Much attention has shifted recently towards Mike Morell, the former Acting CIA Director, who has played a pivotal role in shaping U.S. political narratives during crucial elections, JustTheNews reported.
Morell's actions were aimed at discrediting Donald Trump by connecting him to Russian influences in both the 2016 and 2020 electoral contexts.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Morell emerged as a vocal supporter of Hillary Clinton, going so far as to author a significant op-ed that not only endorsed Hillary Clinton but also denounced Trump as a potential national security threat due to alleged ties to Russia.
The Clinton campaign, as revelations have shown, saw potential in Morell’s outspoken stance. Top advisors were involved in orchestrating narratives that posited Trump as a puppet to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
This maneuver was intended as a diversion from Clinton’s own controversies surrounding her email usage. Official records later revealed that these strategies were rooted in what was termed the “Clinton Plan intelligence,” aimed at fostering a connection in public perception between Trump and the Kremlin.
More than 50 former national security officials signed onto a letter, initiated by Morell, that propagated the theory of Trump’s alliances with Russian interests, which many saw as an attempt to bolster the Clinton campaign's position by drawing on Morell’s credibility.
By 2017, Morell had publicly stated in an interview with The New York Times that his decision to enter the political fray was made independently. "I made the decision to speak out entirely on my own, with no other consideration given any thought," said Morell, contradicting claims that his actions were coordinated with the Clinton campaign.
Jennifer Palmieri, Clinton’s communications director at the time, recalled the shock within the campaign's Brooklyn headquarters upon reading Morell’s forceful op-ed. “I remember my jaw dropping…,” Palmieri reflected in a 2017 Washington Post piece.
Moreover, Morell’s accusations found further echo in the Senate, with Minority Leader Harry Reid using them in a letter to the FBI regarding concerns of Russian interference in the election process.
Donald Trump responded to Morell’s accusations by dismissing him as a "lightweight" and a "total Clinton flunky" on social media platforms, highlighting the contentious nature of Morell's involvement.
Hillary Clinton, on her part, leveraged Morell’s statements during speeches, including one at Kent State University on Halloween in 2016, where she portrayed Trump as being susceptible to Putin’s influence due to his flattery tactics.
Morell’s narrative continued to play a significant role in the discourse as Clinton emphasized, "Putin knows he can use flattery to get into Donald's head — to make Donald the Kremlin's puppet. And it seems to be working."
Morell's role didn’t just stop with the 2016 elections; it carried forward to 2020 when the Hunter Biden laptop controversy surfaced. He led a call for transparency in a letter mirroring the earlier structure used against Trump, trying to cast doubts about the authenticity and implications of the laptop's contents.
John Durham’s report later discussed intercepted communications allegedly part of the strategized smear against Trump by the Clinton campaign, further complicating the narrative around the interventions by former national security officials like Morell.
This array of interventions by Morell has provided a rich case study in how intelligence figures can influence electoral politics and public opinion, raising questions about the intersection of government authority and political campaigning.
The Trump administration will not cut disaster aid to states and cities that boycott Israel, in an apparent reversal.
The change comes after backlash against "terms and conditions" that required states to desist from anti-Israel boycotts in order to qualify for $1.9 billion in disaster relief funding.
The Trump administration has already taken aggressive steps to crack down on anti-Israel agitators, some of whom are facing deportation from the United States.
As reports began circulating that the White House would tie FEMA funding to a state's relationship with Israel, some were outraged.
The conditions stood to impact $1.9 billion that "states rely on to cover search-and-rescue equipment, emergency manager salaries and backup power systems among other expenses," Reuters reported.
The move would have been mostly symbolic, since few states or cities have joined the anti-Israel "BDS" movement, which stands for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions.
Still, the proposal angered many, including some on the right who accused Trump of prioritizing Israel and betraying his promise to put "America First."
In a document dating from April, the Department of Homeland Security said that grant recipients must desist from advancing ideologies like DEI or "limiting commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies."
