This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Two senators are calling for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate, and possibly prosecute, the manipulation of America's security apparatus by Barack Obama and team of his supporters.
The call is coming from Senate Republicans Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and John Cornyn, R-Teas
Their request has been directed to Attorney General Pam Bondi, to appoint a special counsel to investigate evidence released by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who declassified papers she has characterized as showing plans by Obama and officials in his administration to hurt Trump.
The Washington Examiner reports both senators are on the Judiciary Committee.
They stated, in an announcement, "For the good of the country, we urge Attorney General Bondi to appoint a special counsel to investigate the extent to which former President Obama, his staff, and administration officials manipulated the U.S. national security apparatus for a political outcome."
They charged that evidence released by Gabbard has confirmed it is "evident that the entire Russia collusion hoax was created by the Obama administration to subvert the will of the American people."
There have been multiple calls for Obama and others to be investigated and even charged for making up stories about Trump and trying to undermine the agenda of a duly elected president.
"Gabbard has claimed Obama officials 'manufactured' evidence of 2016 Russian election interference and accused them of leading a 'treasonous conspiracy.' Gabbard revealed Wednesday she'd referred Obama and former senior aides to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution," the report noted.
A spokesman for Obama claimed the Democrat normally does not "dignify" White House statements with a response, but cited a Senate report from years ago that said Russians tried to influence the election but couldn't make a change in the results.
The Obama spokesman said the new allegations "are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction."
Cornyn said, "There's no question the Russians tried to do what the Russians always tried to do, but there's no evidence of collusion. There is evidence that members of the Obama administration essentially started a witch hunt against President Trump, which fell under the heading of the Russia hoax investigation."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
As America's intelligence agencies suffer a series of reputational hits, the passing of former CIA officer and counterterrorism adviser Bruce Tefft presents an opportunity to spotlight the contrasting people of character who, unbowed by political and ideological currents, serve faithfully and courageously behind the scenes.
Tefft was a CIA station chief in clandestine services, a founder of the CIA's counterterrorism center and an adviser to the New York Police Department's intelligence and counterterrorism divisions who trained thousands of law-enforcement and intelligence officers. He died July 11 at the age of 73 after suffering a prolonged illness.
He was a go-to contact on homeland security matters for WorldNetDaily, particularly when unvarnished analysis was conspicuously lacking in the wake of an attack bearing "the hallmarks" of Islamic terrorism.
In 2007, for example, Tefft spoke to WND when an FBI spokesman told reporters that the dispassionately executed murder of five people at a Salt Lake City mall by Bosnian Muslim immigrant Sulejman Talovic was "just unexplainable."
"It's almost a joke in any counterterrorism circles," Tefft told WND, "that within half a day of most unexplained incidents the FBI comes out and says it isn't terrorism. They'll come out with a conclusion based on no information."
'People sleep peaceably'
Tefft, who is survived by his wife, was a true servant who put others above himself in his personal as well as professional life, said J. Michael Epstein, who partnered with Tefft in humanitarian and security-oriented operations in the Balkans, Africa and the Middle East. Together they formed a charitable organization to assist and mentor the surviving children of military and law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty.
"He was doing things you could not imagine in service of our nation," Epstein said. "As kind and compassionate as he was, there was another side to him. When I think of Bruce, I think of that quote, 'People sleep peaceably in their beds at night,' because people like Bruce were willing to do hard things, 'rough' things, on their behalf."
Epstein has set up a GoFundMe page to help Tefft's family with medical and other expenses.
A native of Colorado, Tefft earned an M.A. in history and a juris doctorate in international law from the University of Denver. From 1975 to 1995, he served as a CIA field chief and operations manager in Africa, stationed in hotspots such as Mogadishu and Angola. Seventeen of those years overseas were in clandestine services. In the following decades, Tefft distinguished himself as a foreign affairs, counterterrorism and intelligence analyst, training officials in local and federal agencies in major Allied intelligence organizations and U.S. government departments, including the Departments of Defense, Justice and State, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Agency, Defense Humint Service, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and the U.S. Marine Corps. Tefft also developed graduate level curricula for homeland security and terrorism studies and lectured at the U.S. Marine Corps University, Defense Intelligence Agency and George Mason University.
