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Former ABC News Anchor Suggests Replacement For Ousted National Security Official

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Former ABC News journalist Mark Halperin suggested a replacement for President Trump’s National Security Council after Thursday’s shakeup.

Halperin said Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff was Waltz’s likely replacement.

Trump administration National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and other staffers are out at the National Security Council, sources confirmed to Fox News.

Watch:

Fox News confirmed Waltz and his deputy Alex Wong were purged Thursday. 

Waltz, who previously served as a Florida congressman, has come under fire from Democrats and critics since March, when the Atlantic magazine’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg published a firsthand account of getting added to a Signal group chat with top national security leaders, including Waltz, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, while they discussed strikes against Yemen terrorists. 

Waltz took responsibility for the inclusion of a journalist in the group chat in April, telling Fox News’ Laura Ingraham: “I take full responsibility. I built the group. … It’s embarrassing. We’re going to get to the bottom of it.”

Alex Wong served as Waltz’s principal deputy national security advisor, who was detailed in the Signal chat leak earlier this year as the staffer charged with “pulling together a tiger team” in Waltz’s initial message sent to the Signal group chat in March, the Atlantic reported at the time. 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital earlier Monday when asked about reports claiming Waltz and other would be shown the door: “We are not going to respond to reporting from anonymous sources.”

President Donald Trump held a meeting with members of his Cabinet Wednesday, following his 100th day back in office on Tuesday, with Waltz attending the meeting. 

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

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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.”

US Threatens To Abandon Ukraine Peace Negotiations

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

Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated the United States may back off from assisting in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that it needs to be determined within days whether achieving a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is “doable in the short term,” warning that he thinks the U.S. will “move on” if it is not achievable.

Rubio has been working alongside Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to broker a 30-day ceasefire agreement with Russia and Ukraine, which has not yet been seen to fruition.

“We are now reaching a point where we need to decide whether this is even possible or not,” Rubio told reporters Friday while departing from negotiations with his counterparts in Paris. “Because if it’s not, then I think we’re just going to move on.”

“It’s not our war. We have other priorities to focus on,” he added, suggesting the U.S. would decide if continued talks were “doable” in a “matter of days.”

But Rubio noted that the U.S. will help if either or both sides are “serious about peace.”

(Miami – Flórida, 09/03/2020) Presidente da República Jair Bolsonaro durante encontro com o Senador Marco Rubio..Foto: Alan Santos/PR

“@POTUS has been clear: The time to end the war between Russia and Ukraine is now. Today in Paris, @SE_MiddleEast, @SPE_Kellogg and I met with leaders from France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Ukraine to talk about how we can stop the killing and reach a just and sustainable peace,” Rubio noted in a post on X. 

While ceasefire negotiations have been slow, Trump has maintained that efforts to obtain a minerals deal with Ukraine are picking up pace. The U.S. leader said access to the country’s critical natural resources would provide a strong interest in maintaining Ukraine’s sovereignty and security for years to come. 

The secretary also suggested that the U.K., France and Germany can help “move the ball” on negotiations. Officials who met in Paris have agreed to meet again in London next week with hopes of gearing peace talks toward a secured deal. 

Kremlin.ru, via Wikimedia Commons

Despite Rubio’s comments, Vice President Vance said Friday he believes talks will move forward.

“The negotiations, I won’t pre-judge them, but we do feel optimistic that we can hopefully bring this war, this very brutal war to a close,” he told reporters during his visit to Rome, where he met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — a day after she met with President Trump at the White House.

Ukrainian Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said she signed a memorandum of intent with the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ahead of a potential agreement. 

“I assume they’re going to live up to the deal, so we’ll see. But we have a deal on that,” Trump said Thursday.

Trump Ends Talks With Zelenskyy, Cancels Joint Press Conference

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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.”

Congress Elects House Speaker

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On Friday, Congressional lawmakers convened to elect the next Speaker of the House.

Mike Johnson (R-La.) will serve as Speaker of the House for the 119th Congress.

With the Republican majority at 219-215, Johnson could lose only one Republican vote to remain speaker.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was reelected to the top post in the House in a stunning floor vote on the opening day of Congress on Friday, securing the gavel on the first ballot.

It appeared that he would fail on the first ballot as Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and Keith Self (R-Texas) voted for other candidates. However, the chamber held the vote open as Johnson conferred with his opponents and Norman and Self switched their votes to applause in the chamber.

