Tag: corruption

City Worker Using Public Works Truck Appears to Install Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar’s Campaign Sign

Video provided to Breitbart News appears to show a City of Escobares worker installing campaign signs for Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) in Starr County with a marked Public Works truck in the foreground, raising questions about the use of municipal resources for political activity.

The footage shows a worker installing Cuellar campaign signs next to the marked city vehicle.

Neither the City of Escobares nor Cuellar’s campaign responded to Breitbart News’s request for comment by the time of publication.

Texas law prohibits municipal employees from knowingly using public funds or other city resources to distribute political advertising. The Texas Ethics Commission states that public resources include government equipment as well as employees’ paid work time. A violation of Election Code §255.003 is a Class A misdemeanor.

Texas Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion No. 550 further addresses the use of government resources for campaign activity, stating that using “government resources for an individual public servant’s private campaign purposes would be a misuse.”

The footage comes as members of Cuellar’s family have separately faced scrutiny over alleged uses of government resources and taxpayer-funded public positions.

NRCC spokesman Christian Martinez told Breitbart News, “Self-serving Henry Cuellar has never viewed government as public service. To him, public office is the Cuellar family business, government workers are campaign staff, and taxpayers are the suckers footing the bill. Corruption is not a scandal to the Cuellars. It is their business model,” Martinez said.

Cuellar’s brother, Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar (D), is under federal indictment alongside Assistant Chief Deputy Alejandro Gutierrez in an alleged scheme to misappropriate county resources between 2020 and 2022. Prosecutors allege Cuellar, Gutierrez, and former Assistant Chief Deputy Ricardo Rodriguez used sheriff’s office employees, equipment, and supplies to operate Disinfect Pro Master, a private disinfecting business formed in April 2020 that had no employees or supplies of its own.

Court documents say the company secured a $500,000 contract with the United Independent School District and operated almost entirely with county personnel and resources, with Cuellar, Gutierrez, and Rodriguez each receiving approximately $175,000. Federal authorities searched Cuellar’s office and the school district office in June 2023 in connection with the investigation. Rodriguez later pleaded guilty, while Cuellar and Gutierrez face up to 10 years in prison if convicted; Martin Cuellar also faces a money laundering charge carrying an additional potential 10-year sentence.

Henry Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, were indicted in May 2024 on charges alleging they accepted nearly $600,000 in bribes from an energy company controlled by the government of Azerbaijan and a bank based in Mexico City. Prosecutors alleged the payments were laundered through sham consulting contracts and that Cuellar used his position in Congress to advance the interests of the two foreign entities, including by influencing U.S. foreign policy and pressuring executive branch officials.

The indictment came more than two years after federal agents searched Cuellar’s home in Laredo, Texas in connection with an investigation involving Azerbaijan. Cuellar denied wrongdoing, saying that he and his wife were innocent and that everything he had done in Congress was intended to serve South Texas.

A separate Breitbart News report on the indictment stated that prosecutors alleged Henry and Imelda Cuellar accepted at least $598,000 from the Azerbaijan-controlled oil company and Mexican bank between December 2014 and November 2021. The indictment alleged that Imelda Cuellar performed little or no legitimate work under consulting arrangements used to funnel the payments and that Henry Cuellar agreed in return to take official actions benefiting the foreign entities, including influencing legislation and U.S. policy toward Azerbaijan and federal financial regulation affecting the Mexican bank.

The Cuellars each faced 14 counts ranging from bribery and conspiracy to money laundering and acting as an agent of a foreign principal. Cuellar maintained that he and his wife were innocent, said he had sought legal guidance before acting, and said prosecutors declined a request from his legal team to discuss their side of the case.

Cuellar’s campaign also spent a substantial share of its funds on legal services during the 2024 cycle. Of nearly $1.6 million in campaign funds spent, roughly $784,900 went to legal services, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission records cited by Breitbart News. FEC records showed nearly $690,000 in payments to Clifford Chance LLP, which was reportedly representing Cuellar, more than $46,900 to Perkins Coie LLP, and additional payments to Mololamken LLP.

