Steve Bannon pointed out in an X post that Merrick Garland‚ our Attorney General‚ the top law enforcement officer in the nation‚ is pushing for a speedy trial for President Trump. The only reason to rush this is to make sure they get to imprison him before the election. It’s massive election interference. On Friday […] The post AG Garland Pushes for a Speedy Trial [for Penalties That Carry 100 Years in Prison] appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

“In Davos‚ Donald Trump is already the president‚” Open Society Foundations Chairman Alex Soros told a panel at the World Economic Forum on Friday. “That’s a good thing because the Davos consensus is always wrong‚” he said. “Donald Trump owns the Republican Party. We’re in something I like to call the Trump cycle‚ because I […] The post Alex Soros Says Davos Elite Predict Trump Will Win &; It’s a Good Thing appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Scott Ziegler‚ the superintendent of Loudoun County‚ Virginia’s schools who was fired after concealing a rape and criminally convicted of retaliating against a teacher who was cooperating with the grand jury looking into the coverup‚ appeared in court on Thursday expecting to be sentenced—but had his sentencing postponed after asking a judge to overturn the jury’s verdict on a technicality. Materials submitted by his attorney indicated no remorse or acceptance of responsibility‚ without which defendants are typically given harsher sentences. Instead‚ he submitted letters brimming with partisan rage that seemed to blame Republicans for the coverup. Ziegler was convicted in September of violating the State and Local Government Conflicts of Interest Act‚ a misdemeanor that could carry up to a year in jail. In a post-conviction motion to set aside the verdict‚ Ziegler claimed he did not know he was not allowed to retaliate‚ and only “knowing” violations of the Act are a crime. His lawyer‚ Erin Harrigan‚ never argued that at trial‚ and said she noticed the language after re-reading the law after his conviction. Prosecutors shot back that the last-ditch effort was too little‚ too late‚ and provided evidence showing that Harrigan consented to the jury instructions relied upon to reach the verdict. They also said he knew it was illegal to use his position to retaliate for numerous reasons‚ including that he is on video participating in a school board meeting that went over the ethics act. Harrigan’s attorney previously argued he could only be prosecuted for violating the Act by the “local” Commonwealth’s Attorney—at the time a Democrat—but not a special prosecutor for the attorney general‚ who is a Republican. In a letter to the judge in an attempt to influence his sentence‚ his wife‚ Lisa Ziegler‚ lashed out in partisan tones‚ saying Ziegler’s “name and reputation have been dragged through the mud for political gain. Politicians‚ interlopers‚ and outsiders have accused him of using his position for political gain.” She said her husband was not part of the “leftest [sic] global cabal‚” and quoted at length from Joe Biden. She blamed Gov. Glenn Youngkin–not the conduct for which a local jury convicted Ziegler‚ or the false statement about the rape caught on video—for his plight‚ saying‚ “[O]ur family has been rocked to the core so an ambitious billionaire could gain some electoral points in Northern Virginia.” In another letter‚ a top Loudoun County Public Schools official defended him‚ making it difficult for LCPS to argue that with Ziegler fired‚ it has corrected its problems. (Indeed‚ LCPS has continued to seemingly try to cover up its coverups by refusing Freedom of Information Act requests.) “Dr. Ziegler took great care to ensure that his decisions and actions were not only in line with School Board policies and the Code of Virginia but also aligned with a broader sense of ethical responsibility‚” LCPS Chief Human Resources Officer Lisa Boland wrote. Another LCPS employee‚ executive assistant Michelle Walker‚ seemed to blame Republicans for Ziegler covering up a rape to pass a transgender policy. She alleged a conspiracy theory in which a “coordinated‚ nationwide political strategy” was “executed at [his] door” to “turn the tide of public opinion.” The Daily Wire’s Virginia-based education reporter broke the story cited by the grand jury in the course of covering other issues in the district‚ and ran the story in October 2021 not because there was an election the next month‚ but rather because the rapist Ziegler let remain in school had just struck again. Ziegler seemed to throw school