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Special Counsel Moves To Dismiss Trump Election Interference Case

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On Monday, Special Counsel Jack Smith asked a judge to dismiss all charges against President-elect Donald Trump stemming from Smith’s investigation into the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot.

Judge Tanya Chutkan will need to approve the request before the case is dismissed.

After Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election earlier this month, Smith signaled he would begin winding down the case against Trump. The filing went live on the Department of Justice docket on Monday afternoon.

Smith had already filed a motion to vacate all deadlines in the 2020 election interference case against Trump in Washington, D.C. – a widely expected move, but one that stopped short of dropping the case against Trump completely. Smith had said his team planned to give an updated report on the official status of the case against Trump on Dec. 2.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges in the case.

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

Veteran Announces Bid For Gaetz Congressional Seat

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Fighter pilot and decorated combat veteran Jeff Witt announced Monday he is entering the race to fill former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s seat representing Florida’s 1st congressional district.

Witt is currently serving as a policy advisor on the Trump-Vance Presidential Transition Team. 

“I have served my country in uniform for 14 years, and my dedication to service extends to the community in which my family and I live,” Witt told Fox News Digital. “I am excited to meet voters from all across the district in this campaign, and prove to them that they can trust me to be a leader in Congress who represents them with conviction, hard work, and integrity.” 

Witt told Fox News Digital that he will “fight to get inflation under control, secure our borders, and strengthen our military.” 

“I will listen to the needs of my constituents, and I will work on their behalf to make Florida’s 1st District the finest place in America for veterans, businesses, and families,” he said. 

Witt attended Harvard University for his undergraduate studies and was a Harvard football quarterback. He also received his Master of Business Administration from Harvard University. 

A 2024 Club for Growth fellow, Witt has already been endorsed by top former Trump administration officials, including former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie. 

“Jeff Witt is a patriot and a staunch supporter of President Trump and his America First agenda,” Wilkie told Fox News Digital. “As the former Secretary of Veterans Affairs under President Trump, I know that Jeff’s mission will always be to put warriors first. I am honored to give Jeff my full endorsement.” 

Wilkie told Fox News Digital that Witt “stands for the right things—family and freedom.”  

Gaetz had represented Florida’s 1st congressional district from January 2017 until earlier this month, when he resigned from his post upon receiving the nomination for attorney general.

President-elect Donald Trump also urged Florida state Sen. Randy Fine to run for Congress, pledging to endorse the Sunshine State lawmaker if he opts to throw his hat into the ring.

“I am hearing that America First Patriot Randy Fine is considering launching his Campaign for Congress in Florida’s 6th Congressional District!” Trump said in a Truth Social post. 

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

Gaetz Will Not Rejoin Congress: Report

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He’s out for good…

Ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) will not rejoin Congress after resigning from the current Congress after President-elect Donald Trump nominated him to be attorney general.

Gaetz was reelected to the next Congress and many speculated he may rescind his resignation after dropping his bid to become attorney general on Thursday.

CNN’s Kristen Holmes broke the news on-air.

“Yeah, there had been a lot of speculation as to what exactly Matt Gaetz was going to do. Was there some kind of loophole in the sense that he had just been reelected? Would he go back to Congress? He is now saying in an interview with Charlie Kirk that he does not intend to go back,” Holmes reported, adding:

That he’s going to continue trying to do things for Donald Trump, but not in the capacity of a congressman. This obviously comes as we know that there are still questions about whether or not that ethics report is going to be released. But in this interview, he also talked about what happened when some of those meetings up on Capitol Hill, he downplayed the any kind of impact that the ethics report had, but instead said that while he had some momentum with senators, he felt he had to explain himself quite a bit.

Holmes then played a clip from the Kirk interview, in which Gaetz said “And again, while our discussions were going well, I found myself having to do two jobs at one time.”

“Charlie, And you got a front-row seat to this. I had a full-time job explaining to senators that maybe a tweet I sent about them was rash and not reflective of how I would serve as attorney general. And at the same time, I was having to build out the Department of Justice with the right human talent, the right policy infrastructure. And Pam Bondi’s confirmation won’t have some of the sharp edges that I would have,” Gaetz added of Trump’s replacement for Gaetz as AG.

