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Open in TheBrain

Dc Draino

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omfg pol execution 9 24

SEE Bannon RULE OF LAW HABEUS CORPUS //FASCISM

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AN 12 25

New York Times writer Alan Feuer says pro-Trump influencers have “always had a lot to say about the Jeffrey Epstein files.”

Several called for the files release before President Donald Trump was re-elected, certain they would “expose a cabal of Democrats who had palled around” with Epstein after he’d been exposed as a convicted sex offender, said Feuer. Several more criticized Trump this year as he sought to block the files’ release, calling them a “Democratic hoax.”

“But many of them were conspicuously quiet on Tuesday, when the Justice Department released a batch of materials that contained hundreds of mentions of Mr. Trump," Feuer said. “Their silence contrasted with the uproar made over the weekend when the department’s first release focused on former President Bill Clinton, including an image, stripped of context, showing him reclining in a hot tub. MAGA influencer Laura Loomer – also known as Trump's unofficial "loyalty enforcer" — mocked Clinton on social media after the photos emerged.

“On Tuesday, however, Ms. Loomer said nothing about the newly released materials, which showed, among other things, that federal prosecutors had determined that Mr. Trump had flown on Mr. Epstein’s private plane more times than they originally knew,” Feuer noted. “Instead, Ms. Loomer seemed to post about everything except the Epstein files: immigrant work visas; ‘anti-white racism’; next year’s midterm elections; and Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York.”

Feuer identified similar silence with conservative influencer Rogan O’Handley, who posts on X under the handle DC Draino. On Friday, O’Handley was also berating Clinton, writing how the Epstein files had depicted him “shirtless in a hot tub with a female that is not his wife.”

“But on Tuesday, Mr. O’Handley had nothing at all to say about the files,” said Feuer.

The same went for pro-Trump podcaster and “The Benny Show,” host Benny Johnson, who Feuer said much preferred posting about fired transgender instructors rather than Epstein.

“One Trump-friendly account did, however, post about the newly released files: the one run by the Justice Department,” said Feuer, adding that the department quickly jumped to defend the president as if they were his personal troupe of lawyers.

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BULWARK 9 25

Yet ANOTHER Right-Wing Payola Media Scandal!
This time, the allegations involve paying influencers to post positively about India, a country increasingly in MAGA’s crosshairs.

Will Sommer

Sep 08, 2025

*Welcome back to False Flag! A few years ago, heterodox conservative professor Jordan Peterson vowed to launch Peterson Academy, an online, accredited college that would offer “a high-level, university-quality equivalent” degree for just $2,000.

*Last week, a YouTube investigation into the Peterson Academy waspublished. It revealed price increases, nonexistent exams, and disappointed students starting to suspect that they had paid the annual $399 fee just to watch a couple videotaped lectures.

*With Peterson’s daughter now in charge of the “school” and Peterson himself taking a break from public life, I think traditional academia can rest safely—well, however safe they can feel in the Trump 2.0 era.

*This week, we’re taking a look at the machinations inside a different institution than academia—this one more right-leaning. We’re looking at the MAGA movement’s X power users and whether they’re for sale. Also on tap: Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire and the Stalinesque disappearance of its once highly visible CEO. Let’s go.

C’mon. Not Again!

RIGHT-WING MEDIA HAS BEEN ROCKED—yet again—by allegations of a payola scheme on X.

This time, the posts alleged to have been part of a pay-for-play operation were meant to improve how Trump supporters view India. They came as Donald Trump and his supporters started to take an increasingly hostile turn towards the country.

The scandal broke into public view last week when a popular, anonymous right-wing account called “Aesthetica” noted that a number of right-wing influencers—including pundit Chuck Callesto and right-wing meme account “Defiant L’s”—had posted suspiciously similar messages on X defending India and warning that MAGA criticism of the country would only push it closer to China.

“India isn’t the problem,” read one from the account @iAnonPatriot. “Pushing them toward China’s alliance is!”

The “Aesthetica” post highlighting these tweets raised suspicions that the MAGA influencers posting them were on the take. That’s because, while India is traditionally viewed as an American ally, the country has lately become incredibly unpopular among the very online right. In fact, anti-Indian racism has been surging on X, fueled by anger over the belief that H-1B tech visas are fueling unemployment for Americans, as well as Trump’s increasingly hostile tone toward the country over its government’s refusal to nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize.

While the “Aesthetica” post merely raised the prospect of the screenshotted accounts being part of a “paid propaganda” campaign, it didn’t actually deliver the literal receipts. Yet at least one of the influencers called out ended up apologizing, albeit in vague terms.

“The L is on me this time,” said the anonymous operator of “Defiant L’s,” a meme account that scours X for liberals they feel should admit defeat, adding that they had made “an honest mistake.”

