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Obama DHS Secretary: FBI Overwhelmed by Potential Terrorists Crossing Border

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Jsg2020, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

ANALYSIS – You know things are bad when the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Team Obama is worried about terrorists crossing the border under Joe Biden. 

In the wake of the gruesome and deadly terror attacks against Israeli civilians by Hamas, Jeh Johnson told Fox News that he is concerned that Hamas or other Iranian-backed terrorist groups could use, or already have used, the wide-open border to infiltrate terror cells into the U.S.

As noted by 19fortyfive:

“There are a lot of people entering our southern border right now,” Johnson said. “Thousands and thousands. It’s a hemispheric move north bigger than anything we’ve ever seen. [emphasis added] And the challenge for [U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP], for our DHS, the FBI, is to try to keep up.”

Johnson continued, “Unfortunately, as you know, the system is broken, it’s horribly backlogged, and there’s a whole lot of people entering this country who we cannot identify.”

we know, Jeh. Please tell Biden!

Newsweek reported: “There has also been a rise in recent years in the number of people apprehended on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist, with border patrol agents apprehending 151 migrants along the southern border in the fiscal year 2023 who match the FBI’s screening system, according to the CBP.”

It added: “In fiscal year 2022, 98 people on the watchlist were apprehended after entering from Mexico.”

If Hamas can get past Israel’s highly fortified border with Gaza and deceive one of the world’s most sophisticated intelligence services to conduct what was mostly a massive surprise suicide raid to kill massive numbers of civilians, what do you think Iranian backed terrorists could do to us across our currently open border with Mexico?

One scenario involves them working hand in hand with powerful and deadly Mexican drug cartels that have free reign along the border and are behind much of the human and drug smuggling today.

As 19fortyfive reported:

Fox News reporter Griff Jenkins noted on X Friday that the Border Patrol had apprehended two Lebanese nationals in Eagle Pass, Texas, an area of high illegal migrant flow. Hizballah is based in Lebanon.

Hizballah has a documented relationship with the Mexican cartels that could easily be used to smuggle sleeper agents into the U.S. as it is used to smuggle drugs. Such agents likely would only be activated in the event of a war with Iran, because Hizballah is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC].

Recall that in 2011 the IRGC plotted with Los Zetas cartel to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. at Washington, D.C.’s upscale Café Milano in Georgetown.

Had that terror attack not been thwarted, it could have killed dozens of innocent civilians on U.S. soil. This is a perfect example of how Iran or its terror proxies could infiltrate the United States in coordination with Mexican cartels.

Today things could be far worse. They could then use Biden’s wide open border and the cartels’ growing networks inside our country to inflict maximum damage.

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

Trump Scores Endorsement From Iowa Attorney General

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Former President Donald Trump scored a significant endorsement on Monday as he seeks to shore up support in the Hawkeye State.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird (R) endorsed former President Trump during a campaign rally in Adel, Iowa.

“We need a new president in the White House. I am so glad to get to be here today to introduce Donald Trump, ’cause he will secure our border, who supports that?” she said to a crowd of Trump supporters.

“He will fight the terrorists. He will fix the economy. He will stand up for agriculture, and he will uphold our Constitution and our way of life,” she added.

Trump continues to lead in national and local polling, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis placing second in the RealClearPolitics polling index of Iowa surveys.

However, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (R) has yet to make a public endorsement in the GOP presidential primaries but has frequently campaigned alongside DeSantis.

The former president criticized her approach to the primary in July, writing in a post on his Truth Social platform, “I opened up the Governor position for Kim Reynolds, & when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, did big Rallies, & she won. Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’ I don’t invite her to events! DeSanctus down 45 points!”

Kari Lake Secures Major Endorsement

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Kari Lake speaking with supporters at a "Stand for Freedom" rally at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Scottsdale Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. [Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons]

Kari Lake snagged a key endorsement from a top Republican senator nearly a week after announcing her campaign for Senate.

On Monday, Wyoming Senator John Barrasso’s endorsement comes after Lake formally launched her bid for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s (I-Ariz.) seat.

