Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives on Saturday and has been temporarily suspended pending a trial in the Senate.
The House voted 121-23 to impeach Paxton based on an investigation into allegations of corruption. Paxton is facing 20 articles of impeachment stemming from complaints centering around violating whistleblower laws.
Paxton reacted to the House's impeachment vote by saying it was “illegal, unethical, and profoundly unjust."
Paxton is just the third official in Texas history to be impeached. The last time an official was impeached was in 1975 when Judge O.P. Carillo was impeached for misusing county assets and funds for his own use.
Paxton Lynch has been one of the most effective attorney generals in the nation. He has been active in fighting back against the Biden administration and its open border policies.
So when news broke that the Texas House might impeach him, many conservatives were shocked. Prominent figures like Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and former President Donald Trump have all come to Paxton's defense.
Trump took to Truth Social to say, "Free Ken Paxton." He also addressed the Republicans in the Texas House, saying, "I will fight you," if they went ahead with impeaching Paxton.
Senator Cruz called the entire process “a travesty" and said that the legal battles Paxton has been fighting should stay in the court system.
In fact, some speculate that figures in the Texas Republican Party are using Paxton's legal battle as an excuse to remove someone that has been too good at his job.
Ken Paxton has done more to fight back against the left than most Republicans and there seems to be strong resentment over that. Furthermore, Paxton wasn't interested in politics and was willing to blow things up, something establishment Republicans hate.
Attorney General Ken Paxton recently called for Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan to resign after videos emerged showing Phelan presiding over the House "in an obviously intoxicated state."
Just one week later, Phelan and the Republican-held House impeached Paxton, yet there has been no accountability for Phelan's behavior. The timing certainly raises questions and it's worth wondering if this impeachment is simply Phelan getting revenge and removing a political enemy.
A statement from Paxton on the issues said, "After much consideration, it is with profound disappointment that I call on Speaker Dade Phelan to resign at the end of this legislative session. Texans were dismayed to witness his performance presiding over the Texas House in a state of apparent debilitating intoxication. His conduct has negatively impacted the legislative process and constitutes a failure to live up to his duty to the public."
We may be seeing a political coup in Texas; if so, it is a grim reminder that even in reliably Republican states, conservative warriors will find themselves hamstrung by the establishment Republican Party that has no interest in real change.
Republicans have warned the FBI that they only have one more day to turn over an FD-1023 form detailing President Biden's $5 million bribery scheme before contempt of Congress proceedings will begin.
Representative James Comer (R-KY) and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) have been working to get the document from the FBI, which has so far refused all requests for the document.
Comer and Grassley have had enough and confirmed they will conduct a phone call with FBI Director Christopher Wray which will be the last opportunity for the document to be turned over.
If Wray refuses to turn the document over to the House Oversight Committee, they will "initiate contempt of Congress proceedings."
President Biden's corrupt schemes have remained hidden thanks in large part to help from the FBI and the Justice Department.
The FBI has spent the past few weeks doing everything in its power to keep the FD-1023 form out of the hands of Congress.
The FBI even issued a statement saying, "The FBI's mission is to protect the American people. Releasing confidential source information could potentially jeopardize investigations and put lives at risk."
No lives will be put at risk by the FBI releasing the document to a Congressional body whose job it is to oversee the FBI.
The public will likely never see the document itself and no investigations or lives will be put at risk. That statement is a poorly thought-out attempt by the FBI to explain why they are stonewalling Congress.
The FBI's refusal to hand over the document to the point of risking contempt of Congress hearings suggests that the House Oversight Committee is over the target and the document they are seeking could lead to President Biden's removal from office.
This investigation has largely been prompted by allegations from two former IRS workers who were retaliated against for pointing out that Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, was receiving preferential treatment.
The allegations indicate that the IRS is protecting the Biden family and the influence-peddling scheme that the family has used to enrich themselves.
The Department of Justice removed an entire team of investigators who were scrutinizing Hunter Biden's tax returns. Everything we have seen so far indicates that the IRS and the FBI are involved in a cover-up to protect the President and his family.
Thankfully, House Republicans aren't backing off and it is looking like we will get the truth of the matter, which could either lead to President Biden's impeachment or at least doom his reelection hopes.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has released the full text of the debt ceiling bill to which he and President Joe Biden have agreed.
