Author: Tom Pappert

Group Tied to Courtney Johnston Campaign Sent $140,000 to Super PAC Behind Ads Targeting Rep. Andy Ogles

Tom Pappert
TN5 Candidate Courtney Johnson

The Tennessee super PAC supporting the challenge by Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnson to unseat Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-07) in the Republican primary contest for the state’s  7th Congressional district recently received $140,000 from a group connected to Johnston’s campaign.

Federal Election Commission (FEC) records confirm the group Conservatives with Character received $140,000 on June 7, 2024 from The Best of Tennessee Action Fund, one of the strategically interlinked organizations co-founded by pro-abortion attorney Chloe Akers and political fundraiser Kim Kaegi in April.

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Kamala Harris Receives Endorsements from Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, Disgraced Ex-Mayor Megan Barry

Tom Pappert
Freddy O'Connell, Megan Berry, Kamala Harris (composite image)

Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday received the endorsement of both Nashville’s current mayor, Freddie O’Connell, as well as former Mayor Megan Barry, who resigned in 2018 after it was revealed she used public funds and resources to facilitate an affair with her bodyguard.

The endorsements came after President Joe Biden on Sunday confirmed he will no longer see the Democratic Party’s nomination, then later endorsed Harris to lead the Democrats against former President Donald Trump in November.

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Rep. Andy Ogles Calls Pro-Courtney Johnston Mailers Featuring President Trump ‘Disgraceful and Despicable’

Tom Pappert
Andy Ogles and Courtney Johnston in front on misleading Johnston mailer (composite image)

Despite Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) already securing the endorsement of former President Donald Trump in his bid for reelection in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional district, political advertisements mailed to voters depict his only Republican challenger, Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston, alongside Republican presidential nominee.

The mailers do not appear to be sent by Johnston’s campaign, but are attributed to Conservatives with Character, the super PAC that recently began an advertising campaign against Ogles, and were obtained by The Tennessee Star from a recipient within the district.

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Dave McCormick Promises ‘Strong’ Support for Law and Order After Endorsement from Police Union that Once Backed Sen. Bob Casey

Tom Pappert
Dave McCormick speaking at Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police event

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick on Sunday pledged “strong” support for law enforcement after he received an endorsement from the Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police (PA FOP), which once endorsed his opponent, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA).

McCormick confirmed his support for law and order during his Sunday appearance on “This Week in Pennsylvania,” arguing law enforcement is fundamental to a prosperous commonwealth.

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Authorities Rescue Three Children in Tennessee, Arrest Foreign National Wanted for ‘Child Stealing’ in Bahamas

Tom Pappert
ICE arrest

The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) of Washington announced on Friday the rescue of three children and the arrest of a foreign national in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

INTERPOL Washington confirmed in a press release that the agency participated in a joint operation with the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on July 5 to arrest Angelo McQueen, a citizen of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas who the intergovernmental agency explained was wanted “for sexual offenses against a minor.”

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Secret Service Ditched Law Enforcement Meeting on Day of Attempted Trump Assassination, Senator Claims

Tom Pappert
Secret Service Snipers on a rootop

Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) claimed on Saturday that the U.S. Secret Service did not attend a law enforcement meeting in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, the date former President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks at a campaign rally.

Johnson told “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday that his team learned the apparent lack of attendance by the Secret Service from local law enforcement.

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Whistleblowers Claim Secret Service Provided ‘Loose’ Security, Assigned Inexperienced Staff Prior to Assassination Attempt at Trump Rally

Tom Pappert
Josh Hawley

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) revealed on Friday that U.S. Secret Service whistleblowers approached his office to inform him the agency assigned Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel who were not part of the Secret Service to protect former President Donald Trump during the Pennsylvania rally where he suffered an assassination attempt.

In addition to the claim about questionable staffing, Hawley wrote in his Friday letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that whistleblowers with “direct knowledge of the event” told his office the agency also treated Trump’s rally as “loose” security.

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Dave McCormick Blames ‘Dehumanizing,’ ‘Negative Rhetoric’ After Trump Assassination Attempt

Tom Pappert
Dave McCormick

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick on Thursday appeared on “Mornings with Maria” and told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo that dehumanizing language and political polarization led to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

McCormick was present at the rally when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate Trump, piercing his ear, killing rally attendee Corey Comperatore, and injuring two more.