The conditions were listed as part of recipients' obligation to comply with "anti-discrimination" laws.
"DHS reserves the right to suspend payments in whole or in part and/or terminate financial assistance awards if the Secretary of Homeland Security or her designee determines that the recipient has violated any provision of subsection (2)," the document said.
A newer version of the requirements does not include the language pertaining to Israel, but the DEI language is still there.
A statement from DHS emphasized that it would continue to "enforce all anti-discrimination laws and policies, including as it relates to the BDS movement, which is expressly grounded in antisemitism."
"There is no FEMA requirement tied to Israel in any current [Notice of Funding Opportunity]. No states have lost funding, and no new conditions have been imposed," said Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin.
"FEMA grants remain governed by existing law and policy and not political litmus tests. DHS will enforce all anti-discrimination laws and policies, including as it relates to the BDS movement, which is expressly grounded in antisemitism. Those who engage in racial discrimination should not receive a single dollar of federal funding."
A battle over redistricting escalated on Monday when Texas Republicans moved to arrest Democrats who fled the state in an effort to block the adoption of a new congressional map.
The Texas House voted 85-6 to arrest and bring back dozens of Democrats who traveled to Illinois and other blue states.
"The sergeant-at-arms and any officers appointed by her are directed to send for all absentees whose attendance is not excused for the purposes of securing and maintaining their attendance under warrant of arrest, if necessary, until further order of the House," said Republican Rep. Dustin Burrows, the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.
The Democrats' absence means lawmakers do not have a quorum to conduct business. Abbott called a special legislative session, which lasts two weeks.
It is not clear how the arrest warrants will be enforced outside of Texas, but Governor Greg Abbott (R) has threatened to pursue criminal charges when the Democrats eventually return.
The governor called for state police to "locate, arrest, and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans."
Every day the Democrats are absent, they incur a $500 fine, which could place them on the hook for bribery, Abbott said.
"It would be bribery if any lawmaker took money to perform or to refuse to perform an act in the legislature," Abbott told Fox News on Monday.
"And the reports are these legislators have both sought money and offered money to skip the vote, to leave the legislature, to take a legislative act. That would be bribery."
The state's Republicans are advancing a map that would potentially add five Republican seats and help the party maintain its hold on the House in the midterm elections.
The Trump-backed push has led Democrats in blue states to declare "war," although many states controlled by Democrats are already skewed heavily in the party's favor.
Illinois, the state most of the Texas Democrats are taking refuge in, is widely considered to have one of the most partisan congressional maps in the country, with 14 out of 17 House seats being won by Democrats in the last election.
While states typically redistrict after the decennial census, some Democratic governors have threatened to jump the gun and devise new maps mid-decade.
"Whatever they are doing [in Texas] will be neutered here in the state of California, and they will pay that price," California Governor Gavin Newsom said.
The Justice Department is opening a grand jury investigation into Obama administration officials over the Russia hoax.
Trump said he is "happy to hear" about the bombshell development, which was first reported by Fox News.
"They deserve it," Trump told Squawk Box Tuesday morning. "I was happy to hear it."
For years, Trump and his supporters have demanded justice over what many believe was an attempted coup against Trump by intelligence community insiders working with Democratic party operatives.
It is unclear who could face charges in the probe. But the names could possibly include former intelligence community heads like FBI director James Comey and CIA director John Brennan, who both played roles in amplifying the baseless Trump-Russia narrative that consumed much of Trump's first term.
As reported by Fox, attorney general Pam Bondi "personally ordered an unnamed federal prosecutor to initiate legal proceedings and the prosecutor is expected to present department evidence to a grand jury, which would allow the department to secure a potential indictment."
The grand jury's opening comes after intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard sent criminal referrals to the Justice Department, accusing Obama and his inner circle of a "treasonous conspiracy" to discredit Trump's 2016 election with false intelligence.
Gabbard revealed last month that Obama personally asked for a new assessment of Russian interference after Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. Obama's intelligence community concluded that Russia actively favored Trump, a finding that helped stoke unfounded suspicions about Trump colluding with Russia.
