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    GOP Senator Refuses to Back Plan to Replace Retiring Democrat on Influential Committee

      By
      Madeleine Jackson
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      3
      California State Senator Dianne Feinstein delivers remarks at the 2021 Capitol Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Washington DC, December 1, 2021. USDA Forest Service photo by Tanya E. Flores.

      Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said on Monday she would not support a move by Senate Democrats to temporarily replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

      “I will not go along with Chuck Schumer’s plan to replace Senator Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee and pack the court with activist judges,” Blackburn said on Twitter on Monday. “Joe Biden wants the Senate to rubber stamp his unqualified and controversial judges to radically transform America.”

      Feinstein, 89, has been away from the Senate while recovering at home from a shingles diagnosis. Last week, two House Democrats called for her to resign from the chamber.  She has missed 60 of the 82 votes taken in the Senate this year.

      “It’s one thing to take medical leave and come back. It’s another thing when you’re just not doing the job,” Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said to Fox News on Sunday. “The reality here is there’s this sense, ‘Well you need to have a deference to these senators who have served so long.’ How about a deference to the American people?”

      Along with Blackburn, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) also signaled that he would not be supportive of the move to replace Feinstein on the panel.

      “Republicans should not assist Democrats in confirming Joe Biden’s most radical nominees to the courts,” Cotton said on Twitter over the weekend.

      The move to temporarily replace Feinstein would require Republican support, with 60 votes needed in the full chamber to confirm the replacement. When Feinstein called for the replacement, it was unclear whether GOP lawmakers would be supportive of a move that could help Democrats confirm more judges.

      “If this goes on month after month after month, she will need to make a decision with her family and her friends about what the future holds. This isn’t just about California. It’s also about the nation. We just can’t, with a one-vote margin, expect every other person to be there every single time. It could become an issue as the months go by, but I’m taking her at her word that she’s going to return,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on ABC’s This Week on Sunday.

      Feinstein has already said she will not seek another term for her Senate seat, which she was first elected to in 1992. 

      If the senior lawmaker does resign, it would mean Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) would get to appoint a replacement until an election is held for the seat. 

      FBI Sued for Documents on Cover-up of Hunter Biden Gun Sale

      By
      Donny Ferguson
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      4
      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)

      While law-abiding gun owners and sellers nationwide are targeted by the FBI and Justice Department over paperwork errors, at least one politically powerful gun owner may have gotten special treatment from the agency after his firearm was illegally left in a public trash can.

      The non-profit public interest law firm Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit for FBI records about a gun owned by President Joe Biden’s 53-year-old son Hunter Biden, that reportedly was tossed in trash can behind a Delaware grocery store.

      “The FBI and Secret Service have both been implicated in a corrupt clean-up operation to protect Hunter Biden from the criminal consequences of his gun scandal,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

      Multiple media outlets reported in October 2020, weeks before the presidential election between Joe Biden and President Donald Trump, that in October 2018, Hunter Biden’s handgun was taken by his girlfriend Hallie Biden, also the widow of his brother Beau. 

      Hallie Biden, fearing what Hunter may do with the gun, threw it in a trash can across the street from a high school.  Realizing what she did, she later returned to retrieve the weapon, but found it missing.

      Delaware police began investigating, fearing the illegally-disposed weapon may have been taken by a high school student, or could be later used in a crime.

      But the case took a different turn when the Secret Service showed up.

      Rather than investigate the Bidens for illegally disposing of a weapon, or helping track it down, Secret Service agents showed up at the store where it was purchased and seized all paperwork connecting Hunter Biden to the gun, according to two people, one of whom has firsthand knowledge of the episode and the other was briefed by a Secret Service agent after the fact.

      Judicial Watch filed suit after FBI did not comply with a January 30, 2023, FOIA request for “all records, including investigative reports, telephone logs, witness statements, memoranda, and firearms purchase documentation, related to the reported purchase, possession, and disposal of a firearm owned by Hunter Biden discarded in a Delaware trash receptacle circa October 2018.”

      In a separate FOIA lawsuit, Judicial Watch received records from the United States Secret Service implicating FBI in the unusual action to help Hunter Biden.

      In response, Judicial Watch also asked for “all records of communications of FBI officials regarding the reported purchase, possession, and disposal of the firearm,” which may detail an effort to cover up any potential Biden family crime.

      Included in those Secret Service records is a response to a February 2021 email from Politico reporter Ben Schreckinger regarding the Secret Service’s involvement in the investigation of the Hunter Biden gun incident, the Communications Department asks for “more information or documentation.” 

      “Sure thing. Agents visited StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply and asked to take possession of the paperwork Hunter had filled out to purchase a gun there. The FBI also had some involvement in the investigation,” Schreckinger wrote.