In all, Bruce Tefft trained more than 20,000 law-enforcement and intelligence officers as well as diplomats, judicial and government officials.
What are the signs?
Tefft spoke to WND in 2017 after Uzbek-native Sayfullo Saipov slipped through the cracks of four U.S. law-enforcement systems designed to prevent terrorism before plowing through cyclists and runners in a three-ton truck on a path along the Hudson River in Lower Manhattan, killing eight people and injuring many more.
Tefft pointed out at the time that a crucial flaw in each of those systems was the unwillingness to make adherence to the teachings of Islam part of the criteria law-enforcement personnel use to judge whether a person should be regarded as a threat.
If perpetrators such as Saipov "say they are motivated by Islam, then it's Islamic terrorism," he said.
"The idea that we as Westerners can define Islam for Muslims is ludicrous," Tefft added.
He recalled to WND that shortly after 9/11, when he was a counterterrorism adviser to the NYPD, the department responded to intelligence reports of possible attacks on New York City being carried out using Zodiac inflatable boats. The NYPD contacted outlets for the boats, instructing employees to look out for atypical renters or buyers, such as people who don't demonstrate knowledge of how to operate the boat or who want to hire or buy a large number of them.
"It was pretty simple, and they got a lot of callbacks; but not one of them panned out," noted Tefft.
Asked whether the NYPD's criteria for determining a threat included any religion-related indicators, he replied: "Oh no, not at all."
Disturbing verses
Tefft's frank assessment of the connection between Islam and terrorism – as one who "understood the real threat," as some put it – had professional consequences.
In 2006, for example, Tefft became a defendant in a lawsuit against New York City by an Egyptian-born Muslim analyst for the NYPD counterterrorism cyber unit. The analyst, whose name was not disclosed in the suit, claimed he was subject to a regular stream of "anti-Islamic" messages from an email list run by Tefft. The opt-in list, meant to inform domestic law enforcement and intelligence officials, consisted mostly of unclassified material and news reports from around the world related to terrorism and Islam. In a small fraction of those dispatches Tefft added his own comments, some of which became a focus of the complaint.
The Muslim analyst complained that the emails "ridiculed and disparaged the Muslim religion and Arab people, and stated that Muslim- and Arab-Americans were untrustworthy and could not reliably serve in law enforcement positions or handle sensitive data."
Tefft did not apologize for what was, in his view, simply relaying relevant facts and background to law-enforcement and intelligence officers about a serious global threat.
"I'm not a sentimentalist, and I'm not hate-filled either," he said. "Hate is an emotion. I don't feel emotional about it at all. I feel analytical and logical."
Tefft insisted there clearly is a link between fundamental Islam and terrorism.
"There is nothing un-Islamic about Osama bin Laden," he said of the al-Qaida leader. "If there were, he would have been declared apostate, non-Islamic."
The Muslim analyst who brought the lawsuit told the New York Times in an interview that the emails were "racist," but Tefft argued that he didn't consider Islam a race.
"So, to call me racist is ridiculous. I have good friends who are Egyptian officials. I've worked all over the world," he said.
Tefft noted that during his time at the NYPD, the Muslim analyst approached him face-to-face and complained he was being harsh on Muslims. Later, Tefft sat down with him over coffee and pointed out chapters and verses in the Quran that are regularly cited by terrorists as motivation and justification for their actions.
The analyst, according to Tefft, answered that his imam had never told him about those verses. Tefft then asked, "Now what do you think, after seeing the Quran?"
"Well," the analyst replied. "I'm very disturbed."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A Democrat lawmaker in the state of Minnesota is keeping her word.
But that's really not as good as it sounds, as she's keeping her word to resign after she was convicted of burglary.
The Liberty Daily confirmed it is state Sen. Nicole Mitchell, a Democrat, who has released her plans to walk away from her public duties following her conviction by a jury.
