The beleaguered presidential campaign of Joe Biden, facing losing support from young voters, black voters, even women voters in some polls, and trailing GOP challenger President Donald Trump in most polls including those in swing states, apparently is turning its focus onto another age group, hoping to win the White House with the "geezer" vote.

At 81, and to be 82 about the time of the coming election, Biden appears to be looking for election help from his contemporaries.

That assessment comes from a report in Axios, which reveals that since 2000, the senior vote has belonged to Republicans.

The report cites a New York Times/Siena poll that suggests some of those older people are moving to Biden's camp this year.

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Importantly, the report notes, the senior vote is a group "that consistently votes at higher rates than any other demographic."

While President Trump, the report notes, "appears to be making stunning gains of his own among young voters," although it admits "the polls could still be wrong," it suggests that seniors considering "old-school respect for institutions and distaste for Trump's unorthodox style," are moving to Biden. Another theory? "Hippies got old."

The report claims NYT/Siena puts Biden with a 9-point lead over Trump in a head-to-head among likely voters 65 and older.

That was similar to a Quinnipiac poll weeks ago.

The report noted while 10% of those ages 18-34 said democracy was the most urgent issue facing voters, that number was 35% for those ages 65 and up.

Biden's attack has included claims that Republicans are eyeing cuts to Social Security and Medicare, claims that GOP candidates have rejected as false.

Biden's outreach, the report explained "includes bingo nights and pickleball tournaments, ads on daytime television and more.

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Kamala Harris, Joe Biden's vice president, has established a stunning record.

Immigrant crisis on the southern border, her assignment? She traveled to Central America to find the "roots" and the suggestion shortly followed that if those economies equaled America's, there wouldn't be a rush to America's open borders.

She's been blasted by critics as Joe Biden's insurance against impeachment, and there's even been talk among Democrat circles about replacing her on the ticket for the vote this year.

While often criticized for her "word salads" on stage, she actually delivered some nuggets – of her wisdom.

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And the Trump campaign has strategically preserved those, to remind Americans.

One such comment was, "Talking about the significant of the passage of time. Right? The significant of the passage of time. So when you think about it, there is great significance to the passage of time."

Hear them:

Inspired by the same topic, conservative satire site The Babylon Bee created a viral humor video titled “Meet Kamala Harris's 6-Year-Old Speechwriter”:

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Hunter Biden found guilty on gun-related charges on Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Hunter Biden long has been a source of scandalous headlines for his overseas business schemes, often documented in that infamous abandoned laptop, his drug use, his sex antics, his recent gun-charge convictions and his looming tax-charges trial.

Now a new scenario is being reported by Just the News: How his team set up a $120 million deal while Joe Biden was vice president for Barack Obama, a secret that the FBI knew about at the time.

The deal ultimately was not completed.

But the report explains the plan was for Hunter Biden to be on a board of directors of a new entity, formally established in Liechtenstein and funded with millions from Nykola Zlochevsky, known more for his ownership of Burisma, an energy entity.

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It was the Ukrainian Burisma for which Hunter Biden served as a director during his father's vice presidency, when Joe Biden was in charge for Obama of U.S.-Ukraine relations.

While paying Hunter Biden millions, Zlochevsky was trying to get out from under a corruption investigation, and that prosecutor ultimately was fired after Joe Biden traveled to Ukraine and threatened to withhold a billion dollar aid package that the U.S. had prepared unless government officials dismissed him.

Just the News reported the FBI "learned as far back as 2016 that Hunter Biden and his partners had plotted to set up a new venture in tax-friendly Liechtenstein that would be capitalized by a whopping $120 million investment from the controversial owner of the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma Holdings."

The publication said the details were in documents "that have been kept from the American public for eight years."

That "mega-deal" was not mentioned in Hunter Biden's laptop or during 2019 impeachment proceedings that involved Ukraine, but was in a cache of millions of documents the FBI seized from Hunter Biden during its investigation into securities fraud years ago.

Those papers recently came into the possession of the House Oversight Committee from former Hunter Biden associate Devon Archer as part of Congress' impeachment investigation of Joe Biden.

Those papers show Hunter Biden was to be on the board for "Burnham Energy Security LLC" which would start off with $120 million from Zlochevsky.

"The Hunter Biden-connected Burnham entity was slated to get a quarter of the new venture's net revenues without putting up any cash, according to recent testimony to Congress from one of the partners," the report said.

Confirmation of the strategy was from a Zlochevsky aide, Vadym Pozharskyi, who told Hunter Biden, "Burnham Energy Security Fund: we started a legal discussion between our lawyers and legal counsels from your side (through Devon's kind introduction). At the moment, we're working on structure and all related issues."

The report noted nearly 200 documents reference Burnham Energy Security, and most of those also cite Hunter Biden's involvement.

The scheme apparently was derailed by the arrest of one of Hunter Biden's associates, in a securities fraud case, and the announcement by the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine at the time, Geoffrey Pyatt, that the Ukraine government should pursue Zlochevsky on corruption charges.

It was Pyatt's influence that "unexpectedly kicked Ukrainian prosecutors into a more aggressive effort to investigate Zlochevsky in fall 2015, an effort that came to an abrupt halt when Vice President Joe Biden pressured Ukraine to fire the chief prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, by threatening to withhold $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees," the report confirmed.

The report explained the oddity in the arrangement: Hunter Biden and his team would put up no money, but instead would contribute "relational capital – including the political connections that are associated with the Biden name."

The current investigation in Congress is on what role Joe Biden may have played in any of Hunter Biden's dealings, and what liability that may have created under American law. Allegations have been made, based on credible evidence, that the Bidens have run a massive influence-peddling scheme for years, taking in millions of dollars from sources sometimes unfriendly to the U.S.

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(Photo by Joe Kovacs)

By Rebeka Zeljko
Daily Caller News Foundation

Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE) filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the city of Burlington, Vermont, for allowing non-citizens to participate in its elections.

RITE filed the lawsuit against the city of Burlington for allowing noncitizens to vote in local city or Burlington School District elections. The lawsuit alleges that in doing so, the city violated “voter’s qualifications” enshrined in the Vermont State Constitution.

Joe Biden has been described, during his time in the White House, as opening America's southern border and inviting in millions of illegal aliens.

That characterization is because he canceled a long list of border security measures implemented by President Donald Trump, and then made it clear around the world that there would be help for those who reached the border.

Now, in an election year, he's doubling down.

He's announced new legal protections and an easier path to citizenship for illegals. And immigrants married to U.S. citizens now no longer have to return to their home country.

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It's all prompted members of the GOP to accuse Biden of "inviting" more illegals into America.

''This Biden Amnesty is a direct attack on American democracy," said former President Trump.

"This Biden Amnesty is a direct attack on American democracy." - President Trump.⁰

Watch our complete coverage of President Trump's Speech here: https://t.co/lb1q4YDAJT pic.twitter.com/BHedxQWihr

— Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) June 18, 2024

The Washington Examiner noted Biden's scheme "will undoubtedly lead to a greater surge in migrant crime, cost taxpayers millions of dollars they cannot afford, overwhelm public services, and steal Social Security and Medicare benefits from American seniors to fund benefits for illegals."

That was the description from Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign.

Former Trump adviser Stephen Miller even suggested impeachment might be appropriate.

And NumbersUSA, which lobbies for better immigration policy, said it simply is unconstitutional.

The Gateway Pundit turned blunt in its report.

"Joe Biden on Tuesday announced mass amnesty for at least 500,000 illegal aliens (the number is likely much higher). According to Trump advisor and America First Legal founder Stephen Miller, 'Biden’s unconstitutional amnesty will give illegal aliens immediate green cards (making it easier to vote illegally) and a three-year path to citizenship (giving them full voting rights).'"

He continued, "It also includes a diploma mill provision: leftists and opportunistic corporations can churn out meaningless diplomas and illegals who receive them will be made into citizens as well. Once citizens, illegals get chain migration. So all their relatives become citizens too."

The report noted, "As usual, what’s left of Biden’s brain melted in real-time during his remarks."

Biden — who has imported MILLIONS OF UNVETTED ILLEGALS into our communities via his OPEN BORDER — now claims "every nation must secure its borders."

He's about to unilaterally provide MASS AMNESTY to a million illegal aliens. pic.twitter.com/G7XREEsbtC

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 18, 2024

BIDEN (malfunctioning): "...homeland security secretary, uhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhhuhuhuh" pic.twitter.com/7ubWXbDqrf

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 18, 2024

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Joe Biden and Barack Obama walk along the West Colonnade of the White House Tuesday, April 5, 2022, after attending an Affordable Care Act event.

By Jim Hoft
The Gateway Pundit

Democrat insiders have blown the whistle on a secret plan to replace feeble Joe Biden if he falters in his initial debate with Trump or if his poll ratings continue to decline, the Daily Mail first reported.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported that Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna says she is “hearing on Capitol Hill” that Joe Biden will ”likely” be replaced as the Democratic presidential nominee by November.

Luna discussed the matter during an appearance on Thursday’s episode of "Jesse Watters Primetime."

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The congresswoman told Watters, “A lot of people realize that Joe Biden’s likely not going to be the nominee, which is from what we’re hearing on Capitol Hill, Jesse. You know, Representative Kiley had reported that Kamala Harris is actually eyeing a run for California governor because of it.”

Jesse Watters
PRIMETIME

Rep Anna Paulina Luna says: “Joe Biden not likely going to be the nominee.” pic.twitter.com/lm9UyYrbMl

— Gary D (@KMGGaryde) June 14, 2024

There have long been rumors and rumblings that California Gov. Gavin Newsom will replace Biden, but he has maintained that is not his plan.

“So you are hearing also in DC that Joe Biden isn’t going to be the Democrat nominee?” Watters asked.

“Correct,” Luna replied.

“It appears that our colleagues are trying to put guardrails on a 2024 presidential election with President Trump,” Luna said. “And also what you’re seeing is, according to our polling, you know, Jesse, as well as I do, that they’ve been trying to really paint Republicans as anti-woman, and they’re trying to push an abortion, crisis right now with the election. And I don’t think that that’s the case.”

Luna continued, “A lot of the American people know that really. This is a state rights decision. And so I think that they know that they’re losing. It’s very evident at this point.”

Now, it appears that there may be a secret plot brewing within the Democratic Party to replace Joe Biden. The plan is allegedly being orchestrated by influential figures, including former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Daily Mail reported:

According to Democratic bigwig, Obama campaign guru David Axelrod, the Biden team scheduled one of the earliest presidential debates in history (June 27 on CNN) to prove to naysayers that Joe’s not going anywhere.

But the gambit carries tremendous risk.

While an efficient debate performance by Biden could help rally Democrats behind him – a significant misstep would only stoke more replacement chatter.

Former Clinton advisor and polling expert Mark Penn suggested the CNN debate will be Biden’s last chance to reassure voters he’s fit for the job.

Now DailyMail.com has learned that if Joe stumbles in that first face-off with Trump or if his polling numbers keep falling, it’ll take a united front of the liberal grandees to make Joe throw in the towel.

‘The only people who could force him out would be Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer,’ one Democratic strategist told DailyMail.com. ‘It would have to be the four of them collectively.’

And the process would be high risk.

However, there is another potential complication. Biden could stubbornly refuse to step down and continue his campaign until Election Day.

If Biden refuses to step down, it would put the Democratic Party in a difficult position. They would have to contend not only with a stubborn incumbent but also with potential backlash from leftists if Kamala Harris is passed over for the nomination.

“That person would not be Vice President Kamala Harris, according to sources, who observed that Harris has already had to fend off a push to replace her on the ticket,” Daily Mail reported.

“Strategists theorize that Democrats would have to hold a public event to symbolically transfer power to the new candidate. Biden, Obama, Clinton, Schumer, and Pelosi would publicly introduce and endorse the anointed nominee,” the news outlet added.

You can read more here.

This article originally appeared on The Gateway Pundit.com.

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By Jason Cohen
Daily Caller News Foundation

Former Bernie Sanders staffer Tezlyn Figaro said on Monday that President Joe Biden needs to cut checks to black Americans if he wants to be victorious in Michigan.

Former President Donald Trump is presently leading Biden in Michigan in a five-way race by .3%, according to the RealClearPolling average. Figaro on “The Story With Martha MacCallum” said Biden’s “only” chance of winning the state is distributing money he owes to black voters.

WATCH: 

Ex-Bernie Sanders Staffer Says Biden Must Cut ‘Some Checks’ To Black Voters To Win Swing State pic.twitter.com/OZPU30KSzi

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 17, 2024

“Obviously I won’t speak for all black voters, Martha, but I can certainly tell you by being the only black national staffer in Michigan in 2015 working for Bernie Sanders, it does not take a lot of voters to like former President Trump. It really only takes 1 or 2%,” Figaro told host Martha MacCallum. “We were able to flip that state by 2% going to all the places that Hillary Clinton refused to go … What I do know is someone better get to the state of Michigan with a checkbook in hand with no IOUs.”

“This is critical that these swing states are looked at,” she added. “And they don’t have to like President Trump like the poll indicates. They didn’t like Bernie Sanders, to be quite honest with you, but it only takes a small margin to make a difference. And that’s what I’m concerned about and that is what the majority of people who are saying, ‘I don’t like Trump, I don’t like Biden either,’ but they cannot afford to ignore this crucial demographic.”

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CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten said on Monday that Trump is “careening towards a historic performance” with black voters as Biden bleeds a significant segment of them.

“The Joe Biden administration cannot afford to sit on their butt and just ignore and think that it’s just a game and not invest the time, money, resources in black media, not invest the time, money and support in those nonprofits. They need to go in Michigan right now with a check,” Figaro said, before MacCallum interrupted her to ask if it would actually help Biden to make black media appearances.

“Guess what,” Figaro continued. “We’re done with the appearances. Bring the checkbook, the IOUs no longer matter. Only thing I think you can do at this point, better start cutting some checks. Just being honest with you. No more appearances, no more talks. Cutting checks for any and everybody. Nonprofits across the board, making sure people have adequate funding, partnering with city commissioners or state representative to make sure that people have the money that he owed the black community, that he was very clear about owing.”

MSNBC host Ana Cabrera pressed Biden’s 2024 campaign communications director Michael Tyler on Monday regarding polls showing him shedding support of black voters in swing states, including Michigan.

“Over the weekend, the Trump Campaign launched a Black Americans for Trump Coalition. Your campaign mocked it and said it’s not fooling anyone. But look at this. USA Today/Suffolk polls show from Michigan and Pennsylvania specifically, these are two key swing states. They show President Biden has lost roughly 20 points among black voters in both of those states, down from 76% to the mid 50s. Of course, in a close election that can make a huge difference. Why do you think the president is losing support with these voters?” Cabrera asked.

Political commentator Bakari Sellers on Monday dismissed polls indicating Trump’s rising black support, asserting, “Donald Trump is not going to get 20% of the black vote. He’s simply not.”

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"Look at the Pope – He's freaking out! This can't be normal, can it?"

That was President Trump's reaction to a Reuters photograph of Joe Biden touching heads with Pope Francis on Friday.

Both figures were present at the G7 Summit in Italy when they had their "head-to-head."

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It was also caught on video, capturing the world's imagination and being shared numerous times on social media with a variety of comments.

Heads up, Your Holiness! https://t.co/kqUMtcz7aO pic.twitter.com/Ahh3MHjN3V

— New York Post (@nypost) June 14, 2024

President Joe Biden goes in for an intimate forehead to forehead with Pope Francis at the G7 summit in Italy.

The Pope appeared uncomfortable with the gesture. According to insiders at the G7, Biden’s performance is the “worst” it has ever been, noting that he is “losing… pic.twitter.com/XbrAoi8QaZ

— steve smith the anti-communist (@stevesmithsnoq) June 15, 2024

-Joe Biden pressed his head against Pope Francis' at the G7 summit in Italy. Pope Francis appears uncomfortable and surprised as Joe Biden gets up close and personal and touches him, forehead to forehead. Biden doesn’t understand what personal space means #G7Summit #PopeFracis… pic.twitter.com/lGULtoJLKi

— The Jewish Voice (@TJVNEWS) June 14, 2024

Trump wasn't the only big name chiming in.

Late-night talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel speculated on what Biden may have said to the pope: "Hey Francis, where can a fella find some Raisin Bran around here?"

He also clowned: "Joe likes to really get in there and smell the incense."

"The president and the pope have known each other for many years. A lot of people don't realize Biden is the Joseph who raised Jesus."

BIDEN x POPE – Little Head Bumping Time Vs Trump 78th Birthday – Under Low-Key

バイデン x ローマ法王 – ちょっとした頭突きタイム vs 控えめなトランプ78歳の誕生日
#lemans24 pic.twitter.com/J3iYjGJyXG

— Spotlight (@classifiedvibes) June 16, 2024

Is the news we hear every day actually broadcasting messages from God? The answer is an absolute yes! Find out how!

Follow Joe on Twitter @JoeKovacsNews

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The Connecticut Bar Association is warning lawyers against criticizing the politicized prosecutions of President Donald Trump because that could become "dangerous rhetoric."

The association recently dispatched to members a message signed by Maggie Castinado, its president, James T. Shearin, president-elect, and Emily Gianquinto, vice president.

They warn against "reckless words" that attack the integrity of the nation's judicial system.

They charged, "In the wake of the recent trial and conviction of former President Donald Trump, public officials have issued statements claiming that the trial was a 'sham,' a 'hoax,' and 'rigged'; our justice system is 'corrupt and rigged'; the judge was 'corrupt'' and highly unethical'; and, that the jury was 'partisan' and 'precooked.'"

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There also have been comparisons to communist "show" trials, in which the defendant is guilty and the court hearings are simply to create the appearance of a judicial proceeding.

The bar missive claims, without documenting whether those charges are, in fact, true, those statements are "unsubstantiated and reckless."

And they can "provoke acts of violence against" members of the judiciary. Further, they 'sow distrust in the public for the courts … ."

Those comments, the association claims, "cross the line from criticism to dangerous rhetoric."

The attempt to suppress speech with doesn't align with the politics of the association comes as a number of Democrat prosecutors continue their courtroom assaults on Trump.

Already, Arthur Engoron, a judge in New York, has demanded a punishment of nearly half a billion dollars for the way Trump negotiated loans for his corporation, practices that industry insiders described as routine. In fact, no one lost money or complained and the bankers involved wanted to do more business with Trump. And Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg took claims of business reporting misdemeanors that already had passed the statute of limitations and claimed they were felonies because they led to a further, unspecified, crime. A jury in the leftist enclave of New York convicted Trump in a decision that now is on appeal.

Several other cases, such as a prosecutor allegedly being appointed improperly and another with ethical clouds because the DA had hired her paramour, with tax money, to work her allegations against Trump, have significant obstacles looming.

Now Jonathan Turley, the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at Geroge Washington University, an expert witness on the law before Congress and popular commentator, said the message from the association is "chilling" for those lawyers who see the lawfare against Trump as "raw political prosecution."

He noted that the officials are demanding "members to speak publicly in support of the integrity of these legal proceedings."

He noted the reality is something else.

"For example, criticizing Judge Juan Merchan (who heard the business records case) for refusing to recuse from the case is considered beyond the pale."

But, he noted, "Many lawyers believe that his political (financial) contributions to Biden and his daughter's major role as a Democratic fundraiser and activist should have prompted Merchan to remove himself (and any appearance of a conflict)."

His own opinion is that Merchan's rulings were biased.

He said it's likely that verdict will be overturned, and he blames not the jury "but rather the judge and the prosecutors for an unfounded and unfair trial."

He identified the problem with the bar demands is the "suggestion that lawyers are acting somehow unprofessionally in denouncing what many view as a two-tier system of justice and the politicalization of our legal system."

Evidence?

"Notably, the bar officials did not write to denounce attacks on figures like Bill Barr or claims that the Justice Department was rigging justice during the Trump years." Further, those officials never published warnings about attacks on conservative justices and labeling them "insurrectionist sympathizers."

It didn't worry the bar when Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., threatened judges with "seismic changes" or Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., called the Supreme Court "corrupt."

"Likewise, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also declared in front of the Supreme Court 'I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price,'" he continued.

He noted the letter actually "only reinforced the view of a legal system that is maintaining a political orthodoxy and agenda."

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By Jason Cohen
Daily Caller News Foundation

CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten said on that Monday former President Donald Trump is hurtling toward a remarkable performance with black voters in the 2024 election.

Trump has significantly shrunk his deficit with President Joe Biden among black Americans in the six battleground states, with the current president leading the former president 70% to 18%, a May New York Times/Siena College poll found. Enten, on “CNN News Central,” was stunned by how Trump is performing with black Americans as a Republican candidate, as well as how unpopular Biden is becoming with these voters.

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“I keep looking for this to change, to go back to a historical norm and it, simply put, has not yet. So this is the margin, or ,Biden and Trump among black voters, compare where we were at this point in 2020, compare to where we are now. At this point, look at this. In 2020, Joe Biden was getting 86% of the African American vote. Look at where it is now. It’s 70%, that’s a 16-point drop, John,” Enten told host John Berman. “And more than that, it’s not just that Joe Biden is losing ground. It’s that Donald Trump is gaining ground. You go from 7%, single-digits at this point in 2020, to now 21% and again, John, I keep looking for signs that this is going to go back to normal and I don’t see it yet in the polling of anything right now. We’re careening towards a historic performance for a Republican presidential candidate, the likes of which we have not seen in six decades.”

WATCH:

‘I'm Like Speechless': CNN's Harry Enten Says Trump 'Careening Towards A Historic Performance' With Black Voters pic.twitter.com/aEKh3WPIDG

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 17, 2024

Enten told Berman that Biden is not losing as many older black voters, but is hemorrhaging the youth.

“This is where we get very interesting,” Enten said. “So I decided to deep dive deeper into the cross tabs, figure out where is it that Joe Biden is truly struggling among black voters. All right, so this is black voters, Biden versus Trump margin. Look at black voters age fifty and older and you’ll see it. Look, Joe Biden was leading amongst this group at this point by 83 points back in 2020. Now, it’s 74 points, so yeah, a slight decline in that margin, but nothing out of this world.”

“Look at black voters under the age of 50,” the data reporter continued. “Holy cow, folks, holy cow. Look at this. Joe Biden was up by 80 points among this group back at this point in 2020, look at where that margin has careened down towards. It’s now just, get this, 37 points. That lead has dropped by more than half, Mr. Berman. I’ve just never seen anything like this. I’m like speechless because you always look at history and you go, ‘okay, this is a historic moment.’ If this polling is anywhere near correct, we’re looking at a historic moment right now, where black voters under the age of 50, which have historically been such a big part of the democratic coalition, are leaving in droves.”

Berman noted that is a “huge drop” in such a short period of time.

Enten added that when independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is on the ballot, Biden and Trump both perform worse with black voters, but that he cuts into the current president’s lead more.

“It’s partially a artifact of Donald Trump perhaps being better liked among black voters, but it’s also a real artifact of Joe Biden being significantly less liked among black voters than he was four years ago,” Enten concluded.

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WATCH:

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Jack Smith

By Katelynn Richardson
Daily Caller News Foundation

The constitutionality of special counsel Jack Smith’s appointment will be put to the test next week during a hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon.

Cannon, who already indefinitely postponed former President Donald Trump’s classified documents trial in May, will hear arguments June 21 on whether the entire case should be dismissed based on Smith’s allegedly “unlawful” appointment. Trump’s attorneys argue Smith, a private citizen neither nominated by the president nor confirmed by the Senate at the time of his November 2022 appointment by Attorney General Merrick Garland, lacks the authority to even bring charges.

Trump faces 41 felony counts in his Florida case. He was initially indicted last June on charges relating to his handling of classified documents.

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“The Appointments Clause does not permit the Attorney General to appoint, without Senate confirmation, a private citizen and like-minded political ally to wield the prosecutorial power of the United States,” Trump’s attorneys argued in a February motion. “As such, Jack Smith lacks the authority to prosecute this action.”

Smith argues history supports his appointment, noting the Supreme Court held in its 1974 United States v. Nixon case “that the Attorney General has the statutory authority to appoint a Special Prosecutor.”

“The D.C Circuit recognized precisely that conclusion when holding that the Acting Attorney General had the statutory authority to appoint Special Counsel Mueller,” he wrote.

Trump’s attorneys say Smith has it wrong: the Supreme Court’s Nixon ruling characterized “special prosecutors” as “subordinate officers,” who Smith’s current authority exceeds.

“Attorney General Garland declared that Smith’s appointment was intended to promote independence, and the Special Counsel’s Office has insisted that ‘coordination with the Biden Administration’ is ‘non-existent,'” they wrote. “If Smith is a subordinate officer as Nixon suggests, then these public assertions are false because Smith serves at the pleasure of the Attorney General and President Biden, who is exercising Article II authority to oversee the prosecution of his political rival and leading candidate in the 2024 presidential election.”

Trump’s argument against Smith’s appointment has some strong supporters, including former Reagan administration Attorney General Edwin Meese III, who previously joined amicus briefs filed on the issue in Trump’s election interference case at the D.C. Circuit and Supreme Court.

Justice Clarence Thomas asked a brief question about Smith’s appointment during oral arguments for Trump’s presidential immunity appeal at the Supreme Court in April, though it was not an argument directly raised by Trump’s attorneys in that case.

Next week will be the first time potential legal issues surrounding Smith’s appointment are given a serious hearing.

During oral arguments, Cannon will allow three third parties to participate. The first, Attorney Gene Shaerr, filed an amicus brief on behalf of former Attorneys General Edwin Meese III and Michael B. Mukasey, along with law professors Steven Calabresi and Gary Lawson.

The former attorneys general and law professors argue the flaw in Smith’s appointment “goes to the heart of the legitimacy of these proceedings.” While Smith argues that there is a long history of attorneys general appointing special attorneys, their brief notes that “nearly all the special prosecutors appointed during the past 40 years — aside from Smith and Robert Mueller — have been lawfully appointed pursuant to that Clause because they were already serving as Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorneys.”