board members under the bus in a bid for a lenient sentence‚ presenting letters of praise from school board members after they knew of the rape coverup‚ but before he was fired. One praised him for being a “lightning rod” that took criticism on their behalf. The school board was aware of Ziegler’s actions because of an internal law firm investigation they commissioned and kept secret‚ but they only fired him when similar evidence became known to the public thanks to a report from a grand jury. You have “served us by serving as a lighting for in order to defect [sic] partisan attacks‚” then-board member Tom Marshall wrote to Ziegler in a letter. Vice-chair Ian Serotkin complained of “unrelenting and unfair national scrutiny” and the “way you have been demonized.” School board chair Jeff Morse wrote that he suffered “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” and the “board support you.” On Thursday‚ prosecutor Brandon Wrobleski told the judge that “He knew he couldn’t do a retaliatory firing.” He reminded the judge that at trial‚ school board member John Beatty testified under oath that Ziegler told board members he was firing teacher Erin Brooks for cooperating with the grand jury investigating sexual assaults‚ and because he (falsely) believed Brooks had spoken to a conservative activist. Wrobleski said during the board meeting where Ziegler used a parliamentary maneuver to quietly end Brooks’ contract‚ another board member‚ Denise Corbo‚ asked him about it‚ only to be met with a strange reaction. “Jeff Morse shut Corbo up‚” Wrobleski said. Whereas Beatty had a clear memory of what happened‚ Morse “testified on Ziegler’s behalf and said he couldn’t remember anything‚” Wrobleski said Thursday. Another Democrat board member invoked attorney-client privilege to refuse to say what had happened‚ and Ziegler did not testify on his own behalf. After hearing the arguments Thursday‚ Judge Douglas Fleming postponed the sentencing so that he could consider Ziegler’s motion to overturn the jury’s verdict.

Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray submitted an amicus brief on Friday in support of former President Donald Trump’s appeal to the Supreme Court to keep him on the Colorado 2024 presidential primary ballot.  In the court filing‚ Gray argued that the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to kick Trump off the ballot was wrongfully decided and unconstitutional. The court ruled that Trump was ineligible under the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment in December. Gray said that the decision was unprecedented and “outrageously wrong.” “As Secretaries of State‚ we must stop the radical Left’s unAmerican and unconstitutional attempts to weaponize the Fourteenth Amendment against Trump and the American People‚” he said. “Despite the repeated attacks I have received from the radical left-wing media for my efforts to ensure that Trump will be able to be on the ballot‚ I will continue to unapologetically defend the truth and ensure that the people of Wyoming can choose who to elect for themselves.” In the filing‚ Gray said that he had an interest in the case as the decision disenfranchised millions of voters and harmed voter confidence in elections nationwide‚ including in Wyoming. The brief says that Trump did not engage in insurrection and or that he gave aid to the enemies of the United States.  The brief was filed on behalf of Gray by America First Legal and Stone Hilton PLLC. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP “The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision is completely inconsistent with the text and historical interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Secretary Gray is an American patriot committed to the rule of law‚ and we are thrilled to be able to file this brief on his behalf‚” said AFL Vice President Gene Hamilton. The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on Trump’s appeal‚ but is set to hear arguments on February 8‚ with Colorado’s primary set to take place on March 5. In a brief filed to the court on Thursday‚ Trump said that “chaos” would be unleashed if the Supreme Court upheld his removal from the ballot.  “The court should put a swift and decisive end to these ballot-disqualification efforts‚ which threaten to disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans and which promise to unleash chaos and bedlam if other state courts and state officials follow Colorado’s lead and exclude the likely Republican presidential nominee from their ballots‚” his legal team wrote.

