Watchdog Group Says Ensuring Integrity in California’s Elections Crucial for 2020

As the most populous state with the largest congressional representation, California also has the most voters in the nation. This allows the state to have a powerful hand in national elections. During the last decade, the Golden State has gradually lowered the threshold for voters to register and get their ballots to the ballot box. Compounding on the Motor Voter Act of 1993 that allowed states to register voters at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), former Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law the subsequent “New Motor Voter Act” of 2015, which automatically registers citizens to vote when visiting the DMV. Two years earlier in 2013, the state passed AB 60, which grants illegal aliens the right to driver’s licenses. With these two laws in effect, it led to concerns that illegal immigrants could accidentally be registered to vote automatically. This was followed by the introduction of legal ballot harvesting with AB1921 in 2016. Previously, only a family member or someone living in the same household was permitted to drop off ballots for another voter, but AB1921 allows anyone to collect and return ballots to a voting precinct.

Irregularities in 2018’s elections in California continue to surface. Various groups across the state are moving to have these questionable occurrences investigated. One of these groups, the Election Integrity Project, an election monitoring organization founded in 2010, released a report covering eight counties that cited the gross irregularities that took place in the 2018 midterms in California. The report, compiled by election observers across the state revealed that thousands of vote-by-mail (VBM) voters didn’t receive their ballots. State law disallows voters from voting in person if they have registered vote by mail, in order to avoid double voting. If they wish to vote in person, they must surrender their VBM ballot to election officials. Due to these voters not having received their VBM ballots, they were forced to vote provisionally. Due to California’s 2015 New Motor Voter Act, thousands of voters across the state had their voter status changed from poll voter to VBM without their knowledge of consent. This was a result of the Department of Motor Vehicles enacting automatic voter registration for voters across the state. It was also reported that, as a result of the number of voters forced to vote provisionally, there was a 222 percent increase in provisional ballots than the previous midterm in 2014.

The Epoch Times spoke with Ellen Swensen, chief analyst of the Election Integrity Project, on the report’s findings and how to address these issues for 2020. When asked about the direct cause of the irregularities, Swensen said, “When we speak about irregularities, we’re talking about people who didn’t receive their ballot. In that case, we do not know what happened. We questioned the counties involved in the report and only one county, San Bernardino, got back to us and told us there was a problem. Other counties either did not respond or said that there was no problem.” In San Bernardino County, Swenson explained that the county office had a vendor glitch and about 1,000 voters requested a vote by mail close to the deadline of Oct. 30. “Roughly 1,000 ballots that were requested late did not go out. Around 40 percent of those people came to the polls and voted instead, and 60 percent didn’t vote at all,” she said. “That shows you the magnitude of the problem when someone expecting a vote-by mail-ballot doesn’t get one. It could lead to a large number of people not showing up.”

Swensen pointed out that a huge reason why people had their ballots switched from standard to vote by mail was due to DMV registration system issues. “We know the DMV has a lot of problems with the registration system. [They are switching] people over to vote by mail without their knowledge,” she said. Swensen also mentioned that there is no way to verify someone’s legal status via voter rolls, so many people still have concerns regarding whether AB 60, coupled with the 2015 Motor Voter Act, may inadvertently register an illegal alien to vote.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/watchdog-group-says-ensuring-integrity-in-californias-elections-crucial-for-2020_2908852.html

Failures in California’s 2018 MidtermElectionDemand Serious Investigation

https://www.eip-ca.com/press_releases/EIPCa_Findings_Report_181106_election_for_press_190424.pdf

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio to Announce Presidential Bid: Report

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to announce his presidential bid sometime this week, four people with knowledge of the plan told the New York Daily News. De Blasio is the latest to launch a longshot bid in a crowded field of 2020 Democratic candidates. Two sources told the outlet his presidential campaign could start as early as his birthday on May 8, when he will turn 58 years old. De Blasio himself said on May 2 that he would announce this month if he was running. When asked at a press conference about the details of his possible run, the mayor took an optimistic tone. His office didn’t respond to a request for comment by press time on the details of his expected run.

“I have never run for anything without intending to win,” he said on May 2. “And you can look at my track record. I was an underdog in everything I’ve ever been near. I’m not saying that with any hubris. I think this is extraordinarily rich field and complex, dynamic, ever-changing.” De Blasio, who has been described by The New York Times as “a young leftist” in his earlier days, recently launched his own version of the controversial “Green New Deal” that recently was presented to Congress. His progressive plan aims to cut emissions from the city’s high rises and “ban” the classic glass and steel skyscrapers that make up the Big Apple’s skyline.