The text, in its entirety, has been published by several outlets, including Fox News. It can be found here.
Just before the Memorial Day weekend, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen estimated that the U.S. government would default on its debts should the debt ceiling not be raised by June 5. At the time, Biden and McCarthy appeared to finally be making some progress on a deal after a months-long impasse.
On Saturday, McCarthy indicated that a deal "in principle" had been reached. And, on Sunday, this was confirmed by both sides and McCarthy released the text of the deal.
The deal reached by Biden and McCarthy has been named the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. In general, it will prevent default by suspending the debt ceiling for a two-year period. In exchange, there are cutbacks on spending.
The Washington Examiner highlights some of the key aspects of the deal.
The deal, according to the outlet, will keep non-defense and non-veteran discretionary spending down until 2025 when it will increase by about 1%.
The Examiner further reports:
Other provisions include rescinding unspent COVID-19 funds, reducing the planned IRS expansion, adding stricter work requirements to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), as well as permitting reform.
Overall, it appears that both sides are referring to the deal as a compromise. Biden, in a statement on Sunday, said:
[The deal] represents a compromise, which means no one got everything they wanted. But that’s the responsibility of governing. The agreement prevents the worst possible crisis and default for the first time in our nation’s history.
Next, the deal reached between Biden and McCarthy will have to be approved by both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.
McCarthy has repeatedly promised to give House members a full three days - or 72 hours - to review the bill before he will call for a floor vote. And, it appears that McCarthy will stand by this promise.
It remains to be seen whether the House and the Senate will approve Biden and McCarthy's deal.
Reports have indicated that there are some Republicans and some Democrats who are not happy with the deal. But, whether there are enough dissatisfied members to block the bill's passage remains unclear.
The House is expected to vote on the bill on Wednesday.
An illegal immigrant has been accused of killing a Florida police sergeant.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) made this revelation in a message that he released on Twitter on Friday, May 26.
DeSantis tweeted:
Sergeant Michael Kunovich was killed in the line of duty by an illegal immigrant who took advantage of our open border. Our prayers go out to the Kunovich family and the entire @SJSOPIO community during this time.
Joe Biden’s reckless immigration policies are deadly – it is no…
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 26, 2023
Michael Kunovich was a sergeant with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office in Florida. He recently lost his life in the line of duty.
On May 19, Kunovich attempted to pat down a suspicious individual who was sitting outside of a closed business. But, the suspect resisted violently and attempted to flee.
A six-minute struggle, on the ground, took place between Kunovich and the suspect. During that struggle, the suspect attempted to take Kunovich's taser. The suspect was eventually placed under arrest with the help of additional officers. But, even then, while handcuffed, the suspect pulled out a pocket knife, which had to be taken from him.
After the six-minute struggle, Kunovich collapsed to the ground. Medical personnel attempted to provide lifesaving measures. But, after being rushed to a nearby hospital, Kunovich was pronounced dead.
The 52-year-old Kunovich, a 25-year veteran of the sheriff's department, leaves behind a family that includes his mother, stepfather, two sisters, one brother, and two sons.
The suspect has now been identified as 18-year-old Virjilio Aguilar Mendez.
Mendez is an illegal alien from Guatemala. Just the News reports:
Mendez is listed by law enforcement as a homeless migrant worker from Colotenango, Guatemala and documents state that he is between 5-foot-2 to 5-foot-4 and 115 to 130 pounds.
According to the arrest report, Mendez claims that he resisted so violently due to a fear of being sent back to Guatemala. Now, however, Mendez finds himself in jail, having been charged with resisting with violence and felony murder. He is currently being held without bail.
The situation is currently under investigation, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is reportedly participating in this investigation.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations has filed a detainer against Mendez, which according to CBS, "is a request from ICE to state or local law enforcement agencies to notify ICE as early as possible before a removable noncitizen is released from their custody."
The Washington Examiner reports that a vehicle stolen from a former Trump administration official was used in a homicide.
Here's the kicker: the vehicle was stolen while the official was supposedly receiving full-time protection from the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service. In fact, not one but two vehicles were stolen.
The former official is Brian Hook. Former President Donald Trump had selected Hook to be the State Department's special representative for Iran.
The theft of the car occurred in December of 2022, while the homicide took place in January 2023.