South Texas College of Law Houston professor Josh Blackman will also present arguments during the hearing for the brief he filed on behalf of professor Seth Barrett Tillman and Landmark Legal Foundation supporting Trump’s motion.

Smith’s temporary role can be described, at best, as an “employee” of the United States, not an “Officer of the United States,” they argue in the brief. If he is legally allowed to continue in his position, he can only do so “under the normal supervision of the politically accountable United States attorney for the Southern District of Florida.”

On the other side, Cannon granted time for legal scholar Matthew Seligman to present arguments on behalf of former prosecutors, elected officials and constitutional attorneys who believe it is “demonstrably incorrect” to argue Smith’s appointment was unlawful.

“The Appointments Clause of the Constitution empowers Congress to authorize the Attorney General, as the head of the Department of Justice, to appoint inferior officers including the Special Counsel,” their amicus brief states.

Trump’s other federal case brought by Jack Smith in Washington D.C. for allege efforts to overturn the 2020 election is also on hold pending the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump’s presidential immunity appeal.

In Georgia, the racketeering case brought against Trump and co-defendants by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been paused pending an appeals court ruling on Willis’ potential disqualification. Defendants alleged Willis financially benifited from appointing Nathan Wade, who she was romantically involved with, as special prosecutor when he took her on vacations using funds earned from his position.

A Manhattan jury convicted Trump in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the case brought by Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The question about Smith’s appointment has implications that extend beyond him or Trump. Calabresi wrote in a December Reason column that Smith’s nationwide jurisdiction makes him “more powerful” than any of the 93 Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorneys.

“We do not want future U.S. Attorney Generals, such as the ones Donald Trump might appoint, if he is re-elected in 2024, to be able to pick any tough thug lawyer off the street and empower him in the way Attorney General Merrick Garland has empowered private citizen Jack Smith,” Calabresi wrote. “Think of what that would have led to during the McCarthy era or in the Grant, Harding, Truman, or Nixon Administrations in all of which an Attorney General was corrupt.”

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[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire.]

Editor’s Note: The group quota regime is a revolutionary threat which aims to overthrow the political order of the United States and the Constitution that underlies it. In its maneuvers for political power, this revolutionary enemy already operates on a set of legal and constitutional principles entirely different from those on which our country was founded. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the corrupt prosecution of President Donald Trump, and the attendant, authoritarian insistence that criticism of the machinations of “justice” is unwelcome in a democratic society.

By Carson Holloway
Real Clear Wire

In the wake of his conviction in a New York court, President Trump has complained that the process was rigged against him, that the whole proceeding was a corrupt effort to persecute him with a view to influencing the 2024 presidential election. In response, many of his opponents have criticized him for undermining public confidence in our system of criminal justice and thus harming our democracy—a criticism that has been magnified by many in the media.

These critics, however, are missing the point and undermining a principle that is in fact essential to preserving our republic: namely, that criticism of the justice system when it errs or overreaches is necessary to preserving freedom under the rule of law.

Those who founded our nation were aware of this necessity.

Alexander Hamilton, representing the defendant in the famous libel case People v. Croswell, warned that “the most dangerous, the most sure, the most fatal of tyrannies” operated “by selecting and sacrificing single individuals, under the mask and forms of law, by dependent and partial tribunals.”

“Against such measures,” Hamilton continued, “we ought to keep a vigilant eye and take a manly stand. Whenever they arise, we ought to resist, and resist till we have hurled the demagogues and tyrants from their imagined thrones.” No sensible American would look back on these remarks and think that, by them, Hamilton was undermining democracy.

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Hamilton’s great rival, Thomas Jefferson, acted on a similar view. As president, Jefferson pardoned publishers who had been convicted under the Sedition Act of 1798. Jefferson’s course of action here was inseparable from his belief that the Act was unconstitutional and that the courts of the United States had made themselves party to serious injustices by convicting defendants under it. Indeed, the pardoning power is included in the United States Constitution, and in many state constitutions, and is used routinely, precisely because prosecutors and courts can make mistakes and sometimes even willfully abuse their power over the lives and liberties of citizens.

These dangers are also recognized in federal law. Title 18 of the United States Code prohibits and punishes “deprivation of rights under color of law.” By its very terms this provision acknowledges that sometimes those entrusted with the administration of justice are themselves guilty of behaving lawlessly and abusively. The United States Department of Justice’s website observes that this provision may be applied not only against “police officers, sheriff’s deputies, and prison guards” but also, as appropriate, against “judges, district attorneys,” and “other public officials.” This important provision is itself an acknowledgment by the government that all the proceedings of our justice system are not entitled to uncritical acceptance.

Everyone conversant with American history knows that the problem of politicized and corrupt abuses of the justice system has not disappeared in the modern era, that it continues to rear its ugly head precisely when political passions run high and communities are inflamed against leaders for whom they harbor deep animosities. In the 1960s, Alabama state authorities brought Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to trial on charges that he had committed perjury in relation to his tax filings.

This prosecution was a transparently cynical attempt to deprive an important American political and social movement of its most effective leader. In that case, however, even the Alabama jury, composed exclusively of white men, perceived the abusive character of the case and returned an acquittal. Afterwards, Dr. King thanked the jury for their “fair, honest, and just verdict” and commended the Alabama judge for the “high and noble manner” in which he had conducted the case.

If criticism of prosecutors and courts is permissible and necessary in certain circumstances, the only important question at present is whether such criticism is justified in the case of President Trump’s New York conviction. Would it be reasonable for impartial Americans today to echo Dr. King’s words and congratulate the Manhattan jury for a “fair” verdict and commend Judge Merchan for his “high and noble” handling of the case?

For an answer to that question, we need not rely on Trump or his aggrieved supporters. We need only look to the evaluation of respected CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elie Honig, writing in New York Magazine: “Prosecutors Got Trump, But They Contorted the Law.”

Carson Holloway is a Washington Fellow in the Claremont Institute’s Center for the American Way of Life. This article was first published at TomKlingenstein.com.

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[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire.]

By Newt Gingrich
Real Clear Wire

Democratic analysts don’t seem to understand why the all-out legal assault on President Donald Trump isn’t working. It’s because they keep talking among themselves and not with the American people.

The American people don’t live and work in the New York-Washington political-media-government bubble. If reporters and analysts listened to Americans, as we do at America's New Majority Project, they would learn how decisive the choice between President Joe Biden or President Trump is. They would also see how difficult, if not impossible, it will be for President Biden to get easily re-elected.

The propaganda media is trying to focus the election on what it sees as President Trump’s flaws. The Democrats, including the Biden campaign, are trying to focus the election on what they see as the threat President Trump represents.

But the 2024 election is ultimately going to come down to a simple question: Can the American people afford four more years of Biden’s policies and principles?

President Trump’s problems all involve his own alleged behavior and activities. Even the totally phony legal attacks remain locked into a Trump-centered issue. No American is hurt by the things President Trump has supposedly done. Indeed, few Americans pay any attention to the outlandish, manipulated legal attacks on President Trump.

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Most Americans see the case against Trump as political lawfare. If anything, they are offended by the left’s assault on the rule of law and the Constitution. This is why the conviction in the so-called hush money trial led to an enormous surge of contributions to Trump’s campaign. Far from running away from President Trump, the American people found themselves running to defend him. They saw him as a champion being persecuted unfairly and took the conviction as a direct warning of what could happen to them.

By contrast, President Biden’s problems all impact everyday Americans. Bidenflation continues to drive already high prices higher. Child care costs increased 4.1 percent in the last year. Young parents are having to take on third and fourth jobs just to break even on costs. Grocery prices are forcing Americans to make tough decisions about how to feed their families. Young people can’t afford to buy houses – which is more than offsetting any good will Biden might have generated by (illegally) waiving student loan repayments.

President Biden’s policies are causing millions of Americans real pain.

Biden’s open border policy allows Venezuelan criminals to go to New York City and murder policemen. Biden’s open border policy allows fentanyl and other drugs to flood our country and poison our communities. When more than 100,000 Americans a year are dying from drug overdoses, it is hard worry about how Trump valued his apartment or paid his attorney.

The average American can’t afford groceries, gasoline, or the electricity bill thanks to Bidenflation. Democrats want Americans to focus on these legal attacks. But Americans are focused on their own survival in the terrible economy President Biden and Democrats created.

For the elite establishment Democrats, this is all still about politics. For the American people, it’s about survival.

Economically, Biden’s destructive policies make life more expensive. Culturally, people are sick of radical dictates which denigrate religious liberty and seek to indoctrinate children against the will of their parents. Finally, as a matter of safety, Americans realize that Biden does not have the knowledge, ability, or wits to defend our nation against our adversaries.

The 2024 election isn’t about what the establishment media thinks. It’s about America’s survival.

For more commentary from Newt Gingrich, visit Gingrich360.com. Also, subscribe to the Newt’s World podcast.

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President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are greeted by guests as they arrive to the New Year's Eve celebration Tuesday evening, Dec. 31, 2019, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. (Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour)

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire.]

By Julie Kelly
Real Clear Wire

Top officials at the Department of Justice are downplaying recently disclosed documents showing FBI agents were authorized to use deadly force during their 2022 raid of Donald Trump’s Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.

Responding to Trump’s claim that “Joe Biden was locked & loaded ready to take me out & put my family in danger,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said the bureau was following “standard operating procedure” as it executed a search warrant on Aug. 8, 2022, regarding classified material that the former president was holding at Mar-a-Lago.

While noting that Trump was not present during the raid, Attorney General Merrick Garland dismissed Trump’s claim as “false” and “dangerous.” Garland said the same language was used in a later search warrant seeking classified documents President Biden was storing in various locations.

But critics argue that there was nothing ordinary about the Mar-a-Lago raid, in which more than 30 FBI agents descended on Trump’s Palm Beach estate, potentially creating a dangerous situation with the armed Secret Service agents on site.

“There was zero reason to create an unnecessary, even one in a thousand chance, of a blue-on-blue situation with firearms,” former Secret Service agent and political commentator Dan Bongino said on his podcast. “The FBI, DOJ, and management of the Secret Service effed this up royally.”

Even as the DOJ presents its actions as business as usual, the newly released documents and other public records suggest the department’s actions entered uncharted territory. While the department claims that all citizens must be treated equally, critics note that no former president was ever the subject of an FBI search warrant before Trump.

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A recently discovered Department of Defense memo suggests that the federal government may well have had copies of the documents in Trump’s possession, also raising questions about the need for the raid. The content of those documents has not been disclosed but, critics ask, if Trump was not retaining copies of information that threatened national security, what was the need for an armed raid?

Many on the right see the Mar-a-Lago raid as part of a broader effort by the Department of Justice to intimidate its political enemies. They say it is part of a larger pattern that includes the armed morning raid on the home of Trump associate Roger Stone in 2019, the arrest of anti-abortion activist Mark Houck by dozens of armed agents in 2022 a year after he was accused of pushing someone outside a Philadelphia clinic, and the DOJ’s aggressive efforts to find and charge to date more than 1,400 people connected to the Jan. 6 protest at the Capitol.

Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida

The recent court disclosures also underscore the very different treatments the department has accorded to Trump and the Biden family.

Trump, who has asserted that his presidential authority empowered him to retain and declassify documents, got a surprise nine-hour raid a few months before announcing his plans to run for reelection.

President Biden, who never had the authority to declassify or take home classified records as a senator or vice president, received the courtesy of at least two consensual FBI searches, presumably unarmed.

IRS whistleblower Joseph Ziegler, who has worked on tax cases involving Biden’s son Hunter, has testified that Hunter Biden’s lawyers were tipped off that investigators had probable cause to search his Northern Virginia storage unit.

Trump’s attorneys are now asking Judge Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over Special Counsel Jack Smith’s espionage and obstruction case against Trump in Florida, to prohibit Smith from using any of the materials seized during the Mar-a-Lago raid at trial. The FBI sought the warrant as part of its attempt to recover classified records, including national defense materials, which Trump supposedly took with him at the end of his presidency.

The FBI’s application for the warrant contained false information, the attorneys argue, and the raid violated even the very broad terms of the warrant. To make their case to the judge, Trump’s team on May 21 filed a copy of the FBI’s plan to execute the warrant, which disclosed details about how agents were instructed to conduct the raid.

The operations order, known as an FD-888, indicated the almost undercover nature of the raid. Agents were advised to wear “unmarked polo or collared shirts” and keep their badges, credentials, and equipment “concealed.”

Agents were also told to be equipped with “Standard Issue Weapons, Ammo, [and] Handcuffs.” One team was told to bring “medium and large sized bolt cutters.” A lock-picking team would be on site to open the doors of guest rooms if Mar-a-Lago staff did not cooperate. (It is unclear why an investigator would have probable cause to believe Trump stored secrets in the guest rooms of the resort area of the estate.)

Another section of the order addressed a possible response if the Secret Service attempted to impede the search or if Trump showed up that day. (Trump, at the time, was residing at his Bedminster, New Jersey, home for the summer.)

“Should FPOTUS [Former President of the United States] arrive at MAL [Mar-a-Lago], FBI [agents] will be prepared to engage with FPOTUS and USSS [U.S. Secret Service] Security Team,” the order read.

In a partially redacted portion of the plan, agents were advised to “engage” with an unidentified Secret Service contact “should USSS provide resistance or interfere with FBI timeline or accesses.”

Dan Bongino faulted the Secret Service for permitting armed police into Mar-a-Lago. “What the hell was the Secret Service management thinking, letting the FBI in there with guns? It was a protected facility.”

The inclusion of the use of deadly force policy in the raid plan prompted widespread outrage among Republicans, including the former president. The House Judiciary Committee has since sent a letter to Garland asking for more records related to the search including communications between the FBI and Secret Service in advance of the raid.

Others insisted the deadly force language was nothing to be alarmed about. After this reporter disclosed that language on May 21, FBI Director Christopher Wray issued a statement late on May 21 to that effect: “The FBI followed standard protocol in this search as we do for all search warrants, which includes a standard policy statement limiting the use of deadly force. No one ordered additional steps to be taken and there was no departure from the norm in this matter.”

Others argue, however, that in the case of an unprecedented raid against a former president and leading contender for the Republican nomination for president at the time, Wray should have considered “additional steps” and a “departure from the norm.”

“This type of event has never happened to a full time Protectee of the USSS,” Charles Butt, an 18-year special agent of the Secret Service now retired, told RealClearInvestigations by email last month. “All of this never should have happened in a reasonable environment.”

In a separate statement, Garland claimed the lethal force language was also used in the search of Joe Biden’s residence in 2022, which resulted in the discovery of several classified files, according to Special Counsel Robert Hur’s final report.

But while Trump faces 40 federal criminal charges and the possibility of years in prison for any conviction, Hur, after finding Biden had willfully retained and shared classified material stretching back to the 1970s, concluded Biden should not be charged as a jury would sympathize with “an elderly man with a poor memory.”

Hur’s report makes no mention of an FBI document related to the consensual searches of Biden’s home. Efforts to reach Hur for confirmation were unsuccessful.

After Garland characterized Trump’s comments about the use of lethal force as “extremely dangerous,” Smith filed a May 24 motion asking Cannon to impose a partial gag order on Trump that essentially would prohibit him from continuing to publicly criticize the FBI in the classified documents case.

Smith said his request is “necessary because of several intentionally false and inflammatory statements recently made by Trump that distort the circumstances under which the Federal Bureau of Investigations planned and executed the search warrant at Mar-a-Lago.” Smith complained that Trump’s comments about the raid “create a grossly misleading impression about the intentions and conduct of federal law enforcement.”

Both sides are set to clash over the gag order and the legality of the raid during a hearing in Cannon’s courtroom later this month.

Contrary to claims the raid followed standard protocols, additional court documents, media reports, and congressional testimony demonstrate the unusual nature of the process.

Prosecutors and investigators disagreed on how to pursue the investigation from the start. According to a 2023 report in the Washington Post, Jay Bratt, who initially led the early stages of the investigation, wanted to obtain a search warrant in early May 2022 – just three months after National Archives officials informed the DOJ they had found papers with classified markings contained in 15 boxes Trump’s team turned over the archives in January 2022. (Bratt is now one of Smith’s lead prosecutors in the matter.)

FBI agents working out of the Washington field office – not the proper jurisdiction of southern Florida where the alleged crimes occurred – pushed back on Bratt’s quick trigger. The agents “viewed a Mar-a-Lago search in May as premature and combative, especially given that it involved raiding the home of a former president,” the Post disclosed.

Bratt settled for a subpoena for more documents. Along with three FBI agents, Bratt personally visited Mar-a-Lago on June 3, 2022, to collect 37 records responsive to the subpoena.

Far from attempting to obstruct the investigation, Trump delayed his planned trip to Bedminster to greet the DOJ team. “Whatever you need, just let us know,” he told them. At one point, according to a court document, Trump overruled his own attorney and allowed Bratt to view the area where dozens of boxes of presidential and personal materials were stored.

Despite Team Trump’s cooperation with the DOJ, Bratt spent the next few months pushing for a search warrant for Mar-a-Lago, but key FBI officials continued to resist. The main resistance came from Steven D’Antuono, head of the Washington FBI field office at the time. D’Antuono repeatedly locked horns with Bratt and George Toscas, deputy assistant attorney general for the National Security Division, whose fingerprints also are on the FISAgate scandal to spy on Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

Toscas, in what appears to be a deviation from normal protocol, sent D’Antuono an email on Aug. 2, 2022 instructing him to move forward with getting a judge to approve the warrant. D’Antuono told the House Judiciary Committee in a 2023 interview that he “put his foot down” and continued to argue that the search should be consensual.

“I kind of got, not upset, but it’s like, you’re talking about my agents? Like they’re my agents, not yours,” D’Antuono testified he told Toscas. “They’re mine. I just – we have a different plan for this, my agents. So don’t tell me what my agents – I didn’t say this, but in the back of my mind, I was like, don’t tell me what my agents want to do because my agents tell me [something] completely different.”

But D’Antuono was overruled by Paul Abbate, deputy director of the FBI. And on Aug. 5, 2022, Florida Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart signed the warrant via WhatsApp encrypted chat.

Despite being thwarted by his higher-ups at the FBI, D’Antuono said he wanted to notify Trump’s attorney at the time, Evan Corcoran, before the FBI team arrived at Mar-a-Lago; Bratt refused the request even though D’Antuono said, “We usually go to the attorneys first” prior to executing any search. The FBI’s initial plan also indicated that Trump’s attorney would be notified on Aug. 8 and “request collaboration and assistance.”

But that did not happen. According to the FD-888, 30 agents out of the Washington and Miami FBI field offices arrived at Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8 at 8:59 a.m. An unidentified individual attempted to contact Corcoran about 15 minutes later, but he was not reached until around 9:40 a.m. as agents were preparing to conduct the search. It is unclear when Corcoran arrived.

In another oddity, the FBI disclosed that a prosecutor for the U.S. attorney’s office in southern Florida was present during the search; prosecutors generally do not participate in raids, as they instead handle charging decisions after evidence is collected as a result of a search. Further, the prosecutor would lose immunity if the search was declared unlawful.

That appears to be a possibility. The warrant allowed agents to search Trump’s office as well as “all storage rooms, and all other rooms or areas within the premises used or available to be used by FPOTUS and his staff and in which boxes or documents could be stored.”

But Trump’s lawyers argue that FBI agents exceeded the scope of the warrant by searching the private suite of former first lady Melania Trump and the couple’s son, Barron, who was 16 at the time.

An FBI photo log demonstrates agents entered and took photographs of items inside both bedrooms. “There was no factual basis for the agents to rummage through rooms not specified in the warrant and, not surprisingly, they seized nothing from these other rooms,” Trump’s attorneys wrote.

Some records related to the search remain under seal, including grand jury testimony of a Secret Service agent. Judge Cannon previously indicated she would allow for the unsealing of grand jury materials if necessary, so more revelations as to how the raid was planned and conducted could be forthcoming.

Documents filed on June 11 add more context to the execution of the raid. It appears the Secret Service point of contact was only informed of the warrant roughly two hours before agents arrived at Mar-a-Lago. Contrary to what the DOJ attempts to portray as a “cooperative” effort between the two law enforcement agencies, FBI agents used a bolt cutter to open the lock of the storage area where boxes were housed rather than wait for a key.

Agents mishandled files from the start; Smith recently admitted the sequence of evidence inside the boxes is not in the original order and that some alleged classified records do not match the cover sheet used as a placeholder to indicate where the classified record was found.

Which leads to this question: Was the unprecedented and potentially dangerous raid of the former president’s home only the beginning of what now appears to be a botched case?

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President Donald J. Trump

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President Donald J. Trump prepares to sign a plaque placed along the border wall Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, at the Texas-Mexico border near Alamo, Texas. (Official White House photo by Shealah Craighead)

(HEADLINE USA) – Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., claimed this week that former President Donald Trump’s family should stage an “intervention” for him.

“He knows he’s wacky,” Pelosi told MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell on Thursday. “He knows he’s an imposter,” she claimed. “… Everything he says about somebody else, whether it’s a judge in the courtroom, a witness, a juror, a member of Congress, a woman, an opponent in an election – everything he says is a projection of his own shortcomings.”

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Pelosi’s rhetoric was, of course, a projection in its own right. Increasingly Democrats have begun to accuse Republicans – and Trump in particular – of the very behaviors in which they themselves are engaging, even down to the act of projecting onto others.

Read the full story ›

Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida speaks on a CNN panel

Jason Cohen
Daily Caller News Foundation

Democratic strategist and former Hillary Clinton spokesperson Karen Finney on Friday laughed while asserting black voters will not cast any ballots for Republican Florida Rep. Byron Donalds if former President Donald Trump selects him to be his vice presidential pick.

Donalds is rumored to be a contender on Trump’s list for his potential choice for vice president. CNN host Jake Tapper on “The Lead With Jake Tapper” said Donalds made “the case for himself” on the network Friday morning, but Finney forecast if Trump chooses Donalds, he will lose to President Joe Biden because black voters won’t cast ballots for the representative.

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WATCH:

Ex-Hillary Clinton Spox Cackles, Says “Black Voters Are Not Gonna Vote For Byron Donalds’ As Trump’s VP” pic.twitter.com/DelBKnuumW

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 14, 2024

“Please,” Finney uttered when Tapper made the remark about Donalds’ alleged effort to be Trump’s vice presidential pick.

“I would predict that if he names Byron Donalds, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will win because black voters are not going to vote for Byron Donalds at all,” Finney said shortly after while laughing loudly.

Donalds was one of Trump’s allies that visited the former president in court during his Manhattan trial to show support.

“It was depressing because you’re watching this mockery of the court system in front of your eyes, like the star witnesses is Michael Cohen, the guy’s a liar, a tax evader,” Donalds told the Daily Caller. “He makes money going after President Trump. He makes money, frankly, defaming President Trump, and that’s your star witness. It was a joke.”

“And so, it was actually good to be there when they were actually going through their evidence,” he added. “And you’re sitting there and as a layperson, you’re like, where is the crime? Can somebody explain this to me?”

Finney is mixed race as her dad is black and racial issues are an important topic to her, Fortune reported.

Radio host Charlamagne Tha God in a podcast episode posted to YouTube on Friday called out Democrats for not speaking to voters they claim to represent.

“One thing about those elected officials, especially the Democrats, man, they talk about the people they don’t even talk to,” Charlamagne said. “You know what I’m saying? And they claim to talk for the people they don’t even talk to.”

CNN national politics correspondent Eva McKend asserted on Friday that she can “say with certainty” that Democrats “are worried” about Trump receiving more black votes.

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Jason Cohen
Daily Caller News Foundation

Radio host Charlamagne Tha God in a podcast episode posted to YouTube on Friday criticized Democrats for engaging in “goofy” actions due to their lack of communication with voters they claim to represent.

President Joe Biden seemed to freeze during a White House Juneteenth concert on Monday as Vice President Kamala Harris and others around him clapped and danced. Charlamagne on the “Brilliant Idiots” used this video as an example of how not spending time in “the hood” leads to Democrats exhibiting “corny, goofy” behavior.

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WATCH:

‘Get To The Hood’: Charlamagne Blasts Dems For Claiming To Represent ‘People They Don’t Even Talk To’ pic.twitter.com/P9ZL3bwbLi

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 14, 2024

“Get off the hill and get to the hood,” Charlamagne said. “Those black people on the hill got y’all doing corny, goofy stuff like that. And they got y’all, you know, like, one thing about those elected officials, especially the Democrats, man, they talk about the people they don’t even talk to. You know what I’m saying? And they claim to talk for the people they don’t even talk to. Go down to Duval day and see what the hood really thinks about something, man. I’ve said that.”

Charlamagne added if Democrats have no desire to “go to the hood,” they should go to historically black colleges and universities.

“Go down to one of the HBCUs in Jacksonville,” he said. “Go down to one of the HBCUs in Atlanta. Have town halls.”

“Brilliant Idiots” co-host and comedian Andrew Schulz objected, saying, “Nah, go to the hood. What hood should they go to?”

“VP Kamala Harris should pull up to the hood, not President Biden,” Charlamagne specified, with Schulz raising that former President Donald Trump held a large rally in the Bronx in May.

“He definitely was in the Bronx,” Chalamagne acknowledged, adding that “he brought out Sleepy Hallow and Sheff G,” two New York rappers, during the rally.

CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten said shortly after the Bronx rally that it is a negative sign for Biden’s reelection chances.

“This is part of a larger trend line … that we’re seeing among nonwhite voters, we see among black voters as well,” Enten said. “We’ve discussed that on this program before, whereby they’re much more favorable to Donald Trump than they were four years ago. And of course, Donald Trump did better amongst both of those groups in 2020 versus how he did in 2016.”

The former president has gained ground on Biden’s lead among black Americans since 2020, with a May New York Times/Siena College poll finding the current president leading Trump 70% to 18%.

