edition of Stew Peters Network's Shots Fired with DeAnna Lorraine

DEANNA LORRAINE (HOST): Ryan Walters, I'm excited to talk about you and all of these great wins under your belt. You are just slaying the Marxist left back and forth. Welcome to Shots Fired, how are you?

RYAN WALTERS: (OKLAHOMA STATE SUPERINTENDENT): Look, I appreciate you having me on. I appreciate the work you're doing. And, you know, I mean, that's the thing in education — to get the education system back on track when it's been pulled so far to the left, we have got to operate with a sense of urgency. And so we're playing offense here in Oklahoma. We're going to be aggressive and we're just getting started. But I'm telling you, this education system has been run by Marxists for far too long. Parents know it, our taxpayers know it, and it's time to get going.

LORRAINE: Oh 100%. And some people somehow still believe that this is sort of some big conspiracy theory that the education systems have been hijacked by the Marxist left and, you know, this all sort of happened organically. No, it's not. It's literally in the communist goals. The 45 communist goals for America way back in the 1950s. They state that they want to hide, they're going to hijack the education systems and schools and transform them into Marxist, communist curriculum. So it's not a conspiracy and it's actually happened, and they've been very successful at it.

…

WALTERS: I think that's so important for your viewers to hear is that we are in a very red state, very red state. Every single one of our counties voted for Donald Trump twice, so we are a very red state. But let me tell you, we also have a teachers union who is very well-financed and continue to block legislation and push legislation at the state capital. They have captured a lot of Republican legislators who listen to them alone. And so we've had to fight back against some of them, some folks in our own party who have fought school choice, fought parents rights. We had a legislator that’s Republican that fought to keep pornography in the classroom. And so we have these pockets of influence the teachers union has. But I'm going to tell you, the other thing that's so important is now that I run the education agency is liberals embed themselves in these agencies. So you've seen this with the way —

LORRAINE: Like cockroaches.

WALTERS: George Soros has financed these district attorneys. They've done the same thing with school boards, and they've done the same thing with the government bureaucratic apparatuses. So when I got here, you know, we would pass laws and it wouldn't be enforced because again, my predecessor, a Democrat, loaded this agency up with a bunch of liberals that were never going to hold districts accountable. They were never going to push back on the teachers union. And frankly, this was a captured entity. I mean, the left had captured the state superintendent. So you can pass whatever laws you wanted, they were never going to be enforced on the schools. So it has been a dramatic shift. I fired over 100 people from our agency in the first six months, and we are continuing to ensure that we're running the left wing out, and we're going to put folks that share our conservative values in this agency. And we're going to continue to fight for parents, and we're going to continue to fight — it’s frankly common sense. We're going to keep fighting for common sense to come back to the classroom.

Lorraine and Walters ended the interview praising each other, with the host telling Walters, “You are on fire. I love what you’re up to. I love what you’re doing. Keep going at it because we need strong fighters like you to fight for our schools and our children.”

Walters replied with effusive praise, telling Lorraine, “I love your show, love what you’re doing,” and “I appreciate you fighting for conservative principles and values and your fight for our kids. So really appreciate the time on the show and thank you for the work you’re doing.”

:{:{Video}:

CitationFrom the December 19, 2023, edition of Stew Peters Network's Shots Fired with DeAnna Lorraine

LORRAINE: Ryan Walters, you are on fire. I love what you're up to. I love what you're doing. Keep going at it because we need strong fighters like you to fight for our schools and our children. Tell everybody again where they can find you and follow your awesome work and achievements.

WALTERS: Well, I appreciate that. I love your show, love what you're doing.

...

WALTERS: But look I appreciate the time. I appreciate you fighting for conservative principles and values and your fight for our kids. So really appreciate the time on the show and thank you for the work you're doing.

LORRAINE: Thank you so much, Ryan.

Walters promoted the interview on X (formerly Twitter) by reposting a link from Lorraine to the interview with the caption “OK Superintendent of Education is on FIRE slaying the Marxists!”

### Oklahoma's top education official has a cozy relationship with BlazeTV host Steve Deace, who likens public schools to “Satan’s youth ministry”

10/06/23 12:18 PM EDT

### Remarks from Oklahoma public schools superintendent mirror far-right extremist talking points on the Tulsa Race Massacre

07/12/23 12:06 PM EDT

### Public schools are the latest target of the right’s con culture

09/07/23

---

https://www.alternet.org/2022/04/bless-your-heart-klansplaining-crt blackburn

[[ https://www.mediamatters.org/white-nationalism/remarks-oklahoma-public-schools-superintendent-mirror-far-right-extremist-talking

https://www.alternet.org/oklahoma-judge-rulsa-race-massacre/ judge toss case 100 yo 3x

https://boingboing.net/2023/07/07/oklahoma-schools-superintendent-says-tulsa-race-massacre-wasnt-um-about-race.html ]]

===

https://www.alternet.org/the-right-wing/unconstitutional-oklahoma-superintendent-calls-for-framed-copy-of-10-commandments-in-every-class/

---

===

an 4 23 // alt rt macho shitposting?

https://www.alternet.org/appalled-and-disheartened-oklahoma-governor-demands-resignation-of-officials-who-condoned-and-lynching/

===

recall trump hdhs ice head was tracking menstrual cycles

They're whining that "globalists" are trying to control everyone. Meanwhile, the Republicans in Oklahoma are pushing a bill that would create a database for pregnant women so they can track if they get abortions.

---

Right-wing media have repeatedly launched wild attacks against Taylor Swift | Media Matters for America

Right-wing media spent 2023 lobbing sexist attacks at pop star Taylor Swift. According to them, Time magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year is a fake Christian, a Democratic agent, and possibly a witch. She’s also ruining football by dating an NFL player.

## Taylor Swift, named Time's Person of the Year for 2023, has long been the target of right-wing attacks

- Taylor Swift made frequent headlines throughout 2023 — for her “Eras'” worldwide concert tour and movie, for becoming Spotify’s most-streamed artist for the year, and for being named Time magazine's Person of the Year. Swift has sold over 200 million albums over the course of her career and earned 12 Grammy awards since her debut at 16. Forbes,[12/13/23; Time magazine, 12/6/23; Morning Consult, 3/14/23]

- Right-wing media frequently target Swift and her fans with misogynistic insults. They’ve accused Swift of fomenting societal decline because she's an unmarried pop star, and, more recently, attacked her for being Time’s Person of the Year. Business Insider, [11/9/23; The Nation, 10/17/23; Media Matters, 12/7/23]

- :{:{Conservative backlash against Swift increased after she endorsed a Democrat in the 2018 Tennessee Senate race and expressed support for LGBTQ rights at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards. Swift became more outspoken about her seemingly liberal political beliefs after fans criticized her for not leveraging her platform during the 2016 presidential election. USA Today, [9/12/19; 10/7/18]}:

- Right-wing media have also targeted Swift’s relationship with Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce, primarily for Kelce’s appearance in a Pfizer ad promoting the COVID-19 vaccine. Right-wing media pundits have also attacked Swift over her attendance at football games. Media Matters, [9/27/23, 10/3/23]

## Right-wing media criticized Swift for supporting the LGBTQ community

- Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro attacked Swift after she spoke out in support of the LGBTQ community at a Chicago concert during Pride Month. “You remember that time that Taylor Swift used to just be, like, a person who sang songs and without auto tune didn't sound amazing?" said Shapiro. “Well now she has decided that she's a political leader.” The Daily Wire, *The Ben Shapiro Show*, [6/5/23, accessed via YouTube]

- One America News' Alison Steinberg asked why “so many conservative Swifties overlook” Swift’s allyship with the “alphabet mafia” and supposedly liberal politics. Steinberg listed reasons why conservatives should ditch Swift – including that she is a “Christian while also being pro-choice,” that she openly supports President Joe Biden, and that she has “financial ties to the Soros family.” Guest Bryson Gray concluded, “This conservative support for Taylor Swift has to stop.” One America News, *In Focus*, [12/13/23]

- The Gateway Pundit attacked Swift for amplifying “anti-Christian and ‘pride’ themes” after she was named Time’s 2023 Person of the Year. The article added that “we should not begin by confusing that award with a moral endorsement. After all, Swift now shares that honor with the likes of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.” The Gateway Pundit, [12/8/23]

- The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles performed an in-depth analysis of Swift’s music video for the song Lavender Haze, criticizing the video for casting a transgender model and adding that “lavender insinuates weird gay stuff.” Knowles ended the video by encouraging viewers to send in more “weird trans pop songs.” The Daily Wire, *The Michael Knowles Show*, [4/30/23, accessed via YouTube]

## Right-wing media lobbed sexist attacks against Swift, demanding she “release a sex video,” and shaming her for past relationships

