Daily Archives: December 23, 2022

After surrendering to Democrats on a myriad of hot-button issues, Senate Republicans may get yet another chance to sell out their base before the years end this time, on a last-minute immigration bill reportedly engineered by North Carolina GOP Sen. Thom Tillis that would provide amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants.

According to reporting from melodramatic Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent, Tillis and Arizona Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema are pressing for the upper chamber to consider their bipartisan immigration reform bill before Congresss current lame-duck session ends later this month.

While the legislation would apparently provide more funding for Border Patrol officers, resources to expedite the removal of migrants who dont qualify for asylum, and an extension of Title 42 (a health policy that permits federal officials to expel illegal immigrants with minimal processing) for another year, it doesnt stop there.

Among its massive concessions, the legislation would establish a so-called pathway to citizenship which usually denotes bypassing the pathway that already exists for 2 million illegal immigrants brought to the United States as minors.

These immigrants refer to the recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA was illegally established by former President Barack Obama, who admitted on multiple occasions throughout his presidency that he was not king and couldnt just bypass Congress and change the (immigration) law [himself].

While its unclear whether the Senate plans to take up the bill before the current congressional session ends, Tilliss last-minute attempt to ram through an amnesty package before Republicans take control of the House of Representatives next month runs contrary to claims issued by his office earlier this year. Back in June, a representative from the North Carolina senators office told Fox News there was not much to negotiate on immigration until President Joe Biden enforce[s] immigration laws and takes action to end the crisis at the [U.S. southern] border.

Judging by the number of illegal border crossings since that statement, however, its pretty evident that hasnt happened. In October alone, Customs and Border Protection apprehended more than 230,000 illegals, marking a 1.3 percent increase from September and a new record high. Those figures dont even include the estimated 64,000 gotaways that evaded apprehension by border patrol officials.

Since taking office, Biden has presided over a record-shattering number of border crossings, with 1.7 million apprehensions reported in fiscal year 2021 and more than 2.3 million in 2022.

Tillis office did not respond to The Federalists request for comment.

While the move to hand out amnesty like candy on Halloween is absurd, it should come as no surprise to conservative voters. Over the past year, Tillis and several of his Republican colleagues have worked overtime to sell out their base on a whole host of issues.

Most recently, Tillis ignored the wishes of his voters and helped spearhead the wrongly named Respect for Marriage Act, voting with 11 of his fellow GOP senators to help Democrats pass the bill. With the Democrat-controlled House poised to pass the legislation and send it to Bidens desk for signature, the measure, once law, will open the door for radical LGBT activists to use the legal system to harass religious Americans for believing in the true definition of marriage.

The move came not long after the Senate GOP overwhelmingly reelected Sen. Mitch McConnell as party leader, despite a majority of likely Republican voters favoring a change in leadership.

But Senate Republicans betrayal of their base doesnt stop there. Earlier this year, Tillis and 14 of his GOP colleagues demonstrated their fecklessness yet again by helping Democrats advance gun control legislation. Among the most notable changes to federal law included in the bill is a provision that uses taxpayer money to incentivize states to enact red flag laws, which erode gun owners constitutional right to due process.

Shawn Fleetwood is a Staff Writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He also serves as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood

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Will Amnesty For Illegals Be Senate GOP's Next Act Of Betrayal?

Twitter CEO Elon Musk fired Jim Baker, the companys deputy general counsel, on Tuesday after an unconvincing explanation of the terminated employees role in the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story.

On Sunday, independent journalist Matt Taibbi posted a link to an article from attorney Jonathan Turley published in the New York Post which connected Bakers work at Twitter with his prior operations peddling the Russia hoax at the Department of Justice. In 2016, Baker was the Clinton campaigns go-to, speed-dial contact to plant false claims about Kremlin collusion and the Trump White House effort. Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann picked Baker to give junk intelligence about a purported connection between President Donald Trump and the Russian Alfa Bank.

He was effectively forced out due to his role and reportedly found himself under criminal investigation. He became a defender of the Russian investigations despite findings of biased and even criminal conduct, Turley wrote. After leaving the FBI, Twitter seemed eager to hire Baker as deputy general counsel.

The first batch of Twitter Files out on Friday revealed how Baker went on to play an instrumental role in suppressing blockbuster stories from the New York Post about Hunter Bidens laptop and the Biden family business ventures stories containing emails that implicated then-candidate Joe Biden in the dealings.

Baker soon weighed in with the same signature bias that characterized the Russian investigations, Turley wrote. Internal documents made public last week show Baker pressed colleagues at Twitter for more information that Bidens emails had been hacked.

Caution is warranted, Baker wrote, despite there never being evidence the emails were illegally hacked.

Musk responded to Taibbis post on Tuesday with the announcement that Baker had been fired.

In light of concerns about Bakers possible role in suppression of information important to the public dialogue, he was exited from Twitter today, Musk wrote.

Was he asked to explain himself? inquired a user.

Yes. His explanation was unconvincing, Musk replied.

In a Twitter Files Supplemental thread, Taibbi explained that last weeks delay in publishing the first round of files was due to Baker reviewing them without new Twitter leadership knowing.

