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    Pennsylvania Supreme Court Weighs In On Mail-In Voter Debate

    By
    Patrick Houck
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    1

    In a pivotal decision on Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that voters whose mail-in ballots were rejected due to errors—including missing signatures, incorrect dates or absence of a required secrecy envelope—can still cast their vote on Election Day. The 4-3 decision ensures that these individuals are allowed to submit provisional ballots at their local polling places, provided no additional disqualifying issues arise.

    The ruling originated from a case in Butler County, where two voters were denied the opportunity to vote provisionally after their mail-in ballots were rejected during the April primary for missing secrecy envelopes. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Pennsylvania and the Public Interest Law Center represented the voters, arguing that the county had misinterpreted the state’s Election Code.

    Per Spotlight PA:

    Justice Christine Donohue, writing for the majority, noted that the Republican litigants argued that in order to maintain election integrity, provisional ballots should not be counted, but said the majority was “at a loss to identify what honest voting principle is violated by recognizing the validity of one ballot cast by one voter.”

    “If appellants presume that the general assembly intended to disqualify the provisional ballot of a voter who failed to effectively vote by mail in order to punish that voter, we caution that such a construction is not reconcilable with the right of franchise,” she wrote.

    The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Public Interest Law Center, which brought the case on behalf of two voters, celebrated the ruling as a victory.

    “Today’s decision affirms that if you make a paperwork mistake that will keep your mail ballot from counting, you have the right to vote by provisional ballot at your polling place on Election Day,” said Ben Geffen, senior attorney at the Public Interest Law Center. “This reinforces the right to vote in Pennsylvania.”

    This decision holds broad implications for voters across Pennsylvania, offering a contentious solution for those facing similar issues in future elections. However, there was notable dissent, including from Justice P. Kevin Brobson, who contended that the state’s Election Code explicitly prohibits counting such provisional ballots.

    The ruling comes as Pennsylvania takes center stage in the 2024 election. Polls suggest a highly competitive race, with the latest RealClearPolitics average showing former President Donald Trump holding a slight 0.6-point lead over Vice President Kamala Harris.

    READ NEXT: Fmr. Democrat Congressman Caught Campaigning For Trump In PIVOTAL Swing State

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    Elon Musk Calls For Trump’s Impeachment

      By
      admin
      -
      1
      Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

      The world’s richest man just grounded his spacecraft assisting the International Space Station…

      On Thursday afternoon, Elon Musk publicly endorsed a call for President Donald Trump’s impeachment. Responding to a post on his social media platform X by conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong — who suggested Trump should be impeached and replaced by Vice President JD Vance — Musk replied with a succinct “yes,” signaling his agreement with the sentiment.

      The world’s richest man and SpaceX CEO said his space exploration company will ground the spacecraft used to shuttle astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station.

      As Mediaite reports:

      Musk followed by insisting that Trump’s tariffs will lead to a recession by the second half of this year, 2025:

      This development marks a dramatic escalation in the rapidly intensifying conflict between Musk and Trump. The feud erupted after Musk criticized Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a $1.6 trillion spending package projected to add $3 trillion to the national deficit as a “disgusting abomination.” Musk also condemned the bill for slashing electric vehicle and solar incentives while preserving subsidies for oil and gas.

      “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” Musk added in a Tuesday afternoon post on X. “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”

      The Wall Street Journal continues:

      President Trump and billionaire Elon Musk traded barbs and insults for hours Thursday, rupturing a relationship that had been one of the most consequential in modern American politics.

      Trump suggested Musk was suffering from “Trump derangement syndrome” and that his opposition to Trump’s legislative agenda was because of the rollback of electric-vehicle tax credits in the measure. Musk, who spent hundreds of millions of dollars to help get Trump elected, said that Trump was ungrateful and wouldn’t be sitting in the Oval Office without his support.

      The dispute sent Musk’s car maker Tesla to a market-value decline of around $152.4 billion, its biggest one-day slide on record.

      The trigger for the public falling out has been Musk’s aggressive criticism of Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill,” which extends and expands tax cuts while also adding money for border enforcement and the military—partially offset by reductions in spending on Medicaid, food aid and clean-energy tax credits.

      In retaliation, Trump labeled Musk as “crazy,” prompting Musk to accuse the president of suppressing the release of Jeffrey Epstein-related files, alleging that Trump’s name appears in the sealed documents.

      As the situation continues to unfold, the political and economic ramifications of this high-profile feud remain to be seen.