Mitchell's lawyers, in a statement, said she wants to wrap up "outstanding legislative projects" and then will resign no later than Aug. 4.
She had been convicted by a jury of burglary for breaking into her stepmother's house.
Her lawyers said, "Senator Mitchell's constituents deserve for her legislative projects to be finalized or ready to hand off to her successor before she resigns."
The report explained Mitchell was arrested in April 2024 when Carol Mitchell, her estranged stepmother, called police to report a break-in.
"At the time, Detroit Lakes police found Mitchell in her stepmother's basement dressed in all black and carrying a flashlight covered with a black sock, Fox 9 reported," according to the report.
Erin Murphy, the Democrat leader in the state Senate, confirmed Mitchell has promised she would step down in convicted.
She had been under pressure from fellow lawmakers to leave.
"Mitchell, a meteorologist and Air Force officer, currently represents the Minnesota Senate's 47th district, and was first elected in 2022," the report said.
Broadcaster KSTP reported Mitchell was convicted on two felony charges, and Becker County Judge Michael D. Fritz will decide Mitchell's punishment on Sept. 10.
At the time of her arrest, Mitchell claimed to police she was in the home in order to retrieve some of her late father's belongings.
Later, at trial, she claimed to the jury she was checking on her stepmother, who has Alzheimer's.
She could face up to 20 years in prison for first-degree burglary.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Fed-up with claims the first lady of France was actually born a man, French President Emmanuel Macron is now suing American political commentator Candace Owens who has been championing the theory.
Macron filed the 219-page complaint Wednesday in Delaware over "demonstrably false" claims about his wife Brigitte Macron.
"These outlandish, defamatory, and far-fetched fictions included that Mrs. Macron was born a man, stole another person's identity, and transitioned to become Brigitte; Mrs. Macron and President Macron are blood relatives committing incest; President Macron was chosen to be the President of France as part of the CIA-operated MKUltra program or a similar mind-control program; and Mrs. Macron and President Macron are committing forgery, fraud, and abuses of power to conceal these secrets," the lawsuit reads.
"These lies have caused tremendous damage to the Macrons," says the suit, which notes the allegations have subjected the couple to a "campaign of global humiliation, turning their lives into fodder for profit-driven lies."
"Owens has dissected their appearance, their marriage, their friends, their family, and their personal history – twisting it all into a grotesque narrative designed to inflame and degrade," the complaint alleges.
"The result is relentless bullying on a worldwide scale. Every time the Macrons leave their home, they do so knowing that countless people have heard, and many believe, these vile fabrications. It is invasive, dehumanizing, and deeply unjust."
"Faced with this relentless and unjustified smear campaign, the Macrons are left with no choice but to seek relief through this Court to set the record straight, prevent further harm, and hold Defendants accountable for their conduct."
The claims by Owens are similar to a theory floated in France by two women whom Brigitte Macron sued in 2021. While Mrs. Macron won the initial round in court, it was overturned on appeal and is now before the highest appeals court in France.
As WorldNetDaily previously reported, Owens says she was personally phoned by U.S. President Donald Trump in February when French President Emmanuel Macron was visiting Washington, D.C., and says the commander in chief urged her to stop discussing Brigitte because it was interfering with talks on ending Russia's war against Ukraine.
In a video she released on June 30, Owens said of Trump's call: "It is hard to catch my breath to comprehend that four days ago I'm ending a series about Brigitte Macron, and now I'm speaking to the president of the United States and the topic of conversation no matter which way you wanna slice it is about Macron's wife's penis. I mean there's no other way to say it."
She continued: "I explained to him that she has had this amazing doctor who specializes in transgenderism surgeries or feminization procedures. I'm talking to the president of the United States about this, guys. This is crazy this wacky. … But I'm just trying to get him to understand the truth.
"And then I explained to him why I don't feel so great about this request, because that's the more important part."
