Author: Neil W. McCabe

Neil W. McCabe is a staff reporter for The Virginia Star. Follow him on X: @neilwmccabe2

Breyer’s Retirement Gives President Biden Chance to Name New Justice Before Democrats Lose Senate

Neil W. McCabe

The second most senior Supreme Court associate justice decided to retire from the high court bench at the end of the court’s session in June, according to multiple media reports.

There was no official statement from the Supreme Court, but White House Press Secretary Jennifer R. “Jen” Psaki Wednesday confirmed the retirement of Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer on Twitter.

“It has always been the decision of any Supreme Court justice if and when they decide to retire, and how they want to announce it, and that remains the case today. We have no additional details or information to share from White House,” she said.

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Conservatives Stunned: Trump Endorses Ruth Bader Ginsburg Fan Ortagus for TN-5 Seat

Neil W. McCabe

At 8:11 p.m. East Coast time, Tuesday, President Donald J. Trump sent out an email to the millions of his supporters on his list announcing that if she decides to run he will endorse Morgan Ortagus for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District – and the conservative backlash was quick and negative.

“Ortagus and Bill Gates” by Morgan Ortagus/Instagram

“I am told that very strong and impressive Morgan Ortagus is exploring a run from Congress in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District. I couldn’t be happier because she’s an absolute warrior for America First and MAGA!” said the president, who went on to mention her work as a press secretary for then-Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and her service as a Navy Reserve officer.

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Shock Poll: 73 Percent of Renacci’s GOP Supporters Think 2020 Election Stolen From Trump, Only 39 Percent of DeWine’s GOP Supporters

Neil W. McCabe

President Donald J. Trump’s one-time campaign manager, now advising James B. “Jim” Renacci’s gubernatorial campaign, touted a new internal poll in an exclusive interview with The Ohio Star that found the former congressman is leading Gov. R. Michael “Mike” DeWine in the race for the Republican nomination to be decided in the May 3 primary.

Trump is playing a major role in Republican voter preferences for the 2022 campaign, said Brad Parscale, who tracks Renacci’s messaging and other facets of the campaign, in an exclusive interview about the poll.

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Exclusive: Archbishop Reacts to ‘Catholics for Choice’ Projecting Pro-Abortion Messages Upon National Shrine as He Celebrated Pro-Life Mass

Neil W. McCabe
Arcbishop

  Baltimore’s archbishop, who Thursday celebrated Annual Pro-life Vigil Mass at Washington’s National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, while Catholics for Choice projecting pro-abortion messages upon the church’s façade, gave his reaction to The Star News Network. “Well, the real action was what was going inside the basilica,” said Archbishop William E. Lori, who spoke to TSSN in front of the Supreme Court Friday as the tens of thousands of March for Life participants passed by. More evidence that Catholics for Choice is an evil organization that doesn’t actually care about the Church at all https://t.co/AtbNdJHw8x — 💛Mrs. M🤍 (@ThatRosaryGirl) January 21, 2022 “The upper church, the lower church were filled again with young people,” said the prelate, who, in addition to leading the Church in Baltimore, serves as the Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus. “We were in prayer. We were celebrating the gift of life. We were talking protecting the lives of mothers and babies,” he said. “And we were also talking about reaching out to those who are conflicted about abortion.” Lori said he was thrilled with the turnout and atmosphere at the march after last year’s hiatus. “I think it’s wonderful that we’re back in…

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After ’49th March For Life,’ Ohio Right To Life Leader Says: ‘We’re Really Living In A Pro-Life Generation’

Neil W. McCabe

The executive director of Ohio Right to Life told The Star News Network he and the more than 100 young people he bused to Washington for Friday’s 49th March for Life could have marched for the last time under the current abortion regime.

“We believe in the power of prayer, and we believe prayer through all these years of the movement has brought us to this point,” said Peter Range, who just joined Ohio Right to Life after working as the director of the Life and Justice Office at the Diocese of Toledo.

“A point – that this could literally be the last March for Life that happened under Roe v. Wade, because of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case the Supreme Court will rule on,” said Range.

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The Ohio Star Podcast Kicks Off the First Episode with Roger Stone on DeSantis v. Trump, Ohio Political Strategist Matt Palumbo, and Reporter Peter D’Abrosca

Neil W. McCabe

The Star News Network launched its first episode of The Ohio Star Podcast Thursday, hosted by TSSN’s National Political Editor Neil W. McCabe, as part of its expanding coverage of the Buckeye State.

“The truth is we have great Ohio reporters breaking news and covering stories the mainstream outlets ignore,” said McCabe. “This new podcast is a way to bring our world-class content to a new audience through this powerful medium.”

McCabe said the first episode has three compelling guests.

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Trump White House Alums Launch Jefferson Society PAC to Back America First House Candidates

Neil W. McCabe

Veterans of President Donald J. Trump’s White House and their supporters gathered Tuesday to launch The Jefferson Society political action committee at Washington’s Capitol Hill Club, a PAC dedicated to backing House candidates aligned with their once-and-future boss’s agenda.

