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Trump Peels Back China Tariffs In Trade War Truce

By
Madeleine Jackson
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0
By The White House from Washington, DC - President Trump at the G20, Public Domain,

The Trump administration has reached a key deal in its ongoing trade war against China.

Early Monday morning, the U.S. and China released a joint statement revealing that “the United States and China will each lower tariffs by 115% while retaining an additional 10% tariff,” according to the White House. 

The U.S. imposed tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods earlier this year as the president looks to bring parity to the nation’s chronic trade deficit with foreign countries.

The move was confirmed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who told reporters: “The consensus from both delegations this weekend was neither side wants a decoupling.”

Bessent also praised Chinese officials for engaging seriously on fentanyl, saying it was “the first time the Chinese side understood the magnitude of what is happening in the US.”

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent: “I’m happy to report that we made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks. First, I want to thank our Swiss host. The Swiss government has been very kind in providing us this wonderful venue, and I think that led to a great deal of productivity we’ve seen. We will be giving details tomorrow, but I can tell you that the talks were productive. We had the vice premier, two vice ministers, who were integrally involved, Ambassador Jamieson, and myself. And I spoke to President Trump, as did Ambassador Jamieson, last night, and he is fully informed of what is going on. So, there will be a complete briefing tomorrow morning.”

The truce peels back some of the harshest duties imposed under President Donald Trump’s April tariff hike, which sent U.S. levies on Chinese goods to 125%. China hit back with countermeasures and restricted key mineral exports, rattling global supply chains. Under the new agreement, Chinese tariffs drop to 10%, while U.S. tariffs fall to 30% — though the 20% fentanyl-related tariff remains untouched.

China’s commerce ministry called the move a win for “producers and consumers in both countries,” urging Washington to “completely correct” its unilateral trade posture.

The trade negotiations come as President Trump is slated to depart Washington, D.C., on Monday for visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The president disclosed last week, when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the White House, that he would be making “a very, very big announcement” ahead of his departure for the Middle East, but has not shared additional details. 

Santos Begs Trump For ‘Pardon, Commutation, Clemency, Whatever’

By
Madeleine Jackson
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2

A desperate plea…

Former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who faces more than seven years behind bars after pleading guilty to wire fraud and identity theft, is seeking clemency from President Trump.

“I’ll take a commutation, clemency, whatever the president is willing to give me,” Santos told British media personality Piers Morgan in an episode of Morgan’s YouTube show “Uncensored” on Thursday.

“Seven years and three months in prison for a first-time offender over campaign matters just screams ‘over the top,’ and I would appreciate if the president would consider,” he added.

The disgraced former lawmaker also noted he is filling out paperwork to formally seek intervention from the White House before he reports to prison in July.

By U.S. House Office of Photography – https://santos.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/santos.house.gov/files/evo-media-image/rep_santos_george_official.jpg, Public Domain,

In his interview with Morgan, Santos blasted former Biden administration Attorney General Merrick Garland, whom Trump and other conservative allies have criticized and accused of weaponizing the Department of Justice against the president and his allies.

“I do believe this is an unfair judgment handed down to me,” he said Thursday. “I think there was a lot of politicization over the process.”

“Merrick Garland was by far the most disgraceful and disgraced political [attorney general] to ever serve in that capacity of the United States,” Santos said.

Santos was elected to represent New York’s affluent Long Island-centered 3rd District in 2022, becoming the first openly gay Republican to win a House seat as a nonincumbent before his fall from grace. The House expelled Santos from the chamber in a 311–114 vote in 2023, as ethics charges mounted against him.

Trump Taps Jeanine Pirro For Top DC Attorney Role

By
Madeleine Jackson
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3
By Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America - Jeanine Pirro, CC BY-SA 2.0,

President Trump has appointed Jeanine Pirro, a Fox News host and former judge, to serve as the top prosecutor in the District of Columbia.

Trump announced on Truth Social that he was appointing Pirro to the role of U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., on an interim basis.

“In addition to her Legal career, Jeanine previously hosted her own Fox News Show, Justice with Judge Jeanine, for ten years, and is currently Co-Host of The Five, one of the Highest Rated Shows on Television,” Trump posted. 

