Category: Executive Branch

Biden Won | Will There Be An Electoral College Coup?

Washington (GGM) Analysis | November 11, 2020 by Attorney Michael Wells, PodcastLegal Fact and Fiction

On November 7, 2020, Joe Biden unofficially became the President-Elect, and Kamala Harris unofficially became the Vice President-Elect. Normally the losing candidate, in this case Donald Trump, accepts defeat and contacts the winner to congratulate him or her. Not Donald Trump. He made unsubstantiated claims of “voter fraud,” and then he never backed down. This likely surprised very few as Trump claimed back in 2016 the election was rigged, and he claimed it was rigged again in 2020. What is troubling, however, is most of his party, led by stalwarts such as Senators Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham, continue to argue Trump has every right to challenge the election results. And these fears became more real when on November 9th Attorney General William Barr opened up a probe into “voter irregularities” without alleging any evidence. It all smacks of hyper partisanship, and it raises the question as to whether an Electoral College coup is afoot. 

Every four years the Electoral College meets in December. Each state’s electors then vote for the candidate who prevailed in the presidential race in their respective state. This is how it almost always happens. Different states certify their elections on different dates, but the Electoral College meets on December 14, 2020 and votes.

This year Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Nevada proved decisive. Nevada certifies its election on November 16th. Michigan and Pennsylvania certify their elections on November 23rd

All legal challenges must be filed by December 8th, the so-called “Safe Harbor” date. In other words, challenges cannot be lodged after that date. It should be noted all challenges filed by Donald Trump’s campaign have been dismissed thus far. One filing was improperly filed and therefore rejected.

This is a short summary of the legal process involved. In all likelihood, everything will run smoothly, and Joe Biden will be declared, officially at least, the President-Elect. 

This does not answer the question as to whether Trump’s supporters, both elected and otherwise, will accept the results of the election. Quite frankly, it does not matter if they accept the results. 

Recent rhetoric from supporters has sounded alarm bells such as Senator’s McConnell’s statement that Trump was “100% within his rights to challenge the results of the election.”

On November 10th, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said:

Conservative commentator Bill Kristol responded, “Be alarmed,” in response to this troubling statement. And he is right. 

Perhaps the best quote as to the vagueness and lack of substance of “voter fraud” came from Senator Lindsey Graham, who said: “And we will continue, in spite of my democratic colleagues protestations, we’re going to find someone accountable for something, when it comes to crossfire hurricane.”

Legally, the important dates to keep in mind are:

  • December 8th “Safe Harbor” deadline (no lawsuits after this date).
  • December 14th Electoral College meets and votes (it is over after this date). 

Are there conspiracy theories out there? Yes. Could there be violence? Yes. Sadly, violence is always possible in America, but legally speaking not much will happen. The Electoral College will meet December 14th, and Joe Biden will officially become President-Elect. Again, this all assumes we do not fall into lawlessness and utter chaos. If we do, the law will not matter. 

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Intense Workload at Election Offices | Human Error?

Washington (GGM) Analysis | October 21, 2020 by Noreen Wise

According to one recent report, there are roughly 6.5 million registered voters living outside the United States, which means there are many stakeholders who believe in our most basic democratic principle, the right to vote. And it seems that the majority of these living abroad — many whom happen to be employed by the US military and the US State Department — will indeed be following through and voting by mail.

Americans living abroad, have always relied upon the US Postal service to efficiently deliver their ballots. Their reliance on the dedication of US Postal Service employees, who heroically persevere through all types of intense weather situations and perilous global events, have always brought tremendous peace of mind. But this year, the most important presidential election ever, our confidence in the postal service is shaken to the core, as a result of the newly installed Postmaster General, Louis Dejoy.

Over the summer, Dejoy launchd what appears to have been an intentional post office dismantling campaign in an effort to undermine voters who planned on voting by mail, which had the potential of severely impacting the many millions across the continental United States who planned to vote-by-mail during the covid pandemic, but also the potential election-changing 6.5 million who vote from abroad.

With this as the backdrop in the lead-up to November 3, 2020, it’s completely understandable why so many towns and counties across the country decided to offer early voting in their communities, as well as the mail-in-ballot option for all who submitted a vote-by-mail application, and had it approved.

Because this is a first time crisis — voting during a global pandemic which is being managed by a president who spends every waking moment trying to convince the public it’s no big deal — no town or county, especially those with a majority of registered Democrats, could have predicted, and thus planned for, the volume of citizens who would respond to the opportunity of both main-in-ballots and voting early.

