Tag: corruption

Judge Orders Administration to Obey Presidential Records Act

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to follow a post-Watergate law governing presidential records, rejecting the Justice Department’s argument that the statute violates the Constitution. US District Judge John Bates ruled Wednesday that the Presidential Records Act likely is constitutional and that a group of historians showed there is a “substantial risk” the White House is not complying with it, ABC News reports. The law, in place for nearly a half-century, requires that presidential records be preserved and transferred to the National Archives so they can eventually be made public.

In a 54-page opinion that cited George Orwell, William Shakespeare, and the inscription on the National Archives building—”What is past is prologue”—Bates concluded that Congress has authority under the Constitution’s Property Clause to regulate presidential records. “Almost 50 years of practice” and Supreme Court precedent, he wrote, support Congress’ power to set the rules for presidential documents. The order directs the White House Office, the National Security Council, the US DOGE Service, and President Trump’s advisers to fully comply with the act, per the Washington Post. Bates set May 26 as the date for it to take effect.

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller are named in the order as being required to follow it. Trump and Vice President JD Vance are excluded, per CBS News. The records act has been invoked in debate since Trump was accused of taking sensitive presidential records to his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving office. He was later indicted on charges of retaining classified information and obstruction of justice, a case that was dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon, who maintained special counsel Jack Smith’s appointment was improper.

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Biden DOJ Protected the SPLC Grift Because the Hate Group Was Literally Training Its Prosecutors: Report

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan (OH-4) exposed how the Biden Justice Department opened—then deliberately shelved—a criminal investigation into the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). 

Jordan claimed the previous administration’s DOJ, under then-Attorney General Merrick Garland, discovered the SPLC was operating what has been described as a lucrative scam. 

“They had opened an investigation. They were looking into this group. They knew the Southern Poverty Law Center was running a scam, but they dropped the case,” Jordan said. 

He detailed how the group had become so deeply embedded with the department, training prosecutors and serving as a key source for efforts that labeled pro-life Catholics and conservatives as domestic extremists.

“When you meet with them, consult with them, have them train your prosecutors, well, guess what? You’re not gonna prosecute them,” Jordan explained. “They’re too valuable politically. You gotta use them for your political advantage. And that’s exactly what the Biden administration did.”

The Ohio congressman noted how the SPLC used the now-infamous “Richmond Memo” in an effort to portray traditional Catholics as politically extremist. 

“That memo says, if you’re a pro-life Catholic, well, you’re an extremist, you’re dangerous,” Jordan said. “The SPLC became part of the weaponized effort of the Garland Biden Justice Department against the American people.”

Jordan also highlighted a stunning example from the SPLC’s own operations that underscores the alleged hate-for-profit model, which has been covered here at RedState. The Justice Department last month filed an 11-count federal indictment charging the SPLC with wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering for secretly funneling more than $3 million in donor cash to actual extremists.

Among those nefarious payments was a staggering $270,000 allegedly paid to a member of the online leadership chat group that planned the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. That paid insider attended the event at the SPLC’s direction, helped coordinate transportation for attendees, and even made racist postings under the group’s supervision.

“The Southern Poverty Law Center almost tripled their income. They went from $51 million annual income to $133 million,” Jordan said. “Turned out for them, creating hate was more profitable than fighting it. That’s exactly what they did. They ran a scam, they became the standard, they didn’t get prosecuted, and they made a ton of money.”

That rally, of course, led to the wholly media-manufactured “fine people” hoax. As Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche noted, the group had been caught “manufacturing racism,” which, in this particular case, indirectly led to the death of a rally attendee.

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HOW CURIOUS: Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger Signing Executive Order to Keep ICE Away From Polling Places 

Virginia’s new Democrat Governor Abigail Spanberger has just announced that she is signing an executive order to keep ICE agents away from polling places.

Why do you suppose such a thing would be necessary?

Democrats assure us that illegal aliens are not voting because they are forbidden from doing so by law. So why would they be worried about ICE showing up at polling places? It just doesn’t make any sense.

