Former commander retired Army Command Sergeant Major Doug Julin has come forward to confirm that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz knew about an upcoming deployment to Iraq months in advance of retiring.
Walz has been in the national spotlight since being selected as Kamala Harris's running mate in November and the information that has come out about him has been damning.
Walz has previously claimed to carry weapons in combat and also boasted of retiring at the highest rank of Command Master Sergeant, both claims of which were false and constitute stolen valor which is a misdemeanor under the Stolen Valor Act of 2005.
Walz, who was the command sergeant major of his battalion at the time, directly assured Julin that he would go with the unit to Iraq. This was in the Fall of 2004 which contradicts Walz's claims that he retired before he knew about the deployment to Iraq.
Walz's unit would go to deploy to Iraq without him while he began an illustrious career in politics largely due to his record that he heavily embellished.
Julin told CNN that he and other senior leaders were informed about the upcoming deployment saying, "We were informed that we would be alerted to go to Iraq within the next upcoming year or time period out there, start preparing your team, get your team together and let’s get the process in play."
He then spoke to Walz who was serving as “commander sergeant major," which was a conditional rank that he wouldn't retain due to retiring before completing the academy.
That becomes an issue because Walz claims he retired as a command sergeant major when in fact he retired as a master sergeant.
Claiming a rank you didn't actually have is considered stolen valor and Walz claimed this rank throughout his political career.
Julin said Walz was conditionally serving in that rank when he spoke with him about the upcoming deployment. At this point, Walz had filed paperwork to run for Congress but Julin said that as Walz hadn't been nominated, he assured Julin that he would deploy.
However, at the next major meeting for the unit, Walz was gone. Julin told CNN, "The individual that approved this was two levels higher than myself in the enlisted corps, and should have had Tim Walz come back to me and discuss this as to why he was not going forward now, after he had already told me he was going forward."
The White House has already scrubbed Walz's biography of any claims of holding the rank of command sergeant major but there has been no apology or explanation from Walz which likely won't sit well with veterans.
There are more rumblings of trouble for Walz from the veteran community with former colleagues and subordinates coming forward to talk about Walz's sudden retirement and abandonment of his unit in 2005.
Senator JD Vance, who is himself a veteran who did a tour in Iraq as a combat correspondent in the Marines, has seized on the allegations of stolen valor and is shredding Walz.
One can only imagine how brutal the debate will be for Walz as Vance will force him to explain the stolen valor and dishonesty that he used to further his political goals.
CNN's Brianna Keilar has walked back her defamatory attacks on Senator JD Vance (R-OH) after claiming that he embellished his military service.
Leftists are attacking Vance over his service record after Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate, was exposed for stolen valor and embellishing his service record with the National Guard.
Keilar implied that Vance had also lied about his record by calling him the “imperfect messenger” in his attacks on Walz.
During a segment of CNN’s “Inside Politics," Keilar argued that Vance was misleading Americans saying, "But when you dig a little deeper into that, he was a public affairs specialist, someone who did not see combat, which certainly the title ‘combat correspondent’ kind of gives you a different impression. So he may be the imperfect messenger on that."
This attack immediately incited massive backlash both from Vance's camp as well as the entire Combat correspondent community which has thousands of active and veteran members.
The accusations against Walz revolve around claims that he inflated his rank in retirement and claiming that he carried a weapon in war, implying that he saw combat.
Walz has advertised himself as a “retired command sergeant major” when in reality he only served as one and retired a master sergeant because he failed to complete the requirements to retire as a command sergeant major.
But he still claimed that rank until he was picked as Harris's Vice President and Republicans began to point out that he lied.
The Harris campaign has since scrubbed Walz's record while there has been no apology from Walz for claiming a rank he had no right to claim. He has used that claim for years to advance his political career and veterans can't even get an apology from Walz.
Furthermore, Walz did not carry a weapon in war as he never deployed into a combat zone. Vance blasted Walz saying, "He has not spent a day in a combat zone. I'd be ashamed if I was him and I lied about my military service like he did."