Much of the staff at Sports Illustrated‚ including possibly all of its writers‚ received layoff notices on Friday‚ according to the union representing the workers at the publication. The layoffs come less than two months after the magazine was caught publishing AI-generated stories‚ authors‚ and photos.   The Sports Illustrated Union wrote that on Friday “workers of Sports Illustrated were notified that The Arena Group is planning to lay off a significant number‚ possibly all‚ of the Guild-represented workers at SI.” The pending layoffs come after Authentic Brands Group (ABG) revoked The Arena Group’s license “to publish at SI‚” the union’s statement added.  ABG has owned Sports Illustrated since 2019 and sold the publishing rights to The Arena Group‚ but The Arena Group missed a payment for those rights recently‚ which resulted in ABG pulling the publishing license‚ The Washington Post reported.  “As a result of this license revocation‚ we will be laying off staff that work on the SI brand‚” a note to staff reportedly read. The note added that some of the staff would be laid off immediately while others would work until the end of the 90-day notice period.  “This is another difficult day in what has been a difficult four years for Sports Illustrated under Arena Group (previously The Maven) stewardship‚” the union said in a statement. “We are calling on ABG to ensure the continued publication of SI and allow it to serve our audience in the way it has for nearly 70 years.” A report by Futurism in November revealed that Sports Illustrated appeared to have been publishing AI-generated content attributed to fake authors — complete with bogus biographies and headshots. When asked about the content by Futurism‚ Sports Illustrated allegedly deleted the AI-created writers and profiles along with the content generated by AI. Sports Illustrated CEO Ross Levinsohn was then fired by The Arena Group in December.  The magazine has been one of the most successful sports publications since it was first published in 1954. Sports Illustrated is known for the iconic photos that have graced its covers and for its annual swimsuit issue which was first published in 1964. The magazine faced backlash in 2021 after putting a man who identifies as a woman on the cover of its swimsuit edition‚ touting model Leyna Bloom as the “first trans person of color to appear on our pages.” Last year‚ Sports Illustrated featured a transgender model again on its swimsuit edition cover‚ lauding Kim Petras as “an icon in the LGBTQ+ community.”  CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP The first issue of Sports Illustrated featured Milwaukee Braves star Eddie Mathews batting at home plate with New York Giants catcher Wes Westrum behind him. The cover of the latest issue showed Michigan’s college football national championship victory over Washington earlier this month. 

Actress Kate Beckinsale is not pleased that her late stepfather Roy Battersby may be left out of an upcoming “In Memoriam” segment which will air during the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards‚ which is the British equivalent of Hollywood’s Academy Awards. The 50-year-old actress posted a lengthy update on Instagram about the situation. She mentioned how her stepfather died January 10 from a stroke and that BAFTA organizers told her that they couldn’t guarantee Battersby would be included in their “In Memoriam segment‚” a response which Beckinsale found unacceptable. “So a man dead less than a week somehow has to audition in front of a committee after a decades long career to decide IF his death is worth mentioning‚” the “Pearl Harbor” actress shared Thursday with her 5.6 million Instagram followers.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Kate Beckinsale (@katebeckinsale) The actress posted the message alongside a photo of her stepfather‚ her mother‚ and herself from the 1996 BAFTAs. At the time‚ he received the Alan Clarke Award for his work as a television director‚ per E News. “That has broken my heart all over again. I am paralysed‚ sick and sickened and I will honour him and his work every day of my life‚” she wrote in part in her post. “So thanks again‚ BAFTA for your horribly cold email.” Beckinsale’s mother is English television actress Judy Loe. Her mom was married to Battersby from 1997 until his death this year. Beckinsale’s father is actor Richard Beckinsale‚ to whom Loe was married from 1977 until his death in 1979. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP The issue of celebrities being left off “In Memoriam” tributes has come up recently. Fans of daytime talk show host Jerry Springer were shocked when The Emmys failed to mention the late TV star. Emmy producer Jesse Collins told Entertainment Tonight that selecting who gets memorialized is one of the “hardest parts of the show.” “The selection process is handled by the Television Academy‚ so we focus more on the creative side of it‚” the producer told ET. “And it’s just about making sure that when we are acknowledging someone we give them their just due and it’s respectful and loving‚ and we just try to make sure that we accomplish that.” TV fans noticed that the “In Memoriam” segment on this years Emmy Awards was also missing other prominent TV stars who passed last year besides Springer‚ including Raquel Welch and Ray Stevenson. This year’s BAFTA’s will air on February 18‚ 2024.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) urged thousands of pro-life demonstrators at the March for Life on Friday in Washington‚ D.C.‚ to help cultivate a culture of life and continue to support women who may be considering abortions.  As snow fell down‚ Johnson told the crowd that they were all there to “celebrate life and what it means to be an American‚” pointing to America’s founding and the right to life found in the Declaration of Independence. The march‚ the second since the overturning of Roe v. Wade‚ was expected to attract tens of thousands of pro-life demonstrators.  “Every single person has inestimable dignity and value. Your value is not related in any way to the color of your skin or what zip code you live in‚ how good you are in sports‚ where you went to high school‚ it’s irrelevant. Your value is inherent because it is given to you by your creator‚” Johnson said.  The House speaker added that he was the product of an unplanned pregnancy and was grateful that his parents chose life.  ”We have to build a culture that encourages and assists more and more people to make that same decision. This is a critical time to help all moms who are facing unplanned pregnancies‚ to work with foster children‚ and to help families who are adopting‚ to volunteer and assist our vital pregnancy resource centers and our maternity homes‚ and to reach a renewed hand of compassion and to speak the truth in love‚” he said.  Other speakers at the march included Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)‚ University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh‚ former NFL football player Benjamin Watson‚ and other pro-life and Christian leaders.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP Footage posted on X showed massive crowds gathered to hear the speeches before the start of the march.  Despite the second DC snowfall in a week‚ the 51st annual @March_for_Life is as far as the eye can see. #ProLife #MarchForLife pic.twitter.com/GuKWDSQ2HH — Greg Price (@greg_price11) January 19‚ 2024 The march comes after several pro-life defeats at the state level as voters in some states have enshrined abortion into their constitutions. These efforts have been largely funded by Left-wing activists and have heavily outspent pro-life campaigns.  Johnson has been facing pressure from some Republicans in Congress to put forward more pro-life legislation in the coming year. House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good (R-VA) said that many Republicans would be “disappointed and upset” if more pro-life measures were not approved in 2024. “You’re not going to get everything that you want when you have divided government‚” Good told POLITICO. “But the House majority ought to count for something. We should get at least half of what we want‚ shouldn’t we?” On Friday‚ 10 congressional Republicans sent a letter to Johnson demanding that the Department of Defense’s appropriations bill prohibit taxpayer dollars from being spent on travel for service members to obtain abortions.

