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White House Denies Reports It’s Seeking New Defense Secretary

By
Patrick Houck
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2

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt didn’t mince words Monday, firing back at an NPR report claiming the administration is quietly searching for a new secretary of defense.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Leavitt dismissed the story as “fake news” and reaffirmed that President Trump has full confidence in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — echoing remarks she made earlier during an appearance on Fox News.

At the center of the controversy are revelations that Hegseth shared sensitive details about a planned U.S. airstrike in Yemen through a private Signal chat. According to a New York Times report published Sunday — later corroborated by The Wall Street Journal — the previously unreported March 15 exchange included Hegseth’s wife, brother and personal attorney.

Hegseth allegedly disclosed the timing of F/A-18 Hornet aircraft departures for an operation targeting Houthi terrorists. The Signal group, titled Defense | Team Huddle, was reportedly used for both personal and professional updates — but in this instance, it included highly sensitive operational information.

The incident follows a previous misstep involving another Signal chat, where a conversation between top administration officials — including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance — was accidentally shared with a prominent liberal journalist from The Atlantic.

The Pentagon inspector general’s office has launched an inquiry to assess whether the use of a platform like Signal violated protocols for handling certain information.

Despite the growing pressure, the administration has shown no public sign of backing away from Hegseth. In addition to Leavitt’s denial of the NPR story, Trump himself has brushed off concerns over Hegseth’s Signal chats.

The White House may be banking on a unified public front to contain the fallout.

READ NEXT: Trump Cabinet Member Robbed

Trump And Vince Vaughn Recreate Iconic Movie Moment In Oval Office Spoof Photo

By
Patrick Houck
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0

In a lighthearted nod to the raunchy 2005 comedy “Wedding Crashers,” President Donald Trump and actor Vince Vaughn recently posed together in the Oval Office. The White House shared the moment on social media as a mock movie poster titled “White House Crashers,” featuring Vaughn standing beside a seated Trump — both smiling in front of the American flag and presidential seal.

Vaughn, well-known for his libertarian views, has long emphasized his commitment to individual freedoms. He has maintained cordial interactions with politicians across the spectrum — including a handshake with Trump at a college football game in 2020 amid the president’s first impeachment proceedings.

People Magazine has more details on the creative photo op:

“White House Crashers,” the poster reads in a font similar to one used on the artwork for the 2005 buddy comedy flick, with Trump taking the place of Vaughn’s costar Owen Wilson.

“President Donald J. Trump & Vince Vaughn in the Oval Office 🇺🇸,” the White House wrote in the post’s caption.

Wedding Crashers follows Wilson, 55, and Vaughn as divorce mediators who spend their free time crashing wedding receptions in order to meet women. It also stars Isla Fisher, Rachel McAdams, Christopher Walken and Bradley Cooper.

Aside from the post, the White House and the president both did not release any further information about Vaughn’s visit to Washington, D.C., nor did the actor.

Representatives for Vaughn did not immediately respond to People’s request for comment.

READ NEXT: Is Your Name In This Biden Citizen Spying Database?

US Threatens To Abandon Ukraine Peace Negotiations

By
Madeleine Jackson
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1
By President Of Ukraine - https://www.flickr.com/photos/165930373@N06/54169325552/, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=156221279

Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated the United States may back off from assisting in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that it needs to be determined within days whether achieving a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is “doable in the short term,” warning that he thinks the U.S. will “move on” if it is not achievable.

Rubio has been working alongside Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to broker a 30-day ceasefire agreement with Russia and Ukraine, which has not yet been seen to fruition.

“We are now reaching a point where we need to decide whether this is even possible or not,” Rubio told reporters Friday while departing from negotiations with his counterparts in Paris. “Because if it’s not, then I think we’re just going to move on.”

“It’s not our war. We have other priorities to focus on,” he added, suggesting the U.S. would decide if continued talks were “doable” in a “matter of days.”

But Rubio noted that the U.S. will help if either or both sides are “serious about peace.”