- On Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take podcast, co-hosts Dan Katz and Eric Sollenberger said they would tolerate Swift’s presence at NFL games only if she and Travis Kelce “release a sex video” — among other sexist attacks. After Katz noted that the New York Jets completed an “octopus” — scoring a touchdown and then completing a 2-point conversion for a total of 8 points — host Sollenberger added, “That’s what they should call Taylor Swift’s vagina." Media Matters, [10/3/23]

- Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk asked podcast guests, “Does Taylor Swift have any eggs left?” During a nearly 25-minute attack on Swift, Kirk and podcast guests made comments about Swift’s reproductive capabilities, called Swift “ugly” and “bitter,” and said Swift’s “body count will have a museum and galleria dedicated to it at the end of her career." Meidas Touch, [12/9/23]

- Fox host Greg Gutfeld slut-shamed Swift for her dating history. “Taylor Swift’s Instagram account has helped register more than 35,000 new voters," he said. “It’s nice that she's still on good terms with all her ex-boyfriends." Fox News, *Gutfeld!*, [9/22/23]

- Daily Wire host Candace Owens has repeatedly attacked Swift, saying Swift “has the maturity of a 15-year-old girl” and demanding to know, “Why hasn’t any man stepped up to the plate to marry her?” In April, Owens called Swift “the ultimate mean girl.” In September, Owens criticized Swift’s relationships with her exes. In October, Owens speculated that men won’t marry Swift “because Taylor Swift has a lot of personalities” and “her behavior is really, really cringy." Salon, [10/4/23; The Daily Wire, accessed 9/29/23; The Daily Wire, The Candace Owens Podcast, 4/16/23]

- After Swift made her first appearance at a Kansas City Chiefs game, several right-wing media figures resorted to criticizing her for her appearance. Mediaite collected tweets from right-wing pundits calling Swift “mid” and “homely” after she was spotted in a VIP box with Kelce’s mother. Mediaite, [9/26/23]

- NewsNation host Leland Vittert accused Swift of “punching down” after she called the men criticizing her for attending Kansas City Chiefs games “Dads, Brads, and Chads.” Vittert compared Swift’s response to Hillary Clinton's description of Trump supporters as “deplorables” in 2016. The Federalist culture editor Emily Jashinsky added, “This is something she should be careful not repeat in the future because men don't have a lot of places anymore where they're just for men." NewsNation, *On Balance with Leland Vittert*, [12/11/23]

- PragerU personality Aldo Buzzatoni said that “instead of telling young girls to be single, to break up with their boyfriends,” Swift should use her “influence over these young women” to “promote marriage” and “conservative values.” Buzzatoni continued, “I think the time spent doing that would be a lot better than like I said, promoting young girls to be single and breaking up with their boyfriends and bashing men.” One America News, *In Focus*, [11/17/23]

- In an article for The Federalist titled “Taylor Swift’s Popularity Is A Sign Of Societal Decline," Mark Hemingway claimed that Swift is famous for being “near constantly romantically aggrieved.” Hemingway also stated that he is “not sure [Swift’s] popularity is a testament to her talent” and compared her music to pornography, stating, “Bad pop songwriting is like pornography: You know it the moment you hear it.” The Federalist, [9/5/23]

## Right-wing media attacked Swift for her relationship with NFL player Travis Kelce, who appeared in a COVID-19 vaccine PSA

- On Fox News’ Primetime, cryptocurrency influencer Aubrey Strobel insinuated that Swift’s relationship with Kelce was part of “a long-game strategy to knock the Chiefs out of Super Bowl contention.” Strobel stated, “I do think there is something going on. She shows up. Taylor is very careful with her reputation. She doesn’t just go anywhere. She shows up in the box, with his mother, she’s jumping up and down, but I think we are missing something.” Fox News, *Jesse Watters Primetime*, [9/28/23]

- Fox News contributor Joe Concha blasted Swift for reportedly swearing at a Chiefs game. “If I heard that and my son was dating a girl who has a mouth like a teamster, that's it,” he said. Swift reportedly chanted “let’s fucking go” in a private box. Twitter/X, [9/29/23; The Daily Mail, 9/29/23]

- OutKick host Clay Travis suggested Swift was to blame for the Kansas City Chiefs’ subpar performance. “Maybe Taylor Swift is seen as the Yoko Ono of the Kansas City Chiefs?” he said. OutKick, *OutKick The Show*, [12/11/23]

- After Swift first appeared at a Kansas City Chiefs game, Travis claimed Swift was “wasting [her] time” with Kelce if she wanted to get married. Travis stated, “If the purpose of dating is to get married, you are wasting your time with Travis Kelce. He is a dime a dozen. He's not that good-looking, his career is almost over — you can do better even if you want to date a tight end in the NFL.” OutKick, *OutKick the Show*, [9/26/23]

- Discussing Kelce’s ad for Pfizer on The Megyn Kelly Show, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk questioned, “What will break his heart first: his new relationship with Taylor Swift or the COVID shot? … They’re both in the business of breaking hearts.” Kirk added, “I find it rather repulsive, to be perfectly honest, that a supposedly alpha male person like Travis Kelce is pushing a vaccine toward a demographic that doesn’t need it.” Mediaite, [9/25/23]

- In response to a claim about the “Taylor Swift effect” helping Kelce’s jersey sales and social media followers skyrocket, BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock posted, “No. That's the benefit of selling out to Big Pharma and Bud Light.” In another post, Whitlock questioned, “What professional athlete in the prime of his life and health would be out promoting the vaccine given all the data about the injuries and whatnot” and criticized Kelce’s relationship with “Taylor Swift, hardcore leftist [who] promotes abortion.” Twitter/X, [9/26/23; BlazeTV, Fearless, 9/26/26, accessed via Twitter/X 9/26/23]

- Far-right influencer and self-described “Alpha Male” Nick Adams wrote that Kelce had knelt for the anthem and done ads for Pfizer and Bud Light. He added: “Taylor Swift hates America. Taylor Swift hates President Trump. Taylor Swift loves communism. Maybe Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift would be good together.” Twitter/X, [9/25/23]

- OutKick host Charly Arnolt suggested Swift and Kelce were in a public relations relationship “to push woke products, also woke political agendas.” Before playing Kelce’s Pfizer ad, Arnolt said, “A lot of debate whether that’s a legitimate relationship. But they're using people like this, celebrities, to push woke products, also woke political agendas. It's clearly working.” OutKick, *OutKick the Morning*, [10/5/23]

## Right-wing media claimed Swift promotes witchcraft and Satanism

- In a social media post, Rumble host Stew Peters implied that Swift should be burned alive for witchcraft. While sharing a social media post from Swift which mentions “casting spells,” Peters stated: “Taylor Swift promotes witchcraft and encourages her fans to ‘cast spells.’ I’ve heard that Salem, Massachusetts has a remedy for witches." Twitter/X, [10/19/23]

- Also citing the “casting spells” social media post from Swift, former GOP gubernatorial candidate Kandiss Taylor attacked Swift for “celebrating witchcraft” and “influencing innocent minds to be enticed with the dark side of spirituality.” Her post went on to state, “Let’s see how much Lucifer cares about you or your career. I promise. He doesn’t.” Twitter/X, [10/18/23]

- Stew Peters responded to Kandiss Taylor’s tweet, “George Soros might own Taylor Swift’s music, but the devil owns her soul.” Peters previously called Swift “demonic.” Twitter/X, [10/19/23, 11/19/23]

- One America News’ Steinberg said she was creeped out by Swift’s use of “kind of witchy” dances and Swifties' “take me to church” chants during the Eras tour: “I've heard in her Eras tour that one of her dances is kind of witchy — her and the dancers hold these yellow globes and are wearing these long hoods. The whole thing looks really creepy to me. And then, in addition to that, there is also apparently a trend among the Swifties where before one of her songs comes on, they all chant ‘Take me to church.’ Of course, these are all just sort of conspiracies, but I do find the whole situation rather fascinating and peculiar.” One America News, *In Focus*, [11/17/23]

- Steinberg also wondered aloud if a Harvard course on Taylor Swift’s pop culture power was an attempt to “instruct you on how to relinquish any morals and values you might have, and just indoctrinate you, and force you to become a full-blown satanist.” Steinberg stressed, “I’m a firm believer in that Hollywood celebrities are sort of hand-selected and once you reach a certain level you kind of have to be willing to sell your soul to Satan to achieve real success. … So I’m confused as to what this course is actually going to teach.” One America News, *In Focus*, [11/29/23]