"Like you are requesting that I really, and despite your reasoning, which is very sound, that I stop telling the truth. And I said to Trump, and I will be honest, that at that moment I realized that one day this is gonna go into my autobiography and so I got to say something funny, and I just said, I said to him, 'You know, respectfully, Mr. President, it's not my fault that he married someone with a penis.'"
Owens responded to Macron's lawsuit in her Wednesday broadcast, saying: "I am ready for this fight. All sickos will be exposed."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Top Trump adviser Kari Lake says managers at Voice of America met numerous times with Chinese officials in a scheme to influence more favorable U.S. coverage of the communist country.
In an interview with the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show, the president's senior adviser for the U.S. Agency for Global Media said the meetings were discovered in a probe that revealed undue foreign influence on VOA's operations.
"We found out in our investigations over the months that I've been here, that the CCP, operating out of the embassy in Washington, D.C. … were meeting regularly with VOA management to tell them how they should be covering China," Lake said Tuesday night.
Lake explained the coverage was slanted to put China in a positive light, and at least one official in VOA's Mandarin language division actually voiced support for the Chinese Communist Party at one of the discussions.
"I mean, you can't make this stuff up. It's so crazy," she said.
"But then over the years, it got more brazen, and I understand that VOA management, some of them, actually went over to China and met with CCP officials there."
Lake also confirmed previous reporting by Just the News that "VOA hired multiple Chinese nationals with ties to Chinese state media, and sponsored hundreds of visas for other foreign journalists to come work at the USAGM subsidiary."
Just the News reported: "The agency used J1 cultural exchange visas, which are not designed for use as a general work authorization, to sponsor more than 400 foreign journalists from 2009 through the end of the last administration. Nearly 100 of those are from countries that could present particular security concerns, including at least three Chinese nationals who worked for Chinese Communist Party-controlled state-owned media outlets."
"This agency started hiring non-Americans, people from foreign countries, many people, hundreds upon hundreds from countries that are hostile to America, hired them, brought them into our country to tell America's story," Lake explained.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has updated its gender policies to comply with President Trump's executive order barring men from competing in women's sports.
While the committee's 27-page updated "Athletic Safety Policy," does not mention "transgender" athletes, it includes language saying it will comply with Trump's order, EO 14201.
"The USOPC will continue to collaborate with various stakeholders with oversight responsibilities, e.g., IOC, IPC, NGBs, to ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with Executive Order 14201 and the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act," the document says.
According to NBC News, U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland and President Gene Sykes acknowledged the update in a letter to the Team USA community.
"As a federally chartered organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations," they said. "The guidance we've received aligns with the Ted Stevens Act, reinforcing our mandated responsibility to promote athlete safety and competitive fairness."
The updated policy "emphasizes the importance of ensuring fair and safe competition environments for women," with all national governing bodies required to update their policies to align with the updated guidelines, they added.
The National Women's Law Center was quick to denounce the committee's move. "Without any process or clarity about its decision, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has let Trump rewrite its rules in a cruel effort to deny transgender women the opportunity to participate," said a press release from the group.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
With all the evidence, from documents from his own presidency and advisers, coming out now against Barack Obama over the grand conspiracy that was launched during his presidency against then-President-elect Donald Trump, trying to undermine his agenda, the Democrat still is likely to skate.
That's according to constitutional expert Jonathan Turley, who has not only advised Congress on the Constitution but represented members in court on those issues.
He's a widely respected professor at George Washington University, as well as a popular commentator for several outlets on legal and constitutional questions.
The evidence available so far shows that it is likely Obama and his henchmen, James Clapper, James Comey and John Brennan, as well as others, suppressed information that Russia didn't impact the 2016 American elections, then rewrote some of the intel community's evaluations to suggest a link between Trump and Russia.
Of course the American media obsessed over those unsubstantiated claims for years then.
Turley wrote, "I disagree with the use of the charge of treason being thrown around with this release. Based on this evidence, it would be hard to make a criminal case against Obama, let alone the specific charge of treason.