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Attempted Trump Assassin Thomas Crooks Reportedly Diagnosed with ‘Major Depressive Disorder,’ Hinted at Attack on Gaming Platform

Tom Pappert
Thomas Matthew Crooks

Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper during his failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump last Saturday, was reportedly diagnosed with major depressive disorder prior to his death.

It was also reported that Thomas Matthew Crooks foreshadowed his attack, which claimed the life Trump supporter Corey Comperatore and injured two others in addition to piercing the former president’s right ear, on the popular video game storefront and platform Steam.

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Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell Declares Transit Referendum ‘Great Opportunity’ After Council Approves November Vote

Tom Pappert
Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell on Wednesday declared his controversial transit referendum a “great opportunity” for the city after it was unanimously approved by the Metro Council, with every lawmaker present voting to allow Nashvillians to vote in November on whether to fund the $6.93 billion transportation package called illegal by critics. 

After the transit referendum was approved by the Metro Nashville City Council with unanimous support from the lawmakers present, O’Connell declared his approval in a statement, noting the final decision will go to Nashville residents in November.

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Tennessee Election Official Confirms Voters Who Ignored Citizen Verification Letter Will Not Be Removed from Rolls

Tom Pappert
Mark Goins

Tennessee Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins confirmed on Wednesday that none of the 14,375 voters who received letters from his office seeking to confirm their citizenship status will be removed from the state’s voter rolls.

Goins confirmed in a Tuesday statement to The Associated Press that his office’s June 13 letter to voters, which requested information about their citizenship, “did not threaten to remove a person from the voter list if a person does not respond” and then confirmed to the outlet, “[n]o one will be removed from a voting list for not responding to the June 13 letter.”

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McCormick Argues Trump’s ‘Remarkable Strength’ After Assassination Attempt is Alternative to ‘Sad, Disgraceful Decline’ Offered by Biden and Casey

Tom Pappert
Dave McCormick

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick spoke at the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Tuesday of the “remarkable strength” displayed by former President Donald Trump immediately after he survived the Saturday assassination attempt, and argued the former president’s example stands in contrast to the weakness and “disgraceful decline” offered by President Joe Biden and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA).

McCormick spoke on the second night of the RNC, which was titled “Make America Safe Once Again.” The former Trump administration official began by revealing his experience at the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.

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Sen. Blackburn Confronts Stonewalling Secret Service Director at the RNC over Trump Assassination Attempt Coverup

Tom Pappert

Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and John Barrasso (R-WY) on Wednesday confronted U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on the floor of the Republican National Convention (RNC) over the Secret Service actions that preceded the Saturday assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

The Tennessee Star confirmed the confrontation happened at the Fiserv Forum in Mulwaukee, Wisconsin where the RNC is being held. Blackburn and Barrasso confronted Cheatle upstairs in a luxury suite just prior to 9 p.m., just minutes before Blackburn uploaded video to the social media platform X with the caption, “[t]he American people deserve answers from the Secret Service.”

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U.S. Senators Prohibited from Asking Questions in Secret Service Conference Call After Attempted Trump Assassination

Tom Pappert
Senators and Secret Service

A source familiar with the conversation confirmed to The Tennessee Star that multiple members of the U.S. Senate were prohibited from asking questions during a Wednesday conference call with the U.S. Secret Service in the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

The allegation surfaced after U.S. Senator Mike Lee revealed the Secret Service was “briefing senators” about the attempted assassination “on a conference call,” during which he claimed the federal agency provided “details that aren’t all helpful” and little information about “the failures that led to this tragedy.”

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Local Police Sniper Photographed Attempted Trump Assassin, Who Held Laser Rangefinder Prior to Shooting

Tom Pappert
Thomas Crooks

A sniper from one of the local law enforcement agencies providing assistance at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 14 saw Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old shooter who was killed at the scene, and photographed the would-be assassin immediately prior to his attack, a Wednesday report claims.

