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Juan Williams: Will GOP women stand with Cheney?

Karma?  

A new political action committee, or PAC, aimed at preventing former President Trump from ever coming close to the Oval Office again is being led by a woman. 

And Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is likely to be arm-in-arm with several other Republican women in taking a defiant stand against Trump. 

Bobbie Kilberg, a major GOP fundraiser who helped Cheney raise money in the past, told the Wall Street Journal last week the congresswoman “will have plenty of money” to fund her fight against Trump inside the GOP. 

Cheney might get support from Elaine Chao and Betsy DeVos, two prominent Republican women.  

They both resigned from Trump’s cabinet to protest his role in inciting the mob attack of Jan. 6, 2021, on the Capitol. 

And don’t forget these three women, conservative and TV-friendly, ready to follow Cheney’s lead: 

Carly Fiorina, the businesswoman and former presidential candidate; Christine Todd Whitman, the former governor of New Jersey; and Barbara Comstock, the former Virginia congresswoman. All are willing to pay the political price for calling out Republicans who have fallen under Trump’s spell. 

Then there is Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) who, like Cheney, voted to impeach the then-president and went on to lose her GOP primary to a Trump-backed challenger. She has no regrets about being punished in the primary for defying Trump. 

“I always told the truth, stuck to my principles, and did what I knew to be best for our country,” she said after her defeat. 

Another woman in the fight looks to be a political winner despite defying Trump: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). 

Her reelection bid survived the primaries even though she is in a red state and is one of the seven Senate Republicans to vote to convict Trump after his second impeachment. 

Then there are the younger women. 

One former Trump White House aide, Cassidy Hutchinson, caused a sensation in late June with her damning evidence to the House Select Committee investigating Jan. 6. Former deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews testified the following month, while former director of strategic communications Alyssa Farah Griffin has become a high-profile Trump critic through her frequent media appearances. 

Six years ago, Trump trafficked in sexist rhetoric to defeat a woman, Hillary Clinton. He was infamously recorded on the “Access Hollywood” tape boasting about how stardom means “you can do anything…grab [women] by the p–ssy.” He said tough debate questioning from journalist Megyn Kelly was because she had “blood coming out of her wherever.” He denigrated his former aide, Omarosa Manigault Newman, a Black woman, as a “dog.”  

Oh, and let’s not forget, he nominated three Supreme Court justices who voted to end abortion rights for American women. 

Now for the payback. 

Cheney, vice-chair of the Jan 6. Committee, will have a national spotlight to lead her brigade of women warriors for the rest of this Congress. 

And she will have her new PAC, apparently to be called “The Great Task.” The name is an allusion to President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.  

Lincoln famously called on Americans to honor those who died in the Civil War by being “dedicated to the great task remaining before us” — ensuring the U.S. remains a democracy. 

Cheney sees herself protecting democracy in the 21^st century. She has contempt for the men cowering before Trump. 

In a new book, she is quoted delivering scathing criticism of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). 

“Where Kevin is like full-on public embrace [of Trump], McConnell is: Ignore and hope he goes away. And that just doesn’t work,” she told Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin for their book “This Will Not Pass.” 

Cheney raised more than $13 million for her failed primary bid against a Trump-backed candidate. At the end of July, she still had around $7 million left, which could yet be used in her broader fight against Trump. 

Speaking to her supporters on election night, Cheney made her future plain: “We must be very clear-eyed about the threat we face and about what is required to defeat it. I have said since January 6 that I will do whatever it takes to ensure Donald Trump is never again anywhere near the Oval Office.”  

“I’m a conservative Republican… I love what our party has stood for,” she said. “But I love my country more.” 

An Economist/YouGov poll last week found women favoring Democrats by 14 points in the coming midterm elections while men leaned toward the GOP by two points. Smart GOP strategists and conservative pundits have always understood the gender gap is their Achilles’ heel in elections.  

Ann Coulter has always been fond of pointing out that “in every presidential election since 1950 — except [Barry] Goldwater in ’64 — the Republican would have won, if only the men had voted.” 

