Tag: politics

Scandal Hits Mamdani Administration – NYC Employee Says She Was Fired for Blowing the Whistle

One day shy of his first 100 days in office, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was hit with his first potential political scandal.

A lawsuit filed by a subordinate of a woman Mamdani appointed to run the city’s department of probation — and clean up ethical messes from the previous administration — claims she was fired for blowing the whistle on an “intimate relationship” between her boss and the agency’s top attorney, according to Politico.

And Mamdani himself is already facing public questions about it.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday by now-former city Department of Probation chief investigator Ebony Huntley.

According to the New York Post, Huntley claimed that the Department of Probation Commissioner Sharun Goodwin was engaged in a personal relationship with Wayne McKenzie, the agency’s general counsel.

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Swalwell campaign imploding after new sexual assault allegation

Rep. Eric Swalwell’s campaign for governor was reeling Friday after two news reports detailed accusations of sexual assault and misconduct, with multiple staffers resigning and both prominent allies and rival candidates calling on the California Democrat to exit the race.

The exodus, which began just before the San Francisco Chronicle published a report detailing a former staffer’s claims, jolted California’s marquee race just weeks before ballots start landing in voters’ mailboxes. The former staffer told the newspaper that Swalwell had sexual encounters with her while working for him, and that he sexually assaulted her twice when she was too drunk to consent.

Hours later, CNN reported on that ex-staffer and three additional women who accused Swalwell of making sexual advances and sending explicit photos and messages. And POLITICO reported that a former Swalwell employee had signed an agreement over an employment discrimination claim that included confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses, despite his campaign saying no one on his staff signed an NDA during his tenure.

The dominoes tumbled quickly. Top staffers departed the campaign shortly before the Chronicle story published. Major endorsers began rescinding or pausing their support. And a pro-Swalwell independent expenditure committee said it was suspending operations.

Swalwell’s two campaign co-chairs, Reps. Jimmy Gomez and Adam Gray, called on Swalwell to drop out — a stunning rebuke from key surrogates who had helped introduce Swalwell to power players in Sacramento, where both served in the state Assembly.

“Today I learned shocking information about Eric Swalwell containing the ugliest and most serious accusations imaginable,” Gomez said in a statement. “My involvement in any campaign begins and ends with trust. I cannot in good conscience remain in any role with this campaign, and I am stepping down from it effective immediately.”

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NYC Mayor Mamdani Declares He Will Override Police Commissioner Whenever He Feels Like It

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly stated he would have the last word on all New York Police Department (NYPD) decisions — not Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

He made the comments during an interview with The New York Times at City Hall. 

In a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times, the mayor said that he was willing to institute policy changes at the Police Department if he and the commissioner, Jessica Tisch, could not reach an agreement.

“Yes, ultimately I hold the final decision no matter which department or agency we’re speaking about,” Mr. Mamdani said, speaking from his offices at City Hall.

He was specifically responding to a question about whether to dismantle a unit known as the Strategic Response Group, which polices protests and other mass events and has been faulted for using heavy-handed tactics. Ms. Tisch, who was also police commissioner under former Mayor Eric Adams, has been dubious in the past about getting rid of the entity.

The mayor remains committed to disband the SRG, a promise he made on the campaign trail. In January, he told reporters, “We need to disband the SRG, and I’m currently in conversations with the police commissioner about the ways in which we can do so that are operational,” according to City & State NY.

The SRG issue is not the only point of contention between Mamdani and Tisch. Mamdani also supports abolishing the NYPD’s gang database, a system with more than 16,000 entries, Politico reported. The database has faced criticism for unfairly targeting racial minorities.

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Democrats Turn to Unconstitutional Exit Taxes After Their Policies Drove the Wealthy Out of Blue States

Democrats believe all our money belongs to them. They believe they have the moral and legal authority to take the money we earn and redistribute it to their preferred constituencies, while ignoring (or even facilitating) massive fraud and enriching themselves in the process. 