The fact that so many election offices were overwhelmed on such a grand scale should inspire an instant response. However, in order to solve this problem, communities have to first acknowledge the problem exists. Election offices across the country ned more help. If I experienced a one-off malfunction, I can’t help but believe there are many others with similar stories. We have to be our own best advocate.

I’m covering climate action up in Canada during the pandemic, and learned the hard way that human error can potentially impact election results, unless we are willing to step up and act quickly. Thankfully, there are angels off in the wings, with sharp critical thinking skills, who know how to act swiftly and find a way through, when everything falls apart.

•I submitted my vote-by-mail application online a few days after Labor Day, following the recommended guidelines of 45 days before election.

•I had the option of selecting between having the ballot emailed to me, or mailed. I obviously selected “email.” What could go wrong with that?

•I expected to receive it the next day, but nothing arrived. The following day, when again there was no email in my inbox, I phoned my local election office. “You must be patient. We’ve received so MANY mail-in-ballot applications.”

•I patiently waited a week, nothing. So I called again. “Please be patient, we’re overwhelmed. Please don’t worry, you’ll definitely receive it.”

•I then waited an entire month. Still nothing. I began to panic, and last week called again. After waiting on hold for an hour, I was informed that my application for mail-in-ballot was denied. “DENIED? Why?” … “We don’t send ballots to PO boxes.” … “But you were supposed to email, not send.” … “Oh, right. I see that now. The employee who was checking the application must have missed that. She made a mistake.” … “What? Can you email it right now?” … “Early voting just started and we’re mobbed. We’ve been working 16 hours per day.” … “But I want to vote too, please email my ballot.”

•To make a log story short, I called back a few hours later. An angel election office employee gave me her personal work number and email, told me to call back if I didn’t receive the ballot by the end of the day. She worked the phones, but would make sure the woman who was emailing ballots, emailed mine. She then followed up through email, as well as called back later that night, after I left a message. She wouldn’t let this go until I confirmed that I’d received my emailed ballot.”

American heroes like this election worker, are ultimately the glue and the backbone of our democracy. Her determined, resourceful ingenuity, enabled one more vote to be cast during this election to save our democracy. M. L. renewed my hope that we’ll succeed with this vital mission. Thank you so much! ✅

© Copyright 2018 – 2020. ALL Rights Reserved.

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Does Mueller Report Confirm Trump is Illegitimate?

Washington (Gallant Gold Media Hill Report | Opinion | April 30, 2019) –  There’s a very dark cloud hanging over the White House following the release of the Mueller Report. The extensive evidence outlined in Volume 1, the Russian Influence Campaign section of the reportis so dense, despite the large blacked out gaps, that halfway through it becomes clear that Trump is an illegitimate president.

Beginning in 2014, Russia became fixated on influencing our 2016 presidential election. Mueller has outlined the Russian plan of attack in a very systematic fashion, lining up all the dots of evidence very neatly, and in so doing proving that Russia was intent of installing a candidate who’d be open to accommodating Russia’s needs and wishes. They believed Trump was this man. Success. And now that we can see the boundless Russian efforts outlined, it doesn’t actually matter if Trump or his campaign colluded. Russia’s influence campaign worked. Period. And we’ve been suffering the consequences ever since.

The massive Russian Influence Campaign:

  • Russian “Active Measures” Social Media Campaign
    • Structure of the Internet Research Agency (IRA)
    • Funding & oversight from Concord & Prigozhin
    • The IRA targets US elections
      • The IRA Ramps Up U.S. Operations as Early as 2014
      • U.S. Operations Through IRA-Controlled Social Media Accounts
      • U.S. Operations through Facebook
      • U.S. Operations through Twitter
        • Individual Twitter Accounts
        • IRA Botnet Activities
      • U.S. Operations involving Political Rallies
      • Targeting and Recruitment of U.S. Persons
      • Interactions and Contacts with the Trump Campaign
      • Trump Campaign Promotion of IRA Political Materials
      • Contact with Trump Campaign Officials in Connection to rallies
  • Russian Hacking and Dumping Operations
    • GRU Hacking Directed at the Clinton Campaign
      • 5 sub headings
    • Dissemination of the Hacked Materials
      • 7 sub headings
    • Additional GRU Cyber Operations
      • 2 sub headings
    • Trump Campaign and the Dissemination of Hacked Materials
      • 9 sub headings
  • Russian Government Links to and Contacts with the Trump Campaign
    • Campaign Period (September 2015 – November 8, 2016)
      • 51 sub headings (extremely disturbing)
    • Post-Election and Transition Period Contacts
      • 18 sub headings

With Trump now refusing to comply with House Investigations, in defiance of the U.S. Constitution, on the heels of Mueller’s big reveal, it appears we’re a government in crisis. The House Oversight and Judiciary Committees have a plan. They need the support of the American people. The key to understanding the depth and breadth of this crisis is reading the Mueller Report.

