The following is an excerpt from the new book “Disappearing The President” by Lee Smith, (October, 2024, Encounter Books)

* * *

The Counterinsurgents

Many of the analysts obsessed with Russian information warfare played crucial roles in Russiagate, like Hamilton 68 founder Clint Watts. “I was talking to him at the time and quoting him in stuff I was writing because I thought what he said made sense,” says Siegel. “And some of what he said didn’t make sense. People lose track of reality when they talk about information warfare.”

A West Point graduate, Watts joined the FBI after leaving the Army, and in 2011 he joined a think-tank based in Philadelphia, the Foreign Policy Research Institute. During the 2016 election cycle, he was a go-to talking head on Russian information warfare. “Regardless of the extent of Trump’s direct knowledge about Russia’s intelligence activities, active measures [by Russian intelligence] have achieved enormous success on the back of his presidential campaign,” he wrote in a 2016 article that supported the collusion narrative. “Russia sees Trump as a tool to undermine its American adversaries. In that regard, they’ve already achieved their goal and possess the potential to exceed their expectations.” (7)

The name of Watts’ organization, Hamilton 68, refers to the 68th essay from The Federalist Papers, in which Alexander Hamilton discusses the presidency and foreign influence: “These most deadly adversaries of republican government might naturally have been expected to make their approaches from more than one quarter, but chiefly from the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils. How could they better gratify this, than by raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union?” (8)

The reference was clear: Trump had been raised by a foreign power. Thus, the purpose of Watts’ organization was not to track Russian “disinformation” and influence operations on social media, but was rather to add another branch to the counterinsurgents’ propaganda campaign vilifying the chief magistracy of the Union—Trump—as a Russian agent.

Watts was supported by the Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD), a project of the German Marshall Fund, a Washington, D.C. based think-tank funded by private donors; government agencies like the U.S. Agency for International Development; foreign governments like Norway, Sweden, and Belgium; Big Tech oligarchies Google, Microsoft, and Amazon; and major Democratic Party donor George Soros, a Shadow Network giant.

ASD was founded in 2017 by a left-right coalition of anti-Trump activists who had supported and promoted Russiagate. Its board of advisors included: 

• John Podesta, chairman of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign
• Jake Sullivan, a longtime Clinton aide and now Biden’s national security advisor
• Michael McFaul, Obama’s ambassador to Russia
• David Kramer, aide to Senator John McCain. Kramer gave a copy of the Steele dossier to BuzzFeed, which published it in January 2017.
• Bill Kristol, anti-Trump editor of the now-defunct magazine, the Weekly Standard
• Michael Morrell, former acting CIA director and longtime deputy director under President Obama

Morrell explained the ASD’s purpose as it was getting off the ground in July 2017. “In a perfect world, we would have a national commission that would be looking into exactly what happened, exactly what did the Russians do and what can we do as a nation to defend ourselves going forward and deter Putin from ever doing this again,” Morell told a journalist. “We all know this is not going to happen, so things like the GMF [German Marshall Fund] effort are hugely important to fill the gap.” (9)

In reality, ASD and Hamilton 68 were partners in the FBI’s ongoing anti-Trump operation, which had been off-boarded to Robert Mueller’s team when the special counsel investigation began in May 2017.

When the #ReleaseTheMemo hashtag appeared, Hamilton 68 reported that it was being spread by Russian bots. (10) Schiff and Feinstein’s letter on the hashtag relied exclusively on Hamilton 68’s data.

Even as the corporate media dutifully reported Hamilton 68’s declarations as fact, however, the Big Tech platforms were becoming increasingly wary of Watts’ analyses.

The Daily Beast offered a glimpse of this skepticism with a January 23, 2018 story reporting that Twitter analysts had determined the #ReleasetheMemo hashtag was spread by legitimate American accounts, not by Russian bots. (11)

Behind the scenes, Twitter officials were coming to believe that Hamilton 68 was a fraud. Twitter’s trust and safety head Yoel Roth told colleagues that a secret list of around 600 Russian bot accounts that Hamilton 68 monitored was “weird and self-selecting. They’re so unwilling to be transparent and defend their selection that I think we need to just call this out on the bullshit it is.” (12)

Twitter identified the 600 accounts tracked by Hamilton 68 and found they were neither Russian nor bots. Rather, Roth wrote to colleagues, “they appear to strongly preference pro-Trump accounts, which [Hamilton 68] use to assert that Russia is expressing a preference for Trump.” Roth wanted to confront Hamilton 68 publicly. “My recommendation at this stage is an ultimatum,” he wrote, “you release the list or we do.”

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Some Twitter employees were worried about taking on an organization that represented a powerful consortium of political and intelligence officials. Others represented those same interests inside the company. “We have to be careful in how much we push back on ASD publicly,” wrote Emily Horne, who later landed a job in the Biden White House. Another Twitter executive, Carlos Monje, wrote, “I also have been very frustrated in not calling out Hamilton 68 more publicly, but understand we have to play a longer game here.” Monje later became a senior advisor to Biden’s Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Twitter lawyers drafted a careful response to Schiff and Feinstein explaining that the company’s initial inquiry regarding #ReleaseTheMemo had “not identified any significant activity connected to Russia.” Twitter wrote that “because the Hamilton Dashboard’s account list is not available to the public, we are unable to offer any specific context on the accounts it includes. …We have offered to review the list of accounts contained in the Dashboard and this offer remains open.” (13)

Facebook responded simply by noting that Hamilton 68’s allegations concerned content on Twitter, not Facebook. (14)

Those responses were not good enough for the California Democrats. On January 31, Schiff and Feinstein sent another letter demanding that Twitter and Facebook try harder. “It is unclear from your responses whether you believe any of the Russian-linked accounts involved in this influence campaign violated your respective user policies,” the duo warned. “We reiterate our request that you immediately take necessary steps to expose and deactivate such accounts if you determine that they violate your respective user policies.” The letter continued, “Twitter inexplicably…neglected to answer the question of whether Russian sources were actively engaged in promoting the #ReleaseTheMemo hashtag, as illuminated by the Hamilton 68 dashboard of the German Marshall Fund.” (15)

In other words, You must find a way to tie pro-Trump accounts to Russian bots and then censor them—or else.

“In the end, Schiff, Feinstein, and the Dems just beat Twitter down,” says Langer, the Nunes aide. “They were threatening to take all kinds of retaliatory action if the platforms didn’t produce the right results. And eventually, Twitter found a way to connect #ReleaseThe Memo to Russian bots, even though there was no evidence for it and they knew Hamilton 68’s findings were fraudulent.”

The following January, Twitter released a report detailing its research into a new batch of 418 accounts that “appeared to originate in Russia.” The company admitted it could not determine if they actually were Russian bot accounts, but claimed they behaved similarly to Russian bots. Of the top three hashtags employed by these 400 accounts, number two was #ReleaseTheMemo, which was included in approximately 38,000 Tweets. (16) Thus, based on a few hundred accounts that may or may not have been Russian, Twitter insinuated that a grassroots campaign among American conservatives might really be a Russian influence operation.

“These possible Russian bot accounts comprised less than one-half of one percent of activity on the hashtag,” says Langer. “That’s a drop in the ocean. It’s statistically irrelevant. But Twitter left that out of the report.”

The release of the Nunes memo on February 2, 2018, exposed Russiagate as an instrument of information warfare, paid for by the Clinton campaign and directed by Obama’s spy chiefs. It was the Shadow Network’s counterinsurgency campaign targeting Trump, his allies, and supporters.

“What we’re now experiencing is what countless other countries around the world have experienced since the start of the Cold War,” says Benz. “When the U.S. government controls your information eco-systems, controls your political leadership, censors you, spies on you, and propagandizes you. People in Boston are now experiencing what people in Baghdad did. This is what it feels like when the U.S. government deploys its military, its intelligence, and civil society partners and media in a whole-of-society campaign to re-engineer your country.”

* * *

Lee Smith is the author of the New York Times bestseller “The Plot Against the President.” His other books include “The Permanent Coup” and “The Strong Horse.” A veteran journalist and regular contributor to Tablet Magazine, Smith lives with his wife and son in Charleston, SC.

This excerpt is published by permission from Encounter Books. “Disappearing The President” by Lee Smith, (October, 2024, Encounter Books). Copyright 2024 by Lee Smith. Jacket design by Steve Cooley.

The views expressed in this book excerpt do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

* * *

NOTES:

Chapter Three: The Counterinsurgents

7. Andrew Weisburd, Clint Watts, and Jim Berger, “Trolling for Trump: How Russia Is Trying to Destroy Our Democracy,” War on the Rocks, November 6, 2016, https://warontherocks.com/2016/11/trolling-for-trump-how-russia-is-trying-to-destroy-our-democracy/.

8. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed68.asp

9. Josh Rogin, “National Security Figures Launch Project to Counter Russian Mischief,” Washington Post, July 11, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/josh-rogin/wp/2017/07/11/national-security-figures-launch-project-to-counter-russian-mischief/.

10. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/right-wing-demand-releasethememo-endorsed-russian-bots-trolls-n839141

11.  Spencer Ackerman, “Source: Twitter Pins #ReleaseTheMemo on Republicans, Not Russia,” Daily Beast, January 23, 2018, https://www. thedailybeast.com/source-twitter-pins-releasethememo-on-republicans-not- russia#:~:text=The%20online%20groundswell%20urging%20the,widely%20 since%20late%20last%20week.

12.  Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi), “1.THREAD: Twitter Files #15 MOVE OVER, JAYSON BLAIR: TWITTER FILES EXPOSE NEXT GREAT MEDIA FRAUD,” X, January 27, 2023, 12:49 p.m., https://x.com/mtaibbi/ status/1619029772977455105.

13.  Vijaya Gadde, Twitter General Counsel letter to The Honorable Dianne Feinstein and The Honorable Adam Schiff, January 26, 2018, https://democrats-intelligence.house.gov/uploadedfiles/twitter_response_jan_26.pdf. 

14. https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/6/4/64bd3267-fdc9-46fb-b265-589dc5d08eff/8DBC13B7F818DA79F0E8C614A8F8159D.facebook-response-to-feinstein-schiff-1.26.18.pdf

15.  “Feinstein, Schiff Send Follow Up Letter to Twitter and Facebook on #ReleaseTheMemo Campaign,” U.S. Senate Committee on The Judiciary, January 31, 2018, https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/dem/releases/feinstein-schiff-send-follow-up-letter-to-twitter-and-facebook-on-releasethememo-campaign.

16.  Twitter, “Retrospective Review: Twitter, Inc. and the 2018 Midterm Elections in the United States,” January 31, 2019 (updated February 4, 2019), https:// cdn.cms-twdigitalassets.com/content/dam/blog-twitter/official/en_us/ company/2019/2018-retrospective-review.pdf.

An internationally acclaimed British barrister blasted the International Criminal Court after it issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Natasha Hausdorff, an expert on international law, foreign affairs, and national security policy, recently appeared on Dan Senor’s Call Me Back podcast.

She noted that the warrant was “principally an allegation of intentional starvation, which included a host of false allegations … my organization, UK Lawyers for Israel, went through that public summary line by line and in a further submission to the court, and a letter to the prosecutor proved, I should say, line by line, that every phrase of every sentence was, in fact, false.”

Hausdorff explained that when the Rome Statute — the treaty that established the ICC — was drafted, “a particular political agenda started to creep in,” adding that the agenda caused both the United States and Israel to refuse to join the ICC. She further explained the Rome Statute was manipulated so that the presence of Jews in the Biblical lands of Judea and Samaria could be considered a crime.

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“Bashar Assad, under his regime over the last, call it, you know, 10 to 15 years, there has been something in the order of over 600,000 Syrians slaughtered,” Senor noted. “Talk about a genocide, an orchestrated genocide with the use of chemical weapons and the complete shelling and destruction of whole Syrian towns, largely Sunni Muslim towns and villages, and some two million Syrians who have been displaced; some internally, but most of them externally displaced. You have talked about forced starvations. We can talk about what famines are like in places like North Korea. We can talk about the wave of human rights abuses in countries like Iran. So just take Kim Jong-un, Bashar Assad, and the Supreme Leader of Iran, Khamenei, as the three examples. The ICC has never, not once, I don’t think, targeted any of those leaders.”

“We are seeing a vicious cycle of the misreporting in the media and the false narratives, the blood libels, ultimately,” Hausdorff stated. “This is the modern blood libel, to accuse Israelis of killing Palestinian children while Jews were accused of killing Christian children in the Middle Ages in pursuit of their blood. This is no different, except that it now has the modern acceptable face of the hatred of the Jewish state. And I think that’s why it’s become so pervasive and it’s so effective at fueling this weaponization of international law against the Jewish state.”

“Members of the ICC have said, ‘We’re not going to participate. And we’re not going to comply,’ I think also chips away at the credibility of the institution,” Senor stated. “I know the U. S, with the new administration coming in and the new Congress coming in, are talking about taking some very strong action against the ICC. We could wind up a year from now with the ICC being a shell of itself.”

“All of these legal terms, genocide, apartheid, all of the Arab world is Jew-free,” Hausdorff noted. “And yet, this allegation is directed at Israel, where there is a 20% minority of Arabs that live as equal citizens. I mean, all of this is utterly extraordinary. But, outside of these exchanges that we’re having, it is becoming the received wisdom. The ICC isn’t launching this initiative in a vacuum.”

Actor Alec Baldwin claims most Americans are “uninformed” about the real world. 

The 66-year-old made his feelings known while speaking at the Torino Film Festival in northern Italy, where he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Television news in the United States is a business. They have to make money,” Baldwin said during his speech, per The Hollywood Reporter. 

A reporter for THR asked specifically about the incoming Trump administration, which Baldwin answered indirectly without mentioning President-elect Donald J. Trump by name.

“There are many challenges to face,” he said. “The environment, the problem of plastic, of permafrost: There are plastic molecules in every corner of the planet. These are the real problems to solve.”

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Baldwin continued, “It will be necessary for every building to have an alternative energy component. Every hospital, school, airport and government building will have to have photovoltaic panels on the roof. We must force states to work on alternative energy sources. But we will never get rid of oil and gas. Can you imagine an ambulance car or a fire department car that runs on electricity and has to be refueled at a charging station?”

The one thing the actor refused to discuss was the fatal shooting on the set of his movie, “Rust,” when a prop gun Baldwin was holding discharged and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The movie premiered this week at the Camerimage Film Festival in Torun, Poland, but Baldwin did not attend.

A New Mexico judge dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin, who has multiple civil lawsuits pending, including one from Hutchins’ mother, Olga Solovey.

“Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March and received the maximum sentence of 18 months in jail.

Baldwin has maintained all along that he was not responsible for Hutchins’ death.

In October, journalists from leading mainstream media outlets embedded with the Israeli Defense Forces on tours in Lebanon. But when Hezbollah threatened legal action against the journalists, they all abandoned ship — and a month later, none have returned.

The IDF organized the tours on September 30, October 11, and October 13 to expose Hezbollah’s vast terror infrastructure. Reporters were given a firsthand look at tunnels and weapons caches hidden in villages, and other Hezbollah resources Israel faces as it attempts to dismantle the terrorist group.

Among the outlets represented during the 90 to 120-minute visits were the BBC, CNN, Fox News, the Associated Press, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and Reuters.

On October 12, BBC reporter Lucy Williamson published a report titled, “Inside Israel’s combat zone in southern Lebanon” about what she witnessed. In response, on October 14, Hezbollah condemned the BBC, accusing it of violating Lebanon’s sovereignty and calling for legal action against the outlet and its staff in Lebanon.

“Not only did the BBC, across all its platforms and languages, display blatant bias towards the killers and criminals, justifying the Zionist barbarism against the Palestinian and Lebanese people, but it also shamelessly sent a team of journalists who entered one of the southern villages accompanied by the occupying army, violating Lebanese territory, sovereignty, and laws, as shown in the reports published by the organization,” Hezbollah wrote.

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“Hezbollah’s Media Relations Office denounces this unjustifiable and unacceptable move as it calls on the Ministry of Information, the National Media Council, and relevant judicial and security authorities to take legal action against the BBC and its teams operating in Lebanon,” the statement added.

A subsequent statement reportedly expanded the condemnation to all outlets that participated.

An Israeli government official granted anonymity told The Daily Wire that several reporters said they could no longer participate in the tours for fear of the safety of their colleagues working in Lebanon. Not a single mainstream outlet has accepted an invitation to embed since Hezbollah issued its letter, but many are requesting access to travel to Gaza with the IDF, according to the source.

Following the BBC report, seven BBC Arabic employees suspended their work in protest over their colleague’s participation in the tour, Hezbollah-run outlet Al-Manar reported.

The employees, Sanaa al-Khoury, Mohammad Hamdar, Marie-Josee Azzi, and Joy Slim, and three others from the BBC Extra team, reportedly refused to return to work unless the BBC issued an apology or disciplined their colleagues who were embedded with the IDF. The BBC has not issued a formal apology or stated that they disciplined the team that entered Lebanon through Israel.

The Media Secretariat of the Lebanese Popular Conference urged the Lebanese government “to halt the operations of the BBC team in Lebanon due to its cooperation with the Zionist enemy forces and its violation of Lebanese laws and national sovereignty,” according to the Iranian regime-run outlet, PressTV.

“Reuters appreciates the concerns expressed by Lebanon’s Ministry of Information,” a Reuters spokesperson told the Daily Wire. “We are committed to covering the conflict between Israel and Lebanon in an independent, unbiased and reliable way in keeping with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles, as we do around the world.”

A judge ruled on Monday that the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) must open its books and potentially reveal foreign funding sources, the New York Post reported.

The ruling from U.S. Magistrate Judge David Schultz came after the group’s defamation suit against a former employee backfired. Former CAIR employee Lori Saroya filed a defamation complaint against the group in January after CAIR dropped its lawsuit against Saroya. In its lawsuit against Saroya, CAIR alleged that the former employee’s social media posts and emails to CAIR supporters implied that the group is funded by terrorist organizations, the Post reported.

