Tag: US Senate

McConnell, Schumer Strike Deal on Impeachment Trial Rules

Virginia Star Staff

Senate leaders said on Monday that a deal has been agreed upon regarding the framework for former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial slated to begin on Tuesday.

“For the information of the Senate, the Republican leader and I, in consultation with both the House managers and former President Trump’s lawyers, have agreed to a bipartisan resolution to govern the structure and timing of the impending trial,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday on the Senate floor. “All parties have agreed to a structure that will ensure a fair and honest Senate impeachment trial of the former president,” the New York Democrat said.

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Trump Responds to Charges in Senate Impeachment Trial

Peter D'Abrosca

Former President Donald J. Trump Tuesday, through is attorneys Bruce L. Castor, Jr., and David Schoen, responded to the article of impeachment against him, for which he faces a trial in the U.S. Senate. 

The 45th president was accused of “inciting an insurrection” over the mostly peaceful protests at the Capitol Building on January 6. 

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Durbin Says Members ‘Have to Follow Their Own Conscience’ on Trump Impeachment

Virginia Star Staff

Democratic Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin told CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Sunday that Senate members “have to follow their own conscience” on President Donald Trump’s impeachment.

Durbin told Tapper on CNN’s “State of The Union” that he doesn’t know how members of his own caucus will vote to convict Trump.

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Democrats Set to Control the Sentate as David Perdue Concedes to Jon Ossoff

Peter D'Abrosca

In a move that will effectively give Democrats the majority in the U.S. Senate, incumbent U.S. Senator David Perdue (R-GA) has conceded his reelection bid to his Democrat challenger.

In a concession statement, Perdue did not mention his opponent, Senator-Elect Jon Ossoff, by name.

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Congress Affirms Biden Electoral College Votes; Trump Agrees to ‘Orderly Transition’

The Center Square

A joint session of Congress, completing its work in the early morning hours of Thursday after lawmakers had been forced to flee their chambers by a violent invasion of the Capitol, affirmed that Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States.

The proceedings concluded shortly after 3:30 a.m. EST, drawing to a close an chaotic day in the nation’s house of laws that saw one person shot dead inside the building after some rioters breached its security during a massive rally to support President Trump.

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Raphael Warnock Hit with Multiple Tax Liens After Failing to Pay His Trash Bills

Virginia Star Staff

Democratic Georgia Senate candidate Raphael Warnock received four tax liens for failing to pay for trash collection services at a property he owns in Atlanta, Fulton County records show.

The records, which were first reported by National Review, show that the county imposed tax liens against Warnock totaling $2,595 for unpaid waste disposal services in 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016.

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Commentary: The Most Important Week of the Century

Virginia Star Staff

Three big things are happening this week that could decide America’s fate. First, a run-off election in Georgia on Tuesday for two U.S. Senate seats that will determine the balance of power in the Senate. Second, Congress meets for a joint session on Wednesday to formally count the votes of the electoral college. And third, Americans from across the country will rally in support of election integrity on Wednesday on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol. Here’s a quick look at all these moving parts and ways you can make a difference in the saving America from a Marxist-Socialist takeover.

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Vice President Mike Pence Welcomes the Efforts of Representatives and Senators to Object to Electoral College Votes

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  In a statement Saturday, Vice President Mike Pence issued a statement through his Chief of Staff Marc Short that he welcomes the actions of some members of the House and Senate, who say they will object to the final certification of the Electoral College vote on Wednesday. “Vice President…

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Raphael Warnock Refused to Say if He Supports Expanding the Supreme Court During Georgia Senate Debate

Virginia Star Staff

by Chuck Ross   Democratic senate candidate Raphael Warnock refused to say during a debate Sunday whether he supports “court packing,” or adding seats to the Supreme Court. “As I move all across the state … people aren’t asking me about the courts and whether we should expand the courts,”…

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Vernon Jones Discusses The Fake News Media and the Importance of a Free and Fair Election Going Forward

Julie Carr

Thursday morning on The John Fredericks Show, host John Fredricks welcomed Georgia House of Representatives Vernon Jones to the show to discuss how fake news has escalated their divisive behavior and the anger and frustration of Georgia voters.

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U.S. Senate Confirms Barrett to Supreme Court, Giving Conservatives a 6-3 Majority

The Center Square

The U.S. Senate confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to be an associate justice on the nation’s highest court Monday. 

Barrett fills the vacancy of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in September at the age of 87 from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer. 

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Candidate Daniel Gade on Why He’s Running for the Virginia U.S. Senate Seat and How He is Not a Career Politician Like His Opponent

Julie Carr

Tuesday morning on The John Fredericks Show, host Fredricks welcomed candidate for U.S. Senate in Virginia Daniel Gade to discuss why he’s running for office and how he is not a career politician.

