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October 25, 2024
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Will Upton & Raheem Kassam
Election 2024
Politics

Here’s Who Is Topping Trump’s Shortlist for Attorney General.

With the 2024 presidential election set to be decided in less than two weeks, speculation regarding the potential cabinet picks for both major party candidates is rife. One of the important roles the election victor will choose is who will serve as the United States Attorney General.

While neither former President Donald J. Trump nor Vice President Kamala Harris has publicly stated who they prefer for the role, presidential transition documents and conversations among lawmakers on Capitol Hill have given some idea of who Trump is considering. Among the names being circulated are at least three sitting United States senators, a former acting Attorney General, a conservative legal expert, the former chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and a U.S. District Court judge. Here they are, in no particular order:

SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM!?

One name that was floated even before the 2024 election cycle kicked off in earnest is U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC). While the pick would likely rankle conservatives and MAGA loyalists alike, Graham does have extensive legal experience and has been a close ally of Trump—even during the 2024 Republican primary.

Before his election to public office, Graham served in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps with the U.S. Air Force—eventually becoming the military service branch’s top prosecutor in Europe. After leaving active duty, Graham worked in private practice as an attorney for several years before being elected to the South Carolina State House of Representatives and, subsequently, the U.S. Congress.

From 2019 until 2021, Graham served as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and is currently its ranking member. The South Carolina Republican—known for being a bipartisan lawmaker—made waves for his unusually vocal criticism of Democrats over their treatment of Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Graham would represent a wet and compromising approach to the Office of the Attorney General, representing almost no change from the public disaster that was Bill Barr. With Trump only being able to serve one more term, it would be a huge waste of time and indeed an unnecessary risk to appoint someone like Graham.

SENATOR JOSH HAWLEY.

Along with Sen. Graham, another member of the upper house of Congress said to be under consideration for Attorney General is Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO). Like Graham, the senior Senator from Missouri has extensive legal experience in private and government practices.

A graduate of Yale Law School, Hawley worked as a lawyer in private practice from 2008 to 2011 before joining the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty as an attorney. While at the Becket Fund, Hawley served on a legal team that won Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores—a Supreme Court decision that held privately-owned, for-profit companies were exempt from Obamacare’s contraception mandate.

In 2016, Hawley was elected as the Attorney General for the State of Missouri, where he served before defeating incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) in 2018. Sen. Hawley serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee and has developed a reputation as an aggressive and formidable interrogator of witnesses brought before the body.

SENATOR ERIC SCHMITT. 

Joining Sen. Hawley as a contender for Attorney General is the junior Senator from Missouri, Eric Schmitt. The 49-year-old lawmaker succeeded Hawley as Attorney General for Missouri before being elected to the United States Senate in 2022. Also like Hawley, Schmitt has been an outspoken critic of the Biden-Harris DOJ and its partisan lawfare campaign against President Trump and his allies.

A conservative and populist politician, Schmitt checks a lot of the right boxes for an Attorney General nominee. Additionally, the junior Senator from Missouri has joined Trump on the campaign trail as a confidant, helping with the Republican nominee’s debate preparation ahead of Trump thrashing Joe Biden on CNN in June. Biden’s debate performance was so catastrophic he subsequently quit the presidential race.

As Missouri’s Attorney General, Schmitt worked to invalidate Obamacare. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he sued school districts and municipalities for overstepping their legal authority when implementing mask mandates.

FORMER ACTING AG JEFF CLARK.

One of the most interesting names being circulated is former acting U.S. Attorney General Jeff Clark. The former acting Attorney General in the final days of Trump’s first term in office, Clark has been one of the top targets of the Biden-Harris government’s lawfare campaign against Trump and his allies.

Clark, a well-known and respected administrative lawyer, was appointed Assistant Attorney General during the Trump administration. During this time, he became concerned about potential voter fraud in the November 2020 election. He has drawn the ire of Democrats for simply authoring an unpublished legal memo on the constitutional actions Georgia state lawmakers could take to challenge the 2020 presidential election results due to allegations of voter fraud.

