Tag: republicans

Republican Lawmakers Urge President Trump to Release “Epstein Files”

Republican lawmakers are urging President Trump to release the Jeffrey Epstein Files, just days after President Trump ordered the declassification of the assassination records of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TENN)and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn) are leading the charge for the release of the Epstein Files.

In a statement to The Daily Mail, Sen. Blackburn shared she is pushing for the Trump administration to redact convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs fully.

Blackburn, in a statement on X, shared, “Jeffrey Epstein built a disgusting global sex trafficking network that caused irreparable damage to countless women.”

“Americans deserve to know exactly who was affiliated with this network. This is not about celebrities – this is about what happened to victims and survivors,” added Blackburn.

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Rep. Mann Introduces Bill Putting ATF’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ Policy in Check

Rep. Tracey Mann (R-KS) is introducing legislation to put the ATF’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy in check, halting the agency’s seemingly unchecked FFL closures under former President Biden.

The legislation is titled the Reining In Federal Licensing Enforcement (RIFLE) Act.

According to Mann’s office:

Under the Biden Administration, ATF’s zero tolerance policy forced small and mid-sized gun stores out of business. The agency revoked Federal Firearm Licenses due to minor clerical errors like missing a customer’s middle initial or using a state’s abbreviation rather than the state’s full name. In 2024 alone, ATF saw the highest levels of gun store license revocations in 20 years—the third consecutive year of increased license revocations under President Biden’s leadership. Last week, the Biden Administration claimed it reversed its zero tolerance policy. Upon further review of the updated enforcement guidance, it appears to remain fully in effect.

Rep. Mann told Breitbart News, “President Biden did everything in his power to weaponize the federal government against gun store owners in the Big First District of Kansas and across the country. His zero tolerance policy undermined the Second Amendment and trampled on the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens. Since day one, I have rigorously pushed back against this unconstitutional policy and fought for more oversight to rein in ATF’s abuse.”

He added, “On November 5, 2024, the country made it clear—our constitutional rights are not up for grabs. My bill makes that crystal clear by fortifying the Second Amendment rights of local gun stores and seeking to restore a degree of wholeness to individuals whose livelihoods were destroyed by this federal abuse. I look forward to working with President Trump to further strengthen the protection of the Second Amendment, deliver justice for our FFLs, and get our country back on track.”

The RIFLE Act “ensures that ATF works with FFLs, giving FFLs a chance to comply before ATF moves to revoke a license,” “clearly defines and strengthens what constitutes a willful violation, imposing a presumption that there is no willful violation absent clear and convincing evidence,” “allows FFLs to review and appeal ATF determinations before an administrative law judge and reimburses FFLs for legal fees incurred while the zero tolerance policy is in effect,” and automatically reinstates and approves licenses suspended, revoked, or denied while ATF’s zero tolerance policy is in effect.”

The Act also reimburses FFLs who were victims of the ATF’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy.

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House Republicans to Launch Panel Probing Partisan January 6 Committee

House Republicans announced they will create a new panel to investigate the actions of partisan January 6 Committee’s members, even though President Joe Biden pardoned them Monday.

The panel’s intention will be to uncover the truth of what occurred at the United States Capitol.

The panel will establish a select subcommittee to be chaired by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) under the House Judiciary Committee, House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a press release obtained by Breitbart News.

“House Republicans are proud of our work so far in exposing the false narratives peddled by the politically motivated January 6 Select Committee during the 117th Congress, but there is still more work to be done,” he said.

The Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway reported on the subcommittee’s line of inquiry:

Loudermilk led the previous effort as chair of the House Administration Oversight Subcommittee. That subcommittee released and published 40,000 hours of security footage from Jan. 6, uncovered interviews suppressed by Cheney’s committee that disputed her made-for-TV allegations, and referred Cheney for prosecution over her tampering with star witness Cassidy Hutchinson. Hutchinson, a low-level Trump aide, began dramatically changing her story after clandestine correspondence with the former Republican representative. Cheney, who was hand-selected by former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to run the committee and its televised show trial, accepted a pardon for her alleged witness tampering and other crimes she may have committed.

