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Top Republicans Rub Shoulders With Extremists In Secretive Rightwing Groups

Top Republicans rub shoulders with extremists in secretive rightwing group, leak reveals

A leaked document has revealed the membership list of the secretive Council for National Policy (CNP), showing how it provides opportunities for elite Republicans, wealthy entrepreneurs, media proprietors and pillars of the US conservative movement to rub shoulders with anti-abortion and anti-Islamic extremists.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which monitors rightwing hate groups, describes the CNP as “a shadowy and intensely secretive group [which] has operated behind the scenes” in its efforts to “build the conservative movement”.

The leaked membership list dates from September last year, and reveals the 40-year-old CNP put influential Trump administration figures alongside leaders of organizations that have been categorized as hate groups.

The group was founded in 1981 by activists influential in the Christian right, including Tim LaHaye, Howard Phillips and Paul Weyrich, who had also been involved in founding and leading the Moral Majority. Initially they were seeking to maximize their influence on the new Reagan administration. In subsequent years, CNP meetings have played host to presidential aspirants like George W Bush and 1999 and Mitt Romney in 2007, and sitting presidents including Donald Trump in 2020.

In videos obtained by the Washington Post in 2020, the CNP executive committee chairman, Bill Walton, told attendees of the upcoming election: “This is a spiritual battle we are in. This is good versus evil.”

The CNP is so secretive, according to reports, that its members are instructed not to reveal their affiliation or even name the group.

Heidi Beirich, of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, said in an email that “this new CNP list makes clear that the group still serves as a key venue where mainstream conservatives and extremists mix”, adding that CNP “clearly remains a critical nexus for mainstreaming extremism from the far right into conservative circles”.

The document – which reveals email addresses and phone numbers for most members – shows that the CNP includes members of SPLC-listed hate groups.

They include leaders of organizations listed as anti-Muslim hate groups, including:

  • Frank Gaffney, founder and executive chairman of the Center for Security Policy (CSP)
  • Brigitte Gabriel, founder and chairman of Act For America (AFA)

They also include several founders or leaders of groups listed anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups, such as:

  • Michael P Farris, president and CEO of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)
  • Brad Dacus, founder and president of the Pacific Justice Institute
  • Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council
  • Matthew Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel
  • Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association

Also, there are members of organizations listed as anti-immigrant hate groups, including James and Amapola Hansberger, co-founders of Legal Immigrants For America (Lifa).

Additionally, the list includes members of groups that have been accused of extremist positions on abortion. They include Margaret H Hartshorn, chair of the board of Heartbeat International, which has reportedly spread misinformation worldwide to pregnant women.

Several high-profile figures associated with the Trump administration, or conspiracy-minded characters in Trump’s orbit, are also on the list, such as Jerome R Corsi, who has written conspiracy-minded books about John Kerry, Barack Obama and the September 11 attacks. Corsi is listed as a member of CNP’s board of governors.

Along with these representatives of extremist positions, the CNP rolls include members of ostensibly more mainstream conservative groups, and representatives of major American corporations. Other still come from the Republican party, a network of rightwing activist organizations, and the companies and foundations that back them.

A newcomer to the group since a previous version of the member list was exposed is Charlie Kirk, founder and president of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a conservative youth organization.

Although TPUSA works hard to make inroads into mainstream culture with stunts and on-campus events, Kirk has recently staked out more hard-right positions, saying recently that Democratic immigration policies were aimed at “diminishing and decreasing white demographics in America”, a day after Tucker Carlson ventilated racist “great replacement” conspiracy theories on his Fox News program.

The CNP is so secretive, reports say, that members are told not to reveal their affiliation or name the group

Conservative movement heavyweights in the group include Lisa B Nelson, chief executive of the American Legislative Exchange Council; Eugene Mayer, president of the Federalist Society; Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Return; Daniel Schneider, executive director of the American Conservative Union, which organizes the CPac conference; and L Brent Bozell III, the founder of the Media Research Center and a member of the Bozell and Buckley dynasties of conservative activists.

Other members include pillars of the Republican political establishment, including former GOP congressional majority leader, Tom DeLay; former Wisconsin governor Scott Walker; Reagan administration attorney general Edwin Meese III; and former RNC chair and Trump White House chief of staff Reince Priebus.

Their number also includes sitting congressmen such as Barry Loudermilk and influential operatives like David Trulio, who was the senior adviser and chief of staff to the under-secretary of defense in the Trump administration.

The member list also includes representatives of major US corporations, such as Marc Johansen, vice-president for the satellites and intelligence program for Boeing; Jeffrey Coors, of the Coors brewing family, who have extensively sponsored conservative groups; Lee Roy Mitchell, the founder and chairman of the board for movie chain owner Cinemark Holdings; Steve Forbes, the founder and chief executive of the Forbes business media empire; and Scott Brown, a senior vice-president at Morgan Stanley.

Other members of the group represent organizations that operate under a veil of secrecy, with conservative “dark money” organizations well represented.

One member, Lawson Bader, is the president of Donor’s Trust and Donors Capital Fund, non-profits that disguise the identities of their own donors, and whose largesse to rightwing causes has seen them described as “the dark-money ATM of the conservative movement”.

Another member, Richard Graber, is the president and chief executive of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. The Bradley foundation has long bankrolled conservative movement causes, including Donors Trust, and has reportedly also sponsored widespread efforts to discredit the election of Joe Biden in 2020.

