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

      By
      Madeleine Jackson
      -
      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 Doubles Down On Call for Liz Cheney to Be Jailed

        By
        Madeleine Jackson
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        1
        Image via Pixabay

        Is he right?

        Former President Donald Trump wants ex-Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney to be thrown behind bars.

        On Sunday morning, Trump wrote that Cheney “should go to Jail along with the rest of the Unselect Committee!”

        Trump also shared an article about the committee and accused them of having “withheld crucial evidence” by not making testimony public from a Secret Service driver. The driver, who has not been named, disputed the account of former White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson — who claimed that on his way back to the White House on Jan. 6, Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of the limo in an effort to redirect it to the Capitol.

        The Jan. 6 committee has faced intense scrutiny over its decision to withhold some testimony from the public. According to Mediaite, Committee members noted that they had a deal with the Secret Service in which they agreed to avoid disclosing “privacy information, for-official-use-only information, intelligence and law enforcement sensitive records and raw intelligence information” from 12 interviews they conducted.

        Cheney didn’t waste much time before responding to Trump’s comments.

        “Hi Donald: you know these are lies,” Trump said. “You have had all the grand jury & J6 transcripts for many months. You’re trying to halt your 1/6 trial because your VP, WH counsel, WH aides, campaign & DOJ officials etc will testify against you. You’re afraid of the truth and you should be.”

        After that, Trump reiterated his call.

        “SHE SHOULD BE PROSECUTED FOR WHAT SHE HAS DONE TO OUR COUNTRY!” Trump wrote. “SHE ILLEGALLY DESTROYED THE EVIDENCE. UNREAL!!!”

        Canadian Conservative Poised To Lose Seat After 20 Years In Stunning Fall From Grace

        By
        Madeleine Jackson
        -
        2

        A stunning loss for Canadian conservatives…

        Canadian Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is projected to lose the parliamentary seat he has held for more than 20 years in a stunning defeat to Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy.

        The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), a state-owned outlet, projected the loss on Tuesday morning following Monday’s federal election.

        However, Elections Canada’s decision to pause the counting of special ballots means it remains unclear whether the Liberals, led by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, will walk away with a minority or majority mandate.

        Fanjoy, who is projected to take Poilievre’s seat in Parliament, worked in business and marketing and lives in a carbon-neutral house in Manotick, a suburb of Ottawa, according to CBC.

        “We have to look out for ourselves, and we have to take care of each other. Let’s get to work,” Fanjoy wrote in a post on X.

        In his victory speech, Carney appeared to criticize the U.S. for President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, which he called a “betrayal.”

        “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” Carney said in his victory speech. “America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country. These are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so America can own us. That will never … ever happen.”

        In late 2024, just before Trudeau’s resignation, Poilievre was up 25 points over the unpopular then-prime minister, according to Politico. However, Trump’s tariffs and comments about making Canada the 51st state took over the Great White North’s election cycle, likely fueling Carney and the Liberals’ victory. 

        President Trump has repeated remarks referencing Canada potentially becoming the 51st state.

        “What I’d like to see — Canada become our 51st state,” Trump said in February in the Oval Office when asked what concessions Canada could offer to stave off tariffs.

        Despite Canada being one of the United States’ top trade partners Trump asserted the U.S. did not need Canada’s lumber or automobile production.

        The president suggested it’s unlikely the U.S. will annex Canada, partly because neither side would be willing to put up with the economic pain that would be required for that to happen.

        “We don’t need them. As a state, it’s different. As a state it’s much different. And there are no tariffs,” Trump said. “So I’d love to see that. Some people say that would be a longshot. If people wanted to play the game right, it would be 100 percent certain that they’d become a state. But a lot of people don’t like to play the game. Because they don’t have a threshold of pain.”

        Donald Trump Charged in Georgia 2020 Election Probe

          By
          Madeleine Jackson
          -
          0
          Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

          Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) has officially charged former President Donald Trump in the office’s yearslong investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn Georgia’s election results.