## Right-wing media accused Swift of being a Democratic Party operative

- Former Trump adviser and right-wing podcast host Steve Bannon compared Swift to election denier and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, suggesting that Swift is a “powerful political force” for the left. According to Bannon, “Taking Mike Lindell out of Walmart was a monumental piece of the history of this political movement. Just like today, announcing Taylor Swift is Time's Person of the Year ... is another major political statement, because she's a powerful political force on their side, like Mike Lindell's a political force on this side. A cultural figure.” Real America’s Voice, *War Room*, [12/6/23]

- Turning Point USA’s Kirk blamed Swift for anti-choice losses during the 2023 midterms, as “all the Swifties want is swift abortion.” Kirk added, “We act as if she is like Mother Mary or something. Newsflash, she ain't Mother Mary.” Real America's Voice, *The Charlie Kirk Show*, [11/8/23]

- OAN’s Steinberg said she believes Swift is “the perfect political weapon for the Democrat agenda.” “She's trendy. Everyone loves her. She comes off as super sweet, but in reality, her entire value set completely contradicts anything Christian or conservative,” Steinberg stated. “I think she's propped up as an idol for Gen-Z girls so the Democrats can possibly use her to win votes for Biden.” One America News, *In Focus*, [12/6/23]

- In a series of social media posts, anti-Muslim bigot Laura Loomer claimed that the 2024 election would be “MAGA vs Swifties.” In an earlier post, she alleged that the Democratic Party is “100% using Taylor Swift to try to get Democrats elected.” Twitter/X, [12/11/23, 12/6/23]

- Newsmax host Mark Kaye suggested Swift is a Democratic operative because she held voter registration drives at concerts. According to Kaye, “What better way to get a bunch of young girls to vote for Joe Biden than to convince Taylor Swift to be his spokesperson? That's why when she went out to her concert, she was more than happy to promote the ‘go out and register to vote’ mandate.” Kaye also said it’s “interesting that this pop sensation and this football star are getting together just before an election year to promote not just registering to vote, voting for Democrats, but also getting your COVID vaccine. Is it all just a coincidence, or is this pre-planned by the Democrat Party?” Newsmax, *The Mark Kaye Show*, [12/9/23]

- Pizzagate conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec accused Swift of being a “psyop” and “a statecraft asset for years” in a series of absurd social media posts and claimed “2024 will be the full payoff” for Democrats. In one post, Posobiec claimed that “conservatives who applaud Taylor Swift Time Mag award psyop” will be responsible for losing the country. Twitter/X, [12/6/23; 12/6/23; 12/6/23; 12/6/23]

- Dom Lucre, a right-wing conspiracy theorist who previously shared child sexual abuse imagery online, theorized that liberal financier George Soros was responsible for Swift being named Time's Person of the Year. In his full social media post, he claimed that her “music rights had been purchased by George Soros,” before insinuating a connection, adding that Times’ award “doesn’t come cheap.” Twitter/X, [12/6/23; Media Matters, 7/28/23]

- In a social media post, right-wing account End Wokeness speculated that Swift was an operative for “the regime.” The full post read, “Why is the regime pushing Taylor Swift so hard? Because she is a 2024 Get Out The Vote operation that will be activated soon.” Twitter/X, [12/6/23]

---

an 12 23

Former President Donald Trump and his supporters are setting their sights on a relatively unknown and mundane target, but election integrity experts say the results could have disastrous consequences in 2024.

On Friday, Rolling Stone reported that Trumpworld is coming after the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), which dozens of states have used to organize voter registration data that was previously kept on paper. ERIC was created by the Pew Charitable Trusts, which is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and has been used by both Democratic and Republican-controlled states without incident since 2012. However, the ex-president has railed against ERIC on his Truth Social page, calling it a "terrible Voter Registration System that ‘pumps the rolls’ for Democrats and does nothing to clean them up."

Trump has called on Republican secretaries of state to pull out of ERIC, and MAGA-aligned attorney Cleta Mitchell has baselessly asserting that it was created and funded by Democratic billionaire George Soros (a rep for Soros' foundation told CNN it has "never funded" ERIC). Following the far-right's attacks on the system, ERIC has gone from being used by 33 states to just 24 as of December 2023.

According to Rolling Stone, ERIC allows states an easy way to purge voter rolls of deceased or ineligible voters, and offers a secure way for different secretaries of state to confidentially share voter info, like driver's license numbers and the last four digits of a voter's Social Security number "to eliminate any confusion about who a voter is and whether they’re eligible to register."

ERIC co-founder and former executive director David Becker — who resigned this year amid a GOP-led pressure campaign — said the far right's anti-ERIC campaign can lead to voter lists being "significantly less accurate" as more states pull out. He added that the problems that will inevitably arise from states not using ERIC could help fuel false narratives about supposedly stolen elections.

"There will be old records on the voter lists of people who are no longer eligible in the state that will fuel false claims of potential voter fraud. And there will be inaccurate records [of those] who are eligible in the state who moved within the state that they will likely not catch," Becker said. "Faulty voter files create long lines on Election Day, delays in getting mail-in ballots, an increase in provisional ballots, and delays in determining a winner."

“The more problems at the polls, the more lines, the more provisional ballots, the longer it takes to count overall ballots and get an unofficial winner, those all feed into the potential for chaos and even incitement to violence by election losers," he continued.

Voting software company EagleAI, which was developed by a healthcare CEO from Alabama, is being fielded as a MAGA alternative to ERIC. However, Georgia director of elections Blake Evans criticized an EagleAI presentation as "confused," and said it could "steer counties towards unlawful list-maintenance activities." Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said the software's pattern of using property tax records to determine voter eligibility was "utterly unreliable" and could result in litigation from voters being falsely removed.

"There’s any number of spouses who do not show up on property–tax records. No one who rents an apartment will show up on property-tax records," Schmidt said.

Click here to read Rolling Stone's full report.

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https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-host-jesse-watters-:(style="background-color:#ffffffff"):}::{george-soros-villain:(style="background-color:#ffff66ff"):}::{-and-last-election-wasnt-fair-everybody

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6 23

https://www.rawstory.com/hungarian-government-media-train-sights-on-soros-son/

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https://www.mediamatters.org/george-soros/murdoch-media-praise-international-right-wing-politicians-targeting-george-soros

mma 5 23

In a conspiracy theory-laden segment, Fox Business seemed to openly plagiarize a recent article from its corporate cousin, the New York Post, while praising “the top five anti-Soros political leaders” supposedly resisting billionaire George Soros, whose philanthropic and political donations have turned him into a boogeyman among right-wing media.

On the May 15 edition of Fox Business’ Varney & Co., host Stuart Varney and correspondent Ashley Webster discussed what Varney described as “a group of conservative leaders” who want to “limit George Soros' influence on politics” in their home countries. Webster then went on to praise four foreign leaders from conservative and right-wing populist political parties — Poland's Jarosław Kaczyński, Albania's Belind Këlliçi, Italy's Giorgia Meloni, and France's Bruno Retailleau — as well as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, all of whom he described as “fighting back” against Soros.

Webster’s claims against Soros are reminiscent of the conspiratorial pablum continuously spewed by Soros-obsessed commentators in the United States. He remarked that the leaders say Soros seeks to “destabilize” countries from within by “promoting liberal values” and progressive prosecutors, and pushing "mass migration" to “undermine national sovereignty” — all concepts that have been endlessly promoted by Fox News and other right-wing outlets[ vid 5 15]

webster concluded his litany by brazenly declaring that Soros “believes that only by upending the status quo can a more perfect liberal, globalist society emerge.” The "globalist" modifier here is a now-notorious antisemitic reference casually employed by right-media media.

Bizarrely, the segment never mentioned the New York Post article from which it was clearly drawn (even repeating some exact language), even though the piece’s author, Miranda Devine, was the featured guest on the segment immediately preceding. Devine instead used her time to promote another obsession of right-wing fabulist media personalities: Hunter Biden’s laptop.

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https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/another-far-right-group-was-posting-conspiracy-theories-about-voter-roll-program-as-red-states-cut-ties

tpm 4 23

as Republican-led states pull out of a multistate voter roll program in response to Gateway Pundit-pushed conspiracy theories about the organization, a conservative nonprofit was apparently also part of fanning the flames.

Judicial Watch, a far-right legal advocacy group, published a white paper in early March boosting erroneous claims about the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a bipartisan program designed to maintain voter rolls across state lines.

The paper, which the non-profit reupped on their website Friday, sought to legitimize debunked claims made by the far-right website Gateway Pundit last year, which falsely argued that ERIC was founded by “left-leaning attorney David Becker” and funded by GeorgeSoros.

Judicial Watch claims that Becker had a “history of left-wing activism and unethical conduct,” and that ERIC “shares the vast amount of sensitive personal data it receives from member states with another liberal non-profit, the Center for Election Innovation and Research,” which they linked to the “Zuckerbucks” controversy, another election-related conspiracy theory.

