An independent panel investigating the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump released its findings this week.
The report which was released to the public on Thursday predicted that without significant reform measures, another potshot assassination attempt like the one on former President Donald Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania earlier this year “can and will happen again.”
According to the panel, its investigation revealed “deep flaws in the Secret Service, including some that appear to be systemic or cultural,” including: “a lack of clarity, in practice, regarding who has overall security ownership of a protectee’s site on the day of an event,” and “a troubling lack of critical thinking by Secret Service personnel,” among other issues.
In a letter presenting their findings to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the panel wrote, “The United States Secret Service aspires to be the best protective service of high-ranking government officials in the world. This is a zero-fail mission, for any failure endangers not only the life of the protectee, but also the fundamentals of our government itself. Today, however, the Secret Service does not perform at the elite levels needed to discharge its critical mission. The Secret Service has become bureaucratic, complacent, and static even though risks have multiplied and technology has evolved.”
“Thousands of men and women have dedicated their lives to the Secret Service, and we remain grateful to them for their bravery, selflessness, and willingness to serve in a vital role,” they continued. “But the Secret Service as an agency requires fundamental reform to carry out its mission. Without that reform, the Independent Review Panel believes another Butler can and will happen again.”
Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer attend medal ceremony via Wikimedia Commons
A new biography on Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) exposes new details surrounding his tense relationship with former President Donald Trump.
Michael Tackett, deputy Washington bureau chief at the Associated Press, drew from nearly three decades of McConnell’s political career using sources including recorded diaries by the elder statesmen and past interviews. In the finished book, The Price of Power, which hits shelves on October 29, Tackett uncovered several shockingly negative assessments of the ex-president by McConnell, who has publicly expressed his support and endorsed him in the 2024 election.
After Trump lost the election in 2020, McConnell congratulated his former Senate colleague President Joe Biden and warned his fellow Republicans not to challenge the election results. But behind the scenes — and as Trump tried and failed to overturn the election results — he apparently couldn’t wait to see the last of Trump:
Privately, he said in his oral history that “it’s not just the Democrats who are counting the days” until Trump left office, and that Trump’s behavior “only underscores the good judgment of the American people. They’ve had just enough of the misrepresentations, the outright lies almost on a daily basis, and they fired him.”
“And for a narcissist like him,” McConnell continued, “that’s been really hard to take, and so his behavior since the election has been even worse, by far, than it was before, because he has no filter now at all.”
Before those Georgia runoffs, McConnell said Trump is “stupid as well as being ill-tempered and can’t even figure out where his own best interests lie.”
An account of the aftermath of January 6, which had McConnell in a secure location while his aides “barricaded” in the office, revealed an emotional moment between the former Senate Majority Leader and his staff:
McConnell then went to his office to address his staff, some of whom had barricaded themselves in the office as rioters banged on their doors. He started to sob softly as he thanked them, Tackett writes.
“You are my family, and I hate the fact that you had to go through this,” he told them.
Looking east towards 6th Avenue along north (48th Street) side of Fox News building on a snowy afternoon. [Photo Credit: Jim.henderson, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons]
Former Fox News host Geraldo Rivera has publicly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president, marking a dramatic shift after years of aligning himself with former President Donald Trump. Rivera, who had long been a supporter and personal friend of Trump, announced his support for Harris in a statement posted Monday morning.
Rivera’s endorsement, titled “Sore Loser,” came with sharp criticism of Trump’s post-2020 election actions. He reflected on the political journey of the former president, recounting their relationship from Trump’s 2016 run through his tumultuous time in office. Rivera noted that while he initially admired Trump’s rise to power, his views changed dramatically following the 2020 election and the subsequent events that led to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
“Donald J. Trump stands a reasonable chance of becoming the 47th President of the United States,” Rivera wrote. “Despite assassination attempts, impeachments, special counsels, felony convictions, and hundreds of millions in civil penalties, most polls show his race against V.P. Kamala Harris is too close to call.”
The veteran broadcaster expressed disappointment with Trump’s response to his 2020 election loss, highlighting their final conversation in November 2020. According to Rivera, Trump was initially open to the idea of accepting the election results, but later changed course, engaging in what Rivera described as a “menacing campaign” to discredit the election.
