Search for American Service-Members Continues in Japan After Aircraft Crash

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Search for American Service-Members Continues in Japan After Aircraft Crash

(Headline USA) Japanese authorities handed over pieces of the wreckage from an U.S. Air Force Osprey that crashed off southwestern Japan to the U.S. military on Sunday, as the search continued for seven missing servicemembers. The only body so far recovered has now been formally identified.

The wreckage had been collected by a ship from the regional coast guard headquarters and by fishers from the town of Yakushima since the CV-22 aircraft crashed into the water near the town Wednesday during a training mission to Okinawa.

Japan Coast Guard 10th Regional Headquarters said the unidentified pieces of wreckage, which had been kept at the town hall, were handed over to the U.S. military for further examination. Debris collected by the fishers had been picked up by the U.S. military earlier Sunday, and that collected by the coast guard was also to be handed over later in the day.

The handover is procedure according to the Japan-U.S. Status Forces Agreement, under which Japanese authorities are not given the right to seize or investigate U.S. military property unless the U.S. decides otherwise. That means it will be practically impossible for Japan to investigate the cause of the accident.

The agreement, known as SOFA, has in the past repeatedly made Japanese investigation difficult in criminal cases involving American service members on Okinawa and elsewhere, and has been criticized as unequal by rights activists and others, including Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki, who call for a revision.

The Air Force Special Operations Command formally identified the one confirmed victim as Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday, after tributes had begun pouring in the day before.

Galliher’s family issued a statement Saturday saying it was in mourning and asking for privacy and prayers for his wife, two children and other family members.

“Jacob was an incredible son, brother, husband, father and friend to so many. His short life touched and made better the lives of hundreds, if not thousands in Pittsfield, in this region and everywhere he served,” the family said. “Jacob lived to serve his family, his country and the people he loved.”

The U.S. military said it was continuing to look for the rest of the crew.

“We want to assure our air commandos’ families that our efforts will continue and include every possible capability at our disposal,” said Rear Adm. Jeromy Williams, Pacific commander for the Special Operations Command.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, in a statement Sunday, said “your heart and your spirit are torn when you see a young man with such promise lose his life in the service of a set of ideals.” He said the top priority is the safety of the servicemembers, as well as the communities where they operate, and pledged to make sure “the equipment, the aircraft, anything that you’re using” is safe.

Emanuel thanked the Japanese Self Defense Forces, the Coast Guard and the local fishing communities for their support in the search for the seven still missing, and promised full transparency.

“Obviously, in a fully transparent way as we investigate what happened, to rectify it, we will be transparent with our partner, Japan. And while there are a lot of questions to be answered, we are focused like a laser on the search and rescue operation to secure the safety of the other servicemembers,” Emanuel said, but did not say if the U.S. side would allow Japanese authorities into the crash probe.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Former Washington Economist Alleges Pressure to Lie About Carbon Auction Effect on Gas Prices

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Former Washington Economist Alleges Pressure to Lie About Carbon Auction Effect on Gas Prices

(Brett Davis, The Center Square) – Opponents of Washington’s carbon credit auction have pounced on a former state economist’s retaliation claim against the state after his refusal to keep quiet about his calculations showing Washington’s cap-and-trade program would increase gas prices by 45 to 50 cents per gallon.

KING 5 first reported on a legal claim filed Thursday by the Citizen Action Defense Fund on behalf of Tumwater’s Scott Smith, 64, who worked for the state Department of Transportation as an economist. The complaint argues Smith was threatened to keep his prediction of gas price hikes from the public and told not to put anything in writing that could be subject to a public records request.

The legal claim was filed against the WSDOT, the Office of Financial Management and the Gov. Jay Inslee’s administration.

Smith, who had worked as a public sector economist for 35 years, contends he was forced out and that his career has been ruined because he refused to lie about how Washington’s carbon auction program would impact gas prices.

Gov. Jay Inslee had previously predicted the increase at the pump for consumers would be only “pennies.”

The pressure to change his findings or lie about the data became so great, according to Smith, that he felt he had no choice but to resign.

In the legal claim in the form of a demand letter to WSDOT Secretary Roger Millar, CADF Executive Director and counsel Jackson Maynard details some of Smith’s allegations.