Becker did help a handful of states launch the non-partisan program with a group called the Pew Charitable Trusts in 2012, but Soros never directly contributed to ERIC.Becker has sat on ERIC’s board as a non-voting ex-officio member since its founding, but on March 14 he announced that he would be vacating the position due to the conspiracy theories about his role that were being pushed by the right-wing media.

The Judicial Watch report was originally published on March 9, three days after Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd (R) announced that his state would be withdrawing from the program alongside Missouri and West Virginia. That afternoon, former president Donald Trump attacked ERIC on Truth Social as well:

“All Republican Governors should immediately pull out of ERIC, the terrible Voter Registration System that ‘pumps the rolls’ for Democrats and does nothing to clean them up,” he wrote. “It’s a fools game for Republicans…”

On March 10, Texas officials also signaled their interest in leaving the program, and they’ve since drawn up legislation to do so. Ohio and Iowa announced their departures on March 17.

ERIC executive director Shane Hamlin posted an open letter on March 2 trying to bat down misinformation about the program, but it didn’t stop what would become a wave of red state officials cutting ties with the program.

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mma 4 23

JOHN RATCLIFFE (FORMER DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE): Well, Maria, I mean, the point is this is election interference. We don't know how – no one really knows how this is going to play out. We just know that it is going to be a factor. We have crossed the Rubicon from people saying, you know, on the left, President Trump should be indicted to the discussion is going to be President Trump was indicted. And however long this case takes, and very clearly, it's not going to play out throughout the court system in less than the year that it's going to take to, you know, to, you know, reach a Republican nominee.

And so this action, this political persecution is going to influence our politics every single day for the next year until a Republican nominee is chosen, and that is, by definition, election interference. This is wholly inappropriate, you know, a complete perversion of our political system, and I think people need to, hopefully, understand and see what's going on here through these imposter D.A.s like Alvin Bragg. But this is coast to coast, you know? This is Kim Foxx in Chicago, this is George Gascon in California, this isGeorge Soros funding all of these people where we've put socialists in charge of the American judicial system. We've put people who don't understand or appreciate orstand up for American values in charge of our legal system to distort it intentionally and deliberately and, unfortunately, Donald Trump is the first but won't be the last person to be persecuted under that system.

MARIA BARTIROMO (FOX NEWS HOST): Well, this is a really good point that you're making because George Soros makes no apology for it. In fact, he wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal just a couple of weeks ago. You're talking about the $40 million that he has donated to get these D.A.s in place. He says I've done it transparently. I've no intention of stopping. The funds I provide enable sensible, reform-minded candidates to receive a hearing from the public. Judging by the results, the public likes what it's hearing. I'm not sure which public he's talking to becausethese D.A.s are using bail reform to put criminals back on the streetexcept if it's Donald Trump.

RATCLIFFE: Maria, they're not D.A.s, they're imposter D.A.s. These are political plants. These are people who are only being supported with, you know, $40 million – in the case of Alvin Bragg a million dollars from George Soros [NOPE]– only because of a promise that you're in this position, you will pursue political prosecution of our opponents, those on the right. And that is, again, happening coast to coast, and that's really what's at stake. This should be a clarion call to Americans who otherwise don't tune in to politics ordon't think that it affects them. It absolutely has, and the bedrock principles of our justice system are clearly under assault where, again, we have socialists who are anathema to, you know, American values in charge largely of our judicial system, you know, through these state D.A.s and prosecutors.

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{{ ===

mma 3 23

following the news that former President Donald Trump was indicted Thursday by the Manhattan grand jury overseeing the Stormy Daniels hush money case, Fox News quickly blamed a familiar foe: George Soros.

Soros has been mentioned at least 21 on the network in the aftermath of the indictment, over just 6 and 1/2 hours since the story broke.

Soros was mentioned at least:

3 times on Special Report
10 times on Jesse Watters Primetime
2 times on Tucker Carlson Tonight
3 times on Hannity
3 times on The Ingraham Angle.

Some mentions were from anchors, hosts, and correspondents reading statements from figures such as Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Fox’s fixation with Soros comes from misleading and exaggerated claims about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is overseeing the case, and his supposed relationship with Soros. ....

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ref 1

ox News has completely ignored recent Truth Social posts by former President Donald Trump that included a racist attack and suggestions of violence.

In a series of posts on his Truth Social platform, Trump referred to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg — Manhattan’s first Black DA — as a “Soros backed animal,” a “degenerate psychopath,” and warned of “death and destruction” should he be indicted. Bragg is investigating the former president’s alleged involvement in a hush money scheme to silence porn actor Stormy Daniels just days before the 2016 election.

Fox News has not covered Trump’s posts. The network has, however, spent time attacking Bragg this week over the potential indictment, including by attempting to tie him to philanthropist George Soros:

Fox host Rachel Campos-Duffy called Bragg a “George Soros-funded DA” who “has to pay his master back.”
Fox host Mark Levin called Bragg a “radical left-wing legal bomb thrower who’s inserted into this position by George Soros.”
Former Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller called the probe evidence that “we are living in a post-Constitution, post-truth era where progressive, Soros-backed prosecutors will decide for themselves who is free and who is not.”
Fox host Greg Gutfeld claimed Alvin Bragg “has more blood on his hands than the Wuhan market” and warned that “no one is safe if he can do this.”

In reality, both Trump and Fox have greatly exaggerated the supposed connection between Soros and Bragg, who was one beneficiary among several campaigns supported by the Color of Change PAC, which also endorsed him. Soros had donated to Color of Change since before Bragg’s candidacy, and a spokesperson for Soros said the two men have never communicated. A Color of Change spokesperson clarified that the endorsement process is “independent of funders.” Soros has made no direct contributions to Bragg, though his wife and son donated a combined $20,000 to his 2021 campaign.

This isn’t the first time that Fox has ignored or downplayed damaging statements and actions by Trump, and it comes as the network is seemingly lifting its “soft ban” on the 2024 GOP front-runner. ....

---

ref2

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/23/us/politics/alvin-bragg-george-soros-trump.html

FACT CHECK

Explaining the Ties Between Alvin Bragg and George Soros

Donald Trump’s allies have accused the district attorney bringing a case against him as having been “bought” by Mr. Soros, the philanthropist. That is misleading, though the men do have a financial connection.

By Linda Qiu

March 23, 2023

WASHINGTON — As a potential indictment looms over former President Donald J. Trump, he and his allies have sought to tie the Manhattan district attorney bringing the case to a familiar Republican specter: George Soros, the financier and Democratic megadonor.

Mr. Soros, who has backed Democratic candidates and causes as well as democracy and human rights around the world, has for years been a boogeyman on the right, confronting attacks that portray him as a “globalist” mastermind and that often veer into antisemitic tropes.

....

===}}:

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mma 2 23

MARK LEVIN (HOST): The gunman had his prior gun charge dismissed by aGeorge Soros-backed prosecutor in the name of racial equity.

By the way, the amount of death and mayhem that George Soros has created in this country as a result of getting these kinds of phony prosecutors elected is unbelievable.

And I have noticed that none of these news organizations, Maggie Haberman at the New York Slimes, Phillip Bump-y over there, I guess, at the Washington Compostand the rest of these frauds and fools, I noticed that they have no interest whatsoever in looking into this, none. But it's quite newsworthy. None.

And I noticed that George Soros always skates. He's the guy behind the curtain that's helped unleash mayhem and murder and rape in our cities. Why? Because he's the sugar daddy to all these radical left-wing groups that work with the media and work with the Democrat Party. That's why. He now works with Charles Koch, over there at the Koch Foundation.

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yikes

https://www.mediamatters.org/ron-desantis/hungarys-viktor-orban-targeted-central-european-university-gov-ron-desantis-following

florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and anti-civil rights activist Christopher Rufo are waging a campaign against New College of Florida that strongly resembles actions taken by Hungary’s authoritarian prime minister Viktor Orbán in 2017 and 2018 to shut down Central European University.

DeSantis appointed Rufo, known for his anti-Black and anti-LGBTQ messaging propaganda, to the board of trustees at New College of Florida in early January. Since then, Rufo has engaged in what amounts to a hostile takeover of the school, forcing the president out and attempting to reinvent the school as a conservative institution. The scheme echoes Orbán’s plot to force CEU out of Hungary just years earlier.

Right-wing media personalities and activists in the United States have extensively praised Orbán in recent years, including after he gave what his own adviser called a “pure Nazi speech” in which he decried “race mixing” among Hungarians. During a May 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference event in Hungary, Orbán referred to Fox News star Tucker Carlson as a “friend” whose show should be “broadcasted day and night.” (Carlson passionately defended Orbán in 2021, characterizing his views as “moderate and conventional.”) A separate event known as the National Conservatism Conference also served to strengthen the ties between the illiberal Hungarian leader and his stateside admirers.

