Venezuela opposition leader Machado wants US to do ‘much more’ on election dispute
Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Thursday she wants the United States to do “much more” to press President Nicolas Maduro amid an ongoing dispute over July’s presidential election.
Democracies around the world have criticized the Venezuelan government’s handling of the July 28 vote, which election officials and its top court say was won by Maduro, who has been in power since 2013. Authorities have not released full tallies, blaming a cyber attack.
Venezuela Issues Arrest Warrant for Opposition Leader Gonzalez, AG Says
Venezuela’s attorney general’s office said on Monday a court has issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, accusing him of incitement and other crimes amid a dispute over whether he or President Nicolas Maduro won a July election.
Venezuela opposition wants candidate recognized as president-elect
Venezuela’s opposition chief Maria Corina Machado on Thursday called on the world to recognize candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as president-elect after a disputed election in the oil-rich nation.
President Nicolas Maduro claimed victory in the July 28 vote but many in the international community have refused to recognize that result.
However, they have also stopped short of accepting Gonzalez Urrutia as the president-elect, instead calling for Caracas to publish detailed polling results.
“The world knows Edmundo Gonzalez is the president-elect and Maduro was defeated by a landslide,” Machado said during a virtual appearance.
Canada still hasn’t recognized the likely winner of Venezuela’s election — Venezuelans want to know why – cbc.ca
Some Venezuelan-Canadians say the Trudeau government has failed to stand up for democracy in its response to the July 28 Venezuelan presidential election — an election tainted by widespread evidence of fraud and a government campaign of arrests, disappearances and torture of poll workers.
Venezuelan presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia ruled out seeking asylum abroad yesterday after a judge loyal to the Nicolas Maduro regime issued a warrant for his arrest on Monday.
Global Affairs Canada condemned the arrest warrant in a media statement. Gonzalez was still in hiding when this article was published.
According to digitized returns, Gonzalez’s unified opposition won the great majority of votes in the election. But his victory has been rejected by the Maduro regime, which claims to have received 51 per cent of the vote. It is backed by Venezuela’s courts and its National Election Commission, both packed with hand-picked Maduro loyalists.
While Gonzalez and his partner, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, have refused international protection, they have asked for international recognition.
International leaders condemn arrest order for Venezuelan opposition leader
Foreign leaders, including in the United States and Brazil, have reacted with alarm and warnings after Venezuela issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia this week.
On Tuesday, Canada joined in the outcry, as the government of President Nicolas Maduro continues to crack down on opposition members after a contested presidential election…
Maduro’s government declared him the winner of the July 28 presidential election, with nearly 52 percent of the vote. But unlike in past elections, it did not release vote tallies to back up that claim.
US seizes aircraft used by Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro
Washington has seized a private aircraft used by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, citing alleged violations of US export controls and sanctions laws. The Department of Justice on Monday said the Dassault Falcon 900EX plane had been seized in the Dominican Republic and transferred to southern Florida.
“This morning, the justice department seized an aircraft we allege was illegally purchased for $13mn through a shell company and smuggled out of the US for use by Nicolás Maduro and his cronies,” said US attorney-general Merrick Garland.
The DoJ’s move comes as Maduro, a revolutionary socialist in power since 2013, has been cracking down on the opposition following allegations his government rigged the count to steal victory in July’s presidential election in the Latin American country.
Venezuela’s opposition faces setback after countries suggest repeat of presidential election
Venezuela’s opposition was dealt a blow Thursday when countries that had been pressuring President Nicolás Maduro to release vote tallies backing his claim to victory in last month’s presidential election began suggesting a repeat of the contest instead.
The proposal from the leftist governments of Brazil and Colombia, both Maduro allies, came less than three weeks after the results of the highly anticipated election came into question when the main opposition coalition revealed it has proof that its candidate defeated the president by a more than 2-to-1 margin.
The opposition categorically rejected any plan to redo the election.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, during a virtual news conference with Argentine media, said that repeating the July 28 presidential election would be “an insult” to the people, and she asked if a second election were held and Maduro still didn’t accept the results, “do we go for a third one?”
Venezuela AG received affidavit from opposition leader, lawyer says
The lawyer for Venezuela opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez said on Wednesday the attorney general’s office received his affidavit explaining why Gonzalez ignored three summons, amid an ongoing election dispute.
The summons came before an arrest warrant was issued for Gonzalez, the opposition’s erstwhile presidential candidate, on Monday on accusations of usurpation of functions, falsification of public documents and conspiracy, among other charges.
Venezuelan dictator decrees Oct. 1 to be start of Christmas season: Church responds
“This year, in homage and gratitude to you, I am going to decree that the Christmas season [begins] on Oct. 1,” declared Nicolás Maduro, leader of the ruling socialist regime in Venezuela, Sept. 2 on national television.
“For everyone, Christmas has arrived with peace, happiness, and security,” Maduro added. According to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, this is not the first time the socialist regime has done this, as in 2019, 2020, and 2021 it also decreed the “advance” of the Christmas season.
Maduro’s announcement came just hours after the Venezuelan justice system issued an arrest warrant for Edmundo González Urrutia, who won the July 28 presidential elections by a wide margin, according to vote tallies published by the opposition. However, the National Electoral Council, controlled by the governing socialist party, declared Maduro the winner.
Major power outage hits Venezuela; Maduro government blames ‘sabotage’
A major power outage plunged much of Venezuela into darkness on Friday, affecting the capital, Caracas, and several other states. The blackout, which began around 4:50 a.m., was blamed on “electrical sabotage” by the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
In a statement shared via Telegram, Communications Minister Freddy Nanez attributed the outage to what he described as a “desperate” effort by Maduro’s opponents to remove him from power. Nanez claimed that all 24 states in Venezuela were at least partially affected by the power disruption. “The entire national government has been activated to overcome this new aggression,” he declared.
By evening, power had been restored to many parts of Caracas after a day marked by intermittent outages. President Maduro, appearing on state television, expressed gratitude to Venezuelans for their patience during a chaotic day that saw businesses close, hospitals switch to backup generators, and Caracas’ subway system shut down, leaving thousands stranded.
US service member detained in Venezuela, officials say
A US service member has been detained in Venezuela, according to four US officials familiar with the matter.
The service member, a US Navy sailor, is a US citizen and was detained on August 30 in Caracas, according to the officials. One of the officials said he is being held by the Venezuelan intelligence agency SEBIN.
A defense official told CNN, “we are aware of reports that a US Navy Sailor was detained on or about August 30, 2024, by Venezuelan law enforcement authorities while on personal travel to Venezuela. The US Navy is looking into this and working closely with the State Department. We refer you to the State Department for additional questions.”
