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    Illinois Judge Removes Trump from Ballot

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2
    Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

    Donald Trump has been removed from a third state’s ballot…

    On Wednesday, Cook County Circuit Judge Tracie Porter barred Trump from the Illinois ballot one month after the anti-Trump challenge was dismissed by the Illinois State Board of Elections. 

    According to court documents obtained by Fox News, the order urged the board to remove Trump or “cause any votes cast for him to be suppressed,” for violating section three of the 14th Amendment, or the “disqualification clause,” for engaging in insurrection.

    Porter’s ruling reverses last month’s decision by the Illinois Board of Elections to keep Trump’s name on the primary ballot after a group of Illinois voters accused the former president of engaging in insurrection. 

    However, the order is put on hold until Friday, in case of an appeal from Trump’s attorneys to the Illinois Appellate Court, First District or the Illinois Supreme Court. 

    A campaign spokesperson for Trump issued a statement to Reuters saying it “is an unconstitutional ruling that we will quickly appeal.”

    For the first time, the Supreme Court is considering the meaning and reach of Section 3 of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which bars former officeholders who “engaged in insurrection” from holding public office again.

    The 14th Amendment, Section 3 of the Constitution states, “No person shall… hold any office… under the United States… who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States… to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”

    Tim Scott Ends 2024 Presidential Campaign

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1
    Michael Vadon, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    In a surprising turn of events, the presidential primary field has one less competitor… Tim Scott has officially dropped out of the race.

    Scott made the announcement on Fox News’ “Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy,” the host himself a former Republican South Carolina congressman who wrote a book with Scott.

    “I love America more today than I did on May 22nd, but when I go back to Iowa, it will not be as a presidential candidate. I am suspending my campaign,” Scott told Gowdy. “I think the voters who are the most remarkable people on the planet have been really clear that they’re telling me, Not now, Tim.”

    Scott’s campaign sent a fundraising email just minutes before he made his announcement giving donors what it called “one last chance to donate this weekend and help Tim reach his campaign goal.”

    Scott launched his candidacy in May 2022 and was the second South Carolinian after former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley to run for the White House on the Republican side. 

    Scott’s decision came a few days after the third Republican debate.

    Scott’s decision to drop out of the race leaves the question of who the South Carolina Senator will ultimately choose to endorse in the race as other candidates are openly vying for his support.

    “The best way for me to be helpful is to not weigh in,” he said when asked who he will support.

    Scott also gave a thumbs down to the idea that he could serve as the nominee’s running mate on the Republican Party’s 2024 national ticket.

    “Being vice president has never been on my to-do list,” he said.

    Who will be the next candidate to call it quits? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

    Georgia Judge Floats Possible Gag Order For DA Willis

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    On Friday, Georgia Judge Scott McAfee suggested that a gag order could be imposed on the Fulton County District Attorney’s office to prevent it from mentioning the case against former President Trump and other defendants in a public setting.

    McAfee ruled on Friday that Willis’s once-romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade constituted an appearance of conflict of interest in the racketeering case and barred the prosecutors from continuing to oversee it unless either Willis or Wade leaves the case. 

    “The time may well have arrived for an order preventing the State from mentioning the case in any public forum to prevent prejudicial pretrial publicly, but that is not the motion presently before the Court,” McAfee said in suggesting the possibility.

    In his 23-page ruling, the judge criticized the district attorney at multiple turns, both for the relationship and for her public comments during her testimony.

    After being accused of having an affair with Wade, in her first public comments, Willis defended his qualifications and role in the case.

    She then implied that race played a role in the criticism of their relationship. Willis argued that people had only attacked Wade, not the other two special prosecutors hired to the case, who are white.

    McAfee said her speech was intended to “cast racial aspersions” at Mike Roman, one of Trump’s co-defendants in the case, who brought forth the accusations against Willis.

    McAfee argued that her comment was “still legally improper.”

    “Providing this type of public comment creates dangerous waters for the District Attorney to wade further into,” he wrote.

    The judge then went as far to say that a gag order may be possible to prevent a future jury pool from being prejudiced by Willis’s comments.

    Florida Judge Temporarily Blocks Transfer Of Miami Land For Trump’s Presidential Library

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    6

    A Florida judge has temporarily blocked the planned transfer of a significant parcel of downtown Miami land for Donald Trump’s future presidential library.