Others, however, denied wrongdoing. Rogan O’Handley, an influencer who uses the handle “DC_Draino” and regularly visits the Trump White House, said he was eager for Trump to deal harshly with India.

“I fully support Trump bringing the hammer down on India,” O’Handley wrote in a follow-up post on X. “For the record, I have never and would never take a dime from the Indian government or anyone connected to them or any other government.”

Curiously, others who were accused of participating in the payola scheme phrased their denials very specifically. Similarly to DC_Draino, David Freeman, the operator of the popular MAGA meme account “Gunther Eagleman,” wrote that he “never took a penny from India or any other foreign entity.” That leaves open the possibility that a third-party entity working on an issue related to India may have been involved.

When I asked Freeman via DM whether I could send him questions about the controversy, he replied: “hit me up with any questions.” When I asked him who was involved in the alleged pay-for campaign and whether he was paid, though, he never responded. Days later, I’m now asking: Gunther, where are you?

Join

This isn’t the first time MAGA accounts have found themselves in a payola scandal. Back in March, several popular pro-Trump X users were involved in a scheme to oppose Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s effort to stop people from using food stamps to buy soda and other junk food.

Influenceable, the social media startup allegedly involved in the soda campaign, didn’t respond to a request for comment about whether it organized the pro-India posts. But Aesthetica claimed to have the goods on who did: Students for Trump founder Ryan Fournier.

Fournier, who is an avid social media poster, didn’t respond to my requests for comment. And there’s no clear proof that he’s behind the posts—or, if he was, who he was working for.

However, he has recently gone public about his desire to see improved India relations.

“India has always had President Trump’s back,” he wrote in one post.

And there is also some anecdotal evidence to suggest Fournier is not above trying to pay people to post a certain way. QAnon account “MJTruthUltra” recently posted a direct-message exchange that purported to show Fournier offering him $250 to participate in another social media campaign.

How widespread the recent slate of pro-India posting has been is difficult to comprehensively know. But several of the posters did use language similar to an August 26 post on the Gateway Pundit by far-right personality Elijah Schaffer, which ran right around when the first posts on X began. Entitled “Exposed: The Shocking Truth About Who’s Really Cashing In on Russian Oil!,” the piece positions Schaffer as, somehow, an expert on Indian oil economics:

Russia’s share of India’s oil imports rose dramatically—from under 2% in 2021 to about 33% in 2024. But Gross Refining Margins (GRMs) for Indian refiners between FY22 and FY25 actually fell. By FY25, GRMs were lower than when the conflict began—hardly proof of windfall profits.

Do I believe that Schaffer—best known outside of the right for getting ousted from the Blaze after allegedly sexually assaulting a coworker—really cares that much about Indian oil refining? Absolutely not!

I’ve written before about the trend of right-wing influencers who suspiciously get very into niche policy issues in ways that are suspiciously beneficial to big businesses, as with Laura Loomer’s sudden embrace of the intricacies of Venezuelan oil sanctions policy. But Schaffer’s is on another level.

For starters, he could certainly use some cash. On August 24, Schaffer claimed that he had been carjacked at gunpoint in the driveway of his Florida home, with the robbers making off with his high-end BMW. Disastrously for the far-right pundit, Schaffer said he hadn’t noticed that his insurance company had canceled his auto insurance a month before, and he later said he was now out $104,000.

Gateway Pundit owner Jim Hoft didn’t respond to my questions about whether Schaffer’s blog post about the Indian oil industry was a paid promotion.

The Daily Wire’s CEO mystery deepens*

Remember Jeremy Boreing? For years, the Daily Wire’s trash-talking CEO was almost as big of a presence for the conservative media outlet as his cofounder, pundit Ben Shapiro.

Boreing, the company’s self-proclaimed “god king,” enjoyed a reputation as a sort of budding Rupert Murdoch of the Trumpian digital age. He even launched his VID]

own brand of razors after Harry’s Razors dropped its ads at the outlet.

But then, in March of this year, Boreing was abruptly demoted and essentially vanished from public view. Even as Boreing’s rivals on the right went wild with speculation about what went wrong, the Daily Wire insisted that all was well, and Boreing merely stepped down “to focus on creative projects for the company.” (Several of those projects, like a children’s show about a family of chinchillas, were soon obliterated through layoffs.)

As if to signal that Boreing was still in good standing with the company he once ran, the Daily Wire also said Boreing would continue to host Daily WireBackstage, a macho video series where Boreing moderated a panel of Daily Wire stars—Shapiro, Matt Walsh, Michael Knowles, and Andrew Klavan—as they talked politics, smoked stogies, and munched onbig bowls of candy.

Mysteriously, Backstagenever aired another episode after Boreing’s ouster. But late last month, the Daily Wire announced that it was effectively bringing back Backstageunder a new name, Friendly Fire*. The cast is the same, except now Boreing has vanished.

