Category Archives: Federalist

Congress averted a government shutdown this weekend, agreeing to 45 days of funding to give members time to pass appropriations bills for the full year. Incredibly, Democrats seemed prepared to shut down the government over their desire for increases in Ukraine war funding. Republicans, by contrast, bucked Senate leader Mitch McConnell to keep the government open without such funding.

While shutdown battles have become common, this one had absurd moments. Democrats tried to delay votes with everything from magic minutes, which allow party leaders to speak at length, to Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman pulling a fire alarm in the middle of a vote, forcing the evacuation of a House office building.

With hundreds of Jan. 6 protesters facing excessive sentences, which Department of Justice prosecutors say is because they attempted to delay or obstruct an official congressional proceeding, some Americans began demanding the elected member of Congress be held to the same excruciating standard. Bowman, a former school principal, later claimed he didnt understand how fire alarms work.

Even after the House passed the bill, Democrat Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado further delayed the eventual passage by placing a hold on the bill. The procedural delays were partly a result of efforts to force a shutdown that could be blamed on Republicans. Conventional wisdom in Washington is that Republicans get blamed for government shutdowns regardless of who is responsible.

However, Democrats delays were also about a demand for additional Ukraine funding. Some Republicans, such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, also want U.S. taxpayers to finance even more of the war against Russia, which has descended into an expensive quagmire.

Despite nine months of bloody fighting, less than 500 square miles of territory have changed hands since the start of the year. A prolonged stalemate could weaken Western support for Ukraine, reported The New York Times last week.

Thats exactly what has happened. Congress has approved around $113 billion in four rounds of funding. Many polls show significantly weakening support for additional funding. In fact, some 55 percent of Americans oppose additional funding, according to a poll from the left-wing media outlet CNN. That percentage goes up to 71 percent for Republicans. Additional funding for Ukraine is supported by 62 percent of Democrats, according to the poll. Incidentally, CNN joined other corporate media in suppressing discussion of these numbers during the weekend shutdown battle, which hinged on Ukraine funding.

The press never even mentions that Ukraine war funding has become incredibly unpopular with actual Republican voters and an increasing number of independents, one social media analyst noted. Its always framed on every network like some fringe position when its actually the majority of Americans.

Democrats are enthusiastically adopting the Bush-era foreign policy of supporting lengthy U.S.-led wars with a tenuous or even deleterious effect on national security. These wars tend to have very little strategy other than avoiding quick resolution. Such long wars enable years or even decades of financing of the defense industry, which some Ukraine war supporters point to as a benefit for Americans. Democrats are even adopting the Bush-era claim that such wars need to be fought to advance democracy.

On Friday night, the lack of additional funding for Ukraine caused Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., to object to Sen. Ron Johnsons, R-Wis., request on the Senate floor to pass a clean two-week funding extension.

The Dems are about to shut down the government over Ukraine. I actually cant believe it, but here we are, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, said in a social media post.

The Senate then pushed a bill that would give an additional $6 billion to fund the proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy dismissed it out of hand and said the House would propose something instead. A few days prior, House Republicans were able to strip $300 million in Ukraine funding from a bill that was being debated.

Back in the Senate, McConnell failed to get fellow Republicans to sign onto his plan to force Ukraine funding instead of allowing House Republicans to work on a funding bill without it. Punchbowls John Bresnahan and Andrew Desiderio had perhaps the most intriguing reporting of the weekend with this vignette:

Senate sources said it was the first time they could remember that Republican senators didnt seem to fear repercussions for disagreeing with McConnell, particularly on a prominent issue on which hed staked out a clear position. It was unclear whether senators overruled McConnell because his mental and physical weakness has left him vulnerable or simply because they recognize how strongly Republican voters feel about funding an expensive war without a clear strategy for success.

House Democrats dug in, passing around a one-page sheet lambasting McCarthy for his continuing resolution, almost all of which focused on Democrats desire for U.S. taxpayers to finance the Ukraine war.

The Senate prepared to hotline, or fast track, their vote on the House bill that did not include war funding. Thats when Bennett held it up over the Ukraine issue.

The pressure for funding could not have been more intense. Senior administration officials pressured McConnell, saying that Ukraine could not be sustained without funding in this weekends bill.

Its rumored that Pentagon officials are on their way over to the Capitol to lobby for Schumer-McConnell. The Military Industrial Complex doesnt like to lose, wrote Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, on Saturday.

Russia-collusion hoaxer Michael McFaul trotted out the same type of argument that has been used to bully Americans to stay in drawn-out wars for decades. If the US pulls back on our support from Ukraine now, we radically diminish our credibility to deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, he said.

The Ukraine war enthusiasts only allowed the stopgap funding measure to proceed on the grounds theyd soon get a vote on whether to send another major aid package to Ukraine.

We will not stop fighting for more economic and security assistance for Ukraine, Schumer said.

We cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted. I fully expect the Speaker will keep his commitment to the people of Ukraine and secure passage of the support needed to help Ukraine at this critical moment, President Biden said in his announcement on the funding measure. He said hed made a deal with McCarthy to vote on additional funding.

House Democrats said, When the House returns, we expect Speaker McCarthy to advance a bill to the House Floor for an up-or-down vote that supports Ukraine, consistent with his commitment to making sure that Vladimir Putin, Russia and authoritarianism are defeated. We must stand with the Ukrainian people until victory is won.

Nearly every Democrat and a fair number of Republicans want to continue funding the Ukraine war, despite the results of previous rounds of funding. Theyll likely succeed, but the vote will be harder.

Conservative Republicans such as Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., will be on guard. When I said Id do everything I could to stop the US government from being held hostage to Ukraine, I meant it. We cannot continue to put the needs of other countries above our own. We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the U.S. economy. Im grateful to all Members of Congress who stood with me, but the battle to fund our government isnt over yet the forever-war crowd will return, he wrote.

Democrats campaign strategy of emphasizing Ukraine war funding at a time of economic distress for many Americans will be interesting to watch.

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Despite Growing Opposition And Serious Problems At Home ... - The Federalist

A federal judge rejected former Assistant Attorney General Jeff Clarks efforts to remove the Fulton County, Georgia, criminal indictment to federal court. The Friday decision by Obama appointee Steve Jones constituted an appalling disregard for the executive branch of government, which, unless overturned on appeal, will threaten the confidentiality and candor essential to the executive branch.

Clark had attempted to remove to federal court the sprawlinggrand jury indictment that get-Trump Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis had obtained against him and 18 co-defendants, which included the former president. Clark sought removal based on 1442(a)(1) of the United States code, which provides that a criminal prosecution that is commenced in a State court against an officer of the United States or any federal agency may remove the case to a federal court if the prosecution is for or relating to any act under color of such office

Judge Jones rejected Clarks efforts to remove the case, concluding the former assistant attorney general failed to present sufficient evidence to establish that his drafting of a letter on Dec. 28, 2020, addressed to the Georgia governor, the Georgia speaker of the House, and the Georgia president pro tempore of the Senate, was causally connected to his job as the assistant attorney general for the Civil Division of the DOJ.

That draft letter, which Clark presented to his DOJ superiors Jeff Rosen, then-acting attorney general, and Richard Donoghue, then-acting deputy attorney general noted the DOJ was investigating various irregularities in the 2020 election for President of the United States and stated that we have identified significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election in multiple States, including the State of Georgia.

Rosen and Donoghue both refused to sign the letter, disagreeing with Clarks assessment and the propriety of the Justice Department involving itself in the Georgia election battle. Then-President Trump later met with Rosen, Donoghue, and Clark in the Oval Office, as well as six other senior administration lawyers from DOJ and the White House, where the group discussed Clarks draft letter for more than three house, after which Trump decided against sending the letter.

For drafting the letter and pushing Rosen and Donoghue to send it to Georgia officials, the Fulton County prosecutors charged Clark with criminal attempt to commit false statements and writings. But while Clark wrote the Dec. 28, 2020, letter in his DOJ office, using DOJ equipment, presented it to his superiors from his DOJ email account, and met with and argued in favor of the letter in a meeting that included the then-president of the United States, Judge Jones concluded the charges were not causally connected to his job as the assistant attorney general for the Civil Division because there was no evidence that the President directed Clark to work on election-related matters generally or to write the December 28 letter to the Georgia State Officials on their election procedures.

In essence, then, the federal court refused Clark a federal forum to present his immunity and other defenses unless he disclosed what would have been privileged communications with the president.

Judge Jones also rejected Clarks removal based on Rosen and Donoghues view that sending the draft letter exceeded both Clark and the DOJs authority. Under this reasoning, then, all federal employees, even Senate-confirmed officials, could face prosecution in a state court for recommending a course of conduct that others believe to be outside their authority. Such a standard could wreak havoc on the frank deliberations necessary in the executive branch. If the supremacy clause means anything, this holding must not stand.

The 11th Circuit will decide these questions next, and the appeal by Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff for Trump, will set the stage. Meadows likewise appealed from Judge Jones decision denying removal of the Fulton County criminal case. And while Meadows case differs factually from Clarks, given their different roles in the Trump administration, the former chief of staffs briefing reveals a fatal flaw in Judge Jones analysis.

In both Meadows and Clarks cases, Judge Jones asked whether they were being charged for an act causally connected to their federal office. But as Meadows detailed in his opening brief to the 11th Circuit, Congress in 2011 amended 1442(a), replacing the for any act standard for removal with for or relating to any act, taken as a federal officer. This change, as Meadows argues, displaced the causal connection test courts had previously applied and broadened federal officer removal to actions, not just causally connected, but alternatively connected or associated, with acts under color of federal office.

Given that then-President Trump spent some three hours discussing Clarks letter with top DOJ officials, to say that Clarks drafting of the letter was not relating to or associated with his federal office is seemingly nonsensical. But so too is this entire circus designed by a county prosecutor in a deep-blue county which was precisely why Congress created removal jurisdiction for federal officials.

