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Republican Governor Blames Jan. 6 Panel After Phone Gets Hacked

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South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is furious after her personal phone number was leaked.

The Republican Governor said her phone was hacked following the release of her and her family’s personal information, including her social security number, by the House Jan. 6 committee

“Callous mishandling of personal information has real world consequences,” Noem said in a statement. “If you get such a phone call from my number, know that I had no involvement.”

Noem said that South Dakota’s Fusion Center, a state agency that compiles criminal intelligence, has been notified of the cell phone hack.

Noem said she also has asked U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Congress to investigate the leak.

Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported nearly 2,000 Social Security numbers of former President Trump’s closest allies, including former Cabinet members and Republican governors, were disclosed in a spreadsheet that the committee posted along with a number of other records. The document has since been taken down.  

Classified Documents Discovered with Former President Mike Pence

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Mike Pence via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Former Vice President Mike Pence has informed Congress that he discovered documents bearing classified markings in his Carmel, Indiana, home on Jan. 16 from his time as vice president. 

According to reports from Fox News, Pence’s team informed the National Archives on Jan. 18 of a small number of potentially classified documents found in two small boxes. Another two boxes contained copies of vice presidential papers.

Pence’s team said that after the documents with classified markings were discovered, they were immediately put into a safe.

Next, the National Archives informed the FBI per standard procedure.

Pence attorney Greg Jacob wrote on Jan. 18 to Acting Director Kate Dillon McClure of the White House Liaison Division National Archives and Records Administration to inform her of the papers “containing classified markings.”

The documents were collected by the FBI at Pence’s home in Carmel, Indiana, on Thursday evening, Jan. 19. Pence was in Washington, D.C. for the annual March for Life when the FBI collected the documents.

Pence’s team said that although the documents bear classified markings, the Department of Justice or the agency that issues the documents will need to make a final determination on whether the documents are considered classified or not.

According to Pence’s attorney Greg Jacob in a letter to Chief Operating Officer William “Jay” Bosanko of the National Archives and Records Administration on Jan. 22, the DOJ departed from its standard procedures that it ran with Biden, when it requested direct possession of the documents on Jan. 19.

The discovery comes after classified documents from President Biden’s tenure as vice president were found at the Penn Biden Center think tank and Wilmington, Delaware.

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

Evangelist Franklin Graham Refuses to Endorse Trump in GOP Primary Race

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Rev. Franklin Graham via Wikimedia Commons

Prominent Evangelical pastor Franklin Graham and longtime supporter of former President Trump is staying out of politics, at least until after the primary.

Graham told CBS News that it was an “easy decision” not to endorse someone during the 2024 primaries.

“I’m going to stay out of it until after the primaries have finished,” Graham told CBS News on Friday at the March for Life rally in Washington, D.C.

Graham, who is the president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse, has previously defended Trump, saying that “God was behind” Trump’s election win in 2016 and that Trump “defends the faith.”

“I’m just not going to get involved in supporting this one over that one,” he said to CBS News on Friday. “Let’s just let the people decide. And when the dust is settled, I’ll make a decision on that point.”

Graham’s comments come as tensions have been rising between evangelical groups and Trump in the months after he announced his third bid for president. Recently, Trump said in an interview that evangelical leaders are showing “signs of disloyalty” because they have yet to endorse his 2024 campaign.

During an interview for “The Water Cooler,” Trump lashed out against evangelical leaders for staying silent over his 2024 campaign. Trump is specifically upset he has yet to receive endorsements from more of these leaders, including pastor and prominent televangelist Robert Jeffress.

“That’s a sign of disloyalty. There’s a great disloyalty in the world of politics and that’s a sign of disloyalty,” the former president told The Water Cooler host David Brody.

New GOP Bill Aims to Strengthen SCOTUS Security

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Washington D.C., USA - January 22, 2015; A Pro-Life woman clashes with a group of Pro-Choice demonstrators at the U.S. Supreme Court.

A proposed bill aims to strengthen the integrity of the Supreme Court and would impose strict punishments on leakers.

House Republicans are proposing a stiff fine and a lifetime ban from the federal court system for employees who leak draft Supreme Court opinions.

According to Fox News, Rep. William Timmons, (R-S.C.) proposed the Leak and Lose Act just days after the Supreme Court said it can’t be sure who leaked the draft copy of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization opinion in 2022. 