“Kari Lake will shine brightly for Arizona. She is a generational communicator who is giving voice to Arizona citizens,” Barrasso said in a statement. 

“Joe Biden’s policies have crushed Arizona. Arizonans are dealing with record inflation – up 20 percent under the Biden administration. Arizona is also on the front lines of the worst illegal immigration crisis in American history. Nearly 8 million illegal immigrants under Biden, equal to the population of Arizona,” he continued. “The U.S. Senate needs a Senator from Arizona that understands these issues, and will fight hard to solve them.”

Lake thanked Barrasso in a statement, saying, “I am honored by the friendship and endorsement of Senator Barrasso.”

“He is a tested and proven conservative leader who I greatly admire. I look forward to working with Senator Barrasso to get America back on track and fire Chuck Schumer,” she added.

Sen. Barrasso’s endorsement is significant considering some Senator’s hesitation over Lake’s Senate campaign over past comments on election fraud and her links to former President Trump.

According to The Hill, Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), chairman of the Senate GOP campaign arm, has said that he’s had “productive conversations with Kari Lake and her team.”

Report: Oprah Pitched a White House Run with Mitt Romney

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

This union would have certainly shaken up the 2020 election…

The latest revelation in “Romney: A Reckoning” by McKay Coppins, out a week from Tuesday, reveals that Oprah Winfrey floated a presidential run and suggested Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney join her for a”unity ticket.”

Axios has more:

Coppins writes that Romney told him Winfrey, a Democrat, made a pitch to run together “to save the country,” according to a source familiar with the manuscript.

Romney tells Coppins he dismissed the idea, believing that such a campaign would inadvertently help Trump.

Last month, Romney announced he would not run for re-election.

McCarthy Predicts Jordan Will Win Speaker’s Gavel

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House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy delivers remarks at the 2021 Capitol Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Washington DC, December 1, 2021. USDA Forest Service photo by Tanya E. Flores.

Kevin McCarthy said he thinks Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan will ultimately become the next Speaker of the House.

The California Republican made the prediction on Fox News almost two weeks after the House voted to remove him from the role, leaving Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) as speaker pro tempore while a possible government shutdown looms and Israel goes to war with Hamas.

“I did walk in with more support during this time, but I believe, at the end of the day, Jim can get there. And I’m doing everything I can to help him be able to become speaker,” McCarthy told anchor Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures.”

While Democrats are pushing for a coalition to elect a new speaker, which Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) indicated would include rules changes “to facilitate bipartisanship,” Jordan’s backers say they don’t want to resort to making concessions.

“Some Republicans want to cut a deal with Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries to elect a Speaker. With Democrats controlling the White House and the Senate, we must not give up control of the House,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) said in a post to X on Sunday. “Republicans should unite behind Jim Jordan as our Speaker of the House!”

With reports on Sunday indicating that a floor vote could happen as early as Tuesday, McCarthy said Jordan is busy trying to shore up support.

“I talked to Jim last night. He’s talking to every single member, assessing what their challenges are. But we have got to be able to work together,” McCarthy said.

Tucker Carlson Minimizes Israeli Tragedy – Guilty of ‘Moral Stupidity’?

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Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America,

ANALYSIS – Tucker Carlson strikes again. As a lifelong conservative, I often approved of Carlson’s message. He often took on the liberal media and skewered those on the Left. 

But increasingly, his ‘populist’ stick is wearing thin.

Some of his conspiracy theories have proven to be farfetched, if not nutty. And his pro-Russia line has become predictable, even to the Kremlin.

But now he is showing some additional worrisome traits – isolationism to the point of pacifism and surrender, under the guise of ‘realism.’ 

Is he guilty of “moral stupidity”?

I know he likes his clicks and views and wants more attention since being dropped from Fox, but come on, Tucker – WTH?

On Monday, just two days after Hamas terrorists raped, slaughtered and pillaged their way across southern Israel, Carlson posted a video on X.