Venezuela election fallout will worsen refugee crisis, Hopkins expert says
Venezuela has been ruled by dictators for nearly a quarter century, first under Hugo Chavez, and now under his protege, Nicolas Maduro. Their regimes have suppressed free speech, throttled the economy, committed untold human rights violations, and, in typical dictator fashion, ignored election results to remain in power. Maduro recently ran for reelection against Edmundo González, a stand-in for opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was arbitrarily banned from running by the government. Exit polls indicate that the incredibly popular Gonzalez beat Maduro by 30 points, yet on July 28, Maduro declared himself the winner. In more than a month since, his government has provided no proof of victory but has cracked down on dissent, arresting around 2,000 protestors.
The SNF Agora‘s Dissident in Residence, David Smolansky, has firsthand experience with Maduro’s oppressive governance. Before seeking refuge in the United States, the native Venezuelan was elected mayor of El Hatillo, one of the five municipalities in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, in 2013. During his mayoral tenure, he reduced kidnappings in his district by 84%, gained recognition for establishing one of the most transparent local governments in Venezuela, and used his platform to condemn the Maduro administration.
The Biden administration is setting up more areas for Mexicans to apply online to become the latest spate of illegal aliens using an illegal loophole through America’s asylum program. That program was designed to allow people under existential political threat at their home country to apply for asylum in America, not to make it easy for the government to allow economic refugees to flood into the country.
The Biden administration will expand areas where migrants can apply online for appointments to enter the United States to a large swath of southern Mexico, officials said Saturday, potentially easing strains on the Mexican government and lessening dangers for people trying to reach the U.S. border to claim asylum.
Migrants will be able to schedule appointments on the CBP One app from the states of Chiapas and Tabasco, extending the zone from northern and central Mexico, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said. The move satisfies a request of Mexico, an increasingly close partner of the U.S. in efforts to control extraordinary migration flows.
The change will spare migrants from traveling north through Mexico to get one of 1,450 appointments made available daily, CBP said. The agency said it will happen soon but did not give a date.
“We consistently engage with our partners in the Government of Mexico and work together to adjust policies and practices in response to the latest migration trends and security needs,” CBP said in a statement.
The statement confirmed remarks a day earlier by Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Secretary Alicia Bárcena, who said closer relations with the United States cut migration sharply from late last year.
U.S. officials have said increased Mexican enforcement is largely responsible for a sharp drop in U.S. arrests for illegal border crossings during the first half of this year. Mexican officials have stepped up their presence at highway checkpoints and on railroads leading to the U.S. border, returning most to southern Mexico.
This is a special section of our Global Outlook Report covering the historic attempted assassination of former President and 2024 Presidential nominee Donald J Trump. These are the headlines and links to the stories revealing how the assassination attempt was initially reported, as well as the immediate consequence of the assassination attempt, and up-to-date links on the fallout, including the end of the Biden campaign and the beginning of the Kamala campaign.
ED.NOTE: We will be providing an in-depth report on the Trump assassination attempt and the Biden drop-out in the SEPTEMBER 2024 Issue. The October 2024 Issue will be a special election-focused issue.
THE INITIAL COVERAGE – On Sunday, July 14, 2024, a 20-year-old man named Thomas Cooke managed to get in a choice sniper position to be able to open fire on former President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, PA. Trump’s head movement appears to have saved him from certain death as the bullet ripped through his ear. One participant was killed, and two others were critically (now stable) wounded.
Since that moment, President Joe Biden has withdrawn from the 2024 race, Kamala Harris was coronated the new nominee without a primary, and the media appears desperate to bury this historic story altogether, lest Trump become too human to the American people.
RFK Jr.’s Secret Service protection ends after suspended campaign
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who suspended his third-party presidential bid last week and endorsed former President Donald Trump, has lost his Secret Service protection following the decision to leave the race, his campaign said.
“Mr. Kennedy no longer has USSS,” Stefanie Spear, Kennedy’s press secretary, told CBS News.
In remarks in Phoenix on Friday, Kennedy said he was backing Trump because he could see no viable path to the White House. And although he said he wasn’t “terminating” his campaign — remaining on the ballot in some noncompetitive states — he pledged to remove his name from states where he could be a spoiler. Kennedy was on the ballot in more than 20 states when he suspended his White House bid.
President Biden directed the Secret Service to afford protection to Kennedy after the assassination attempt against Trump in July. Kennedy’s campaign had long requested the protection for the independent presidential candidate — an issue that was especially acute for Kennedy, whose father and uncle were assassinated in the 1960s.
First outdoor Trump rally since assassination attempt: Why Asheboro?
The Republican ticket sees North Carolina as pivotal for the election, according to local political analysts.
The state as a whole is already important: The UVA Center recently moved the state from Republican to a toss-up this week. It now joins a list of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada: states that will “almost certainly” decide who wins the race, experts said.
In 2020, Trump won Randolph County by 78%.
Watch our interview with Wake Forest University professor John Dinan above to learn more.
Also at the rally, our team noted portable storage and moving vans blocking off the event. There were several law enforcement officers patrolling the area, too.
Video from Trump rally released by Butler Township police available on Eagle’s YouTube channel in its entirety
Body camera and dash camera footage taken by the Butler Township Police Department at the campaign rally for former President Donald Trump on July 13 is now available in its entirety via Butler Eagle’s YouTube channel.
The complete videos, acquired via a right-to-know request earlier this month, were posted Wednesday, Aug. 21 with editing only done to blur graphic scenes and remove foul language in the audio.
The 12 videos were released by the local police department on Aug. 8. Some of the videos were blurred prior to their release to the Eagle.
Washington Post was one of the first to use what became the leftist-approved label of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, calling it a “Trump rally shooting” to subliminally have Trump’s rallies associated with violence. The hope is to trick the willing-to-be-tricked that the political violence witnessed is the fault of the man who was shot, which is comparable to blaming a rape victim for being raped because “she was asking for it.”
Al Jazeera, a representative of an Islamist ideology that seeks to destroy the American republic, echoes the same type of careful language to assure no sympathy is garnered for the enemy they share with the Progmerican left, Donald J Trump.
Mother Jones took two shots at titling the news event, and both times show their allegiance with the shooter, and their blind hatred of the former President.