          On Monday night a grand jury voted to charge Trump on 13 charges ranging from making false statements and impersonating a public officer to conspiracy and racketeering — a charge generally reserved for organized crime. Eighteen Trump lawyers, advisers, and confidantes are charged alongside the leading GOP 2024 hopeful, including his former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Each of them faces the racketeering charge, linking the multitude of alleged crimes together. 

          The 98-page document dropped shortly before 11 p.m. on Monday.

          The shared charge alleges the defendants participated in a “criminal enterprise in Fulton County, Georgia — and elsewhere — to accomplish the illegal goal” of keeping Trump in office, Willis (D) said Monday.

          See the Trump allies charged in the Georgia Probe:

          • Mark Meadows
          • John Eastman
          • Kenneth Cheseboro
          • Jenna Ellis
          • Rudy Giuliani
          • Ray Smith
          • Jeffrey Clark
          • Robert Cheely
          • Michael Roman
          • Stephen Lee
          • Harrison Floyd
          • Trevian Kutti
          • Shawn Still
          • David Shafer
          • Sidney Powell
          • Cathy Latham
          • Misty Hampton
          • Scott Hall

          The investigation largely focused on a phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger during which the former president pressured the official to “find” enough votes to overturn the results.

          However, over the weekend an exclusive report from CNN revealed Georgia prosecutors also obtained documents connecting Trump’s team to a voting system breach in Coffee County in January 2021.

          CNN reports:

          Together, the text messages and other court documents show how Trump lawyers and a group of hired operatives sought to access Coffee County’s voting systems in the days before January 6, 2021, as the former president’s allies continued a desperate hunt for any evidence of widespread fraud they could use to delay certification of Joe Biden’s electoral victory.

           Last year, a former Trump official testified under oath to the House January 6 select committee that plans to access voting systems in Georgia were discussed in meetings at the White House, including during an Oval Office meeting on December 18, 2020,  that included Trump. 

          Six days before pro-Trump operatives gained unauthorized access to voting systems, the local elections official who allegedly helped facilitate the breach sent a “written invitation” to attorneys working for Trump, according to text messages obtained by CNN.

          Read the full indictment below:

          23SC188947-CRIMINAL-INDICTMENT-1Download

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

          Amanda Head: Celebrities Love Sleepy Joe Biden

            By
            Amanda Head
            -
            0

            Throughout the Trump administration, A-list celebrities avoided the White House like the plague in an effort to preserve their own fragile egos and reputations. However, now that President Biden is in office celebrities are flooding back, take none other than Elton John’s upcoming performance on the White House lawn as evidence.

            Watch Amanda break it down below.

            DeSantis Receives Unexpected Rescue After Being Called ‘Racist’

            By
            Madeleine Jackson
            -
            0

            Florida Governor Ron DeSantis received an unexpected rescue after being called a racist.

            Black leaders in Miami apologized to Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis after one of its members called him a racist last week, according to reports from Fox News.

            Pierre Rutledge, chair of the Miami-Dade Black Affairs Advisory Board, issued a statement on behalf of his board that apologized to DeSantis for a comment made at their Wednesday meeting from a member who said, “Our governor is racist.”

            “We take it to heart when someone uses the term racist,” Rutledge said Friday. “Words matter. And so as chair, I must start by saying we want to pull that back. There’s nothing wrong with saying ‘we’re sorry.’ That’s not what we intended to say or be depicted by anyone. And that’s not the feeling of this board.”

            The member labeled DeSantis a racist due to the ongoing controversy of an African-American history Advanced Placement course. Earlier this year, Gov. DeSantis rejected the course because he claimed the content did not focus on Black history, instead, the course contained Black Lives Matter and queer issues. 

            DeSantis has defended the decision from his Department of Education to remove the African-American history course, which he said pushes a political agenda.

            “This course on Black history, what’s one of the lessons about? Queer theory,” DeSantis said. “Now, who would say that an important part of Black history is queer theory? That is somebody pushing an agenda.”