In it, he perfunctorily acknowledged that the murderous Hamas rampage was a “crime,” and Israel had a right to defend itself, before quickly moving on to his now preferred line of: ‘everything we, or our allies, may do to defend against aggression may lead to nuclear war.’

“The question for American policymakers, however, is what do we do next?” asked Carlson before suggesting that the events of last weekend could easily lead to war with Iran and even the use of nuclear weapons.

My questions for Tucker: Can you spend just a little longer showing sincere outrage at what happened in Israel?

And can you spend a little longer understanding the bigger threat posed to the U.S. by Iran?

Yes, a lot of things happening in the world today could lead to nuclear war: Russia invading Ukraine; Iran directing Hamas to slaughter Israelis; China invading Taiwan. All could lead to a potential nuclear conflict. Potentially.

And that fear is what our mortal enemies want to paralyze us with. In this way, Carlson is now the poster child for enemy propaganda. He could have been part of the leftist, Moscow-directed, ‘Nuclear Freeze’ movement during the Cold War.

Don’t do anything outside the United States or you might start WWIII. That’s not a sound policy.

Carlson is also getting increasingly vicious and petty in his attacks against anyone he disagrees with, now usually fellow conservatives. Even when he is totally wrong.

He savaged Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley for suggesting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu“finish” Hamas once and for all. Something Bibi should do.

“She’s a child and this is the tantrum of a child,” ranted Carlson, calling her comments “ignorant, cocksure,” and “bloodthirsty.”

Sadly, Carlson mistook Haley’s remarks for talking about Iran rather than Hamas, so he was totally off, and it wasn’t even relevant. Ooops.

Which is another thing I’ve been noticing about him. He is increasingly just plain sloppy. And at least two of these harsh names also apply more to his guest, Vivek Ramaswamy, and himself, than to Haley.

I also wish Carlson would have used the third term – ‘bloodthirsty’ – to refer to Hamas, rather than fellow conservative, Haley.

But to Carlson, his fellow Americans deserve more insults than our enemies. That is concerning.

Carlson simply fails to understand that Iran is behind the attack on Israel, and that this attack is part of a much bigger campaign by Iran against the West and the United States.

But Carlson’s attempt to equate fentanyl overdoses in the United States, which is a tragedy (that Joe Biden has abetted through his open border policy), and the deliberate massacres in Israel, was just obscene.

And that part of Carlson’s tirade provoked conservative commentator Ben Shapiro to launch into a blistering criticism of him.

It is a moral atrocity and a moral evil for people to kidnap women, rape them and drag them back to the Gaza border. Those are not the same thing and Tucker knows that. But this is a cheap way of telling you not to look. Don’t look. Stop caring. Because after all, what does it matter? What does it matter? Now again, I don’t know who thinks that that’s a sophisticated point of view, especially when nobody is calling for America to go to war with Iran [to be fair, Lindsey Graham IS calling for an attack against Iran, but ONLY IF it directly attacks Israel]. The entire purpose of having an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean is to avoid that. But here is Tucker playing — I don’t even know the game he’s playing. It’s just a dumb, it’s a dumb game.

Shapiro added:

That is not the same thing. I promise you, it is not the same thing as a terrorist breaking into your home and murdering your children in their beds in front of you and dragging your wife off to be raped in Gaza. That is not the same thing. Pretending that is a moral, it’s a moral blight. It’s idiocy. It’s just moral stupidity at the highest level. 

Of course, we should care about what happens with fentanyl. Of course, we should care about — we should close our border. Have I been unclear about this? Of course, America should have closed borders when it comes to this sort of stuff. I’m on the same side as Tucker on that. I just don’t understand why he’s not on my side when it comes to ‘Hamas has to be wiped off the face of the earth.’ 

And to be clear myself — while I agree that we need to weigh the risks in any U.S. involvement in this escalating Mideast conflict, it’s not just Israel’s fight. Iran is gunning for us, and Israel is just in its way.

Carlson needs to get a reality check on his foreign policy ‘realism.’

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

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Democrats ‘Want to F—up Every City in America’

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U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

ANALYSIS – The former bodybuilder, movie action star and Republican Governor of California isn’t always right, but recently he has been on a ‘right-wing’ tear. 

