This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Joe Biden's Department of Defense is being sued for details about the use of Marines during his politicized "hate-MAGA" speech in Philadelphia last year.

In the speech, Biden stood in front of a blood-red backdrop – and was flanked by two Marines – to allege that supporters of President Trump were "an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic."

"Biden’s infamous 'Red Speech,' which included the abuse of our Marines in its totalitarian imagery, painted a target on Trump and tens of millions of Americans for political suppression and worse," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "And, to make matters worse, the Pentagon is violating federal law by hiding records about Biden’s misuse of our military in his attempt to intimidate Americans."

In the speech, Biden claimed, "Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic."

He added, "There is no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans, and that is a threat to this country."

He charged, "MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people. They refuse to accept the results of a free election. And they’re working right now, as I speak, in state after state to give the power to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself."

Since then, Biden has changed his tune, recently calling for the two parties to be civil to each other. This change came after the GOP was elected the majority party in the U.S. House.

Judicial Watch said its Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against Biden's DoD seeks records about the use of those U.S. Marines for political purposes at Biden's "controversial September 1, 2022, campaign speech in Philadelphia."

Judicial Watch explained, "Biden was widely criticized for using the Marines as props during a political speech in which he called 'MAGA Republicans' a threat to democracy."

The organization went to court after the DoD "failed to comply with an October 31, 2022, FOIA request for all communications within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Navy, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and Commandant of Marine Corps – and those shared with the White House Military Office and Office of the President – regarding Marines standing behind the President during his September 1, 2022, speech in Philadelphia."

Using federal assets to condemn his political opponents, Biden said, "MAGA Republicans have made their choice. They embrace anger. They thrive on chaos. They live not in the light of truth but in the shadow of lies."

He said he would choose a different path, rejecting "violence as a political tool."

"We are still, at our core, a democracy," he said, even though the U.S. actually is a republic.

He accused "MAGA Republicans" of demanding one of two outcomes in an election "they win or they were cheated."

He failed to reference the fact that Democrats have objected to and opposed every Republican presidential victory for decades already.

At the time of the speech, the Washington Examiner reported he was trying to "frame November's midterm elections as a continuation of his 2020 cycle's 'battle for the soul of the nation'."

He chose Independence Hall for his backdrop, installing red lights to give the brick walls an ominous appearance, and stationing Marines there.

"Dramatic setup here, with red and blue spotlights coloring Independence Hall and a uniformed member of the military standing on each side of the main door. Several American flags and a long red carpet were behind POTUS as he spoke," a press pool report said.

The Examiner noted, "The tight shot of Biden seen on camera only appeared to show the red, giving the event a hellish flair.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Following news that officials in the military may have withheld from President Trump word of Chinese spy-balloon incursions into U.S. airspace during his presidency, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is calling for an investigation.

Just the News reports Greene wants to know the details of why Trump said he had not been told of incursions, and why the Biden administration alleges they happened while Trump was in office.

Her concerns included the suggestion that someone may have been depriving the commander in chief of information he should have had.

The report said, "Greene indicated that the president would have likely been aware of such events had they transpired and suggested his professed ignorance of such balloon activities may indicate that the Pentagon withheld security information from the commander-in-chief."

"If it's true the Pentagon purposely did NOT tell President Trump of Chinese Spy Balloons during his administration then we had a serious breach in command during the Trump admin," she explained, on social media. "The POTUS is the Commander in Chief. We must investigate and hold accountable those who broke rank."

Just the News documented that Greene, in her position on the House Oversight Committee, is in a position to likely make the review happen.

The report said, "Former Trump administration officials, including Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, former National Security Adviser John Bolton, and former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, have all denied claims that Chinese air balloons entered U.S. airspace during the Trump administration."

The Biden administration, however, claims that that happened, and explained that the incursions were not "discovered" until after Trump left the White House.

WND reported this week the controversy is over the spy balloons from China that have been floating over the U.S. over the last week. The U.S. military shot one down.

A report at the Gateway Pundit revealed a detail that should alarm Americans: Military leaders knew about the balloons while Trump was in office but withheld the information from the commander in chief.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Robert Kennedy Jr. has joined with several other plaintiffs to sue major media outlets for suppressing competition

The complaint accuses the Washington Post, Associated Press, BBC, and Reuters of infringing on antitrust laws by attacking others' reporting on issues such as COVID-19 and more.

The action alleges the defendants are illegally boycotting some news reports under the guise of a coalition that was intended to crack down on misinformation.