    The Tuesday move by Circuit Judge Mavel Ruiz came after a Miami activist alleged that officials at Miami Dade College violated Florida’s open government law when they gifted the sizable plot of real estate to the state, which then voted to transfer it to the foundation for President Trump’s planned library.

    CBS News reports:

    “This is not an easy decision,” Ruiz said Tuesday when explaining her ruling from the bench.

    “This is not a case, at least for this court, rooted in politics,” she added.

    Marvin Dunn, an activist and chronicler of local Black history, filed a lawsuit this month in a Miami-Dade County court against the Board of Trustees for Miami Dade College, a state-run school that owned the property.

    He alleges that the board violated Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law by not providing sufficient notice for its special meeting on Sept. 23, when it voted to give up the land.

    Richard Brodsky, an attorney for Dunn, said the issue before the court was not a question of politics, but whether the public board followed the open government law.

    “The people have a right to know what they’re going to decide to do when the transaction is so significant, so unusual and deprives the students and the college of this land,” Brodsky said.

    The nearly 3-acre property is valued at more than $67 million, according to a 2025 assessment by the Miami-Dade County property appraiser.

    One real estate expert estimated that the parcel—one of the last undeveloped lots on an iconic stretch of palm tree-lined Biscayne Boulevard—could sell for hundreds of millions of dollars more.

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    Judge Delays Trump New York Sentencing

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    4

    On Friday, Judge Juan Merchan granted President-elect Donald Trump’s request to dismiss charges in his criminal hush money case and removed the sentencing date.

    According to The Hill, Merchan halted the case to accept additional written briefing on Trump’s argument that his return to the White House compels the court to toss his 34-count felony conviction entirely. 

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) is opposing that request. Instead, Bragg suggested that Merchan could pause the proceedings while Trump is in office, meaning the conviction would remain on the books but sentencing wouldn’t occur until 2029, at the earliest. 

    Merchan ordered Trump to file his formal motion asking for dismissal by Dec. 2 and Bragg to respond by Dec. 9. The judge will then decide how to proceed. 

    Meanwhile, Trump attorneys have requested that Merchan overturn the guilty verdict altogether, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that former presidents have substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts in office.

    The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on presidential immunity came from a question that stemmed from charges brought against Trump in a separate, federal case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith related to the events on Jan. 6, 2021, and any alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

    They have moved most aggressively to pull the plug on the hush money case, given that Trump’s sentencing was rapidly approaching on Nov. 26.  

    “[D]ismissal of this case is necessary under the Constitution and federal law to facilitate the orderly transition of Executive power — and in the interests of justice — following President Trump’s victory in the Electoral College and the popular vote in the 2024 Presidential election,” Trump attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, whom the president-elect recently nominated to senior Justice Department officials, wrote in a letter last week. 

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

    GOP Lawmakers ‘Swatted’ on Christmas Day

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    3
    Police image via Pixabay free images

    Two Republican lawmakers had an eventful Christmas Day…

    Police officers were called to the homes of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.) and Rep. Brandon Williams (R-NY) after false reports were made.

    In an X post, Monday, Rep. Williams announced, “Our home was swatted this afternoon. Thanks to the Deputies and Troopers who contacted me before arriving. They left with homemade cookies and spiced nuts! Merry Christmas everyone!”

    In a follow-up post, Williams revealed that Capitol and local police were investigating the incident and that five police cars had arrived at his home following the false report.

    “Swatting” is the act of making a false police report with the intention that the victim receives a visit from armed law enforcement.

    “The deputies & troopers were polite, professional, & prompt. God bless them,” Williams added.

    Greene was visited by law enforcement on Monday morning after an anonymous caller told 911 that a man had been shot at the congresswoman’s address.

    Local police were reportedly called by the suspect, who took responsibility for the incident and said “they were upset about Greene’s stance on ‘trans-gender youth’s rights.’”

    “I have been swatted 8 times but the FBI can’t seem to figure out who is responsible for the swatting and says the law doesn’t allow them to track them down,” protested Greene on X following the incident. “The FBI can do so many things, has even abused FISA to spy on hundreds of thousands of Americans, but can not figure out who wants me killed by a hail of bullets fired by a SWAT team responding to murder suicide calls supposedly coming from me.”