Vance didn't hold back saying, "When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, do you know what he did? He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him — a fact that he’s been criticized for aggressively by a lot of the people that he served with."
Democrats could not have asked for a worse matchup between Vance and Walz. Vance is himself a veteran who did deploy to Iraq although he doesn't appear to have entered combat and more importantly hasn't claimed to carry a weapon in war like Walz has.
However, Vance did his deployment to Iraq and so far there is no information coming out about him serving in any way but an honorable way. Meanwhile, Walz is actively dodging allegations of stolen valor which is actually considered a crime.
The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 makes it a misdemeanor to falsely claim military service, rank, recognition, or even someone else's identity. Walz has falsely claimed rank and recognition in advancing his political career.
Both Trump's lawyers and prosecutor Jack Smith agreed on a request for a three-week delay in the 2020 election case in order to continue weighing the recent Supreme Court immunity ruling.
Trump's team would, of course, like to delay the case indefinitely if they can't get it dismissed, but Smith said it would be August 30 until the prosecution is ready to proceed on whatever part of the case is left.
“The Government continues to assess the new precedent set forth last month in the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. United States … including through consultation with other Department of Justice components,” the joint status report filed to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said.
Trump responded to the request, saying, “It is clear that the Supreme Court’s historic decision on immunity demands and requires a complete and total dismissal of all the witch hunts.”
As it is, Trump won't be available for the first two weeks of September because of the sentencing phase of his New York trial on falsifying business records.
The trial has been on hold for eight months already, and there is little hope it can be concluded before the November election.
The other case brought by Smith for mishandling classified documents was dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon because she determined that Smith was unconstitutionally appointed.
Smith is appealing that ruling, though, so the case may not be over for sure.
Other than the sentencing in September on the New York case, prosecutors have so far not been able to make anything stick to Trump, and Judge Juan Merchan has said that even the sentencing of the New York case is uncertain.
While Trump was not charged for official acts in the New York case, some of the testimony given in the case pertained to official acts, which received broad immunity in the ruling.
Both Merchan and Smith had repeatedly denied that Trump has any immunity protection before the Supreme Court ruled in his favor, so it stands to reason that they would need some time to pick up the pieces of their now-dismantled cases before deciding whether they can still move forward on anything at all.
The Trump prosecutions that were supposed to convince the public that Trump could not be put in charge of the free world again have instead bolstered his support, along with the assassination attempt on his life.
The drama in the Democrat party over President Joe Biden stepping down and the nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him have sucked a lot of the oxygen out of the Trump prosecutions lately.
If any of the cases turns out to be salvageable, it may rev up the base again and make Trump all but unbeatable in November.
An Ohio judge has made the decision to honor protection for children from preying medical professionals and uphold a gender-transition healthcare ban for those under 18.
The law, which echoes the sentiments of many on the right, and former President Donald Trump, cites potential harm to children if the ban is lifted, as The Washington Times reported.
This decision has sparked discussions about the rights of minors to access medical treatments without the consent of their parents or guardians.
However, while parental involvement in the health of their children is always important, it's especially so when faced with the possibility of permanently maiming the person of a child with gender transition treatments.
Critics who support the violation of children's bodies with expensive, dangerous, and optional treatments, contend that this decision violates the autonomy of " transgender adolescents" in determining their own healthcare and bodily functions.
They also express apprehensions regarding the mental health consequences of denying this type of medical care to young individuals who are vulnerable.
Advocates for LGBTQ+ rights are mobilizing to challenge this ruling, contending that it violates the principles of non-discrimination and equality. Their demand is for " increased inclusion" and support of transgender individuals, which includes access to healthcare services that are affirming.
The case in Ohio is part of a broader national conversation about transgender rights and healthcare access. Similar legislation and legal battles have emerged in other states, highlighting the ongoing struggle for equal treatment and protections for LGBTQ+ individuals.
Additionally, an Ohio law limiting gender-transition health care for youths under 18 could go into effect, a county judge ruled Tuesday.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio has announced that it will submit an appeal immediately.