NBC News reported:

Virginia Gov. Spanberger to sign order on dealing with federal agents at polling places

Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger said Tuesday that she plans to issue an executive order on Wednesday to help election workers respond if federal agents show up at polling sites in Virginia.

Speaking at a conference hosted by the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank, Spanberger said the order would include details on “how Virginia state employees or people working in support of Virginia’s state-run elections can react to, in this particular case, federal agents who might be appearing at a location where the worry is that they’re principally there to intimidate or scare people.”

Some election officials and Democratic politicians have worried that President Donald Trump — who routinely makes false claims of widespread voter fraud — might interference in this year’s midterm elections, which are run by the state and local officials across the country.

“Throughout history, we have seen efforts at intimidating voters. My worry is that we will continue to see those heightened,” Spanberger said. “The reality is that the challenges and the fear that people might have when going to the polling place is real.”

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Rep. Ilhan Omar Breaks Silence Regarding Her Alleged Connections to Massive $250 Million COVID-Era Fraud Scheme

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has finally spoken out on allegations that she was involved in a major fraud scandal during the COVID pandemic.

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, court exhibits from the massive $250 MILLION Feeding Our Future fraud trial have revealed that Omar’s name appeared several times in email chains and text messages with convicted fraudster Aimee Bock.

Bock served as the mastermind behind the largest COVID-era fraud scheme targeting children’s nutrition programs.

According to trial exhibits unsealed in Aimee Bock’s case, Omar’s office was directly involved in communications with the fraud ring.

Bock has also stated that she believes Omar knew exactly what was going on and actively helped keep the fraudulent program alive.

“I struggle to believe that she wouldn’t have known,” Bock said of Omar.

This would certainly make sense. As The Gateway Pundit’s Cassandra MacDonald noted, Omar personally introduced the Maintaining Essential Access to Lunch for Students (MEALS) Act in March 2020, which gave the USDA authority to issue those waivers during the pandemic.

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Ukrainian police bosses detained in porn probe 

Senior Ukrainian police officials have been detained on suspicion of accepting regular bribes from underground porn studios.

Among the high-ranking law enforcement figures arrested on Wednesday in western Ukraine were the police chief of Ivano-Frankovsk Region and his deputy, as well as deputy police chiefs from the Ternopol and Zhitomir regions, authorities said.

A fifth suspect works in the Interior Ministry’s garage and served as a personal driver for a deputy minister, officials said. Investigators allege that he acted as an intermediary and money courier in the corruption scheme.

The anti-graft operation, carried out by several agencies together with the National Police’s internal investigations division, targeted the production of adult content, an illegal but reportedly thriving industry in Ukraine. The suspects are accused of receiving monthly payments of around $25,000 per studio in exchange for shielding porn producers from law enforcement scrutiny.

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Massie’s AIPAC Act Targets Israel’s Foreign-influence Loophole

A Republican primary in Kentucky’s 4th District has become a national test of money, loyalty, and foreign influence in Washington.

Representative Thomas Massie, a strong constitutionalist, is fighting for his political survival against Trump-endorsed Ed Gallrein. But the contest is no longer merely local. It has become a proxy battle over Israel, AIPAC, and the power of donor networks to punish lawmakers who break from Washington’s foreign-policy consensus.

As pro-Israel groups spend heavily to unseat him, Massie answered with legislation. Last Thursday, he introduced the Americans Insist on Political Agent Clarity Act, or AIPAC Act. The bill arrives as a transparency measure and poses a sharp question: When does a domestic lobbying group become a vehicle for a foreign state’s interests?

The Bill

Massie’s bill would amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, known as FARA. The law already requires certain agents of foreign principals to register with the Justice Department (DOJ) and disclose their work. Massie’s proposal targets what he calls a loophole for U.S.-based organizations that do not directly receive foreign-government money or instructions, yet lobby in ways that principally benefit a foreign nation.

