Florida and Kansas are accusing 2 people of forging signatures for petition drives
Florida and Kansas officials are accusing two petition circulators of forging voter signatures during campaigns to put an abortion rights measure to a vote in Florida and allow the No Labels party to put candidates on the Kansas ballot. Jamie Johnson, 47, and George Andrews III, 30, both from Dade City, Florida, in the Tampa area, were in jail Wednesday, each on $150,000 bail. Johnson was being held in Sarpy County, Nebraska, south of Omaha, and Andrews in the Tampa area. ‘ELECTION INTERFERENCE’ CLAIMS MUDDY BATTLEGROUND STATE POLITICS AMID COMPETITIVE RACES Each faces 20 felony charges in Florida, while in Kansas, Andrews faces 30 felony counts and Johnson, 19. While Andrews has been in custody in Florida since February, authorities in both states couldn’t find Johnson until she was arrested a week ago in Nebraska. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach announced the arrest Tuesday and said he is seeking to bring Johnson to Kansas for prosecution. She is scheduled to have a July 1 extradition hearing in Nebraska. Kobach’s office said Andrews and Johnson together forged at least 46 signatures on petitions to get the centrist No Labels group recognized as a political party in Kansas, which allows it to put nominees on the November ballot. Florida officials said Andrews and Johnson submitted a total of 133 invalid petitions in multiple counties during the effort to get the abortion rights measure on the November ballot. Neither successful petition drive appears to have depended on the signatures the two submitted. In Kansas, No Labels needed more than 20,000, while in Florida, the figure was at least 891,500. Still, Kobach said that with election fraud, “It doesn’t matter how far you run.” “We will drag you back to Kansas and prosecute you,” Kobach said in a statement. No Labels chief strategist Ryan Clancy said Wednesday that the Kansas case involves a former vendor’s subcontractor and that vendors are required to provide training for petition circulators and have a third party verify signatures. “No Labels will fully cooperate with any inquiry,” Clancy said in an emailed statement. A public defender representing Andrews in Florida did not return a telephone message Wednesday seeking comment. Tom Strigenz, a public defender for Johnson in Nebraska, said she does not have an attorney in Kansas and that she will fight extradition to both Florida and Kansas. Stringenz couldn’t say whether Johnson was in Nebraska to circulate petitions for proposed ballot initiatives there. She has no ties the state, he said.
Lok Sabha Election Results 2024: NDA initiates govt formation, INDIA bloc in ‘wait and watch’ mode
The opposition alliance, INDIA bloc, despite making significant gains with 234 seats, adopted a cautious approach, indicating a “wait and watch” strategy.
School boards group backs out of teacher exchange program amid ex-North Dakota lawmaker’s charges
A North Dakota school boards organization has returned over $140,000 to the state and ended its role in a teacher exchange program months after an indictment was unsealed against a former state lawmaker, who traveled to Europe on the state funds and later was accused of traveling to Prague with the intent of paying for sex with a minor. The North Dakota School Boards Association’s director said the group had been discussing ending its involvement with the Germany-based Global Bridges program before former Republican state senator Ray Holmberg’s indictment, and though his case was not the driver, “everything that transpired perhaps just hastened that discussion.” NORTH DAKOTA PARENTS RAGE AT SCHOOL BOARD FOR DEFYING LAW ON KIDS’ GENDER IDENTITIES: ‘WHOSE KIDS ARE THESE?’ “We just were working to align our association’s activities with our mission, and the timing was just what it was,” Executive Director Alexis Baxley told The Associated Press. The state Ethics Commission announced the funds’ return on Tuesday. In January, the association’s board of directors voted to end its role as the fiscal agent for the program and to return the remaining $142,000 to the state Department of Public Instruction, according to a letter the department provided to the AP. In a statement, the ethics panel said the association returned the money on its own without prompting by the department, the commission or anyone else. The Legislature approved money for the program from 2007 to 2017 in the department’s budget, which flowed as “pass-through grants” to the association, which was a “reimbursement and bookkeeping entity” for the funds, the ethics panel said. The association reached an informal resolution as to a complaint against it about the program, the ethics panel said. Under that resolution, the association agreed to end any future involvement with the Global Bridges program. The complaint is closed. State law makes ethics complaints confidential. It’s unclear whether Holmberg’s alleged misconduct occurred during a Global Bridges trip. Travel records from the association