Mark Taylor from Rockville, USA, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
“None exists,” Rivera said, referring to Trump’s unfounded claims of systemic election fraud. He accused Trump of misleading Republicans and his supporters into believing in the so-called “Big Lie” about the stolen election, leading to the chaotic breach at the Capitol.
In his statement, Rivera criticized Trump’s handling of the events of Jan. 6, 2021, including the pressure Trump exerted on then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election results. “Trump stabbed the Constitution in the back,” Rivera added.
At that point, Rivera, whose net worth is estimated at around $20 million, criticized tens of millions of Trump supporters who believe, as economic indicators show, that the economy was stronger during Trump’s presidency—especially in contrast to the soaring inflation and real wages lagging far behind under the Biden-Harris administration.
Rivera also failed to acknowledge the appeal of Trump’s other policies for many voters, such as those focused on border security and world peace.
The television personality did not mince words about his opinion of supporting Trump again. “If you are a Republican, Donald Trump has made a liar of you,” he said.
Rivera concluded his endorsement by stating, “That is why I am voting for Kamala Harris to be our 47th President.”
Sunday’s NBC News poll shows Trump pulling even with Kamala Harris after trailing by 5 points last month.
JUST IN: Donald Trump now leads in every swing state except Nevada on political betting platform Polymarket.
Bettors are becoming increasingly confident Trump will win the election as he surges to nearly a double-digit lead.
On Monday, CNN revealed that Trump is performing better with Black voters than any Republican since the 1960s—and it’s not just due to Black men. The poll also shows that Harris is attracting fewer Black female voters than any Democrat since the 1960s.
No matter how you splice the data, Trump seems to be the strongest Republican with Black voters since 1960. Young Black men in particular have trended right during Trump's runs (cutting the Dem margin by 40 pts from 2012).
While he was not technically “fired” from Fox News, Rivera left the network under contentious circumstances in June 2023. Rivera announced his departure from The Five, one of Fox News’ most popular shows, after a series of disagreements with his co-hosts, particularly over his opposition to Trump. He hinted at tensions behind the scenes, saying his exit was “amicable,” but also indicated he was “fired” from The Five.
Rivera first joined Fox News Channel in 2001. Over the years, he became a prominent figure at the network, hosting his own show, Geraldo at Large, and appearing regularly on various Fox News programs, including The Five.
Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is reportedly requesting that a Georgia appeals court restore six of her original criminal counts against former President Trump and his co-defendants in her 2020 election case, after a judge tossed the charges earlier this year.
Willis filed a brief to the Georgia Court of Appeals requesting it overturn Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee’s decision to dismiss charges against Trump and allies, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported Wednesday.
McAfee, in March, dismissed six of the charges against Trump, saying Willis failed to allege sufficient detail.
Last month, McAfee also dismissed an additional two criminal counts against Trump,
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
A local Democrat Party chair in North Carolina resigned after he was arrested for allegedly ripping out and stealing roadside signs supporting former President Donald Trump.
Lowell Simon, the now former chair of the Moore County Democrat Party, who is also running for North Carolina House in November, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor larceny of political signs.
The Moore County Democratic Party announced in a Facebook post on Monday that 68-year-old Simon had resigned as chair “following recent allegations and arrest related to the theft of political signs.”
The Moore County Sheriff’s Office said a deputy working in the West End area observed Simon removing campaign signs from the roadside along Seven Lakes Drive at approximately 5:25 p.m. Thursday.
“The deputy, who was responding to an unrelated call at the time, later followed up at Simon’s residence, where the signs were found in his vehicle,” according to the office. “Simon admitted to removing the signs, which were then recovered and returned to their original owner.”
A warrant for Simon’s arrest was issued Saturday. He was released “under a written promise to appear in court,” according to the sheriff’s office, and his first court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 30.
“While we appreciate the hard work and dedication he has shown to the Democratic Party and the community, the Moore County Democratic Party cannot and will not condone the tampering of political signs or any other illegal activity,” the local party wrote on Facebook. “Mr. Simon has offered an apology for his actions, as well as his resignation, both of which have been accepted by the MCDP.”
“My worse angels got the better of me and I removed the signs,” Simon said. “I shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t do it in the stealth of night or anything. I did it when it was five o’clock in the afternoon.”