One of the new political action committee organizers told The Star News Network the Jefferson Society was born from the lessons learned from the White House Personnel Office, especially the last year of the Trump administration when John D. McEntee II led that office.

The organizer said that the right personnel is vital to getting the right policy, which was confirmed in the Trump administration and is true in the House of Representatives.

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Gopher State’s ‘The Bible in a Year’ Host Father Mike Headlines 49th March for Life

Neil W. McCabe

  WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Minnesota priest, who hosts the No. 1 podcast in the country “The Bible in a Year,” headlined the 49th March for Life rally Friday joined by tens of thousands of abortion opponents gathered at Washington’s National Mall, along with religious leaders, members of Congress and performers braving the windy 25 degree-chill. “Wow, it is an honor—an incredible honor—to be here with you today,” said Father Michael Schmitz, whose podcast finished its first year on December 31 with more than 140 million downloads. “You guys have been such troopers—it is so cold.” The march is notorious for its cold weather, so much so that the Knights of Columbus, in addition to providing the marshals for the march up east on Pennsylvania Avenue and then up Constitution Avenue to its finish at the Supreme Court, always do a brisk business handing out free KofC-logoed hats and scarves. Marchers at the 2016 marchers endured a blizzard and more than 20 inches of snow. The priest of the Duluth Diocese and a chaplain at the University of Minnesota told the pro-life crowd that far exceeded the 50,000 organizers estimated on their event permit for this year’s march with the…

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GOP Rebel Bainbridge, Retired E & Y Partner, Details ORP’s $3 Million in Missing Equity, Blasts Party Treasurer Johnson, Who ‘Is Silent and Provides No Explanation’

Neil W. McCabe

  The retired Ernst & Young partner and Ohio Republican Party (ORP) central committee member, leading a lawsuit against the Ohio Republican Party and its Chairman Robert A. Paduchik and the party’s Treasurer David W. Johnson over questions in the party’s governance and books, responded to the December 30 “Open Letter to Ohio Republican Leaders” written by Johnson. “The accuracy of the financial statements of the Ohio Republican Party is very germane to the integrity and strength of the party,” said Mark A. Bainbridge, who filed his November 29 lawsuit with four other members of the ORP’s central committee. “I take great exception to many statements published by ORP Treasurer David Whipple Johnson in his ‘Open Letter to Ohio Republican Leaders,’” he said. Bainbridge said Johnson was misleading people when he claimed that the Ohio Republican Party’s financial statements were in any way audited or given a clean bill of health by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose. The two men had breakfast together before Bainbridge made his response, and then and there, the secretary of state made it very clear. “He confirmed to me that his office does not audit any campaign information submitted to them by political parties.…

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Exclusive: Jailed for Violating Walz’s ‘Indoor Service’ Ban, Lisa Hanson Shares What Her Ordeal Taught Her

Neil W. McCabe

The owner of Albert Lea’s now-closed Interchange Coffee and Wine Bistro told The Minnesota Sun she has learned the value of family and true friendship as she serves her 90-day sentence for violating Democrat Gov. Timothy J. “Tim” Walz’s ban on indoor service.

“Probably the biggest thing I miss about running the bistro is the guests,” said Melissa “Lisa” Hanson, who, December 9, began her sentence at the Freeborn County Adult Detention Center.

“To be able to provide a great product coupled with a unique atmosphere and thoughtful joy was to sit and observe,” she said.

“Whether it was a busy summer lunch with guests enjoying the patio under the pergolas or a ‘Live Music Friday Night’ watching the guests relax and enjoy themselves while all their worries melted away to the tunes the musicians were strumming or plunking out,” she said. “Seeing family and friends laugh and relax together was so special – these are some of the things I miss.”

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Trump Salutes Maricopa County Audit, Atty. Gen. Brnovich, Teases AT&T Boycott at 45K-Strong Arizona Rally

Neil W. McCabe

President Donald J. Trump gave his full support to Arizona conservatives, who are still investigating the handling of the 2020 presidential election, and he expressed confidence that state Attorney General Mark Brnovich would take action on the findings of the Maricopa County audit and other investigations Saturday at his Canyon Moon Ranch rally in Florence, Arizona.

The president said he was counting on state Attorney General Mark Brnovich to investigate how the 2020 presidential election was handled in Arizona.

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Exclusive: Blystone Whistleblower’s Attorney Ridicules Blystone’s Suit to Have Court Dismiss Complaint

Neil W. McCabe

The attorney for Sarah Chambers, the whistleblower, and former co-campaign manager for Joseph K. Blystone’s gubernatorial campaign, told The Ohio Star Blystone’s lawsuit filed Tuesday asking the court to order the Ohio Elections Commission to dismiss Chambers’ Oct. 28 51-page complaint against him is a futile and desperate exercise.

“The old saying is, if the facts are on your side, you pound the facts. If the law’s on your side, you pound the law. If neither the facts nor the law is on your side, you pound the table,” said Scott A. Pullins, the Mount Vernon lawyer, who has for many years represented candidates, campaigns and political action committees.