The ad promoting the new show appears to take some jabs at Boreing’s old position asBackstage’s moderator, declaring the show will have “no safe words, no moderator!” At one point in the ad, Walsh jokes that, perhaps, “we do need a moderator.”

The references to the Daily Wire’s vanished CEO don’t end there. In a promotional spot for Friendly Fire, Walsh said that the Daily Wire would mark its tenth anniversary “not by looking back, but by launching what’s next.”

The Friendly Fireannouncement comes amid another Daily Wire campaign to get an immediate payout from its biggest fans. Late last month, the company debuted a $1,500 “lifetime membership” that offers “unlimited access” to its premium content—which works out to roughly six years of all-access Daily Wire subscriptions at the normal price.

That premium content will apparently include access to Boreing’s passion project: a long-delayed streaming TV show called the Pendragon Cycle—a fantasy adaptation of the King Arthur story.

I say that because the lifetime membership page contains a single image teasing a new show, now dubbed Rise of The Merlin: The Pendragon Cycle. As I wrote earlier this year, production videos of the show’s Game of Thrones–style medieval battles made the show look comically expensive, so I’m sure the Daily Wire wants to sell those lifetime memberships as quickly as possible.

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MMA Steve Bannon and his guest agree: Trump should suspend habeas corpus if the Supreme Court doesn't end nationwide injunctions

Rogan O'Handley: "President Trump will have no choice but to suspend the writ of habeas corpus”

Written by John Knefel

Published 05/28/25

A guest on former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast argued that if the Supreme Court doesn’t limit the federal judiciary’s power to issue nationwide injunctions, then President Donald Trump must suspend the writ of habeas corpus to accelerate his mass deportation plans. Bannon later fully agreed with the assessment.

Rogan O’Handley — a conservative commentator who goes by the moniker DC Draino — made the comments on the May 27 edition of War Room, escalating a campaign that he, Bannon, and others in right-wing media have been waging since at least April 22.

Habeas corpus refers to the constitutional right of an incarcerated person to challenge their confinement before a judge. Legal experts have said it is “absurd” to think that the Trump administration can suspend habeas without an act of Congress. Bannon and O’Handley’s conversation comes as the Trump administration has sought to use a 1798 wartime law to circumvent habeas claims, while also railing against federal judges who have issued various injunctions limiting the practice.

Previously, Bannon and War Room guest Mike Davis, founder of the Article III Project, had called for the Trump administration to force the Supreme Court to rule on whether the executive branch could unilaterally suspend habeas corpus rights before its summer recess. O’Handley’s push to tie habeas to the issue of nationwide injunctions offers a more concrete and explicit timeline.

“Right now, the Supreme Court is debating internally about the extent and the power of these federal district court judges to issue these national injunctions,” O’Handley said. “If they make a ruling that they are able to continue completely stalling the presidency, executive II powers to deport illegal aliens, then President Trump will have no choice but to suspend the writ of habeas corpus and save this country.”

“If the Supreme Court does not limit these injunctions to just the parties before the district courts, then that solidifies that we are in a constitutional crisis and Trump will have to take drastic measures to repel this historic invasion,” O’Handley added.

“I 100% agree with you,” Bannon responded.

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From the May 27, 2025, edition of Real America's Voice's War Room

There are at least two distinct legal issues underlying Bannon and O’Handley’s commentary. One is whether unauthorized immigration constitutes an “invasion,” as the Trump administration has argued, and therefore authorizes use of the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th century law that gives the president sweeping powers to detain and deport people during wartime. Legal blog Just Security characterized the administration’s position as “extremely dangerous, and at odds with the text and original meaning of the Constitution.”

On May 16, the Supreme Court prevented the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to quickly deport Venezuelans without “constitutionally adequate notice.” Prior to the Supreme Court’s decision, at least three federal judges had ruled against the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, although a judge in Pennsylvania OK’d its use.

The other issue is the power of federal district courts to issue rulings that apply to the entire country, known as nationwide injunctions. The topic came before the Supreme Court on May 15, during a hearing on the constitutionality of Trump’s executive order purporting to ban birthright citizenship in a case that also had direct implications for nationwide injunctions. The Washington Post reported that the Supreme Court appeared “divided” on how to rule on that issue.

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Trump himself all appear to be willing to take the extraordinary step of suspending habeas corpus.

According to Georgetown law professor Steve Vladeck, the “near-universal consensus is that only Congress can suspend habeas corpus—and that unilateral suspensions by the President are per se unconstitutional.”

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an 4 25

With the Trump administration making space in the press briefing room for right-wing podcasters and other conservative "new media" content creators, viewers of briefings since President Donald Trump took office have seen his press secretary field questions about the Ukrainian president's clothing during an Oval Office meeting, compliments about Trump's "fitness plan," and attacks on reporters who have long reported from the White House.