Two years ago, federal law enforcement agents acting on behalf of the Biden-Harris Department of Justice (DOJ) raided Clark’s home—though the agency has yet to publicly state why the raid was conducted. Perhaps in anticipation of Clark’s possible appointment to Attorney General, Democrats have been pursuing an effort to strip the attorney from practicing law in the District of Columbia.

A documentary drawing attention to the dubious lawfare campaign against Clark was recently released to the public. Fearless Point of Attack: The Jeff Clark Story  features numerous attorneys and others defending Clark, including law professor Robert Destro, who stated, “Jeff is being persecuted, I would argue, because he gave legal advice that he thought was good faith legal advice.”

MIKE DAVIS. 

Conservative legal expert Mike Davis is another name that has begun floating around those close to the Trump campaign. Davis, the founder, and president of the Article III Project (A3P), previously served as Sen. Chuck Grassley‘s (R-IA) chief counsel for judicial nominations on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Under Grassley’s chairmanship—and with the aid of Davis—the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmed a historic 85 federal judicial nominees put forward by then-President Trump to lifetime appointments. Among them were two United States Supreme Court Justices, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch.

In addition to his work on judicial and legal matters, Davis heads the Internet Accountability Project (IAP), a nonprofit group aimed at holding Big Tech accountable for its partisan political bias and economic distortions. Davis has been an outspoken proponent of religious liberty, and his deep ties to those in the MAGA and America First movements make him a fan favorite.

On social media, Davis has routinely pointed out the hypocrisy and unprecedented lawfare campaign pushed by Democrats through hyperbolic quips about the actions he’d take as “Acting Attorney General.”

JUDGE AILEEN CANNON. 

A somewhat surprising name has also emerged from a leaked document related to Trump’s presidential transition team. The document, titled “Transition Planning: Legal Principals,” lists U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon as a possible choice for Attorney General.

Cannon, nominated by Trump as a federal judge in 2020, gained attention after dismissing a case involving 40 criminal counts against the former president regarding his handling of classified documents post-presidency. Cannon found many issues with the lawfare prosecution, ultimately ruling that the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith was unconstitutional. Smith was neither appointed by the president nor confirmed by Congress.

The U.S. District Court judge appears second on the attorney general list, following former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton.

FORMER SEC CHAIRMAN JAY CLAYTON.

Jay Clayton, the former chairman of the SEC, is considered a top contender for Attorney General. With extensive experience in several fields of law as a partner with Sullivan & Cromwell, Clayton has an impressive resume—especially regarding legal representation in the U.S. financial sector.

Clayton was one of the first appointments announced by then-President-elect Donald Trump, being tapped for the role of SEC chairman on January 4, 2017. Interestingly, Clayton’s nomination was endorsed by future Trump antagonist, former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. It was Vance’s office that colluded with Mark Pomerantz in its investigation of Trump regarding an alleged 2016 campaign finance violation and business record fraud.

The dubious case would later be prosecuted by Vance’s successor, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and is currently pending appeal. Some have speculated that Pomerantz pushed Bragg into the prosecution despite its legally questionable grounding.

Jack Montgomery contributed to this report.

By Popular Demand.
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4 hours ago
Crime

DOJ Concludes Federal Oversight of Seattle PD After 13 Years.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington formally ended federal oversight of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) after 13 years under a consent decree.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The Seattle Police Department, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller, and Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The ruling was issued on Wednesday by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

💬KEY QUOTE: “For close to 14 years, the tax base in the city of Seattle had put forth over $200 million into this process. It’s crushed morale, we’ve lost over half of the department, and it has decimated public safety,” Mike Solan said.

🎯IMPACT: The end of the decree marks a return of full control of SPD to the city but has left lasting effects on morale, staffing, and public safety.

