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Feds Gave $400 BILLION in ‘COVID Relief’ to Criminals and Scammers

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Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine answering questions from the press. As states across the country begin to reopen and nearly half are seeing COVID-19 cases rise, Governor Tom Wolf announced Friday that Pennsylvania is not one of them. ...Today at a daily COVID briefing with Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, he noted another milestone: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention proprietary data for states indicates that we are one of just three states that has had a downward trajectory of COVID- 19 cases for more than 42 days. The other two states are Montana and Hawaii. JUNE 17, 2020 - HARRISBURG, PA.

ANALYSIS– This should be one of the biggest stories in America. The bloated, overreaching, over-powerful, over-taxing federal government gave nearly half a TRILLION of our tax dollars for so-called ‘COVID-19 relief’ to grifters, scammers and fraudsters. 

If that doesn’t cause national outrage, nothing will.

They used to say sarcastically, ‘a billion here and a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.’

Well, this is $400 billion worth of real money, and the monstrosity we call the federal government literally gave it away to criminals.

Often the fraud involved identity theft and crooks overseas. Sadly, some of those criminals might also be your next-door neighbors, family, or friends. 

Everyone, it seems, ‘wanted in’ on an easy payday.

And the government gave it all to them in about three years. Fortune reported:

An Associated Press analysis found that fraudsters potentially stole more than $280 billion in COVID-19 relief funding; another $123 billion was wasted or misspent. Combined, the loss represents a jarring 10% of the $4.2 trillion the U.S. government has so far disbursed in COVID-relief aid.

That number is certain to grow as investigators dig deeper into thousands of potential schemes.

There are myriad reasons for the staggering loss. Investigators and outside experts say the government, in seeking to quickly spend trillions in relief aid, conducted too little oversight during the pandemic’s early stages and instituted too few restrictions on applicants. In short, they say, the grift was just way too easy.

“Here was this sort of endless pot of money that anyone could access,” said Dan Fruchter, chief of the fraud and white-collar crime unit at the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Washington. “Folks kind of fooled themselves into thinking that it was a socially acceptable thing to do, even though it wasn’t legal.”

It was theft. Some big; some small. But together it equaled a mass of scams so large it is unprecedented in U.S. history.

And it all occurred when America was being devastated with overrun hospitals, school closures, closed businesses, and many others who really needed help.

This is what happens when a giant faceless government bureaucracy is enabled by politicians from both parties (but generally more so from the Democrats) and detached from reality, taken from the people, and then decide who to give it to afterward.

As Fortune notes: “Too much government money, Republicans argue, breeds fraud, waste, and inflation.” And it does.

But it also shows the state of American society where almost everyone wants something for nothing and is willing to scam and steal to get it.

And in this case, both sides are to blame for the massive spending and waste.

At the height of the pandemic, President Donald Trump approved emergency aid measures totaling $3.2 trillion, according to figures from the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, and reported by Fortune.

And then came Joe Biden with his 2021 ‘American Rescue Plan’ spending another $1.9 trillion. 

The committee’s most recent accounting shows that about a fifth of the $5.2 trillion (over $1 TRILLION) has yet to be fully paid out. 

Perhaps they should put that on hold until they can figure out what fraudsters they will be giving it out to, and also recover the $400 billion already wasted.

At least Republicans and Democrats have agreed on one way to fix it. 

They are giving the government more time to catch fraudsters with legislation passed in August To increase the statute of limitations from five to 10 years on crimes involving the two major programs managed by the Small Business Administration.

Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.

[Watch] Trump’s Niece Compares Him Unfavorably To Jeffrey Dahmer On MSNBC

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    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Mary Trump‘s aversion to her famous uncle is well-known, but it’s not every day she compares him to one of America’s most infamous serial killers.

    On national television.

    Reflecting on the Stormy Daniels hush money case, Trump’s niece joined MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell to mock the lack of Trump supporters demonstrating outside the courthouse and the absence of the former president’s family inside the courtroom.

    Several reporters also noticed their lack of attendance in the courtroom, asking the presumptive Republican nominee where Melania is.

    Appearing on Monday’s edition of “The Last Word,” Mary and Larry mocked the presidential front-runner, saying that even Jeffrey Dahmer‘s parents attended his trial. 