Twitter Deputy General Counsel (and former FBI General Counsel) Jim Baker was fired. Among the reasons? Vetting the first batch of Twitter Files without knowledge of new management, Taibbi wrote.

The post suggests Baker was running interference behind Musks back to minimize the fallout over the reveal of Twitters behind-the-scenes operations to elect Joe Biden in 2020.

While general counsel at the FBI, Baker was central to the agencys deep-state operations to undermine Trump as an agent of the Russian government. According to former FBI Deputy General Counsel Trisha Anderson in her testimony before House lawmakers in 2018, Baker personally reviewed and made edits to the [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] warrant on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

The ex-FBI counsel would later defend the agencys conduct, telling Yahoo News that officials took seriously the uncorroborated dossier commissioned by the DNC that alleged collusion, but we didnt necessarily take it literally.

The agencys legal chief, however, took it seriously enough to sign off on warrants to spy on political opponents. At least two of the warrant applications to conduct government surveillance on Page were declared illegal by a federal judge.

Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com.

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Elon Musk Fires Former FBI Lawyer Behind Russiagate Hoax

Ukraines Volodymyr Zelensky is slated to receive a heros welcome in the U.S. capital today, just as Congress is poised to award him another $45 billion in its mammoth inflationary spending bill.

It may be Zelenskys first time leaving Ukraine since the war with Russia began, but its not his first time appearing before an American audience to beg for more money. And it certainly wont be his last. Already, Zelensky is prepared to use his congressional address to complain that the beaucoup bucks the U.S. has thrown at Ukraine in the last 10 months more than $100 billion total if the omnibus passes is still not enough.

Despite the financial strain Ukraine has put on the United States, the swamp is ready to welcome Zelensky with open arms. You wouldnt know it from corporate media coverage, but thats problematic. Heres why.

Contrary to Mitch McConnells claims, spending taxpayer dollars on a proxy war in Eastern Europe is not high on the priority list for Republican or Democrat voters.

If Americans overwhelmingly reject going to war with Russia on behalf of Ukraine, which polling since the beginning of the conflict has said they do, Congress shouldnt be spending money that indicates the U.S. is willing to prolong a war by whatever means necessary.

Nearly half of Americans want their government to urge Ukraine to negotiate a peace settlement. Instead of heeding the voters wishes, the Swamp extends Ukraines ability to fight with more funds, weapons, and verbal support. Money for Zelensky solidifies U.S. involvement in a war that Congress never voted to declare.

While Congress funnels tens of billions of dollars to protect the border of a foreign country, our countrys border is virtually nonexistent. Each day, thousands of illegal border crossers pour into the southern United States.

These migrants put a physical and financial strain on our immigration system and cities all around the nation. Yet Congress, specifically Senate Republicans, repeatedly refuse to leverage their influence for funding to secure our border.

While Congress ships taxpayer dollars overseas, Americans cant afford to live in the increasingly expensive homeland.

As retirement accounts dip into the negative, 1 in 4 U.S. parents reports they couldnt cover basic needs such as food, shelter, and care for their families in 2022. Thats no surprise considering raging inflation has jacked up prices across the board. Americans now pay 49.1 percent more for eggs, 27 percent more for butter, and 14.7 percent more for milk compared to 2021.

[RELATED: Grocery Shop With Me To Fact-Check Bidens Inflation Up Hardly At All Claim]

The more than $45 billion Congress designated for Zelensky is part of a sweeping, inflationary omnibus bill that would fulfill Democrats spending wishes before the newly elected Republican House is sworn in.

The legislation was conjured quickly with hardly any time slated for review or criticism. Because of that, Senate Republicans like McConnell face threats of gridlock from members of the new GOP House.

As the world watches Ukraine and Russia duke (or possibly nuke) it out, China, our nations biggest threat, has been taking advantage of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Thanks to the laxity of the U.S., China crept its way into a working relationship with Russia and created a hegemonic plan to expand its rule. The communist regimes boldness in expanding its Marxism and reaching for Taiwan will only grow stronger as America drains its foreign policy budget on Ukraine.

Not only is Ukraine not our biggest foreign policy problem, but its also not even a top strategic U.S. security interest. McConnell regularly justifies funneling dollars to Ukraine under the guise that the spending is part of Essential Investments in American Strength and Security. But the truth of the matter is that spending endless money on an indefinite war in Ukraine does nothing for Americans but create a national security threat.

Americans dont trust Biden to handle the Russia-Ukraine war because every problem the Biden administration touches turns into an even bigger disaster.

Not only does the White House exacerbate crises, but it also creates them. Take one look at the economy, the southern border, the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the political war waged by the Department of Justice and FBI against Americans, and youll understand why our president shouldnt be so eager to be a cash cow for a foreign country.

Zelenskys Ukraine is filled with anti-democratic practices and principles: a war on the free press, money-grabbing bureaucrats, and a broken justice system.

Congress granting a corrupt regime funds with little to no oversight doesnt just undermine war hawks reasoning for supporting Ukraine. It could also quickly result in a Taliban inherits American weaponry situation.

Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and co-producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire and Fox News. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on Twitter @jordanboydtx.

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Everything Wrong With Congress's Plan To Gift Zelensky Cash