On Monday, the first question of the briefing was derided by one Democratic politician as "absolute insanity," as right-wing commentator and influencer Rogan O'Handley—also known by the handle "DC Draino"—was given the floor to ask whether Trump will suspend the writ of habeas corpus in order to circumvent several judges' rulings and "start shipping out" undocumented immigrants without due process.

"Can you please let us know if and when the Trump administration is planning to suspend the writ of habeas corpus to circumvent these radical judges?" asked O'Handley after accusing federal judges of "thwarting [Trump's] agenda with an unprecedented number of national injunctions."

O'Handley shared some familiar right-wing talking points—saying federal judges have provided "more due process to violent MS-13 and Tren de Aragua illegal aliens than they did for U.S. citizens who peacefully protested on January 6"—as he suggested the administration should abandon the legal principle under which people who are detained are permitted to challenge their imprisonment in court.

"You have got to be kidding me," wrote Sara McGee, a Democrat running for the Texas House of Representatives.

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His question came amid escalating attacks by Republicans and the administration on judges who have ruled against the White House. A Republican congressman said last month that Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. should be impeached for issuing an order against Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to expel hundreds of undocumented immigrants to El Salvador. Last week, the FBI arrested Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan for allegedly helping a migrant evade arrest by escorting him out of her courtroom.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow with the American Immigration Council, noted that O'Handley and press secretary Karoline Leavitt also repeatedly cited at least one statistic that was "completely made up"—that the Biden administration allowed 15 million undocumented immigrants into the United States—as they suggested Trump should take legal steps to force all of them out of the country without the input of the judicial system.

The undocumented population in the U.S. in 2023 was 11.7 million, according to the Center for Migration Studies, down from the peak of 12 million, which was reached in 2008.

"They've been pushing this on the right for about a week now," said Reichlin-Melnick of the push to suspend habeas corpus for undocumented immigrants. "Anyone advocating for suspending the writ of habeas corpus because they don't like due process is spitting on the legacy of those who fought and died for this country and our Constitution."

Leavitt responded to O'Handley's question by saying while she has "not heard such discussions take place... the president and the entire administration are certainly open to all legal and constitutional remedies" to continue expelling people from the United States.

Several cases of undocumented immigrants who have been sent to El Salvador's notorious Terrorism Confinement Center have made national headlines in recent weeks, including that of Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia; Merwil Gutiérrez, a 19-year-old who federal agents acknowledged was not who they were looking for during a raid; and Andry Hernandez Romero, a makeup artist who was accused of being a gang member solely because he had tattoos.

O'Handley's suggestion that the bedrock legal principle be suspended for undocumented immigrants—hundreds of whom have already been forced out of the country without due process—came ahead of Trump's scheduled signing of two new immigration-related executive orders.

One would direct the departments of Justice and Homeland Security to publish a list of sanctuary cities and states—those where local law enforcement are directed not to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement as it seeks to arrest undocumented immigrants.

The other, Leavitt said, would "unleash America's law enforcement to pursue criminals." The New York Postreported that the order would be related to providing local police agencies with military equipment and legal support for officers accused of wrongdoing.

Watch the segment below or at this link:

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A former Republican staffer who has made headlines for his social media comments — and was once rumored to be on President-elect Donald Trump's list for attorney general — delivered another threat on Monday evening, this time to former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY).

Cheney, a vocal critic of Trump, said in a statement Monday that Trump's suggestion that she and other members of the Jan. 6 committee see jail time "is a continuation of his assault on the rule of law."

"Here is the truth: Donald Trump attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election and seize power," Cheney said in a statement obtained by Fox News. "He mobilized an angry mob and sent them to the United States Capitol, where they attacked police officers, invaded the building and halted the official counting of electoral votes. Trump watched on television as police officers were brutally beaten and the Capitol was assaulted, refusing for hours to tell the mob to leave."

Cheney later hit back at Trump’s claims the committee destroyed evidence, calling his statement "ridiculous and false."

"There is no conceivably appropriate factual or constitutional basis for what Donald Trump is suggesting – a Justice Department investigation of the work of a congressional committee – and any lawyer who attempts to pursue that course would quickly find themselves engaged in sanctionable conduct," Cheney said.

Her statement caught the attention of right-wing allies on social media, including MAGA attorney Mike Davis, who served as a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and was the chief counsel for nominations on the Senate Judiciary Committee under Chairman Chuck Grassley during the Trump administration. He played a significant role in the confirmation processes of several federal judges, including Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

"Try it, @LizCheney. When we sue your a-- into the ground, your daddy won’t be able to save you," he wrote Monday night.

Davis also reposted other MAGA accounts accusing her of suppressing evidence in the Jan. 6 probe. eg dc draino

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Right-wing media and conspiracy theorists spread debunked viral video falsely claiming a Pennsylvania postmaster was illegally harvesting ballots

A county official confirmed that the “25-year veteran of the U.S. Postal Service,” who is now facing harassment, was “lawfully bringing ballots into the election office”

Written by Ilana Berger

Research contributions from Alex Kaplan

Published 10/30/24 MMA

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RSS mma 9 24

trump promotes yet another Truth Social account that suggests killing his enemies

This is at least the third pro-violence account Trump has elevated since August

Written by Eric Hananoki

Published 09/20/24 mma not all pix twt?

