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    Federal Judge Blocks Pardoned J6 Defendants From DC, Capitol Building

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    12
    Tyler Merbler, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    A federal district judge has issued an order barring certain January 6 defendants with commutations from entering Washington, D.C., or the U.S. Capitol building. 

    The filing says the order is effective at noon on Friday. 

    Fox News reports:

    In the filing, Judge Amit P. Mehta specified the order applied to “Defendants Stewart Rhodes, Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins, Roberto Minuta, Edward Vallejo, David Moerchel, and Joseph Hacket” – whose sentences were commuted. Those pardoned are not subject to the order.

    The order states “You must not knowingly enter the District of Columbia without first obtaining the permission from the Court” and “You must not knowingly enter the United States Capitol Building or onto surrounding grounds known as Capitol Square.”

    This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

    Republican Holdout Opts To Support Sec. Of Defense Nominee

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America - Pete Hegseth, CC BY-SA 2.0

    A significant win…

    On Tuesday, Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon, scored a significant endorsement after a grueling hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee.

    According to Fox News, Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst — who previously declared herself being on the fence regarding Hegseth — said Tuesday evening that she was on board with the appointment.

    That speaks volumes because Ernst was the only GOP holdout making her reservations public on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

    “After four years of weakness in the White House, Americans deserve a strong Secretary of Defense,” Ernst told Fox News via a statement.

    “Our next commander in chief selected Pete Hegseth to serve in this role, and after our conversations, hearing from Iowans, and doing my job as a United States Senator, I will support President Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense,” she added.

    “As I serve on the Armed Services Committee, I will work with Pete to create the most lethal fighting force and hold him to his commitments of auditing the Pentagon, ensuring opportunity for women in combat while maintaining high standards, and selecting a senior official to address and prevent sexual assault in the ranks.”

    The endorsement is critical, as Ernst had first told the media she was skeptical of Trump’s pick and subsequently issued a statement vaguely supportive of him.

    In December Ernst, a combat veteran, told Fox News that she had a “very long, lengthy discussion” with Hegseth in early December and added that “we will continue with the vetting process. I think that is incredibly important.”

    When Fox News’ Bill Hemmer responded that it sounded like the Senator hadn’t “gotten to a yes” yet, she responded, “I think you are right.”

    Congress Elects House Speaker

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    3

    On Friday, Congressional lawmakers convened to elect the next Speaker of the House.

    Mike Johnson (R-La.) will serve as Speaker of the House for the 119th Congress.

    With the Republican majority at 219-215, Johnson could lose only one Republican vote to remain speaker.

    Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was reelected to the top post in the House in a stunning floor vote on the opening day of Congress on Friday, securing the gavel on the first ballot.

    It appeared that he would fail on the first ballot as Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and Keith Self (R-Texas) voted for other candidates. However, the chamber held the vote open as Johnson conferred with his opponents and Norman and Self switched their votes to applause in the chamber.

    The vote came after President-elect Donald Trump issued his “total” endorsement of Mike Johnson (R-la.) earlier this week.

    “Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

    Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also offered her endorsement of Johnson shortly before Friday’s vote.

    Watch:

    “Tomorrow we convene at noon in the House of Representatives, and our first order of business will be to vote for Speaker of the House. This is a historic vote, and it is the first order of business that we have to accomplish before we can even swear in as members of Congress,” began Greene. “Now, here’s how I feel about it. You all have seen may disagree with Mike Johnson at times. You’ve seen me fight against him at times. But you want to know something else? Here’s what I recognize: For the past four years, all of you and myself included, have put blood, sweat, and tears into electing President Trump. And when you want to talk about blood, President Trump himself actually was the one that shed blood after an assassin shot him in the face.”

    This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

    Johnson Loses In First Round Of Speaker Votes

    By
    Patrick Houck
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    3
    Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    As Republicans prepare for full Washington control…

    Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) has not yet secured reelection to his leadership post, leaving House Republicans temporarily rudderless as the GOP prepares to take full control of Washington.

    Unable to overcome challenges within his caucus, Johnson failed to emerge from the floor vote with his leadership intact. Concerns about potential defections escalated earlier in the week when Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) publicly opposed Johnson’s continued speakership. With no Democratic support, Johnson could not afford to lose even one more Republican vote.