Despite prior criticisms of California Republicans, and his squishy views on social issues, he is now taking a strong stand on two major issues: the border crisis and crime in unlivable cities.

As reported by Mediatie, In a recent installment of SiriusXM’s “Literally! With Rob Lowe” the actor asked the 76-year-old “Terminator” star what it means to be a Democrat.

“Ruin your cities,” he responded. “That’s what the Democrats would say. We are about ruining the cities. We want to f— up every city in America. That seems to be the theme right now.”

“Why is that?” Lowe asked. “I have no idea,” Schwarzenegger replied.

Well, I do. Democrats care more about their neo-Marxist ideology than its impact in the real world. The more damage they cause, the more leftist policies they push to fix their self-created problems, which only cause more damage.

During the exchange, which included former long-time Republican congressman David Drier (my old representative growing up in Southern California), Schwarzenegger also added that Republicans are for “strong law enforcement.”

And that is key. The crime wave inspired by the leftist Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Defund the Police movements since 2020 has devastated many cities. 

This has only been compounded by the Democrats’ soft-on-drugs approach and their enabling of living on the streets.

But one of the worst contributors to making our cities increasingly ‘f—up’ is the Joe Biden border crisis and massive illegal migrant wave which is turning many American cities into third world refugee camps.

And the Terminator has strong views on that too.

Responding to a question by the often-clueless Ana Navarro on the View about Joe Biden reversing himself to build part of Donald Trump’s infamous border wall, Arnold said: “first of all, I believe very strongly in having a border that no one can get through. That’s number one for me.”

He cited concerns over terrorism and drug cartels as his reason for supporting strong border security.

“Number two,” Schwarzenegger added, “what is important is that we have visas available for people that want to work in the United States, so they don’t have to work illegally. It is bogus, we need the workers here.”

He noted that the current immigration system is a “stupid system” and “set up to commit a crime,” and urged a bipartisan effort to fix the entire immigration system in a “comprehensive way.”

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

Ex-IRS Consultant Pleads Guilty After Leaking Trump Tax Info

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

A former contractor for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) pleaded guilty to intentionally leaking former President Trump’s and others tax information between 2018 and 2020.

According to the Justice Department, Charles Littlejohn, 38, disclosed the tax returns of “thousands of the nation’s wealthiest individuals” to news organizations and tax information associated with a “high-ranking government official” to a second news outlet.

However, Trump is not named in the complaint

Attorney General Merrick Garland said that Littlejohn “betrayed the public’s trust” by stealing confidential information.

“By using his role as a government contractor to gain access to private tax information, steal that information, and disclose it publicly, Charles Littlejohn broke federal law and betrayed the public’s trust,” said Attorney Garland. “In every case, the Department of Justice is committed to following the facts wherever they lead and holding accountable those who violate our laws.”

Littlejohn accessed tax returns associated with Public Official A – and related individuals and entities – on an IRS database after using broad search parameters designed to conceal the true purpose of his queries. He then evaded IRS protocols established to detect and prevent large downloads or uploads from IRS devices or systems. Littlejohn then saved the tax returns to multiple personal storage devices, including an iPod, before contacting News Organization 1. Between around August 2019 and October 2019.

He pleaded guilty to one count of unauthorized disclosure of tax return and return information on Thursday.

Fox News reported that the two organizations were the New York Times and Pro Publica, a New York City-based nonprofit investigative journalism group.

Littlejohn faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Trump’s Truth Social Merger Deal Hits A Pause

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

It’s a bad time to be Trump…

New reports indicate the potential merger deal with the former President’s Truth Social platform is dead in the water.

