[Gateway] The two former senior FBI officials who were arrested and charged with lying to Congress about their involvement in the Hunter Biden investigation were hit with new charges on Tuesday — but a far-left magistrate judge tossed out the new charges.
Nikki Cole Floris, 46, of Alexandria, Virginia, and Bradley Benavides, 56, of Aiken, South Carolina, were taken into custody and charged with making false statements about the Hunter Biden laptop investigation last week.
Floris also privately boasted about "running a shadow government" during the 2020 election.
"Evidence shows that Floris discussed the FBI’s investigations into Hunter Biden routinely for more than a year both within the FITF and with others in the FBI. Contrary to his assertion that he learned of the Hunter Biden laptop from Wikipedia, Benavides regularly discussed the laptop with FBI officials in the leadup to the 2020 election," the DOJ said.
[FoxNews] Acting US Attorney Neil Floyd said some identified individuals voted in multiple elections dating back to the late 1980s
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday that investigators have identified more than 400 noncitizens illegally registered to vote in Washington state, some of whom have cast ballots in multiple elections dating back decades.
Many on the list are green card holders with legal immigration status and permanent residency, according to the U.S. attorney’s offices for the Eastern and Western districts of Washington.
"We have identified over 400 noncitizens who are registered to vote and have voted in multiple elections. This is only the tip of the iceberg," Neil Floyd, acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington, said in a statement.
"We will continue to investigate and identify those who are committing crimes by voting illegally."
The move builds on the DOJ's legal action against Los Angeles County, where it has sought to set aside roughly 20,000 mail-in ballots sent to individuals whose citizenship status is in question.
Immigration officials told Fox News Digital Tuesday that dozens of noncitizens have also been arrested nationwide in a major voter fraud crackdown.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Floyd said investigators identified hundreds of noncitizen voters by reviewing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) records, which showed that some people who applied for certain benefits had also voted.
While some individuals voted only once or three times in past elections, Floyd said others voted as many as 27 times. In total, his office counted approximately 1,500 instances of noncitizens casting ballots.
He emphasized that some noncitizens had been voting for decades, predating Washington’s transition to a vote-by-mail system.
"I think the earliest moment we have is 1984," Floyd said. "It's early ‘90s, late ’80s, I believe."
However, Floyd said he had not checked whether any of the individuals voted in the upcoming midterms, explaining that he did not want to "interfere with the current election."
The number of potential noncitizen voters could represent only a fraction of the broader population, Floyd said, because the list includes only individuals who sought certain benefits in Washington state.
"If you take that population, and you expand it out to include all the people that are here illegally that we haven't had contact with, just my estimation is that it's going to be in the thousands," Floyd said.
Federal officials said many green card holders were registered to vote without their knowledge through Washington’s Motor Voter program, which integrates voter registration into the state’s Department of Licensing.
"We have heard from green card holders who were registered against their knowledge via the Washington Motor Voter program. Then they receive a ballot in the mail and assume they are legally registered — that simply is not the case," the notice said.
According to the Washington secretary of state’s website, eligible residents are automatically registered to vote only if they provide proof of U.S. citizenship during a driver’s license or ID card registration process.
The findings have prompted federal officials to identify patterns in how the voter registration process has failed, Floyd said.
According to the DOJ notice, federal officials are asking Washington state to set aside ballots cast by the identified individuals until their citizenship status can otherwise be confirmed.
"Washington is now on notice that noncitizens are voting. It is up to the state to take action to make sure that they are not allowing these noncitizens to vote illegally," the notice said.
Officials warned that voting as a noncitizen can have serious consequences for those seeking to become U.S. citizens. Potential criminal charges include making false statements in a naturalization application, and some individuals could also face charges for fraudulent voter registration.
On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News Digital numerous illegal aliens had also admitted to unlawfully registering to vote or casting ballots in U.S. elections.
Of the dozens of suspects arrested, at least 18 had voted in a federal election.
