Home Blog Page 127

El Salvador President Responds After Man Mistakenly Deported

By
Madeleine Jackson
-
1
By Casa Presidencial El Salvador - https://www.flickr.com/photos/fotospresidencia_sv/54351745159/, CC0,

El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele told President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Monday that he has no plans to return a Maryland man wrongfully deported to a prison in his country.

Bukele’s Oval Office meeting with President Trump was the first since the Supreme Court ruled last week that the U.S. must “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

However, both Trump and Bukele suggested they don’t have the power to return the Maryland man and Salvadoran national to the U.S.

“How could I return him to the United States? I smuggle him to the United States? Of course I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous,” Bukele said, going on to refer to Abrego Garcia as a terrorist.

“I don’t have the power to return him to the United States. I’m not releasing — I mean, we’re not very fond of releasing terrorists into our country,” he added, saying El Salvador is no longer the murder capital of the world.

Before Bukele spoke, Trump and a number of his aides suggested the decision would rest with El Salvador.

“That’s up to El Salvador if they want to return him. That’s not up to us,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said.

Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The Supreme Court ruled last week that the government must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return. (RELATED: Supreme Court Rules Wrongfully Deported Man Must Return To US)

“The order properly requires the Government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador,” the Supreme Court ruled, referencing a lower court decision. 

“The District Court should clarify its directive, with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs. For its part, the Government should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further steps,” the order reads. 

White House aide Stephen Miller said seeking Abrego Garcia’s return would equate to kidnapping him.

“A district court judge tried to tell the administration that they had to kidnap a citizen of El Salvador and fly him back here. That issue was raised at the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court said the district court order was unlawful and its main components reversed, 9-0, unanimously stating clearly that neither the secretary of state nor the President could be compelled by anybody to forcibly retrieve a citizen of El Salvador from El Salvador, who again, is a member of MS-13,” Miller said during the meeting.

Wall Street Journal Board Urges Potential Trump Impeachment

By
Madeleine Jackson
-
2
Image via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Yikes…

In a column published late Friday, a member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board claimed it would be “desirable” to subject Donald Trump to a third impeachment.

According to longtime columnist Holman W. Jenkins Jr., Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff threats almost makes it appear he wants to be impeached, with Jenkins writing, “A future Trump impeachment seemed all but guaranteed by last Wednesday morning. It seems only slightly less likely now. It may even be desirable to restore America’s standing with creditors and trade partners.”

Read more from the report:

As he sees it, the president’s last great achievement was being re-elected in 2024, and the damage he has been creating since then belies his promise of a “golden age,” so an impeachment is “already ion the cards.”

“No consensus or even significant coalition exists for trying to force into existence a new American ‘golden age’ with tariffs, which anyway is like asking a chicken to give birth to a lioness. He invented this mission out of his own confused intuition,” he accused.

Noting that conservative historian Niall Ferguson labeled Trump’s trade policy going “full retard,” he contributed, “I go with ‘neurotic’ for the word’s wider applicability to any leader who, lacking a clear bead on his times, fabricates a gratuitously ambitious mission to meet his misguided sense of importance.”

“Nobody in Mr. Trump’s orbit actually shares his belief in the magical efficacy of tariffs because it makes sense only in a world that doesn’t exist, where other countries don’t retaliate,” he pointed out before concluding, “The founders never anticipated today’s instantly responsive trillion-dollar financial markets. And yet these markets neatly adumbrate the founders’ scheme of checks and balances, also known as feedback. Mr. Trump, still sane enough to appreciate what’s good for Mr. Trump, listened this week to their feedback.”

President Donald Trump vowed on Sunday that nobody was getting “off the hook” for unfair trade balances and tariff barriers, which other countries have used against the U.S.

The Trump administration announced Friday that it was exempting imported smartphones, laptops and other electronics from reciprocal tariffs, but the president wanted to clear a few things up.

