This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A Republican in Congress has expressed his surprise that Democrats are running around now, enraged and repeatedly filing lawsuits, over the fact that there's someone who has found government waste and fraud.
But they're not upset at the people who have been committing the fraud.
It's U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, who made the comments posted online this week.
He said, "I've seen Democrats on TV for the past week scream Elon Musk, Elon Musk, Musk, Musk, Musk, Musk, Musk, Musk. It's been quite invigorating actually. I'm really enjoying it. … But what's funny about it to me is you're mad at the guy that found the fraud, but not mad at people that wasted your money."
He added, "Here at Congress we clearly can't cut a budget. So I really thank Elon for doing our job for us."
In fact, Musk, through President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, has been slashing at programs the law does not require, people who do programs that are unnecessary, spending that is not justified.
He's already tabulated possible savings to taxpayers in the billions and billions of dollars. Of course, those many of those programs taking taxpayer cash for unnecessary projects have been created by Democrats.
Democrats have almost to a voice opposed the cutbacks, and in fact have filed well over 100 lawsuits against Trump's agenda to make America better.
Hunt also is the congressman who warned some days ago in a congressional hearing that Democrats are unable to get past the first step in the process of handling grief.
It's because Trump won.
He was addressing a plan to add additional federal judgeships to focus on the workload facing the current judiciary.
That plan had bipartisan support during the last Congress, but was vetoed by Joe Biden, in an apparent effort to deprive Trump of the authority to appoint additional judges.
The plan, since it was bipartisan, has returned.
He criticized the Democrat talking points about the judiciary and Trump. And the fact that Biden actually boasted of ignoring a Supreme Court ruling.
"But now we're hearing that if President Trump ignores judges, we're in a constitutional crisis. So if everyone is following along, it means that a constitutional crisis only occurs when Republicans ignore federal judges. And the left is using activist judges to not only legislate from the bench, but also to encroach on the executive branch."
He accused Democrats of "resorting to lawfare" and delaying democracy.
"The same party that raided the home of President Trump and weaponized the DOJ against President Trump is now using the limited power they have to delay, delay, and delay reality. What the left is experiencing isn't new. They are simply experiencing the five stages of grief," he said. "And unfortunately for them, they are stuck on stage one, denial. The American people really need to get them to stage five as fast as possible, which is acceptance, because that's exactly what the American people voted for, and that's exactly where the American people are."
President Trump has ordered the Secret Service to stop protecting Hunter Biden and his half-sister Ashley Biden.
The order reverses a move by their father, former President Biden, to extend protection for his adult children for another six months after his term in office ended.
Trump made the news official in a post on Truth Social, which questioned the use of taxpayer money to guard Hunter Biden while he takes a lavish vacation in South Africa - a country Trump has criticized for human rights abuses against white landowners.
"Hunter Biden has had Secret Service protection for an extended period of time, all paid for by the United States Taxpayer. There are as many as 18 people on this Detail, which is ridiculous! He is currently vacationing in, of all places, South Africa, where the Human Rights of people has been strenuously questioned," Trump wrote.
In the post, Trump noted that his administration is cutting off aid to South Africa over its land reform law, which allows the government to take land from white farmers without compensation.
"Because of this, South Africa has been taken off our list of Countries receiving Economic and Financial Assistance," Trump wrote.
"Please be advised that, effective immediately, Hunter Biden will no longer receive Secret Service protection. Likewise, Ashley Biden who has 13 agents will be taken off the list."
All ex-presidents, their spouses, and children of ex-presidents under 16 are entitled to ongoing Secret Service protection. Presidents may extend that protection to their adult children for up to six months after leaving office. Trump did so with his own family at the end of his first term.
"We are aware of the President’s decision to terminate protection for Hunter and Ashley Biden," the Secret Service told Fox News Digital. "The Secret Service will comply and is actively working with the protective details and the White House to ensure compliance as soon as possible."
Hunter Biden recently won a bid to drop a civil lawsuit against a former Trump aide, Garrett Ziegler, who published the contents of Biden's infamous laptop. Biden said he could no longer afford the court battle after a recent decline in his financial situation.
The New York Post published photos over the weekend of Hunter Biden in Cape Town, South Africa, surrounded by Secret Service.
The report noted that Biden was staying in a $500-per-night "ultra-luxurious designer home with spectacular 180 degrees unobstructed views of the sea.”
A few days later, Trump ended Biden's Secret Service detail.