On Dec. 11, 2022, two of Hook's personal vehicles, which were parked in the driveway of his Fairfax County, Virginia, residence, were stolen from him. Hook was at home at the time the thefts occurred.
Three weeks later, on Jan. 3, 2023, a shooting occurred in Washington, D.C., in the Brightwood area. The shooting took place during rush hour.
WUSA9 reported:
During a press conference Tuesday night, DC Police Chief Robert Contee said the victims were standing around a car on Georgia Avenue when a silver or gray SUV stopped in traffic. Two suspects reportedly got out of the car and opened fire on the group of men.
The shooting left one adult male dead as well as two adults and an 8-year-old boy injured.
Police were on the lookout for a "small silver or gray SUV" that was "last seen traveling southbound on Georgia Avenue."
Both of these incidents were previously reported. What was not reported, however, is the fact that it was Hook's car that was used in the shooting.
This is particularly troublesome because Hook was supposed to be receiving full-time protection from the Diplomatic Security Service at the time the vehicles were stolen. Hook, in fact, is still receiving such protection to this day due to the threats that he has received from Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is seeking revenge for the U.S.'s killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.
The Examiner reports:
Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters, one State Department official and one federal law enforcement official also confirmed the incident as described above. The sources said the Diplomatic Security Service had no idea Hook's cars were stolen until significantly later the same day.
Since then, the Diplomatic Security Service, according to the outlet, "has increased security at Hook's residence following the thefts."
Still, given the thefts, it must be disconcerting for Hook and others under the Diplomatic Security Service's protection.
Hillary Clinton just claimed that the state of Florida "isn't safe" for Black people or LGBTQ+ people.
Clinton made the claim Tuesday on Twitter.
She wrote:
Ron DeSantis's ultra-MAGA Florida isn't safe for people of color, LGBTQ+ people, or even multi-billion dollar corporations. pic.twitter.com/1sxKM5W9ol
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) May 23, 2023
Clinton attached to her Twitter message two screenshots: one regards Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's (R) ongoing battle with Disney and the other regards the recent travel warnings issued by civil rights groups.
DeSantis recently signed several bills targeting the political left's woke agenda. One bill, Senate Bill 266, looks to remove from higher education any Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Another bill, Senate Bill 254, bans gender-related "surgical procedures and experimental puberty blockers" on minors.
These are just some of the bills that DeSantis recently signed. More can be found here.
In response, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) issued travel advisories for the state of Florida.
NAACP's travel advisory can be found here. And, LULAC's, here.
The NAACP's travel notice reads:
Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.
NAACP Board of Directors chairman Leon W. Russell immediately faced pushback, following the release of the travel advisory, after it was discovered that he lives in Florida.
During an MSNBC appearance, he denied being a hypocrite, and he claimed, "We haven’t told anybody to leave." Russell added:
In fact, the NAACP is encouraging folks to stay here and fight. If there was ever a reason to stand your ground, it’s Black people, LGBT community, the immigrant community, women, need to stand our ground in Florida and fight, and understand that that fight is a political fight.
DeSantis responded to the NCAAP's travel warning on Wednesday, saying, "Claiming that Florida is unsafe is a total farce."
DeSantis continued:
I mean, are you kidding me? You look at cities around this country, they are awash in crime. In Florida, our crime rate is at a 50-year low. You look at the top 25 cities for crime in America, Florida does not have a single one amongst the top 25. And if you look at cities like Baltimore and Chicago, you got kids more likely to get shot than to receive a first class education. Yet, I don't see the NAACP batting an eye about all the carnage that's happening in those areas.
Republicans backed President Joe Biden and his administration into a corner, forcing them to cancel a massive grant to a lithium-ion battery manufacturer linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
According to Breitbart, the $200 million grant was awarded during Biden's first year under his infrastructure legislation.
The president's Department of Energy (DOE) selected Microvast as one of 20 companies to receive the grant -- choosing it and others to ensure America is less reliant on China to produce the batteries.
As it turns out, Microvast isn't far removed from the CCP, and Republicans made sure the public was well aware of that fact.
Earlier this year, members of the Republican-led House penned a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, demanding to know why in the world the Biden administration would select Microvast as a recipient of the lucrative grant.