(Miami – Flórida, 09/03/2020) Presidente da República Jair Bolsonaro durante encontro com o Senador Marco Rubio..Foto: Alan Santos/PR

“@POTUS has been clear: The time to end the war between Russia and Ukraine is now. Today in Paris, @SE_MiddleEast, @SPE_Kellogg and I met with leaders from France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Ukraine to talk about how we can stop the killing and reach a just and sustainable peace,” Rubio noted in a post on X. 

While ceasefire negotiations have been slow, Trump has maintained that efforts to obtain a minerals deal with Ukraine are picking up pace. The U.S. leader said access to the country’s critical natural resources would provide a strong interest in maintaining Ukraine’s sovereignty and security for years to come. 

The secretary also suggested that the U.K., France and Germany can help “move the ball” on negotiations. Officials who met in Paris have agreed to meet again in London next week with hopes of gearing peace talks toward a secured deal. 

Kremlin.ru, via Wikimedia Commons

Despite Rubio’s comments, Vice President Vance said Friday he believes talks will move forward.

“The negotiations, I won’t pre-judge them, but we do feel optimistic that we can hopefully bring this war, this very brutal war to a close,” he told reporters during his visit to Rome, where he met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — a day after she met with President Trump at the White House.

Ukrainian Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said she signed a memorandum of intent with the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ahead of a potential agreement. 

“I assume they’re going to live up to the deal, so we’ll see. But we have a deal on that,” Trump said Thursday.

Award-Winning Actor Details Who Should Lead Dems After Helping Push Out Biden

By
Madeleine Jackson
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2
Austin Green, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Oscar-winning actor George Clooney is weighing in on who he believes should take the reins of the Democrat Party next after helping push out Joe Biden ahead of the 2024 election.

In a candid interview with CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Wednesday, Clooney offered an unexpected endorsement for one Democrat he said was “levitating above” the rest: Maryland Governor Wes Moore.

When asked directly by Tapper who he had his “eyes on,” Clooney offered praise to several potential candidates within the party before making a confident promotion of Moore. (RELATED: George Clooney Publishes New York Times Op-Ed Urging Biden To Step Down)

He began: “I really … there’s one person in particular I think is spectacular. There are a few: I like [Kentucky Governor] Andy Beshear.”

“I’m a Kentucky guy, I like him, he’s a good guy. And they’re smart. And he’s won in a red state. He’s a Democrat. I like [Michigan Governor] Gretchen [Whitmer], I think is very good.”

He continued: “But who I think is who I think is levitating above that is Wes Moore. I think he is the guy that has handled this tragedy in Baltimore beautifully. He has two tours of duty in Afghanistan, active duty. He speaks sort of beautifully. He’s smart. He ran a hedge fund. He ran the Robin Hood Foundation. He’s a proper leader.”

Watch:

Circling back to Moore, Clooney added, “I like him a lot. I think he could be someone we could all join in behind. We have to find somebody rather soon, you know, because we need to redo… Look, the other side, the side that I don’t support, they are, you know, running through government and doing their thing. So it’s our job now to put together a proper team to stand up because we’re right now polling very poorly.”

Statistician and FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver is predicting that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) would become the presidential nominee for the Democratic Party in 2028.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @ Women’s March NYC, 2019 [Photo Credit: Dimitri Rodriguez, CC BY 2.0, AOC]

In a video published to his Silver Bulletin newsletter on Wednesday, Silver and former FiveThirtyEight podcast host Galen Druke both chose Ocasio-Cortez as their No. 1 pick for likely 2028 Democratic presidential nominee.

“I think there’s a lot of points in her favor at this very moment,” said Druke. “In a Yale poll just out this week, AOC has the highest net favorability rating of any of the Democrats that they asked about.”

He argued:

So that means that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has broad appeal across the Democratic Party and there’s a lot of people who could potentially get on board with her. But I think equally important is the fact that she has very fervent support. I think a lot of people are gonna run in 2028 and it’s going to be a contest for attention and getting those sort of people who might be in your boat to turn out and stay with you through thick and thin, and I think that’s Ocasio-Cortez. Like, the media is kind of obsessed with her, and they’re going to follow her every move, which means she will be able to keep the attention on her throughout the primary process.