Minors are prohibited from undergoing hormone therapies and transgender surgeries by law, unless a physician determines that it would be unsafe to discontinue the treatment. The law also imposes limitations on the types of mental health services that a minor may receive.
Moving forward, the debate about the legislation isn't likely to slow down. Critics of the decision assert that it will be important to continue to discuss the possible fallout and child welfare issues.
Former President Trump, however, has promised to ban gender-affirming care for minors if he is again elected to the Oval Office.
In January of this year, the former president said he would also move to prohibit any federal agency from working to “promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age," not just for minors.
Congress appears to mirror some of the aprehensions of the American people, and according to a recent announcement in The Hill, an investigation is under way with Vice President Kamala Harris at the center.
As Harris takes over the Democrat 2024 presidential nomination, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee has decided to oversee and attempt to pull some accountability out of the White House by investigating Harris' actions regarding the border.
Earlier this week, the committee started asking an agency outside of the VP's portfolio to turn over the documents pertaining to her immigration work, launching what could be one of the more contentious investigations of the last few years.
In sending the request, committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) is seeking to elevate an issue Republicans hope will help them at the polls in November.
President Biden appointed Harris to oversee the administration's root causes strategy, which is designed to reduce immigration flows to the United States by investing significantly in democracy-building and development initiatives in Latin America.
As part of the investigation, Comer has requested requests that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) provide any correspondence with Harris's office.
Because of their position in the administration, CBP is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the border, but it has limited influence in the pursuit of regional immigration objectives.
In addition to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the U.S. Trade Representative are among the agencies that are most actively involved in the fundamental causes strategy.
Unlike the State Department and USAID, which both have extensive online resources on the strategy, CBP's website does not mention the program at all.
In his letter to CBP, Comer said it’s “unclear what actions, if any, Vice President Harris has taken to fix the border crisis.”
The lawmaker has also asked for any and all documents and communication with Harris’s office “related to the southwest border or illegal immigration.”
While the congressional committee is required to go through their due diligence, there has been a strong theory going through Republicans that the vice president has been derelict in her duties regarding the border.
Even though the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) plays a relatively minor role in the implementation of the root causes strategy, it does process migrants who present themselves at the border at ports of entry and vetts migrants from another initiative of the Biden administration.
This initiative allows citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, and Nicaragua to enter the United States temporarily if they have a sponsor based in the United States.
Voters in two different minority groups cannot combine efforts to claim a Texas political map stripped their voting power, according to a federal appeals court decision that could win congressional seats for Republicans in the South.
Conservatives had claimed that Democrats were misusing the Voting Rights Act to create voting districts favoring their party in Galveston, Texas, and the appeals court agreed.
The same thing was happening in other parts of Texas as well as Mississippi and Louisiana. Fixing the problem could turn a number of blue districts red again and potentially shift the balance of power in the House.
Section 2 of the law prohibits voting practices that discriminate based on race or color, but the appeals court decided it does not support coalition claims of multiple groups acting together.
In many of the affected districts, no single group comprises a majority, but several groups together do.
Until 2021, Galveston was a combined Black and Hispanic majority district. When redistricting eliminated that makeup, the the NAACP and the Justice Department sued Texas, but they have now lost.
They got their way with the lower court, but the appeals court reversed the decision.
Section 2’s language specifies protections for a “class” of citizens, not “classes,” the court discovered, which means that political alliances between different minority groups are not covered by the law.
Appeals court Judge Edith Jones wrote that the 5th Circuit refused to rubber stamp litigation “not compelled by law or the Supreme Court, whose principal effects are to (a) supplant legislative redistricting by elected representatives with judicial fiat; (b) encourage divisively counting citizens by race and ethnicity; and (c) displace the fundamental principle of democratic rule by the majority with balkanized interests.”
The ruling is a major one because it will prevent what turns out to be rule by the minority in many cases.
The deck has seemed unfairly stacked against Republicans for the past few decades, and now we know why.
The silver lining has been that it forced Republicans to make some inroads with Black and Hispanic voters, which means they could be stronger than ever in those areas.
The House is a toss-up in November with a very small Republican majority under threat by numerous retirements.