Trump was eventually vindicated with the release of the Mueller report in 2019, which found no evidence of collusion. But no one has ever been held accountable over the alleged conspiracy, which cast a shadow over Trump's White House for more than half of his term.
This is not the first criminal investigation into the origins of the Russia hoax, but it is a marked escalation compared to Special Counsel John Durham's probe, which focused on the Clinton campaign and did not lead to charges against any prominent individuals.
The Durham investigation lasted over three years and ended with acquittals for a Clinton campaign lawyer and a Russian source of the infamous Christopher Steele dossier. An FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for fabricating evidence that was used to spy on Trump campaign official Carter Page.
Durham did not uncover a criminal conspiracy, but he found "confirmation bias" at the FBI that worked against Trump and in favor of Clinton, who also faced FBI scrutiny over her private e-mail server, only to avoid charges.
The Trump administration recently declassified the annex of Durham's report, which contains evidence of an effort by the Clinton campaign to distract from Clinton's e-mail scandal by tying Trump with Russia. The FBI was apparently involved in the plan, which came from Clinton foreign policy adviser Julianne Smith.
“Julie [sic] says it will be a long-term affair to demonize Putin and Trump,” wrote Open Society senior vice president Leonard Benardo on July 25, 2016.
“Now it is good for a post-convention bounce. Later the FBI will put more oil into the fire.”
Obama's FBI did not scrutinize intelligence reports of the Clinton plan before opening the politically explosive investigation of Trump - and setting into motion one of the greatest scandals in American history.
Senate Republicans have given up the fight to confirm several nominees as lawmakers leave Washington, D.C., for summer break, Politico reported. The decision came Saturday after Majority Leader John Thune met with Senators who said President Donald Trump privately told them to table the negotiations for now.
According to an anonymous source, Thune attempted to negotiate with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer before ultimately pulling the plug. Sources close to the matter said sticking points in the talks included issues like funding the National Institutes of Health and providing foreign aid.
Meanwhile, Democrats made a separate offer promising to confirm their nominees later this year if Republicans agreed not to remove funding that was previously approved through rescission packages. Republicans would not agree to such terms, as Trump was not on board with these moves, and rescission only requires a simple majority in the House and Senate, which the GOP has.
With both parties at an impasse, it appears talks will have to resume when Congress reconvenes in September. Each side is blaming the other for the standoff, with Trump aiming his ire at Schumer for holding the nomination process up over funding.
Trump excoriated Schumer in a post to Truth Social on Saturday. "Senator Cryin’ Chuck Schumer is demanding over One Billion Dollars in order to approve a small number of our highly qualified nominees, who should right now be helping to run our Country," Trump wrote.
"This demand is egregious and unprecedented, and would be embarrassing to the Republican Party if it were accepted. It is political extortion, by any other name. Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!" Trump wrote.
"Do not accept the offer, go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country. Have a great RECESS and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!" Trump concluded.
Meanwhile, Schumer put the blame on Trump, whom he said “threw in the towel, sent Republicans home, and was unable to do the basic art of negotiating." Schumer added, "He went home with nothing."
While the Democrats play games and the Republicans skip town, the fate of at least 150 executive appointees hangs in the balance, Fox News reported. Thune claimed that this was proof that the rules are "desperately in need of change" after the impasse and continued opposition from Democrats.
"I think that the last six months have demonstrated that this process, nominations, is broken. And so I expect there will be some good robust conversations about that," Thune said.
Democrats claim they are not holding up nominations but that Trump's nominees are simply unqualified for the job, The Hill reported. Schumer said as much in a post to X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday. "Historically bad nominees deserve historic levels of scrutiny," Schumer declared.
"We have never seen nominees as flawed, as compromised, as unqualified as Trump’s. And they know that," Schumer added. Meanwhile, Democrats attempt to extract more money and less pushback from Republicans on their spending, which demonstrates how it's all about politics.