Margot Cleveland is an investigative journalist and legal analyst and serves as The Federalists senior legal correspondent. Margots work has been published at The Wall Street Journal, The American Spectator, the New Criterion (forthcoming), National Review Online, Townhall.com, the Daily Signal, USA Today, and the Detroit Free Press. She is also a regular guest on nationally syndicated radio programs and on Fox News, Fox Business, and Newsmax. Cleveland is a lawyer and a graduate of the Notre Dame Law School, where she earned the Hoynes Privethe law schools highest honor. She later served for nearly 25 years as a permanent law clerk for a federal appellate judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Cleveland is a former full-time university faculty member and now teaches as an adjunct from time to time. Cleveland is also of counsel for the New Civil Liberties Alliance. Cleveland is on Twitter at @ProfMJCleveland where you can read more about her greatest accomplishmentsher dear husband and dear son. The views expressed here are those of Cleveland in her private capacity.

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Obama Judge Rejects Removal Of Fulton County Case To Federal ... - The Federalist

ProPublica continues its non-stop smear campaign against Justice Clarence Thomas, this time because he delivered remarks to some attendees at a non-profit seminar event in 2018. Its their trademark tactic: ProPublica strings together perfectly ethical conduct, adds lots of innuendo, and then falsely claims Justice Clarence Thomas acted unethically.

Its a lie. Justice Thomas acted ethically and appropriately, and consistently with how other justices have conducted themselves.

Contrary to ProPublicas claims, this Koch Network event was not a fundraiser and Justice Thomas was not involved in any way with raising funds for this group. Yes, donors attended, but donors often attend events at which justices speak, such as those through the American Constitution Society, the Federalist Society, or even at university commencements.

ProPublica cites unnamed organization staffers (theyre always unnamed and therefore unreliable, as I proved in another story) claiming they wanted to leverage Thomass appearance to raise more money from donors: The justice was brought in to speak, staffers said, in the hopes that such access would encourage donors to continue giving. The report continues, That puts Thomas in the extraordinary position of having served as a fundraising draw for a network that has brought cases before the Supreme Court.

ProPublica smears Thomas by suggesting he had some role in any fundraising effort. He did not. Moreover, its not unusual for any organization or school to highlight leaders who have attended events to burnish the organization or schools reputation and, yes, raise funds. Contrary to ProPublicas warped narrative, this does not present any reason for a justice to recuse from a case regarding that entity.

A recent AP story revealed that when Justice Sonia Sotomayor agreed to attend a private luncheon at Clemson University, officials made sure to invite $1 million-plus donors. Donors got access to and had photos taken with Justice Sotomayor. Clemson University officials wanted to use Sotomayors visit to drive awareness and ultimately generate resources, i.e., fundraising.

The same story reveals that when the University of Colorado hosted Justice Elena Kagan, the school sought to reward donors by having a larger donor to staff ratio for a dinner with the justice.

There is nothing wrong with a school or organization inviting donors to attend speeches or luncheons with visiting dignitaries. It happens every day, and its foolish to demand otherwise.

Similarly, there is nothing wrong with a school or organization highlighting that a president, justice, or other leader has given remarks (including commencements) at the school to raise the profile of the school and, yes, to raise funds. But the president or justice who speaks has nothing at all to do with these fundraising efforts.

ProPublica does not mention any of this because it seeks to gaslight the American people into thinking there is something wrong with Justice Thomass conduct in speaking at this event when in fact there is nothing irregular or wrong. He gives speeches or talks at a variety of events, as other justices do.

The American University highlights on its website Justice Ketanji Brown Jacksons commencement speech she gave earlier this year at the school. Does American do this to help drive awareness of a Supreme Court justice speaking at the school, with the goal that it will also help increase donations or attendance at the school, which are both financial motivations? Of course it does. Does this make Justice Jackson a part of the fundraising effort? Of course not.

Similarly, if American University appears before the Supreme Court in the future, say on an affirmative-action case, will Justice Jackson have to recuse because she gave a commencement address there? Again, of course not.

The same is true about Justice Sotomayor and Clemson University as well as Justice Kagan and the University of Colorado and these are just two of the many schools or groups at which these justices have appeared. All of this goes to illustrate how nonsensical these attacks and demands for recusal are on Justice Thomas.

Justice Thomas has spoken to attendees at only one Koch Network event in more than 30 years on the Supreme Court. (He briefly dropped by another in 2008.)Its absurd for anyone to suggest that Thomas should recuse from any case in which this group is involved.

Yet that is exactly what ProPublica and the left are urging with respect to the upcoming Loper Bright case, which concerns how much deference is due to a federal agencys discretion in imposing regulations. Koch-affiliated lawyers are representing the party challenging the agencys rule.