    “This is something that I’ve never seen,” O’Donnell claimed. “Not actually made manifest in the courtroom, before Donald Trump‘s in that courtroom alone. Jeffrey Dahmer’s parents were there every single day. It is. It is very hard, to, to find a courtroom where the criminal defendant doesn’t have a relative sitting there in the front row.”

    The younger Trump replied: “Yeah, well, I got a couple of things about that. First of all, it’s another example of how, he, he perverts systems or expectations. For anybody else, that would just be damning. Right. Just the way he talks about dogs would be damning.”

    “How many times have we heard that his bizarre behavior, that, that he engages in bizarre behaviors or just doesn’t conform in a way that, that a, a reasonably well-adjusted human being would?”

    “But like everything else about him, it just kind of gets baked in,” she continued. “Right.”

    “But it is. Let’s, it’s worth, pausing, about how under. Unfair on. Unreal. Bizarre. Strange. Unacceptable. Weird. Whatever adjective you want to use, it is that he is there alone in terms of friends and family,” her assessment continued.

    “I think it is worth pointing out… One. I don’t think he cares. I don’t think it matters to him. That is not where he gets his energy. That is not what gives him solace to the extent that anything does,” Trump opined. “He’s more upset about the fact that there aren’t more people outside protesting on his behalf. Right.”

    “But it also points to, the bizarre thing about my family that every transaction in this family is a transactional one,” the estranged niece continued. “I’m sorry. Every relationship, I should say, is a transactional one. His kids have decided, for whatever reason, that it’s not worth their time for them to be in that courtroom because they’re not going to get anything out of it. That’s, that’s the way this family rolls.” 

    Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News

    Hunter Biden Was Part of Chinese Operation to Spy on Biden Family

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      President Joe Biden hugs his family during the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. (DOD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II)

      ANALYSIS – The stakes continue to grow for Joe Biden as more evidence is discovered about his son Hunter’s damning ties to Communist China.

      While the establishment media is slowly coming around to the veracity of the information on Hunter’s laptop, they continue to downplay the more severe implications of his links to Chinese intelligence.

      Thankfully, Republican lawmakers and former White House officials remain dogged in their pursuit of the truth.

      As part of this effort, House Republicans last week released evidence on how the president’s son’s former business partner was connected to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

      And former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker told Fox News that this evidence shows Hunter Biden was “part of a Chinese intelligence mission that was trying to gather as much information as possible about Joe Biden, Hunter Biden and the entire Biden family.”

      Just The News reported:

      His [Whitaker’s] interview came days after House Republicans released evidence that before becoming Hunter Biden’s business partner and close associate, JiaQi “Jackie” Bao worked for the Chinese Communist Party at an agency that approves foreign-funded projects.

      “I have always felt that in addition to the sort of just the classic political corruption that is contained in this case, there is this national security concern that I think actually elevates it to, you know, a higher level of a case,” Whitaker said.

      Meanwhile, Fox News reports this new evidence is raising major national security concerns.

      Republicans are demanding information from the FBI about Hunter Biden’s business partner’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party and her successful infiltration into President Biden’s family’s affairs, which they say jeopardizes national security.

      James Comer, R-Ky., sent a letter to FBI Director Chris Wray Wednesday morning stating that committee Republicans have documents that “reveal Hunter Biden’s business partner and close personal associate was linked to the Communist Party of China (CCP), her employer before the Biden family.”

      Republicans say Hunter’s partner, JiaQi “Jackie” Bao, provided the president’s son information on how to purchase natural gas in the U.S. and sell it to China. In addition, they say documents show that Bao had access to the Biden family’s financial information and worked closely with CCP agents.

      “After infiltrating the Biden family, Bao urged Hunter to encourage Joe Biden to run for president months before he announced and then supplied the Biden family campaign advice related to China,” Comer’s letter said.

      Media reports and documents reviewed by Committee Republicans suggest that Bao and Hunter’s relationship extended beyond professional obligations — a common tactic employed by Chinese intelligence agents.

      Committee Republicans are concerned Hunter Biden may have been compromised by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and foreign intelligence services (FIS). Due to the interconnected nature of the Biden family’s finances and business dealings, this type of access would jeopardize U.S. national security,” Comer added.

      This growing evidence increasingly indicates Hunter Biden was compromised by Chinese intelligence and in turn compromised the entire Biden family, especially his father, Joe Biden.