Silver replied, “I agree with everything. She was going to be my first pick, and I can’t conceal that now, right? Because of some of the polling; because she has this kind of progressive lane, probably not to herself; because she is younger and media savvy. I mean, look, in polls, if she were to try to primary Chuck Schumer, she is now ahead in those polls and New York Democrats are actually a pretty moderate bloc.”

After Silver added, however, that he was not yet sure whether Ocasio-Cortez would even run, Druke said, “I think she’s gonna run. If you’ve been following her moves in terms of her ‘Fight Oligarchy’ tour, in terms of the kind of content she’s putting out on social media.”

MyPillow CEO Makes Emotional Plea Following Smartmatic Court Loss

By
Madeleine Jackson
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1
Mike Lindell via Gage Skidmore Flickr

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell told a judge he has no money left to pay the sanctions imposed against him in a defamation case brought by voting technology company Smartmatic.

“I’m in ruins,” Lindell said tearfully during a virtual hearing before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols on Wednesday, according to a report from ABC News. “I borrowed everything I can. Nobody will lend me any money anymore.”

Lindell was ordered to pay $56,369 in sanctions to Smartmatic, which sued him for defamation in 2022 over his baseless claims that the company helped rig the 2020 presidential election against President Donald Trump.

A judge previously labeled a countersuit Lindell filed as “frivolous” and imposed the fine to cover Smartmatic’s legal costs.

Lindell said he was not even able to pay the judgment in installments.

“I can’t turn back time … but I will tell you, I don’t have any money,” he told the judge.

The embattled pillow executive described a steep financial downfall, claiming he was forced to let hundreds of employees go.

He also said he lost several MyPillow warehouses and owes millions to the IRS. Lindell told Nichols his only possessions were two homes and a truck he was trying to sell for cash.

He asked Nichols to postpone any payments until after a final judgment is issued in the case.

According to ABC News, Nichols asked Lindell on Wednesday for proof that he was in financial ruin. He described Lindell’s claims as “non-verifiable” and gave him until Friday to submit proof he was bankrupt.

“I have nothing to hide,” Lindell reportedly told Nichols. “I want Smartmatic to see the financial situation I’m in as well.”

Smartmatic filed a motion to hold Lindell in contempt of court for his failure to comply with the sanctions order, accusing him of dodging payments.

FAA Contractor Pleads Guilty To Spying For Iran

By
Madeleine Jackson
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2
Arrest image via Pixabay

A former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) contractor has pleaded guilty to acting as an agent of Iran.

The Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that 42-year-old Abouzar Rahmati, a naturalized U.S. citizen and resident of Virginia, pleaded guilty to acting as an agent of Iran by pursuing an FAA job to gain access to information. From 2017 to 2024, Rahmati met with Iranian officials, communicated with security officials, and provided “non-public materials about the U.S. solar energy industry.”

According to the DOJ, it was Rahmati who offered his services to Iran:

In August 2017, Rahmati offered his services to the Iranian government through a senior Iranian government official who previously worked in Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security and with whom Rahmati had previously attended university. Four months later, in December 2017, Rahmati traveled to Iran, where he met with Iranian intelligence operatives and government officials and agreed to obtain information about the U.S. solar energy industry, to provide that information to Iranian officials, and to conduct future communications under a cover story based on purported discussions about research with fellow academics.

Rahmati previously was an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) 1st Lt., a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces, from June 2009 to May 2010. The IRGC is a designated terrorist group by the U.S. government.

The DOJ said Rahmati offered his services to Iran in August 2017 through a former colleague who was a senior Iranian government official who previously worked at the country’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security.

Rahmati traveled to Iran four months later and met with intelligence operatives and government officials, the DOJ said. He also agreed to gather and provide Iranian officials with information about the solar industry in the U.S.

Read:

24-cr-438_indictment_Download

Rahmati provided information “relating to solar energy, solar panels, the FAA, U.S. airports, and U.S. air traffic control towers” to his brother in Iran, which was then provided to government officials. He also at one point provided information related to “the National Aerospace System (NAS), Airport Surveillance Radar systems, and radio frequency data.”

In early 2018, Rahmati obtained private and open-source materials related to the U.S. solar industry, then provided them to the office of Iran’s Vice President for Science and Technology.