The individuals were from a range of countries, including Mexico, Somalia, Honduras, Guyana, Cuba, Germany, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Vietnam, El Salvador, Cambodia, Guatemala, Portugal and Italy.
Many also faced charges for numerous alleged crimes, including counterfeiting, fraud, kidnapping, DUI, sexual offenses, assault with a dangerous weapon, drug possession and burglary.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Ol'ga Kuznetsova
[Regnum] Following the results of the first round of the presidential elections in Brazil, the team of the current national leader Lula da Silva seemed to have suffered a defeat.
His opponent, Flavio Bolsonaro, was ahead by several percentage points, having attracted the electorate of other candidates to his side and formed a lobby in Congress and the Supreme Court.
There's no need to even mention his support from Washington: the "rightward turn" in Latin America that Donald Trump favors has practically happened.
But still it was not completed.
The next round of voting began, and the results of the second round shocked observers: Lula had finally pulled ahead with 51.8% of the vote. This was virtually unprecedented in Brazilian politics, as electoral tradition over the past few decades had been quite specific: the winner of the first round ultimately ascended to the presidency.
Stock markets took this scenario into account, and on October 25, they bet on a Bolsonaro victory, which resulted in a massive decline in Brazilian stocks on the Chicago and Tokyo stock exchanges. While financial moguls are no strangers to such somersaults, the so-called conceptual blow to Brazil's right-wing establishment and its support in Washington is far more pressing.
However, Flavio Bolsonaro's team, which won 48.2% of the vote, is not ready to give up hope just yet.
REMEMBER ALL THE SINS
Following the first round, President Lula da Silva drew certain conclusions and, within 24 hours of the vote, stepped up his outreach to young people, especially students. Peaceful protests erupted, rallies against the "selling of the country into resource slavery to the US" took place at universities across the country, and social media was flooded with neuro-cartoons supporting the ruling forces.
The main goal was to get as many people as possible to the polls. It turned out that more than 33 million citizens ignored the first round, 20% of them young people.
The task was challenging, even though voting in elections is a legal obligation for Brazilians, and those who remain silent face fines and restrictions on access to certain government services.
Bolsonaro's team also understood these nuances and launched a campaign no worse than the left. The candidates tried to accuse each other of managerial mistakes and, at the same time, recall all their sins. This atmosphere characterized both the final debates and the final days of campaigning.
Bolsonaro's position actually improved in the debates—he prevented Lula from radically changing the situation in his favor. However, he did go too far, publicly mocking his opponent's missing finger.
Lula lost the little finger on his left hand at the age of 17 while working as a lathe operator. Flávio's outburst was seen as a condescending mockery of the injury, and many voters became interested in the fate of Brazil's current president for the first time. They began searching for his biography online, a move that political strategists seized upon as part of their promotional strategy.
Flavio's staff was also on the alert: Bolsonaro received a negative signal from focus groups, apologized to Lula, and avoided a downgrade.
Lula, for his part, managed to give voters a significant gift by abolishing the six-day work week. Meanwhile, no one plans to cut wages.
The initiative proved so popular that Bolsonaro also joined it, albeit with certain reservations and emphasis on the fact that such an approach could be the result of an agreement between the employee and the employer, meaning it is not mandatory.
Bolsonaro's position is understandable, as directly speaking out against such an innovation would be political suicide, given that the bill was supported by nearly 70% of the country's population.
As a result, by election day, Lula and Bolsonaro's chances were roughly 50-50. Flavio's goal was to maintain the status quo, preventing his opponent from improving his position.
AN EXTRA TWO HOURS
Both candidates continued to flirt with public symbolism until the very end. Flavio Bolsonaro, in keeping with the perennial fashion of the Latin American right, showed up to vote wearing a bulletproof vest under his shirt, while Lula, on the contrary, appeared in public without his usual hat.
Thus, the leader of the left showed that there is no trace left of the injuries and medical procedures that rained down on his head some time ago, he is healthy and capable of leading the country even at 81 years old.