CAIR, often referred to as a “Muslim American civil rights group,” ultimately dropped its suit against Saroya, fearing that her legal team would “demand the names of CAIR supporters who have donated to us,” but Saroya’s lawsuit against CAIR has resulted in Judge Schultz ruling that any assets CAIR owns are within the “scope of permissible discovery.”

Schultz wrote that “the thrust of CAIR’s allegations against Saroya in the 2021 complaint is that Saroya falsely implied CAIR received funding from foreign governments and terrorists when she stated CAIR accepted ‘international funding through their Washington Trust Foundation.’”

“CAIR points to no public admission that it received funding from terrorists or that it received funding through the Washington Trust Foundation,” but “discovery into these matters is proportionate to the needs of the case,” he added, ruling, “CAIR has not shown that the burden or expense of the proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefit, or that it unwarrantedly taxes its resources.”

Saroya’s lawyer, Jeffrey Robbins, told the Post that the ruling is “the mother of all legal boomerangs.” He said that the decision means CAIR must “turn over evidence about everything from fundraising practices, such as having raised money from foreign sources and concealed it; whether it deceived donors; whether it mismanaged donor money; whether it retaliated against employees or threatened to retaliate against employees for raising concerns about sexual harassment or the like.”

CAIR was at the center of controversy last year, which caused the Biden White House to distance itself from the group. After Hamas’ brutal October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said he was “happy to see” Gazans “breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land.”

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CAIR’s official X account also posted on October 7, condemning Israel as Israelis were being slaughtered by Hamas.

“We join @USCMO and the American Muslim community in reaffirming our support for the Palestinian people’s right to freedom and calling for an end to the Israeli occupation, which kills hundreds of Palestinian civilians every year, subjects millions of Palestinians to racist oppression, and sparks the deadly violence that we see again and again, including today,” CAIR wrote.

Daily Wire host Michael Knowles appeared on Donald Trump Jr.’s “Triggered with Don Jr.” podcast on Monday, where the two discussed the success of Knowles’ Mayflower Cigars and how a positive vision for the future fueled the MAGA movement. 

Both Mayflower and MAGA are celebrating massive wins. Obviously, the election of Donald J. Trump is the biggest win — for the future of America and the present economy — and Knowles discussed how a decisive Trump campaign strategy was similar to a strategy he uses for Mayflower. 

With Mayflower, “it’s not as though we’re saying ‘don’t give your money to woke cigar companies.’ You know, there aren’t woke cigar companies,” Knowles said. “It’s saying something different. We know this is a good product, a really high-quality product. It’s made with care, it’s artistic, there’s a story here with Mayflower.” 

“So, it’s not just that we’re offering the opportunity to harm another company,” Knowles added. “We’re offering you a positive vision. And I think this is something that MAGA has really done both culturally and in government.”

The Daily Wire host said the MAGA movement has offered more than a roadblock to “woke Democrats.” 

“We’re not merely against something. We’re for something,” Knowles added. “We’re for safe communities. We’re for healthy food. We’re for a strong America.”  

“That’s a big deal,” Trump Jr. responded. 

“We’re not merely against something. We’re for something.”@michaeljknowles tells @DonaldJTrumpJr how the vision of Mayflower Cigars isn’t about combating woke companies—it’s about crafting high-quality, artistic, and authentically American products. pic.twitter.com/uNPubKQL3C

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) November 26, 2024

Trump Jr. told Knowles that he’s been hoping to smoke a Mayflower stogie with him and floated the idea of getting together during his father’s inauguration on January 20, 2024. 

“I see you got the cigars there — We still have not had time to actually sit down and have one. We’re going to have to change that,” Trump Jr. said. “I sort of assumed my schedule was going to open up on November 6. It turns out it’s pretty busy until January 20th, so maybe in D.C. around the inauguration.” 

“That’s a good idea,” Knowles replied. “You’ve had one or two things on your mind, I would say, over the past few weeks, so your cigars are waiting here. They are ready for you. I like the idea. The inauguration is a good time to celebrate.” 

“I see you got the cigars there—We still have not had time to actually sit down and have one. We’re going to have to change that.”@DonaldJTrumpJr and @michaeljknowles plan on finally sharing some Mayflower Cigars on Inauguration Day. pic.twitter.com/mA1QEjXhsA

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) November 26, 2024

Trump Jr. is in for a treat, and while you might not be able to smoke a Mayflower with Knowles and Trump Jr. in D.C. on January 20, you can at least celebrate with them by lighting one up yourself. 

Mayflower Cigars has plenty to offer for your Inauguration Day celebration. Check out the top-selling 8-cigar assortment, a classic sampler and perfect gift for anyone who wishes to sample the signature Mayflower Dawn and Mayflower Dusk blends. Strapped for time? Get your hands on the new Mayflower Dawn Petit Corona to enjoy the milder blend of Mayflower in a fresh, smaller format. At 5 cigars to a tin, the Petit Corona vitola is ideal for savoring on-the-go or as a satisfying lunchtime smoke with its concentrated yet balanced 20-30 minute burn time.

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Need some accessories for your Mayflower Cigars? We’ve got you covered with the Mayflower Travel Humidor, perfect for safely transporting your premium handmade cigars wherever the voyage takes you. Another popular gift and exceptional addition to your arsenal is the Mayflower XIKAR® Xi2 Cigar Cutter, which elevates the experience of cigar novices and connoisseurs alike. Masterfully crafted to feel comfortable in the hand and easy to use, this double-guillotine cutter is designed to deliver a perfect cut every time.

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The future is only getting brighter in the US of A, and it’s a great time to celebrate these monumental victories. 

Mayflower Cigars shares common ownership with The Daily Wire. 

A courageous woman from Kenya who serves as the United Nations’ Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide was fired after she stood up to the Israel-haters in the U.N. and refused to declare that Israel has committed “genocide” in its war against Hamas, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“Alice Nderitu said Israel’s campaign in Gaza doesn’t meet the definition of genocide. She was fired,” The Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote on Monday. “On Wednesday the U.N. will refuse to renew the contract of Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the Kenyan who is the Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide.”

“The UN long ago lost credibility as a moral arbiter, but its assault on Israel is hitting a new low. On Wednesday the U.N. will refuse to renew the contract of Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the Kenyan who is the Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide.” https://t.co/6uV6ELCJnU

— Fredric U. Dicker (@fud31) November 26, 2024

Nderitu’s office released a guidance paper in 2022 on “when to refer to a situation as ‘genocide.’” She warned that U.N. officials should “adhere to the correct usage” when referring to genocide, noting “its frequent misuse in referring to large scale, grave crimes committed against particular populations.” She pointed out that the term was originally conceived by Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1944 and meant eliminating entire ethnic groups.

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“As a legal matter, establishing a pattern of violence as a genocide requires demonstrating intent,” the WSJ editorial explained, adding, “Israel’s campaign of self-defense doesn’t qualify. The war against Hamas has had many deaths, but Israel’s strategy is intended to dismantle a terrorist regime, not eliminate an ethnic group. The Jewish state has gone to great lengths to minimize Palestinian civilian casualties, even as Hamas uses civilians as shields so their deaths can be used as propaganda.”

But the anti-Israel contingents at the U.N. are determined to smear Israel with the charge of genocide. Thus the U.N. Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices issued a report earlier this month accusing Israel of “the possibility of genocide in Gaza and an apartheid system in the West Bank.”

“The committee is taking its cues from Austrian Volker Turk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, who has spent the past year assailing Israel,” the WSJ editorial board noted. “His claims are often echoed by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Israel’s critics. … Ms. Nderitu serves at the pleasure of Mr. Gutterres, and Mr. Turk and the anti-Israel faction want her out. “

The Journal received a statement from a U.N. spokesman saying, “Alice Nderitu is leaving the U.N. as her contract is expiring.”

“Yet the Secretary-General has the authority to extend Ms. Nderitu’s contract, and U.N. contracts are often renewed when their terms expire. Ms. Nderitu’s removal is a political choice,” the board posited.

“Ms. Nderitu may be out, but her refusal to endorse a lie in service of a political agenda has been a profile in courage. Can anyone with integrity survive at the U.N.? “ the board concluded.

One of the most profound and honest conversations I’ve ever had on the subject of DEI came courtesy of a DEI advocate I spoke with last year. I asked her a simple question: if she believed in DEI as a useful element of corporate policy in theory, why is it that so many DEI programs fail in practice? Her honest answer: “We have to be very robust in our methodology, and we haven’t been. Being able to articulate the meaning of the D, E, and I is critical. If you can’t present it to highlight the fundamental good in the training, it doesn’t work.” An obvious answer, perhaps — but a telling one. The reason for the diversity downshift in American culture, in many cases, is a practitioner issue: DEI proponents have, in many instances, failed to make the argument of why such training is a fundamental good. To the contrary, we’re seeing a growing body of evidence that DEI’s fundamental good, just maybe, was profoundly oversold.

On Monday, we got our first look at a critical scientific finding that’s lending new support to the arguments of DEI’s strongest critics — and taking flack from progressive media outlets set on not giving it the coverage it clearly deserves. A study from the Network Contagion Research Institute, released in collaboration with the Rutgers University Social Perception Lab, examined the effects of exposure to training that emphasizes awareness of/opposition to “systemic oppression.” Its goal was answering the question at the core of the DEI debate: do diversity programs that highlight systemic oppression actually reduce bias and improve group dynamics by “increas[ing] empathy,” or do they “increase hostility” towards those that antiracist philosophy paints as oppressive?

The study had subjects read either (1) an essay containing typical antiracist arguments about white supremacy and race discrimination, or (2) a control essay about corn production. After reading, subjects analyzed a race-neutral hypothetical interaction: a student applying to an elite university and having their application rejected by an admissions officer. Subjects who read the antiracist essay, which contained excerpts from antiracist figures such as Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo, viewed the student’s rejection through what the study deemed hostile attribution bias, perceiving the admissions officer as discriminatory, unfair, and guilty of ‘microaggressions.’

The subjects who were primed with antiracist literature:

• Demonstrated an increased willingness to punish the admissions officer in the hypothetical scenario, despite the scenario not mentioning the race of the student.
• Viewed real-life court cases as discriminatory that the control subjects perceived as fair
• Viewed entire people groups (Hindus) as more racially discriminatory after reading material on caste discrimination

The study explained the risk of DEI programs focused on oppressed/oppressor class groupings in the following way: “[DEI] interventions may foster authoritarian mindsets, particularly when anti-oppressive narratives exist within an ideological and vindictive monoculture.” In other words, the oppressor/oppressed distinctions reflected in many modern DEI narratives can actually increase bias, hostility, and attribution of discriminatory beliefs among groups, as opposed to decreasing them. This finding suggests that exposure to ‘antiracist’ narratives decreases people’s ability to view situations rationally; if biased by a preconceived narrative of discrimination, people are more inclined to see discrimination at play in interactions that an unbiased observer might perceive as perfectly fair and reasonable.

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Is this survey the nail in the coffin for dwindling DEI programs? Of course not — at the end of the day, it’s just one study within a larger body of literature. But the response of media outlets like the New York Times and Bloomberg, who suppressed coverage of the study, should be an indicator to us as to just how important these findings are. This survey is not business as usual. On the contrary, its findings should be a wake-up call to those who still hold out optimism for DEI efforts as a whole. For years, DEI critics have argued that the narratives of modern ‘antiracism,’ which too often prioritizes identity politics and indefensibly broad generalizations over the necessary nuance of looking at the real world, are unfit for purpose. These findings are incredibly sharp arrows in our quiver.

It’s time for Americans at large, and the institutions and governments that serve them, to put DEI programs under the fine-toothed comb of scrutiny they have always deserved and examine if their fundamental good is really as good as it’s advertised to be. Programs that create and foster hostility on the basis of race fail basic function tests for building society, engendering trust in institutions, and making Americans less divided. And if DEI programs can’t do any of those three, whether in the boardroom, the classroom, or in the government briefing room, it’s time to ask why they exist at all.

* * *

Isaac Willour is an award-winning journalist focusing on race, culture, and American conservatism, as well as a corporate relations analyst at Bowyer Research. His work has been featured at outlets including USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times Opinion, C-SPAN and the Daily Wire. He is a member of the Young Voices contributor program and can be found on X @IsaacWillour.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

The self-described “queer media” journalist behind the interview with “Wicked” stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande that’s since gone viral is speaking out about the discussion and aftermath.

Out magazine’s Tracy E. Gilchrist spoke with Variety after a clip of the interview totally blew up online. In it, Gilchrist tells the movie’s two leads that fans are “really holding space” with the song “Defying Gravity.” This comment caused Erivo, who plays the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba), to become emotional.

Viewers were confused over what Gilchrist meant by her “holding space” reference and questioned how Erivo could understand.

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“I didn’t know that was happening,” the actress said with a quavering voice. “That’s really powerful. That’s what I wanted.”

pic.twitter.com/NL8VlANzKa

— masha (@MashaParty) November 21, 2024

Gilchrist said she was shocked by the attention. “It’s so overwhelming,” she said. “I was in meetings and my phone started blowing up. Later I was at lunch with a friend, and he kept asking me to explain what was happening – like, why is it funny? I don’t know! It just is.”

As of Tuesday morning, the clip has close to 77 million views on X.

The Variety interviewer specifically asked Gilchrist about the phrase “holding space” that’s gotten so much attention. Gilchrist said it means “being physically, emotionally and mentally present with someone or something.”

She added, “For me, it means being in the moment, not being distracted and feeling something on a cellular level. I think you can hold space with lyrics of a song – one you’ve heard hundreds of times – and it can suddenly take on new meaning when you’re a queer person. The Trump administration is targeting LGBTQ+ people via Project 2025.”

Gilchrist went on, “When Cynthia sings ‘I’m through accepting limits,’ there’s power in that. She plays a character who is othered. One who comes to her full power when she is exiled by a charlatan, by a cruel leader. There’s a lot of resonance there right now for anyone who is marginalized. For me, holding space is listening to those lyrics anew and finding solace or inspiration.”

“This was for us, for queer people who understand what I meant by holding space  — or really, for anybody who feels marginalized and can relate,” she continued. “So it’s for us. It’s not for them. They can hate all they want.” 

 

A judge on Monday upheld a Missouri law that bans doctors from performing transgender procedures on children. 

Cole County Circuit Judge R. Craig Carter ruled that the state’s Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act does not violate the constitution, siding with GOP Governor Mike Parson, who was sued over the law. The law bans giving minors puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and performing surgeries like mastectomies on girls who identify as boys. 

Carter’s decision, which cited the numerous medical risks and dangers of transgender procedures, comes before the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on a challenge to a similar law in Tennessee on December 4. 

“The Court has left Missouri’s law banning child mutilation in place, a resounding victory for our children. We are the first state in the nation to successfully defend such a law at the trial court level,” said Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who defended the law in a two-week trial. “I’m extremely proud of the thousands of hours my office put in to shine a light on the lack of evidence supporting these irreversible procedures. We will never stop fighting to ensure Missouri is the safest state in the nation for children.”

The suit was brought by the ACLU of Missouri and Lambda Legal on behalf of a parent and her minor child. 

Carter rejected arguments that the treatments were medically backed and that Missouri’s law violated the equal protection clause. He said that there was “an almost total lack of consensus as to the medical ethics of adolescent gender dysphoria treatment.”

He argued that if he followed the logic of the plaintiffs, “any person – including a minor – would be able to do anything from meth, to ecstasy, to abortion as long as a single medical professional was willing to recommend it.”

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Carter pointed to research showing that many minors naturally outgrow gender dysphoria and noted the medical harms of the procedures. 

“The gender dysphoria treatment prohibited by Missouri uses drugs and surgeries to either inhibit normal healthy human growth or surgically remove and replace healthy human organs,” he wrote. “Such an approach to treatment is well outside normal medicine, and medical ethicists are unable to agree on the propriety thereof.”

Missouri is one of 26 states that have banned transgender procedures on minors in recent years. 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reportedly called President-elect Donald Trump on Monday night, just hours after Trump threatened to enact tariffs against Canada for border security issues.

“Shortly after Trump’s post, Trudeau contacted Trump and the two leaders spoke by phone,” said Bloomberg News reporter Brian Platt.

“According to a source, they talked border security and it was a ‘constructive call,'” he said. “Trudeau pointed out that the issues at the Canadian border are minuscule compared to the US/Mexico border.”

Shortly after Trump’s post, Trudeau contacted Trump and the two leaders spoke by phone. According to a source, they talked border security and it was a “constructive call.” Trudeau pointed out that the issues at the Canadian border are miniscule compared to the US/Mexico border. https://t.co/4YC7BcDsbG

— Brian Platt (@btaplatt) November 26, 2024

Just hours earlier, Trump said in a statement that he would be hitting Mexico, China, and Canada with tariffs on his first day back in office over matters related to illegal immigration and drugs.

“As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before,” Trump said in-part. “On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders.”

“This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” he continued. “Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem. We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!”

Canadian premiers panicked over Trump’s threat and demanded that Trudeau take immediate action.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a post on X: “A 25 per cent tariff would be devastating to workers and jobs in both Canada and the U.S. The federal government needs to take the situation at our border seriously. We need a Team Canada approach and response—and we need it now. Prime Minister Trudeau must call an urgent meeting with all premiers.”

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A 25 per cent tariff would be devastating to workers and jobs in both Canada and the U.S.

