This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
John Bolton, formerly an official in President Donald Trump's first term who after he was removed from his post unleashed vicious criticism of the president, has pleaded not guilty to a long list of serious charges.
He was indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple counts of mishandling classified materials.
He was accused of transmitting and retaining national defense information, "over allegations he sent 'diary-like entries' to two relatives about his day-to-day as Trump's adviser and kept classified records at his home in a Maryland suburb after leaving the position," said the Hill.
"Not guilty, your honor," Bolton said during a court appearance in Greenbelt, Md., on Friday.
The report noted, "Bolton is the third of President Trump's proclaimed foes to face federal charges from his Justice Department."
He is facing 18 counts.
He agreed to surrender his passport to counsel and was ordered released after processing. The next hearing in the case is set for Nov. 21.
A federal grand jury in Maryland indicted Bolton, who served during Trump's first term from April 2018 to September 2019.
The Daily Caller News Foundation revealed documents with "confidential" and "secret" markings "were found inside Bolton's Washington, D.C. office during an Aug. 22 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raid, including some with references to weapons of mass destruction, according to a September court filing. Federal agents searched Bolton's Maryland home that same day but did not find classified materials at the location."
"These materials, many of which are documents that had been previously approved as part of a pre-publication review for Amb. Bolton's book, were reviewed and closed years ago," Bolton's attorney Abbe Lowell previously has said.
The DOJ resumed investigating him for possibly infringing the law over Bolton's book, which he used to level scathing criticism at Trump.
Previously indicted were ex-FBI chief James Comey for allegedly lying to Congress, and Democrat New York Attorney James over alleged mortgage fraud.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Two former FBI officials who were punished under the Biden administration for their efforts to expose a protection scheme for first son Hunter Biden now have reached settlements in their lawsuits.
Hunter Biden, of course, faced both gun and tax charge convictions, cases that could have left him behind bars for years.
Then his daddy gave him a get-out-of-jail free card through a presidential pardon that Joe Biden actually signed, unlike many of his pardons that were issued through autopen signatures.
The settlements were reach for former Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley and Special Agent Joe Ziegler who had charged illegal retaliation against them.
The settlements with the IRS and Justice Department (DOJ) "included significant compensation for damages and a requirement for new training for federal prosecutors to deter future whistleblower retaliation."
They two issued a statement:
"We have been in the public eye because we did our duties as loyal public servants. We legally blew the whistle when Hunter Biden almost escaped prosecution for his crimes because he was the President's son. We had to file a lawsuit against Biden's attorney, Abbe Lowell, because he falsely accused us of committing serious felonies in retaliation. Since then, Biden pled guilty to his crimes and has been pardoned. He also dropped his lawsuit against the IRS targeting us for our protected disclosures.
"We have recently concluded settlement agreements of our claims that the DOJ and IRS illegally retaliated against us for blowing the whistle on the improper politicization of that case.
"In addition to substantial compensation for the harm we suffered, the DOJ has agreed to use this example to train all federal prosecutors for years to come, so other brave civil servants are not victimized the way we were.
"Today, a federal judge announced that when Abbe Lowell published that we had committed a 'clear-cut crime unprotected by any whistleblower statute' and other similar allegations, he was merely speaking his opinion. Although the judge dismissed our defamation case, we disagree that Lowell's attack was just his opinion and will consider whether to appeal.
"We think the record speaks for itself about what we did, who Biden is, and the value of Lowell's so-called opinion."
They had exposed, through protected disclosures, the "preferential treatment" given to the young Biden.
What followed was a "well-funded campaign to smear" them, they said.
The settlement was announced by Empower Oversight, a nonpartisan group that works to improve oversight of government wrongdoing.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., went ballistic on a reporter Wednesday when she was confronted about her role in the Capitol mayhem of Jan. 6, 2021, and why she did not have the National Guard present to quell violence.
Outside the Capitol, the former speaker of the House was asked by Alison Steinberg of Lindell TV: "Congresswoman Pelosi, are you at all concerned that the January 6th Committee will find you liable for that?
"Are at all concerned about the January 6th Committee finding you liable for that day?
"Why did you refuse the National Guard on January 6th?"
Pelosi, who was obviously disturbed by the questions, snapped at Steinberg.
"SHUT UP!" Pelosi screamed as she pointed her finger at the correspondent.
"I did not refuse the National Guard. The president didn't send it. Why are you coming here with Republican talking points as if you're a serious journalist?"
Steinberg replied: "The American people want to know! We still have questions!"
Pelosi then slithered away and Steinberg turned and offered a slight smile to the camera after being repudiated.
As WorldNetDaily reported in August, former Capitol Police Cheif Steven Sund exposed the failures of the California Democrat in January 2021.
"Ma'am, it is long past time to be honest with the American people," Sund began. "On January 3, I requested National Guard assistance, but your Sergeant at Arms denied it.
"Under federal law (2 U.S.C. §1970), I was prohibited from calling them in without specific approval. That same day, Carol Corbin at the Pentagon offered National Guard support, but I was forced to decline because I lacked the legal authority.