      Expect explosive revelations as soon as the GOP gains control of Congress and launches more detailed investigations.

      Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.

      GOP Senator Predicts SCOTUS Will Punt Trump Immunity Case

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        [Photo Credit: The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]

        On Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) predicted that the U.S. Supreme Court will send former President Trump’s immunity case back to the lower courts.

        “Well, I think the court’s gonna find that presidential immunity exists for President Trump like every other president, but you got to be within the scope of being president. I think they’ll send it back to the lower courts to find out exactly what actions fall within presidential immunity and what are considered personal. I think that’s the way this will end — there will be some immunity for some of the actions,” Graham said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

        The Supreme Court heard arguments last week over whether Trump could have presidential immunity from criminal prosecution in the federal Jan. 6 case brought by special counsel Jack Smith. 

        Graham said the question of immunity may be “decided partially” for the former president.

        “There’s no absolute immunity in the Constitution. It will be a legal analysis, you know, the president needs to be protected. You know, we don’t become a banana republic here. We prosecute, you know, our political opponents, which is going on really in many jurisdictions,” he said. “But I think the immunity question will be decided partially for Trump and some legal, some factual analysis as to when and where it applies.”

        Graham then went on to slam all of the cases being brought against Trump as “political” and “selective prosecution.”

        “So I think most Americans are not going to decide how to vote based on Trump’s legal troubles, but their troubles they face — inflation, crime or broken border — your poll tells me everything I need to know about these legal problems for Trump. People looking at their problems, not Trump’s legal problems,” Graham said.

        Vice President Vance And Second Lady Share Pregnancy Announcement

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

          On Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance shared they are pregnant with their fourth child.

          In a message shared on social media, Vance wrote, “We’re very excited to share the news that Usha is pregnant withour fourth child, a boy. Usha and the baby are doing well, and we are all looking forward to welcoming him in late July.”

          “During this exciting and hectic time, we are particularly grateful for the military doctors who take excellent care of our family and the the staff members who do so much to ensure that we can serve the country while enjoying a wonderful life with our children.”

          JD Vance and his wife Usha have three children: Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel.

          In December, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared that she and her husband, Nick, are expecting a baby girl. The couple’s second child is due in May 2026, joining big brother Niko, who was born in July 2024.

          “My husband and I are thrilled to grow our family and can’t wait to watch our son become a big brother,” Leavitt told Fox News Digital. “My heart is overflowing with gratitude to God for the blessing of motherhood, which I truly believe is the closest thing to Heaven on Earth.”

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

          Trump Plans to Dramatically Reverse Biden’s Open Border Lunacy

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          Trump at the border wall via Wikimedia Commons

          ANALYSIS – While the left immediately claimed Donald Trump’s immigration plan for his potential second term is ‘draconian,’ and ‘extreme,’ it really isn’t. It’s essentially a needed dramatic reversal to Joe Biden’s extreme open border insanity.

          It’s being referred to as a ‘bolting the hatches’ and ‘bomb the cartels’ strategy. And I’m all for it. 

          Especially since what we have now is total third-world chaos and thoroughly unacceptable for America.

          The New York Post recently reported that Joe Biden has now literally opened the floodgates at the border by welding open 114 gates in Arizona’s border wall near Tucson. 

          The paper noted that in addition to endangered antelope being free to cross:

          …the move is also letting an average of 1,400 migrants from as far away as China casually walk into the country daily — with overwhelmed and outnumbered border agents practically helpless to stop them.

          “We thought the agents were going to tell us something,” one Ecuadorian migrant said. “But we just walked in.”

          The Post added: “Smugglers are capitalizing on the floodgate blunder, driving migrants by the busload to the border and dropping them off as if they were casual tourists.”

          And, unlike the mostly South American migrants who have been stopped crossing illegally into Texas, the immigrants coming to Arizona are from places as far as India, Egypt, and China.

          Rather than the disheveled and exhausted South American migrants at the end of a long and arduous trek across Mexico, the migrants at Tucson now look more like folks on vacation.

          The libertarian-leaning (generally not liberal) Reason outlet was also harshly critical of Trump’s new proposed immigration policies. But when I read their version of what they thought was horrible, I mostly applauded.

          Trump’s plan includes:

          Screening out Marxists as well as Communists – check.