The federal government needs to take the situation at our border seriously. We need a Team Canada approach and response—and we need it now. Prime Minister Trudeau must call an urgent…

— Doug Ford (@fordnation) November 26, 2024

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith posted on X: “The incoming US @realDonaldTrump administration has valid concerns related to illegal activities at our shared border. We are calling on the federal government to work with the incoming administration to resolve these issues immediately, thereby avoiding any unnecessary tariffs on Canadian exports to the U.S. Fortunately, the vast majority of Alberta’s energy exports to the U.S. are delivered through secure and safe pipelines which do not in any way contribute to these illegal activities at the border. As the largest exporter of oil and gas to the U.S., we look forward to working with the new administration to strengthen energy security for both the U.S. and Canada.”

The incoming US @realDonaldTrump administration has valid concerns related to illegal activities at our shared border. We are calling on the federal government to work with the incoming administration to resolve these issues immediately, thereby avoiding any unnecessary tariffs…

— Danielle Smith (@ABDanielleSmith) November 26, 2024

Conservative activist Robby Starbuck announced on Monday that retail giant Walmart was the next major business to abandon woke policies and practices under pressure and the threat of wider public exposure.

Starbuck, who has been systematically exposing major businesses that have implemented such practices, took to X and shared a video and a series of points he said he’d discussed with Walmart executives.

WATCH:

MASSIVE news: Walmart is ending their woke policies. I can now exclusively tell you what’s changing and how it happened.

Last week I told execs at @Walmart that I was doing a story on wokeness there. Instead we had productive conversations to find solutions.

Below are the… pic.twitter.com/BD02xJQ0X2

— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) November 25, 2024

“MASSIVE news: Walmart is ending their woke policies,” Starbuck announced. “I can now exclusively tell you what’s changing and how it happened. Last week I told execs at @Walmart that I was doing a story on wokeness there. Instead we had productive conversations to find solutions.”

“I have to give their executives major credit because this will send shockwaves throughout corporate America,” Starbuck continued, adding, “This is the biggest win yet for our movement to end wokeness in corporate America.”

He went on to say that the massive retailer had actually committed to implementing a number of changes that would root out wokeness that had permeated the company culture.

Among the changes he said Walmart had committed to were:

• Surveys: Walmart will no longer participate in the HRC’s woke Corporate Equality Index.
• Products: Monitor the Walmart marketplace to identify and remove inappropriate sexual and / or transgender products marketed to children.
• Funding of Grants: Review all funding of Pride, and other events, to avoid funding inappropriate sexualized content targeting kids.
• Equity: We will not extend the Racial Equity Center which was established in 2020 as a special five-year initiative.
• Supplier Diversity: We will evaluate supplier diversity programs and ensure they do not provide preferential treatment and benefits to suppliers based on diversity. We don’t have quotas and won’t going forward. Financing eligibility will no longer be predicated on providing certain demographic data.
• LatinX: Walmart will no longer use the term in official communications.
• Trainings: Walmart will discontinue racial equity training through the Racial Equity Institute.
• DEI: Walmart will discontinue the use of DEI as a term while ensuring a respectful and supportive environment. Our focus is on Belonging for ALL associates and customers.

“Remember, Walmart is the #1 employer in America with over 1.6 Million employees and they have a market cap of nearly $800B,” Starbuck concluded. “This won’t just have a massive effect for their employees who will have a neutral workplace without feeling that divisive issues are being injected but it will also extend to their many suppliers.”

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Starbuck noted that the effort to excise woke policies and practices had impacted companies worth more than $2 Trillion in total — and that having done so before Christmas opened the door for Americans to shop for the holidays without worrying about their money funding more woke policies.

“Companies like Amazon and Target should be very nervous that their top competitor dropped woke policies first,” he said. “I think Target specifically will suffer serious sales problems as a result and Walmart will benefit.”

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Monday afternoon key personnel that he has selected to lead three key White House offices.

Trump tapped James Braid — who has served as the lead policy aide to Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) during his term in the U.S. Senate — to be the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs.

Braid worked in legislative affairs at the Office of Management and Budget during the Trump administration’s first term in office.

Prior to working in the Trump administraiton, Braid served as Chief of Staff to multiple members of Congress, Policy Director of the House Freedom Caucus, and other senior policy roles on Capitol Hill.

Trump named Matt Brasseaux to serve as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Political Affairs.

Brasseaux served as Deputy Political Director for the 2024 Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC), the Trump transition team said.

He played a key role in Trump winning in battleground states in the southwest U.S.

Prior to joining the Trump campaign, Brasseaux served as a regional director at the RNC and as Campaign Manager for now-Governor Joe Lombardo in Nevada.

Trump selected Alex Latcham to be Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Liaison.

Latcham has worked for Trump for the last eight years, the Trump transition team said, most recently serving as a senior political director to the Trump campaign and the RNC.

“He advised President Trump on political races and endorsements, served as the campaign’s liaison to Republican sister committees, and oversaw the first four states on the 2024 Republican Presidential Primary calendar as the Early States Director,” the transition team said. “Latcham previously served as Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Political Director during the first Trump Administration.”

🚨NEW: President Trump announces James Braid as Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs, @mbrasseaux11 as Director of the Office of Political Affairs, and @Alex_Latcham_ as Director of the Office of Public Liaison. pic.twitter.com/OHVav3QWy2

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) November 25, 2024

President-elect Donald Trump threatened on Monday to impose tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico as well as China that will remain in place until they stem the flow of drugs and illegal immigration coming into the United States

In a post to his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump indicated that he would begin his second term with a flurry of executive orders that would include tariffs on U.S. neighbors.

“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders,” he said.

Trump added: “This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country! Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem. We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!”

With a second post, Trump took aim at China, promising a separate tariff that he said would remain in place until Beijing cracks down on drugs flowing to the U.S. He once again singled out fentanyl.

“I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States – But to no avail,” Trump said. “Representatives of China told me that they would institute their maximum penalty, that of death, for any drug dealers caught doing this but, unfortunately, they never followed through, and drugs are pouring into our Country, mostly through Mexico, at levels never seen before.”

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He continued: “Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Speculation about Trump reigniting trade wars had already sparked discussion about potential economic impacts. With his tariffs announcement on Monday, discussion got underway about the finer details of what the plan might entail.

As noted on X by Heather Long, an economic columnist for The Washington Post, there are “a range of tariffs currently on China,” and therefore it seemed that Trump’s “goal” would be “35%+.”

On X, there was a flurry of reactions to Trump’s tariffs ultimatum.

Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, for instance, said on X that using tariffs as a political and  foreign policy “weapon” aligns with Trump’s “America First” agenda. Tech executive Elon Musk, who has been tapped to help lead Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), responded to the plan by quipping that the price of fentanyl will “rise sharply.”

President Joe Biden will attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, the White House confirmed on Monday.

“The president promised that he would attend the inauguration of whomever won the election,” said White House spokesman Andrew Bates.

“He and the first lady are going to honor that promise and attend the inauguration,” he continued. “He views that as an important demonstration of commitment to our democratic values, and to honoring the will of the people, as we continue to provide an orderly and effective transition.”

Biden and Trump met at the White House two weeks ago following Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election.

Both leaders had promised that there would be a smooth and peaceful transition of power in January.

“Politics is tough, and in many cases, it’s not a very nice world. But it is a nice world today, and I appreciate it very much,” Trump said. “A transition that’s so smooth, it’ll be as smooth as it can get.”

WATCH: President Donald J. Trump and President Biden meet in the Oval Office pic.twitter.com/ZD9xPt4nyo

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) November 13, 2024

Trump is ready to hit the ground running shortly after being sworn into office, having already named most of the people that he is nominating for key roles.

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Those Trump has tapped so far include: Marco Rubio, State; Scott Bessent, Treasury; Pete Hegseth, Defense; Pam Bondi, Attorney General; Doug Burgum, Interior; Brooke Rollins, Agriculture; Howard Lutnick, Commerce; Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Labor; Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services; Scott Turner, Housing and Urban Development; Sean P. Duffy, Transportation; Chris Wright, Energy; Linda McMahon, Education; Douglas A. Collins, Veterans Affairs; Kristi L. Noem, Homeland Security; John Ratcliffe, CIA; Susie Wiles, Chief of staff; Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency; Russell Vought, Management and Budget; Tulsi Gabbard, National Intelligence; Michael Waltz, National Security Adviser; Elise Stefanik, U.N. Ambassador.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed federal election charges this week against President-elect Donald Trump after special counsel Jack Smith filed a motion to drop the case.

Chutkan ordered the case be dismissed without prejudice and explained that “when a prosecutor moves to dismiss an indictment without prejudice, ‘there is a strong presumption in favor’ of that course.”

“Dismissal without prejudice is also consistent with the Government’s understanding that the immunity afforded to a sitting President is temporary, expiring when they leave office,” she added.

Smith had charged Trump with four felonies related to the 2020 election, specifically on Trump’s actions after the election and before Congress certified the results on January 7, 2021. In August last year, Trump was indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

Trump celebrated the case being brought to close, saying on social media that Democrats wasted taxpayer money to fund their attacks on Trump.

“These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought,” he said. “Over $100 Million Dollars of Taxpayer Dollars has been wasted in the Democrat Party’s fight against their Political Opponent, ME.”

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“Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before,” Trump continued, later adding: “It was a political hijacking, and a low point in the History of our Country that such a thing could have happened, and yet, I persevered, against all odds, and WON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Chutkan dismissed the case after Smith filed a motion to dismiss the case because “it has long been the position of the Department of Justice that the United States Constitution forbids the federal indictment and subsequent criminal prosecution of a sitting President.”

The latest report into the death of former One Direction member Liam Payne leaves more questions than answers following his fatal fall from the balcony of his hotel room on October 16. He was 31.

According to surveillance video footage from the hotel, witnesses, a 911 call and the police, the singer may not have been trying to end his life, but rather could have been using the balcony as a means to escape his Buenos Aires CasaSur Palermo Hotel, TMZ reported.

In one video from the hotel, minutes before his death, the singer is being carried out of the lobby by three men. In a second video, those same men use their key to get the singer inside his room while he struggled to get free.

The outlet also learned that Payne’s hat was located close to where his body was found in the hotel courtyard and strapped to his shoulder was a bag, leading some to speculate that he was trying to leave via the balcony. 

#LiamPayne was trying to escape from his hotel when he fell to his death, and the hotel knew he was threatening to use the balcony as the means to escape, but left him by himself. pic.twitter.com/VLCl9FOHnc

— TMZ (@TMZ) November 25, 2024

After his death, a brown leather bag was found on a second floor balcony leading the outlet to suggest that Payne may have only been attempting to get from the third floor balcony to the second when something went wrong. A note inside the bag read “for Liam,” and the bag also contained various pills and a bottle of alcohol.

Multiple 911 calls made by the hotel staff minutes before the singer’s shocking fatal fall appear to support the idea.

The Associated Press reported that the hotel manager told the 911 operator about “a guest who is overwhelmed with drugs and alcohol. … He’s destroying the entire room and, well, we need you to send someone, please.”

A BBC transcript stated that the staff said the person had been “trashing the entire room” before his death. In a second call, a member of the hotel staff said they worried the guest’s “life may be in danger” because he was “in a room with a balcony. We’re a little afraid that he …” the BBC reported.

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The 911 operator assured the manager that emergency crews were on the way, per the outlet.

The cause of death is currently listed as “multiple trauma” and “internal and external bleeding,” the Associated Press reported. 

Apparently using balconies to escape places was not unheard of for the singer. Sources with knowledge told TMZ that in mid-September Payne escaped from a Florida rental house using the balcony and a garden hose after his bodyguard had forced him inside the house for fear he would go on drug binge.

Three people have been arrested and face charges of “abandonment of a person followed by death and the supply of narcotics” in connection to Payne’s death, Sky News reported.

Payne’s partial autopsy reportedly showed that the singer had “multiple substances in his system” including something called “pink cocaine” when he fell three stories from the hotel, sources told ABC News. The toxicology report also reportedly found crack, cocaine, and benzodiazepine. Paraphernalia used to ingest drugs were also found, the sources said.

Related: Liam Payne’s Autopsy Shows Mix Of Drugs

Donald Trump could reshuffle the White House briefing room to give podcasters like Joe Rogan more prominence than legacy media outlets, his son told Daily Wire host Michael Knowles on Monday.

Knowles floated the idea during an appearance on Trump’s Rumble show, “Triggered,” noting that mainstream media bias had reached new heights.

“I wonder now as your father is assembling his team, as maybe Karoline Leavitt is looking at the new press briefing room chart, maybe it’s time to reorder that chart, maybe take away some people’s seats,” Knowles said.

“So we’re going to break some news here,” Trump said, noting he “literally” just discussed this with his father and Elon Musk after last week’s SpaceX launch. Trump told Knowles that the president-elect floated replacing legacy media outlets in the White House Briefing Room with “Rogan and guys like you.”

“I’d love to see Rogan in the White House press briefing, or even rotate guys out,” Trump said.

“We had the conversation about opening up the press room to a lot of these independent journalists,” Trump said. “If the New York Times has lied, they’ve been adverse to everything, they’re functioning as the marketing arm of the Democrat Party, why not open it up to people who have larger viewerships, stronger followings?”

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Knowles praised the idea, but predicted that Democrats would object to bringing more diverse voices into the press room.

“The Left is gonna answer you, and they’re going to say well, the reason you need to keep the New York Times and the Washington Post in there is because they influence people, and the whole point of the White House briefing room is to convey the message of the White House to the American people.” he said. “But this is different, you have the New York Times and Washington Post admitting that podcasters and streamers are eating their lunch.”

Still, Knowles agreed it was high time to shake up the White House press pool.

“If they’re dishonest, if they’re not asking questions that are in the interest of the American people, and the American people aren’t even paying attention,” Knowles said, “is the White House Briefing Room a charity now for journalists who otherwise would be out of work? Sorry guys, learn to code.”

State lawmakers, governors offices, and health departments must urgently address abortion misinformation, a leading pro-life group said in a memo to state officials first obtained by The Daily Wire.

The memo addresses an abundance of pro-abortion misinformation perpetuated since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, when the power to decide abortion laws was returned to the states. The main lie, pushed by Vice President Kamala Harris and top Democrats, is that if a pregnant woman is miscarrying her baby, abortion laws “tie doctors’ hands from acting to save her life.”

Harris repeated this lie throughout the last election cycle, as did proponents of pro-abortion ballot amendments like Florida’s Amendment 4. Major media outlets like ProPublica published “tragic stories of deaths from abortion drugs and medical malpractice in an attempt to blame the loss of lives on pro-life laws in Georgia and Texas,” the memo stated.

“Pro-abortion groups have dishonestly publicized that pro-life laws protecting unborn children prevent pregnant women from receiving care in an emergency,” wrote Sue Liebel, state affairs director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. “Whether it’s a ballot measure fight, candidate race or legislative battle, this has been the abortion industry’s number one talking point which many in the Democratic Party have adopted.”

SBA Pro-Life America’s research has found that every state abortion law allows for women to receive emergency care and for doctors to “continue to rely on their reasonable medical judgment.”

And the organization is calling for state lawmakers to follow the example of several pro-life states: South Dakota recently adopted a Med Ed law that directly educates medical professionals through training materials from the state’s Department of Health, with input from the state’s attorney general, medical professionals, and legal experts.

In Florida, the Agency for Health Care Administration released guidance after the state’s heartbeat law went into effect, emphasizing that doctors still had the ability to treat pregnant women facing medical emergencies. The agency also sent letters to every doctor in the state, launched a website, and more.

In Nebraska, the memo emphasized, the state health department issued a health alert to clarify it’s 12 week protections for the unborn when pro-abortion groups ran ads confusing the public about when pregnant women could receive care.

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And in Texas, the state medical board adopted rules to protect women under the state’s life at conception law, SBA Pro-Life America emphasized, noting that Texas’s new rule highlighted the importance of doctors relying on their reasonable medical judgment and noting that the law “allows for intervention when a serious situation is foreseeable.”

“We urge state leaders to act in 2025 to initiate Med Ed solutions to protect the pregnant women of their state,” the memo stated. “We hope these efforts will gain bipartisan support as they did in South Dakota and in Arizona, where a Democrat attorney general made clear that women can continue to receive care under their 15-week law. Protecting pregnant women should not be a contentious issue. Republican or Democrat, pro-life or pro-choice – we should all agree that putting women in danger for political purposes is wrong and should be put to an end.”

Americans are strongly supportive of President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to enact a mass deportation program upon taking office, a recent poll found.

The poll of 2,232 adults, conducted by YouGov on behalf of CBS News following the presidential election, found that 45 percent of respondents said that Trump’s effort to “deport immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally” should be “high priority.” Another 28 percent said that it should be “medium priority,” while just 27 percent said it should not be a priority.

A majority of respondents said that they would approve of Donald Trump “starting a national program to find and deport all immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally.” A full 57 percent said that they would approve of such a plan.

Trump made mass deportations one of his key campaign promises, pledging to “launch the largest deportation program in American history.” Trump has since announced that former Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan will serve as his border czar and be in charge of the deportation agenda.

A full 74 percent of white respondents said that deportations should be a high or medium priority of the Trump administration, while 70 percent of black respondents and 69 percent of Hispanic respondents agreed, displaying broad support for the initiative.

The results mimic the findings of an earlier post-election poll from Rasmussen, which found 64 percent of American voters approve of the president-elect’s plan to “launch the largest deportation program in American history.”

The poll results come as Democrat lawmakers have already come out and indicated that they will not assist attempts by federal law enforcement to enforce immigration law and deport illegal aliens.

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In Colorado, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, a Democrat, indicated that he may even attempt to use the city’s police to prevent federal law enforcement from entering the city to carry out deportations. His comment came as an illegal alien was arrested after allegedly raping the 14-year-old daughter of his boss. The 20-year-old illegal alien and Venezuelan national is believed to have illegally entered the United States under the Biden-Harris administration.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy, a Democrat, similarly said that she would refuse to allow state police to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement operations. Federal agents based in Boston arrested three illegal aliens who have each been charged with or convicted of raping children.