Hunter Biden received a notorious blanket pardon from his father shortly before the end of the Biden presidency. President Trump has said his predecessor's pardons are invalid because they used an autopen, rather than Biden's own signature.
Residents of South Florida were placed under a "red flag" warning Monday as dry conditions and high winds raised the risk of wildfires - putting President Trump's historic Mar-a-Lago mansion in the danger zone.
It's the first such warning Palm Beach County has received in two years, the Palm Beach Post reported.
In Florida, wildfire season is all year, but the risk is highest in spring and summer.
A mass of cold, dry air on Monday combined with low relative humidity led the National Weather Service (NWS) to declare a "red flag" warning in Palm Beach County, where Trump's home is located on a barrier island.
"It's not very common at all for this area," NWS meteorologist Ana Torres-Vazquez told Newsweek.
Since January 1, only 2.76 inches of rain has fallen at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, which is five inches less than usual. 78% of the county is considered to be in a severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The "red flag" warning lasted from noon to 8 p.m. Monday. The National Weather Service cited wind gusts of up to 25 miles per hour and relative humidity dipping below 35%.
"Any fires that develop could spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended. A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior," NWS Miami said.
With its gilded rooms and extravagant Mediterranean exterior, Mar-A-Lago is a cultural landmark and an internationally recognized example of Trump's opulent taste.
The palatial mansion was built by cereal heiress Marjorie Meriwether Post, who wanted it to become a "Winter White House" after her death. The federal government couldn't keep up with the exorbitant cost of maintaining the property, and it was returned to the Post Foundation, which eventually sold it to Trump for reportedly half the $20 million asking price in 1985.
The European-style villa became a National Historic Landmark in 1980, with the National Park Service noting it "exemplifies the baronial way of life of the wealthy who built mansions in Florida during the Florida land boom of the 1920s."
In the Trump era, Mar-A-Lago has become an unofficial second White House, where foreign dignitaries often gather to pay their respects to the Donald.
Despite tight security, Mar-A-Lago is also a flashpoint for political protests and the occasional trespassing incident. The home was infamously raided in the summer of 2022 by the FBI under the administration of Joe Biden, Trump's former rival.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
'When powerful people cheat to get better loans, it comes at the expense of honest and hardworking people'
A new report from Joel Gilbert, a Los Angeles-based film producer, is suggesting New York Attorney General Letitia James lied on various forms to obtain favorable real estate mortgage terms on a building she owns.
James was the state prosecutor who created a real estate fraud case against President Donald Trump, in which she claimed fraudulent activities in the valuation of his properties and his work to obtain various loans for his real estate business.
She brought the lawfare case against Trump and obtained a fraud judgment against him from a left-leaning judge who imposed damages of hundreds of millions of dollars even though witnesses during the trial testified Trump paid off every loan in full and on time, they did not lose any money and they wanted to do business with him again.
That judgment and penalty, from Arthur Engoron, now is on appeal.
But James' involvement in real estate transactions and her own activities were profiled in a report published at the Gateway Pundit, which noted that for more than two decades, James has "repeatedly claimed her Brooklyn apartment building was a four-unit property on mortgage applications – despite official records proving it had five."
The report explained, "This may seem a minor discrepancy, but misrepresenting the unit count enabled her to secure more favorable loans, including a 2011 Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) loan that saved her tens of thousands of dollars annually."
The report includes online postings of various documents, including a Brooklyn Department of Buildings Certificate of Occupancy for the address that shows one family residence in the basement, one the first floor, one on the second, and two on the third.
That makes five residences.
But James repeatedly has described it as a four-unit building in mortgage applications.
The report said the difference "is critical."
"Properties with four or fewer units qualify for more favorable 'residential' interest rates, while those with five or more are classified as 'commercial' properties—often subject to higher rates," the report confirmed.
The report described how, in 2005 with an adjustable-rate mortgage likely rising to a cap of more than 10%, "James sought relief from HAMP – a federal initiative under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) designed to assist homeowners at risk of foreclosure."
"HAMP, however, had strict eligibility requirements. According to its official Making Home Affordable Program Handbook, 'Eligibility is limited to owner-occupied properties with no more than four units.' The reasoning was clear: the program aimed to assist regular homeowners and not landlords of multi-family rental apartment businesses," the report said.
In her HAMP application, James said the property had four family apartments.
