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House Select Committee Officially Subpoenas Donald Trump

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

The House Select Committee officially issued a subpoena to testify before the panel to former President Trump on Friday morning.

Last week, the committee investigating the Jan. 6th Capitol riot voted unanimously to subpoena during what could be its last public hearing last week.

“As demonstrated in our hearings, we have assembled overwhelming evidence, including from dozens of your former appointees and staff, that you personally orchestrated and oversaw a multi-part effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and to obstruct the peaceful transition of power,” Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) wrote in a joint statement.

Read the subpoena below:

Trump responded to the subpoena last and decried the move as a continuation of Democrats’ partisan witch-hunt against him.

“The Unselect Committee has willfully ignored the fact that days before January 6, 2021, I recommended and authorized thousands of troops to be deployed to ensure that there was peace, safety, and security at the Capitol and throughout Washington, D.C. on January 6th because I knew, just based on instinct and what I was hearing, that the crowd coming to listen to my speech, and various others, would be a very big one, far bigger than anyone thought possible,” Trump wrote.

Despite Trump’s ire towards the House panel a source close to the former president insists he “loves the idea of testifying.” The source told Fox News, that if Trump does in fact testify he plans to “talk about how corrupt the election was, how corrupt the committee was, and how Nancy Pelosi did not call up the National Guard that Trump strongly recommended for her to do three days earlier on January 3, 2021.”

Eric Trump Suggests Possibility Of ‘Inside Job’ In Second Assassination Attempt On Donald Trump

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Eric Trump raised concerns about the second assassination attempt on his father, former President Donald Trump, suggesting that it might have been an “inside job” during a Monday interview with Megyn Kelly on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Show.

The remarks came after the arrest of Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, who is accused of attempting to assassinate Trump at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida. Federal and local authorities confirmed Routh’s apprehension on Sunday.

When Kelly asked whether the attack could have been an inside job, Eric Trump urged viewers to “entertain everything.”

“Everybody had better entertain it… twice in five weeks, you better start entertaining all of those scenarios, because something is very, very wrong,” he stated, expressing disbelief at how Routh, armed with an AK-style rifle, crossed a major highway in broad daylight without detection.

Eric Trump questioned how the alleged gunman was able to breach multiple layers of security and get within close range of his father during the incident. “He literally got across all of that holding a long gun, and no one saw this? There weren’t eyes on the street?” he asked.

He concluded by emphasizing the need to enhance security measures around the former president, stating, “We better really start locking down this perimeter, because something is awfully wrong… the world knows they are trying to get him.”

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House Democrat Says House GOP is Plotting Epstein Revolt Against Trump

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By Ralph Alswang, White House photographer - https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/clinton-epstein-maxwell/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=143417695

Are the tides turning against Trump?

A House Democrat claims that a large swath of House Republicans are planning to go against President Trump to push a vote on sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s files.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) claimed that multiple House Republican colleagues informed him that they’re planning a “jail break” revolt of over 100 lawmakers against President Donald Trump if there’s a discharge petition to force a vote on the Jeffrey Epstein files release.

The long-awaited vote, pushed by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), has been delayed as the House remains in recess amid a government shutdown, but it reportedly has enough signatures to force action once the chamber reconvenes.

Trump, who urged the release of the Epstein files on the campaign trail, has since dismissed the case as “a hoax” and told supporters not to “waste time” on the matter. This comes amid renewed scrutiny of his association with Epstein after newly released documents included a purported birthday note to the disgraced financier, which he denied writing.

In a post to X on Wednesday, Swalwell gleefully shared that “Trump’s movement/support is fading” among Republicans and that one GOP lawmaker told him “no [one] wants to defend a pedo-protector.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is facing growing bipartisan criticism for the voting delay, with critics accusing him of extending the recess to avoid the politically explosive issue.

“Johnson and the House Republicans care more about protecting the Epstein files than protecting the American people,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

Johnson dismissed the charge as “totally absurd,” telling NBC’s Meet the Press on Monday that he supports full transparency: “I want every page of this out.”

Massie lashed out at the recess on Sunday, warning he had “218 votes for the discharge petition.”