“On January 18, 2023, at around 10:10 a.m., my client met with Mr. Nguyen Dang (a temporary supervisor) who informed him that management ‘would prefer’ that he not include the cap-and-trade surcharges in his quarterly fuel price forecast,” the letter states. “By ‘management,’ my client understood that Mr. Nguyen was referring to Ms. Amber Coulson, WSDOT’s Financial and Planning Manager, and Mr. Eric Hansen of the Governor’s Office of Financial Management.”

Senate Republican Leader John Braun keyed in on the governor in his response to Smith’s claims.

“It’s very disturbing to hear that executive agencies under the governor’s oversight are pushing staff to misrepresent facts and figures,” Braun said in a news release. “This is especially upsetting if it was done to hide the full impact of the governor’s ‘Climate Commitment Act’ and manipulate the people of Washington into accepting the spike in gas prices without knowing the true cause. The projections by the state employee who is at the center of this lawsuit have been proven to be correct – not because oil companies or gas station owners got greedy, but because the state of Washington did.”

Washington currently has the third-highest gas prices in the nation, according to AAA, behind only California and Hawaii.

Rep. Andrew Barkis, R-Olympia, was similarly critical.

“Any suggestion that Washingtonians may have been misled about the financial impacts of the cap-and-trade program demands our immediate attention,” he said in a news release. “As the ranking [minority] member on the House Transportation Committee, I am committed to ensuring our transportation policies are based on sound data and that the public is given the truth about the consequences of legislative decisions.”

Todd Myers, environmental policy director at the free market Washington Policy Center think tank, made predictions similar to Smith’s even before the state’s cap-and-trade program went into effect at the beginning of the year.

“If what is reported is accurate, the Inslee administration went to significant lengths to hide the evidence that their claims the new tax on CO2 would have a small impact on gas prices were badly wrong,” Myers said. “They knew the claim was dishonest and appear to have threatened state employees to hide the truth.”

Inslee spokesperson Mike Faulk said the governor’s office had no prior knowledge of the claims or Smith’s prediction.

“Our office had no familiarity with this individual, his analysis or his claims prior to Thursday’s press release,” Faulk emailed The Center Square. “The only information we have at this point is a press release from an organization that now has multiple lawsuits aimed at upending the state’s recent climate policies. There will be investigations to determine if this individual’s assertions can be substantiated.”

He made mention of media covering the complaint, noting, “We will wait to draw any conclusions until we have that information. We absolutely expect reporters would do the same.”

Faulk concluded, “We rely on and expect our agencies to provide thorough, credible analysis based on the best data available. Ecology is the lead agency on CCA, not WSDOT. Our office has always worked with Ecology on understanding price impacts.”

Under the Climate Commitment Act of 2021, emitters are required to obtain “emissions allowances” equal to their covered greenhouse gas emissions at quarterly auctions hosted by the Department of Ecology. Three quarterly carbon auctions and two Allowance Price Containment Reserve auctions held this year have brought in some $1.6 billion so far. The next quarterly auction is set for Dec. 6.

Biden Rule Takes Lunch Money from Schools that Reject Progressive Gender, Sexuality Agenda

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Biden Rule Takes Lunch Money from Schools that Reject Progressive Gender, Sexuality Agenda

(Casey Harper, The Center Square) – A new Biden administration rule forces schools to comply with progressive ideology on gender and sexuality or risk losing the federal aid for free and reduced-price school lunches.

Legal observers say this is just the first in a slew of new rules on the horizon tying federal education funding to far-left policies on gender and sexuality.

The school lunch funding controvesy began in May 2022, as The Center Square previously reported, with an announcement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which handles federal help for school lunches.

The USDA said at the time it would change its longstanding interpretation of Title IX, the law broadly governing discrimination protections in education. USDA said it would expand its previous prohibition against discriminating based on sex “to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”

School lunch funding goes through the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of USDA.

“As a result, state and local agencies, program operators and sponsors that receive funds from FNS must investigate allegations of discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation,” USDA said in a statement. “Those organizations must also update their non-discrimination policies and signage to include prohibitions against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.”

That change has major legal and taxpayer dollar implications and is an unprecedented reinterpretation of the statute, according to experts. For instance, schools receiving Pell grants, FAFSA, or students who receive federally subsidized school lunch funding will be subject to the new Title IX interpretation or risk losing that funding.

“This is a significant departure from what Title IX has always been interpreted to be,” Sarah Perry, a lawyer at the Heritage Foundation and expert on this issue, told The Center Square.

With an ever-growing number of orientations and gender identities, and despite the political divide on the issue, schools will now be forced to comply on the complex and highly politicized gender and sexuality issue.