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CRT in Schools: Farmington, Michigan, Parents Protest ‘21-Day Equity Challenge’ School Board Meeting

Neil W. McCabe

Dozens of concerned parents protested their school system’s adoption of the “21-Day Equity Challenge,” a Critical Race Theory curriculum, at Tuesday’s school board meeting, joined by members of the Oakland County Republican Party and Moms for America.

The protesters lined the street in front of North Farmington High School, holding signs and waving at drivers, who often honked their horns in support as the sun dropped and the temperature with it.

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Exclusive: Cyber Ninjas CEO Says Hostile Reporters Never Gave The Maricopa County Audit Fair Coverage

Neil W. McCabe

The founder and CEO of the Sarasota, Florida, based Cyber Ninjas told The Star News Network that politically-motivated reporters let their bias taint their coverage of his company’s audit of the ballots from the 2020 presidential voting held in Maricopa County, Arizona.

One of the frustrating parts of his effort to be open and transparent with the public was the constant twisting of facts and events by journalists, who were opposed to the audit from the very beginning, despite their protestations that they were objective, said Doug Logan, the Guilford College, Greensboro, North Carolina, graduate, who founded the company in 2013.

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Exclusive: Cyber Ninjas CEO Says Arizona Senate Shut Down Firm Not Leftwing Judge

Neil W. McCabe

The Founder and CEO of Cyber Ninjas, the cybersecurity firm tapped by the Arizona State Senate to audit Maricopa County’s 2020 presidential election tallies, told The Star News Network his company shut down because the Republican-controlled State Senate did not fulfill its contractual obligations to the firm.

“At the end of the day, this is the call of Senator Fann,” said Doug Logan, speaking of Arizona State Senate President Karen Fann. Logan told employees in early December that the company would close its doors unless the State Senate fulfilled its contractual obligations.

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Campaign Whistleblower Chambers Files First Request for Blystone’s Documents, Financial Records

Neil W. McCabe

The attorney for Sarah Chambers, the former co-campaign manager for Joseph K. Blystone’s gubernatorial campaign, filed her first request for records in support of her campaign finance complaint against her former campaign under consideration by the Ohio Elections Commission.

Scott A. Pullins, the Mount Vernon lawyer representing Chambers, named Blystone, his wife and treasurer M. Jane Blystone, and Friends of Joe Blystone, the campaign committee as respondents.

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GOP Senate Hopeful JD Vance Pledges Fight Fire with Fire When We Get Power Back’ in January 6 Video

Neil W. McCabe

  The author of “Hillbilly Elegy, who is one of the four major Republican candidates running to replace Ohio Republican Sen. Robert J. Portman, spoke out Wednesday on Twitter about the first anniversary of the storming of the Capitol. “Hi, guys. Tomorrow is the anniversary of January the 6th, the most traumatic moment in the history of American democracy,” said James D. “JD” Vance, who served a combat tour in Iraq as a Marine public affairs NCO. “So traumatic in fact that the Left has felt the need to talk about it eight times a day for the past year,” he said “It’s often framed as an assault on our democracy, but the assault on our democracy that too few people are willing to talk about is the fact that dozens of nonviolent protestors on January the 6th are being held in disgusting conditions in Washington, D.C., jails,” he said. Vance said he was concerned about the treatment of the protesters now held in custody. “No Democrats and too few Republicans are willing to speak up for them. They’re being denied their Constitutional rights, and the fact that so few in our media or in our political establishment are willing…

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Exclusive: Wife of Acquitted San Diego County Police Officer Railroaded Off Force After Viral Video Vows to Fight On

Neil W. McCabe

The wife of a former La Mesa, California police officer told The Star News Network that since a jury December 10 acquitted her husband Matthew Dages, the couple fights now to regain his spot on the force so that he can return to his law enforcement vocation.

“The foreman handed it to the court clerk, and she read the verdict, and I think all of us were just waiting for the end pronunciation of the not guilty words – and as soon as we heard that everyone kind of erupted in a huge sigh of relief and just tears,” said Christina Dages, whose husband was charged with the felony filing a false police report regarding his May 27, 2020, interactions and arrest of Amaurie Johnson, at the Grossmont Transit Center here.

Dages said when the couple celebrated their second wedding anniversary, December 28, it was poignant because, for 19 months of their marriage, they have been dealing with the severe possibility of her husband going to prison.

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Exclusive: Chambers Tells The Ohio Star What She Told the FBI About Blystone’s Campaign, What FBI Told Her

Neil W. McCabe

The former co-campaign manager for Joseph K. Blystone’s gubernatorial campaign, who filed a complaint in October against that campaign, told The Star News Network she told two Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents Blystone mishandled cash contributions to his campaign, while they told her their probe into Blystone goes beyond his run for governor.

Sarah Chambers said she met with the FBI special agents Julie Becker and Blane Wetzel November 18 in the Columbus field office at or around 1 p.m. “They don’t conduct interviews over the phone; they want to meet in person.”

The whistleblower said the FBI agents were very prepared for her interview. They each had copies of her complaint with many of the pages highlighted, along with printouts of articles from The Ohio Star.

