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Musk Signals Plan To Be Less Involved In Future Political Campaigns

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Elon Musk is backing away from politics…

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump, said this week that he will dial back his spending on future political campaigns.

Asked about his plans for political contributions at Bloomberg’s Qatar Economic Forum, Musk said over video that he’s “going to do a lot less in the future.” Musk spent nearly $240 million through his political action committee, America PAC, helping Trump and Republicans in the 2024 election cycle. His comments on Tuesday, however, indicate that he won’t be as aggressive in pushing Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections.

“I think I’ve done enough,” Musk said, adding, “If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it. I do not currently see a reason.”

Watch:

Along with his major donations to the Republican effort last election cycle, Musk was also a major fixture on the campaign trail, appearing multiple times alongside Trump. After Trump took office in January, Musk led the effort, alongside the Department of Government Efficiency project, to find waste and fraud within the federal government.

After joining Trump in the White House, Musk got behind the conservative candidate in the closely watched Wisconsin Supreme Court election, saying the race could affect the “entire destiny” of humanity. Musk’s America PAC spent millions of dollars on race, but conservative candidate Brad Schimel lost to liberal candidate Susan Crawford by 10 percentage points, and the liberals maintained a majority on the court.

Musk, who was regularly seen with the president during the Trump administration’s first 100 days, has taken a step back from overseeing Trump’s DOGE initiative.

“I’ll be allocating far more of my time to Tesla…” Musk said last month.

The Tesla CEO added in his interview on Tuesday that he is committed to leading the electric car company for at least the next five years, saying that he wants “sufficient voting control” to keep Tesla from falling into the hands of activist investors.

“It’s not a money thing,” Musk said. “It’s a reasonable control thing over the future of the company.”

Musk’s shift back to focusing on Tesla comes after the company saw a drop in revenue and net income over the first quarter of 2025. 

After Musk became a senior adviser to Trump and pushed for major government spending cuts, Tesla has been targeted by leftist activists who have set fires to and vandalized vehicles and threatened Tesla dealerships.

“Firing bullets into showrooms and burning down cars is unacceptable. Those people will go to prison, and the people that funded them and organized them will also go to prison. Don’t worry, we’re coming for you,” Musk said on Tuesday’s video call to the applause of the crowd.

America Ascendant: The Golden Age Nobody Saw Coming

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

It is not hyperbole to speak of a golden age. The phrase has been cheapened by pundits and prematurely invoked by partisans, but now it fits. Something has shifted in the tectonic plates of American politics, culture, and global influence. And unlike prior inflection points, this one is not merely symbolic. It is empirical. Measurable. Concrete. We are not gazing at a mirage, but witnessing a renaissance. The agent of this change is President Donald J. Trump.

In 2019, the New York Times launched the 1619 Project with a simple proposition: that the true founding of America occurred not with the Declaration of Independence, but with the arrival of the first African slaves. What followed was a coordinated attempt to reframe the country as irredeemably racist, its history irreparably stained. Under the Biden administration, this view metastasized. Patriotic symbols were treated as threats. The FBI circulated training documents labeling common American flags as markers of “domestic extremism.” Catholics were surveilled, not for terrorism, but for attending Latin Mass. And over 800 January 6 defendants were held for years, many for crimes more symbolic than violent. Meanwhile, across the country, statues of Lincoln, Washington, and Jefferson were torn down by mobs or removed by local governments in the dead of night. Schools named after America’s founders were renamed for lesser figures more palatable to progressive tastes. Military bases, long-standing monuments to American history, were stripped of their names and given bland, ideologically approved replacements. The point was not justice. It was deterrence. It was ideological conformity enforced by state power.

Then Trump returned.

His re-election, certified on January 6, 2025, and his inauguration on January 20, marked not merely the return of a man, but the restoration of a nation. Within 100 days, Trump had secured the border, reversing years of open-border chaos. Migration flows dropped to levels unseen since the early 1990s. His decisive action became a global model. From England to Romania, political movements took note. Nigel Farage’s Reform UK surged. The AfD in Germany crept into double digits. Marine Le Pen’s party is now the frontrunner in France. Elites sneered, but voters saw results.

At home, Trump wielded his mandate like a scalpel. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, began a forensic audit of the administrative state. Within weeks, billions in funding were clawed back from useless programs and slush funds hidden in alphabet agencies. USAID, long a globalist piggy bank, is being dismantled. The FBI, purged of its partisan leadership, is now focused on actual crime. DEI offices, once metastasizing across government and corporate America like ideological tumors, were defunded. Wokeness, once a cultural juggernaut, is now a punchline.