Trump shooter Thomas Crooks had encrypted messaging accounts in Belgium, Germany, New Zealand
Trump rally gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks used encrypted messaging accounts on various platforms located in Belgium, New Zealand and Germany, according to a member of a congressional task force investigating his assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), one of 13 lawmakers tapped to serve on the House bipartisan task force, told reporters at a Wednesday press conference at the Trump Hotel Chicago that the “overseas accounts” piqued his suspicion immediately regarding the shooter’s motives.”
“Why does a 19-year-old kid who is a health care aid need encrypted platforms not even based in the United States, but based abroad – where most terrorist organizations know it is harder for our law enforcement to get into?” asked Waltz.
Attempted Trump assassin Thomas Crooks trained at same gun range used by DHS
Attempted Trump assassin Thomas Crooks practiced shooting at his preferred gun range the day before the Department of Homeland Security conducted a training there — just two months before he opened fire at the former president’s rally.
Crooks, 20, visited the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club in Pennsylvania on May 22 around 3:10 p.m., where he practiced alone at the rifle range, according to a club logbook obtained by Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R-IA) office.
The very next day, beginning at noon, DHS conducted a “police training” at the range with at least three people, club records show.
Clairton’s rifle range where Crooks would have practiced is 200 yards long — more than enough space for him to practice the 150-yard shot he would take at Trump on July 13, wounding the former president and killing a bystander.
It is unclear whether DHS regularly held trainings there, or if the May 23 visit was an uncommon occurrence.
The plot continues to thicken regarding Thomas Crooks:
Matthew Crooks is interested in guns and has sold firearms to family members in the past, the source told the Mail. “The FBI still very much has questions about how much they knew and how [Thomas Crooks] slipped through the net,” the individual said.
Quinn Logue specializes in both criminal and civil law, including wrongful death and personal injury, according to its website.
Crooks attempted to assassinate Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. The 20-year-old, who shot Trump in the ear, also killed attendee Corey Comperatore and injured two others. Crooks was shot dead by a sniper at the scene.
The FBI is still investigating how Crooks was able to carry out the shooting from a rooftop near the rally stage. The FBI briefed Trump on their investigation earlier this month, revealing that they still don’t have a clear motive, ABC News reported. However, Crooks may have targetted Trump just because he was the next big-name politician to come to Pennsylvania.
Why would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks remains an infuriating enigma weeks after shooting
However, it’s clear from congressional hearings — and the details that have emerged from FBI briefings with lawmakers — that investigators still have no satisfying answers for why Crooks targeted Trump.
The glacial pace of new information coming to light has been frustrating for Crooks’ neighbors, who are still waiting for answers after the shocking discovery that they were living next to a killer who plotted to murder a leading candidate for president.
“I would love to know what really happened and what Thomas’ motivation was,” neighbor Kelly Little, 39, told The Post.
“Domestic terrorism is very real. We deserve to know what happened, but I don’t know if we’re ever going to get a straight answer.”
The FBI seized a laptop, two cellphones and multiple hard drives and flash drives from Crooks’ house.via Chuck Grassley’s Office
Little said their calm suburban street has grown quiet again after being thrust into the center of a media and police firestorm last month.
“It’s been weeks since police were here. There’s nothing happening, no police activity,” she said, noting that although local cops drive by occasionally, there are no officers stationed there long-term.
Crooks’ parents have been keeping to themselves since the shooting, which neighbors said was pretty much par for the course even before the events at the Trump rally in Butler.
Rep. Mike Waltz Who Is Investigating Trump Assassination Attempt Reveals Thomas Crooks Acted With Help From Foreign Entity
Republican Rep. Mike Waltz told the Daily Mail that Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old accused of trying to assassinate former President Donald Trump, might not have acted alone.
The Congressional task force’s ongoing investigation has raised significant concerns about possible foreign involvement in the attack.
Rep. Waltz stressed that the motivations behind Crooks’ actions are still uncertain, hinting that a foreign entity or another third party might be involved.
“I don’t understand, and I don’t have any answers yet to help me understand how the [Secret] Service and DHS came out so quickly and said – and I think the FBI as well, but I’ll have to check that – and said, he operated alone,” Waltz told Daily Mail at Trump Tower in Chicago on Wednesday.
Waltz told The Post Wednesday that he does not believe the agencies have been able to dig up enough information on the 20-year-old gunman to determine for certain that he did not have help planning and carrying out the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, last month.
“We’ve heard both the Secret Service and the FBI kind of phrase it in different ways — that everything they’ve seen he acted alone and that they have yet to find any co-conspirator,” Waltz (R-Fla.) told The Post in an exclusive interview following an FBI briefing Wednesday.
New Thomas Crooks Video Appears to Show Him Hours Before Trump Shooting
In a chilling development, newly uncovered footage appears to show Thomas Matthew Crooks, the would-be assassin of former President Donald Trump, wandering around the site of the Butler, Pennsylvania rally just hours before his deadly attack on July 13, 2024.
The video, which has surfaced on social media platforms, was reportedly captured by a small business owner selling patriotic hats at the event. The merchant, who has not been identified, made the startling discovery while reviewing their footage from that fateful day.
The TikTok video, which has since gone viral, is captioned with an ominous message: “Terrifying moment… Looking back at my videos from the PA Butler Trump rally on 7/13/24… we were there just trying to sell our patriotic hats…”
The footage then transitions to a slow-motion clip of a man believed to be Crooks, with text overlay stating, “Captured a video of Thomas Matthews Crooks at 4:26pm, before the assassination attempt occurred.”
THE HISTORIC SS FAIL – Here is how the conservative and MSM press covered what appears to be critical security failures that led to the assassination attempt, starting with might be the very symbol of incompetency from FBI Director Christopher Wray, who sought to lessen the dramatic impact of an attempted assassination on a former President.
Trump rally counter-sniper Ben Shaffer gives damning verdict on FBI ‘evidence tampering’ after assassination attempt
A SWAT counter-sniper who was working the Trump rally in Pennsylvania where a gunman opened fire has issued a damning verdict on the FBI‘s alleged evidence tampering.
Washington Regional SWAT counter-sniper Ben Shaffer admitted that it was ‘absolutely’ concerning that the roof of the AGR International building where gunman Thomas Matthew Crook, 20, was cleaned quickly after the July 13 assassination attempt.
Shaffer then went on to acknowledge that Crooks should have been elevated from a ‘person of interest’ to someone ‘who would have warranted some type of investigatory detention’ by agents because he was using a range finder.
BOMBSHELL: Secret Service Headquarters Ordered Agents NOT to Request Additional Manpower for Trump Rally
As more details emerge about the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the situation is looking increasingly troubling for the Secret Service.