For another comparison, lets look at Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs history of speaking at events in which the host appeared before the Supreme Court. In 2004, Ginsburg gave remarks at an event cosponsored by the National Organization for Women (NOW) Legal Defense and Education Fund and never recused from the many Supreme Court cases in which NOW filed briefs. ProPublica mentions this fact but does not mention in its article that Justice Ginsburg served on this leftwing advocacy organizations board in the 1970s and on its advisory committee for judicial education.

Nor does ProPublica mention that Ginsburg was so close to this group that the event at which she delivered her remarks in 2004 was named after her the 4th Annual Ruth Bader Ginsburg Distinguished Lecture Series on Women and the Law.

ProPublica also failed to mention that Ginsburg donated a signed copy of the United States v. Virginia decision (which struck down single-sex education at VMI as unconstitutional) for an auction to raise money for the NOW PAC. She never recused from any case where the NOW Legal Defense Fund (LDF) had filed a brief. And of course, she often ruled exactly as NOW LDF advocated.

Ginsburgs relationship was leaps and bounds closer to NOW than Thomass essentially nonexistent connection to the Koch Network, but the left never demanded Ginsburg recuse from NOW cases. This shows the lefts hypocrisy in demanding that Justice Thomas recuse from the Loper case.

Justice Ginsburg also helped establish the ACLUs Womens Rights Project in 1972, serving as its general counsel and, later on their board of directors for years. As a judge, Ginsburg sent a complimentary note to an ACLU lawyer about her advocacy on an issue relating to sex discrimination in insurance. I am unaware of Ginsburg ever recusing from any Supreme Court cases where the ACLU filed a brief.

Moreover, imagine if Justice Thomas had sent a note to a Koch attorney urging the lawyer to continue advocating on an issue that could come before the court. Heads would have exploded. But from the left, there are only crickets aboutJustice Ginsburgs non-recusal.

ProPublica fails to mention that Ginsburg attended an event at the partisan Womans National Democratic Club in 2010 and accepted an award and did not disclose it.I am unaware of her ever recusing from a case where the Democrat Party filed a brief.Nina Totenberg, Ginsburgs close friend and NPRs Supreme Court reporter, emceed the event but did not disclose this inappropriate and partisan event until after Ginsburg passed.

The left also complains that Justice Thomas did not disclose that he gave these remarks.But justices are not required to disclose every group with which they meet.Recently, Justice Thomas met at the court with 60 students from the Bronx. He is not required to disclose this meeting, but I look forward to ProPublicas lame expos when Justice Thomas does not list this meeting on his form next year.

The left and the so-called ethics watchdogs never had any serious problem with Justice Ginsburgs conduct with these groups nor her non-recusal when they were involved in cases. Why are they inventing a new recusal standard for Justice Thomas that didnt apply to other justices, and particularly to Ginsburg?Because the left wants to bully Justice Thomas into recusing and shrink the number of justices sitting on key cases that the left is worried about losing cases like Loper.

But it wont work. Justice Thomas has never bowed to these sorts of baseless and vicious attacks, and he wont start now.

Mark Paoletta served as a lawyer in the George H.W. Bush White House Counsels office and worked on the confirmation of Justice Thomas. He is a senior fellow at Center for Renewing America, and partner at Schaerr Jaffe.

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ProPublica Smear Of Justice Thomas Reveals A Partisan Double ... - The Federalist

A strategic plan produced by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) reveals how the branch intends to force neo-Marxism onto its members over the next three fiscal years.

Titled USACE Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility (DEIA) Strategic Plan, the 27-page document obtained by The Federalist outlines how USACE plans to inject DEIA into the branch over the next three years (2023-2026). According to Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, USACEs commanding general, the plan was crafted to comply with Executive Order 14035, a directive issued by President Joe Biden in June 2021 mandating federal agencies adopt DEI throughout their respective workforces.

For context, DEIA, or DEI, is a divisive ideology that dismisses merit and discriminates based on features such as skin color and sexual orientation. Individuals who qualify for a certain position due to their merits but dont meet the discriminating entitys goal of being more diverse are passed over in favor of those who meet institutionally preferred identitarian standards.

One of my top priorities is ensuring that USACE serves as a model for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, where all employees are treated with dignity and respect, Spellmon wrote in the plans opening pages. Integrating DEIA into our daily activities allows USACE to retain its focus on our greatest asset THE PEOPLE.

The strategic plan provides insight into how USACE intends to implement these concepts throughout its ranks over the next several years. Without offering specifics, the branch claims under a section labeled DEIA Governance that it will build and sustain a so-called diverse and talented workforce beginning with USACEs leadership and cascading down to all levels across the enterprise. The branch also aims to cultivate and nurture an allegedly inclusive culture, according to the plan.

The 27-page document also includes a DEIA Maturity Model, which USACE will use to map its DEIA actions and determine the most effective standards of measurement and performance indicators to use in gauging the branchs progress in advancing DEIA. In order to acquire the right data to achieve this goal, USACE lists a series of questions it aims to answer over the next three years to advance DEIA throughout the service. Among the listed questions are Does equity apply the same for all groups across the board? If not, why might that be? and Does everyone feel included and a sense of belonging?