“There was no Tariff ‘exception’ announced on Friday,” Trump said in a post on X on Sunday. “These products are subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and they are just moving to a different Tariff ‘bucket.’  The Fake News knows this, but refuses to report it. We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations.

Customs and Border Protection issued new guidance on reciprocal tariff negotiations late Friday, noting the exemption of those goods from Trump’s April 2 executive order that declared a national emergency due to non-reciprocal trade practices and structural imbalances in the global trading system. Subsequent executive orders ramped up tariffs on China to 125%.

The updated guidance, which cites a presidential memorandum issued Friday, excluded the products from Trump’s 125% China tariff and his baseline 10% global tariff on some countries. They apply to goods that left a warehouse as of April 5.

Products included in the exemption are things like hard drives, computer processors, solar cells, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, flat-panel TV displays and memory chips.

But in light of the easing of tariffs on electronics, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday the exemption would be temporary.

“They’re exempt from the reciprocal tariffs, but they’re included in the semiconductor tariffs, which are coming in probably a month or two,” Lutnick told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

Lutnick’s comments Sunday made clear that more changes were on the horizon.

Space Force Commander Fired After Sending Mass Email To Staff About VP Vance

By
Madeleine Jackson
-
3
David B. Gleason from Chicago, IL, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

She’s out…

The Pentagon fired the commander at the U.S. Space Force base in Greenland after she broke with Vice President JD Vance who recently traveled to Greenland.

After the vice president’s visit, Col. Susannah Meyers emailed base personnel on March 31, writing, “I do not presume to understand current politics, but what I do know is the concerns of the U.S. administration discussed by Vice President Vance on Friday are not reflective of Pituffik Space Base.”

She added that she had “spent the weekend thinking about Friday’s visit — the actions taken, the words spoken, and how it must have affected each of you.” The email was first reported by Military.com.

The Space Force said in a public statement Meyers had been relieved of command “due to loss of confidence in her ability to lead.” 

“Commanders are expected to adhere to the highest standards of conduct, especially as it relates to remaining nonpartisan in the performance of their duties,” the statement read. 

Col. Shawn Lee has now assumed the command, Space Force said. 

“Actions to undermine the chain of command or to subvert President Trump’s agenda will not be tolerated at the Department of Defense,” Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell posted on X. 

Meyers became commander of the 821st Space Base Group in July, according to a Facebook post about the change-of-command ceremony. 

Vance, during his visit to the snow-covered island, criticized Denmark for treating Greenlanders as “second-class citizens.” 

“Our message to Denmark is very simple,” Vance said. “You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland. You have underinvested in the people of Greenland, and you have underinvested in the security of this incredible, beautiful landmass.”

Vance was the highest-ranking official to ever travel to the base in Pituffik, the White House said. 

The Trump administration has made acquiring Greenland a top goal. 

“We need Greenland for national security and international security,” President Donald Trump said on March 11. 

Bizarre Discoveries At US-Mexico Border Result In Several Arrests

By
Madeleine Jackson
-
1
Trump at the border wall via Wikimedia Commons

You don’t see this every day…

Border patrol agents at the Texas-Mexico border made two interesting finds while searching vehicles last weekend, resulting in the arrests of three people in two separate incidents. 

According to Fox News, a 20-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman, both U.S. citizens, were crossing into the United States through the Anzalduas International Bridge when their vehicle was flagged by CBP agents for a second inspection on Sunday. 

Upon investigation, officials discovered a spider monkey stowed inside a backpack in the vehicle. The two individuals were taken into custody and the monkey was transported to Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville. 

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora protects certain types of monkeys and their importation is regulated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to CBP officials. However, monkeys are not permitted to be imported as pets. 

On the same day, CPB agents at the Hidalgo International Bridge stopped a 68-year-old Mexican citizen crossing into the U.S. for a second inspection. 

Agents discovered approximately 73 pounds of alleged cocaine stashed inside the man’s Ford Explorer. Authorities estimate the alleged narcotics have a street value of approximately $980,000. 