Whether DeSantis and Rufo are deliberately modeling their efforts on Orbán’s — or the similarities have arisen naturally from the authoritarian ideologies all three men share — isn’t clear. Regardless, Rufo himself appeared to endorse Orbán’s targeting of CEU in a tweet to conservative writer and Orbán fanboy Rod Dreher.

[twts]

other members of DeSantis’ inner circle have praised Orbán’s administration. During the National Conservatism Conference in Miami last September,Christina Pushaw,a longtime DeSantis aide, “told the audience that Orbán’s government gave her inspiration” for icing out mainstream journalists, as reported in New York magazine.

“The New Yorker wrote to Orbán and asked for comment on their hit piece, and they received a response that was just perfect. It said, ‘We are not going to participate in the validation process for liberal propaganda,’ ” she recounted, “and I don’t think we need to participate in that validation process either.” Instead, she noted, DeSantis gives access to conservative sites, which then get quotes and scooplets they can use to build their audience.

At the same conference, an Orbán adviser praised DeSantis and used the governor’s policies to justify and normalize Hungary’s own. From New York magazine:

At one panel, The Federalist’s Sean Davis asked Balázs Orbán, an adviser (no relation) to Viktor Orbán, how his government is preventing the fake-news media from poisoning the minds of the youth. “Just as is done in Florida,” Orbán replied, explaining that the Hungarian regime used state power to prevent the left from indoctrinating the country in its ideology. (His spokesperson explained that he was referring specifically to “gender propaganda.”) He mocked the idea that the regime was behaving autocratically: “You can say I am autocratic, pro-Putin, pro-everything that is bad, but look, in Florida, in the United States, the Republicans are doing the same.”

The similarities in the campaigns that DeSantis and Rufo in Florida, and Orbán in Hungary, have waged against a particular institution of higher learning are striking. Beginning in 2017, Orbán set his sights on CEU, one of Budapest’s top universities. Founded in 1991 by liberal philanthropist George Soros, who was born in Hungary, the school was meant to serve as a model of post-Cold War openness and cosmopolitanism. Orbán saw it as a threat — a bastion of liberalism that threatened his far-right regime.

Orbán, who studied law at István Bibó, a college in Budapest, moved to impose requirements on CEU that appeared to be impossible to meet by design. As The Atlantic reported:

Although the legislation didn’t mention CEU by name, the school was its obvious—and only—target. The bill would suddenly make CEU’s existence in the country dependent on quickly meeting a series of impossible-seeming requirements. As a foreign university, it would have to operate a campus in its country of origin. (CEU was chartered in the state of New York, but it didn’t have any faculty or facilities there.) Its national government would need to enter into a bilateral accreditation agreement with Hungary. (In the U.S., accreditation agreements are the jurisdiction of the states, not the federal government.)

The law passed, ultimately forcing CEU to close its campus and relocate to Vienna, Austria.

Orbán’s broader intrusions into school curricula also anticipate DeSantis’ own attempts to exert control over classroom instruction. The Atlantic writes:

Textbooks and curricula, once the domain of municipalities, have been centralized and now inculcate the regime’s politics. “The government is quite clear that patriotic education is as important as transferring knowledge,” Péter Kréko, the political analyst, told me. An eighth-grade history book praises Orbán as a “foundational figure.” A high-school textbook opens a section on “multiculturalism” with an image of refugees huddled at the Budapest train station, accompanied by a quotation from the prime minister: “We consider it a value that Hungary is a homogeneous country.”

Rufo has been alternately open and cryptic about his plans for New College. He sometimes describes his efforts almost modestly, as in a closing paragraph on his blog at City Journal:

My proposals include redesigning the curriculum to align with the classical model; abolishing DEI programs and replacing them with “equality, merit, and colorblindness” principles; adopting the Kalven statement on institutional neutrality; restructuring the administration and academic departments; recruiting new faculty with expertise in the classical liberal arts tradition; and establishing a graduate school for training teachers in classical education.

But in the same post, he endorsed DeSantis’ chief-of-staff’s comment that the goal is to remake New College into a “Hillsdale of the South,” referencing the far-right Christian college in Michigan.

As New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg wrote (emphasis in original):

The new majority’s plan, Rufo told me just after his appointment was announced, is to transform New College into a public version of Hillsdale. “We want to provide an alternative for conservative families in the state of Florida to say there is a public university that reflects your values,” he said.

Rufo has made clear that New College is just the beginning. “If we are successful, the effort can serve as a model for other states,” he wrote at City Journal.

Orbán was successful in driving CEU out of Hungary. Whether DeSantis and Rufo can remake New College remains to be seen, much less whether their actions are scalable. Regardless, Rufo has stated that his ambitions do not end with the DeSantis administration. In a recent video titled “The Strategy Behind the Campaign to Abolish DEI Bureaucracies in Public Universities” posted to his YouTube page, he that his goal is to “get it done in one state, in the state of Florida, and then see a domino effect of other states following suit.”

But it would be wise to take warning from CEU’s president, Shalini Randeria.

“We are a textbook case because what we need to realise is that all of these ‘soft authoritarian’ regimes, as I call them, are learning from one another. There is a playbook they are carefully watching to see what works in one case or another,” she said in an interview with University World News. “We need to study this carefully to see there is a certain toolbox they’re using, and no university is safe.”

---

an 1 23

For months, Fox News and other right-wing media outlets relentlessly hyped former special counselJohn Durham’s probe of the Russia investigation. Durham, appointed by former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, conducted what was essentially an investigation of an investigation. And Fox News pundits, along with former President Donald Trump, predicted that the probe would be seriously damaging to prominent Democrats.

But when Durham finally delivered his final report for the probe, it was hardly the total annihilation of Democrats that Fox News hosts were expecting. Liberal pundits on MSNBC were quick to describe Durham’s findings as mostly a “nothingburger.” And according to reporting in the**New York Times, Durham’s investigation included some questionable Russian sources.

Rolling Stone’s Nikki McCann Ramirez describes those Russian sources as “sketchy,” and she argues that House Republicans will probably “ignore” Durham’s probe when they conduct their new select committee on the “weaponization of the federal government.”

Ramirez explains, “Earlier this month, Kevin McCarthy announced the creation of a new ‘weaponization of the federal government’ select committee aimed at investigating overreach by the Justice Department. One case that House Republicans are likely to ignore is special counsel John Durham’s probe into the Russia investigation, despite the New York Times reporting on Thursday, (January 26) that Durham and former Attorney General Bill Barr, who appointed him, may have abused their investigative powers in a litany of ways, including by using sketchy Russian intelligence to gain access to the e-mails of an aide to Hungarian billionaire George Soros, a frequent target of right-wing conspiracies.”

The Rolling Stone journalist points out that according to the New York Times’ reporting, Durham “seized on dubious Russian intelligence memos in order to target Leonard Benardo, the executive vice president of Soros’ Open Society Foundations.”

“According to interviews conducted by the Times,” Ramirez observes, "despite significant factual inconsistencies in the memos being raised by investigators, the special counsel reportedly went to great lengths to obtain information on the contents of Benardo’s e-mails. When a judge struck down a request from his office to access the information, citing a lack of evidence compelling enough to overwrite privacy laws,Durham reportedly attempted to circumvent her decision through a grand jury. While the Times was unable to ascertain if Benardo was subpoenaed by Durham,he did voluntarily provide the special counsel with the requested information.”

Ramirez describes Durham’s investigation as “primarily a giant waste of time and resources.”

“It’s the exact type of partisan witch hunt one might think a House committee on the ‘weaponization of the federal government’ might want to investigate, but Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who will run the subcommittee, is unlikely to bring it to the table,” Ramirez writes. “Jordan, a devout Trump loyalist, repeatedly lauded the Durham investigation, and publicly affirmed his belief that the probe would result in criminal penalties for those under Barr and Durham’s scrutiny.”

Read Rolling Stone’s full article at this link.

---

OMG

an badash 1 23

Special counsel Robert Durham, appointed by then-Attorney General Bill Barr, uncovered possible financial crimes by Donald Trump but made no attempt to prosecute them, The New York Times reveals in massive, bombshell report published Thursday after a months-long investigation.

“Mr. Barr and Mr. Durham never disclosed that their inquiry expanded in the fall of 2019, based on a tip from Italian officials, to include a criminal investigation into suspicious financial dealings related to Mr. Trump. The specifics of the tip and how they handled the investigation remain unclear, but Mr. Durham brought no charges over it,” The Times’ Charlie Savage, Adam Goldman, and Katie Benner report.

The “potentially explosive tip linking Mr. Trump to certain suspected financial crimes” came during a trip Barr and Durham, his special counsel, took together. They “decided that the tip was too serious and credible to ignore.”