Republicans are trying to counter the gender gap by fielding pro-Trump MAGA firebrands who parrot the Big Lie of 2020 election fraud — like Harriet Hageman, the attorney who defeated Cheney in the GOP primary last week. There are more like her, including Arizona gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Michigan gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon. 

History will remember them as selling out for short-term political gain. 

If the Party of Lincoln can be saved from becoming a “cult,” to quote Cheney, it will be due to courageous women willing to shoulder the burden of history.  

Now is the time for all good Republican women to come to the aid of the party and their country.  

Now is their time to stand with Liz.  

Juan Williams is an author, and a political analyst for Fox News Channel. 

Source: TEST FEED1

What’s at stake in Angola’s elections — and why it matters to America

This week’s general elections in Angola may be among the most consequential elections on the continent in some time. So, why have they attracted so little attention from the U.S. government?

While the Biden administration understandably has been focused on the volatile electoral contest in Kenya, many of the concerns raised by those elections — the potential for electoral violence, regional instability, foreign authoritarian influence, and economic considerations — are also at stake in Angola.

The upcoming elections are expected to be the most competitive in the country’s post-independence history, which has been dominated by the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). Frustrations with incumbent President João Lourenço’s handling of key concerns such as the economic downturn and high levels of corruption have driven support for the newly-formed, UNITA-led opposition coalition, the United Patriotic Front (FPU) — particularly among youth. The MPLA has responded to this development by using its parliamentary supermajority to pass new electoral legislation that will significantly undermine electoral transparency and integrity.

In short, all the ingredients are present for election-related violence and instability no matter which side prevails.

Why should this matter to the United States? For the past few decades, America has relied on Angola to engage in security and peace operations in the Great Lakes region. Angola has been a neutral ground hosting several visits between Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Félix Tshisekedi to discuss the ongoing border conflict between Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC, and has led mediation efforts on this issue. The Luanda government has taken in thousands of refugees from the DRC over the years.

Given its reliance on Angola to play peacemaker in regional conflicts, Washington has been wary of publicly criticizing the Angolan government for missteps and treatment of opposition and democracy activists. Yet by holding back in this way, the U.S. inadvertently could contribute to post-election instability and thus undermine Angola’s ability to play a constructive role in the region.

Russia and China — both of which have historical ties to the MPLA — are poised to benefit from such political instability. As the National Security Council’s Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa notes, “Democratic setbacks have widened openings for undue foreign influence” across the region. Notably, Angola was one of 17 African countries that abstained from the March 2022 United Nations General Assembly vote condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while China’s status as Angola’s largest trading partner and loan provider illustrates the necessity of maintaining that relationship. While the MPLA’s ties with Russia and China are not nearly as close as during the Cold War or the early 2000s respectively, President Lourenço could fall further into their orbit if his grip on power weakens and instability festers.

As America’s third largest Sub-Saharan trading partner and the second largest oil exporter in Africa, Angola’s stability is also relevant to our economic interests. American-owned telecom firm Africell, whose recent forays into the Angolan market were buoyed by a $100 million loan from the U.S. Development Finance Corporation, provides an example of U.S. foreign direct investment in the country and its geopolitical importance. Election-related instability could upend these positive economic developments and would put the progress made through U.S. development assistance at risk.

As Election Day approaches, the United States must be prepared to use its significant influence in Angola to press the government to hold free, fair and credible elections, and should be prepared to condemn any reports of irregularities, electoral violence or arbitrary arrests of political opponents. In the long term, the U.S. government should increase U.S. financial and technical support for democracy and governance capacity-building programs for institutions such as the National Election Commission (CNE) and the judiciary, and for civil society organizations, independent media and political parties.

When Angolans head to the polls this week, they should be able to do so with the confidence that every vote will count. America has a compelling moral and strategic interest in ensuring that this important partner does not slide toward instability and must be prepared to stand up for democracy in Angola.

Jenai Cox is the regional deputy director for Africa at the International Republican Institute, where Mike Brodo (@MikeBrodo) serves as a program associate for Southern Africa.

Source: TEST FEED1

Indiana's Republican governor leads latest US delegation to Taiwan

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) arrived in Taiwan on Sunday, leading the latest U.S. delegation to the self-governing island amid heightened tensions with China following Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) visit earlier this month.