            Black leaders and Democrats in Florida have pledged to defend and keep the course in schools.

            The College Board removed aspects of the course last Wednesday opposed by DeSantis. The course will be reevaluated by the Florida Department of Education to determine if it is appropriate for schools.

            Report: Trump FCC Chair Willing To Revoke Media Broadcast Licenses

            By
            Madeleine Jackson
            -
            0

            Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr is making waves in Washington by refusing to give corporate media a free pass. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Carr said he is prepared to hold powerful broadcasters accountable if they cross the line, even suggesting their licenses could be at risk.

            “Broadcast licenses are not sacred cows,” Carr declared, emphasizing that media companies must serve the public interest—not just their own political agenda.

            Unlike past FCC chairs who often looked the other way, Carr has embraced President Trump’s call to challenge the entrenched power of legacy outlets. He noted that Trump shattered the illusion that the mainstream press acts as neutral gatekeepers of truth, exposing the bias that millions of Americans already sensed.

            Taking on Comcast and NBC

            Carr has already taken steps to ensure media giants like Comcast are not misleading the public. Following concerns about the company’s partisan coverage and questionable diversity policies, Carr launched two investigations into Comcast’s practices.

            In April, Carr accused Comcast of misleading Americans with its reporting on a high-profile deportation case. By July, he expanded the review to include whether NBC affiliates were truly serving their communities as required under federal law.

            The standard Carr cites dates back to 1934, which requires broadcasters to act in the “public interest, convenience, and necessity.” While critics claim such standards are outdated, Carr argues that the law remains clear: if companies are given privileged access to America’s airwaves, they must be held accountable to the public.

            The FCC has rarely revoked a broadcast license—most notably in 1971 when a Mississippi station defended segregation—but Carr has signaled he’s willing to use that authority again if necessary.

            Fully Aligned With Trump’s Agenda

            Carr has been at the FCC since 2017 and makes no secret that he supports the president’s approach. “We are fully aligned with the agenda that President Trump is running,” he told the Journal.

            For Carr, this means standing up to the mainstream press, protecting Americans from being misled, and ensuring that media companies don’t abuse their privileged position.

            Critics Push Back

            Of course, media lawyers and progressive watchdog groups are sounding the alarm. Robert Corn-Revere of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression complained to the Journal that Carr’s actions are political. But for millions of conservatives, Carr’s willingness to confront biased outlets is long overdue.

            By leaning in rather than playing the old Washington “independence” game, Carr is showing he’s willing to take bold steps to ensure the public gets fair and honest coverage—not just the partisan spin of corporate media.

            The 1776 Project is building an army of parents and school board leaders to CRUSH the Soros agenda — join the fight! [DONATE NOW]

            Obama Presidential Center Breaks Silence Over Controversial Building Plan

              By
              Madeleine Jackson
              -
              2
              The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

              The Obama Presidential Center is responding publicly after years of criticism over its controversial design and rising costs, with a senior Obama Foundation official now attempting to justify the project to skeptics.

              Construction on the center began in 2021, but many Chicago residents have remained openly critical of the 225-foot-tall structure rising on the city’s South Side. The gray, largely windowless tower will house President Barack Obama’s presidential library and museum, departing sharply from the traditional design of most presidential libraries.

              Obama Foundation Deputy Director Kim Patterson said the building’s appearance — including its lack of windows — was intentional.

              “There are not a lot of windows on the building, but that’s intentional, because sunlight is just not a friend to the artwork and the artifacts that are going inside of the building,” Patterson told CBS News during a tour of the site.

              Patterson also defended the building’s symbolism, which critics have widely questioned.

              “The shape of the building was actually meant to mimic four hands coming together to show the importance of our collective action,” she said.

              Despite those explanations, the project has faced sustained backlash from local residents, architects, and fiscal watchdogs. Critics argue the design clashes with Chicago’s architectural heritage and resembles brutalist government structures. Some locals, quoted by the New York Post, have nicknamed the building “The Obamalisk,” a jab at its stark, monolithic appearance.

