The Daily Signal - TOP NEWS | Grand Jury Finds No Evidence of Widespread Voter Fraud, New Bill Would Ban Young Teens From Social Media, Heritage Foundation Turns 50 | Feb. 16

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Starting point is 00:00:31 I'm Virginia Allen. I'm Samantha Sherris. And this is the Daily Sleepville Top News for Thursday, February 16th. Here are today's headlines. A Georgia grand jury has concluded that there was no widespread fraud in the state during the 2020 presidential election. But the jury has also found that there was at least one witness who may have lied to the jury under oath while giving testimony. Here with us to explain the findings of this report is Heritage Foundation Senior Law. legal fellow and the manager of election law reform at the Heritage Foundation, Hans von Spakovsky. Hans, thanks for being here.

Starting point is 00:01:18 We're sure. Thanks for having me. So just three parts of this report have been released, the intro, the conclusion, and then there's a section that details concerns over this witness, at least one, maybe multiple, who are thought to have maybe lied under oath while giving testimony. So Hans, this grand jury, they reported that they found no evidence of widespread fraud that would have been enough to overturn in the 2020 presidential election. What evidence was this grand jury looking at? Well, we don't know because the proceedings of a grand jury are secret and only selected portions.

Starting point is 00:01:52 I, you know, it's not that I want to dispute what the grand jury found, but I have a hard time accepting its conclusion without knowing who they spoke to, who were their witnesses. I mean, the one thing I do know is that the prosecutor in Fulton County who called this, it's a woman named Fannie Willis. Fannie Willis is a politically ambitious, biased prosecutor. And she has shown that on numerous occasions. She is not an objective prosecutor, the kind that you want to have in pursuing criminal investigations. And you can see that in some of the witnesses. we do know that she called.

Starting point is 00:02:38 And some of them was just ridiculous. She called South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham. She called in former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. She called in the former speaker of the U.S. House, Newt Gingrich, all of whom had absolutely nothing to do whatsoever with anything going on in Georgia. And the fact that she called those individuals of witnesses tells you, I think, that she was trying to do things that would bring national

Starting point is 00:03:05 attention to her to further her political ambitions, not actually investigate a case. So I, without knowing who all the grand jury talked to and knowing that she was leading the grand jury makes me a little bit doubtful of any findings that it has. So in other words, it sounds like what you're saying, this was largely set up to be more of a political show than anything else. I think that is exactly correct. Okay. So then do you trust the findings? I mean, in your own research and in looking at fraud, not just in Georgia, but across the country, when it relates to two elections and voting and election integrity, what do you think happened in Georgia? And, you know, no matter what the motives were in this, can we trust the conclusion that this grand jury came to? Again, like I said, I haven't seen evidence that there was massive fraud in Georgia that would have returned the election outcome.

Starting point is 00:04:08 On the other hand, I do know that there were a number of lawsuits filed, and none of those lawsuits actually went all the way to a substantive conclusion. In other words, we would have an answer if the judges hadn't simply dismissed the cases. All the lawsuits in Georgia were dismissed on procedural grounds. You know, judges saying, oh, you filed two laws. or you don't have standing, they didn't get to the point where they actually had trials where they examined the witnesses,

Starting point is 00:04:37 examined the evidence, try to determine the credibility of the claims being made. If that had happened, then we would have a certain answer. But we're supposed to trust the findings of a secret grand jury when, like I said,

Starting point is 00:04:50 we don't know who they talked to, we don't know what evidence they submitted. Trials would have been open. We would have been able to observe it, see who the witnesses are, examine the evidence. That didn't happen with a grand jury. So again, I just, I don't have anything really that gives me a basis for trusting its findings because I don't know what they did. And because it was also secretive, we don't know who the individual is who is believed to have lied under testimony. That is right. And like I said, again, not only is the secrecy of the grand jury a problem, but the fact that it was led by convened and directed by one of the most political D.S.

Starting point is 00:05:29 we probably have in the country. Hans von Sikoski of the Heritage Foundation. If you would like to follow his writing and his reporting on the issue of election integrity, you can find his work on the Heritage Foundation website. But Hans, thank you so much for your time today. We appreciate it. Sure. Thanks for having me.