The bill says FARA should cover “any organization, association, corporation, or other entity” organized under U.S. law that “does not directly receive funding or instruction from a foreign government,” but whose “lobbying activities or stated mission” seek to influence U.S. policy “in furtherance of the political or economic interests of a foreign country.” It also allows DOJ to examine “objective indicia,” including “repeated advocacy” aligned with a foreign government’s diplomatic goals, “coordination with foreign officials,” foreign strategic guidance, or even whether the lobbying activity uses the name of a foreign nation.

The bill also creates a new complaint mechanism. “Any citizen of the United States may file a complaint with the Department of Justice requesting investigation of potential violations,” the text says. That provision would give citizens a formal path to trigger DOJ review, though the department would still control enforcement.

In his announcement, Massie stressed that the measure “does not ban speech, restrict advocacy, or prohibit Americans from supporting foreign allies.” However, he said,

Americans have a right to know when powerful lobbying organizations are advancing the interests of foreign governments in Congress…. [The bill] simply ensures transparency. If an organization is heavily engaged in influencing U.S. policy in ways that principally benefit a foreign country, it should be required to register under FARA.

The bill itself echoes that argument. It states that FARA serves “compelling interests in national security and transparency” and says disclosure requirements do not abridge speech or association.

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Democrat Senate Hopeful Graham Platner Admitted Taliban-Compromised Network Was Used for ‘Phone Sex’

Things keep getting more problematic for the Democrats, who have hitched their Senate hopes on Graham Platner, the candidate running to oust Susan Collins in Maine. Platner has a deeply troubling history of attacking police officers, dismissing rural Americans as racist, and blaming women for being victims of sexual assault, telling them to ‘grow up.’

Earlier, we learned that Platner had even more troubling Reddit posts, where he admitted to committing lewd acts in portable toilets. Here’s some of what Fox News Digital reported on that:

In one March 2017 post on Reddit’s r/Military forum, Platner responded to a discussion about nostalgic military smells by writing: “I still have to jerk off every time I sit in a portas—-er … that blue water smell conditioned me.” 

But Platner’s depravity goes far beyond the porta-potty. In fact, his sexual proclivities risked the safety of his fellow service members. 

In reporting exclusively to Townhall, additional unearthed Reddit posts reveal that Platner used a cell phone network infiltrated by the Taliban to have phone sex. 

Platner made the comments under the username P-Hustle, and he confirmed in October of last year that the account belonged to him. In January 2020, Platner posted that he used Roshan, an Afghan cell phone network, to have ‘phone sex’ with his girlfriend:

In 2010-2011, I was in Afghanistan as a rifle squad leader with the Army and I was blown away that everyone had cell phones and the command didn’t seem to remotely care. Hell, the unit I replaced gave me a Roshan phone with some minutes on it, which I totally used to have phone sex with my girl.

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James O’Keefe Confronts Woman Federally Charged For Illegally Paying People to Register to Vote on Skid Row 

James O’Keefe on Wednesday confronted the woman who was federally charged for illegally paying people to register to vote on Skid Row.

A woman who was caught on O’Keefe Media Group’s undercover camera illegally paying people to register to vote on Skid Row in Los Angeles, California, was federally charged this week.

The Justice Department on Monday announced that Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong was charged with one felony count of paying another person to register to vote. She is facing a max of five years in federal prison.

“False registrations undermine Americans’ faith in elections – even more so when payoffs are involved,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

“This Justice Department is committed to ensuring that all U.S. elections are fair and free from illegal meddling – so that all Americans can accept the results with confidence,” she said.

The O’Keefe Media Group in March released its investigation into a California elections fraud cash for ballots scheme.

James O’Keefe and his team of journalists went undercover on Skid Row in Los Angeles, posing as homeless people.

‘Petitioners’ told the undercover journalists that they are paid between $7-$10 per signature. Some of them earn up to $1,000 per day.

“California NGOs Encourage Fake Addresses To Homeless People To Sign Petitions & Register Voters, A State & Federal Felony. Footage Shows 28 Instances Of Cash Changing Hands For Ballot Signatures & Voter Registration Forms,” they said.

Brenda Lee Brown did not want to speak on camera so she let O’Keefe into her apartment to talk off the record.