Donald Trump keeps “retruthing” accounts that have called for killing his political opponents.

The former president did it again recently, promoting a post by an account (“EdensVision”) that has previously suggested Vice President Kamala Harris should be hanged, journalists should be killed, and President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama, among others, should “suffer death.”

Media Matters has previously reported that Trump promoted two other accounts -- “Patriot4Life” and “Proud_American1776” -- that have posted calls to kill Trump’s opponents. (Trump promoted Patriot4Life again in his latest Truth Social reposting spree.)

Trump has also frequently used his Truth Social account to repost QAnon-promoting and pro-fascism accounts. (EdensVision has also promoted QAnon propaganda.)

Trump recently retruthed the following sinister image featuring Harris, running mate and Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), and Barack Obama from “EdensVision”:

The account Trump was promoting to his fans has a history of suggesting that Trump’s opponents be killed. Here are some examples. (A Truth Social login-in is required to view some content on the site.)

EdensVision responded to a post about Harris with a GIF of a hanging.

EdensVision called for accountability from the "#FakeNews," sharing an image of a Nazi with the text, “During the Nuremberg trials, even the media was prosecuted and put to death for lying to the public.”

EdensVision posted an image of Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Hillary Clinton that says a person guilty of treason should “suffer death.”

EdensVision posted an image saying “make traitors hang again” next to text about Biden.

EdensVision posted an image of a noose with the words “treason still punishable by death” alongside an article about an online rumor that the “Biden/Harris administration accidentally wired $239 million to the Taliban.”

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hmmn

one of former President Donald Trump’s top presidential surrogates and political influencers, Rogan O’Handley, aka DC Draino, may be considering a run for the U.S. Congress against Republican Rep. Laurel Lee in Florida’s 15th District.

In a recent conversation with Lee County Republican Party Chairman Michael Thompson, O’Handley appeared interested, yet reserved but said that he would seriously consider a run against Rep. Lee if all the MAGA political planets aligned.

Chairman Thompson told The Floridian that O’Handley “has not ruled anything out.”

:{“I spoke with Rogan O'Handley and asked him for his thoughts on him running for FL's CD-15 after hearing the calls from President Trump to primary Laurel Lee. Rogan shared with me that he is happy running his media company, but he has not ruled anything out.

Rogan is exactly what CD-15 and America is looking for in a Congressional Rep, an America First Christian Conservative who supports President Trump,” said Thompson in a statement to The Floridian.}:

O’Handley’s potential congressional bid would certainly be seen as a shot across the bow to Team DeSantis as Rep. Lee was the only Florida Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives to endorse Gov. Ron DeSantis over President Trump during the 2024f Republican presidential primary.

There doesn’t appear to be any love lost between Trump and DeSantis, or their respective supporters.

Trump supporters have been openly denouncing some DeSantis influencers who are hoping (some praying) for the former president’s demise and a subsequent loss to President Joe Biden.

Quite a few of these DeSantis’ online surrogates have been openly pushing for their audiences to support Lee against a “MAGA” primary challenge.

President Trump’s recent call for someone within the MAGA community to step forward and primary challenge Rep. Lee seems to have been heard loud and clear.

“Any great MAGA Republicans looking to run against Laurel Lee in Florida’s 15th Congressional District? IF SO, PLEASE STEP FORWARD!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Conservative journalist and former congressional candidate Laura Loomer, who is a staunch supporter of Trump, is also said to be considering a run against Lee.

According to the Florida Division of Elections, DC Draino, or Rogan O’Handley, Laura Loomer, or anyone else, has until April 26 to file to run for Lee’s seat.

O'Handley could not be reached for comment.

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mma 9 24

MAGA personalities

Charlie Kirk

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk posted in response to the DOJ election threats task force: “The regime is ramping up its fear campaign ahead of November” and in a separate post, “It's 2016 all over again.” [Twitter/X, 9/4/24, 9/4/24]

TimCast

Timcast co-host Ian Crossland suggested that the situation may be a “psyop within a psyop.” [YouTube, Timcast, 9/4/24]

:{:{Video:}:

CitationFrom the September 4, 2024 edition of Timcast IRL

Jack Posobiec

MAGA personality Jack Posobiec wrote, “Crazy how all the Russia collusion stuff reappears the day after Trump says he is going to declass the Epstein client list… Really makes you think.” [Twitter/X, 9/4/24]