Also enclosed in the plan are a series of DEIA Goals and Objectives guiding USACEs three-year mission. In a subsection titled USACE Workforce, the branch lists as a goal its desire to identify so-called underrepresented groups and collaborate with agency offices to develop staffing plans to ensure diversity is addressed in their staffing plans.

A higher proportion of female, racial, and ethnic minorities in leadership positions has a significant influence on the opportunities available to diverse talent, which has implications for the talent pipeline, the plan reads. DEIA efforts partially because there are fewer role models and mentors to encourage younger generations of women and minority talent to pursue employment opportunities with their organizations, especially leadership positions.

Another subsection, titled Expansion of Equity, takes USACEs adoption of neo-Marxist ideology a step further. In an apparent effort to mitigate barriers for so-called underserved populations, the branch says it is expanding its definition of underserved beyond characteristics such as race and sex to include identifiers like sexual orientation and whether an individual identifies as transgender or any other gender identities covered by the LGBT alphabet.

The USACE strategic plan is hardly the only example showcasing Marxisms infiltration into the U.S. military. In the lead up to and during June, the Pentagon went all out to host pride month activities on military installations across the country, with branches such as the Air Force authorizing the use of U.S. taxpayer money to fly service members to these rainbow parties.

In addition to promoting DEI-pushing officials to the highest ranks of the service, Biden has also sought to make abortion a major focal point of the militarys overall mission. Nearly a year ago, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin authorized Pentagon funds to be used to pay for female service members travel expenses to kill their unborn child across state lines. To protest this illegal policy, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville began using his position on the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this year to slow-walk military personnel moves requiring Senate confirmation.

Despitepossessing the power to bring these nominations to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has spent months attacking Tuberville and pushing baseless claims the Republican senators protest was placing American security in jeopardy. Schumer ultimately caved last week, bringing several of Bidens nominees to the floor for confirmation votes.

Meanwhile, Tuberville has indicated he will continue his protest until the Pentagon revokes its abortion policy.

USACEs public affairs office did not respond to The Federalists request at the time of publication.

Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served 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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Army Corps of Engineers Plans To Force DEI Onto Its Members - The Federalist

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) brought in Dr. Anthony Fauci without a record of entry to influence the agencys analysis of the origins of Covid-19, according to new information obtained by House Republicans.

In a letter sent to the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services by Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, on Tuesday, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic revealed it has acquired information indicating that during his time as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Fauci was escorted into [CIA] Headquarterswithout a record of entryand participated in the analysis of the respiratory virus origins in order to influence the Agencys review.

While Wenstrups letter doesnt specify exactly when this purported incident occurred, its no secret that Fauci played a significant role in the lefts coordinated efforts to dismiss the theory that Covid leaked from a Wuhan-based lab as a conspiracy theory. In June, for example, Wenstrups committee released communications from Dr. David Morens, the NIAID directors senior scientific adviser, suggesting that Fauci directed Morens to speak with legacy media in an apparent attempt to downplay the lab leak theory.

But today, to my total surprise, my boss Tony [Fauci] actually ASKED me to speak to the National Geographic on the record about origins, Morens wrote in a July 29, 2021, email. I interpret this to mean that our government is lightening up but that Tony doesnt want his fingerprints on origin stories.

Fauci also openly dismissed the lab leak theory during several media appearances. As Helen Raleigh noted in these pages, Fauci dismissedthe lab leak theory in April 2020 when asked about it during a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing and again during a May 2020 interview with National Geographic. He also told ABC News George Stephanopoulos in October 2021 that it was molecularly impossible that gain-of-function research conducted at a Wuhan lab could have led to the outbreak of Covid.

Its worth mentioning that during his tenure as NIAID director, Fauci saw his department provideseveral grantsto EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit run by Peter Daszak that previously funneled funds into the Wuhan Institute of Virology for the bat-based coronaviruses research that is suspected of starting the Covid-19 pandemic.

In his Tuesday letter, Wenstrup requested the HHS inspector general provide the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic with all documents and communications regarding Faucis access to any CIA facilities and agency employees by Oct. 10. The Ohio congressman additionally asked that Special Agent Brett Rowland be made available for a voluntary transcribed interview with the committee.

The American people deserve the truthto know the origins of the virus and whether there was a concerted effort by public health authorities to suppress the lab leak theory for political or national security purposes, Wenstrup wrote.

Tuesdays revelations came two weeks after House Republicans released allegations from a CIA whistleblower claiming that the agency offered hush money to six CIA analysts who concluded that Covid-19 originated from a lab in Wuhan, China. According to this highly credible senior-level CIA officer, the agency brought in seven analysts to unearth the origins of Covid and six of these analysts believed the intelligence and science were sufficient to make a low-confidence assessment that the virus came from a Wuhan-based laboratory.