Rahmati is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 26, and he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for acting as an agent of a foreign government, and up to five years in prison for conspiracy.

The guilty plea comes amidst President Donald Trump’s ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran in which the president has warned military options are on the table should Iran not agree to never possess a nuclear weapon.

Third Top Pentagon Aide On Administrative Leave Over Leaks Probe

By
Madeleine Jackson
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1
David B. Gleason from Chicago, IL, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

A third high-level Pentagon staffer has been placed on administrative leave in two days as part of a probe into media leaks.

Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Secretary Stephen Feinberg, was escorted out of the building on Wednesday, following Dan Caldwell, senior advisor to Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Darin Selnick, deputy chief of staff to Hegseth.

“We can confirm that Mr. Carroll has been placed on administrative leave pending investigation. We have nothing additional to provide at this time,” a defense official told Fox News Digital.

On Tuesday, Dan Caldwell was placed on leave for an “unauthorized disclosure” of information amid an investigation into Pentagon leaks an official confirmed to Fox News Digital that Reuters’ initial reporting is accurate but declined to comment on an ongoing investigation.

The Pentagon has not provided specifics about what the three officials are accused of leaking.

Last month Defense Department (DOD) announced it would launch a probe into “recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information” and might employ the use of polygraphs to determine the source of the leaks.

Last month, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard announced increased security measures following a number of leaks within the intelligence community. “Our nation’s Intelligence Community must be focused on our national security mission. Politically motivated leaks undermine our national security and the trust of the American people, and will not be tolerated,” she declared on Friday in a thread on X.

“Unfortunately, such leaks have become commonplace with no investigation or accountability. That ends now. We know of and are aggressively pursuing recent leakers from within the Intelligence Community and will hold them accountable,” Gabbard added. She then listed several “recent examples” of intelligence community leaks:

  • “A leaker who has been sharing classified information with the Huffington Post”
  • “A leaker within the IC sharing information on Israel / Iran with The Washington Post”
  • “A leaker within the IC sharing information about the U.S. – Russia relationship with NBC”
  • “A leaker sharing information on NCSC activities and actions with The Record”

Gabbard concluded the thread by warning that unauthorized disclosure of classified material is a breach of the law and will be handled accordingly. Gabbard, a former Democrat Congresswoman from Hawaii who turned Republican, was sworn in last month after a 52-48 vote. During her confirmation hearing, she promised to end the politicization of intelligence and restore trust in the national security apparatus tasked with protecting American citizens.

Is Your Name In This Biden Citizen Spying Database?

By
Donny Ferguson
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2
Joe Biden via Gage Skidmore Flickr

The federal government has been spying on millions of private gun sales and spying on American citizens without a constitutionally-mandated warrant as part of a nationwide gun control scheme.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee reports committee chairman Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) sent a letter to Acting ATF Director Daniel Driscoll, “requesting information on a secretive program that appears to allow the federal government to monitor law-abiding Americans attempting to exercise their Second Amendment rights.”

“This kind of backdoor surveillance of American citizens—without due process or public disclosure—should alarm every single person who values the Bill of Rights,” said Paul. “The ATF and FBI have no business creating secret watchlists for law-abiding Americans seeking to purchase firearms. It’s unacceptable, and I intend to get answers.”

“An activist judge subjected GOA to a ‘gag order’ after the Biden Administration mistakenly gave us information related to its unlawful NICS Monitoring program. ATF and FBI have no business monitoring the gun purchases of American citizens. GOA has since learned that the FBI abused NICS Monitoring to enforce California’s ‘assault weapons’ ban. We are thankful to Chairman Paul and the Senate Homeland Security Committee for opening an investigation into this egregious violation of Second and Fourth Amendment rights,” said Aidan Johnston, Director of Federal Affairs, Gun Owners of America.

The committee reports Paul’s letter “follows reporting based on a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Gun Owners of America, which revealed the existence of the NICS Audit Log Review (Monitoring) system. The Biden Administration’s ATF mistakenly released unredacted documents exposing the system, and has reportedly spent years trying to cover it up ever since.”