Dan Bongino

Right-wing radio host Dan Bongino wrote, “Trust absolutely NOTHING emanating from the DOJ or FBI that even remotely whiffs of politics.” He added, “Especially before an election, where they have a deep and troubled history of election interference in defense of their democrat allies.” [Twitter/X, 9/4/24]

Rogan O'Handley

MAGA commentator Rogan O'Handley, also known as DC Draino, wrote a long post claiming the Justice Department is weaponized against MAGA, writing, “Today’s DOJ indictment mentioning prominent MAGA Youtubers is just a preview of what the weaponized Kamala regime will do to every prominent voice in the Patriot movement.” He added, “The regime knows it’s being rejected by the American people and is desperately lashing out" and “No more distractions, no more purity tests for Trump, no more BS - we ALL have to fight like hell to get him elected or most of us are going to end up targeted by the Deep State.” [Twitter/X, 9/4/24]

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DC Draino’ Rogan O’Handley Left A Lucrative Legal Career To Fight For Trump On Social Media

By: Nicole Russell

August 13, 2020

Image CrediYouTube

share on truth etc]

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He didn’t intend to become a conservative influencer, the kind of guy President Trump casually retweets, but that’s exactly what happened to Rogan O’Handley. Yes, that’s his real name, although you might know him better by “DC Draino,” an ex-practicing lawyer who now boasts 1.2 million followers on Instagram.

A 2011 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School—one of the nation’s top five—O’Handley planned to be a star in the field of entertainment law and enjoy the fruits of his labor in Los Angeles, schmoozing among Hollywood elites and living the good life. Then Trump got elected.

Everything shifted, at least for the millennial closet conservative living in L.A. “I couldn’t publicly support President Trump,” O’Handley told me in a phone interview. Living as an entertainment lawyer in California, “If you believed anything to the right of communism, you got shunned,” he said. “After 2016, if you vocally supported the GOP, President Trump, or even just conservative ideas, you lost friends, you lost job opportunities, you got unfollowed on social media.”

O’ Handley’s social and vocational collateral declined as he was punished for his beliefs. Although O’Handley had yet to embrace full-throttle conservatism, he’d always been a moderate Republican, the son of two “diehard Democrats” who raised him in Massachusetts.

O’Handley was elected president of his student government at Northeastern University, fueling his growing interest in politics, which continued into law school. After three years of working in corporate finance and another three in entertainment law, O’Handley hit a career sweet spot. “It was very challenging but very lucrative,” he recalls.

As Trump basked in his win, O’Handley watched as California shifted further left. Antifa started running around Berkeley. The state’s fiscal policies ballooned into skyrocketing tax rates. Leftism wasn’t just hit or miss, but pervasive. The successful lawyer started to feel some serious cognitive dissonance between his belief system and the place he dearly loves.

“When Obama was in office, you could support him, you could do anything. On Facebook, people were unfollowing me because I supported Trump,” O’Handley says. After seeing some funny political memes on Instagram he thought he, too, needed an outlet. This is an effective way to communicate a message,he says he remembers thinking.

He started an Instagram account under the pseudonym “DC Draino,” although his name and identity are publicly associated with the account now. “Drain the DC swamp!” he says, assuring me he’s “very anti-corruption.”

O’Handley gained followers by the thousands and the tens of thousands right away. Something about his persona struck a nerve. Although it felt freeing to express his beliefs anonymously, over time, O’Handley began to wonder if he should do more. He visited Florida while attending a friend’s wedding and fell in love with the people, the weather, and the political dynamic.

The Sunshine State is far more moderate than California. “At about 80,000 followers, I put in my notice,” he says, and just like that, O’Handley quit entertainment law to become a social media guru and political activist full time.

It’s not hard to see why DC Draino picked up so many followers in so little time, although his style is not for everybody. O’Handley fills a niche for patriots, MAGA-lovers, and middle Americans fed up with D.C.’s elite. The fact that his Instagram feed is private and still boasts more than 1 million followers is remarkable. Draino posts a mix of memes, screenshots of his Twitter, and short, snappy videos about politics, typically mocking Democrats.

The president retweeted this post back in May, causing DC Draino to go viral.

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As you can see, O’Handley’s brand is snarky, concise, and appeals to Trump’s base—all attributes that align with his worldview and aspirations for his brand in new media.

“My primary goal is to wake up as many patriots as possible and get as many involved to help save America, because right now oppressive leftism is kicking the door and making its way in,” he says. The riots and protests we’re observing now, O’Handley says, are an example of “as bad as it gets.”

To that end, he shares a friendship with black activist Candace Owens. Despite the army of haters any viral account is sure to draw, O’Handley’s anchor and his compass are one and the same: “Protect and defend the Constitution. Reveal leftist lies. Examine the data and explain what’s really going on.”

He’s enjoyed so much success in this arena, O’Handley is working on launching a full-fledged media company later this year. He’s published editorials and appeared on Fox Business. He was invited to the White House social media summit last year. Some followers say he’s solely responsible for converting them to conservatism. Still, his goal is simple: to acquaint people with America’s founding principles, the Constitution, and to “separate signal from noise.”