The Pennsylvania publication Beaver Countian first reported on Monday it was a Beaver County police officer who warned his superiors of a man with a rangefinder, which is used to calculate distance when using a weapon, citing multiple local law enforcement sources who told the outlet “extremely poor planning” and a lack of manpower allowed the attempt on Trump’s life.

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Biden’s Secret Service ‘Created the Conditions’ for Trump Assassination Attempt and Truth Must Be ‘Devastating,’ Argues The Federalist Co-Founder

Tom Pappert

The U.S. Secret Service last Saturday “created the conditions” for 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks to climb onto the roof of a building and take aim at former President Donald Trump at his Butler, Pennsylvania rally “deliberately and with malice aforethought,” argued The Federalist co-founder Sean Davis, who led a series of criticisms against the agency on Tuesday.

Davis wrote in a Tuesday post to the social media platform X that the “security regime” created by President Joe Biden “deliberately and with malice aforethought created the conditions that led to an assassin shooting Donald Trump in the head.”

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Middle Tennessee State University Earns ‘Green Light’ FIRE Rating for Respecting Free Speech

Tom Pappert

Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) last week earned a “green light” rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Freedom (FIRE), a nonprofit organization that gained fame by defending freedom of speech on college campuses.

A FIRE press release confirms MTSU became the latest university to receive the rating, with the organization noting just 68 other institutions throughout the country have qualified for the “green light” rating it explains” is reserved for institutions with no written policies that seriously imperil student free speech rights.”

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Dave McCormick, Sen. Bob Casey Each Raise $8 Million amid Pause in Advertising After Attempted Trump Assassination

Tom Pappert
PA Senate Candidates

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) both raised over $8 million over the last quarter, even as both candidates pause at least some of their advertising in the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump last Saturday.

McCormick raised slightly more than the Democratic incumbent, with his campaign reporting $8.4 million in receipts between April and June to the Federal Elections Commission. This includes a $2.06 million loan the former Trump administration official made to his own campaign.

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DNC Sends $15 Million to Battleground States Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia After Trump Selects Vance for VP

Tom Pappert
Jaimie Harrison

The Democratic National Committee confirmed the transfer of $15 million to battleground states after former President Donald Trump selected Senator JD Vance (R-OH) to serve as his vice president on the Republican ticket for president in 2024.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the party claimed the transfers to local parties would increase state coordination and give President Joe Biden a better shot at retaining the White House in November.

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Pennsylvania Democratic Party Silent amid Bipartisan Condemnation of Trump Assassination Attempt

Tom Pappert
State Senator Sharif Street

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party did not respond to The Pennsylvania Daily Star when asked about a statement after former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt in the commonwealth on Saturday.

Despite every member of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation issuing statements expressing solidarity with Trump or condemning political violence, the Pennsylvania Democrats had yet to release a statement on their website, or social media accounts including X, Facebook or Instagram, by press time.

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Secret Service Claims 21-Officer Butler Township Police Department Responsible for Building Used by Would-be Trump Assassin

Tom Pappert
Anthony Guglielmi

A spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service on Sunday appeared to blame the Butler Township Police Department (BTPD) for failing to secure the building that would-be assassin Thomas Crooks used to shoot former President Donald Trump before Crooks was killed at the rally on Saturday.

Secret Service spokesman Anthony Gugliemi claimed the agency was not responsible for securing the building, according to The New York Times, which reported it “was outside of the designated perimeter of the Trump rally, so it was secured by local law enforcement, not Secret Service agents.”

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Pennsylvania Fire Captain Resigns After Celebrating Attempted Trump Assassination

Tom Pappert
Tony Bendele

Tony Bendele, a social media creator and trained firefighter in Pennsylvania, claimed he resigned his position as a captain in the Sunbury Fire Department on Monday after he expressed disappointment when an attempted assassin failed to kill former President Donald Trump at the Saturday rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“Too bad it didn’t hit him square,” Bendele reportedly wrote in a now-deleted post to his Facebook page. A photographer, Bendele has more than 20,000 followers on the social media platform.

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Trump Rally Attendee Confirms Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Candidate Dave McCormick ‘Definitely in the Line of Fire’ During Assassination Attempt

Tom Pappert
Brady Knox at the Donald Trump rally on July 13, 2024

An attendee who witnessed the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at his Saturday campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania told The Pennsylvania Daily Star that Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick was “definitely in the line of fire” as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire before being killed by Secret Service.