Rep. Timmons said his bill would make it more difficult for staff and others to leak Supreme Court documents until they are ready to be formally released.

“The leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion to the media was a dangerous affront to the highest court in the land and the very bedrock of our judicial system,” Timmons said. “We must take action to ensure something like this never happens again. My legislation, the Leak and Lose Act, will help deter any future leaks and ensure the Supreme Court can continue to uphold the rule of law free from any political pressure.”

Timmons’ bill says that anyone who removes, conceals or takes other actions with the intent of removing any final or draft opinion before its formal issuance by the Supreme Court will be fined $5,000, and “shall forfeit their admission to all federal courts and shall be ineligible for admission to a federal court for the remainder of their life.”

Last week, the Supreme Court’s Marshal of the Court released a report that said it was “unable to identify a person responsible” for the leak. But it did say the Supreme Court’s flexible work policies during the COVID pandemic likely created vulnerabilities in the systems in place aimed at keeping documents secure.

“The pandemic and resulting expansion of the ability to work from home, as well as gaps in the Court’s security policies, created an environment where it was too easy to remove sensitive information from the building and the Court’s IT networks, increasing the risk of both deliberate and accidental disclosures of Court-sensitive information,” the report said.

The court’s investigation uncovered that some Supreme Court staffers who were interviewed told their spouses about the pending decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The report said the court would review its internal procedures in order to tighten security in order to “mitigate the risk of future incidents.”

Amanda Head: Pam Anderson Is Uncomfortable With Nudity

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Oh, the irony…

1990s sex icon Pamela Anderson is releasing a new memoir where she describes an uncomfortable situation involving “Home Improvement” star Tim Allen.

Let Amanda explain the controversy below.

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

Republican Says ‘Cyber-Criminal’ Stole Nearly $700,000 From Senate Campaign

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A Senate campaign is reeling after nearly $700,000 was stolen by cybercriminals.

According to an election filing reported by The Daily Wire, $690,000 was reported stolen from Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran’s campaign accounts.

Moran’s campaign treasurer, Timothy Gottschalk, wrote in a Federal Election Commission filing on December 8, 2022 that money had been taken from the campaign by a “third party cyber criminal.”

“On November 14, 2022, our office was contacted by Astra Bank to notify us of potentially fraudulent activity concerning recent wire transfers to SRCP Media, Inc. After communications with staff, it was determined that two wires were sent for payment of fraudulent invoices. One wire was sent on October 25, 2022, for $345,000.00, and a second wire on November 9, 2022, for $345,000.00. For a total of $690,000.00,” Gottschalk wrote in the filing, first reported by Raw Story.

According to Moran’s office, they reported the incident to the Republic County Sheriff’s Office on November 16, before the investigation was turned over to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the FBI.

“Cybercriminals targeted the accounting firm employed by Moran For Kansas and money was wired to fraudulent bank accounts,” said Tom Brandt, a spokesman for Moran. “As soon as a discrepancy was realized, it was reported to law enforcement.”

Gottschalk said that $168,184.03 had been recovered on November 23. “We are currently pursuing all avenues available to recover the money and there is an ongoing investigation with the FBI,” Brandt added. 

Moran was elected to the Senate in 2010 and is the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies for the Appropriations Committee. He is also the ranking member on the Veterans Affairs Committee. 

Fox News Weatherman Attacked on NYC Subway

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    Photo via Pixabay images

    Fox News meteorologist Adam Klotz was attacked by a group of teens in the early hours of Sunday while riding the New York subway.

    Klotz was on his way home after watching the Giants-Eagles NFL playoff game at a Manhattan bar shortly before he noticed a group of teens harassing an “older gentleman,” and had set his hair on fire with what was presumably a marijuana joint. 

    In an Instagram video, Klotz said he intervened to protect the older man and that’s when the group turned their focus on him and began the brutal attack before fleeing at the 18th Street station in the Chelsea neighborhood.

    “I was like, ‘Yo, guys, cut that out.’ And they decided, ‘All right, if he’s not going to get it, you’re going to get it.’ And, boy, did they give it to me,” Klotz said.

    During an interview with “Fox & Friends” Klotz noted that he attempted to separate himself from the situation but the group followed him to another train car.