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Exclusive: FBI Probing Ohio GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Blystone Campaign Finances Says Whistleblower’s Attorney

Neil W. McCabe
Joe Blystone

  In an exclusive interview with The Ohio Star, the lawyer representing a whistleblower and former co-campaign manager for Joseph K. Blystone‘s quest for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, Sarah Chambers that the Federal Bureau of Investigation agents are probing Blystone’s campaign finances. “Sarah and I met with them on Thursday, November 18, in their Columbus office,” said Scott A. Pullins, a Mount Vernon attorney whose practice has included representing many campaigns and campaign law compliance clients. Pullins also said Secretary of State Frank LaRose, and his Campaign Finance Division, received evidence of Blystone campaign finance misconduct and took no action. FBI reaches out to Chambers The graduate of The Ohio State University and the Capital University Law School said he also took note that FBI Special Agent Blaine Wetzel, one of the agents who interviewed Chambers that day, was listed as a virtual attendee at the December 16 Ohio Elections Commission hearing, where the commission reviewed the 51-page campaign finance complaint filed by Chambers and other former senior Blystone campaign staffers October 28 against Blystone, his wife, and campaign treasurer, M. Jane Blystone and his campaign committee Friends of Joe Blystone. In the complaint, Chambers, and others detailed how Blystone…

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Exclusive: Interview with Lisa Hanson About Her Christmas Behind Bars for Violating Minnesota Gov. Walz’s COVID-19 Indoor Service Ban

Neil W. McCabe

In an exclusive interview, the Hayward woman held for a 90-day sentence in the Freeborn County Jail after her conviction for violating Gov. Timothy J. Walz’s executive order banning indoor restaurant service told The Minnesota Sun she about her Christmas behind bars.

“Merry Christmas! I am doing well by the grace of our Lord,” said Melissa “Lisa” Hanson, whose Interchange Wine and Coffee Bistro was an institution here for the years before the state charged here for violating the Walz orders, followed by the city’s decision to shut down her restaurant and let her lease expire at the end of the year.

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Exclusive: Wisconsin U.S. Congressman Tiffany Blames Biden for Thousands of Dead Migrants

Neil W. McCabe

The freshman Wisconsin Republican congressman who traveled to witness the mass migration through Panama’s Darien Gap told The Wisconsin Star President Joseph R. Biden Jr., is responsible for thousands of deaths and other abuses suffered by migrants he invited to the United States.

“What’s very clear is that every state is how a border state and people are being resettled across America—it doesn’t matter if they are coming from across the Southern Border, part of the Afghanistan evacuation—these migrations are going to affect every community,” said Rep. Timothy P. Tiffany, who sits on the Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee.

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Biden’s Air Force Opens Strategic Tanker Contract to Airbus Less Than a Year After $4B DOJ Sanction for Hiding China Ties

Neil W. McCabe

President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s administration opened up a significant chunk of a new Air Force tanker contract to the Leiden, Netherlands, based Airbus less than a year after the company paid a nearly $4 billion fine for corruption and despite its history of technology transfers to China.

“Airbus engaged in a multi-year and massive scheme to corruptly enhance its business interests by paying bribes in China and other countries and concealing those bribes,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division in a statement released at the end of January.

“This coordinated resolution was possible thanks to the dedicated efforts of our foreign partners at the Serious Fraud Office in the United Kingdom and the PNF in France,” Benczkowski said.

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Norquist: Perdue’s Promise to End Georgia’s Income Tax Part of Trend in Red States

Neil W. McCabe

  WASHINGTON, D.C.-The founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) praised David A Perdue Jr.‘s pledge to eliminate the state’s income tax in an exclusive interview with The Georgia Star. “His coming out and saying: ‘Let’s phase down to zero,’ is helpful because we’re seeing this in other states,” said Grover Norquist, who started ATR in 1985 at the personal request of President Ronald W. Reagan. “Where either the preferred candidate or the incumbent candidate says: ‘I’m going to take this out,’ or somebody else does,” he said. “In fact, I did not know Perdue was introducing himself with that issue, but that is a huge advantage because he’s not relitigating 2020,” said the Massachusetts native. “He’s looking forward–phasing out the income tax is a forward-looking thing.” “I would project that all red states will, over the next five years, have Republican governors who will say it is our goal to get to zero,” he said. “Doesn’t mean tomorrow, but our goal is to get to zero, which means every year there’s a budget.” When Perdue announced his challenge to Gov. Brian P. Kemp this month for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in the May 24 primary, the former…

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Senior Consultant to Gibbons’ Ohio Senate Campaign Mike Biondo: ‘We’re in a Very Good Position in This Race’

Neil W. McCabe

In an exclusive interview, the general consultant for Mike Gibbons’ campaign for the Ohio Republican Senate nomination explained to The Ohio Star the investment banker’s path to victory.

“If you take a look at any of the polls that have been released by any of the candidates, the one constant is Mike Gibbons has consistently been moving up,” said Michael G. Biondo, a partner in Ascent Strategic, who has held senior positions in national political campaigns, including serving as national senior advisor to Donald J. Trump’s 2016 campaign.

