Hunter Biden Plea Deal Collapses under Judge’s Scrutiny

Ken Silva
-
0
Hunter Biden Plea Deal Collapses under Judge’s Scrutiny

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Republicans have continuously criticized the agreement between Hunter Biden and the Justice Department over his tax crimes as a “sweetheart plea deal.”

Apparently, the federal judge presiding over Biden’s case agreed.

Questions from District Judge Maryellen Noreika during Wednesday’s plea-deal hearing ultimately led to the agreement collapsing and Biden pleading not guilty to two tax crimes.

“It seems to me like you are saying ‘just rubber stamp the agreement, Your Honor.’ … This seems to me to be form over substance,” the judge said.

Noreika gave defense lawyers and prosecutors 30 days to explain why she should accept the deal.

Reporting live from the Delaware courthouse, CNN correspondent Kara Scannell said Noreika began Wednesday’s hearing by asking prosecutors what crimes were outside the scope of the plea deal.

“The judge didn’t understand exactly what this plea agreement was covering, because it seemed to be all-encompassing,” Scannell said.

For example, Noreika wanted to know whether the plea deal would exclude Biden from being charged for his failure to register as a foreign agent when he was lobbying on behalf of foreign companies like Ukrainian energy giant Burisma.

The prosecutor reportedly said the investigation into Biden is still ongoing. When the prosecutor said the plea deal doesn’t afford Biden immunity from this crime, Biden’s attorneys reportedly said the deal was “null and void.”

After a 10-minute recess in proceedings, Biden’s lawyers returned and said the deal was back on, Scannell reported.

“Biden’s team is agreeing to the plea deal, but to a much more limited scope of the deal,” she said.

According to the CNN correspondent, the revised plea deal covers all of Biden’s tax crimes from 2014 to 2019, as well as the gun charge originally included in the agreement.

“One thing we learned is that this investigation is still very much ongoing,” she said.

The congressional GOP investigation into Biden is still ongoing, too.

On Monday, the Justice Department offered to make U.S. Attorney David Weiss of Delaware—the lead prosecutor of the Hunter Biden investigation—available before the House Judiciary Committee for a public hearing after the August break.

The congressional inquiry was opened after testimony from two IRS agents who worked on the Hunter Biden case detailed what they called a pattern of “slow-walking investigative steps” and delaying enforcement actions in the months before the 2020 presidential election in which his father became president.

The whistleblowers, who testified publicly last week, maintain that their testimony reflects a pattern of interference and preferential treatment in the Hunter Biden case and not just disagreement with their superiors about what investigative steps to take.

It is unclear if House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, will accept the offer for a public hearing with Weiss.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.

Shameless Frequent Flier Hillary Clinton Blames GOP for Heat Wave

Jacob Bruns
-
0
Shameless Frequent Flier Hillary Clinton Blames GOP for Heat Wave

(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Failed presidential candidate Hilary Clinton once more blamed Republicans for climate change, this time suggesting that the current summer heat wave is due to their climate-denying ways.

“Thank a MAGA Republican,” she wrote in a snide Tweet, encouraging her Twitter followers to vote for Democrats instead.

Ironically, Clinton herself traveled nearly one million miles during her time as secretary of state under former President Barack Obama, the Atlantic reported.

In traveling 956,733 during her four year tenure, Clinton visited more than 100 countries on the U.S. taxpayer’s dime.

She also took absurd and extremely inefficient trips, which needlessly added to her total plane mileage, according to a Politico report that described one trip as a “France-Afghanistan-Japan-Mongolia-Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia-Egypt-Israel itinerary.”

Fox News covered Clinton’s massive carbon footprint, when she took a private jet that burns 347 gallons of fuel per hour on a trip from New Hampshire to Iowa, where she proceeded to call climate change one of the “most urgent threats of our time”

Clinton’s fellow leftist and climate change zealot John Kerry has traveled the world, polluting the skies and ravaging the earth in order to spread his global warming message.

There is even some evidence that Kerry owned his own private jet, which he used for such trips.