Conservative media figures are also on the list: Neil Patel, co-founder and publisher of the Daily Caller; Larry Beasley, chief executive of the rightwing newspaper the Washington Times; and Floyd Brown, the founder of the Arizona-based Western Journal and founder of the Citizens United Pac.

Pro-gun groups are also represented, with NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre and Gun Owners of America founder Tim Macy each listed as members.

The 220-page document – which includes a statement of principles and an indication of members’ policy interests alongside a complete member list – was leaked and provided to journalists via transparency organization, Distributed Denial of Secrets.

Emma Best from that group said in a messenger chat that CNP was “a secretive forum for ultra-wealthy and elite conservatives to strategize and form long-term plans that have national and international impact”. Therefore, she said, “any opportunity to shine a light on their members, activities and interests is clearly in the public interest”.

The Guardian repeatedly requested comment from CNP staff, including Executive Director Brad McEwen, and other groups mentioned in this story but received no immediate response.

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International

Queen Camilla cancels public engagements due to Chest Infection

Britain’s Queen Camilla has canceled several planned engagements this week due to a chest infection, Buckingham Palace confirmed on Tuesday, November 5.

The 77-year-old Queen has been advised by doctors to rest at home but remains hopeful that she will be able to attend this weekend’s Remembrance events, the Palace said.

“Her Majesty The Queen is currently unwell with a chest infection, for which her doctors have advised a short period of rest,” read the official Palace statement.

“With great regret, Her Majesty has therefore had to withdraw from her engagements for this week, but she very much hopes to be recovered in time to attend this weekend’s Remembrance events as normal.”

As a result of her illness, Queen Camilla will miss the annual opening of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey on Thursday, where she has regularly represented the royal family in recent years.

In her absence, the Duchess of Gloucester would represent the Queen. This event, held outside Westminster Abbey, invites people to place memorials in honor of service members who have lost their lives.

Queen Camilla will also not attend a reception at Buckingham Palace on Thursday evening, which King Charles will host for Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

The Queen and the King recently returned to the United Kingdom after an overseas tour to Australia and Samoa, which included a stopover in India.

Their travels may have contributed to the minor illness, described as “a relatively minor bug,” according to Palace insiders, and there is “no cause for alarm.”

The Queen is expected to recover in time for the weekend’s Remembrance commemorations, which include the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday and the national service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall on Sunday morning.

In addition to her royal duties, Queen Camilla recently contributed to a documentary raising awareness about domestic violence, which is scheduled to be broadcast next week.

Meanwhile, King Charles, who received a cancer diagnosis in February, had his treatment temporarily paused during their overseas tour but is expected to resume treatment now that they have returned to the UK.

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Education

New Minister for Education reverses 18 years University entry policy

The 18 years entry age for university admission has been reversed by the newly appointed Minister of Education, Dr. Morufu Olatunji Alausa.

The 18 years entry policy initiated by Professor Tahir Mamman, former Minister of Education, had generated controversy.

Addressing journalists upon assumption of office on Tuesday, Alausa said the policy was detrimental to the Federal Government.

Alausa said the reversal of the policy was aimed at reducing the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria.

He said the policy is also not sustainable for the education sector, explaining that the 16-year-age limit would be maintained and exceptions would be granted for “gifted children”.

The new minister added that going forward, Nigeria’s education system will be 80 percent practical and 20 percent classroom/theoretical.

Alausa said practical education will help to curb the unemployment situation in Nigeria as tertiary institutions will not continue churning out graduates on a yearly basis without jobs for Nigerians.

He said the Federal Government will work with private sector operators for the training of students to unleash their potentials.

Alausa was among the 10 ministers who got new portfolios after last month’s cabinet reshuffle which led to the exit of his predecessor.

He was formerly Minister of State for Health.

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News

Tinubu promotes Acting Chief of Army Staff, Oluyede to Lt Gen

The acting Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Major General Olufemi Oluyede, has been decorated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with a higher rank of Lieutenant General.

Oluyede’s promotion from Major General to Lieutenant General came days after he was named acting COAS by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had, on October 30, 2024, announced Oluyede’s appointment a week after the rumoured death of Lt-Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, a claim the Defence Headquarters vigorously debunked, saying the COAS was on medical leave but in critical but stable condition.

“Oluyede will act in the position pending the return of the indisposed substantive Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja,” Onanuga had announced in a statement.

Before his appointment as acting COAS, Oluyede, 56, had served as the 56th Commander of the elite Infantry Corps of the Nigerian Army, based in Jaji, Kaduna. He was Lagbaja’s course mate at the Nigerian Defence Academy, both of them being members of the 39th Regular Course.

Oluyede was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1992, effective from 1987, and rose to Major General in September 2020.

Since his commissioning as an officer, he has held many command positions, among them serving as Platoon Commander and adjutant at 65 Battalion; Company Commander at 177 Guards Battalion; Staff Officer Guards Brigade; Commandant Amphibious Training School, among others.

General Oluyede has also participated in several operations including: the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) Mission in Liberia, Operation HARMONY IV in Bakassi, and Operation HADIN KAI in the North East theatre of operations, where he commanded the 27 Task Force Brigade.

He has earned many honours for his meritorious service in various fields of operations, including: the Corps Medal of Honour, the Grand Service Star, Passing the Staff Course, and Membership in the National Institute.

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