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Arizona Lawmakers Demand Further Review of Katie Hobbs Bribery Scheme After Far-Left AG Declines to Prosecute – Hobbs Responds

Arizona Republican lawmakers are calling for a real investigation into Arizona’s Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs after Attorney General Kris Mayes, a fellow Democrat, declined to bring charges for a potential pay-for-play scheme involving Hobbs and the Democratic Party. 

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, Hobbs came under investigation in 2024, stemming from significant donations to the Democratic Party and a dark-money group used for Hobbs’ inaugural events, potentially influencing state contract decisions. Hobbs and the Democrats took $400,000 from Sunshine Residential Homes, which potentially made millions in return.

However, as expected, Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes closed her two-year-long investigation and announced last month that her office would not charge comrade Hobbs, who wouldn’t even sit for an interview with investigators.

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CHAOS IN COLORADO: Anti-ICE Student Walkout ERUPTS IN VIOLENCE — Counterprotester Kicked on Ground, Man Struck in Head with Metal Bottle, Three Hospitalized

Schools let hundreds of kids walk out Friday to protest enforcing the law. What followed was a shouting match, flying water bottles, a metal bottle to the head, and total disorder at a Denver park.

A coordinated anti-ICE student walkout descended into violence Friday after hundreds of Colorado students abandoned their classrooms and gathered at La Alma-Lincoln Park in Denver.

What organizers promoted as a youth demonstration against President Trump’s immigration-enforcement agenda reportedly produced five assaults or altercations, sent three people to the hospital, and resulted in two graffiti citations.

According to Denver7 reporter Danielle Kreutter, a counterprotester recording the demonstration was knocked to the ground, kicked, and shoved after his camera was apparently knocked from his hand.

Another man carrying a pro-ICE sign was surrounded and chased by student demonstrators. Video showed a metal water bottle being thrown at the man’s head. The bottle struck him, and he fled with students still pursuing him.

Independent journalist @jorgeshottakis on X wrote:

Students throwing frozen water bottles and and physically attacking journalists on the ground. This was a riot.

[…]

I was also attacked by the mob about 10 minutes after this. I seem to have lost my A-cam footage of it and they stole my GoPro. If you have footage of my assault please send it to me. I saw multiple people with cameras around.

This was not harmless “youth activism.” It was mob behavior.

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New Jersey School District Being Sued for Allowing Students to ‘Gender Transition’ Without Notifying Parents

A school district in the blue state of New Jersey is under fire for allowing students to ‘gender transition’ without notifying parents. The left has indicated that they simply will not let go of this issue, no matter how much the public opposes it.

The U.S. Supreme Court has even ruled on issues directly related to a case like this, and yet the left continues down this road.

Several years ago, Megyn Kelly suggested that the best way to deal with this is through the courts: sue every school and official that participates.

It’s just amazing that public schools would hide something like this from parents. It’s downright evil.

FOX News reports:

Blue state school district accused of defying Supreme Court, hiding gender transitions from parents

A New Jersey school district is being sued over a policy allowing students to change their name and gender identity at school without notifying their parents.

Under the School District of the Chathams’ policy, students are able to change their name in official school records, use the bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity, and the school guidance counselor decides “whether, and to what extent” parents are involved in the decision.

The school’s policy flies in the face of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Mirabelli v. Bonta in March, which granted an injunction against California over state policies that keep students’ gender identities confidential from parents while the issue works its way through the lower courts, according to Christopher Ferrara, senior counsel for the Thomas More Society, who filed the lawsuit.

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SHOCKER: Democrat-Run Danbury Votes to Put Non-Citizens in Police Uniforms After ICE Raids — Mayor Who Grew Up Illegal Cheers the Move

While federal agents were still rounding up illegal aliens in western Connecticut, the Democrat-dominated Danbury City Council voted 18-2 to let non-citizens pin on a badge and police American citizens.