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Perdue Launches Georgia Governor Bid With Pledge to Eliminate State Income Tax, Block Stacy Abrams Control of Elections ‘Over My Dead Body’

Neil W. McCabe
David Perdue

The former Republican Georgia senator, who lost his January runoff election to Democratic Sen. T. Jonathan Ossoff, announced today he is challenging his friend and former ally Gov. Brian P. Kemp in the party’s May 24 primary.

“Look, I like Brian,” said David A. Perdue Jr., in a video released by his campaign.

“This isn’t personal. It’s simple,” Perdue said. “He has failed all of us and cannot win in November. Instead of protecting our elections, he caved to Abrams and cost us two Senate seats, the Senate majority, and gave Joe Biden free reign.”

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Ohio GOP Insider: All Four Major Senate Hopefuls Could Get Trump’s Endorsement

Neil W. McCabe
Donald Trump waving

An Ohio Republican insider who held senior positions in Donald J. Trump’s 2016 and since then been a consultant for Republican Senate and gubernatorial races told The Ohio Star each of the top four candidates running for the 2022 GOP Senate nomination has a shot at Trump’s endorsement.

“I think each of these candidates can make an argument to give an endorsement. Every one of them, all the top four,” said the insider and Ohio native.

Joshua A. Mandel

Former state treasurer and Marine Iraq veteran Joshua A. Mandel is leading in all the polls, and he has recovered from his surprise dropping of the 2018 Senate race, which was supposed to be a rematch of with Democratic Sen. Sherrod C. Brown, who beat him 51 percent to Mandel’s 45 percent, he said.

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Developing: Trump Goads David Perdue to Take on Gov. Kemp in GOP Primary

Neil W. McCabe

The former Republican Georgia senator who lost the January runoff election to Sen. T. Jonathan Ossoff is expected to announce his challenge to Gov. Brian P. Kemp Monday in the May 25 primary, after months of prodding from President Donald J. Trump, setting up a clash of two former allies and another test of Trump’s sway over the GOP.

“Bonnie and I have been praying about our state and I am concerned about the state of our state,” said David A. Perdue Jr., speaking with the host of WDUN’s “The Martha Zoller Show” and teasing his run with an appearance that broadcast a week before Thanksgiving.

The leading Democrat in the race in the party’s 2018 nominee Stacy Abrams, who Wednesday announced her 2022 campaign.

Trump has been angry at Kemp after the governor refused to back efforts to review the 2020 election before it was certified.

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Ohio GOP Reformers Reflect on Ohio GOP Central Committee Meeting Paduchik Cut Short

Neil W. McCabe

Members of the Ohio Republican Party’s Central Committee, who have been punished for demanding more transparency and accountability, shared with The Ohio Star their thoughts on Friday’s meeting, which ended suddenly with items still on the agenda.

Party Chairman Robert A. Paduchik had gaveled the meeting in recess until two Delaware County Sheriff’s deputies cleared out everyone from the sitting in the two dozen chairs set up in the public gallery and the people standing, who crowded the roped-off space in the back of the room.

Two of the five resolutions on the agenda were left to consider when Paduchik and his allies quickly ended the recess and adjourned the meeting on a voice vote.

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Paduchik Gavels Short Unruly Ohio GOP Central Committee Meeting; Two Resolutions Left Unaddressed

Neil W. McCabe

The Ohio Republican Party chairman gaveled shut the December 3 meeting of the Ohio Republican Party Central Committee held at the Nationwide Conference and Hotel Center here roughly 90 minutes in, leaving two resolutions unaddressed on the agenda.

“We are taking a recess until the hall is cleared,” said Robert A. Paduchik, who took over leadership of the state party from Jane E. Timken in February, shortly after 11:30 a.m., after members of the committee complained that individuals in the public gallery participated in voice votes.

The public gallery had two dozen chairs in a roped-off section in the back of the room for the roughly 100 people who showed up for the open to the public meeting. A handful of protesters held signs and during the meeting and burst into applause or cheers.

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Ohio Republican Party Central Committeeman Bainbridge: I Am Not Working with ‘Dark Money’ Group, I Did Not Force Ohio GOP’s Timken-Conflicted Audit Firm Off Account

Neil W. McCabe

The retired Ernst & Young partner and member of the Ohio Republican Party Central Committee responded to charges from the party chairman Robert A. Paduchik and his supporters that he is ignorant of non-profit accounting and that he delayed the resolution of the party’s books by forcing the party’s audit firm to resign.

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Exclusive: GOP Governor Hopeful Renacci Tells Why He Named Pro-Life Filmmaker Joe Knopp His Running Mate

Neil W. McCabe

The former congressman and main challenger to Ohio Gov. R. Michael DeWine for the 2022 GOP gubernatorial nomination announced today, Joe Knopp, the producer of the pro-life film “Unplanned” agreed to be his lieutenant governor running mate.

“I picked a guy who’s going to help me get elected and help me govern,” said James B. “Jim” Renacci, who June 9 announced his own candidacy for governor.