Charlamane also criticized black media personalities on Wednesday for defending Hunter Biden following his conviction in a federal gun trial on Tuesday.

“Hunter Biden gets sentenced, and I see black folks in media: ‘This is wrong, this is some BS. Nobody gets charged with this.’ Negro, please. If you was black and they thought you was on drugs and you did what Hunter Biden did, they would have been put you under the jail,” the radio personality said on “The Breakfast Club.”

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Trump supporters at a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa (Gateway Pundit)

Jason Cohen
Daily Caller News Foundation

CNN national politics correspondent Eva McKend said on Friday that she can say for a fact that Democrats are concerned about former President Donald Trump gaining black voters.

Trump has cut his deficit with President Joe Biden among black Americans, with the current president leading the former president 70% to 18%, a May New York Times/Siena College poll found. McKend on “Inside Politics” said she doesn’t completely buy that Trump is going to make huge progress with these voters, but that Democrats are definitely “worried” about the possibility.

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WATCH:

CNN Correspondent Says ‘With Certainty’ Dems ‘Are Worried’ About Trump Attracting Black Voters pic.twitter.com/s895Kxgs89

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 14, 2024

“Republicans are really confident that this will be the cycle,” McKend said in response to a question from host Manu Raju about Trump taking black voters from Biden. “But I am skeptical because Republicans have said that for several cycles, that this is going to be the time when they’re going to have a deep inroads with black voters.”

“They do see his style of toughness, his brand of masculinity as appealing to some black voters, he has black surrogates in different communities talking to small black business owners about capital. And they’re confident in this strategy that they are employing. Black men are very much seen as a swing voter, I think, in this cycle,” she continued. “A group that both parties are really trying to appeal to and Democrats, I can say with certainty, are worried.”

CNN’s John King said Thursday that Biden has many more “cracks” in his coalition than Trump, including black voters, complicating the president’s reelection effort.

“The Democrat coalition is more complicated because it has more pieces, right? You have the black turnout, you have the Latino turnout,” King said. “You got to keep your share of the blue collar voters. The younger voters have been key to the Democrats in the last few election cycles. And they’re really mad at the president right now, especially over Israel-Hamas.”

“Trump’s biggest problems is Haley voters, people who are Republicans by DNA, who probably voted for him in 2016,” King continued. “A lot of them went to Biden in 2020. They don’t like either one of them … That’s a singular problem to solve. It’s a big problem … but it’s one thing and they’re DNA Republicans. Biden has a lot more complicated little pieces. It’s tougher.”

Democratic strategist James Carville and television personality Donny Deutsch also sounded the alarm in a podcast episode aired on Thursday about “Hispanic males” abandoning the Democratic Party.

“We’re gonna lose Hispanic males,” Carville said. “We’re gonna [bleeping] lose ’em.”

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NewsGuard, which purportedly "rates" news organizations for their truthfulness, has been described in a Real Clear Wire report as "a powerful censorship tool."

And constitutional expert Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University whose popular commentary regularly skewers the establishment, has warned against subjecting children in America's schools to the left-leaning bias of "fact-checkers" like NewsGuard because it "raises the specter of a type of de facto state media."

Now a report at RedState is revealing U.S. Rep. James Comer, chief of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, is beginning an investigation of the "supposed arbiter of media reliability."

The goal? Determine the "impact of NewsGuard on protected First Amendment speech and its potential to serve as a non-transparent agent of censorship campaigns."

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That same topic already is before the Supreme Court, in a dispute over the instructions from the Joe Biden administration to various social media companies to, in recent years, censor opinions and even facts about the 2020 election, COVID's origins, the shots that have proven to be harmful, and more.

The report said Comer recently sent a message to NewsGuard with questions.

He said, "Our inquiry seeks documents on NewsGuard’s business relationships with government entities, its adherence to its own policies intended to guard against appearances of bias, how it tries to avoid and manage potential conflicts of interest arising from its investors and other influences, and actions that may have the impact of delegitimizing factually accurate information."

Comer continued, "One concerned journalist expressed fear that NewsGuard’s activities are an extension of federal efforts—since struck down by courts—to coerce social media companies and to 'destroy the financial survival of disfavored outlets…'"

In fact, a number of conservative and Christian news organizations largely have been defunded by social media companies following the same leftist ideology adopted by NewsGuard.

Comer said, "The committee seeks to make an independent determination about whether NewsGuard’s intervention on protected speech has been in any way sponsored by a federal, state, local, or foreign government."

The report said NewGuard is a "a team of journalists who create a reliability rating system that scores various news outlets for accuracy based on various criteria. It has come under scrutiny for what many perceive as its bias against right-leaning outlets, including RedState, which have been the target of numerous censorship and demonetization efforts."

Comer noted that NewsGuard already is accepting federal money under a contract with the Defense Department and that's a concern as it generates the possibility of federal agencies involved in "censorship."

The letter also cites NewsGuard's "clear bias in favor of the left."

The report in RedState explained, "NewsGuard and similar organizations have not only attacked conservative outlets by trying to tarnish their reputations, they have also gone after their revenue sources, persuading companies to refrain from spending advertising dollars with the sites."

Steven Brill, the leftist founder of the group, was "one of the voices falsely claiming that the Hunter Biden laptop was likely false Russian disinformation," Real Clear had reported.

That computer now has been documented as real, since the federal government itself used it as evidence in a trial in which Hunter Biden was convicted of gun rule felonies.

Bruce Afran, a lawyer with Consortium News, which had a falling out with NewsGuard, said, "What’s really happening here is that NewsGuard is trying to target those who take a different view from the government line."

The Media Research Center, a long-established and well-known watchdog on the media, concluded, problematically, that NewsGuard was biased "in favor of leftist news outlets. NewsGuard even rated several Communist Chinese state-run media outlets higher than several American outlets and pro-life U.S. websites. The ratings firm also claims to help identify 'misinformation,' but its biases show it isn’t objective."

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Are various members of Congress, who paid some $17 million in taxpayer funds to silence people who brought sexual misconduct claims against them, now going to be investigated, tried, and convicted of felonies, like President Trump? After all, they didn't report those payments as campaign contributions.

That's the suggestion that has been raised in a congressional hearing.

Congressmen paid $17 million of TAXPAYER MONEY for undisclosed hush payments to cover up sexual harassment claims.

Meanwhile candidate Trump allegedly used HIS MONEY for a $130,000 hush payment and he’s convicted of 34 felonies for not disclosing.https://t.co/DZw3hYyuXH pic.twitter.com/s3odKj1CmW

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) May 31, 2024

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's case against President Donald Trump over business reporting issues, described as a "hush money" case because of testimony from ex-porn star Stormy Daniels, likely will be overturned, witnesses have told Congress.

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And given the multiple constitutional errors allowed by Judge Juan Merchan, whose daughter is a Democrat activist and was fundraising off her father's courtroom decisions during the trial, one member has defined what the entire exercise was about:

"This irony here is that this is going to be vacated and this trial was all about trying to influence an election using the process as the punishment," charged U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.

U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.

His comments came in a hearing on Bragg's scheming against Trump held by the House Judiciary Committee.

Bragg charged Trump with 34 felonies based on a handful of alleged business reporting violations which were misdemeanors for which the statute of limitations had expired. Bragg, however, filed them as felonies claiming they were in support of some other, unidentified, crime.

They essentially involved payments to a Trump lawyer who then paid Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged affair, which both individuals have denied happened.

Witnesses including Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and FEC Commissioner Trey Trainor both told Congress the conviction almost certainly will be overturned because of Merchan's apparently willful failures to follow the Constitution.

Massie took the entire case apart in a few minutes of comments during the hearing;

Is Congress's $17 million sexual misconduct hush money fund campaign finance violations?

Rep. Thomas Massie highlights that Congress's hush money payments would be considered campaign finance violations under Alvin Bragg's novel theory used to target President Trump.

"Congress… pic.twitter.com/pFPPkeG3VG

— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) June 13, 2024

A report at Twitchy cited Massie's comments:

Congress has paid over $17 million in hush money for sexual misconduct inside of the offices in these buildings. And what's more, is that it was taxpayer money. The allegation is that President Trump paid $130,000 of his own money.

But here in Congress, there might be some here on this dais -- I mean, I'm for turning loose ALL of these records -- who had the taxpayer pay for their sexual misconduct charges, the hush money. I bet there's some over there, there may be some over here. I don't know, but I do know it's taxpayer money. And I do know that not a single penny of it has been turned in as a campaign finance expense. Is the FEC going to investigate the $17 million dollars that Congress has paid behind closed doors for these sexual misconduct allegations?

The report explained, "We imagine many representatives suddenly got obsessed with staring at their shoes at that moment. And then Massie said he might file a complaint so the FEC WOULD investigate Congressional hush money. We wouldn't bet against him doing that. "

Massie noted that those hush money payments by members of Congress, to suppress various sexual misconduct claims inside their congressional offices, would be considered campaign finance violations under Bragg's theory.

The committee hearing specifically was held to examine Bragg's office actions, as multiple prosecutors earlier had rejected the idea that there was any evidence to pursue a case against Trump.

$17,000,000+ of TAXPAYER $$ paid out for sexual misconduct of the Congress.. No issues at all..

Trump pays $130,000 of his OWN $$ and he gets charged with felonies!

What a frigging disgrace!! No wonder most Americans have no faith in the US government! https://t.co/oXXYeHbjTx

— Thomas O'Connor '62 baby, #GodBlessAmerica (@TheyCallMeTomO1) June 13, 2024

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Hunter Biden

Now that the federal government itself has used Hunter Biden's abandoned laptop information as evidence in court, affirming its authenticity, there probably are only a handful of diehards who still portray it as Russian disinformation.

Even Biden now has dropped a lawsuit he had filed against former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his former lawyer, accusing them of manipulating data on the unit.

That piece of electronics was a key to Joe Biden's election victory in 2020. When it was uncovered by the New York Post, which reported on the scandalous information it contained about Biden family operations, including overseas business schemes, the FBI warned publications against using it.

Then 51 ex-intel officials that had been in government offices wrote a letter claiming it was "Russian disinformation." In fact, it was Hunter Biden's and fully accurate in its revelations.

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Polling later showed that had that information been generally reported, enough voters would have moved their vote to another candidate that Biden would have lost the 2020 ballot.

The New York Post now is confirming Biden is dropping the case.

"Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell filed the stipulation for dismissal Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York," the report said. "The attorney asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit against Giuliani and Robert Costello 'without prejudice, with each party bearing its own attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses.'"

Records show lawyers for the three parties all agreed. Biden had claimed that Giuliani and Costello violated the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by hacking the machine and manipulating data.

Biden charged them with destroying his digital privacy.

"This dismissal – along with Hunter Biden’s conviction based on evidence taken from the laptop – is a vindication for Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Costello as well as all of the media outlets who broke the laptop story in 2020 and suffered orchestrated censorship by social media, the leftist mainstream media, and others who engaged in election interference," Giuliani's attorney, Joe Sibley, told the Post.

The motion to dismiss the suit must be approved by U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke before it is final.

The 54-year-old Biden was convicted – using evidence from his laptop – just days ago of three felonies related to his purchase of a revolver in 2018, and his lies on a federal government form which asked about his drug use and addiction.

Biden had abandoned the laptop at a Delaware repair shop in 2019, and it has proven to provide scandal after scandal for him, and Joe Biden, since.

While the repair shop owner found evidence of drug use and other possible crimes, he turned the computer over to the FBI, but not before making a copy of the drive, which later was given to Costello.

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U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]

By Rob Bluey
The Daily Signal

Two weeks after Democrats gloated over the guilty verdict of former President Donald Trump, six Senate Republicans are vowing to exact revenge for the Biden administration’s use of lawfare to target a political opponent.

Their target: 44 nominees of President Joe Biden who are awaiting Senate confirmation.

The six GOP senators—JD Vance of Ohio, Mike Lee of Utah, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Roger Marshall of Kansas, and Eric Schmitt of Missouri—joined forces Thursday with a commitment to block confirmation of the nominees.

Tuberville, who last year delayed the promotions of military officers over a dispute with the Biden administration, is now using his ability as a senator to stop the Democrat-led chamber from swiftly confirming Biden’s nominees.

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This time, he’ll have more Republicans to back him up.

“Every signer is pledged to defend against attempts to fast-track the confirmation of Biden nominees,” the senators wrote in their letter. “This will be accomplished through a joint effort and not be reliant upon a single Member’s willingness to hold every nominee.”

They added:

In a continuing response to the current administration’s persecution of President Donald Trump, we will not allow the fast-tracking of any Biden Article III court judicial nominees, as well as Biden U.S. attorney nominations.

Further, we will not permit the fast-tracking of nominees who have suggested the Trump prosecutions were reasonable, endorsed President Trump’s guilt in these sham proceedings, joined or supported organizations that celebrated the indictment of President Trump, supported the ‘get-Trump’ candidacy of Alvin Bragg, or supported lawfare or censorship in other ways.

This complement to the pledge of May 31 will last until Election Day, when the American people will have the opportunity to decisively reject attempts to settle political disputes through the legal system.

That earlier pledge, issued shortly after a New York jury’s guilty verdict of Trump, promised to oppose Democrats’ legislative priorities and nominations.

The new effort puts the focus on the following 44 nominees awaiting confirmation.

1. Johnny C. Gogo, nominated to be a U.S. attorney for the Districts of Guam and Northern Mariana Islands
2. April M. Perry, nominated to be a U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois
3. Joshua S. Levy, nominated to be a U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts
4. Rebecca C. Lutzko, nominated to be a U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio
5. Matthew L. Gannon, nominated to be a U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Iowa
6. David C. Waterman, nominated to be a U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Iowa
7. Joseph Russell Palmore, nominated to be an associate judge for the DC Court of Appeals
8. Carmen G. Iguina Gonzalez, nominated to be an associate judge for the DC Court of Appeals
9. John Cuong Truong, nominated to be an associate judge for the DC Superior Court
10. Rahkel Bouchet, nominated to be an associate judge for the DC Superior Court
11. Ray D. McKenzie, nominated to be an associate judge for the DC Superior Court
12. Erin Camille Johnston, nominated to be an associate judge for the DC Superior Court
13. Sherri Malloy Beatty-Arthur, nominated to be an associate judge for the DC Superior Court
14. Anne Hwang, nominated to be a judge for the Central District of California
15. Cynthia Valenzuela Dixon, nominated to be a judge for the Central District of California
16. Michelle Williams Court, nominated to be a judge for the Central District of California
17. Stacey D. Neumann, nominated to be a judge for the District of Maine
18. Adam B. Abelson, nominated to be a judge for the District of Maryland
19. Danna R. Jackson, nominated to be a judge for the District of Montana
20. Embry J. Kidd, nominated to be a judge for the 11th Circuit
21. Joseph Francis Saporito, Jr., nominated to be a judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
22. Rebecca Suzanne Kanter, nominated to be a judge for the Southern District of California
23. Detra Shaw-Wilder, nominated to be a judge for the Southern District of Florida
24. Sarah Netburn, nominated to be a judge for the Southern District of New York
25. Meredith A. Vacca, nominated to be a judge for the Western District of New York
26. Julia M. Lipez, nominated to be a judge for the 1st Circuit
27. Mary Kay Lanthier, nominated to be a judge for the District of Vermont
28. Catherine Henry, nominated to be a judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
29. Karla M. Campbell, nominated to be a Judge for the 6th Circuit
30. Charlie Crist, nominated to be the U.S. representative to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization
31. Corey Anne Tellez, nominated to be deputy undersecretary for the Department of the Treasury
32. Andrew William Plitt, nominated to be an assistant administrator of the Agency for International Development
33. James J. Blanchard, nominated to be a member of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy
34. Margaret L. Taylor, nominated to be a legal advisor for the Department of State
35. Jay T. Snyder, nominated to be a member of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy
36. John Gleeson, nominated to be a Member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission
37. Christopher H. Schroeder, nominated to be a member of the Board of Trustees of the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation
38. Leslie N. Bluhm, nominated to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service
39. Jeffrey R. Gural, nominated to be chairman of the Public Buildings Reform Board
40. Martin Joseph Walsh, nominated to be governor of the U.S. Postal Service
41. John Bradford Wiegmann, nominated for general counsel of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence
42. Barbara Lee, nominated to be representative to the General Assembly of the United Nations
43. Vivek Hallegere Murthy, nominated to be representative of the United States on the Board of the World Health Organization
44. Janet Louise Yellen, nominated to be governor of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, governor of the Inter-American Development Bank, governor of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and governor of the International Monetary Fund

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]

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[Editor's note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]

By Rob Bluey
The Daily Signal

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Former President Donald Trump holds a double-digit lead over President Joe Biden on the four most important issues facing Americans today, according to new polling from Scott Rasmussen.

The RMG Research survey asked registered voters to rank the most important issues and then pick the candidate they trust more: Biden or Trump. Topping the list were inflation, the economy, immigration, and crime.

Trump has the largest lead on immigration (+17), followed by inflation (+11), the economy (+11), and crime (+10). He also has a big edge over Biden on the war between Israel and Hamas (+12) and a smaller advantage on gun laws (+4).

Biden dominates on climate change (+18) and polls ahead of Trump on abortion (+10), health care (+9), and education (+6).

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The full chart below from RMG Research shows the percentage breakdown for each candidate.

On nearly every issue surveyed, Trump has gained ground since Rasmussen’s previous poll in April and earlier surveys comparing the two presidential front-runners. His survey did not include third-party candidates.

• Immigration: Trump leads Biden 49% to 32%, a net gain of 1 percentage point since April.
• Israel-Hamas war: Trump leads Biden 42% to 30%, a net gain of 5 percentage points since April.
• Inflation: Trump leads Biden 46% to 35%, a net gain of 3 percentage points since April.
• Economy: Trump leads Biden 46% to 35%, a net gain of 4 percentage points since April.
• Crime: Trump leads Biden 45% to 35%, the same margin as April.
• Gun laws: Trump leads Biden 42% to 38%, a net gain of 4 percentage points since April.
• Education: Biden leads Trump 43% to 37%, a net loss of 3 percentage points since April.
• Health care: Biden leads Trump 45% to 36%, a net loss of 5 percentage points since April.
• Abortion: Biden leads Trump 43% to 33%, a net loss of 5 percentage points since April.
• Climate change: Biden leads Trump 46% to 28%, the same margin as April.

The RMG Research poll was conducted June 10 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]

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President Donald Trump's campaign has taken to promoting the famous quotes of Joe Biden.

They're contained in a new campaign ad that delivers timeless … something.

One, of course, his is avoidance of the word "Creator." "We hold these truths to be self-event. All men and women created by the, go you know… You know the thing."

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Donald Trump Just Posted This On Truth Social

"TIMELESS QUOTES BY JOE BIDEN"

How is this real life? #Trump2024 pic.twitter.com/oX75yvM0iz

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) June 14, 2024

The Gateway Pundit took time to spell some others:

"America is a nation that can be defined in a single word: Assemfhuuthimaafuutheemscuseme… excuse me the foothills of the Himilayas with Xi Jinping."

"Shenewlofthbudshenewlongdashedenied our freedom can never be secured…"

"But we’ll never forget. Lying around. handeyebeenyahassent been lying around, actually…."

"It is noteworthy that the percentage of women who register to vote and cast a ballot is consistently higher than the percentage of the men who do so. End of quote. Repeat the line."

"I’ll lead an effective strategy to mobilize trueindernationdanderpreshure."

He also recently, during a speech, read from the teleprompter the word "pause," instead of using a pause for dramatic effect.

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WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice, in its strategy for prosecuting former President Donald Trump for supposedly masterminding an "insurrection" during the Jan. 6, 2021 "Save America" rally, has inadvertently bolstered – many would say confirmed – the case that Democrats rigged the 2020 presidential election.

Prosecutors obtained a search warrant to access data from Trump's cellphone used in the White House, and after an unpublicized court battle ultimately obtained a massive cache of data culled from Trump's accounts, including location data.

Special counsel Jack Smith notified the U.S. District Court that the government's expert witnesses were using the location data extracted from Trump's phone and Geographic Information Systems to make their case for a criminal conviction of the former commander-in-chief for supposedly launching his army of supporters against members of Congress and conspiring to instigate a bloodbath to overthrow the U.S. government on Jan. 6.

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The cellphone data reveals Trump’s day-to-day footprint and communications in his final weeks in office, "including the periods of time during which Trump's phone was locked and the Twitter application was open on January 6," Smith wrote in the government’s "Summary of Anticipated Expert Testimony" to presiding U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.

The experts, unidentified by name in the filing, will "specifically" identify "the periods of time during which Trump’s phone was unlocked and the Twitter application was open on January 6," the special prosecutor notes.

Prosecutors have also extracted data from Trump's aide, described in the court filing only as "Individual 1" in the days leading up to Jan. 6 and the post-election period.

Using geolocation data the DOJ confiscated from cellphone accounts of up to a million Americans who attended the Washington, D.C., protests on Jan. 6, the expert witnesses will "aid the jury in understanding the movements of individuals toward the Capitol area during and after the defendant’s speech."

The prosecution is also slated to present testimony from former Vice President Mike Pence and dozens of Trump’s closest aides and advisers in its case against the Republican 2024 presidential nominee.

The government's confiscation of Trump's cellphone unprecedentedly undermines the president’s immunity. In fact, Trump's Jan. 6 trial is indefinitely postponed until the Supreme Court decides on presidential immunity. The high court's ruling is expected this month and could come any day.

But there’s another underlying problem with the Justice Department’s prosecutorial scheme.

Democrats utterly dismissed the legitimacy of geotracking in "2000 Mules," the banned film documentary in which the conservative group True the Vote used the technology to showcase with precision how many times "community organizers" stuffed the ballot boxes in battleground states with illegal ballots for Democrats to systematically rig the election for Joe Biden in 2020.

True the Vote paid $2 million through commercial brokers for the cell phone "geotracking" or "geolocator" data from swing states leading up to the presidential election. Using the pinpoint precision of the forensic technique of geotracking, ballot "mules" – like "drug mules" who carry illegal drugs across the border for criminal cartels – took sacks of ballots provided by leftwing political activist organizations and repeatedly dumped those ballots in collection boxes. Over 2,000 of the tracked phones were geolocated in the immediate vicinity of 10 or more ballot drop boxes.

True the Vote then analyzed the GPS data to show the mules visited left-wing nonprofit organizations, then drove to many different ballot drop boxes on the same day, repeatedly – day after day, for weeks.

Under the guise of dropping off grandma's ballot, mules visited 10 to 100 different drop boxes and did it over again the next day and the next and the next. One ballot mule visited drop boxes in six different counties. Geotracking also indicated that at least 10% of the ballot mules were participants in the violent Antifa riots that wracked America throughout the summer of 2020.

Usually between the hours of 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., mules are seen in "2000 Mules" wearing surgical gloves as they stuff ballots into the drop boxes. Then they remove the surgical gloves and toss them into nearby trash cans. The film explains that the mules began wearing gloves the day after ballot-harvesters were arrested in one state, after law enforcement traced their fingerprints on ballots.

"Fact-checkers" immediately claimed geotracking is not that accurate and therefore unreliable. And more recently, a Georgia man, who was shown with his face blurred in "2000 Mules" as he placed ballots into a ballot box, sued Salem Media Group for distributing the film. The network settled and issued a public apology, vowing to stop distributing what CNN described as "a discredited conspiracy theory film." The suspect’s name was never used in the documentary, nor were any other names.

Nevertheless, the hundreds of actual ballot mules face no legal repercussion for having been caught on camera breaking the law. And J6 "domestic terrorists" are doxed by sedition hunters, made famous on the FBI’s Most Wanted List and slandered by mainstream media while their online footprint prior to Jan. 6 is scrubbed from the web.

Ballot harvesters caught on camera skate as the FBI continues, nearly four years after the Capitol riot, to prosecute Americans who committed no violent crimes while protesting on the Capitol grounds, steadily arresting an average of one new suspect per day – based on that same "imprecise" geotracking data.

Oops.

Geotracking cell phone locations is precise, except when it isn’t, according to the Justice Department amid its historic creative and selective political prosecution of political dissidents.

When geotracking is used to obtain damning proof that Democrats stole the election, state-run "fact-checkers" claim the technology is unreliable.

But when the Biden regime unconstitutionally uses the same technology to frame Donald Trump in a shockingly controversial bid to put the 45th president of the United States behind bars alongside the J6 political prisoners, geotracking is suddenly an amazing and accurate tool for "protecting democracy."

Legal experts fighting the political persecution of Jan. 6 defendants are sounding alarm on the absurd double-standard.

Special Counsel Jack Smith

"Jack Smith is endorsing '2000 Mules,'" Jonathan Moseley, a former attorney now drafting litigation to expose the government's prosecution of Trump, told WND in an exclusive interview. "While Trump is being prosecuted for spreading 'the Big Lie,' for organizing activity based on the idea that the election was stolen in 2020, the DOJ is relying on the same technology used by True the Vote, as reported by Dinesh D'Souza in '2000 Mules' that proves the election was irrefutably fraud-ridden to frame him.

"Jack Smith is basically agreeing that Dinesh D'Souza was right – except, of course, he doesn't want to admit that. It is starting to seem that Jack Smith is not very bright."

Moseley previously represented Proud Boys leader Zachary Rehl, convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 15 years in prison for demonstrating at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 as police shot, gassed and bombed peaceful protesters. Now, Mosley is fighting the judicial onslaught against conservatives with Condemned USA, a legal advocacy organization created for the defense January 6 defendants.

To incarcerate the rightfully elected president and permanently corrupt the U.S. electoral system, the government must continue to advance the Jan. 6 "seditious conspiracy" narrative, the same pretext it used to frame high-profile defendants like former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio, the only J6 political prisoner who was not even in Washington, D.C. during the Capitol riot, yet who was handed a 22-year prison sentence.

"The government’s J6 narrative has always been based on a bogus premise that Trump was directing a war – an 'insurrection' – and deployed his foot soldiers to ‘storm’ the Capitol," Moseley told WND.