Holcomb’s office said the delegation, which includes state and Purdue University officials, would meet with Taiwanese officials during a two-day trip to strengthen economic and academic ties. The group will then travel to Seoul, South Korea for two days.

“I couldn’t be more energized to spend this week building new relationships, reinforcing long time ones and strengthening key sector partnerships with Taiwan and South Korea,” Holcomb said in a statement. 

“This week marks my second trip to South Korea as governor, and I am also proud to be the first U.S. governor to visit Taiwan since before the COVID-19 pandemic,” he continued. “I’m committed to building an economy of the future with these global partners who are helping propel Indiana forward by creating tomorrow’s businesses, today.”

The trip comes after Taiwanese semiconductor giant MediaTek in June announced a partnership with Purdue University to create a new semiconductor design center.

“The unprecedented economic progress Indiana has secured this year doesn’t happen without like-minded partners here and around the world,” Indiana Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers said in a statement. “A shared commitment to innovation and collaboration is key to continuing our success, and I’m thrilled to spend the week strengthening that collaboration with our friends in Taiwan and South Korea.”

The U.S. semiconductor industry has been a recent focus for lawmakers. President Biden signed a bill earlier this month that will invest billions to incentivize domestic semiconductor production, legislation aimed at making the U.S. more competitive with China and addressing supply chain challenges.

Holcomb’s trip is the latest U.S. delegation to visit Taiwan in recent weeks. A five-member delegation of lawmakers visited the island earlier this month, just days after Pelosi became the highest-ranking U.S. official to land on Taiwan in 25 years.

Pelosi’s visit greatly angered Beijing, which views Taiwan as part of its territory and wants to reunify the mainland with the self-governing, democratic island.

Under the longstanding “One China” policy, the United States acknowledges Beijing’s claim to the island while it also vows to honor the Taiwan Relations Act, which commits the U.S. to help the island defend itself if China invades.

China responded to Pelosi’s visit by conducting military drills for multiple days near the island after she left Taiwan. China also launched additional drills following the subsequent visit by lawmakers.

Source: TEST FEED1

Liz Cheney says Hawley, Cruz 'made themselves unfit for future office'

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) on Sunday said it would be “very difficult” for her to support Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) or Ted Cruz (R-Texas) after they objected to Electoral College votes on Jan. 6, 2021.

Cheney told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl that both Ivy League-educated senators “know better.”

“Both of whom know exactly what the role of Congress is in terms of our constitutional obligations with respect to presidential elections, and yet, both of whom took steps that fundamentally threatened the constitutional order and structure in the aftermath of the last election,” she said. “So in my view, they both have made themselves unfit for future office.”

Cheney on Tuesday lost her primary to Harriet Hageman, a former ally who was backed by former President Trump and has supported unfounded claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

The Wyoming congresswoman has been an unapologetic critic of Trump, voting to impeach him and serving as the vice chairwoman of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

She has repeatedly criticized the former president and his allies who back his election fraud claims.

“It would be very difficult,” Cheney said when asked if she could support Cruz, Hawley and others who have closely tied themselves to Trump. 

“I think that a fundamental question for me in terms of whether or not someone is fit to be president is whether they’ve abided by their constitutional obligations in the past,” she said.

Cruz and Hawley are both seen as considering future White House bids, while Cheney is planning to launch a political group to keep Trump allies out of office.

Cheney also took aim at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has recently campaigned in battleground states for candidates backed by Trump and is speculated to be weighing a 2024 presidential bid himself.

“I think that DeSantis is somebody who is, right now, campaigning for election deniers,” Cheney said on ABC. 

“And I think that is something that I think people have got to have real pause about,” she continued. “Either you fundamentally believe in and will support our constitutional structure, or you don’t.”

Cheney after her loss told NBC’s Savannah Guthrie that she was also thinking about running for president.

“Look, you run for president because you believe you would be the best candidate, because you believe you’d be the best president of the United States,” Cheney said on ABC. “And so, any decision that I make about doing something that significant and that serious would be with the intention of winning and because I think I would be the best candidate.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Former Pakistan PM Khan charged under antiterrorism act after fiery speech

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was charged under Pakistan’s antiterrorism law on Sunday, after delivering a speech on Saturday threatening senior police officers and a judge, according to multiple reports.

