Sisterhood of spies poised to help topple GOP majority

If Republicans lose the House majority next Tuesday, it will likely be at the hand of candidates like Abigail Spanberger, a former undercover CIA operative who recruited secret informants on behalf of the U.S. to fight terrorism. Now that her clandestine career is over, Spanberger is running in a Virginia seat Democrats haven’t held since the 1970s. Seven months ago, few thought she stood a chance in the reliably red 7th Congressional District of Virginia. The race is now a dead heat. Spanberger is one of eight female candidates who either served in the CIA or military and are running in some of the reddest districts in the country. Their races are among the first that will be called election night. If Spanberger and the other female candidates who’ve captivated voters with stories of their former lives in the world of intelligence and spycraft win, it could be a sign of huge Democratic gains across the country on election night.

Like Spanberger, Elissa Slotkin, a former Middle East analyst for the CIA specializing in Iraqi politics, is running in a Michigan seat that went for President Trump by 6 points and she has closed in on her Republican opponent. Slotkin joined the CIA after 9/11 and served under both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Details of Spanberger's career remain classified. Slotkin served three tours in Iraq. In Texas's 23rd District, Gina Ortiz Jones, a former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer who served in Iraq, is challenging GOP incumbent Rep. Will Hurd, himself a former CIA. Slotkin’s bid for Congress, she said during a recent debate with Bishop, “is about someone who understands public service, who believes in their country over party, and who believes, actually, our system works best when people of integrity of both parties work together." Slotkin and Spanberger’s success is in large part due to their former careers in the CIA. Their ability to point to a life of service in which they helped combat terrorism and worked for both Democrat and Republican administrations is a draw for voters.

On the stump, Spanberger runs through her resume. Before joining the CIA she worked narcotics cases as a federal law enforcement officer with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Then she became an undercover operative gathering intel overseas for the CIA on issues varying from counterterrorism to nuclear proliferation. “My experience in public service informs every aspect of who I am,” Spanberger said in an interview on Halloween, as she visited the rural communities of Blackstone and Burkesville in Nottoway County.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/sisterhood-of-spies-poised-to-help-topple-gop-majority

New Jersey approves 'Cory's law' to let Booker run for White House, Senate at same time

A new law has taken effect in New Jersey that will let anyone run simultaneously for the White House and Congress, a change that will benefit 2020 White House hopeful Cory Booker, D-N.J. Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed the measure into law on Thursday. The law is nicknamed "Cory's law" because it's widely expected to be used by Booker, who will also be up for re-election in the Senate in 2020.

The law makes it clear that anyone running for Congress and the White House won't face any legal challenges due to a state law that says no one is allowed to hold more than one state-wide office at a time, according to NJ.com. Under the law, Booker could run for both, and if he runs for both and wins, he'd only have to give up his Senate seat to become the nation's commander in chief. Republicans argued that Democrats opposed a similar change to the law when it was thought that Chris Christie might run for president while he was governor of the state.

A New Jersey state senator, Gerald Cardinale, told Politico that Booker should be brave enough to choose one race. "Spartacus had the courage to make decisions," Cardinale told Politico, mocking Booker's self-referential claim that he was like Spartacus during Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's hearing for bringing up information that might hurt the nominee.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/new-jersey-approves-corys-law-to-let-booker-run-for-white-house-senate-at-same-time

DHS: Caravan migrants from 20 countries, include 270 convicted criminals

The Department of Homeland Security claimed Thursday people from at least 20 countries make up the two caravan groups, not just citizens of Guatemala and Honduras. In a release called "Myth vs. Fact: Caravan," the department also states more than 270 people in the caravans are either known gang members or have criminal backgrounds. DHS did not cite its sources for the information and a department spokesperson said that information is law enforcement sensitive.

"We continue to be concerned about individuals along the caravan route. In fact, over 270 individuals along the caravan route have criminal histories, including known gang membership," the statement said. "Those include a number of violent criminals – examples include aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, armed robbery, sexual assault on a child, and assault on a female." A DHS spokesperson told the Washington Examiner the 270 had previously been convicted, not just charged. "We also continue to see individuals from over 20 countries in this flow from countries such as Somalia, India, Haiti, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. There is a large segment of this population that we know nothing about and we must be prepared to defend our border and enforce our laws to protect the citizens of our country," the department said.