The complaint charges the "Trusted News Initiative," launched by the BBC only years ago, violates the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.

That law prohibits industry cartels, price fixing, and a variety of other anti-competitive schemes.

Kennedy's complaint accuses the defendants of conspiring to denigrate conservative talking points about COVID, the vaccinations, treatments including ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, the Hunter Biden laptop, and more.

A new report at the Daily Sceptic explained one charge is from Creative Destruction Media, which charges that Facebook, "blocked all CD Media content after a post that included images of Hunter Biden from LinkedIn and Facebook and stated, 'we have the Hunter Biden sex tapes … one per hour being released.'"

The tenor of the case is that BBC and others have been suppressing "wholly accurate and legitimate reporting" in order to push forward their own "economic interests."

The report added, "The BBC has been accused in a Texas court of suppressing competition in the online news market, thereby depriving people of vital information about matters of legitimate public concern. These include COVID-19 lockdowns, safety information about the mRNA vaccines, and the Hunter Biden laptop story. TNI was set up in 2019 and acts as a gatekeeper on a number of issues, including Net Zero and the 'climate emergency'."

The case explains that legacy media outlets feared for their own economic survival.

The filing accuses TNI members of agreeing to suppress competition, complaining, "Every news company has the right to decide for itself what to publish, but they have no right to combine together to restrict what their rivals can publish."

The case charges that Big Tech was involved to the point of censoring reporting that did not agree with members' own claims.

Still being disputed are reports about the Hunter Biden laptop, the origins of COVID, the wearing of masks, and more.

The report noted, "A small number of online social media giants have taken over the digital town square and are the beneficiaries of almost all online advertising. They have enormous power to destroy news publishing businesses, as do any media companies that join forces with them."

 

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

China, it appears, does not like it when someone else – the intended target perhaps – takes issue with the flight paths of its spy balloons.

A report from the Epoch Times has documented that the Chinese Communist Party has promised it will "resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests" in a controversy that saw the U.S. military shoot down one of its balloons that was floating just off America's eastern coast.

The CCP said America's military strike on the balloon was wrong because it was a "civilian" craft that China was using for meteorological purposes and that it was floating over the U.S. by accident.

"A Chinese spokesperson issued a veiled threat vowing that Beijing would 'resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests' over America's action," the report explained.

That particular balloon first was noticed over Montana on Feb. 1, where it "loitered" over sensitive areas where nuclear missiles are stored in silos, the report said.

There were immediate calls to shoot it down, and the military, several days later when the balloon was off the coast of South Carolina, did that.

U.S. officials said, in the Epoch Times report, that China's claims were wrong, that the balloon was, in fact, a "military" operation, and had a "device" attached that was the size of a small jet.

Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck said the U.S. military took the "maximum precaution" to prevent it from collecting intel for China.

Several balloons reportedly have been spotted in the skies over America lately, and others have been seen over Latin America.

The Epoch Times even noted the specific threat that could come from a Chinese balloon.

Officials said it "absolutely" suggests that China's communists were conducting a dry run for an attack using a balloon-mounted weapon.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

A federal judge has, in her comments, speculated that the 13th Amendment could provide a constitutional basis for a right to abortion, and now is facing backlash since her opinion runs "against the text, history, and case law" of the Constitution.

The Daily Caller News Foundation explained it was U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly who suggested that the "right" to abortion might be found in the 13th Amendment.

When the high court issued its Dobbs decision last year, overturning the faulty Roe v. Wade and erasing what had been purported to be a constitutional "right," it cited the 14th Amendment.

The judge's comments were "in the context of the ongoing case against pro-life activists indicted on FACE Act charges last March for allegedly creating a blockade that prevented access to a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic. In their motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, attorneys for defendant Lauren Handy argue that the federal government no longer has an interest in protecting abortion rights, since Dobbs found such a right does not exist," the report said.

Constitutional expert, legal commentator, and congressional witness Jonathan Turley pointed out that Kollar-Kotelly "caused a bit of a stir."

She "suggested that the Thirteenth Amendment’s ban on involuntary servitude could be used to guarantee a woman’s right to an abortion," he explained.

She "stressed that the decision that there is no federal constitutional right to an abortion was based on the 14th Amendment, but was silent on the 13th Amendment or other grounds. The problem is that silence may be the most charitable response to this highly dubious theory, which has been bantered about in academic circles for years. The theory runs against the text, history, and case law of the Thirteenth Amendment," he explained.

The judge claimed the 13th Amendment "has received substantial attention among scholars and, briefly, in one federal Court of Appeals decision" on whether it applies to abortion.