But, “Mr. Durham never filed charges, and it remains unclear what level of an investigation it was, what steps he took, what he learned and whether anyone at the White House ever found out. The extraordinary fact that Mr. Durham opened a criminal investigation that included scrutinizing Mr. Trump has remained secret.”

That’s just one aspect of The Times’ extensive and disturbing report.

It also reveals that there was little justification for Barr to install Durham as a special counsel to investigate what Trump wrongly maintained was an unjustifiable investigation into his ties to Russia.

In fact, The Times “found that the main thrust of the Durham inquiry was marked by some of the very same flaws — including a strained justification for opening it and its role in fueling partisan conspiracy theories that would never be charged in court — that Trump allies claim characterized the Russia investigation.”

In another shocking revelation, The Times reports Durham “used Russian intelligence memos — suspected by other U.S. officials of containing disinformation — to gain access to emails of an aide toGeorge Soros, the financier and philanthropist who is a favorite target of the American right and Russian state media.”

The Times does not explain how Durham obtained the Russian disinformation.

“Mr. Durham used grand jury powers to keep pursuing the emails even after a judge twice rejected his request for access to them. The emails yielded no evidence that Mr. Durham has cited in any case he pursued.”

Attorneys on Durham’s team apparently had significant qualms with his actions, leading at least two to resign.

“There were deeper internal fractures on the Durham team than previously known,” The Times reports. “The publicly unexplained resignation in 2020 of his No. 2 and longtime aide, Nora R. Dannehy, was the culmination of a series of disputes between them over prosecutorial ethics. A year later, two more prosecutors strongly objected to plans to indict a lawyer with ties to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign based on evidence they warned was too flimsy, and one left the team in protest of Mr. Durham’s decision to proceed anyway. (A jury swiftly acquitted the lawyer.)”

BARR THREATENED NSA

The Times also reports that Attorney General Barr bought into Trump’s false claims that there had been “no collusion” between the Trump camp and Russia.

Importantly,The Times states point-blank that the Mueller Report “detailed ‘numerous links between the Russian government and the Trump campaign,’ and it established both how Moscow had worked to help Mr. Trump win and how his campaign had expected to benefit from the foreign interference.”

According to The Times’ account, “soon after giving Mr. Durham his assignment,” in May of 2019, “Mr. Barr summoned the head of the National Security Agency, Paul M. Nakasone, to his office. In front of several aides, Mr. Barr demanded that the N.S.A. cooperate with the Durham inquiry.”

The NSA is a wholly separate entity from the Dept. of Justice. It is an agency under the Dept. of Defense and reports to the powerful Director of National Intelligence (DNI).

Barr apparently did not care, and, “repeating a sexual vulgarity, he warned that if the N.S.A. wronged him by not doing all it could to help Mr. Durham, Mr. Barr would do the same to the agency.”

DURHAM TRIED TO SCUTTLE A REPORT’S FINDING THAT TRUMP-RUSSIA INVESTIGATION WAS WARRANTED

“Mr. Durham’s team spent long hours combing the C.I.A.’s files but found no way to support the allegation” that the investigation into Trump and Russia was the result of some anti-Trump deep state operation.

Barr and Durham actually “traveled abroad together to press British and Italian officials to reveal everything their agencies had gleaned about the Trump campaign and relayed to the United States, but both allied governments denied they had done any such thing. Top British intelligence officials expressed indignation to their U.S. counterparts about the accusation, three former U.S. officials said.”

The Dept. of Justice’s Inspector General’s investigation found there was, in fact, sufficient cause for the DOJ to have opened up the Trump-Russia investigation, contrary to Barr’s personal beliefs.

So he tried to have that finding removed from the final report.

The Times reports that “the broader findings contradicted Mr. Trump’s accusations and the rationale for Mr. Durham’s inquiry,” which should have shut down what ultimately became Durham’s four-year long investigation that netted almost nothing.

The DOJ Inspector General, Michael Horowitz, “found no evidence that F.B.I. actions were politically motivated. And he concluded that the investigation’s basis — an Australian diplomat’s tip that aTrump campaign adviser had seemed to disclose advance knowledge that Russia would release hacked Democratic emails — had been sufficient to lawfully open it.”

So Barr tried to discredit Horowitz’s report.

“Minutes before the inspector general’s report went online, Mr. Barr issued a statement contradicting Mr. Horowitz’s major finding, declaring that the F.B.I. opened the investigation “on the thinnest of suspicions that, in my view, were insufficient.” He would later tell Fox News that the investigation began “without any basis,” as if the diplomat’s tip never happened.”

Read the entire Times report here.

---

mma 10 22

Fox News personalities and guests have long attacked Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, and now Pennsylvania lawmakers are trying to impeach him.

Earlier in September, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives sent Krasner a subpoena to hand over documents that pertain to the way he prosecutes crime, and Krasner refused to comply. Conservatives have attacked him over this and ultimately the state House voted to hold him in contempt. Krasner did partially comply with the subpoena despite calling it “undemocratic,” but he refused to hand over documents that might violate grand jury secrecy laws.

Now part of the push to impeach Krasner, who was overwhelmingly reelected in 2021, is a report that argues his policies contributed to a rise in Philadelphia’s crime rate. But criminology experts have taken issue with the report’s methodology, saying its conclusions are shaky. Texas A&M economics professor Jennifer Doleac wrote, “The errors are so egregious that publishing this article in this journal feels like malpractice.”

In reality, there does *not* seem to be a correlation between high crime rates and progressive prosecutors. In fact, one study shows that cities with progressive DAs actually saw slower growth in homicides and no correlation to high crime.

These discussions are lost in the right-wing echo chamber, where pundits relentlessly criticize progressive prosecutors. Right-wing media have singled out crime as a wedge issue to push conservative candidates onto voters, and their attacks have included district attorneys. Earlier this year, right-wing media successfully pushed for the recall vote of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, and now they are looking to Philadelphia as their next target.

Many Fox News personalities argued Krasner was failing in his role in prosecuting criminals, decontextualizing Philadelphia’s crime rate from national crime rates and citing total numbers of murders rather than per capita rates. This makes Philadelphia’s crime appear higher than it actually is since the city has a large population.

Right-wing media are calling for or justifying Krasner’s removal, blaming him for crime rates, and engaging in antisemitic fearmongering about a link to Jewish billionaire philanthropist George Soros:

Justifying and calling for Krasner’s removal

Fox News’ David Lee Miller uncritically cited the discredited report in his coverage of Krasner’s impeachment, saying, “A portion of their interim report says violent crime in Philadelphia increased to unprecedented and unacceptable levels during DA Krasner's watch.”
During an interview with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Fox anchor Harris Faulkner misleadingly cited total murder numbers as opposed to per capita numbers, saying, “The numbers don't lie. More than 380 murders in Philadelphia this year. New York and Los Angeles nearly as bad. The people want change. Those are blue cities. The people want change. Recall efforts are now underway to try to boot Krasner from his position.”
On October 25, Faulkner again promoted the attempt to oust Krasner: “Outrage in Philadelphia over liberal District Attorney Larry Krasner. A scathing nw report details his dismal failure to keep crime under control. He has been under pressure before. Now it's really on.”
Fox News host Jeanine Pirro attacked Krasner as “inept” and a “liar” before adding, “He should not be DA. He should be the public defender.”
Right-wing Pennsylvania radio host Chris Stigall called for arresting Krasner for not complying with a subpoena from the state legislature: “If we had a Republican governor like DeSantis in Florida you know what we'd do? At bare minimum suspend Larry Krasner if not outright arrest him today for not complying with the subpoena.”

Blaming Krasner for high crime rates

Fox News correspondent Bryan Llenas parroted GOP talking points, saying, “Republicans insist it has everything to do with Krasner. Since he was elected DA in 2017, the city's murder rate is up 70% while retail theft, armed robbery, property, and violent crime all continue to surge.”
Fox News anchor Julie Banderas claimed Krasner’s policies have failed, citing one example: “The latest example of Philadelphia's progressive district attorney Larry Krasner and his soft-on-crime policies are not working out. This is horrendous. A Philadelphia man — here’s just one example — who was exonerated for a 2012 murder in Philadelphia is now the suspect in a recent deadly shooting.”
Former GOP Senate candidate George Bochetto attacked Krasner on Fox & Friends, saying, “Larry Krasner, our district attorney, refuses to carry out his responsibilities. Refuses to enforce bail. Refuses to violate parole violators and put them back in jail.”
Fox News correspondent Nate Foy said: “Krasner is often blamed for the murder of Philadelphia police officer James O'Connor in 2020” because “Krasner's office let him [the shooter] walk free without bail.”

