Judge Dismisses Case Against Michael Flynn, But Refuses to Say He’s Innocent

A federal judge dismissed a criminal case against Michael Flynn on Tuesday, weeks after President Donald Trump pardoned his former national security adviser on charges stemming from the special counsel’s investigation.

The ruling from Judge Emmet Sullivan formally ends Flynn’s three-year legal saga, which began with a plea deal the retired Army general entered on Dec. 1, 2017 in the special counsel’s probe of foreign interference in the 2016 presidential election.

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Ex-FBI Director Clears Papa John’s Founder of Racial Bias, Slams ‘Clearly Inaccurate’ Media

In a detailed rebuke of the news media, former FBI Director Louis Freeh said his exhaustive investigation of Papa John’s founder John Schnatter found no evidence of racial animus, citing corporate transcripts that directly contradict news reports suggesting the pizza executive had criticized NFL players for kneeling during the national anthem.

“A thorough examination … found that the public comments by Mr. Schnatter were neither intended nor can reasonably be interpreted to reflect any racial bias, prejudice, or disrespect for African Americans or people of color,” Freeh wrote in a report slated to be made public Tuesday.

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Georgia Secretary of State Chief Investigator Files Affidavit Against ‘Suitcase Ballots’ Video, Contradicting All Previous Reports

Georgia Secretary of State Chief Investigator Frances Watson filed an affidavit Monday alleging that the “suitcase ballots” video wasn’t fraud, and that poll workers and monitors weren’t told to leave during vote counting. The affidavit totaled two pages of evidentiary claims against outstanding affidavits claiming incidents that occurred in Fulton County.

Watson claimed that their team’s investigation found that no elections officials asked the observers and media to leave.

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Commentary: President Trump Strikes Back Against Rogue Bureaucrats

The President should be able to trust the advice he is given by senior bureaucrats, and he should be able to trust that his orders will be executed. Unfortunately for President Trump and his supporters, this has not been the case. To address this problem, Trump has taken a number of steps, including firing a number of his staffers. Recently, President Trump issued an executive order creating a new class of senior bureaucrats who can be hired and fired more easily.

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More Than Two Dozen Members of Arizona Legislature Call for the Decertification of the 2020 Election

In a joint statement Monday, 28 members and members-Elect of the Arizona Legislature called for the decertification of the 2020 election.

“The election should not have been certified with the number of irregularities and allegations of fraud,” said House Majority Leader Warren Petersen (pictured above). “Especially troubling to me are the allegations surrounding the vendor Dominion,” the lawmaker added. “It is imperative that a forensic audit occur immediately of the equipment and software. Upon any showing of fraud the legislature should immediately convene to decertify the vote.”

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Biden’s HHS Pick – Currently California Attorney General Xavier Becerra – Thinks AR-15s Are ‘Not in Common Use’

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, said AR-15s are akin to military-grade weapons and not useful for self defense in a 2019 court filing.

The AG’s statements were included in a court case that challenged California’s gun ban titled Rupp v. Becerra, in which multiple state residents sued government officials to overturn the prohibition of certain semi-automatic firearms. Becerra, an advocate for the Affordable Care Act, was announced as Biden’s pick to lead HHS Sunday, according to the New York Times.

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Virginia Military Institute Removes ‘Stonewall’ Jackson Statue

Virginia Military Institute began tearing down a statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson Monday morning after school leadership approved the removal in October.

Virginia Military Institute’s (VMI) Board of Visitors unanimously approved Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson statue’s removal in October after the school was accused of systemic racism and of fostering a hostile environment for black cadets. An Oct. 17 Washington Post report laid out several accusations of racism and insensitivity at VMI.

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Survey: Mental Health Continues to Plummet Amid Pandemic, Hits 20-Year Low

Americans’ mental health has plummeted during the coronavirus pandemic as lockdown restrictions and social distancing measures remain in effect across the country, according to a survey published Monday.

Mental health is worse than any other point in the last two decades, Gallup reported on Monday. A survey conducted by Gallup showed 76% of Americans reported their mental health as either excellent or good, a decline from past surveys in which more than 80% of Americans reported positive mental health.

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Victor Davis Hansom Commentary: The Scars of 2020

Amid plague, national lockdown, riot and arson, iconoclasm, recession, and the most contested voting in history, the country leaves 2020 with some scars that won’t heal.

Mail-in Voting: Election Day as we once knew it no longer really exists. It has been warped, trimmed, and made nearly irrelevant in the panic of the times. The prior, but now accelerating, changes and the “never let a good crisis go to waste” efforts during the COVID-19 lockdown rammed through vast changes in previous voting norms. If the Democrats win the two U.S. Senate runoffs in Georgia, new federal voting mandates designed to supersede state laws will institutionalize the chaos.

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Blacksburg Council Considering Ordinance to Ban Carrying of Firearms in Certain Locations

The Blacksburg Town Council will consider passing a proposed ordinance that bans the carrying of firearms on town property as well as in public spaces when being used for or next to a permitted event.