The claim is that: "Abortion prohibitions violate the amendment’s guarantee of personal liberty, because forced pregnancy and childbirth, by compelling the woman to serve the fetus, creates 'that control by which the personal service of one man [sic] is disposed of or coerced for another’s benefit which is the essence of involuntary servitude.'"

Turley pointed out the judge claimed, "it is entirely possible that the court might have held in Dobbs that some other provision of the Constitution provided a right to access reproductive services had that issue been raised."

Turley turned sarcastic: "It is also true that the Supreme Court also did not rule out a theory based on the Preamble. That 'possibility' does not make a Preamble claim viable or credible after Dobbs. It also did not rule out a Ninth Amendment claim, but it still sent the matter back to the states."

He said the facts are: "The long historical analysis considered whether abortion was viewed as a protected right at the time of the framers. The court concluded that it did not. As discussed in prior decisions (and given the reliance in Dobbs on history), it is worth noting that at the time of the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment on December 18, 1865, 27 of the 36 states had enacted statutes prohibiting abortion. That included 21 of the 27 ratifying states."

He explained the Supreme Court previously has rejected "expansive readings" of the 13th, including a case where it ruled, "[T]he amendment was not intended to introduce any novel doctrine with respect to certain descriptions of service which have always been treated as exceptional; such as military and naval enlistments, or to disturb the right of parents and guardians to the custody of their minor children or wards."

Kollar-Kotelly ordered a "briefing" on whether any part of the Constitution could support a "right" to abortion, in defiance of the Supremes' statement, "It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives. 'The permissibility of abortion, and the limitations, upon it, are to be resolved like most important questions in our democracy: by citizens trying to persuade one another and then voting.'"

The issue isn't even new. WND reported last year on the opinion of a professor at Howard University who argued in support of the Women's Health Protection Act of 2021 which would by law establish abortion.

Lisa Crooms-Robinson says the 13th ban denying "bodily integrity and personal autonomy was essential to U.S. slavery" and forcing women to carry children to term violates bodily integrity and personal autonomy.

That report, from Real Clear Wire, explained, however, "The logic of this position simply doesn’t hold up. First, we must ask whether one can legitimately categorize unwanted pregnancy as a 'badge and incident' of slavery."

It said, "American slavery included pervasive and horrendous sexual assault by white masters on their slaves, especially black women. Rape egregiously violates a person’s right not to have her body controlled by another. But we have no such regime of bodily control today. A small percentage of abortions come from sexual assault. We certainly should not slight the horror of such assault – the pain it inflicts on an innocent woman and the evil of the predatory man – regardless of how often these instances occur. But to compare most pregnancies to the slave regime does a gross disservice to the suffering endured under that system."

It said, "Moreover, the bodily integrity and autonomy argument was made in Roe and Casey regarding the Fourteenth Amendment. As Justice Alito’s opinion showed, it did not hold up to textual or historical scrutiny. And it still doesn’t when applied to the Thirteenth."

And, the report continued, "Furthermore, the bodily integrity and autonomy argument falls flat when considering what abortion involves. Or maybe, we would be much better off recognizing that abortion involves both the woman and her child. The child stands in a unique position within the mother’s womb, utterly dependent on her until birth. We should respect that fact in supporting pregnant women in all ways we can. But dependence on others do not – and should never – define away someone’s humanity."

It said, "The unborn child possesses a right to bodily integrity and autonomy, both of which abortion violently infringes."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Vast numbers of Americans say Joe Biden's term in the White House has been a failure.

A report in the Hill explains a new Washington Post-ABC poll reveals 62% of respondents said Biden has "not achieved much" in office.

Democrats keep insisting, the report said, that his time has been "the most productive in Washington since Lyndon Baines Johnson's 'Great Society' agenda."

Voters are not buying that sales pitch.

TRENDING: China's spy balloon quietly traverses our skies – for the next few DAYS!

Those who believe Biden has accomplished a "good amount" or "great deal" amounted to only 36%.

The report explained the support for Biden was almost entirely partisan.

"Seventy-seven percent of Democrats said Biden has accomplished a great deal or a good amount while 32 percent of independents said so and only 7 percent of Republicans did," the report said.

Among Republicans, 93% see Biden as doing "not much" or "little or nothing." Sixty-six percent of independents agreed, as well as even 22% of the president's party.

The report noted Biden is expected to try to "change the narrative" at this week's State of the Union. But it also noted the "challenge" for Biden when he tries to sell his presidency to voters.