In his role as President Joe Biden’s climate czar, it is estimated that Kerry has burned through 715,886 pounds, or 325 metric tons, of carbon on flights using the family jet.

Such numbers are especially notable when compared to the average lifetime carbon footprint of an American–20 metric tons.

After Kerry posted such astonishing carbon-burning numbers, one can only assume that Hilary Clinton herself matched or exceeded Kerry’s output.

Fla.-Based GOP Presidential Hopeful Accused of Funneling China Cash via Fake Florist

Jacob Bruns
-
0
Fla.-Based GOP Presidential Hopeful Accused of Funneling China Cash via Fake Florist

(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) The Campaign Legal Center, a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group, filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has been using a China-linked online flower-bouquet company to secretly fund his presidential campaign, the Miami New Times reported.

Suarez, a Republican, recently announced that he had met the fundraising minimum to take part in the first Republican primary debate.

But it now appears that his fundraising sources may be of questionable legitimacy.

According to the watchdog’s report, PassionForest LLC—an online company that sells fake flower bouquets—made a $500,000 contribution to Suarez’s political action committee, the SOS America PAC in October 2022.

Oddly enough, PassionForest LLC’s bouquet production seems to have almost entirely ceased, with only two of their 21 products being in stock on Amazon.

CLC founder Trevor Potter noted that the donation amount of half a million dollars should raise alarms.

“It is highly improbable that PassionForest garnered sufficient funds from selling artificial flowers online in its first eleven months of operation to make a $500,000 political contribution,” he wrote. “It is noteworthy that its artificial flower business appears to have shuttered around the time of the contribution.”

Making matters worse for Suarez, the watchdog group said that the flower shop may have been a front to cover for donations coming in from China.

The SOS America PAC, however, denied all allegations and played the race card.

“No surprise liberal special interests and their allies in the media are lobbing political attacks that are intended to undercut the only Hispanic Republican candidate,” the PAC wrote in a statement.

“His candidacy worries them because of his strong record as a successful conservative who attracts broad support,” the statement continued. “It is our understanding that the complaint makes no accusations whatsoever against SOS America PAC or the Mayor.”

Hunter Biden Art ‘Patron’ Given Plum Gov’t Commission, White House Visits

Jacob Bruns
-
0
Hunter Biden Art ‘Patron’ Given Plum Gov’t Commission, White House Visits

(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) A leftist donor who purchased some of Hunter Biden’s art work has secured a lucrative position for herself in the Biden administration, the Daily Mail reported.

As a reward for her patronage of President Joe Biden’s drug-addict son, Los Angeles real-estate mogul Elizabeth Hirsch Naftali was granted a cushy spot at the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, the White House announced earlier this month.

Naftali also has visited the White House over a dozen times since December 2021 according to visitor logs.

Biden, who has famously struggled sex and drug addictions, undertook the legally sanctioned but still ethically dubious hobby of selling his artwork after public attention to his previous influence-peddling schemes forced him to resign from his lucrative board positions at companies like Ukraine’s Burisma and China’s CEFC.

Despite losing millions of dollars in bribe kickbacks, the sales of his paintings—at anywhere from $75,000 to $500,000 apiece—has allowed him to maintain his lavish lifestyle, including a mansion in Malibu that taxpayers also may be helping the 53-year-old to subsidize in part.

Hunter’s turn to art left many Republicans skeptical, especially given the clientele to whom he sells his artwork.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., mocked the President’s son for using his art as a get-rich-quick scheme.

“Let’s call the Hunter Biden art scam what it is: bribes for the Biden family, approved by the president,” Cotton wrote after it was revealed that Naftali was a major purchaser of the younger Biden’s work.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., chimed in, noting that this was likely just the tip of the iceberg.

“Corruption at every turn with this administration,” he wrote. “It makes you wonder, what else is going on?”

This was not the first time that Hunter’s artistic talents have come into question.

In 2021, then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted that Hunter would be allowed “to pursue an artistic career” within “reasonable safeguards.”

Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, claimed that there was no corruption because Biden recieved market-value payments for his art sales.

“The gallery sets the pricing and handles all sales based on the highest ethical standards of the industry and does not disclose the names of any purchasers to Mr. Biden,” Lowell claimed at the time.

Ammon Bundy Responds to $50M Court Ruling: ‘I Owe Them Nothing’

Ken Silva
-
0
Ammon Bundy Responds to $50M Court Ruling: ‘I Owe Them Nothing’

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) “I owe them nothing,” anti-government activist Ammon Bundy told Headline USA after an Idaho jury ruled Monday that he and his fellow defendants must pay the state’s largest hospital more than $50 million in a defamation lawsuit.

Monday’s jury decision stems from a protest Bundy organized at St. Luke’s Health System in March 2022, after a baby at the hospital was allegedly taken into custody by child protective services for health problems. Bundy, who did not attend the St. Luke’s trial, is known for his family’s years-long battle with the federal government over the use of land that the Obama administration illegally sought to commandeer from them.

The hospital protest led to St. Luke’s to go into lockdown, forcing the hospital to close to visitors and reroute their emergency services.

St. Luke’s sued Bundy and his associate, Diego Rodriguez, in May 2022, alleging defamation, invasion of privacy, infliction of emotional distress and trespassing.

After the defendants declined to appear in court, a judge issued a default judgment against them in April.

On Monday, a jury ruled that Bundy and the others must pay $26.5 million in compensatory damages and $26 million in punitive damages. According to the Idaho Statesman, Bundy must pay more than $12 million, several organizations affiliated with him must pay a combined $28 million. Rodriguez was ordered to pay $13.5 million.

However, Bundy indicated that he won’t pay.

“I plan on continuing to provide for my family and live life as normal as possible,” he said in a message, responding to inquiries from Headline USA. “I owe St. Lukes nothing. I have never used their services or even gone into one of their facilities. I owe them nothing.”

Bundy also posted a message, reiterating some of the claims of malfeasance against St. Luke’s.

“They may have the means to use the courts to cover for their actions, but taking a baby from loving parents no matter how they abuse the courts is wrong and should never happen!” he said on Twitter.

“People in a jury deciding how much St. Luke’s is going to take from those who exposed the truth about them is a mockery to justice.”

 

Earlier this month, Bundy posted an open letter to presiding Judge Nancy Baskin that explained his reasoning for not attending court, and warning that he “will not allow” any of his property to be seized over this lawsuit.

“This is not justice in any way and I will not allow my property to be taken by force as long as I am alive and free. God our Father will protect,” he said.

“I have offered many times to give St. Luke’s Executives everything I own for peace, they have rejected these offers of peace and therefore I will not permit them to take all that I have earned in my life by force, nor will I consent while this matter sets the example of what will happen to others if they speak against the government or a powerful institution.”

A lawyer familiar with criminal law told Headline USA that the plaintiffs in this case can now obtain a writ of execution, in which case the U.S. Marshalls or County sheriff will seize Bundy’s property and auction it at a public sale. Given Bundy’s anti-government disposition, the lawyer said he expects another armed standoff to ensue.

According to KTVB, Gem County Sheriff Donnie Wunder initially declined to serve Bundy with legal papers at his home because “Bundy was too dangerous to do so.” But the sheriff has reportedly backtracked on that statement, saying that he’ll perform his statutory duties.

Patriotism Plummets to Historic Lows under Biden Regime

Mark Pellin
-
0
Patriotism Plummets to Historic Lows under Biden Regime

(Mark Pellin, Headline USA) A historically low 39% of American adults expressed pride in the United States, as economic pain from inflation and spiraling interest rates persist, angst grows as turmoil in Ukraine sparks concern of WW3 and the Biden administration falls deeper into cocaine scandals at the White House and evidence mounts daily supporting corruption allegations tied directly to the president and his family.

The patriotism pride picture is even bleaker for American youth, according to a new Gallup poll. An abysmally low 18% of respondents aged 18-34 indicated they were proud of the U.S.A., compared to 50% of respondents 55 and over.