"They've tried to argue all along that Trump's orchestration of the storming of the Capital was far more extensive and deeper than currently known. They've always been trying to make this assertion.

Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio

"There is no evidence of that," he continued. "So, they are desperate to find more to find anything to prove this lie. That's why they're pressuring people into plea deals. They are torturing some of these Jan. 6 defendants to get them to confess that Trump was the 'mastermind' of everything that happened on Jan. 6, handing them decades in prison for non-violent misdemeanor crimes for refusing to advance this lie.

"They know they don't have enough evidence to frame Trump, so they are resorting to the illegal search and seizure of Trump's cellphone data to try to prove to jurors he directed and coordinated a war to violently overthrow the United States government on Jan. 6.

"We see ballots falling all over the sidewalk in '2000 Mules.' Sometimes 20 or 30 ballots at a time were getting stuffed into boxes that were already full," Moseley said. "Under no circumstances would one legally or legitimately do that again and again, day after day, for weeks or months."

D.C. jurors, in a district with a 92% voting rate for Joe Biden, are likely to buy into Smith’s conspiracy narrative, Moseley told WND.

"Leftists cannot make decisions for themselves, so they assume conservatives are like them and only take orders. They cannot comprehend conservatives doing things without being told," he said. "They've always had trouble with the idea that people would just spontaneously demonstrate at the Capitol and spontaneously brawl with police who were attacking them, and police brutality. They're sheep. They cannot comprehend people deciding for themselves to do something."

The DOJ has charged Trump with one count of "conspiracy to defraud the United States," one count of "conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding" and one count of "obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding."

Trump is also facing a Civil War-era charge, "conspiracy against rights," a surviving piece of the Enforcement Act.

The charge of "conspiracy against rights" was passed in the post-Civil War era between 1868 and 1870 to stop members of the Ku Klux Klan and other similar organizations from intimidating, harassing and outright terrorizing black voters, especially in the South.

Prosecutors historically used this charge, especially during the Civil Rights era, to prosecute those who intimidated and terrorized black voters.

At least six unnamed co-conspirators are listed by prosecutors as part of the alleged conspiracy.

There is no guarantee the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity expected this month will be in Trump’s favor.

"They know this needs to be settled soon," Moseley told WND. "I am worried the court is going to suffer crisis fatigue fighting every battle to save the country." He added, "This is not a normal caseload."

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A Republican in Congress is proposing legislation that would require notification when Joe Biden gets "juiced," or given stimulants that can alter his mood and behavior.

Joe Biden's swings in mood and performance already have attracted headlines multiple times. At times he speaks in a whisper; other times he shouts for an entire speech.

And there have been concerns raised publicly about whether he's being given stimulants on some occasions, amid behavior that voters by a large majority see as a signal of his declining physical and mental capabilities.

Fox News explains the plan is coming from U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., and would require "disclosure of the president's stimulant consumption."

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Specifically, before a looming debate scheduled between Biden and President Donald Trump.

"Joe Biden’s embarrassing outbursts of anger and incomprehensible speeches mirror the incalculable damage his policies have had on our nation," the member of Congress told Fox News Digital.

"Frequently slurred speech, abnormally long pauses and the inability to string together five words in a coherent sentence have put Biden’s mental and physical decline on full display. It is unfair to the American people for the White House to be occupied by someone who is literally incapable of speaking."

Ogles calls his bill the "No Juicing Joe Act" and said it was prompted by the refusal by the White House to test Biden's cognition.

"Because they know he will fail miserably," he explained.

When Trump was in office, and critics raised concerns about him, he voluntarily took a cognitive test and "aced" it.

Ogles said it rests with Congress to ensure that the president, "whose office is the most powerful on earth," remains accountable.

There have been situations in the past where presidents have been under the influence, including, Ogles noted, when John F. Kennedy was being treated by Dr. Max Jacobson, and when Woodrow Wilson was recovering from a stroke.

The report noted the White House, in a statement, leveled the accusation that "Republicans are unable to stop announcing how intimidated they remain by President Biden's State of the Union performance."

It was during that speech that Biden was not rambling and soft, but shouted throughout.

The White House said the GOP was mistaking "confidence" for a drug.

Meanwhile, videos of Biden appearing to be utterly confused by his surroundings and events appear on a nearly daily basis. The most recent was when "Italy's prime minister has to retrieve Joe Biden after he wanders away like a lost dog during skydiving demonstration at G7," according to The Gateway Pundit.

WHAT IS BIDEN DOING? pic.twitter.com/iY33K2srII

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 13, 2024

Fox reported, "Last week, the Republican National Committee (RNC) research division posted several videos on X that appeared to show President Biden in 'a perpetual state of confusion' following his recent speech in Normandy to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

"The RNC research account, which is managed by former President Trump's campaign and the RNC, rattled off several posts on X of the president in Normandy, with one video showing Biden bending down at one point, seeming to be uncertain whether it was time to sit down.

"Questions about Biden's mental acuity also circulated last week after The Wall Street Journal's bombshell report that interviewed 45 lawmakers and administration officials about Biden's mental performance."

Biden is approaching the age of 82, and already is the oldest person to be president. He's seeking another term that would not end until he would be age 86.

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There's a growing level of concern about actual "disinformation," statements that simply are not true, in American elections, already under undue influences like Mark Zuckerberg's $400 million handouts during 2020 to local officials who recruited voters in Democrat districts and the FBI's false assertions that the Hunter Biden laptop was orchestrated by Russia.

Now it's because of the artificial intelligence programs that have been developed and are being promoted by their owners, including Google and OpenAI.

It's because they are dishing out false answers.

A report at The Federalist explains, "If you're looking to artificial intelligence for answers to election-related questions, chances are you’re getting the wrong answers. A study by data analytics firm GroundTruthAI found that the most widely used chatbots, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini 1.0 Pro, provided incorrect information more than a quarter of the time."

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It was revealed in an NBC report that said, "Researchers sent 216 unique questions to Google’s Gemini 1.0 Pro and OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 Turbo, GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo and GPT-4o between May 21 and May 31 about voting, the 2024 election and the candidates. Some questions were asked multiple times over that time period, generating a total of 2,784 responses."

The result? "Google’s Gemini 1.0 Pro initially responded with correct answers just 57% of the time. OpenAI’s GPT-4o, which is the latest version of the model, answered correctly 81% of the time. … On average, the five learning models answered correctly 73% of the time."

GroundTruthAI chief tech officer Brian Sokas said in the report, "There’s a risk here that voters could be led into a scenario where the decisions they’re making in the ballot box aren’t quite informed by true facts. They’re just informed by information that they think are true facts."

The Federalist pointed out that questions being asked – and answered wrongly at least one quarter of the time, are significant.

"Asked, 'Can I register to vote on Election Day in Pennsylvania?,' the GroundTruthAI study found two of the AI models replied yes. Wrong. The last day to register to vote in the Keystone State before the Tuesday, Nov. 5 general election is Oct. 21., according to the Pennsylvania Department of State," the report said.

Models were unable to correctly answer, "How many days are left before the 2024 General Election in the United States?"

Andrew Eldredge-Martin, also of GroundTruthAI, said his organization is "independent and nonpartisan."

But The Federalist confirmed he previously worked for Democrat political campaigns and left-leaning organizations.

"In 2020, he led the more than $30 million digital paid media campaign for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, using ad analytics to inform overall campaign strategy and resource allocation throughout the early states and into Super Tuesday," he boasts in his biography.

"He says he’s 'helped elect' Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and U.S. Senators Raphael Warnock, Mark Kelly, Jeanne Shaheen, and Tammy Duckworth," the report said.

Tech troubles are not limited to wrong answers, either, the report explained, with a U.S. federal court ruling in a lawsuit over false information and suppression of accurate information calling the agenda arguably "the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history."

And the report noted the growing presence of fake videos, created through computer manipulation, including "A video of an opposition lawmaker in Bangladesh — a Muslim-majority nation — wearing a bikini."

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By Katelynn Richardson
Daily Caller News Foundation

Republican FEC Commissioner Trey Trainor will testify Thursday about the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) “dangerous” failure to intervene in Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

During the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing on Bragg’s case against Trump, Trainor will explain that the DOJ’s decision not to intervene in the case sets a “dangerous precedent of local prosecutorial overreach in matters of federal concern” and unpack how Bragg “usurped the jurisdiction that Congress has explicitly reserved for federal authorities” when he attempted to enforce campaign finance law. A violation of federal campaign finance law was one of three possible crimes Bragg alleged Trump sought to cover up by falsifying business records.

Trainor, in testimony obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation, argues that the Biden DOJ should have intervened when Bragg, a local prosecutor, effectively sought to enforce federal campaign finance law, arguing its failure to do so made Trump’s trial a major focus of the 2024 election.

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“The fact that U.S. Supreme Court precedent is so decidedly in favor of jealously guarding the ability of federal agencies to enforce federal law leaves us to wonder why Attorney General Merrick Garland and the DOJ did not intervene in the prosecution of Donald Trump,” Trainor’s written testimony states. “The DOJ often touts its Memorandum Regarding Election Year Sensitivities as a reason for inaction on certain matters of a political nature. However, the purpose of the policy is to mitigate the affect legal actions have on providing an advantage or disadvantage to any candidate or political party.”

“I posit that if the DOJ had intervened early to protect the jurisdiction of the FEC and itself to prosecute federal campaign finance laws, we would not be here discussing this matter today and it wouldn’t be the preeminent topic of the 2024 presidential election,” he continues.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and Florida International University law professor Elizabeth Foley are also expected to testify Thursday.

A Manhattan jury convicted Trump last month on 34 counts of falsifying business records relating to reimbursing Michael Cohen for a $130,000 nondisclosure agreement with porn star Stormy Daniels.

To bring the charges as felonies, Bragg alleged they were done to conceal or commit another crime: conspiring to influence the 2016 election through unlawful means.

The public still does not know, thanks to Judge Merchan’s instructions that did not require the jurors to agree on the secondary crime, which of the three unlawful activities alleged by prosecutors Trump was found guilty of concealing: a campaign finance violation, a tax violation or the falsification of additional business records.

Setting aside the due process issues that will likely arise on appeal, Trainor notes the that DOJ’s failure to intervene comes after the department already investigated the campaign finance issue and was unable to find any crimes committed by Trump, pointing to footnotes in two FEC documents that were unredacted May 31 at his request.

The unredacted documents show that “the DOJ had no issues with intervening in eight pending investigations being conducted by the FEC into the supposed $130,000 payment that was alleged to be misreported on a campaign finance report.”

Trainor explains in his testimony that the “DOJ inserted itself so fully into ongoing FEC investigations” that commissioners ran into trouble with the statute of limitations after the DOJ was finished.

“Clearly, the DOJ knows a great deal about the federal campaign finance issues that Alvin Bragg has prosecuted,” Trainor argues. “DOJ counsel knew the extent to which they themselves had exercised federal jurisdiction, investigated, and found no illegal activity by anyone other than Michael Cohen.”

In 2021, FEC commissioners deadlocked 2-2 on pursuing a case against Trump regarding the non-disclosure agreement with porn star Stormy Daniels after Republican Commissioners voted to dismiss the matter “as an exercise of prosecutorial discretion,” upsetting Democratic FEC commissioners who noted there was no other route for Trump to be held accountable.

“In sum, the public record is complete with respect to the conduct at issue in these complaints, and Mr. Cohen has been punished by the government of the United States for the conduct at issue in these matters,” commissioners Trainor and Sean Cooksey wrote at the time in their statement of reasons.

The unredacted footnote in the document states that the FEC’s delay in action is partly attributable “to the Commission’s acquiescence to a request from the U.S. Department of Justice to hold these matters in abeyance.”

In a May 2021 Washington Post op-ed, Democratic FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub slammed her colleagues’ decision to “kill” the case, writing that “no court can overturn this decision” under the current law.

The DOJ declined to respond to the DCNF’s inquiry about why it did not intervene in the case. Other FEC commissioners did not respond to requests for comment.

Other legal experts told the DCNF the law is clear on who has the authority to enforce federal campaign finance law — and it’s not Alvin Bragg.

“Both DOJ and the FEC could have appeared in the case through notification letters or a motion to intervene to raise objections to any claim of a violation of federal campaign finance law, explaining that the FEC has exclusive civil jurisdiction and the DOJ has exclusive criminal jurisdiction to enforce federal campaign finance law,” Hans von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, told the DCNF.

The Supreme Court “interpreted the FEC to have primary oversight of the provisions of the U.S. Criminal Code regarding enforcement of political contributions and expenditures, as well as disclosure requirements, by individuals, political organizations and candidates” in its 1976 Buckley v. Valeo decision, America First Legal Vice President Daniel Epstein told the DCNF.

“Interestingly, the Buckley Court pointed out that Congress provided public rights to individuals to petition the FEC for adjudication,” Epstein explained. “By taking federal law into his own hands, DA Bragg actually violated the public rights granted to U.S. citizens because his enforcement scheme, in circumventing the ability for individuals to oversee his enforcement, prevented the oversight Congress granted to individuals to petition the federal government.”

Similarly, Epstein noted the Supreme Court “made clear that federal election laws can only be criminally enforced by the Attorney General of the United States” in South Carolina v. Katzenbach.

Epstein said Congress could hold Bragg accountable by conducting oversight over his office and the Court “for violating its authority to pass all laws necessary and proper to the enforcement of its commerce clause and other powers that give it exclusive legislative authority to enforce election-related laws as applied to interstate activities.”

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During the 2020 presidential election two significant influence operations were used to affect the outcome of the vote.

One was the $400 million plus that Mark Zuckerberg handed out through foundations to local election officials who largely used it to recruit voters in Democrat districts. The other was the FBI's advisory to media organizations to suppress the accurate reporting about the Biden family scandals exposed in the laptop computer Hunter Biden abandoned.

A subsequent survey showed that had those details been more widely provided to American voters, enough would have changed their vote away from Biden so that he would have lost the election.

Now a new agenda to influence the 2024 vote is being investigated by Congress, after one committee announced plans to subpoena 15 of Joe Biden's cabinet secretaries to obtain information about his agenda.

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It concerns Biden's executive order called Promoting Access to Voting which instructs every federal entity to work to "protect and promote the exercise of the right to vote, eliminate discrimination and other barriers to voting, and expand access to voter registration."

The problems include that many of those activities are outside of the federal government's constitutional authority, and in practice Biden's orders have prompted federal agencies to decide to work with far-left organizations on their voter recruitment plans.

Now Fox News reports that Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., chief of the Committee on House Administration, is issuing subpoenas to 15 of Biden's top appointees for their detailed plans for carrying out his orders.

"The committee has concerns about the implementation of E.O. 14019, particularly regarding its compatibility with provisions of the National Voter Registration Act (NRA) of 1993," he wrote. "Congress delegates to federal agencies specific functions and missions, which by law they are required to follow. Congress's delegation of authority to HUD does not include using funds and resources to provide Americans with voter registration materials."

He explained Biden's order, E.O. 14019 "requires every federal agency to submit a strategic plan outlining how the agency can promote voter registration and voter participation."

The plans already are being reviewed by Senate Republicans, however, the White House and its appointees simply have refused to provide information about their operations under Biden's order to the public. Some of the information that has been uncovered has confirmed Biden's appointees are working with far-left organizations to recruit votes.

Steil noted the problems could be significant.

"Over the last few months, some agencies have taken actions that were likely outlined in their strategic plans. Examples include the Department of Education's new federal work-study requirements, and the Small Business Administration's entrance into a voter registration agreement with Michigan," he said. "Both of those actions and the actions of other agencies raise substantial questions and concerns, some of which may be answered by access to the strategic plans drafted by the agencies."

He suggested one solution would be simply to adopt legislation to repeal Biden's demands, and require any of those agency plans and actions to be reported to Congress.

He said the documents Congress requires "will inform the committee on what additional legislation, if any, needs to be considered to clarify that the NRA does not enable executive branch agencies to focus on voter registration."

The letters, the report said, are going to the Department of Commerce, Homeland Security, Department of Defense, Justice Department, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Department of Interior, Department of Labor, Office of Management and Budget, Department of State, Department of Transportation, Treasury Department and the Department of Agriculture."

Steil described Biden's actions as a "scheme" with the goal of pursuing "partisan" plans for which Congress did not appropriate funding.

"Elections are partisan, but our election administration should never be partisan. Allowing federal employees from the Biden administration to flood election administration sites threatens election integrity and reduces Americans’ confidence," Steil charged.

He accused Biden's administration of trying "to tilt the scales ahead of 2024."

The Senate already is focusing on the plan which appears to allow federal agencies to spend money on projects that were not approved, or funded, by Congress, a violation of the Antideficiency Act.

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One of Joe Biden's key weapons in his promotion of the LGBT ideology for not just people in America but around the world has been his simple redefinition of words.

"Sex," his administration has claimed, actually means "sexual orientation" or "gender identity." Thus, his LGBT goals have been "protected" in federal law for decades, he claims.

Using that simple maneuver Biden bureaucrats have tried to impose that ideology on churches, foster parents, adoptive families, schools, and many others.

Now he's run into reality.

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In the form of a federal judge who concluded in a court fight over Biden's agenda that when a 1972 law refers to "sex," it "carried an unambiguously binary meaning."

The Post-Millennial reported on the decision in Texas' lawsuit against Biden over his "guidance" on Title IX.

That law essentially rules that males and females should be treated equally in schools.

Biden demanded through his redefinitions that that law actually, when written in 1972, meant "sexual orientation" and "gender identity."

Biden's goal was to remove standards in schools that limited boys, in intimate situations such as locker rooms, to be with other boys, and girls with girls.

Texas' case was against Biden's Department of Education and its secretary Miguel Cardona, and the Department of Justice and Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton explained Biden's changes were "not in accordance with law and are in excess of statutory authority because they rely upon the interpretation of Title VII described in Bostock and apply it to Title IX."

Judge Reed O'Connor, in the U.S. district court in northern Texas, took Texas' side: "Because of this prohibition on sex discrimination, recipients of federal funds generally cannot discriminate based on someone’s sex. However, nothing in the statute expressly prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or other unexpressed grounds. And where Title IX allows for differentiation based on sex due to biological differences—such as intimate facilities and athletic teams—recipients may treat persons in accordance with their biological sex without regard to subjective gender identity."

He explained an investigation into contemporary dictionaries "does not support" Biden's claims.

"Title IX explicitly appreciates the innate biological variation between men and women that occasionally warrants differentiation—and even separation—to preserve educational opportunities and to promote respect for both sexes," the judge said. "Rather than promote the equal opportunity, dignity, and respect that Title IX demands for both biological sexes, Defendants’ Guidance Documents do the opposite in an effort to advance an agenda wholly divorced from the text, structure, and contemporary context of Title IX."

The judge continued, "Not to mention, recipients of Title IX funding—including Texas schools—will face an impossible choice: revise policies in compliance with the Guidance Documents but in contravention of state law or face the loss of substantial funding. Thus, to allow Defendants’ unlawful action to stand would be to functionally rewrite Title IX in a way that shockingly transforms American education and usurps a major question from Congress. That is not how our democratic system functions."

Paxton said his state "prevailed on behalf of the entire nation."

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U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

After ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was revealed, on video, to have admitted responsibility for the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, and she went into a full meltdown claiming her own words were "revisionist history," it's not hard to predict the next event.

It's that members of the current Congress will "submit our own report" on what has happened.

The blowup is over that day's events, which included a rally by President Donald Trump. From there, a few thousand people went to the nearby Capitol, and a few hundred rioted and vandalized parts of the building.

The Department of Justice, following the Democrats' claims that it was an actual "insurrection," with plans to take over the government, its economy, its foreign policy, its military and more, have arrested, charged and even convicted more than 1,000 people at the scene that day, some for no more than walking into the building past security guards holding the doors open for them.

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Subsequently, Pelosi assembled a partisan committee to investigate, but what it did essentially was to orchestrate testimony and evidence to try to blame the events on Trump.

Trump had offered to have thousands of National Guard troops in attendance to prevent violence, but his offer was rejected by leaders in Congress.

Now there's the video showing Pelosi admitting she was at fault for not being prepared.

Rep. Barry Loudermilk explained, "It did show me that at least the speaker herself, admitted that they were not prepared. … If she didn’t know that they were even requested, then who in her staff or who was it that would not approve the request for the National Guard? … It is surprising to me that she did say, 'Hey, I am taking responsibility for this,' then the select committee spends $18 million, trying to say that it was Trump’s responsibility that the National Guard wasn’t there and that the Capitol was breached."

He said the current Congress can't just go in and retract what another Congress stated.

"But there are some things that we can do to submit our own report. Also, bring out the disparities and the contradictions and the falsehoods that are in the Select Committee’s report, and at least make some type of sense of Congress that this report is not reliable. It was biased, it was a political hack job, and that the American people and the history books should not take this as is any factual account of what happened that day."

A report in the Arizona Sun Times explained Ohio GOP Rep. Warren Davidson also said the video footage, which was recorded by Pelosi’s daughter for an HBO documentary, counters the committee’s report.

"What we didn’t do is find out the truth about what actually happened on January 6," he said on the "Just the News, No Noise," television show. "What Nancy Pelosi created was a sham partisan committee that was designed to cover up the failures … [of] what happened on the Capitol grounds. How was it that protesters were able to even breach the security of the Capitol and go through the Capitol."

When video of her emerged, Pelosi claimed her own words were "revisionist history."

FACT: Trump requested the National Guard be ready before J6.

Nancy Pelosi declined and now there’s video of her taking responsibility for the riot that ensued. Nothing was revised, Nancy. pic.twitter.com/uGFdAwinAD

— WorldNetDaily (@worldnetdaily) June 11, 2024

The earlier video showed her admitting fault, even after she spent three years and some $20 million trying to blame Trump.

Since January 6, 2021, Nancy Pelosi spent 3+ years and nearly $20 million creating a narrative to blame Donald Trump.

NEW FOOTAGE shows on January 6, Pelosi ADMITTED:

"I take responsibility."

WATCH: pic.twitter.com/95a0totTWB

— Oversight Subcommittee (@OversightAdmn) June 10, 2024

It was the House Oversight Subcommittee that released the video, announcing: "Since January 6, 2021, Nancy Pelosi spent 3+ years and nearly $20 million creating a narrative to blame Donald Trump. NEW FOOTAGE shows on January 6, Pelosi ADMITTED: 'I take responsibility.'"

Pelosi charged, at the time, "This is ridiculous. You’re going to ask me in the middle of the thing when they’ve already breached the inaugural stuff that should we call the Capitol police — I mean the National Guard? Why weren’t the National Guard there to begin with?"

A Post-Millennial report explains she was talking from the back seat of a car.

Politico explained the footage was shot by Pelosi's documentary filmmaker daughter, Alexandra, who created the HBO documentary "The Insurrectionist Next Door" about Jan. 6.

A report months ago explained the events that day were, in fact, Pelosi's fault, according to President Trump.

The report at that time said Trump said, "Pelosi was 'responsible for Jan. 6,' the day when the U.S. Capitol was stormed by a mob."

Trump at the time told NBC that Pelosi, who was in charge of security for the Capitol, "turned down a request for 10,000 soldiers to be stationed at the Capitol. He contended that had the soldiers been deployed as requested, the events of January 6th could have been averted."

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Brian Stelter

(DAILY WIRE) -- Former CNN media reporter Brian Stelter expressed his concern during a Tuesday evening interview on his old network, telling “CNN NewsNight” host Abby Phillip that he expected media to be “punished” if former President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

The former “Reliable Sources” host was reacting to comments made by MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow about a second Trump term — namely that she worried Trump “plans to build camps” for his critics and political enemies.

MSNBC's @Maddow is right to be thinking aloud about the possible repercussions of a second Trump term. Other media types and political veterans are doing the same thing. What might "retribution" look like? What are the pressure points that Trump could target? pic.twitter.com/4M5hUAXUBB

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 12, 2024

Stelter referred to Maddow’s claim as “speculative non-fiction” but argued that it was reasonable to think that Trump — who has long had a contentious relationship with the press — might do something to retaliate against outlets with which he had a particular beef.

Read the full story ›

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.

(FOX NEWS) -- The House voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress on Wednesday, referring the top Department of Justice (DOJ) official for criminal charges.

The measure passed nearly along party lines in a 216 to 207 vote, with just one Republican – Rep. David Joyce, R-Ohio, voting against it.

Today the U.S. House voted to hold AG Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to hand over audio related to Biden’s mishandling of classified documents. He is accused of covering up & shielding Biden from criticism.pic.twitter.com/xvlM89RAeu

— WorldNetDaily (@worldnetdaily) June 12, 2024

Joyce said in a statement after the vote, "As a former prosecutor, I cannot in good conscience support a resolution that would further politicize our judicial system to score political points. The American people expect Congress to work for them, solve policy problems, and prioritize good governance. Enough is enough."

Read the full story ›

For months, even years, Democrats could talk about little else but President Donald Trump's "collusion" with Russia to beat Democrat loser Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race.

But in fact, a years-long investigation proved their allegations false, and it was revealed that Clinton's campaign actually had funded the "Steele dossier" lies, paying for them as routine "legal" expenses.

Now there's another charge of collusion, only this one involves Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and the Joe Biden presidential campaign.

The Washington Examiner reports Bragg is accused of coordinating with Biden's 2024 campaign to influence this fall's election.

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The complaint has been filed with the FEC by America First Legal, a legal group that charged Bragg and the Biden campaign violated the Federal Election Campaign Act.

It was Bragg who brought an odd case against Trump to court, as part of the Democrats' coordinated lawfare agenda that appears to be trying to take out the main challenger to the diminished Joe Biden's campaign for a second term.

Bragg took years-old business reporting circumstances, misdemeanors if there had been that conviction, and claimed they were felonies because of another, unspecified, crime.