The military, gutted by social engineering and recruitment failures under Biden, is now over capacity. Credit belongs not only to President Trump’s message of strength and national pride, but also to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who moved swiftly to eliminate identity-based promotions and reinstate merit as the lodestar of advancement. Hegseth’s decision to end the inclusion of transgender individuals in combat roles and restore a focus on unit cohesion and battlefield readiness was met with predictable outrage from progressive quarters, but it worked. Military service is now admired again. Recruiters have lines out the door. The stars and stripes, once seen as fraught, are fashionable again. The American flag, once viewed with suspicion on elite campuses, is now trending in TikTok videos of patriotic Gen Z influencers. Coolness, that elusive cultural currency, has shifted.

Internationally, Trump has turned the tide. China is back at the negotiating table, offering market access in exchange for tariff relief. For the first time in decades, Beijing blinked. Iran, isolated and bleeding economically, has returned to disarmament talks. The Abraham Accords have expanded to include Oman and Tunisia. Just today, Trump announced a new trade deal with the United Kingdom that will open British markets to American farmers, slash tariffs, and generate billions in revenue. It is the first of more than a dozen similar deals being negotiated with U.S. trading partners, all aimed at restoring prosperity and security to the American heartland. American prestige, once bartered away for UN resolutions and climate pledges, has been restored. Even the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church’s College of Cardinals seems to have acknowledged this new moral order.

On May 8, 2025, for the first time in 2,000 years of Catholic history, an American was elected pope. The symbolism is staggering. For a Church whose demographic heart now beats in the Western Hemisphere, the election of an American Pontiff signals a new center of gravity. It is not just Rome that looks to America. It is the world.

America’s 250th anniversary is now on the horizon. The semiquincentennial of 1776 looms not as a melancholy remembrance of faded glory, but as a celebration of resurgence. The events planned for 2026 reflect this. Trump has ordered a return to original principles: liberty, individual rights, national pride. Not apologies. Not guilt. Not equivocations. But more than that, he intends to use the anniversary as a global advertisement. A demonstration of American resolve. A reminder to our enemies that this is a nation of strength, unity, and enduring purpose. And a signal to our allies that America, once written off as declining or distracted, is once again the anchor of the free world. A nation built on the proposition that all men are created equal should not teach its children that they are born guilty because of their skin or their flag. Trump understands this, and his policies reflect it.

Consider economics. In just over three months, Trump has attracted over $8 trillion in foreign investment back to American shores, revitalizing the heartland. Factories are reopening in Ohio, chip manufacturers are building plants in Texas, and manufacturing is surging with new, higher-paying jobs for American workers. Trump’s commitment to the American farmer is unwavering, with policies boosting agriculture, creating robust farming jobs, and safeguarding rural communities. AI and crypto, once fields dominated by offshore interests and regulatory chaos, are now firmly within American jurisdiction. His administration is protecting America’s supply chains from global threats, ensuring self-reliance in critical industries. Trump’s policy is clear: innovation without apology, regulation with reason, and a fierce dedication to bringing back manufacturing, mining, drilling, and farming. He is not afraid of technology or competition but is resolute against decay, acting decisively to secure prosperity for American workers and farmers.

And yet, symbols matter. Culture matters. Which is why the upcoming twin spectacles of the FIFA World Cup and the Summer Olympics cannot be dismissed as fluff. Trump’s personal involvement in securing these events was not mere vanity. It was strategy. It was signal. During his first term, Trump courted FIFA President Gianni Infantino with unusual persistence. Infantino credited Trump’s enthusiasm as pivotal to the U.S. winning the bid. “You are part of the FIFA team now,” he said in the Oval Office. That statement, once treated as flattery, now seems prophetic.

The 2026 World Cup will be the longest in history: 104 matches across 16 U.S. cities. It will not be a tournament. It will be a coronation. The same applies to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Trump personally engaged with the IOC before even taking office in 2016, offering federal guarantees for security and logistics. He met with IOC President Thomas Bach in 2017. The result? A winning bid. The message is clear: if America is back, it must also be seen. And what better global stage than the Olympics?