In addition to being a producer for “Unplanned,” the 2019 true-life film about Abby Johnson’s transformation from a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic director to becoming an advocate for the unborn and a leader in the pro-life movement, Knopp also produced the 2015 film “Woodlawn” and the 2018 film “I Can Only Imagine.”

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GOP Spokeswoman: Biden’s Removing Columbia’s Castro-Linked FARC from Terrorist List ‘Legitimized and Emboldened Terrorists’

Neil W. McCabe

  The communications director of the Republican National Committee blasted President Joseph R. Biden’s Jr.’s removing today the Marxist guerillas fighting under the name Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and undermining the democratic government of Columbia. “Biden’s decision has legitimized and emboldened terrorists who have murdered, kidnapped, and attacked Americans and our allies across Latin America, in addition to killing hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in Colombia,” Danielle Alvarez said in a statement about the decision. Alvarez, a Cuban-American, was a spokeswoman for Trump Victory and also worked for Florida Republican Sen. Richard L. “Rick” Scott’s 2014 gubernatorial reelection campaign. “The FARC has actively worked to undermine democracy in Colombia through violence and drug trafficking, and this decision is an insult and disrespect to Colombian Americans and all victims of the FARC’s attacks,” said Alvarez. “Instead of removing the FARC from the list of terrorist organizations, Biden should be holding this communist group accountable for its violence, extremism, and oppression,” she said. “This is another unacceptable foreign policy decision from Biden that is making America and our allies less safe.” Biden’s move to recognize FARC, which was funded and mentored by Fidel Castro, as a political entity,…

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Lawsuit: Five Ohio Republicans Claim Ohio GOP Missing $3 Million; Demand Court-Ordered Forensic Audit, Funds Claw Back

Neil W. McCabe

A band of five members of the Ohio Republican Party’s Central Committee filed suit against the Ohio Republican Party, Party Chairman Robert A. Paduchik and Party Treasurer David W. Johnson November 29 at the Franklin County Courthouse petitioning for the court to grant their four requests:

– An injunction against Paduchik and or a temporary restraining order stopping him from reassigning members of the party’s Central Committee from their subcommittees or otherwise reorganizing the Central Committee outside the process set out in the party rules;
– Production and recovery of financial documents for a court-ordered forensic audit of the party’s books going back to the party’s fiscal year 2017, or going back as far as necessary to track down impropriety and illegality;
– Accountability and transparency sufficient to make auditable books and records that the petitioners claim has not been accomplished in 12 years, leaving the party with entirely corrupted and un-audited financial records; and
– The party’s adoption of the necessary management and officer accountability and an investigation towards the recovery of funds illegally transferred or converted from the party.

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Ohio GOP Chairman Paduchik Rebukes: Bainbridge Makes ‘Crazy Accusations’ and ’Coordinates with ‘Dark Money’-Funded Groups to ‘Destroy the Ohio Republican Party’

Neil W. McCabe

The chairman of the Ohio Republican Party sent a Nov. 30 open letter addressed to “Interested Parties,” denouncing State Central Committeeman Mark A. Bainbridge for his criticism of how party finances are handled.

“Quite simply, Mark is making crazy accusations of fiscal malfeasance to damage the State Central Committee,” said Robert A. Paduchik, who took over the party’s reins in February, succeeding Jane E. Timken, now a candidate for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate.

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Ohio GOP State Committeeman, a CPA, Calls on DeWine to Force Out Party Chairman Bob Paduchik

Neil W. McCabe

A retired partner from Ernst and Young, one of the Big Four international accounting firms, sent a November 24 letter to Republican Ohio Gov. R. Michael DeWine requesting the governor pressure Ohio Republican Party (ORP) Chairman Robert A. Paduchik to resign for his failure to respond to Ohio Republican State Central Committee member questions regarding missing funds from the party’s balance sheet.

“As a follow-up to my letter to you of November 8, 2021, enclosed is a letter I sent to members of the Ohio Republican State Central Committee related to unexplained ORP Net Worth Decrease of $270,600 in 2021,” wrote Mark A. Banbridge, who left Ernst and Young in 2009, before establishing his business advisory firm in Columbus.

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Cook Political Report Shifts Democrat-Held Georgia, Arizona and Nevada Senate Seats to ‘Toss Up’

Neil W. McCabe

The Senate and governors editor for The Cook Political Report told The Star News Network the collapse of popular support for President Joseph R. Biden Jr., was one of the critical factors driving the political prognosticating site’s decision to move Senate races in Georgia, Arizona and Nevada to ‘Toss Up.’

“We never start an incumbent out in ‘Toss Up,’ until they have an opponent,” said Jessica Taylor, about the changes to move the three Democrats, Arizona’s Sen. Mark A. Kelly, Georgia’s Sen. Raphael G. Warnock and Nevada’s Sen. Catherine M. Cortez-Mastro from the presumption that they were favored for reelection.

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Former GOP Rep. Barletta: I Am Running for Keystone State Governor to Undo Wolf’s Mismanagement of COVID-19, Crime, Economy & Schools

Neil W. McCabe

The former Republican congressman running for governor of Pennsylvania told The Star News Network drove him to run for governor after watching families and businesses suffer under Gov. Thomas W. Wolf and his pandemic policies.