          Screening out potential terrorists from extremist countries – check.

          Ending so-called birthright citizenship so that simply being born here from parents who entered illegally isn’t an option – check.

          Quickly deporting criminal migrants – check.

          Targeting Mexico’s deadly drug cartels as enemy combatants – check.

          Generally making it harder to enter the United States legally (if you are willing to cross Mexico on foot, you can do more paperwork) – check.

          I can easily stand behind every item noted above and below. 

          According to Reason:

          “Trump’s plan would involve waves of harsh new policies — and dust off old ones that rarely have been enforced, if ever,” writes Kight. One policy would “ramp up ideological screening” for would-be legal immigrants. U.S. immigration law already largely bars Communist Party–affiliated people from immigrating, but Trump would reportedly expand that to reject “Marxist” applicants. Another policy would expand the former president’s “Muslim ban” to “block more people from certain countries from entering the U.S.,” notes Axios. Trump’s platform would also include ending birthright citizenship and carrying out quick deportations of criminal migrants under “an obscure section of the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts.”

          Other aspects of the plan would target drug cartels and smuggling. It would label cartels as “‘unlawful enemy combatants’ to allow the U.S. military to target them in Mexico,” Axios reports, the same designation the government has used “to justify long-term detentions of 9/11 suspects at Guantanamo Bay.” It would also authorize the Coast Guard and Navy to form a blockade in U.S. and Latin American waters to halt boats carrying drugs.

          Certain aspects of the plan, if implemented, would likely run into legal challenges. One such aspect is Trump’s reported intent to use the Alien Enemies Act, signed by President John Adams in 1798, “to quickly remove smugglers and migrant criminals…without having to go through legal steps in [Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s] deportation process.” Other policies would put hopeful migrants—and even travelers—through invasive and costly procedures to enter the U.S., such as social media searches and paying bonds to come here.

          Well, after four years of border violence and chaos, and an unprecedented wave of illegal immigrants being practically invited across an open border before being shuttled throughout the country and fed and housed at taxpayer expense, it is time for some cracking down.

          Bolt the hatches and bomb away.

          DeSantis, Aides Involved in Minor Car Wreck On Campaign Trail

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            Police image via Pixabay free images

            Republican Presidential candidate Ron DeSantis was involved in a minor car accident while traveling to a campaign stop on Tuesday morning.

            DeSantis and his team were uninjured, according to his campaign. 

            “This morning, the governor was in a car accident while traveling to an event in Chattanooga, Tennessee,” said Bryan Griffin, press secretary for DeSantis’s campaign. 

            “We appreciate the prayers and well wishes of the nation for his continued protection while on the campaign trail.”

            This is a breaking news story. Click refresh for the latest updates.

            Disgraced Lawyer Michael Avenatti Lands Reduced Prison Term

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              Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

              Michael Avenatti, a former high-profile attorney who rose to fame representing porn actor Stormy Daniels against President Donald Trump, was originally sentenced after pleading guilty to bilking his California clients and hiding millions more from the IRS. 

              He had the sentence vacated in October by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which determined that it was based on calculations of a greater loss to his victims than was actually suffered — and thus was too lengthy. 

              U.S. District Court Judge James Selna on Thursday sentenced Avenatti to 135 months, minus 40 to account for a separate Stormy Daniels fraud sentence.

              The court previously ruled that the Stormy Daniels theft was similar in nature, happened in the same time period, and therefore could be considered when deciding the new sentence.

              The 14-year sentence was nullified, but not dismissed entirely, and his convictions still stand, with Avenatti guilty of wire fraud and tax obstruction.

              Authorities said Avenatti negotiated and collected settlement payments on behalf of his clients, then funneled the money to accounts he controlled and spent it on his own lavish lifestyle.

              The case is separate from Avenatti’s other convictions for attempting to extort Nike and stealing money from Daniels. Avenatti’s attempts to get those convictions and sentences overturned on appeal all failed.

              Avenatti’s initial release date was set for July 31, 2035, but he asked Selna for a sentence that would have him released in just a few years. Avenatti, who was suspended from practicing law in California, has been representing himself.

              Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of only a few months less than the 14 years originally handed down.

              Ahead of his resentencing, Avenatti appealed for a more lenient sentence by providing details of his alleged personal transformation while behind bars in a 41-page memorandum filed last month.