A Quinnipiac University Poll last month found that an overwhelming majority, 76 percent of New York City voters, believe de Blasio shouldn’t run for president. Meanwhile, only 18 percent said he should. “Mayor Bill de Blasio’s flirtation with a 2020 White House bid is prompting a rare moment of unity among New Yorkers. Three-quarters of them say, ‘Mr. Mayor: Don’t do it,'” said Mary Snow, a polling analyst for the Quinnipiac University Poll.

In March, the mayor of the Big Apple implemented a “Meatless Monday” school program that would provide students in the city’s 1,800 public schools an all-vegetarian breakfast and lunch menus every Monday, which he said would improve New Yorkers’ health and reduce their environmental impact on the planet. In January, he announced a health care plan to cover an estimated 600,000 residents, including illegal immigrants. The mayor touted the program as a step toward universal health care. De Blasio, in his 2019 State of the City speech, also touted the redistribution of wealth. “Brothers and sisters, there’s plenty of money in the world. There’s plenty of money in this city. It’s just in the wrong hands,” he said. “You deserve a city that gives you the share of prosperity that you have earned.”

According to the Associated Press, de Blasio is running mainly to raise his profile and to secure a position in another Democrat’s administration. “Bill de Blasio has had a fair amount of big, progressive achievements as mayor of New York City,” said Rebecca Katz, a former adviser who isn’t working on de Blasio’s possible presidential campaign. “I don’t want to get in his head too much, but my guess is he wants the world to see it, understand it, and thank him for it.” De Blasio has traveled to key early voting primary states over the past few months in order to lay the groundwork for his campaign.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/nyc-mayor-bill-de-blasio-to-announce-presidential-bid-report_2908585.html

>>6433567

No sauce, but with all of the corruption in NY, I have no doubt he is going down with the ship on all of it..

Former Members Set to Testify Against NXIVM’s Leader

Former members of the purported self-help organization NXIVM are set to testify for the first time against their former leader Keith Raniere over egregious sex-trafficking charges involving a master-slave society within the group. The members will break their silence by testifying against Raniere on May 7 at a federal court in Brooklyn. Prosecutors have not revealed any details on who will testify about the society called DOS, or “The Vow,” founded by Raniere. A spokesperson for the district court did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Of the six NXIVM defendants named in a superseding indictment last year, all but the group’s leader have since pleaded guilty to an array of charges including forced labor, and extortion. Raniere will now face a jury by himself. The guilty pleas come after prosecutors added child exploitation charges against Raniere based on evidence he had sex with a 15-year-old girl.

There is speculation that some of the co-defendants in the case could take the witness stand against Raniere, 58, including TV actress Allison Mack, a slave recruiter, and Lauren Salzman, the daughter of the group’s president. DOS was created around 2015 and is believed to be an acronym for the Latin term “dominus obsequious sororium,” translated loosely to “master over the slave women.”

Other defendants in the case include former NXIVM President Nancy Salzman, an accountant for the group named Kathy Russell, and Seagram billionaire heiress Clare Bronfman. U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis has yet to rule on a request by prosecutors to protect the privacy of some alleged victims, referred to as “Jane Does” in court papers, by only using their first names, nicknames or pseudonyms while they testify—measures needed to protect them from “potential harassment” and “undue embarrassment.”

Raniere has pleaded not guilty to sex-trafficking and other charges. His lawyers have opposed what they call “unusual and dubious” protections that would violate his constitutional right to confront his accusers. They add it would “unfairly signal to the jury that, in the court’s view, the witness is a victim of a sex crime who is in danger.”

https://www.theepochtimes.com/former-members-set-to-testify-against-nxivms-leader_2907788.html

Boeing reportedly let some of its mechanics inspect their own work, and it's causing problems for the manufacturer at the worst possible time

Boeing is under scrutiny over reports of recurring errors on the assembly line for the 787 Dreamliner plane. The errors are believed to have stemmed from a manufacturing process that allows mechanics to self-inspect their work, The Post and Courier reported, citing Boeing workers. Some of the errors found on the production line included debris in airspeed sensors, rags and bolts in planes, and loose cabin seats, The Post and Courier reported. Tires with cuts in them, untested gears, and malfunctioning hydraulics systems were also spotted by workers, according to the report. Workers told The Post and Courier that 90% of the aircraft's production was part of the self-inspect program. Most of the mistakes were caught before the plane's delivery to an airline, according to the report.