CIA Sued Over Role In Hunter Biden Laptop Election Cover-Up

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The New Headquarters Building (NHB) of the CIA. The Central Intelligence Agency, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A nonprofit legal watchdog has filed a federal lawsuit against the Central Intelligence Agency, seeking documents and records over an election-year government effort to cover up reporting seen as damaging to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.

In particular, the group seeks information on the agency’s role in a letter signed by 51 intelligence officials that falsely claimed the Russian government “planted” evidence of criminal activity on a laptop owned by Biden’s middle-aged son Hunter.

Judicial Watch filed the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the CIA for all “communications of the spy agency’s Prepublication Classification Review Board (PCRB) regarding an October 19, 2020, email request to review and ‘clear’ a letter signed by 51 former intelligence community officials characterizing the Hunter Biden laptop story as having ‘all the earmarks of a Russian disinformation campaign,’” the group announced.

“The Deep State CIA, it seems, engaged in election interference and a political operation against the American people to help Joe Biden and hurt Trump,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “And now the CIA is ignoring FOIA law to cover up its role in the scandal, censoring and suppressing the Hunter Biden/Joe Biden laptop story just before the presidential election.”

In October 2020, the New York Post broke a bombshell story revealing that Hunter Biden’s laptop, which he abandoned at a Delaware computer shop, contained photographs of Hunter Biden engaged in drug use and using prostitutes, as well as emails describing what appear to be shady foreign business deals.

Fearing the story could damage Biden’s presidential campaign, social media companies attempted to suppress the sharing of the Post’s reporting.

The Biden campaign also reached out to intelligence officials, including the CIA and FBI, seeking their help in falsely discrediting the story.

“In a May 10, 2023, report the House Judiciary Committee revealed that on October 19, 2020, three days before the second presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Democrat candidate Joe Biden, then-Acting CIA Director Michael Morell sent the PCRB the finalized letter for review, calling it a ‘rush job,’ and quickly secured its approval,” Judicial Watch reports.

Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit after the CIA failed to respond to a May 11, 2023, FOIA request for:

Records and communications of the Prepublication Classification Review Board, Central Intelligence Agency, including emails, email chains, email attachments, text messages, cables, voice recordings, correspondence, statements, letters, memoranda, reports, presentations, notes, or other form of record, regarding an October 19, 2020, email request to review and “clear” a letter involving the Hunter Biden laptop story potentially having Russian involvement or being a Russian disinformation plot.

An investigation by the House Judiciary Committee and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence found that the CIA, or a CIA employee, may have helped the Biden campaign find signers for the false letter.

One former CIA employee, David Cariens, reveals that while speaking with the PCRB in October 2020 to review materials for his memoir, a CIA employee “asked” him to sign the false letter.

“When the person in charge of reviewing the book called to say it was approved with no changes, I was told about the draft letter,” said Cariens.

“The person asked me if I would be willing to sign. . . . After hearing the letter’s contents, and the qualifiers in it such as, “We want to emphasize that we do not know if the emails provided to the New York Post by President Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, are genuine or not and that we do not have evidence of Russian involvement . . .’ I agreed to sign,” Cariens said.

“If accurate, this information raises fundamental concerns about the role of the CIA in helping to falsely discredit allegations about the Biden family in the weeks before the 2020 presidential election,” Judicial Watch notes.

Another former CIA officer, Marc Polymeropoulos, criticized the CIA’s involvement in his testimony to the House Judiciary Committee in the following exchange:

Q. Does what [Former CIA official David Cariens] described there, that interaction with the [Prepublication Classification Review Board], sound like a quid pro quo to you?

A. I can’t comment on this. This is—to me, this is something that the [Prepublication Classification Review Board] in my experience would never engage in something like that. They are just straightforward back and forth in terms of approval. The idea they would have a comment on any other thing that they were working on, that to me is not even close to what I’ve experienced with them.

Q. Does that concern you?

A. If it’s true, it would concern me, for sure. But I just—I have a hard time believing that occurred. If it did, that’s incredibly unprofessional.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Great America News Desk. It first appeared in American Liberty News.