The New York Times reported Khan, who was ousted in April through a no-confidence vote, railed during a rally in Islamabad against officials involved in the arrest of one of his top aides.

“We will not spare you,” Khan said, per the Times.

The Islamabad Capital Police chairman said in a statement posted to Twitter that the department would take “legal action” against “all false allegations.”

“Islamabad Police will continue its duties diligently,” the statement read.

“Anyone making threats or allegations will be dealt with according to law,” it continued. “Islamabad Police takes its work seriously for the people and the country.”

Fawad Chaudhry, who served in Khan’s cabinet, tweeted multiple videos showing crowds of people gathering outside the former prime minister’s residence Sunday. Khan has reportedly not yet been arrested.

Earlier on Sunday, Khan on Twitter accused the Pakistani government of blocking YouTube in the country and banning live coverage of his speeches on television.

“This is not only a gross violation of freedom of speech but also negatively affects the digital media industry and the livelihoods of many,” he tweeted. 

Khan was ousted as prime minister in April, and Shehbaz Sharif, a member of the Pakistani Muslim League party, succeeded him. Khan has charged his opponents with colluding with the United States.

Source: TEST FEED1

Who is Daria Dugina, the Russian woman killed by a car bomb in Moscow?

A car bomb exploded in Moscow on Saturday night killing Russian commentator Daria Dugina, the daughter of nationalist philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, according to Russian authorities. 

Investigations are reportedly ongoing, according to a Telegram post from the Russian Investigative Committee, and the committee suspects the incident was premeditated.

The father-daughter pair had reportedly attended a festival outside Moscow just before the incident, and an device beneath Dugina’s Toyota Land Cruiser exploded as she was driving away.

According to the BBC, the 29-year-old and her father were initially set to leave the festival in the same car, leading some to suspect Dugin was the intended target of any attack. 

Dugina was designated for sanctions by both the United States and the United Kingdom earlier this year for propagating online disinformation about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

The U.S. noted Dugina was chief editor of United World International, which reportedly shared disinformation and suggested Ukraine would “perish” if it became part of NATO. Her father was associated with the website Geopolitica, which allegedly published false accusations that the U.S. and NATO provoked war with Russia. 

The U.K. sanctioned Dugina as “a frequent and high-profile contributor of disinformation in relation to Ukraine and the Russian invasion of Ukraine on various online platforms.”

Dugina was outspoken in her support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to the Washington Post, and a proponent of her father’s geopolitical theories.

“This is liberal totalitarianism, this is liberal fascism, this is Western totalitarianism,” Dugina said of what she thinks Russia is fighting in an interview shortly before her death, per the New York Times.

Dubbed “Putin’s Brain” in a 2014 Foreign Affairs profile, Dugin touts Eurasianism and nationalist ideas of Russian expansion to quash U.S. power. The exact relationship between Dugin and Putin is not clear.

No party immediately claimed responsibility for Saturday’s bombing and Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn’t yet issued comment, but some Russians have moved to blame Ukraine, per the New York Times. 

An advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that “Ukraine certainly had nothing to do with yesterday’s explosion. We are not a criminal state like the Russian Federation, much less a terrorist one.”

In the wake of Dugina’s death and ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day, Zelensky has warned of Russian escalation.

“We should be aware that this week Russia may try to do something particularly nasty, something particularly cruel,” Zelensky said in an address to Ukrainians.

Source: TEST FEED1

Arkansas police officers suspended amid probe into beating caught on camera

Three Arkansas police officers have been placed on leave after they were caught on camera beating an individual in the town of Mulberry, authorities said on Sunday.

A video posted by KARK 4 News’s Mitchell McCoy shows two officers repeatedly punching and kicking the individual’s head and body as a third officer kept the person pinned down. At one point, one of the officers appears to slam the individual’s head into the ground.

It is not clear as to how the encounter began or why the officers pursued the individual.

“In reference to the video circulating social media involving two Crawford County deputies, we have requested that Arkansas State Police conduct the investigation, and the deputies have been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation,” the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

“I hold all my employees accountable for their actions and will take appropriate measures in this matter,” the statement continued.