IN FULL

The 13-year-old consent decree governing the Seattle Police Department (SPD) officially ended this week, following a ruling on Wednesday by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington declaring the 2011 Department of Justice (DOJ) order fulfilled. Established in the wake of United States v. City of Seattle, the consent decree had subjected the SPD to over a decade of federal oversight aimed at addressing issues surrounding use of force, crisis intervention, and accountability within the department.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division welcomed the District Court ruling, stating, “We congratulate the Seattle Police Department on its achievement of sustained substantial compliance with this consent decree.” Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller praised the department’s efforts, saying it had become “an example for other police forces.”

However, Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) President Mike Solan criticized the Barack Obama-era federal oversight requirement, claiming it was more about enriching oversight staff than reform. “For close to 14 years, the tax base in the city of Seattle had put forth over $200 million into this process. It’s crushed morale, we’ve lost over half of the department, and it has decimated public safety,” he complained.

Solan also tied the oversight bureaucracy to broader issues within King County, pointing to a $1.5 billion social justice spending spree with no accountability. He noted that the timing of the decree’s initial planned end coincided with the George Floyd riots, which reset progress. Solan remarked, “Just one week before Floyd’s death, city leaders and the DOJ had agreed that SPD was ready to exit the decree. Then George Floyd happens, and we’re back to square one.”

Image by zeraien.

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By Popular Demand.
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5 hours ago
Politics

NYC Mayor Adams Eyes White House Meeting Amid Rumors of Trump Advisor Role.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: New York City Mayor Eric Adams is set to meet with White House officials to discuss his future, including potential roles within the Trump administration.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Mayor Eric Adams, White House officials, President Trump’s aides, and Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East.

📍WHEN & WHERE: A meeting is planned for next week in Washington, D.C.

💬KEY QUOTE: “I will always listen if called to serve our country.” – Mayor Eric Adams

🎯IMPACT: Discussions could lead to Adams stepping away from his re-election bid and accepting a role in the Trump administration, helping to consolidate support behind Andrew Cumo against Democrat nominee Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral contest.

IN FULL

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is scheduled to meet with White House officials next week to discuss potential roles within the Trump administration. The meeting comes amid speculation about the ex-Democrat’s political future and possible withdrawal from the upcoming mayoral race, as efforts to consolidate opposition against the Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani begin in earnest.

A source close to Adams stated, “Eric Adams knows he can’t win [in November] and is exploring his options.” The source added that Adams, currently running as an independent, is interested in roles such as an ambassadorship, though no formal offer has been extended by President Donald J. Trump.

News of the meeting follows Adams’s recent reaffirmation of his commitment to re-election. “I am still running for reelection, and my full focus is on the safety and quality of life of every New Yorker,” Adams said, while also noting, “I will always listen if called to serve our country.”

Discussions reportedly include the possibility of Adams being nominated as ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, is said to be advocating for this move, viewing it as a way to consolidate political support behind former Governor Andrew Cuomo against Mamdani.

Adams is weighing his options, as joining the Trump administration could have long-term implications for the former Democrat’s political career. A source noted, “Going into the Trump administration closes some doors. He would be tied to the Trump administration for better or for worse.”

Image by Marc A. Hermann / MTA.

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By Popular Demand.
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5 hours ago
Christopher Tomlinson
Economy
TECH

Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs Against Europe for U.S. Tech Firm Fines.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: President Donald J. Trump has threatened the European Union (EU) with retaliatory tariffs over huge fines directed at American tech giants like Google and Apple.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Donald J. Trump, U.S. tech firms, and the EU.

📍WHEN & WHERE: President Trump announced the possible retaliation on September 5 on Truth Social.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Europe today ‘hit’ another great American company, Google, with a $3.5 billion fine, effectively taking money that would otherwise go to American Investments and Jobs.” – President Trump.

