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Iowa Governor Reveals Reasoning Behind Unexpected Endorsement

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Photo via Gage Skidmore

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is explaining why she broke tradition and decided to endorse Florida Governor Ron DeSantis during the 2024 Republican presidential primaries.

The popular Republican governor told NBC News’ Dasha Burns that she broke with Iowa’s tradition of governors remaining neutral through the primaries because the country has “too much at stake.”

“I just felt like I couldn’t sit on the sidelines any longer,” she said. “We have too much at stake. I truly believe that he is the right person to get this country back on track.”

NBC News noted that the endorsement was the “biggest endorsement of the primary” season so far and that it was a significant boost for the DeSantis campaign.

When asked why she endorsed DeSantis, who is in second place in the race, she said: “I don’t base my decision on polls. I take a look at who I believe is the right person for the right job. I believe that Ron is the right person for the right job. And I believe he’s going to win.”

Burns later asked about her relationship with former President Donald Trump who has fired off repeated attacks against Reynolds, often accusing her of being disloyal to the former President.

When asked when the last time she spoke to Trump, she said, “Probably the last time he called to ask if I would endorse him, and I said I wasn’t at this point.”

Report: Trump Privately Getting Annoyed With Senate Candidate

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Marine One lifts-off after returning President Donald J. Trump to Mar-a-Lago Friday, March 29, 2019, following his visit to the 143-mile Herbert Hoover Dike near Canal Point, Fla., that surrounds Lake Okeechobee. The visit was part of an infrastructure inspection of the dike, which is part of the Kissimmee-Okeechobee Everglades system, and reduces impacts of flooding for areas of south Florida. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian) [Photo Credit: The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]

Presumed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has reportedly gotten tired of Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake spending so much time at Mar-a-lago.

According to a recent Washington Post report, Trump is concerned Lake has focused too much on networking with the Republican elite and not enough on campaigning for a crucial win in the contentious state.

“At one point last year, after grumbling for months that she was at his Mar-a-Lago Club too often, Trump gently suggested to Lake that she should leave the club and hit the campaign trail in Arizona, according to a person with direct knowledge of his comments,” the Post reporters wrote. “Trump has also asked others if she can really win in Arizona and if she might drag down his own poll numbers as he seeks the presidency again in 2024, advisers said.”

Trump also privately thinks Lake’s 2022 election fraud claims are full of hot air, according to the report.

“She didn’t win,” Trump bluntly told a political ally at a Mar-a-Lago dinner earlier this year, according to the Post.

One other notable Lake moment got the attention of Trump and his inner circle: the incident in which a Lake ally released a tape of former Arizona GOP chair Jeff DeWit appearing to show Lake being offered a bribe to not run for Senate in 2024. The Post reporters described Trump’s reaction to the incident as “more surprised than angry” when he learned about it on the night of the New Hampshire primary in January.

“She tapes everything?” Trump reportedly asked. “That’s good to know.”

In a statement sent to the Post defended the MAGA Republican “Kari Lake is a Smart and Fearless Leader who will WIN in Arizona, and help us flip the Senate to Republican control. Kari’s Opponent, Ruben Gallego, is an Open Borders RADICAL, who is BAD on Inflation and SOFT on Terrorists and Crime.”

FBI Refuses to Hand Over Docs Linked to Alleged Biden Crime Ring

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Jsg2020, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has refused to turn over subpoenaed documents related to the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings.

On Monday, the agency refused to provide the document in a private meeting with the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, according to Fox News. The unclassified FD-1023 document details criminal allegations of a pay-to-play scheme related to the Biden family’s business dealings, according to a whistleblower at the agency who spoke with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) who chairs the Oversight Committee, issued the subpoena to the FBI, which previously failed to provide the document by a May 10 deadline. Comer has threatened to hold the FBI’s budget “hostage” until the agency turns over the document.

“They don’t respect anyone in Congress,” Comer said Monday on Fox News. “They’ve been able to get away with this for a long time. The media continues to turn a blind eye. The Senate Republicans continue to fund the FBI. Why would you change your business model when you’re getting everything you want?”

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said he had a call with FBI Director Christopher Wray on Friday and is confident the agency will eventually provide the document.

