WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick Garland alleged that Russia ran a sophisticated disinformation campaign to interfere with the U.S. presidential election, including propping up fake news outlets designed to mimic real ones, and hiring U.S. social media influencers.
The Catholic bishops of Arizona issued a joint statement urging voters to reject a ballot initiative that would criminalize illegal immigration at the state level.
And a new EWTN News/RealClear Opinion Research survey found Vice President Kamala Harris leading former President Donald Trump among Catholic voters.
Justice Department alleges sweeping Russian disinformation campaign
The Justice Department alleged a Tennessee-based company was being funded by Russian operatives in a Kremlin-orchestrated operation seeking to influence the 2024 U.S. election, and charged two Russian nationals with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
The company, which is unnamed in court documents, was later revealed to be Tenet Media. The indictment alleges two employees of RT, the Kremlin’s media arm, spent nearly $10 million for content suiting the Kremlin’s aims from the company. Tenet Media is linked to right-wing influencers including Benny Johnson, Tim Pool and Dave Rubin, all of whom issued statements denying knowledge of the Russian involvement in the company.
“The Justice Department has charged two employees of RT, a Russian state-controlled media outlet, in a $10 million scheme to create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. “The Justice Department will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to exploit our country’s free exchange of ideas in order to covertly further its own propaganda efforts, and our investigation into this matter remains ongoing.”
Russia’s government is systematically persecuting Christian and other faith communities in occupied regions of Ukraine, according to experts who testified before U.S. lawmakers of the Helsinki Commission this past July.
Russian officials in the occupied portion of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region have also formally banned the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church by written decree, as well as the Knights of Columbus and Caritas Ukraine, part of the universal church’s Caritas Internationalis global network of humanitarian aid organizations.
Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said in a June 25 interview with media outlet Ukrinform that “there is not a single Catholic priest in the occupied territories today – either Greek Catholic or Roman Catholic,” with Russian forces destroying or appropriating churches, while driving out clergy.
Catholic bishops of Arizona urge voters to reject immigration proposal
The Catholic bishops of Arizona issued a statement Sept. 3 arguing that despite their “frustration” with how the federal government has managed the U.S.-Mexico border, an upcoming ballot measure would have “harmful consequences” if passed.
The ballot measure, Proposition 314, would make crossing the state’s border without authorization a state crime separate from a federal one. Arizona’s Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs previously rejected a similar legislative proposal. Federal law already makes it illegal to enter the United States without authorization. Most portions of a similar 2010 Arizona law were later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a joint statement urging voters to reject the measure, the bishops of the Arizona Catholic Conference – Bishops John P. Dolan of Phoenix, Edward J. Weisenburger of Tucson and James S. Wall of Gallup, New Mexico (whose diocese includes a portion of Arizona) as well as Auxiliary Bishop Eduardo Nevares of Phoenix – said the states “and local communities along the border shoulder much of the challenges created by the federal government’s neglect.”
“Its failure to address increased migration in a pragmatic and humane way has led to an ineffective response at the border and an unacceptable number of migrant deaths,” they said. “We do not question the good intentions of those seeking to address these challenges. Nonetheless, we believe that Proposition 314 will have unanticipated consequences, and that it is not the right solution.”
The bishops added that “although proponents argue that Proposition 314 is about border security, the reality is that its passage will create real fear within Arizona communities that will have harmful consequences.”
“In particular, by having state and local law enforcement responsible for enforcing what should be the role of federal immigration authorities, many crime victims and witnesses will be afraid to go to law enforcement and report crimes,” they said. “As a result, dangerous criminals will not be apprehended, and public safety will be threatened.”
Election Day is Nov. 5. Early voting begins in Arizona on Oct. 9.
Survey: Harris leading Trump among Catholic voters
The RealClear Opinion Research/EWTN News survey of Catholic U.S. voters conducted August 28-30 found 50 percent of Catholic voters plan to support Harris for president, while 43 percent said they planned to support Trump, with another 6 percent undecided.
When undecided Catholic voters were asked which candidate they lean toward, Harris’ overall support increased to 54 percent, and Trump to 45 percent.
The survey found that Catholic voters across all ages rated the economy as their top issue. Overall, 51 percent of Catholic voters (including 57 percent of Hispanic Catholics) rated the economy as the top issue, followed by border security and immigration at 13 percent and abortion at 10 percent.
The survey has a credibility interval – which differs slightly from a traditional margin of error – of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Stay Connected With Us