"If the goal of this funding is to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign entities for critical minerals, why would DOE award funding to a company with obvious ties to the CCP?" the GOP lawmakers asked.
The company's ties to China are no secret, as disclosed in SEC filings.
Breitbart noted in an earlier report:
Microvast is owned by holdings company Microvast Holdings Inc. In a December 14, 2021, filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Microvast Holdings Inc. stated, “A substantial portion of our facilities are currently located in the People’s Republic of China, which we refer to as the ‘PRC’ or ‘China,’” as Breitbart News previously reported.
I stood with my colleagues against @ENERGY awarding Microvast $200M in grant funding — that’s now canceled.
This is a MAJOR win for our hardworking taxpayers. https://t.co/ckFxVO2iJh pic.twitter.com/dS8uVINOWj
— Rep. Brandon Williams (@RepWilliams) May 23, 2023
Several Republican lawmakers were pleased with the decision to yank the grant, but many questioned why it took some six months to make that decision.
Senate Energy Committee Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY) was one of the Republican members of Congress who questioned the delay in canceling the contract for a company that is obviously controlled, at least in part, by the CCP.
“I’m stunned it took the Biden Administration this long to admit the obvious: no company beholden to Communist China should be considered for U.S. government grants or loans,” Barrasso said. “The administration should immediately reject other applicants with similar ties. It should also overhaul its grant making process and conduct due diligence before issuing press releases," Barrasso said.
Other Republican congressmen vowed to pursue answers.
Only time will tell if the Biden administration comes up with a valid reason as to why it took so long, but don't hold your breath.
Fox News continues to learn expensive, hard lessons after firing its legendary top primetime performer, Tucker Carlson, and taking a massive settlement loss in the Dominion lawsuit.
A bombshell Rolling Stone report over the weekend revealed that the former cable news powerhouse is still experiencing fallout from the firing and the recent Dominion lawsuit settlement. The network's latest cost-cutting measure included terminating its investigative team.
"The rank and file journalists are getting let go. Meanwhile, upper management are sitting pretty while they are the execs responsible for the Dominion debacle," one anonymous Fox employee told Rolling Stone, while confirming the investigative unit has been let go. "We are the sacrificial lambs."
Another anonymous Fox staffer told the outlet that "[layoffs] have happened." That person indicated they believe layoffs will continue to happen.
Rolling Stone cited a Fox employee as stating, "The outrage is that Suzanne Scott and Maria Bartiromo keep their jobs," adding, “Meanwhile the journalists get let go. We are in shock."
Scott and Bartirimo were named in the lawsuit and played a significant role in why Dominion initiated the lawsuit in the first place.
Fox News laid off its entire investigative unit of reporters one month after the cable news company settled with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million, a report said. https://t.co/YrAkoIZcYE
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) May 20, 2023
Notably, the outlet cited a former Fox News "talent" who spilled the beans on what they believe is taking place behind the scenes at the network currently.
"I think producers, management, et cetera [are being laid-off]," the unnamed person said. "They are trying to get money off the books before June 30. They have to save money because of the [Dominion] lawsuit."
Incredibly, the New York Daily News reported that the layoffs, according to its source, is not related to the Dominion lawsuit settlement, which set the network back some $787 million.
The outlet reported:
The latest moves regarding the unit have “nothing to do with Dominion,” a source with knowledge of the situation said, adding that the unit was realigned, not dissolved.
"There were three employees in the seven-person unit impacted, while four employees were offered different positions within the company," a source reportedly the New York Daily News, countering Rolling Stone's sources.
While it's unclear who's lying and who's telling the truth, many social media users noted that Fox News would likely attempt to downplay any behind-the-curtains crises while the network figures out how to pay its legal bills and make up for a drastic viewership drop in the wake of Carlson's firing.
Only time will tell, but it appears as if Fox News could look shockingly different in the near future. And not in a good way.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (D) enacted a “State of Emergency” for North Carolina after the Republican-led legislature passed school choice legislation last week.
The "State of Emergency" status is usually reserved when a state is facing some kind of crisis. However, Governor Cooper is now using that tool to respond to the lawful passage of legislation designed to give American children access to better education.
Cooper said in a press release that, "It’s clear that the Republican legislature is aiming to choke the life out of public education. I’m declaring this a state of emergency because you need to know what’s happening. If you care about public schools in North Carolina, it’s time to take immediate action and tell them to stop the damage that will set back our schools for a generation."