Further, James is on record with a "financial hardship statement," declaring, "I am experiencing a financial hardship, and as a result, (i) I am in default under the Loan Documents, and (ii) I do not have sufficient income or access to sufficient liquid assets to make the monthly mortgage payments now or in the future."
But, Gilbert said, "Public records indicate that in 2011 Letitia James earned at least $126,390. Of that total, $122,500 was from her position on the City Council of New York City, and another $3,890 from her work at CUNY. She also earned rental income from her building. … Given James was a single woman with no children, with a high salary and rental income, her claim of 'hardship' was suspect at best."
The report charges that James obtained the HAMP benefits, giving her a mortgage rate of $2.7% and saving her "at least $44,000 per year."
Gilbert noted, when she obtained a real estate fraud judgment against Trump, she said, "When powerful people cheat to get better loans, it comes at the expense of honest and hardworking people. Everyday Americans cannot lie to a bank to get a mortgage to buy a home. No matter how big, rich, or powerful you think you are, no one is above the law."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Booked into jail, then released on bond
An abortionist in Houston has been arrested and accused of providing abortions, and illegally running a network of clinics, without a medical license.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton explained the case is one of the first of its kind in the nation since the Supreme Court threw out the faulty Roe v. Wade precedent in 2022 and states were allowed for the first time in decades to charge offenders.
The suspect is accused of a second-degree felony for operating a ring of illegal and unlicensed abortion facilities with workers falsely posing as medical professionals.
In a statement, Paxton said, "In Texas, life is sacred. I will always do everything in my power to protect the unborn, defend our state's pro-life laws, and work to ensure that unlicensed individuals endangering the lives of women by performing illegal abortions are fully prosecuted. Texas law protecting life is clear, and we will hold those who violate it accountable."
It's not his first action against those who violate Texas abortion laws. He also has filed an action against a New York abortionist for illegally mailing abortion drugs to a Texas resident and practicing without a license. A judge has ordered that abortionist to stop sending those chemicals into Texas, and to pay $100,000 in costs.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, said, "The pro-life state of Texas is serious about safeguarding mothers and their babies. Texas law, like every other pro-life law in the country, protects pregnant women's ability to receive life-saving care in a medical emergency. There is no excuse for illegal abortions that take the life of the baby and put women's lives at risk, committed by people who don't even have a medical license."
She continued, "Abortion activists' reckless, criminal disregard for women's lives and unborn life is on full display. We thank Attorney General Paxton for his strong leadership to put a stop to this brutality, including taking on sellers of dangerous abortion drugs across state lines, and hope others will follow his example. Women facing difficult or unexpected pregnancies deserve real care and assistance, not the cruel exploitation of the abortion industry."
Ingrid Skop, of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, said, "As a board-certified ob-gyn practicing in Texas for over 30 years, I have cared for many women who have suffered at the hands of abortionists. We cannot discount the significant risks of harm these women face, including hemorrhage, sepsis, uterine damage, mental health complications and sometimes maternal death. As physicians, our patients must trust we will live out our Hippocratic Oath to do no harm."
A report from the Washington Examiner noted the defendant is Maria Margarita Rojas, 48, and she is accused of owning and running three clinics in the Houston area, then using unlicensed individuals who present themselves as medical professionals.
The operations, Paxton charged, are a direct violation of the Texas Human Life Protection Act.
The report said both performing abortions and practicing medicine without a license are felonies in Texas. It said abortion at any stage in pregnancy is illegal except to save the mother's life or to prevent serious risk to her physical health.
The report said while Rojas' biography on the website for the Houston Birth House said she is certified as a midwife, court filings charge she's been representing herself as an obstetrician.
Court documents reveal Rojas was booked into jail on a charge of practicing medicine without a license, then was released on $10,000 bond. Other charges were added later.
President Donald Trump has removed Secret Service protection from Hunter Biden, Breitbart reported. This comes as the son of former President Joe Biden has been vacationing in South Africa as Trump spars with its leaders over treatment of its citizens.
Trump also revoked the Secret Service protection from the former president’s adult daughter, Ashley Biden. Protecting the adult children of the president isn’t part of the stated mission of the agency.
The Secret Service website says it protects “the president, the vice president, (or other individuals next in order of succession to the Office of the President), the president-elect and vice president-elect.” Minor children under 16 are included in that description as well.
Beyond that, visiting dignitaries are also given protection. The Secret Service says it’s charged with guarding “heads of foreign states or governments and their spouses traveling with them” plus “other distinguished foreign visitors.”