"I'm always finding cases where jobs are signed off and the parts aren't installed," a Boeing employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the newspaper. "It happens a lot." "It's an everyday thing — every single day," another Boeing employee said, according to The Post and Courier.

Employees said that while allowing workers to inspect their own work was quicker for production, it also compromised passenger safety. The duration of the final assembly process has been slashed by several days, but the drawback is that workers spent more time fixing problems with the 787s before their first test flights.

"Boeing has strict methods which ensure our final products comply with design and regulatory requirements," Boeing spokesman Peter Pedraza told Business Insider in an emailed statement on Monday. "We are strengthening our approach to quality and putting resources in place to bolster our focus on preventing defects throughout our production system," Pedraza said. Ernesto Gonzalez-Beltran, Boeing's vice president of quality control, told The Post and Courier, "Where there are consistently stable processes, we believe there is no value added for a second set of eyes."

Gonzalez-Beltran, who has worked as an executive for Toyota and Ford Motor Co., had no experience in the aviation-manufacturing industry before arriving at Boeing and has expanded the self-inspect program, according to The Post and Courier. Pedraza echoed those sentiments in his statement to Business Insider:

A small fraction of our evolution includes streamlining secondary inspections for processes which are proven to be stable. At the same time we are improving upon the traditional inspection approach with new process controls, new technologies and improved designs that make our work less susceptible to errors. Mechanics performing the actual job will always verify and ensure the work meets certification standards.

Boeing has been under pressure after two deadly crashes on the company's 737 Max planes. Two 737s crashed within a five-month period, killing 346 people. An investigation into the crashes is ongoing. The company has also faced questions over its business practices, including its pilot-training process and the its close ties to the industry's regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration.

https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-mechanics-self-inspect-work-problems-787-dreamliner-2019-5

>>6433653

Indeed caught that as well.. this should prove to be an interesting trial.

>>6433756

Omarosa accuses White House of destroying evidence for Mueller investigation

Former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman says she believes the Trump administration destroyed evidence that was supposed to be handed over to special counsel Robert Mueller as part of his Russia investigation. Manigault Newman, who departed the Trump administration in December 2017, said she was instructed to leave documents related to the Trump campaign and transition by then-White House chief of staff John Kelly upon her exit. She claimed the instruction was a “clear directive” she and others were given to keep all documents concerning Mueller’s investigation.

“I think it’s important to realize that very early on in the administration, we got letters directing us to preserve all information related to the Mueller investigation ― all investigations, any information, any emails, any correspondence,” Manigault Newman said during an interview Saturday with Rev. Al Sharpton on MSNBC. “So I thought it was very interesting that after my discussion with … Kelly in the [White House] Situation Room when I went to take my things, I was instructed that I had to leave seven boxes of documents that came from the campaign, the inauguration, the transition, and they would not allow me to get them,” Manigault Newman said.

Manigault Newman said she doesn’t believe the Trump administration provided Mueller’s team with the boxes. According to an email exchange with members of the administration, only two of the boxes out of the seven were referenced. She said that “leads me to believe that they’ve destroyed the other five.” She said she’s “not the only one” who had such an experience, and suggested the Trump administration destroyed even more documents.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner. Mueller wrapped up the Russia investigation in March. His team did not find sufficient evidence showing criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin during the 2016 election. Mueller did not, however, clear Trump of obstruction of justice. Attorney General William Barr says he determined that there is insufficient evidence to prove an obstruction crime, but Democrats argue that Mueller's report, which outlines 10 instances of possible obstruction, leaves it up to Congress to investigate and decide.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/omarosa-accuses-white-house-of-destroying-evidence-for-mueller-investigation

>>6433993

She looks like she was on an epic drunk, and this is the resulting hangover effect.

>>6433996

I am not sure if she is playing a role….. or she really has something to hide.

Justice Department releases redacted Mueller report — again

The Justice Department released a second copy of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Monday evening, following a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by BuzzFeed and the Electronic Privacy and Information Center.

The lightly-redacted version of Mueller's report appears to be identical to the 448-page document that was released in April, except it sheds more light on the redactions by explaining why the blacked-out information is exempted from release under FOIA. Democrats in Congress are threatening to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt for declining to provide them with an unredacted version of the report, and this successful move by BuzzFeed and EPIC may make it easier for their battle for the full report to move forward in federal court.