As The Federalists Jordan Boyd reported, this prompted the CIA which was purportedly unhappy with the analysts conclusions to allegedly dangle[] financial incentives in front of the officers in an attempt to change their conclusion in favor of a zoonotic origin.

Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served 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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CIA Recruited Fauci To 'Influence' Investigation Into Covid's Origins - The Federalist

Nearly 20 House Republicans joined their Democrat colleagues on Wednesday in killing a bill amendment that sought to prevent U.S. taxpayer dollars from funding Pentagon-sponsored pride month events.

Introduced by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, the measure aimed to prohibit funds appropriated by the Houses defense bill for fiscal year 2024 from being used to carry out the observance of Pride Month authorized by the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness for the Cultural Observances and Awareness Events List. Despite the GOP possessing a majority in the lower chamber, 18 Republicans, including House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., sided with Democrats in voting against the amendment (231-202).

While the Pentagons commemoration of pride month dates back to the Obama administration, the agency tasked with defending the U.S. homeland has made so-called LGBT issues a primary focus under President Joe Biden, along with facilitating abortions for female service members. Shortly after taking office, for instance, Biden signed a series of executive orders mandating federal departments adopt neo-Marxist policies such as DEI throughout their respective workforces.

For context, diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, is a divisive and poisonous ideology that dismisses merit and instead discriminates based on characteristics such as skin color and sexual orientation. Individuals who qualify for a certain position due to their merits but dont meet the discriminating entitys goal of being more diverse are passed over in favor of those who meet institutionally preferred identitarian standards.

In 2023 alone, the military under Bidens command has been caught employing an enlisted drag queen to recruit new sailors into the Navy, using U.S. taxpayer money to fly Air Force members to military pride events, and scheduling drag shows at military bases. Ahead of this years pride month, branches such as the Air Force authorized their bases to host celebrations commemorating this leftist-manufactured holiday. As The Federalist previously reported, several of these installations continued their plans to host the controversial events even after congressional backlash.

[RELATED: Heres How Americas Rainbow Military Commemorated This 4th Of July Weekend]

Im sure the Chinese military is quaking in its boots with the rainbow-tipped bullets being tweeted around the world, Roy quipped in a House floor speech. I have very few constituents who disagree with this sentiment: that we should be focused on having a military that is designed to, when called upon, to blow stuff up and kill people in defense of this country as needed, and to be the best fighting force to accomplish that objective in the world.

In addition to pushing DEI on the militarys rank-and-file members, Biden has promoted numerous officials parroting these same ideologies to some of the highest positions within the service. Among these officials is Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Bidens recently confirmed Joint Chiefs of Staff chair, who has previously espoused support for DEI and other racialist sentiments.

While participating in a virtual discussion hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in November 2020, for example, Brownindicatedthat [a]t the higher level of the Air Force, diversity ha[d] moved to the forefront of personnel decisions such as promotions and hiring. During the same event, the Air Force general alsoadmittedto using his post to increase opportunities for so-called diverse candidates in the Air Force, saying he hire[d] for diversity when building his staff.

To read about other DEI-pushing Biden military nominees, see here, here, here, and here.

Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served 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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18 GOPers Help Dems Kill Measure Axing Pentagon 'Pride' Parties - The Federalist

United Nations Secretary-General Antnio Guterres declared that Humanity has opened the gates of hell during his opening remarks at the Climate Ambition Summit in New York on Sept. 20. The event followed two days of meetings attended by global elites.

Scientists and experts have been making catastrophic climate predictions like these for decades often relying on flawed models endorsed by the U.N.s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which have been consistently proven wrong.

Horrendous heat is having horrendous effects. Distraught farmers watching crops carried away by floods, sweltering temperatures spawning disease, and thousands fleeing in fear as historic fires rage, the U.N. chief continued, pinning the blame on fossil fuels.

In another bizarre moment, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky apparently figured now would be a good time to leave his war-torn country and embark on a trip halfway around the world to lecture Americans about reducing their carbon emissions.

Zelensky said that humanity is failing on its climate policy objectives, as he addressed the 78th session of the U.N. General Assembly. This means that extreme weather will still impact the normal global life and some evil state will also weaponize its outcomes. He then claimed that islands and countries would soon disappear underwater.

President Joe Biden also took to the podium at the U.N. where he called for increased public and private sector investment in green-energy solutions to help climate-proof the world, adding that his administration has treated this crisis as an existential threat from the moment we took office not only for us but for all of humanity.

Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris told an audience in Pennsylvania that young people are experiencing something called climate anxiety. They are questioning whether it makes sense for you to even think about having children, whether it makes sense for you to think about aspiring to buy a home because what will this climate be?

What Harris didnt mention was that a study published earlier this year found that those who are the most worried about climate change tend to know the least about it. According to the findings, people who know more about the environment in general, and about climate in particular, are less anxious about climate change.

If Harris and others like her were actually concerned about so-called climate anxiety and its effects on a generation of young Americans, they would stop with the irresponsible rhetoric immediately. They would stop using fearmongering and alarmism as a means to gain even more political power for themselves.