“This is no small change,” Perry said. “This is a significant interpretation to say that sex equals sexual orientation and gender identity when Title IX, we know, dates back to 1972 and the women’s liberation movement, and at the time there was an entire campaign by LGBTQ activists to be included in anti-discrimination law indicating that they themselves did not believe that they were protected in these particular contexts.”

Practically, that could lead to schools being forced to allow transgender girls use facilities reserved for biological girls or to toe the line on preferred pronoun usage, among other things.

Senate Republicans tried and failed 47-50 to overturn the USDA reinterpretation via the Congressional Review Act.

“Don’t be fooled here, the Biden Administration is the only player in this policy fight that is taking away lunches from children,” U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kans., said after the effort failed. “There is real-world evidence that USDA’s policy has already taken away school lunch funding from low-income children.

“Weaponizing school lunch money in pursuit of their radical agenda and putting students in the crosshairs is unconscionable, and we will not stand for it,” he added.

Nearly two dozen states filed a joint legal challenge to the USDA reinterpretation and pointed out that Tennessee had success challenging a similar federal effort from the U.S. Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the past.

The court battle could become more complex when more schools challenges the new interpretation or a student or parent feels that a local school district has not complied sufficiently with USDA’s new interpretation.

A legal fight could end up at the U.S. Supreme Court, given the importance of Title IX and the nationwide implications of a potential ruling.

One Christian school in Florida filed a lawsuit of that kind and settled out of court in 2022, and the USDA announced in a memo more leeway and exemptions for religious schools on this policy.

However, another church and its preschool in California filed suit saying they lost school lunch funding for refusing to adhere to the gender identity doctrine in their employment practices.

Perry said, however, that enforcing a liberal regulatory plan on gender or sexuality in schools is far from reserved to the USDA. The Department of Education is formulating new rules of the same kind now that Perry said will come out likely in the spring 2024. Those rules, which were expected to already be finalized and may be combined into a single rule, have been delayed because of the pushback and concerns raised with the federal agency.

“I think [the Biden administration] was a little overwhelmed by criticism,” Perry said, referencing the delays.

Even beyond the new DOE rules, redefining sex to include sexuality and gender identity would have broad implications across the federal government.

Muslims Ditch Biden Over His Stance on Israel

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Muslims Ditch Biden Over His Stance on Israel

(Headline USA) Muslim community leaders from several swing states pledged to withdraw support for Joe Biden on Saturday at a conference in suburban Detroit, citing his refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Democrats in Michigan have warned the White House that Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war could cost him enough support within the Arab American community to sway the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.

Leaders from Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania gathered behind a lectern that read “Abandon Biden, ceasefire now” in Dearborn, Michigan, the city with the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the United States.

Biden’s unwillingness to call for a ceasefire has damaged his relationship with the American Muslim community beyond repair, according to Minneapolis-based Jaylani Hussein, who helped organize the conference.

“The anger in our community is beyond belief. One of the things that made us even more angry is the fact that most of us actually voted for President Biden,” Hussein, who is Muslim, told The Associated Press.

“I even had one incident where a religious leader asked me, ‘How do I get my 2020 ballot so I can destroy it?”

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates previously said the Biden administration has pushed for humanitarian pauses in the fighting to get humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were critical components of the “blue wall” of states that Biden “returned” to the Democratic column, helping him “win” the White House in 2020.

About 3.45 million Americans identify as Muslim, or 1.1% of the country’s population, and the demographic tends to lean Democratic, according to Pew Research Center.

But leaders said Saturday that the community’s support for Biden has vanished as he continues his mediocre support for Israel’s right to exist.

“We are not powerless as American Muslims. We are powerful. We don’t only have the money, but we have the actual votes. And we will use that vote to save this nation from itself,” Hussein said at the conference.

The Muslim community leaders’ condemnation of Biden does not indicate support for former President Donald Trump, the clear front-runner in the Republican primary, Hussein clarified.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Illegals Land on Beach Near Hollywood Stars’ Homes

Dmytro "Henry" Aleksandrov
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Illegals Land on Beach Near Hollywood Stars’ Homes

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) A video captured the moment when a boat full of illegal immigrants landed on a beach in Malibu, Calif., earlier this week, with the beach being close to homes of many Hollywood stars who became infamous for their hatred of Donald Trump and his immigration policies.