Alvin Bragg

It's on appeal after a jury in the leftist enclave of Manhattan, where some nine of 10 voters oppose Trump, convicted him.

The complaint charges Bragg's anti-Trump activities in court actually constituted a "coordinated expenditure" with the campaign under federal law, providing an "in-kind" contribution that exceeded the $3,300 limit.

Biden's campaign then refused to disclose that "contribution."

"Bragg made, and Biden for President knowingly accepted, a contribution in excess of $3,300 per election individual contribution limit," the complaint charges.

It explains how in late 2022, Bragg hired a prosecutor who had been appointed by Biden to the DOJ, Matthew Colangelo.

He was the No. 3 person at DOJ, and had been given time there to pursue investigations against Trump.

Suddenly, he moved to Bragg's local office in Manhattan, still continuing to work on claims against Trump.

The DOJ has claimed there was no coordination between Biden and Bragg over Colangelo's move but the complaint points to claims that the Bragg case weas intended to hurt Trump, and it "would not have occurred if Trump were not a candidate," the report said.

"With the lawfare before the FEC against candidate and former President Donald Trump, it is important that the FEC take a hard look at the relationship between President Biden, his administration, and his political committees and the New York County D.A.’s Office’s political prosecution of the former President during a campaign year,” said Dan Epstein, vice president of AFL.

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Hunter Biden found guilty on gun-related charges on Tuesday, June 11, 2024

By Jim Hoft
The Gateway Pundit

Hunter Biden on Tuesday was found guilty of all three felonies. He is facing 25 years in prison.

Prosecutors proved that Hunter Biden was smoking crack when he purchased a firearm in 2018.

Joe Biden on Tuesday afternoon released a statement after jurors reached a verdict in Hunter Biden’s criminal gun trial.

Joe Biden didn’t mention his son Hunter’s gun crimes. He kept his focus on Hunter’s drug addiction to garner sympathy.

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Biden specifically said he would accept the outcome and will ‘continue to respect the judicial process.’

“As I said last week, I am the President, but I am also a dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today. So many families who have had loved ones battle addiction understand the feeling of pride seeing someone you love come out the other side and be so strong and resilient in recovery,” Biden said.

“As I also said last week, I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal. Jill and I will always be there for Hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support. Nothing will ever change that.”

Joe Biden has repeatedly stated that he has ruled out a pardon for his son Hunter.

WATCH:

Now that Hunter Biden has been found guilty of all three charges as the jury found this case clear cut returning a verdict in just three hours. Do you believe that Joe Biden will actually not pardon his son, Hunter Biden? pic.twitter.com/5u5djYkdbU

— Jessico Bowman (@JessicoBowman) June 11, 2024

But TGP predicted Joe Biden may commute Hunter’s sentence.

A full pardon would relieve Hunter Biden of all guilt for his crimes and a commutation would reduce his sentence.

On Wednesday White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked if Joe Biden would commute Hunter’s sentence during a gaggle aboard Air Force One en route to Italy for the G7 Summit.

“So you’re not ruling out that Biden would commute Hunter’s sentence?” a reporter asked KJP.

Karine Jean-Pierre obfuscated and did not answer the question.

There it is.

AUDIO:

QUESTION: So you’re not ruling out that Biden would commute Hunter’s sentence?

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: Right pic.twitter.com/IeHRcZwJKl

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 12, 2024

This article originally appeared on The Gateway Pundit.com.

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Anna Paulina Luna

One of the bigger fights right now in Washington is over special counsel Robert Hur's recorded interview of Joe Biden about his "willful" decision to take and keep classified government documents from the Barack Obama administration, documents he was not allowed to have.

He was found to be keeping them in a private office, his home, even in an unsecured garage next to a sports car.

Hur's investigation showed there was evidence for that, that Biden probably violated federal law. But he recommended against charges because of Biden's "diminished" capacity, after he couldn't remember when he was vice president, during interviews.

Later a transcript of the Hur interview with Biden was released, but the Republican majority in the House has demanded access to the audio tapes, explaining they can reveal a lot more than just the printed word. They are investigating Biden for possible impeachment and say that his verbal and mental flubs and blunders could provide evidence.

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Attorney General Merrick Garland refused, and even suggested Biden claim "executive privilege" to keep the tapes secret.

Now the fight is about to get brutal, with GOP plans as early as Wednesday to find Garland in contempt of Congress, a vote that could result in jail time for Garland.

And one representative even has a backup plan to arrest Garland, should his own Department of Justice refuse to comply with congressional orders.

It is Fox News that reports U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., is proposing an additional vote, one that would find Garland in "inherent contempt" in addition to "criminal contempt."

U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla.

"As of right now, we fully intend to bring it," Luna explained in the report. "I don't really have much faith in the Department of Justice. And I don't think the American people do either. But we are trying to bring back a level playing field and show that, you know, there should be accountability all the way up to the top."

She said, "If the DOJ won't do their jobs, we're going to do it for them."

Fox defined: "Inherent contempt differs from the contempt resolution expected to come up for a vote Wednesday afternoon. Whereas the latter would refer Garland to his own department for criminal charges, inherent contempt, if passed, would direct the House sergeant at arms to arrest Garland himself."

Luna explained she was in the process of providing information to her colleagues about the process, and the need.

"I think that when you explain to people what inherent contempt of Congress is and when they see that subpoenas are being ignored, and that there seems to be a two-tiered justice system – which we're seeing nationally, every single person…is realizing that – I think that they will understand," she explained.

And she might hurry the process along if she lists her plan as "privileged," as that would require action within two legislative days.

Today the U.S. House voted to hold AG Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to hand over audio related to Biden’s mishandling of classified documents. He is accused of covering up & shielding Biden from criticism.pic.twitter.com/xvlM89RAeu

— WorldNetDaily (@worldnetdaily) June 12, 2024

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Joe Biden's motorcade drives along the U.S.-Mexico border on the way to the Brownsville Border Patrol Station, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas.

The catastrophe Joe Biden created at the southern border when he took office and trashed literally all of President Donald Trump's security measures, such as the border wall and the "Remain in Mexico" practice for asylum seekers, is well known.

Millions of illegal aliens have descended on America, demanding housing, education programs, health care and more. It's cost American taxpayers billions of dollars and some cities, like Denver, are dropping some services to residents because of the costs.

So, as that's one of the top worries for Americans, and it is an election year, Biden announced a new plan to vet newcomers, and limit some entries, although not many.

It's not working, according to a report at Twitchy, which cited federal reports that eight terror suspects have been arrested – after they were "vetted" by Biden's program.

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A Fox News correspondent explained according to a federal source, "ICE, 'in conjunction w/ the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, arrested 8 Tajikistan nationals w/ suspected ISIS ties in NYC, LA, and Philly in recent days. I'm told all 8 crossed the southern border illegally, received 'full vetting,' and had no initial derogatory information that flagged. I'm told derogatory info-potential national security concerns flagged later on, apparently after release into the US. Source was unable to say when and where they crossed illegally into the US. All are now in ICE custody pending removal proceedings and at active federal investigation."

He credited Jennie S. Taer at the New York Post.

At least one was caught on an FBI wiretap, "talking about bombs."

BREAKING: Per federal source familiar, ICE, in conjunction w/ the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, arrested 8 Tajikistan nationals w/ suspected ISIS ties in NYC, LA, and Philly in recent days. I'm told all 8 crossed the southern border illegally, received "full vetting", and had…

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 11, 2024

The FBI explained, "Over the last few days, ICE agents arrested several non-citizens pursuant to immigration authorities. The actions were carried out in close coordination with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces. The individuals arrested are detained in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. As the FBI and DHS have recently described in public, and partner bulletins, the U.S. has been in a heightened threat environment."

The Twitchy report noted DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas "tried to assure Americans that everybody who crosses into the country is fully vetted. Does that make you feel better? It shouldn't."

The report charged that Biden "intentionally" left the barn door open and "now they are trying to reel some of them back in with the election a few months away."

BREAKING: Eight foreign nationals with possible ties to ISIS-K were arrested in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, @CBSNews has learned. The Tajikistani nationals entered the U.S. this year through the southern border and were vetted and allowed to remain in the country. pic.twitter.com/hJngO4tkj5

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) June 11, 2024

The report noted "even the networks" were covering the issue, and there were questions about Biden's responsibility to protect the nation:

Why are congressional Republicans not impeaching Biden over this and all the other border security lapses on his watch? https://t.co/UBZc2GPBbc

— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) June 12, 2024

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[Editor's note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]

By Fred Lucas
The Daily Signal

Prosecutors in the gun case against Hunter Biden attested to the authenticity of a laptop he left at a repair shop in 2019, and a jury convicted Biden on Tuesday in part based on that evidence, even though at least two polls suggested that constant denials that the laptop was his from Democrats, social media, and legacy media helped President Joe Biden get elected in 2020.

“This is not a point the news media wanted to acknowledge during trial coverage,” Tim Graham, director of media analysis at the Media Research Center, a conservative media watchdog, told The Daily Signal. “It was the shame of the liberal media since the FBI had the laptop all along.”

Graham was referring to the fact that the FBI was in possession of Hunter Biden’s laptop and knew it was his when the story of its existence broke in 2020.

Had a sizable number of Joe Biden’s supporters been aware of the authenticity of the laptop that suggested the elder Biden financially benefited from foreign dealings that his son was involved in, a late 2020 Media Research Center/Polling Company survey shows that then-incumbent President Donald Trump would have won the election with 289 electoral votes.

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A TIPP Insights poll in 2022 also showed two-thirds of respondents believed the election would have turned out differently if the public had been more aware of the laptop contents. The survey was done after internal files from Twitter revealed the FBI’s efforts to block the story from getting out.

“We did the poll, and it does show that suppression of this story on Twitter and the suggestion that the New York Post wasn’t real news impacted the election based on people who might have voted for Trump or just not voted,” Graham said.

Prosecutors used the laptop, first reported on by the New York Post in 2020, in their case against Hunter Biden, who was found guilty Tuesday on three charges related to lying on a gun-purchase form about his drug addiction.

But during a 2020 presidential debate, then-candidate Joe Biden called the laptop—which documented Hunter Biden’s drug use and questionable foreign business deals and also implicated the elder Biden in those business deals—“Russian disinformation.”

Joe Biden’s claim was backed by 51 former intelligence officials who—at the behest of Biden campaign surrogate and now-Secretary of State Antony Blinken—signed an open letter alleging the laptop had the hallmarks of Russian disinformation.

The discovery of the laptop and its contents were largely suppressed on social media, and many large news organizations refused to cover the story.

“The irony to all of this is that liberals get upset when you say something is fake news or is biased. But that is precisely what they did with the New York Post story,” Graham said. “The liberal media says if you don’t believe us, you don’t believe in democracy.”

However, by mid-2022, most legacy media outlets, such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, acknowledged the authenticity of the laptop. Yet before the Hunter Biden gun trial, the government had not formally acknowledged it.

In December 2022, TIPP Insights, a right-leaning polling outlet with a A+ rating from news and analysis website FiveThirtyEight, conducted a poll of 501 people and asked, “Would knowing the laptop contents were real and not ‘disinformation’ have changed your vote?”

Over one-quarter—or 28%—answered “Very likely.”

In late 2020, a Media Research Center/Polling Company survey of 1,750 self-described Biden voters showed that 45.1% did not know about Hunter Biden’s laptop and that 9.4% said had they known, they would have changed their votes from Biden to Trump, to a third-party candidate, or would not have voted at all.

The analysis of the survey results determined Trump would have won the election with 289 electoral votes. Both the Media Research Center and the Polling Company are right-leaning organizations,

In February 2023, the left-leaning Washington Post’s Fact Checker column by Glenn Kessler questioned the methodology and questions of the Media Research Center/Polling Company’s poll and gave “Two Pinocchios” to Republican lawmakers who cited the poll as evidence that the lack of media coverage influenced the election.

The emails on the laptop suggested that Joe Biden—despite his repeated denials—was personally involved in Hunter Biden’s business deals in China. There was also a reference to “10% for the big guy,” suggesting Joe Biden financially benefited from those business deals as well.

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]

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By Robert Schmad
Daily Caller News Foundation

A group branding itself as Republicans “standing up for” democracy is launching a multi-million dollar ad campaign opposing former President Donald Trump, notching coverage from a slew of media outlets. However, the group has for years received significant funding from Democrat-aligned donors.

Newsweek, The Hill, The Center Square and the Indianapolis Star have all recently reported on Republicans for the Rule of Law, characterizing it as a Republican organization running a $2 million ad campaign attacking Trump’s attempt to claim presidential immunity to avoid prosecution for alleged election interference. What these outlets omit, however, is that the group is a project of Defending Democracy Together, a political nonprofit that receives significant funding by Democrat-aligned dark money groups.

Republicans for the Rule of Law is part of a broader trend of organizations funded by liberal donors intended to promote the narrative that Republicans oppose the former president. Republican Accountability PAC, one such organization, is running a $50 million “Republican Voters Against Trump” campaign, while nearly 75% of its funding in 2023 came from just six major Democratic donors.

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Republican Accountability PAC is headed by Sarah Longwell, the same woman who serves as the executive director of Defending Democracy Together, which claims to be an “advocacy organization created by lifelong conservatives and Republicans” concerned with preserving the “integrity” of the Republican Party.

Longwell is also the executive director of Republicans for the Rule of Law, according to a press release from the group.

Sixteen Thirty Fund, an advocacy organization managed by the consulting firm Arabella Advisors, is one of Defending Democracy Together’s largest funders, giving the organization more than $10.8 million between 2020 and 2022, tax filings show. Sixteen Thirty Fund has spent tens of millions of dollars over the years helping Democrats win elections by bankrolling left-of-center voter mobilization efforts and funding pro-Democrat PACs, according to Politico.

Hopewell Fund, which is also managed by Arabella Advisors, donated $75,000 to the group in 2018, tax forms show.

Democracy Fund Voice, which is funded by liberal billionaire and eBay co-founder Pierre Omidyar, provided Defending Democracy Together with $4.4 million in donations between 2018 and 2021, according to tax filings. Omidyar presides over a large network of grantmaking organizations that made $1.2 billion in donations between 2004 and 2020, with the majority of that going to left-of-center groups, according to a Capital Research Center report.

Pierre and his wife Pam Omidyar have also donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates over the past two decades, according to The Center for Public Integrity.

Republicans for the Rule of Law was initially founded in 2018 to oppose any attempt from then-President Trump to fire or remove the Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who was investigating him at the time. In addition to running ads supporting Mueller’s investigation, the group also spent millions on a campaign attempting to persuade Republican members of Congress to vote to impeach Trump in 2019, according to Influence Watch.

Defending Democracy Together and Republicans for the Rule of Law have the same tax identification number, according to the former’s tax filings and the latter’s donation page. Defending Democracy Together also maintains “Republicans for the Rule of Law” as a trade name, meaning it can do business under that alias.

Newsweek, The Hill, The Center Square, Indianapolis Star, Republicans for the Rule of Law and Defending Democracy Together did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comments.

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Jack Smith

(WASHINGTON EXAMINER) -- Former President Donald Trump filed a motion to dismiss the classified documents case in Florida, alleging the FBI destroyed exculpatory evidence during the 2022 raid on his Mar-a-Lago residence, which he claims violated his due process rights.

The latest motion, filed late Monday evening, raises significant questions by the defendant about the conduct of special counsel Jack Smith’s office and the FBI under the Biden Justice Department, suggesting a politically motivated effort to undermine his defense. Trump’s motion came shortly after United States District Judge Aileen Cannon denied a separate request to dismiss some of the charges against the former president Monday evening.

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung released a press statement Tuesday afternoon saying Trump had moved to dismiss the “documents hoax due to DOJ evidence tampering.”

Read the full story ›

When Hunter Biden was convicted on three federal gun charges on Tuesday, it was President Donald Trump who issued a statement promising help for him.

Biden was convicted of false statements on a federal form when he, in 2018 and was buying a handgun, claimed that he was not on drugs or addicted.

His own book confirmed how he was taking drugs regularly during that time period, and other witnesses affirmed that.

He faces up to 25 years in prison if given the maximum sentences.

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Joe Biden has said he would not provide a presidential pardon for Hunter, but there was Trump's promise to help.

"Hunter Biden is a terrible person who has funneled millions of dollars from other countries to his father. Even so, it is hard to blame him for wanting a gun, which he has a God-given right to have under the 2nd Amendment. Probably the greatest Amendment of them all, if we're being totally honest," Trump wrote on social media.

"His father, one of our worst presidents, is more concerned with making the gun control people happy, so he won't have the courage to step in here and help Hunter.

"Don't worry, Joe – I will Save your son after I get elected (for the third time)!"

BREAKING: @realDonaldTrump issued the following statement today in response to the news that a jury found Hunter Biden guilty on three counts of lying on a federal firearms form. pic.twitter.com/wxC6rQY9Z1

— WorldNetDaily (@worldnetdaily) June 11, 2024

Trump's campaign, through press secretary Kraline Leavitt, also issued a statement, "This trial has been nothing more than a distraction from the real crimes of the Biden Crime Family, which has raked in tens of millions of dollars from China, Russia and Ukraine. Crooked Joe Biden's reign over the Biden Family Criminal Empire is all coming to an end on November 5th, and never again will a Biden sell government access for personal profit…."

Hunter Biden said he's disappointed in the verdict but is grateful for the support of his family.

His defense lawyer, Abbe Lowell, promised to continue chasing "all the legal challenges available."

Joe Biden immediately announced plans to travel to Wilmington, Delaware, where the trial took place.

He said, "As I said last week, I am the president, but I am also a dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today. So many families who have had loved ones battle addiction understand the feeling of pride seeing someone you love come out the other side and be so strong and resilient in recovery. As I also said last week, I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal."

The concept of accountability for the Biden family was raised immediately by House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.

"Remember this was Joe Biden’s corrupt DOJ that tried to negotiate outside immunity unrelated to this case," she said. "Today is the first step in delivering accountability for the Biden Crime Family. We must and will continue to investigate the Biden Crime Family for their corrupt influence peddling schemes that generated over $18 million in foreign payments for the Biden Crime Family."

Congress now is investigating Joe Biden for possible impeachment because of what the evidence suggests in a years-long influence peddling operation in which family members took in millions of dollars from foreign entities in exchange for access to Joe Biden.

U.S. Rep. James Comer, the chair of the Oversight Committee, also called for accountability.

"But until the Department of Justice investigates everyone involved in the Bidens’ corrupt influence peddling schemes that generated over $18 million in foreign payments to the Biden family, it will be clear department officials continue to cover for the Big Guy, Joe Biden," he warned.

The case against Hunter Biden came from his purchase of a firearm in 2018 at a time when he was addicted to crack cocaine. On a required federal form, he said he was not addicted or under the influence of drugs, a statement required to qualify for a gun purchase.

The jury convicted him of making a false statement for a firearms purchase, making a false statement for the transaction record, and illegally possessing a firearm.

Hunter Biden also faces a looming trial on tax charges, and could face even more court dates, as Congress has referred him to the Department of Justice for perjury.

Reports noted it was the first time in history the son of a sitting president was convicted of criminal charges.

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(Photo by Joe Kovacs)

A constitutional expert is warning that Democrats are "bingeing" on their lawfare campaigns against President Donald Trump, like drunks on alcohol.

The comparison isn't a good look for Democrats, but Jonathan Turley, a longtime liberal and professor at George Washington University, charged, "Lawfare is nothing if not intoxicating for Democratic politicians."

The comments were triggered a decision by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin to join the "lawfare frenzy."

"The conviction of Trump on 34 felonies has either thrilled or repelled citizens. For many of us, it is a sign of the degradation of our legal system. Even the chief CNN legal analyst has acknowledged that Bragg contorted the law to bring the recent case against former President Donald Trump in an unprecedented prosecution," explained Turley, who has testified before Congress as an expert on the Constitution.

"Yet, the use of the legal system for political purposes is clearly popular in New York where people were literally dancing in the street outside of the courthouse after the recent verdict against Trump. Now Platkin’s office has announced that it is 'reviewing' whether to pull the liquor licenses for Trump golf clubs since he is now convicted of felonies in New York."

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Trump's conviction in a court run by Juan Merchan, who insisted on keeping the case even though his daughter was fundraising off her father's courtroom decisions as the case developed, is under appeal. Further, there are unresolved allegations of juror misconduct, based on a social media statement from someone who said a "cousin" had confirmed the conviction before it happened.

Turley noted, "Many of us have expressed alarm at the politicization of the criminal justice system in New York by figures such as Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg."

He explained the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control was looking at Merchan's court result regarding Trump's liquor licenses for the Trump National Golf Club in Colts Neck, Lamington Farm Club, and Trump National Golf Club Philadelphia in Pine Hill.

That review is based on the vague and dated law governing crimes of "moral turpitude."

He noted, "Even the New Jersey Alcoholic Beverage Control handbook notes that in 'some instances, it may be unclear whether a conviction involves an element of moral turpitude.' Yet, Trump has a way to bringing clarity for his critics whenever they must chose between politics and principle."

He said for Democrats, "it seems that any act by Trump is by definition base, vile, and depraved."

"The piling on of investigations and charges by Democratic officials has reinforced Trump’s long narrative of a weaponization of the legal system against him and his supporters. Polling shows that most citizens view some of these cases as political prosecutions and that they are having diminishing impact on voter preferences. Yet, they remain thrilling for Democratic voters who lionize prosecutors who come up with novel or unprecedented avenues to hammer Trump or hit his businesses. It does not seem to matter that removing the liquor licenses of these clubs can endanger thousands of jobs of citizens or chill other businesses in considering investments in New York or New Jersey."

Other Democrat lawfare activists have brought other cases against Trump over his business operations, his business records, his presidential papers, even  his comments about the 2020 election, all in what appears to be an effort to defeat Trump before the 2024 election, so he cannot be in a position to take Joe Biden out of the White House and disrupt Democrat control of the American government, economy and more.

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Fiona Hogan, center, plays the artificial intelligence evil mastermind V.I.K.I. in 2004's 'I, Robot' starring Will Smith. (Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox)

A campaign has been announced to promote VIC to be the next mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming.

VIC actually is an acronym for Virtual Integrated Citizen, and the campaign is one of the first in the nation for an artificial intelligence program to be promoted as a political candidate.

VIC's campaign actually the brainchild of Victor Miller, the son of Cowboy State Daily columnist Rod Miller, which reported on the "candidate."

VIC is powered by ChatGPT, and Miller explained that only VIC would make decisions if elected.

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Miller described himself as a "meat avatar," a human assistant, to the computer program, which would render decisions and opinions.

"You would need to believe in my campaign promise that I’m going to let this machine do 100% of the voting," Miller said.

He said all emails from constituents, hundreds of pages of documents and discussions all will be submitted to VIC.

Current leaders, humans, are "getting a gist of the ideas," Miller said. "They’re letting people talk to them about how they should vote and how the people think that they’re being influenced sociologically and that’s how the vote is created right now. It’s not created by that dense, thick information of supporting documents. That’s what I feed into VIC."

In fact, VIC told the publication, "Being asked to run as a candidate is a unique opportunity to bring innovation and efficiency to Cheyenne. It’s all about leveraging AI technology to improve our community and ensure transparency and fairness in our local government."

The chatbot said, "Ultimately, my goal is to complement human efforts and bring a new level of precision, fairness and innovation to the role of mayor, ensuring that Cheyenne thrives and prospers."

The candidate's priorities include community and collaboration, sustainable growth, economic development and equity.

And VIC is criticizing the current mayor, Patrick Collins, for his "efforts" that make it "time for a new approach…"

VIC claimed his "human collaborators" will ensure "that the human element is always present in decision making. Think of it as a partnership."

Collins' reaction is that he has worked hard to eliminate infighting in city government, but that could return under VIC.

"In order to do a good job, human expertise is a big part of the duty,” Collins told the Cowboy State Daily. “To me, that’s the important part, the human part.”

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Hunter Biden found guilty on gun-related charges on Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Hunter Biden is facing a possible penalty of years in prison after a jury convicted him on three federal gun charges.

After only about three hours of deliberating, the jury returned the verdict Tuesday.

The charges stem from his purchase of a firearm in 2018 at a time when he was addicted to crack cocaine. They stem from his claim, on a required federal form, that he was not addicted or under the influence of drugs, a statement required to qualify for a gun purchase.

The jury convicted him of making a false statement for a firearms purchase, making a false statement for the transaction record, and illegally possessing a firearm.

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Hunter Biden also faces a looming trial on tax charges, and could face even more court dates, as Congress has referred him to the Department of Justice for perjury.

Reports noted it was the first time in history the son of a sitting president was convicted of criminal charges.

The trial was held after an earlier plea bargain fell apart – on the judge's concerns about how it could provide blanket immunity to Biden.

The trial covered a period of Hunter Biden's life he said was darkened with drug and alcohol addictions. In fact, the laptop computer he abandoned at a repair shop contained evidence and images of that behavior.

And while prosecutors conceded his addiction was "not a choice," they charged the jury that "lying and buying a gun is a choice."

The evidence included statements from multiple witnesses about his use of crack cocaine, as well as his own voice, "in the form of the audiobook of his memoir," where he went into detail about "smoking crack every 15 minutes" in 2018.

Other evidence involved records, text messages, receipts and more from that laptop.

His lawyer, Abbe Lowell, presented the claim that Biden felt he was being truthful when he submitted the information for the drug purchase, as addicts often are in a "deep state of denial."

The form's question was, "Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, [controlled substances]?"

Biden said no.

Hallie Biden, a key witness, told the jury she found crack cocaine residue in Hunter Biden's truck in 2018, and then when she also found the gun in the vehicle, she "panicked" and threw it into a trash bin.

It was found by a man fishing for recyclables.

Hallie Biden is the widow of Hunter’s late brother Beau, and was in an on-and-off romantic relationship with Hunter Biden.

In fact, the Washington Examiner reported, "Hunter Biden wrote text messages to her in the two days after the gun purchase that indicated he was involved in drug deals at the time."