They might even consider doing what of all people billionaire Bill Gates did recently: tell the truth. Theres a lot of climate exaggeration, Gates noted during an interview at the Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit last week. He went on to say, Climate is not the end of the planet. So, the planet is going to be fine.

Despite the barrage of apocalyptic messages and relentless lying from global elites, here are three quick facts you should know about the climate.

As smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed parts of the United States this summer, Biden wasted no time politicizing the issue. He told Americans, without offering a shred of evidence, that the fires were a stark reminder of the impacts of climate change. Even the IPCC has refused to positively link wildfires to climate change.

In a tweet that garnered more than 1.3 million views back in June, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the same claim. Year after year, with climate change, were seeing more and more intense wildfires, he said.

This is patently false. In reality, the data show that global wildfires are burning at their lowest rate in decades.

A recent New York Times headline quipped, DeSantis, Leading a State Menaced by Climate Change, Shrugs Off the Threat. The article attempts to paint Floridas Republican governor as a so-called climate denier. The authors wrote that scientists say that the hurricanes battering his state are being intensified by man-made global warming.

Tellingly, the authors didnt mention which scientists. Perhaps they didnt say because both the severity and frequency of landfall hurricanes in the U.S. are actually decreasing slightly, not increasing, according to more than a century of reliable data.

Death and destruction are always on the horizon for climate alarmists. Or so were told.Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., famously predicted, Theworld is going to end in 12 years if we dont address climate change. Activist Greta Thunberg tweeted in 2018 that climate change will wipe out all of humanity within the next five years.

Perhaps the single most important fact to keep in mind when it comes to the doomsday climate cult is this one: Climate-related deaths are down 99 percent worldwide over the past 100 years thanks largely to fossil fuels, capitalism, and human innovation.

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3 Facts To Arm You Against The Biggest 'Climate Crisis' Lies - The Federalist

With the passing of longtime Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., on Friday, colleagues from across the political aisle have released a bevy of statements remembering the Golden States golden gal.

While President Joe Biden described Feinstein as a kind and loyal friend, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, characterized the California Democrat as a true public servant with whom he had a wonderful working relationship and will miss. Other Democrat and Republican senators such as Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Susan Collins, RMaine, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., also offered their condolences and fond memories of Feinstein.

Its beautiful to see so many offer thoughts and prayers to Feinsteins relatives and friends during their time of grieving. Losing a loved one is a tragedy for any family to endure.

But is it too much to ask that legacy media stop treating Feinsteins political career as anything but a complete disaster? Sure, she had some nice moments, like dunking on smarmy little climate activists. But those flashes of fun pale in comparison to the ruin Feinstein left in her wake as Californias senior senator.

In the 30 years Feinstein served in the U.S. Senate, California has descended into a total dumpster fire, with the state bearing all the hallmarks of a third-world country.

Take a trip to California today, and youll find the only thing golden about the Golden State is the urine from homeless people littering the sidewalks (alongside their feces). Despite being the wealthiest state in the nation, California boasts the highest homeless rate among U.S. states, only to be outdone by the District of Columbia.

Crime has also become a major problem. A report released by Californias attorney generals office earlier this year, for example, found that from 2021-2022, violent crime and property crime in the state had jumped 6.1 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the states homicide rate skyrocketed 23.9 percent from 2017-2022, according to the Pacific Research Institute.

Despite regime-approved medias attempt to cast her as a centrist, Feinstein sported a far-left voting record while serving as a senator, voting in line with Bidens position 100 percent of the time. Her support for massive federal spending bills has undoubtedly played a role in increasing the U.S. national debt and spiking inflation, leading to more suffering among Californians and the American people writ large.

Of course, Feinstein isnt the only one to blame for Californias decay. Democrat Governors Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom, local leftist mayors, and California Democrat voters deserve just as much credit for furthering the states rapid decline.

Its completely understandable for Feinsteins colleagues to mourn her passing and they should. But for corporate press outlets to hype her legacy as a tremendous success is to demand Americans ignore the wasteland that California has become during her time in office. What was once a place people from across the country flocked to in order to chase their dreams has devolved into an anarchic state of ruin where residents cant get out fast enough.

Dianne Feinstein did leave behind a legacy. Its just not the kind the left believes it to be.

Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served 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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The Legacy Dianne Feinstein Left California: Crap And Crime - The Federalist

The Univision co-host of the Fox News Republican presidential debate reinforced false leftist narratives Wednesday night when pressing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on his states K-12 curriculum.

Univisions Ilia Calderon implied DeSantis promoted educational standards that suggested slavery benefitted the victims. The question emanates from claims Vice President Kamala Harris fabricated this summer.

Floridas new Black History curriculum says slaves developed skills that in some instances could be applied for their personal benefit,' Calderon said, ignoring that the left-wing College Board has apparently made nearly identical statements. You have said, Slaves developed skills in spite of slavery, not because of it. But many are still hurt. For descendants of slaves, this is personal. What is your message to them?