A trans-identifying male volleyball player will be allowed to continue to play on the San Jose State women’s team, a judge ruled on Monday, just days before the conference tournament begins.

Federal Judge S. Kato Crews, a Biden appointee, ruled that Blaire Fleming, a man who identifies as a woman, could continue playing after multiple players for other college teams filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent Fleming from competing against women, The New York Times reported.

“San José State University will continue to support its student-athletes and reject discrimination in all forms. All San José State University student-athletes are eligible to participate in their sports under NCAA and Mountain West Conference rules,” the school said in a statement to Outkick. “We are gratified that the Court rejected an eleventh-hour attempt to change those rules. Our team looks forward to competing in the Mountain West volleyball tournament this week.”

San Jose State sent a statement to OutKick on the judge's ruling in the Mountain West lawsuit centering around trans SJSU volleyball player Blaire Fleming:

"San José State University will continue to support its student-athletes and reject discrimination in all forms. All San… pic.twitter.com/PXzcizGCB6

— Dan Zaksheske (@RealDanZak) November 25, 2024

San Jose State is preparing to compete in the Mountain West Conference tournament on Friday and will play the winner of Utah State vs. Boise State, two teams that have forfeited matches against San Jose State over Fleming being allowed to play against women. A win for Fleming and San Jose State on Friday would put the team in the conference championship game on Saturday.

A total of four teams in the Mountain West and a team in another conference forfeited against San Jose State during the regular season, opting to take losses instead of forcing female players to compete against a man. After Utah State and Southern Utah forfeited against San Jose State last month, Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox wrote, “I stand with the students, coaches and leadership at @SUUtbirds and @USUAggies in their decision to forgo their women’s volleyball matches against San Jose State.”

“It is essential that we preserve a space for women to compete fairly and safely,” Cox added. “Our female athletes are left grappling with this difficult issue because the NCAA has failed in its responsibility to protect female athletes and women’s sports. It’s time for the NCAA to take this seriously and protect our female student athletes.”

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The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which includes San Jose State co-captain Brooke Slusser, argue that their Title IX rights are being violated as Fleming is allowed to compete with and against them. The lawsuit also alleges that Fleming was given a scholarship over female athletes. San Jose State assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose was suspended after filing her own Title IX complaint against the university alleging it was showing favoritism to Fleming, Fox News reported.

The disgusting, corrupt, and anti-Semitic International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

In order to suggest a moral equivalence, they issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif — who is dead. He was the military chief of Hamas killed in an airstrike months ago. 

The ICC arrest warrant is ridiculous and disgusting. The claim is that Israel was deliberately attempting to starve the Palestinians.

Let me explain how insane that is.

Israel has shipped in — I kid you not — 900,000 kilotons of food aid into the Gaza Strip. Kilotons, not pounds. Kilotons. We’re talking about roughly two billion pounds of food aid shipped into the Gaza Strip in the middle of a war in which Hamas, with the help of some civilians, is currently holding Israelis and Americans hostage. 

Now, the ICC has decided it is going to move forward with this arrest warrant. It’s possible this is an attempt by the prosecutor of this case to avoid the fact that he’s now been hit with a sexual harassment allegation, apparently by members of both sexes. Thus, he may be attempting to misdirect away from that by issuing an arrest warrant.

The ICC arrest warrant doesn’t apply in many places that don’t abide by the ICC. For instance, the United States is not a signatory to the International Criminal Court. Why? Because we are aware that it is, in fact, a repository of evil: dictatorial states and their European dupes. As Americans, what we are concerned about is that they would then attempt to arrest, for example, members of the American military who served in Afghanistan or who served in Iraq.

A note: This is something the Trump administration should, indeed, be worried about. If the ICC issues an arrest warrant for any signatory country to the ICC, that signatory country then has a legal duty — under the ICC — to make the arrest. If you think that won’t be attempted against Donald Trump, you’re out of your mind.

WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show

This is why the United States is not a signatory to the ICC. This used to be a bipartisan understanding, as the U.S. knew the ICC is a trash organization that manipulates the very idea of international law — which doesn’t exist in the first place — in order to militarize and weaponize against the opponents of some of the world’s worst regimes. 

The proof is in the pudding. They’re not just doing this against Netanyahu. They’re also doing this against Yoav Gallant, his former defense secretary, who was basically fired by Netanyahu and became a sort of opposition figure for a while.

Both Argentina and Hungary have said they’re not going to abide by the ICC warrants. The ICC is now signaling it may revoke the arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Galant if there is, what they call, a “credible investigation” into charges of genocide and famine in the Gaza Strip by people inside Israel, which figures.

It figures because inside Israel, there are people who are actually allied with organizations like the ICC. The deep state is present in an enormous number of jurisdictions across the globe, whether it be the deep state in Brazil currently targeting Jair Bolsonaro or the deep state in Israel targeting Netanyahu.

There are career appointees in a wide variety of administrative agencies across the world who are directly opposed to the elected governments of these particular places and will use their power in order to stifle the agenda of those particular elected governments.

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The incoming Trump administration has already said they’re going to take severe measures against the ICC.

The fact that Hamas is celebrating the ICC decision says all anyone needs to know about the International Criminal Court. The ICC is clearly so moral. They are so decent. 

In the International Court of Justice, another U.N. agency, South Africa — a place of tremendous human rights violations — brought a case against Israel for genocide. They did so almost certainly because Iran was paying them.

All these international institutions have been completely weaponized.

It will happen to President Trump. I would bet that at some point, the ICC, at the behest of some corrupt state, will bring some sort of prosecution against Donald Trump and will then try to get the Europeans on the hook to arrest Trump if he were to arrive. Frankly, that would be the best thing that ever happened because no European country is going to arrest the sitting president of the United States.

All of this shows why this institution should be dismantled wholesale.

It’s vile and it’s disgusting.

A leftist activist who pushed for defunding the police has been accused of spending charitable donations to pay for “lavish vacations” and designer clothing, according to a lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C. 

D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued Brandon Anderson and his police “accountability” organization Raheem AI on Monday, alleging violations of the district’s laws governing non-profits. Schwalb said that Anderson used donations given to the charity to go on expensive vacations to Mexico and to buy high-end clothing. 

“Brandon Anderson misused charitable donations to fund lavish vacations and shopping sprees, and the Raheem AI Board of Directors let him get away with it,” Schwalb said. “My office will not allow people to masquerade behind noble causes while violating the law, cheating taxpayers, or stealing from their workers.”

According to the lawsuit, Anderson used $75,000 of the non-profit’s funds for personal use, including $40,000 on a luxury vacation rental service, $10,000 on hotels and Airbnbs, $10,000 on designer clothing, and $5,000 on emergency veterinary services. The travel costs reportedly included a stay at a Cancun resort and he buying clothes from luxury retailers like Bottega Veneta, Alexander McQueen, Bloomingdales, Farfetch, and Saks.

Schwalb said that Anderson had “unrestricted control” of the organization’s money because there had been no treasurer since 2020 and its board had implemented no oversight precautions. 

The lawsuit seeks to dissolve the organization and make Anderson repay funds used for vacations and clothing. It also accuses Anderson of not paying the deputy director of the organization for her work. 

“Not only did their financial abuses violate fundamental principles of nonprofit governance, but Anderson and Raheem AI failed to pay their employee the wages they had earned,” Schwalb said. 

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Anderson, who launched his organization in 2017, has promoted “building a world without police” and has lectured on why “defunding the police is an important next step for the country.” The activist wanted to replace 911 calls, telling Vice in 2022 that he wanted to build “a consortium of care that meets the needs of communities during their crises and in conflict.” 

His claims about starting the non-profit to honor a fiancé killed by the police have been scrutinized by media outlets like the New York Times, which reported that “no homicide in the entire state of Oklahoma” matched the incident described by Anderson.

The nation’s capitol has long been plagued by violent crime even as city leaders have sought to decrease penalties for crimes like carjacking. Efforts to loosen up the city’s criminal code failed last year after the Republican-controlled House blocked the proposal.

Washington Commanders managing partner Josh Harris and the NFL Commanders ownership group have agreed to un-cancel the Redskins (the iconic Blackfoot chief logo) history.

In a post on Facebook by Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines, the Congressman wrote that “The censorship of the former Commanders logo was a classic case of woke gone wrong. I applaud the Commanders & the NFL for their commitment to never censor the logo again.”

“And for working with the [Walter ‘Blackie’] Wetzel family to restore the logo to a place of prominence and honor to benefit Indian Country,” he added mentioning the “Native American artist who used Blackfoot chief John Two Guns White Calf as the inspiration for the logo the NFL team used for almost 50 years.”

In 2020, the team announced it was removing Redskins from its name and two years later announced the national professional football team would be called the Washington Commanders.

The name change came about from pressure from the cancel culture mob following the death of George Floyd and those who claimed that the term was racist and offensive to Native Americans.

🚨BREAKING: IT APPEARS DISCUSSIONS ARE UNDERWAY ABOUT THE #COMMANDERS POTENTIALLY USING THE REDSKINS’ OLD LOGO.

🤯

Senator Steve Daines says that the proceeds would go to help benefit the tribe.

Washington fans have been pushing for this to happen…pic.twitter.com/bHTbGVLZWV

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) November 22, 2024

Speaking to Fox News, Daines called out the “irony” that the woke mob was “canceling Native American culture, as in the DEI [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] movement went way too far.”

Earlier this year, a local D.C. news station came under fire when it was revealed that it was blurring or removing the logo in archival footage and photographs of the team, Tampa Free Press noted. And in February, the NFL censored the logo on its X account when honoring previous Super Bowl winners, Daines noted during his remarks on the Senate floor. He also pointed out that the team had been selling a shirt that also blocked the logo. 

Daines has said he would approve legislation for the building of a new stadium for the Commanders, as long as the team agreed to never censor the logo again or degrade it. That includes the team using the logo again in some shape or form, ie. in historical images, videos, merchandise, even using the logo if the team should want to use it throwback game jersey, etc., the Bozeman Daily Chronicle noted.

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Un-erasing the logo would also mean that if Wetzel wanted to use the logo in a throwback uniform, or something created to be posted in the stadium, etc. he could, Fox News noted.

Wetzel’s grandson Ryan Wetzel said that he feels good that a plan will come about to honor his grandfather’s legacy, the Daily Montanan reported.

“It’s exciting to even have that conversation after they said it (the logo) would be gone forever,” Wetzel said.

Following what the Senator called good faith talks with the league, he was “proud to say, after speaking with my constituents, that they are satisfied with the ongoing negotiations with the team and feel optimistic about the direction that they are heading. Therefore, I will support the bill and vote in favor of its passage out of committee with the condition that the team follows through on the commitments made to the family.”

Related: Native American Group Threatens National Boycott If Washington Football Team Doesn’t Change Name Back To ‘Redskins’

Fresh off losing the 2024 White House race to President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris is already getting the word out that she is not discounting another run for office, according to a new report.

POLITICO reported on Monday that Harris has privately conveyed to advisers and others to “keep her options open,” including for a potential 2026 campaign for governor in her home state of California or a presidential run in 2028.

“I am staying in the fight,” Harris has declared in phone calls, per the report.

Harris, a former California attorney general and U.S. senator, replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic Party’s nominee in the 2024 race for the White House after he dropped out earlier this year following a fumbling debate performance against Trump.

Trump ended up defeating Harris, coming out on top in all the battleground states and making gains among working-class voters, minority groups, and young people.

Last week, after losing the election, Harris traveled with her husband, Doug Emhoff, to Hawaii for a vacation.

Citing insider sources, POLITICO noted that Harris will head back to Washington, D.C., and is expected to explore “possible paths forward” with family members over the winter holiday season.

“She doesn’t have to decide if she wants to run for something again in the next six months,” one former Harris campaign aide told the outlet. “The natural thing to do would be to set up some type of entity that would give her the opportunity to travel and give speeches and preserve her political relationships.”

If Harris were to campaign for governor of California in 2026, she would be competing to replace Gavin Newsom, a fellow Democrat who is term-limited and is seen as yet another potential candidate for president in the 2028 contest.

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A number of Democrats have already begun campaigns for California governor, including Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, but polling has indicated Harris would have an edge if she ran.

Transgender-identifying celebrity Caitlyn Jenner signaled another GOP bid is possible following a 2021 recall campaign. “If I ran [for governor], and it was ultimately against Harris, I would destroy her,” Jenner said in a post to X on Monday.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk apparently struck a raw nerve, triggering MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Axios’ Jim VandeHei, when he issued a blanket announcement to everyone on his social media platform, X: “You are the media now.”

VandeHei and Axios co-founder Mike Allen were honored at the National Press Club’s 2024 Fourth Estate Award Gala, and VandeHei lashed out at Musk directly during his remarks to Gala attendees.

“Everything we do is under fire. Elon Musk sits on Twitter every day — or X today — saying like, ‘We are the media,’ ‘You are the media.’ My message to Elon Musk is: Bull****. You are not the media,” VandeHei complained. “You having a blue checkmark, a Twitter handle and 300 words of cleverness doesn’t make you a reporter. … You don’t do that by popping off on Twitter. You don’t do that by having an opinion. You do it by doing the hard work.”

WATCH:

NEW Axios CEO melts down over @elonmusk telling 𝕏 users “You are the media now” — mounts passionate defense of dying legacy media:

"My message to Elon Musk is b*llshit. You're not the media!"

The MSNBC panel applauds:

“Social media people lying every day, every hour, every… pic.twitter.com/SBwgI9hFfC

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) November 25, 2024

After playing a clip of VandeHei’s comments, “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough seconded every word, leading his response with a slow clap.

“First of all, I’ve got to say, extraordinary content, it needed to be said, it continues to need to be said,” Scarborough said as cohost Mika Brzezinski agreed. “With all of the garbage that’s flying around on social media — lying about reporters, lying about the hard work they do, lying about the hard work editors do, lying about everything up and down about not only their alternative set of facts but their alternative set of facts about what people like you do.”

Scarborough kept going in that vein for several minutes, but when Musk got wind of it, he was not convinced.

“Yeah, whatever lmao. You are the media now. And legacy media know it,” Musk said.

Yeah, whatever lmao.

You are the media now.

And legacy media know it. https://t.co/TWemmwMoqd

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2024

The exchange comes as MSNBC — and a number of the network’s employees — waits to see what the future looks like once NBCUniversal spins off the far-left cable news network.

“What I find absolutely astounding about this is not his anger at Musk,” one person noted. “I can understand and even respect that to some degree. What absolutely baffles me is the total lack of introspection or self reflection as to why the media is so distrusted. Just go back over the past 5-10 years. It’s not hard to figure out. Maybe you should start going about gaining readers trust and turning out a quality product first.”

What I find absolutely astounding about this is not his anger at Musk. I can understand and even respect that to some degree. What absolutely baffles me is the total lack of introspection or self reflection as to why the media is so distrusted. Just go back over the past 5-10… https://t.co/YI2wSu3z5V

— Blume Industries CEO Balding 大老板 (@BaldingsWorld) November 25, 2024

“What the Axios CEO doesn’t seem to understand or accept is that X is the media now because of all the lying. If the corporate press hadn’t spent decades lying and misleading the public in really obvious, craven, and destructive ways, we wouldn’t be here. But they did so we are,” The Federalist’s John Daniel Davidson added.

What the Axios CEO doesn’t seem to understand or accept is that X is the media now because of all the lying. If the corporate press hadn’t spent decades lying and misleading the public in really obvious, craven, and destructive ways, we wouldn’t be here. But they did so we are. https://t.co/j3mrxNbUll

— John Daniel Davidson (@johnddavidson) November 25, 2024

Trump Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth has broken his silence on the sexual assault accusation made against him back in 2017, which has resurfaced since President-elect Trump tapped Hegseth for the DOD position.

A police report concerning the allegation against Hegseth, a decorated combat veteran and former Fox News host, was released last week in response to a public records request. An unnamed woman claims Hegseth sexually assaulted her in a hotel room following a conservative conference. Hegseth said that the encounter was consensual and police decided against any further action.

“It’s very simple,” Hegseth told reporters on Thursday. “The matter was fully investigated, and I was completely cleared, and that’s where I’m gonna leave it.”

Tim Parlatore, an attorney for Hegseth, told the New York Post on Monday that they are demanding a file from the Monterey County district attorney’s office that they believe will show further exonerating details about the interaction.

The memo the legal team is seeking outlines why the district attorney’s office decided not to prosecute, Parlatore said. It allegedly details an earlier allegation of sexual misconduct made by Hegseth’s accuser.

“As part of our investigation, we received credible information indicating that she may have made a similar false allegation against another man in the past and the DA may have relied upon this as part of their determination, in addition to other witnesses who contradicted her story,” Parlatore said.

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As highlighted by The Daily Wire, the police report on the incident reveals that a man, presumed to be the accuser’s husband, told authorities that the woman told him she fell asleep in a friend’s hotel room when first explaining why she was out until 4 a.m. According to the report, Hegseth told authorities the woman told him this was the lie she would tell her husband, after panicking to Hegseth about cheating on her spouse.

There is also security footage from the hotel and witness accounts that reveal the accuser was not intoxicated and was seen leaving the hotel bar with Hegseth in locked arms and “smiling.”

The police report also details how the accuser contracted BV, or bacterial vaginosis, after having relations with Hegseth. This caused contention between the accuser and her husband. At one point, the woman asks her husband “to use a condom” when they had sex, for example.

Related: Megyn Kelly Methodically Breaks Down ‘Bulls*** Allegation’ Against Pete Hegseth

President-elect Donald Trump is throwing his support behind two candidates to replace Florida Reps. Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz, after Gaetz resigned from Congress and Waltz was tapped to serve as Trump’s national security adviser.

Trump is backing Florida’s chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis to take Gaetz’s place and endorsed state lawmaker Randy Fine to fill Waltz’s seat.