“Jeanine is incredibly well qualified for this position, and is considered one of the Top District Attorneys in the History of the State of New York,” he continued. “She is in a class by herself. Congratulations Jeanine!”

In a statement to The Hill late Thursday, a Fox News spokesperson said “Jeanine Pirro has been a wonderful addition to The Five over the last three years and a longtime beloved host across FOX News Media who contributed greatly to our success throughout her 14-year tenure. We wish her all the best in her new role in Washington.”

Pirro is just the latest in a slew of Fox hosts, including Pete Hegseth and Sean Duffy, to be plucked from the cable channel to serve in the president’s Cabinet. 

Trump previously nominated Ed Martin, a former defense attorney who represented Americans charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, for the role. Martin has taken on the responsibilities of the interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., since January. 

On Thursday, Trump suggested he would put forward another candidate who would receive broader backing than Martin. 

“He wasn’t getting the support from people that I thought,” Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday. “You know, he’s done a very good job. Crime is down 25% in DC during this period of time … I can only lift that little phone so many times of the day. But we have somebody else.”

“I have to be straight. I was disappointed,” Trump said. “A lot of people were disappointed. But that’s the way it works. Sometimes, you know, that’s the way it works. And he wasn’t rejected, but we felt it would be very — it would be hard. And we have somebody else that will be announcing over the next two days who’s going to be great.” 

The Senate has held up confirming Martin amid concerns from lawmakers.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced Tuesday he wouldn’t endorse Martin. 

FBI Opens Formal Investigation Into NY AG Letitia James

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Alec Perkins from Hoboken, USA, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    The FBI and the US Attorneys Office for the Northern District of New York have launched a formal criminal investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James for alleged mortgage fraud.

    The case stems from a criminal referral issued last month by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte. The referral alleges that James may have falsified property records and misled lenders to receive government-backed loans and other favorable mortgage terms.

    James has denied wrongdoing and called the investigation politically motivated, pointing to her office’s civil fraud case against Trump. That case ultimately resulted in a $354 million judgment against the president, which also bars his

    During her 2018 campaign for attorney general, James publicly stated she intended to pursue legal action against Trump and investigate his business dealings in New York.

    While campaigning, James vowed to shine a “bright light into every corner” of Trump’s “real estate dealings.” Her critics — including Trump himself — would later argue that her civil lawsuit against him was a political witch hunt.

    In announcing the probe, US Attorney John A. Sarcone III took a swipe at James’s 2018 campaign rhetoric about investigating President Donald Trump.

    The US attorney said James “unethically ran around the state campaigning on getting Donald Trump,” and essentially accused her of finding a criminal target without an alleged crime.

    He added:

    We stand prepared to act in the capacity that we need to when and if we are informed there’s a charge to be made. Unlike Letitia James, who unethically ran around the state campaigning on getting Donald Trump… my office conducts itself in a manner that is proper and professional.

    Two weeks ago, James’ attorney, Abbe Lowell, wrote a letter to Bondi, stating, “I write to address the latest act of improper political retribution—this time directed at Ms. James—publicly instigated and endorsed by President Trump…. This so-called ‘Criminal Referral,’ which recycles long-disproven allegations and is ‘[b]ased on media reports’ lacks any credible foundation.”

    “Mr. Trump has singled out Attorney General James dating back to her campaign in 2018, and ever more so during and after the trial and verdict in New York in which Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization were found liable for financial fraud and assessed a $454 million judgment,” Lowell claimed.

    Lowell referred to what he called “baseless allegations,” saying:

    Director Pulte cherry-picked an August 17, 2023 power of attorney that mistakenly stated the property to be Ms. James’ principal residence and at the same time absolutely ignored her very clear and all caps statement two weeks earlier to the mortgage loan broker that “[t]his property WILL NOT be my primary residence[.] It will be Shamice’s primary residence.”  

    In 1983, James, then a recent college graduate, bought a Queens residence with her father, with some documents listing her as his “wife.’

    “He asked his daughter (then a few years out of school) to help by allowing him to add her name to the mortgage application,” Lowell argued. “Mr. James filled out the mortgage material (wherein he described their relationship as being ‘spouses’) and purchased the home without his daughter’s involvement.”