"On January 6, while the Capitol was under attack and despite my repeated calls, your Sergeant at Arms again denied my urgent requests for over 70 agonizing minutes, 'running it up the chain' for your approval.
"When I needed assistance, it was denied," he concluded. "Yet when it suited you, you ordered fencing topped with concertina wire and surrounded the Capitol with thousands of armed National Guard troops."
President Donald Trump himself called attention to Pelosi's failure regarding Jan. 6 security, referring to her as a "certain person."
"You remember I said I offered 10,000 once, remember I said to a certain person, a person who I thought always was highly overrated, not very competent," Trump indicated.
"But I said, 'If you need 'em, we'll give you 10,000 of the military or the National Guard.' They turned me down."
As WorldNetDaily reported in June 2024, an explosive video was posted online in which Pelosi was seen admitting "responsibility" for the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
"This is ridiculous," Pelosi says in a phone conversation as she's being chauffeured. "You're going to ask me in the middle of the thing when they've already breached the inaugural stuff that should we call the Capitol police, I mean the National Guard? Why weren't the National Guard there to begin with? … And I take responsibility for not having them just prepare for more."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
One member of the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Samuel Alito, has expressed concern that the federal court system is avoiding one issue because it is so charged.
That's parental rights.
"I remain concerned that some federal courts are 'tempt[ed]' to avoid confronting a 'particularly contentious constitutional question': whether a school district violates parents' fundamental rights 'when, without parental knowledge or consent, it encourages a student to transition to a new gender or assists in that process,'" he wrote this week.
He agreed with the majority in denying the petition in the case Lee v. Poudre School District R-1 in Colorado, where leftist state officials long have advocated for, even demanded, pro-LGBT ideologies, on technical grounds.
The state, in fact, has lost multiple court cases when it has tried to demand that Christians violate their faith by promoting those choices. In one of those cases, the Supreme Court itself criticized the state's "hostility" to Christians.
He said he was worried over the "nearly 6,000 public schools" cited in the case for their policies that hide school managers' agendas to make boys believe they can change into girls and vice versa.
"The troubling—and tragic—allegations in this case underscore the 'great and growing national importance' of the question that these parent petitioners present,'" Alito wrote.
According to a report at the Washington Examiner, the Colorado fight was over an agenda from a middle school that "allegedly hid the promotion of gender ideology to students … with officials at the school giving prizes to students who 'came out' as transgender" at student meetings.
Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch joined Alito's statements.
America First Policy Institute, which worked on the case, said its work to litigate against other such school extremism was continuing.
"Our mission doesn't end here," Gina D'Andrea, of the AFPI, said, "Schools should never be allowed to introduce complex, identity-shaping ideas in secret. And we will continue holding them accountable.
"Every parent deserves the right to know what their child is being taught," D'Andrea explained.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
As President Donald Trump signed an historic Mideast peace deal on Monday securing the release of all remaining Israeli hostages held by the Islamic terror group Hamas, an American journalist is blasting pro-Palestine protesters on U.S. college campuses as "frauds," saying Trump has "freed Palestine."
"For years now, hideous left-wing orcs have been taking over college campuses, marching and rioting in our streets, saying they want peace in the Middle East and they want to free Palestine," said Benny Johnson.
"And President Trump has now freed Palestine. So where are these protesters in their filthy keffiyehs holding up signs of President Trump saying this is our dear leader?
"Where the hell are you? Where'd you go exactly? Did your bullhorns run out of batteries? Where are you like camping out to thank President Trump when he lands back at the airport for ending the war? Isn't that the point? This is what you wanted, right? You wanted the end of the war."
"You wanted … Gaza to go back to the Palestinian people. Well, Trump just delivered that," Johnson continued.
"And he did it with the backing of Israel and all the Arab nations together. And the people in Gaza are celebrating. So where the hell are you? You stuck in your little tent in Columbia [University]? Did your balls fall off? Probably, actually, as a prerequisite to being part of these protests.
"Be intellectually consistent for once in your miserable lives. Can you just like give the guy a W? And didn't he just give you what you want? You've been frothing at the mouth, behaving like domestic terrorists for the last couple of years in our country because of this conflict."
"They're such frauds. Don't believe these people, don't listen to these people. President Trump is the president of peace. He deserves to be celebrated."
Meanwhile, pro-Palestine activist Amna Ghaffar told Sky News on Monday that protests would continue against Israel despite the peace deal.
"We will continue to protest, and we will remain on the streets until there is uninhibited entry of aid into Gaza," she said.
"We will remain on the streets until we win an arms embargo and sanctions on Israel. And we will remain on the streets until there is a complete end to the occupation until Palestinians have total liberation of their land."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A federal court has delivered a victory to a driver who was stopped by Louisiana police and interrogated on the roadside.
According to a report from the Institute for Justice, the decision came from federal court in the Western District of Louisiana.
That decision said the case brought against the officers and the city of Alexandria will not be dismissed at this point, allowing claims by Mario Rosales and Gracie Lasyones to move forward.