Critics will scoff. They always do. They did in 2016. They did in 2020. They did in 2024. They were wrong every time. Trump’s critics have spent years arguing that he is a fluke, a menace, an aberration. What they have missed, and what they still refuse to see, is that Trump is not the outlier. He is the correction. He is the pendulum swinging back. And this time, it is not swinging timidly. It is swinging with force.

What makes this era a golden age is not merely policy success or economic growth. It is coherence. It is the re-alignment of institutions with the people they purport to serve. It is the re-legitimization of patriotism. It is the death of the idea that to love one’s country is to be blind, or bigoted, or bitter. America, like Rome at its height, is asserting its identity not through conquest, but through clarity. Through excellence. Through example.

The left has spent years insisting America was founded on sin, sustained by oppression, and systemically incapable of redemption. Trump has answered not with theory, but with action. He has rebuilt the house while others argued about whether it deserved to stand. And now, the house is full again. Full of workers. Full of industry. Full of flags. Full of hope.

That is what a golden age looks like. And for the first time in a long time, the gold is real.

Sponsored by the John Milton Freedom Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to helping independent journalists overcome formidable challenges in today’s media landscape and bring crucial stories to you.

Retired 4-Star Navy Admiral Found Guilty In Bribery Case

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A retired four-star admiral who once served as the Navy’s second-highest ranking officer, was convicted of bribery and other conspiracy charges on Monday. The conviction marks the most senior member of the U.S. military ever convicted of committing a federal crime while on active duty.

Following a five-day trial, retired four-star Adm. Robert Burke, 62, was found guilty on Monday of a scheme to direct lucrative contracts to the training company Next Jump in exchange for a $500,000-a-year job after leaving the Navy, according to a news release from the Department of Justice. 

Burke is facing up to 30 years in prison for his role in the scheme to direct contracts potentially worth millions of dollars to a New York City-based company that offered training programs to the Navy.

Burke, who served aboard attack and ballistic missile submarines, rose through the ranks to eventually become chief of naval personnel in 2016 followed by vice chief of naval operations in June 2019. He then took command of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and Allied Joint Forces Command in June 2020 before retiring in summer 2022.

Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger, co-CEOs of Next Jump, allegedly participated in the scheme to get a government contract in exchange for offering Burke a position with the company.

Kim and Messenger were each charged with bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery, according to the case’s unsealed indictment. They face trial in August, which is when Burke will be sentenced. 

Kim and Messenger, via their company Next Jump, provided a workforce training pilot program to a small component of the Navy from August 2018 through July 2019. However, the deal appeared to go downhill and the Navy terminated a contract with the company in late 2019 and directed it not to contact Burke.

The Hill reports:

But in summer 2021, Messenger and Kim met with Burke in Washington, D.C., to reestablish their company’s business relationship with the Navy. While at the meeting, the two “agreed that Burke would use his position as a Navy Admiral to steer a contract” to their firm — as well as influence other Navy officers to award another contract to the company — in exchange for his future employment there, according to the Justice Department. 

Burke in December 2021 then ordered his staff to award a $355,000 contract to Next Jump to train personnel under Burke’s command in Italy and Spain, which the company performed in January 2022. 

In October 2022, Burke began working at Next Jump with an annual salary of $500,000 and a grant of $100,000 in stock options. 

Burke was accused of making several false and misleading statements to the Navy to conceal the scheme, such as implying that his discussions to join Next Jump began months after the contract was awarded.

“When you abuse your position and betray the public trust to line your own pockets, it undermines the confidence in the government you represent,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro wrote in a post on X following the conviction. 

Report: First Trump $1,000 ‘Self-deport’ Flight Conducted By DHS

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    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has conducted its first charter flight for migrants who agreed to “self-deport.”

    The flight took 64 citizens of Colombia and Honduras to their home country.

    “This was a voluntary charter flight, not an ICE enforcement operation,” DHS said in a press release, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    “All participants were offered the same benefits as any illegal alien who self-deports using the CBP Home App. They received travel assistance, a $1,000 stipend, and preserved the possibility they could one day return to the United States legally.”

    Despite the early success of the deportation flights, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) cautioned people against taking the assistance, noting that some may not be able to return to the U.S. in the future.

    “AILA cautions individuals when reviewing the announcement to understand it is deceptive and gives people the impression there are no consequences, such as being barred from returning in the future. No one should accept this without first obtaining good legal advice from an immigration attorney or other qualified representative,” the group said when the move was first announced.