      On Friday morning, Fox News reported that Musk may speak with some of the President’s aides in an apparent effort to calm the growing feud between the two powerhouses.

      A senior White House official told Fox News that Trump does not expect to speak to Musk today. However, White House aides told Doocy that Trump administration staffers might try to talk to Musk. 

      “No call scheduled or had. Musk wants a call. POTUS hasn’t made a decision,” a source familiar with the matter also told Fox News regarding a possible conversation between Trump and Musk.

      Doocy also reported that a red Tesla vehicle that Trump bought during a Tesla demonstration on the South Lawn of the White House grounds earlier this year is now expected to be given away or sold off. 

      The vehicle with Florida tags, as of Friday, remains parked near the White House on West Executive Drive.

      State Reveals Plan To Purchase Auctioned Border Wall Materials To Store For Trump

        By
        Madeleine Jackson
        -
        4
        CBP Photography, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

        Texas officials are stepping forward…

        Multiple elected officials in Texas expressed support over plans to buy and store border wall materials being auctioned off by the federal government and keep them in place until the Trump administration takes office next month.

        Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick reacted to reports of continued auctions of border wall materials that have been left near the border after the sudden stop of border wall construction in 2021. 

        “I will bid on all of that wall, and we will buy it in Texas, and we will give it to Donald Trump,” Patrick said on “The Ingraham Angle.”

        “I’ve got a billion dollars in my pocket to do it,” he said.

        His comments were supported by Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, who said she is “fully prepared” to help in the effort.

        “If you buy it, I have a place to store it — on state land! The [Texas General Land Office] is standing by to help!” she said, calling the auctioning off of border wall materials by the Biden administration “shameful.”

        The auctioning off of border wall parts began in 2023 with parts listed for sale on GovPlanet.com, an online auction marketplace. The Defense Department’s logistics agency told media outlets that the excess material had been turned over for disposition by the Army Corps of Engineers and was now for sale.

        However, the practice drew attention last week when The Daily Wire published video showing unused wall parts being transported on flatbed trucks in Arizona, even though the materials could be used in the next Trump administration. 

        Videos obtained exclusively by The Daily Wire from a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent show unused sections of the wall being hauled away on the back of flatbed trucks from a section of the border just south of Tucson, a hotspot for illegal crossings during the Biden administration.

        A defense official told Fox News that the Pentagon has been disposing of excess wall construction in accordance with the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which required the Defense secretary to submit a plan to use, transfer or donate all remaining wall material purchased with Pentagon funds. That plan was submitted in March.

        The official said that border states, including Texas, were given preference for materials. Both Texas and California requested and received border materials, they said.

        “Through our reutilization, transfer, and donation process, nearly 60% of those materials were transferred to authorized recipients, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the states of Texas and California,” the official said. “The remaining 40% was sold to GOVPLANET under a competitive sales contract process beginning in June 2024. The material currently being sold through GOVPLANET online auctions no longer belongs to the U.S. Government, and DoD has no legal authority to recall the material or stop further resale of material it no longer owns.”

        Man Accused Of Plotting Trump Assassination Claims He Was Pressured By Iran

          By
          Madeleine Jackson
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          2
          Image via Gage Skidmore Flickr

          A Pakistani businessman accused of attempting to hire hit men to assassinate political figures — including President Donald Trump — told jurors in a New York courtroom that he was forced into the plot by Iran’s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

          Asif Merchant, 47, testified Wednesday that Trump was not the only potential target in the alleged 2024 assassination scheme. According to Merchant, the list of possible victims also included then-President Joe Biden and former presidential candidate and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.

          Merchant told jurors he acted under pressure from an Iranian intelligence handler who threatened his relatives living in Iran.

          “My family was under threat, and I had to do this,” Merchant testified through an Urdu interpreter. “I was not wanting to do this so willingly.”

          He said he believed he would be arrested before anyone was harmed and planned to cooperate with U.S. authorities afterward in hopes of receiving leniency — and potentially a green card.

          Alleged plot uncovered by FBI

          Federal prosecutors say Merchant was arrested in July 2024 after outlining a murder-for-hire scheme to a man who was actually an informant working with the FBI. According to court filings, Merchant sketched out a plan on a napkin during a recorded meeting and later attempted to hire two men — who turned out to be undercover federal agents — to carry out the killing.

          He allegedly provided the agents with $5,000 as an initial payment while discussing possible methods for killing a political target.

          Authorities arrested Merchant in Texas as he prepared to leave the United States, before any attack could be carried out.