The vote came after President-elect Donald Trump issued his “total” endorsement of Mike Johnson (R-la.) earlier this week.

“Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also offered her endorsement of Johnson shortly before Friday’s vote.

Watch:

“Tomorrow we convene at noon in the House of Representatives, and our first order of business will be to vote for Speaker of the House. This is a historic vote, and it is the first order of business that we have to accomplish before we can even swear in as members of Congress,” began Greene. “Now, here’s how I feel about it. You all have seen may disagree with Mike Johnson at times. You’ve seen me fight against him at times. But you want to know something else? Here’s what I recognize: For the past four years, all of you and myself included, have put blood, sweat, and tears into electing President Trump. And when you want to talk about blood, President Trump himself actually was the one that shed blood after an assassin shot him in the face.”

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

Fani Willis Requests Court Reinstate Charges Against Trump

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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is reportedly requesting that a Georgia appeals court restore six of her original criminal counts against former President Trump and his co-defendants in her 2020 election case, after a judge tossed the charges earlier this year. 

Willis filed a brief to the Georgia Court of Appeals requesting it overturn Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee’s decision to dismiss charges against Trump and allies, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported Wednesday.

McAfee, in March, dismissed six of the charges against Trump, saying Willis failed to allege sufficient detail. 

Last month, McAfee also dismissed an additional two criminal counts against Trump,

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

Report: Judge Agrees To Unseal Additional Filings From Jan. 6 Trump Case

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U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan agreed to unseal additional filings from special counsel Jack Smith laying out his election interference case against former President Trump

Chutkan agreed to a request from Smith to unseal exhibits that accompany his 180-page brief asserting that prosecutors can still bring much of their Jan. 6 case against Trump in the wake of a Supreme Court decision granting former presidents broad criminal immunity. 

Chutkan granted Smith’s motion to post redacted versions of the exhibits, which could include grand jury transcripts, texts and other evidence assembled by prosecutors.

The Hill reports:

“The court determines that the Government’s proposed redactions to the Appendix are appropriate, and that Defendant’s blanket objections to further unsealing are without merit. As the court has stated previously, ‘Defendant’s concern with the political consequences of these proceedings’ is not a cognizable legal prejudice,’” she wrote.

Trump opposed both the unsealing of Smith’s motion as well as the accompanying evidence.

But Chutkan also agreed to stay her ruling for seven days after an earlier motion from Trump’s legal team asked for additional time “so that President Trump can evaluate litigation options relating to the decision.”

“There should be no further disclosures at this time of the so-called ‘evidence’ that the Special Counsel’s Office has unlawfully cherry-picked and mischaracterized — during early voting in the 2024 Presidential election,” Trump’s team wrote in an earlier filing Thursday.

Report: Top Democrats Hesitant To Commit To Certifying Potential Trump Victory

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Several top Democrats, including House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), have indicated that they may not commit to certifying the 2024 presidential election results if former President Donald Trump secures a victory. This reluctance was revealed during discussions with Axios, raising questions about the party’s stance on the upcoming election certification process.

Per Breitbart:

Raskin denied Trump won the 2016 election when he objected to Trump’s electors in 2017.

If Trump “won a free, fair and honest election, then we would obviously accept it,” Raskin said, assuming the election was free, fair and honest. “I definitely don’t assume that,” he added. “Democrats don’t engage in election fraud and election fabrication.”

A video surfaced in September of a panel discussion in February 2024 in which Raskin speculated that Congress would invalidate a Trump election victory, even though it could be at the risk of “civil war.”

“It is not clear whether Raskin was actually outlining a plan of action, or rather using a hypothetical to argue that the U.S. Supreme Court was placing what he considered an undue burden on Congress to keep Trump out of office,” Breitbart News’s Joel Pollak reported.

House Rules Committee Ranking Member Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) echoed Raskin’s concerns, telling Axios that Democrats would certify a Trump victory “assuming everything goes the way we expect it to … We have to see how it all happens.”

McGovern also objected to Trump’s electors in 2017.

The uncertainty among Democrats comes amid heightened political tension with 24 days until the presidential election. Raskin, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump, previously called the former president’s legacy “American carnage.”

In response to Thursday’s development, former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark criticized the Democrats’ position. Taking to X, Clark expressed frustration with what he sees as a double standard in how objections to election certifications are perceived:

Do you see how this works? If you’re a Republican in Congress and you object to certifying a President, you’re called an insurrectionist. But if you’re a Democrat like Jamie Raskin, you can object all you want, and it’s “protecting our democracy.”