The exclusive video that was obtained by Fox News’s Bill Melugin showed a boat pulling up to a beach at around 1 p.m. on Nov. 28, 2023, with around 25 people leaping out of the vessel and dashing toward land. After that, the boat was left abandoned in the water.

Malibu is the place where a lot of Hollywood leftist celebrities like Barbra Streisand, Leonardo Di Caprio and Cher live in high-end luxury homes, many of which are located on the waterfront close to where the boat landed.

Such a landing, which is a common tactic used by illegals invading European countries, is extremely rare in this particular situation.

“Incredibly rare to see this so far north, as Malibu is 100+ miles away from the border. Unclear if anyone caught, awaiting a CBP response,” Melugin wrote.

Both Streisand and Cher revealed that they have Trump Derangement Syndrome when they vowed to leave the U.S. if he becomes the president of the United States again.

In the past, Streisand criticized Trump’s immigration policies, despite that they never affect her since she lives in a $100 million 19-bedroom clifftop mansion.

“Trump only cares about this ‘wall’ in order to build a monument to himself. Just like the bankrupt ‘Trump’ buildings, the nation cannot afford to pay for his ego – – not financially, not morally,” she wrote back in 2019.

However, it wasn’t the only time when Streisand displayed her severe TDS. In 2018, she released an album titled “Walls,” in which Streisand criticized Trump’s plan to prevent illegals from invading the country by building a wall along the southern border.

“We should be building bridges to a better day, where no walls would stand in the way. The only path to a ‘better day’ would be if all the walls came tumbling down,” she sang.

It was not clear whether Streisand or any other leftist celebrities who live in the area accommodated the illegals who came off of that boat.

Biden Admin Unveils Latest Crackdown on Oil, Gas Industries

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Biden Admin Unveils Latest Crackdown on Oil, Gas Industries

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) It was reported that the Biden administration finalized environmental regulations that would target methane and other air pollutants that are generated by the U.S. oil and gas industry across hundreds of thousands of existing sources all across the country.

Alongside White House climate czar Ali Zaidi, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D–N.M., and other climate advocates, the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan announced the decision on Saturday morning during a press conference at the COP28 United Nations climate summit in Dubai, Fox News reported.

According to the Biden administration itself, this “most critical” action could “slow the rate of climate change.”

“On day one, President Biden restored America’s critical role as the global leader in confronting climate change, and today we’ve backed up that commitment with strong action, significantly slashing methane emissions and other air pollutants that endanger communities,” Regan said, adding that the rule will “reduce climate pollution, protecting people and the planet.”

Republican lawmakers and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., joined in their opposition to the decision by saying that the new methane rules will force lower oil and gas production while increasing costs for U.S. consumers.

“Within the next year, the EPA is planning to finalize multiple connected regulatory actions that will increase costs and reduce the production of American energy. Energy prices are projected to rise for American families because of new methane regulations, expanded emissions monitoring and reporting requirements, and a new tax on methane,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Environment Subcommittee Chair Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, wrote to Regan on Nov. 7, 2023.

In October, Manchin wrote to Regan separately, saying that the rule showed that the Biden administration was determined to “target our flourishing oil and gas sector” and would put “energy and national security at risk.”

Hamas Committed ‘Weaponized’ Rape Against Israeli Women, Researcher Says

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Hamas Committed ‘Weaponized’ Rape Against Israeli Women, Researcher Says

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, appointed by the government to investigate Hamas atrocities against civilians, revealed on Nov. 30 significant evidence pointing to serious crimes, describing them as a “weaponized” attempt to sow horror and “break the spirit” of Israel. 

In an extensive interview with Haaretz, Dr. Elkayam-Levy, an expert in international law, candidly discussed disturbing evidence illustrating widespread sexual crimes perpetrated by Hamas terrorists against innocent women in southern Israel on Oct. 7. 

“The torture of women was weaponized in the destruction of communities, in sowing general horror and in breaking the spirit of the Israelis,” said Dr. Elkayam-Levy . “Suddenly seeing the big picture, how systematic it was, the extent of the violence – it was a punch in the stomach.”

These revelations coincide with mounting criticism directed at the United Nations for its silence and failure to initiate an investigation into initial evidence suggesting sexual abuse of women by Hamas militants as part of their atrocities.

CNN reported that a paramedic from the elite 669 Special Tactics Rescue found disturbing evidence at a crime scene involving the remains of semen on a murdered teenager. 