          Merchant testified that his handler initially asked him to recruit people in the United States willing to assist Iran. The assignment later escalated to finding someone capable of organizing protests, committing theft, laundering money and “maybe have somebody murdered.”

          “He did not tell me exactly who it is, but he told me — he named three people: Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Nikki Haley,” Merchant said in court.

          Prosecutors, however, argue that Merchant continued working on the plan even after U.S. immigration officials questioned him at Houston’s airport in April 2024 about his travel to Iran. Investigators say he researched Trump rally locations, drafted plans for a shooting at a political event and gathered money to pay the supposed hit men.

          In court filings, prosecutors also noted that Merchant never contacted law enforcement before his arrest and did not initially tell FBI agents that he had been acting under duress.

          If convicted, Merchant faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

          Part of broader Iran-linked threats

          The case is one of several alleged plots tied to Iran targeting former Trump administration officials in the years following the 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. U.S. officials say Iran has sought revenge for the strike by attempting to target Trump and other senior American figures.

          Another Justice Department case filed in 2024 accused an Afghan national, Farhad Shakeri, of working with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to organize a separate murder-for-hire scheme aimed at Trump and other targets.

          The Iranian government has repeatedly denied involvement in assassination plots against U.S. leaders.

          Authorities have also emphasized that other attempts on Trump’s life during the 2024 campaign — including the shooting at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania — were not connected to Iran and were carried out by individuals acting alone.

          Trial unfolds amid rising tensions

          Merchant’s trial comes during a period of heightened conflict between the United States and Iran. The proceedings are unfolding as a widening regional war involving Iran continues, with U.S. prosecutors arguing that the alleged plot reflects Iran’s willingness to conduct covert operations on American soil.

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          Trump Targets Former Chief Of Staff After Report Undermines 2020 Election Claims

            By
            Madeleine Jackson
            -
            1
            Office of Congressman Mark Meadows, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

            The walls are closing in on Donald Trump…

            The former President who is facing a litany of federal charges stemming from his alleged interference in the 2020 election pushed back on Tuesday’s ABC News report that former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows took an immunity deal to testify to a grand jury.

            Jonathan Karl reported that Meadows spoke with special counsel Jack Smith’s team at least three times this year:

            The sources said Meadows informed Smith’s team that he repeatedly told Trump in the weeks after the 2020 presidential election that the allegations of significant voting fraud coming to them were baseless, a striking break from Trump’s prolific rhetoric regarding the election.

            According to the sources, Meadows also told the federal investigators Trump was being “dishonest” with the public when he first claimed to have won the election only hours after polls closed on Nov. 3, 2020, before final results were in.

            “Obviously, we didn’t win,” a source quoted Meadows as telling Smith’s team in hindsight per Karl’s report, which strikes at the heart of both the federal and Fulton County case against Trump for criminally conspiring to defraud the American people that a free and fair election was “rigged.”

            Trump took to Truth Social and suggested that while he didn’t think Meadows was the sort to lie to prosecutors to get “IMMUNITY.”  He then passively aggressively suggested Meadows was among  “weaklings and cowards” that make a deal and are “so bad for the future our Failing Nation.”

            “I don’t think that Mark Meadows is one of them, but who really knows? ” Trump wrote:

            I don’t think Mark Meadows would lie about the Rigged and Stollen 2020 Presidential Election merely for getting IMMUNITY against Prosecution (PERSECUTION!) by Deranged Prosecutor, Jack Smith. BUT, when you really think about it, after being hounded like a dog for three years, told you’ll be going to jail for the rest of your life, your money and your family will be forever gone, and we’re not at all interested in exposing those that did the RIGGING — If you say BAD THINGS about that terrible “MONSTER,” DONALD J. TRUMP, we won’t put you in prison, you can keep your family and your wealth, and, perhaps, if you can make up some really horrible “STUFF” a out him, we may very well erect a statue of you in the middle of our decaying and now very violent Capital, Washington, D.C. Some people would make that deal, but they are weaklings and cowards, and so bad for the future our Failing Nation. I don’t think that Mark Meadows is one of them, but who really knows? MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!

            Trump then added:

            Mark Meadows NEVER told me that allegations of significant fraud (about the RIGGED Election!) were baseless. He certainly didn’t say that in his book!

            Politico’s Kyle Cheney also noted that in Trump’s attack, the former President may have also violated the gag order imposed in the case.