With the news of massive fraud scandals in Minnesota and California, it’s clear we don’t have a revenue problem; we have a fraud problem, and we’d bet the majority of our deficit could be erased if we eliminated fraud. But Democrats don’t have any interest in doing that. They just keep taxing people more and more to make up for their fiscal mismanagement. 

And when they raise taxes, the people who can afford to move from those blue states to tax-friendlier red states. That leaves the blue states with even more self-inflicted budget woes.

Rather than roll back wealth taxes, Democrats have decided to tax the people even more in the form of an exit tax, and that concept is gaining traction in blue states.

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Mamdani’s Proposed Racial Equity Tax Targeting White Neighborhoods

The mayor of America’s largest city, socialist Zohran Mamdani, has a plan to tax white people more. This appears to be an egregious violation of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which calls for all races to have equal protection under the law.

On April 7, 2026, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released the Preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan, described as the first government-wide racial equity framework in the city’s history, along with a “True Cost of Living” measure. The plan spans 45 agencies and includes more than 200 agency-level goals, over 800 strategies, and roughly 600 performance indicators.

The framework is inseparable from a property tax proposal Mamdani advanced during his mayoral campaign, in which he called for shifting tax burdens from outer-borough homeowners to “more expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods,” arguing the current system undertaxes high-value real estate.

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Far-Left Canadian MP Introduces Insane 15-Letter Acronym in Tirade at PM Mark Carney

A Canadian Member of Parliament (MP) has debuted an insane new acronym.

Leah Gazan, who is an MP for the far-left New Democratic Party, used the phrase “MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA+” during a speech attacking Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Her specific gripe with Carney is over his cuts to various indigenous funding programs to make way for increased military spending, as President Trump demands NATO do more to shoulder the burden of international defense.

She ranted:

When the budget was released, I was shocked to find out that Prime Minister Carney is cutting $7 billion between Indigenous Services Canada and Crown Indigenous Relations. They provided zero dollars to deal with the ongoing genocide of MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA+.

This is abhorrent. This is callous. This is callous because the very Liberal government that has stripped organizations of life-sustaining funding has now promised, committed $13 billion, $13 billion on military spending.

Who is paying for it? Indigenous women across this country, Indigenous women, girls, 2SLGBTQQIA+, are not safe. In fact, rates of violence are increasing. And what is the Prime Minister doing? He is turning a blind eye on this violence.

You know, the Prime Minister talks a lot about projects of national interest. What is in the national interest are the lives, safety, security, and dignity, not in the national interest, of Indigenous women and girls, 2SLGBTQQIA+. Is the Prime Minister okay having Indigenous women, 2SLGBTQQIA+ family members and organizations coming to Parliament begging time and time again to see our humanity?

Is he okay with that? Well, clearly, with his behavior the other day, laughing at a woman from Grassy Narrows who is suffering from mercury poisoning, having her even having to beg for an apology, is an example of how this Prime Minister has turned his back on Indigenous peoples, particularly Indigenous women and girls, 2SLGBTQQIA+. And what does that look like? It looks like rates of violence increasing.

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Supreme Court Reverses Former Cincinnati Councilor’s Bribery Conviction

The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for a former Cincinnati City Council member convicted of bribery and attempted extortion but later pardoned by President Donald Trump to have those charges dismissed in the lower courts.

The ruling came as the high court has, in recent years, been willing to overturn corruption convictions involving public officials engaging in activities some consider normal political activity. For example, in 2016, the Supreme Court vacated the conviction of the former Republican governor of Virginia, Bob McDonnell, for accepting gifts from a benefactor without actually taking action to benefit that person.

On April 6, the justices granted Alexander “P.G.” Sittenfeld’s petition in an unsigned order. The court did not explain its decision. No justices dissented. The court disposed of the case summarily without hearing oral arguments. 

