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    Trump Defends House Speaker Amid Mutiny Threats

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    Is House Speaker Mike Johnson on the brink of betrayal?

    President-elect Trump on Thursday said Speaker Johnson (R-La.) can likely remain in the leadership role if he cracks down on spending, while Johnson is reorganizing plans to fund the government ahead of Friday’s deadline to avert a shutdown.

    “If the Speaker acts decisively, and tough, and gets rid of all of the traps being set by the Democrats, which will economically and, in other ways, destroy our country, he will easily remain speaker,” Trump told Fox News Digital in an interview on Thursday morning.

    Some GOP lawmakers have questioned their support for Johnson over to his handling of the end-of-year spending deal, which has thrown his grasp on his gavel into uncertain territory ahead of the critical Jan. 3 vote.

    On Wednesday, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) pledged to oppose Johnson on the House floor next month and a handful of other Republicans are not saying if they will support him.

    When asked why he wouldn’t back his fellow Republican, Massie told The Hill it was due to “all the grievances I had this summer, when we tried to vacate. And then this bill.”

    Trump told Fox News Digital that he warned Republicans against supporting legislation that doesn’t tackle the debt limit, calling for those lawmakers to be primaried.

    “Anybody that supports a bill that doesn’t take care of the Democrat quicksand known as the debt ceiling should be primaried and disposed of as quickly as possible,” he said.

    One House Republican told the Washington Examiner that House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) is the most likely replacement for Johnson if House Republicans decide they need new leadership.

    Emmer is among the most experienced leaders of the House Republicans, having led the National Republican Congressional Committee from 2019 to 2023 before being elected Republican whip in 2022.

    Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) was floated by the House Republican as the second most likely House speaker replacement.

    Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) was floated as the third most likely candidate by the House Republican, a consistent favorite among the conservative wing of the party.

    Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, was a leading figure in pursuing an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. He unsuccessfully ran for the speakership in October 2023, losing to Johnson

    Report: Fani Willis Disqualified As Prosecutor on Trump Georgia Election Case

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2

    A Georgia appeals court on Thursday disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D)’s office from the 2020 election interference case against President-elect Trump

    The panel described Willis’s relationship with ex-special prosecutor Nathan Wade as a “significant appearance of impropriety.” 

    The court declined to outright dismiss Trump’s indictment, but disqualifying Willis’s office throws the future of the case further into doubt.

    The Hill reports:

    “After carefully considering the trial court’s findings in its order, we conclude that it erred by failing to disqualify DA Willis and her office,” the court wrote in its ruling.  

    “The remedy crafted by the trial court to prevent an ongoing appearance of impropriety did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed at times when DA Willis was exercising her broad pretrial discretion about who to prosecute and what charges to bring,” it continued. 

    In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Trump said the “whole case has been a disgrace to justice.” 

    “It was started by the Biden DOJ as an attack on his political opponent, Donald Trump,” he said, “They used anyone and anybody, and she has been disqualified, and her boyfriend has been disqualified, and they stole funds and went on trips.” 

    Trump said the case “should not be allowed to go any further.” 

    “There is no way such corrupt people can lead a case, and then it gets taken over by somebody else,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “It was a corrupt case, so how could it be taken over by someone else?” 

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

    Report: House Panel Holds Secret Vote To Release Gaetz Ethics Findings

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    6
    Ted Eytan from Washington, DC, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    The House Ethics Committee voted secretly to release the investigatory report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).

    According to reports from CNN, the committee has voted to release the ethics report despite Gaetz’s resignation from Congress last month.

    CNN reports:

    The vote, which has not previously been reported, amounts to a stark reversal for the panel after it had voted along party lines in late November not to release the results of the investigation. The decision to release the report suggests that some Republicans ultimately decided to side with Democrats on the matter, and it is unclear if the committee will once again change course now that it has voted.

    When the committee voted last month to shelve the report, Gaetz was President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be attorney general. Since then, Gaetz withdrew himself from consideration for the Senate-confirmed post, though he maintains frosty relations with many in his party and is still active in GOP politics.

    It is exceedingly rare for an ethics report to be released after a member has left Congress, though it has happened on a couple of occasions in the past. The committee revisited the issue behind closed doors earlier this month after a feud over the report spilled into public view before Thanksgiving.

    The Ethics Committee’s report concludes a years-long probe into numerous allegations against Gaetz, including whether he engaged in sexual misconduct, used illicit drugs, “shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gifts,” according to an announcement by the panel last summer.

    Gaetz has denied all wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crimes.