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Trump’s Life History of Obstructing Justice

Washington (Gallant Gold Media Hill Report | Opinion | March 6, 2019) –  Trump’s “Teflon” image – the one where no matter what Trump does wrong (“I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot someone and not lose voters”) results in nothing sticking – needs to be examined more closely. It holds the answers to the current tsunami regarding the Mueller investigation.

We can clearly see the many crimes/wrongs Trump has committed, against thousands and thousands, maybe even millions of people… yet nothing stymies Trump. He’s never held accountable. Never permanently sidelined. Never restrained in jail. Never even had to do community service. Trump manages to overthrow his enemies and opposers, and all the higher angels determined to keep the scales balanced, using one consistent dark tactic that’s become the cornerstone of his survivability through all of his twisted schemes.

Trump has mastered the art of obstructing justice.

It truly is an art. The Art of the Deal in fact. That is the deal. Trump’s deal making is a simple matter of force, intimidation and threats. Coercing the other party into accepting his warped, unjust offer.

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Merriam-Webster Law Dictionary, OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE LEGAL DEFINITIONthe crime or act of willfully interfering with the process of justice and law especially by influencing, threatening, harming, or impeding a witness, potential witness, juror, or judicial or legal officer or by furnishing false information in or otherwise impeding an investigation or legal process.

Trump has had several skilled mentors who were gifted at bestowing their nefarious ways upon their mentee: Roy Cohn, MOB Boss Nicky Scarfo, mobster Daniel Sullivan, the Russian MOB, Dictator Putin… to name a few.

Crimes that Trump has already succeeded at obstructing justice for (beginning in 1973, so that’s 55+ years of nothing sticking):

  • Money Laundering
  • Sexual Assault
  • Contract Disputes
  • Tax Evasion
  • Fraud
  • Perjury
  • Discrimination
  • Civil Rights Violations
  • Defamation
  • Ethics Violations
  • Inciting violence
  • Personal Injury
  • A total of more than 3,500 lawsuits

So back to the present. Trump has lost his tight inner circle of loyalists at the White House. The few advisors who remain are not loyal, so there’s no trust. Trump is now relying on his “gut” to run the country.  Trump’s core being, his gut, consists of 55 years of obstructing justice. He knows no other way. He’s not going to change. Live by the sword, be dethroned by the sword.

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National Emergency | Continuity of Government Protocols

Washington (Gallant Gold Media Hill Report) –  The safety and well-being of Americans from coast to coast, and living around the world, is of paramount importance. The annual federal dollars budgeted for protecting Americans and our borders is staggering:

  • DHS | $47.5 billion
  • FBI | $8.77 billion
  • US Intelligence | $57.7 billion
  • DOD | $639.1 billion
  • SD| $90.3 billion
  • FEMA | $18 billion
  • TOTAL | $861.37 billion

States also have significant budgets allocations for protecting citizens. Safety and security is clearly a priority.

The standard continuity of government protocols for national emergencies involves our nation’s top ten leaders shifting intoemergencyresponse. There are strict guidelines to follow. For example, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack:

  • President Bush was stuck on a plane in the air with all airports closed
  • Vice President Cheney made a decision to stay in communication with key decision makers and thus did not fall back to his secure site
  • House Speaker Denny Hastert was immediately take to underground bunker in the mountains
  • Attorney General John Ashcroft was on a government plane, he requested that it be turned around and return to Washington, but the FAA would not authorize
  • Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield refused to obey the response protocols and instead rushed to the Pentagon’s crash sight and tried to rescue the injured
  • Several of the 10 in line to the president were out of the country and could not follow the proper procedure
  • Several others were never contacted

On Friday February 15, 2019 President Trump held an erratic press conference in the Rose Garden to announce his “national emergency.” Most described it as a wild fifty minutes of Trump switching from one topic to the next, without rhyme or reason, ending with a final comment, “I didn’t need to do this .” Then, instead of following the standard continuity of government protocols, Trump hopped on Air Force One and beelined it to Mar-a- Lago for a luxurious weekend of golf.

