Tag: politics

Epstein Obsessed With Vatican, Conspired With Steve Bannon

Newly released documents from the Justice Department have cast fresh light on disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s long-running fixation with the Catholic Church and his private exchanges with Steve Bannon, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, about efforts to “take down” Pope Francis.

The tranche of emails and text messages, dating primarily from 2014 to 2019, reveals a pattern of mockery, ideological hostility, and political strategizing centered on the Vatican.

Epstein was convicted in 2008 of child sex offenses and later died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. 

The records showed that in the years between those events he remained engaged with powerful political and media figures — including Bannon — and expressed particular contempt for the Roman Catholic Church and its papacy.

The most politically charged revelations involve text messages exchanged in 2018 and 2019 between Epstein and Bannon, the former White House chief strategist who had become an adviser to Epstein in the years after he was found guilty of sex charges.

In a June 2019 message, Bannon wrote to Epstein: “Will take down [Pope] Francis. The Clintons, [Chinese President] Xi [Jinping], Francis, EU — come on brother.”

The language suggests that Francis was viewed by Bannon as part of a broader set of geopolitical and ideological adversaries.

At the time, Francis was a vocal critic of nationalism, xenophobia, and anti-immigrant policies — positions that placed him at odds with segments of the populist right and traditional Catholics.

Keep reading

DOJ Moves to Strip U.S. Citizenship From Former North Miami Mayor Over Immigration Fraud

The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida have filed a civil denaturalization complaint in the U.S. District Court in Miami, against Phillipe Bien-Amie, also known as Jean Philippe Janvier, a native of Haiti who used two identities to procure immigration benefits — and eventually acquire U.S. citizenship — after illegally entering the U.S.

Before he became a U.S. citizen under the name Philippe Bien-Aime, the defendant used a fraudulent, “photo-switched” passport to enter the U.S. under the name Jean Philippe Janvier. In 2001, Bien-Aime was placed in removal proceedings and ordered removed under the Janvier identity. 

He appealed the removal order, but he withdrew the appeal, representing that he had returned to live in Haiti. In reality, Bien-Aime remained in the U.S. and, using the new name and date of birth, married a U.S. citizen to obtain permanent resident status. The marriage was fraudulent and invalid because he was already married to a Haitian citizen. After making numerous false and fraudulent statements in adjustment and naturalization proceedings, he was naturalized in 2006 under the Bien-Aime identity.   

The man served as the mayor of North Miami. 

“This Administration will not permit fraudsters and tricksters who cheat their way to the gift of U.S. citizenship,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The passage of time does not diminish blatant immigration fraud.”

The complaint, filed on Feb. 18, alleges that Bien-Aime illegally procured naturalization for several reasons. 

First, he was subject to a final removal order, which disqualified him from naturalization and precluded the former Immigration and Naturalization Service from considering his application for permanent resident status. Second, the removal order prohibited U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from considering his naturalization application and granting U.S. citizenship. 

Keep reading

Mamdani Is Collapsing Faster Than We Thought

You can’t say we didn’t warn New York what was going to happen if it elected Zohran Mamdani, but I gotta say, I don’t think anyone predicted it would start collapsing so quickly. But, alas, it has. That socialist utopia that Mamdani was supposed to deliver has instead turned into a slow-motion fiscal catastrophe a mere two months in — and even the liberal media is starting to notice.

Mamdani unveiled a $127 billion budget for fiscal year 2027 this week — a staggering $5 billion increase over the prior year.

But what’s $5 billion between socialists, right?

To put that into perspective, Mamdani’s proposed budget is actually larger than the budgets of 47 U.S. states, including Florida, which has nearly twice the population. And somehow, it still isn’t enough. The city is staring down a $5.4 billion deficit, with the real gap potentially closer to $12 billion when you do the actual math.

So what was his plan? Tax someone else.

Mamdani went straight to Albany looking for a handout, demanding that Gov. Kathy Hochul raise taxes on the “ultra-wealthy” and the most profitable corporations. When Hochul told him to pound sand and cut spending instead, he obviously couldn’t do that, and now he is looking at saddling homeowners with a 9.5% property tax hike.

Keep reading

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani Raiding Retirement and Health Funds

Mayor Zohran Mamdani is already short of funds for his socialist dream for New York City. Like a true communist, his plan is to increase taxes on homeowners while raiding retirement and healthcare funds. Ironically, communists are supposed to support the working man, but in reality, they support the non-working man who needs more money from the working man to keep from having to work.

On February 17, 2026, Mayor Mamdani presented his first preliminary budget and framed the city’s finances as a choice between two paths. He delivered an ultimatum to Governor Kathy Hochul and the state legislature: approve higher taxes on the wealthy or he would use the limited tools under his direct control to close a projected $5.4 billion shortfall.

His preferred path calls on Albany to raise personal income taxes by 2 percent on New Yorkers earning over $1 million and to increase corporate taxes on the most profitable companies. If the state refuses, he says he will pursue what he describes as a last resort: a 9.5 percent property tax hike, the first major increase in more than 20 years, affecting roughly 3 million residential units, along with drawing down approximately $1.2 billion from the city’s reserves, including the Rainy Day Fund and retiree health benefit trusts.