“According to the exposed documents, the program enables ATF agents to request that the FBI flag and monitor specific individuals using data from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), often for extended periods of time—without those individuals ever knowing,” the committee reports.

The committee reprots Paul “demands that the ATF provide unredacted records showing how many Americans have been subjected to this monitoring, for what reasons, the legal basis for the program, whether it has led to prosecutions, and whether there has been any misuse by ATF personnel or contractors. The records must be submitted to the committee no later than 5:00 pm on April 24th, 2025.”

Dr. Paul highlights in his letter that “the existence of this surveillance program, and the ATF’s longstanding push to conceal it from the public, raise questions about its general use and its potential to infringe on Americans’ civil liberties.”

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

Federal Judge Finds Probable Cause To Hold Trump In Contempt

By
Madeleine Jackson
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7

A federal judge said Wednesday that he has found probable cause to hold the Trump administration in contempt for failing to return two planes deporting migrants to El Salvador last month.

In the 48-page opinion, Judge Boasberg said the court had ultimately determined that the Trump administration’s actions on the March 15 deportation flights, which took place after he issued a bench ruling ordering their immediate return to U.S. soil, demonstrate a “willful disregard” for the court that is sufficient for the government to be found in criminal contempt.”

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Justice Department in a filing Wednesday to answer additional questions by April 23 if they want to “purge” the contempt.

Fox News reports:

That would involve identifying the individuals responsible for what he described as “contumacious conduct,” and by “determining whose ‘specific act or omission’ caused the noncompliance,” Boasberg said. 

The Justice Department could then request that the contempt be prosecuted by an attorney for the government and, should they decline to prosecute the matter, could “appoint another attorney to prosecute the contempt.”

“The Court does not reach such conclusion lightly or hastily; indeed, it has given Defendants ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions,” the judge continued. “None of their responses has been satisfactory…”

“As this Opinion will detail, the Court ultimately determines that the Government’s actions on that day demonstrate a willful disregard for its Order, sufficient for the Court to conclude that probable cause exists to find the Government in criminal contempt,” Boasberg said Wednesday.

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

Heckler Tased at Marjorie Taylor Greene Town Hall as Audience Cheers

By
Madeleine Jackson
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2
Arrest image via Pixabay

Things are heating up…

A heckler at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) town hall on Tuesday was tased by police as supporters of the congresswoman cheered.

At least three people were removed from the town hall after interrupting the event, including a man who had to be tased by police after he became violent.

Marjorie Taylor Greene -Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, via Wikimedia Commons

In footage of the incident, posted by several reporters, multiple police officers could be seen struggling to restrain the man while escorting him out of the venue.

Watch:

After the man became violent and lashed out against the officers, shouting, “Get the fuck off me!” two officers could be seen deploying their tasers against him as Greene’s audience cheered and applauded.

“Don’t move! Stop!” an officer could be heard shouting at the man as he continued to resist arrest.

Greene then declared, “This is a peaceful town hall. Now, this is a peaceful town hall, ladies and gentlemen. This should not have to happen. This is a town hall.”

“Like I said before, this isn’t a political rally or a protest. I held a town hall tonight. You know who was out of line? The protesters,” Greene told reporters after the event. “There was a place designated outside for the protesters because we support their First Amendment right. So you know who was out of line? The protesters. The police did a great job, I am very thankful.”

Two other protesters were also removed from the town hall by police, including a man who could be seen resisting officers and asking, “Are you really doing this?” After the man continued to resist, officers could be seen pushing the man to the floor and handcuffing him.

Early on, a young woman went off on Greene as the congresswoman spoke about immigration. In particular, Greene said that “illegal alien criminals, cartels, and terrorists” are living at the U.S. southern border with Mexico and are “all inside the interior of the United States.”

Immediately after delivering the line, the protestor stood up and said “How about the KKK?”

“All inside the interior of the United States,” Greene repeated, as an officer approached the woman in the audience.

“The protest is outside,” Greene said. “Thank you very much. Protest is outside.”

“You butch-bodied bigot!” the woman yelled as she was being escorted out. Many in the crowd stood and applauded after the woman left the room.

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