Localities in the Commonwealth are now allowed to take such action after the General Assembly passed legislation during the 2020 regular session last spring and took effect in July. 

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Georgia’s Fulton County Says It Will Provide Chain of Custody Records for Absentee Ballots from Drop Boxes by January 19, 2021 – One Day Before Presidential Inauguration

The Georgia Star News filed an open records request on Tuesday, December 1, for all “ballot transfer forms” from the Nov. 3 General Election in Fulton County.

Fulton County stated: “We believe we can have responsive records to you by January 19, 2021. That said, should responsive materials come available sooner, we will provide them to you.”

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Mike Pence Will Return to Georgia, Scheduled to Hold Rally in Augusta on Thursday

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to return to Georgia on Thursday, and this time he’s traveling to Augusta.

This, according to a press release that Georgia Republican Party officials emailed Monday.

“On Thursday, December 10th, Vice President Mike Pence will return to Georgia for a Defend the Majority Rally in Augusta,” according to the press release.

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Federal Judge in Georgia Dismisses Sidney Powell Case: ‘You Should’ve Filed Months Earlier’

A federal judge in Georgia dismissed attorney Sidney Powell’s case on Monday, citing lack of standing and timeliness in filing the suit. Judge Timothy Batten presided over Pearson, et al. v. Kemp, et al – ultimately, he asserted that he lacked the authority to grant the relief sought by Powell.

Batten stated that the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge the consent decree established by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Powell disagreed, arguing that the electors are part of the constitutional clause entitling voters to standing.

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Democrat State Senator Morrissey Faces Charges in Virginia for 2019 Polling Place Violation

State Senator Joe Morrisey (D-Richmond) was charged last week for campaigning at a Richmond polling place in on Election Day in November 2019. According to a Morrissey press release, he faces three alleged misdemeanor violations of a Virginia statute that prohibits loitering within 40 feet of a polling place entrance, attempting to influence any person’s vote within 40 feet of the polling place, and to hinder voters from leaving or entering the polling place.

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Ohio Will Stop Verifying Antigen Tests, Count Them All Positive

Embattled Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, whose party is considering impeachment and overriding his veto of a recent dually-passed bill to limit the pandemic powers of the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), called a COVID briefing on Monday to update Ohioans on the state’s response to the virus.

The most significant announcement was that beginning on Tuesday, November 8 the state will no longer trace people who test positive from antigen tests to confirm results.

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Ohio’s Gov. DeWine Hints at Extended Coronavirus Curfew

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said during a Monday press conference that the curfew currently placed on the state will need to be extended, although he did not reveal more details. 

DeWine imposed a 21-day curfew on Ohio from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. running from November 19 to December 10. The curfew was meant as a “slow down” aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus and applied to retail and indoor seating at restaurants. The curfew exempted businesses like restaurants operating on take-out only, pharmacies and grocery stores.

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Chase Follows Through on Promise, Will Run for Virginia Governor as an Independent

Virginia State Senator Amanda Chase (R-Chesterfield) is now planning to run for governor in the 2021 election as an independent candidate. 

The decision comes after the Republican Party of Virginia State Central Committee voted 41-28 on Saturday to hold a convention instead of a primary to nominate the party’s candidates for the 2021 races, according to previous reporting from The Virginia Star.

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Consulting Firm Co-Owned by Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Husband Received $600,000 in COVID Relief

A consulting firm co-owned by Rep. Ilhan Omar’s husband received more than $600,000 in COVID-19 relief funds while taking millions from Omar’s campaign.

Records show that E Street Group received $134,800 from the Paycheck Protection Program and $500,000 in Economic Injury Disaster Loans.

Omar’s campaign has paid the firm $2.78 million since July 2019, according to Federal Election Commission records. Between July 23 and Sept. 30, E Street Group received $1.1 million from Omar’s campaign for expenses related to advertising, digital consulting, video production and editing, travel and more.

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PUSHBACK: 400 Michigan Restaurants Band Together to Fight Whitmer’s COVID-19 Rules

Hundreds of restaurants banded together to push back against Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s recent coronavirus mandates, Fox Business reported Monday.

Joe Vicari, president of the Joe Vicari Restaurant Group in a Monday appearance said a total of 400 eateries in the state have joined the push against Whitmer’s lockdowns, Fox reported. Michigan is nearing the end of a three-week pause that shuttered indoor dining and bar service, but the governor has indicated a willingness to re-extend the restrictions that end on Tuesday, according to Bridge Michigan.

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Ohio Adopts New Law Enforcement Standards for Protests, Chokeholds

In response to the death of George Floyd in Minnesota and the protests that follow across the country, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced new standards for law enforcement officers in the state.

DeWine said a new statewide minimum standard for response to mass protests and demonstrations were adopted by the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board after he called on the board to address both chokeholds and mass protests following Floyd’s death.

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