“Her pants are pulled down toward her knees and there’s a bullet wound on the back side of her neck near her head,” the medic lamented. “There’s a puddle of blood around her head and there’s remains of semen on the lower part of her back.” 

One survivor of Hamas attacks said he witnessed “eight or ten” of Hamas terrorist brutally rape a woman “with the face of an angel.” He told the Sunday Times, “She was screaming, ‘Stop it — already I’m going to die anyway from what you are doing, just kill me!'”

Dr. Elkayam-Levy’s team, the “Gender Crimes War Room,” has uncovered similar evidence but is withholding details until their investigation is complete. She cautioned that some stories might never come to light, especially those involving victims who were killed. 

“We know that the vast majority of those who were harmed were also murdered. If there are survivors among those who were harmed, decades could go by before they gather the courage to talk about it,” she emphasized. 

During the interview, Dr. Elkayam-Levy referenced captured Hamas militants who admitted they received orders to “soil” and “rape” women, while others were instructed to “step on” and “behead” victims. She condemned the lack of attention from global organizations, highlighting their failure to address the plight of Israeli women held hostage or subjected to violence by Hamas. 

“It is incomprehensible that agencies of the UN that are responsible for [promoting and safeguarding] women’s rights are ignoring the Israeli women who were taken hostage, or were murdered and raped by Hamas,” she said. 

Expressing reluctance to quantify the full extent of these atrocities, Dr. Elkayam-Levy stated, “First of all, because there are cases that we will never know about, considering that most victims were murdered. Secondly, I am not willing to make the distinction between torture, gang rape, rape and a ‘sex crime.’ A woman who was executed, women and girls who were targeted for being girls – each story is a world of its own and an unimaginable tragedy.”

Biden Hilariously Fact-Checked Following Ludicrous ‘0%’ Inflation Claim

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Biden Hilariously Fact-Checked Following Ludicrous ‘0%’ Inflation Claim

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) President Joe Biden faced significant fact-check scrutiny after promoting his economic policies with a claim that inflation “was 0% last month,” leading to widespread ridicule from Republican lawmakers, political commentators and Twitter users.

Despite Biden’s attempt to project a cheerful picture of economic stability, critics countered his seemingly misleading claim, pointing out that while he referenced the percentage change from the preceding month, the actual inflation rate remains at 3.2%.

Reacting to Biden’s statement, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., took to Twitter to mock the claim: “Joe Biden’s X is now a parody account. Inflation was at 1.4% before he took (stole) office. Prices have risen nearly 20% under ‘Bidenomics’!”

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, criticized the increasing financial burden on American families, questioning, “Then why is the average family having to shell out an additional $1,000 every month — just for basic living expenses — compared to the day you took office?”

The controversy stemmed from Biden’s Twitter post, where he asserted, “Inflation was 0% last month – and our economy grew by more than 5% last quarter. Bidenomics.” 

The contentious claim triggered a Community Note on Twitter, a fact-checking feature, providing context to potentially misleading viral claims. 

“Tweet is referring to the PCE index, % change from the preceding month. Inflation is normally assessed annually (12 months) however, & the Fed’s PCE goal is 2%. It is currently 3%,” the fact-checking banner explained. “A more commonly referenced inflation index is CPI, which shows annual inflation of 3.2%” 

Biden’s assertion, perceived as misleading, comes shortly after his acknowledgment that prices in the U.S. were “too high,” attributing an 18% surge in consumer costs to sellers, as reported by the New York Post’s Steven Nelson.

“We know that prices are still too high for too many things — that times are still too tough for too many families,” Biden claimed on Nov. 27. 

“We’ve made progress, but we have more work to do,” Biden continued. “Let me be clear to any corporation has not brought their prices back down, even as inflation has come down, even supply chains have been rebuilt: It’s time to stop the price gouging and give the American consumer a break.”

Speaker Johnson Promises Impeachment Vote Amid Biden Standoff

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Speaker Johnson Promises Impeachment Vote Amid Biden Standoff

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., declared on Saturday his intention to initiate a formal impeachment inquiry vote against President Joe Biden, citing the White House’s refusal to cooperate with Republicans in their investigation of the embattled president’s alleged scandals. 

Johnson’s remarks follow the White House’s refusal to provide documents to the congressional committees spearheading the inquiry, arguing that the investigation lacked legitimacy due to the absence of a House vote. 