O’Handley thinks more people support Trump than let on, much like his own personal experience. “Trump is the best vehicle we have for ushering in the defense of the Constitution,” he says.

Nine years after graduating from one of the best law schools in the country, O’Handley practices “zero law now.” He does “100 percent social media citizen journalism” and has never been more satisfied, although he admits he misses practicing law sometimes.

What drives him is the gaping hole he sees between what people want, what they believe, and what they do: “People want courageous truth. They will support and share. It can be a tweet, video, meme, but as long as you’re standing up for common sense, truth, and the Constitution.”

Was it worth leaving a lucrative job in one of the most coveted domains of law to promote life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? O’Handley sounds confident, and not the least bit nostalgic. “I loved my job but there are moments in our country’s history where we can’t sit idly by. We have to step in and fight. This is my way of doing that. I do believe we are winning.”

After working in Republican politics in Minnesota, Nicole Russell moved near Washington, DC and began her journalism career. Her work has appeared in the The Atlantic, The New York Times, National Review, Politico, The Washington Times, The American Spectator, and Parents Magazine. She was the 2010 recipient of the American Spectator's Young Journalist Award and she resides in northern Virginia with her four kids. Follow her on Twitter @russell_nm.

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mma 8 24

republican state officials are investigating ActBlue after right-wing media used inaccurate information to claim the fundraising platform was laundering money

Right-wing media homed in on a Virginia donor, but FEC data shows the vast majority of donations were to WinRed and Republican PACs rather than ActBlue

Written by Kayla Gogarty

Research contributions from Alex Kaplan

:{Published 08/07/24

Amid Kamala Harris’ surging fundraising, right-wing media are alleging that Democratic PAC ActBlue is laundering money through a Virginia donor, claiming there were more than 22,000 donations listed for that individual, totaling over $800,000. But according to data from the Federal Election Commission, the alleged donor actually gave hundreds of thousands to WinRed and other Republican PACs.

Regardless, the claim spread — including to former President Donald Trump — and right-wing media figures called on attorneys general to investigate. At least two Republican attorneys general have announced they are looking into it.

After President Joe Biden announced that he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, fundraising for her campaign surged. Amid that surge, right-wing personalities accused ActBlue of engaging in a money laundering scheme.

As part of these accusations, some right-wing media figures and social media accounts amplified data from a website for a tax-exempt organization, Election Watch, reportedly founded by serial election denier Peter Bernegger, which provides “smurfing data by state.” (“Smurf” apparently refers to “an individual whose ID may have been used to launder money into political campaigns.”) Users can click on a state to see the so-called “smurf” donors, which are apparently identified by “numbers and patterns of transactions” in FEC data “that indeed appear to be highly questionable.”

Right-wing media have seemingly latched onto the first Virginia entry, which the website claims made 22,619 transactions, totaling $839,466. According to FEC data for an individual of the same name living in the same zip code (or at the affiliated address), that individual has made nearly 25,000 transactions since 2019, totaling more than $765,000. Nearly half of the transactions were with WinRed — totaling nearly $380,000. Additional hundreds of thousands went to other Republican PACs. Only four transactions were apparently made with ActBlue — totaling just $66. (Previously, Republican donors have reportedly been “steered … into unwitting donations,” unknowingly signing up for weekly recurring contributions when contributing through WinRed.)

Despite the FEC data, right-wing media figures and social media accounts alleged that the Virginia donor data showed “money laundering” through ActBlue, urged others to use Election Watch's data to find more “smurfs,” and called for attorneys general to investigate.

Republic PAC the Virginia Project claimed there was a “ghost donor problem” and made an allegation about one Virginia donor.

The Virginia Project, which has an “election integrity program,” posted about a “Ghost donor problem,” specifically citing alleged data from Bernegger’s Election Watch site. The PAC claimed, “One Virginia donor. 22,619 transactions totaling $839,466.00. $37.11 average donation.” Virginia Project, accessed [7/30/24; Twitter/X, 3/7/24]

Social media account NoVA_Campaigns amplified the Virginia Project’s claims about the Virginia donor multiple times.

NoVA_Campaigns, a social media account which seemingly pushes right-wing narratives and election conspiracy theories, amplified Virginia Project’s March post multiple times, saying, “Massive @actblue fraud. How @TheDemocrats launder💰in billions,” and specifically claiming that the Virginia donor “made 22,619 Fed donations since ‘19, totaling $839,466 in 592 days.” In a second post, the account repeated the claim about the donations, calling on “AGs like @JasonMiyaresVA 🦗.” Twitter/X, [7/23/24, 7/23/24, 7/23/24, accessed 8/5/24]

Bernegger amplified the claims about the Virginia donor and called on his followers to use his organization’s website to find “smurfs.”

