Texas Weekly Online

Texas-trans-white
Menu
Menu

Author: shailender

Soros-backed prosecutor downplays Dem AG nominee’s violent rhetoric as ‘false outrage’

Soros-backed prosecutor downplays Dem AG nominee’s violent rhetoric as ‘false outrage’

An elected Virginia prosecutor whose campaigns received big sums from groups tied to Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros downplayed violent rhetoric from Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones as “fake outrage.” Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti – whose office was previously embroiled in controversy over how it prosecuted a shopkeeper for shooting at burglars – slammed the media’s coverage of Jones’ texts envisioning the murder of a former top Republican official. Dehghani-Tafti criticized Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares, arguing he should act independently of the governor’s office and voicing her support for Jones instead. Her message came in response to a post on the social media platform Bluesky by the left-leaning Virginia politics blog Blue Virginia. DEM SENATOR’S HEFTY DONATION TO DISGRACED AG CANDIDATE’S CAMPAIGN COMES BACK TO HAUNT HIM Referring to Hampton Roads’ paper-of-record, Blue Virginia had written that the Virginian-Pilot’s lead story and top op-ed were wrongly centered on Jones. “Nothing on the government shutdown or decimation of CDC or a million other important stories,” she wrote, before adding, “Your [quotes sic] ‘liberal media’ at work.” Dehghani-Tafti wrote that re-electing Miyares would place him “in the position to obstruct and block [Abigail] Spanberger’s agenda” – further suggesting Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears’ loss is fait accompli. “If we fall for the false outrage and get frightened into abandoning Jay, Miyares as AG will remain Trump’s right hand in Richmond,” she warned. Dehghani-Tafti’s campaigns since 2019 have received $325,000 from Soros-funded political action committee Democracy PAC II and $190,000 from another related organization called Justice and Public Safety PAC. The next-highest donor over that period was Alexandria attorney Christopher R.K. Leibig, who gave $10,900, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Soros Fund Management and Democracy PAC (separate from Democracy PAC II) are top multi-million-dollar donors to Justice and Public Safety PAC, according to OpenSecrets. JAY JONES TEXT SCANDAL SPARKS DONATION SURGE AS GOP GROUP POURS MILLIONS MORE INTO VA RACE While Arlington County has won praise for choosing to prosecute serial sex offender Richard Kenneth Cox – a key figure in the election-centric transgender bathroom and crime wave controversies – versus how Fairfax County’s liberal leadership has reacted – Dehghani-Tafti had her own controversies boil up over the years as well. WATCH: KAINE DEFENDS JONES AMID AG CANDIDATE’S TEXTS ENVISIONING MURDER OF GOP LEADER: ‘STILL A SUPPORTER’ In 2020, Dehghani-Tafti faced backlash for prosecuting a Shirlington smoke shop employee who fired at burglars after being awakened in the store’s back room. Hamzeh Abushariah shot one intruder in the back as several young people broke in around 4:50 a.m., according to reports. Shop owner Jowan Zuber defended Abushariah, telling WMAL Radio that CCTV footage showed a suspect “lunged toward Hamzeh when he opened the door… what would you do?” Prosecutors argued the “castle doctrine” didn’t apply because the store wasn’t his home and charged Abushariah with malicious wounding and a gun offense. The prosecution argued Abushariah had other options, such as running away or barricading himself, according to reports. A judge initially denied bond at prosecutors’ request, but a jury later acquitted him. Dehghani-Tafti told ABC’s Washington affiliate she “cannot ethically discuss an ongoing investigation,” adding there was evidence supporting the charges and urging the public “not to rush to judgment.”  Arlington County police later charged two juveniles in the burglary. Democracy PAC and Democracy PAC II collectively poured more than $42 million into the 2022 races alone, according to FactCheck.org.

Senate Democrats block GOP plan for 10th time, ensuring shutdown lasts into next week

Senate Democrats block GOP plan for 10th time, ensuring shutdown lasts into next week