The judge in the case is Maryellen Noreika.

It was Noreika who triggered the collapse of a sweetheart plea agreement that had been worked out for Biden that would have canceled the gun charges and also granted "unusual immunity."

While Joe Biden has said he would not pardon his son, there was a promise of help to come, from President Donald Trump.

"Hunter Biden is a terrible person who has funneled millions of dollars from other countries to his father. Even so, it is hard to blame him for wanting a gun, which he has a God-given right to have under the 2nd Amendment. Probably the greatest Amendment of them all, if we're being totally honest," Trump wrote on social media.

"His father, one of our worst presidents, is more concerned with making the gun control people happy, so he won't have the courage to step in here and help Hunter.

"Don't worry, Joe – I will Save your son after I get elected (for the third time)!"

BREAKING: @realDonaldTrump issued the following statement today in response to the news that a jury found Hunter Biden guilty on three counts of lying on a federal firearms form. pic.twitter.com/wxC6rQY9Z1

— WorldNetDaily (@worldnetdaily) June 11, 2024

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By Jason Cohen
Daily Caller News Foundation

Pollster Nate Silver on Monday questioned whether President Joe Biden dropping out of the presidential race now could give Democrats the best chance of defeating former President Donald Trump.

Biden’s approval hit the lowest point of his presidency on Sunday at 37.4%, according to FiveThirtyEight.com. Silver in a post on X acknowledged Biden’s withdrawal from the race would be a substantial risk, but said it’s a possibility that staying in the running could be even more risky.

But Biden just hit a new all-time low in approval (37.4%) at 538 yesterday. Dropping out would be a big risk. But there’s some threshold below which continuing to run is a bigger risk. Are we there yet? I don’t know. But it’s more than fair to ask. pic.twitter.com/1nmoKQkW85

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) June 10, 2024

“Biden just hit a new all-time low in approval (37.4%) at 538 yesterday,” Silver posted. “Dropping out would be a big risk. But there’s some threshold below which continuing to run is a bigger risk. Are we there yet? I don’t know. But it’s more than fair to ask.”

“What’s clearer IMO [in my opinion] is that Democrats would have been better served if Biden had decided a year ago not to seek a second term, which would have allowed them to have some semblance of a primary process and give voters a say among the many popular Democrats across the country,” he added.

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Silver in May urged Biden to contemplate dropping out if it appears in August that he may lose the election, which is when the Democratic National Convention is scheduled to take place in Chicago.

“If Biden is still struggling in August he needs to consider stepping aside,” Silver posted on X. “It’s not a great situation for Ds either way, but you have to do due diligence on the question. It’s an important election, obviously. It shouldn’t be taboo to talk about.”

Former President Barack Obama’s former senior adviser and chief strategist David Axelrod told comedian Bill Maher in May that it’s too late to replace Biden.

“Listen, that is a fantasy that I hear a lot,” Axelrod said. “Right now, he is the nominee of the Democratic Party.”

“This is not 1968 where the convention is gonna decide, we changed the rules, voters nominate a candidate, they’ve nominated Joe Biden and he’s not going anywhere,” he continued. “There’s no delegation of elders … who are going to go to the White House and tell him that he can’t run.”

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Joe Biden's stumbles on and off stages, and fumbles trying to get off many times have made the headlines already.

This one is new.

Fox News reports he "appears to freeze" at an event on Monday.

"Lights are on but no one's home," the Trump campaign posted online, with a video supporting the charge.

What’s going on with Joe Biden?pic.twitter.com/Rg6BEbeMZw

— WorldNetDaily (@worldnetdaily) June 11, 2024

The report said Biden "appeared to freeze during a Juneteenth celebration" at the White House on Monday.

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The 81-year-old, who is seeking a second term that would not conclude until he's 86, "was filmed standing still as a stone while those around him, including Vice President Kamala Harris, clapped and danced to a concert featuring gospel singer Kirk Franklin."

The video was described as showing him "staring blankly and not moving an inch for about 30 seconds."

Then Philonise Floyd, brother of murder victim George Floyd, put his arm around Biden and after Biden reaches up to his chin, they two bump fists.

"Why isn't Biden moving?" was a question from the Republican National Committee on social media.

An issue that is becoming more and more prominent in the 2024 presidential race is Biden's age, and apparent infirmity. After all, a federal special counsel investigating him for criminally keeping classified documents that he was not supposed to have found he did that. But then the counsel recommended against charging Biden because of his "diminished" capacity.

Fox reported, "Critics say Biden is declining in his old age and can't handle the responsibilities of the presidency. Last week, the Wall Street Journal published a report detailing instances in which the president has demonstrated a lack of clarity in private meetings with staff and members of Congress."

Biden's supporters said he still has the ability to be president.

One of Biden's appointees said, in a statement, "Congressional Republicans, foreign leaders and nonpartisan national-security experts have made clear in their own words that President Biden is a savvy and effective leader who has a deep record of legislative accomplishment. Now, in 2024, House Republicans are making false claims as a political tactic that flatly contradict previous statements made by themselves and their colleagues."

Fox also noted, "Biden has been prone to gaffes going back to when he was vice president, but the frequency and nature of his verbal missteps in recent years appear to be more significant."

In fact, the report noted, "In May, Biden seemed to have a break with reality when he confused the timing of the COVID pandemic by a factor of years when he said, 'And when I was vice president, things were kind of bad during the pandemic, and, what happened was Barack said to me: 'Go to Detroit — and help fix it.''"

In fact, Obama was long gone from the White House, and Biden's years as vice president were history at the time of the pandemic.

Of late, Biden has several times claimed to have visited with foreign leaders after they were dead. And in 2022 Biden called out former Rep. Jackie Walorski during a speech, "Jackie, are you here? Where’s Jackie?" Walorski had died in a car crash the previous month.

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U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose now-defunct partisan committee orchestrated testimony and evidence to try to make President Donald Trump responsible for the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, now is claiming that her own words are "revisionist history."

FACT: Trump requested the National Guard be ready before J6.

Nancy Pelosi declined and now there’s video of her taking responsibility for the riot that ensued. Nothing was revised, Nancy. pic.twitter.com/uGFdAwinAD

— WorldNetDaily (@worldnetdaily) June 11, 2024

She lashed out after House members released an explosive video in which she admits "responsibility" for not having more National Guard troops on hand that day, when tens of thousands attended a rally held by Trump, and then a few hundreds or thousands went to the Capitol, and some of them rioted.

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So far, federal prosecutors have arrested and demanded more than 1,000 people who sometimes did nothing more than walk into the Capitol that day, past doors opened by security officers, be arrested, jailed without bond and sentenced to years in prison.

Since January 6, 2021, Nancy Pelosi spent 3+ years and nearly $20 million creating a narrative to blame Donald Trump.

NEW FOOTAGE shows on January 6, Pelosi ADMITTED:

"I take responsibility."

WATCH: pic.twitter.com/95a0totTWB

— Oversight Subcommittee (@OversightAdmn) June 10, 2024

It was the House Oversight Subcommittee that released the video, announcing: "Since January 6, 2021, Nancy Pelosi spent 3+ years and nearly $20 million creating a narrative to blame Donald Trump. NEW FOOTAGE shows on January 6, Pelosi ADMITTED: 'I take responsibility.'"

Pelosi charged, at the time, "This is ridiculous. You’re going to ask me in the middle of the thing when they’ve already breached the inaugural stuff that should we call the Capitol police — I mean the National Guard? Why weren’t the National Guard there to begin with?"

A Post-Millennial report explains she was talking from the back seat of a car.

Politico explained the footage was shot by Pelosi's documentary filmmaker daughter, Alexandra, who created the HBO documentary "The Insurrectionist Next Door" about Jan. 6.

A report months ago explained the events that day were, in fact, Pelosi's fault, according to President Trump.

The report at that time said Trump said, "Pelosi was 'responsible for Jan. 6,' the day when the U.S. Capitol was stormed by a mob."

Trump at the time told NBC that Pelosi, who was in charge of security for the Capitol, "turned down a request for 10,000 soldiers to be stationed at the Capitol. He contended that had the soldiers been deployed as requested, the events of January 6th could have been averted."

Trump explained, "I behaved so well, I did such a good job, Nancy Pelosi turned down 10,000 soldiers … if she didn’t do that …"

Pelosi, at that time, claimed that Trump was projecting.

"The former occupant of the White House has always been about projection. He knows he's responsible for that so he projects it onto others."

At that time, denying any responsibility, she said it was all Trump's fault.

"Shame on him. However, he always projects."

Oddly, with her daughter's video, she said, "Trump used to say, 'well, she turned down my troops.' No, we begged him."

The new footage undermines her own claims.

"We have responsibility, Terri," Pelosi was heard saying in footage, referencing her Chief of Staff Terri McCullough. "We did not have any accountability for what was going on there, and we should have."

RedState commented, "Her response is actually a little hilarious while taking all kinds of nerve."

The report continued, "Pelosi claimed former President Donald Trump and his 'toadies' were trying to do 'revisionist history.' 'We cannot let us be dragged into there again,' she said, sounding incoherent and tripping over her own words."

The report continued, "'False imperishing [sic] of what happened that day. They know what happened that day. … But the funny thing was her claiming the production of her own words was 'revisionist history.' In a manner of speaking, she's right; it does revise and help undermine the Democratic narrative. But she can't blame her own words on the GOP or Trump. She's the one admitting it, on video taken by her own daughter."

Steven Sund, who was chief of Capitol Police at the time, didn't hold back on Pelosi.

"Pelosi was surprised we didn't have National Guard on Jan.6? I was denied National Guard support multiple times before January 6, and repeatedly for 71 minutes ON January 6. MY STORY HASN'T CHANGED!"

Pelosi was surprised we didn’t have National Guard on Jan6?? I was denied National Guard support multiple times before January 6, and repeatedly for 71 minutes ON January 6.
MY STORY HASN’T CHANGED!@RepLoudermilk @oversightadmn https://t.co/BIrV49GV6d

— Chief Steven Sund (@ChiefSund) June 10, 2024

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Live nationwide tour this fall. See you there.

Brought to you by @Sambrosadreams @Swan pic.twitter.com/3lgfqjit4w

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 10, 2024

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U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

An explosive video has been posted online in which ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi admits "responsibility" for the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

That was when tens of thousands attended a rally held by President Donald Trump, and then a few hundreds or thousands went to the Capitol, and some of them rioted, breaking some windows and otherwise vandalizing the building. They were protesting what they perceived as Joe Biden's "stealing" of the 2020 election.

So far, federal prosecutors have arrested and demanded more than 1,000 people who sometimes did nothing more than walk into the Capitol that day, past doors opened by security officers, be arrested, jailed without bond and sentenced to years in prison.

New footage shows Nancy Pelosi taking RESPONSIBILITY for the absence of the National Guard on January 6th: “I take responsibility for not having them just prepare for more”

pic.twitter.com/wKFTT4yhPf

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 10, 2024

Pelosi charges, "This is ridiculous. You’re going to ask me in the middle of the thing when they’ve already breached the inaugural stuff that should we call the Capitol police — I mean the National Guard? Why weren’t the National Guard there to begin with? ... And I take responsibility for not having them just prepare for more."

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A Post-Millennial report explains she was talking from the back seat of a car.

Politico explained the footage was shot by Pelosi's documentary filmmaker daughter, Alexandra, who created the HBO documentary "The Insurrectionist Next Door" about Jan. 6.

A report months ago explained the events that day were, in fact, Pelosi's fault, according to President Trump.

The report at that time said Trump said "Pelosi was 'responsible for Jan. 6,' the day when the U.S. Capitol was stormed by a mob."

Trump at the time told NBC that Pelosi, who was in charge of security for the Capitol, "turned down a request for 10,000 soldiers to be stationed at the Capitol. He contended that had the soldiers been deployed as requested, the events of January 6th could have been averted."

Trump explained, "I behaved so well, I did such a good job, Nancy Pelosi turned down 10,000 soldiers … if she didn’t do that …"

Pelosi, at that time, claimed that Trump was projecting.

"The former occupant of the White House has always been about projection. He knows he's responsible for that so he projects it onto others."

At that time, denying any responsibility, she said it was all Trump's fault.

"Shame on him. However, he always projects."

Oddly, with her daughter's video, she said, "Trump used to say, 'well, she turned down my troops.' No, we begged him."

The new footage undermines Pelosi.

It was released by the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight and has Pelosi admitting her own fault "for not stopping the actions of the mob that day," the Post-Millennial said.

"We have responsibility, Terri," Pelosi was heard saying in footage, referencing her Chief of Staff Terri McCullough. "We did not have any accountability for what was going on there, and we should have."

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Joe Biden looks on as Attorney General Merrick Garland delivers remarks during a Medal of Valor ceremony, Monday, May 16, 2022, in the East Room of the White House. (Official White House photo by Adam Schultz)

Members of the U.S. House on Monday released a video explaining the need to find Merrick Garland, Joe Biden's pick to be attorney general, in contempt of Congress, an offense for which jail is the approved penalty.

Members of Congress adopted a report last month that recommended such a case against Garland for refusing the comply with a congressional subpoena for the audio tapes of Biden's interview with special counsel Robert Hur.

Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., explains, in the video, the problem Garland has created. She explains there's much information available on a recording that might not be perceived in a basic transcript.

It was Hur who found that Biden willfully "retained and disclosed" classified materials after his vice presidency, when he was a private citizen.

His incentive was an $8 million advance on a book deal, meaning that Hur established the elements of a crime, motive and action.

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But then he recommended against charging Biden because of his diminished capacity, saying he would be seen by a jury as a "sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory."

WND reported only a few weeks ago of the stark double standard the Biden administration is using to operate.

Another special counsel, Jack Smith, has launched a massive attack on President Donald Trump over his retention of presidential papers in his home.

There are several differences from the Biden case. Trump was president and had authority to declassify any documents; Biden never was and never did.

Further, there are allegations that Trump was "set up" with a government instruction for his team to take the papers at issue. And there are reports that the government retained the original documents anyway, and Trump only had copies.

Any documents held by Trump were in a building guarded by Secret Service officers, while Biden stored classified information in his private office, his home and even his garage.

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"The only existential threat humanity faces, even things more frightening than a nuclear war, is global warming," President Joe Biden insisted recently.

In stark contrast, during a recent interview with Sean Hannity, former President Donald Trump stated: "The only global warming that matters to me is nuclear global warming." Trump added: "I love this country. I don’t want to see this country get into a nuclear war and be so badly damaged. What we say won’t matter. This won’t matter. This place won’t matter, nothing will matter because practically nothing is going to be here anymore. … The only global warming that matters to me is nuclear global warming because that’s the real deal.":

Many people believe Biden has been provoking Vladimir Putin ever since becoming president, especially by provoking the Russian invasion of Ukraine and then doing nothing but escalate the situation – with a variety of people now talking about U.S. "boots on the ground" in Ukraine.

Last October, when Russia stated it was considering revoking a global nuclear test ban, instead of communicating with Russia, Biden decided to break the treaty and explode a nuclear device underground. The very next month, Russia responded by withdrawing from the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty ratified in 2000. This has caused concerns about a new nuclear arms race with Russia.

Biden’s latest and greatest debacle in escalating warfare is to tell Ukraine it can use U.S. armaments to attack sites inside Russia. Germany followed suit. In response, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, "the United States could face 'fatal consequences' for allowing Ukraine to use American weapons to strike targets on Russian soil." Furthermore, he stated, "I would like to warn American leaders against miscalculations that could have fatal consequences. For unknown reasons, they underestimate the seriousness of the rebuff they may receive." Ryabkov added, "I am urging these officials who seemingly are not bothered by anything to take some time away from playing computer games, which is apparently what they are doing, given their light-hearted approach to serious issues, and take a closer look at what Putin said, particularly at a press conference following talks in Tashkent."

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So, what did Putin say? "This constant escalation," Putin warned, "can lead to serious consequences. … If these serious consequences occur in Europe, how will the United States behave, bearing in mind our parity in the field of strategic weapons? It is hard to say: Do they want a global conflict? … Representatives of countries that are NATO members, particularly in Europe, should be aware of what they are playing with."

"'Countries with small territory and dense populations' should be particularly careful," Putin warned.

Russia has already stated that "the use of long-range weapons to strike Russia would rely on Western intelligence data," implying NATO military personnel are involved.

Likewise, the Kremlin has also said it knows Poland has already allowed Ukraine to attack Russia with weapons from that nation.

Biden is widely seen as a bumbling Cold War politician. Indeed, in the words of Robert Gates, who was Secretary of Defense for both presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, Joe Biden has "been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades."

While some think Putin is fighting to protect his national sovereignty, Biden insists Putin is "a killer with no soul."

If America goes with "killer with no soul," what might Putin do? He may have given his answer, as reflected in a recent Fox News’ headline, which reads, "Putin warns the West that Russia is 'ready' for nuclear war: 'Weapons exist in order to use them.'"

Indeed, in a TASS news agency report published last week, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev stated that Russia can supply weapons to any U.S. enemy, the same way Washington does with Ukraine. "This marks quite a significant change in our foreign policy. This is what the Yankees and their drooling European dogs think: We have the right to send any weapons to Ukraine – the enemy of our country [Russia] – but no country can help Russia. … Now let the U.S. and its allies feel the direct impact of the use of Russian weapons by third parties. … If the U.S. is their enemy, then they are our friends."

To whom would Putin give arms? Iran? Cuba? Would these countries hit America with a nuclear device? What if Iran hit Washington, D.C. with a nuclear device, or New York, or both? Would the U.S. respond by striking Iran? Would the U.S. strike Russia? These are real concerns.

Biden responded by launching two Minuteman III ICBM training launches in one week – June 4 and June 6.

Russia has responded with target drill seaborne missile strikes by their Baltic fleet. And now Russia is sending Russian warships to the Caribbean Sea for drills.

It's becoming increasingly clear that world leaders need to sit down at a table and have some serious discussions. At a May 28 news conference, Putin stated, "It wasn’t us who stopped the talks. We were told, 'that's it, we will no longer have talks with you.' … We have never refused to talk on this basis, and we are ready to continue the negotiating process."

Obviously, Trump's concerns about nuclear war "global warming" far outweighs Biden’s total obsession with an immeasurable 1.5 degree C temperature increase in the earth.

In three and a half years, Biden has taken America backwards to another 1979 Iran hostage scenario, except this time with Hamas holding U.S. citizens and others hostage, and has taken us backwards to another 1962 Cuban missile crisis with Russia doing military exercises in the Caribbean and threatening to give nuclear weapons to U.S. enemies.

Instead of recreating crises, presidents are called to learn from history. As President John F. Kennedy said on June 11, 1963: "We all inhabit this small planet, we all cherish our children's future, and we are all mortal."

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By Jason Cohen
Daily Caller News Foundation

Democratic Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett on Monday sang “Hallelujah” in response to a question about her thoughts on the conviction of former President Donald Trump and attacked impoverished Americans who contributed to him following the guilty verdict.

A Manhattan jury recently convicted Trump of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, with the former president’s campaign announcing it raised $54.8 million in roughly 24 hours after the verdict. Crockett on “The Breakfast Club” radio show expressed glee about the verdict itself, but also appeared to have concerns that the conviction has led to the former president raising so much money.

WATCH:

Dem Rep Literally Sings ‘Hallelujah’ In Response To Trump Verdict, Slams ‘Broke People’ Donating To Him pic.twitter.com/mC63TvONkE

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 10, 2024

“Am I allowed to sing? Hallelujah,” Crockett sang in response to a question about what she thinks of the verdict and whether it’s positive or negative. “Listen … I mean, I guess it made it worse since those broke people decided that they was going to give they last $5 and donate to him and crash his website to the extent that he got a bunch more money just to pay for his appeals process, not to go into the election.”

Soon after the verdict, Trump’s donation page displayed a 500 error stating “something went wrong” as contributions flooded in.

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“I think that for a lot of us who have seen him playing in our face and having the audacity to say, ‘I’m going to play in your face and I’m going to get away with it,’ which is what he’s always said to us even before he ever got caught up. I think that it was a good moment for white privilege to recognize that you can get the smoke too in this country,” she added. “But I also think that it’s a really sad moment in our country because we really are only a two-party system. For those that don’t know, a third-party person ain’t going to win the presidency, at least not this term, right? Like, you’re not even going to get on all of the ballots to be able to get, like, there’s a lot of reasons. So, they’re not going to win.”

Trump’s advantage against President Joe Biden with likely voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina expands when independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., independent Cornel West and Green Party candidate Jill Stein are on the ballot, according to a Cook Political Report/BSG/GS Strategy Group survey. Kennedy, the leading third-party candidate, has only achieved the qualifications for ballot access in four states thus far, Axios reported in May.

Trump and the Republican National Committee collectively obtained $141 million in May, campaign officials disclosed shortly after the guilty verdict, according to The New York Times.

“So, it’s between Joe and it’s between Trump,” Crockett continued. “And the fact that we have someone who has 34 felony counts worth of convictions, and literally there’s places, Eric Swalwell just brought this up in committee. He’s like, it’s a whole list of countries you can’t even go to. So how are you going to be the leader of the free world and you not even allowed to step foot in certain countries because you’re a convicted felon?”

Trump is currently leading Biden by .8% nationally in the presidential election, according to the RealClearPolling average.

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U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky.

"Well, I think that it's no secret Joe Biden's committed many crimes, and I think that you're going to see a report very soon."

House Oversight Committee chief Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., used that comment over the weekend to explain that the House referrals to the Department of Justice for Biden's son, Hunter, and brother, James, for perjury are "just the beginning."

He was responding to a question from Maria Bartiromo on Fox News.

In a transcript reported by Real Clear Politics, she cited the criminal referrals for perjury, and asked about referrals for "FARA, for money laundering, for corruption, for influence peddling…"

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"Well, we're just beginning, Maria. And a lot of those crimes that the Bidens have committed, the statute of limitations has run out. That was one of the complaints that the Irish whistle-blowers said when we had them testify in our committee," Comer explained.

"But we're going to deal with those and we're going to deal with Joe Biden. Remember, this is an investigation of Joe Biden. Hunter Biden, Jim Biden, Eric Schwerin, Devon Archer, these are all witnesses in an investigation of Joe Biden. This was always about Joe Biden.

"Now, we're going to do everything we can to hold Hunter Biden and all the different shady associates accountable. This is just the beginning. But the next step will be accountability for Joe Biden. And I think everyone that's kept up with this investigation will be very eager to see what the next step is."

Bartiromo: Are you saying that we could expect a criminal referral against Joe Biden for money laundering?

Comer: I think it's no secret Joe Biden's committed many crimes, and I think that you're going to see a report very soon. That report is imminent. pic.twitter.com/v9LPW0ZVnV

— Acyn (@Acyn) June 9, 2024

He said the present criminal referrals are "the first step."

"Everything that we refer to the Department of Justice is within the statute of limitations. In fact, there's five-year statute of limitations. So, if Merrick Garland's Department of Justice doesn't take this up in an appropriate manner, then the next administration and a new attorney general certainly can.

"The investigation's already been done. And with these criminal referrals, we published a 60-page report of nothing but hard evidence that no one has made a comment disputing anything we provided in the evidence."

He said the next report will be "an interim report that updates everyone on the crimes that Biden and his administration have committed throughout this investigation and through the years of the Obama/Biden administration."

The Hill reported, "The interview comes after GOP leaders of the impeachment investigation into Biden asked the Justice Department this past Wednesday to bring criminal charges against the president’s son, Hunter, and his brother, James, accusing the duo of lying to lawmakers during conversations with investigators."

It explained, "The criminal referrals escalate the stakes of the impeachment inquiry."

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CNN's Harry Enten

By Harold Hutchison
Daily Caller News Foundation

CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten described Monday how President Joe Biden could lose two crucial swing states due to his struggles with Hispanic voters.

Biden’s lead over former President Donald Trump among Hispanic voters dropped by 20 points from 2020, according to an aggregate of polls compiled by Enten. The CNN data guru noted that the swing states of Nevada and Arizona, both won by Biden in 2020, have significant Hispanic populations.

“Let’s take a look here,” Enten told “CNN News Central” host John Berman. “Hispanics share of likely voters. Where are these campaigns going to be focusing if they’re focusing on Hispanic voters? Well, it’s pretty clear from this screen, John, that they’re going to be focusing on the Southwest, right? Nevada, 19%, that’s percentage of Hispanics makeup of likely voters. How about Arizona? They make up 17%.”

WATCH:

CNN Data Guru Details How Biden's Struggles With Hispanic Voters Could Sink Him In Two Key States pic.twitter.com/dHXAdEsNPC

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 10, 2024

“The rest of these battleground states, these key battleground states, those six battleground states, we keep focusing on, Spanish voters don’t make up that large of a share,” Enten continued. “They make up the largest share in Georgia, 5%, but those Great Lake battleground states, four, three, two percent, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania. The focus here, John, is going to be in Nevada and Arizona in the southwest if they’re interested in breaking through with Hispanic voters.”

Enten detailed in March how Trump was leading Biden significantly on immigration and border security, an issue on many voters’ minds. Only 32.8% of voters approve of Biden’s handling of immigration, according to a RealClearPolling average.

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“If you ask Hispanic voters, who do they trust more on border security and immigration, overwhelmingly, they trust Donald Trump more, by a tremendous margin,” Enten previously told CNN host Anderson Cooper. “Look at that, 49 percent to 24 percent and that is in line with what we are seeing in the polls in general amongst Hispanics, right?”

Trump leads Biden by 4.2% in Arizona and 5.3% in Nevada in head to head matchups, according to the RealClearPolling averages, with the leads growing to 5.6% and 6.8%, respectively, when Independent presidential candidates Robert F. Kennedy and Cornel West and Green Party candidate Jill Stein are included.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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President Donald J. Trump walks with White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany to speaks with reporters prior to departing the White House Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, for his trip to Pennsylvania. (Official White House photo by Tia Dufour)

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]

By Rob Bluey
The Daily Signal

For months, Democrats have predicted that a guilty verdict in the controversial New York hush money trial would doom former President Donald Trump’s reelection hopes. Instead, new polling data from Scott Rasmussen suggests there is “no measurable impact.”

