The ongoing partisan fight into Pennsylvania's 2020 presidential election is headed to a panel of Commonwealth Court judges who will hear arguments Wednesday in Harrisburg.

It's the latest step in an effort led by Senate Republicans who started investigating the May primary and the 2020 general election a year after twice-audited and certified election results show President Joe Biden won Pennsylvania by 80,000 votes.

The GOP late last month hired Iowa-based Envoy Sage, which has no prior experience investigating elections, to conduct what they describe as a "forensic investigation" to "restore faith in Pennsylvania elections." It will cost taxpayers $270,000 for Envoy Sage's six-month contract, which could be extended due to litigation.

Senate Democrats and Attorney General Josh Shapiro have filed lawsuits to try and stop the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee's subpoenas of personal information, including driver's license numbers and partial Social Security numbers, on 9 million Pennsylvania voters.

"It's a waste of a taxpayer money, a horrible of waste of time, effort, resources and taxpayer dollars," said Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa. "It is purely a political charade."

https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2021/12/09/pa-senate-gop-election-investigation/6434465001/

Today Governor Tom Wolf was joined by Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Josh Shapiro, local leaders, and abortion activists at People’s Park in Philadelphia in support of a person’s right to access abortion.

This comes in the wake of the United States Supreme Court hearing arguments on the Mississippi abortion case. Wolf said current protections may not be enough without the federal protection of Roe V. Wade.

Wolf said his office will do what it can — vetoing anti-abortion bills that land on his desk — until the Supreme Court makes its final decision, but in the end it will not be enough should the Court dismiss 50 years of federally protected abortion rights.

“Without federal protection in place, the reproductive rights of women, birthing people, and families all across Pennsylvania are a lot more precarious,” Wolf said.

https://whyy.org/articles/gov-wolf-ag-shapiro-speak-on-how-the-supreme-court-decision-on-roe-v-wade-could-affect-abortion-seekers/

Convicted of bribery, the powerful Philadelphia labor leader John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty has resigned from the union he led for almost three decades and is likely headed to federal prison.

But prominent Pennsylvania politicians who’ve benefited from the union’s largesse aren’t renouncing its campaign cash — or saying much of anything about the trial that starkly illustrated the city’s sometimes toxic mix of money and politics.

When The Inquirer contacted a number of high-profile elected officials and candidates who’ve received recent campaign donations from Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, most expressed pride in the support from the labor group or didn’t answer at all. Only one major recipient expressed any qualms about the contributions, which ranged from thousands of dollars to more than $1 million.

The list of recent beneficiaries of Local 98 donations includes some of the biggest names in state politics, including Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, and several looking to move up to top positions, such as Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, and Republicans such as Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman and former Delaware County Councilman Dave White, both now running for governor.

https://www.inquirer.com/news/local-98-donations-pennsylvania-politicians-20211208.html

HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania is among the states participating in a multi-state investigation into Instagram owner Meta Platforms Inc., the newly renamed Facebook. Attorney General Josh Shapiro said the probe will focus on whether Meta provided Instagram to children and young adults in ways that violated state consumer protection laws.

The inquiry will examine Facebook techniques to increase the visit to and amount of time youths spent on the platform and any harm caused by the extended engagement. It's being launched in the wake of recent reports that Meta research indicated Instagram use is associated with a variety of conditions - including depression, eating disorders and suicide.

"Social media companies have a responsibility to keep their users safe and disclose risks associated with their platforms," Shapiro said in a release. "Our investigation will help determine whether Facebook failed in its responsibility to protect children online and will help us determine how to stop these companies from continuing to put children at risk for their own profit."

In addition to Shapiro, the investigation is being led by a bipartisan group of attorneys general from states that include California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee and Vermont.

https://patch.com/pennsylvania/pittsburgh/pa-joins-multi-state-probe-facebook-instagram-owner

CNN anchor Don Lemon is facing "ethical questions," after it was claimed in court that he had warned Jussie Smollett about the police investigation into his alleged racist and homophobic attack.

Former Empire star Smollett is currently awaiting the jury's verdict, after standing trial amid accusations he orchestrated his own alleged attack by two men in 2019 on the streets of Chicago, during which he stated that a noose was tied around his neck.

During a court testimony earlier this week, Smollett alleged that Lemon had sent him a message informing him that the Chicago Police Department did not believe his account of what had happened on the night in question.

The claim sparked an outcry among prominent conservative pundits, a number of whom called on CNN to fire Lemon, while others questioned the legality of his alleged actions.

https://www.newsweek.com/don-lemon-faces-ethical-questions-over-jussie-smolletts-tip-off-testimony-racial-attack-chicago-1657664

Smollett Dig

According to a gossip site, a man who doesn't wish to be named reached out to say that he has a three-minute tape of Smollett performing oral sex on him. He also says that Smollett owes him money and he wants to be paid back or else he'll release the sex tape. The anonymous man texted "He owe me money I was fw him for about 6 months now we would meet at the Mardi Grass hotel in L.A," evidently explaining the logistics of their affair.

https://www.yourtango.com/2020333868/jussie-smollet-sex-tape-threatened-to-be-released-by-ex-boyfriend

Smollett Dig

https://www.newsweek.com/jussie-smollett-michelle-obama-favor-chicago-charges-distraction-kim-foxx-1377597