"However, there are good-faith allegations raised about prior congressional testimony of key players in the Obama administration. There may be viable criminal allegations ranging from perjury to obstruction to making false statements to federal investigators," he warned.
"It is too early to gauge the basis for possible criminal charges. However, the release of this new evidence is both historically and legally significant. There is now a legitimate concern over a conspiracy to create this false narrative to undermine the incoming administration. It proved successful in derailing the first Trump administration. By the time the allegations were debunked, much of the first term had been exhausted. That is worthy of investigation and the public has a right to expect transparency on these long withheld documents."
He pointed to those who may be considered co-conspirators.
"The silence of the legacy media is hardly surprising, given the key role the media played in spreading these false claims. Most media outlets find themselves in an uncomfortable position, having fostered an alleged conspiracy for years. Most reporters are not keen on making a case against themselves in spreading of these false claims."
He explained what happened:
Consider this story: An outgoing president and his top officials are told that there is no evidence of Russian collusion or influence in the national election. The White House then moved to suppress the intelligence assessment and reverse the conclusions, while false claims were leaked to the press.
That is not just a major but a Pulitzer-level story, right?
Apparently not. The legacy media has largely ignored the declassified evidence and possible criminal referral on the Obama administration seeding the Russian collusion narrative just before the first Trump Administration.
It supports allegations in the real Russian conspiracy: the conspiracy to create a false Russian collusion scandal to undermine the election and administration of Donald Trump in 2016.
He noted, "Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard suggested last week that intelligence was 'manufactured and politicized' despite countervailing conclusions from American intelligence that there was no collusion or influence on the election."
It follows other scandalous confirmations:
"We previously learned that the Clinton campaign spent millions to create the infamous Steele dossier and then hid their role from the public. Attorney Marc Elias, the general counsel to the Clinton presidential campaign, pushed the false Alfa Bank conspiracy. (His fellow Perkins Coie partner, Michael Sussmann, was indicted but acquitted in a criminal trial.) During the campaign, reporters asked about the possible connection to the campaign, but Clinton campaign officials denied any involvement in the Steele Dossier. When journalists discovered after the election that the Clinton campaign hid payments for the Steele dossier as 'legal fees' among the $5.6 million paid to Perkins Coie, they met with nothing but shrugs from the Clinton staff," he charged.
Further, "Not only did Clinton reportedly spent over $10 million on the report, but Obama was briefed that she was going to create a Russian collusion narrative as part of her campaign," he said.
"Aware of that Clinton effort, these new documents suggest that Obama and his aides actively sought to affirm the allegations just before Trump's inauguration. The FBI then ramped up its own efforts despite also being told that the Steele dossier was unreliable and contradicted."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Riley Gaines, the former competitive swimmer turned activist for limiting women's sports to women, has swum from Alcatraz prison in California to shore while 31 weeks pregnant – raising some critical responses from her detractors.
According to Fox News, Gaines did the roughly 1.25-mile swim alongside U.S. Navy SEALs and combat veterans, as well as her husband, after getting clearance from her OBGYN.
She posted to social media a picture of herself after the swim, and quickly received vitriol. She said the act "broke the minds of liberals."
Then, on her podcast, Gaines read aloud a few comments and gave her take on each.
"'I guess putting your baby at a risk for click was a decision,'" Gaines read aloud. "I wonder where he got his doctorate. I didn't know Twitter had so many OBGYNs or doctors who suddenly know more about pregnancy and exercising while pregnant than my OB did, who cleared me to do this."
Another X user wrote: "Maybe not the best time to swim in the ocean then lol but what do I know."
"Nothing," responded Gaines. "You know nothing, at least about pregnancy and exercising while pregnant."
"I think I feel so great, and I have the entire time, because I have done things like this regularly, whether being pregnant or not being pregnant," Gaines said.