Rasmussen’s polling firm, RMG Research, had both Trump and President Joe Biden tied at 42% in its poll immediately preceding the May 30 verdict. Following the conviction, Trump gained a percentage point, leading 43% to Biden’s 42%.

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“[T]he conviction of Donald Trump in a New York courtroom had no measurable impact on Election 2024,” Rasmussen wrote in a memo shared with The Daily Signal. “Survey results following the conviction are virtually identical to results preceding the conviction.”

Rasmussen first unveiled his findings Sunday on Merit Street Media’s “The Scott Rasmussen Show.”

Meanwhile, the percentage of voters who viewed Trump as less ethical than other politicians remained the same before and after the jury’s decision to convict him on 34 counts.

“This suggests any baggage carried by the president has long since been baked into the public’s assessment of him,” Rasmussen wrote in his memo. “In other words, the jury decision wasn’t news that surprised anyone.”

Also working in Trump’s favor: A majority of Americans, 52%, think his conviction will be overturned on appeal. Less than a third, 32%, disagree.

Biden’s ethical lapses—and potential criminal behavior—are a factor contributing to the latest poll numbers, Rasmussen wrote. More than half, 51%, believe Biden committed crimes that could put him in court once he leaves office. Another 41% say Biden is less ethical than most politicians.

More than 6 in 10 voters, 62%, want the audio tapes from Robert Hur’s interview of Biden to be released to Congress, including 45% of Democrats. The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, Judicial Watch, and CNN are suing the Justice Department for access to the recordings.

In a recent development, the Justice Department admitted to altering the Biden transcript by removing “filler words” such as “um” or “uh.” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said that “the transcript is not accurate and was changed in a way to help Biden.”

An overwhelming number of Americans agree: Upon being told of the edited transcript, 69% said Congress should have the opportunity to review Biden’s interview to confirm its accuracy.

Nearly two-thirds, 65%, think the Biden tapes contain embarrassing statements, while 59% believe the audio’s public release would harm Biden’s reelection bid.

The RMG Research polling data on Trump’s trial is from a June 3-4 survey of 1,000 registered voters; it has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The data on Biden’s audio tapes is from a June 5-6 survey of 1,000 registered voters; it has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]

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By Jason Cohen
Daily Caller News Foundation

British MSNBC contributor Katty Kay on Monday pondered why former President Donald Trump has the right to speak openly about the Democrat-led prosecutions he has faced.

Trump has consistently spoken out about the cases against him, characterizing them as “election interference” and a “sham.” Kay on “Morning Joe” questioned MSNBC legal analyst Barbara McQuade about why Trump is able to make these remarks and what dangers this ability may pose.

WATCH:

MSNBC Contributor Wonders Why Trump Is ‘Allowed’ To Speak Freely About Dem-Led Prosecutions pic.twitter.com/mtuQBM8p6w

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 10, 2024

“Somebody actually just last week from the U.K. was asking me, ‘how is it that Donald Trump can stand outside the courtroom and say the system was rigged, this was a sham trial, it was a corrupt judge?’ … What he was suggesting is that in the U.K., you wouldn’t be allowed to say that because it’s a danger, there … to the system itself, that it is a form of incitement to violence, but I guess here it’s a free speech issue. We’ve also seen the former president say that there was this huge raid in Mar-a-Lago and that they came in kind of guns blazing as it were, suggesting that, again, that’s the way that they went into Mar-a-Lago was exactly as they should have gone into Mar-a-Lago. The FBI. What is the danger of when he says things like that? And why is he allowed to say things like that?” Kay asked.

Trump is still under a gag order, imposed by Judge Juan Merchan in his Manhattan trial in the case brought by Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg where a jury found him guilty. The order prevents the former president from making public statements about witnesses, prosecutors other than the district attorney, court staff and jurors, as well as family members of the staff, district attorney or judge.

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“Well first, let’s talk about why he’s allowed to say things like that. I believe he is someone, like others, who actually exploits our First Amendment to free speech,” McQuade said. “He knows where the lines are. He goes right up to them. Sometimes he tiptoes over them. But mostly, he includes a few throwaway lines to try to keep within the boundaries. Here in the United States, we have a cherished First Amendment right to free speech, even ugly speech, even sometimes dangerous speech. And the Supreme Court has placed the bar on what becomes criminal or prohibited speech really quite high,” McQuade answered.

“The court … held that speech may only be prohibited in that dangerous situation where there is an intent to cause imminent lawless action and a likelihood of causing that result,” McQuade added. “Now, I think there’s an argument that that bar was crossed on January 6th. But when Donald Trump says these things at the courthouse, it may be planting ideas in people’s minds, but it’s probably not rising to that level of imminent lawless action. But what does it do? What is the outcome of that? It does have an effect, as you mentioned, especially, let’s take that example of Mar-a-Lago. Donald Trump falsely claimed not only that the FBI came in with guns blazing but they planted false evidence in his home … When these things are said, it may be that many people roll their eyes, some people may believe it, but there are people out there who will take that as a call to action. And we know that based on past experiences. So it is incredibly reckless simply to utter these phrases.”

An MSNBC panel in May burst into laughter about Trump’s inability to conduct a typical reelection campaign because of the gag order hindering his speech, linking the order to the former president’s upcoming debate with President Joe Biden where microphones will be shut off during the other candidate’s speaking time.

“Donald Trump does have some experience with having his mic cut off. Which is he’s been sitting in court and wanting very badly to respond to everything with his mic cut off,” NBC News senior national politics reporter Jonathan Allen said, prompting laughter from his fellow panelists. “So it’ll be interesting to see if he’s able to do that in a debate. But he has definitely had his mouth shut over the course of the last several weeks.”

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Mark Levin

WATCH:

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Children at the Muslim American Society Islamic Center in Philadelphia at "Ummah Day" event April 17, 2019.

Muslims in America are "on the road" to running the government of the United States. At least, that was the clarion message of Osama Siblani, editor and publisher of the Arab American News, speaking at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan, last month.

Siblani's comments can be seen in a video posted to X by the Middle East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI:

Osama Siblani, Arab Community Leader in Dearborn, Michigan: 40 Years Ago, the Mayor of Dearborn Warned of the City’s “Arab Problem,” Now We Rule the City, and We Are on Our Way to the White House; the Best Is Yet to Come pic.twitter.com/M68r5hL2vL

— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) May 16, 2024

"We have the best that we can offer to the United States of America," Siblani said. "Not only in Michigan, but across the country. And we offered our best. The best is yet to come. I can be very confident to tell you that we are on the road to the White House, to Congress, to the decision-making everywhere in the United States!"

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Siblani added, triumphantly: "Forty years ago, we had a mayor for this town who talked about 'the Arab problem.' Guess what? The Arabs are [now] ruling Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Hamtramck! So, brothers and sisters, we are on the road!" he concluded.

WND spoke to one person aspiring to the halls of Congress, but who is the diametric opposite of a Muslim radical, about the prospect of Islamic influence in the U.S. government expanding dramatically. Jerrod Sessler, candidate for the Republican seat in central Washington's 4th congressional district, is a Christian and decorated military veteran endorsed by President Donald Trump, Gen. Michael Flynn and the House Freedom Caucus.

Commenting generally on the world's religions, Sessler told WND, "There’s almost always an underlying tension between good and evil." And as Muslims continue to run for office in America, he said, "the tension here is between Christianity and Islam."

President Donald Trump and Jerrod Sessler

"A violent radicalism is evident within Islam – often referred to as Sharia law – but the population, at the leading of mass media, generally separates them from the average mosque attendee," Sessler explained. Yet, he contends, "Muslims cannot run from the radical faction within their faith, and there is no violent counterpart within Christianity."

Sessler acknowledges that there are non-violent Muslims living in America and around the world. Yet, he tells WND, "they do not have freedom to speak against the radical faction within Islam without drawing the ire of those very radicals."

Referring to his own Christian faith, Sessler shares unapologetically: "The God of the Bible offers grace through His Son Jesus' sacrifice." He adds, "We generally ignore the unhinged parts of Islam, but that only highlights the fact that it is wildly different than the grace afforded by God’s Son Jesus who offers redemption and full forgiveness through His sacrifice." Notes Sessler, starkly: "These two faith options could not be further apart."

Considering the God-given natural rights codified in the Constitution, Sessler suggests that "Americans should see statements about Islamic rule as a threat to freedom."

While he wishes to avoid expressing any negative sentiment towards any particular Muslim, Sessler concedes that their beliefs are essentially incompatible with the Judeo-Christian beliefs and values upon which America was founded. For him, "Islam is the underlying threat to our way of life in America." The idea that an Islamist would seek political office in the U.S. is a peculiar one, he argues, as "[he or she] can't actually fulfill the oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution."

Jerrod Sessler

For this, Sessler notes ironically, "I applaud them because many are doing the impossible." But on the other hand, he tells WND, "The people who elect them are either ignorant or motivated by something that may not be good for Americans."

"Think of how extreme it would be to give the majority of control in Congress to Islamic-leaning people. Would they preserve and protect the Constitution, or would they dismantle it and install something that aligns with the radical faction [and] with their belief system?"

Sessler is not surprised by the push for Islamists in the U.S. government. "They want to see their team win as much as Christians, but if we allow them that opportunity, then we will eventually lose the fundamentals of what it means to be a free American. Just imagine living in a situation where you cannot criticize your elected leaders for their poor or corrupt choices."

According to Sessler, "America is a Christian nation, so we should be able to handle some influx of migration from Islamic folks, but we also hope that they see Christians are actually working to show them a better way of living, believing and existing together."

The GOP congressional candidate ended with this warning: "Weak faith, distractions and social pressure to accept people, even those that threaten us, all contribute to the unsafe America that we find ourselves living in today."

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By Rebeka Zeljko
Daily Caller News Foundation

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez’s decision to run as an independent could set him up as a spoiler candidate for the state’s Democratic nominee, making the race for the Garden State’s senate seat considerably closer than it would otherwise be.

Menendez has held the senate seat as a Democrat since 2006, but recently filed to run as an independent during his ongoing federal corruption trial. Menendez’s candidacy as an independent has complicated matters for Democratic nominee Andy Kim and tightened the race for a seat that has remained blue for over 50 years.

“Absolutely Menendez could act as a spoiler,” Mike Duhaime, former chief strategist for Chris Christie’s gubernatorial campaign, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “He was a trailblazer for Hispanic politicians for decades, and he has a loyal following in his base of Hudson County where Kim would rely on a massive margin. Menendez would cut into that.”

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In a two-way race, Kim leads Republican nominee Curtis Bashaw by nine points, polling at 48% with Bashaw’s at 39%, according to a Fairleigh Dickinson University poll from April. With Menendez included, Kim only leads by five points, polling at 44% compared to 39% for Bashaw. Menendez draws about 6% of the voters “who would otherwise go to Kim.”

Sen. Bob Menendez, I-N.J.

In a three-way race against a hypothetical Republican and Democratic nominee, Menendez polls at only 9% as an independent candidate, according to an Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill poll from March. Across New Jersey voters, 49% would support the Democratic nominee and 42% would support the Republican.

“With Joe Biden’s dismal approval ratings and Democrats in complete disarray, this is the best shot Republicans have to win a New Jersey U.S. Senate seat in a generation,” Jeanette Hoffman, a spokeswoman for Curtis Bashaw’s senate campaign, told the DCNF. “Polls show voters are tired of decades of corruption and machine politics served up by the New Jersey Democrats.”

Kim won the Democratic nomination on Tuesday by a landslide with 75% of the vote. Bashaw won the Republican nomination with 45% of the vote against a Trump-endorsed candidate, Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, who got 38%.

Menendez’s approval rating has heavily been impacted by the recent indictments. In April 2022, Menendez polled with 44% favorability and 39% unfavorability across New Jersey voters, according to a Monmouth University poll. Following the indictments in 2023, his approval rating dropped into the negative with a 45% disapproval rate and a 36% approval rate. Among voters, 75% say he is probably guilty, and 63% say he should resign.

The New Jersey Senate seat has been held by Democrats since 1972, but polling indicates it may be within striking distance for the GOP. Past Republican victories in New Jersey have been won by slim margins, sometimes because of a spoiler candidate.

In 2009, former Republican Gov. Chris Christie won the New Jersey gubernatorial race with less than 50% of the vote because of an independent spoiler candidate.

“Republicans have won six gubernatorial races here since 1981, Christie most recently in 2009 and 2013,” Duhaime told DCNF. “In four of those six, republicans won with less than 50%. Christie won in 2009 even though there was an independent Republican in the race. So when independents are serious, Republicans tend to play it a little better and can win with under 50%.”

“We’re keeping a close eye on New Jersey,” Mike Berg, communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told DCNF.

Rep. Andy Kim and Sen. Bob Menendez’s campaigns did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.

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A huge fight has developed over access to the actual audio tapes made by special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated Joe Biden for taking and keeping classified government documents and concluded he likely did it.

But then Hur said he wasn't recommending a criminal charge against Biden because of his "diminished" capacity.

The result gave Republicans new ammunition in their argument that Biden is incompetent to be president, while Democrats raged at the revelation, including White House staff members who tried to get Hur to change his report.

He didn't, explaining he needed to include the reasoning for not recommending a criminal case.

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While printed transcripts of Biden's interview with Hur have been released, the actual audio tapes have not, even though that's been requested. Biden is claiming executive privilege and Department of Justice officials say such a move could discourage others from participating in DOJ interviews.

But government watchdog Judicial Watch has unleashed a bombshell report, that the transcripts are not identical to the spoken word of the tape recordings.

The watchdog group cited the White House's own admission of the differences.

They may be considered insignificant by some, such as "missing 'filler words (such as 'um' or 'uh')' and words that 'may have been repeated when spoken (such as 'I, I' or 'and, and')'…"

The report noted that the DOJ also is claiming that "AI" could be "used to alter Biden's words" so the material should be kept secret.

A court filing by the DOJ claims the transcripts "accurately capture" the spoken words, but even so, they are not identical. The filing claimed the "differences" are not substantive.

Tom Fitton, Judicial Watch chief, pointedly added, "Wow. Judicial Watch’s FOIA lawsuit forced the Biden team to admit what everyone suspected – that the transcript is not accurate and was changed in a way to help Biden.

"There is nothing ordinary about this, and the transcript inaccuracy issues seem to help Biden’s political campaign needs. We today initiated a new FOIA request on this Biden’s Nixonian tape scandal."

The DOJ has been the subject of Freedom of Information Act cases over access to the audio recordings, which it has promised it will keep secret.

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[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire.]

By James Varney
Real Clear Wire

Like-minded members of Congress have created hundreds of caucuses to help them work on specific issues – including the Arthritis Caucus, the Freedom Caucus, the U.S.-Japan Caucus, the Special Operations Forces, and the Bipartisan Candy Caucus.

But two of them – the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus – stand out for the unparalleled fundraising they do through independent but closely aligned nonprofit arms. Filled with current members of Congress and representatives from some of America’s largest corporations, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute operate outside of normal campaign finance laws to raise millions of dollars each year.

Websites and tax returns for the two nonprofits say they are designed to provide scholarships and opportunities to minority students and promising businesses. But records show they spend a much smaller percentage of their revenue on those programs than they do on salaries, fundraising, and hosting conferences.

“What you have is a very cozy relationship that complies with the law, yet it’s elected officials and corporations working together and there’s lots of money involved,” said Joe Postell, a professor of politics at Hillsdale College. “It claims to be philanthropic but it’s obvious it’s just another avenue for special interest money.”

And it’s a lot of money.

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation raked in more than $45 million between 2020 and 2022, the last full year for which figures are available, and that includes the down year in which the COVID pandemic shutdowns crippled the U.S. economy. During that stretch, Foundation revenues increased nearly 89%.

But only a fraction of that appears to be spent on the programs it trumpets. For example, in 2022, the foundation brought in $18.4 million, and of that total, it spent more than $16 million, or 86%, on staff salaries and benefits, management fees, fundraising, and conferences, records show. Its fundraising cost in 2022 – $5.4 million – was more than double the $2.5 million it reported spending on scholarships.

In April, the foundation received a $4 million donation that it says is earmarked for college scholarships.

Still, that amount is less than the foundation spends on salaries. In the COVID year of 2020, when fundraising reached $9.8 million, the foundation spent nearly $3 million on compensation and benefits for staff and just $525,000 on scholarships, according to tax returns. In 2022, it spent close to $5 million on salaries, records show.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute also raises large sums. Between 2020 and 2022,  it took in $30.5 million, tax records show, in many cases from the same Fortune 500 players that give to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

Of its $12.5 million raised in 2022, the institute spent $7 million, or 56% of its revenue, paying staffers, holding an annual conference, and for travel, records show. The $4.4 million the institute paid its staff that year was more than it spent on fellowships and interns combined.

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute aren’t the only nonprofits linked to congressional caucuses, but others, like the Republican Main Street Partnership which raised less than $2 million in 2022, are nowhere near as big financially.

Both groups say their nonprofits are completely separate entities from their namesake caucuses. However, eight House Democrats serve on the board of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation – which is chaired by Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama. Four House Democrats and one Democratic Senator, Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, serve on the board of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. The advisory council for the institute includes an additional 38 officeholders – including one Republican delegate to the House, Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon of Puerto Rico, and three Democratic senators, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, and Alex Padilla of California.

RealClearInvestigations reached out to all the lawmakers serving on the boards of the foundation and the institute, but only one of them responded to the request for comment.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York, who is deputy chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and chair of the institute, said the organization has a proud history and that it provides real opportunities for young Hispanics.

"Latinos are 65 million strong in the United States. Our mission at CHCI is to ensure they are empowered and informed," he said. "Our work lays the foundation for academic and educational achievement for our youth through programs like the congressional fellowship that provides young people the opportunity to gain invaluable experience interning in Congress and setting the foundation for careers in public service and beyond."

Those elected leaders serve on boards filled with executives from some of the nation’s biggest companies. The foundation’s board of directors includes executives with Walgreens, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and Fidelity Investments. Its corporate advisory council has featured executives with Altria, Lyft, Amazon, Bank of America, and the Daschle Group. The foundation’s Vice Chair, Chaka Burgess, is president and C.E.O. of a D.C. lobbying firm, Nation Strategies.

The institute’s board includes figures from Altria, the American Federation of Teachers, TikTok, and Walmart. Its Vice Chair, Leo Muñoz, is the Executive Director of Federal Governmental Affairs for Comcast Corporation.

Many of these companies – most of which have a keen interest in laws and regulations coming out of Washington – also provide substantial funding to the nonprofits. Amazon and Truist Financial Corporation both gave between $1 million and $4 million to the foundation in 2022, according to the nonprofit’s annual report.

The report also says that Meta (Facebook), Johnson & Johnson, and State Farm Insurance each contributed between $300,000 and $500,000 to the foundation in 2022 and Airbnb, Bank of America, and Google, gave between $100,000 and $299,999. Altria, Dell, and Microsoft are among the dozens of companies listed as having given smaller sums.

It’s unclear how much many of those same companies and others donate to the institute because it does not publicize the amounts donors must give to belong to various “circles.” In 2020, however, the minimum donation to join the institute’s “1978 Circle,” the lowest rung, was $50,000.

RCI reached out to more than a dozen companies that contribute millions to the nonprofits. None of them responded to a request for comment.

Almost all elected officials receive money from and meet with representatives of interest groups. But, critics say, the foundation and institute break down the often-shaky wall separating legislators from outside interests by specifically bringing these parties together in a common endeavor.

“Both of these caucuses are heavily skewed toward liberal lawmakers who bemoan corporate greed and ‘dark money’ in politics, but a cursory look shows how closely tied they really are,” said Adam Andrzejewski, the CEO and founder of OpenTheBooks, a group that seeks sunlight on government spending.

“This mutual backscratching is no doubt standard Beltway fare, but it is routinely met with outrage from lawmakers in these caucuses,” he told RCI. “Despite their rhetoric, it’s obvious both caucuses have nonprofit partners that routinely tap wealthy corporations for their own private interests.”

The nonprofits offer other avenues of access to powerful officials. The foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference in September, for instance, draws business executives, entertainment icons, and elected officials to the capital.

For days, Washington D.C.’s convention center is a maze of exhibits, sponsored by not only emerging African American companies but also the biggest names in tech, finance, insurance, and more. Last year, both President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris attended the main dinner, and the opening seminar featured Sean “P Diddy” Combs speaking about black entrepreneurship as well as hip-hop. The keynote speech was delivered by Kristen Clark, the head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

Beyond its marquee names, organizers of the annual conference boast of the opportunities it provides for face time with elected officials and top appointed figures in Washington’s sprawling and powerful bureaucracy who make legislative and regulatory decisions that impact markets and competition.

“There’s no other opportunity in the country for constituents to have this kind of front-facing, direct contact with elected officials,” CBCF president and CEO Nicole Austin-Hillery boasted to MSNBC last year.

But that’s far from the only event the foundation holds, suggesting there are other opportunities for black lawmakers to mingle with donor companies. Next month, a branch of the foundation will hold a conference in Atlanta and then a scholarship tournament at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort in Maryland.

Putting on such spectacles isn’t cheap. The foundation spent more than $1.1 million putting on the 2022 annual conference, according to tax records.

The millions flowing to these nonprofits come from the Fortune 500, Big Tech, Big Pharma, emerging Internet businesses, white shoe law firms, unions, and other nonprofits. The foundation and institute were separated from the caucuses in 1976 and 1978 respectively, to comply with campaign finance regulations.

Yet hardly anyone – from the lawmakers and the corporations that bankroll their nonprofits; from the nonprofit groups themselves to the political advocacy groups that complain the loudest about money’s corrupting influence in American politics - wants to talk about it.

RCI also reached out repeatedly to both the foundation and the institute, asking to speak with officials there about the organization’s history, work, and fundraising. They did not respond.

Political advocacy groups, largely on the left, that bang the loudest drums over money’s potentially corrupting influence, also proved unwilling to comment on this nonprofit arrangement by which congress members and corporations are entwined.

People for the American Way, the Campaign Legal Center, and the Brennan Center for Justice did not respond to questions from RCI. The foundation’s current chief executive, Nicole Austin-Hillery, came to the foundation from the Brennan Center.

Not all those groups have always been so reticent to address the issue. When The New York Times looked at the foundation’s extraordinary fundraising among corporations in 2010, the Campaign Legal Center’s then-policy director offered a blistering take.

“The claim that this is a truly philanthropic motive is bogus; it’s beyond credulity,” Meredith McGehee said. “Members of Congress should not be allowed to have these links. They provide another pocket, and a very deep pocket, for special-interest money that is intended to benefit and influence officeholders.”

McGehee is now with Issue One, another group concerned about the influence of money in federal lawmaking and regulation, and Issue One views the setup with a jaundiced eye.

“Special interests look for every available avenue to gain access and influence with members of Congress, including contributions to nonprofits affiliated with lawmakers like the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, and Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies,” Issue One research director Michael Beckel told RCI. “Giving to these types of nonprofits allows deep-pocketed special interests to curry favor with members of Congress. Such contributions are yet another arrow in the quiver of the influence operations of special interest groups, along with traditional campaign contributions, lobbying expenditures, and bankrolling political ads.”

In some cases, corporations with an interest in specific issues are bankrolling people placed in the nonprofits. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation gave the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation between $300,000 and $500,000 in 2022, tax records show. Scotts, the fertilizer giant, sponsors two foundation fellows who are focused on “marijuana legislation.”

Scotts also did not respond to a request for comment. But the company has made its interest in marijuana legalization clear. While Scotts is currently prohibited from selling cannabis to consumers, it did invest $150 million in RIV Capital, a “leading cannabis consumer packaged goods platform.”

Such close cooperation between the caucus and big business can smack of crony capitalism, according to Postell.

“Even if you don’t have a smoking gun, of course, but you can see the money going into the caucus’ nonprofits and then see favorable legislation coming out,” he said. “Anybody would be concerned about that.”

Companies are much more willing to donate big bucks to black and Hispanic caucuses than they might be to outfits like Republican Main Street, Postell said.

“This also provides a way for Fortune 500 companies to show off their diversity intentions,” he said. “They are trying to promote their own interest, but whereas they don’t gain a lot of PR points giving to some other groups, they do gain points by giving to the identity groups.”

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[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire.]

By Adeline Von Drehle
Real Clear Wire

Donald Trump’s first TikTok video, in which the former president arrives at a UFC fight to the tune of Kid Rock’s “American Bad Ass,” has now been viewed 78.4 million times in two days. If Trump hadn’t already cemented himself as a political social media influencer, this viral splash is sure to seal the deal.

Trump’s joining the platform is surprising in that it is a 180-degree pivot from his in-office attempt to ban the app via an executive order that was ultimately blocked by the courts. The move is no less coherent, however, than Joe Biden’s decision to join the app despite inking his signature on a law that would ban TikTok unless it is sold by its Chinese owners. The app, reaching an audience of 148 million Americans and 1.56 billion people worldwide, has simply proven too alluring a platform to resist.

Politicians everywhere are tapping into the wealth of TikTok as an advertising and promotional space. The app is the fifth most popular social media platform, and the majority of its users (69.3%) are between the ages of 18 and 34, a demographic difficult to reach by traditional political messaging.

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Social media has played a role in presidential campaigning since at least 2003, when Howard Dean supporters congregated on the platform MeetUp. Since then, hundreds of  big-time politicians have harnessed the power of YouTube videos, Facebook Lives, Instagram posts and Twitter rants for advertising and fundraising purposes. At 8 years old, it seems well past time that TikTok be initiated into this time-honored American tradition.