This ruling could be a big boost for them to try to hold on.
Confidential sources told the New York Post on Friday that Chelsea Clinton is eyeing an ambassadorship--likely to the UK--if Vice President Kamala Harris is elected in November.
“Chelsea really wants to be the ambassador to the UK,” said a Clinton source. “There’s a reason why Bill and Hillary came out in the first five minutes to support Kamala’s presidential bid — they were currying favor.”
Such a move would be a way to keep the family in politics in some way--and who knows what could happen if the ambassadorship ends.
The Clintons have been “working on this idea for a long time,” the source said.
Clinton is currently vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, which has been suspected of getting money from foreign sources like China that isn't exactly on the up-and-up.
Even so, a UK ambassadorship is going to be hard to get, some think.
“I can well imagine that the UK ambassadorship is an aspiration for Chelsea, although she is a bit junior still — and London usually goes to a massive donor or fundraiser,” a longtime British embassy official, now based in London, told The Post.
The source said Clinton would also favor a stint as ambassador of France, which may be an easier get.
The current ambassador to the UK, Jane Hartley, is a longtime businesswoman who raised half-a-million dollars for Barack Obama.
Hartley is 74, however, so there could be an opening if the Clintons get to work on fundraising.
Clinton has ties to the UK, having attended Oxford for her masters and doctoral degrees.
“She is 44 and has a long-held ambition for this. It’s important for her to have her own legacy,” the source said. “She has always wanted to spend more time abroad, much like Caroline Kennedy” — currently ambassador to Australia and formerly ambassador to Japan under Obama.
A spokesperson for Hillary Clinton denied that there was any attempt to curry favor for Chelsea with Harris involved in the endorsement.
“Among stupid things said by clueless people, that’s pretty high up there," they said.
Former President Donald Trump has been on a tear lately with multiple legal wins but he had a rare setback on Saturday when his request to get his January 6th case dismissed.
Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed Trump's motion in a 16-page ruling explaining that Trump's lawyers "proffered no meaningful evidence … nor has he given any explanation of how a hearing would produce material evidence to support his claims."
All of this comes after the Supreme Court returned Trump's case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
They immediately kicked it down to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in what has become an extremely drawn-out legal process. In fact, this motion was originally filed in October 2023.
Trump wants the case against him dismissed based on selective and vindictive prosecution grounds. These claims are self-evident as Democrats have been extremely selective in their prosecution but Judge Chutkan didn't seem to see things that way.
Trump's J6 case has been on hold for months as Judge Chutkan has refused to schedule a trial until the Supreme Court ruled on Trump’s claim that presidents should enjoy immunity from prosecution.
That decision took months to come out and now the case has circled back to its original starting point with Judge Chutkan yet to set a trial date.
The Supreme Court's decision will likely factor greatly in the outcome of Trump's J6 case as they found that presidents have "absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority” and “presumptive immunity” for all official acts.
Trump's motion was backed by evidence from media outlets about President Joe Biden privately saying that Trump should be prosecuted.
That further proves that the litigation that Trump is facing is being pushed by his political opponents in a crucial election year with the election just months away.
However, there wasn't enough evidence of those statements for Chutkan's standards so she dismissed the motion.
Judge Chutkan set August 16 as the date for the prosecution and the defense to return to Washington to resume pretrial proceedings. Trump is not required to return for that date which is great news as his schedule is packed full on account of waging a busy campaign.
The election is just around the corner with Vice President Kamala Harris set to be coronated at the DNC this week following President Joe Biden's sudden decision to drop out.
There is a strong chance that Trump's trial will not begin until after the election in November considering pre-trial motions aren't even going to begin until mid-August. Should Trump win the election, this trial will likely be inconsequential.
Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush have announced that they will be collaborating for America's 250th anniversary in 2026.
The collaboration is intended to showcase bipartisan action in an era of extreme political polarization. Of course, for conservatives seeing George Bush and Barack Obama, two figures who are remarkably similar politically, doesn't exactly scream bipartisan.