      Judicial Watch also uncovered a March 2021 email from New York Post reporter Lorena Mongelli, who reached out to the Secret Service Communications Office, asking for comment on text messages on Hunter Biden’s lost laptop.

      “It appears the text messages were sent from Hunter Biden in which he indicates that the Secret Service did in fact respond to the Oct. 23, 2018 [gun] incident. This information contradicts your previous statement relating to the incident and we would like to know whether the Secret Service would like to respond to these new findings,” Mongelli wrote.

      “We have received your inquiry, would you be able to provide copies of these alleged text messages for reference?,” replied a person from the Communications Office, whose name is redacted.

      Mongelli responds, noting the involvement of the FBI and Secret Service:

      The Daily Mail actually posted copies of the same text messages the NY Post is referencing. This is what one text message says:

      “She stole the gun out of my trunk lock box and threw it in a garbage can full to the top at Jansens [sic]. Then told me it was my problem to deal with,” Hunter wrote.

      “Then when the police the FBI the secret service came on the scene she said she took it from me because she was scared I would harm myself due to o my drug and alcohol problem and our volatile relationship and that she was afraid for the kids.”

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

      Trump PAC Launches DeSantis ‘Pudding Fingers’ Attack Ad

        By
        Madeleine Jackson
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        17

        A pro-Trump Super PAC has launched an ad going after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

        Last month, left-leaning The Daily Beast reported that DeSantis was struggling to be personable with supporters and staff alike, and two sources told the outlet that the governor was once spotted on a private plane eating a cup of chocolate pudding with three fingers.

        The new ad uses the incident to dig at DeSantis — former President Trump’s expected 2024 GOP primary rival — for his previous positions on cutting the social safety net.

        “Ron DeSantis loves sticking his fingers where they don’t belong. And we’re not just talking about pudding,” the ad reads over unsettling footage of a faceless man eating chocolate pudding with his fingers. 

        “DeSantis has his dirty fingers all over senior entitlements, like cutting Medicare, slashing Social Security, and even raising our retirement age.”

        “Tell Ron DeSantis to keep his pudding fingers off our money,” the ad finishes, “Oh, and get this man a spoon!”

        Trump Said Court Officials Apologized To Him, Had Tears ‘Pouring Down Their Eyes’

          By
          Madeleine Jackson
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          2
          Former President of the United States Donald Trump speaking with attendees at the 2022 Student Action Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. [Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons]

          Former President Donald Trump said during an interview with Fox News’s Tucker Carlson that officials in the Manhattan courthouse where he was arrested apologized to him and were “actually crying.”

          “When I went to the courthouse, which is also a prison in a sense, they signed me in and I’ll tell you, people were crying,” he said. “People that work there, professionally work there, that have no problems putting in murderers and they see everybody. It’s tough, tough place and they were crying. They were actually crying.”

          “They said, ‘I’m sorry.’ They’d say, ‘2024, sir. 2024.’ And tears are pouring down their eyes. I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “Those people are phenomenal. Those are your police. Those are the people that work at the courthouse. They’re unbelievable people. Many of them were in tears or close to it. Many apologies. ‘We’re sorry, sir. We’re sorry.’ They had to have me do certain things they said. They said, ‘Sir, I can’t believe I have to ask you. I can’t even believe that I have to ask you to do it.’ You can see, so in one sense, it was beautiful because they get it. In another sense, you know, it’s nasty.”

          Trump concluded on the subject by saying that “in many ways, it was a beautiful day because the people understand.”

          Last week, Trump was arraigned on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.

          Earlier this month, a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict former President Donald Trump for his alleged role in a hush money bribe to adult film star Stormy Daniels amid the 2016 presidential election in DA Alvin Bragg’s yearslong investigation into the real estate mogul.

          Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Daniels payment in 2019. The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.

          Trump To Return To New York For $250M Lawsuit One Week After Bombshell Arraignment

          By
          Madeleine Jackson
          -
          3

          Donald Trump is heading back to the Big Apple.

          Nearly one week after Trump was charged with 34 felony counts in part of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into alleged hush money payments the third-time White House contender is to return to New York to be deposed in a $250 million civil suit brought by state Attorney General Letitia James (D). 

          “This case is complex, but it is not complicated,” Judge Arthur Engoron said last month of the civil suit. “Essentially, it all boils down to whether (Trump’s) statements of financial interest are true or false.”

          AG James claims Trump and others at his Trump Organization deceived lenders and insurance companies by inflating the value of his assets in order to get loans for his real estate and resort business, then undervaluing them for tax purposes. James is seeking to recover more than $250 million in “ill-gotten gains” and to bar the Trumps from doing business in New York. Engoron has set a trial date of October 2.

          James campaigned on a pledge to prosecute Trump, who she once called an “illegitimate president.” Trump has called James, who is black, a “racist in reverse.”