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Congressional Leaders Receive at Least $1 Million in Pension Payouts Paid for by Taxpayers

Virginia Star Staff

As the nation struggles with record high unemployment, extended job losses, continued statewide shutdowns, and crippling national debt, a new report reveals that congressional leaders will receive an estimated $1 million each in retirement payouts on top of their lifetime pensions, fully funded by taxpayers.

First published by Forbes, OpenTheBooks.com’s report, “Why Are Taxpayers Providing Public Pensions To Millionaire Members Of Congress?” compares the financial benefits that both top leaders in Congress receive.

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Kentucky Democrats Still Looking for the Winner in Last Week’s Primary

The Associated Press

One of Kentucky’s most unpredictable political races in years is headed toward the wire Tuesday, but it’s taking a full week after the June 23 primary to sort out a possible photo finish in the Democratic U.S. Senate contest.

Absentee ballots that stacked up amid the coronavirus pandemic have delayed the vote count in the neck-and-neck race between progressive candidate Charles Booker and establishment-backed Amy McGrath. Both are vying for the chance to take on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who coasted to victory in the GOP primary in his bid for a seventh term.

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Black Candidates Tap Protest Energy to Challenge Incumbent Democrats

Virginia Star Staff

Amy McGrath and Eliot Engel live hundreds of miles apart in states with dramatically different politics.

Yet they’re the preferred candidates of the Democratic Party’s Washington establishment as voters in Kentucky and New York decide their congressional primary elections on Tuesday. And both may be in trouble.

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Commentary: Seven Specific Policy Ideas for Republican Congressional Candidates

Virginia Star Staff
Washington DC

This year, hundreds of Republican candidates for federal office will be on the ballot this fall, and many of them lack the resources to put together a strong policy team. While taxes, abortion, guns, school choice immigration, and defense are all very important issues, they have limited reach beyond the usual Republican voters. Here are seven policy ideas for House and Senate candidates who would like to expand their platform to try to appeal to more voters – without alienating key elements of the Republican base.

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Commentary: The Great, Steaming Heart of ‘The Swamp’ Beats in the U.S. Senate

Virginia Star Staff

by Rachel Bovard   Donald Trump was elected in 2016 on a platform that, broadly, called for draining “the swamp.” The definition of swamp, for the most part, was left to the listener, but generally, it was assumed to represent the established interests that dictated federal policy toward the ends…

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Commentary: Remembering Senator Tom Coburn – He Stood Tall for Taxpayers

Virginia Star Staff

Former Sen. Tom Coburn was a hero among fiscal conservatives and endless source of inspiration and courage. The Oklahoma Republican embodied financial stewardship, always showing great respect for the hard-earned tax dollars of working Americans.

Coburn, who died late Friday at 72, helped the American people better understand the size and scope of Washington’s spending problem by highlighting government waste.

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Incumbent US Senator Amy Klobuchar Silent on Immigration, Refugee Controversy, GOP Opponent Puts Issue Front and Center

Anna Marie Bolton

Last week, the widely read The Hill newspaper reported that two Washington, DC leftwing open borders activist groups had quietly sent out a memo to Democrats advising them to not discuss the issue of immigration. Knowing that the subject is a touchy one for Democrats who are generally supportive of…

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Beto Campaign Sued for Allegedly Sending Unsolicited Text Messages

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By Molly Prince   A lawsuit was filed against Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s campaign Friday alleging the Texas senatorial hopeful sent constituents text messages despite not receiving permission to do so. Sameer Syeed, a resident of Collins County, filed the class action lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas Court,…

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SCOTUS Clears the Way For Voter ID Requirement In Key Senate Race

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by Kevin Daley   The U.S. Supreme Court will allow a North Dakota law requiring voters to produce government ID with a current residential street address when casting ballots to take effect. The decision, which came Tuesday and drew a brief dissent, will effect one November’s most critical Senate races. A group…

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Commentary: Make Thursday A National Day Of Prayer For Brett Kavanaugh And Family

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Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump

by George Rasley   Throughout the ordeal of his confirmation millions of Americans have been praying for Judge Brett Kavanaugh and his family. President Trump made the point that prayer was a necessary element of the battle to confirm Judge Kavanaugh in a September 25 tweet: The Democrats are playing…

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Next Step: Democrats Pledge To Investigate Kavanaugh, Float Impeachment If He’s Confirmed

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by Peter Hasson   Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh might keep facing political attacks from the left if he is confirmed to the nation’s highest court. Kavanaugh faced an onslaught of attacks from Democrats and liberal activists even before Palo Alto University professor Christine Blasey Ford accused him of drunkenly trying to force himself…