Trump urged Patronis to run for the 1st district seat, writing on Monday, “As your next Congressman, Jimmy would work tirelessly alongside of me to Grow our Economy, Secure our Border, Stop Migrant Crime, Strengthen our Incredible Military/Vets, Restore American Energy DOMINANCE, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.”

Patronis responded to Trump, posting on X, “Put me to work, Mr. President! @realDonaldTrump I am here to serve.”

Put me to work, Mr. President! @realDonaldTrump I am here to serve. 🫡 https://t.co/5HcxBtJAmk

— Jimmy Patronis (@JimmyPatronis) November 25, 2024

Patronis also serves as Florida’s fire marshal and was formerly a member of the state House of Representatives.

Trump similarly encouraged Fine to run for Waltz’s seat. In a post on Truth Social over the weekend, Trump described Fine as “an INCREDIBLE Fighter who will work tirelessly with me to Stop Inflation, Grow our Economy, Secure the Border, Champion our Military/Vets, Restore American Energy DOMINANCE, Protect our always under siege Second Amendment, and Restore PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”

Fine served in the state House of Representatives from 2016 to 2024 and was elected to the state Senate in this year’s election.

“Should he decide to enter this Race, Randy Fine has my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, RANDY, RUN!” Trump added.

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Fine responded to Trump’s endorsement and hinted at a coming announcement.

“Mr. President, G-d saved you on that day in Butler so that you could save the world,” Fine posted. “It would be the honor of my life to be one of your footsoldiers. Your confidence is overwhelming and I will have news to share soon!”

Clearly Mom wasted no time once she made it upstairs.

Mr. President, G-d saved you on that day in Butler so that you could save the world. It would be the honor of my life to be one of your footsoldiers. Your confidence is overwhelming and I will have news to share soon! pic.twitter.com/Zt9Tj3rF6e

— Senator Randy Fine (@VoteRandyFine) November 23, 2024

The special elections for both districts will take place on April 1 and candidates must qualify to run by December 6. Both districts have consistently voted Republican for decades.

President-elect Donald Trump slammed the “empty and lawless” cases brought against him by special counsel Jack Smith on Monday after Smith moved to dismiss four felony charges against Trump.

Smith had charged Trump with four felonies related to the president’s actions in the aftermath of the 2020 election, but Trump has maintained that the charges — along with the other cases brought against him in Georgia, New York, and Florida — are politically motivated.

“These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought. Over $100 Million Dollars of Taxpayer Dollars has been wasted in the Democrat Party’s fight against their Political Opponent, ME. Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before,” Trump wrote on Monday. “They have also used State Prosecutors and District Attorneys, such as Fani Willis and her lover, Nathan Wade (who had absolutely zero experience in cases such as this, but was paid MILLIONS, enough for them to take numerous trips and cruises around the globe!), Letitia James, who inappropriately, unethically, and probably illegally, campaigned on ‘GETTING TRUMP’ in order to win Political Office, and Alvin Bragg, who himself never wanted to bring this case against me, but was forced to do so by the Justice Department and the Democrat Party….”

“….It was a political hijacking, and a low point in the History of our Country that such a thing could have happened, and yet, I persevered, against all odds, and WON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he added.

Smith wrote that the DOJ’s “position is that the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated. This outcome is not based on the merits or strength of the case against the defendant.”

“That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind,” the filing states, according to The Washington Post. “Based on the Department’s interpretation of the Constitution, the Government moves for dismissal without prejudice of the superseding indictment.”

Attorney and George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley said he was not surprised to see Smith move to dismiss the charges against Trump after Trump’s election victory.

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“I wrote over a year ago that there was a good chance Jack Smith would never see the inside of a courtroom for a trial in this case. It made this election the largest effective jury verdict in history by re-electing Donald Trump,” Turley said. “The special counsel found himself at odds with his own department’s longstanding policy against the prosecution of a sitting president.”

.@JonathanTurley: "I wrote over a year ago that there was a good chance Jack Smith would never see the inside of a courtroom for a trial in this case. It made this election the largest effective jury verdict in history by re-electing Donald Trump." pic.twitter.com/UFmucqjs99

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) November 25, 2024

Tim Pearce contributed to this report.

Over the years, at various points, I’ve talked about the very long-running case involving Jeff Younger, his ex-wife Anne Georgulas, and their twin sons. A custody battle has unfolded for the better part of a decade concerning whether or not one of those twins — James, who’s now 12-years-old — should be allowed to “transition” into a girl. The boys’ mother thinks that’s a good idea, and she’s been pushing it for quite some time. The boy’s father has been fighting to prevent it from happening.

Already — based on these facts alone — this should’ve been the single shortest custody battle in the history of the American legal system. When one parent looks at a boy and says “that’s really a girl,” then the case is closed. That parent shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near her child, or any other child for that matter. The parent who has a basic grasp of reality is clearly more fit and capable than the parent who doesn’t.

But that’s not how Jeff Younger’s case has played out. Instead, in both Texas and California, there have been years of legal battles over custody. And last week, these legal battles came to a tragic but predictable conclusion, with a California court awarding full custody to Anne. She will now be free to raise her boy as though he’s a girl, including by chemically castrating him if she chooses to do so.

Those are the basic outlines of the case, which are about as disturbing as you can imagine. But as you look into the details, somehow it gets even worse. This is a legal battle that makes it very clear that Democrats and trans activists don’t simply aspire to take children away from their parents. This dispute reveals that, in our legal system, they can already do it — and they can do it pretty easily, as it turns out.

Before I get to all of those arguments, let’s start at the beginning. Jeff Younger married Anne in 2010. Both were members of the Orthodox Church. And almost immediately, there was a problem.

Younger explained what happened in a recent interview with Tim Pool. At the end of this clip, he mentions a video involving his son James. Watch:

 

This is a process that, according to Jeff, began when his son was just two-years-old. And he says it involved a lot of heavy-handed pressure from his wife, as well as some very deranged interpretations of his son’s behavior.

For example, according to Younger, his wife would tell his son that, if he wanted to stay out of trouble, he wouldn’t act like a boy. Not exactly subtle. Also, at some point, James apparently picked out a silver purse at Target that had a multicolored unicorn on it. The fact that a little kid thought that a shiny thing with a flying horse on it is cool, apparently means he’s a girl. He also selected a girls’ toy in a McDonald’s Happy Meal. This was some of the very thin and incredibly bizarre “evidence” that apparently led Younger’s wife to conclude that their son was really a girl.

By the time his son was three-years-old, Jeff could tell that this would be a case of “he said, she said.” So to protect himself and his son, he eventually shot that video on his iPhone. As you saw, it shows his son saying, very clearly, that his alleged “gender identity” was influenced in some way by his mother.

Younger has also said that his wife tried to enroll their son in a “gender clinic” in Dallas at age five. He stated last year that, “pediatrician records show that she intended to chemically castrate him at age 8 or 9.”

Eventually the litigation began in Dallas, as James’ school began facilitating his supposed “transition,” and his mother demanded that his father “affirm” his so-called “gender identity.” And in 2019, the court in Dallas made a number of findings that are very alarming, to say the least. For example, the court determined that:

The Mother changed James’ name to Luna on her own volition. The Court finds that the Mother asked the child if he still wanted to be called James. The Court finds that James did not initiate the conversation about having his name changed.

Of course, even if James had “initiated” a conversation about changing his name, it wouldn’t mean anything. Children will initiate a lot of conversations that don’t demand the immediate affirmation of their parents — or any kind of affirmation whatsoever. My five-year-old recently initiated a conversation about having candy for breakfast. But the conversation didn’t last very long. The answer was no, and that was that. Yet in this case, the court found that James didn’t even bring up the idea of changing his name. Obviously, that’s an idea that was forced on him.

WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show

There’s a lot of other disturbing information in this court ruling, too. Keep in mind as you hear this, we’re talking about a boy who’s seven-years-old at the time of this ruling:

The Court finds Dr. Albritton [a psychologist and expert witness] stated when the boys were brought by their Mother for a joint interview, James presented wearing high heels and dress and he was a little overdressed. Your typical girl might be wearing leggings and sandals, but he seemed to be pretty dramatic in his dress. And [the doctor] experienced the same thing when he went to the house.

This is a phenomenon that we see all the time with adults who identify as transgender. They’re preoccupied with appearing as women, and so they try to match every conceivable feminine stereotype that comes to mind, all at the same time. These are the same people who supposedly reject the idea of a gender binary. But then you’ll find them with overdone eyelashes, tons of makeup, tacky dresses and a framed poster of “Legally Blond” on their wall, all because they’re desperate to conform to their cartoonish perception of womanhood. And in this case, that was happening to James — except clearly, James wasn’t responsible for it. It wasn’t something he was doing, but rather something being done to him.

And there’s evidence, in this court ruling, that James’ mother wasn’t just interested in making his child “look” like a girl. There are indications that his mother also wanted to chemically castrate him, as well — or at least that she was open to the idea:

The Court finds that when the Mother was asked, With regards to puberty blockers, it is a very big deal. It is a very significant decision for parents and families to make. Q: Shouldn’t sterilization only be done if it is to save patient’ life? A: No.

In other words, it’s fine to sterilize children in order to affirm whatever they say their “gender” is.

The result of this Dallas case from 2019 was that joint custody was awarded. Both parents had to agree before any medical decisions were made involving their son, including any alleged “gender transitioning.” In her ruling, the judge faulted the mother for pushing too hard to complete this transition. And she faulted Jeff for going public with the dispute and raising money off it, even though that seems like a pretty reasonable thing for a father to do under these circumstances.

Later on, there was apparently an incident in school in which James told the school counselor that he didn’t want to be a girl anymore.

Somehow, Jeff was blamed for this, and he lost custody of his son. Watch:

So he lost all contact with his son because of this incident. That’s what the courts determined would be the ‘just” outcome.

Even after this ruling, however, Texas courts still didn’t allow Younger’s ex-wife to chemically castrate their child. And she agreed, in her interactions with the court, that she wouldn’t do it. That was the red line here. And it held up throughout these proceedings.

But then, in September of 2022, Younger’s wife fled with her two sons to California, which had just passed a so-called “sanctuary state” law. It allows parents to take children to California for the purpose of “transitioning” them, without fearing legal repercussions. In response, Younger immediately went to the Texas Supreme Court, requesting an order for the children to be returned to Texas.

But the Texas Supreme Court refused, saying it was mere speculation that Younger’s wife would attempt to castrate his children. After all, she had agreed not to do so. Of course, the ruling was ridiculous. There was no “speculation” here. California was inviting parents to come there to castrate their kids. And Younger’s ex-wife was accepting the invitation.

Then the inevitable happened. A superior court judge in California awarded Younger’s wife full custody of their children — including the authority to pursue so-called “gender affirming” treatments, such as chemical castration. As Jeff wrote in a statement:

I lost all parental rights to my sons. Goodbye, boys. Perhaps, we will meet when you are adults. California Judge Juhas gave my ex-wife authority to castrate my son, James. All contact with my boys must be supervised. I won’t do that… Let my story be a cautionary one for young men. Fathers have no rights to their children. Do not enter the family law system.

Now, the fight isn’t actually over. Jeff will keep up the battle in the courts. He’s also calling on the incoming Trump administration to do whatever it can to halt these procedures in hospitals nationwide, including in the state of California. Trump has already promised to issue an executive order, “instructing every federal agency to cease the promotion of sex or gender transition at any age.” This is the kind of order that, very quickly, can lead to the end of so-called “trans medicine.” Congress also needs to take up a federal ban on gender mutilation of children. It should be a top priority of the next administration. But for now, this where things stand, legally.

In his statement, Younger didn’t just discuss the legal and personal ramifications of this case, as serious as they are. He also made a broader point, calling his case a “cautionary tale for young men.” He told them not to, “enter the family law system.”

In previous posts, Jeff has elaborated on what he means by that. For example, a couple of weeks ago, he wrote:

Men now refuse to marry. Most are forgoing children. A huge movement is forming of single men using surrogates to have children. It is a rational response to the terrible laws governing marriage and divorce in family courts. My sons have experienced the loss of their father, seen the courts try to destroy their father, observed their father’s effective enslavement to the state, watched endless humiliation rituals against their father, and watched their mother orchestrate it all. Tens of millions of young men have observed the same thing in their families. They are not going to marry into a totalitarian system like Family Court. No amount of theology or argument will overcome their own experience and observations.

No one who’s familiar with the details of Jeff Younger’s case can deny that he’s correct about the family court system. This has been a completely irrational and entirely unjust series of proceedings, to the point of cruelty and barbarism. And indeed, what happened here is very much a cautionary tale.

But I think it’s important to say one thing, which is that the moral of the story here isn’t that men should avoid marriage. To give up on marriage is to give up on the family, and giving up on the family is giving up on human civilization itself. We are in a fight for our civilization. We cannot win the fight with an unconditional surrender, which is what it would mean for us to abandon the family.

The moral of the story, then, is that young men must be absolutely sure that they are marrying women whose fundamental values are totally aligned with their own.

Speaking personally, there is essentially a zero percent chance that my wife would ever try to take any of my sons and do this to them. She’d rather be dead. She feels just as strongly as I do about the subject. If you’re a single man and the woman you’re dating is not that solidly opposed to this kind of medical abuse, you should run in the other direction as fast as you can. To be clear, that’s not a criticism of Jeff Younger in any way. There are very few fathers on this planet who can begin to comprehend what he’s experiencing right now, and what he’s experienced for the past decade. We have no real insight into his relationship with his ex-wife, beyond what we have from court documents and what he says in interviews. 

But it’s critical to point out that, in general, this kind of outcome isn’t inevitable. Yes, the goal now is to change the laws (and the legal precedents) so that nothing like this ever happens again. And there’s a very real possibility that the Trump administration will accomplish that. At the same time, young men need to think about what they can do to avoid a situation where they have to rely on the government to protect their parental rights in the first place.

Yes there are cases where you might marry someone who then proceeds to turn into a totally different person, in a way that was utterly unforeseeable. That can happen. Anything can happen. Whether that is what happened in Jeff Younger’s case, I truly don’t know. But in the vast, vast majority of cases, that is not how it works, because that is just not how human beings work. In almost every case where your wife turns out to be a radically self-centered, far-Left, feminist whack job, it’s because she always was all of those things. In most cases, people do not mutate into monsters out of nowhere. They were always monsters. All you have to do is pay attention, and be willing to notice the warning signs.

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Is it technically possible that my wife could go insane and wake up tomorrow, or in ten years, as an avid proponent of child castration, abortion, and other horrors? Well, I can’t say it’s impossible, in the sense that adding two plus two to make ten is impossible. It’s technically possible that my wife goes insane in that way, to the exact same degree that it’s technically possible that I go insane in that way. Maybe I suffer some sort of traumatic brain injury that has that effect, or maybe I fall into a vat of acid and that’s how I become a super villain. It’s possible, technically, but I’m really not worried about that happening — in my case or hers. A lot of things are technically possible but you don’t change your behavior because of it. It’s technically possible that my house could collapse on us tonight and kill everyone inside it. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to force my family to sleep outside.

In almost every case where a house suddenly collapses, it’s because there were structural problems that you could easily notice — or should have noticed — before disaster struck. And in almost every case where your wife turns out to be a horrible beast — or if you’re a young woman, your husband — there were plenty of warning signs. Just pay attention to those. And marry someone who aligns with you on the most fundamental issues. A person whose foundational values are in full agreement with your own. This will give you a very, very good chance of avoiding great heartache down the road.

None of that is to blame Jeff Younger for anything, certainly. He has been in a valiant battle to save his son. I have immense respect and sympathy for him. My point is just to give a word of advice to any young single people who hear these kinds of stories and feel understandably terrified by them. As Jeff Younger would be the first to tell you, you have to put yourself in a situation where you won’t have to rely on the court system or the government.

Hopefully the laws will continue to change in the direction of sanity and protecting children from abuse. But in the meantime, you’re on your own. Act accordingly.

With AAA projecting nearly 80 million people traveling 50 or more miles in the week ahead for the 2024 Thanksgiving holiday, those making the trek might want to keep their eye on the forecast as the weather in some parts of the United States could make the trip difficult.

On Monday, the National Weather Service (NWS) shared on X a broad outline for the next couple of days, along with maps showing the high temperature forecast and probability of precipitation on Thanksgiving Day.

“A frontal system will drive weather in the eastern quarter of the U.S. on Thanksgiving Day, bringing a good shot of rain,” the post said. “Farther west in the northern plains, cold temperatures will be the rule of the day, with readings as much as 25°F below normal for this time of the year.”

A frontal system will drive weather in the eastern quarter of the U.S. on Thanksgiving Day, bringing a good shot of rain. Farther west in the northern plains, cold temperatures will be the rule of the day, with readings as much as 25°F below normal for this time of the year. How… pic.twitter.com/0r3MvTZnca

— National Weather Service (@NWS) November 25, 2024

 

Snow is not out of the question, however.

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AccuWeather forecasters reported that the eastern part of the U.S. might get accumulating snow to the Ohio Valley and Northeast, while Meteorologist Ryan Maue said the Thanksgiving Day storm system “should drop 3-6 [inches] of snowfall across roads from Ohio to Pennsylvania into New York and England.”

Thanksgiving Day storm system should drop 3-6" of snowfall across roads from Ohio to Pennsylvania into New York and England. ❄️ pic.twitter.com/YDo1BW2rJw

— Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) November 25, 2024

Other places, including Chicago, could also get some fresh powder.

NWS said that heavy snow is expected to fall early this week in the higher-elevation areas of the western United States and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. And in Colorado, its Boulder office noted that a “major winter storm” bringing up 1-2 feet of snow would impact the mountains through Wednesday.

A major winter storm will impact the mountains beginning late tonight. Snow will be heavy through Tue night, lighter Wed.