Brady Knox told The Star he was seated in the second row, “about as close as you could possibly get” to the former president at just 15 feet away, when Trump’s supporters in the front rows began to take cover after the former president reached for his ear and ducked below the podium.

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Trump Rally Attendee Describes How Former President’s Fist Pumps Energized Crowd After Attempted Assassination

Tom Pappert
Brady Knox at the Donald Trump rally on July 13, 2024

An attendee who witnessed the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at his Saturday campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania told The Pennsylvania Daily Star that Trump’s fist pumps toward the crowd created a sense of calm in an audience that was on the verge of panic.

Brady Knox told The Star he was seated in the second row, “about as close as you could possibly get” to the former president at just 15 feet away, when Trump’s supporters in the front rows began to take cover after the former president reached for his ear and ducked below the podium.

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Elon Musk Endorses Trump After Assassination Attempt, Leads Flood of Calls for Secret Service Resignations

Tom Pappert
Elon Musk, Donald Trump

Billionaire Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and owner of the social media platform X, endorsed former President Donald Trump on Saturday after a gunman attempted to assassinate the former president during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Musk later called for Secret Service resignations in the wake of the shooting, which left one rally attendee dead and a second injured.

Musk posted a video of the attempted assassination in to X, where he received more than 55 million views at press time, and wrote, “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery.”

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One Attendee and Shooter Dead, Trump Fine After Assassination Attempt at Pennsylvania Rally

Tom Pappert
Trump Bleeding from Ear at Rally

Former President Donald Trump survived an attempted assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, reportedly suffering only a grazing wound to his ear after apparent gunshots interrupted his campaign rally.

The violence claimed the life of one rally attendee, and the shooter was confirmed dead at the scene, according to The Associated Press, which obtained the information from Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger. A second attendee at the rally is reported to be in serious condition, according to The Washington Post reporter Meryl Kornfield.

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McCormick Campaign Ties Casey to Biden with Pennsylvania Billboards as Democrats Rollout Signs Featuring Project 2025

Tom Pappert
McCormick Bill Board

The U.S. Senate campaign of Republican Party nominee Dave McCormick on Thursday confirmed it is behind new billboards, displayed throughout Pennsylvania, which tie Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) to President Joe Biden amid calls for the president to step aside due to concerns about his fitness following the June 27 presidential debate.

McCormick’s billboards juxtapose a photo of Casey, wearing a face mask emblazoned with the Biden campaign logo, next to the an image of the 81-year-old president, alongside the words, “Same old, tired ideas.”

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Group Funding Lawsuit by Georgia Realtor Vows to ‘Stop Cancel Culture’ by Helping Americans ‘Defend Themselves’

Tom Pappert
Doug Turpin

The founder of Coalition for Liberty, the organization funding a lawsuit brought by a Georgia realtor who was fired after making a public speech about sexually explicit materials in public libraries, told The Georgia Star News that cancel culture will be defeated when activists learn “everyday Americans” have the support of groups like his.

Coalition for Liberty is funding the lawsuit filed by Julie Mauck against LGBT activists and an activist organization, which she states made false claims about her July 2023 speech in opposition to the reading materials.

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Covenant Killer’s Father Confirmed Vanderbilt University Medical Center ‘Didn’t Tell Us’ About Daughter’s Interest in Columbine

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale

Ronald Hale, the father of Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale, confirmed to investigators that Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) did not inform his daughter developed an interest in the April 20, 1999 shooting at the Columbine High School in Colorado, according to a transcript of a July 12, 2023 police interview obtained by The Tennessee Star. 

Police documents obtained by The Star previously established that Audrey Hale was a 22-year mental health patient at VUMC, and Ronald and Norma Hale confirmed their daughter was evaluated for commitment for mental health reasons during three separate incidents, including two at VUMC for suicidal ideation.