Starting point is 00:05:46 Most teens are active on social media these days, but a proposed bill from Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley aims to change that. Earlier this week, Holly introduced a bill that would prohibit anyone under the age of 16 from having social media accounts. The bill is called Making Age Verification Technology Uniform, Robust and Effective, or the Mature Act for short. If passed, the bill would require social media companies to not allow anyone to make an account on the platform unless the social media company verified the user was at

Starting point is 00:06:22 least 16 years old. Holly said he was introducing the bill because children suffer every day. from the effects of social media. Holly says big tech companies are neglecting children's health and monetizing their personal information. During a recent Senate hearing, Holly spoke as a parent saying that the bill would help to protect even his own son. Parents are in favor of it.

Starting point is 00:06:46 I got the idea from parents who came to me and said, please help us. You know, please help us. And listen, I'm all for tech training. It's great. But I just don't think that's going to cut it. So I've introduced legislation to do it. Let's keep it simple.

Starting point is 00:06:56 Let's just let's put this power in. the hands of parents. I'd start there. The introduction of the bill comes the same week that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study showing that depression and anxiety are at an all-time high in teen girls. Many Americans blame social media for this uptick in mental health challenges in teens. In the state of Florida, efforts have been underway to remove books from schools that are believed to be inappropriate for children. So far, 175 books have been removed from public schools. Among those removed, 87% contained content that is pornographic, violent, or inappropriate for the grade level, according to Florida's Department of Education.

Starting point is 00:07:40 Two Florida school districts, Duval County, and St. John's County, removed the most books at 19 each. Deval County schools reported that 16 out of the 19 books were removed because they contained pornographic, violent, or inappropriate content. The data on the removed books comes amid a review of education materials in Florida schools. The review was prompted by the state's curriculum transparency bill and a national outcry over explicit conversations, books, and materials for school children. Some media outlets like the Washington Post have suggested that Florida's crackdown on books in schools is forcing teachers to get rid of all their books to avoid prosecution. But Florida Governor Rhonda Santa's press secretary,

Starting point is 00:08:27 Terry Ryan Griffin wrote on Twitter that there has been no state instruction to empty libraries or cover up classroom books. And he added that Florida is taking a stand against pornography and sexual material in the classroom. The DailySeedle's Mary Margaret Olahan has reported on this issue and we'll be sure to leave that link in today's show notes if you want to read more. Today is a special day here at the Daily Signal because today is the 50th anniversary of the, of the Heritage Foundation, which is, of course, the parent company of the Daily Signal. Heritage was founded in 1973, and today is one of the largest and most influential think tanks. In April, Heritage will celebrate its 50th anniversary in Washington, D.C., and Fox News primetime host, Tucker Carlson, will be the keynote speaker at the event.

Starting point is 00:09:21 Heritage Foundation President Dr. Kevin Roberts announced the news saying, Tucker Carlson is a fearless American who is unafraid to challenge the Washington regime, ask tough questions, and hold the ruling elite accountable. Roberts added, we are excited to welcome Tucker Carlson back to Heritage as we mark this important milestone and celebrate our 50th anniversary. If you want to learn more about Heritage's 50th anniversary celebration, follow the link in today's show notes or visit the Heritage Foundation's website. And that's going to do it for today's episode.

Starting point is 00:09:56 Thanks for listening to The Daily Signal's top news. If you haven't gotten a chance, be sure to check out our morning show right here in this podcast feed where we interview lawmakers, experts, and leading conservative voices. Join us tomorrow morning for the Daily Signal's interview edition. I'm going to be sitting down with national security expert Victoria Coates to discuss the latest on the war in Ukraine as we approach the one-year mark. Also, make sure you subscribe to the Daily Signal wherever you get your podcast. and help us reach even more listeners by leaving a five-star review and rating. We read all of your feedback. Thanks again for listening.

Starting point is 00:10:31 Have a great night. We'll be back with you all tomorrow morning. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation. Executive producers are Rob Luey and Kate Trinko. Producers are Virginia Allen and Samantha Asheras. Sound designed by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney, and John Pop. To learn more, please visit Daily. wwwisignal.com.

The Daily Signal - TOP NEWS | Grand Jury Finds No Evidence of Widespread Voter Fraud, New Bill Would Ban Young Teens From Social Media, Heritage Foundation Turns 50 | Feb. 16

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