The man was taken into custody by Homeland Security and the cocaine was seized by CBP. 

The suspects identities have not yet been released by officials.

“Our frontline CBP officers and agriculture specialists continue to remain vigilant as they conduct their inspections; their attention to detail and inspections experience led to an interception of an endangered species and a significant narcotics seizure in two separate enforcement events,” Hidalgo Port Director Carlos Rodriguez said in a statement. “We remain committed to preventing the exploitation of protected animals and the spread of animal diseases. Seizures of narcotics also reinforce our continued commitment to our border security mission.”

Senators Call On SEC To Open Investigation Into Trump For Insider Trading

By
Madeleine Jackson
-
5

Democrats are getting desperate…

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week asking for an investigation into President Donald Trump’s social media posts urging stock market purchases ahead of his tariff pause announcement

“We ask the SEC to determine whether President Trump, any members of his cabinet, or other donors, insiders, and administration officials engaged in insider trading, market manipulation or other securities laws violations on April 9, 2025, when President Trump announced that it was a ‘GREAT TIME TO BUY’ into the stock market,” the senators wrote in a scathing letter.

Sens. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) also signed the letter, which slammed Trump for urging his social media followers to buy stocks “just hours before he announced a 90-day pause on his recently announced tariffs, leading to a historic market rally after days of dramatic market declines.”

“THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social at 9:37 am just ahead of his announcement that he would pause additional tariff increases on 75 countries for 90 days while slapping even higher levies on China.

The letter was addressed to SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins, a Trump appointee, who was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday.

“It is unclear which officials and affiliates for President Trump had advance knowledge of his plans to delay tariffs — but insiders may have known that he was going to announce a tariff pause and that the market would improve,” argued the Senators.

Supreme Court Rules Wrongfully Deported Man Must Return To US

By
Madeleine Jackson
-
2
Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national living in Maryland, from an El Salvador prison.

Abrego Garcia, 29, was deported to the El Salvadoran mega-prison last month for being an alleged MS-13 gang member, however, his attorneys maintain he does not have any gang ties. Garcia’s wrongful deportation has triggered an onslaught of criticisms from both sides of the aisle. (RELATED: IRS, DHS Reach Game-Changing Agreement For Trump Immigration Agenda)

The Supreme Court sided with U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis who initially ordered federal officials to coordinate Garcia’s return back to Maryland in a Monday order, calling his deportation “wholly unlawful.”

Fox News reports:

“On March 15, 2025, the United States removed Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia from the United States to El Salvador, where he is currently detained in the Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT),” the order states. “The United States acknowledges that Abrego Garcia was subject to a withholding order forbidding his removal to El Salvador, and that the removal to El Salvador was therefore illegal.” 

Justice Sonia Sotomayor said she “would have declined to intervene in this litigation and denied the application in full.”

“Nevertheless, I agree with the Court’s order that the proper remedy is to provide Abrego Garcia with all the processes to which he would have been entitled had he not been unlawfully removed to El Salvador,” Sotomayor wrote. “That means the Government must comply with its obligation to provide Abrego Garcia with ‘due process of law,’ including notice and an opportunity to be heard, in any future proceedings.”

The Justice Department responded to the order in a statement to Fox News in a statement. 

“As the Supreme Court correctly recognized, it is the exclusive prerogative of the President to conduct foreign affairs,” the statement says. “By directly noting the deference owed to the Executive Branch, this ruling once again illustrates that activist judges do not have the jurisdiction to seize control of the President’s authority to conduct foreign policy.”

Tulsi Gabbard Threatens To Sue CNN

By
Madeleine Jackson
-
4
CNN Headquarters via Wikimedia Commons

Former Democrat Congresswoman turned Trump official, Tulsi Gabbard, is threatening to sue CNN.

Attorneys for Gabbard are threatening to sure the publication for defamation if the network publishes a story accusing the Director of National Intelligence of voter fraud.