    However, President-elect Donald Trump intervened to shore up support, engaging directly with skeptical lawmakers, including Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas). Trump took to Truth Social on Friday morning, declaring Johnson was approaching “100% support” and framing the vote as a crucial moment for the ascendant GOP.

    “A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party and yet another acknowledgment of our 129-year most consequential Presidential Election!” Trump wrote. His active involvement underscored his determination to minimize Republican infighting as he prepares to enter office in just over two weeks.

    Trump’s concerns were rooted in his first-term struggles, where intra-party divisions often slowed his ambitious legislative agenda. In a statement of support for Johnson, Trump described the Louisiana Republican as “a good, hard-working, religious man” and emphasized the urgency of delivering relief to Americans from what he called the “destructive policies of the last Administration.”

    In a separate post on X, Trump urged Republicans to present a unified front, writing, “We have a Country to run, and many big problems to solve, mostly created by Democrats. REPUBLICANS, BE SMART AND TOUGH!”

    Despite this, members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus remained disenchanted with Johnson. When asked for his vote, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) sat still, refusing to comment.

    Other ideologically-aligned lawmakers, including Michael Cloud (Texas), Andrew Clyde (Georgia), Andy Harris (Md.) and Paul Gosar (Ariz.) followed suit with their own stoney-faced glares. Some of this group, including Chip Roy, returned to cast their votes for Johnson when the clerk of the House asked for them.

    However, three GOP members defected, causing Johnson’s efforts to reclaim the gavel to fail this time and making the process more challenging than he had hoped.

    As expected, Rep. Massie cast his vote for someone else—House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.).

    Then, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) cast his vote for Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as speaker, ensuring that Johnson would fail to secure enough votes in the first round. Norman appeared visibly disdainful as his colleagues murmured disapprovingly around him.

    Lastly, Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) voted for Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) for speaker.

    Prior to the vote, Politico’s Olivia Beavers reported that a group of conservatives and potential opposition members against Speaker Johnson circulated a document outlining a “scorecard” of perceived failures by the 118th Congress.

    The vote took place as the 119th Congress convened for its first session. With the GOP poised to hold the presidency, Senate and House, expectations are high for the party to swiftly implement its legislative priorities.

    As Washington braces for this new era of Republican governance, the speaker of the House’s ability to navigate internal dynamics and work with Senate Republicans and the incoming Trump administration will be pivotal. The speaker will face an immediate challenge of uniting his conference and steering it toward fulfilling America First campaign promises in the days, weeks and months ahead.

    For now, it’s unclear if the House will go to a second vote or recess shortly for some deal making.

    Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News. This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

    Democrat Senator Signals Openness To Supporting Trump Nominees

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1

    A step in the right direction…

    Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) signaled during an interview on Sunday that he is open to voting to confirm some of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees.

    Kim made the remarks during a Sunday interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Dana Bash when asked if he would be open to voting for Kash Patel for FBI Director or Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense.

    “I have had conversations with Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. I had to sit down with Senator Rubio. I’m still going through the process and I want to make sure I’m doing it right,” he said. “But those were good conversations, where we were able to dive in deep. And so I think that there are some nominees that are people I think I can work with.”

    He signaled that with some of Trump’s other nominees that he had questions about past remarks that they made.

    “I also am deeply concerned about what I have heard Mr. Patel say in the past and about going after things. Like, he is being nominated for a role to lead an agency that he has talked about dismantling, talked about the deep state and going after,” he said. “I was a career public servant before in the federal government. I worked under both Bush and Obama. I served the country, not a party. And I worry about some of the tones there.”

    “With Hegseth, I hope to have a chance to be able to speak with him, but some of what he said before about not thinking that women should serve in combat, some of the other allegations that we have heard about,” he added. “I have worked at the Pentagon before in the office of the secretary of defense. I know what that job is like. And I need to know whether or not he is up to the task.”

    WATCH:

    Donald Trump Makes Endorsement In Speaker Race

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    0

    Days before Republicans are scheduled to convene for Friday’s House Speaker vote President-elect Donald Trump took the time to issue his “total endorsement” of Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) for the role.

    “Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

    Trump’s public endorsement could be a key to a win by Johnson, who can only afford a handful of GOP defections and be elected Speaker.

    Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has already come out as a “no” vote on Speaker Johnson’s reelection bid, putting the Louisiana Congressman in a precarious position.

    Multiple Republican lawmakers threatened to withhold support for Johnson’s bid for Speaker over his recent handling of the government shutdown negotiations.

    Multiple Republicans also suggested Elon Musk become the next Speaker of the House amid the negotiations.

    Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) suggested Elon Musk serve as Speaker in a post on X following contentious debates over the continuing resolution (CR).

    “The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress . . . ,” Paul wrote.

    “Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk . . . think about it .  . . nothing’s impossible. (not to mention the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka ‘uniparty,’ lose their ever-lovin’ minds).”

    Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said she would be open to supporting Musk to replace Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in a post quoting Paul.

    “I’d be open to supporting @elonmusk for Speaker of the House. DOGE can only truly be accomplished by reigning in Congress to enact real government efficiency,” Greene wrote on X.

    This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates..

    Indicted Congressman Eyes Party Switch After Potential Presidential Pardon

    By
    Patrick Houck
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    2

    Speculation on Capitol Hill is building that Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), who is currently facing federal corruption charges, might consider switching parties if granted a presidential pardon. The potential shift has set political tongues wagging, fueled by Cuellar’s complicated legal battle and reactions from both sides of the aisle.

    The rumor is as follows:

    It’s alleged someone is going to receive a pardon and flip from blue to red in the House of Representatives.

    Now I fully believe that this person has only gotten indicted because of his wide open criticism of the current admin and his opposition to… https://t.co/WjCOGNNbca— George Santos (@MrSantosNY) December 26, 2024

    Cuellar, a conservative Democrat, was indicted in May following a two-year investigation by the Department of Justice. The probe, linked to an ongoing corruption case, began after FBI agents raided his South Texas home and campaign office. While initial details were sparse, reports alleged that Cuellar cultivated relationships with Azerbaijani and Mexican business leaders, leveraging his congressional position to advance their interests in U.S. policy.

    The indictment, if accurate, presents a damning picture. Between 2014 and 2021, Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, allegedly accepted $600,000 in bribes from two foreign entities: an Azerbaijani state-owned oil and gas company and a Mexico City-based bank. Federal prosecutors claim these payments were funneled through bogus consulting contracts to shell companies under Imelda Cuellar’s name, with little to no actual work performed.

    In exchange, Cuellar allegedly influenced U.S. foreign policy to benefit Azerbaijan and supported legislative activities favorable to the Mexican bank. The charges against the Cuellars are sweeping, with potential penalties stacking up as follows:

    Two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery and acting as an unregistered foreign agent (up to 5 years each).

    Two counts of bribery of a federal official (up to 15 years each).

    Two counts of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud (up to 20 years each).

    Two counts of violating laws against unregistered foreign agents (up to two years each).

    One count of conspiracy to commit money laundering (up to 20 years).

    Five counts of money laundering (up to 20 years each).

    Both Henry and Imelda Cuellar have pleaded not guilty, with the congressman insisting his actions were focused on serving South Texans. Despite the charges, Cuellar secured an 11th term in November, showcasing his political resilience among his constituents.

    President-elect Donald Trump has eagerly weighed in on the case. Writing on Truth Social shortly after the indictment, Trump accused the Biden administration of targeting Cuellar and his wife for his conservative stance on border policy.

    “Biden just indicted Henry Cuellar because the respected Democrat Congressman wouldn’t play Crooked Joe’s open border game. He was for Border Control, so they said, ‘Let’s use the FBI and DOJ to take him out!’” Trump wrote, calling the administration “D.C. Thugs” and labeling President Biden a “threat to democracy.”

    The drama surrounding Cuellar’s case, coupled with rumors of a potential party switch, has heightened tensions in Washington. Inside the Beltway, all eyes are on the congressman to see whether he will stay the course or make a stunning shift in a historically narrowly divided Congress.

    Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News

    Gaetz Sues House Ethics Committee In Final Bid To Block Report’s Release

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1

    Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) filed a lawsuit against the House Ethics Committee in a last-minute attempt to block the panel from releasing its report on the Florida Republican.