1-2 ft totals are expected for the highest elevations. Expect significant travel disruptions and road closures. Here's a forecast for major roadways 👇 #COwx pic.twitter.com/LciRjAcp3l

— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) November 25, 2024

The Pacific Northwest is still reeling after a so-called “bomb cyclone” and its “atmospheric river” hammered parts of Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. A handful of people were killed, and power was knocked out for hundreds of thousands of customers.

California has more inclement weather ahead. The NWS office in Sacramento said a Winter Storm Warning was in effect for higher elevations in the Sierra Nevada mountains through Wednesday morning.

Expect chilly weather across much of the country in the post-Thanksgiving travel period.

Last week, the NWS said a broad area of low pressure was forecast to “dominate” the lower 48 states, bringing increased risk for cold and “unsettled weather,” including “hazardous cold” in the Northern Plains, strong winds across much of the East, and heavy snow in parts of the Great Lakes and Interior Northwest.

Increased risk for cold and unsettled weather for the post-Thanksgiving travel period https://t.co/SVsQsPxEEx pic.twitter.com/IXHwO0nKNM

— NWS Climate Prediction Center (@NWSCPC) November 21, 2024

The NWS advised Thanksgiving travelers to “stay updated on this evolving situation” by checking the latest forecasts from the Climate Prediction Center, Weather Prediction Center, and local NWS forecast offices.

Beyond the weather, holiday travelers heading to and from North Carolina might need to contend with disarray caused by Charlotte Douglas International Airport service workers beginning a strike over wages on Monday.

Special counsel Jack Smith has moved to drop his cases against President-elect Donald Trump over the 2020 election and classified documents.

Smith filed to drop his case over the 2020 election first on Monday, moving to dismiss four felony charges against the president-elect. Smith filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that his prosecution of the case against Trump is barred under the Constitution and the Department of Justice’s longstanding policy against charging and prosecuting a sitting president.

“The Department’s position is that the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” Smith wrote in the filing, according to CNN. “This outcome is not based on the merits or strength of the case against the defendant.”

“That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind,” the filing states, according to The Washington Post. “Based on the Department’s interpretation of the Constitution, the Government moves for dismissal without prejudice of the superseding indictment.”

Smith also moved to dismiss his appeal to revive a case against Trump over classified documents that the president-elect allegedly kept illegally at Mar-a-Lago after the 2020 election, according to CBS News.

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Trump spokesman Steven Cheung celebrated the motion to dismiss in a statement. He called Smith’s filing a “major victory for the rule of law” and said the “weaponization” of the justice system must end.

“The American People re-elected President Trump with an overwhelming mandate to Make America Great Again. Today’s decision by the DOJ ends the unconstitutional federal cases against President Trump, and is a major victory for the rule of law,” Cheung said. “The American People and President Trump want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country.”

Smith had charged Trump with four felonies related to the 2020 election, specifically on Trump’s actions after the election and before Congress certified the results on January 7, 2021. In August last year, Trump was indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

Trump has claimed innocence in each case and repeatedly characterized Smith’s prosecutions as political and led by a corrupt and weaponized Department of Justice.

Nearly three weeks after the polls closed on Election Day, voters are still waiting for the final results in three U.S. House races: two in California and one in Iowa.

Republicans will hold a slim majority in the 119th Congress, but the exact size of that majority remains up in the air as the final results for three close races remain unknown. The Associated Press and Decision Desk HQ have yet to declare a winner in the races for California’s 13th and 45th Congressional districts. The AP also has not made a call in the race for Iowa’s 1st Congressional district, as ballots continue to be counted.

According to the latest count in California’s 13th district, Republican Rep. John Duarte holds a 204-vote lead over Democrat Adam Gray. Fox News reported that less than 3% of the vote still needs to be counted. The contest is similar to the 2022 midterm election when Duarte won over Gray in what was the closest House race in the country, squeaking out a victory by just 564 votes. The 2022 race wasn’t called until early December.

In California’s 45th Congressional district, Democrat Derek Tran leads Republican Rep. Michelle Steel by 545 votes, according to The Mercury News. Ninety-nine percent of the vote in the 45th district race has been counted.

In Iowa, Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks is hoping to hold onto her slight lead over Democrat Christina Bohannan as a recount of the race began over the weekend. Miller-Meeks leads by 800 votes and slammed her opponent’s recount request as a waste of “taxpayer money.” Decision Desk HQ has called the race for Miller-Meeks, but the Associated Press has not declared a winner.

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According to the AP’s results, Republicans hold 219 seats to Democrats’ 213. If the current results hold in each of the uncalled House races, the final tally would be 221 seats for the GOP and 214 for the Democrats. Republicans will also be faced with special elections to replace Reps. Elise Stefanik (NY) and Mike Waltz (FL), who were tapped to serve in the new Trump administration, and former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who resigned.

President-elect Donald Trump’s soon-to-be White House press secretary quashed a report that Trump will “kick transgender troops” out of the military, telling The Daily Wire that the report is based on unnamed sources who have “no idea what they are actually talking about.”

“These unnamed sources are speculating and have no idea what they are actually talking about,” Karoline Leavitt told The Daily Wire. “No decisions on this issue have been made. No policy should ever be deemed official unless it comes directly from President Trump or his authorized spokespeople.”

Her statement followed a report from the London-based Times alleging that Trump would sign an executive order as early as his first day back in the White House kicking trans-identifying troops out of the United States military. The story claimed that there are as many as 15,000 individuals in the military who identify as transgender, and that these troops would be deemed medically discharged upon Trump taking office in January.

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During his previous administration, Trump had quickly announced that trans-identifying service members would no longer serve “in any capacity,” arguing that the military needed to be focused on “decisive and overwhelming victory.” His ban on trans-identifying people serving in the military took effect in 2019, but was reversed by President Joe Biden in January 2021.

“After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” Trump said in a post on Twitter in 2017.  “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.”

After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow……

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

Under former President Barack Obama, and with the support of then-Vice President Joe Biden, the military began admitting trans-identifying service members. There is no official count of how many trans-identifying members of the military there actually are, and the article in The Times gives no explanation for how it arrived at 15,000.

Kim Kardashian is getting a strong response on social media for an ad she posted on Instagram.

The 44-year-old reality show star shared a photo of herself dressed in her shapewear brand, SKIMS, to promote a collaboration with luxury brand Dolce & Gabbana. In it, Kardashian is wearing a bra and underwear along with lace shorts.

The caption of her post read in part: “Dolce&Gabbana and SKIMS unite to reveal curve-enhancing pieces for everyday confidence and unmatched sensuality.”

Followers took issue with the fact that the influencer is also wearing rosary beads around her neck.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kim Kardashian (@kimkardashian)

“Why is she always wearing the cross when she’s half naked … like wtaf,” one popular comment said.

“Wearing a cross while being half naked. [Would you] make a mockery out of other religions too?” another person agreed.

“Nothing about you is holy,” a third person echoed. “Take the rosaries off lol.”

Another said, “Why don’t you just get naked!!!!! Such hypocrisy stripping while wearing a cross!!!! So bored of your desperation.”

“The Holy Rosary is NOT a fashion accessory,” someone else agreed.

The rosary appears to be a Dolce & Gabbana item currently sold on its website for $525.

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The item description says, “Dolce & Gabbana’s signature aesthetic is clear to see in this religious-themed jewelry collection, as it is filled with unique pieces flaunting great creativity. Contemporary and glamorous accessories with original and exclusive details, featuring different plated finishes, will be perfect for finishing off any look with style.”

This is not the first time Kardashian was photographed wearing a cross and a revealing outfit.

Last week, she wore a cross necklace with lingerie in another ad promoting the same collaboration with Dolce & Gabbana.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kim Kardashian (@kimkardashian)

She also wore a custom dress featuring a cross and a cross necklace while attending the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2018. This year, Kardashian wore the late Princess Diana’s diamond cross necklace to the Met Gala after purchasing it during a Sotheby’s auction for around $212,000 in 2023.

The district attorney who refused to seek the maximum sentence for Laken Riley’s killer is one of three Soros-backed prosecutors to lose re-election this month.

District Attorney (DA) Deborah Gonzalez of Georgia’s Western Judicial Circuit, who made headlines for her soft treatment of convicted murderer Jose Ibarra, lost her re-election to challenger Kalki Yalamanchili by over 75% of the vote. 

Gonzalez was an active member of the organization Fair & Just Prosecution (FJP), a Leftist advocacy group funded by billionaire George Soros, which dictates both the public policy and private staffing of prosecutorial offices around the country.

FJP’s efforts to hijack American justice were detailed in Media Research Center’s August exposé: “How The Soros Machine Directs and Controls Prosecutors Across America to Implement His Leftist Agenda.”

Gonzalez was joined in defeat by fellow FJP members including Los Angeles County DA George Gascón and Alameda County DA Pamela Price. Gascón and Price were two of the last three remaining members of another Soros group, the censorship-obsessed Prosecutors Alliance of California, which worked closely with Governor Gavin Newsom to push an anti-police and anti-free speech agenda.

Gascón, one of the founders of Prosecutors Alliance, lost to challenger Nathan Hochman by over 600,000 votes. Similarly, Prosecutors Alliance member Price lost her recall election by over 30%. Their defeat has dealt a crushing blow to the organization and the Soros Machine backing it. Contra Costa County DA Diana Becton remains, and is arguably now California’s most radically Left-wing prosecutor.

Ibarra, a Venezuelan national released into the United States by the Biden-Harris Department of Homeland Security (DHS), beat Augusta University nursing student Laken Riley to death on February 22 of this year. Gonzalez chose not to pursue the death penalty, even though Ibarra had also attempted to rape Riley in broad daylight and had previously been charged with assaulting a child. Ibarra was convicted of Riley’s murder on November 20, just weeks after Yalamanchili’s victory.

Gascón, who was previously San Francisco DA, created the Prosecutors Alliance of California in 2020 with Cristine Soto Deberry, a Marin County politician and Newsom’s former deputy chief of staff. The Prosecutors Alliance, which was backed by the Soros-funded Tides Advocacy, was designed to be a far-Left replacement for the California District Attorneys Association (CDAA), which Gascón had very publicly quit. 

In August 2024, the Media Research Center (MRC) published detailed communications between the Prosecutors Alliance members showing their close relationship with Newsom and FJP. FJP pressured the Alliance’s members to sign pledges vowing to refuse to enforce certain laws that ran afoul of leftist political positions.

In one instance, FJP got Prosecutor Alliance attorneys to pledge that it was a “prosecutor’s obligation” to create blacklists of police officers who would not be permitted to testify in court — thereby undermining the officers’ careers. To implement the blacklist for Los Angeles County, Gascón’s director for ethics has been accused of illegally accessing private county personnel database files to obtain the records of “over 1,600 statutorily-protected peace officer files” — a serious crime for which she was indicted.

Gascón was sued separately for over $1.5 million for retaliation against attorneys who objected to his unlawful order that they not pursue prosecutions under certain California “criminal cases involving minors, including his blanket ban on trying juveniles as adults,” according to the Los Angeles Times. The lawsuit was successful.

The Prosecutors Alliance successfully lobbied the California State Senate to pass a police censorship bill which mandated that elected prosecutors who accept campaign contributions from organizations supporting law enforcement (including unions) give up their authority to prosecute police officers. Had the censorship bill been enacted, police would effectively have been forbidden from using their own money for political advocacy against the millions in propaganda against them.

When the California State Assembly refused to pass the Prosecutors Alliance’s censorship legislation, the group’s attorneys lobbied the state bar association to bypass the legislature and impose the speech restrictions via their own byzantine internal procedure.

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The Prosecutors Alliance’s members were Gascón, Price, Contra Costa County DA Diana Becton, San Francisco City & County DA Chesa Boudin and San Joaquin County DA Tori Verber Salazar. Berkeley, Long Beach, Glendale, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco and Stockton were among the many cities under the Prosecutors Alliance attorneys’ jurisdiction.

In 2022, Boudin lost his recall election and Verber Salazar lost her primary re-election bid. Becton’s term is set to expire in 2026, but she may be removed from office early via a recall election.

Remaining Soros prosecutors like Becton face a new foe in tech entrepreneur Elon Musk. Musk has pledged to use his patriotic advocacy group America PAC to further combat Soros’s influence over America’s justice system.

“Something has to be done to kind of counter the damage that Soros has done to the American system,” Musk pledged in an election day video uploaded to his social media platform, X. “America PAC’s going [t] aim to weigh in heavily on the midterms and intermediate elections, as well as just doing common sense stuff like having DAs who prosecute violent criminals who are obviously a danger to people.”

* * *

Conservatives are under attack. Contact Governor Gavin Newsom and tell him to renounce his support for the Prosecutors Alliance of California. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.

* * *

Tim Kilcullen is Counsel for Investigations at the Media Research Center.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Three men suspected of murdering Chabad-Lubavitch emissary Rabbi Zvi Kogan were arrested, the Emirati Ministry of Interior confirmed on Sunday.

The suspects, Olimpi Toirovich, 28, Makhmudjon Abdurakhim, 28, and Azizbek Kamlovich, 33 are citizens of Uzbekistan. 

In a statement, the ministry said investigations and legal proceedings were initiated against the men for murdering Kogan, who was a UAE resident. The statement also praised its security authorities for quickly detaining the suspects who attempted to “undermine the safety and stability of the UAE community.”

Photos released by the ministry show the men handcuffed and blindfolded.

Kogan, 28, a Moldovan and Israeli citizen, was last seen alive in Dubai on Thursday. Over the weekend, his body was discovered in Al Ain, a city near the Oman border and approximately 90 minutes from Dubai.

Kogan worked as an emissary for the Jewish group Chabad, by helping to support religious life for Jewish visitors and residents. He worked with the Chabad in Abu Dhabi and ran a kosher grocery store in Dubai. 

The UAE has had a spike in Jewish and Israeli visitors since the establishment of formal ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords in 2020. The act of suspected terrorism may have been targeted at threatening the stability of the Abraham Accords.

The White House National Security Council said the murder was also a crime against supporters of peace.

“Our prayers are with his family, the Chabad-Lubavitch community, the broader Jewish community and all who are mourning his loss,” said Sean Savett, a spokesman for the council. “This was a horrific crime against all those who stand for peace, tolerance and coexistence. It was an assault as well on UAE and its rejection of violent extremism across the board.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called the murder an anti-Semitic terrorist attack and said that the Jewish state will seek justice against those who dispatched the three men.

“This murder of an Israeli citizen and a Chabad emissary, is an abhorrent antisemitic terrorist attack,” Netanyahu said. “The State of Israel will use all means, and will deal with these murderers, and those who dispatched them, to the fullest extent of the law. None of them will get away.”

Israel has information that Kogan may have been under Iranian surveillance, according to The Jerusalem Post.

The chairman of Chabad, Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, called upon governments around the world to protect their local Chabads.

“It is incumbent upon the authorities of every country where Chabad representatives serve in good faith, to ensure that terror finds no haven within its borders. The targeting of Rabbi Kogan was an attempt to destroy the sacred Jewish values that he represented: light, goodness and kindness,” he said. “No country, no community, no society can afford the loss of these sustaining values.”

Krinsky added that Kogan was “kidnapped and murdered in cold blood while serving the Jewish community in the UAE.”

As of Monday afternoon, more than $630,00 was raised to support Kogan’s widow, who he married in 2022. Kogan’s wife is the niece of Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife Rikvah who were murdered by Islamic terrorists in Mumbai, India in 2008.

Kogan’s funeral took place Monday evening in Kfar Chabad, Israel.

Pro-life prisoners across the United States are eagerly awaiting the inauguration of Donald Trump, the future president, who has promised to investigate whether President Joe Biden’s administration “unjustly” persecuted pro-life activists, and to “get them out of the gulags and back to their families where they belong.”

In the meantime, these activists are experiencing the grim realities of prison life. William Goodman is imprisoned in Danbury, Connecticut’s Federal Correctional Institution, where the Justice Department’s Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act charges landed him for engaging in a “conspiracy to blockade [a] reproductive health care clinic to prevent it from providing and patients from receiving, reproductive health services.”

Goodman had participated in what he and his fellow pro-life activists describe as a “rescue,” wherein they attempted to stop women from aborting their unborn babies by blocking the entrance to a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic in 2020. As a response to the 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade, the Justice Department sought out instances in which they could enforce the FACE Act — and Goodman was one of those who was targeted.

He’s currently serving a 27-month sentence in FCI Danbury, with a projected release date of July 2025.

Earlier this month, Goodman contacted The Daily Wire to share that he had spent the night in the emergency room. He had fallen out of the top bunk in his cell, which stands over 5 feet high without guard rails along the side, he shared — such a dramatic fall that one of his fellow inmates reportedly thought he had died. He said he was taken by ambulance to the emergency room, where he underwent CT scans and an MRI.

“When I fell, I landed on the top of my head with all of my force,” he wrote. “The loud noise woke up other men near by. I cracked my head open and lost a lot of blood. I knocked myself unconscious. But woke up on/off a couple times.”

“I was very dizzy and throwing up blood,” he said. “I had tingling sensations on my left side. I also needed stitches in my left temple in a couple places.”

Doctors reportedly told him he had minor skull fractures but no serious spinal injury. He had hoped he would be kept overnight, believing he had a severe concussion, but was sent back to the prison that evening.

“It has been chaotic and very uncomfortable here,” he wrote. “I suffer with severe dizziness and nausea, feeling sleepy but never able to sleep, I am having some flashbacks and my head is sore.”

He expressed gratitude to his fellow prisoners, including some men imprisoned for actions related to the January 6 Capitol riot, for taking care of him, saying that they helped move some of his things and picked up food for him since he was too dizzy to walk around and go to the “chow hall.” But for days, Goodman has been in bed with severe concussion symptoms.