“We believe in the importance of freedom of expression and speech, and hope that local law enforcement will continue to enforce such laws that protect those freedoms fairly and without bias across party lines,” the local party added. “As we move forward, our focus will remain on electing Democrats up and down the ballot in this critical election. Together, we are committed to promoting the values of justice, fairness, and freedom that our Party holds dear, and we look forward to building a better future for all in Moore County.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could be joining the future Trump administration…
On Monday, the Independent presidential candidate signaled in a video that he may join the Trump administration’s Department of Agriculture to work on policy.
“When @realDonaldTrump gets me inside the USDA, we’re going to give farmers an off-ramp from the current system that destroys soil, makes people sick, and harms family farms,” he wrote Monday on social platform X, just days after losing his mother, along with a video asking supporters to donate to his “Make America Healthy Again” cause.
When @realDonaldTrump gets me inside the USDA, we're going to give farmers an off-ramp from the current system that destroys soil, makes people sick, and harms family farms.
The donation page is dedicated to fueling support for the former president.
“America’s current ag policy is destroying America’s health on every level. It’s destroying the economic health of farmers by forcing them to get big or get out,” Kennedy said the video. “Big corporate farms do just fine, while the small and medium family operators are squeezed to the point of collapse.”
The independent then touched on issues caused by toxic pesticides and polluted soil, and shared plans to remove internal “conflicts of interest” within the agency.
“We’re going to ban the worst agricultural chemicals that are already prohibited in other countries. And we’re going to remove conflicts of interest from the USDA dietary panels and commissions,” he said. “I’ve seen some of what America’s most innovative, regenerative farmers are doing today. They can literally green deserts. They rebuild depleted soils, wells that have been dry for 30 years start flowing again.”
Independent journalist Ken Klippenstain said that the FBI came to his home after publishing a report on Republica vice presidential nominee JD Vance using materials allegedly obtained through an Iranian hack.
“The Bureau told me that I had been the target of a foreign influence operation with regard to a news article I had written, a clear reference to my publication of the JD Vance Dossier,” journalist Ken Klippenstein wrote on his Substack page of the visit the FBI paid to his Madison, Wis. home.
Klippenstein did not say exactly when the FBI visited him but noted the agent he spoke with came with “no subpoena, no search warrant, no prior announcement, no claim of illegality.”
“America’s most powerful law enforcement agency wants me to know that it was displeased. It is delivering what many would consider a chilling message: we know where you live, we know what you’ve done, we are watching,” he wrote. “This is how out of control the disinformation and foreign influence hysteria has become.”
Klippenstein’s most recent Substack post comes just days after the journalist was briefly suspended from X, the platform formerly known as Twitter after he published a 271-page report compiled by the Trump campaign to vet Vance, the Ohio senator and Trump’s running mate.
X said at the time that the dossier contained “unredacted private personal information” about Vance, and that Kippenstein’s post justified a suspension of his account.
“I knew and acknowledged in the story that it had probably come from Tehran. This placed me at odds with the entirety of major media, which in an extraordinary act of self-censorship declined to publish the dossier,” Klippenstein wrote this week. “The FBI and the federal government has now successfully enlisted the mainstream news media into being some kind of adjunct national security agency. That is the major threat to our democracy. Not some foreign government’s hijinks.”
Former President Donald Trump received a significant endorsement from the Border Patrol union during a campaign rally in Arizona, a crucial swing state. The endorsement could prove pivotal as immigration remains a top concern for voters.
The rally, held on Sunday, was marked by Trump’s promise to increase border security. He announced plans to hire 10,000 additional border agents, provide a 10% pay raise and introduce a $10,000 signing and retention bonus. “They deserve it,” Trump said, highlighting what he described as unfair treatment of agents.
BREAKING: Trump just announced that he will immediately ask Congress to approve a 10% raise for all border patrol agents and also implement a $10,000 retention/signing bonus to encourage more people to join
The Washington Times further reports on border security personnel throwing their support behind the only candidate they believe will secure the border:
Paul Perez, president of the union representing 16,000 Border Patrol agents, said the former president has been a true ally.