The Mulberry Police Department issued a similar statement, saying one of its employees was the third officer involved and had been placed on leave.

“The Arkansas State Police have been asked to investigate the incident,” the statement read. 

“The officer is on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation,” it continued. “The City of Mulberry and the Mulberry Police Department takes these investigations very seriously and holds all their officers accountable for their actions.  We will take the appropriate actions at the conclusion of the investigation.”

Mulberry is located roughly 20 miles northeast of Fort Smith, Ark.

The Hill has reached out to Arkansas State Police for comment.

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CNN's Acosta clashes with Trump's former DHS chief over election 'lies'

CNN anchor Jim Acosta clashed with former acting Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Chad Wolf on Sunday over his claims of election fraud.

The exchange quickly became heated as Acosta pushed Wolf, who served under former President Trump, to say whether President Biden justly won the last election.

“Who won the 2020 election?” Acosta asked after Wolf expressed concern over voter fraud and irregularities.

“Obviously Joe Biden is president,” the former HHS secretary responded.

“No, no, no,” Acosta retorted. “Do you believe that he won that election fair and square?”

Wolf again answered the question indirectly.

“Joe Biden is president,” Wolf said, adding that he didn’t have all of the evidence needed to conclude that Biden’s victory was legitimate.

Wolf cited Wisconsin’s use of drop boxes to back up his claims of fraud, noting that polling consistently shows a lack of confidence in election security among Americans.

“There are a number of irregularities, illegalities and fraud,” Wolf said before Acosta interrupted.

“Not enough to alter the outcome of the election,” the CNN anchor shot back.

Acota slammed Wolf, accusing him of undermining democracy and leading Americans down a “path of lies.”

“It sounds like you’ve watched one too many conspiracy theories on the 2020 election,” Acosta said as the segment came to a close.

Trump and his political allies have repeatedly pushed baseless claims that the previous presidential election was stolen.

Many Republicans have embraced the narrative as part of their campaigns during the ongoing midterm elections, including GOP nominees for secretary of state in states including Wyoming and Arizona.

Source: TEST FEED1

Trump accuses 'crazy' former transportation secretary Elaine Chao of trying to 'get rich on China'

Former President Trump on Saturday called his former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao “crazy” and accused her and her family of working to “get rich on China.” 

Trump’s attack came in a TruthSocial post knocking Chao’s husband, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), for saying the GOP might face a tight race to flip the Senate, in part due to “candidate quality.”

“Why do Republicans Senators allow a broken down hack politician, Mitch McConnell, to openly disparage hard working Republican candidates for the United States Senate,” Trump wrote. 

“This is such an affront to honor and to leadership. He should spend more time (and money!) helping them get elected, and less time helping his crazy wife and family get rich on China!”

The Hill has reached out to Chao and McConnell for comment.

Chao’s father founded the Chinese shipping company Foremost Group, and her sister is the CEO.

Though Chao had no formal ties to the business, she and McConnell both faced criticism over her potential conflicts of interest during her time in the White House, and whether she used government resources to support her family’s business.

Appointed by Trump in 2017, Chao reportedly didn’t disclose her family’s affiliation with Foremost Group during her confirmation hearing.

A key point of concern was Chao’s continued media appearances with her father even after assuming office, which her team reportedly countered were opportunities to share her story as the first Chinese-American and Asian-American woman to hold a Cabinet position.

Chao split her support when her husband and boss began feuding during Trump’s time in office, reportedly saying, “I stand by my man — both of them.”

Chao resigned after the Jan. 6, 2021 attacks on the U.S. Capitol. After her resignation, the Justice Department declined to pursue an ethics probe into how she used her position. 

Trump has lambasted McConnell as “disloyal,” though the minority leader has said he’d back a 2024 reelection bid if the former president wins the GOP nomination.

McConnell has been managing midterm expectations in recent weeks, saying on Thursday that Republicans have a better chance of flipping the House than the Senate.

“I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate. Senate races are just different — they’re statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome,” he said.

His comments come after a number of Trump-backed candidates won the GOP nomination in key battleground states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Georgia.

Source: TEST FEED1