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Commentary: With Kavanaugh, the Democrats’ Second Verse Is the Same as the First – a Whole Lot Louder and a Whole Lot Worse

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by Jeffery Rendall   If one is great two (or more) is even better. You had to figure if there was at least one hardened and ambitious looney leftist willing to beclown herself in front of the whole country (by accusing Judge Brett Kavanaugh of a crime no one contemporaneously…

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Senator Bob Corker Calls New Kavanaugh Accusations ‘Thin;’ Process Feels ‘More Like A Circus’

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Bob Corker

by Henry Rodgers   Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker called the second allegation of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh “thin” Tuesday — saying he thinks the process feels “more like a circus.” The comment comes in light of Deborah Ramirez’s accusation that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in…

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Senate Judiciary Twitter Account Drops Fact Bombs On Democrats

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by Tim Pearce   The Senate Judiciary Committee struck back at Democrats Thursday for suggesting Republicans are stifling further investigation into Brett Kavanaugh after he was accused of committing sexual assault in high school. California researcher Christine Blasey Ford alleged Kavanaugh and one of his friends, Mark Judge, attempted to forcibly take…

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Commentary: A Nod Is as Good as a Wink to a Blind Horse as GOP Establishment Throws the Midterms to Democrats

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US Senate

by Bill Wilson   The old saying that “a nod is as good as a wink in a blind horse” came rushing to mind as I read an article at TheHill.com by Morgan Gstalter about an RNC internal poll.  It seems the Republican National Committee (RNC) spent money to find out that…

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EXCLUSIVE: Soros-Backed Activists Slip Cash To Anti-Kavanaugh Protesters Before Arrests

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by Peter Hasson and Joe Simonson   Left-wing groups funded by George Soros and other major Democratic donors hand out cash to protesters arrested for disrupting Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings, the activists revealed Monday night. A coalition of left-wing activist organizations including Women’s March, the Center for…

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Trump Gets Behind Senate Bill That Would End Gag Orders Against Pharmacists Sharing Money-Saving Information

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by Evie Fordham   President Donald Trump got behind a bill ending pharmacist gag clauses the Senate is set to vote on Monday afternoon. “Americans deserve to know the lowest drug price at their pharmacy, but ‘gag clauses’ prevent your pharmacist from telling you!” Trump tweeted Monday afternoon about the Patient Right to…

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Schumer, Feinstein Call For Delay On Kavanaugh, As GOP Gives Conflicting Signals

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Diane Feinstein, Chuck Schumer

by Kevin Daley   Senate Democratic leadership urged Republicans to delay further action on Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, after The Washington Post revealed the identity of a once-anonymous woman accusing the nominee of sexual assault when they were in high school. The accuser, a researcher…

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Michigan Republican John James Dings Opponent Debbie Stabenow For Taking Money From Drug Industry She Claims To Fight

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by Evie Fordham   Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow was called out by Republican challenger John James’s campaign for the disconnect in her anti-big pharma rhetoric and the roughly $400,000 she has received in campaign contributions from the drug industry. Stabenow published an ad about her opposition to high drug…

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Wisconsin GOP Senate Hopes Rely on Underdog Leah Vukmir

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Leah Vukmir is used to being the underdog. Few gave the Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Wisconsin much of a chance of defeating her better-funded primary challenger last month, but she prevailed thanks largely to support from the party establishment. Now Vukmir faces another opponent with deeper pockets – Democratic…

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Kavanaugh Supreme Court Confirmation Vote Puts Red State Democrats in a Bind

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by Robert Romano   Nine Senate Democrats are standing for reelection this year in states President Donald Trump carried in 2016: Jon Tester on Montana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Sherrod Brown of…

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Commentary: Will the Democrats’ Sad Shaming of Kavanaugh Ignite a Fury in the GOP Grassroots?

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Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearing

by Jeffery Rendall   With the confirmation hearings for Trump Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh now concluded talk slowly returns to the hot topic of the hour, the 2018 midterm elections. But first let’s digest the big glob of goopy phlegm America was forced to swallow last week, served up…

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Commentary: With His Return to the Senate, Does Arizona’s Jon Kyl Bring with Him Another Chance to Repeal Obamacare?