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Biden Campaign Memo Declares Disastrous Debate a ‘Setback,’ Claims President’s ‘Pathways to 270 Electoral Votes’ Include Pennsylvania

Tom Pappert
Joe Biden PA

A Biden campaign memo made public on Thursday described the poor debate performance by President Joe Biden as a “setback,” but claimed the president has a “path to victory” that includes Democratic “Blue Wall” states including Pennsylvania.

The memo acknowledged Biden’s debate performance resulted in “increased anxiety,” and caused “real movement” away from Biden in the polls, but asserted the race nonetheless “remains a margin-of-error race in key battleground states.”

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Georgia Realtor and Moms for Liberty Chair Smeared by LGBT Activists Targeted Again After Filing Lawsuit

Tom Pappert

Georgia realtor Julie Mauck was fired by her broker and accused by the Georgia Association of Realtors of engaging in discrimination after she claims a group of cancel culture activists made false claims about her remarks at a July 2023 open meeting at a public library, where she discussed the availability of sexually explicit reading materials for children.

Mauck eventually found a new broker and secured the backing of Coalition for Liberty, a nonprofit that partners with other organizations to help individuals respond to cancel culture, and successfully won an appeal to maintain her license.

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Attorneys for Parents of Covenant Killer Silent on Possible Will with Potential Instructions for Release of Documents

Tom Pappert
Jeff Mobley and David Raybin

Attorneys who represent Ronald Hale and Norma Hale, the parents of Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale, did not respond to The Tennessee Star when asked about the killer’s suicide note and a probate court filing, which both appear to suggest the killer left a last will and testament prior to her devastating attack on March 27, 2023.

Neither attorney David Raybin, who represented Ronald Hale and Norma Hale in matters related to the Covenant investigation, nor attorney Jeff Mobley, who represents the killer’s parents in the intestate probate case for Audrey Hale’s estate, replied to a press inquiry from The Star which sought to establish whether the killer left behind a document called a will.

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Covenant Killer’s Childhood Friends Changed Phone Numbers to Cut Contact, Her Mother Told Police

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale

The parents of Audrey Elizabeth Hale told Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) investigators during a July 12, 2023 interview that two of their daughter’s childhood friends changed their phone numbers to cut contact with the killer in the years prior to her attack on the Covenant School, where she claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three staff members, according to a transcript of the interview obtained by The Tennessee Star. 

Last month, The Star confirmed it obtained approximately 80 pages of writings left in a journal by Audrey Hale from a source familiar with the investigation, and reported the killer wrote extensively about the death of her middle school basketball teammate Sydney Sims.

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Robert F. Kennedy, Cornel West Submit Signatures to Qualify for Georgia Presidential Election Ballot

Tom Pappert
RFK Jr and Cornel West

The independent presidential campaigns of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West had both submitted thousands of signatures by Tuesday to secure a place on the 2024 presidential ballot in Georgia, meaning Peach State voters may see six choices on their ballot in November.

While the West campaign claimed on Monday it had already submitted the required number of ballots, Kennedy’s campaign was photographed submitting thousands of ballots on Tuesday, when Georgia Secretary of State official Gabriel Sterling confirmed the signatures have yet to be verified.

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Sen. Bob Casey Backs Biden, Dismisses Debate Performance Despite Calls to Replace President

Tom Pappert
Bob Casey and Joe Biden

Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) confirmed on Tuesday he continues to back President Joe Biden despite the continuing calls for him to step aside in the wake of the president’s first debate against former President Donald Trump since the 2020 election.

Casey was asked by CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju whether he harbors “any concerns” over whether Biden is capable of serving another four years, and declared his continued support for Biden, even as seven Democratic members of the U.S. House have called for Biden to step aside.

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Group Claiming Copyright to Covenant Killer Documents ‘Not Able to Comment’ on Possible Financial Arrangement with Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Tom Pappert
Ed Yarbrough

An attorney who represents The Covenant Children’s Trust, which claims it owns the copyright to the works of Covenant School attacker Audrey Elizabeth Hale, told The Tennessee Star on Wednesday he could not comment on whether his client received any type of financial compensation from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), which treated the killer over 22 years.

The Star contacted attorney Ed Yarbrough, who works at the Spencer Fane firm and represented the Covenant Children’s Trust in the Tennessee lawsuit which sought to compel Metro Nashville to release Hale’s documents, to ask whether his client, the Covenant School, or Covenant Presbyterian Church were approached by VUMC to discuss its potential civil liability over its treatment of Hale.

