As Democrats in Congress and their media allies worked overtime to torpedo former Republican lawmaker Matt Gaetz as President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general, at least one Dem found herself in potentially big trouble.
According to the Washington Examiner, House Ethics Committee ranking member Susan Wild (D-PA) is thought to have been at the center of a leak related to a controversial report regarding Gaetz's internal investigation.
Now, House Republicans are considering disciplinary actions against her, which could include a censure resolution.
Republicans would need to bring the resolution to the floor no later than next week, as Wild is set to leave Congress in January.
Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) has reportedly been asked for his "view" on whether or not to bring the resolution to punish Wild to the House floor.
"House Ethics discussions are confidential, and House Ethics has no jurisdiction over individuals not serving in Congress. There must be consequences for ‘leaking,’" Perry said in a post on X.
He added, "How can anyone have any faith in the House Ethics Committee when one of its own members are engaged in unethical practices."
While I am not leading this effort, I am being asked my view on a censure of Rep. Wild. House Ethics discussions are confidential and House Ethics has no jurisdiction over individuals not serving in Congress. There must be consequences for “leaking.”
How can anyone have any…
— Rep. Scott Perry (@RepScottPerry) December 13, 2024
Notably, Wild has been absent from recent Ethics Committee meetings discussing the report.
While it wasn't clear exactly why she skipped the meetings, a spokesperson for her office released a statement to The Hill.
"Rep. Wild was frustrated by the manner in which the report was handled and didn’t feel it was fruitful to participate in any further meetings on its ‘potential’ release. Characterizing it as anything more is inaccurate. There will be no further statement," Jed Ober, Wild’s chief of staff, wrote.
Penny received mixed reactions to his announcement, with many doubting that anything will happen to her.
"House ethics what a joke. Are they going to get a strongly worded letter in their file or fired by the American people? If you people in Congress won't do your job, we the people will do it for you. Despicable," one X user wrote.
Another X user wrote, "It is time that Republicans did something other than cower to socialist democrats."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Kari Lake, a former newscaster and candidate for Arizona governor and U.S. Senate, to be the new chief of Voice of America, the government-funded worldwide news agency.
And leftists are melting down over the appointment of the longtime Trump supporter.
Just the News noted that Trump's announcement said Lake will work alongside the next leader of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, who has not yet been nominated.
Lake was a candidate for Arizona governor in 2022 and the U.S. Senate in 2024, and lost both races by narrow margins.
"I am pleased to announce that Kari Lake will serve as our next Director of the Voice of America," Trump explained in a posting on Truth Social. "She will be appointed by, and work closely with, our next head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, who I will announce soon, to ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World FAIRLY and ACCURATELY, unlike the lies spread by the Fake News Media."
It was the Daily Mail that described the Democrats' "meltdown" over the appointment.
The report said, "A BlueSky account run by the Get More Smarter podcast, a show about Colorado politics hosted by Democrat operatives Jason Bane and Ian Silverii, wrote: 'He's really gonna make Kari Lake chief international propaganda minister holy s***.'"
And an ex-official for the Brooklyn Democratic party, David Schwartz, said on the same alternative social media site, "Putting Kari Lake in charge to monitor fake news is like putting a cat to watch over mice."
And there was social media speculation about removing the current chief, Michael Abramowitz.
Lake's own response: "I am honored … Voice of America is a vital international media outlet dedicated to advancing the interests of the United States by engaging directly with people across the globe and promoting democracy and truth. … Under my leadership, the VOA will excel in its mission: chronicling America's achievements worldwide."
VOA has about 1,000 employees and its 2023 budge was in the range of $260 million.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suffered an injury and has been admitted to a military hospital in Luxembourg to undergo emergency surgery.
Pelosi was traveling to Luxembourg to attend ceremonies remembering the Battle of the Bulge and was reportedly taking photos with other officials and lawmakers when she tripped and fell.
Pelosi was rushed to the hospital after falling down marble stairs and reportedly underwent hip replacement surgery at a U.S. military hospital in Germany.
Ian Krager, Pelosi's spokesman, issued a statement saying that the 84-year-old “is well on the mend,” despite the severity of her injury.
Pelosi was in Luxembourg with a bipartisan congressional delegation to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.
Pelosi's advanced age has become more apparent in recent months and this latest incident has put a spotlight on the need for Pelosi and other elderly Congressional members to retire.
An earlier statement prior to Pelosi's surgery from Krager read, "While traveling with a bipartisan Congressional delegation in Luxembourg to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi sustained an injury during an official engagement and was admitted to the hospital for evaluation."
Krager's statement ended, "Speaker Emerita Pelosi conveys her thanks and praise to our veterans and gratitude to people of Luxembourg and Bastogne for their service in World War II and their role in bringing peace to Europe."