Officials put the number of people in the two caravans from Central American countries at 6,500 total. Both caravans are making their way north through Mexico. Last week, President Trump stated "unknown Middle Easterners" were among migrants in a caravan fleeing Central America for the U.S. DHS had defended Trump's claim but not shared details of who was in the group until now.

Mexican officials have previously said known criminals were a part of the caravan. “I have videos from Guatemala that show men dressed in identical clothing, sporting the same haircuts, handing out money to women to persuade them to move to the front of the caravan," Mexican Interior Minister Navarrete Prida said Tuesday during a radio interview. "We know, for a fact, that some members of the caravan threatened [Mexican] Migration Institute personnel and we have images showing many of them preparing Molotov cocktails.”

DHS estimates put half of the group as single adults. A senior Border Patrol official based in San Diego, Calif., recently told the Washington Examiner only 20 to 30 percent of the first caravan were children and families. Citing the Guatemalan intelligence minister, DHS said the "caravan is employing tactics to push women and children to the front to act as human shields as the caravan pushes against its military forces." The first of the two caravans could arrive by Nov. 3 and as late as Nov. 12, though it depends on if the members walk or drive. Homeland Security officials said those seeking work or to reunite with family members will not be granted asylum unless they can prove they meet the criteria. DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in May that 4 in 5 asylum seekers at the southwest border have their asylum claims denied.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/dhs-caravan-migrants-from-20-countries-include-270-convicted-criminals

EXCLUSIVE: Coffee Company CEO Says Avenatti Owes Him $110K — And Bank Records Appear To Support The Claim

Michael Avenatti owes Dillanos Coffee $110,000 for unpaid bills, the company’s CEO claims. Records reviewed by TheDCNF show a series of bounced checks from Avenatti’s company to Dillanos. Avenatti denied owing anything to Dillanos, but records reviewed by TheDCNF appear to undermine parts of his story.

Left-wing attorney and potential 2020 presidential candidate Michael Avenatti is again facing accusations of unpaid debts, this time from the owner of the Washington state-based company Dillanos Coffee. Avenatti owes Dillanos $110,000 and has refused to pay up, according to Dillanos founder and CEO David Morris. Avenatti has repeatedly denied owing Dillanos anything, but bank records and other related documents Dillanos’ attorney provided to The Daily Caller News Foundation appear to undermine what Avenatti previously said about the dispute.

Morris first said on May 9 that Avenatti owed him $160,000 for unpaid debts related to Avenatti’s ownership and management of Tully’s Coffee, a financially insecure Seattle coffee chain that shuttered all of its locations earlier this year. Avenatti’s company used Dillanos as a coffee supplier, but failed to pay its bills, Morris said at the time. Avenatti denied owing Dillanos anything, but Morris announced the next day, May 10, that he had “worked out an arrangement” with the celebrity lawyer. Avenatti transferred $50,000 to Dillanos the same day, bank records reviewed by TheDCNF show. Morris claims Avenatti still owes Dillanos the remaining $110,000.

TheDCNF reviewed a screenshot of a successful June 15 wire transfer of $110,000. Dillanos’ attorney said Avenatti sent the screenshot as evidence of payment, but documents reviewed by TheDCNF showed that the money never reached Dillanos’ bank account. The Dillanos attorney informed Avenatti on July 30 that the six-figure payment he guaranteed never came through, those documents show. Five months of bank statements reviewed by TheDCNF show that after the May 10 payment and through the end of September, the most recent month available, Dillanos did not receive any wire transfers from Avenatti, much less the $110,000 supposed to arrive on June 15.

Other documents reviewed by TheDCNF show that Global Baristas US LLC, Tully’s parent company under Avenatti, bounced five checks written out to Dillanos between August 2017 and January 2018. The five bounced checks added up to approximately $150,000. Washington state records reviewed by TheDCNF show that Global Baristas US LLC is controlled by the similarly named Global Baristas LLC, which in turn is still controlled by Avenatti.

“We have still not received $110,161 of the balance that @michaelavenatti owes us. So for all the extra work our staff has done while dealing with Michael & Tully’s, we will give half the money to our 80 employees if he pays,” Morris wrote on Twitter on Monday. “Who thinks he should make good on his commitment?” Morris declined to comment beyond what he wrote on social media.

https://www.dailycaller.com/2018/11/01/michael-avenatti-tullys-coffee/

>>3699393

I agree with your statement..and I believe (if my memory is correct) it was done shortly after CNN made its debut in cable news…

>>3699418

kek, scum, these women are….