              The memorandum detailed his life at the Terminal Island prison in Los Angeles, describing how he is trusted by prison officials to help other inmates – including serving as “suicide watch companion.” 

              Trump Leads GOP Race For President, In Polls, Money – And Delegates

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                Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

                ANALYSIS – There’s one reason former President Donald Trump didn’t participate in the first 2024 GOP primary debate in Milwaukee.

                He remains far ahead of his nearest rivals in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, both in the polls and in campaign donations.

                Of course, he also wanted to avoid being attacked or questioned by his Republican rivals, especially about his numerous federal and state indictments.

                But when you are the former president and are this far ahead, going on a friendly interview with Tucker Carlson instead of the debate seems like a very good move. (RELATED: Did Trump’s Tucker Carlson Interview On ‘X’ Really Get Over 200 Million Views?)

                While it will take a few days to see if the debates, or Trump’s interview, moved the needle at all, right now, Trump continues to dominate the Republican primary field in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

                In the RealClearPolitics average of national polls, Trump is 40 points clear of his nearest rival, Ron DeSantis.

                Trump also dominates campaign donations which rely heavily on emails of emotional appeals, having amassed over $72 million for his war chest in just eight months.

                But, while those two important metrics get a lot of attention, Trump is also already ahead in the area that’s the real key to victory: the delegate process. (RELATED: Trump Is Right To Reject RNC’s Unpatriotic Demand – But He Needs To Go Further)

                As CNN reported:

                Trump’s team has the lead in both its understanding of the delegate process and the steps the team has taken to tilt the scales in their favor, according to over a dozen Republican state party officials, veteran strategists and campaign operatives interviewed by CNN. Those interviews, alongside ones done with the allies of Flordia Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Trump campaign officials focused on delegate math, respectively, paint a clear portrait of the state of play of a crucial part of the 2024 Republican primary.

                And this tedious process is essential to clinching the GOP nomination.

                CNN continues:

                Understanding the delegate count on a state-by-state level is a wonky but necessary part of winning the presidential nomination, especially in primaries that drag on for months. Delegates – awarded to candidates after the primary or caucus takes place in each state – officially nominate a candidate at the party convention, and the candidate with the most delegates will be the party nominee.

                At the moment, that candidate appears to be Trump. CNN explains:

                In 2016, the idea that Donald Trump would eventually have deep roots with state Republican party officials seemed outlandish. But throughout his presidency, he won over or molded certain state party leadership to be more sympathetic to him. There are also structural advantages that Trump’s team now enjoys that DeSantis’s team and allies do not.

                “At the time, obviously, many state parties were skeptical of the president. They were skeptical of his conservative bona fides, they were skeptical of an ability to win a general election and sure enough, after he became the nominee, and to the seven years since, he’s done nothing but develop incredibly strong relationships with the state parties,” a Trump adviser told CNN.

                While Trump complained loudly in 2016 that the GOP delegate process was ‘rigged’ against him, it may be that the processs is now ‘rigged’ in his favor.

                The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Great America News Desk. It first appeared in American Liberty News.

                Social Media Erupts Over Dem Responses To Child Cancer Survivor

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                  Photo via Pixabay images

                  Democrats have some thinking to do…

                  Social media erupted after many Democrat lawmakers notably stayed seated as a 13-year-old brain cancer survivor was asked to be made an honorary Secret Service agent

                  “A terminally ill child with brain cancer is given an honorary Secret Service award and the Democrats refuse to stand or clap for the child,” Trump administration official Ric Grennell tweeted regarding the interaction between the 13-year-old and the president. 

                  “Democrats refused to stand for the brain cancer surviving kid! How awful can one party be?” Outkick founder Clay Travis tweeted.

                  “Democrats didn’t even stand for the boy who survived brain cancer,” Republican activist Scott Pressler posted on X.

                  “Democrats refused to stand or clap for a little boy fighting cancer,” Libs of TikTok posted on X. “Truly sick people.”

                  However, others highlighted the overall importance of the moment. 

                  “This is the first time I can remember crying during a state of the union. Thank you President Trump,” Meghan McCain posted. “This is so beautiful. Anyone who has been impacted by brain cancer knows how special this is.” 

                  McCain’s father, the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., died of brain cancer in 2018.