“Actually, watching how Governor Wolf mismanaged the pandemic,” said Louis J. “Lou” Barletta, who left his House seat to challenge Democratic Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr., in 2018. Wolf is term-limited and cannot run for a third term.

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Alaska Governor Sees ‘Red Wave’ Coming If Biden, Democrats ‘Keep Doing What They Are Doing’

Neil W. McCabe

The governor of Alaska told The Star News Network that Alaskans, and other Americans, will punish at the polls President Joseph R. Biden Jr., and Democrats, whose policies are not aligned with their interests and values.

“I think if the national Democrats in Congress and the Biden administration keep doing what they are doing, I think you are going to see a Red Wave,” said Republican Gov. Michael J. Dunleavy, who, like the president grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

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Republican Governors Association Stalwart Haley Barbour Warns There is No ‘This Wave’ for GOP in 2022 Yet

Neil W. McCabe

The man who led the Republican Governors Association (RGA) during the 2009-2010 Tea Party wave that swept Republicans into eight governorship pickups and control of the House expressed caution about predicting big GOP wins in 2022 this early in the cycle.

“There is still a long way to go before there is a ‘this wave,’ said former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour, who was the RGA chairman from June 2009 through the 2010 midterms, when the GOP won 2009 governor races in Virginia and New Jersey, and including 2010 wins in crucial battleground states Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan.

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Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell Sounds the Election Integrity Alarm Going into 2022, 2024

Neil W. McCabe

The chairman of the America First Policy Institute’s Center for Election Integrity (AFPI) told The Star News Network that he is watching for how elections run in 2022 and 2024 based on lessons learned from the poor handling of the 2020 presidential election.

“Look back and see that in 1918 you had the Spanish Flu, then in 1929, you had a complete economic collapse, in 1968, you had the riots, and in 1974, we had the Nixon impeachment—well, in 2020, you had all of those things happening in one year,” said J. Kenneth “Ken” Blackwell, who joined AFPI in July after a long career in public service and academia, including service as Ohio’s secretary of state and as the mayor of Cincinnati.

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Gov.-Elect Youngkin Tells Republican Governors He’ll Fire Entire Virginia Parole Board on Day One; Calls for Ending ‘Rather Silly Debate’ Over Funding Police

Neil W. McCabe

The incoming governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia hailed public safety, funding the police and preserving qualified immunity for law enforcement officers as pillars of his election victory and his new administration a November 17 talk at the Republican Governor Association annual meetings in Phoenix.

“Let’s fund law enforcement, and oh, by the way, let’s protect qualified immunity, which protects law enforcement from frivolous lawsuits,” said Governor-elect Glenn A. Youngkin, who takes office January 15.

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New Iowa GOP Poll Shows Trump 4-to-1 Favorite Over DeSantis

Neil W. McCabe

A new poll released Monday shows that President Donald J. Trump is the overwhelming choice of Iowa Republicans with support from 56 percent of respondents compared to 12 percent supporting Florida Ronald D. “Ron” DeSantis in the poll conducted November 3 through November 5, and November 8 and 12, by Neighborhood Research and Media.

Neighborhood Research and Media asked participants: “If the 2024 Iowa Caucus were today, who would be your first choice for president?”

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GOP Senate Campaign Committee Denies Recruiting Arizona Gov. Ducey for Mark Kelly Challenge

Neil W. McCabe

The communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee denied rumors to the Arizona Sun Times that the NRSC chairman, Sen. Richard L. “Rick” Scott (R.-Fla.), is recruiting Arizona Gov. Douglas A. “Doug” Ducey Jr., to run against Democrat Sen. Mark E. Kelly.

“I think your questions reflect a misunderstanding with what the NRSC does and what Chairman Scott does in terms of recruiting,” said Chris Hartline, who before becoming NRSC communications director, worked in a similar capacity on Scott’s Senate staff.

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Former Co-Campaign Manager: Why I Accused GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Joe Blystone of Campaign Corruption

Neil W. McCabe

The complainant of the October 28 campaign finance complaint against Republican gubernatorial candidate Joseph K. Blystone told The Ohio Star she tried to convince Blystone to play by the rules before leaving the campaign.

“I had conversations about that, I would say at least five times personal conversations about that very thing, not only myself, but other leaders who I have emails from that I still have,” said Sarah Chambers, who joined the Blystone campaign in March and for the next four months served as the co-campaign manager.

“I emailed him concerns about: ‘Hey, how are we supposed to be doing campaign finance? How do donations work? What do we need to be keeping track of?’” she said.

“I really didn’t want to have to bring this complaint. It wasn’t my intention really to bring it, and I kind of just kept putting aside my own personal feelings and responsibility, just to tell the truth about what happened,” she said.

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Report: Trump to Attend Masters Fundraiser, Joins Arizona GOP Senate Primary Fight

Neil W. McCabe

President Donald J. Trump is expected to attend a November 10 fundraiser for Arizona Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters at the president’s Palm Springs, Florida, Mar-A-Largo resort, according to media reports.