He writes that he’s only been given Tylenol and anti-nausea medication, and worries that the prison should install guard rails on the bunks, “especially for geezers like me who have occasional vertigo.”

“Right now I could be worse,” he said in a message last week. “I just feel dizzy and abandoned and sore and sick. But it could be worse…mostly I stay in bed and drink water and take meds and try to sleep. But I can’t sleep. It is like a cruel torture. My left side of my head is like a constant migraine that seems to bang all night. Plus the loud prison noise and bright lights add to the turmoil. And the uncomfortable beds and no pillow…”

FCI Danbury declined to comment on Goodman’s condition to The Daily Wire. The prison has previously been referenced in the news when it housed Steven Bannon, who was released in late October ahead of the election, as well as several Jan. 6 prisoners. Bannon was imprisoned for contempt of Congress and for refusing to comply with the Jan. 6 House Committee, and his allies argue that the weaponized Biden Justice Department pursued his imprisonment out of political motivations.

Goodman has previously expressed thankfulness that he is able to speak to his fellow prisoners about the importance of protecting the unborn.

“Most cannot believe that we are in prison for defending innocent babies!” Goodman told The Daily Wire before the election, describing his fellow prisoners. “They think it’s crazy the federal government has come after us with such hostility…Many of the fellas have expressed their sadness over their wives or girlfriends killing their babies by abortion. Their stories are heartbreaking to hear.”

Trump has promised to look into these cases of pro-life activists targeted by the Biden administration and to free those “unjustly victimized.”

“Paulette is one of many peaceful pro-lifers who Joe Biden has rounded up, sometimes with SWAT teams, and thrown them in jail,” Trump said in June as he spoke at the Faith and Freedom Coalition, referring to 75-year-old pro-life activist Paulette Harlow.

“Many people are in jail over this. … We’re going to get that taken care of immediately — [on the] first day,” he added, promising to “rapidly review the cases of every political prisoner who’s unjustly victimized by the Biden regime, including Paulette, so we can get them out of the gulags and back to their families where they belong.”

There are currently 11 pro-life activists imprisoned by the Biden Justice Department: Lauren Handy is serving a 57-month sentence in Tallahassee FCI, Herb Geraghty is serving a 27-month sentence in FDC Philadelphia, Heather Idoni will serve 24 months, and maybe more, from the Sanilac County Sheriff’s jail, Jean Marshal is serving 24 months in FCI Danbury with Goodman, Joan Bell is serving 27 months in FDC Philadelphia, Jonathan Darnel is serving 34 months in FCI Thomson, John Hinshaw is serving 21 months in FMC Devens, Calvin Zastrow is serving six months in in FCI Thomson, and Bevelyn Williams is serving 41 months in FCI Aliceville.

Steven LeFamine just finished serving 60 days in FCI Williamsburg, and Paulette Harlow, Coleman Boyd, Chester Gallagher, Paul Place, James Zastrow, Eva Zastrow, Dennis Green, and Paul Vaughn are all serving home detention sentences.

Pro-life activists Eva Edl, Justin Phillips, and Joel Curry are awaiting sentencing.

On November 21, The Daily Wire reported, that a federal judge paused the Justice Department’s case against seven of these pro-life activists related to their peaceful protest at an abortion clinic in Michigan: Edl, Gallagher, Idoni, Joel Curry, Justin Phillips, Cal Zastrow, and Eva Zastrow.

The judge, an Obama appointee, paused the case until Trump takes office, saying: “As further discussed on the record, the Court will conduct another status conference during the week of March 24, 2025, to receive a report from the Government trial team as to whether there has been any change in the Government’s position with respect to the continuation of this case and/or with respect to the positions expected to be advanced by the Defendants in their post-trial motions.”

Thomas More Society attorney Steve Crampton, who has represented many of the pro-lifers, previously told The Daily Wire that Leitman decided to stay the proceedings “in light of the election results and the likelihood that a new Department of Justice would alter its policies concerning prosecution of these FACE cases and in particular the use of the Conspiracy Against Rights statute against these defendants.”

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Daniel Penny’s defense team rested its case on Friday without the defendant taking the stand.

Penny chose not to testify in his own defense, which would have subjected him to cross-examination from a prosecution that referred to him as “the white man” and claimed race was a factor in his decision to put Jordan Neely in a chokehold.

Thomas Kenniff, one of Penny’s defense attorneys, said after court adjourned on Friday that jurors did hear from Penny – through his recorded statements to police, the Associated Press reported.

“Virtually everything he said then is consistent with credible testimony of his fellow passengers,” Kenniff said, according to the outlet.

Penny’s first interrogation with police – during which he was not told that Neely had died – showed him telling detectives that he never wanted to hurt Neely and was just trying to keep him from harming other passengers.

“Some guy came in, and he’s like with his jacket off and he’s like, ‘I’m gonna kill everybody. I’m gonna go to prison forever. I don’t care,’” Penny told detectives in the video played in court.

Penny then tells the detectives that he asked the person next to him to hold his phone, and he removed his earbuds before getting behind Neely and placing him in the hold.

“I just kind of, like, grabbed him from behind,” Penny said.

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“Because he was acting like a lunatic, like a crazy person,” he continued. “So, and he was rolling around the floor. And at that point, the train stopped. I was like, ‘Someone call the cops,’ and he’s still, like rolling around, still going crazy. I had two other guys kind of help me just kind of keep him from going nuts. And yeah, that’s when you guys came.”

Penny faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of manslaughter or up to 4 years if he’s convicted on the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide.

The defense has been aided in its case by numerous witnesses who all said they feared for their lives as Neely threatened them in a subway car in May of last year. Those witnesses were called by the prosecution, which made the New York Post editorial board ask the question: What was Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg thinking in pursuing this case.

Penny’s defense also brought in a forensic pathologist to dispute the medical examiner’s findings that Neely died as a result of Penny’s chokehold, The Daily Wire previously reported. Dr. Satish Chundru, who reviewed thousands of pages of Neely’s medical records, said that “the combined effects of sickle cell crisis, the schizophrenia, the struggle and restraint, and the synthetic marijuana,” caused Neely’s death, not Penny’s chokehold.

Closing arguments are set to begin on December 2.

President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would bring Sebastian Gorka, a conservative firebrand and commentator, back into the White House in a national security role.

Trump posted a statement to Truth Social on Friday that he had selected Gorka to be deputy assistant to the president and as senior director for counterterrorism, a role housed within the White House National Security Council. Gorka served in the White House during Trump’s first term as strategist to the president.

“Since 2015, Dr. Gorka has been a tireless advocate for the America First Agenda and the MAGA Movement,” Trump said in the announcement.

Gorka said in a post on X that he was “honored beyond words” to serve “in what will be the greatest Administration of the modern age.”

Honored beyond words to serve President @realDonaldTrump once again, in what will be the greatest Administration of the modern age. #MakingAmericaGreatAgain pic.twitter.com/Y0wvlrwGvh

— Sebastian Gorka DrG (@SebGorka) November 23, 2024

Gorka, born in the United Kingdom to Hungarian parents, has earned a reputation as a pugilistic political commentator. During his political rise under the first Trump term, he took hardline positions on terror groups and immigration.

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The firebrand taught national security courses for years, including at military institutions, before gaining prominence in the Trump campaign and the White House with his tough stances against Islamic fundamentalists. After his return to the White House was announced, some of Gorka’s recent statements expressing support for Israel began to circulate online.

“There is no clean solution to the problem of Gaza and the West Bank … when 70% of the population you are trying to deal with wants all of you murdered, there is no political solution,” Gorka said in one clip on the potential for a two-state solution in Israel. “The only thing you have is problem management – not solution, but management.”

WATCH⚡️

Sebastian Gorka, appointed by Trump as Senior Director for Counterterrorism:

“There is no clean solution to the challenges in Gaza and Judea and Samaria. The only viable path is as David Friedman suggested—a single Jewish state. This is not a political issue; the… pic.twitter.com/5tGzO8CyPd

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) November 25, 2024

Gorka’s return to the White House has been controversial among some of Trump’s former national security team. Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, who fell out with the president and now is a vocal Trump critic, said he would not have Gorka in “any U.S. government.”

Alongside Gorka, Trump announced that Alex Wong will be assistant to the president and principal deputy national security adviser, roles for which Gorka was believed to be in the mix. Florida Rep. Michael Waltz, Trump’s pick for national security adviser, praised Wong’s choice.

“I am thrilled to have Alex Wong on the NSC as President Trump’s Principal Deputy National Security Advisor. Alex has a proven record of delivering results during President Trump’s first term, where he helped negotiate the historic summits with Kim Jong Un that stabilized relations,” Waltz wrote in a post on X. “He will have an essential role in helping keep America safe!”

As Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy assemble the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a key senator laid out some low-hanging fruit.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) has been howling into the wind about wasted taxpayer dollars for a decade, and on Monday she wrote to Musk and Ramaswamy with some ideas to get them started. “With $3 billion of interest being added to our national debt every day, the longer we delay tackling the problem, the further away the finish line gets,” she wrote.

DOGE is an outside-of-government, temporary commission that hopes to cut trillions in federal outlays, which will have to work with Congress to enact lasting programmatic reforms. Ernst is chair of the Senate DOGE Caucus, which she founded to make sure DOGE has “bite,” not just “bark,” she said.

Her proposed targets include:

• Pennies that cost three cents. The federal government even manages to lose money while literally making money: Pennies cost three cents to produce, and nickels cost 11 cents. They could be made from cheaper materials.
• Bloated military spending. The Pentagon paid $1,220 per cup for special heated coffee cups, and 80 times the retail rate for a soap dispenser.
• Use-it-or-lose-it splurges. Federal managers have shown no desire to come in under budget, splurging on luxuries at the end of the fiscal year instead of being honest about their actual needs — which could lead to a budget right-sizing in future years. Agencies sign nearly 10 percent of contracts in the final week of the fiscal year, which ends in September, OpenTheBooks reported in 2019. September splurges include Pentagon purchases of $4.6 million on lobster tail and crab, and nearly $12,000 on a foosball table in 2018.
• COVID fraud. The Biden administration sent “hundreds of billions of COVID relief dollars to fraudsters. A U.S. attorney calls it ‘the biggest fraud in a generation.’ Some swindlers who uploaded pictures of Barbie dolls as photo identification on the applications were even approved to receive money. But the Biden administration is being lax recollecting the cash and time is running out,” the letter said.
• Unspent COVID money. Years after the pandemic passed, there are still billions of dollars of unspent money that was ostensibly for COVID mitigation. Other unspent money is also sitting around in slush funds instead of being clawed back, too.
• Empty buildings: The government owns nearly 8,000 vacant buildings. A 2016 law set up a board to sell them, but Joe Biden’s Office of Management and Budget stymied it, according to a Congressional Research Service report. The board found that the government barely even knows what it owns, because General Services Administration data is often incomplete or wrong.
• Mass-transit boondoggles. Democrats have pushed for mass-transit policies out of anti-car ideology rather than a realistic assessment of demand, and projects have gone vastly over budget and schedule, bogged down by corruption and union requirements. The California High-Speed Train is estimated to cost $128 billion, more than $100 billion more than expected. A 1.3-mile extension of San Francisco’s Caltrain will cost $6.7 billion, one of the most expensive transit projects in history.
• Failing infrastructure projects. Joe Biden said $7.5 billion would create a network of electric car charging stations and $42 billion would bring internet access to rural areas, but only 17 charging stations have been created and no one has gotten internet access.
• Bonuses for failure. The government pays bonuses to employees and contractors, even if they have a record of failure. That includes a $10.6 million bonus to a contractor for its performance on a fighter jet program, despite delivering the wrong parts, which jeopardized airmen’s safety and caused the Department of Defense to have to spend $300 million. NASA is paying more than half a billion dollars in bonuses to a contractor whose project is billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule.
• Paying employees to do nothing. Employees accused of misconduct are put on paid leave while they are investigated, sometimes for 18 months, despite a law capping such paid leave at 90 days.
• Unemployment for millionaires. Nearly a quarter-billion dollars a year is spent on unemployment checks for millionaires, who are eligible for checks after they lose a job even if they have huge amounts of money coming in from other sources.
• Swag. “Federal agencies collectively spend $1.5 billion every year on public relations and propaganda. This includes koozies, key chains, coloring books, Snuggies, and costumed mascots. Let’s bag the swag,” Ernst wrote.
• The United Nations. The United States gives $15 billion to the U.N. on top of its membership dues, which are themselves higher than any other country. “U.N. staff helped plan and execute Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel in which American citizens were murdered and taken hostage. A 2024 U.N. migrant plan promotes cash handouts for migrants to cover travel expenses and includes a map with a red line leading right to the U.S. border. Our tax dollars to the U.N. are subsidizing threats to our own national security!” Ernst wrote.

As the mockery of Jaguar’s massive brand relaunch continues, one company exec is speaking out against the “intolerance” from the public. 

Managing director Rawdon Glover said in a recent interview with the Financial Times that the campaign messaging was drowned out in “a blaze of intolerance” on social media. Glover also claimed that the colorful new ad was not meant to be “woke.”

“If we play in the same way that everybody else does, we’ll just get drowned out. So we shouldn’t turn up like an auto brand,” Glover told the outlet.

“We need to re-establish our brand and at a completely different price point so we need to act differently. We wanted to move away from traditional automotive stereotypes.”

The Jaguar exec said there have been “very positive” reactions to the campaign but that he’s been dismayed by “the level of vile hatred and intolerance” to the viral ad.

Glover added that the rebrand was done in part to attract new customers. “This is not a depiction of how we think our future customers are,” he said. “We don’t want to necessarily leave all of our customers behind. But we do need to attract a new customer base.”

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A senior advertising executive who previously worked with the brand agreed with the criticism, telling the outlet, “You can destroy a brand in 30 seconds that took a lifetime to build. Strong brands reinvent themselves but always remain true to the core of their DNA. For luxury brands in particular, authenticity is key and this fails the test.”

The new ad campaign includes a commercial of people dressed in vibrant, outlandish outfits. The characters can be seen grabbing sledgehammers, painting over the camera lens, and striking poses as the music plays. It also debuts the new logo, which strips away personality and removes the iconic jaguar graphic.

The entire campaign has been derided and mocked on social media, especially since the commercial does not feature vehicles. 

Tesla founder Elon Musk responded to the ad by writing, “Do you sell cars?”

The official webpage says the brand will now be built upon “exuberant modernism.” A new concept car will debut at Miami Art Week the week of December 2.

An astonishing report details how the Biden administration spent $267 million since 2021 on research grants whose proposals mentioned “misinformation.”

The report was issued by OpenTheBooks, a nonprofit organization founded in 2011 as a transparency group. Ironically, in 2006, then-Senator Barack Obama co-sponsored the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, which permitted public access to federal spending. Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) also co-sponsored the bill, later serving as the honorary chairman of OpenTheBooks before his passing in 2020.

Of the $267 million, “The feds have spent at least $127 million in grants specifically targeted to study the spread of “misinformation” — or to help people ‘overcome’ it, so to speak — by persuading them to go along with Covid-related public health recommendations and mandates,” the report states.

Further, a methodology note in the report states, “This likely does not cover all grants given to combat misinformation, because transaction descriptions may not include this keyword, but the trend in spending illustrates a sudden explosion of interest in misinformation starting in 2021.” The report adds that the Department of Health and Human Services issued grants totaling $185 million, the National Science Foundation total was $65 million, and the Stated Department $12 million.

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Last month, a report from the House Committee on Energy & Commerce’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations noted that in August 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services initiated the “We Can Do This” campaign — a campaign that ultimately cost more than $900 million — which was meant to affect the public’s response to the COVID pandemic. “The Campaign came to serve as a critical vehicle for disseminating the Biden-Harris administration’s messaging on mask usage, social distancing, vaccine effectiveness, the risks COVID-19 posed to children, and how to reopen schools, businesses, and civil society,” the report stated.

“It appears the administration most concerned with ‘misinformation’ itself trafficked in misinformation: on masks, on risks to children, on social distancing, and on the need to vaccinate even infants,” the OpenTheBooks report asserted.

In December 2022, then-former President Donald Trump stated he would “prohibit federal policing of lawful domestic speech” upon becoming the 47th president: “Within hours of my inauguration, I will sign an executive order banning any federal department or agency from colluding with any organization, business, or person, to censor, limit, categorize, or impede the lawful speech of American citizens. I will then ban federal money from being used to label domestic speech as ‘mis’- or dis-information.’ And I will begin the process of identifying and firing every federal bureaucrat who has engaged in domestic censorship — directly or indirectly — whether they are the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Health and Human Services, the FBI, the DOJ, no matter who they are.”

Unilever, one of the wokest corporations in the world, apparently isn’t woke enough for Ben & Jerry’s. The ice cream giant is accusing Unilever of censoring pro-Palestinian public statements, a claim that Unilever denies. 

Ben & Jerry’s has long been a company that has pushed far-Left and anti-Israel causes. According to the lawsuit, Unilever is pushing back after Ben & Jerry’s supported the anti-Israel protests on American college campuses, which have called for the U.S. to end its military aid to Israel. 

The Associated Press reported earlier this month that the lawsuit accuses Unilever of “threatening to dismantle the company’s independent board, sue board members, intimidate personnel and censor the company ‘from publicly voicing support for peace and refugee rights.’” 

Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s have been at each other’s throats over the past few years. In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s targeted Israel in a boycott, which led to some investors divesting Unilever shares, and then, Ben & Jerry’s sued Unilever for selling its business to a licensee in Israel. That lawsuit was settled in 2022. 

The new allegations suggest that Unilever is worried about Ben & Jerry’s jumping off the deep end and into some extreme leftist causes. That says a lot. In case you forgot: Unilever is the leftist company that brings you Dove — the wokest wash around — and Axe, which is now trying to encourage men to forgo macho stereotypes and take on a more progressive version of masculinity instead. The London-based corporation also supports “Pride events across the UK and Ireland [and] partner with LGBTQI+ charities.”