Those numbers contrast to Gallup’s survey from 2013, when 85% of those aged 18-29 said they were “extremely” or “very” proud to be an American.
 While Gallup doesn’t delve into reasons for the precipitous drop in patriotism from American youth, the left’s relentless campaign of cancel culture, censorship and promotion of radical LGBT agendas could play into the steep decline.

“I’m in my 50s and have never seen the country not just hurting, but actually destroyed like it is now,” wrote one Twitter commentator.

“Erasing History. Grooming Children. Sending weapons to actual Nazis in Europe. Crime has never been this bad. Patriotism at an all-time low. A Military that provides sex change surgeries. Hyperinflation. Stolen elections. Kids are behind in all subjects, all-time low test scores. Taxes have never been higher. Taking away our gas cars, and tractors to plant food. The collapse of the dollar bill. Corrupt Government, CIA, FBI, DHS, EPA. The twitter files. JFK was killed by CIA. MEDIA is run by the State. Plandemic. My brain hurts.”

The poll’s age trajectory melds with a partisan breakdown of the numbers, with Gallup noting that “Party identification remains the greatest demographic differentiator in expressions of national pride, and Republicans have been consistently more likely than Democrats and independents to express pride in being American throughout the trend.”

The partisan gap has grown “particularly pronounced since 2018, with more than twice as many Republicans as Democrats saying they are extremely proud. Republicans are also nearly twice as likely as independents to express the highest degree of pride.”

The Gallup poll, conducted June 1-22, showed a solid 60% of Republicans and only 29% of Democrats expressing extreme pride in being American, numbers that Gallup reported as “statistically similar to last year’s readings. Independents’ current 33% extreme pride is also essentially unchanged, but it is their lowest on record by one percentage point.”

Pence Begs for $1 Donations Ahead of GOP Debate Requirements

Luis Cornelio
-
0
Pence Begs for $1 Donations Ahead of GOP Debate Requirements

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Former Vice President Mike Pence has made what critics call a desperate appeal to his donors ahead of the Republican Party’s primary debate.

Despite his campaign’s struggles to fundraise, Pence voiced his confidence that he will meet the GOP’s threshold to participate in the GOP debate, which is to be hosted by Fox News and Fox Business on Aug. 23.

“We make the polling requirement very easily,” Pence claimed during an interview on CNN’s State of The Union. “I’m very humbled by the support around the country, which is one of the criteria. But yes, having 40,000 individual donors, we’re literally working around the clock. Got about a month to go, I’m confident we will be there.”

Pence then promoted his campaign to ask for donations, “People every day are going to mikepence2024.com and donating even a dollar.”

Notably, former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have both received invitations to the debate, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., former N.J. Gov. Chris Christie, and N.D. Gov. Dough Burgum. However, Trump has expressed hesitancy in participating due to his substantial lead in the polls.

In a separate interview with a New Hampshire reporter, Pence emphasized his reliance on donations to meet the requirements. He remarked, “We’re not offering kickbacks. We’re not offering gift cards. We’re not even offering soccer tickets. We’re just asking people for their support the old-fashioned way.”

As reported by the Hill, Pence’s comments seem to be aimed at his opponents, particularly Ramaswamy, who had taken to the campaign trail offering a 10% commission to his donors. Similarly, Burgum and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez have provided $20 gift cards and soccer tickets in exchange for donations.

“We will make it. I will see you at that debate stage,” Pence concluded.

In response to Pence’s donation appeal, political commentator Sebastian Gorka derisively questioned, “Is this the most pathetic thing Mike Pence has ever done?”

McCarthy Hosts ‘Sound of Freedom’ for U.S. House Amid Relentless Far-Left Opposition

Luis Cornelio
-
0
McCarthy Hosts ‘Sound of Freedom’ for U.S. House Amid Relentless Far-Left Opposition

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., announced on Tuesday that he will host the devastatingly impactful movie, Sound of Freedom, at the House of Representatives.