Trump explained the move on his Truth Social platform on Monday. “Hunter Biden has had Secret Service protection for an extended period of time, all paid for by the United States Taxpayer,” the president wrote.
”There are as many as 18 people on this Detail, which is ridiculous! He is currently vacationing in, of all places, South Africa, where the Human Rights of people has been strenuously questioned,” Trump added.
“Because of this, South Africa has been taken off our list of Countries receiving Economic and Financial Assistance. Please be advised that, effective immediately, Hunter Biden will no longer receive Secret Service protection,” Trump continued.
“Likewise, Ashley Biden, who has 13 agents, will be taken off the list,” the president added. Although he fathered four children, Joe Biden’s son, Beau Biden, and daughter, Naomi Biden, are both deceased.
Whether it figured into his decision or not, it’s noteworthy that the news came as Hunter Biden traveled to South Africa. As Fox News reported, the 55-year-old is vacationing in a nation that Trump has taken on over the treatment of its citizens.
South Africa has laws that allow it to arbitrarily seize land from citizens without compensation or recourse. Trump has also accused the nation of being anti-White.
Moreover, South Africa supports Iran and sided with Hamas in the Palestinian terror group’s war with Israel. This led to Trump’s accusations in the post about Hunter Biden’s visit.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed a similar viewpoint last week, stating the South African ambassador “is no longer welcome" in the U.S. The nation’s top diplomat, Ebrahim Rasool, similarly accused Trump of a “supremacist instinct” in another provocation.
Hunter Biden should not visit nations that are hostile to any group of citizens. He also shouldn’t be relying on the government to provide for his protection indefinitely, especially while visiting places hostile to the U.S. point of view.
As the American people suffered from Joe Biden's border crisis, the executives of a non-profit accused of child exploitation were getting rich.
Southwest Key Programs struck gold, receiving $3 billion from the Biden administration that allowed top executives to inflate their salaries almost twofold even as kids suffered abuse, the New York Post reported.
It's just one example of how Biden's border chaos benefited bad actors, from human traffickers to foreign gangs that expanded their footprint on U.S. soil.
Southwest Key Programs is the largest operator of shelters for unaccompanied alien children in the U.S. Before the second Trump administration severed ties with the group, it worked with the Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement to house alien children.
As a record number of alien children flooded into the country under Biden, Southwest Key Programs received $3 billion from the federal government, according to HHS data.
The spike in funding appears to have benefited the non-profit's head honchos, who saw their salaries rise significantly, the New York Post found after a review of tax information.
At the start of the Biden administration, Southwest Key CEO Anselmo Villarreal was paid $491,642, but by 2023, he was earning $1,174,551.
The group's chief human resources official Jose Arroyo Davila, and chief information officer Andy Harper, each doubled their pay to $600,000. Geraldo Rivera, the senior VP of immigration services and later chief program officer, almost doubled his salary from $312,791 to $555,998.
While this was happening, the Biden administration was rushing to hand off alien children to poorly vetted sponsors, with former HHS secretary Xavier Becerra likening the process to an "assembly line."
The Biden administration ultimately lost track of some 32,000 alien children, a government report found last year. In July, the Biden administration had an epiphany and sued Southwest Key for sexually exploiting children.
Republicans had raised the alarm months earlier, with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Ia.) sharing whistleblower disclosures that Southwest Key was placing children at homes linked to gang activity and possible child-trafficking.
The Trump administration has severed ties with Southwest Key over the alleged abuse of children in its care, and the DOJ consequently dropped its lawsuit.
“This administration is working fearlessly to end the tragedy of human trafficking and other abuses of unaccompanied alien children who enter the country illegally,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
“For too long, pernicious actors have exploited such children both before and after they enter the United States. Today’s action is a significant step toward ending this appalling abuse of innocents.”
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Trump is suspending all Secret Service protection for Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden.
Hunter Biden has had Secret Service protection for an extended period of time, all paid for by the United States Taxpayer," Trump said Monday evening on Truth Social.
"There are as many as 18 people on this Detail, which is ridiculous! He is currently vacationing in, of all places, South Africa, where the Human Rights of people has been strenuously questioned.
"Because of this, South Africa has been taken off our list of Countries receiving Economic and Financial Assistance.
"Please be advised that, effective immediately, Hunter Biden will no longer receive Secret Service protection. Likewise, Ashley Biden who has 13 agents will be taken off the list."