    “However, James, then 24 and a college graduate, signed the notarized mortgage, along with her father, on one of the document’s three pages that listed her as his ‘wife,’” the Times-Union reported. “One of those references to her being her father’s ‘wife’ was just below her signature. Lending experts consulted by the Times Union said that by listing themselves as husband and wife, the pair may have qualified for a loan — or received better borrowing terms — than had they not been considered a couple due to income requirements.”

    Dan Abrams, who founded Mediaite, said after Pulte’

    Taxpayers May Be Forced To Cover Legal Fees For NY AG Letitia James Amid Fraud Probe

    By
    Seijah Drake
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    4
    Alec Perkins from Hoboken, USA, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    New York taxpayers could soon find themselves footing the legal bill for Attorney General Letitia James as she prepares to defend herself against a federal investigation into alleged mortgage and real estate fraud. Buried in New York’s newly approved operations budget is language that opens a $10 million fund to reimburse state officials — including James — for “reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses” tied to investigations launched by the federal government after January 1, 2025.

    Though the budget provision does not mention James by name, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to The New York Post that the fund was included with her case in mind. The fund could also apply to other state officials targeted by a Trump administration-led Department of Justice as it reopens investigations into political and institutional corruption.

    The controversy stems from a criminal referral issued last month by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), whose director, William Pulte, accused James of falsifying mortgage documents and misrepresenting her residency status. According to the referral sent to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, James claimed a Virginia home — allegedly purchased on behalf of her niece — as her primary residence, a move that could constitute mortgage fraud.

    James, who gained national prominence for her high-profile civil fraud case against Donald Trump, has come under scrutiny for what critics now call a double standard. Once the face of the “no one is above the law” mantra, she now finds herself leaning on state funds and a private legal defense to fight the allegations. A spokesperson for her office called the probe “political retribution” and vowed to fight what they characterized as a “revenge tour” orchestrated by Trump.

    But Republicans are not buying the victim narrative.

    “This is what corruption looks like in plain sight: political insiders rigging the system to protect their own, while hardworking families get shortchanged,” said New York GOP Chair Ed Cox. “Tish James used her office to wage partisan lawfare against her political opponents, and now New Yorkers are footing the bill for the consequences.”

    Critics also slammed what they describe as a legal “bailout” hidden in plain sight. The language in the budget states that any state employee facing a federal investigation related to their duties may seek reimbursement — a clause that could be used broadly and, according to opponents, easily abused.

    The legal support fund is likely to inflame already tense debates over partisanship, misuse of public resources, and institutional trust. With New York’s top law enforcement officer now potentially under federal investigation, questions will continue to mount over the ethical boundaries between public office and political warfare — and who ends up paying the price.

    Trump Rescinds His Nomination For DC US Attorney

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0

    A big shakeup…

    The White House will soon select a new nominee to serve as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia after Trump’s pick met a series of roadblocks.

    Trump previously nominated Ed Martin, a former defense attorney who represented Americans charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, for the role. Martin has taken on the responsibilities of the interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., since January. 

    On Thursday, Trump suggested he would put forward another candidate who would receive broader backing than Martin. 

    “He wasn’t getting the support from people that I thought,” Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday. “You know, he’s done a very good job. Crime is down 25% in DC during this period of time … I can only lift that little phone so many times of the day. But we have somebody else.”

    “I have to be straight. I was disappointed,” Trump said. “A lot of people were disappointed. But that’s the way it works. Sometimes, you know, that’s the way it works. And he wasn’t rejected, but we felt it would be very — it would be hard. And we have somebody else that will be announcing over the next two days who’s going to be great.” 

    The Senate has held up confirming Martin amid concerns from lawmakers.

    Republican Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced Tuesday he wouldn’t endorse Martin. 

    Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.) the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, also has opposed Martin’s nomination. 

    The move came a day after President Donald Trump resolved to withdraw his nomination of former Fox News contributor Janette Nesheiwat to serve as his surgeon general on Wednesday.

    Nesheiwat’s credentials came into question last month when CBS News reported that records showed she had graduated from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, and not the University of Arkansas School of Medicine, as had been said when her nomination was announced.