    “It is unethical for the government to tell people ‘Self-Deportation Is Safe’ but not explain the hardship and legal risks to them, especially for people who do not have an attorney and will not know their rights under the law.”

    DHS on Monday said those in the group “chose to return home the right way,” and in contrast with other media distributed by the agency, showed photos of smiling migrants descending from planes, welcomed by host country governments waiting with stuffed animals for children.

    They noted that in Honduras, returnees were also eligible for $100 in government assistance as well as food vouchers.

    DHS defended the massive undertaking in an interview with Fox News earlier this month, saying the self deportation flights will be 70% cheaper for American taxpayers, as it currently costs DHS, on average, over $17,000 to arrest, detain, and deport someone. DHS told Fox News that paying for aliens to remove themselves, even with the stipend, is anticipated to cost only around $4,500 on average. 

    The stipend would not be paid until it was verified that an individual self-deported. Aliens will use the CBP Home self-deportation app to access this assistance, and DHS expects self-removals, already in the thousands, to ramp up significantly with this announcement.

    According to a news release, those who use the CBP Home app to leave the U.S. will be “deprioritized for detention and removal” if they are actually taking steps to exit the country. 

    “If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News in a statement. 

    “DHS is now offering illegal aliens financial travel assistance and a stipend to return to their home country through the CBP Home App. This is the safest option for our law enforcement, aliens and is a 70% savings for US taxpayers. Download the CBP Home App TODAY and self-deport,” she continued. 

    Trump Confirms Direct Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks To ‘Begin Immediately’

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    Kremlin.ru, via Wikimedia Commons

    President Trump on Monday said that Russia and Ukraine will immediately begin negotiations on a ceasefire, following phone calls with the leaders of each country. He also noted the Vatican has offered to host the talks.

    The White House said Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for about two hours, after speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier in the day. 

    Trump has been pushing for a 30-day ceasefire in the war, and the White House said before Monday’s calls that he was frustrated with both sides.

    The president called for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine before entering office, and more than two months of direct diplomacy has failed to get Putin to agree to even basic terms. 

    The announcement of direct negotiations comes after Putin last week skipped appearing at direct talks in Turkey that he proposed. 

    On Monday, Trump described the tone and spirit of his conversation with Putin as “excellent.”  

    “If it wasn’t, I would say so now, rather than later,” he wrote in a post on his social media site, Truth Social.

    Trump said he agreed with Putin that “largescale TRADE” can happen between Russia and the U.S. “when this catastrophic ‘bloodbath’ is ove

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

    Former Biden Officials Offer Rare Praise For Trump Middle East Accomplishments

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      President Donald Trump participates in a welcome ceremony with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Al Saud at the Royal Court Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)

      Former top officials in the Biden administration admitted they were impressed by President Donald Trump’s bold moves this week during his historic tour in the Middle East.

      Trump’s visit to the Middle East is his first major overseas trip since retaking office. The White House said he aimed to strengthen strategic partnerships in the region for stability and economic prosperity with the visit.

      Trump announced on Tuesday he would be lifting U.S. sanctions on Syria, before meeting with Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Wednesday, becoming the first U.S. president to meet with a Syrian president in 25 years.

      He also secured a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the U.S., and agreed to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion

      “Gosh, I wish I could work for an administration that could move that quickly,” one official admitted.

      “It’s hard not to be simultaneously terrified at the thought of the damage he can cause with such power, and awed by his willingness to brazenly shatter so many harmful taboos,” Rob Malley, former special envoy to Iran under Biden, also said.

      “He does all this, and it’s kind of silence, it’s met with a shrug,” Ned Price, a former State Department spokesperson in the Biden administration, added. “He has the ability to do things politically that previous presidents did not, because he has complete unquestioned authority over the Republican caucus.”

      Trump said Tuesday during a speech in Saudi Arabia that he was dropping U.S. sanctions on Syria, implemented under ousted President Bashar al-Assad, “in order to give them a chance at greatness.”

      “In Syria, they’ve had their share of travesty, war, killing many years. That’s why my administration has already taken the first steps toward restoring normal relations between the United States and Syria for the first time in more than a decade,” Trump said.

      Former Obama administration officials Tommy Vietor and Ben Rhodes hailed the move on their “Pod Save the World” podcast Wednesday.

      “It’s a very big deal,” Vietor said. “So I think Trump deserves a lot of credit for this decision. It was politically difficult… but it’s unequivocally the right thing to do.”