Linking Krasner to George Soros

Fox News host Tucker Carlson claimed there is “an attempt, of course, to destroy the middle class” with crime, adding, “So in Philadelphia a lot of these crimes can be traced to one man, Soros-backed DA Larry Krasner. He’s decided not to charge many robbers with crimes. … If you stop charging people with certain crimes, they commit more of them. That seems like an obvious observation. And again, it's more evidence this is not an accident.”
While discussing crime in Philadelphia, Fox News contributor Leo Terrell said: “The Democrats have abandoned the victims and for some crazy, perverted reason are backing the criminals. I can mention two words, George Soros, George Soros, George Soros, because his money is allowing these prosecutors to stay in office.”
Along with displaying a photo of Krasner, Fox host Laura Ingraham said: “So, as the bodies keep piling up needlessly in districts run by Soros-picked DAs, is it not worth asking, ‘What would save more lives today? Gun control, or recalling every DA that George Soros funded?’”
Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Will Cain fearmongered about Soros spending “$40 million in the past 10 years, to electing DAs like Alvin Bragg, Kim Fox in Chicago, Larry Krasner in Philadelphia. And by the way, that's only a sampling. Fifty percent of your district attorneys in the biggest cities across the country are elected with the backing of George Soros.”
Fox News host Jesse Watters said Krasner was “funded with big bucks by George Soros,” adding, “In Philly, where under Larry Krasner — they call him Uncle Larry — the city has seen a surge in violence.”

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omfg

https://www.mediamatters.org/one-america-news-network/oan-calls-darya-dugina-casualty-joe-bidens-red-regime-and-its-war-impose

8 22

PEARSON SHARP (CORRESPONDENT): Washington's proxy war against Russia claims another victim. Darya Dugina, an innocent journalist, who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. On Saturday night, Darya was killed in a massive explosion from a car bomb planted under her father's truck. Evidence suggests that bomb was meant for her father instead – the famous Russian political commentator Aleksandr Dugin, who also happens to be a close friend with president Vladimir Putin. Darya, like her father, has been adamantly opposed to the illegal, criminal, and unprovoked western aggression in eastern Europe, especially towards Russia. Over the last year, she has cemented her reputation as an independent journalist fiercely critical of Joe Biden’s red regime, as well as his efforts to start World War III.

Her reporting took her across the war zones in Ukraine, where she even contributed to a documentary by One America News on the fighting at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Of course, you can't cover Joe Biden’s shadow war against Moscow without including hispuppets in the corrupt Ukrainian government. Puppets like president Volodymyr Zelensky, who’s been bought and paid for byGeorge Soros. But tragically, truth-telling in journalism is rarely profitable, especially for an independent journalist, and Darya’s courageous reporting made her the target of some very powerful enemies.

…

Naturally, Ukraine is denying any involvement. In a very convincing speech, one of Zelensky's stooges protested that Ukraine couldn't be responsible for the assassination because Ukraine is not a criminal state. No, Ukraine is just run by criminals who are financed by the greatest criminals on Earth, like George Soros, and which works hand in hand with the criminals in the Biden crime syndicate. No, no, no reason to suspect Ukraine.

…

SHARP: Following the brutal assassination, western governments drummed up their allies in the media to pump out attacks on Darya, with the BBC even pushing sickening reports trying to portray her death as justified. The New York Times ran a hit piece on Darya, trying to discredit her work and painting her as a pro-Russian radical, calling her an ultranationalist guilty of spreading misinformation about the war in Ukraine.

But for anyone remotely familiar with Darya or her work, that's obviously fake news designed to cover up western war crimes in Ukraine, which Darya was fighting hard to expose.

…

SHARP: These are scenes from the documentary she contributed to for One America News. Darya described the war in Ukraine as the result of liberal fascism,which by definition is exactly what it is. This is a conflict brought on by the liberals, the Democrats in Washington, as a result of the rampant fascism and their war toimpose totalitarianismupon the entire world. Darya was absolutely right. And now, she's dead.

…

SHARP: Ultimately, Darya will be remembered as a brave and courageous journalist, who took a stand for freedom, and for the innocent civilians suffering from the illegal wars of Washington. She exposed the crime and corruption behind these conflicts, and paid for it with her life. One more casualty of the criminal war being waged by Joe Biden and his bloody regime.

But as long as we keep her memory alive, and continue reporting the truth about what's happening in Ukraine, then that freedom and her struggle will never die. For One America News, I'm Pearson Sharp.

---

mtgNWO remix of anti-commie one world commie gubmit [agenda21], satanic XIAN , conspiracies

rubber glue no insurrection = their big lie

https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/marjorie-taylor-greene-says-legal-challenge-to-take-her-off-the-ballot-is-a-globalist-ploy-for-a-one-world-government/

rww

rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene testifies in a Georgia courtroom today in a hearing to determine whether the far-right congresswoman can be barred from running for reelection for her role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. In preparation, she spent the day prior with Alex Jones—the radical conspiracy theorist who is underinvestigation for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection—insisting that the legal challenge to disqualify her candidacy is all part of the “globalist” ploy for a “One World Government.”

Georgia voters and a supporting legal group, Free Speech For People, filed the challenge against Greene, winning a victory last week when a federal judge ruled that the case could proceed. At the heart of the case is a provision in the 14th Amendment that forbids any member of Congress who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof” from serving in office. The provision was passed years after the Civil War to prevent former Confederates from returning to their seats in Congress.

In making their case, lawyers for Free Speech For People point to evidence like a Jan. 5 tweet by Greene calling Jan. 6 a “1776 moment.”The judge on the case will make a recommendation to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who will then decide whether Greene remains on the ballot.

On Jones’ “InfoWars” Thursday, Greene insisted that the hearing was a “show trial” that has “nothing to do with Jan. 6,” and that she did nothing wrong. “They know there was no insurrection,” she told Jones. “That is their big lie.”

Jones agreed that the challenge was “so villainous,” declaring, “this is next level tyranny.”

“Clearly the globalists want to implode the country, Cloward and Pivento make us dependent and take control. And all the polls show a total collapse and realignment of Republicans,” Jones said. “How do you think the Democrats and the deep stateare going to try to stop this populist peaceful uprising?”

“They don’t want me in there,” Greene said. “So theseglobaliststhat are completely trying to destroy our country and move us into their global economy and theirOne World Government to where NATO is telling us what, who they should go to war with, and the UN is running the entire world. This is what Democrats want. They know to achieve these goals they have to get the strongest fighters out. That’s why they’re coming after me, and they’re coming after Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, they went after Madison [Cawthorn].”

And who does Greene believe is behind it? Greene claimed that the attorney group lodging the challenge “is totally funded by George Soros dark-money groups.”

“They hope that we have a civil war,” Jones said, adding that it was the “devil system.”

Earlier in the show, Jones also compared Greene’s hearing to his own legal troubles stemming from comments he made about the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting.

“Well, I’m dealing with the same thing where I was found in default in a case of not giving them documents, but they have all the documents, and then I’m supposed to have a jury trial about how guilty I am but were not even allowed to speak at that trial,” Jones protested.

---

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/**2018/05**/ginni-thomas-shares-a-soros-conspiracy-meme-creates-more-of-a-mess-for-clarence.html

salon 5/2018

:{:{}:

ginni Thomas is at it again. On Saturday, the conservative activist and lobbyist—and spouse of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas—shared a meme on her Facebook page[waybk 1 capt FB france] accusing Democrats of engaging in “a silent coup, not just against Trump, but also against the very premises of our constitutional republic.” The meme, which came from the Citizens [sic] Mandate, featured an image of George Soros, the liberal donor often at the center of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about malign “globalist” machinations. Americans, the meme declared, “will decide if they want to reward those who are engaged in [the] silent coup” at the ballot box in November.

https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2018-02-09/ty-article-opinion/.premium/its-not-anti-semitism-if-you-just-hate-the-bad-jews/0000017f-e55c-dc7e-adff-f5fd39fa0000

Ginni has long been on the far-right fringe of the conservative movement, but in recent months, she’s escalated her rhetoric against perceived political enemies. She has alleged that President Barack Obama “rigged” (unsuccessfully) the 2016 election for Hillary Clinton and that Robert Mueller is “going to fabricate whatever fake scandals [are] needed to take down Trump.” But by sharing this “coup” language, Thomas has taken an aggressive new stance—one that yet again creates thorny ethical issues for her husband.

let’s say a 2018 race were contested all the way to SCOTUS. In light of the fact that, as part of her lobbying work, Ginni has claimed that Democrats are engaged in a “coup” that must be thwarted to save “our constitutional republic,” should Clarence Thomas recuse? Under federal law, the answer is likely yes. And if Clarence Thomas served on any other court, Ginni Thomas’ posts might compel him to. But because he sits on the Supreme Court, there is simply no way to make him respect his ethical duties.