First Ladies Michelle Obama and Laura Bush will also be participating as honorary national co-chairs of America250.
America250 was created by Congress in 2016 to oversee the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
There has been an increasing focus on bipartisanship among Democrats, especially in the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Democrats have spent the past decade calling conservatives Nazis and heightening division but they are now trying to cover themselves.
The commission's leadership wants to bring two recent Democratic and Republican presidents together to serve as an example of bipartisan cooperation in a country where political polarization continues to get more extreme.
Of course, for conservatives who have been repeatedly sold out by the Bush family, it's unlikely that this bipartisan initiative will do much to soothe tempers.
After decades of vicious attacks by leftists on conservatives, it will take a lot to reduce polarization. More importantly, it will take apologies for the racial politics and the radical ideology that Obama himself pushed while in office.
While it's unlikely any real recognition will be had, the commission is forging ahead and championing its inclusive goals.
Rosie Rios, a former U.S. treasurer, who is working with the commission said, "This is a grassroots effort that all Americans feel like they can be a part of from Guam to Alaska, Fairbanks to Philadelphia, and everything in between. This is about celebrating and commemorating that we’re the oldest democracy in the world"
America250 will hold events in all 50 states and six U.S. territories. It was formally launched July 4, 2023, during a baseball game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs at American Family Field in Milwaukee.
Even though it has been less than a month since Donald Trump was shot, the Democrat Party is already debuting its newest strategy of demeaning Republicans by calling everything Trump-related "weird."
Thanks to a support base of terminally online Generation Z supporters, Harris's campaign is fully embracing calling Republicans "weird." That is the tamest of the Democrat's insults as accusations of fascism and Nazism fly like bullets from leftists.
Republicans have also had to stand by while radical leftists burned down cities and took over college campuses in support of literal terrorists. It's going to take real apologies and real condemnation from Democrat politicians before reconciliation and bipartisanship can happen.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama is calling in all her celebrity favors in an effort to get support for Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrat presidential nominee after endorsing her last week.
A new get-out-the-vote video from Obama's When We All Vote organization Instagram account featured NBA star Steph Curry, actress Kerry Washington, and soccer player Megan Rapinoe, among others.
Obama is shown calling them to ask if they plan to vote this year, and they all enthusiastically say they are, of course.
Other stars in the video include Singer Reyna Roberts and Hollywood producer Shonda Rhimes.
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“Now it’s your turn to answer the call,” Michelle Obama speaks to the camera. “We are just 100 days away from the general election.”
“From our local elected officials, to ballot measures on reproductive rights, the environment, and our economy,” she First Lady continued. “Our future is on the ballot. So, are you voting this year?”
The video continued with Rhimes, Paul, and beauty influencer Bretman Rock, all asking the camera, “Are you voting this year?”
It concluded with an invitation to register to vote with the organization.
A Friday X video depicted a phone call from the Obamas to Harris.
“I can’t have this phone call without saying to my girl, Kamala, I am proud of you,” Michelle said to Harris on speakerphone in the video. “This is going to be historic.”
The video is captioned, "I’m so proud of my girl, Kamala. Barack and I are so excited to endorse her as the Democratic nominee because of her positivity, sense of humor, and ability to bring light and hope to people all across the country. We’ve got your back, @KamalaHarris!"
The Obamas were reportedly not happy with Harris as the Democrat nominee, given that her approval ratings are lower than Biden's and she's known for flubbing everything when she speaks in public.
They took their time endorsing her but fell into line once she had the necessary delegates to clinch the nomination.
Fox Business independent expert Patrice Onwuka doesn't think the star-studded video will be enough to overcome the "apathy problem" Democrats have after Biden's lackluster performance as the candidate over the last year.
"There's an apathy problem that Democrats have to fight right now. They have to get all of those disenchanted and disengaged voters to actually care," Independent Women’s Forum director for center of economic opportunity Patrice Onwuka said on "Fox & Friends First," Monday.
"They've removed one candidate that was very unpopular, and they've placed someone else as a placeholder in that role. That's not enough," she added. "That's not going to be enough to move the needle."