Senate Democrats for a 10th time blocked Republicans’ attempts to reopen the government and have ensured that the shutdown goes into next week. That’s because after one final vote series later on Thursday, lawmakers will leave Washington, D.C., for another long weekend after just three short days on the Hill. Neither Republicans nor Democrats are ready to flinch in their deeply entrenched positions, and talks between both sides, though largely informal exercises, have begun to fade. REPUBLICANS PUSH TO PAY TROOPS, REOPEN GOVERNMENT AS DEMOCRATS BALK Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is determined to continue on the same course of action to keep bringing the House-passed continuing resolution (CR), which would reopen the government until Nov. 21, up for a vote again and again. Though some in the GOP are mulling a new end date for the CR, that would require the House, which has been out of session for nearly a month, to come back and pass a new one. While Thune and Republicans are adamant that their plan is the only pathway to ending the shutdown, now on Day 16, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the Senate Democratic caucus still want to hammer out a deal on expiring Obamacare subsidies — and they want President Donald Trump to get directly involved in negotiations. “We’re willing to have, as I said, conversations about all the other issues that they want to talk about,” Thune said. “But that can’t happen while they are holding the federal government and all these federal employees and our troops and our air traffic controllers and our TSA agents and our border Patrol officials hostage. Open up the government.” REPUBLICANS FUME AS DEMOCRATS BLOCK 9TH GOP BID TO REOPEN GOVERNMENT “Every day that this goes on, the problems are compounded for federal workers and for ordinary Americans,” he continued. “Chuck Schumer may think that every day gets better for them politically, but I can tell you that is not the experience of the American people.” When asked if he would compromise on the Democrats’ demands as the shutdown dragged on, Schumer dodged and countered that he wouldn’t negotiate in the public eye. “The bottom line is [Republicans] won’t even negotiate with us,” Schumer said. “So that’s a premature question. But of course, I’m not going to negotiate in public. We need to address the crisis that is afflicted, and that’s the right word, the American people.” However, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said that Republicans weren’t working on a subsidy proposal to show Democrats, and he noted that talks between the parties were “not really” happening anymore. When asked if it was possible to get an extension of the credits before the Nov. 1 open enrollment date, he said, “I don’t think there’s a way to do that.” “And I think if you don’t have it done by Christmas, it becomes a political issue,” Mullin said. “But you could maybe push it to January, to February, if you wanted to, but we get bumped up against, you know, everybody’s primaries, from the Democrat primaries and Republican primaries, and it becomes a political issue, because, unfortunately, healthcare is political.” REPUBLICANS EYE FRESH FUNDING FIGHT AS SHUTDOWN STANDOFF DRAGS ON Republicans are also trying to reignite the appropriations process in the Senate as the shutdown continues on. Thune teed up a procedural vote later Thursday on the Senate’s defense spending bill, which, among other things, would fund paychecks for the military. Whether Democrats support the spending bill after spending months demanding a bipartisan government funding process remains an open question — many argued after their closed-door meeting on Wednesday that they didn’t know exactly what Republicans were going to put on the floor and considered a vote on it moot. As with most of the past 10 attempts to send the House-passed CR to Trump’s desk, the same trio of Democratic caucus members, Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Angus King, I-Maine, voted with Senate Republicans. Fetterman, who has consistently voted with the GOP every time, echoed his counterparts across the aisle and said that any outside issues aside from reopening the government could be dealt with after the lights were turned back on in Washington. “It was wrong to shut it down in March,” he said. “I’m in the same position. It’s not going to change. Everything else we’re talking about,  open up the government first, and then we can figure out the rest.”

Grenell praises Trump’s ‘common sense’ foreign policy, slams Biden for avoiding Putin

Grenell praises Trump’s ‘common sense’ foreign policy, slams Biden for avoiding Putin

EXCLUSIVE: Kennedy Center President and Ambassador Richard Grenell slammed former President Joe Biden for avoiding Russian President Vladimir Putin as war raged between Russia and Ukraine, while praising President Donald Trump’s “common sense” foreign policies. “You have a president who is really watching the situation, unlike the last president, Joe Biden, who literally didn’t talk to Vladimir Putin for three and a half years,” he said. “President Trump doesn’t believe in that strategy. He wants to confront the issues. He wants to figure out ways to fix them.” Trump plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday — just hours after Russian missiles and drones attacked Ukrainian cities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy already had been scheduled to head to Washington to meet with Trump Friday, to discuss the war and strengthening his country’s defenses.  Trump vowed from the campaign trail that he would facilitate negotiations for a peace deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, which has raged since 2022, but ongoing talks have yet to yield an agreement.  RUBIO HAILS TRUMP AS ‘ONLY LEADER IN THE WORLD’ WHO CAN BROKER UKRAINE PEACE DEAL AFTER TALKS In addition to Russia and Ukraine, Trump also has been active in efforts to bring peace to the Middle East. Trump secured a historic peace declaration as of Monday, when he traveled to Israel and Egypt to meet with foreign leaders stretching from the Middle East to Europe. BACK FROM ALASKA, TRUMP STARTS WEEK WITH CRUCIAL FOREIGN POLICY TALKS OVER UKRAINE WAR Grenell discussed Trump’s strategy for international conflicts during his second term in office while attending “The Sound of Music” at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. “Well, first of all, I’ve worked with President Trump for a long time, and the one thing about President Trump is that he’s filled with common sense, and he evaluates his decisions constantly,” Grenell told Fox News Digital. Grenell said Trump can make America stronger on the world stage with his ability and willingness to adapt to different international conflicts. “You see him adjust the policy,” he said. “Something isn’t working, he’s not afraid to replace somebody or change the policy.” HAMAS ACCEPTS TRUMP PEACE PLAN ENDING 2 YEARS OF WAR IN GAZA, RETURNING HOSTAGES Grenell described Trump as an “active president” who is ready to make moves and advance U.S. interests. “I think that what we’re seeing on the global stage is someone who is an activist president, watching the situation, adjusting the policy so that it’s making America stronger, more prosperous, and solving problems around the world,” Grenell said.