    Gaetz, in a statement posted on the social platform X, pointed to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) decision not to charge him after investigating allegations of a sexual encounter with a 17-year-old, claiming he was “FULLY EXONERATED.” He did, however, admit to an “embarrassing” past.

    “In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated – even some I never dated but who asked. I dated several of these women for years. I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18.  Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court – which is why no such claim was ever made in court,” Gaetz wrote. “My 30’s were an era of working very hard – and playing hard too. It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life.  I live a different life now.”

    Speaker Mike Johnson has spoken out against releasing the report due to Gaetz’s sudden resignation once Trump announced him as his initial attorney general choice. Johnson has acknowledged he has no role on the operations of the panel, which has traditionally operated separately from leadership.

    Gaetz, who was reelected to the seat last month prior to his resignation, has said he has no plans of returning to Congress next year.

    “I’m still going to be in the fight, but it’s going to be from a new perch. I do not intend to join the 119th Congress,” he told Charlie Kirk in an interview last month.

    Gaetz is also reportedly planning to join One America News Network (OANN) next month.

    Judge Rejects Trump Request To Toss Charges On Basis Of Presidential Immunity

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    4
    Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

    Judge Juan Merchan rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s request to dismiss charges brought against him by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on the basis of presidential immunity.

    The ruling came after President-elect Trump and his team requested Merchan to overturn his guilty verdict in New York v. Trump, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that presidents have immunity for official acts. 

    Merchan ruled that the evidence presented in the trial was related “entirely to unofficial conduct and thus, receive no immunity protections.” 

    “Further, even if this Court were to deem all of the contested evidence, both preserved and unpreserved, as official conduct falling within the outer perimeter of Defendant’s Presidential authority, it would still find that the People’s use of these acts as evidence of the decidedly personal acts of falsifying business records poses no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the Executive Branch, a conclusion amply supported by non-motive-related evidence,” Merchan writes. 

    READ:

    people-v.-djt-cpl-330.301-decDownload

    Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree stemming from the yearslong investigation related to alleged hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.

    Merchan also argued that the Court said “if error occurred regarding the introduction of the challenged evidence, such error was harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of guilt.” 

    Merchan rejected Trump’s presidential immunity argument but has yet to rule on President-elect Trump’s formal motion to dismiss the case altogether.

    “Today’s decision by deeply conflicted, acting Justice Merchan in the Manhattan DA Witch Hunt is a direct violation of the Supreme Court’s decision on immunity, and other longstanding jurisprudence,” Trump spokesman and incoming White House communications director Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital. “This lawless case should have never been brought, and the Constitution demands that it be immediately dismissed, as President Trump must be allowed to continue the Presidential Transition process, and execute the vital duties of the presidency, unobstructed by the remains of this, or any other, Witch Hunt.” 

    Cheung added: “The sooner these hoaxes end, the sooner our country can unite behind President Trump for the betterment of all Americans.”

    Trump Sues Iowa Pollster Over Election Interference

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    Gage Skidmore Flickr

    President-elect Donald Trump is suing the Des Moines Register and its top pollster J. Ann Selzer for “brazen election interference.”

    Trump’s lawsuit centers around Selzer’s final Iowa poll conducted before the 2024 election that reported Democrat candidate Kamala Harris leading by three points before Trump went on to carry the state by 13 points.

    The lawsuit was filed Monday night in Polk County, Iowa under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act and related provisions. It says it seeks “accountability for brazen election interference committed by” the Des Moines Register (DMR) and Selzer “in favor of now-defeated former Democrat candidate Kamala Harris through use of a leaked and manipulated Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll conducted by Selzer and S&C and published by DMR and Gannett in the Des Moines Register on Nov. 2, 2024.” The lawsuit is also against the parent company of the Des Moines Register, Gannett, which also owns other publications, including USA Today.

    Selzer’s poll, though, had been hyped up by the media ahead of the elections, as her polling predictions in previous elections had been historically accurate. 

    Trump attorneys said Selzer had “prided herself on a mainstream reputation for accuracy despite several far less publicized egregious polling misses in favor of Democrats” and said she “would have the public believe it was merely a coincidence that one of the worst polling misses of her career came just days before the most consequential election in memory, was leaked and happened to go against the Republican candidate.” 

    “The Harris Poll was no ‘miss’ but rather an attempt to influence the outcome of the 2024 Presidential Election,” the lawsuit states, adding that “defendants and their cohorts in the Democrat Party hoped that the Harris Poll would create a false narrative of inevitability for Harris in the final week of the 2024 Presidential Election.” 