These seem like trivial details. However, given the political rift that has gripped modern Brazil, any seemingly insignificant detail can mean the difference between victory and defeat.
For example, following the results of the first round and the corruption scandal surrounding the Bolsonaro clan's main enemy, Alexandre de Moraes, it was assumed that Lula's ties with the Supreme Court, which largely ensure his political immunity, had been seriously undermined.
However, as soon as problems with transport arose in the regions during the second round of voting, the situation took a completely different turn.
In some regions, due to funding shortages for public transportation, many people (including rural residents and indigenous peoples) were unable to reach polling stations and vote. Lula quickly raised the issue to the national level, and the Supreme Court approved a two-hour extension for electoral commissions.
Bolsonaro's team, incidentally, initially supported this measure. They needed real votes, too. But then problems arose.
Some polling stations received notice of extended hours after they had already finished accepting voters and sealed the ballot boxes. It soon became clear that only those polling stations that hadn't printed final voting protocols before the court's decision was published could continue operating. This placed voters in different positions.
The right, of course, tried to exploit this to their advantage, pointing out that the judge who ordered the extension, Cristian Zanin, is a former lawyer for Lula himself and chaired the panel that sentenced Jair Bolsonaro, the former president and father of the current candidate. This means there's a clear conflict of interest, which would likely lead to a third round, and the overall situation bears some resemblance to a coup d'état.
At the same time, there were cries of indignation from ordinary people who rushed to vote in the last two hours and discovered that the commission staff had left, refusing to work extra hours for free.
There is a strong reverence for "work-life balance" in Brazil, particularly among left-wing supporters, but at some polling stations, ballot boxes were left unattended, potentially leading to accusations of vote rigging.
PROMISED AND WON
Both candidates' teams spent practically the entire night after the polls closed. New polls and new counts came out, with victory shifting between Lula and Flávio. Lula, however, had initially pulled ahead, but the Bolsonaro clan showed no sign of retreating.
Even now, with the vote count complete and the incumbent president starting to receive congratulations, some regional experts are not ruling out the possibility that Flavio will still snatch victory.
It's difficult to imagine how the right-wingers plan to implement such a scenario. Bolsonaro has already stated that he will seek to annul the election results due to the extended polling station opening hours. However, most legal experts still doubt this option is feasible.
In order to declare an election invalid, there must be indisputable proof of a procedural violation that distorted the will of the voters and significantly influenced the outcome of the vote.
There have been no such precedents in Brazilian history. On the other hand, no one has ever lost in the first round of elections to become president. So, some twists of fate cannot be ruled out.
Nevertheless, Lula da Silva was able to increase the final turnout by almost 10%, and the gap between him and Flavio is several million votes, which is difficult to justify solely on the basis of two extra hours of polling station work.
Brazil's incumbent leader won, as he promised his supporters after the first round. But how will Washington, where seemingly all efforts have been thrown into supporting the Bolsonaro clan, react?
THE SPLIT PERSISTS
In the first hours after the vote, there was no significant reaction from Washington. Argentine President Javier Miley, who personally flew to São Paulo to campaign for Flávio Bolsonaro, also remained silent.
The reaction of other right-wing leaders in the region—in Chile, Peru, and Ecuador—was indicative. They congratulated Lula and refrained from making any pro-American comments.
This is partly due to the fact that Flávio Bolsonaro could well have won if not for the excessive interference of Trump and Flávio's brother, Eduardo, with their plans to build business with Brazil, but with America at the forefront. The example of "prosperous" Venezuela has already dispelled any illusions.
The "war on drug trafficking," which has already led to the extrajudicial deaths of dozens of Latin Americans, and the fight against illegal immigration, which has led to even more residents of the Western Hemisphere ending up in temporary detention centers that are little different from regular prisons, have also played a role.
Essentially, by the end of 2026, the typical Latin American resident had become quite fed up with Trump's active involvement in the political life of Latin American countries. After all, the traditional love of freedom in these latitudes has not disappeared, and constant reminders of the Monroe and Donrhoe Doctrines are already causing outrage.