On Friday, Senator Josh Hawley revealed troubling new information from a Secret Service whistleblower, indicating that agency headquarters had explicitly instructed agents not to request additional personnel for the event, knowing such requests would be immediately denied.
It’s almost as if the Secret Service senior staffers wanted President Trump dead and buried. How can he place any trust in the agency going forward?
Forgotten radios and missed warnings: New details emerge about communication failures before Trump rally shooting
The day before the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, a tactical team of local police officers set aside radios for their Secret Service partners so the two agencies could communicate during the former president’s July 13 campaign rally.
But those radios were never picked up….
Standing over the gunman’s dead body minutes later, a local police officer who responded to the initial warning expressed frustration that his own radio calls about a man on the roof seemed to go unheeded by the other officers.
“That’s what I was f**king calling out bro, f**king ‘On top of the roof,’” the officer said, according to body camera footage. “We’re not – we on the same frequency?”…
Details about the forgotten radios were included in a recent report from Rep. Clay Higgins, a Louisiana Republican member of the congressional task force investigating the events of that day. Higgins claims that a county emergency services commander had “personally reminded” Secret Service counter-sniper teams to pick up their assigned radios at a command post located at the Butler County Fairgrounds. “It didn’t happen,” according to Higgins’ report.
That detail was confirmed to CNN by Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger.
“I can confirm that the Butler County ESU team made radios available to the Secret Service and that they were not utilized by the Secret Service,” Goldinger said in a statement. While it’s unclear if Secret Service would have gotten the warning about a man on the roof had they picked up the radios, Goldinger said, “It is safe to assume that if a holder of an ESU radio was paying attention, they would have received the call.”
Sen Johnson: FBI ‘Dragging Feet’ on Trump Assassination Probe
The Secret Service and FBI are “basically dragging their feet” on the Senate bipartisan probe into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, Sen. Ron Johnson told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
The Wisconsin Republican, who is part of the bipartisan investigation, said the agencies are “stonewalling us.”
“We have gotten some transcribed interviews, but the documents we request are heavily redacted [and] they’re delivered the day of the interview,” he said, explaining that this means that they can’t really even “be used to conduct the interviews effectively.”
Trump assassination attempt sparks investigation of Secret Service DEI policies: ‘Compromised its mission’
A non-profit group has launched an investigation into the Secret Service’s Diversity Equity and inclusion (DEI) policies in the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Trump last month.
Mountain States Legal Foundation, (MSLF) a Colorado-based organization, says it is looking into how the controversial policy may have led to security being dangerously lax at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Thomas Matthew Crooks managed to scale the roof of a nearby building and fire off eight shots with one bullet grazing the right ear of the former commander-in-chief. One attendee, Corey Comperatore, was fatally struck, while two others were also hit and suffered serious injuries in an event that could have plunged the nation into a political crisis.
MSLF says its investigation is examining how DEI impacted the elite agency’s hiring, retention, and promotion. Critics of DEI say the policy elevates those of a certain sex or ethnicity over those who may be more qualified, thus the best person for a particular job may not get the role, thereby lowering standards overall.
Secret Service Records Reveal DEI Is Prioritized for All Agency Employees in ‘Every Action, Every Day’
Judicial Watch announced today it received 311 pagesof U.S. Secret Service (USSS) records that show the Secret Service has made it a top priority that “diversity and inclusion is not just ‘talked about’ – but demonstrated by all employees through ‘Every Action, Every Day.’” [Emphasis in original]
The records show the Secret Service, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), demands that 12 percent of its workforce be composed of “persons with disabilities,” and that it is the policy of the Secret Service to provide equal employment opportunity without regard to such non-merit factors as “disability (physical or mental).”
Judicial Watch obtained the records in a FOIA lawsuit against DHS for records relating to an incident in April at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland in which a Secret Service agent assigned to protect Vice President Kamala Harris got into a scuffle with colleagues(Judicial Watch v. Department of Homeland Security(No. 1:24-cv-01705)).
According to an April 24 report by the Washington Examiner, a Secret Service agent was removed from her duties after physically attacking the commanding agent in charge and other agents who tried to subdue her.
Holt, Shaffer to Newsmax: Secret Service Failures Go Beyond DEI
Americans deserve a thorough federal investigation into the Secret Service security failures that led up to the shooting of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania last month, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax, Friday.
In an appearance on “The Chris Salcedo Show,” Holt and retired Army Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer discussed whether the problems were the result of incompetence related to diversity, equity, and inclusion policies or something more sinister.
Shaffer said Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., attended a Trump rally in Virginia a few weeks before the July 13 assassination attempt, and at that event, “they had layers of overlapping and continuous security-controlled corridors for people to move, and nobody was allowed to wander around. So then, yeah, how is it that even with DEI in mind, they go from an efficient, well-organized, well-wired machine to like, Oh, did we forget to check that building? So, no, this goes beyond DEI.”
US Congressman Clay Higgins has accused the FBI of a potential cover-up related to the attempted assassination of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. The accusation centers on the handling of the remains of Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed by the Secret Service after opening fire on trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. Crooks’ attack resulted in the death of one bystander and injuries to Trump and two other attendees.
Higgins, a Louisiana Republican with a background in law enforcement and a member of the congressional Task Force investigating the shooting, publicly criticized the FBI’s actions. According to Higgins’ report released Thursday, the FBI authorized the release of Crooks’ body for cremation just ten days after the incident, on July 23, without prior notice to local authorities or the county coroner. Higgins asserted that the coroner and other officials were unaware of the body’s release until August 5.
The congressman expressed concerns that the release of the body before the completion of the coroner’s and autopsy reports obstructs further investigation into the incident. Higgins argued that the FBI’s decision to permit the cremation could be seen as an obstruction to a thorough investigative process. He highlighted the lack of available forensic evidence as a significant hindrance to verifying the circumstances surrounding the shooting attempt.
Sen. Ron Johnson: FBI probe into Trump shooting is ‘jaw-dropping’
The ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee told DailyMail.com that the actions of the Justice Department are ‘jaw dropping’ and slammed the agency’s law enforcement arm – the FBI – for thinking they are ‘above the law.’
Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year would-be assassin of Trump, was shot dead by Secret Service right after one of his bullets grazed the former president’s right ear during an attack at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on June 13 that left one supporter dead and two others critically injured.
‘I think the FBI, Department of Justice, Secret Service are doing everything exactly wrong,’ Johnson told DailyMail.com at Trump Tower in Chicago on Monday. ‘If you want people to have confidence in the investigation, it needs to be transparent.’