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Texts from the twin towers on September 11, 2001, a real national emergency, were heart wrenching. The last thoughts from thousands who were about to die. The following is an example of what a real national emergency sounds and feels like from those caught in the crosshairs:

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Several National Emergency hashtags have been lighting up Twitter all day, #FAKENationalEmergency and #NotesFromNationalEmergency:

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In memory of the thousands killed in past, real national emergencies, and the agonizing internal wounds of family members that will never heal, it’s disgraceful that an American president would pull a stunt like this and label it a national emergency when doing so traumatizes those who’ve suffered through the tormenting real deal. This is shameful.

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Trump’s Alarming New “Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office”

What is the renaming of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office really about?

Mysteriously, on Friday 21 December 2018 – a tsunami news day following Defense Secretary Mattis’ abrupt resignation, and his chilling resignation letter being shared with the American public, followed by Congress and Trump’s intense battle over border security and funding the wall, which resulted in the entire country waiting with baited breath to see if the government would shutdown, which it did – there was a seeming innocuous little Trump tweet mixed in with all this high drama.

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This announcement deals with the most perilous of all subject matters, nuclear weapons, and can only be processed with a giant question mark.

The original Domestic Nuclear Detection Office reads like a fully integrated, multi-level massive program that has been fine-tuned over the past 16 years.

The new H.R. 7213 bill is very simple and direct and not a bill that anyone would necessarily pause and analyze. It’s presented as an office name change, just as Trump’s tweet indicates.

However, the link trump included in his tweet, with an official “Statement by the President,” dated Friday 21 December 2018, is anything but simple and direct. Trump’s abnormal letter leaves one to wonder whether this bizarre verbiage is being crafted as a counter strategy for Trump’s intense anti-Mueller, anti-Dem animus.

What does Trump mean when he declares, “My administration will treat this provision as advisory. I hope that consultation will be possible, and I recognize the benefits of working with congress on the ‘Securing the Cities’ program. Nevertheless, the Act’s mandatory consultation provision is not consistent with the Constitution’s separation of powers.”

Huh? What is Trump talking about?

Does this Presidential Statement carry any weight? Is it legally binding? It reads like a major power usurpation. In the original Domestic Nuclear Detection Office program, there’s no mention at all of the president being included in the decision making.

Further, the Presidential Statement goes on to state: “Section 2(g)(6) of the Act purports to require the Secretary of Homeland Security annually to provide a report to the Congress that includes recommendations for any necessary statutory changes regarding the CWMD Office, or, if no statutory changes are deemed necessary, an explanation of that conclusion. My administration will treat this provision in a manner consistent with Article II, section 3 of the Constitution, which provides the President the discretion to recommend to the Congress only ‘such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.’”

Trump’s Presidential Statement blatantly ignores Article 1, section 8, clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution, which mandates, “The Congress shall have the Power to… provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States.” This is common knowledge and has been referenced often during Trump’s presidency.

Unfathomably, Article II, section 3 is nothing more than an outline of how the Electoral vote determines the winner of a presidential election and thus clearly has no bearing on this subject matter.

This tweet seems like another “Severe” CODE RED warning to the American public, particularly Dems and the Mueller team. It actually reads like a threat.

 

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The Ha Ha Border Wall & Our Founding Fathers

There have been borders and boundaries and enemies since the beginning of time. It seems that Trump would have us believe that borders, and citizens from foreign countries crossing borders, are a brand new phenomenon. These issues have all been worked out before, so why is this difficult for Trump?

In 1785, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were enthralled with a sensational discovery they made while meandering through a British garden where they nearly stumbled into a Ha Ha, (originally, the French stated “Ooh-la-la” when they first saw this innovative border solution; the British shortened it to Ha Ha).

During the mid-to-late 1600’s, the Royal Society of London became passionately consumed with botany and horticulture. Landowners had always grown their own crops to feed their families, and raised their own farm animals. They created utility gardens for these necessities. But with the advent of the botanical age, they were eager to add an ornamental garden to their landscape, and struggled to find a solution for keeping the farm animals away from their ornamental masterpieces. They didn’t want barrier walls that would block the views of the flowering shrubs and trees and colorful flower beds. A creative problem solver came up with the clever idea to dig a ditch that would keep the animals on the utility side of the garden without blocking the views of the ornamental side.

Resourceful, flexible thinking usually nets excellent results. Trump is a complete 180 from our Founders. Is there any way to bend Trump’s rigid, cemented opinion?

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