What is worth noting is that Krager's statement was very conservative with any details and it is clear that Pelosi's camp wanted news of her undergoing surgery to be hidden as long as possible.
Pelosi is engaged in a serious power struggle in the Democrat Party and this incident could be a major blow to her plans of wielding power in the Democrat Party.
Pelosi was elected to yet another term in Congress in November and shows no sign of relinquishing her influence and hold on the Democrat Party.
While Pelosi may not be the Speaker of the House anymore, she is still holding onto power and is currently engaged in a power struggle with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) who is seeking to be the next Democrat leader on the House Oversight Committee.
Pelosi is actively pushing fellow Democrats to back Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA) over AOC in what is the latest front of the cold war between establishment Democrats and younger more radical Democrats.
Pelosi's fall and subsequent surgery has once again made it clear that Pelosi is old and really should have retired years ago and this will only spur young Democrats as they work to take power in the Democrat Party that has been dominated by the same few figures for decades.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Back in 2006, a North Carolina Central University student who worked part-time as a stripper was hired for a party held by the Duke University lacrosse team. After, she claimed she was raped by three team members.
The claims by Crystal Mangum destroyed at least for a while the lives of the three put an overzealous prosecutor behind bars and cost Duke millions of dollars, reports have confirmed over the years.
Now she's admitting, on video, what society has known for years: She made it all up.
In her statement, she said, "I testified falsely against [the lacrosse players] by saying that they raped me when they didn't…I made up a story that wasn't true…I hope that they can forgive me."
A report at RedState said Mangum had maintained her story even in a book she wrote in 2008.
But now, as she nears the end of her prison sentence for second-degree murder for the death of her then-boyfriend in 2011, she confessed, during an interview on "Let's Talk with Kat," at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women.
"I testified falsely against them by saying that they raped me when they didn't, and that was wrong, and I betrayed the trust of a lot of other people who believed in me," Mangum said in the interview. "[I] made up a story that wasn't true because I wanted validation from people and not from God."
RedState reported her allegations turned the community into a mob rule society.
"Players were ostracized and received death threats. The team was condemned by the faculty, and their season was suspended. Black Panthers set up camp on the quad. White residents of Durham were randomly beaten up. The local paper took the side of the stripper. The police intimidated witnesses who had alibis for the accused. The DA committed fraud, lied, and misrepresented information (he was eventually disbarred)," the report said.
It got worse, "A group of 88 Duke professors took out an ad in April of that year in the student newspaper, strongly insinuating without evidence that the players were guilty of racism, sexism, and rape, and saying they (the professors) were listening as the community shared their stories of feeling targeted based on their race/sex," the report said.
It was Democrat Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong who pursued the players, only to later resign in disgrace. He later was disbarred for his behavior and sent to jail for a day, the report said, over "fraud, dishonesty, deceit or misrepresentation; of making false statements of material fact before a judge; of making false statements of material fact before bar investigators, and of lying about withholding exculpatory DNA evidence, among other violations."
Roy Cooper, then attorney general but now governor, then declared the players innocent and announced charges were dropped.
Lawsuits against the city and Duke were later settled, reportedly for millions of dollars.
The report noted the accused players "went on to have successful careers."
A new Justice Department report on January 6th, 2021 confirms that the Capitol was crawling with over two dozen federal informants during the riot, with some sharing updates with FBI handlers as the chaos progressed.
The findings provide support for speculation about the federal government's role in the Capitol breach, which some Donald Trump supporters have alleged was a set-up.
The Office of Inspector General report suggests that the feds, at the very least, anticipated violence and missed opportunities to stop it.
"For those keeping score at home, this was labeled a dangerous conspiracy theory months ago," vice president-elect J.D. Vance wrote in response to the report.
The review identified three FBI informants who were directed to travel to Washington D.C. to monitor potential domestic terrorists before the January 6th certification.
An additional 23 FBI informants were present during the riot. Four of them entered the Capitol and another 13 entered the restricted area around the Capitol. While none of the FBI informants present were authorized to enter the Capitol, none were prosecuted for doing so.
The OIG did not find evidence that the FBI had undercover employees embedded in the crowd. However some of the informants who were present provided updates to their FBI handlers while the riot was in progress.
The FBI also received information prior to the event about the possibility of violence from sources connected to militia groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, whose leaders have received some of the longest January 6th sentences for crimes like seditious conspiracy.
One of the informants "indicated they had concerns for the safety of Members of Congress on Jan. 6.”
While it's customary for the FBI to canvass field offices before a major national event, they did not do this for the electoral certification on January 6th, 2021, the OIG found, with FBI deputy director Paul Abbate calling this a "basic step that was missed."