Sen. Ron Johnson (right) told DailyMail.com that ‘the FBI, Department of Justice, Secret Service are doing everything exactly wrong’ in the investigation of the assassination attempt against Donald Trump
‘What we know about the events of July 13 is coming primarily from local law enforcement,’ the furious senator explained.
FBI engaged in ‘major-league cover-up’ of Trump assassination attempt
The FBI and the Biden-Harris administration are engaged in a “major-league cover-up on the near-assassination of former President Trump,” Judicial Watch Inc. asserted Aug. 12.
The accusation came after the FBI denied Judicial Watch’s request for records on the July 13 Pennsylvania rally at which Donald J. Trump was shot by Thomas Matthew Crooks.
Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the FBI on July 26, seeking documents, emails, presentations, and other data regarding the FBI’s coordination with the U.S. Secret Service in preparation for the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, at which Trump was shot in the ear. The request covered the time period from June 15 to present.
The FBI cited FOIA exemption 7A, which allows withholding of information that “would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication.” It did not elaborate or provide context for use of this exemption.
Secret Service denied Butler agents extra manpower ahead of Trump rally shooting: Whistleblower
A Secret Service department that handles manpower requests urged agents not to ask for additional security for the rally where an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump occurred, according to a whistleblower report.
The whistleblower told Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) that the Secret Service Office of Protective Operations — Manpower essentially denied security assets “through informal means” by encouraging agents not to seek more manpower for the rally, Hawley wrote in a letter…
Trump team irate over Secret Service failing to warn them about Crooks after spotting him with a range finder
Former President Trump took the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, several minutes after the Secret Service first began tracking the former president’s attempted assassin, and Trump’s team was none too happy about it.
Those in Trump’s orbit said the former president’s security detail became enraged after learning they were not told for 30 minutes about a suspicious subject carrying a range finder around the perimeter of Trump’s July 13 rally, according to The Washington Post. That suspicious subject turned out to be Thomas Matthew Crooks, the former president’s 20-year-old attempted assassin.
Trump took the stage in Butler shortly after 6 p.m., according to reports. Meanwhile, local officers had first spotted Crooks between 5:45 p.m. and 5:55 p.m., the Post’s timeline of events indicates. Once spotted, local law enforcement verbally communicated the threat to Secret Service agents, but the threat was reportedly never shared with Trump’s team. Trump’s team was also reportedly never told that local law enforcement counter-snipers lost track of Crooks at one point.
Videos: Trump shooter spotted jumping across roofs before assassination attempt
A new body camera video shows would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks jumping across multiple roofs as he moved into position just minutes before the July 13 assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump at the former president’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
On Monday, Jack Posobiec, a conservative media personality, shared a video of the body camera footage alongside the caption, “Bodycam footage of Thomas Matthew Crooks jumping from roof to roof just minutes before he shot President Trump and the crowd in Butler, PA.”
The video clearly shows an individual jumping across multiple roofs near the former president’s Pennsylvania rally prior to the assassination attempt, which resulted in Trump being shot in the ear, a retired fire chief being killed, and two other rally attendees being seriously injured.
Attempted Trump assassin seen walking around Pennsylvania rally hours before opening fire
Chilling new video has been released showing Thomas Matthew Crooks casually walking through a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania, nearly two hours before he opened fire on former President Donald Trump and attendees at a campaign rally.
The short clip, released by the clothing company Iron Clad USA, shows Crooks at 4:26 p.m. dressed in shorts and a “Demolitia” T-shirt walking past a line of vendors selling Trump merchandise ahead of the July 13 rally.
He was wearing the same T-shirt when he opened fire on Trump and is not carrying anything in the eerie video.
“Terrifying moment… looking back on my videos from the PA Butler Trump rally on 7/13/24,” the company’s owner wrote on the TikTok version of the video. “We were there just trying to sell our patriotic hats from my small business.”
Trump assassination attempt in Butler reflects long-standing ‘systemic failures’ in Secret Service protections
Butler Township Police Officer Drew Blasko paced angrily along the AGR building, where just minutes before a gunman had clambered atop the roof, aimed an AR-15-style rifle at Donald Trump and fired, striking the former president.
As Blasko and other officers stood guard near a loading bay behind the building, he recounted a meeting earlier in the week with the Secret Service.
“I told them that fucking Tuesday,” he said. “I told them to post fucking guys over here.”
The Trump rally shooting that day, which killed one man and injured three others, including the former president, has been called the largest security failure in 40 years. It has led to the resignation of the Secret Service director, a congressional investigation and questions from lawmakers about how such a lapse could have occurred.
But an investigation by Spotlight PA, ProPublica and the Butler Eagle has revealed that the weaknesses that led to the assassination attempt were not unique to the July rally, but the inevitable breakdown of an already vulnerable system.
Trump Assassination Attempt Laid Bare Long-standing Vulnerabilities in the Secret Service
Butler Township Police Officer Drew Blasko paced angrily along the AGR building, where just minutes before a gunman had clambered atop the roof, aimed an AR-15-style rifle at Donald Trump and fired, striking the former president.
As Blasko and other officers stood guard near a loading bay behind the building, he recounted a meeting earlier in the week with the Secret Service.
“I told them that fucking Tuesday,” he said. “I told them to post fucking guys over here.”
The Trump rally shooting that day, which killed one man and injured three others, including the former president, has been called the largest security failure in 40 years. It has led to the resignation of the Secret Service director, a congressional investigation and questions from lawmakers about how such a lapse could have occurred.
But an investigation by Spotlight PA, ProPublica and the Butler Eagle has revealed that the weaknesses that led to the assassination attempt were not unique to the July rally, but the inevitable breakdown of an already vulnerable system.
The newsrooms spoke to dozens of officials across all levels of law enforcement and in several states who have provided security for presidents and presidential candidates, as well as local party officials and academic experts in security.
Speaker Mike Johnson Sparks Uproar After Revealing the Seven Republicans Who Will Serve on Task Force Investigating Trump Assassination Attempt
House Speaker Mike Johnson makes an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” (CNBC Television / YouTube screen shot)
House Speaker Mike Johnson today announced the Republicans who will serve on the Bipartisan House Task Force to investigate the Trump assassination attempt and sparked an uproar among conservatives in the process.