He'll also probably use his bully pulpit to try to pressure Republicans to give him unlimited spending power by raising the nation's debt ceiling. The poll found 65% of respondents think debt and spending should be addressed separately, but 26% said they must be linked.

The Hill reported, "People gave Biden and Democrats little credit for two of their biggest accomplishments in the last Congress, the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act, which included prescription drug reform."

Six of 10 reported that Biden hadn't made much progress improving roads and bridges and 47% said he'd failed to make "much of a dent in prescription drug prices."

The poll revealed similar negative perceptions of Biden's work on other problems, as only 34% said he'd made progress in creating good jobs and 26% said he'd made electric vehicles more affordable.

Only one in three said they have a great deal or good amount of confidence in Biden's ability to make wise decisions.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

A new report from Revolver News documents how the Joe Biden administration is trying to put a popular internet voice in jail for the Hillary Clinton memes he posted during the 2016 presidential race.

That was when Clinton became a two-time loser in the presidential sweepstakes.

Calling it the "most important First Amendment case you've never heard of," the report explains how Biden's Department of Justice is accusing Douglass Mackey of "conspiring …. to deprive individuals of their constitutional right to vote."

What did he do?

Posted anti-Hillary memes that were based on the age-old joke that members of the "other" party, in this case, Democrats, "are so stupid they'd probably believe someone telling them election day is Wednesday."

"At the risk of being tedious, we will explain: memes promoting incorrect election dates are old hat. People have been making them online and in print since at least 2000, and who are we kidding, probably well before that. They’re either a humorous indication of one’s desire to win a race or else a political in-joke," the report explained.

Mackey's social media statements said, "Avoid the line. Vote from home. Text 'Hillary' 59925."

The report noted Mackey "had no external reason that anyone should care what he said. He held no office. He had no byline at an elite publication. He had no vast pool of wealth that conferred legitimacy, deserved or undeserved, on what he had to say. Mackey’s notability, like that of Bronze Age Pervert or Libs of TikTok, came exclusively from what he had to say, and that people found it funny and compelling."

The report said, "The DOJ claims that the … meme merits a prison sentence of up to ten years, for violation of 18 U.S. Code § 241. The law, which concerns 'Conspiracy against rights,' is a subset of the Enforcement Act of 1871, better known as the Ku Klux Klan Act. The DOJ’s argument is that, by posting the … memes on Twitter in 2016, and designing it to resemble a Hillary Clinton ad, Mackey deceived the public into casting invalid text message votes, as part of a conspiracy to deprive them of the right to vote."

It continued, "To be clear, the federal government can’t show that this actually happened. But the government says that proving a dumb meme fooled a single person is not necessary to find one guilty of the dastardly crime of disinformation."

Revolver reported, "This bears mentioning over and over again, if necessary: the law has never been used in this way before. This case is a drastic escalation in the use of 'disinformation' as an excuse to target dissenting political voices. A regime that previously relied on de-platforming or doxing (both of which have already been used on Mackey) now makes use of outright felony prosecutions with the threat of decade-long prison sentences."

A Clinton-appointed judge, Nicholas G. Garaufis, rejected a request to dismiss the case, claiming the case is about "conspiracy and injury" even though the government hasn't produced anyone who was injured.

Garaufis, in fact, said, of the dispute, "Treason is still treason if it is spoken aloud."

The report noted, "The federal government has not produced a single person who failed to cast a ballot due to Mackey’s supposed perfidy. It hasn’t produced anyone who claims they almost failed to vote based on Mackey’s memes. All it can produce is evidence that people texted the number on the meme, a completely meaningless measurement when any number of people might have done so just to see what would happen."

The trial is scheduled in court in the Eastern District of New York.

The report warned that if, in fact, Biden obtains a conviction, "'Disinformation,' a term with no legal definition, will suddenly become a ready tool in the arsenal of ambitious prosecutors who want to rise through the left’s ranks. And even if actual prosecutions remain infrequent, the chilling effect over the wider political ecosystem will be massive."

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is in the process of delivering consequences to a number of venues that featured "Drag Queen Christmas" shows.

RedState reported that the shows were billed as "kid friendly," but "unless you're a sexual deviant, that definition was misleading."

They actually included "bawdy/obscene arrangements of traditional Christmas songs and simulated sex acts," the report said.

The issue was that one of the venues that contracted for the show, Plaza Live in Orlando, held a liquor license and under Florida law, such performances are not legal if kids are there.