            Report: Biden Invokes Executive Privilege On Special Counsel Recordings

              By
              Madeleine Jackson
              -
              3
              President Joe Biden delivers remarks in National Statuary Hall on the one-year anniversary of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Thursday, January 6, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Cameron Smith)

              President Biden is using executive privilege to block House Republicans from obtaining audio recordings of his interviews with special counsel Robert Hur regarding his handling of classified documents.

              As The Hill reports:

              Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday requested Biden assert executive privilege over the recordings, which had been subpoenaed by the House Judiciary and Oversight committees.

              “Because of the President’s longstanding commitment to protecting the integrity, effectiveness, and independence of the Department of Justice and its law enforcement investigations, he has decided to assert executive privilege over the recordings,” White House counsel Ed Siskel wrote in a letter obtained by The Hill.

              While Hur’s report 345-page concluded no charges should be brought against the president, its descriptions of Biden’s memory lapses and the description of the president as a well-meaning, elderly man” set off a political firestorm. 

              Hur cited Biden’s 2017 conversations with ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer, which Hur described as “painfully slow, with Mr. Biden struggling to remember events and straining at times to read and relay his own notebook entries.”

              In a potential effort to address concerns about Biden’s mental sharpness, Vice President Kamala Harris informed The Wall Street Journal, shortly after the report’s release, that she is prepared to assume the presidency.

              Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News

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

              Trump Ends Talks With Zelenskyy, Cancels Joint Press Conference

              By
              Madeleine Jackson
              -
              4
              By The White House - https://www.flickr.com/photos/202101414@N05/54325633746/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=159707159

              It’s over…

              President Trump has called off negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to end the conflict in Ukraine after a tense Oval Office meeting in which the two leaders sparred over U.S. support for Kyiv.

              “We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure,” Trump posted on Truth Social after the meeting. 

              “It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,” Trump continued. “I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”

              Shortly after Trump’s post on Truth Social, Zelensky’s motorcade pulled up to the White House, signaling negotiations had ended.

              The two leaders had been scheduled to hold a joint press conference and sign a deal giving the U.S. access to Ukraine’s critical minerals supply later in the day. The press conference has been canceled, and the minerals deal was not signed.

              Trump’s post followed a stunning exchange in the Oval Office in which the president and Vice President Vance teed off on Zelensky, accusing him of being ungrateful for U.S. support and of having little leverage in talks.

              Watch:

              Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted publicly for the first time since his Oval Office blowup with President Donald Trump on Friday with a social media post thanking the United States.

              “Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit,” Zelenskyy posted on X. “Thank you @POTUS. Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”

              Usha Vance Addresses Possibility Of Becoming First Lady In 2028

              By
              Madeleine Jackson
              -
              0
              By Office of Vice President of the United States - @VP on X, Public Domain,

              Second Lady Usha Vance is taking it day by day.

              During a recent interview, the second lady responded to speculation her husband, JD Vance, is angling to be the next Republican presidential nominee.

              “People do ask about it,” Usha Vance told Meghan McCain on her podcast “Citizen McCain.”

              While she acknowledged the possibility of her husband, Vice President JD Vance, running for president, Usha Vance emphasized that she moved into the Washington area with “no intention whatsoever” of considering his political future. However, she pointed out that she also had no intention of being involved in politics four years ago.

              For now, Usha Vance said she is focused on the present, though she did not completely dismiss the idea.

              “My attitude is that this is a four-year period where I have a set of responsibilities to my family, to myself, to obviously the country and that’s really what I’m focused on,” Usha Vance said. “I’m not plotting out next steps or really trying for anything after this.”

              She continued, “In a dream world, eventually I’ll be able to live in my home and kind of continue my career and all those sorts of things. And if that happens in four years, I understand. If that happens in some other point in the future, I understand. Just sort of along for the ride and enjoying it while I can.”

              As vice president, Vance is considered the political frontrunner to be the Republican nominee for president in 2028.

              “I really am just not focused on politics. I’m not focused on the midterm elections in 2026, much less the presidential election in 2028. When we get to that point, I’ll talk to the president. We’ll figure out what we want to do,” Vance told Lawrence Jones in a “Fox & Friends” exclusive interview in April.

              In March, Tucker Carlson, co-founder of the Daily Caller News Foundation, forecasted that Vice President JD Vance will emerge as the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in 2028. Carlson’s statement, made on the “VINCE” podcast, sheds light on the increasing influence of Vance within the party and the likelihood of him becoming the successor to Donald Trump’s political legacy.