…

As noted earlier, Loudermilk and his staff uncovered transcribed interviews Cheney’s committee had suppressed because they were at odds with the narrative she was creating. For instance, Cheney suppressed evidence that President Donald Trump pushed for 10,000 National Guard troops to protect the nation’s capital, falsely claiming she had “no evidence” to support Trump officials’ claims the White House had communicated its desire for 10,000 National Guard troops.

In fact, an early transcribed interview conducted by the committee included precisely that evidence from a key source. The interview, which Cheney attended and personally participated in, was suppressed from public release. Deputy Chief of Staff Anthony Ornato’s first transcribed interview with the committee was conducted on Jan. 28, 2022. In it, he told Cheney and her investigators that he overheard White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows push Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser to request as many National Guard troops as she needed to protect the city. He also testified President Trump had suggested 10,000 troops would be needed to keep the peace at the public rallies and protests scheduled for Jan. 6, 2021.

Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan said Republicans must get to the bottom of the partisan committee’s misdeeds.

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SNAP recipients may be barred from junk food purchases under new House GOP bill

House Republicans are eyeing new limits on food stamps driven by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s mission to “Make America Healthy Again.”

Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., is leading “The Healthy SNAP Act” to bar most junk foods from being eligible for purchase under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), he first told Fox News Digital.

“President Trump has been given a mandate by the majority of Americans to Make America Healthy Again, and those in his administration, like RFK Jr. and Senator Marco Rubio, have directly advocated for eliminating junk food purchases with SNAP,” Brecheen told Fox News Digital.

“If someone wants to buy junk food on their own dime, that’s up to them. But what we’re saying is, don’t ask the taxpayer to pay for it and then also expect the taxpayer to pick up the tab for the resulting health consequences.”

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‘Missing’ GOP Congresswoman Not Seen For Six Months Finally Found Living at Dementia Care Home

A Republican Congresswoman who has been “missing” for the past six months has finally been found.

Rep. Kay Granger has served as the representative for Texas’s 12th Congressional District since 1997.

However, she suddenly disappeared from the public eye around July this year, when she cast her final vote against an amendment to reduce the salary of Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pesticide Programs to $1.

A curious reporter at the local Dallas Express newspaper did some digging on Granger’s whereabouts and has finally been able to give her constituents some answers.

The reporter, Carlos Turcios, began by contacting her offices, from which they went directly to voicemail.

“I am sorry we are unable to answer your phone right now,” Granger said. “We are really glad you called us.

“Please leave your name, phone number and a brief message and someone in our office will call you back as soon as possible.”

The reporter then went to her constituency office only to find absolutely no signs of life or activity.

Seemingly at a dead end, Turcios then received a tip-off from a local resident that Granger was residing at an assisted living facility specializing in memory care.

His report explains:

We then received a tip from a Granger constituent who shared that the Congresswoman has been residing at a local memory care and assisted living home for some time after having been found wandering lost and confused in her former Cultural District/West 7th neighborhood.

The Dallas Express team visited the facility to confirm whether Granger was residing there and to inquire about how she planned to vote on the spending bill. Upon arrival, two employees confirmed that Granger is indeed living at the facility.

However, we were not permitted to conduct an interview regarding the current spending debate in the House of Representatives and how or if Ms. Granger planned to vote.

Taylor Manziel who is the Assistant Executive Director for the senior living facility acknowledged to The Dallas Express that “This is her home.”

It remains unclear why Granger’s relatives or staff declined to disclose her condition to the public.

