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    Democrat Senator Announces He Won’t Seek Re-election

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2

    Michigan Democrat Sen. Gary Peters announced he will not seek re-election when his term ends in Jan. 2027.

    Peters, a two-term senator and former congressman, told the Detroit News that he will start a “new chapter,” spending more time with family after nearly two decades of public service. 

    “I always thought there would be a time that I would step aside and pass the reins for the next generation. I also never saw service in Congress as something you do your whole life,” Peters told the outlet. 

    “And that goes back to 2008 when I first won that House seat. I thought it would be for a matter of a few terms that I would serve, and then I would go back to private life.” 

    His decision to retire leaves open a senate seat in a state President Donald Trump won in 2024.

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

    Kristi Noem Confirmed By Supreme Court Justice After Bible Snafu

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Over the weekend, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem hit a slight bump in the road to confirmation.

    Kristi Noem was sworn in as the Secretary of Homeland Security Saturday by Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas after she was so late to the ceremony Vice President JD Vance left, according to a report from POLITICO.

    The agency said in a statement, “[Saturday], Kristi Noem was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a vote of 59-34 and sworn in as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. ”

    The department shared several photos of Noem with Thomas as well as a statement from the new secretary.

    Noem said:

    It is such an honor to be sworn in as the United States Secretary of Homeland Security. It was made even more meaningful by being sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at his home. Thank you, President Trump for putting your trust in me to help keep America safe.

    While the DHS website made no mention of any delays or drama, Politico reported Thomas was tapped to swear the former South Dakota governor in at his own home in because Vance bailed out after waiting for her for 25 minutes. Per the report, Noem was late because she was not in possession of a personal family Bible she wished to place her hand on:

    DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that Noem’s late arrival resulted from a delay in the arrival of her late father’s Bible; Noem was originally expected to win confirmation from the Senate today, not yesterday.

    McLaughlin said:

    Secretary Noem has used this sentimental bible to be sworn into every office she has ever held. Secretary Noem was honored to be sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at his home with her dad’s bible. We are grateful to the Vice President and his office and are encouraged that POLITICO is finally paying such close attention to a Secretary of Homeland Security. We wish they would have for the last four years.

    CNN Dumps Trump Transcript Over Classified Docs

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    6
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Things are not looking good for Donald Trump.

    Hours after Trump was reportedly indicted by a Florida grand jury in the classified documents case CNN’s Paula Reid shared a transcript of the tape in which Trump discusses not being able to share secret information.

    Reid and Kaitlan Collins broke the news last week that Trump was caught on tape discussing an allegedly classified document that he had taken with him when he left the White House. During the tape, Trump reportedly acknowledged he can’t show the document, which outlines a plan to attack Iran, to his visitors because of the classification attached to it.

    Read the transcript below:

    “Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this,” Trump says at one point, according to the transcript. “This was done by the military and given to me.”

    Trump was complaining in the meeting about Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley. The meeting occurred shortly after The New Yorker published a story by Susan Glasser detailing how, in the final days of Trump’s presidency, Milley instructed the Joint Chiefs to ensure Trump issued no illegal orders and that he be informed if there was any concern.

    “Well, with Milley – uh, let me see that, I’ll show you an example. He said that I wanted to attack Iran. Isn’t that amazing? I have a big pile of papers, this thing just came up. Look. This was him,” Trump says, according to the transcript. “They presented me this – this is off the record, but – they presented me this. This was him. This was the Defense Department and him. We looked at some. This was him. This wasn’t done by me, this was him.”

    Trump continues: “All sorts of stuff – pages long, look. Wait a minute, let’s see here. I just found, isn’t that amazing? This totally wins my case, you know. Except it is like, highly confidential. Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this.”

    During an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital Thursday night, Trump said the case is “election interference” and “the greatest witch hunt of all time.” Trump said he will “of course” plead not guilty to charges in federal court on Tuesday, and said he is “totally innocent.”

    “This is the most corrupt administration in history—there has never been an administration so corrupt, and they’re just starting to find it right now,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “They are trying to deflect all of their dishonesty by bringing this ridiculous boxes hoax case.”

    He added: “They’re not going to get away with it.”

    “I did absolutely nothing wrong,” he said, citing the Presidential Records Act, saying it “makes me totally innocent.”