Trump has not made an endorsement yet in the race, but the president’s attendance at the event hosted by billionaire Peter A. Thiel is a clear sign an endorsement is in the offering.

Masters is a Thiel protégé and the chief financial officer of the Thiel Capital, the German-born PayPal co-founder’s family investing vehicle.

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Texas Education Agency Opens Backdoor to ChiCom Surveillance of Students Through Virtual Tutorial Firm

Neil W. McCabe

  The Texas Education Agency contracted with a virtual-tutorial marketing company through the end of the 2022-2023 school year that relies on tutorial services from VIPKids, the Beijing-based company backed by the Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent tied to surveillance and censorship. “We believe all students deserve equal access to rigorous and engaging instruction,” said Michael Lombardo, the founder and CEO of BookNook. “We are confident that our efforts in Texas, in partnership with the Texas Education Agency, will have a meaningful impact on student performance.” BookNook is the exclusive provider of K-8 literacy in the state. Lombardo, a founding Advisory Council member of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, President Barack H. Obama’s signature initiative focused on supporting boys and young men of color, said BookNook is about collaborative learning. “At the heart of BookNook is our commitment to collaborative learning. We believe that using synchronous learning technology can better support the important person-to-person interactions at the center of great instruction,” said the one-time fellow at the Honolulu-based East-West Center. BookNook is now part of TEA’s Vetted Texas Tutor Corps, which is the program the education agency uses to address the new Texas law requirements that require accelerated tutoring for students…

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Virginia Gubernatorial Race: Youngkin Pounces After McAuliffe ‘Abruptly’ Cuts, Runs from TV Interview

Neil W. McCabe

  Two weeks before Virginia’s bellwether election, Republican Glenn A. Youngkin‘s campaign is banging the pots and pans to draw attention to Democrat Terence R. “Terry” McAuliffe’s sudden end to his interview with WJLA-TV’s Nick Minock. Three times, a McAuliffe staffer interrupted the interview, which ended with this exchange: McAuliffe Staffer: “Alright Nick we are already over time.” Terry McAuliffe: “Alright, we are over. That’s it. That’s it. Hey I gave you extra time. C’mon man. You should have asked better questions early on. You should have asked questions your viewers care about.” Nick Minock: “Well, we did.” WJLA-TV anchor Jonathan Elias introduced the paired interviews with an explanation for why McAuliffe’s segment was roughly 10 minutes, compared with Youngkin’s 20-minute segment. “We do want to point out that the Terry McAuliffe interview is shorter than our interview with Glenn Youngkin, that was not by our doing,” Elias said. “Nick offered both candidates 20 minutes exactly to be fair, for the interviews. McAuliffe abruptly ended 7 News’ interview after just 10 minutes and told Nick that he should have asked better questions.” The Youngkin campaign quickly tweeted out what happened– the candidate held a rally for 10,000 supporters in the…

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Military’s Top Catholic Prelate Rebukes Catholic SecDef Austin’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

Neil W. McCabe

  The Archbishop of the Archdiocese for Military Services wrote an October 12 pastoral letter to Catholic military personnel supporting their right of conscience to refuse the COVID-19 vaccines produced or tested with cells derived from aborted children, setting up a confrontation with a Pentagon led by a practicing Catholic. “No one should be forced to receive a COVID-19 vaccine if it would violate the sanctity of his or her conscience,” wrote Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, who has led the military archdiocese since his January 25, 2008, installation. The prelate’s pastoral letter sets up a confrontation between the military’s top Catholic cleric and the military’s top leader, practicing Catholic Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III. Austin ordered all military personnel to be vaccinated in his August 24 memorandum. “To defend this Nation, we need a healthy and ready force. After careful consultation with medical experts and military leadership, and with the support of the president, I have determined that mandatory vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19, is necessary to protect the Force and defend the American people,” Austin in his memo, addressed to senior Pentagon leadership, commanders of combatant commands, Defense agency and DOD field activity directors. “Mandatory vaccinations are…

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Associated Press Reporter Relies on Russian Collusion Fantasist in Noem Hit Piece

Neil W. McCabe

  In his September 27 attack article on South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem, Associated Press reporter Stephen Groves quotes a rampant Russian Collusion hoaxer Professor Richard Painter, who he presents as a credible arbiter on ethics. Groves’s articles nominally focus on the governor’s effort to find out why her daughter Kassidy Peters, who graduated from South Dakota State University with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture and business management and had more than three years of experience working as a junior appraiser, was denied her application to become a state-certified residential appraiser. Peters was denied in late July 2020, but after the governor’s administration inquired into the circumstances around the denial, the governor’s daughter received her certificate in November 2020. Groves going to Painter is troubling because he deceptively fails to mention that the professor is anything other than a partisan opponent of former President Donald J. Trump and his allies. While Peters was applying for the certification, Noem should have recused herself from discussions on the agency, especially any that would apply to her daughter’s application, said Richard Painter, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, who was the chief ethics lawyer for former President George W.…

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