    MAGA Congressman Threatens to Resign if Republicans Strike Deal with Democrats

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    12
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    As the 118th Congress reconvenes for the fourth day with no Speaker some lawmakers can feel the desperation in the air.

    As House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy heads into what will be the twelfth round of voting one of the more boisterous detractors says he is prepared to resign from Congress if Republicans strike a deal with Democrats to support a more moderate candidate.

    “These 212 Democrats are going to vote for Hakeem Jeffries every single time. He’s a historic candidate. They’re not going to cleave off,” Gaetz told Fox News’s Laura Ingraham on Thursday when asked if he thought centrist Democrats would back McCarthy if they were promised co-control of House committees.

    “If Democrats join up to elect a moderate Republican, I will resign,” Gaetz continued.

    Gaetz, who has voted against McCarthy’s nomination during each round of voting says that no concessions the California Republican offers swill be enough to sway his vote.

    “He’s the masthead of the lobby core. I resent to which Kevin McCarthy utilizes the lobbyists and the special interests to be able to dictate how political decisions are made. How policy decisions are made, how leadership decisions are made. Kevin McCarthy has been in the leadership for 14 years. He’s sold shares of himself to special interests, to political action committees, and that’s why I don’t think he’s right.”

    The Florida Congressman, who cast his vote for Donald Trump for Speaker during Thursday’s round of voting, says that he believes Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) could garner 218 votes if McCarthy withdraws from consideration.

    “If Kevin McCarthy got out of this race, Jim Jordan would get into it,” Gaetz said. “And I believe he would win and invigorate our movement. He’s broadly trusted in every corner of the Republican Party and with a lot of our donors and supporters and activists. That’s the type of option if McCarthy bows out.”

    Thursday evening McCarthy indicated he may have a path to Speaker after all. A new deal has emerged that McCarthy hopes will propel him forward.

    Lawmakers said the framework gives members of the House Freedom Caucus (HFC) who have been resisting McCarthy virtually everything they’ve been asking for. That includes a stronger HFC representation on key House committees, guardrails aimed at curbing excessive federal spending, and allowing just a single member of the House to make a motion to replace the speaker, lawmakers familiar with the framework told Fox News.

    Trump Reaches Deal with House Oversight Committee on Financial Records

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    17
    The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    Donald Trump’s attorneys have reached an agreement with the House Oversight and Reform Committee over its years-long battle to obtain the former president’s financial records.

    In 2019, the committee subpoenaed the records as part of a larger investigation to assess if Trump engaged in conflicts of interest, self-dealing, or foreign financial ties. In July three federal judges moved to uphold the 2019 subpoena for the financial records, but with a more narrow scope than Democrats initially sought after.

    According to The Washington Examiner:

    “After numerous court victories, I am pleased that my Committee has now reached an agreement to obtain key financial documents that former President Trump fought for years to hide from Congress,” Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) said in a statement. “After facing years of delay tactics, the Committee has now reached an agreement with the former President and his accounting firm, Mazars USA, to obtain critical documents. These documents will inform the Committee’s efforts to get to the bottom of former President Trump’s egregious conduct and ensure that future presidents do not abuse their position of power for personal gain.”

    The agreement comes after a long-standing legal battle between the committee and Trump, with the former president unsuccessfully attempting to challenge the panel’s subpoena for eight years of financial documents from his accounting firm, Mazars, after his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, accused him of committing fraud while testifying before Congress.

    The notice does not affect Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee’s court battle to obtain Trump’s tax returns.

    Trump Secures Landmark Deal Between Israel And Hamas

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2
    President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during their joint press conference, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Leslie N. Emory)

    The Trump administration is being praised for its efforts in securing a landmark peace deal between Israel and Hamas that will see all remaining hostages brought home on Monday.

    Under the first phase of the agreement, Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for all remaining hostages, both living and dead. Israel will also withdraw its troops from most of Gaza, removing themselves behind a “yellow line” during a 24-hour ceasefire that has already begun.

    At the end of the ceasefire, a 72-hour clock will begin, during which Hamas must release all remaining hostages. Only 20 remaining hostages are believed to be alive, along with the 28 who are deceased and their bodies “scattered across Gaza” according to negotiators.

    Fox News noted it remains unclear if Hamas will be able to adhere to this timeframe after it flagged over the weekend the improbability that it will be able to quickly locate all deceased bodies, some of which are allegedly buried under rubble.