The Florida governor attacked the question as a hoax engineered by the vice president to smear Republicans as racist.

First of all, thats a hoax that was perpetrated by Kamala Harris. We are not going to be doing that, DeSantis said. Second of all, that was written by descendants of slaves. These are great black history scholars, so we need to stop playing these games.

Heres the deal, DeSantis added, Our countrys education system is in decline because its focused on indoctrination, denying parents rights. Florida represents the revival of American education.

Vice President Harris helped ignite the conspiracy theory surrounding Floridas education standards in July when she landed in Jacksonville to denounce the new curriculum for middle schoolers.

They decided middle school students will be taught that enslaved people benefited from slavery, Harris said. They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us, and we will not stand for it.

Dr. William Allen, the former chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights who helped design Floridas new curriculum, condemned the vice presidents remarks as categorically false on ABC News.

The only criticism Ive encountered so far [on the new curriculum] is a single one that was articulated by the vice president, and which was an error, said Allen, who is black. It was never said that slavery was beneficial to Africans.

Univision host Calderon went on to amplify another leftist narrative in the Fox News debate when she asked former Vice President Mike Pence about warnings from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for LGBT Americans.

The Department of Homeland Security warns violence against LGBT+ people is on the rise and intensifying, Calderon said, citing an unnamed study claiming that members of that community are nine times more likely to be victims of violent hate crimes.

As president, how would you protect this community from violent attacks and discrimination? Calderon asked.

The Federalists Eddie Scarry debunked the popular left-wing myth of an overwhelming surge in anti-LGBT crimes in his 2022 book, Liberal Misery, and even highlighted one such report from the DHS released in the final months of President Donald Trumps term.

But there was a problem with the report, Scarry wrote. There were precisely zero citations showing where the Department of Homeland Security had derived its conclusions no news articles or academic papers. Just an assurance by the acting secretary, who was particularly concerned about white supremacist violent extremists of late.

The agency posted another bulletin in November to garner headlines and apparently debate questions about a supposed outbreak of violence against LGBT Americans. But it cited just a few prominent episodes of anti-LGBT violence. One example DHS offered was the November shooting at a gay bar in Colorado Springs. The agency failed to mention the shooter identified as non-binary and used they/them pronouns.

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Univision Host Amplifies Florida Curriculum Hoax In Fox Debate - The Federalist

Is it really that weird that Laphonza Butler, California Governor Gavin Newsoms pick to replace Diane Feinstein in the Senate, lives in Maryland?

Now, incidentally, this isnt one of those instances where a politician is spending an inordinate amount of time in DC (before leaving office and becoming a lobbyist and making it official). Newsoms spokesperson confirms that Butler resides in Silver Spring, Maryland, and is registered to vote in that state. Were just skipping the part where we pretend senators represent states rather than political parties. So, thank you.

Most Democrats and plenty of Republicans couldnt give one whit about the integrity of the Senate an institution thats theoretically a bastion of prudence, wisdom, and tradition. It is also theoretically a counterweight to other branches. Today, a senate seat is just a place where partisans unilaterally ram through massive, centralized expansions of the state without any consensus. And when they cant, they cheer on executive abuse. Democrats are champions of the DC bureaucracies that lord over our decisions. Does it really matter what state you come from if your main objective is to nationalize all policy? You can say many things about Feinstein, a loyal leftist for decades, but she often showed respect for the norms of her institution. She will be one of the last on the left to do so.

Nor is there anything especially surprising about the role identity politics played in the pick. The California governor not only had an opportunity to choose the best person in his state but the best person in the entire world, apparently. What if that person had been an Asian-American man or a polyamorous LatinXer or, and stick with me here, a white person? Tens of millions of people were excluded because they did not have correct immutable characteristics. Newsom pledged to appoint a black woman, not the most accomplished and competent person (who might well have been a black woman.)

Why these privileged white men who dominate the Democratic Party never step aside to make room for more diversity is an enduring mystery.

At this point, any Democrat who doesnt treat skin color as at least partly determinative of a persons worth is going to be in trouble. And its not just moral preening over race. Butler, Newsom notes, will be the first lesbian Black woman to join Congress in US history. In most news pieces on the appointment, we learn who Butler prefers to sleep with before we hear any of her accomplishments.

Speaking of which

Butlers most significant real-world achievement isnt being a black lesbian from Maryland or even being an advisor to Kamala Harris failed presidential campaign, but rather heading up the national fundraising juggernaut for the pro-abortion Emilys list. Thats almost surely what attracted Newsom most to Butler favor trading. Emilys list has helped push the Democrats to an extremist position that backs zero limits on aborting viable pregnancies for any reason. But because the press and the left have successfully obscured their position, pro-abortion groups raise lots of cash. And, in the end, more than anything else more than race or sexual preference or California or the Senate or country Newsom cares about being president.

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Congrats! Gavin Newsom Picks The Perfect Democrat - The Federalist