Today, I’m announcing the seven Republicans who will serve on the Bipartisan House Task Force to investigate the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump. We have the utmost confidence in this group of steady, highly qualified, and capable Members of Congress:
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) July 29, 2024
The seven GOPers listed are as follows:
• Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly
• Tennessee Rep. Mark Green
• Ohio Rep. Dave Joyce
• Florida Rep. Laurel Lee
• Florida Rep. Michael Waltz
• Louisiana Rep. Clay Higgins
• Texas Rep. Pat Fallon
THE PRE AND POST VIOLENT RHETORIC OF THE DNC – Immediately after the assassination attempt, the conservative press rightly questioned the role the violent rhetoric by the DNC, including Biden, in inspiring the shooting in the first place. As if to confirm their fears, the violent rhetoric of the Left continued AFTER the assassination attempt:
THE FALL-OUT – Here are some of the immediate consequences of the Trump assassination attempt. As already noted, there will be an in-depth report on the fall-out of the Trump assassination attempt in the September 2024 Issue of MIA. We’ll start with an announcement by President Trump that might be a symbol of what this assassination has come to mean for many, “Fight, fight, fight.”
Secret Service Pittsburgh employees placed on administrative leave: report
Several members of the U.S. Secret Service Pittsburgh Field Office have reportedly been placed on administrative leave following the July 13 assassination attempt against former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Anthony Guglielmi, USSS chief of communications, told Fox News Digital in a statement that the agency’s personnel are held “to the highest professional standards, and any identified and substantiated violations of policy will be investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibility for potential disciplinary action.”
USSS did not directly confirm any employees placed on leave, but Guglielmi added that given the “personal” nature of the matter, the agency is “not in a position to comment further.”
What we know about why 5 Secret Service agents got new duties after Trump assassination attempt
At least five Secret Service agents have been placed on modified duty after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in July, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.
They include the special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh field office and three other agents assigned to that office, which was responsible for the security planning ahead of the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, according to the law enforcement official who had direct knowledge of the matter. One of the five agents was assigned to Trump’s protective detail, the official said.
The official was not authorized to publicly disclose details of the personnel investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The agents are on administrative leave, meaning they cannot do investigative or protective work.
Fox News reported that a different group of Secret Service agents assigned specifically to Trump’s security detail remains operational. Trump avoided serious injury from the shooting.
But as shocking as it is to see a former Secret Service director need the protection of her own former agency, it’s much less surprising when one considers the overall threat environment facing those whom Trump loyalists perceive as a danger to him — or them. After all, we learned earlier this week that the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw Trump’s New York hush money trial, and her business partner have each been subjected to death threats and harassment, and that law enforcement has advised the daughter and her family to leave their home for their own safety.
Further, in an interview with my NBC News colleague Ken Dilanian last month, Attorney General Merrick Garland noted that the Justice Department has brought 400 cases over the last two years alone dealing with threats against federal and state judges, federal and state prosecutors, federal and state legislators, and federal, state and local law enforcement officers. Of course, those are just the cases federal law enforcement has brought, not the totality of the threats.
Butler officials are concerned about future Trump rally
Local officialsare worried about former President Trump‘s plans to return to Butler in October, reports Spotlight PA, ProPublica and the Butler Eagle.
Why it matters: Last month’s assassination attempt at an outdoor rally in the rural western Pennsylvania city has been panned as one of the most glaring security lapses in decades, leading to former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle‘s resignation and numerous federal and congressional probes.
Driving the news: Trump said in an interview with billionaire Elon Musk on X earlier this month that he intends to come back to Butler to finish his speech.
Butler County Commissioner Leslie Osche shared concerns about how the visit “will place additional stress on law enforcement and the community.”
Local officials are calling for better coordination with the Secret Service should Trump return, including a unified command post, Adams Township Sgt. Ed Lenz told the outlets.
Here’s Who Donald Trump Jr. Holds Responsible For His Father’s Attempted Assassination
The Democratic Party and its allies in the mainstream media have attempted to muddy the waters when it comes to covering the assassination attempt against Donald Trump, offering conflicting narratives regarding the deceased suspect and even seeming to blame Trump himself for the violent act.
But for Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., it is clear where much of the blame lies.
He called the media “truly embarrassing” and a “disgrace” to the country and hypocritical for calling Republicans a threat to democracy while not holding Harris accountable over her record.
“They seem to be able to run roughshod over all of those things, but again, that’s nothing new,” he said. “They called everyone in the world a fascist, and yet, they’re the ones that want to jail their political opposition. They’re the ones that want to censor and silence them. They are the ones that, you know, ultimately caused an assassination attempt of the leading candidate of the opposition party.”
On Sunday, July 21, 2024, at 1:46PM ET, Joe Biden let the world know he was bowing out of the Presidential race for “the good of the country and the good of the party.” He let the world know through X. This followed an announcement earlier that week he was diagnosed with having Covid-19.
Within two days of the announcement being made, Democrat delegates quickly rallied around Biden’s endorsement, Vice President Kamala Harris, the new presumptive nominee of the Democrat Party. Biden disappeared for four days before emerging Tuesday, July 23, in a video showing him weakly walking across a tar mac and up a small flight of stairs into Air Force One.
Donald J Trump chose Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) as his running mate on the first day of the Republican National Convention, July 15, 2024. Vance was once a virulent critic of Trump but had changed his tune, becoming one of Trump’s staunchest supporters. Vance is 39, a stark contrast to the age of his running mate, Trump, as well as Biden.
MILWAUKEE — Anticipation around former President Donald Trump tapping Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) as his vice presidential nominee not only concerned the next four months before the 2024 election and the next four years, should he and Vance win in November.
But Trump’s decision on Monday, announced during the opening day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, could also define the GOP for the four or eight years after that should Vance become the party’s prohibitive favorite in 2028.
In tapping Vance, 39, the youngest vice president since eventual President Richard Nixon, Trump has provided his Make America Great Again movement and America First policy platform with an opportunity to continue after his second and last term, instead of picking a more centrist, compromise candidate as an appeal to more establishment Republicans.
Trump, a legacy-minded real estate mogul and marketing expert who rose to national prominence before The Apprentice TV series because of his branded buildings, has anointed an heir apparent in tapping Vance, according to Republican strategist Cesar Conda.
It appears that NATO has told Russia that Ukraine is, in fact, an administrative territory of the global alliance known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The red-hot situation in Ukraine is now on nuclear meltdown. The Republicans failed to arrest Garland while they succeeded in passing a Voter ID bill. The news is still dominated with election stories as the factions continue to raise the rhetoric and the action in an already tumultuous contest.
TOP STORY
NATO TELLS RUSSIA, UKRAINE IS OURS! – NATO leaders met in Washington, DC and emerged with a joint statement that said Ukraine is on an “irreversible path” to becoming a member of NATO. The statement declares that Ukraine “has become increasingly interoperable and politically integrated with the alliance.”