show he took trips in 2011, 2018 and 2019 to Prague, a city named in the indictment, and other cities in Europe. The date of June 24, 2011, is listed in the indictment and on a receipt for Holmberg for a departure to Prague and other cities. Former Association Executive Director Jon Martinson said Holmberg “cast a huge shadow” over the state’s relationship through the association with Global Bridges. “The trips would continue and the (association) wouldn’t have given back the money and none of this attention would have occurred had Ray Holmberg not done what he is alleged to have done in Prague,” said Martinson, who added he is still the Global Bridges program director. The association did not consult with him about deciding to return the money, he said. Nine people, including seven lawmakers, went on North Dakota’s last Global Bridges trip, in July 2023 to Berlin and surrounding cities such as Potsdam, Martinson said. He touted the value of the program for bringing together teachers and legislators with top experts in education, business and politics. Democratic state Sen. Tim Mathern, who served over 35 years with Holmberg, said he thinks the program’s situation “just got so complicated in terms of so many people looking into the matter.” “It’s really not just Sen. Holmberg. There might be other issues that come up as people inquire even further, and they would just as soon, I would think, want to get out of that sort of scrutiny and difficulty,” said Mathern, who lauded the Ethics Commission for the process “at least to look at some of these things closer.” Holmberg, 80, served in the North Dakota Senate from 1976 to 2022. In early 2022, he announced his intent not to seek reelection but weeks later he resigned after The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead reported he had exchanged dozens of text messages with a man in jail for child sexual abuse images. Holmberg was one of the most powerful members of the Legislature, chairing the Senate Appropriations Committee for many years. He also chaired the Legislative Management, which handles the Legislature’s business between biennial sessions. The latter role allowed him to approve his own travel. Records obtained by the AP show that Holmberg took dozens of trips throughout the U.S. and to other countries since 1999. Destinations included cities in more than 30 states as well as Canada, Puerto Rico and Norway. Holmberg also is charged with receipt and attempted receipt of child sexual abuse material. His trial is scheduled for September in Fargo.
Rural South Dakota voters reject proposal to require hand-counting of ballots
Voters in three small South Dakota counties on Tuesday rejected initiated measures to require hand-counting of ballots in future elections. The votes in Gregory, Haakon and Tripp counties were an unusual step even as other places in the U.S. have considered moving to hand-counting in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s claims of 2020 election fraud. The measures sought to prohibit the use of tabulating machines and would require hand-counting, which local election officials said would cost more money and require more election workers, who might be difficult to find. Election experts say counting ballots by hand isn’t as accurate as machines tabulating the votes. 3 SOUTH DAKOTA COUNTIES TO VOTE ON RETURNING TO BALLOT TABULATION BY HAND The measures might not be the only ones put to a vote in South Dakota. Citizens in dozens of other counties are circulating petitions for hand-counting measures, according to Jessica Pollema, president of SD Canvassing, a group which supports the efforts. Other hand-count initiatives could “possibly” appear on November ballots, she said. Pollema did not immediately respond to a phone message or email for comment on the election results. Todd and Tripp County Auditor Barb DeSersa, who opposed the measure, said, “Well, obviously, the voters have spoken, but I feel that they believe … we’d be going backwards in time and there is confidence in the machine. There was no reason not to have confidence.” Turnout in Tripp County was 37%, which is typical for a primary election, she said. The three rural counties have a combined 7,744 active registered voters, according to an online report. South Dakota’s primary election will be the first to undergo a post-election audit, a new process from a 2023 law that requires all counties to hand-count the results from two races in 5% of precincts to compare with the official results. But Tripp County will hand-count the whole election for its audit, per the county commission, DeSersa said. In 2022, Tripp hand-counted its general election ballots. Fall River County hand-counted its primary election ballots, after the county commission voted earlier this year to do so. County Auditor Sue Ganje said it took about 40 election workers over six hours to hand-count 1,913 ballots.
Financiers plan to launch a Texas-based stock exchange
The group announced Wednesday it raised $120 million in capital to start a stock exchange in Dallas this year.