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Treasurer for Group Behind Attacks on Rep. Andy Ogles Is Former Tennessee Republican Party Director Who Endorsed Democrat in 2022

Tom Pappert
Randy Stamps

Federal Election Commission (FEC) documents confirm Randy Stamps is the treasurer for the Conservatives with Character super PAC, which so far has reportedly spent at least $140,000 on ads targeting Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05).

Stamps’ involvement in an effort which could benefit the only Republican to challenge Ogles, Metro Nashville Councilwoman Courtney Johnston, comes after he backed Ogles’ previous political opponent, former Tennessee House Representative Beth Harwell, in 2022.

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Sen. Tim Kaine Claims Debate Created ‘Excitement and Interest’ for Biden Campaign, Calls Push to Step Aside ‘Not Helpful’

Tom Pappert
Tim Kaine and Joe Biden

Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) maintained his support for President Joe Biden on Monday, claiming the first presidential debate on CNN generated “excitement and interest” among Democratic voters despite resulting in a “tough stretch” for Democrats.

After reports surfaced that Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) was organizing senators to convince Biden to step aside, Kaine told members of the press that Biden’s debate performance increased Democratic voters’ energy.

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Two Pennsylvania Democrats Remain Silent on Biden’s Candidacy amid Push to Drop Out

Tom Pappert
PA Representatives on Biden in Office

Two elected Democrats in Pennsylvania held their silence on Monday when asked whether President Joe Biden should step aside in favor of another candidate in the wake of his poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump last month.

Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-06) and Representative Summer Lee (D-PA-12) both declined to comment on Biden’s candidacy when questioned by The Philadelphia Inquirer on Monday. The previous day their colleague, Representative Susan Wild (D-PA-07), confirmed she expressed concerns about the president to Democratic leadership in the U.S. House.

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Biden Trails Trump in Six Swing States After Debate, Including Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona

Tom Pappert
Donald Trump and Joe Biden

A poll released on Monday claims President Joe Biden now trails former President Donald Trump in six battleground states following their first presidential debate, where the president’s performance prompted at least five Democratic congressmen to call for him to step aside.

First revealed by Alex Ward, a reporter for German-owned Politico, the poll was conducted by Emerson College on behalf of Democrats for the Next Generation, a political group which appears to highlight Democratic alternatives to the 81-year-old incumbent.

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Democrats Could Face Legal Hurdles in Georgia over Potential Effort to Replace President Joe Biden

Tom Pappert
President Joe Biden

Democrats could face legal challenges in Georgia should they attempt replace President Joe Biden on the November ballot, according to an analysis of state election laws published ahead of his poor debate performance against President Donald Trump on June 27.

The analysis, published to the social media platform X by The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project days prior to the debate, notes Georgia, Nevada and Wisconsin “have specific procedures for withdrawal of a presidential nominee,” with each state differing on when a withdrawal must be filed and who can replace the nominee.

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Vanderbilt University Medical Center Silent on Possible Liability, Settlements After Treating Covenant School Killer Audrey Hale Prior to Attack

Tom Pappert

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) did not respond to a Monday inquiry from The Tennessee Star that sought to establish whether VUMC took any actions to mitigate any possible financial liabilities that may have resulted from its 22-year treatment of Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale.

The Star contacted VUMC about what actions it may have taken to address possible legal liability after publishing the MNPD document, “Vandy Psych,” which contains notes written by an MNPD investigator who secured at least 75 pages of documents about Hale’s treatment at VUMC after obtaining a search warrant.

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Covenant Killer Audrey Hale Created Duplicate Materials Because ‘She Wanted Us to Have Those,’ Nashville Police Told Her Parents

Tom Pappert

Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale created duplicates of materials she wanted to be discovered by Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), a detective told the killer’s parents in a June 12, 2023 interview, according to a transcript obtained by The Tennessee Star.

The interview was conducted by three MNPD detectives, who were investigating the Covenant case, and included both Ronald and Norma Hale, the parents of Audrey Hale, and their attorney David Raybin.