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January 6th Panel Votes to Recommend DOJ Prosecute Trump

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Gage Skidmore Flickr

On Monday, the House Select Committee investigating the events surrounding the January 6th, 2021 Capitol riot voted to recommend the Department of Justice criminally prosecute former President Donald Trump.

The committee voted 9-0.

According to Fox News, the first referral recommended by the committee is for Trump’s obstruction an official proceeding of Congress. The committee will also refer Trump to DOJ for conspiracy to defraud the federal government, making a false statement and inciting, assisting, or aiding and comforting an insurrection.

In what is expected to be its final meeting on Monday, the House Select Committee to Investigate January 6 said it will formally ask the DOJ to pursue charges after a nearly 18-month probe into the former president’s involvement in the activities that lead to the Capitol breach on January 6, 2021.

The committee’s unprecedented criminal referral holds no official legal weight, and a final determination in whether to pursue the charges will be up to Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Justice Department.

At Monday’s meeting, the committee’s members, seven Democrats and two anti-Trump Republicans, each presented a portion of their findings against Trump before taking the vote to issue criminal referrals. 

The committee will also refer four Republican members of Congress to the House Committee on Ethics for defying the committee’s subpoenas. One of the Republicans who defied their subpoena was then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, (R-Calif.)

The committee also subpoenaed:

  • Jim Jordan, R-Ohio
  • Mo Brooks, R-Ala.
  • Scott Perry, R-Pa.
  • Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.

According to The Hill, It’s unclear if the Ethics panel will launch an investigation based on the select committee’s new recommendations. Unlike most other standing committees, membership on the Ethics panel is evenly divided between the parties. And the committee strives — at least rhetorically — to avoid the divisive partisan politicking that practically defines some of the other panels. 

Yet with just weeks left in the 117th Congress, there’s a small and closing window for the committee to launch any new probes while Democrats are still in the House majority. And it’s unlikely that a GOP-led Ethics Committee would take the remarkable step of investigating the role of sitting Republicans in an event as polarizing as the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. 

Centrist Republicans Float Re-electing McCarthy as House Speaker In Wake of Israel Attacks

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

The old saying goes “the more things change the more they stay the same…”

Some Republicans are mulling a move to reinstate Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as House Speaker in the wake of the deadly attacks in Israel.

On Saturday morning, Palestine militant group Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare war on the organization and order retaliatory action.

“Israel attacks have moderates holding out for the one person who can truly unite us: Kevin McCarthy,” a House GOP lawmaker said.

Last week, McCarthy was ousted by the votes of eight Republicans and all House Democrats thanks to a rule change McCarthy agreed to when he was elected speaker.

However, handing McCarthy back the Speaker’s gavel is an uphill battle due to the support Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) have already garnered. Last week, former President Donald Trump threw his support behind Jordan for Speaker.

McCarthy, for his part, is “aware and grateful” for the efforts to reinstate him, but he’s not engaging at this point, the House GOP lawmaker said.

However, some Republicans are optimistic that it could be done, given the severity of the attack in Israel. They believe the urgency surrounding the attacks could pressure the eight House Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy to switch their stance. Many Republicans are still upset with those who voted against McCarthy, who is a vocal supporter of Israel, and are “using this moment to show how wrong they were,” per the House GOP lawmaker.

“A short window is all we need in the House to reinstate Kevin McCarthy and change the rule,” Rep. John Duarte (R-CA) said.

House Republicans plan on meeting behind closed doors on Monday to hash out details and differences of opinion. On Tuesday, there will be a candidate forum to hear the pros and cons of each speaker candidate.

The conference plans to hold a secret vote on Wednesday to see who it wants to nominate for speaker on the floor. The nomination will go to whichever candidate secures a majority of the GOP conference. That figure could be as low as 113, including the three nonvoting GOP delegates to the House. If all 435 House members participate, a successful candidate will need 217 votes to become speaker.