With Trump in office, Democrats have been digging their heels in wherever they can to thwart his agenda. Holding up nominations is just another tactic to achieve the same end, though they should be aware that the American people have given Trump a mandate while sending the message to Democrats that their political future is at stake.
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro was placed under house arrest for an alleged attempted coup meant to keep him in office after his 2022 electoral defeat, NPR reported. This decision comes as President Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on the nation over its handling of Bolsonaro's case.
Bolsonaro was put under restrictions on what he could say publicly after his defeat. However, the 70-year-old allegedly used his three sons, who hold elected office, to amplify his message to the people, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said in his decision Monday.
The former president allegedly said "good afternoon, Copacabana, good afternoon my Brazil, a hug to everyone, this is for our freedom" through the cell phone of one of his sons during a protest in Rio de Janeiro. Attorneys for Bolsonaro said that this message could not "be regarded as ignoring precautionary measures or as a criminal act," but the judge disagreed.
Attorneys for Bolsonaro have promised to appeal his conviction. Meanwhile, Trump is using the power of the American government in pursuit of justice for Bolsonaro, including the tariff leveled against the South American nation as part of his trade war and other sanctions.
The Trump administration believes the case against Bolsonaro is dubious. When the Treasury Department announced sanctions against Brazil, it claimed that de Moraeas imposed "arbitrary" pre-trial detentions and used his authority to stifle the free speech of his political enemies, according to Fox News.
"Alexandre de Moraes has taken it upon himself to be judge and jury in an unlawful witch hunt against U.S. and Brazilian citizens and companies. De Moraes is responsible for an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights, and politicized prosecutions—including against former President Jair Bolsonaro," Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in the notice.
"Today’s action makes clear that Treasury will continue to hold accountable those who threaten U.S. interests and the freedoms of our citizens," Bessent added. In addition to the hefty tariffs, the sanctions imposed on the judge included freezing any assets in the U.S. held by de Morae in a 50% or more share, including property.
Moreover, the Treasury Department warned that any entity or person who engages in activities or completes transactions with de Morae in violation of the sanctions may also be subject to the sanctions. Trump was able to impose sanctions based on an executive order he issued in his first term, combating "serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world," which "constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States."
Passed in 2017, Executive Order 13818 added to the existing 2016 Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, giving the president the right to declare sanctions against entities that violated those rights. The use of this was already in the works, as last month the White House was rumored to be working with the Brazilian ex-president's son, Eduardo.
The Brazilian Supreme Court's case against Bolsonaro accused him of orchestrating a coup attempt through criticism of the voting system and an effort to get top military officials on board with his plan, including a riot at the nation's capital. The court even alleged that there was a plan to assassinate a Supreme Court judge and Bolsonaro's successor.
Predictably, the left has drawn strong parallels between Bolsonaro and Trump. According to a CNN report in 2023, many claimed that Bolsonaro's rhetoric about election rigging and the ensuing riot mirrored the Jan. 6, 2021, incursion at the U.S. Capitol.
Leftist news outlets called the Jan. 6 riot an "insurrection" that Trump incited by giving a speech and then waiting at the White House while it unfolded, a claim which has since been debunked in court. Bolsonaro was not even in Brazil during the riot, but both were roundly criticized for these events, which took place allegedly at their behest.
Then-President Joe Biden took to X, formerly Twitter, to denounce such actions. "I condemn the assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil. Brazil’s democratic institutions have our full support, and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined," Biden wrote at the time.
It's difficult to separate fact from fiction in the U.S., let alone in a foreign country. However, Trump's defense of Bolsonaro and the actions against him speak volumes, especially since Trump has been vindicated in defending himself against his own witch hunt.
President Donald Trump fired five of the seven members of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (FOMBPR) on Friday, as reported exclusively by Breitbart News.
An official at the White House informed Breitbart that Chairman Arthur J. Gonzalez, Cameron McKenzie, Betty Rosa, Juan Sabater, and Luis Ubiñas were taken off the board, while the remaining two members, Andrew Biggs and John Nixon, remain in place.