🎯IMPACT: The threat could see the EU back off on fines, or be forced to pay the equivalent in tariffs back to the United States.

IN FULL

President Donald J. Trump is taking a hard line against the European Union (EU) after its regulators imposed a massive $3.5 billion fine on Google. The President is accusing Brussels of unfairly targeting American tech companies and threatening to launch a formal trade response.

“Europe today ‘hit’ another great American company, Google, with a $3.5 billion fine, effectively taking money that would otherwise go to American Investments and Jobs,” Trump said in a statement released Friday. He also pointed to Apple’s previous $17 billion fine in the EU, saying, “They should get their money back!”

Trump warned that his administration would not tolerate “discriminatory actions” against U.S. firms and threatened to initiate a Section 301 trade investigation, which would pave the way for tariffs or other retaliatory measures. “We cannot let this happen to brilliant and unprecedented American Ingenuity,” he stated.

The America First leader’s remarks come amid a broader dispute between the United States and the European Union over trade, taxation, and regulation. Earlier this year, Trump threatened 200 percent tariffs on EU wine, champagne, and other luxury goods, describing the EU as “one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the world.”

Beyond economics, the Trump administration is increasingly voicing concerns about free speech restrictions in the EU, particularly in Germany. Recent U.S. criticisms have focused on arrests tied to social media posts and sweeping EU digital content laws.

The German government has dismissed U.S. objections, insisting its laws—which recently saw a German woman receive a harsher sentence for insulting a migrant gang rapist than the migrant received for the gang rape—are necessary to fight so-called hate speech.

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By Popular Demand.
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6 hours ago
News
War

Trump Revives the Department of War.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to restore the historic name “Department of War” as a secondary title for the Department of Defense.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Donald J. Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and the Department of Defense.

💬KEY QUOTE: “To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.” – President George Washington

🎯IMPACT: The order aims to project strength, sharpen the military’s focus, and signal America’s readiness to secure its interests by force if necessary.

IN FULL

President Donald J. Trump has signed an Executive Order to restore the historic name “Department of War” as a secondary title for the Department of Defense. The order allows the Secretary of Defense, the Department of Defense, and subordinate officials to use titles such as “Secretary of War,” “Department of War,” and “Deputy Secretary of War” in official contexts. It further directs all executive departments and agencies to recognize and accommodate these secondary titles in communications.

The Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, was instructed to recommend legislative and executive actions to permanently rename the Department of Defense to the Department of War. President Donald J. Trump believes that the name “Department of War” better reflects the military’s power and readiness to advance the national interest offensively as well as defensively. The ‘Department of War’ name dates from 1789 and was the department’s moniker during historic American victories in conflicts such as the First World War and Second World War.

President George Washington, in his First Annual Address to Congress on January 8, 1790, stated, “To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.” Citing this quote as justification for the name change, the Trump White House argued, “Our founders knew that projecting strength would be the best way to ensure that we would rarely need to use it.”

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By Popular Demand.
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7 hours ago
Politics
The Resistance

IRS Official Fired Following Anti-Trump Social Media Rant.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Internal Revenue Service (IRS) officer Niki Wilkinson was terminated after public LinkedIn posts surfaced criticizing the Trump administration and Republicans.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Niki Wilkinson, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), President Donald J. Trump, and Republican lawmakers.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Friday, September 5, 2025.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Such a farce! Interesting how Senators outside the IRS are fear mongering and falsely describing the work.” – Niki Wilkinson

🎯IMPACT: The incident highlights continued scrutiny over IRS practices and political bias allegations.

IN FULL

Niki Wilkinson, a now-former Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee, has been fired after LinkedIn posts trashing President Donald J. Trump and Republican lawmakers surfaced. The IRS officer’s social media posts attacked the President and his Republican allies on Capitol Hill over the firing of former IRS official Holly Paz, a central figure in a Barack Obama-era scandal involving politically motivated audits of conservatives.