    Casey Means, a physician with close ties to the “Make America Healthy Again,” or MAHA, movement, was announced as Trump’s new pick to fill the role.

    Means, a graduate of Stanford Medical School, is the sister of Calley Means, a close ally to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a special government employee at HHS. They are both high-profile proponents of Kennedy’s MAHA agenda.

    “I am pleased to announce that Dr. Casey Means, will be nominated as our next Surgeon General of the United States of America. Casey has impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials, and will work closely with our wonderful Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to ensure a successful implementation of our Agenda in order to reverse the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and ensure Great Health, in the future, for ALL Americans,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

    “Her academic achievements, together with her life’s work, are absolutely outstanding,” he added. “Dr. Casey Means has the potential to be one of the finest Surgeon Generals in United States History. Congratulations to Casey!”the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

    Congress Votes To Make Trump Gulf Of America Name Change Permanent

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    By Executive Office of the President of the United States - https://x.com/POTUS/status/1888706337699238047/photo/1, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=159501092

    The House of Representatives voted to make President Donald Trump’s name change for the Gulf of America permanent on Friday morning. 

    The legislation was led by staunch Trump ally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).

    “This is such an important thing to do for the American people. The American people deserve pride in their country, and they deserve pride in the waters that we own, that we protect with our military and our Coast Guard and all of the businesses that prosper along these waters,” Greene said during debate on the bill.

    Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, panned the legislation as a waste of time.

    “Republicans think this juvenile legislation is the best use of this House’s time. This is the only work we’re doing today, folks,” Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said in his rebuttal to Greene.

    Earlier this week, Fox News Digital was told that several GOP lawmakers privately expressed frustration at what they saw as a largely symbolic bill taking up their time instead of more meaningful legislation to move Trump’s agenda along.

    “I’ve heard criticisms from all corners of the conference. Conservatives to pragmatic ones,” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “It seems sophomoric. The United States is bigger and better than this.”

    One conservative GOP lawmaker vented to Fox News Digital, “125 other [executive orders], this is the one we pick.”

    Greene hit back at the detractors, however, in response to Fox News Digital’s report.

    “Some of my Republican colleagues don’t want to vote for my Gulf of America Act, which is one of President Trump’s favorite executive orders. They say they would rather vote on ‘more serious EOs.’ Boys are you ready to vote to criminalize sex changes on kids?? Because I have that bill on that EO too,” she wrote on X.

    Letitia James Leading Charge On New Multistate Lawsuit Over HHS Cuts

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    3
    Alec Perkins from Hoboken, USA, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    Longtime Trump rival Letitia James announced she is leading a coalition of 20 states in a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s cuts to public health funding and the Department of Health and Human Services,

    The lawsuit, filed by James and other state attorneys general, accuses the Trump administration of violating “hundreds” of laws and regulations in attempting to dismantle the Department of Health and Human Services, both by firing thousands of HHS employees in an effort to slash its overall workforce by 20,000 people and shuttering crucial health programs across the U.S.

    Their lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of erasing “decades of public health progress” and leaving HHS “unable to execute many of its most vital functions.”

    “This administration is not streamlining the federal government; they are sabotaging it,” James said Monday. 

    “When you fire the scientists who research infectious diseases, silence the doctors who care for pregnant people and shut down the programs that help firefighters and miners breathe or children thrive, you are not making America healthy; you are putting countless lives at risk,” James said. 

    “This is not how government is supposed to work. These actions are dangerous, cruel and illegal. They defy Congress’s authority and they violate federal law. And that is why today I am leading a lawsuit joined by Democratic attorneys general across the country to stop this administration from tearing down our public health infrastructure.”

    The plaintiffs, who filed the lawsuit Monday in the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, are asking the court “to halt the unlawful dismantling of HHS, to stop the mass firings, and to restore the life-saving programs that millions of Americans depend on,” James said.

    New York is joined in the lawsuit by the attorneys generals of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

    Her remarks come after HHS announced thousands of layoffs in March and April, including at the FDA, the CDC and NIH. 