Report: Mitch McConnell Among Senators Responsible For Ending Gaetz AG Nomination

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was reportedly among the four Republican senators to sink Matt Gaetz’s bid to be confirmed as attorney general.

According to The New York Times‘ Jonathan Swan, “Matt Gaetz told people close to him that he concluded after conversations with senators and their staffs that there were at least four Republican senators who were implacably opposed to his nomination: Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and John Curtis of Utah.”

“Gaetz told confidants he did not want to get in a protracted confirmation battle and delay Trump from getting his attorney general in place immediately at the start of his administration,” added Swan.

Gaetz announced his withdrawal in a statement on X:

I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1. I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.

Following his sudden withdrawal President-elect Trump opted to nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi for the position.

Read Trump’s full statement:

I am proud to announce former Attorney General of the Great State of Florida, Pam Bondi, as our next Attorney General of the United States. Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals, and made the streets safe for Florida Families. Then, as Florida’s first female Attorney General, she worked to stop the trafficking of deadly drugs, and reduce the tragedy of Fentanyl Overdose Deaths, which have destroyed many families across our Country. She did such an incredible job, that I asked her to serve on our Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during my first Term — We saved many lives!

For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans – Not anymore. Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again. I have known Pam for many years — She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as Attorney General!

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

Matt Gaetz Withdraws From Attorney General Consideration

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

On Thursday, former Congressman Matt Gaetz (Fla.) announced he is withdrawing from consideration to be the next U.S. Attorney General.

On Wednesday, Gaetz and Vice President-elect JD Vance traveled to the Capitol to meet with Republican senators who could potentially make or break Gaetz’s nomination to serve as the nation’s next attorney general.

He wrote on X, “I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.”

Trump responded to Gaetz’s withdrawal with a message on Truth Social.

I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!

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

Marjorie Taylor Greene Tapped To Serve Alongside Elon Musk, Ramaswamy On DOGE Subcommittee

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Marjorie Taylor Greene -Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, via Wikimedia Commons

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer is expected to establish a subcommittee that will work with the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and will select Republican firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene as its director.

A source familiar told Fox News Digital that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., will chair the Delivering on Government Efficiency Subcommittee, which will focus on rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government. 

The subcommittee is expected to investigate wasteful spending, examine ways to reorganize federal agencies to improve efficiency and identify solutions to eliminate bureaucratic red tape.

A source familiar told Fox News Digital that Comer had a meeting with Ramaswamy and his incoming DOGE team. Ramaswamy confirmed the meeting with Comer and Greene to Fox News Digital. 

“A key step to driving greater efficiency in government is exposing the problem to the public—we are grateful that the House Oversight Committee has created a subcommittee to focus on this work,” a spokesperson for Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital. “We look forward to working together.” 

Comer told Fox News Digital that the new Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency “will align with the Trump administration’s priorities to eliminate government waste, streamline the federal government’s operations and cut red tape that’s stifling jobs and increasing costs for the American people.” 

“I look forward to working with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to deliver on these goals to Make America Great Again,” Comer said.

Greene told Fox News Digital that the House Oversight Committee “is the perfect place to support the DOGE mission.”

“I’m excited to chair this new subcommittee designed to work hand in hand with President Trump, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and the entire DOGE team,” Greene said. “We will identify and investigate the waste, corruption and absolutely useless parts of our federal government.”

Greene said the subcommittee will provide “transparency and truth to the American people through hearings.”

“No topic will be off the table,” she said. “The goal of DOGE is to bring accountability and GUT useless government agencies.” 

Greene said she expects the subcommittee’s work “will expose people who need to be fired.”

“The bureaucrats who don’t do their job, fail audits like in the Pentagon and don’t know where billions of dollars are going, will be getting a pink slip,” Greene said. “Chairman Comer and I are focused on delivering the mandate voters sent on Nov. 5th, and I can’t wait to get to work.”