“The Financial Oversight and Management Board of Puerto Rico has been run inefficiently and ineffectively by its governing members for far too long, and it’s time to restore common sense leadership,” the official said.
The official said, and a 2017 Daily Caller report supports, that the average salary of the board members is approximately $214,000, which is 10 times the median household income of $20,078 in Puerto Rico.
All of the board members were appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2016. He also appointed Robert F. Mujica Jr., previously the “budget guru” for former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), as the board's executive director at a reported salary of $625,000.
Mujica formerly made $216,000 as Cuomo's budget guru, so it was a huge jump for him as well.
“The Board is tasked with working with the people and Government of Puerto Rico to create the needed foundation for economic growth and to restore opportunity to the 3.5 million Americans of Puerto Rico,” an Obama press release read at the time.
Besides the $3 million budget for staff, the board spent north of $1 million on McKinney each month for "strategic consulting," according to a 2017 New Yorker article.
“Millions more have gone to other firms—many of which have political connections—to cover costs that include catering and inflated photocopying charges," the article said.
The far-left newspaper Jacobin noted in a critical article in 2023 that Puerto Rico has been bankrupt since 2016; in other words, the board's activities have not benefited the territory.
Democrats love to portray Republicans as profiting off the poor (by running legitimate businesses and paying employees), but how much worse is it to take hugely inflated salaries and spend tens of millions of dollars every year while doing nothing to help this nation, where many live on next to nothing?
It's unconscionable, and it happens way too often in Latin American countries where leaders routinely take all the wealth for themselves and leave the people no better off than before.
It's even worse when the American government does it to one of its own territories, which it should presumably protect and help.
Hopefully, Trump will get rid of Mujica, too, and will put in his own people who will actually improve economic conditions in Puerto Rico.
The Trump administration has announced it will not require health insurers to cover in vitro fertilization (IVF), the Daily Caller reported.
This decision is informed by the requirement for congressional action to enact such mandates.
The choice is aligned with the stance despite supportive approaches to IVF, focusing instead on alternative measures to foster accessibility and reduce costs.
After the Alabama Supreme Court's 2024 decision that redefined frozen embryos as "children," bipartisan concerns emerged regarding the implications for future IVF treatments.
Former President Trump subsequently committed to making IVF more accessible and affordable, though without involving insurance mandates.
In February, an executive order aimed to ease IVF costs and promote innovation within the field, focusing on affordability rather than mandatory coverage.
By not imposing a federal mandate, the White House emphasizes the need for legislative involvement to authorise such wide-reaching health policy changes.
Officials have articulated support for IVF while advocating for methods that enhance treatment access without comprehensive insurance mandates.
The approach seeks to encourage technological advancements and reduce the economic burdens of IVF treatments.
Despite rejecting a federal mandate on insurance coverage, the administration remains committed to supporting IVF through other avenues.
Reducing costs and advancing technology are seen as viable ways to make IVF treatments more accessible to a broader audience.
These strategies are aimed at making the fertility treatment process less financially daunting for those seeking assistance.
The administration continues to explore effective ways to assist families wanting IVF treatments, sidestepping direct legislative mandates.
Efforts to support prospective parents focus on improving accessibility to necessary treatments and enhancing overall treatment affordability.
The goal is to maintain a support system that assists individuals and families, aligning with the administration's broader health care objectives.
The Supreme Court has signaled that it may end the practice of race-based redistricting, which has helped Democrats pad their margins in the House of Representatives for decades.
In an order Friday, the court expanded the scope of a case on the Voting Rights Act in Louisiana. The justices asked the parties to submit briefs on "whether the State’s intentional creation of a second majority-minority congressional district violates the Fourteenth or Fifteenth Amendments to the U. S. Constitution."
Although considered critical to democracy by some, the Voting Rights Act is controversial because it forces states to consider race in order to protect the voting power of minorities.
Under certain circumstances, Section 2 of the law requires minority groups to receive their own districts, where they are essentially guaranteed to elect candidates of their choice.