Texas A&M bonfire will not return to campus
Resuming the bonfire was “not in the interest” of Texas A&M, said school President Mark Welsh III.
Inherently complicated: House Republicans consider another angle to take on Attorney General Garland
Attorney General Merrick Garland is on the clock. Two House committees have voted to hold Garland in contempt of Congress. House Republicans aren’t pleased with Garland failing to cough up an audiotape of the transcribed interview Special Counsel Robert Hur conducted with President Biden in the classified documents case. Garland released a transcript of the interview. But Hur suggested that one of the reasons he didn’t charge Biden was because he thought a jury might view the president as an elderly forgetful man and take pity on him. Many Republicans regularly claim the president isn’t altogether upstairs. The Wall Street Journal is now joining that chorus. GOPers are not so subtle as to their reasons for wanting the audiotape. They believe the recording could reveal a feeble chief executive who’s not fully in control of his faculties. As a result, Republicans could then use the tape to savage Biden and prove their thesis to voters ahead of the election. PUPPIES AND RAINBOWS: HOW THE BIPARTISAN INVITATION TO THE LEADER OF ISRAEL THREATENS TO DIVIDE THE DEMOCRATS “The transcript may be accurate. But you know what? The audio would tell us so much more,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., at Tuesday’s Judiciary Committee hearing with Garland. Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., told Garland the tape “reveals things about [the president’s] capacity.” Garland won’t provide the tape. So the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees voted to hold him in contempt of Congress. It’s not 100 percent certain the full House has the votes to hold Garland in contempt. Republicans now boast a 218 to 213 advantage in the House with the election of Rep. Vince Fong, R-Calif. Fong succeeded former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who resigned. But even if the House votes to hold Garland in contempt, it’s doubtful much comes of it. Lawmakers may refer a contempt of Congress citation for noncompliance with subpoenas for documents or testimony to the Justice Department for prosecution. In short, the Justice Department run by Garland is not going to prosecute its own attorney general. So, Republicans are stuck. That’s where “inherent contempt” comes in. Inherent contempt is an authority which Congress may deploy on its own without relying on another branch of government. In other words, Congress may vote to hold someone in contempt for failing to provide information — and inherently use its own powers to discipline, arrest or hold someone for running afoul of the House or Senate. Lawmakers of both parties have spoken off and on for years about leaning on inherent contempt to get their way. But no one has really considered it as a legitimate option for the first time in nine decades until recently. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: THERE’S LITTLE CHANCE THAT LAWMAKERS WILL KISS — AND ‘MAKEUP’ Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., says she will introduce a resolution of inherent contempt — 10 days after the House votes on “regular” contempt for Garland. The idea is that the Justice Department won’t prosecute Garland, so Congress will take matters into its own hands. Of course, it’s impossible to know if the House would ever command the requisite votes for an inherent contempt resolution — especially since “customary” contempt is dicey, too. But let’s explore inherent contempt for a moment and examine how it works. Congress formerly leaned on inherent contempt in the early days of the republic. In fact, Congress voted to hold various newspaper publishers in contempt in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1927, a Senate panel voted to approve a warrant for a witness who failed to comply with a subpoena. But a court ruled that the Senate overstepped its bounds in that case. Congress last used inherent contempt in 1934. A Commerce Department official refused to comply with a congressional subpoena for documents related to an airmail scandal. So Congress held the official in contempt. What did that involve? After the House voted, it dispatched its House Sergeant at Arms to arrest the official. The House then held the official at the Willard Hotel — a posh establishment in downtown Washington close to the White House — for a week and a half. Inherent contempt is inherently intriguing — but also inherently chaotic. Could one imagine the scene if the House approved an inherent contempt resolution for Garland? Would House Sergeant at Arms Bill McFarland and a squadron of his deputies — or U.S. Capitol Police officers — just surface at Garland’s home one day or the Justice Department and demand that the attorney general come with them? How would Garland’s protective detail respond? Would this be a cursory visit, perhaps informing Garland that he’s been held in inherent contempt of Congress? Or does this devolve into a tense exchange between the legislative and executive branches? And even if Garland does come with McFarland to Capitol Hill, does the House continue to hold him? Pray tell, where? Does Garland just come immediately to the Capitol for an appearance with the Oversight and Judiciary Committees? No one is quite sure. Even Luna, the sponsor of the measure. STATUESQUE REV. GRAHAM TRIBUTE COMES TO THE CAPITOL, BUT SHIES AWAY FROM THE LIMELIGHT “Ideally, the attorney general would do the right thing and come present us representatives with information that we’ve been asking for. But that’s up to him to decide whether it’s above the law,” said Luna. Yours truly asked what the plan was, since inherent contempt would represent such a significant escalation involving a potential standoff between two branches of government. “I think it hasn’t been done in a while. So we’ll see how it unfolds,” said Luna. I pressed Luna whether there might be a standoff between McFarland and Garland. “I don’t think they ever anticipated that we would bring this forward,” replied Luna. “This is absolutely something that can be done.” But no one knows how. A senior House security official tells Fox there has been some mulling of this. But everyone is just waiting to see what unfolds. However, two things