In her LinkedIn posts, Wilkinson accuses Trump and Republican lawmakers of “fear mongering” and misrepresenting Paz’s actions. During the Obama administration, Paz served as deputy to Lois Lerner, the IRS Director for Exempt Organizations. In May 2013, Lerner was placed on administrative leave after Congressional investigators revealed she had used audits of pass-through businesses to target conservative business owners. Paz, however, remained in her role at the IRS following the scandal and Lerner’s resignation in September 2013.

Wilkinson defended Paz’s work in a LinkedIn comment, stating, “Such a farce! Interesting how Senators outside the IRS are fear mongering and falsely describing the work. They have no idea what Examiners found in those audits, which in fact exposed fraud or noncompliance in the passthrough area as for years the IRS didn’t effectively audit them.”

In addition, Wilkinson used her LinkedIn account to criticize the Trump White House. Earlier this week, she published two posts on the networking site, accusing President Trump of corruption. Other posts promoted Democratic Party talking points and political attacks on the Trump administration. The publicly viewable comments were made despite Wilkinson not being authorized to speak on behalf of the IRS.

Image by Alpha Photo.

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By Popular Demand.
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8 hours ago
Immigration
News

Trump Is Taking This Dem City to Court Over Its Sanctuary Policies.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the City of Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu (D), the Boston Police Department, and its commissioner over sanctuary policies that allegedly obstruct federal immigration enforcement.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Department of Justice (DOJ), Michelle Wu, and the Boston Police Department.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The lawsuit was announced this week and targets the City of Boston, Massachusetts.

💬KEY QUOTE: “If Boston won’t protect its citizens from illegal alien crime, this Department of Justice will.” – Pam Bondi

🎯IMPACT: The lawsuit is part of a broader DOJ effort to dismantle sanctuary policies nationwide, citing public safety concerns and non-compliance with federal law.

IN FULL

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit Thursday against the City of Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu (D), the Boston Police Department, and its commissioner, accusing them of using “sanctuary” policies to obstruct federal immigration enforcement.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said Boston’s policies violate federal law and put residents at risk. “The City of Boston and its Mayor have been among the worst sanctuary offenders in America; they explicitly enforce policies designed to undermine law enforcement and protect illegal aliens from justice,” Bondi said in a statement. “If Boston won’t protect its citizens from illegal alien crime, this Department of Justice will.”

According to the DOJ, Boston routinely refuses to cooperate with federal immigration officials, leading to the release of migrants convicted of serious crimes, including aggravated assault, burglary, and drug and human trafficking, who would otherwise be held for federal deportation proceedings.

Mayor Wu has defended the city’s sanctuary status. Last month, she dismissed warnings from the federal government, criticizing the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and defending Boston’s commitment to illegal aliens.

The lawsuit is part of a larger federal push under the Trump administration to challenge sanctuary policies across the country. Since taking office, the DOJ’s Civil Division has been tasked with identifying and targeting cities and states that are blocking immigration enforcement.

In August, Bondi published a list of sanctuary jurisdictions, with Boston near the top. She vowed to pursue legal action against cities on the list. Similar lawsuits have already been filed against New York and Los Angeles.

On August 28, President Trump directed ICE to ramp up operations in Democrat-run New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, and Seattle. Plans include possibly using a naval base near Chicago as a staging area for expanded immigration enforcement action.

However, the administration has faced judicial resistance. Just days before the DOJ filed the Boston lawsuit, U.S. District Judge William Orrick, a Barack Obama appointee, blocked Trump’s attempt to withhold federal funding from over 30 sanctuary jurisdictions, including Boston. The judge ruled that the move amounted to unconstitutional coercion.

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8 hours ago
News
UK

Britain’s New Deputy Prime Minister Branded MAGA a ‘Cult of White Supremacists.’

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Britain’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has appointed David Lammy, the now-former Foreign Secretary, as Deputy Prime Minister. Lammy, who attended university with Barack Obama, has a virulently anti-Trump and anti-MAGA background.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, President Donald J. Trump, and the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.