“America, I have a message for you: If we allow ‘Border Czar’ Harris to win this election, every city, every community in this great country is going to go to hell,” Mr. Perez said, lamenting that millions of unvetted migrants who have entered the country illegally under the Biden-Harris administration.
“Only one man can fix that. That is Donald J. Trump,” he said.
“He has always stood with the men and women who protect this border, who put their lives on the line for the country,” he said.
Illegal immigration has consistently ranked as a key issue, with a study in June revealing that half of the jobs created under President Biden’s economic policies went to undocumented workers rather than American citizens.
Trump’s endorsement by the Border Patrol union comes as Democrats face increasing pressure over their handling of the border crisis. Matt Corridoni, spokesperson for the Harris campaign, criticized the endorsement, pointing to what he called Trump’s broken promises. “Trump told us Mexico would pay for his failed border wall. That was a lie,” Corridoni stated, adding that Trump killed a bipartisan border bill that could have strengthened border security.
Corridoni also defended Vice President Kamala Harris’s record, stating, “There’s only one candidate focused on tackling issues for the American people, has taken on transnational gangs, and is focused on keeping our communities safe—Vice President Kamala Harris.”
Despite these efforts, Democrats have faced challenges in managing immigration. Harris, in her role as “border czar,” has been criticized for the influx of nearly 10 million undocumented migrants during her tenure. The situation worsened when Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas confirmed on Oct. 2 that DHS may not have sufficient funds to provide assistance through the end of the hurricane season, after spending $1 billion on immigration-related costs.
As Election Day rapidly approaches, immigration is likely to remain a central issue, with both parties vying for voters concerned about border security.
(Los Angeles - EUA, 09/06/2022) Presidente da República Jair Bolsonaro, durante Sessão Plenária de Abertura da IX Cúpula das Américas..Foto: Alan Santos/PR
Stepping out of her comfort zone…
Vice President Kamala Harris will participate in a sit down interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier.
It will be Harris’ first formal interview ever on Fox News. It will air on the October 16 edition of Baier’s “Special Report” at 6 p.m. ET. Baier will anchor “Special Report” from the battleground state of Pennsylvania that evening.
BREAKING
Vice President Kamala Harris is sitting down with Fox News Anchor @BretBaier on Wednesday for her first interview on the Fox News Channel.
“FOX News Channel’s (FNC) chief political anchor Bret Baier will conduct an interview with Democratic presidential candidate… pic.twitter.com/fP5WrrKFiH
“Special Report” is regularly among the most-watched programs in cable news, and the popular Common Ground segment featuring political leaders from across the aisle discussing the issues of the day with the goal of finding middle ground has been a hit this election cycle.
Harris’ first interview with Fox News comes as she’s ramped up her media appearances.
This is a breaking news story. Click refresh for the latest updates.
Over the weekend, authorities arrested a man outside of Donald Trump’s rally in Coachella, California who was in possession of multiple firearms.
Vem Miller, 49, said to Fox News that he reported the guns to authorities, which he says he always travels with despite never using them, at a checkpoint to get into Trump’s Coachella rally on Saturday evening and argued that documents Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said were fake are legit.
“I always travel around with my firearms in the back of my truck,” Miller told Fox News Digital in a phone interview.
He says he has never fired them, but he started keeping them with him when he started getting death threats.
“I’ve literally never even shot a gun in my life,” Miller said.
“I don’t know anything about guns. I am beyond a novice,” he continued.
Miller says he’s Armenian and has documents that use his full Armenian name and documents that don’t which were inside of his truck at the time, because using those documents in some places around the world could get him killed, referring to campaigns over the centuries to murder Armenians.
A spokesperson for the Trump campaign issued a statement to Fox News Digital and said they were monitoring the situation.
“We thank law enforcement for securing the rally site and helping ensure the safety of President Trump. We are aware of news reports about the arrest and are currently monitoring the situation and gathering more information,” the statement read.
In a previous statement, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said, “This incident did not impact the safety of former President Trump or attendees of the event.”
A source close to the Trump campaign also told Fox News’s Bill Melugin, and another told Fox News’ Bryan Preston, that they do not believe this was an assassination attempt on Trump.
he was quickly released on $5,000 bail and so far, no federal charges have been filed.