    “I get off that train after taking a punch,” Klotz said. “The whole group, the doors open again at another stop, the whole group just comes and bum rushes me, and suddenly I’m like, on the ground. I’m getting kicked in the side. I’m getting wailed on.

    “They were trying to knock me out, and then once you’re unconscious, and you’re getting punched like there’s no defense, so I was just doing my absolute best to cover my head,” he continued. 

    “So I kind of get knocked out, and now my side is black and blue. My knee, I can hardly bend because I was getting kicked and punched.”

    “What I want is some sort of change,” Klotz said. “I don’t want this to happen to somebody else, and I don’t think necessarily just these kids getting in trouble, like, where’s the structural things? Like, put some cops down there.” 

    Klotz was treated at a local hospital for his injuries and the three members of the group were eventually apprehended by the cops. However, the group was released into parental custody and no charges were pressed due to their ages.

    Despite the shocking attack, Klotz has remained in good spirits and is expected to make a full recovery.

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

    Joe and Hunter Biden to Go Down in History as First President-Son Duo to Face Simultaneous Investigations

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      President Joe Biden hugs his family during the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. (DOD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II)

      The Bidens will go down in the history books for all of the wrong reasons.

      President Biden and his son Hunter have made history as the first president-son duo to be simultaneously – but separately – under federal investigation.

      Hunter Biden has been under federal investigation since 2018 for his tax affairs which stems-in part- from suspicious activity reports (SARs) regarding some foreign transactions. Those SARs, according to sources familiar with the investigation, involved funds from “China and other foreign nations.”

      “This is the first time that in American history we have a sitting president and one of his children – in this case, his son – who are under formal investigation in the United States,” Heritage Foundation President Dr. Kevin Roberts, a historian of early American history, told Fox News Digital. “In thinking about this, investigating it, and putting all politics aside, I cannot think of an example that even gets close to this.”

      “I think it is important that as Americans strive to get out of the morass of current politics, and especially the unethical nature it seems of this current administration, that we realize the truth first,” Roberts continued. “And in this case, the truth hurts.”

      Joe Biden is under investigation after multiple batches of classified documents were discovered at the University of Pennsylvania Biden Center and his Wilmington, DE home.

      On Friday, another round of documents were discovered at Biden’s Delaware home. According to The Hill, Bob Bauer, a personal lawyer for Biden, said in a statement that the Justice Department was given access to the president’s home after previous searches in recent weeks turned up a total of 11 classified documents.

      “DOJ requested that the search not be made public in advance, in accordance with its standard procedures, and we agreed to cooperate,” Bauer said.

      “DOJ had full access to the President’s home, including personally handwritten notes, files, papers, binders, memorabilia, to-do lists, schedules, and reminders going back decades,” Bauer continued. “DOJ took possession of materials it deemed within the scope of its inquiry, including six items consisting of documents with classification markings and surrounding materials, some of which were from the President’s service in the Senate and some of which were from his tenure as Vice President. DOJ also took for further review personally handwritten notes from the vice-presidential years.”

      The search lasted roughly 13 hours, Bauer said, and covered working, living and storage spaces in the home. Representatives from Biden’s personal legal team and the White House counsel’s office were there while Justice Department officials conducted the search.

      Kristi Noem Addresses 2024 Speculation

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      Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

      South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem isn’t rushing toward the presidential debate stage anytime soon.

      Despite the Republican’s rising national profile, Gov. Noem told CBS News reporter Robert Costa that she’s “not convinced” she should pursue the Oval Office.

      “’I’m not convinced that I need to run for president,” Noem said according to The Hill.

      Costa continued to press the Governor if she is looking ahead to future elections. Noem has been floated as a potential presidential contender or even as a potential VP choice for Trump’s campaign.

      Do you not feel a rush, governor, to make a decision on 2024?” he asked.

      “I don’t, Bob, at all. No, I think it’s important that people focus on governing rather than going out and making big, broad statements and going out and taking action for their own political futures,” Noem said.  

      Noem was endorsed in her reelection bid by former President Trump and said last summer that she’d support Trump’s latest White House campaign. However, after the midterms, the South Dakota lawmaker said that the former president does not “offer the best chance” for the GOP. 

      Amanda Head: Why Are Americans Always the Last to Know?

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      President Joe Biden’s disturbing mishandling of classified materials is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the latest scandal to face the administration.

      Let Amanda explain the latest controversy below:

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