Bernegger responded to the Virginia Project’s social media post about the Virginia donor and called on people to “Check your state out” on his organization’s website, telling them to “scroll down to the USA map, click on any state, let it load, listing of Smurfs.” Twitter/X, [7/23/24]

Newsmax host Carl Higbie amplified Election Watch’s site on his show and claimed “smurfs” or “money mules” are used to funnel money “through the Democrats’ fundraising platform, called ActBlue.”

During the July 24 edition of his Newsmax show, Higbie claimed that “a bunch of people” found “a bunch of stuff that appears to not add up,” crediting Bernegger’s organization, which he said “compiled millions … of data points from the Federal Election Commission.” According to Higbie, “We were able to find out that in the past few years, over $200 million of political donations have been funneled through the Democrats’ fundraising platform, called ActBlue. … And from our research, it appears that these people, most of them, don't even know these donations are being made in their name. It's not their money. They call these people ‘smurfs’ or ‘money mules.’” Twitter/X, [7/24/24]

Right-wing personality Charlie Kirk called on state attorneys general to get involved: “When will one of them take action?”

Kirk alleged that there are “massive, repeated donations to ActBlue that use stolen identities and, quite possibly, stolen credit card,” specifically noting that “one person in Virginia has been named in 22,619 separate donations since 2019, totaling more than $800,000.” Kirk went on to claim that “obviously, she's being exploited for some kind of money-laundering operation,” and he called on state AGs to get involved: “ActBlue raises from all fifty states. We have fifty state AGs. When will one of them take action?” Twitter/X, [7/26/24]

Right-wing social media personality DC Draino specifically called out Virginia’s Republican AG Jason Miyares, asking if he will “prosecute this ActBlue money laundering and protect VA’s exploited citizens.”

DC Draino amplified Kirk’s social media post, adding, “Didn’t Virginia elect a Republican AG? Will @JasonMiyaresVA prosecute this ActBlue money laundering and protect VA’s exploited citizens? Or will he be a 1 term politician?” Twitter/X, [7/26/24]

On Truth Social, Trump amplified Kirk’s and DC Draino’s allegations about ActBlue and their calls for AGs to investigate.

Just over an hour after Trump made his post, Virginia’s Jason Miyares said his office was “looking into” the claims about ActBlue and money laundering.

On social media, Miyares responded to Kirk and said, “My office is aware of these allegations and rest assured, we are looking into it.” The same day, Dan Bishops — the Republican candidate for North Carolina AG — suggested he would take action against ActBlue on “January 1” after being elected. Twitter/X, [7/29/24, 7/29/24]

Wyoming Republican Secretary of State Chuck Gray announced an “investigation into ActBlue,” citing “nationwide money laundering and identity theft allegations.”

In a press release, which he posted on social media, Gray encouraged “any Wyoming citizen who has reason to believe a political action committee stole their identity or falsely reported a donation using their name” to report it to his office. Wyoming Secretary of State media release, [7/30/24]

Right-wing activist James O’Keefe said he would “personally pay” $3,000 to people who confront potential “smurfs” in their neighborhoods.

O’Keefe, the ousted founder of Project Veritas who is now trying to build up O’Keefe Media Group, posted on social media: “Uncover ActBlue Smurfs and get paid like our Citizen Journalists,” urging people to go to Election Watch’s site, “ choose your state, enter your zip code, and start investigating. Not comfortable going door-to-door? … Submit potential Smurfs and links to your FEC findings through our X DMs or Signal.” The post included a video showing how to use Bernegger’s Election Watch site and instructing people to “knock on these people’s doors,” tell them they “seem to be a victim of a money laundering scheme,” and get bank statements from them. Rolling Stone, [6/20/24; Twitter/X, 8/1/24]

Video

CitationFrom an August 1, 2024, video from James O'Keefe

Virginia’s Republican AG, Jason Miyares, posted that he sent a letter to ActBlue “demanding answers.”

Miyares posted the letter on social media and said, “The integrity of our election is at stake.” The letter claims that his office “has become aware of multiple serious allegations that ActBlue, ActBlue Civics, Inc., and ActBlue Charities, Inc. (together ‘ActBlue’) have engaged in fraudulent, deceptive, and/or otherwise illegal activities in the Commonwealth of Virginia and/or aided and abetted others in doing so.” Twitter/X, [8/2/24]

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Trump Force 47’s URL has also been shared in other far-right online spaces, like among QAnon figures and users on the far-right forum TheDonald.

Far-right media figures, including Roseanne Barr, Jack Posobiec, and Rogan O’Handley — who have promoted QAnon, pushed various conspiracy theories, and spread misinformation, respectively — have taken part in Trump Force 47 training events. Posobiec’s trainings were reportedly “touted as a way to ‘receive insider insights from Jack Posobiec on the campaign’s efforts.’”

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