"Mario and Gracie should get to enforce their rights in court, helping protect other motorists' rights, and this ruling is an important step forward," said IJ Attorney Marie Miller. "But there is still work to be done. While Mario and Gracie have overcome one roadblock, they have to wait until later stages of the case to ultimately vindicate their rights with a final judgment. Qualified immunity is delaying justice."
The Alexandria officers are accused of an unconstitutional traffic stop and interrogation.
It happened when, several years ago, the plaintiffs were on the highway and officers pulled them over on "bogus traffic infractions to fish for drug and other crimes,"
"Mario and Gracie were questioned about not just about where they live and work, where they had been, and where they were going, but also about a litany of drugs, past interactions with police, and their feelings about the U.S. Constitution," the IJ said.
The IJ explained, "The officers and their city employer used various tactics to delay proceedings. These included securing a stay of the case based on the criminal prosecution of one of the officers, Jim Lewis, for a crime committed on the job. The court lifted the stay. But then the officers pressed qualified immunity defenses, halting progress in the case again."
Finally, the court ruled against claims of qualified immunity, so the case now can move forward.
However, the case is not yet to the point of vindicating the rights of Mario and Gracie because multiple existing issues could drag in the 5th U.S. District Court of Appeals.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Charlie Kirk, the conservative leader shot dead last month on a Utah campus, will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously on Tuesday, Oct. 14, which would have been his 32nd birthday.
The life and ministry of Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, inspired countless Americans and Christians to live lives of truth, sacrifice and courage, especially in the public square.
President Trump announced Friday that Kirk would receive America's highest civilian honor at the White House.
"We're giving him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest honor you get outside of the Congressional Medal of Honor," he said. "Erika, his beautiful wife, is going to be here, and a lot of people are going to be here."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Donald Trump has been working with, or actually on, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky for months now, trying to end the carnage wrought by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the military conflict it triggered. Thousands have died and entire city centers have been left in rubble.
First Lady Melania Trump also has been working on the conflict, but on another point.
She has been trying to reunite children with their parents.
CBS News explains she has confirmed eight Ukrainian children kept in Russia by the conflict now have been returned and reunited with their families in just the last 24 hours.
More reunifications are pending.
"She also said Russia has agreed to coordinate the return of Ukrainians who were children when they were displaced by the war, but have since turned 18, 'within a short period of time,'" the report said.
The report said when Russia invaded in 2022, the military included in its campaigns the "systematic and forcible abduction of children."
Ukraine's state-run "Bring Kids Back" program charges that more than 19,500 Ukrainian children were targeted.
Melania Trump said she's been working with Putin and his team to reunite the families. She first approached him by letter, the report said.
"Since then, President Putin and I have had an open channel of communication regarding the welfare of these children. For the past three months, both sides have participated in several backchannel meetings and calls, all in good faith. We have agreed to cooperate with each other for the benefit of all people involved in this war. My representative has been working directly with President Putin's team to ensure the safe reunification of children with their families between Russia and Ukraine," she announced on Friday.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
One day after the two year anniversary of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack against Israel, President Donald Trump announced a peace deal to free the remaining hostages has finally been accepted.
"I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan," Trump said on Truth Social.
"This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace. All Parties will be treated fairly!
"This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!"
The measure is reportedly set for signing at noon Thursday in Israel.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "With God's help we will bring them all home."
"If Donald Trump doesn't get the Nobel Peace Prize, the committee should disband," said Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham on the development.
"This is a historic achievement," Alex Marlow, editor-in-chief of Breitbart News told Ingraham. "He has taken away all of Hamas' leverage over Israel. It's gone now. The hostages were the leverage.
"If they're coming home now, we're gonna have a celebration, but it also could be the end of Hamas as a military power in the region. This could be the beginning of lasting peace in the region, God willing."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Jack Smith, the Democrat-appointed special counsel who ran some of the party's lawfare cases against President Donald Trump, deserves to be punished, according to Republicans in Washington.
And, after recent revelations that he spied on the telephone records of multiple GOP senators, several of them are working to see that that includes disbarment.
One investigative reporter has suggested that Smith was collecting information on the GOP senators because, had Kamala Harris been elected, he wanted to pursue further charges against the president and other Republicans.
With Harris' catastrophic loss, the cases against Trump vanished.
Now a "growing chorus of outraged Republican senators, led by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), are escalating their fight against former Special Counsel Jack Smith and the federal government, vowing a slew of legal challenges and professional complaints over the alleged tracking of their private phone records," a report confirmed.
Graham also has promised to "sue the crap" out of anyone involved in the monitoring was done without proper cause.
Blackburn confirmed a letter is being dispatched to call for Smith's disbarment because of the "appalling weaponization" he did in the federal government.
"I'm already working on a letter to the DC Bar, a complaint letter, to file against him! He should be DISBARRED."
According to a report at Gateway Hispanic notes Smith is "accused of orchestrating Biden's FBI espionage on eight Republican senators following the 2020 elections. Smith now faces a formal complaint for his professional disbarment."