      “It’s so clearly the right decision,” Rhodes agreed. “I don’t know why Joe Biden didn’t do this.”

      “I don’t like Trump’s motivations for lots of things he does,” Rhodes added. “But one thing you will say is he’s not tied to this constant fear of some bad-faith right-wing attacks or stupid Blob-type, ‘we don’t do this, we must leverage the sanctions for blah blah blah.’ No! Sometimes you just have to try something different.”

      Trump Announces Plan To Drop Sanctions On Syria

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      By The White House from Washington, DC - President Trump and The First Lady Participate in an Abraham Accords Signing Ceremony, Public Domain,

      President Donald Trump announced the United States will soon drop sanctions against Syria.

      During lengthy remarks on Tuesday, Trump laid out his vision for the Middle East, sharing a major announcement: He intends to drop sanctions against Syria.

      “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Trump said in a speech in Saudi Arabia, his first stop on the first international tour of his second term in office. 

      “In Syria, which has seen so much misery and death, there is a new government that we must all hope will succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace,” he said. “So I say good luck, Syria.”

      The nation was cut off from the global financial system under ousted President Bashar al-Assad’s government, imposed during 14 years of civil war. 

      Trump called the sanctions “brutal and crippling” but “important” at the time.

      Trump said both Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Erdoğan had encouraged him to lift the sanctions. 

      “Oh, what I do for the crown prince,” Trump quipped. 

      U.S. sanctions had slapped financial penalties on any foreign individual or company that provided material support to the Syrian government and prohibited anyone in the U.S. from dealing in any Syrian entity, including oil and gas, and Syrian banks were effectively cut off from global financial systems. 

      Trump also revealed he has invited Saudi Arabia to join his historic Abraham Accords.

      “It has been an amazing thing, the Abraham Accords,” Trump said at a Saudi Arabia investment conference. “And it’s my fervent hope, wish, and even my dream that Saudi Arabia, a place I have so much respect for … will soon be joining the Abraham Accords. I think it will be a tremendous tribute to your country.”

      Trump negotiated the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, at the end of his first term in office. Now, he is hoping to see Saudi Arabia join it as well.

      During lengthy remarks, Trump laid out his vision for the Middle East. Minutes later, he made a second major announcement: He intends to drop sanctions against Syria.

      New Poll Shows MAGA Candidate Overtaking Incumbent By Double Digits

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      Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is trailing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) by a whopping 16 points in the 2026 Republican Senate primary, according to an internal poll reported by Punchbowl News on Monday.

      The poll from the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) found Paxton leading with 50% support to Cornyn’s 34%, with 17% undecided.

      Paxton, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, officially announced his candidacy last month. He is positioning himself as a more pro-MAGA alternative to Cornyn, who hardline Texas conservatives have painted as a moderate. Cornyn, Texas’s senior senator, has held his seat since 2002 and served in Senate leadership. He was a leading contender to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as GOP leader, but eventually lost the race to Sen. John Thune (R-SD).

      Cornyn faced backlash over his work in crafting the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, a gun safety law passed in 2022 after a massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

      The legislation included enhanced background checks for gun buyers under 21 and was the first major federal gun control measure in decades.

      Punchbowl News reported in a hypothetical three-way GOP primary, Paxton leads with 44%, followed by Sen. John Cornyn at 34% and Rep. Wesley Hunt at 19%, according to an internal Tarrance Group poll conducted April 27 to May 1.

      In general election matchups against potential Democratic challenger Colin Allred, Cornyn leads by six points.

      Trump Taps Jeanine Pirro For Top DC Attorney Role

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      By Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America - Jeanine Pirro, CC BY-SA 2.0,

      President Trump has appointed Jeanine Pirro, a Fox News host and former judge, to serve as the top prosecutor in the District of Columbia.

      Trump announced on Truth Social that he was appointing Pirro to the role of U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., on an interim basis.

      “In addition to her Legal career, Jeanine previously hosted her own Fox News Show, Justice with Judge Jeanine, for ten years, and is currently Co-Host of The Five, one of the Highest Rated Shows on Television,” Trump posted. 

      “Jeanine is incredibly well qualified for this position, and is considered one of the Top District Attorneys in the History of the State of New York,” he continued. “She is in a class by herself. Congratulations Jeanine!”