The event was hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden. NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg was there as well as newly seated UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who also just approved UK weapons being used to strike deeper into Russia than it had previously allowed before. Biden stated “We know Putin won’t stop at Ukraine. But make no mistake — Ukraine can and will stop Putin. Especially with our full, collective support. They have our full support.”
The move is equivalent to Mexico joining an Iranian-Hamas-Russian alliance. It makes Ukraine a permanent existential threat so long as it continues to exist. It also appears to be an announcement that Ukraine is effectively a vassal state of NATO, a globalist fiefdom in the nearly openly transparently sense of the term. It is yet another dramatic escalation of the showdown in Ukraine.
FEATURES
COMER WANTS TO KNOW, WHOSE RUNNING AMERICA? – House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) has issued subpoenas to three White House staffers he has identified as key people that are protecting a non-functioning Joe Biden from the public.
He stated “I am issuing subpoenas today for White House staff Annie Tomasini, Anthony Bernal, and Ashley Williams to appear for depositions. The White House has shielded these three key aides from testifying about President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents and now we’ve learned through reporting these same aides are also seeking to cover up President Biden’s declining cognitive state inside the White House… it appears as though Tomasini has firsthand knowledge of the extent to which President Biden is personally carrying out the duties of his office and whether he is capable of doing so.”
The Chairman is being far more charitable than this writer would be in assuming that we are dealing with a declining cognitive state rather than a declined cognitive state, in terms of actual ability to perform the duties of President, since before he was elected. What we are seeing now is the failure by the best doctors in the world to medicate up a dying Biden enough to make him briefly semi-cognizant in ways that give the media marketers of the DNC-CCP, the mainstream media, some plausible deniability.
Now, even that is gone, and the rats are looking to leave a sinking ship, which isn’t losing the 2024 Presidential election (so long as they can take back the House majority), it’s getting Biden out fast before anyone goes beyond what Comer is asking. Comer is looking for evidence Biden is unfit now, but others want to know who knew before the 2020 election that they were propping up a juiced up dying man. Comer doesn’t appear ready to ask those types of questions just yet.
DOD DECLARES REJECTING UNBORN BABY MURDER MAKES YOU A TERRORIST – The Department of Defense has informed the public this past Wednesday, July 10, that Pro-Life groups are terrorist organizations. They revealed this information at Fort Liberty’s Directorate of Emergency Services.
Citizen journalist Sam Shoemate on X revealed this fact in X posts where he said “An anti-terrorism brief was held on Fort Liberty (Bragg) today where they listed several Pro-Life organizations as ‘terrorist organizations.’ The slide you see here followed right after a slide about ISIS, a terror group in the Middle East.” The slide listed pro-life organizations and labeled them “TERRORIST GROUPS.”
The flipping of morality from one of finding shock at the very idea of murdering unborn children to finding shock at the very idea of being opposed to murdering unborn children is indicative of how far we’ve come as a people from valuing the sanctity of each individual life. Seeing our security institutions so dominated with such dark moralities should give all of us Americans pause, for if the government now openly seeks to criminalize the very thought of not sub-humanizing life, what chance is there it will value your human life?
ELON PREPARES FOR SECOND NEURALINK PATIENT, PROMISES “SUPERPOWERS” – Elon Musk has announced plans to insert another Neuralink implant into another patient. He also announced he intends on Neuralink to eventually give humans “superpowers.” Musk hopes to make AI a friend and not a threat to humanity, promising to develop “a closer symbiosis between human intelligence and digital intelligence.”
Imagine being able to manipulate much of the automated world around you with your mind alone. Imagine having perfect memory recall and the capacity to hold more facts in your mind within a single thought. These are just some of the things the hyperbolic PT Barnum of our day is promising in his push to gain traction with Neuralink.
KAKE ABC News misinforms audience with headline that suggests GOP SAVE Act is about making non-citizen voting illegal rather than what it really is, requiring voter ID to ASSURE non-citizens aren’t voting
U.S. intel community ramps up “Russia Loves Trump” hoax in effort to aid Democrats win key swing states; their action appears on its face to be intentional election interference, which is a federal felony violation
Inside the Magic in running for most hyperbolic headline of the year with headline that equates defunding an at program for $15 million with defunding the entire state of Florida
Leftist “Thought Leaders” continue to push hysterical lies intended to frighten people to not realize they’re voting for a party that hates them using Christian Devil and Orange Man Villain boogeymen
Salon continues to spread misinformation that Donald Trump ever had anything to do with Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which triggers leftists because it’s pro-family, pro-Christian, and pro-heterosexuality
Media Matters denies left’s efforts to use DMV to “register” Non-Citizens to Vote in Elections
TOP HEADLINES
GOP HOUSE PASSES SAVE ACT OVER THE OBJECTION OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY – A bill that would make it mandatory for all Federal elections to require Voter ID to assure each person voting was who they claim they are AND is a U.S. citizen passed the House by a vote of 221-198, with all Republicans voting for it and only 5 Democrats joining them.
U.S. HOUSE LEAVES ITSELF UNFUNDED, FOR NOW – By a vote of 205-215, a bill that would have funded the activity of the U.S. House failed to pass. The bill failed due to 10 Republicans defecting and joining nearly all the Democrats that voted against the bill. The move leaves the GOP in a fix regarding how it can go forward with some of its investigations.
REPUBLICANS ALLOW MERRICK GARLAND INHERENT CONTEMPT MEASURE TO FAIL – Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) failed to see her measure, an Inherent Contempt resolution against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, pass, it was voted down with 204 voting yes and 210 voting no. 12 Republicans were absent for the vote and 4 actually voted against it.
U.S. INTELLIGENCE SPREADS NARRATIVE RUSSIANS LOOKING TO HELP TRUMP IN SWING STATES – DNC-controlled media are using statements from unnamed intelligence officials to spread the narrative that the Russians are using social media to “covertly” affect U.S. elections in swing states in an effort to once again get Trump elected President.
One official is quoted with saying, “We are beginning to see Russia target specific voter demographics, promote divisive narratives and denigrate specific politicians. (Russia is) undertaking a whole-of-government approach to influence the election, including the presidential race, Congress and public opinion.”
CHINA SENDS BIGGEST AIR AMADA EVER ACROSS U.S.’S TAIWAN STRAIT LINE – The Chinese military ran a military exercise that saw it send 56 war birds across the lines the United States has drawn to divide the waters of Taiwan from the waters of China down the Tiawan Strait. This is the most amount of war birds China has ever sent across that proverbial line in the straits.