While these corporations continue to play woke games, Americans just want to buy quality products from companies that don’t put leftism in their faces. And thankfully, they can. 

If you are looking for something sweet this Holiday season, look no further than Jeremy’s Chocolate Truffle Tumbler. This seasonal classic is back in stock for a limited time after selling out last Christmas. With 5 delicious flavors of gourmet chocolate truffles, ranging from Caramel Milk Chocolate to Butter Pecan, and 20 truffles per tumbler, this makes the perfect gift for anyone with a sweet tooth this holiday season. Plus, it comes in the coveted Leftist Tears Tumbler, so you can share the joy of collecting sweet Leftist Tears and enjoying them hot or cold in this insulated, stainless steel tumbler. Jeremy’s Razors is now offering 30% off all of its woke-free alternatives from the newly redesigned Precision 5 razor to shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hand soap, and everything else you need to save Christmas and your bathroom from woke corporations. And Jeremy’s isn’t just for the men who are sick of wokeness. We know the ladies want alternatives too. Check out the women’s shower bundle for smooth and clean skin free-from progressive talking points, or the Deluxe Bundle, which includes the BRAND NEW Women’s Razor, moisturizing body wash, lotion, shave cream, and aluminum-free natural deodorant. Jeremy’s Razors is the perfect spot for woke-free gifts this holiday season.

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Unilever has proven to be one of the wokest corporations in the world, and it’s coming back to bite it. People don’t want their personal care products to align with the Left, and at Jeremy’s, we’ll never bow down to the woke mob.

Ariana Grande says her character in “Wicked,” Glinda, might be secretly gay. 

She’s not the only one pointing out gay undertones and overtones in the highly anticipated film adaptation of the long-running Broadway musical. The story is based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which provides a backstory for the central villain in The Wizard of Oz.

Especially since the new Universal Pictures release, which was directed by Jon M. Chu (“In the Heights”), there’s been a lot of conversation about whether Glinda and The Wicked Witch (Elphaba) are more than friends.

Grande shared her thoughts during a conversation with Gay Times while the interviewer was discussing “queer allegories” in “Wicked.”

“Everyone is just so beautifully queer,” Grande says of the people of Oz, mentioning how L. Frank Baum used the word “queer” frequently in his books about the mythical land when he penned them at the turn of the century. 

“Every day in the Emerald City is a pride parade,” Grande added.

Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, agreed. 

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“I think Elphie is… She goes wherever the wind goes. I think she loves Glinda, I think she loves love. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with celebrating the deep connection the both of them have,” the actress said.

“They do have a real relationship. It is true love, which is probably why people are shipping it. What they build with each other is an unbreakable bond and love.”

Grande added, “And trust and truth and such a safe space for one another, which is what all relationships should be, whether it’s romantic or platonic.”

As for the relationship between the two female leads, the actress said, “Whether it’s romantic or platonic, or you know … maybe Glinda might be a little in the closet. But if there were a time? Y’know, you never know! Give it a little more time! I mean, it is just a true love. And I think that transcends sexuality, it’s just kind of a deep safety within each other. And that’s why they probably ship it.”

During the same interview, the pair mentioned plenty of other gay themes in the film, including some of the animal characters. “Dr. Dilly, with his tea and his cardigan, I’m just throwing it out there,” Grande said of the goat professor Dr. Dillamond, voiced by actor Peter Dinklage. “Gay icon, Dr. Dil.” 

When I studied journalism at the University of Maryland, we were trained to recognize “yellow journalism” — sensational reporting that sacrifices truth for attention. Today, American media has been overtaken by a new, more dangerous trend: “red journalism,” where government propaganda has replaced honest reporting. The reason? The 2012 Smith-Mundt Modernization Act, a law quietly slipped into the National Defense Authorization Act under President Obama. This legislation lifted bans on U.S.-funded propaganda meant for foreign audiences, allowing government and legacy media to collude on delivering propaganda to the American public. 

Ostensibly designed to counter “misinformation”, this amendment has allowed the government to weaponize our press, turning it from a watchdog into a megaphone for political agendas and false narratives. Once a pillar of democracy, legacy media has become a lap dog of the government, pushing narratives that serve those in power, not the truth.

Under Obama, media outlets went from scrutinizing policies, events, and politicians to uncritically parroting government talking points. When the Affordable Care Act’s rollout tanked, legacy outlets downplayed the issues and glossed over glaring government missteps. This disturbing pattern of sanitizing the news in favor of political spin has continued, feeding Americans one-sided narratives disguised as journalism.

Under Biden, this alignment has intensified. Critical issues like Covid, his cognitive decline, border security, inflation, and disastrous foreign policy decisions are routinely softened, outright ignored or blatantly lied about. The Afghanistan withdrawal, a deadly debacle, saw the press repeating official statements that minimized or ignored the administration’s failures. Real, investigative reporting was left to independent journalists and international sources.

This propaganda machine is especially clear in election coverage. Legacy media’s bias has shifted from subtle to brazen. Kamala Harris received glowing, uncritical coverage that boosted her image, while Donald Trump was forced to endure unsubstantiated accusations and dangerous rhetoric. From hiding the Hunter Biden laptop scandal to glossing over President Biden’s cognitive decline, legacy media has shown they are not just biased but actively complicit in shaping political outcomes to favor the administration. This is not journalism — it’s election interference and public manipulation.

A free press is the bedrock of democracy, a crucial check on government power. When the media stops questioning and starts amplifying the official line, the public loses access to objective information and becomes vulnerable to manipulation. The Smith-Mundt Modernization Act has turned American media from truth-tellers into mouthpieces for those in power, destroying public trust and democracy itself.

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Moving forward, our new Congress must make it a priority to repeal the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act and hold news outlets legally accountable for factually accurate, transparently sourced reporting. This is not an assault on free speech; it’s a demand for journalistic integrity. Our nation deserves a media landscape free from government influence, and repealing the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 would be a significant move toward that goal. Congress must seize this opportunity to restore the boundaries that protect a free and independent press and, by extension, preserve the public’s trust in the information they receive.

* * *

Elicia Brand is the founder and president of Army of Parents in Loudoun County, VA.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

A new study suggests evidence that life may have existed on Mars billions of years ago.

Researchers at Curtin University in Perth, Australia, examined a meteorite known as Northwest Africa 7034—nicknamed “Black Beauty”—found in the Sahara Desert in Morocco in 2011. They discovered that a fragment of the meteorite included a tiny zircon crystal. That crystal had thin layers of aluminum and iron neatly arranged “like that of an onion,” NewScientist reported.

“These kinds of zircons are only known to form where hydrothermal processes, hot water systems, are active during magmatism,” Aaron Cavosie, co-author of the paper, explained. “The hot water facilitates transportation of the iron, aluminium and sodium into the crystal as it grows, layer by layer.” He added of the meteorite, “It’s a wonderful buffet of Martian history, a mixture of very old and very young rocks. But many of the fragments in it are among the oldest pieces of rock from Mars.”

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“What we found is by analyzing some of the minerals in this meteorite is evidence for hydrothermal activity in the crust of Mars about 4.45 billion years ago. This is only one hundred billion years after the planet first formed. And so this is a meteorite that’s from an area in the southern highlands of Mars, which is known to be very ancient,” Dr. Jack Gillespie, the lead author of the paper, stated.

“Micro- to nanoscale microscopy of a unique impact-shocked zircon from the regolith breccia meteorite NWA7034 reveals textural and chemical indicators of hydrothermal conditions on Mars during crystallization 4.45 billion years ago,” the abstract for the study states. “Element distribution maps show sharp alternating zoning defined by marked enrichments of non-formula elements, such as Fe, Al, and Na, and ubiquitous nanoscale magnetite inclusions. The zoning and inclusions are similar to those reported in terrestrial zircon crystallizing in the presence of aqueous fluid and are here interpreted as primary features recording zircon growth from exsolved hydrous fluids at ~4.45 billion years.”

“At such an ancient age of 4.5 billion years, we are placed at the timing of when Mars formed,” Eva Scheller of Stanford University said. “So this would mark evidence of some of the earliest behaviour of water on Mars.”

SpaceX owner Elon Musk has said he envisions a time when humankind will colonize Mars and create a self-sustaining community there. “Musk envisions a Martian metropolis housing up to one million residents by 2054, relying on advanced technologies and innovative solutions to overcome the Red Planet’s harsh environment,” MountBonnell stated. 

Wow, they really don’t get it.

Mars is critical to the long-term survival of consciousness.

Also, I’m not going to ask any venture capitalists for money. I realize that it makes no sense as an investment. That’s why I’m gathering resources. https://t.co/XVCpHKlusD

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2024

Musk has also stated that attempting to colonize Mars would enable humans to develop advanced technology.

“Even if we fail at creating a Mars colony that can grow without continuous support from Earth, the absurdly ambitious nature of the goal nonetheless results in the creation of alien-level technology that is crushingly better than competitors who merely aim for Earth orbit,” Musk recently posted on X.

Even if we fail at creating a Mars colony that can grow without continuous support from Earth, the absurdly ambitious nature of the goal nonetheless results in the creation of alien-level technology that is crushingly better than competitors who merely aim for Earth orbit. https://t.co/GF4iYrSzVg

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2024

 

Pam Bondi, President-elect Trump’s nominee for U.S. Attorney General, is the most experienced career criminal prosecutor ever slated to be the chief law enforcement officer of the United States. She has more criminal trials under her belt as a prosecutor than any modern U.S. Attorney General, and possibly more than every previous one.

In our nation’s history, there have been 86 U.S. Attorneys General. Those 84 men and two women each had distinguished careers as state governors, members of Congress, U.S. Attorneys, a Secretary of War and Secretary of the Navy, a law school dean, state and federal judges, state attorneys general and a district attorney. Some of them acted as criminal prosecutors at the state or federal level for periods of time.

Much of the commentary about Bondi has centered around her media hits and campaign appearances in support of President Trump, or her role on the team that defended the president during his impeachment hearings. Some critics or skeptics of Bondi suggest that those roles prove that she is somehow too loyal to Trump and thus won’t be able to fulfill her responsibilities as Attorney General. One has to wonder if those same critics would have taken issue with the fact that President John F. Kennedy appointed his brother to be the Attorney General.

But to us, the top prosecutor of the United States should have prosecution experience. Lots of it.

None of the 86 prior U.S. Attorneys General spent 18 years as a local criminal prosecutor handling every type of case from domestic violence to homicide and capital cases. Pam Bondi has.

Several former Attorneys General tried criminal cases as prosecutors. For example, Edwin Meese, the 75th U.S. Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan, was a Deputy District Attorney in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office for eight years, and handled hundreds of cases, including a capital case. Janet Reno, the 78th Attorney General under President Bill Clinton, was a line prosecutor in the Miami-Dade County State’s Attorney’s Office, but didn’t try any cases. Later, after she was elected as the State’s Attorney for that office, she tried a smattering of high-profile cases, but was not known as “trial dog,” a person who has mastered and tried myriad criminal cases.

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The Justice Department is a massive federal agency. It’s composed of 40 separate organizations, employs more than 115,000 people, and oversees all federal prosecutions. The 94 U.S. Attorneys, spread across the country, handle the bulk of federal prosecutions. Leading that organization is a massive undertaking for anyone.

Bondi served as Attorney General for Florida from 2011-2019. The Florida Attorney General’s Office is one of the largest in the country, employs almost 1,300 people, and is spread across 14 offices throughout the Sunshine State. That office, like the U.S. Justice Department, handles a wide variety of criminal and civil matters.

If extensive criminal trial experience as a prosecutor and leading a large state attorney general’s office matters — and it certainly does for us — then Pam Bondi stands out in the crowd and is uniquely qualified to be the next Attorney General of the United States.

* * *

Cully Stimson is the Deputy Director of The Heritage Foundation’s Meese Center for Legal & Judicial Studies, where he and Zack Smith serve as Senior Legal Fellows. Both are former federal prosecutors, and Stimson also served as a local, state, and military prosecutor.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Daily Wire.

For those who don’t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week’s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.

Now that the 2024 presidential election is in the rearview mirror — not to mention the fact that President-elect Donald Trump has a decisive mandate to govern along with a solid majority in the incoming Senate — media appears content to pass the time leading up to the holidays and the now inevitable Trump transition by casting doubt on every nomination and appointment he makes.

On ABC News’ “This Week,” host Jonathan Karl kicked off the show by attempting to cast doubt on the process, suggesting that Trump was rushing — and perhaps being less than thorough — to fill out his White House and his cabinet, and fretting about the lack of FBI background checks thus far.

“Donald Trump has chosen nearly all of his Cabinet nominees and senior White House staff, making his picks at a record pace and bypassing the typical vetting process — no FBI background checks yet for any of them,” Karl said.

“Donald Trump has chosen nearly all of his Cabinet nominees and senior White House staff, making his picks at a record pace and bypassing the typical vetting process — no FBI background checks yet for any of them,” @JonKarl reports. https://t.co/2oJUrLxdzs pic.twitter.com/YW5gcJ5utk

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) November 24, 2024

As for Trump’s efforts to get the incoming Republican Senate majority to back his nominees, Karl said that he’d been told that “Senate Republicans would have no choice but to get in line – or see their political careers go down.”

“A top Trump lieutenant told me Senate Republicans would have no choice but to get in line – or see their political careers go down.” @JonKarl has the latest on President-elect Donald Trump’s transition and Cabinet nominations: https://t.co/MN4JyASUOz pic.twitter.com/H3yFRDsFqD

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) November 24, 2024

Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) joined Karl to discuss the situation, and he noted that Trump expected to “hit the ground running,” which was why he was attempting to have all of his nominees ready for hearings and confirmation votes as soon as he was sworn in. He also argued that Trump’s cabinet would face the kind of accountability that President Joe Biden’s never had.

“Massive failures on his watch, massive failures by his Cabinet members,” Hagerty said. “President Trump will fire people that don’t do their job well.”

GOP Sen. Bill Hagerty says there have been “zero consequences in President Biden’s Cabinet.”

“Massive failures on his watch, massive failures by his Cabinet members … President Trump will fire people that don’t do their job well.” https://t.co/KdNiJx0rfz pic.twitter.com/3nlOWQGjNF

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) November 24, 2024

Karl also brought in Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who complained that without background checks, she did not feel that she could do her job in the confirmation process properly: “I want to make a decision on each one of them on the merits, as I’ve done in the past, and I can’t do that without the background checks.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar emphasizes the importance of FBI background checks for Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees.

“I want to make a decision on each one of them on the merits, as I’ve done in the past, and I can’t do that without the background checks.” https://t.co/WKLUEDPARu pic.twitter.com/qGlDtGy9C2

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) November 24, 2024

On CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” host Margaret Brennan spoke with Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) about Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth — and she attacked his position on women serving in combat roles.

“Our military could not go to war without the women who wear this uniform,” Duckworth said, appearing to conflate Hegseth’s position — that women should not serve in direct combat — with an opposition to women in the military altogether. “And frankly, America’s daughters are just as capable of defending liberty and freedom as her sons … [It] shows his lack of understanding of where our military is.”

“He’s just flat-out wrong,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a veteran who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, says about defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth’s belief that women should not serve in combat roles.

“Our military could not go to war without the women who wear… pic.twitter.com/BcXQHfgQ9D

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) November 24, 2024

Duckworth also made an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” where she told anchor Dana Bash that she believed former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard — chosen by Trump to be his Director of National Intelligence — was “compromised” and “someone who is wholly backing and supportive of Putin.”

“I think she’s compromised.”

.@TammyDuckworth slams Director of National Intelligence pick Tulsi Gabbard in an interview with @DanaBashCNN. pic.twitter.com/HTNBz9TMWx

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) November 24, 2024

Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) pushed back on Duckworth’s attacks on Gabbard, saying, “For her to say ridiculous and outright dangerous words like that is wrong.”

“For her to say ridiculous and outright dangerous words like that is wrong.”@SenMullin reacts to Sen. Duckworth calling Trump’s nominee for intel chief Tulsi Gabbard “compromised” and “someone who is wholly backing and supportive of Putin.” pic.twitter.com/2eXscKwASr

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) November 24, 2024

Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) also defended Gabbard during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He told host Kristen Welker that calling her a Russian asset, as Duckworth essentially had, amounted to a “slur.”

‘It’s a slur’ to call DNI pick Tulsi Gabbard a foreign asset, says GOP Sen. Schmitt https://t.co/kaRpjFJXrC

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) November 24, 2024

Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) said during an interview over the weekend that President-elect Donald Trump has the right to use the U.S. military to remove the millions of illegal aliens who are in the country.

Barrasso made the remarks during an interview on “Fox News Sunday” about Trump’s agenda and the men and women he’s tapped to be in his administration.

When asked about Trump confirming that he is considering using the military to conduct mass deportations, Barrasso said: “Well, I support the president.”

“We have a national security crisis in this country right now because of our open border, and when he declares it a national emergency, he can appropriately use the military,” he said. “There are over 10 million illegal immigrants in the country right now.”

“We are talking about drug dealers, people in criminal cartels,” he continued. “These are folks who have actually been murdering, raping, poisoning American citizens. When you take a look at the president’s magnificent victory, the decisive victory, I think it’s because people were scared about all of these people in the country illegally. People want to feel safe in their own homes.”

Barrasso correctly noted that the overwhelming majority of the American public supports Trump conducting mass deportations.

“Yet we still have some of these big city mayors and governors who unbelievably, are more concerned about the rights, the so called rights of illegal immigrants than they are about the safety of their own citizens,” he said. “We have to make America safe again, and what the president is talking about is the right thing to do.”

WATCH: @SenJohnBarrasso discusses Trump possibly using the military to aid in mass deportations of illegal immigrants. pic.twitter.com/RLtveicvFw

— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) November 24, 2024

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