      In a statement to The Hill late Thursday, a Fox News spokesperson said “Jeanine Pirro has been a wonderful addition to The Five over the last three years and a longtime beloved host across FOX News Media who contributed greatly to our success throughout her 14-year tenure. We wish her all the best in her new role in Washington.”

      Pirro is just the latest in a slew of Fox hosts, including Pete Hegseth and Sean Duffy, to be plucked from the cable channel to serve in the president’s Cabinet. 

      Trump previously nominated Ed Martin, a former defense attorney who represented Americans charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, for the role. Martin has taken on the responsibilities of the interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., since January. 

      On Thursday, Trump suggested he would put forward another candidate who would receive broader backing than Martin. 

      “He wasn’t getting the support from people that I thought,” Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday. “You know, he’s done a very good job. Crime is down 25% in DC during this period of time … I can only lift that little phone so many times of the day. But we have somebody else.”

      “I have to be straight. I was disappointed,” Trump said. “A lot of people were disappointed. But that’s the way it works. Sometimes, you know, that’s the way it works. And he wasn’t rejected, but we felt it would be very — it would be hard. And we have somebody else that will be announcing over the next two days who’s going to be great.” 

      The Senate has held up confirming Martin amid concerns from lawmakers.

      Republican Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced Tuesday he wouldn’t endorse Martin. 

      FBI Opens Formal Investigation Into NY AG Letitia James

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        Alec Perkins from Hoboken, USA, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

        The FBI and the US Attorneys Office for the Northern District of New York have launched a formal criminal investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James for alleged mortgage fraud.

        The case stems from a criminal referral issued last month by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte. The referral alleges that James may have falsified property records and misled lenders to receive government-backed loans and other favorable mortgage terms.

        James has denied wrongdoing and called the investigation politically motivated, pointing to her office’s civil fraud case against Trump. That case ultimately resulted in a $354 million judgment against the president, which also bars his

        During her 2018 campaign for attorney general, James publicly stated she intended to pursue legal action against Trump and investigate his business dealings in New York.

        While campaigning, James vowed to shine a “bright light into every corner” of Trump’s “real estate dealings.” Her critics — including Trump himself — would later argue that her civil lawsuit against him was a political witch hunt.

        In announcing the probe, US Attorney John A. Sarcone III took a swipe at James’s 2018 campaign rhetoric about investigating President Donald Trump.

        The US attorney said James “unethically ran around the state campaigning on getting Donald Trump,” and essentially accused her of finding a criminal target without an alleged crime.

        He added:

        We stand prepared to act in the capacity that we need to when and if we are informed there’s a charge to be made. Unlike Letitia James, who unethically ran around the state campaigning on getting Donald Trump… my office conducts itself in a manner that is proper and professional.

        Two weeks ago, James’ attorney, Abbe Lowell, wrote a letter to Bondi, stating, “I write to address the latest act of improper political retribution—this time directed at Ms. James—publicly instigated and endorsed by President Trump…. This so-called ‘Criminal Referral,’ which recycles long-disproven allegations and is ‘[b]ased on media reports’ lacks any credible foundation.”

        “Mr. Trump has singled out Attorney General James dating back to her campaign in 2018, and ever more so during and after the trial and verdict in New York in which Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization were found liable for financial fraud and assessed a $454 million judgment,” Lowell claimed.

        Lowell referred to what he called “baseless allegations,” saying:

        Director Pulte cherry-picked an August 17, 2023 power of attorney that mistakenly stated the property to be Ms. James’ principal residence and at the same time absolutely ignored her very clear and all caps statement two weeks earlier to the mortgage loan broker that “[t]his property WILL NOT be my primary residence[.] It will be Shamice’s primary residence.”  

        In 1983, James, then a recent college graduate, bought a Queens residence with her father, with some documents listing her as his “wife.’

        “He asked his daughter (then a few years out of school) to help by allowing him to add her name to the mortgage application,” Lowell argued. “Mr. James filled out the mortgage material (wherein he described their relationship as being ‘spouses’) and purchased the home without his daughter’s involvement.”

        “However, James, then 24 and a college graduate, signed the notarized mortgage, along with her father, on one of the document’s three pages that listed her as his ‘wife,’” the Times-Union reported. “One of those references to her being her father’s ‘wife’ was just below her signature. Lending experts consulted by the Times Union said that by listing themselves as husband and wife, the pair may have qualified for a loan — or received better borrowing terms — than had they not been considered a couple due to income requirements.”

        Dan Abrams, who founded Mediaite, said after Pulte’