While some majority-minority districts have Republican representatives, race-based redistricting tends to benefit primarily Democrats.
The current dispute over Louisiana's districts has been brewing for years. Challengers successfully struck down the state's original map as discriminatory because it allowed blacks - who make up a third of the state's population - to elect a candidate of their choice in one district out of six.
Louisiana's new map, which has two black-majority districts, was challenged by "non-African American voters" who say it constitutes a racial gerrymander. A federal court agreed, finding the map violates the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, but the Supreme Court allowed the map to be used for 2024's elections.
The Supreme Court was originally expected to resolve the case this year, but in June, the justices said they would hear new arguments next term before making their decision.
In a similar fight out of Alabama, the Supreme Court surprisingly upheld Section 2's protections, forcing the state to draw a second black-majority district for the 2024 cycle. Even still, some of the justices signaled at the time that race-based redistricting cannot be a permanent solution to discrimination.
As Brett Kavanaugh then noted, "even if Congress in 1982 could constitutionally authorize race-based redistricting under §2 for some period of time, the authority to conduct race-based redistricting cannot extend indefinitely into the future.”
By expanding the Louisiana case, the justices may have given their strongest hint yet that they believe race-based redistricting should end.
The Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder, when the court effectively ended a requirement for some states and localities to get federal "pre-clearance" before changing their voting procedures. The court found that the formula used to determine which states were covered by the provision was no longer appropriate decades after Jim Crow ended.
Critics of race-based redistricting see it as almost a form of affirmative action applied to elections. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, for example, has chafed at the notion that the Voting Rights Act requires proportional representation of minority groups in Congress, saying this interpretation turns the law into "nothing more than a racial entitlement... wherever different racial groups consistently prefer different candidates."
President Trump's immigration crackdown is providing relief to the American people after years of open borders. No less a Trump foe than CNN conceded that Trump is "remaking the country" as net immigration goes down for the first time in decades.
That means more jobs for Americans, more housing supply, and less chaos in communities everywhere.
During a discussion on CNN's Newsroom, chief data analyst Harry Enten credited Trump with being the "most influential president" since FDR, citing Trump's tariff rates, the highest since the 1930s, and low immigration numbers.
While Trump's protectionist agenda looks to reverse decades of offshoring that hurt the working-class, he is simultaneously closing off America's borders to cheap, foreign labor - and generally making life difficult for illegal immigrants who are already living here.
As Enten noted, net immigration is down for the first time "in at least 50 years."
“It is not the only way that Trump is remaking America,” Enten said, referring to tariffs. “The other big thing that Trump ran on, right, was immigration. How about net migration in the United States? Get this. It’s down. It’s going to be down at least 60%," Enten said.
"We may be dealing with, get this, negative net migration to the United States in 2025. That would be the first time there is negative net migration in this country in at least 50 years.”
The projected decline in immigration is a stark reversal from Biden-era trends, which saw the foreign-born share of the population reach an all-time high as the border was opened up.
“We’re talking about down from 2.8 million in 2024,” Enten added. “So Donald Trump has always run on tariffs and he’s running a hawkish line on immigration."
"And on both of those issues, we are seeing record high tariff rates for this century going all the way back, well back into the early part of the 20th century. When it comes to immigration, net migration, we are seeing record low levels, way down from where we were during the Biden administration.”
Trump's zero-tolerance immigration policy has sent illegal border crossings plummeting. The numbers hit another record low of 4,598 in July.
Under Trump, Americans are getting hired. Trump was slammed over last week's July jobs report, which showed cooling in the labor market, but there was a silver lining: 383,000 new jobs went to Americans, while the number of foreign workers decreased by 400,000.
Trump's policy is also saving lives south of the border: according to reports, crossings through the perilous Darien Gap have all but stopped after soaring under Biden.
If there is one issue that voters associate with Trump, it is immigration. And Trump is giving Americans what they asked for when they elected him: he is stopping - and actually reversing - the invasion of our sovereign borders.