"As a result, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation sent a warning letter to the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation, warning them that if they proceeded with the show and allowed children to attend, they were putting their liquor license in jeopardy," the report explained.

The letter warned the venue the show was "of a sexual nature, involving the exposure or exhibition of sexual organs, simulated sexual activity," and more.

This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

The new Republican chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee has given all members a Bible, with the recommendation they read it through in 2023.

"It's an all-time best-seller. I read through it for the first time a few years ago, and it changed my life," explained, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash.

"My encouragement is for everyone to read this book in their lifetime. So, why not now, in 2023?"

The congresswoman's actions were reported by the Washington Stand.

She said, "In America and on this committee, there [are] many faiths, beliefs that are represented. We cherish religious freedom and religious tolerance."

The report explained there are 52 members of the committee and they include a range of religious beliefs, including "members who espouse 12 flavors of Christian or Christian-adjacent beliefs, plus Judaism."

The report said Pew Research counted "14 'unspecified' Protestants, five Baptists, five Methodists, four Lutherans, three Presbyterians, one Episcopalian, and one nondenominational Protestant" among committee members.

Additionally, there are 14 Catholics and two Orthodox members, one Adventist, one Restorationist, one Mormon, and two Jewish members.

McMorris Rodgers explained, "This Bible is structured to be 15 minutes a day, a little Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs."

The report noted she also gave each member a coffee mug and encouraged them to get coffee with a member of the other political party.

"As Christians, we know that Scripture is not merely a good source for ethics or morality but is the source of all true knowledge and wisdom. It contains the very words of God," David Closson, director of Family Research Council's Center for Biblical Worldview, told The Washington Stand. "Through Scripture, we learn God’s wondrous plan of salvation. We also learn guidance for everyday life including government, politics, and living together in community."

Fox News host Mark Levin warned Americans that the country is facing "dangerous" and "grave" times because of a highly politicized FBI and Department of Justice.

Recent events have made it clear that the FBI and the DOJ are out of control and have been hijacked to push a political agenda. From the raiding of former President Donald Trump's home, to purging conservative employees and whistleblowers, our Justice apparatus is out of control and a danger to the nation. 

Now Republicans are launching a series of investigations and Levin is concerned that such investigations will spark a strong reaction from our corrupted Justice Department. Americans should expect heavy stonewalling from the FBI and the DOJ.

Levin said on Sunday, "What do we do as a country if they stonewall the House of Representatives, a majority of whom are Republicans? What do we do as a country if the National Archives, also part of the executive branch, is also stonewalling these Republicans? In other words, what do we do if the separation of powers is being violated by the executive branch?"

Rotten to the core

Levin continued his statement by saying, "The Republican House has to preserve the separation of powers and has to preserve our governmental system. There's supposed to be a balance and negotiation. You sort of work things out one branch with another. But if another branch is corrupt in the sense that they are using the law against their political opponents, and they're corrupt in the sense that they basically dare you to do anything about it because they're not going to enforce it. On the executive side, you have to act. Or the House of Representatives in Congress, more broadly, will seek to be the power that they need to be in this triumphant government."

Right now the executive branch is completely under the control of leftist Democrats and they aren't afraid to abuse their power.

Democrats in the executive branch also have the help of a friendly mainstream media that will demonize Republican investigations while covering up the blatant abuses of power committed by the FBI and the DOJ.

Levin finished off by saying, "We have a situation now with Joe Biden's executive branch is undermining the representative government and unleashing criminal law enforcement against people with whom they disagree. It's one thing to investigate. It's one thing to collect information. It's quite another to enforce. And so I want to suggest that the Republicans take a very close look at this."

Republicans will have the whole system against them in trying to hold out-of-control Democrats accountable. Luckily, the Republican Party is bringing its best and its brightest to this fight.

Drain the swamp

House Republicans will be putting together a special judiciary committee that will be tackling the "weaponization of the federal government."

Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), a strong ally of former President Donald Trump, will be overseeing that committee and has made it clear he intends to drain the swamp and attack the corruption at its core.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has also lent his support to the committee's mission saying, "We will hold the swamp accountable, from the withdrawal of Afghanistan, to the origins of Covid and to the weaponization of the F.B.I."

Republicans also want to look at things like the relationship between the federal government and Big Tech. Most notably, Republicans want to get to the bottom of the government's relationship with Twitter following the release of the infamous Twitter Files.

The next two years will be critical as bringing the executive branch to heel before the 2024 presidential election is imperative to ensure the Justice Department isn't working to sway the election one way or another.