It’s often claimed that Supreme Court justices do not follow any code of ethics, but that’s not quite right. In theory, the justices are supposed to follow the same code of conduct to which all other federal judges must adhere. Moreover, federal statutes governing recusal and financial disclosure apply to all federal judges, including the justices. The problem is one of enforcement: There is currently no mechanism to force the justices to comply with these rules. If a lower court judge improperly declines to recuse herself from a case, a litigant can ask a higher court to adjudicate the dispute. But SCOTUS is, by constitutional command, the highest court in the land. There is thus no higher authority to step in when the justices do not adequately police themselves.

Congress has considered various solutions to this predicament. In 2011, House Democrats pushed a bill that would create a new court, made up of judges or justices, to weigh in on SCOTUS recusals. The late Democratic Rep. Louise Slaughter repeatedly introduced bills to increase transparency among the justices by declaring them bound to the ethical rules of the federal judiciary. Senate Democrats have introduced a similar measure that would obligate the justices to follow the judicial code.Sen. Elizabeth Warren touted the legislation after Justice Neil Gorsuch spoke at Trump International Hotel to a group bankrolled by the same foundation that helped to fund litigation against public sector unions in a case before the Supreme Court.

Yet as Brookings’ Russell Wheeler has pointed out, were any of these efforts to become law, they would immediately encounter several hurdles. First, the Constitution commands the establishment of “one Supreme Court”; if Congress created another court with authority over SCOTUS, it could arguably create a second supreme court, in contravention of the Constitution. Second, only parties to a case may request a recusal—which they almost never do at the Supreme Court. Would that change if some body had power to enforce recusals? Maybe, but it’s no sure thing given the high stakes. If the recusal challenge fails, after all, the targeted justice may be embittered toward the party that asked him or her to sit out the case. (Virtually all calls for a justice’s recusal in recent years have been made by outside groups eager to highlight perceived conflicts of interest. When the Sierra Club asked Justice Antonin Scalia to recuse from a 2004 dispute, he responded with a howl of defiant rage.)

These obstacles are, of course, hypothetical, and they may be surmountable, but it doesn’t much matter so long as a majority of Congress remains indifferent to SCOTUS’s ethics. Controversies flare up now and then, like when Scalia accepted lavish trips from private sponsors or when Thomas did not recuse himself from Affordable Care Act litigation despite his wife’s fervent lobbying against the law. For the most part, though, Americans don’t appear especially worried about the justice’s relatively laissez-faire self-regulation.

Ginni Thomas seems almost determined to change that. As I reported in April, her activism has largely shifted from direct political lobbying to Facebook—where, on her verified page, she has shared memes attacking Obama, Clinton, Mueller, David Hogg, Andrew McCabe, DACA recipients, the Girl Scouts, and the American Civil Liberties Union. She has also touted a meme blaming gun control for the Holocaust featuring a photo of the famous shoe exhibition at the Holocaust Museum. And now she has accused Democrats of engaging in a “coup” to bring down Trump and “our constitutional republic."

ginni’s views should not be automatically imputed to her spouse. Yet her very public stances, which ultimately promote her political lobbying firm, raise a legitimate concern under the federal recusal statute—which, again, purports to cover the justices. That law directs the justices to recuse themselves from any case in which “his spouse … has a financial interest in the subject matter in controversy or in a party to the proceeding, or any other interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding.”

Even a narrow reading of that statute indicates that the Thomases may have crossed an ethical line. Gabe Roth, executive director of the pro-transparency group Fix the Court, told me that “it’s not difficult to imagine that Justice Thomas’ votes in certain cases over the years may have translated into more consulting work” for his wife—“even as the judicial ethics statute dictates that a justice ‘shall disqualify himself’ from proceedings that could impact his spouse’s livelihood.” Ginni Thomas, for example, raised a substantial amount of money lobbying against the ACA. Her husband then voted to strike down the entire law.

The spouses of Supreme Court justices are assuredly allowed to hold political opinions. But Ginni’s extreme activism is her livelihood.She doesn’t just have views—she has an “interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome” of Supreme Court cases. Under our current ethical regime, though, there would be no way to force Clarence Thomas to even consider recusing himself from a case that has consequences for his wife’s bottom line. The system is badly broken. And its flaws allow Clarence to enact from the bench the same political agenda that his spouse relentlessly promotes. What a coup.

---

ref 2

xian natl

February 09, 2018

An official from Christians United for Israel posted an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory about George Soros, according to Jewish Currents.

Dumisani Washington, the diversity and outreach coordinator for Christians United for Israel, used his personal Facebook page to post a conspiracy theory about Soros that has been widely debunked but has become prominent recently as part of a wider demonization of Soros. The posts have been deleted at the request of Christians United for Israel.

The posts, apparently spurred by Soros’s criticism of President Donald Trump, accused Soros of getting rich off of having been a Nazi collaborator, and trying to destabilize civilization. Washington groups Soros with Isis, North Korea, Globalists (a common anti-semitic dog whistle), feminists, and Iran as being “bitterly opposed to President Trump.”

Soros survived the Holocaust by pretending to be the Christian godson of a local government official who had confiscated property from Jews. One time, when Soros was 14, the official took Soros with him to appraise a Jewish house. This story has been used to claim that Soros collaborated with Nazis and sold out Jews.

...

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SEE UMBERTO ECO DEF OF FASCISM ON SCHIZO ENEMY:

https://www.mediamatters.org/facebook/facebook-ads-tucker-carlsons-hungary-vs-soros-documentary-have-been-viewed-millions-times

NO LNX PIX TWT

Facebook ads promoting Hungary vs. Soros: The Fight for Civilization -- the season finale of Tucker Carlson’s Fox Nation “documentary” series -- have garnered more than 5.2 million impressions.

A new Media Matters analysis has found that Fox Nation -- the streaming service for Fox News “superfans” -- has run at least 56 ads since January 27 promoting the episode, which relies on antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories to attack George Soros, the Hungarian-born billionaire philanthropist and Holocaust survivor. The ad data is not available through the Facebook Ad Library because Fox Nation isn’t running these promotions as political ads, which is the only type Facebook’s Ad Library archives or provides data for. However, external data from Pathmatics reveals that Fox Nation spent more than $48,000 on the ads, earning more than 5.2 million impressions.

Hungary vs. Soros is the latest installment in the “Tucker Carlson Originals” series, which has a shameful record of using shock and awe tactics to push antidemocratic propaganda. Despite Tucker Carlson’s white nationalist brand, the streaming service has heavily relied on the prime-time host to promote and grow the platform.

The “documentary” calls upon antisemitic stereotypes to demonize Soros and puff up the far-right nationalist government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has embraced authoritarian tactics and faces reelection in April. Carlson simultaneously pushes many of the same talking points about Soros that Orbán used in his 2018 election campaign. As my Media Matters colleague Nikki McCann Ramirez noted, Carlson portrays Soros in the series “as an insidious, unseen political kingmaker who seeks to destroy the national sovereignty of Hungary and transform its culture by leveraging his money and control of the media" against a backdrop of menacing synth chords and black and white images of Soros.

Facebook is allowing Fox Nation to run ads promoting Hungary vs. Soros despite its authoritarian and antisemitic undertones. In fact, Fox Nation has run at least 56 ads related to the episode, with at least 44 still active at the time of publication. (The other 12 ads are no longer shown in Facebook’s ad library.)

The ads, which have been seen millions of times by Facebook users, include one of four texts that attack Soros for “unchecked political power” and/or praise Orbán for being Soros’ “newest foe.” Additionally, all the ads link to Fox Nation’s website, where users can subscribe to watch it.

Fox Nation_Hungary vs. Soros_ads_2

Fox Nation_Hungary vs. Soros_ads_1

Some of the ads also include a promotional 15-second video of the episode.

CitationFrom the February 11, 2022, Facebook ad from Fox Nation

Before Fox Nation started running paid advertisements for Hungary vs. Soros, several Fox Facebook pages shared posts promoting it, including pages associated with The Five, Tucker Carlson Tonight, and Fox Nation.

It was also repeatedly promoted on Fox News itself, not only on Carlson’s show, but also during his interviews on The Five and Fox & Friends.The Fox News website featured an ad for it on its homepage and published an article on the piece. Fox Nation also sent out a promotional email that said, “George Soros is waging cultural and political warfare on the West, but he’s met his match in Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.”

The right-wing fixation on Soros is a problem across the Fox brand. According to a transcript analysis from Kinetiq video database, Fox News mentioned “Soros” a total of 435 times between January 1, 2021, and February 8, 2022, with the coverage ramping up starting in November. With Facebook’s long history of profiting from the spread of harmful content, it is unsurprising that the platform is enabling the promotion of this production to millions.

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