You win some, you lose some. Statistically speaking, the good guys are still far ahead.
Don't think that the left, led by Lula, has all its backs covered. The president's relationship with the Supreme Court, the activities of the court itself, and its employees have long raised many questions.
There are also plenty of complaints about the ruling forces' economic and security policies. Crime has increased in recent years; gangsters have even acquired drones and used them to attack military police in Rio.
Lula will also have to navigate international relations: the United States will remain Brazil's main trading partner, as will Argentina and China. Russia also wields considerable influence, supplying fertilizer to the region and having virtually no competitors, even without taking into account its BRICS partnership.
Almost all big business is behind Bolsonaro, but entrepreneurs also need contacts with markets in China and Europe, where, incidentally, Lula is viewed quite favorably, especially given his difficult relationship with Trump.
At the same time, Brazil's Congress has shifted significantly to the right following the recent elections, so this too will have to be taken into account. Experts in Brazil suggest that it's possible that Lula will simply be forced to include conservatives among his top advisers and ministers in order to maintain his current position.
Other issues also stand out: millions of citizens still haven't gone to the polls, the country remains politically divided, and 81-year-old Lula still has no successor. Therefore, the cabinet will be unstable.
However, if the right had won, the situation would have been similar, only tilted in the opposite direction. So, left and right will have to work together with the population and partner countries in any case.
As for the potential for repercussions or protests, they are highly likely to occur after the presidential inauguration, in early January 2027. By then, the true US response will already be clear, as will the strategy of Lula's new cabinet.
Meanwhile, Brazil's favelas, traditionally home to left-wing voters, are ablaze with celebratory fireworks. It's possible, however, that they might flare up again in a few months—but for a different reason.
The law passed a few weeks ago phases in a 40 hour work week. The standard work week currently is 44 hours, with a 1 hour meal break and two 15 min coffee breaks (which frequently go to 30-45 min).
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
10/28/2026 9:59 Comments ||
Top||
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] Flávio Bolsonaro, who lost the Brazilian presidential election, fled the country despite a court order banning him from leaving the country and is heading to the United States. This was reported on October 27 by the Argentine newspaper La Nación.
A source confirmed that the politician is en route to the United States, but did not disclose details of his departure. Bolsonaro is reportedly traveling to Florida with his wife and two daughters.
"He is expected to meet on Wednesday [October 28] with his brother Eduardo Bolsonaro, who lives in the United States and has an arrest warrant in Brazil," the report said.
Prior to this, Judge Alexandre de Morais of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court banned Bolsonaro from leaving the country and ordered him to surrender his passports as part of a money laundering investigation. The following day, the Federal Police revoked his regular and diplomatic passports.
Earlier, Brazil's Liberal Party, which had been Flávio Bolsonaro's presidential candidate, officially recognized the election results and the victory of incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. It also noted that the electoral commission must clarify issues raised by the two-hour extension of the second round of voting.
Flávio Bolsonaro previously abandoned his intention to seek annulment of the election results. Instead, Bolsonaro's team plans to file a lawsuit to overturn the election of President Lula da Silva. The lawsuit will be based on alleged misuse of economic and political resources during the election campaign. Bolsonaro himself confirmed his intention to pursue this decision, accusing his rival of using public funds to attract voters.
On October 25, da Silva won the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, receiving 51.75% of the vote. His opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro, received 48.25%. The elected head of state is scheduled to take office on January 1, 2027.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his re-election as president. The Russian leader emphasized Lula's personal contribution to strengthening the strategic partnership between Brazil and Russia and stated that the two sides will continue to work closely to expand cooperation, including within the UN, BRICS, and the G20.
[DM] Two conservative activists are facing felony charges brought by 'America's wokest prosecutor' after they dressed in Muslim clothing to test the 'lunacy' of Minnesota's voting systems.
Influencers James O'Keefe, 42, and Cam Higby, 26, were charged on Wednesday with unlawful voting and identity theft by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, over a political stunt they pulled on August 11.