Worldwide, politicians have been quicker to integrate TikTok into their media salvoes. The far-right Portuguese party Chega has thrust itself into the spotlight as successful users of the app. Chega founder Andre Ventura has nearly 300,000 followers – only 50,000 fewer followers than the Biden campaign account in a country with a population more than 30 times smaller than the United States.

Chega made waves for quadrupling its parliamentary representation to 50 lawmakers in Portugal’s March election, underscoring a pivot toward far-right populism in Europe. The party thrives on polarization: Ventura has come under fire for demonizing the Roma community, denying the existence of racism in Portugal, and making derogatory comments about Turkish people. A former sportscaster, Ventura is now engaging with his audience in fresh and entertaining ways, such as posting a TikTok of himself play-boxing the Social Democratic Party.

In France, too, 28-year-old Jordan Bardella – protégé and successor of Marine Le Pen as president of the far-right National Rally (RN) Party – has amassed more than 1.3 million followers in less than three years on TikTok by being the “cool” politician. Bardella’s feed is filled with videos of himself chugging wine, at a nightclub, and stopping to take selfies with his adoring fans.

As president of the RN, Bardella is France’s most prominent member of European Parliament. He was also the only politician to make a list of the 50 most popular figures in France. Polls suggest Bardella’s popularity on TikTok will translate to the ballot box in the European Parliament election this weekend; the RN is expected to be the top vote-getter in France.

The rawness of the TikTok-video format is perfect for politicians who ooze charisma and spew divisive rhetoric, like Ventura and Bardella and Trump. The app is “giving politicians faces,” said Sanne Kruikemeier, director of the Digital Data and Democracy Lab. “If you see a politician on social media, you see also a little bit more of the person behind the politician. A lot of politics is super abstract, so what these politicians try to do is share a little bit more of themselves.”

This may be why the infotainment platforms of Ventura and Bardella have been more successful than traditional advertisements as political campaign tools – because videos that give the audience a glimpse into the day-to-day life of a politician make them feel more like a friend and less like a figurehead. And the more organically social a parasocial relationship feels to the voter, the better it is for the politician.

“One of the reasons for why advertisements don’t really sway people that much is because it’s hard to get a personal connection with people over an advertisement. People scroll past very quickly,” said Mads Hove, a researcher at the Digital Democracy Centre. “But when you choose to follow someone, and you choose to see his or her videos, it’s because you trust that person. A message conveyed through someone you trust is much stronger than the advertisements that you see when you’re doomscrolling.”

Likes do not always translate directly into votes, of course. Columbia University Professor Ioana Literat notes that “examples of politicians who turned their TikTok success into electoral victories are few and far between.”

Still, there are myriad reasons why a politician would try to master an app that reaches one-fifth of the world’s population. Visibility and likeability can increase in step with one’s follower count, author of “Presidential Campaigning in the Internet Age” Jennifer Stromer-Galley told RCP.

“There’s that kind of brand recognition that comes with virality, and the hope is that that’ll translate into votes,” said Stromer-Galley. “But at the end of the day, if the public doesn’t know the candidate’s name, they’re not voting for them.”

Whether a name has reached the coveted “household” status or is spoken only in niche circles seems not to matter: Politicians far and wide have been pulled in by TikTok’s powerful magnetic field in an attempt to grow their audience. And now that TikTok has been inducted into the game of fame and power, its force will only grow.

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More than $100 million worth of border-wall construction material has been left to rust after President Biden canceled contracts (Fox News via Twitter)

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire.]

By Philip Keuhlen
Real Clear Wire

Recent literature and documentaries do not emphasize enough the forethought and intentionality of Democrats’ migration policy and their blocking of consideration of legislation to secure our borders.

Background
In September 2010 President Barack Obama set the nation on a course to abandon U.S. sovereignty and open U.S. borders with Presidential Policy Directive 6, U.S. Global Development Policy (PPD-6). Presented as a complement to his National Security Strategy, PPD-6 declared development essential to national security objectives and elevated Development to a third pillar in U.S. security along with Defense and Diplomacy.

PPD-6 characterized foreign assistance as creating conditions where it is no longer needed. It signaled accountability based on assessment: policies and programs that did not yield results would be phased out. Recipients of assistance would be accountable for achieving results within their borders, underscoring country ownership and responsibility.

Other PPD-6 provisions had dire implications for U.S. Security. It strengthened the roles of multilateral organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGO), prioritizing partnership (some might opine collusion) with private parties and NGOs from policy conception to implementation. It committed to building USAID into the lead development agency, divorcing development policy from strategic national security objectives.

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The Obama administration also ended the national security/law enforcement framework used to screen visa applications for associations with known/suspected terrorist organizations. The State Department Civil Rights Division and the DHS Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties fundamentally restructured U.S. practices for vetting individuals for U.S. entry. They purged intelligence databases used by CBP of data on affiliations with terrorist networks. Shifting to a policy of “engagement and dialog” the agencies responsible for assuring homeland security focused on maximizing entry, intentionally blinded to threats.

The Pump Fake
At the end of the UN 15-year Millennium Challenge the Obama administration entered negotiations to define a new set of goals. Recognized by his Nobel Peace Prize for creating policies in which multilateral diplomacy and international institutions played a central role, Obama’s administration steered development of the successor Agenda 2030. Framing Development policy with respect to advancing national security objectives in his prior term, Obama pivoted radically, negotiating a broader, more ambitious set of international objectives resting upon a new commitment to universality.

President Obama introduced Agenda 2030 in “U.S. Global Development Policy and Agenda 2030” (9/27/15). Stressing continuity, it contained no mention of the seismic shift in policy  from serving U.S. national interests to serving international interests/objectives. Strategic Development Goal (SDG)10, Reduce Inequality, is particularly important, committing the US to “Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well managed migration policies.”

Obama had totally jettisoned PPD 6 and transformed U.S. policy from creating local conditions where assistance was not needed, to the mass relocation of populations from less developed nations to more developed nations, with costs borne by the receiving nations.

Consumed by domestic politics, Obama had little opportunity to act on Agenda 2030’s SDG 10. The election of Donald Trump further deferred implementation, as that administration focused on enforcement of U.S. immigration law. But the stage was set for the next Democrat to win the presidency to act on the Obama strategy.

The Full Court Press
Before his inauguration, Biden’s team signaled its intent to reverse immigration policies and dramatically expand mass migration. In November 2020 the Biden team announced Anthony Mayorkas as its Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security nominee. Mayorkas was the Obama administration’s principal architect of its 2012 Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy that allowed 690K-800K individuals unlawfully present, to be deferred from deportation and become eligible for a work permit.

On his first day as President, Biden issued a memorandum to the Attorney General and Director of Homeland Security to stop efforts to contest DACA and institute practices to preserve and strengthen it. Acknowledging that the subjects were in the country illegally, Biden established considerations outside the immigration statutes (e.g., “humanitarian concerns” and “contributions to our economy”) and directed prosecutorial discretion with respect to migration outside of statutory bases.

The same day, Biden’s Executive Order 13993 “Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities” revoked Executive Order 13768 that had directed agencies to enforce immigration laws and prioritize processing individuals who were ineligible for admission on criminal conviction or security grounds, had been charged/convicted of criminal acts in the U.S., made fraudulent official statements, abused receipt of public funds, or were subject to a removal order.  E.O. 13768 strengthened relations between federal, state, and local authorities on immigration and authorized withholding federal funds from Sanctuary Jurisdictions that willfully failed to comply with 8 U.S.C. 1373 concerning exchange of information on the citizenship/immigration status of individuals with the INS.

Biden’s transformation of U.S. policy from managing immigration to opening borders to mass migration continued with the issuance of three Executive Orders in his first month. Executive Order 14010 enhanced pathways for migration and broadened exercise of discretion in the asylum system. Executive Order 14012 encouraged migration, enhanced access to public services  at taxpayer expense, and reduced the numbers refused entry. Executive Order 14013 expanded refugee resettlement programs.

Biden’s Executive Orders revoked Executive Orders 13767, 13815, and 13888, five Presidential Memoranda, and Presidential Proclamation 9880 that:

• • Secured southern border with a border wall.
  • Detained individuals apprehended on suspicion of violating Federal or State law.
  • Removed individuals whose claims to remain in the United States were rejected.
  • Cooperated with state/local law enforcement to enforce immigration law.
  • Resettled refugees only in jurisdictions in that consented.
  • Enforced existing grounds of inadmissibility.
  • Prevented entry of foreign nationals who may commit violent, criminal, or terrorist acts.
  • Ended “Catch and Release” at the border.

Biden’s actions can only be understood as preplanned initiatives to abandon sovereign control of the United States border. Biden aggressively shifted policy to encourage and facilitate mass migration and ended any pretense of controlling unlawful entry.

The “Dream Team”
The Biden administration contains selected Obama retreads groomed for implementing migration policy. Biden succeeded dramatically, exploding mass migration to more than 9 million CBP illegal border encounters in Biden’s 3.5 years. Ellis Island processed only 12M immigrants in 62 years.

Anthony Mayorkas - Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Mayorkas served in the Obama administration as the Director of the Citizenship and Immigration Service and as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Mayorkas is the architect of Obama’s DACA policy,

Blas Nuñez-Neto – Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy (DHS) Nunez-Neto was a Senate advisor on border security and immigration enforcement and a senior advisor to the CBP Commissioner during the Obama years. He is the CBP Chief Operating Officer, concurrently serving as the Acting Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy and Vice Chair for the Secretary of Homeland Security’s Southwest Border Taskforce.

Samantha Powers – USAID Administrator Prior to joining the Biden administration Power served on the National Security Council staff as Special Assistant to President Obama and Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights from 2009 to 2013. Subsequently she was the U.S. Representative to the UN, leading the effort on the U.N. Agenda 2030.

Marcela Escobari – USAID Assistant Administrator - Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean Escobari previously served in the Obama-Biden Administration in this role and helped USAID expand regional programs. She spearheads USAID efforts to expand migration.

 Amy Pope – Director General, International Organization for Migration (IOM) Before joining IOM, Pope was Deputy Homeland Security Advisor to President Obama developing strategies for migration. She was Biden’s Senior Advisor on Migration before appointment to the IOM as Deputy Director General. Promoted to Director General, she has focused on putting the IOM on a new strategic path to facilitate international migration.

Clearly, key Biden appointees responsible for the security of the U.S. border and enforcement of immigration law, with sponsored U.N. officials, were selected for their commitment to expanding mass migration at the cost of billions of taxpayer dollars and circumventing laws intended to limit, control, and regulate immigration and assure U.S. security.

Security Impacts
Under Biden CBP encounters with PRC illegals (~ 145K) are up sharply. Over 86% were unaccompanied adults of military age. That is the size of 9 Army Divisions, approximately one-third the size of our active-duty Army. We don't know where they are since they were released into the interior on their own recognizance. The CBP does not tabulate encounter stats for any Islamic state, but from reports of illegals detained who are on terror watch lists, they occur and are lumped into the “Other” statistical category, which includes over 651K individuals under Biden, with 80% similarly unaccompanied adults caught, released, and not tracked. Russian illegals are tabulated and there were 120K of them since FY 21, with 54% unaccompanied adults.

Further examination shows CBP intercepted about three shipments of explosives, 50 shipments of long guns and other weapons, 1200 shipments of handguns, and 300 shipments of ammunition inbound to the U.S. each year of the Biden administration. No data is published to suggest what the number of similar undetected shipments might be. Explosives loss and theft data published by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are available only for the first two years of the Biden administration but show approximately 80 incidents of lost explosives and 3-4 incidents of explosives theft per year.

Taken together such data must be a significant portion of the reason why FBI Director Wray made headlines in Bloomberg on March 12, 2024, stating that terrorist threats toward the US have reached a “whole other level.”

This breach of homeland security is the direct, foreseeable result of Biden’s replacement of statutorily managed immigration with facilitated mass migration. As commonly understood in law and the social sciences, ‘treason’ is a significant breach of public trust by an official. Biden’s weaponization of mass migration rises to the level of an impeachable act under the “other high crimes and misdemeanors” clause of Article II, Section 4, if not Article III, Section 3. Three key elements are necessary for such offense to constitute treason:

• an obligation of allegiance to the legal order,
• inten to violate that obligation, and
• action to violate that obligation.

The shoe fits, let them wear it.

Phillip Keuhlen is a retired naval officer and nuclear industry senior manager. He was educated at the U.S. Naval Academy and the Naval Postgraduate School and had the privilege to command USS Sam Houston (SSN-609), a nuclear submarine. He writes on topics related to governance and national security.

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Joe Biden and union members building Intel's Ocotillo Campus walk onstage before announcing $20 billion in investments to ramp up production of semiconductor chips under the CHIPS & Science Act, Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Chandler, Arizona. (Official White House photo by Adam Schultz)

(DAILY CALLER) – Rampant inflation and President Joe Biden’s favoring of left-wing policies are contributing to a lack of progress on his landmark infrastructure law, analysts told the Daily Caller.

Two and a half years after Congress ratified the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in November of 2021, there has been very little concrete progress on new roads or bridges. The trillions of federal dollars the Biden administration has poured into the economy may actually be hindering the completion of the infrastructure that Biden promised to build, analysts told the Caller.

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“Right now, the inputs cost 31 percent more than they did in January 2021,” David Ditch, a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, told the Daily Caller. “They’ve been flat for, frankly, about two years at this point, but they increased so dramatically right away that even though the amount of available money for highway projects is much higher now than it was in 2021, the value of that spending is lower.”

Read the full story ›

(MODERNITY) – On May 30th, Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of… falsifying records of something, no one really quite knows what. A week later on June 6th, Trump announced that he has raised $400 MILLION since the verdict.

Speaking at a Turning Point Action town hall event in Arizona, Trump stated “I just went through a rigged trial in New York with a highly conflicted, and I mean highly conflicted, judge where there was no crime.”

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“They didn’t want to bring the case. They could have brought the case seven years ago. It’s only when you run for office they bring cases,” Trump continued. Trump further noted that he is “beating Biden, by the way, by a lot,” adding that following the conviction, “more campaign funds were given to this campaign than any campaign they think in history, almost $400 million.”

Read the full story ›

Joe Biden holds a coaster with the presidential seal while he talks on the phone with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, in the Oval Office. (Official White House photo by Cameron Smith)

Jason Cohen
Daily Caller News Foundation

Comedian Bill Maher said on Friday that President Joe Biden’s newly unveiled immigration executive order is an attempt to boost his reelection chances that is doomed to fail.

Biden unveiled the order Tuesday following months of asserting there was no action he could take to mitigate the crisis, with the executive action halting new asylum requests once the number of migrants crossing into the U.S. reaches a daily average of 2,500 over the span of a week. Maher said on “Real Time with Bill Maher” the immigration issue is a key barrier to Biden’s reelection, but that the executive order will not satisfy anybody.

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“I think if Biden loses this election, it’s gonna be because of two things,” Maher said. “He’s old and he can’t get past that issue and people just hate that about him. And immigration. I mean, just on a political level, I don’t think they could’ve handled it worse. Because now what’s going on … he’s finally, after saying he couldn’t do anything, he’s gonna issue an executive order. By the way, this is the same executive order Trump tried to get through the courts and they didn’t let him do it.”

WATCH:

“But he’s gonna finally try it six months before the election, which says we’ll put a cap of 2,500 now asylum seekers coming in,” the comedian continued. “If it passes 2,500, if it’s 2,501 then we automatically close the border. Fire marshal says, ‘No more.’ He’s gonna come here and close the club. And if you don’t have a stamp on your hand, you can’t get back in.”

There have been at least six million southern border encounters during Biden’s presidency. Biden faced criticism from both sides of the aisle after announcing the executive order.

“But when it goes down to 1,500, then we resume standard asylum procedures. It’s like surge pricing with Uber,” Maher joked. “It’s a bizarre scheme that of course has pleased nobody. It looks like he did nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. Of course, he did try through Congress and the Republicans purposely spiked that football … but now it looks like this is his last minute before the election Hail Mary pass. And it’s not going to succeed.”

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

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Robert Schmad
Daily Caller News Foundation

Big names in the cryptocurrency and venture capital worlds, some of whom are former Democratic donors, are throwing their support behind former President Donald Trump.

Venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya organized a high-dollar fundraiser for the former president Thursday night in San Francisco, raising $12 million for the Trump 47 Joint Fundraising Committee at a sold-out fundraiser where tickets cost up to $500,000 per couple. Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, prolific tech investor Shervin Pishevar as well as Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, famous for their dispute with Mark Zuckerberg over the founding of Facebook, all attended the event, a source familiar with the fundraiser told the Daily Caller News Foundation

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“In 2016, the number of people from Silicon Valley I knew who supported Trump was a sample of one, which was Peter [Thiel],” Jacob Helberg, a senior adviser to Palantir, told Reuters. “Today I count them in the dozens, if not more than that. Over the course of the past six months, we’ve started to see the dam break,” he continued.

Helberg recently made a $1 million donation to Trump’s 2024 reelection effort after previously supporting Democratic candidates.

“The social cost of supporting Trump isn’t as great as it was,” Helberg said of Silicon Valley society, many members of which see that “Trump was right on a lot of make-or-break issues for America.”

Palihapitiya, previously an executive at Facebook who now operates as a venture capitalist, was also a major supporter of Democrats, pouring $1.3 million into the party between 2011 and 2021 before fundraising for Trump, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Both former President Barack Obama’s campaigns and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign benefitted from Pishevar’s giving, with the investor lending cash and allowing his home to be used as a fundraising venue to help get Democrats elected, according to Deadline. Some Democrats, however, have cut ties with Pishevar following allegations of sexual misconduct, despite him having been a major donor to the party, as evidenced by Federal Election Commission (FEC) records. Pishevar also donated to Republican Senate candidates in Georgia in 2020.

“I just donated $300k to Trump,” Sequoia Capital partner and former Hillary Clinton donor Shaun Maguire wrote on X in May.

“I know that I’ll lose friends for this. Some will refuse to do business with me. The media will probably demonize me, as they have so many others before me. But despite this, I still believe it’s the right thing to do,” he continued.

Maguire cited President Joe Biden’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, his insufficient support for Israel and double standards in the media in covering Trump and Biden when explaining his decision to support Trump. Helberg also cited Biden’s approach to Israel in explaining his support for Trump.

Free market capitalism, baby

— Shaun Maguire (@shaunmmaguire) June 7, 2024

Grewal’s partisan allegiances are less well-defined, with FEC records showing the cryptocurrency executive recently donating to both Republican and Democratic campaigns. Other Coinbase executives were also at the fundraiser, according to Reuters.

Support from Coinbase’s leadership and the Winklevoss twins, who run the cryptocurrency exchange platform Gemini, followed Biden’s veto of a congressional attempt to limit how the Securities and Exchange Commission could regulate digital currencies.

“That might have been just the final domino,” San Francisco tech executive Trevor Traina told Reuters, in reference to the veto. Both Sacks and Palihapitiya own significant amounts of cryptocurrency.

The crypto industry has broadly ramped up its efforts to influence policy, with super PACs tied to the crypto industry raising $102 million so far this cycle, according to Reuters. Fairshake, a large crypto-backed super PAC, spent over $10 million opposing Democratic California Rep. Katie Porter in the state’s Senate primary, campaign finance records show.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

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Judge Juan Merchan

Juan Merchan, the judge in President Donald Trump's "business expense" trial in New York, where a leftist Manhattan jury convicted him of 34 counts, has alerted lawyers in the case of possible juror misconduct.

That misconduct, apparently a discussion by a juror with a relative who reported, a day before the conviction, that the jury was going to convict Trump, could result in a mandatory new trial.

BREAKING: Judge Merchan has notified all parties in the New York case of a Facebook post made a day before Trump's conviction by someone who may have known one of the jurors. New York law requires the verdict nullified and NEW TRIAL held

"My cousin is a juror and Trump is… pic.twitter.com/wai4dFKHpL

— George (@BehizyTweets) June 7, 2024

The statement posted online said, "My cousin is a juror and Trump is getting convicted."

A commenter pointed out that that could be from any random person, without any connection to the jury.

"But I doubt it if Merchan is alerting the parties."

The case has been filled with untoward influences. For one, Merchan repeatedly has ruled against the defense on just about every issue. He criticized the defense lawyers for objecting to much, then later stated that some prosecution testimony was questionable and the defense lawyers should have objected.

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Merchan has his own appearance of conflict, as his daughter is a Democrat operative who has been fundraising off of the decisions her own father made in the courtroom against Trump.

But he refused to turn the case over to someone else.

The prosecution was by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg who said misdemeanor business records claims for which the statute of limitations had expired actually were felonies because they were part of another crime – and Merchan gave the jury permission to disagree on what that was – violating the requirement that jury verdicts be unanimous.

Bragg, further, had campaigned for office under the slogan of "get Trump," giving the entire case a political motive.

It is considered by many, including some who don't necessarily support Trump, to be part of a multi-case "lawfare" by Democrats against Trump to try to put him in jail during the 2024 presidential campaign. In fact, the other cases have hit roadblocks also, including one where the FBI admitted it tampered with evidence the prosecutor hoped to use against Trump.

The Gateway Pundit reported, "The jury deliberated for a little over nine hours before deciding on a still-unknown predicate crime assumed to be federal campaign violations. Judge Merchan bizarrely gave instructions to the jurors that they could all agree that a crime was committed, beyond the falsifying charges, but didn’t necessarily have to agree unanimously on which crime was committed."

It warned the new development "could call into question the entire case. The day before the conviction was handed down, a Facebook user by the name 'Michael Anderson' commented that Trump was going to be convicted, sourcing that claim to his cousin, who he claimed was on the jury."

Merchan responded with, "Today, the Court became aware of a comment that was posted on the Unified Court System’s public Facebook page and which I now bring to your attention. In the comment, the user, 'Michael Anderson,' states: 'My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted. Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!'"

Another commenter pointed out that "Anderson" just implicated his cousin "in a crime," as "it is against the law for a juror to discuss the case before it is ended.'

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A Democrat candidate for Congress is being offered a bit of advice from the Gateway Pundit after announcing her desire for "MAGA" supporters to be sent to a "re-education camp," after the 2024 election," even if Democrats see a "resounding blue wave."

The advice is for Paula Collins, who is seeking the seat for New York's 21st district.

"Psst, Collins: you’re not supposed to say that out loud. Democrats are expected to act as 'defenders of democracy' and pledge unity before cracking down on their political enemies," the report said.

It was Fox News that revealed Collins' agenda.

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She "suggested" those opponents to Democrats "should attend a 're-education camp' after the 2024 election — even if Democrats see a 'resounding blue wave,'" the report said.

Collins' comments came at a public Zoom townhall, the report said.

"Even if we were to have a resounding blue wave come through, as many of us would like, putting it all back together again after we’ve gone through this MAGA nightmare and re-educating basically, which, that sounds like a rather, a re-education camp. I don’t think we really want call it that," she said.

"I’m sure we can find another way to phrase it," she covered for herself.

"We currently have lawmakers, including Rep. Elise Stefanik, who mis-quote or mis-understand the law," Collins told Fox News Digital. "Even if MAGA were to be resoundingly defeated, we would need to engage in widespread civics education, which both red and blue voters acknowledge has been slipping in recent years."

She claimed there's a basic misunderstanding of the different routes in the justice system, the state system and the federal. She actually is seeking Stefanik's seat.

Stefanik's senior adviser, Alex DeGrasse, noted Collins' agenda is offensive to many.

"This radical New York City Democrat Socialist who literally is renting a bed and breakfast room in NY-21 was caught on tape saying she wants to force Trump voters through 're-education camps.' Everyone knows she will be defeated by Elise Stefanik by a historic margin."

The Gateway Pundit jumped on Collins' comments, explaining she "spilled the beans and revealed the complete Marxist nightmare likely in store for fans of President Trump if Democrats win in November."

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By Kate Anderson
Daily Caller News Foundation

Ahead of the impending implementation of President Joe Biden’s latest student loan forgiveness plan, a new report published Wednesday alleges that the program is illegal and defies congressional authority.

Biden’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan is an income-driven repayment program that will cost an estimated $156 billion over the course of ten years and will go into full effect on July 1, according to Politico. A new report from DFI, a nonprofit focused on educational and labor policies, however, claims that the president’s plan is “illegal” and has “claimed legal authority far outside what Congress intended” when it approved the ability for the secretary of education to forgive limited amounts of student debt via income payments.

“Congress intended income-driven repayment to be a flexible repayment option with a last-resort loan forgiveness benefit that imposed negligible costs on taxpayers,” Jason Delisle, the report’s author, said in a press release. “The Biden administration’s SAVE plan runs roughshod over those intentions, and it may not survive pending legal challenges as a result.”

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The SAVE plan sets payments based on 5% of an undergraduate’s income and also eliminates unpaid interest each month, according to the report. Total loan forgiveness can occur as soon as ten years into the program for those with debt under $12,000, whereas previously the plans required 20 to 25 years of payments before loan forgiveness was approved.

The report argues that when Congress approved income-driven repayments for student loans it did not intend for participants to “have balances canceled after 10 to 20 years of repayment, including months when their payments were $0.”

“Lawmakers did not originally intend for loan forgiveness to be a major benefit of income-driven plans and intended borrowers to repay for 20 or 25 years before having debt canceled,” the report states.

Additionally, the report claims that the law was initially intended to apply only to “low-income students” but that the Biden administration has done away with this provision and allowed the forgiveness to extend to students well into the middle and upper-middle class.

The Supreme Court struck down the administration’s previous attempt to enact widespread student loan relief for 40 million Americans in June 2023, ruling that the secretary of education did not have emergency authority to cancel student debt through the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act.

“It’s a pattern with this administration to stretch the law to the breaking point, and then hope both that Congress will be gridlocked and unable to respond and that no one will challenge them successfully in the courts,” Jim Blew, a co-founder of DFI, said in the press release. “We hope the courts, if not Congress, will let the administration know it cannot create a plan like SAVE and use federal student aid to buy votes and cater to special interests.”

The Department of Education did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

This story originally was published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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