              Despite Donald Trump declining to endorse Vance during a February Fox News interview, where he stated there were “a lot of very capable people” in the Republican Party, Carlson is optimistic that the former president will ultimately support the vice president in 2028. Trump’s comment, which may have seemed like a rejection to some, was interpreted by Carlson as a temporary stance, not a definitive end to any future support.

              “I think people want to leave a legacy, all of us do, and great men especially do. And the only person in the entire Republican Party from my position who’s capable of carrying on the Trump legacy and expanding it, making it what it should fully be, is JD Vance,” Carlson explained. He also praised Vance’s loyalty to Trump and his profound service, indicating that Trump’s current withholding of endorsement may have been a strategic decision.

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              Deep State May Be Forced To Cough Up More Records On Biden Influence Peddling Scheme

              By
              Donny Ferguson
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              1
              Joe Biden via Gage Skidmore Flickr

              Americans may soon know more about a Biden family business arrangement selling White House access to foreign interests, under a  lawsuit from an ethics watchdog.

              The non-profit public interest law firm Judicial Watch reports it may receive more records under a “Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for Biden family records and communications regarding travel and finance transactions, as well as communications between the Bidens and several known business associates.”

              “This lawsuit is an opportunity for the Trump team to stop the Deep State’s slow-walking of the release of Biden family corruption records,” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

              The suit was originally filed in May 2023 “after the National Archives failed to respond to a February 2023 FOIA request.”

              This lawsuit previously “forced the release of  records revealing emails sent by Joe Biden using alias accounts during his vice presidency, in which he communicated with family members, including his son Hunter and brother James. The records also showed that in August 2016, Biden approved ending Secret Service protection for both Hunter Biden and Beau Biden’s daughter, Natalie, during a trip to Kosovo,” Judicial Watch reports.

              The emails included messages to Jim and Hunter Biden regarding the then-vice president’s schedule and meetings. Some emails showed Joe Biden using the alias: [email protected].

              According to Judicial Watch:

              The emails also showed that Hunter and Jim Biden accompanied Joe Biden on taxpayer-funded trips; and then-Vice President Biden in December 2009 emailing an aide after he forgot the password to his West Wing computer.

              The records showed that Hunter Biden used an email address ([email protected]) from his now-dissolved firm Rosemont Seneca Partners and that James Biden used an email address ([email protected]) tied to his consulting firm Lion Hall, which had been the subject of an FBI bribery investigation in the 1990s.

              The lawsuit also forced the release of records showing then-Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter received a May 26, 2016, email detailing a scheduled “8:45 am prep for a 9 am phone call with Pres Poroshenko,” who was the president of Ukraine. Joe Biden’s email address is the alias [email protected], Hunter Biden’s email account is disclosed as [email protected]. (Hunter Biden was on the board of the controversial Ukrainian firm Burisma at the time.)

              Trump Hesitant Over Scalise’s Leadership Abilities Due To Health Concerns

                By
                Madeleine Jackson
                -
                2

                During a recent interview, former President Trump was hesitant to outwardly support Rep. Steve Scalise for House Speaker after the Louisiana Congressman won the GOP nomination on Wednesday.

                Scalise, who is recovering from blood cancer, faces an uphill battle to officially secure the gavel as he can only afford to lose four votes.

                Trump, who publicly endorsed Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to serve as Speaker, told Fox News host Brian Kilmeade on his radio show that he likes both Jordan and Scalise, but that Scalise “is in serious trouble from the standpoint of his cancer. 

                “I mean, he’s got to get better for himself. I’m not talking about even country now. I’m saying got to get better. And this is tremendous stress. All of the things that you hear about and things that you don’t want to get involved in from the standpoint of getting well,” Trump said in the interview.

                The former president said Scalise is going through “very, very serious cancer therapy,” and he also cited the “aftereffect” of the congressman getting shot and seriously wounded in 2017 during a congressional baseball game practice.

                “These treatments, they drain you of strength, supposedly,” Trump said. “It’s like a draining of strength. And we need tremendous strength both inside and out, because we have radical left, lunatics like Nancy Pelosi and Schiff and all these crazy people that are so bad for our country.”

                Asked if Scalise’s health was the only reason Trump endorsed Jordan for the role, Trump demurred, praising both men. But he also acknowledged the dynamics within the party may make it difficult for either representative to secure enough votes to become Speaker.

                “I think it’s going to be very hard, maybe in either case, for somebody to get you know, if you lose four votes, you can’t get it,” Trump said. “I think Steve will lose far more than four, and I think probably Jim will, too. And then you end up in one of these crazy stalemates. It’s a very interesting situation.”

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