           “I will never be afraid to challenge this illegitimate president,” James said in a 2018 video during her successful campaign to be attorney general. “I believe that this president is incompetent. I believe that this president is ill-equipped to serve in the highest office of this land. And I believe that he is an embarrassment to all that we stand for.”

          On April 5, the New York grand jury voted to indict former President Donald Trump for his alleged role in a hush money bribe to adult film star Stormy Daniels amid the 2016 presidential election in DA Alvin Bragg’s yearslong investigation into the real estate mogul.

          Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Daniels payment in 2019. The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.

          On Tuesday, the former President surrendered to the Manhattan Criminal Court for his arraignment

          Former Governor Chris Christie Says Trump Is The Only Republican Biden Can Beat

            By
            admin
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            12
            Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

            Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said during an interview on Sunday that Joe Biden would lose the general election to any Republican candidate other than Donald Trump.

            Christie made the remarks during a roundtable discussion on ABC News’ “This Week” on how new polling has shown that the 34-count felony indictment returned by a Manhattan grand jury last week is starting to hurt Trump’s poll numbers after seeing an initial boost.

            “No matter what he says and his people say, being indicted is not good for political candidate,” Christie said. “Like that’s just — you know, he can get short-term bump among certain parts of our own party. But in the end, it’s not good to be indicted.”

            “Being indicted, the public does still look at that and say that’s not what should be happening to a national leader,” he said.

            Christie said that Trump’s endorsements in the 2022 midterms hurt the Republican Party and predicted they will come back to haunt him in the 2024 election.

            “The Donald Trump endorsements and the awful candidates, whether it was Kari Lake or Herschel Walker or Tim Michels in Wisconsin or Mastriano in Pennsylvania,” he said. “Those were the candidates that lost and they were Donald Trump’s candidates.”

            “I think Donald Trump is the only Republican [Biden] can beat,” Christie later added. “I don’t think he can beat any other Republican who gets nominated.”

            The Democrat primary field is already growing. Self-help guru Marianne Williamson announced her plan to challenge President Biden last month and last week Robert F. Kennedy Jr. revealed he plans to formally announce his campaign at an event in Boston later this month. 

            A number of Republicans have already announced their candidacy for the 2024 presidential nomination. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and tech mogul Vivek Ramaswamy jumped into the race in February. Former President Donald Trump is also making this third run for the White House. Last week, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson became the latest Republican to enter the contest.

            Watch: Hecklers Derail Pelosi Event

              By
              Madeleine Jackson
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              6
              Nancy Pelosi via Gage Skidmore flickr

              Things quickly went off the rails at an event featuring former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

              The heckler interrupted Pelosi, who was speaking alongside economist Paul Krugman at The City University of New York’s Graduate Center — and accused her of having “a very bad obsession” with getting the United States into war.

              “You know Pelosi, that’s a very good place for you, in the depths of hell,” the heckler began, and continued to shout over the booing crowd as security quickly surrounded him to remove him from the venue.

              “For some reason, you have a very bad obsession of getting us into war. Hey, why is it that you did not admit that there were no WMDs in Iraq? You lied us into a war in Iraq. You got us to invade Afghanistan. Now over 90% of those people are impoverished and are dying,” he shouted. “Why don’t you tell the truth about Nordstream? You’re leaving millions of Germans without energy! You have a knack for getting us into war! People like you should be arrested. You are a war criminal!”

              Pelosi said nothing, sitting calmly on the stage and waiting for the chaos to die down — but another heckler quickly picked up where the first had left off.

              “Hey, Congresswoman! I came to see a warmonger, but you’re a sad old drunk. What happened?” the second protester asked. “When you went to Taiwan, were you looking for Ukraine? Did we blow up the Nordstream on accident or on purpose? Did you know about that?”

              He continued to shout at her, calling her a “war criminal” as security moved to take him out as well. “How many people have died in your f***ing name? How many people have died because of Iraq?” he asked.

              Once the second protester had been removed, a third stood up, and then a fourth — each criticizing Pelosi for provoking war

              Byron Donalds Endorses Donald Trump’s 2024 Campaign

                By
                Madeleine Jackson
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                3
                Byron Donalds via Gage Skidmore Flickr

                Lawmakers are metaphorically shouting their support for Donald Trump from the rooftops.

                On Thursday, popular Florida Rep. Byron Donalds announced he’s endorsing the former President’s most recent campaign for the White House.

                In a statement circulated by the pro-Trump Make America Great Again PAC, Donalds said Trump is the “one leader” who can get the U.S. “back on track.”

                “There is only one leader at this time in our nation’s history who can seize the moment and deliver what we need – to get us back on track, provide strength and resolve, and Make America Great Again. That is why I’m honored to endorse President Donald J. Trump for President in 2024, and I ask my fellow Americans to join me,” Donalds said.