“It’s become a necessary step,” stated Johnson regarding the potential vote during an interview with Fox News. “[Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.] and I both served on the impeachment defense team of Donald Trump twice when the Democrats used it for brazen, partisan political purposes. We decried that use of it. This is very different. Remember, we are the rule of law team. We have to do it very methodically.”

The speaker’s commitment to conduct a vote directly responds to White House assertions that, in order to aid the House Oversight Committee, the House Judiciary Committee, and the House Ways and Means Committee — tasked with leading the investigation — House Republicans need to proceed with an impeachment vote. 

Notably, similar arguments were advanced by the Trump administration when former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., led the impeachment inquiry against former President Donald Trump. However, these arguments were widely disregarded by Democrats, who conducted an impeachment vote months after initiating the inquiry. 

“Our three committees of jurisdiction — judiciary, oversight, ways and means — have been doing an extraordinary job following the evidence where it leads,” Johnson continued.

“But now we’re being stonewalled by the White House, because they’re preventing at least two to three DOJ witnesses from coming forward, a former White House counsel, the national archives… the White House has withheld thousands of pages of evidence,” the speaker added.

In a letter addressed to House Republicans, White House special counsel Dick Sauber raised eyebrows when issuing a letter last month. Sauber cited Trump’s defense against Pelosi’s impeachments in a bit to push back against the investigation into accusations against Biden over alleged corruption, bribery and an illegal influence-peddling scheme overseas.

“Indeed, both of you previously maintained the stance that commencing an impeachment inquiry without a House vote ‘constitutes an abuse of power and casts a shadow on the House of Representatives,'” Sauber asserted in the letter, dismissing the impeachment investigation initiated by House Republicans.

Santos Is Back for Blood, Spilling All the Names

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Santos Is Back for Blood, Spilling All the Names

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Disgraced former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., is not leaving quietly a day after being expelled from Congress over accusations of fraud, misuse of campaign funds, and falsifying federal records. 

In a series of Twitter posts, Santos directly targeted some of his former colleagues, criticizing what he deemed as their lack of accountability regarding their alleged illegal actions. 

Among those singled out by Santos were Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y.; Nick Lalota, R-N.Y.; Mike Lawler, R-N.Y.; and Rob Menendez, D-N.J. (son of Sen. Bob Menendez). Notably, these lawmakers were among the leading voices calling for Santos’s ousting. 

Santos first aimed his criticism at Malliotakis, who voted for his expulsion. Santos pledged to file a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics (distinct from the House Ethics Committee) against Malliotakis for “questionable stock trading” since her appointment to the House Ways and Means Committee. 

“Before joining the committee the congresswoman didn’t have an active trading habit or a high volume stake. The question is, what set of information is she trading with?” Santos questioned. This came hours after Malliotakis defended her vote to expel Santos in a video, further reducing her party’s already slim majority. 

Next, Santos turned his attention to Lawler, a prominent voice among New York’s Republican delegation, who played a key role in ousting Santos. 

Santos accused Lawler of potential money laundering by utilizing Checkmate Strategies, a firm Lawler is affiliated with, to pay for services linked to his congressional campaign. 

“The concerning questions are; is Mr Lawler engaging in laundering money form his campaign to his firm then into his own pocket? I will let the Office of Congressional Ethics be the judge of that,” Santos said. 

LaLota, also from the New York delegation, became the subject of Santos’s criticism. The expelled congressman accused LaLota of potentially misappropriating public funds from New York taxpayers due to his alleged simultaneous attendance at Hofstra for a JD while working at the state’s board of elections. 

“It has been raised in the local media that congressman Lalota obtained his JD attending Hofstra in day school while he was supposed to be working at the Board of elections at the same time,” Santos claimed. “The questionable actions are? Did Rep Lalota no-show to his tax pay funded job while going to school and if so he can potential have stolen public funds form the tax payers of NY.” 

Santos did not halt there, raising concerns about the Rob Menendez, son of embattled Sen. Menendez, who represents New Jersey’s 8th Congressional District. Santos specifically questioned the younger Menendez’s connections to his father, facing federal indictment over bribery allegations.

Santos’s accusations followed the House of Representatives’ vote to expel him, with a tally of 311 to 114 votes, including 105 Republicans voting for his expulsion.  

This marked Santos as the sixth lawmaker in history to be expelled from Congress, further diminishing the Republicans’ narrow majority. Notably, he is the first lawmaker to be expelled since the Civil War without a criminal conviction or a recommendation from the House Ethics Committee for expulsion.

See Santos’ fired-up Twitter posts below:

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