In a letter, dated April 4, lawyers representing Gabbard state that they learned a day earlier that CNN “plans to publish a story that falsely asserts or implies that Tulsi Gabbard committed voter fraud and suggests that she had abandoned her longstanding Hawaii residency.”

The story, according to the letter, is based on Gabbard’s 2024 purchase of a Texas house — CNN apparently planned to write that Gabbard improperly voted in Hawaii in 2024 when she should have voted in Texas, because she declared a “homestead exemption” at that property. The lawyers, the letter shows, inform CNN that Texas law does not indefinitely bind homestead to your residence, and that Gabbard “was, is, and intends to remain a Hawaii resident.”

Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Olivia Coleman, press secretary for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, told The Daily Wire that “illegitimate claims of voter fraud are a new low, even for CNN.”

“DNI Gabbard voted in Hawaii during the 2024 election because she is and has been a tax paying Hawaii resident,” Coleman said. “Her current status is no different than when she was a Member of Congress, where she maintained a mainland residence and a Hawaii residence as a tax-paying voter.”

The legal letter informs CNN that Gabbard “took the advice of local officials to register a homestead exemption to protect her and her family’s privacy.”

“Declaring her ‘homestead’ in Texas, per law, ensured her address would remain confidential in response to ongoing, high-level, credible threats against her and her family,” Coleman exmplained. “Any claim to the contrary is simply dishonest and is yet another smear job from discredited CNN that could put the Director and her loved ones further at risk.”

In their letter, Gabbard’s lawyers cite a court case which states that while a designated homestead is “relevant to consideration of residence,” it is “not dispositive.” Gabbard presently spends most of her time in Virginia, where the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is headquartered.

In support of the claims of defamation, Gabbard’s lawyers state in the letter that the “demonstrably false” statements “have the potential to cause significant harm to her personal and professional reputation.”

“The allegations meet the legal standard for defamation per se, as they falsely accuse Director Gabbard of criminal conduct, which is inherently damaging to her reputation,” the letter says.

Read:

848025125-Lawyers-For-Tulsi-Gabbard-Threaten-CNNDownload

Trump Targets Law Firm Linked To Dominion Voting Systems Lawsuit Against Fox News

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    0
    The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    President Trump issued an order targeting law firm Susman Godfrey, the firm that helped Dominion Voting Systems secure a $787 million settlement against Fox News after the 2020 election.

    Trump’s order will ban the firm from accessing government buildings, viewing documents or representing any party who has any litigation with the federal government.

    The Hill reports:

    “Lawyers and law firms that engage in activities detrimental to critical American interests should not have access to our Nation’s secrets, nor should their conduct be subsidized by Federal taxpayer funds or contracts,” the order reads.

    The president said the move was necessary “to address the significant risks, egregious conduct, and conflicts of interest,” at Susman Godfrey.

    The firm, in a statement, responded that “anyone who knows Susman Godfrey knows we believe in the rule of law, and we take seriously our duty to uphold it.”

    “This principle guides us now,” the company said. “There is no question that we will fight this unconstitutional order.”

    Susman Godfrey helped voting systems provider Dominion secure a multi-million dollar settlement in 2022 against Fox News over false claims it aired after the 2020 presidential election promoted by Trump and his allies.

    Trump’s order comes the same week a Delaware judge ruled that cable news channel Newsmax aired false and defamatory statements about Dominion Voting Systems as part of its coverage of the 2020 election.

    On Thursday, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis ruled the statements made on Newsmax were defamatory, and Dominion must now prove in court the channel acted with “actual malice” to harm the company’s reputation.

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

    Davis’s ruling comes ahead of a jury trial that is slated to begin later this month in connection with the voting system provider’s defamation lawsuit against the conservative cable channel. (RELATED: Report: Fox News Reaches Last-Minute Settlement With Dominion Voting Systems)

    Dominion sued Newsmax in 2021 over a series of claims alleging the company’s machines were manipulated to swing votes in President Biden’s favor and against former President Trump.

    In a new statement Wednesday, Newsmax said it “covered both sides of the 2020 election dispute fairly. At no time did it defame Dominion. This case represents a serious threat to free speech and a free press and Newsmax will defend itself vigorously at trial.”

    Trump Secures Release Of American Ballerina In Prisoner Swap With Russia

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    0
    (Miami - FlĂłrida, 09/03/2020) Presidente da RepĂşblica Jair Bolsonaro durante encontro com o Senador Marco Rubio..Foto: Alan Santos/PR

    The Trump Administration has reportedly secured the release of another American being held prisoner in Russia.

    On Thursday morning, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the release of American ballerina Ksenia Karelina.

    Moscow released Karelina in exchange for German-Russian citizen Arthur Petrov, who was arrested in 2023 in Cyprus at the request of the U.S. on charges of exporting sensitive microelectronics, the Wall Street Journal reported.

    “American Ksenia Karelina is on a plane back home to the United States. She was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year and President Trump secured her release. @POTUS will continue to work for the release of ALL Americans,” Rubio wrote on X.

    Karelina was sentenced to 12 years in a Russian penal colony after pleading guilty to treason for donating $51.80 to a Ukrainian charity in early 2024.

    She was initially detained for “petty hooliganism” while visiting family in Russia in February 2024, but the charge was later upgraded to treason after accusations that she was acting as an American spy.

    Russian authorities claimed that Karelina, who lived in Los Angeles, raised money for the Ukrainian army and took part in “public actions” that supported Ukraine while in the U.S. 

    Her boyfriend, boxer Chis Van Deerden, told Fox News Digital last year that she was “proud to be Russian, and she doesn’t watch the news. She doesn’t intervene with anything about the war.”

    She is the latest American prisoner detained in another country to be freed under President Donald Trump’s administration. In February, Trump brought American history teacher Marc Fogel, who had been detained in Russia since 2021, back to the U.S.

    In March, the Taliban agreed to release American prisoner Faye Hall after President Donald Trump removed multimillion-dollar bounties on senior members of the militant group, according to a report by the Telegraph.

    The White House shared a video on X of Hall thanking the president.

    “I’m glad you’re the President, and thank you for bringing me home,” Hall said. “I have never been so proud to be an American citizen. Thank you, Mr. President.”

    In a response posted to Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Thank you Faye — So honored with your words!”

    Musk Accuses Senate Dem Leader Of Profiting From Government Fraud

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    12
    Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer attend medal ceremony via Wikimedia Commons

    Elon Musk accused Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer of somehow profiting off of government fraud in an explosive new insult.

    “Chuck, I’m starting to think you’re getting a piece of the action with the government fraud. But no, that couldn’t possibly be the reason, could it?” Musk posted early Tuesday morning.

    Musk, who has been leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort to expose waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government, made the comment in response to a Monday X post in which Schumer accused DOGE of “sabotaging” Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — the post reflected sentiments Schumer had conveyed during a Senate speech.

    Schumer fired back in response to Musk’s suggestion he could be benefiting from government fraud.

    “Another Elon lie. He wants you to think anyone who dares to stand up to him is committing fraud, meanwhile he’s taking tens of billions from the government,” Schumer declared in a post on Tuesday.

    Early Tuesday morning, Musk fired off a response to a post in which Schumer suggested that Musk is slashing Social Security benefits.

    “Make no mistake: What Elon Musk is doing at Social Security is cutting benefits,” Schumer said in a post on Monday, which echoed his speech. 

    “The intern running Schumer’s social media account is lying,” Musk shot back Tuesday on X.

    During the speech, Schumer claimed that “Elon Musk is cutting Social Security benefits.”

    “When offices close down, when websites crash, when phone lines shut off, that’s no different than cutting benefits,” Schumer said.

    1...126127128...359Page 127 of 359
    © Great America News Desk 2022