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Top Indiana GOP Lawmakers Oppose Medical Marijuana Even As Incoming Republican Governor Says It’s Time To Legalize

On the heels of a survey showing nearly 9 in 10 Indiana adults support legalizing medical marijuana—and comments from Gov.-elect Michael Braun (R) that “it’s probably time” to allow access to therapeutic cannabis—Republican leaders in the state legislature are pushing back on the idea.

“It’s no secret that I am not for this,” Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R) said during a panel at a law firm event in Indianapolis on Wednesday. “I don’t have people coming to me with really compelling medical cases as to why it’s so beneficial. And any state that I’ve seen pass medical marijuana is essentially passing recreational marijuana.”

House Speaker Todd Huston (R), meanwhile, doubted any medical benefits associated with marijuana, calling the substance “a deterrent to mental health.” He and others suggested that lawmakers supportive of the reform merely want to boost state revenue.

“I don’t believe public policy should ever be built based off revenue,” Huston said. “On any public policy, I don’t think you should chase revenue.”

Bray, who said he has yet to hear a compelling case where medical marijuana has been beneficial, said that “the idea of passing a policy simply because of the revenue that it would generate is something that I inherently, completely disagree with.”

“If it’s a good policy, then do it,” he added, “and revenue may come from that. But the idea of doing it because of the amount of revenue [it would generate] is really, really bad policy in my perspective.”

One Democrat on the panel, Senate Minority Leader Greg Taylor, said that he believes Indiana is falling behind other nearby states that have already legalized medical marijuana. Republican panelists disagreed.

“I’m not sure we’re behind,” Huston shot back. “If we are behind on having fewer people using an addictive substance, I don’t know, I’m OK with that.”

The comments, made at the annual Dentons Legislative Conference, were first reported by State Affairs.

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House GOP accuses Liz Cheney of tampering with J6 witness, ask FBI to investigate criminality

The House Administration Oversight Subcommittee and its chairman Barry Loudermilk on Tuesday released an interim report on the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, concluding the attack was preventable and also asking for an investigation into former Rep. Liz Cheney for criminally tampering with a witness during the Democrat-led congressional inquiry of the tragedy.

“Based on the evidence obtained by this Subcommittee, numerous federal laws were likely broken by Liz Cheney, the former Vice Chair of the January 6 Select Committee, and these violations should be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” the report released by the House Administration Oversight Subcommittee and its chairman Barry Loudermilk stated.

“Evidence uncovered by the Subcommittee revealed that former Congresswoman Liz Cheney tampered with at least one witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, by secretly communicating with Hutchinson without Hutchinson’s attorney’s knowledge.,” it added. “This secret communication with a witness is improper and likely violates 18 U.S.C. 1512. Such action is outside the due functioning of the legislative process and therefore not protected by the Speech and Debate clause.”

Federal law criminalizes witness tampering of varying degrees, and subjects a defendant to as many as 20 years in prison.

You can read the full report here.

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The report also took direct aim at former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, Cheney’s star witness at the nationally televised hearings, alleging that Cheney encouraged false testimony about a handwritten document and noting her sensational claim that former President Donald Trump tried to commandeer his presidential limousine that day to take it to the Capitol was directly refuted by the Secret Service.

Loudermilk’s report suggested Cheney also bore responsibility for Hutchinson’s testimony.

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Micromanaging Foreign Nations: A Bipartisan Syndrome

If one thing is certain, there will be more uncertainty abroad. Yet most Washington officials believe their job is to manage the world, even the least minutiae involving other states. And the rest of the world’s job is to obey them. At a time of multiplying wars, U.S. policymakers continue to waste time, resources, and credibility on issues that are frankly none of America’s business. 

Consider Georgia in the Caucasus. It had the misfortune in 2008 to be ruled by Mikheil Saakashvili, who triggered an invasion by recklessly bombarding Russian troops, apparently expecting the American cavalry to race to his rescue. Even the war-happy President George W. Bush, however, wasn’t prepared to confront Moscow.