    ABC News Settles Trump Defamation Suit, Issues Statement of ‘Regret’

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0

    Another win for Trump…

    ABC News and its top anchor George Stephanopoulos have reached a $15 million settlement with Donald Trump in his defamation suit.

    The settlement was publicly filed on Saturday, revealing that the two parties have come to an agreement and avoided a trial.

    According to the settlement, ABC News will pay $15 million as a charitable contribution to a “Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for Plaintiff, as Presidents of the United States of America have established in the past.” Additionally, the network will pay $1 million in Trump’s attorney fees.  

    Stephanopoulos and ABC News also had to issue statements of “regret” as an editor’s note at the bottom of a March 10, 2024, online article, about comments made earlier this year that prompted Trump to file the defamation lawsuit. The note reads, “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024.”

    file_1722Download

    ABC News said the network was “pleased” to have concluded the case.

    “We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing,” an ABC News spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

    Trump filed a defamation suit against Stephanopoulos after he asserted that Trump was found “liable for rape” in a civil case during a contentious interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) last March.

    After playing a clip of Mace discussing being a victim of rape, Stephanopoulos asked her, “How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?” 

    “You’ve endorsed Donald Trump for president. Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape,” Stephanopoulos said, alluding to the legal victory by Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll. 

    Stephanopoulos repeated that claim ten times during his spat with Mace, despite the fact that a jury actually determined Trump was liable for “sexual abuse,” which has a distinct definition under New York law.

    Liberals across social media have criticized ABC News for “bending the knee” to the incoming President.

    Marc E. Elias, a Democratic election lawyer, accused ABC News of bending the knee and kissing the ring by settling. 

    “Knee bent. Ring kissed. Another legacy news outlet chooses obedience,” he wrote on X.

    “I got to think that the ABC boardroom was involved in this decision somehow,” LA Times legal columnist Harry Litman said during the MSNBC appearance on Saturday. “And my big worry to put a finer point on what Barb is saying is it is somehow caught up in the fact he will be president soon.”

    Trump Appeals Hush Money Criminal Conviction 

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    President Trump appealed his New York hush money criminal conviction and has brought on a new team of attorneys to represent him. 

    The five-attorney team from elite law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, which will be led by Robert Giuffra, submitted a notice of appeal dated Tuesday, formally beginning the appeals process in Trump’s 34-count felony conviction. 

    “President Donald J. Trump’s appeal is important for the rule of law, New York’s reputation as a global business, financial and legal center, as well as for the presidency and all public officials,” Guiffra said in a statement.  

    “The misuse of the criminal law by the Manhattan DA to target President Trump sets a dangerous precedent, and we look forward to the case being dismissed on appeal,” he continued. 

    The team will be rounded ou by attorneys Matthew Schwartz, James McDonald, Jeffrey Wall and Morgan Ratner. All of whom are former Supreme Court clerks. 

    The team will replace Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, Trump’s mainstay trial attorneys who are now set to serve in the No. 2 and No. 3 top posts at the Justice Department, respectively, if confirmed by the Senate. Bove is serving as acting deputy attorney general in the meantime. 

    A New York jury found Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for covering up a $130,000 hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016 as part of an intended conspiracy to unlawfully influence that year’s presidential election. 

    Trump’s felonies remain on his record, and his legal team has sought to dismiss the case entirely. 

    According to The Hill, the top-notch legal team will next bring their efforts to the Appellate Division, First Department. The court previously rejected Trump’s various pre-trial appeals, but his sentencing now enables the appeals bench to confront the historic case in normal course. 

    It remains unclear if the appeal will proceed while Trump is in the White House. Legal experts largely agree a sitting president is protected from criminal prosecution. 

    Federal prosecutors in Florida moved to dismiss the appeal in the Mar-a-Lago prosecution, pushing to bring an end to the Trump classified documents case.

    The motion, which comes after the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the state assigned a new prosecutor to the case, still needs to be approved by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

    But doing so signals an end to an appeal ignited by former special counsel Jack Smith, as he fought a lower court ruling from Judge Aileen Cannon finding he was unlawfully appointed.

    The move is more broadly set to unwind charges against President Trump’s two co-defendants in the case, who the Biden administration still wished to prosecute if Cannon’s order was reversed.

    The motion noted that valet Walt Nauta and property manager Carlos de Oliveira, who were accused of aiding Trump in concealing boxes of documents from prosecutors and his own attorney, did not oppose the move.

    By moving to dismiss the appeal with prejudice, prosecutors would be barred from relaunching any similar efforts in the future.

    MAGA Insider Suggests Matt Gaetz Could Still Become Governor of Florida with Help from Trump

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1

    Gaetz isn’t going anywhere anytime soon…

    Florida political journalist Marc Caputo reports that former congressman Matt Gaetz could still have a bright political future and may even succeed Ron DeSantis as governor of the Sunshine State two years from now.

     Caputo reports for The Bulwark that Gaetz’s career in politics may not be over yet:

    Gaetz has hinted that he’s not done with politics, even if politicians in D.C. want to be done with him. Just a day before the report’s release, the ex-congressman was met with applause at Turning Point USA’s America Fest in Phoenix, where he floated the idea of running for governor or Senate. And there’s a good chance Trump would endorse Gaetz, whom he nominated to be the next attorney general before his hasty withdrawal, should Gaetz choose to jump into either race.

    “Matt never got a commitment from the big guy to endorse him in 2026; he probably knew it was too much of an ask,” said a Trump adviser familiar with the discussions between the two men when Gaetz withdrew his nomination. But, the adviser noted: “Could Donald Trump endorse Matt Gaetz? Definitely. Matt is loyal. Matt is MAGA. But he needs to earn it like everyone else.”

    Florida pollster Kevin Wagner agreed.

    “The short answer is I don’t know what happens to Matt Gaetz. The incoming president could endorse him in 2026, and in that case, I wouldn’t bet against him in Florida,” he told Caputo.

    Caputo expanded further on Gaetz’s path forward:

    Already, the groundwork is being laid to get Gaetz to run once more. On Monday, MAGA operatives were lashing out at the Ethics Committee report, treating it as a form of political propaganda engineered by establishment lawmakers to remove a perpetual thorn in their side. Steve Bannon, a Trump adviser and the host of the War Room podcast influential in MAGAville, urged Gaetz to “return to Congress on its first day next year and take a page from that old song the ‘Harper Valley P.T.A.’ and expose all the hypocrites in the House who have used tax money to cover up their sexual depravity.”

    Bannon’s bet is that the no-apologies-no-fucks-given approach that Trump has perfected can be adopted by his acolytes, even if it hasn’t worked for others (see: Lake, Kari). Some fellow Republicans agree that negative saturation media coverage isn’t as deadly as it used to be, especially in GOP politics, and that politicians with their own standalone brands like Gaetz are better built than others to survive scandal when scandal no longer seems scandalous.

    Gaetz, whose nomination to serve as President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general quickly fell apart, was dealt another blow on Wednesday when the House Ethics Committee released a devastating report alleging severe sexual misconduct on his part.

    Rep. Greene Files Impeachment Resolution Against Joe Biden

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) is cleaning house.

    The pro-Trump lawmaker is reportedly planning to introduce articles of impeachment against President Joe Biden on Thursday. According to The Hill, Rep. Greene alleges the President has violated his oath of office by not securing the country’s borders and protecting national security. 

    Greene said at a press conference this will be the “first set” of articles she introduces against Biden.

    “It is with the highest amount of solemnity that I announce my intention to introduce articles of impeachment today on the head of this America-last executive branch, that has been working since Jan. 20, 2021, to systematically destroy this country, the president of the United States, Joseph Robinette Biden,” Greene said.

    The move by Greene comes after the Republican filed impeachment resolutions earlier this week against FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland.

    “In his conduct as Attorney General of the United States, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of the Attorney General of the United States, and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend, the Constitution of the United States, Merrick Brian Garland continues to materially endanger the justice system of the United States and empower President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., to persecute his political adversaries at will,” the articles read.

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

    Trump Celebrates Arrest Of MS-13 Leader in Virginia

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Arrest image via Pixabay

    On Thursday, President Trump hailed law enforcement officials for apprehending an alleged leader of notorious El Salvador gang MS-13.