The proposal to tap retirement-related funds has generated the strongest backlash. Mamdani’s plan includes taking $229 million from the Retiree Health Benefits Trust, which pays health insurance premiums for retired city workers such as teachers, police officers, and sanitation workers.

Using money set aside for future medical costs to cover today’s operating deficit shifts long-term obligations into the current budget cycle. Budget watchdogs, including the Citizens Budget Commission, warn this would leave the city less prepared to meet healthcare costs for an aging workforce.

Mamdani insists he does not want to touch these funds and describes this as a harmful path he hopes to avoid. He is using the threat to pressure Governor Hochul into approving higher taxes on the wealthy.

Mamdani has also pushed to shift city pension investments away from what he calls harmful industries, including certain fossil fuel companies and firms tied to the conflict in Gaza. Pension trustees and union leaders argue this amounts to political intrusion into retirement assets and conflicts with their fiduciary duty to maximize returns for retirees.

By law, trustees must focus solely on financial performance. Critics contend that divesting from high-performing sectors for ideological reasons narrows the investment pool and can reduce long-term returns. Analysts noted that the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange significantly outperformed the S&P 500 in 2025.

Avoiding such assets means forfeiting gains that help keep pension funds solvent. Even a one or two percent underperformance compounded over time could create substantial funding gaps.

The dispute has escalated into a showdown with New York City Comptroller Mark Levine, the legal custodian of the pension funds. Levine recently announced plans to resume investing in Israel Bonds, calling them a long-term, secure investment that has never missed a payment in 80 years. Mamdani opposes the move, arguing the city should not support a foreign government involved in the Gaza conflict.

However, the mayor does not control the pension boards outright. The comptroller and union representatives hold significant seats, limiting Mamdani’s ability to force divestment. Critics say he is attempting to pressure the boards into adopting his position.

Keep reading

PASS THE POPCORN: Jasmine Crockett is Now Accusing the Left of Racism

Did you ever think you’d see the moment when Rep. Jasmine Crockett would accuse the left of being racist? Well, that time has come.

It’s all because of what’s happening in the Texas Democrat primary for the Senate and her rival James Talarico.

The stunt he pulled with Stephen Colbert was all about freezing her out of the race and Colbert has not invited her on the show.

The Daily Caller reports:

Jasmine Crockett Drops Race Card On Liberals

Democratic Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett claimed during a Thursday campaign event that attacks she received from liberals were motivated by race.

Crockett and Democratic Texas state Rep. James Talarico were tied in the Democratic Senate primary, according to Friday’s RealClearPolling average. Crockett said during the remarks at an event in Richardson, Texas, that she was campaigning on her “credentials,” before claiming liberals were attacking her because she is a black woman.

“The thing that’s not normal is for me too be attacked from the left. That is the new wild wildcard in scenario. It’s just interesting,” Crockett said. “I’ve been asked a couple of times a couple of things about it. I look at this specifically as a civil rights lawyer. I’ve seen that sending out ads in darkening my skin, I am just like, I know what this is. And the reality is that, I woke up a black woman. I was born a black woman. I was a black woman for everyone who doesn’t think I know, just FYI. But I am not running on the fact that I am a black woman. I’m running on my credentials.”

Keep reading

Unmasking The Muslim Brotherhood Ties Inside Ohio’s General Assembly

In a highly anticipated move, the Trump administration designated factions of the global Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations last month, an executive action with profound implications extending beyond the Middle East to America’s heartland. Astonishingly, a Somali-American legislator from Ohio, State Rep. Munira Abdullahi, D-Columbus, continues to serve as a national leader for the Muslim American Society (MAS), a registered nonprofit that federal prosecutors have identified as the “overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in America.”

Abdullahi’s involvement with MAS dates back to at least 2012, when she served as a youth director in Columbus and later as a national program director. The organization’s youth programs have been marred by scandals nationwide, including an incident in Philadelphia where children were taught songs about beheading Israeli Jews, and a fundraiser selling merchandise glorifying Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists. Upon her election to public office in 2022, Abdullahi appeared to distance herself from MAS, updating her LinkedIn profile to indicate she no longer worked for the group.

However, her ties persisted and deepened. Now heading MAS-Columbus and part of the organization’s national leadership, she leverages her elected status to host events featuring ultra-conservative preachers and pro-Hamas activists. Though MAS officially claims independence from the broader Sunni Islamist movement, a 2004 Chicago Tribune investigation exposed how its early leaders decided to conceal their Muslim Brotherhood affiliations while aiming to “convert Americans to Islam and elect like-minded Muslims to political office.”

Campaign finance records underscore this connection: in 2022, Abdullahi received a $1,000 contribution from an MAS colleague and later donated $2,400 from her campaign to MAS-Columbus.

Keep reading

Stephen Colbert Hates Black Women and Other Universal Truths

As someone who loves comedy, what a*s-clowns like Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert havedone to the concept is like what Harvey Weinstein did to movie production or what Democrats have done to journalism, if journalism were their cellmate in Super-Max. Colbert is the Jeffrey Epstein of truth and Kimmel is the Luigi Mangione of honesty. That’s why it was not shocking to anyone with an IQ larger than their shoe size that Colbert would go on his show and lie, doing his best to help a white guy, James Talarico, beat a black woman, Jasmine Crockett, in the Democratic primary in the Texas Senate race.