The Daily Beast reports:

The public shell corporation that has been preparing to merge with former President Donald Trump’s technology firm—the parent company of his social media platform, Truth Social—announced Thursday that it was dropping its plans to pursue the merger through a specialized process called a ​​private investment in public equity (PIPE) transaction. The company also said it planned to return $533 million it had raised from investors to complete the deal. The merger between Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC), a special purpose acquisition company, and Trump Media & Technology Group failed to materialize by a September 2022 deadline set by U.S. regulators, giving DWAC the option to back out of the deal. A TMTG spokesperson claimed in a release Thursday that the two companies still planned to merge and said the development was, in fact, a positive step—but declined to comment when pressed by Reuters to say how backing out of the PIPE deal would benefit either party.

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

CEO’s Vow To Blacklist Harvard Students Who Blamed Israel For Hamas Attack

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PaWikiCom, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

ANALYSIS – In the immediate wake of one of the most horrifying terror attacks ever filmed, a coalition of 34 leftist Harvard student groups stupidly and offensively circulated a letter that stated that they “hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”

This, as stomach-churning images, and reports surfaced hourly of the vile murders and atrocities committed by the Hamas jihadists against over 1,000 Israeli civilians, entire families, children, even babies. 

Not to mention over 25 Americans were killed and scores kidnapped.

Well, this time, things didn’t go as planned for the lefty Ivy League students accustomed to being coddled by woke corporate executives.

The response from Wall Street leaders, and soon other titans of corporate America was swift.

Bill Ackman the billionaire founder and CEO of hedge fund giant Pershing Square Capital Management, wrote on his X social media account on Tuesday: 

I have been asked by a number of CEOs if Harvard would release a list of the members of each of the Harvard organizations that have issued the letter assigning sole responsibility for Hamas’ heinous acts to Israel, so as to insure [sic] that none of us inadvertently hire any of their members.

“If, in fact, their members support the letter they have released, the names of the signatories should be made public so their views are publicly known.”

Ackman, a Harvard grad worth $3.5 billion, added: “One should not be able to hide behind a corporate shield when issuing statements supporting the actions of terrorists, who, we now learn, have beheaded babies, among other inconceivably despicable acts.”

Soon, other CEOs were joining him.

Jonathan Newman, CEO of salad chain Sweetgreen, quickly seconded Ackman in urging that the signatories of the letter be banned from future employment.

“I would like to know so I know never to hire these people,” Newman wrote in response to Ackman’s post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday.

“Same,” David Duel, CEO of health care services firm EasyHealth, wrote in response to Newman.

Many other executives posted agreement with Ackman, such as Stephen Ready, CEO of marketing firm Inspired who posted “this is a must” and Michael Broukhim, CEO of FabFitFun, who said to Ackman: “We are in as well.”

Meanwhile, as The New York Post reported, others signaled their approval of his post with a supportive emoji or a gesture of agreement. These included: Hu Montague, founder, and vice president of construction company Diligent; Art Levy, head of strategy at payments platform Brex; and Jake Wurzak, the CEO of hospitality group Dovehill Capital Management.

The Post added that after the online fusillade from so many potential future employers, many of the spineless lefties responsible for the letter quickly ran for the hills.

“The backlash and possible blacklisting has led to a flurry of backpedaling by four of the initial student organizations attached to the inflammatory statement — while board members of other groups have quit in an effort to distance themselves.”

Amnesty International at Harvard, Harvard College Act on a Dream, the Harvard Undergraduate Nepali Student Association, the Harvard Islamic Society, and Harvard Undergraduate Ghungroo, are among the groups that have since recanted according to the Harvard Crimson.

In fairness, many organizations didn’t know one of their representatives had signed on the group’s behalf.

To Harvard’s credit, many other student groups and faculty expressed outrage at the letter, and their fellow students and colleagues.

According to the campus paper, at least 17 other Harvard groups have joined 500 faculty and staff and 3,000 others in signing a counterstatement attacking the other groups’ letter as “completely wrong and deeply offensive.” 

This was followed by 160 faculty members bashing Harvard’s response to the scandal, writing in their own separate letter that it “can be seen as nothing less than condoning the mass murder of civilians based only on their nationality.”

Its good to see that some at Harvard still have common sense as well as decency and humanity. Its also good to see corporate America responding in the way it has to these snively terror enabling leftist college students and staff.

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