    President Trump touted the arrest of a MS-13 leader, praising border czar Tom Homan amid the administration’s crack down of migrants aligned with gangs in the United States.

    “Just captured a major leader of MS13. Tom HOMAN is a superstar!” Trump said on Truth Social Thursday morning.

    FBI director Kash Patel also confirmed the arrest, calling it a victory for the U.S.

    “I can now confirm that earlier this morning, law enforcement personnel arrested a top MS-13 leader in Virginia. Outstanding work from @AGPamBondi, our brave agents, @CBP, @GovernorVA, and our state and local partners,” Patel wrote on social platform X.

    “This is a massive victory for a safer America. Justice is coming,” he added.

    The 24-year-old suspected MS-13 leader was captured in Woodbridge, Va., outside Washington, D.C., and, while his name hasn’t been released, is considered one of the top three leaders of the gang in the U.S., Fox News reported.

    “They executed a clean, safe operation and the bad guys in custody. And thanks to the FBI, we got one of the worst of the worst of the MS-13 off the streets this morning. Virginia and the country is a lot safer today,” Bondi told Fox News following the arrest.

    The operation included the FBI joined by the Prince William County Police Department, ATF, ICE, and the Virginia State Police.

    Thursday’s operation is only the latest targeting top-level members of gangs and drug-trafficking rings operating in the U.S.

    The FBI has arrested three individuals on its top 10 most wanted list in the past two months alone.

    Gaetz Will Not Rejoin Congress: Report

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    6

    He’s out for good…

    Ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) will not rejoin Congress after resigning from the current Congress after President-elect Donald Trump nominated him to be attorney general.

    Gaetz was reelected to the next Congress and many speculated he may rescind his resignation after dropping his bid to become attorney general on Thursday.

    CNN’s Kristen Holmes broke the news on-air.

    “Yeah, there had been a lot of speculation as to what exactly Matt Gaetz was going to do. Was there some kind of loophole in the sense that he had just been reelected? Would he go back to Congress? He is now saying in an interview with Charlie Kirk that he does not intend to go back,” Holmes reported, adding:

    That he’s going to continue trying to do things for Donald Trump, but not in the capacity of a congressman. This obviously comes as we know that there are still questions about whether or not that ethics report is going to be released. But in this interview, he also talked about what happened when some of those meetings up on Capitol Hill, he downplayed the any kind of impact that the ethics report had, but instead said that while he had some momentum with senators, he felt he had to explain himself quite a bit.

    Holmes then played a clip from the Kirk interview, in which Gaetz said “And again, while our discussions were going well, I found myself having to do two jobs at one time.”

    “Charlie, And you got a front-row seat to this. I had a full-time job explaining to senators that maybe a tweet I sent about them was rash and not reflective of how I would serve as attorney general. And at the same time, I was having to build out the Department of Justice with the right human talent, the right policy infrastructure. And Pam Bondi’s confirmation won’t have some of the sharp edges that I would have,” Gaetz added of Trump’s replacement for Gaetz as AG.

    Ivanka Trump Signals Potential New White House Role

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Could Donald Trump’s second White House administration include family members after all?

    Ivanka Trump, the former President’s oldest daughter, signaled a willingness to return to politics if her father wins another term in the White House.

    Puck’s Tara Palmeri reported, citing someone familiar with the matter, that the former president’s daughter, who served in his first administration, is “warming to the idea of trying to be helpful” again. The source told Palmeri that Ivanka Trump is “privately not ruling out having some sort of role.”

    “She’s not like ‘Hell no’ anymore,” the person said.

    Ivanka Trump served as an advisor in her father’s administration but announced in 2022 that she was leaving politics behind even though her father is running again. Other Trump family members have also made similar statements regarding future roles in the White House.

    “This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics,” she said at the time.

    Palmeri reported that Ivanka Trump has been advised to wait to make a full dive back onto the Trump team until the GOP convention this summer.

    A spokesperson for the couple said in a statement that both are still committed to being in the private sector currently.

    “As they’ve both repeatedly stated, Ivanka and Jared continue to focus on their family and lives in the private sector and do not intend to go back to politics,” the spokesperson said.

    Ivanka Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner, also served as a senior advisor in Trump’s administration, helping to negotiate the historic Abraham Accords. 

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