📍WHEN & WHERE: September 5, 2025, in the United Kingdom.

💬KEY QUOTE: “You’re going to struggle to find any politician who has not had things to say about Donald Trump in his first term, particularly on Twitter.” – David Lammy

🎯IMPACT: Lammy’s remarks could potentially affect the “special relationship” between Britain and the United States.

IN FULL

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has appointed David Lammy, Britain’s now-former Foreign Secretary, as Deputy Prime Minister, replacing the scandal-hit Angela Rayner. Despite attempting to build bridges with Vice President J.D. Vance as Foreign Secretary, Lammy is known to be virulently anti-Trump, previously describing the America First leader as a “neo-Nazi sympathizing sociopath” and the broader MAGA movement as a “cult of white supremacists.”

Lammy defended these comments shortly after becoming Foreign Secretary, suggesting “You’re going to struggle to find any politician who has not had things to say about Donald Trump in his first term, particularly on Twitter.”

The black identitarian politician went far further than most of President Trump’s critics, however, not only calling him a “racist KKK and Nazi sympathizer” and branding him a tyrant, but even arguing the British government should “be putting [him] on a watch list and barring him from entry to our country” and asking the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate him for “inciting hatred” on social media.

The Trump administration has been able to work constructively with Britain’s Labour government up to now, with the President striking a first-of-its-kind British-American trade deal with Starmer earlier this year. Still, relations have been fraying over Britain’s increasingly draconian censorship regime.

A recent U.S. State Department human rights report warned of “credible reports of serious restrictions on freedom of expression,” and Vice President J.D. Vance personally spoke out against the country’s “crisis of censorship” at the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany.

Image by Ben Dance / FCDO.

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By Popular Demand.
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9 hours ago
NatSec

Trump Deploys F-35s to Puerto Rico in Crackdown on Drug Traffickers.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: President Donald J. Trump has ordered the deployment of ten F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico to target drug cartels in the Caribbean.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The deployment was reported on Friday, with jets expected to arrive in Puerto Rico next week.

💬KEY QUOTE: “What will stop [the traffickers] is when you blow them up. Instead of interdicting it, on the President’s orders, we blew it up. And it’ll happen again. Maybe it’s happening right now.” – Marco Rubio

🎯IMPACT: The escalation signals a robust U.S. military campaign against drug trafficking in the region, raising tensions with Venezuela.

IN FULL

President Donald J. Trump has ordered the deployment of ten F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico as part of a broader campaign against drug cartels operating in the Caribbean. The move comes after an American strike on Tuesday destroyed a boat carrying 11 drug traffickers linked to Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua crime syndicate.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in Mexico City, defended the aggressive approach, stating, “What will stop them is when you blow them up. Instead of interdicting [the vessel], on the President’s orders, we blew it up. And it’ll happen again. Maybe it’s happening right now.”

The Pentagon reported on Thursday that two Venezuelan military planes flew close to a U.S. warship in international waters, labeling the act “a highly provocative move.” The Department of Defense strongly advised Venezuela’s regime not to interfere with U.S. counter-narcotics operations. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, however, accused the U.S. of seeking regime change and pledged to strengthen his military forces.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, addressing the legal justification for the recent strike, stated, “We have the absolute authority and complete authority to conduct [strikes],” adding, “I’d say we smoked a drug boat, and there’s 11 narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean.”

Notably, President Trump designated Tren de Aragua and various other transnational cartels and gangs as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) shortly after he resumed office in January.

The U.S. has been increasing its military presence in the Caribbean for weeks, with at least eight warships and additional assets deployed.