The following was Gaines favorite reply, she said:
"I love this one. This guy says – this is pretty amazing. He says, 'Imagine the torturous, horrific conditions for the fetus. Breathing, muscles squeezing, adrenaline overdosing, massive pressure on the cervix, womb, sack, and fetus. Then, the sloshing and incredibly loud noises. Quite the sadistic torture. Hope the fetus survives the mother's idiocy to be born, healthy. Poor baby …'
"First of all, my developing child in the womb is not a fetus, at this point. If she were to be born, obviously not ideal to be born nine weeks early and no one is to say for certain what will happen. But viability is 24-ish weeks."
Located on an island in the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz was a federal prison for several decades. The Trump administration is considering reopening the facility.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The long-running saga of Kilmar Abrego Garcia continues, as two Obama-appointed judges on Wednesday ordered the MS-13 gang member to be released while precluding ICE from arresting him.
Bill Melugin of Fox News reported: "Maryland federal judge Paula Xinis has just issued an order that will block ICE from arresting 'Maryland man' Kilmar Abrego Garcia upon his release on bail in Tennessee for his federal human trafficking charges.
"Judge Xinis is also ordering a 72 hour pause on any effort to deport him to a third party country without 'sufficient notice' and 'due process.'
"Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran illegal alien alleged MS-13 gang member and alleged repeat wife beater, is facing federal human smuggling charges in Tennessee, and a judge there is deciding whether to release him pending trial. The government had indicated it would take him into ICE custody in Tennessee if he was released pending his federal case.
"Judge Xinis has now blocked the Trump administration from taking him into ICE custody upon his release."
"WTF?!" exclaimed online journalist Nick Sortor in reaction to the news.
"They're forcing a FOREIGN MS-13 WIFE BEATER back onto our streets. IGNORE THE COURT! ARREST HIM!"
CBS News reported: "The Tennessee judge, Waverly Crenshaw, denied the Justice Department's request to revoke the magistrate judge's order allowing Abrego Garcia to be released while awaiting a criminal trial, writing that the government 'failed to carry its burden of showing that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure Abrego's appearance or the safety of others.'"
"These rulings are a powerful rebuke of the government's lawless conduct and a critical safeguard for Kilmar's due process rights," Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, an attorney for Abrego Garcia, said.
"A federal judge has now barred ICE from taking him back into custody and ordered that any future deportation attempt must come with advance notice. After the government unlawfully deported him once without warning, this legal protection is essential."
A federal grand jury in Tennessee had indicted Garcia for "transporting undocumented migrants within the United States."
He and co-conspirators from El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala and America are accused of trafficking illegal immigrants from 2016 through 2025.
Garcia pleaded not guilty last month to charges of human trafficking.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Political gamesmanship over who's going to be the U.S. attorney in New Jersey continues, as Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday immediately fired the replacement for President Trump's pick Alina Habba who had been ousted from her interim position by federal judges.
In a post on X, Bondi said Habba "has been doing a great job in making NJ safe again. Nonetheless, politically minded judges refused to allow her to continue in her position, replacing Alina with the First Assistant.
"Accordingly, the First Assistant United States Attorney in New Jersey has just been removed.
Bondi concluded: "This Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges – especially when they threaten the President's core Article II powers."
Axios reported the first assistant who got the ax is Desiree Leigh Grace. a nine-year career prosecutor who previously ran the New Jersey office's criminal division.
ABC News reports: "Federal law gives district judges the authority to name a United States attorney if the president's nominee is not acted upon by the U.S. Senate within 120 days.
"Previous Justice Departments have recognized that district judges have the authority to name a United States attorney if the president's nominee is not acted upon by the U.S. Senate within 120 days.
"It's unclear if the Trump Justice Department now believes it can bypass that process or if it plans to seek Senate confirmation for Habba."
Habba's term as interim U.S. attorney expires Friday night at 11:59 p.m., but a group of federal judges Tuesday refused to extend her time on the job after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pushed to oust her, citing her indictment of U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., who allegedly body-checked an ICE agent.
"The so-called U.S. Attorney in NJ maliciously indicted Congresswoman LaMonica McIver for doing her job," Jeffries said.
"Alina Habba is a woefully unqualified political hack who has to go.
"She must be rejected by the Federal District Court judges who are considering whether to retain her."