Still, the feds anticipated possible violence and played a "supporting role" in preparing, which enabled the FBI to rapidly mobilize tactical assets to assist with local police once the violence started.
"Indeed, after the Capitol was breached by rioters on January 6, the FBI was in a position to deploy tactical assets to help clear the Capitol of protesters and to help USCP secure the perimeter around the Capitol Complex," the report said.
Over 1,500 defendants have been charged over January 6th. President-elect Trump has promised to pardon many of them when he returns to office in January.
The media's smear campaign against Pete Hegseth appears to be imploding as members of Congress rally behind the Defense nominee following a blatantly false claim about his qualifications.
In a stunningly dishonest move, West Point falsely claimed that Hegseth was never accepted to the prestigious military academy, which in fact offered him a slot that he did not accept.
An editor at left-wing ProPublica defended the story, claiming West Point told the outlet twice that Hegseth never applied to the school.
Hegseth posted an image of his acceptance letter online to pre-empt Pro Publica's smear piece.
West Point's involvement in spreading an egregiously false claim about Hegseth has raised concern of malfeasance, with Rep. Jim Banks (In.) suggesting political collusion between the respected academy and left-wing reporters.
"It is outrageous that West Point officials would so grossly interfere in a political process and make false claims regarding a presidential nominee," Banks told Fox News.
"Even in the unlikely scenario of OPA mistakenly making false claims not once but twice, it is an unforgivable act of incompetence that OPA did not make absolutely sure their information was accurate before sharing it with a reporter."
Hegseth's nomination appeared to bounce back this week after a barrage of media attacks left his confirmation in doubt.
The firestorm has focused on his treatment of women, with reporters leaking an emotional e-mail from his mother and anonymous claims, which were later discredited, about his behavior at two veterans' groups.
This week, Hegseth said he had received notice that ProPublica was preparing to publish a "knowingly false" report about his acceptance to West Point. The school later apologized for the "administrative error."
Many are sure to be skeptical that this was simply an innocent mistake, given the firestorm of controversy surrounding Hegseth and his opposition to "woke" ideology in the military and the service academies.
Banks, a Trump loyalist, won election to the Senate this year and is supporting Hegseth's confirmation to head the Pentagon. Hegseth has been meeting with Republican senators to build support for his confirmation.
"Pete Hegseth will shake up the DOD and eliminate wokeness from our military and military academies. This upsets the bureaucrats at West Point, who now seem to be trying to sabotage his nomination," Banks told Fox News Digital.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signaled a willingness to work with President-elect Donald Trump, Fox News reported. The Michigan Democrat said she hopes to "find some common ground" with Trump in a stunning turnaround.
Whitmer made these remarks while speaking with CNN during a Democratic governors' meeting in Los Angeles this week. "People in Michigan, like a majority of Americans, voted for Donald Trump, and my oath is to Michigan," Whitmer said.
"Obviously, I’ve got experience in this type of environment that will help inform how I continue to fight for Michigan. But I know Donald Trump cares about Michigan," Whitmer added.
"And I’m hoping that because of that, we’ll be able to find some common ground in some important ways," the Democratic governor concluded. After losing the state in 2020, Trump won again this time around.
Trump and Whitmer famously bumped heads during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. At one point, Trump referred to her as "that woman from Michigan," which became a rallying cry for the radical leftist.
As recently as August of this year, Whitmer brought it up while stumping for Vice President Kamala Harris, CBS News reported. She called Trump "That man for Mar-a-Lago" in her remarks during the Democratic National Convention.
"Being a woman from Michigan is a badge of honor," Whitmer had told the crowd. She also denigrated Trump for his wealthy lifestyle, suggesting it somehow made him out of touch and unable to help the people in her state.
"You think he understands that when your car breaks down, you can't get to work? No!" Whitmer claimed.
"His first word was probably 'chauffeur.' You think he's ever had to take items out of the cart before checking out?" Whitmer slammed Trump. "Hell, you think he's even been to a grocery store? That's what the chauffeur is for."
Now, Whitmer and others are attempting to build goodwill with Trump by stroking his ego. They believe doing so will keep Trump from attacking them, which is a victory in its own way for the Republican president, even if they can't see it.
New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul schmoozed Trump as a native of the Empire State. She told Trump he is a "president who is a New Yorker, has been a New Yorker, would understand how important it is for the success of our state" during a phone conversation.
However, Hochul hasn't completely abandoned her leftist hatred for Trump. "It would be irresponsible of me not to anticipate all scenarios of what could happen, especially listening to what the president said, what his advisers have said, what his appointees have said, what his candidates for various positions have said, and what Project 2025 says," the New York governor claimed.
"I have to be keenly aware of all those potential challenges and have a strategy to respond to each if they actually occur. So it’s playing some defense right now, getting the game plan together, and being willing to work," Hochul said.