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Jon Kyl

by Robert Romano   Former Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) has been appointed by Arizona Republican Governor Doug Ducey to replace the late John McCain. With the new appointment comes a new opportunity for Republicans to complete one of their key 2016 campaign promises: To repeal and replace Obamacare before the 2018…

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Commentary: Democrats Flame Out While Kavanaugh Shines As Confirmation Hearing Ends Day Two

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by CHQ Staff   Americans who might have been wondering what Congress would be like if Democrats regain the majority in the midterm election got a taste of what government by the ascendant Far Left “progressive” wing of the Democratic Party would be like during yesterday’s Kavanaugh confirmation hearing and it…

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As Kavanaugh Hearings Loom, Democrat Sen. Klobuchar Regrets Abolishing Filibuster

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by Kevin Daley   Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said Sunday that her party should not have invoked the so-called nuclear option and abolished the legislative filibuster for judicial nominees. The remarks come just before Judge Brett Kavanaugh will appear for confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Republican lawmakers…

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Sherrod Brown Sides With Planned Parenthood and NARAL Against Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s Pick for Supreme Court

Anthony Accardi
Sherrod Brown

Facing re-election in November and pressure from his base, Ohio’s Democrat U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown put aside all pretense and let it be known he will not be voting for President Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. Brown came out Friday and announced he’d already made up his mind…

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Commentary: If Republicans Care About Winning in 2018 They’ll Play Follow the Leader

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President Trump rally

by Jeffrey A. Rendall   Here’s a little quiz for you: what do West Virginia, Montana, Missouri, Florida, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio have in common? It’s an easy one for close watchers of the upcoming 2018 midterm elections, since all of these are states President Donald…

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Commentary: It’s Up To Conservatives To Nationalize The 2018 Midterm Election

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by Richard Viguerie   For many years I’ve been telling the GOP establishment that Republicans never win a big election unless they nationalize the election – that means drawing a clear contrast with the Democrats and giving the voters “a tune they can whistle” on big conservative themes. The Republican…

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RNC Breaks Yet Another Fundraising Record In July

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Rhonna McDaniel

by Hanna Bogorowski   The Republican National Committee (RNC) raised a record-breaking $14.2 million in July, the most the organization has ever raised for that month in a non-presidential year, bringing its cycle total to $227.2 million. The RNC reports having $41.9 million cash on-hand and zero dollars in debt.…

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The Same Successful Reforms From the ‘VA Accountability Act’ Could Apply to Rest of Government if MERIT Act Passes

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Barry Loudermilk, David Perdue

By Natalia Castro   Labor Day – coming up on September 3rd – presents a pivotal opportunity for Members of Congress. As members of the House return from recess and just eight weeks before midterms, representatives can show their support for American workers by passing bipartisan civil service reform. In the…

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Gravis Poll Says Lee Leading Dean by 11; Blackburn Over Bredesen by 4

Steve Gill
Phil Bredesen, Marsha Blackburn, Bill Lee, Karl Dean

A new post-primary poll conducted by Gravis Marketing shows the Tennessee Republican candidates for Governor and Senate leading their Democratic Party opponents. The poll of likely November voters indicates that Bill Lee has an 11 point margin over Karl Dean, with 9% uncertain, in the Governor’s race. In the Senate…

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Trump Tax Cuts At Risk: Democrats Conspire to Repeal While Record Low Unemployment Surges

Julie Carr
Steve Gill

Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill discussed on Monday’s edition of The Gill Report – broadcast on Knoxville’s 92.3 FM WETR – how Democrats are conspiring to repeal the Trump tax cuts while record low unemployment among Hispanic and African-Americans surge and the federal government rakes in a record amount of…

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Commentary: Left Working Furiously To Bury Feinstein Chinese Spy Story

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Dianne Feinstein

by CHQ Staff   The revelation that California Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office manager was a Chinese spy has generated a huge backlash, but not against the liberal Senator. Instead of prompting a deeper media or government probe of the former Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence the experience…

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Supreme Court Nominee Kavanaugh’s Confirmation Hearings to Begin September 4

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Brett Kavanaugh

by Fred Lucas   The confirmation hearings for federal appeals court Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to become the next Supreme Court justice will begin on Sept. 4 and last three to four days, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, announced Friday. Grassley’s announcement comes as Senate Democrats sought to…

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All Signs Suggest Russell Lowe Is Feinstein’s Former Staffer Who’s Accused Of Being A Chinese Spy

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Dianne Feinstein

by Peter Hasson    – It was reported that Democratic California Sen. Dianne Feinstein employed a Chinese spy.  – Her longtime staffer, Russell Lowe, fits the description of the reported spy.  – Feinstein’s office refused to comment on whether Lowe was the spy. All the details of a former, longtime Sen.…

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Bredesen Makes His Case for Republican Votes in New Ad Featuring Favorable Republican Comments

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Scottie Hughes, Phil Bredesen

A new sixty second digital ad from the Phil Bredesen campaign is targeting Republican votes by promoting carefully selective clips of Republicans saying good things about his time as Governor. The ad features comments from former Trump surrogate and conservative commentator Scottie Hughes, Tennessee Congressman Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-03), frequent Trump…

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