Today a new government is in power in Tbilisi. Derided as pro-Russian, it has won several elections and appears to be carefully balancing Moscow and Brussels, a far smarter approach. Yet it has been under siege of late. Claims of electoral fraud have been leveled without proof. Charges of excessive force against demonstrators are better grounded, although protestors also were violent. Another issue is the European Union, which younger Georgians are impatient for their country to join. 

None of this should matter much to Washington. Georgia is not a security interest for America. It has no notable economic, cultural, or historic connection to the U.S. Yet Washington joined Europe in funding groups backing Georgia’s entry into the EU. The Biden administration then was outraged when the Tbilisi government targeted foreign funding for domestic organizations, the sort of political interference that Washington politicians ritualistically criticize in the U.S. Indeed, the Georgian legislation looks like America’s broad Foreign Agent Registration Act. Rather than taking this as a sign of flattery, Washington suspended financial aid to Tbilisi, its position apparently that the U.S. is entitled to make secret contributions to influence other nations’ politics.

More recently, Georgia’s prime minister said that he was suspending discussions involving EU membership. Protests erupted. Last month the administration issued a statement, citing alleged threats to the freedom to protest, while calling on “all sides to ensure protests remain peaceful” (emphasis added), a tacit admission that protestors also had been at fault. Yet the State Department led with criticism of “the decision by Georgian Dream [administration] to suspend Georgia’s EU accession process” and concluded by reiterating “our call to the Georgian government to return to its Euro-Atlantic path.” The U.S., a great power a continent and an ocean away, was telling another Russian neighbor that it should ignore Moscow’s sensitivities and go all in with the West—even though the U.S. refused to intervene militarily on Tbilisi’s behalf in 2008 and, as demonstrated in Ukraine, would not do so today in the event of conflict.

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Congressman Warns Iranian Mothership Lurking Off Coast Responsible For New Jersey Drone Scare 

Republican Congressman Jefferson Van Drew of New Jersey, a member of both the House Judiciary Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told Fox News’ Harris Faulkner around noon that government sources have informed him that mysterious drones in New Jersey skies at night originate from an Iranian “mothership” stationed off the US East Coast. 

“Here’s the real deal Harris …. and I’ve gotten to know people. And from very high sources, very qualified sources, and very responsible sources… I’m going to tell you the real deal: Iran launched a mothership – probably about a month ago that contains these drones and is off the US East Coast,” Van Drew said. 

Van Drew continued, “Know that Iran made a deal with China to purchase drones – motherships and technology to go forward. The sources I know are good.” 

He emphasized, “These drones should be shot down,” adding the military “is on alert with this.” 

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Mike Lee’s App Store Accountability Act Would Make Google and Apple Check IDs

Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee has introduced a bill to keep porn out of app stores. There might just be one tiny problem here: They already do.

So, what’s the point? Dig a little deeper and you’ll see that this bill is about forcing age verification on app stores and mobile devices, with a side goal of chilling sex-related speech.

Lee is framing his new bill (S. 5364) as a matter of “accountability”—a word found right in the bill’s title—and of preventing “big corporations” from “victimiz[ing] kids” with “sexual and violent content.” We can’t count on tech companies to act “moral” on their own accord, Lee posted to X.

But big corporations like Google and Apple already ban apps featuring sexual content, and these bans extend not just to kids but to everybody.

While apps can be downloaded from a plethora of sources, there are two main centralized app marketplaces: Apple’s App Store, for iPhones, and the Google Play store, for Androids. Play Store guidelines reject all apps “that contain or promote sexual content or profanity, including pornography, or any content or services intended to be sexually gratifying.” The App Store explicitly prohibits apps featuring “overtly sexual or pornographic material,” which it defines broadly to include any “explicit descriptions or displays of sexual organs or activities intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings.” Apple also bans “hookup” apps and any other “apps that may include pornography or be used to facilitate prostitution.”

Lee’s bill can’t be about simply convincing Apple and Google to adopt his version of morality, since they already have.

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