The passage of a bill allowing parents to send their children to better schools is certainly a crisis for teachers unions, which are one of the strongest supporters of the Democrat Party. Their monopoly is compromised and that means less money for Democrat's like Roy Cooper.
The new legislation expands private school vouchers by $400 million meaning North Carolina's families, especially low-income families, will have better choices for educating their children.
By all accounts this is a major win for the people of North Carolina, but Governor Cooper doesn't see it that way. Democrats are hellbent on forcing American children to go to subpar schools all to ensure their friends in teachers' unions stay powerful.
Representative Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenberg), who sponsored the bill, explained that "Maybe a kid says they hate school. It’s just not the place, maybe the school is too large, maybe it’s the type of curriculum, maybe they have dyslexia and need another location for them. So this would give families, parents, the opportunity because they know their child the best to say where their child should go to school."
None of that matters to Democrats who have been working to hold children hostage in subpar schools by refusing to fund students instead of systems.
What is worse is Governor Cooper is an egregious hypocrite. School choice advocate Corey A. DeAngelis pointed out that, "This hypocrite sent his own kid to a private school,” he tweeted. “We’re freeing families from the clutches of the teachers' unions once and for all & there’s nothing he can do about it. We now have a Democrat Governor declaring school choice a ‘State of Emergency.' They’re losing control over the minds of other people’s children and they can’t handle it. Good. Cry harder, @RoyCooperNC"
Governor Cooper is an elitist who doesn't want North Carolina's children to have the same opportunities his children had. This alarmist "State of Emergency" should be a wake-up call to North Carolinians to give Cooper the boot.
School choice is a growing movement around the nation and it has scored some big wins lately. States like Arkansas, Iowa, Utah and Florida have all expanded school choice programs for children K-12.
North Carolina isn't a deeply Republican state and yet school choice is winning there. But the road to national school choice programs is going to be a long one and won't happen anytime soon.
For now, Republicans are celebrating a hard-earned win and Governor Cooper's reaction is only giving them more ammunition to use against those opposing school choice programs.
Americans are beginning to see through the lies of Democrats like Governor Cooper and more victories in the near future can be expected in more purple states like North Carolina. Help is on the way for American children who are stuck in terrible schools that don't fit their needs.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), over the weekend, opined that President Joe Biden is "willing to tank the economy" rather than give up some of his spending agenda.
Cruz said as much during an appearance Sunday on the Fox News Channel's Fox News Sunday.
This comes as Biden and Republicans continue to negotiate the debt ceiling. And, the negotiations continue as the U.S. government is rapidly heading toward default.
The U.S. Treasury estimates that the government is likely to run out of money to pay its debts by the beginning of June, which at the time of this writing is a little more than a week away. Others, however, predict that the actual default date may be closer to mid-June.
Over the weekend, Biden was in Hiroshima, Japan, where he attended the Group of Seven conference.
There, while speaking with reporters, Biden commented on the debt ceiling negotiations.
He said:
There are some MAGA Republicans in the House who know the damage that [default] would do to the economy. And, because I am president, and a president is responsible for everything, Biden would take the blame, and that's the one way to make sure Biden is not reelected.
It is this comment that Cruz, in part, responded to during his Fox News appearance.
Cruz said:
[Biden's] view is that he's willing to tank the economy because he's unwilling to give even a penny in the trillions in new spending that have caused the inflation that's hurting Americans all across the country. It's a blatantly unreasonable position. Yet he nonetheless smiles and just blames the other side.
Cruz did not stop there. He went on to rebuke Biden for being in Japan rather than negotiating with Republicans in Washington, D.C.
"Unfortunately, Joe Biden has handed his entire agenda over to the radical left — to the Bernie Sanders and the AOCs of the world," Cruz said.
Reports indicate that Biden did speak, via telephone, with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Sunday during Biden's return trip from Japan.
During that conversation, the two reportedly agreed to meet on Monday to continue the debt ceiling negotiations. But, it appears that both sides are still at an impasse.
Fox Business reports: "House Republicans want to see a deal that contains spending caps, particularly on non-defense discretionary spending, while Democrats have been reluctant to agree to budget cuts."