    “Instead, the November 5 election was a monumental victory for President Trump in both the Electoral College and the Popular Vote, an overwhelming mandate for his America First principles, and the consignment of the radical socialist agenda to the dustbin of history.” 

    Trump’s attorneys noted that it’s not entirely uncommon for Democrat pollsters to attempt to influence electoral outcomes through manipulated data coupled with high error rates but Selzer’s large platform is cause for concern.

    “While Selzer is not the only pollster to engage in this corrupt practice, she had a huge platform and following and, thus, a significant and impactful opportunity to deceive voters,” the lawsuit states. “As Selzer knows, this type of manipulation creates a narrative of inevitability for Democrat candidates, increases enthusiasm among Democrats, compels Republicans to divert campaign time and money to areas in which they are ahead, and deceives the public into believing that Democrat candidates are performing better than they really are.” 

    According to Fox News, Trump is demanding actual damages upon trial of the case; statutory damages three times the actual damages suffered; an order enjoining defendants’ “ongoing deceptive and misleading acts and practices relating to the Harris Poll and compelling defendants to disclose all information upon which they relied to engage in the deceptive and misleading acts relating to the Harris Poll; attorneys’ fees and costs associated with the case; and any other relief as deemed just and proper by the court. 

    The lawsuit Monday night comes just hours after the president-elect said during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago that he planned to sue the Des Moines Register and Selzer. 

    Following the 2024 election Selzer also announced her retirement after more than 35 years.

    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.”

    State Lawmaker Arrested For Making Terroristic Threats Against Entire GOP Delegation

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    4

    A West Virginia state delegate-elect was arrested after allegedly threatening to kill multiple lawmakers, reportedly after being informed he might be dropped from his GOP caucus position.

    Del-elect Joseph de Soto, a medical doctor from Gerrardstown which is located approximately 100 miles west of Washington, D.C. allegedly threatened several other delegates, including the Speaker of the House after being told to step down.

    De Soto was listed in state jail records for Berkeley County as having been booked as a “pretrial felon” for making terroristic threats. 

    Fox News Digital reported that De Soto was advised of a vote removing him from a position for “undisclosed reasons,” and that “he was upset” after hearing the news. 

    De Soto had threatened to kill several fellow lawmakers as well as House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay.

    “I am focused on four people who are evil … not angry, but at peace what I need to do,” De Soto said, according to the criminal complaint. When an individual tried to stop de Soto from threatening people, his response was “I did say I am going to kill people. I said I am going (sic) what is necessary to put them (sic) from office.”

    De Soto said he had a vision from the Mormon Angel of Moroni to “destroy” Wayne Clark, R-Charles Town, and Dels. Michael Hite, Joe Funkhouser and Charles Horst, all R-Martinsburg. He also claimed to have been told by God to kill another lawmaker from Weirton.

    “They play stupid games, they are getting stupid awards,” de Soto wrote in an email to a person who complained to police, according to a law enforcement report obtained by Fox News Digital. 

    “I am upset only with the Eastern Panhandle delegates. I have only begun… and won’t stop,” he said in an email to another individual according to the complaint, which ends with: “they can all go to Hell. I will send them there as commanded,”

    De Soto had been elected as a Republican in the 91st District, however, he reportedly filed to change his affiliation to Democrat shortly before his arrest.

    The filing sets up a potential partisan or legal fight as to how he is replaced, a West Virginia provides that if a delegate vacancy exists, the outgoing lawmaker’s party’s county committee “shall appoint a member of the party” to the seat.

    The West Virginia State House is currently 89-11 Republican.

    In a statement, WVGOP Chairman Matt Herridge said the party is aware of the allegations and facts of the case, “as well as the steps the House GOP Caucus has taken toward [de Soto’s] expulsion.”

    “Our elected officials sacrifice a lot to serve their communities, and it is a travesty for anyone to face the additional burden of threats made against themselves and their families. The West Virginia Republican Party supports our House leadership and their expulsion efforts.”

    “We disavow and condemn the behavior of the former Republican Delegate-elect and continue to thank all those who are willing to serve their communities and state, in spite of the serious challenges it too often poses.”

    Report: Nancy Pelosi Hospitalized

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    7
    Photo via Pixabay images

    Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was hospitalized in Luxembourg, according to her spokesperson.

    It remains unclear what type of injury Pelosi, 84, sustained during the trip with a congressional delegation.

    Her spokesperson said the California Democrat is “currently receiving excellent treatment from doctors and medical professionals.”