Election certification has been a contentious issue since the unfounded claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential race, with Democrats consistently emphasizing the need to safeguard democracy. However, their reluctance to fully commit to certifying a potential Trump win could deepen mistrust on both sides of the political aisle.

Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News.

Harris Campaign’s Endorsement By Fake Police Group Raises Astroturf Concerns

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As Vice President Kamala Harris continues her campaign, avoiding direct interviews and carefully selecting debate settings, questions about the authenticity of her support base are growing. The latest example is the endorsement from a group called “Police Leaders for Community Safety,” which Harris’s campaign and media outlets touted as a “stunning endorsement” from a group that typically backs Trump.

However, scrutiny reveals that the group is far from a major law enforcement organization. USA Today notes that “Police Leaders for Community Safety” was only formed in 2024, describes itself as representing “dozens of police officials,” and is led by Sue Riseling, a former chief of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department. The group is primarily composed of former law enforcement members, many of whom lean left politically.

The newspaper explained that “as the group has only been around since June, this marks the first endorsement for Police Leaders for Community Safety, with the group throwing their support for Harris.”

The group’s announcement to Fox News, however, failed to share that information:

The organization – which says it is led by a diverse group of prominent police professionals who have been at the helm of numerous major national law enforcement leadership groups – highlights that its mission is to champion “policies to make communities and the people in them safer, improve and evolve policing, and safeguard the rule of law.”

Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

“This endorsement reflects Vice President Harris’ track record and unwavering commitment to public safety and the rule of law,” Sue Riseling, chair of Police Leaders for Community Safety, said.

Police Leaders for Community Safety board member David Mahoney, a former Dane County, Wisconsin, sheriff and past president of the National Sheriffs’ Association, said that Harris “spent her prosecutorial career protecting people, supporting victims and holding accountable those who have harmed others and betrayed the public trust. As a lawmaker, she has fought hard for the critical law enforcement-backed policies needed to fight crime and protect the public.”

Critics have accused the Harris campaign of astroturfing, creating a façade of grassroots support by highlighting endorsements from groups with little influence in the law enforcement community. This comes in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s endorsement from the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the nation’s oldest and most influential law enforcement organization, which has supported Trump in the last three elections.

FOP President Patrick Yoes emphasized the importance of public safety and border security, stating that Trump’s policies align with the values of law enforcement officers across the country.

READ NEXT: Top MAGA Republican Burned At Campaign Event, Returns To The Trail

Nate Silver’s Forecast: Harris Now Favored Over Trump In 2024 Election

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

In a significant shift, Vice President Kamala Harris has pulled ahead of former President Donald Trump in the latest 2024 election forecast from data expert Nate Silver. According to Silver’s “Silver Bulletin” election model, Harris currently holds a 58% likelihood of winning the presidency, compared to Trump’s 42%.

This marks a reversal from early September, when Trump had over a 60% chance of victory. Silver attributes the shift to changes in polling data. He noted that Harris has gained a 3-point lead nationally and has been performing well in key battleground states like Georgia and North Carolina.

The exception is Arizona, where Harris has struggled in recent polling, but Silver noted it has only a 5% chance of being the tipping-point state.

While Silver still categorizes the race as a toss-up, he suggested that Harris’s hand appears stronger. He also pointed to positive economic revisions, which he said have bolstered Harris’s chances.

Silver explained that Harris has two viable paths to securing the Electoral College, whereas Trump’s options appear more limited. Harris could win the presidency even if she loses all the toss-up states, provided she secures Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Mediaite has further details on Harris’ “Plan A” and “Plan B” pathways to victory:

Silver’s latest write-up of his forecast notes that Harris, unlike Trump, has two solid routes to winning the Electoral College. Harris can lose all the toss-up states while winning Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin and still become president.

Silver calls this “Plan A” – the long talked about “blue wall” that crumbled in 2016 for Hillary Clinton. Silver explains that Harris also has a “Plan B” if one of those states falls – despite her polling up in all three. Harris can win “North Carolin, Georgia, or both” in order to still get to 270 – especially as she’s in striking position in Nevada and ahead in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District.

Trump, on the other hand, must win all of the toss-up states and at least one of the three “blue wall’ states.

As recently as a few weeks ago, Silver’s model had Trump leading Harris in betting odds. However, recent developments have reshaped the landscape as the 2024 election approaches.

Silver’s full analysis is available by clicking here.