The ordinance, approved Tuesday night, opens Danbury Police Department hiring to lawful permanent residents and DACA recipients, so-called “Dreamers” who were brought here illegally as children and remain in the country under an Obama-era executive program that Congress never made law.

All 17 Democrats on the council supported the ordinance, along with one Republican. The only two opposing votes came from Republicans, according to Fox News.

Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour similarly argued that applicants will still be required to undergo background checks, psychological evaluations, medical and drug screenings, polygraph examinations, training, and civil-service testing, according to Patch.

But critics say the dispute is not merely about testing standards. It is about whether the extraordinary government power to carry a firearm, detain people, and arrest American citizens should be entrusted to someone who has not obtained American citizenship.

Councilwoman Candace Fay attempted to force separate votes on permanent residents and DACA recipients, but her motion was rejected. Fay reportedly warned that DACA protection is temporary and could be withdrawn, potentially leaving taxpayers responsible for training an officer who later becomes ineligible to remain in the country.

Democrat Councilman Joe Britton said the quiet part out loud. The vote, he declared, “sends a message to our immigrant community at large that you are welcome in Danbury.” He added that once the uniform goes on, background “doesn’t matter.”

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The Ukraine Money Pit — Estonia’s €70 Million Scandal

Estonia’s Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur has resigned after a €70 million ammunition deal intended to supply Ukraine blew up into a procurement scandal. Estonia agreed to purchase artillery shells from Datasel, an Italian-registered company owned by India’s Neco Defense Munitions, despite the companies having no established history of selling artillery shells. Millions were paid in advance, deliveries ran into problems, Estonia terminated the contracts, and the dispute has now gone to arbitration. This is what happens when government declares everything an emergency and suddenly the normal rules surrounding public money become inconvenient.

Pevkur says he did not negotiate the contracts and had not even read them. His explanation was rather revealing: “The defence minister does not conduct contract negotiations. The defence minister does not count socks and ammunition.” He said his responsibility was making the fundamental political decision to support Ukraine. He nevertheless resigned because the National Audit Office’s findings raised the question of political responsibility. At least somebody in government still remembers what that phrase means.

The scandal goes directly to the problem with Europe’s entire approach to Ukraine. The politicians declare that Ukraine must be supported at any cost, and once you use those words, cost ceases to matter. Due diligence becomes something bureaucrats complain takes too long. Money must be spent immediately because politicians tell everyone that Europe itself will fall if another artillery shell does not reach Ukraine yesterday.

Estonian officials have essentially admitted that extraordinary risks were accepted because of the urgency surrounding Ukraine. One official told reporters that they knew these procurements involved “greater risks than usual” but believed those risks were justified by what was at stake. There is the entire problem in one sentence. When government decides that the political objective is important enough to justify greater financial risk, taxpayers become the insurance policy when something goes wrong.

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Report: MI Democrat Candidate William Lawrence Deleted Posts in Favor of Open Borders and Abolishing Police, the Senate, & Traditional Families

The Democrat nominee for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District reportedly deleted social media posts where he espoused the abolition of prisons, attacked moderate Democrats, and argued against the nuclear family.

U.S. House candidate William Lawrence took down hundreds of posts supporting leftist causes that included getting rid of police and pushing for a “fundamental overhaul” of the Constitution, CNN reported Friday, noting the posts were from the time when he was a progressive organizer.

The article continued:

Other deleted posts show Lawrence writing “f**k” the nuclear-family home and calling it an “isolating, individualistic, violent way of organizing society,” envisioning “a world of free and open migration,” and calling to “Abolish the Senate.”

Lawrence even wrote a song inspired by moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin’s resistance to Democrats’ climate agenda: “Our generation says f**k you for everything,” Lawrence wrote in lyrics he posted in December 2021. “Hurry up and die so that we can get started.”