University of Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh‚ who led his team to a national championship victory over the Washington Huskies earlier this month‚ briefly addressed the crowd gathered for the 51st annual March for Life in Washington‚ D.C.‚ on Friday.  Harbaugh appeared on stage to introduce one of the rally’s speakers‚ former NFL tight end Benjamin Watson‚ but before he introduced Watson‚ the Michigan coach gave the crowd some encouragement.  “Thank you all for being here. It’s a great example that you’re setting‚” Harbaugh said. “It’s a testimony to the sanctity of life.”  “It’s a great day for a march!” Harbaugh added as snow fell on the crowd that had braved the below-freezing temperature to attend the rally and march. “This is football weather! Let’s go!”  The 2024 March for Life is expected to attract between 50‚000 and 100‚000 people‚ according to the organizers. Those who spoke at the rally included House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA)‚ Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)‚ and Focus on the Family President and CEO Jim Daly. Harbaugh‚ who played quarterback for Michigan and for five different NFL teams‚ has been interviewed by multiple NFL teams interested in hiring him as their head coach following his 15-0 national championship run at Michigan. The Daily Caller met up with the coach at the march on Friday and asked him what the pro-life cause means to him.  “You know‚ we all talk about human rights. There’s really no rights that are important unless you have the right to life‚” Harbaugh told the Caller. “This is a great day for a march. It’s a great day for the sanctity of life‚ and football weather. Let’s make it a great day.” Harbaugh‚ who is a Catholic‚ has been unabashed in stating his beliefs on the sanctity of life inside the womb. The coach even said in 2022 that if one of his players or staff members were involved in an unplanned pregnancy and felt they or the mother couldn’t care for the child‚ then Harbaugh and his wife would help raise the baby. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP “I’ve told [them] the same thing I tell my kids‚ boys‚ the girls‚ same thing I tell our players‚ our staff members. I encourage them if they have a pregnancy that wasn’t planned‚ to go through with it‚ go through with it‚” Harbaugh said. “Let that unborn child be born‚ and if at that time‚ you don’t feel like you can care for it‚ you don’t have the means or the wherewithal‚ then Sarah and I will take that baby.”

In a move that has set the political world abuzz‚ Donald Trump Jr. has suggested that Tucker Carlson‚ the former Fox News host‚ could be in the running to become his father’s vice-presidential pick for the 2024 election. This revelation comes amid a flurry of speculation about who might join the elder Trump on the Republican ticket as he makes another bid for the White House. Donald Trump Jr.’s comments have highlighted Carlson’s alignment with the former President’s views‚ suggesting that their shared perspectives on key issues make Carlson a strong contender for the role. The synergy between Carlson’s commentary and Trump’s policies is well-documented‚ with both figures championing a conservative agenda that resonates with a significant portion of the American electorate. Don Jr. on whether Trump is actually seriously considering Tucker for Vice President pic.twitter.com/tIaWHlNC00 — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 19‚ 2024 The potential selection of Tucker Carlson is seen by many as a strategic move that could energize the Republican base. Carlson’s popularity among conservatives and his ability to articulate the frustrations and aspirations of many Americans could prove invaluable in a campaign that seeks to recapture the momentum of Trump’s initial 2016 victory. While some may view this pairing as unconventional‚ it is not without precedent for media personalities to transition into political roles. Carlson’s sharp wit and incisive analysis have made him a household name‚ and his transition from commentator to candidate could be a natural progression in a political landscape increasingly influenced by media figures. This is WOW!! President Trump‚ Tucker Carlson‚ Don Jr.‚ Kid Rock‚ Dana White walking into Madison Square Garden together. pic.twitter.com/D4MwysDEoG — Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) November 12‚ 2023 Critics of the current administration are pointing to the need for a return to policies that prioritize American interests‚ border security‚ and economic growth. The Trump-Carlson ticket could represent a return to such principles‚ offering a clear alternative to the direction the country has taken under Democratic leadership. Donald Trump Jr.’s refusal to endorse Nikki Haley‚ a potential rival for the Republican nomination‚ underscores the competitive nature of the primary process. With Trump’s recent victory in the Iowa caucuses‚ the campaign has gained significant momentum‚ positioning him as the frontrunner in the race for the GOP nomination. As the Republican primary unfolds‚ the possibility of Tucker Carlson joining the ticket adds an intriguing dynamic to the race. It remains to be seen whether this speculation will come to fruition‚ but the mere suggestion has already sparked considerable discussion and debate within conservative circles. The 2024 election promises to be a pivotal moment in American politics. As the nation grapples with domestic and international challenges‚ the prospect of a Trump-Carlson ticket offers a vision of robust conservatism ready to tackle the issues head-on. With the primaries approaching‚ all eyes will be on the Trump campaign as it navigates the road to the Republican nomination and‚ potentially‚ the White House. The post Donald Trump Jr. Hints at Tucker Carlson as Potential VP in 2024 Election Bid appeared first on The Conservative Brief.