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Nashville Police Point to Judge I’Ashea Myles When Questioned over Will Mentioned by Covenant Killer Audrey Hale in Suicide Note

Tom Pappert

The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) referred The Tennessee Star to the court of Tennessee Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles when asked if the department provided specific documents to Judge Myles before she declared in her decision that not one page of the writings left by Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale will be released, citing the copyright allegedly held by the parents of Covenant School children.

The Star asked MNPD Public Affairs director Don Aaron whether investigators provided Judge Myles with the document titled “Vandy Psych.” The document contains notes written by an MNPD investigator who received at least 75 pages of documents from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), where Hale was a 22-year mental health patient, after obtaining a search warrant in the wake of her March 27, 2023 attack that claimed the lives of six.

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Dave McCormick Argues Sen. Bob Casey, Democrats Engaged in ‘Conspiracy of Silence’ to Protect President Joe Biden

Tom Pappert
Senator Bob Casey with Joe Biden

Republican U.S. Senate nominee told “One Nation” host Brian Kilmeade on Saturday that Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and other Democrats engaged in a “conspiracy of silence” to obscure the truth about the physical and mental fitness of President Joe Biden.

McCormick first noted to Kilmeade the close friendship between Casey and Biden, who the Republican explained often “refer to each other as ‘best friends’ or ‘best buddies,'” before explaining his view that Casey worked with other Democrats and allies of the president to protect Biden’s public image.

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Covenant Killer’s Parents Claimed She Left No Will, but Suicide Note Audrey Hale Wrote Demands ‘PLEASE READ MY WILL’

Tom Pappert

Tennessee Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles last Thursday ruled that not one page of the materials written by Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale will be released to the public, citing the copyright claims raised by parents of minor students who claim to own the copyright to the killer’s works.

The parents of Covenant School students successfully claimed before Myles that they were assigned the intellectual property rights of the materials left by Audrey Hale before to her attack, and a probate court filing reveals Ronald and Norma Hale appear to have transferred the copyright to the parents of in June 2023.

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Georgia Democratic Party Chair Declares President Joe Biden ‘Only Person’ Capable of Deciding to Stay in Race amid Polling Deficit in State

Tom Pappert
Nikema Williams

Georgia Democratic Party chair and U.S. Representative Nikema Williams (D-GA-05) stated in a Wednesday interview that President Joe Biden is ultimately the “only person” who will determine whether to step down and allow another Democrat to face former President Donald Trump in November.

Williams was asked about Biden’s political future in the aftermath of his poor debate performance during an interview with 11 Alive, when the Democrat explained, “Biden is the only person who can make the decision,” and confirmed she will support the 81-year-old president until he makes such a choice.

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Sen. John Fetterman Claims Media Obsessed with ‘Smearing’ President Joe Biden After CNN Debate

Tom Pappert
John Fetterman and Joe Biden

U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) claimed on Thursday the media is obsessed with “smearing” President Joe Biden in the wake of his poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump, which left Democrats debating whether he should step aside in favor of another candidate.

Fetterman, in a post to the social media platform X, suggested the media is ignoring negative news stories about Trump after the current and former presidents sparred in the first presidential debate.

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Tennessee Star to ‘Absolutely Appeal’ Judge’s Decision Not to Release One Single Page of Covenant School Killer Writings

Tom Pappert
Judge I'Ashea Myles, Michael Patrick Leahy

The Thursday ruling by Tennessee Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles, when she decided not one single page of the writings of Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale would be released, will “absolutely” be appealed, stated Michael Patrick Leahy, the editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Star and the CEO of Star News Digital Media, Inc. (SNDM), on Friday.

Leahy declared in his Friday statement, “The judge has erroneously accepted a dubious copyright claim made by intervenors who should not have been allowed to intervene in this case in the first place.”

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Tennessee Judge Rules Not One Page of Covenant Killer Writings Shall be Released, Cites Dubious Copyright Claims of Intervenors

Tom Pappert

Tennessee Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles ruled in a decision released at 11:58 pm on Thursday that none of the writings left by Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale shall be released to the multiple parties who sued Metro Nashville to secure their release, citing the copyright claims of the parents she earlier allowed to intervene in the lawsuit.

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