‘Right-wing misinformation’ newspaper gave a GOP presidential candidate up to $5M in salary

Long-shot Republican presidential candidate Larry Elder made between $1 million and $5 million from The Epoch Times, according to a new financial disclosure submitted three months past a federal deadline.

The Epoch Times — accused by the New York Times of being “a leading purveyor of right-wing misinformation” — spent heavily on Facebook ads for Donald Trump in 2020 and was later banned from the platform for violating political transparency rules. The Epoch Times is associated with the Chinese religious movement Falun Gong.

Elder’s filing, covering the past year and first reported by Raw Story on Monday, characterized his earnings from The Epoch Times as “salary.”

As Politico reporter Kimberly Leonard observed, Elder failed to report the exact amount of the money as required by federal regulators.

“Despite facing numerous challenges and setbacks, we have never lost hope in our mission to report the truth. Our commitment to journalistic integrity has not wavered, even in the face of adversity,” The Epoch Times states on its “about us” page.

Its stated vision: “To be recognized as the ‘paper of record,’ the world’s most trusted and admired media company, and the organization that will restore, by its example, the best practices and highest principles of journalism.”

Neither Elder nor The Epoch Times responded immediately to requests for comment.

ALSO READ: Trump earned $250,000 from gay Republican event: disclosure

Before he announced his run for president in April, Elder had a talk show on EpochTV that promoted far-right political views.

Raw Story reported in July that Elder, a tough-on-crime conservative, missed a May 20 deadline to file the financial disclosure. Elder then asked federal regulators for an extension, saying he didn’t know about the requirement.

The FEC granted an extension to Aug. 18.

Elder revealed multiple additional sources of income on the federal financial disclosure, including salaries each in the $100,001 to $1 million range from Relief Factor, a pain relief supplement, and Old Glory Bank, where he serves as a director alongside 2016 presidential candidate Ben Carson, who later became Trump’s secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Elder also reported salaries from a machining company, CNC Broach Tools, educational consultancy Yrefy and media companies Creators Syndicate, Breaking Battlegrounds and Salem Radio Network.

His consulting for Elder for America and Baric and Associates earned him up to $1.5 million collectively, according to the disclosure.

ALSO READ: Trump maintains trademarks with Russia, China and numerous other U.S. enemies and frenemies

Elder, who has been a vocal opponent of abortion rights, earned up to $370,000 additional income from honorariums, including from anti-abortion centers like the Crisis Pregnancy Clinic of Southern California and Avenues Pregnancy Clinics.

Elder is not slated to appear in the Republican Party’s first presidential candidate debate on Wednesday in Milwaukee, with the Republican National Committee ruling he didn’t meet pre-set fundraising and polling thresholds.

Elder has disputed the ruling, and on Tuesday, asked his supporters to contribute to a lawsuit against the RNC, accusing it of unfairly sidelining him.

“The RNC told us they would be fair in their qualification for the August debate happening tomorrow night,” an email solicitation said. “They lied. And to prove their lies, we’re going to take them on in court.”

Elder contends he met the RNC’s criteria for participation.


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Secretary of State Marco Rubio was subject to internet mockery Wednesday when he a reporter pressed him to make a startling admission.

Rubio, appearing at a news conference in the Philippines, was asked if he had discussed with the Chinese foreign minister President Donald Trump's claim that the country had interfered with U.S. elections.

"Was there an agreement on election interference during your talk with the Chinese foreign minister?" a reporter asked.

Rubio responded, "We didn't discuss that topic."

Trump's speech, during which he aired his pet conspiracy theory that the 2020 election results were rigged, has been widely panned.

Critics have noted the documents he declassified don't provide any evidence that China successfully altered vote totals or even attempted to do so.

Rubio's answer also earned swift mockery from commenters on social media, since Trump's primetime address on Chinese election interference on Thursday night was broadly seen as staking out the issue as a massive priority for the administration.

Author Anthony M. Hopper replied with sarcasm, asking, "How many clowns can one fit into a White House?

The Tennessee Holler, a progressive news site, wrote in response, "All the evidence you need that Trump’s primetime speech was a giant hot air lie intended only to set up the theft of the next election is right here in this brief clip."

Former Los Angeles Times senior editorial writer Michael McGough, rather cryptically, wrote, "Oh."

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President Donald Trump took to social media Wednesday to issue Iran a new threat, one that involved the possibility of war crimes.

“From this point forward," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, "any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran."

Under international law, deliberately destroying civilian infrastructure like bridges and power plants is unlawful in most cases, with narrow exemptions only for targets that make a direct contribution to military action.

Throughout the duration of the deeply unpopular U.S. war against Iran, Trump has threatened to destroy Iran’s civilian infrastructure multiple times, including Iranian bridges, power plants and water treatment facilities. He also threatened to destroy Iran’s entire civilization, a genocidal threat he ultimately walked back from that ignited global panic.

The Strait of Hormuz – a critical shipping waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil trade historically flowed – has been declared “closed” by Iran since last week, sending oil prices surging.

When Trump made similar threats to power plants in March, Erika Guevara-Rosas of Amnesty International warned it would violate international law.

"Given that such power plants are essential for meeting the basic needs and livelihoods of tens of millions of civilians, attacking them would be disproportionate and thus unlawful under international humanitarian law, and could amount to a war crime," Guevara-Rosas said.

“By threatening such strikes, the USA is effectively indicating its willingness to plunge an entire country into darkness, and to potentially deprive its people of their human rights to life, water, food, healthcare and adequate standard of living, and to subject them to severe pain and suffering."

First Lady Melania Trump received words of support from "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Tuesday night as reports circulated that she's going rogue.

Actor Colman Domingo, filling in for Kimmel, focused his opening monologue on Michael Wolff's report that President Donald Trump’s third wife has the White House terrified that she will break ranks.

“Almost nobody near Trump—including Trump himself—knows Melania’s moves until she makes them,” Wolff reported. “His wife, freer now and more distant than she ever has been from him in their marriage, is a wild card that he can’t seem to control or even game.”

That was enough for Domingo to join in on the speculation.

“White House staffers are terrified of Melania’s unpredictability -- and they’re right," Domingo said. "Melania is very unpredictable. I mean, will she wear black? Beige? A crazy hat? Or an even crazier hat? The possibilities are endless.”

“Apparently, the White House is worried because Melania has a tendency to go rogue and they have no idea what she’ll do next," he continued before suggesting, “Well, Melania, if you’re watching, I don’t know what crazy s—t you’re cooking up. But I think I speak for all of us when I say: Live your truth! Do it, girl!"

This suggestion was met with applause.

- YouTubeyoutu.be

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