The pair filmed themselves entering polling places during the state's primary election dressed in head-to-toe Muslim clothing, intending to expose the 'sheer lunacy' of the state's voting programs.
Specifically, the pair were highlighting the state's 'vouching' process, which allows a registered voter to vouch for the identities of up to eight other people, which then allows the others to vote without an ID.
Footage of the conservative activists testing the system racked up millions of views across social media.
But they did not vote. I seem to recall they handed back the ballots with the promise to come back with more voters, which they did not do, which should make prosecuting very interesting.
[Gateway] Democrat House Leader Hakeem Jeffries nodded repeatedly and signaled that a Democrat-controlled Congress would reverse the Trump administration’s third-country deportations when asked about it at a Florida campaign event with congressional candidate Eliott Rodriguez.
The exchange took place earlier this month at a press conference at CAO Bakery & Cafe in Pinecrest, where Jeffries campaigned for Rodriguez in Florida’s 27th Congressional District.
A reporter asked whether "a new Congress under your new leadership will bring back people who have been deported to third countries like Africa" and referenced families seeking the return of relatives.
Jeffries responded by thanking the reporter, stating that "we need dramatic change in terms of the extreme immigration enforcement policies that have been inhumanely unleashed on the American people and hardworking immigrant families," and emphasizing that House Democrats have "continue[d] to make clear that Donald Trump’s violent mass deportation machine does not get a dime."
[Gateway] Chris Cuomo, formerly of CNN and now with NewsNation, recently ran into a black man in Detroit who is voting for Republican Mike Rogers and when he explained why it made perfect sense.
At this point, it’s probably safe to say that Abdul El-Sayed’s black voter problem in Michigan is real.
It seems like every week, there is another media interview with a black voter from Michigan saying that they are voting for Mike Rogers. And the thing is, Rogers does not even have to win all of the black vote. If he takes merely 30 percent of it, that is probably going to be enough to win the race.
O’Keefe Media Group:
An Abdul El-Sayed Operative Was Caught on Camera Saying Three Words That May Cost Democrats the Election
[RenewedRight] Democrats ...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy,white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects... spent years telling you foreign money in elections was the ultimate threat to democracy.
Now one of their own operatives just admitted — on hidden camera — exactly how it works.
James O’Keefe caught an Abdul El-Sayed operative saying three words that may cost Democrats the election.
THE WORDS THAT CANNOT BE WALKED BACK
Regional field organizer Abdoul Beckwith didn't know he was being recorded when he explained Abdul El-Sayed's fundraising operation.
"You know, he has people from overseas that donate to him," Beckwith said on the O'Keefe Media Group footage.
That sentence alone is a federal crime waiting to happen.
Beckwith knew that.
He admitted it on camera.
"It's not allowed," he said.
Then he explained how the El-Sayed campaign gets around that inconvenient legal reality.
In an off-camera portion of the conversation, Beckwith walked through the scheme: overseas money passes through a family member first.
"And then people overseas give money to him," Beckwith said, describing the arrangement. "And then he gives money to you. It's that type of thing."
Then came the line that should be playing on every television in Michigan.
"Everybody does it!" he said.
THE HAMAS PROBLEM HE JUST EXPLAINED
Beckwith didn't stop at the money.
He explained why El-Sayed — a candidate running for United States Senate — cannot bring himself to denounce Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... Doing so, Beckwith said, would "lose the people that brought him up in the first place."
That is not a campaign staffer going rogue.
That is a regional field organizer, embedded in the campaign's operation, describing who the campaign's real constituency is.
THIS IS THE SAME SCHEME DEMOCRATS HAVE PROSECUTED FOR DECADES
The playbook Beckwith described has a paper trail going back decades.
In 1999, Charlie Trie pleaded guilty to routing foreign contributions through straw donors into Democrat Party accounts.
Terry McAuliffe — twice governor of Virginia — was hit with a federal campaign finance complaint after taking $350,000 from a foreign-owned company under investigation for overseas money laundering.
The scheme Beckwith described on camera — overseas money routed through a family member — is textbook straw donor laundering, the same mechanism federal prosecutors have targeted repeatedly under the Federal Election Campaign Act.
The method Beckwith called "that type of thing" has sent people to federal court.
"Everybody does it" has never once been a legal defense.
WHAT COMES NEXT
O'Keefe has already promised a second wave of footage — the reaction inside El-Sayed's bankrupt, increasingly impoverished, reliably Democrat, Detroit ... ruled by Democrats since 1962. A city whose Golden Age included the Purple Gang... campaign headquarters when OMG showed up for comment.
Beckwith physically assaulted members of the O'Keefe team during that visit.
O'Keefe filed a police report with the Detroit Police Department.
The Michigan Democrat Party moved fast — announcing Beckwith is "no longer employed" by the party before the video had been online for an hour.
JUST IN: The Michigan Democratic Party has announced Abdoul Beckwith has been terminated from his position. @MichiganDems https://t.co/ahrJjueVNZ
Not surprising at all. Even a paramecium will turn away from pain, it’s said, so why not American Jews?
[RedState] Since the dawn of the MAGA era, Democrats are seeing many of their core constituencies disappear. Every election, President Donald Trump has seen his share of support among black, Hispanic, and other minority voters grow as they abandoned the Democrat Party. They are reliable voting blocs that Democrats have taken for granted. Now, they may be down to one of their last die-hard groups of supporters, and even they may be fading fast.
According to a new poll by pollsters John and Jim McLaughlin, among Jewish voters, Republicans are up by 31 points over Democrats. Even though the sample of Jewish voters was small, the poll surveyed 1,000 likely voters nationwide, with Jews making up around just four percent of the polling sample. The poll showed that 64 percent of Jewish voters supported Republicans for Congress, and 33 percent supported Democrats. In an election cycle that has a real possibility of swinging to either party, a shift in the Jewish vote is significant.
In places like New York, where Democrats have long enjoyed a majority of the Jewish vote, separate polling data analyzed by CNN's Harry Enten is telling a different story. In House races in 2022, Democrats were up among Jewish voters by 49 points. This year, that number has dropped to just 13 points. Protestant, Catholic, and Evangelical voters all favored Republicans in the poll. Democrats were favored by secular, atheist, agnostic, or voters with no religious affiliation, as well as Muslim voters.
'A Big Deal!' NYT Reporter Warns Polling May Not Be Picking Up Democrats Voting Against El-Sayed
The polls could be making it look like Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D) is in a better position heading into Election Day than he actually is, The New York Timesnational reporter Jeremy Peters told MS NOW on Monday morning.
Peters reported the polls do not seem to be “picking up” staunch Democrats who are planning to vote for Republican Mike Rogers because they are so turned off by El-Sayed.
Jewish Michiganders, in particular, are a key block of usually reliable Democratic voters who are now pivoting to the GOP.
“One of the factors that is really worth paying closer attention to are the number of Democrats, lifelong Jewish Democrats, especially in the Detroit suburbs, who are saying for the first time in their lives they’re voting Republican,” Peters said. “That’s a big deal."
Peters shared his analysis a few weeks after Andy Schor, the Jewish mayor of Lansing, said he can’t vote for El-Sayedbecause he is too “uncomfortable” with the progressive candidate bashing Israel.
Schor’s hesitation comes after El-Sayed has said Israel is just as “evil” as Hamas, repeatedly accused the country of committing a “genocide” in Gaza, and accused AIPAC of “legalized bribery” by giving to his primary opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI).
And Schor is not the only Jewish Democrat who has expressed skepticism about voting for El-Sayed.
https://t.co/B1La5eE493
— 🌻🇺🇸 🇮🇱 🧡Pro USA & Israel Reagan Republican (@lou_twin) October 20, 2026
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Gateway] Democrat House Leader 
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