    Jerusalem will also authorize the release of some 1,700 Gazans arrested after the October 2023 attacks, along with roughly 250 Palestinians serving life sentences, under the first phase of the plan presented by President Donald Trump late last month.

    President Donald Trump announced the deal on Wednesday night, hailing assistance from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Shosh Bedrosian said this is only the first phase of the peace agreement. Details of later phases have not been announced.

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio handed President Donald Trump a note on Wednesday telling him that a Middle East peace deal was “very close” and was awaiting Trump’s approval for “a Truth Social post.”

    As Trump spoke to reporters, Rubio walked up to the president, whispered in his ear, and handed him a note

    “Very close. We need you to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first,” the note read.

    Watch the moment:

    After being handed the note, Trump told reporters, “I was just given a note by the Secretary of State saying that we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East and they’re gonna need me pretty quickly.”

    Just over an hour later, Trump published a Truth Social post announcing “that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan.”

    “This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace. All Parties will be treated fairly!” he wrote. “This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”

    Earlier on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that Trump was “considering going to the Middle East shortly” after his routine, annual medical checkup at Walter Reed Medical Center.

    “I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday, actually, and we’ll see,” Trump told reporters. “But there’s a very good chance. Negotiations are going along very well. We’re dealing with Hamas and many of the countries. As you know, we have a Muslim, all of the Muslim countries are included. All of the Arab countries are included. Very rich countries and some that are not so rich, but just about everybody is included.”

    Families of Israeli hostages erupted in cheers after President Donald Trump called to tell them their loved ones would return home in days after what he described as a “historic peace deal” between Israel and Hamas.

    In a video released by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, the president spoke to relatives by phone late Wednesday, promising all captives would be back by Monday.

    The clip shows Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on a call with Trump and standing with hostage families before they chant: “Thank you!”

    “This is amazing,” one said. Another added, “Mr. President, we believe in you, we know you’ve done so much for us in the past, since you became president, even before that. And we trust you’ll fulfill the mission until every hostage, until all 48 of the hostages are home. Thank you so much. Blessed be the peacemakers!”

    Watch:

    Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar offered new details on Israel’s peace agreement with Hamas in an interview with Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin on Thursday.

    Griffin pressed Sa’ar about Hamas’ role in Gaza moving forward as well as Israel’s plans for a military withdrawal.

    Sa’ar said Israel is already moving to withdraw its troops behind the “yellow line,” ceding 53% of Gaza’s territory amid Thursday’s ceasefire. He said further withdrawals will be negotiated in later phases of the peace agreement.

    He went on to say that, in the meantime, Gaza will be governed by a council of local Palestinians along with input from President Donald Trump. He said the existing Palestinian Authority may also play a role, but only if it adopts certain reforms.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in the peace deal.

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    Attorney General Appoints Special Counsel to Investigate Biden

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    15
    Chuck Kennedy for The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    Things are heating up for Joe Biden.

    New reports indicate a second batch of classified documents has been recovered from President Biden’s garage in Wilmington, Delaware. The first batch of documents dating back to the Obama administration was uncovered inside the Washington offices of the Penn Biden Center think tank.

    “Lawyers discovered among personal and political papers a small number of additional Obama-Biden administration records with classified markings. All but one of these documents were found in storage space in the President’s Wilmington residence garage,” White House lawyers wrote in a Thursday statement. “One document consisting of one page was discovered among stored materials in an adjacent room.”

    The second discovery triggered the Justice Department to escalate to a special counsel investigation from a mere review. In a special press conference, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed former United State Attorney Robert Hur to handle the investigation.

    Fox News reporter Peter Doocy pressed the President over the second batch of documents on Thursday.

    “Classified documents next to your Corvette? What were you thinking?” Doocy asked.

    “I’m going to get the chance to speak on all of this, God willing it’ll be soon, but I said earlier this week — and by the way my Corvette is in a locked garage. It’s not like it’s sitting out in the street,” Biden responded.

    “So the documents were in a locked garage,” Doocy prompted.

    “Yes, as well as my Corvette. But as I said earlier this week, people know I take classified documents and classified material seriously,” Biden said. “I also said we’re cooperating fully and completely with the Justice Department’s review.”

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