    “While traveling with a bipartisan Congressional delegation in Luxembourg to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi sustained an injury during an official engagement and was admitted to the hospital for evaluation,” the spokesperson, Ian Krager, said in a statement.

    “She continues to work and regrets that she is unable to attend the remainder of the CODEL engagements to honor the courage of our servicemembers during one of the greatest acts of American heroism in our nation’s history,” he added.

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

    Report: Biden Selling Off Border Wall Parts Before Trump Takes Office

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    7
    Construction continues on new border wall system project near Yuma, AZ. Recently constructed border wall near Yuma, Arizona on June 3, 2020. CBP photo by Jerry Glaser.

    The Biden administration will do anything to keep the border open…

    According to an investigation by The Daily Wire, the Biden administration is reportedly attempting to delay construction of the Southern border wall by hauling a massive amount of border wall materials away to be sold off in a government auction.

    Videos obtained exclusively by The Daily Wire from a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent show unused sections of the wall being hauled away on the back of flatbed trucks from a section of the border just south of Tucson, a hotspot for illegal crossings during the Biden administration.

    The agent estimates that up to half a mile per day of unused border wall is being moved.

    “They are taking it from three stations: Nogales, Tucson, and Three Points,” the border patrol agent, who was granted anonymity to speak freely, told The Daily Wire. “The goal is to move all of it off the border before Christmas.”

    Watch:

    The Daily Wire reports:

    The government contractor, DP Trucking LLC, is transporting the pieces of the wall north on Interstate 19 to Pinal Airpark in Marana, Arizona, where it is being auctioned through GovPlanet, a surplus government equipment auction marketplace.

    “They just started taking all the wall that was not used, which is still totally good and usable, and they started taking it northbound,” the agent said. “They’re pulling it all off the border.”

    Harold Lambeth, the owner of the trucking company, confirmed to The Daily Wire in a phone call that his company is transporting the unused border wall sections north away from the construction sites. He said he is unable to disclose further information about the work.

    The auction website shows that sales occurred as recently as December 4 for the same types of materials being taken off the border. GovPlanet has online auctions set for Dec. 11 and Dec. 18 for more of the border wall material, which is listed on the company’s website as “32.91’ X 7.91’ Steel Bollard Wall Sections w/Grout.”

    The bidding for each section of wall panels is set to begin at only $5.00, according to the website.

    Trump is expected to use an executive order to unlock funds to restart construction of the border wall potentially on day one of his presidency.

    Arizona Rep. Eli Crane (R), called the last-minute fire sale by the Biden administration is “a direct affront to the will of the people.”

    “The American people gave President Trump a mandate in November, which included the fulfillment of his plans to secure the border,” Crane said. “Any last-ditch attempt to obstruct this mandate by the Biden Administration would be a direct affront to the will of the people.”

    Report: Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Donates $1M To Trump Inaugural Fund

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    © European Union, 2024, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly contributed $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural fund.

    The move comes as Zuckerberg has sought to strengthen his relationship with Trump over the years as the Republican emphasized his plan to focus on business and the economy upon returning to the White House.

    Zuckerberg’s efforts to strengthen ties with the Republican leader included a November dinner with Trump on the patio of his private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., that focused on general relationship-building.

    Zuckerberg’s team told the inaugural fund before the dinner that Meta planned to donate, one of the people told the Wall Street Journal.

    Federal campaign finance reports show Zuckerberg has supported congressional candidates in both parties over the years and has largely stayed out of presidential races.

    Neither Zuckerberg nor Meta donated to Trump’s inaugural fund in 2017 or to President Biden’s fund in 2021, according to public records. Both of those funds drew in $1 million in donations from fewer than a dozen major corporations, including many of the same companies.

    The Zuckerberg-Trump relationship has shifted back and forth over the years. In January 2017, FWD.us, a lobbying group founded by Zuckerberg and other tech leaders supporting immigration reform, contributed $5,000 to Trump’s transition, according to public records. Weeks later, Zuckerberg criticized Trump’s executive orders around immigration, writing in a Facebook post: “Like many of you, I’m concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders signed by President Trump.”

    After Trump supporters invaded the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Facebook suspended Trump from posting, as did several other social-media platforms. Following that, Trump issued a statement saying: “Next time I’m in the White House there will be no more dinners, at his request, with Mark Zuckerberg and his wife. It will be all business!”

    After Trump’s election victory in November, Zuckerberg congratulated Trump in a social-media post and said he was looking forward to working with the president-elect.

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