Following Trump’s guilty verdict, first swing state poll reveals how it impacts voters’ decisions
The first major swing state poll following former President Trump’s guilty verdict in his New York City trial last week revealed a solid lead for one candidate just five months ahead of the November general election. Georgia voters favor Trump over Biden 49% to 44% in a head-to-head matchup, according to the Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday, which was taken following the former president’s highly publicized and intensely scrutinized conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Trump’s lead over Biden grew to a six-point spread (43%-37%) with the inclusion of independent presidential candidates Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (8%) and Cornel West (3%), as well as the Libertarian Party’s Chase Oliver (3%) and the Green Party’s Jill Stein (2%). TRUMP ENDORSEMENT TAKES CENTER STAGE IN BRUTAL SWING STATE PRIMARY AS ACCUSATIONS OF ‘DISLOYALTY’ FLY The all-important independent vote was evenly split between Trump and Biden at 45% each. Fifty percent said they agreed with the guilty verdict against Trump, while 44% said they disagreed. However, a whopping 54% said the verdict will have no effect on their vote, and 23% said it will make them more likely to vote for the former president. Just 22%, made up mostly of Democrats, said it would make them less likely to vote for Trump. Just 18% of independents and 5% of Republicans said the verdict made them less likely to support Trump. HALEY, CHRISTIE STAY SILENT ON TRUMP GUILTY VERDICT AS GOP OUTRAGE GROWS OVER ‘UN-AMERICAN’ SILENCE Concerning Trump’s election interference case in Fulton County, a 54% majority said they believed Trump did nothing illegal, but 25% believe he did act unethically. Forty-one percent said they believed Trump did something illegal. Trump holds a double-digit advantage over Biden when it comes to which candidate would better handle voters’ top issues in the race, including immigration (56%-39%), the economy (58%-38%), the Israel-Hamas war (53%-39%) and the war between Russia and Ukraine (54%-41%). Voters also believe Trump would be the best candidate to preserve democracy (49%-46%), but Biden held a slight advantage on the issue of abortion (47%-45%). Biden’s job approval in Georgia stood at 36%, with 60% disapproving. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
‘Misleading’ Dem contraception bill fails key vote as GOP slams broad proposal
Democrats’ contraception bill failed a key procedural vote on Wednesday as Republicans slammed the broad proposal over parental rights and religious liberty implications. The Senate voted 51-39 against moving forward with the “Right to Contraception Act.” The bill needed to garner 60 votes in order to move forward in the upper chamber. JON TESTER CAMPAIGN ADMITS ‘HARD TRUTH’ SENATE RACE WILL BE EXPENSIVE AND CLOSE Ahead of the cloture vote, a majority of Republican senators had already signed onto a statement led by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., attacking the measure as an attempt to “score cheap political points.” “Today every Senator must take a stand: if you agree all Americans deserve access to contraception, then vote yes on the Right to Contraception Act,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in floor remarks prior to the vote. ‘PARENTAL RIGHTS’: GOP WARNS DEM SENATE BILL IS ABOUT MORE THAN CONTRACEPTION But Republicans claimed that it wasn’t quite that simple. Per the group of GOP lawmakers, the bill “infringes on the parental rights and religious liberties of some Americans and lets the federal government force religious institutions and schools, even public elementary schools, to offer contraception like condoms to little kids.” DEMS IN HOT SEAT FOR ALLEGED ETHICS VIOLATIONS OVER ALITO RECUSAL DEMANDS Top Pro-Life group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America described the measure as “misleading” in a press release, noting the effect its provisions would have on the funding Planned Parenthood is eligible to receive and that which Pro-Life pregnancy centers are allowed. “It’s ‘show-vote’ season in the Senate,” Senate Pro-Life caucus Chair Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., said on Wednesday. BALANCE OF POWER: MESSY GOP PRIMARIES COULD BOOST DEMOCRATS IN SWING STATE RACES “This is another example of Democrats bringing forward deeply deceptive legislation to make political points and try to offer cover to vulnerable Democrats,” she said. However, “The devil is in the details,” the senator explained. “This bill isn’t about access to contraception. It’s about pouring more taxpayer dollars to abortion purveyors like Planned Parenthood, while further trampling religious freedoms and parental rights.”