Ramaswamy Scores Huge Endorsements Immediately After Launching Gubernatorial Campaign

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Vivek Ramaswamy speaking with attendees at the 2022 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is already the frontrunner for a consequential race…

On Monday, the biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy officially kicked off his highly-anticipated run to be the next Governor of Ohio.

Ramaswamy, who was floated early on as a potential running mate for Trump, promised to increase the Buckeye State’s pull factor for citizens across the nation and promote the president’s agenda if he is elected as governor.

“President Trump is reviving our conviction in America,” Ramaswamy told listeners at a Monday launch event in Cincinnati. “We require a leader here at home who will revive our conviction in Ohio, and that is why today I am honored to announce that I am running to be the next Governor of a great state at the heart of the greatest nation known to mankind,”

“I will lead Ohio to be the top state in the country where patriots across America actually flock to instead of Florida and Texas,” he continued. “I will lead Ohio to be the state of excellence in America.”

Quickly after announcing his run for Governor, President Trump posted on Truth Social a message promising his “complete and total endorsement.”

“VIVEK RAMASWAMY is running for Governor of the Great State of Ohio. I know him well, competed against him, and he is something SPECIAL,” Trump wrote late Monday in a Truth Social post. “He’s Young, Strong, and Smart.”

“Vivek is also a very good person, who truly loves our Country,” he said of the biotech entrepreneur. “He will be a GREAT Governor of Ohio, will never let you down, and has my COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT!”

The world’s richest man Elon Musk, who has ascended to a visible role alongside White House staff, also wished the Ohio Republican luck after launching his political campaign. 

“Good luck, you have my full endorsement,” the tech billionaire wrote Monday in a post on his social platform X, quoting Ramaswamy’s video announcing his next political venture. 

CNN Clashes With Trump Spokeswoman, Abruptly Ends Interview

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CNN Headquarters via Wikimedia Commons

On Monday morning, CNN anchor Kasie Hunt abruptly ended her interview with Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. The interview aired during CNN’s “This Morning,” just three days before the network is set to host the first Trump-Biden debate on Thursday.

Fighting Words From Team Trump

The tension escalated when Leavitt accused the debate moderators, Dana Bash and Jake Tapper, of having a bias against President Trump.

“That’s why President Trump is knowingly going into a hostile environment on this very network, on CNN, with debate moderators who have made their opinions about him very well known over the past eight years and their biased coverage of him,” Leavitt stated, previewing the upcoming debate.

Visibly annoyed by Leavitt’s remarks, Hunt defended her colleagues. “I’ll just say my colleagues, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, have acquitted themselves as professionals as they have covered campaigns and interviewed candidates from all sides of the aisle. I’ll also say that if you talk to analysts of previous debates, that if you’re attacking the moderators, you’re usually losing.”

Fox News reports:

After Hunt tried to steer the conversation back to the debate, Leavitt told Hunt that it would take just five minutes to research Tapper and his commentary on the former president. 

“Ma’am, I’m going to stop this interview if you’re going to continue to attack my colleagues,” Hunt said. 

After Leavitt argued she was stating facts about Bash and Tapper, Hunt cut the interview off, her voice rising as she went back to the panel.

“I would like to talk about Joe Biden and Donald Trump, whom you work for,” Hunt said. When Leavitt continued, Hunt signaled to cut her off.

“I’m sorry, guys, we’re going to come back out to the panel,” Hunt said, clearly fuming. “Karoline, thank you very much for your time. You are welcome to come back at any point. She is welcome to come back and speak about Donald Trump, and Donald Trump will have equal time to Joe Biden when they both join us later this week in Atlanta for this debate.”

Thursday’s Debate: What You Need to Know

The first 2024 presidential debate featuring President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump is scheduled for Thursday, June 27, at 9 p.m. (ET).

CNN will host the event at their Atlanta studios, without a live studio audience.

The debate will have strict rules. When one candidate isn’t speaking, their microphone will be muted. Each candidate will have only a pen, paper and water at their podium. There will be two commercial breaks during the 90-minute event.

Viewers can watch the debate live on multiple platforms, including CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español and streaming on Max (formerly HBO Max). The debate is the first of two agreed upon by both campaigns, with the second one scheduled for September 10, hosted by ABC News.

Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News

Former Florida Republican Announces Bid For Governor- As A Democrat

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Ron DeSantis via Gage Skidmore Flickr

A former Republican congressman and outspoken critic of Donald Trump is running for office…but this time as a Democrat.

David Jolly on Thursday officially launched his longshot campaign for governor as a Democrat. 

“Let’s end the politics of division and return Florida to voters who simply want an economy that works, the best education system in the world, safe communities, and a government that stays out of their doctors’ offices and family decisions,” Jolly said in a press release. 

“This is a different type of issues-driven, results-focused campaign, and it will be driven not by anger and division but by optimism and solutions,” he continued. “We are building a new coalition of Floridians who deeply care about their state and are desperate for real answers to real problems that are putting our quality of life at risk.”

Jolly previously represented Florida’s 13th congressional district, which includes parts of the greater Tampa area, from 2014 to 2017. He lost his seat to former Gov. Charlie Crist (D), who like Jolly, left the GOP. Jolly officially left the Republican Party in 2018.

The former Republican turned Democrat will face a fierce race in the Sunshine State that has become one of the most prominent red states in the country. Trump, who is now a Florida resident, won the state by 13 points in November. Republicans have also flipped a number of traditionally Democrat strongholds, including Miami-Dade County, and hold a voter registration advantage.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), who is term-limited, defeated Crist in his 2022 reelection bid by nearly 20 points.  

Jolly is the first Democrat to throw his name in the ring for governor. Former state Sen. Jason Pizzo (D-Fla.) is said to be mulling an independent run after leaving the Democratic Party last month. 

On the Republican side, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) officially launched his bid for governor earlier this year. Florida first lady Casey DeSantis is also rumored to be considering a bid. 

Intelligence Director Calls On Justice Department To Prosecute Obama Officials

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The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard is pushing the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute Obama administration officials linked to the debunked report alleging the 2016 Trump campaign engaged in Russian collusion.

More details are coming out concerning alleged efforts by former President Barack Obama and his team’s efforts to drum up intelligence to create a narrative of Russian interference in the 2016 election, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Sunday. (RELATED: Report: Obama Admin. ‘Manufactured’ Intelligence To Establish Russian Collusion Narrative)

Gabbard appeared on Sunday Morning Futures on Fox News, where she alleged a massive cover-up by intelligence officials in the Obama administration.

“There was direct intent to cover up the truth about what occurred and who was responsible, and the broad network of how this seditious conspiracy was concocted and who exactly was responsible for carrying it out,” Gabbard claimed.

“So at the end of the day, we need to look at Pam Bondi?” host Maria Bartiromo asked. “Is that the person who, at the end of the day, is gonna bring us accountability. Pam Bondi?”

Gabbard confirmed took the rare step of publicly calling on fellow administration officials to take action.

“Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI director Kash Patel,” the director responded. “It is their responsibility to gather all of the evidence, both that we have released, the facts that have already been known previously, the information that will continue to come out, and move forward with this prosecution and these indictments.”

Gabbard told Bartiromo that her team released 100 documents on Friday.

They “provide evidence of how this treasonous conspiracy was directed by President Obama just weeks before he was due to leave office after President Trump had already gotten elected,” she noted. Gabbard also said they were referring all the records to the Department of Justice and FBI for a criminal referral.

“So the effect of what President Obama and his senior national security team did was subvert the will of the American people, undermining our democratic republic, and enacting what would be essentially a years-long coup against President Trump, who was duly elected by the American people,” Gabbard declared.

Pressed on whether she expects future indictments and prosecutions, Gabbard replied, “I’m not a lawyer. In my view, we have the evidence to be able to move forward and bring about justice, yes, to prosecute and indict those responsible.”

In a thread posted to X on Friday, Gabbard shared clips of documents and contended that Obama directed his top intelligence officials to “create” a new intelligence assessment in December 2016 that contradicted prior analyses, after which they “leaned on their allies in the media to advance their falsehoods” and push the narrative that Russia “intervened to hack the election in Trump’s favor.”

Watch: