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Raphael Warnock hosted antisemite Jeremiah Wright as guest preacher in 2014: report

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Georgia senatorial candidate Rev. Raphael Warnock (D) hosted the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright as a guest preacher at his Atlanta church back in 2014, Fox News reported Thursday night. Wright, whom Warnock has defended in the past, was once a pastor for former President Barack Obama and has a history of making antisemitic and other inflammatory statements.

A flyer for the event discovered on Facebook advertised Wright as a guest preacher at Warnock’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, the same church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was once a pastor, Fox News reports. The flyer was posted to Facebook on September 8, 2014, and states that Wright was to speak at the church on September 10.

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A flyer for the event posted to Facebook on September 8, 2014.

A spokesman for his election opponent, incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R), slammed Warnock’s recently unearthed action from 2014.

“Not only did Raphael Warnock praise Jeremiah Wright’s ‘God Damn America’ sermon, he thought it was so great that he invited him to Ebenezer Baptist to deliver it,” Loeffler’s communications director, Stephen Lawson, told Fox News Thursday night. “Does Georgia really want a U.S. senator who thinks God should damn America?”

Warnock defended Wright in a 2008 Fox News interview, which came after a resurfaced video of Wright delivering a 2003 sermon titled “Confusing God and Government,” in response to the politically divisive U.S. invasion of Iraq that year.

“Not God bless America; God damn America,” Wright said at the time. “That’s in the Bible, for killing innocent people. God damn America, for treating her citizens as less than human. God damn America as long as she tries to act like she is God and she is supreme.”

Warnock called it a “disservice” to the country to harp on old soundbites, according to Fox News. This would come years before his own statements would resurface during his Senate campaign, which have especially been used for fodder in Republican advertisements against his candidacy.

“We celebrate Rev. Wright in the same way that we celebrate the truth-telling tradition of the Black church, which when preachers tell the truth, very often it makes people uncomfortable,” he said.

Wright became the center of controversy in 2009 when he blamed Jews for preventing him from talking with then-President Obama. Obama had distanced himself from the preacher over his “divisive” comments.

Warnock, despite his repeated defenses of the controversial preacher, has denounced antisemitism and, notably, was endorsed last week by the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC, a progressive Jewish group.

Currently, there is a set of twin U.S. Senate runoff elections in the Peach State happening on January 5, which will determine which party controls the Senate at the beginning of President-elect Joe Biden’s fast-approaching presidency. For the past couple of weeks, Georgians have been casting absentee ballots and began in-person early voting on Monday.

The state’s other Senate race is between incumbent Sen. David Perdue (R) and Democrat Jon Ossoff. If Democrats sweep both seats, they will control 50 out of the 100 seats in the upper chamber and have Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as the tie-breaking vote. Pulling off such a hat trick would likely make confirming Biden’s Cabinet picks slightly easier for the Democrats.

You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.

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After 3 days, 12 jurors for Trump alleged hush money trial have been chosen

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What was anticipated to take up to two weeks has concluded in only three days. 12 jurors have been chosen for the trial against former President Donald Trump, who has been charged by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. The charges surround alleged hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts, stating the trial is “political persecution.” The former president is expected to testify during his trial, and Fox News has published a list with what is known of the individuals:

Juror #1 and the foreperson: lives in New York City but is originally from Ireland. He has no children and enjoys doing anything outdoorsy. He gets his news from the New York Times, Daily Mail, Fox News and MSNBC.

When asked by Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche if he was aware Trump is charged in other cases and jurisdictions, and how that affects him, the man said, “I don’t have an opinion.”

Juror #2 Is a man who said he follows Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen on “X,” formerly known as Twitter, as well as other “right wing” accounts, including former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway.

The reason, he said, he follows those figures was so he could be plugged in to “anything that might move the markets I might need to know about.”

When asked if he would unfollow Cohen, as he may be a witness in the trial, the man said: “absolutely.”

The man also said he has “not seen any evidence” relating to the case.

“I will try to keep an open mind,” he said.

Responding to questions from Trump lawyer Susan Necheles about his feelings about the former president, the man said that Trump has done some good for the country.

“It’s ambivalent,” he said. “It goes both ways.”

The first person who was labeled juror #2 was excused Thursday morning after saying she could not be a fair juror.

Juror #3 is a young to middle-aged Asian man who lives in Manhattan. The man said he grew up in Oregon and has been an attorney for five years practicing corporate law. The man said he enjoys hiking and running, and gets his news from The New York Times and Google.

Juror #4 is originally from California, but has lived in New York City for 15 years. The man said he has been a security engineer for 25 years and holds a high school diploma, with some college education.

The man is married with three children. His wife is a teacher.

During his spare time, he enjoys being with his children, woodworking, and metal working.

The man said he has served on a jury before — on both a grand jury and a jury in a criminal trial.

The man said he gets his news from “a smattering” of news sources. As for social media, he said he doesn’t use it.

The man said he has a relative who works in finance and brothers-in-law that work as lawyers.

The man said he has no feelings about how Trump is being treated in this case.

The person who was first labeled as Juror #4 was excused Thursday morning after it was revealed that he had been previously arrested in Westchester, N.Y., for tearing down right-wing political advertisements.

Juror #5 is young and a New York native who has been a teacher of English Language Arts for eight years.

The woman was previously a caseworker at a juvenile detention center. She said she has a masters’ degree in education.

“I’m creative at heart,” she said, adding that she enjoys photography.

The woman said that she is not married and does not have children. Her mother was an administrative aide for a police department, and her godfather was a homicide detective.

The woman said she gets her news from Google and TikTok.

She was asked if Trump chose not to testify, whether she would hold that against him.

“I won’t hold that against him,” she said.

She explained that she has friends who have strong opinions on the former president but said she is not a political person and tries to avoid political conversations.

She did say, however, that she appreciates Trump’s candor.

“President Trump speaks his mind, and I’d rather that than someone who’s in office who you don’t know what they’re thinking,” she said.

When jurors were asked if they were aware Trump was charged in other cases than Bragg’s, most jurors were. However, juror #5 raised her hand to indicate that she was learning of additional charges for the first time.

Juror #6 is a young woman who lives in Manhattan. She described herself as a New Yorker. The woman is a software engineer and said she likes to dance.

Juror #7 is originally from North Carolina and works as an attorney and civil litigator.

The man said he is married with two children, and his wife works in risk management for a bank. He said he enjoys spending time outdoors and with his family.

The man said he gets his news from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Post and the Washington Post.

When asked if his career as a lawyer would impact his ability to serve fair and impartially, or whether his opinions would get in his way, the man said that he does have “political views as to the Trump presidency” and said there were likely Trump administration policies he disagreed with.

“I don’t know the man and I don’t have any opinions about him personally,” he said.

As for his career as a lawyer, he said he does not have any opinions about Trump’s character.

“I certainly follow the news,” he said. “I’m aware there are other lawsuits out there. But I’m not sure that I know anyone’s character.”

Juror #8 has been selected. Information on this juror is not yet available.

Juror #9 is a woman who lives in Manhattan. She is originally from New Jersey and works as a speech therapist.

The woman is not married and does not have children. She said she likes to spend time with friends, go to restaurants, and go on walks.

The woman said she has never served on a jury before, and does not watch the news or follow current events too closely. The woman said she did, though, have email subscriptions to CNN and The New York Times. She said she follows social media accounts, listens to podcasts, and enjoys reality television.

The woman said she does not listen to talk radio.

The woman said she can be fair and impartial. She said she does have opinions about Trump, but said she believes she can put them aside and be fair and impartial.

Juror #10 is a man who lives in Manhattan. He was born and raised in Ohio and works in commerce for a large company. The man has a college degree.

The man said he is not married and has no children, but lives with another adult who works in accounting.

The man said he enjoys being outdoors and loves animals.

The man said he does not really follow the news, but listens to podcasts on behavioral psychology.

The man said he has no strong opinions on how Trump is treated in this case.

Juror #11 has been selected. Information on this juror was not immediately available.

Juror #12 has been selected. Information on this juror was not immediately available.

 

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