    The lawsuit is not the first time James, a longtime foe of the current president, has sparred with Trump since the start of his second presidential term. She’s joined Democrat attorneys general in more than a dozen other lawsuits challenging his early actions

    Biden Breaks Silence On Trump In First Interview Since Leaving Office

      By
      Madeleine Jackson
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      5
      Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

      Is Biden back?

      In his first interview since leaving the White House, former President Joe Biden took the opportunity to attack President Donald Trump’s foreign policy efforts.

      Speaking to BBC journalist Nick Robinson in an exclusive and sweeping sit-down that aired Wednesday, the former president abandoned the tradition of ex-presidents holding their tongue — and instead ripped into Trump’s first 100 days back in office.

      “He’s not behaving like a Republican president,” Biden said of Trump.

      The former president focused on a now-notorious Oval Office exchange from February, where Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for questioning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s motives.

      “I found it beneath America, the way that took place,” Biden said.

      The former president slammed Trump’s approach to Ukraine as capitulation, saying: “It is modern-day appeasement.”

      Trump has pushed Ukraine to consider ceding territory to Russia — an approach Biden argues signals weakness and invites further aggression.

      “Anybody who thinks Putin’s going to stop is foolish,” he said.

      In an attack on Trump’s suggestions that the U.S. “take back Panama,” or annex Greenland, Biden painted Trump’s approach as dangerously unserious — and deeply damaging to the U.S. image abroad.

      “And the way we talk about now that, ‘it’s the Gulf of America,’ ‘maybe we’re going to have to take back Panama,’ ‘maybe we need to acquire Greenland,’ ‘maybe Canada should be a [51st state].’ What the hell’s going on here?” Biden said.

      He added: “What President ever talks like that? That’s not who we are. We’re about freedom, democracy, opportunity — not about confiscation.”

      AG Bondi Reveals The Grim Reason She’s Carrying Fake Fentanyl

      By
      Madeleine Jackson
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      1

      Attorney General Pam Bondi will stop at nothing to eradicate fentanyl from the streets.

      On Wednesday, Bondi revealed that she carries around a vial of fake fentanyl to show that just a tiny amount can be deadly.

      While appearing on Fox & Friends from the White House lawn, Bondi discussed the importance of recent drug trafficking busts in several states that turned up massive amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, and guns.

      To illustrate her point, she said she keeps a small bottle of “fake fentanyl” to remind herself how just a tiny amount can prove deadly.

      “Each pill has the potential to kill a human being. A human life. An American life. I’ve been carrying around a little vial with fake fentanyl in it, the amount it takes to kill you, and it looks like a couple of grains of salt,” Bondi told Fox & Friends co-host Lawrence Jones.

      On Tuesday, Bondi announced that authorities made one of the biggest fentanyl busts in U.S. history with the seizure 409 kilos of fentanyl pills and 11.5 kilos of fentanyl powder.

      Bondi said that around 35 kilos of methamphetamine, 35 kilos of meth, 7.5 kilos of cocaine and 4.5 kilos of heroin were also seized along with $5 million in cash and 49 rifles and pistols.

      Sixteen people were arrested in the operation. Six of the individuals are in the U.S. illegally, Bondi said. 

      Bondi also teased a joint announcement with FBI Director Kash Patel of a major child exploitation ring bust later in the morning, while urging parents to take notice of their children’s online habits.

      “Your kids have no right to privacy on the internet,” she said, adding, “Children are getting recruited on the internet from being on games, social media or any social media platform. Parents, you’ve got to monitor what your kids are doing because they think they are talking to other children and they are not. They are talking to monsters often.”

      “You’ve gotta be all in your children’s business,” Jones added.

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

      Attorney General Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel announced Wednesday that 205 alleged child sex predators who preyed on children online have been arrested in the last week. 

      The arrests are part of a new joint operation by the Justice Department and FBI called “Operation Restore Justice” which saw 115 children across the country rescued in the process, Bondi and Patel said.

      Bondi called the operation “historic and “unprecedented.”

      “These depraved human beings, if convicted, will face the maximum penalty in prison some life,” Bondi said at a press briefing.

      “We will find you. We will arrest you, and we will charge you. If you are online targeting a child, you will not escape us. The FBI and the Department of Justice will come after you. And we will prosecute you.”

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