Along with the report itself, the Justice Department included a letter from senior counsel Vanessa Brinkman addressed to BuzzFeed reporter Jason Leopold, who had filed a FOIA request for the report back on March 21, 2019. Brinkman said the Office of Information Policy had processed the Mueller report under FOIA and had made it available on the Justice Department website. Brinkman also said she had “determined that the Report is appropriate for release with excisions” and listed the different reasons for redactions, including exemptions related to: protecting sources and methods, safeguarding law enforcement techniques, shielding ongoing law enforcement proceedings, keeping grand jury testimony confidential, ensuring deliberative process privilege, avoiding invasions of privacy, and ensuring a fair trial. One example of how the latest version of Mueller's report adds a bit more clarity to the redaction process can be seen by comparing the short overview section on “Russian Hacking Operations” early in the document. In the originally released version, a few lines in the WikiLeaks section are said to be redacted due to “Harm to Ongoing Matter.” But in the version released Monday, DOJ explains those sentences are blacked out due to exemptions “(b)(6), (b)(7)(A), (b)(7)(B), (b)(7)(C)”, which are related to improper disclosures of information, interference with enforcement proceedings, deprivation of the right to fair trial, and invasion of privacy respectively. Leopold tweeted earlier in the day: “We intend to challenge all of the redactions.”

Mueller wrapped up the Russia investigation in March and the DOJ released a redacted version of his report in mid-April. The report showed Mueller's team did not find sufficient evidence showing criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin during the 2016 election. Mueller did not, however, clear Trump of obstruction of justice. Barr says he determined there is insufficient evidence to prove an obstruction crime, but Democrats argue Mueller's report, which outlines 10 instances of possible obstruction, leaves it up to Congress to investigate and decide. Just days before Mueller's report was released the first time, the judge in the FOIA case appeared to be sympathetic to the arguments being made by BuzzFeed, leveling critiques at what he seemed to see as the secrecy being practiced by the Justice Department. ”Obviously there is a real concern about whether there will be transparency … I hope that the government will be as transparent as it can be," said Judge Reggie Walton of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Taking aim at Barr directly, Walton said, “The Attorney General has created an environment that has caused a significant part of the American public to be concerned about whether there will be full transparency.” The release of the redacted report is just the beginning of this litigation, and the case will likely continue moving forward in federal court shortly.

The same night the Justice Department released this second version of the Mueller report, the Justice Department was also engaged in a high-profile back-and-forth with the Democrat-run House Judiciary Committee over the department's refusal to turn over an unredacted version of the report.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice-department-releases-redacted-mueller-report-again

Second Report

https://www.justice.gov/storage/report_volume1.pdf

CNN says 100 employees accepted voluntary buyouts in response to layoffs 'rumor'

CNN says roughly 100 employees have accepted voluntary buyouts a month after an overhaul by parent company AT&T. According to Deadline, AT&T's decision to offer buyouts, similar to those offered at HBO and the remnants of Turner, was in an effort to chip away at approximately $170 billion in outstanding debt, which AT&T agreed to take on as a result of their acquisition of Time Warner announced in 2016. In March, AT&T restructured the majority of their TV assets under the umbrella of WarnerMedia, including CNN. The news came after what CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter said was a "rumor" about layoffs.

"There's a rumor making the rounds today about big impending layoffs at CNN," Stelter tweeted Monday evening. "A CNN spokeswoman is knocking it down on the record: 'No layoffs.' There WERE voluntary buyouts throughout the organization, and about 100 people opted for it." WarnerMedia and CNN claim there have been no layoffs and the only exits from the company have been through the buyout process, although it is unclear if the program has a threshold of participants to prevent layoffs.

The buyouts also coincide with the first official broadcast of CNN from their new home base at 30 Hudson Yards in New York. CNN's move to the new location consolidates almost all of WarnerMedia together in a single building.

"CNN makes history with its first live broadcast from our new studios at @_HudsonYardsNYC," CNN's Javi Morgado tweeted. "@EarlyStart’s @ChristineRomans & @davebriggstv anchoring the debut broadcast. @CNN."

AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner was heavily resisted by the Department of Justice, but the agency lost every appeal, including with an effort in December. Judges ruled the merger would not have an adverse effect on consumers. AT&T is rumored to be negotiating the sale of its 10% stock of the online streaming service Hulu.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/cnn-says-100-employees-accepted-voluntary-buyouts-in-response-to-layoffs-rumor

>>6434125

Indeed, this does not sound safe at all. How does the government let this pass..who's paying who here.

>>6434134

Wondering if this has been happening in low un noticeable numbers already..and now it's time to hear the sucking sound of the plumbing draining here.

>>6434145

They certainly do…but then again when you have lived a lifetime of screwing people around..it does catch up with you, with that hardened look.