HOUSE INTERIM STAFF REPORT EXPOSES DNC-CORPORATE CABAL TO CENSOR OPPOSITION – The House Judiciary Committee released an interim staff report that maps out the parties and methods being used to censor voices that don’t align with the DNC party’s core “values” and narratives.
The report is titled “GARM’s Harm: How the World’s Biggest Brands Seek to Control Online Speech,” and it exposes the central hub of the government-corporate hub, Global Alliance for Responsible Media.
TRUMP LOOKING TO LAUNCH OWN STREAMING SERVICE – Appealing to the anti-cancel-culture audience, President Donald J Trump’s media company, the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) is looking to enter the streaming market, promising to build own streaming service that “cannot be cancelled.”
MOVE OVER MRNA, NANOPARTICLE VACCINES ARE ON THE WAY – A study published in Nature Communicationspresents a plausible scenario for the creation of vaccines that can be created with nanoparticles. The methodology proposed specifically targets influenza-class viruses.
DNC-controlled media are using statements from unnamed intelligence officials to spread the narrative that the Russians are using social media to “covertly” affect U.S. elections in swing states in an effort to once again get Trump elected President.
One official is quoted with saying, “We are beginning to see Russia target specific voter demographics, promote divisive narratives and denigrate specific politicians. (Russia is) undertaking a whole-of-government approach to influence the election, including the presidential race, Congress and public opinion.”
(CNN) — Russian operatives and propagandists are planning to “covertly use social media” in an attempt to sway public opinion and undermine support for Ukraine in swing states during the 2024 US elections, US intelligence officials said on Tuesday.
“We are beginning to see Russia target specific voter demographics, promote divisive narratives and denigrate specific politicians,” an official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told reporters in a call conducted on the condition that the official not be named.
Russia is “undertaking a whole-of-government approach to influence the election, including the presidential race, Congress and public opinion,” the official said, adding that Russia’s preference for US presidential candidates has not changed from previous election cycles.
The official declined to elaborate, but US intelligence previously assessed that in the 2020 US election, Russia conducted a range of influence operations to denigrate Joe Biden’s candidacy and support Donald Trump’s candidacy.
Two bodyguards for the far-left Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor were successful in fending off a car jacking suspect near the judge’s home, shooting him to death. Sotomayor is an anti-2A judge, so the irony of her property being defended by a gun is not lost on Americans.
Two U.S. Marshals for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor shot and injured a carjacking suspect last week outside of Sotomayor’s Washington, D.C. home, the U.S. Marshals Office announced Tuesday. File Pool photo by Jacquelyn Martin/UPI
July 9 (UPI) — Two bodyguards for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor shot and injured a suspected carjacker last week outside of her home in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Marshals Office announced Tuesday.
“The Deputy U.S. Marshals involved in the shooting incident were part of the unit protecting the residences of U.S. Supreme Court justices. As a general practice, the U.S. Marshals don’t discuss specifics of protective details,” the U.S. Marshals Office said in a statement.
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The federal agents were parked outside of Sotomayor’s home at around 1:15 a.m. on Friday, when they said Kentrell Flowers walked up to one of their cars and pulled out a gun.
Both agents fired several shots at Flowers, who was hit in the mouth. The 18-year-old was taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries and arrested.
Metropolitan Police detectives said they found a semi-automatic handgun at the scene. Flowers was charged with armed carjacking, carrying a pistol without a license and possession of a large capacity magazine.
Authorities have not accused the teen of intentionally targeting Sotomayor or her security. The justice was not at home at the time of the carjacking.
The incident outside of Sotomayor’s home is not the first time federal agents or justices have been targeted.
Last year, following the leaked draft majority opinion on Roe vs. Wade, a man was arrested near Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh‘s home. Nicholas John Roske, 26, was charged with attempted murder after he was found armed with a gun and a knife, and told officials he wanted to kill the conservative justice.
Last November, Secret Service agents assigned to President Joe Biden‘s granddaughter, Naomi Biden, opened fire on a group of people trying to break into an unmarked Secret Service car parked in her Georgetown neighborhood.
And in January, former Trump administration official Mike Gill was killed by a carjacker as he sat in his car on K Street in northwest Washington, D.C.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced plans to use the Senate to retroactively declare the “official acts” of Donald Trump during the January 6 protests unofficial to circumvent what he implied was a lawless decision by a lawless court to make Donald Trump the next King of America.
The move comes after a post by Donald Trump on Truth Social that made it clear a Donald Trump presidency would include aggressive prosecution of election fraudsters from 2020 and whoever might dare try election fraud in 2024. Trump’s Truth Social post upped the ante significantly on the winner-take-all contest of the presidency, and Schumer countered with another dramatic escalation in the consequence and reward for whichever party might win and which party might lose.
Shumer declared “I will work with my colleagues on legislation classifying Trump’s election subversion acts as unofficial acts not subject to immunity. We’re doing this because we believe that in America no president should be free to overturn an election against the will of the people, no matter what the conservative justices may believe. As we work on this important matter, we will also continue to develop other proposals to reassert Congress’s Article One authority to rein in the abuse of our federal judiciary.”
Schumer took to the Senate floor Monday to whine about the ruling. According to the Hill, he declared the Court was wrong to grant Trump “a breathtaking level of immunity.”
“They incorrectly declared that former President Trump enjoys broad immunity from criminal prosecution for actions he took while in office. They incorrectly declared that all future presidents are entitled to a breathtaking level of immunity so long as their conduct is ostensibly carried out in their official capacity as president,” Schumer said.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Justice Department’s interpretation of insurrection laws is not aligned with the constitution, meaning scores of January 6 Defendants could see their cases dismissed, charges reduced, and convicted J6ers could see their sentences reduced.
The U.S. Supreme Court gave a boost on Friday to a Pennsylvania man who challenged an obstruction charge brought against him concerning the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
It’s a ruling that has potential implications for the federal criminal case against former U.S. president Donald Trump for trying to undo his 2020 election loss.
The justices ruled 6-3 to throw out a lower court’s decision that had allowed a charge against defendant Joseph Fischer of corruptly obstructing an official proceeding, that is, the congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s victory over Trump that the rioters sought to prevent. The justices directed the lower court to reconsider the matter.
Fischer, who was an officer with the North Cornwall township police in Pennsylvania at the time of the attack, was accused by prosecutors of charging at police guarding a Capitol entrance during the Jan. 6 riot. He had challenged the obstruction charge, which federal prosecutors brought against him and hundreds of others — including Trump — in Jan. 6-related cases.
Friday’s ruling was a setback for the U.S. Justice Department and Biden’s administration and a potential benefit for Trump.
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