The Supreme Court also vacated the convictions and sent the case back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to be reconsidered in light of a pending motion to dismiss the indictment against Sittenfeld.

The new ruling came after Trump pardoned Sittenfeld on May 28, 2025. This act of presidential clemency eliminated his 16-month sentence of incarceration after he had served almost five months of it.

A presidential pardon forgives federal criminal offenses and removes the legal consequences of those offenses, but does not change history by erasing the judicial finding of guilt.

The pardon covered Sittenfeld’s October 2023 conviction for bribery and attempted extortion related to an FBI-led sting operation that involved campaign contributions. Prosecutors said he accepted $20,000 in donations to his political action committee from undercover FBI agents who feigned interest in developing a specific property. Prosecutors also said Sittenfeld’s actions went beyond mere campaign fundraising to bribery that constituted an illegal quid pro quo for backing the development project.

A quid pro quo—from Latin, meaning “this for that”—is something given or received in exchange for something else.

Sittenfeld’s attorney said in the petition that he was considered “a rising star in Ohio politics,” first elected to the Cincinnati City Council in 2011 at age 27, making him the youngest person ever elected to the council.

“A defining trait of Sittenfeld’s political identity was his unwavering support for economic development. He voted for every economic development deal put in front of him while on the Council,” according to the petition.

In 2018, Sittenfeld approached a local developer to help raise money for his mayoral campaign, in order to match contributions from other developers, and “nothing about this was unlawful,” the petition said.

The government was informed about this, and the FBI organized a sting operation. The local developer contacted Sittenfeld about a specific project, which the then-elected official was already supporting, and offered to connect him with potential investors, who were actually undercover agents. The agents proposed a quid pro quo, saying if Sittenfeld agreed to back the project, they would donate to his campaign, the petition said.

The petition said Sittenfeld filed a motion after the conviction for post-trial relief, saying the evidence at trial was not sufficient to prove an “explicit” quid pro quo, as required by McCormick v. United States (1991). In that case, the Supreme Court ruled that the receipt of a campaign contribution was not a federal crime unless the payment was part of an “explicit quid pro.”

The federal district court ruled that the evidence was “ambiguous” at best and believed that, despite that, the jury could still surmise an “explicit” exchange from the record. The court sentenced Sittenfeld to 16 months and fined him $40,000. A divided panel of the Sixth Circuit upheld the conviction, finding the jury was allowed to conclude based on the ambiguous evidence that he had accepted an illegal bribe.

In the petition, Sittenfeld’s attorney urged the Supreme Court to take up the case, saying candidates “routinely raise money based on pledges of official action: ‘Donate to me and I will vote to repeal the law my opponent supported!’ ‘Send me a campaign check and I will cut your taxes—I can’t do it without you!’”

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Pentagon’s UFO Office to Be Eliminated Under New Bill

Representative Tim Burchett moved to dismantle the Pentagon office that investigates UFOs under legislation introduced this week.

The bill written by the Tennessee Republican would eliminate the Defense Department’s All‑domain Anomaly Resolution Office and redistribute its responsibilities across the Pentagon, while also prohibiting the creation of any future office that holds centralized authority over investigations into unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), often referred to as UFOs.

Newsweek reached out to Burchett’s office and the Pentagon for comment via email on Wednesday afternoon.

Why It Matters

Burchett has been a long-time advocate for transparency around the U.S. government’s investigations into UFOs, and has claimed that a multi-decade cover-up has been perpetrated by federal agencies. A recent spate of disappearances of people linked to UFO research has heightened scrutiny around the topic.

Burchett’s bill aims to terminate the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, which sits within the Department of Defense, currently styled as the Department of War by the Trump administration.

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Woke California lawmaker who backs transgender treatments for children squirms as brave young gay man shares how being railroaded into puberty blockers destroyed his life

A California lawmaker who supports youth access to gender-affirming care was confronted by a young gay man who testified that puberty blockers and hormone therapy negatively affected his physical development.