              The controversy has gone beyond aesthetics. In 2018, a lawsuit accused the City of Chicago of illegally transferring public parkland to the Obama Foundation, raising concerns about favoritism and misuse of public assets. That legal challenge was not resolved until 2022, fueling broader concerns about transparency and governance.

              Protests have also occurred at the construction site, with residents objecting to both the project’s footprint and its impact on surrounding neighborhoods. Patterson acknowledged that community resistance forced at least one major design change — the relocation of a parking garage.

              “If the parking garage was here, it could possibly block sunlight coming to their area, their gardens,” Patterson said.

              She noted that the foundation ultimately decided to place the garage underground.

              Fiscal concerns remain a major point of contention. When announced in 2017, the Obama Presidential Center was projected to cost $500 million. As of 2025, that figure has ballooned to approximately $850 million — an increase critics say reflects a pattern of cost overruns associated with Obama-era initiatives. While the foundation insists private donations are covering expenses, skeptics question whether additional public infrastructure and security costs will ultimately fall on taxpayers.

              The center is currently scheduled to open in June 2026.

              The criticism surrounding the Obama library stands in contrast to proposals discussed by President Donald Trump regarding his own future presidential library. Trump has floated plans to locate his library in Florida, potentially near Mar-a-Lago, emphasizing accessibility, private funding, and minimal disruption to public land. Supporters argue such an approach reflects Trump’s broader philosophy of limiting government entanglement and avoiding taxpayer burden.

              As debates over presidential legacies increasingly play out through massive construction projects, the Obama Presidential Center has become a flashpoint

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              Verdict Reached In Attempted Trump Assassination Trial

              By
              Madeleine Jackson
              -
              5

              Just in…

              A jury has reportedly reached a verdict in the trial of Ryan Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate then-candidate Trump on his golf course.

              Routh was found guilty on all charges. Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen after learning the verdict. Multiple court marshals were needed to de-escalate the situation and temporarily removed Routh from the courtroom.

              The case was heard by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who denied a motion from Routh’s defense team seeking her recusal. A Trump appointee, Cannon was randomly assigned to the case.

              Federal prosecutors alleged Routh camped near Trump’s golf course for 12 hours with a rifle and aimed at a Secret Service agent before being forced to drop the weapon. Investigators later discovered a letter in which Routh expressed regret that he failed to kill Trump, as well as evidence he sought anti-aircraft weapons and surveillance of Trump’s flights weeks before his arrest.

              Routh was found guilty of the attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer, and multiple gun violations — crimes carrying potential life sentences.

              Routh faces up to life in prison. Routh pleaded not guilty to all charges.

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

              From Erika Kirk: The torch Charlie lit still burns — now it’s in our hands. [STAND WITH US TODAY]

              Special Envoy Reveals Ukraine Leader Apologized In Letter To Trump

              By
              Madeleine Jackson
              -
              5
              By President Of Ukraine - https://www.flickr.com/photos/165930373@N06/54169325552/, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=156221279

              President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky apologized to Trump in a letter.

              “Zelensky sent a letter to the president. He apologized for that whole incident that happened in the Oval Office,” Witkoff said Monday on Fox News. “I think that it was an important step and there’s been a lot of discussion between our teams and the Ukrainians and the Europeans who are relevant to this discussion as well.”

              U.S. and Ukrainian officials are set to meet in Saudi Arabia this week to pick back up on peace negotiations to end the war with Russia.

              Witkoff said he thought Zelensky sending Trump a letter to apologize for the fiery meeting was “progress.”

              Witkoff said it’s important for the officials to discuss security protocols for Ukrainians, territorial issues and a utility plan.

              “These are not complicated things, they just … need to be put on the table and everybody needs to be transparent about what their expectations are, then we can begin to have a discussion about how we compromise,” he said.

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

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