Fox News Politics: Potential Perjury
Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. What’s happening… – Biden accused of trying to ‘out-Republican Republicans’ – Squad Democrats furious over Netanyahu invitation to congress – Trump catching up to Biden on fundraising As Hunter Biden faces criminal gun charges in Delaware, House Republicans are sending criminal referrals to the Justice Department recommending that the president’s son and brother be charged with making false statements to Congress about “key aspects” of the impeachment inquiry of President Biden, Fox News Digital has learned. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., who have been leading the inquiry, sent the criminal referrals of Hunter Biden and James Biden to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Special Counsel David Weiss on Wednesday, saying the alleged false statements “implicate Joe Biden’s knowledge and role in his family’s influence peddling schemes and appear to be a calculated effort to shield Joe Biden from the impeachment inquiry.” ‘LIKE A SON’: Former top Biden adviser with deep business ties to China spotted inside Hunter Biden gun trial …Read more ‘MISTAKE’: Biden accused by own party of ‘trying to out-Republican the Republicans’ on border …Read more ‘HE ADMIRES DICTATORS’: Kamala Harris tells Jimmy Kimmel that he’s right to be worried about what Trump could do to him …Read more ‘THIS IS JOE BIDEN’: Biden’s old age concerns aren’t ‘going away’ soon, CNN reporter says …Read more ‘FOUR MORE YEARS, PAUSE’: 5 recent gaffes by President Biden …Read more ‘NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE’: Former WH doctor raises alarms on Biden’s mental state after WSJ report …Read more ‘TOO DANGEROUS’: Gaetz pushes immigration ban on this nationality …Read more ‘TOO MUCH AT STAKE’: Nancy Mace confronts House Republican who endorsed her opponent …Read more ‘SECOND’ MATTERS: Lawmakers invoke Hunter Biden in gun law chats …Read more ‘IT’S ABSURD’: ‘It’s absurd’: Congress takes bipartisan action after Cuban officials’ tour secure parts of major airport …Read more ‘FULL OF IT’: Possible McConnell replacement takes Democrat IVF claims head on with major announcement …Read more SUPREME ETHICS: Dems accused of ethics violations after demanding Justice Alito recusal …Read more ‘FEARMONGERING’: Contraception bill would bulldoze religious liberty, ‘parental rights,’ Republicans say …Read more ‘ACCUSED WAR CRIMINAL’: Squad Dems furious at Netanyahu being invited to Congress …Read more LEFT OUT: ‘The View’ co-host warns Biden will ‘lose’ if he lives in fear of the left-wing …Read more ‘TRUST OF VOTERS’: New Mexico DA who indicted Alec Baldwin fends off primary challenge …Read more MAGA MUDSLINGING: Brutal swing state primary takes center stage as accusations of ‘disloyalty’ to Trump swirl …Read more MAGA BUCKS: Trump catching up to Biden’s fundraising with super PAC …Read more PUT ON PAUSE: Georgia court freezes Fani Willis’ sweeping election case against Trump …Read more ‘PROTECT THE INTEGRITY’: Manhattan prosecutors oppose Trump request to lift gag order, urge court to ‘protect the integrity’ of case …Read more PARTY OVER CLIMATE: NY’s Dem governor indefinitely halts congestion pricing plan reportedly over November concerns …Read more Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.