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EXPOSED: Former Senior USCIS Officer and Associate Arrested in Alleged Cash-for-Immigration-Benefits Scheme — Applications Approved Without Interviews or Background Checks

A former senior immigration official and his associate have been arrested for allegedly turning America’s immigration system into their own personal cash machine.

The Justice Department announced Friday that Lukman Owolabi Ganiyu, a former Senior Immigration Services Officer with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and Adeniyi Akeem Somoye were arrested on federal charges tied to an alleged multi-year corruption scheme.

Federal agents arrested both men on September 2 following a criminal complaint filed on August 31.

The pair is charged with conspiracy to receive illegal gratuities by a public official.

According to prosecutors, Ganiyu allegedly used his powerful position inside USCIS to approve immigration applications in exchange for money from December 2019 through March 2026.

This was allegedly an inside job at the agency responsible for determining who receives green cards—and who ultimately becomes an American citizen.

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Florida Judge Resigns After Caught Making $30,000 in Donations to Left-Leaning Political Organizations and Candidates, Including Joe Biden

A local Florida judge resigned after she was caught making $30,000 in donations to left-leaning political organizations and candidates, including Joe Biden.

Diana Tennis served on the Ninth Circuit Court in Orange and Osceola Counties for more than a decade.

An investigation revealed that Diana Tennis broke the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct and made 900 donations to left-leaning candidates.

Judge Diana Tennis resigned four months before her term ended.

WESH 2 reported:

A local judge is resigning following an investigation that revealed she was making political contributions.

Diana Tennis has been serving the Ninth Circuit Court in Orange and Osceola counties since 2015. Tennis came under investigation last September.

The judicial qualifications commissioner found that she contributed nearly $30,000 in 900 donations to left-leaning political organizations and candidates, including Joe Biden and Sen. Bill Nelson, between 2016 and 2021.

In July, the state Supreme Court ordered a suspension, a fine and public reprimand.

Instead, Tennis resigned, meaning she won’t serve the remaining four months of her term.

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It’s Not Just Flock. Police Can’t Be Trusted With Our Data.

Agrowing movement has been campaigning against surveillance cameras from companies like Flock Safety, which allow local police to gather mass surveillance data, often citing the possibility of misuse of that data. But for years police have steadily been building a digital infrastructure with personal information on people with criminal backgrounds in the name of public safety — and often without proper digital security

Since 2020, the state police in Illinois have maintained a publicly accessible online map of 30,000 people that it has labeled as “offenders” in 685 nursing homes across the state. The map included the first and last names, dates of birth, home addresses, phone numbers, FBI numbers, and Social Security numbers of people listed. These are elderly people who are vulnerable to scammers. It’s not stated what they have been convicted of. They may have a drug charge from decades ago before marijuana was legalized in Illinois, but their past still follows them.

Matt Chapman, a researcher with the Chicago-based Lucy Parsons Labs, stumbled across the map when he was researching license plate readers maintained by the Illinois State Police (ISP). “Anybody can find this,” Chapman told Truthout. “Anybody can use this for nefarious purposes.”

“Why do these agencies have all this information?” Chapman questioned. “Why are they not protecting it? It really speaks to the lack of care that Illinois State Police have for the information of sensitive folks — the people they’re supposedly supposed to protect.”

Registries, Databases, and Shackles

As police build an increasingly sophisticated surveillance apparatus, they have been shown to be poor stewards of the mass amounts of information they collect on the public. Police have also wrongly entered people into gang databases. In 2020, a scandal erupted in Los Angeles after cops there falsified records in a gang database, which led to the suspension of several officers with the city’s police department. Last year, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was sent to CECOT, the mega-prison in El Salvador, after Immigration and Customs Enforcement accessed information from a disgraced Maryland cop who put him into a gang database linking him to M-13 for wearing a hoodie and Chicago Bulls baseball cap.

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