State Senator Scott Wiener heard from 23-year-old Jonni Skinner, who said the treatments Wiener backs have left him unable to achieve orgasms.

‘When I was young, I was a feminine child, and I discovered trans influencers online. They said, “Change your body and your life gets better. Don’t and it gets worse,”‘ Skinner said during a state Senate hearing on Tuesday.

‘Or, as my doctors told my mom, I would commit suicide,’ he continued. ‘The medical and mental health providers didn’t bother to ask why I felt the way I did. They poisoned my body with blockers and hormones, arresting my puberty and messing with my development. The result is I’m a 23-year-old gay man who’s never had an orgasm and may never experience one.’

Skinner was testifying against Senate Bill 934, which was introduced by Wiener. The measure allows people to sue licensed therapists for harms caused by ‘sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts’.

At first glance, someone like Skinner – who says he was improperly pushed by therapists and doctors toward transitioning into a female – might be expected to support the measure. 

But critics, including Skinner, argue that the bill is not intended to target medical professionals supportive of gender transition treatment.

The California Family Council said in a statement that the bill will ‘weaponize civil liability’ against counselors who tell children it might not be a good idea to switch genders at such a young age.

‘When the government cannot constitutionally ban speech outright, it sometimes turns to more subtle forms of coercion. By creating overwhelming legal risk, SB 934 seeks to make it practically impossible for counselors to offer certain viewpoints, even to clients who request them,’ the organization said.

The bill vastly expands the statute of limitations for filing claims, allowing people to sue therapists and doctors years or even decades after the alleged harm was done. 

On March 20, Wiener put out a statement explaining the bill’s intent, making it clear it would go after providers who try to convince people they are not LGBTQ.

‘Conversion therapy – the made up notion that you can convert a gay or trans person into being not gay or trans – was debunked long ago, and is now condemned by every major medical association as dangerous and ineffective,’ he said.

Greg Burt, Vice President of California Family Council, has said this amounts to viewpoint discrimination, and that the bill is trying to get around the landmark Supreme Court case, United States v. Skrmetti.

In that case, which was decided last year, a 6-3 majority ruled that state bans on gender-affirming care for minors is constitutional.

‘This is a desperate and vain attempt to pretend the Supreme Court didn’t say what it really did say. They can’t stop professionals from helping people who don’t want to identify as LGBTQ anymore,’ Burt said. 

Skinner filed an amicus brief in that case, where he revealed more about his upbringing and why he ended up on estrogen from the age of 13 until he was 20.

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NYC Socialist Mayor Mamdani Openly Declares War on White Taxpayers, DOJ Fires Back

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a “Preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan” on Monday, outlining a broad framework aimed at addressing disparities in housing, education, income, and other areas across the city.

According to a press release from the mayor’s office, the report was delivered within the first 100 days of his administration and is intended to reshape how the city measures affordability and evaluates inequality.

Officials said the plan seeks to “establish a new framework for how New York City measures affordability, understands inequity and plans for a more equitable future.”

Mamdani said the report introduces a new cost-of-living analysis designed to reflect the financial realities faced by residents.

“The True Cost of Living Measure offers an honest account of what it actually costs to live in this city — and who is being left behind. It shows that this is not a crisis affecting a small minority of New Yorkers. It is a crisis touching the vast majority of our city, in every borough and every neighborhood,” Mamdani said in the press release.

He added that the impact of rising costs is not evenly distributed among residents.

“But we know this crisis is not felt equally. Black and Latino New Yorkers — who have been pushed out of this city for decades — are bearing the brunt. The Preliminary Racial Equity Plan is where we begin to reverse that pattern. These reports make one thing clear: we cannot tackle systemic racial inequity without confronting the affordability crisis head-on, and we cannot solve the cost-of-living crisis without dismantling systemic racial inequity.”

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