Trump is retaking the White House with a mandate from the people. Everyone is getting in line behind him now, from America's adversaries to the Democratic governors who recognize that Trump is not to be discounted or trifled with.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Big Tech, which largely has taken extreme anti-Trump positions in recent years, suddenly is reversing itself.
Already, Meta has agreed to donate $1 million to the inauguration plans for President-elect Trump. Now Amazon is making the same move.
A report from the Wall Street Journal described the move by Amazon's Jeff Bezos as working to "shore up ties" with Trump.
A report at the Right Scoop said, "Wow. They are lining up to smooth relations with President Trump ahead of his four year term. Next thing you know Bezos will be flying to Mar-a-lago to kiss the ring in person."
WND had reported only a day earlier that Meta, Mark Zuckerberg's corporation that owns, among other things, Facebook, had done the same.
The Daily Caller News Foundation explained that donation comes "amid a thaw in relations between Trump and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, with Zuckerberg paying a visit to Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club in Florida two weeks ago, according to the WSJ."
Meta had censored Trump following the disputed 2020 election, and the Washington Post, owned by Bezos, had been harshly critical of the Republican president-elect.
Officials said Amazon also will live-stream Trump's inauguration on its video service.
Zuckerberg's change of heart about Trump seems to have begun a few months ago when he wrote a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan admitting the Biden-Harris administration pressured Meta to censor content.
He expressed regret at having cooperated with the leftist agenda.
"I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it," Zuckerberg wrote. "I also think we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn't make today."
Several Silicon Valley moguls, including Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Jeff Bezos and Zuckerberg, congratulated Trump following his Nov. 5 election win.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
In a move that is being mocked online over its obvious points of failure, leftist food workers in the Washington, D.C., region are promising to punish Republicans in the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
Fox News caught the announcement, that "TAKING OUR POWER BACK: Food workers in Washington, D.C., are pledging to refuse service and cause other inconveniences for members of the incoming Trump administration when they dine out over the next four years."
A report at Twitchy warns, "These Kamala-loving food workers say they will do nasty things like making members of his administration have to wait 20 extra minutes for their food or providing even worse service than they normally do."
But it pointed out a gap in the logic of the agenda: "We don't have problems with Democrats self-sabotaging themselves, but their employers may not care too much for it. If these whiny workers' ignorance starts costing them money and losing customers, these service-slackers will be fired."
Among social media comments were:
"Seems that now might be a good time for some conservatives to open restaurants in the DC area."
"It will be a pleasure to see you go out of business."
And, "Then they won't have jobs when nobody visits these establishments."
A member of the community pointed out another failing: That Republicans are better tippers, and are lower maintenance customers, too.
And not that it would impact a leftist agenda, but it's actually illegal in D.C. to discriminate on the basis of political party, commenters pointed out.
In a blow to Joe Biden's lame duck efforts to obstruct the Trump administration, the Senate voted 50-49 to block a Democratic majority on the National Labor Relations Board.
The tie-breaking vote was cast by Ohio senator and future vice president J.D. Vance, who flew to Washington D.C. to sink the nomination of Lauren McFerren, a Biden loyalist known for her pro-labor agenda.
The National Labor Relations Board has significant power to set the agenda on labor law enforcement, and under McFerren, the scales have been tipped heavily in favor of organized labor.
If she had been confirmed to another five-year term, Democrats would have retained control of the board through 2026.
"Make no mistake: This vote had nothing to do with stopping Chair McFerran’s renomination and everything to do with reversing generations of progress workers have made toward building a fairer and more just economy,” Liz Shuler, president of AFL-CIO, said.
Also helping to sink the nomination were Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, who are both retiring from the Senate. The former Democrats were frequently a thorn in Biden's side throughout his term.
The duo's role in blocking McFerren sparked fresh outrage from the left, as Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-Ny.) who lost his majority in November, decried the vote as an attack on the working-class.
“It is deeply disappointing, a direct attack on working people, and incredibly troubling that this highly qualified nominee — with a proven track record of protecting worker rights — did not have the votes,” Schumer said.
While McFerren's failure is seen as a win for business groups, President-elect Trump is ensuring that unions have a seat at the table in his administration by nominating a union-friendly Republican to lead the Labor Department, Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
Trump's historic re-election victory was powered by a political realignment that saw him erode the Democrats' traditionally working-class base. In his latest show of support for workers, Trump said Thursday that he is siding with the dock workers' union against automation at America's ports.
"The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American Workers, in this case, our Longshoremen," he said.
Trump's labor outreach hasn't come without controversy as some Republicans argue that embracing unions is a mistake.
In any event, the failure of Biden's push to continue controlling the NLRB will ensure that Trump is able to set his own agenda on labor relations.