“I explained to the director that we will do everything in our power, and we have the jurisdiction over the FBI, and we have the right to see this document,” McCarthy said Sunday on Fox News. “I believe after this call, we will get this document.”

Comer said Monday he has spoken with McCarthy about holding Wray under contempt if he does not comply.

Judge Rejects Trump Attempts To Toss Cases

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Gage Skidmore Flickr

On Thursday, Judge Scott McAfee rejected Donald Trump’s attempt to toss the election interference charges under the First Amendment.

According to The Hill, Trump and some of his co-defendants had contended their charges must be tossed because their efforts to contest the 2020 election comprised constitutionally protected “core political speech.” 

“Even core political speech addressing matters of public concern is not impenetrable from prosecution if allegedly used to further criminal activity,” Judge Scott McAfee wrote in the 14-page ruling.

McAfee said only a jury can decide the question of whether the speech at issue was carried out with criminal intent. His ruling leaves open the possibility that Trump could still raise a First Amendment defense down the road, once the factual record is more developed. 

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) last summer indicted Trump and more than a dozen of his allies on charges of entering a months-long criminal conspiracy to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Georgia. Trump pleaded not guilty, and a trial date has not yet been set. 

Trump and his co-defendants still have various other pending motions seeking to toss their charges without a trial.

Those efforts include Trump’s presidential immunity defense, which is likely to be impacted by the Supreme Court’s ruling on Trump’s near-identical defense to his federal election interference indictment brought in Washington, D.C.

“President Trump and other defendants respectfully disagree with Judge McAfee’s order and will continue to evaluate their options regarding the First Amendment challenges,” Trump attorney Steve Sadow said in a statement, emphasizing how Trump could again raise some of his claims at a later time. 

In the separate classified documents case, Florida Judge Aileen Cannon also refused to throw out the charges against the former President.

The ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon comes after special counsel Jack Smith urged her to promptly reject Trump’s claims that the Presidential Records Act (PRA) allowed him to deem the national security records his personal property.

“The Presidential Records Act does not provide a pre-trial basis to dismiss,” Cannon wrote in the three-page ruling.

While the ruling is seemingly a win for Smith, Cannon didn’t rule out Trump’s ability to raise the issue at trial

Michigan Judge Rules On Trump Ballot Challenge

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On Tuesday, a Michigan judge rejected a liberal group’s attempt to keep former President Donald Trump’s name off the state’s 2024 primary ballot.

Michigan Court of Claims Judge James Redford rejected the argument the former president is ineligible for office under the 14th Amendment due to his links to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

“The judicial action of removing a candidate from the presidential ballot and prohibiting them from running essentially strips Congress of its ability to ‘by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such a disability,'” Redford wrote.

“The question of whether he is ineligible due to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment presents a political question that is nonjusticiable at the present time,” the judge continued. “The question of whether Donald Trump is qualified or disqualified from appearing on the 2024 general election ballot in Michigan is not ripe for adjudication at this time.”

Numerous groups across the country have made similar attempts to keep Trump off the ballot however, none of the attempts have been successful.

According to Fox News, currently pending is a decision out of a Colorado lawsuit. Watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and six Colorado voters filed their lawsuit in September to block Trump from appearing on the primary ballot, citing the 14th Amendment. 

Report: Trump Indictment Unsealed!

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Gage Skidmore Flickr

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

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

Read the indictment below:

https://twitter.com/EricTrump/status/1643323850057306112

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Numerous conservatives have publicly tweeted their support of Trump.

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

WATCH: Truck Tries to Crash Through White House Barrier

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President Joe Biden delivers remarks in National Statuary Hall on the one-year anniversary of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Thursday, January 6, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Cameron Smith)

ALERT – In what appears to be an idiotic attempt to supposedly kill Joe Biden, a 19-year-old man repeatedly rammed a U-Haul truck into the barriers around the White House at Lafayette Park on Monday night. 

To be clear these barriers (or bollards) are designed to stop large vehicles and are a substantial distance from the White House perimeter fence.

There was no mention of explosives or other dangerous materials aboard the truck. Had there been this would be an entirely different story.