It has been confirmed that former President Joe Biden's White House counsel's office turned over cell phones belonging to President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence as part of the FBI's 'Arctic Frost' probe.
The discovery was publicized by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel.
Senator Grassley and Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI) confirmed this information thanks to a whistleblower disclosure that exposed a massive political investigation of Trump that went against established protocol and policies.
The probe was led by anti-Trump FBI agent Timothy Thibault, and according to Grassley's letter, the probe was the foundation of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s elector case against Trump.
Thibault reportedly stated that 'Arctic Frost' would be "prioritized over all others in the Branch” and confirmed the political motivation behind the investigation by saying, “it frankly took too long for us to open this [investigation].”
The letter to Bondi and Patel stated, "The American people deserve to know the complete extent of the corruption within the DOJ and FBI that led to the investigation into President Trump. We are making this information public for purposes of public accountability and to provide specific examples of past behavior at your institutions that must not be repeated."
The letter outlined a complete timeline and summary of the entire probe, which was undeniably political and broke with all previous FBI regulations and rules in order to fast-track the investigation into Trump.
One of the bigger offenses was the transfer of the cell phones belonging to Trump and Pence from the White House to the FBI without a warrant.
It wasn't until after the FBI had already obtained the cell phones that efforts to obtain a warrant were made. According to an anonymous source close to the investigation, the Biden White House "gave its blessing and accommodation for the FBI to physically obtain Trump and Pence’s phones.”
Another factor that Senator Grassley's letter highlights is the massive expense that 'Arctic Frost' caused for taxpayers as the FBI spent thousands travelling around the nation conducting interviews to build the case against Trump.
Grassley's letter highlighted $16,600 for travel in June 2022 to “conduct more than 40 interviews, serve subpoenas, and execute several cellular device search warrants.” In one month, the FBI spent thousands on a case that was entirely speculative.
With Kash Patel as the FBI's director, it's very possible that the next few months could see all of those FBI agents, including Thibault, thrown out and possibly sanctioned for their role in 'Arctic Frost."
Patel has until late March to turn over "all records related to the Arctic Frost investigation” and “a true and complete breakdown of the total dollar amount spent on the Arctic Frost investigation before it was officially transferred to Jack Smith in November 2022."
No doubt, Trump himself, as well as the many allies targeted by the FBI over the past few years, will be paying close attention to this investigation.
The FBI made life hell for Trump and anyone who was near him, and a strong message must be sent to ensure that the FBI cannot be abused by political actors again.
Donald Trump doubled down on his threats to take control of Greenland during an Oval Office meeting with the head of NATO.
Trump has repeatedly said Greenland's strategic Arctic location makes it essential for U.S. security. The president sought to conscript NATO into his plans on Thursday, telling the alliance's secretary general Mark Rutte that NATO would play a key role in acquiring the mineral-rich island.
"We've been dealing with Denmark, we've been dealing with Greenland, and we have to do it. We really need it for national security. I think that's why NATO might have to get involved in a way, because we really need Greenland for national security. It's very important," Trump said.
Rutte demurred, saying he does not want to "drag" NATO into the issue, but Trump took a different view of the matter.
"You know, Mark, we need that for international security, not just security - international - we have a lot of our favorite players cruising around the coast, and we have to be careful," Trump told Rutte on Thursday. "We'll be talking to you."
Since reclaiming the White House, Trump has repeatedly threatened to take over Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal. Trump vowed the U.S. would acquire Greenland "one way or another" during his speech to Congress this month.
During Thursday's Oval Office meeting, Trump mocked NATO member Denmark over its claims to Greenland, which is physically closer to the U.S.
"You know, Denmark's very far away, and really has nothing to do. What happens, a boat landed there 200 years ago or something? And they say they have rights to it. I don't know if that's true. I don't think it is," he said.
Rutte praised Trump for pressuring America's NATO allies to make "staggering" increases in defense spending. Trump has long accused Europe of freeloading off the American military.
“You have to keep NATO strong. You have to keep it relevant,” Trump told Rutte.
Trump's meeting with Rutte came after recent elections in Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. The outgoing prime minister of the island dismissed Trump's latest annexation comments.
"The US president has once again aired the thought of annexing us," Mute Egede said in a Facebook post. "Enough is enough."
While Greenland and Denmark have both rejected Trump's plan, speculation over Greenland's future is certain to continue with Russia and China increasing their presence in the Arctic.
"I think that will happen," Trump said when asked about annexation.