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Former DOJ Attorney Indicted For Stealing Copy of Jack Smith’s Report on Trump’s Classified Docs Investigation

A former Miami-based DOJ attorney was indicted for stealing a copy of Jack Smith’s report on Trump’s classified documents investigation.

Carmen Lineberger, the former Managing Assistant US Attorney, in Fort Pierce, Florida, was indicted on two counts of theft of government money or property, valued less than $1,000; destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations; and concealment, removal, or mutilation of public records.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Lineberger, 62, stole a copy of Jack Smith’s report, which was previously ordered by Judge Aileen Cannon to be kept secret, and sent it to her personal email account.

The indictment accuses Lineberger of sending the Jack Smith report to herself with misleading subject lines “chocolate cake recipe” and “bundt cake recipe.”

Lineberger pleaded not guilty on all four felony counts. She is facing more than 20 years in prison.

Per the DOJ:

The indictment alleges at the time of the offenses the defendant served as the Managing Assistant United States Attorney (MAUSA) of the Fort Pierce branch of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. In separate instances in late-2025, the defendant altered the electronic file names of government records that she received in her official capacity as the MAUSA in order to conceal her unauthorized electronic transmission of those records to personal email accounts belonging to her without being detected.

The altered government records included a document compiled by the defendant consisting of portions of internal DOJ electronic messages and an internal DOJ memorandum, and a DOJ report related to a criminal prosecution in the SDFL that had been court-ordered to remain under seal and prohibited from distribution or disclosure outside of DOJ.

As alleged in the indictment, the defendant concealed her actions by saving electronic copies of the government records in question under the misleading files names “chocolate cake recipe” and “bundt cake recipe” before electronically transmitting those records to her personal email accounts.

As to the DOJ report, the indictment further alleges the defendant acted knowing that her transmission of the record outside DOJ directly violated the court order and impaired the proper administration of the underlying criminal prosecution.

Lineberger appeared in federal court today for her arraignment before Southern District of Florida Chief United States Magistrate Judge William Matthewman in West Palm Beach, Florida.

If convicted, Lineberger faces up to twenty years’ imprisonment for destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations, three years’ imprisonment for concealment, removal, or mutilation of public records, and up to one year imprisonment on each count of theft of government property valued at less than $1,000.

The case is being jointly investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christie S. Utt from the Northern District of Florida, who was assigned as a special prosecutor to avoid conflicts of interest with the investigation and prosecution of this matter.

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Trump’s Self-serving Business Deals Have Prostituted the Office of the President

As far as I can tell, Donald Trump is the first American president in my lifetime to be actively engaged in business while serving as President of the United States.  I have no memory of Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, or George W. Bush starting and running businesses while occupying the Oval Office. It is true that Lincoln was a known agent of the railroads and that Grant’s administration was corrupt, as other 19th century administrations might have been when the creation of a new nation offered so much to plunder to those with power.  

I doubt presidents and their administrations can avoid doing favors for campaign donors and friends, and these favors little doubt bring gratuities when the president and his appointees are out of office.  Clinton and Biden were perhaps the first truly corrupt American presidents in my lifetime.  It was perhaps Clinton who “legitimized” selling influence. This practice took off in the Biden regime as so much evidence shows. The practice has been legally legitimized by the failure of the Trump regime to prosecute despite the evidence on Hunter Biden’s laptop, evidence we no longer hear about.

As President Trump has seemingly escalated the practice of using the Oval Office for personal enrichment, prosecuting past offenders would be self-indicting. We can expect Biden and his son to walk free.

Trump confronts us with a broader issue. A number of articles have pointed out that Trump is using his presidency to enrich himself and his family. For example, an article in The New Yorker reports that Trump has invested in companies that are competing for federal government permits and funding, has filed personal multi-billion dollar lawsuits against banks that are regulated by the Trump regime, which encourages the banks to settle, leases his name to resort hotels and golf courses, and suggests that Trump sold pardons, the net result being an increase in Trump’s net worth of $4 billion, perhaps making Trump a billionaire for the first time.

The Rolling Stone reports an amazing rise in the net worth of Trump’s sons.

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