Earlier this month, Trump tapped Musk and Ramaswamy to lead DOGE.

Trump said last week he hopes DOGE will become the “Manhattan Project of our time,” in reference to J. Robert Oppenheimer’s secretive atom bomb endeavor during World War II.

Republicans Elect New Senate Leadership

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Ted Eytan from Washington, DC, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

On Wednesday, Republicans voted to elect Sen. John Thune to succeed Mitch McConnell as Senate Majority Leader.

Sources told Fox News Digital that no candidate reached a majority on the first secret ballot. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) received the least amount of votes and was knocked out of the race. The second secret ballot was between only Thune and Cornyn. 

The senator received at least 27 votes from the 53-member conference during a secret ballot in the old Senate chamber on Wednesday morning. 

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) won the election to become Senate majority whip on Wednesday, cementing him as the No. 2 leader in the Republican conference for the foreseeable future.

Barrasso was uncontested for the post, having served for six years as Senate GOP conference chairman and in control of the Republican message. He won the role by acclamation, according to a source with knowledge.

He can serve upwards of six years in the role. 

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

Democrat Senator Throws Support Behind Trump Secretary Of State Pick

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Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman (D) announced on Tuesday he plans to vote to confirm President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Secretary of State.

Trump has tapped Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) to be the next Secretary of State.

“Unsurprisingly, the other team’s pick will have political differences than my own,” Fetterman wrote in a post on X. “That being said, my colleague @SenMarcoRubio is a strong choice and I look forward to voting for his confirmation.”

Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) has called Rubio “an outstanding choice.”

“Senator Rubio has a proven record of promoting freedom, defending American interests on the global stage, and standing firm against threats from the CCP. His leadership will be invaluable in advancing our nation’s values and priorities abroad,” Steube said in a tweet.

Rep. Carlos Giménez (R-Fla.) said in a statement that, “President Trump has made a truly historic and brilliant choice in selecting Senator Marco Rubio as our nation’s Secretary of State.”

Rubio has served in the Senate since 2011.

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

Report: Top Democrats Hesitant To Commit To Certifying Potential Trump Victory

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Several top Democrats, including House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), have indicated that they may not commit to certifying the 2024 presidential election results if former President Donald Trump secures a victory. This reluctance was revealed during discussions with Axios, raising questions about the party’s stance on the upcoming election certification process.

Per Breitbart:

Raskin denied Trump won the 2016 election when he objected to Trump’s electors in 2017.

If Trump “won a free, fair and honest election, then we would obviously accept it,” Raskin said, assuming the election was free, fair and honest. “I definitely don’t assume that,” he added. “Democrats don’t engage in election fraud and election fabrication.”

A video surfaced in September of a panel discussion in February 2024 in which Raskin speculated that Congress would invalidate a Trump election victory, even though it could be at the risk of “civil war.”

“It is not clear whether Raskin was actually outlining a plan of action, or rather using a hypothetical to argue that the U.S. Supreme Court was placing what he considered an undue burden on Congress to keep Trump out of office,” Breitbart News’s Joel Pollak reported.

House Rules Committee Ranking Member Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) echoed Raskin’s concerns, telling Axios that Democrats would certify a Trump victory “assuming everything goes the way we expect it to … We have to see how it all happens.”

McGovern also objected to Trump’s electors in 2017.

The uncertainty among Democrats comes amid heightened political tension with 24 days until the presidential election. Raskin, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump, previously called the former president’s legacy “American carnage.”

In response to Thursday’s development, former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark criticized the Democrats’ position. Taking to X, Clark expressed frustration with what he sees as a double standard in how objections to election certifications are perceived:

Do you see how this works? If you’re a Republican in Congress and you object to certifying a President, you’re called an insurrectionist. But if you’re a Democrat like Jamie Raskin, you can object all you want, and it’s “protecting our democracy.”

Election certification has been a contentious issue since the unfounded claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential race, with Democrats consistently emphasizing the need to safeguard democracy. However, their reluctance to fully commit to certifying a potential Trump win could deepen mistrust on both sides of the political aisle.

Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News.