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By Popular Demand.
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10 hours ago
NatSec

Trump to Sign Executive Order Penalizing Nations Detaining Americans.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: The Trump administration is preparing an executive order to designate state sponsors of wrongful detention, aiming to punish nations that detain Americans illegally or use them as leverage.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Donald J. Trump, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Americans detained abroad, and Sarah Levinson, daughter of Robert Levinson.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The order is expected as early as Friday. It follows years of wrongful detentions across nations such as Iran, Russia, and Venezuela.

💬KEY QUOTE: “We have watched in horror as the practice of taking American citizens hostage as political leverage has not only escalated but run rampant by the acts of many rogue nations.” — Sarah Levinson

🎯IMPACT: The order aims to curb wrongful detentions, deter travel to high-risk nations, and signal strong penalties for countries engaging in such practices.

IN FULL

President Donald J. Trump is set to enact an Executive Order, as soon as Friday, creating a new designation for countries that wrongfully detain Americans. The measure would allow the U.S. to penalize countries that detain U.S. nationals or use them as leverage.

The new designation is expected to be similar to the current state sponsors of terrorism designation used by the U.S. Department of State. The Executive Order will allow the imposition of penalties and potentially restrict travel to nations involved in wrongful detentions. Notably, a Foley Foundation study reveals that at least 54 Americans were wrongfully detained in 17 countries under former President Joe Biden in 2024.

Currently, the State Department publishes a “Do Not Travel” list—numbering 21 nations—including Iran, Russia, and North Korea. These countries all have a history of wrongfully detaining Americans. During President Trump’s first term, the America First leader signed into law the Robert Levinson Act, which allows the State Department to assess wrongful detentions based on judicial fairness, credible evidence, or political motives.

Robert Levinson, a retired Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent, was held in Iran from 2007 until his reported death in 2020. His daughter, Sarah Levinson, thanked President Trump and others for their efforts, stating, “Our father, Robert Levinson, was wrongfully detained by the Iranian government and ultimately died in Iranian custody after years in captivity. This must never happen again.”

The push for the executive order follows recent high-profile cases, including the detention of journalist Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan by Russia, as well as other U.S. citizens in Venezuela and Iran.

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10 hours ago
Corruption
Politics

Oversight Committee Rips Ex-Biden Aide in Autopen Probe.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: The House Oversight Committee criticized former Biden spokesman Andrew Bates over his opening remarks during an investigation into the usage of autopen for executive decisions under former President Joe Biden.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Andrew Bates, the House Oversight Committee, and Chairman James Comer (R-KY).

📍WHEN & WHERE: Friday, September 5, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Andrew Bates was part of the Biden cognitive decline cover-up, and he’s delusional,” an Oversight Committee spokesman stated.

🎯IMPACT: The investigation into President Biden’s cognitive state and the alleged use of autopen for clemency orders is raising questions about executive decision-making and transparency.

IN FULL

The House Oversight Committee is blasting Andrew Bates, a former Biden spokesman, over his remarks during a probe into the use of an autopen for executive actions under former President Joe Biden. Bates, who recently participated in an interview with House investigators, deflected questions regarding Biden’s cognitive state, instead using his opening statement to attack the investigation and President Donald J. Trump’s policies.

“Andrew Bates was part of the Biden cognitive decline cover-up, and he’s delusional,” an Oversight Committee spokesman said in response to Bates’s leaked opening statement. The spokesman added that Bates’s remarks “peddled the same fantasy he’s been trying to sell the American people,” noting that the public witnessed President Biden’s cognitive decline firsthand.

In his statement, Bates expressed pride in supporting Biden as President, claiming it was “universally understood that Joe Biden was in charge” during his time in the White House.

The House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer (R-KY), is investigating whether senior White House aides covered up signs of President Biden’s mental decline and whether executive decisions were signed off on via autopen without Biden’s full awareness. The investigation is particularly focused on clemency orders signed in the latter half of Biden’s term.

Biden allies have dismissed the probe as politically motivated, while the Oversight Committee maintains that the investigation is uncovering significant transparency and governance issues.

Image by Gage Skidmore.

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