                Trump has secured support from two other Florida Republicans: Rep. Matt Gaetz, a close congressional ally, and freshman Rep. Anna Paulina Luna.

                Donalds withheld support from Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for some of this year’s protracted Speakership election, opting against voting for him on nine out of 15 ballots. Donalds himself was nominated for the top job on several ballots, accumulating votes from a number of his colleagues. McCarthy ultimately won the gavel on the 15th ballot.

                Before the Speakership battle, Donalds challenged Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) for the post of House Republican Conference Chair, which the New Yorker won in a closed-door vote.

                Former Trump Official Jumps Ship, Joins Competitors Campaign

                By
                Madeleine Jackson
                -
                3
                Vivek Ramaswamy speaking with attendees at the 2022 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

                A top supporter of former President Trump in the crucial early-voting state of New Hampshire is joining rival Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign.

                According to Fox News, longtime state Rep. Fred Doucette, who served as New Hampshire co-chair of Trump’s 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, is joining the Ramaswamy campaign as a senior strategist and co-chair in New Hampshire.

                The Granite State holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP’s presidential nominating calendar.

                Doucette, the current deputy majority leader in the Republican-controlled state House of Representatives, said in a statement that Ramaswamy is a candidate that gives someone to vote for instead of someone to vote against, in a thinly-veiled jab at President Joe Biden.

                “Vivek is the person who will deliver the America First agenda, without the drama,” Doucette said in a statement released on Thursday by the Ramaswamy campaign.

                Doucette stressed, “I believe that President Trump’s agenda worked” and said his decision not to support the former president as he runs a third straight time for the White House was “terribly hard.”

                “I came on board in March of 2015 and we were fired up. We were energized. We were engaged. We were about getting it done,” Doucette recalled. But he described the current Trump campaign as “flat.”

                Doucette argued that Trump’s 2024 campaign “is not taking a page and looking forward” and said that impression “played into a lot of my decision-making.” He added that Trump supporters in the key primary and general election battleground state “were disappointed” in some of the decisions made by the Trump campaign.

                “Fred gets things done. He has a proven track record of leadership, delivering results and winning,” Ramaswamy said in a statement. “We’re taking America First to the next level, and I am confident Fred will be a key asset in our mission in the crucible of New Hampshire politics. We’re ready to roll and revive the American experiment, starting with the Granite state.”

                Ramaswamy has hit the ground running since announcing his presidential campaign in February, traveling to New Hampshire and Iowa numerous times.

                Report: Trump Indictment Unsealed!

                By
                Madeleine Jackson
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                5
                Gage Skidmore Flickr

                The charges against former President Donald Trump have been revealed after he was arraigned on Tuesday.

                The indictment against the former president, People of the State of New York against Donald J. Trump, Indictment No. 71543-23, has been unsealed. Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. 

                Read the indictment below:

                Donald-J.-Trump-IndictmentDownload
                https://twitter.com/EricTrump/status/1643323850057306112

                The charges come one day after Trump arrived in New York for the criminal proceedings.

                Last Thursday, the New York grand jury voted to indict former President Donald Trump for his alleged role in a hush money bribe to adult film star Stormy Daniels amid the 2016 presidential election in DA Alvin Bragg’s yearslong investigation into the real estate mogul.

                Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Daniels payment in 2019. The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.

                On Tuesday, the former President surrendered to the Manhattan Criminal Court for his arraignment

                “Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse,” he said on Truth Social as he made his way from Trump Tower to the courtroom.

                “Seems so SURREAL — WOW, they are going to ARREST ME,” he said. “Can’t believe this is happening in America. MAGA!”

                Trump was processed and then escorted to Justice Juan Merchan’s courtroom for the arraignment proceedings. Trump was not handcuffed, as some are during an arraignment, and did not have a mugshot taken. Detectives handled the arrest of the former president. However, the arraignment has been surrounded by a media firestorm after Trump became the first president to be indicted.

                At least two helicopters hovered over the courthouse and the adjacent public park as protestors gathered. Dueling chants of “USA!” and “lock him up!” were fired back and forth between crowds of pro-Trump and anti-Trump demonstrators assembled in the public square across the street from the courtroom.

                Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges and has called on District Attorney Alvin Bragg to be indicted himself over his handling of the case, claiming the DA “illegally leaked” details of Trump’s case.

                “Wow! District Attorney Bragg just illegally LEAKED the various points, and complete information, on the pathetic Indictment against me,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday. “I know the reporter and so, unfortunately, does he. This means that he MUST BE IMMEDIATELY INDICTED. Now, if he wants to really clean up his reputation, he will do the honorable thing and, as District Attorney, INDICT HIMSELF.”

                Numerous conservatives have publicly tweeted their support of Trump.

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

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