    Gaetz, who resigned from Congress last month, filed the lawsuit as several outlets reported on leaked drafts of the Ethics Committee’s report, which CNN and CBS say found “substantial evidence” that the ex-congressman violated House rules or Florida state laws

    The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., asks a judge to issue an emergency order blocking the report’s release. 

    Gaetz claims the committee is acting beyond its authority because it has no jurisdiction over him now that he has resigned from Congress. Gaetz’s attorneys said the report contains “untruthful and defamatory information” that would “significantly damage” his reputation.

    “The Committee’s apparent intention to release its report after explicitly acknowledging it lacks jurisdiction over former members, its failure to follow constitutional notions of due process, and failure to adhere to its own procedural rules and precedent represents an unprecedented overreach that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections,” Gaetz’s attorneys wrote.

    The suit names the Ethics Committee and its chair, Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.), as defendants.

    “These claims would be destroyed in court — which is why they were never made in any court against me,” Gaetz told The Hill on Monday.

    The Ethics Committee continued investigating Gaetz after the DOJ declined to charge the Florida Republican, probing allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, accepting improper gifts, dispensing special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship and seeking to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.

    In a lengthy statement posted on X last week, after news broke that the panel reversed course and voted to release its report into Gaetz, the ex-congressman defended his conduct, saying it was “embarrassing, though not criminal.”

    The panel is expected to publicly release the report as early as Monday.

    Read the full report:

    807818265-Committee-ReportDownload

    Report: Justice Dept. Seeks To Block Jan. 6 Defendants From Trump Inauguration

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    9
    Tyler Merbler, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    Justice Department attorneys are pressuring federal judges to reject petitions from at least two Jan. 6 defendants who are requesting that they be allowed to return to the nation’s capital for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

    Fox News reports:

    Cindy Young, convicted of four misdemeanors for her involvement in the riot at the Capitol, and Russell Taylor, who pleaded guilty to a felony conspiracy charge, both petitioned the courts to allow them to return to Washington, D.C., despite provisions of their sentences requiring them to stay away. 

    “Contrary to Young’s self designation that she ‘poses no threat of danger to the community,’ Young presents a danger to the D.C. community, including the very law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol on January 6, 2021,” U.S. attorneys said in response to Young’s petition. The federal attorneys cited calls from Young “for retribution against those involved in January 6 prosecutions” and argued that she has failed “to recognize the seriousness of her actions.”

    A request from Taylor, who was invited to attend the inauguration by members of Utah’s congressional delegation, is also being challenged by attorneys at the Department of Justice who argue that the serious nature of his crimes should preclude him from being able to “return to the scene of the crime.”

    “He is asking for the Court to bless his desire to return to the scene of the crime, and the Court should not look past his criminal conduct the last time he was on Capitol grounds,” the U.S. attorneys wrote in a filing to U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth. The attorneys added in their court filing that, while they had granted previous travel requests to other defendants involved in the Capitol siege, those approvals were to support people’s continued employment, and the requests did not involve travel to the nation’s capital. 

    There remains uncertainty around whether Trump will pardon any, some, or all of those defendants who were convicted of crimes as a result of their involvement in the U.S. Capitol siege that occurred in 2021. 

    Trump has said at times that pardons will be reserved for those who remained peaceful on that fateful day; however, at other points he has suggested a blanket pardon for all those who were convicted. 

    Republicans Float Elon Musk As House Speaker Alternative

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    3
    Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    Republicans are keeping their options open…

    On Thursday, multiple Republicans suggested Elon Musk become the next Speaker of the House.

    Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) suggested Elon Musk serve as Speaker in a Thursday morning post on X following contentious debates over the continuing resolution (CR).

    “The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress . . . ,” Paul wrote.

    “Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk . . . think about it .  . . nothing’s impossible. (not to mention the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka ‘uniparty,’ lose their ever-lovin’ minds).”

    Later Thursday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said she would be open to supporting Musk to replace Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in a post quoting Paul.

    “I’d be open to supporting @elonmusk for Speaker of the House. DOGE can only truly be accomplished by reigning in Congress to enact real government efficiency,” Greene wrote on X.

    “The establishment needs to be shattered just like it was yesterday. This could be the way,” she added.

    Musk is the co-leader of President-elect Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), an advisory panel focused on cutting spending and the size of the federal government.

    The Speaker is not required to be an elected member of the House.

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