Still, the incident prompted the evacuation at The Hay-Adams Hotel on the 800 block of 16th Street.

The driver, Sai Varshith Kandula of Chesterfield, Missouri has reportedly been arrested and charged with multiple crimes, including threatening to kill, kidnap, or inflict harm on the president, vice president or family member.

He was also charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and reckless operation of a motor vehicle.

A man who said he was walking home from his run on the mall videotaped a driver in a U-Haul truck repeatedly ram the barricade at Lafayette Park near the White House.  

“I decided it was time to get the hell out of there” he says

See the video below.

According to a United States Park Police statement, the driver “intentionally crashed into the bollards on the outside of Lafayette Park.”

Ya, that looks about right.

The Secret Service spokesman also tweeted:

Shortly before 10:00 p.m. Monday, Secret Service Uniformed Division officers detained the driver of a box truck after the vehicle collided with security barriers on the north side of Lafayette Square on 16th Street. There were no injuries to any Secret Service or White House personnel and the cause and manner of the crash remain under investigation. 

Seems to me that the cause and manner of the crash are pretty obvious – the guy kept trying to ram through the barricades.

In a follow-up tweet, the spokesman said: “Charges will be filed by the United States Park Police with investigative support from the #SecretService.” 

In the photo below the truck can be seen more clearly after the driver was secured and removed. The bollards can also be more clearly seen.

Meanwhile, is that a swastika flag on the pavement at the police officer’s feet?

The location of the crash is noteworthy since it lies at the south end of 16th St where it is now known as Black Lives Matter (BLM) square. Fox 5 reported:

Had the barriers been breached, two fences providing additional layers of security would have been in-between the driver and the White House. Lafayette Square has long been one of the nation’s most prominent venues for demonstration near the Executive Mansion. The park was closed for nearly a year after federal authorities fenced off the area at the height of nationwide protests over policing following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, but it reopened in May 2021.

What the news outlet doesn’t say is that during those violent BLM riots at Lafayette Park in 2020 numerous officers were injured, cars and property burned, and the thin blue line of police at the park between the rioters and White House fence were almost overrun.

During the height of the rioting on May 31st, President Trump was also briefly rushed to the underground bunker by the Secret Service.

These barriers are designed to stop vehicles, not mobs of angry rioters.

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

Right Side Broadcasting Suspended From YouTube Over ‘Elections Misinformation’

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Gage Skidmore Flickr

Right Side Broadcasting, the small conservative broadcast network known for featuring a wide array of pro-Trump commentary has said it has coincidentally been temporarily banned by YouTube.

According to The Hill, on Monday YouTube informed RSBN that it had removed several videos the company had posted for violating their “elections misinformation” policies, including Trump’s recent rally in Waco, Texas, remarks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), and an exclusive interview he granted the right-wing broadcaster at Mar-a-Lago.

“Just one day before RSBN was set to cover President Trump’s arraignment in Manhattan, YouTube has resumed its censorship practices and suspendedRSBN’s channel, blocking our ability to livestream for seven days,” the company said in a statement.

When reached by The Hill for comment, Ivy Choi, a YouTube spokesperson, said the company “removed content from and issued a strike to the Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN) channel for violating our election integrity policy, which prohibits content claiming the 2020 U.S. or 2022 Brazil presidential elections were stolen.”

“Accordingly, the videos have been removed and a strike has been applied to the channel, and as a result, uploads and live streams by your account are suspended for a week,” a YouTube representative told RSBN, it said.

“As a result, this channel is temporarily suspended from publishing new videos or livestreams,” Choi said. “While we do allow content with educational, documentary, scientific or artistic context, the content we removed from this channel did not provide sufficient context.

RSBN is among the media companies covering the increasingly chaotic scene outside the Manhattan courtroom where the former President’s arraignment took place.

RSBN’s Brian Glenn interviewed MAGA Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) Tuesday morning as she protested outside of the Manhattan court. At one point, Greene gushed that Trump will be joining other historical figures who have been arrested.

“But I will say this, Brian and I truly feel it. We don’t want this fight. We don’t want it. We’re not picking this fight. But the fight is at the door. It’s right here at our doorstep,” the Congresswoman said.