First, I have to tell you about the concept of equal time. It is surprising how many “journalists” out there either do not have the mental capacity to understand this very basic concept, or simply are willing to come off as morons for the cause of their party. It’s about half and half, as I think you’d be stunned by just how many of these people have the intelligence of someone who snacked on lead paint chips.

But the concept of equal time is pretty basic: If you are going to have a candidate for office on a show that uses the public airwaves (broadcast tv and radio, not cable or streaming), other legitimate candidates (those who are on the ballot officially) can request an appearance for the same amount of time. This only applies to real candidates, not write-ins, and ONLY for 30 days before a primary and 60 days before a general election. The rest of the time, it is a free-for-all and shows can have on whoever they want.

One thing I’ve heard morons in the media claim is that the FCC is monitoring broadcasts or warning networks of the equal time obligations, but that is a lie. The FCC does not monitor any broadcasts, they respond to reports filed by viewers/listeners and anyone else, either for violation of decency rules or equal time. An audience member can’t make a claim for equal time on behalf of someone else; the candidate or politician must. The FCC decides if a claim is valid, period.

This is not rocket science, not even close, which means the people deliberately saying otherwise are lying or don’t have the mental capacity to understand this very basic concept.

Keep reading

Thomas Massie, Who Loves to Talk About His ‘Principles,’ Just Made Quite the Admission to Politico

Thomas Massie gave an interview to Politico yesterday, in which the publication said he goes “toe-to-toe” with high-ranking members of the Trump administration including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Attorney General Pam Bondi.

There was one passage that stood out among many conservatives, one that dealt a major blow to the claims that Massie is operating on principles. Namely, Massie’s vote was contingent on whether or not Speaker Mike Johnson would publicly praise him for releasing the Epstein files.

“One day, they needed my vote, and I offered to give them my vote if he would issue a press release thanking me for my good work on the Epstein Files Transparency Act. That’s all I required to get my vote. And I think he probably went and gave somebody else a bill to pass instead of doing the public statement,” Massie told Politico.

Wow.

Keep reading

Maryland to ‘Reap the Consequences’ of Dem Governor Wes Moore’s Political Stunt

States don’t come much bluer than Maryland. My father-in-law, who lived much of his adult life in Maryland, was heavily involved in local politics there, as a conservative Democrat – there were some then, and in Maryland, even in the ’60s and ’70s, you registered Democrat, or you were shut out of the process. He has told me on numerous occasions that there wasn’t an elected official in Maryland who had two IQ points to rub together.

Case in point: Governor Wes Moore, who on Wednesday was eviscerated by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt for his action prohibiting local law enforcement from working with Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Here’s how the Press Secretary responded to a question on the topic:

First of all, it’s another despicable action by Governor Wes Moore. Why would you prevent your state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal law enforcement? If you just ask them, to your point, you ask sheriffs across the country if they want to have that level of cooperation and coordination with the federal government, of course, they do. It makes their jobs easier, it keeps them out of hostile and dangerous environments, it allows them to detain illegal alien criminals who have committed heinous crimes in our country with, with, the most safe circumstances possible. So the president, of course, continues to always stand on the side of law enforcement, and this is another, just horrible and frankly political action taken by Governor Wes Moore, and unfortunately, the people of his state are going to reap the consequences of it.

Of course, it’s a political action, one taken due to the governor suffering from a nasty case of Stage V Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Keep reading

Texas Senate Race Thrown Into Turmoil After Stunning ‘Doxxing’ Allegation

Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) campaign is under fire after a top staffer posted Rep. Wesley Hunt’s 2016 provisional ballot on social media, exposing personal details. Hunt announced that he has filed a police report accusing the campaign of “doxxing” his family just days before early voting begins.

The controversy is the latest in a fiery primary race between the three candidates.

Cornyn communications director Matt Mackowiak allegedly posted images of Hunt’s 2016 Harris County provisional ballot on his X account on Friday. He alleged that Hunt lied about his military discharge date and 2016 voting record.

The unredacted document included Hunt’s home address, driver’s license number and the last four digits of his Social Security number. Cornyn’s campaign deleted the post and then reposted the images with redactions of Hunt’s personal information.

Hunt slammed the Cornyn campaign, characterizing the post as dangerous and unlawful. He said sharing his and his family’s information crossed the line between opposition research and doxxing. He filed a criminal complaint with the Harris County Constable’s Office. Law enforcement intends to subpoena X to retrieve the deleted post, according to Fox 26 Houston.

The lawmaker further claimed that his 2016 provisional ballot was never counted and that Cornyn is using it to claim he committed voter fraud.

A spokesperson for the Hunt campaign told Townhall, “In this current climate of political violence, doxxing the home address of a sitting Member of Congress or his family isn’t ‘hardball politics.’ It’s reckless, dangerous, and illegal. It puts lives at risk.”

Keep reading