“And so it’s up to us if we if we stand up against it. And you know me and I know who you are. We’re the types, we are going to stand up against. And we will never back down. And we will stand in support of our very incredible, amazing, best president in history of my lifetime. And innocent. Innocent,” Greene continued.

“And I mean, think about gosh, think about this. President Trump is joining some of the most incredible people in history being arrested today. Nelson Mandela was arrested, served time in prison. Jesus! Jesus was arrested and murdered by the Roman government,” she said.

“There have been many people throughout history that have been arrested and persecuted by radical, corrupt governments. And it’s beginning today in New York City. And I just can’t believe it’s happening. But I’ll always support him. He’s done nothing wrong. He’s done everything right,” Greene concluded

And I think a lot of our viewers feel the same way as they are very supportive of the president,” Glenn said agreeing with the Georgia lawmaker.

Hispanic Democrats Introduce Bill to Ban ‘Latinx’ Term

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Hispanic Democrats in Connecticut have introduced a bill to ban the woke term “Latinx” from state documents.

The bill, written and endorsed by five Democrats of Hispanic descent, comes amid increased scrutiny over the work term and its place in government documents.

The text of the bill reads:

[T]he general statutes [shall] be amended to prohibit any state agency, or state employee on behalf of a state agency, from using the term “Latinx” on any official communications or forms of the state agency.

A search on the state website reveals that at least 920 state documents contain the word “Latinx.”

It was introduced by five members of the state House: state Reps. Geraldo C. Reyes, Christopher Rosario, Juan R. Candelaria, Robert Sanchez, and Minnie Gonzalez.

“This has been offensive and derogatory to all Puerto Ricans, and it’s something that hasn’t sat well with a lot of people here for a while.” Reyes added to CT Insider. “When I found out that Arkansas Gov. [Sanders] banned it on her first day in the office, I saw that as an opportunity for me to do the same thing.” Reyes, however, criticized Sanders’ move, saying she had “other motivations” for banning the word in Arkansas government documents.

According to The Daily Wire, a national poll conducted in October found that only 1% of Hispanics identify as “Latinx,” a gender-neutral term imposed on Hispanics by left-wing culture. WPA Intelligence, a conservative polling firm that collaborated with Visto Media on behalf of the Latino advocacy group Bienvenido, conducted a poll of 1,288 Hispanic registered Democrat, Republican, and Independent voters.

The poll found that the community prefers to be identified as Hispanic, while others said American or Latino.

Last month, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders banned the use of “latinx” in state documents as one of her first acts as governor. (RELATED: Arkansas Governor Bans Woke Term During First Day on the Job)

“ETHNICALLY INSENSITIVE AND PEJORATIVE LANGUAGE HAS NO PLACE IN OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS OR GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE TITLES,” SANDERS’ EXECUTIVE ORDER STATED. “THE GOVERNMENT HAS A RESPONSIBILITY TO RESPECT ITS CITIZENS AND USE ETHNICALLY APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE, PARTICULARLY WHEN REFERRING TO ETHNIC MINORITIES.”

Report: Poppy Harlow To Leave CNN

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CNN Headquarters via Wikimedia Commons

Big changes are coming…

Longtime CNN anchor Poppy Harlow is exiting the network.

Harlow, a veteran of CNN who spent nearly two decades on the air, will be departing in May, a CNN spokesperson confirmed to Mediaite.

The news of her departure was first reported by Vanity Fair.

Mediaite has more:

“When I walked in the door at CNN in 2008, I was 25 years old and had never been on live TV. Green is an understatement!” Harlow said in an internal note to colleagues that was obtained by Vanity Fair. “I passed those three iconic red letters in the hall on day one and thought how lucky I was to be here.”

“There’s been plenty written about what’s wrong with journalism, and the challenges our industry faces,” she wrote. “And it does. But there is also so much right with it. At the heart of everything we do is the pursuit of truth – it is the core of CNN. I remain CNN’s biggest fan and I’ll be watching and cheering you on every day.”

She did not reveal her future plans, saying only, “For now, my plan is to walk our children to school and pick them up (hopefully they won’t get sick of me!), and to support the evolution of journalism in every way I can, while preserving the human(ity) in it.”

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