The event comes amidst the far-left’s opposition to the movie, which depicts the harrowing journey of Tim Ballard, a former DHS agent, who rescues vulnerable children from a global sex-trafficking ring.

“Tonight, I’m going to have another movie night, we’re going to show the Sound of Freedom, and Jim Caviezel, who stars the movie, and Tim Ballard with the movie.” McCarthy told reporters. “Hopefully Republicans and Democrats can come together, see a movie about human trafficking, and actually find ways to stop the human trafficking that’s continuing to move throughout the world.”

Democrats and the legacy media have criticized the movie, claiming with no evidence it is linked to QAnon conspiracy theories, comments that Ballard rejects. “It’s embarrassing and simply grotesque for this guy who knows nothing to start throwing out terms like Qanon and connecting it to a real story,” Ballard said during an interview with Fox News.

McCarthy said the said the intent of the movie is to bring both sides together. “One of my goals is to open up the House and get members working together again,” McCarthy added earlier in the press conference. “We’ve made some great progress in that, where bills actually come through committees, where members are now showing up for work.”

Former President Donald Trump similarly screened the highly acclaimed movie in his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey. The powerful movie inspired the leading GOP nominee for president to endorse a federal-mandated death penalty for convicted human traffickers.

“When I am back in the White House, I will immediately end the Biden border nightmare that traffickers are using to exploit vulnerable women and children,” Trump stated in a campaign video on July 21.

While McCarthy did not announce which members of Congress had agreed to attend the screening, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., took to Twitter to announce her participation.

“America is number 1 in the world in consuming child pornography and child sex trafficking and the Biden Administration has lost over 85,000 migrant children,” Greene said. “Tonight I’m looking forward to watching Sound of Freedom and stopping evil.”

House Judiciary Plans to Hold  Mark Zuckerberg in Contempt of Congress on Thursday

Ken Silva
-
0
House Judiciary Plans to Hold  Mark Zuckerberg in Contempt of Congress on Thursday

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The House Judiciary Committee is set to consider a resolution on Thursday that would hold Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in contempt of Congress over his apparent refusal to provide information about Facebook censorship.

The committee released a report on Tuesday, explaining its reasons for the upcoming vote. According to the report, Zuckerberg has refused to comply with a subpoena for the committee’s investigation into social media censorship.

The Committee’s subpoena to Meta, issued on February 15, 2023, requires, among other things, that Meta produce material concerning its engagement with the Executive Branch and Meta’s decisions and policies regarding content moderation, the committee said in its report.

“To date, Meta has produced only documents between Meta and external entities and a small subset of relevant internal documents,” the committee added.

“The Committee has a particular need for Meta’s internal documents, which would shed light on how Meta understood, evaluated, and responded to the Executive Branch’s requests or directives to censor content, as well as Meta’s decision-making process to censor viewpoints in the modern town square.”

If the House were to hold Zuckerberg in contempt, the Justice Department would decide whether to prosecute him.

Andy Stone, a spokesperson for Meta, said the company has delivered more than 50,000 pages of both internal and external documents to the committee since February. He added that they also have made current and former employees available for interviews with lawmakers.

“For many months, Meta has operated in good faith with this committee’s sweeping requests for information,” Stone said in a statement.

But in an article earlier this month, Fox Business cited an anonymous source, who said that none of the documents include the specified internal communications the committee is seeking.

The committee is also seeking documents about Meta’s new social media platform, Threads. Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote a letter to inform Meta on July 17 that the subpoena covers the company’s new Twitter-like social media platform.

“In addition, please treat these discovery obligations as ongoing and applicable to any information generated after receipt of this letter,” he said. “Furthermore, this letter serves as a formal request to preserve all existing and future records and materials relating to the Threads platform and related topics addressed in this letter.”

Fox Business noted that the last person to be held in contempt of Congress was former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows over his defiance of a January 6 Committee subpoena. The Justice Department declined to press charges in that matter.

Biden Creates New ‘Permanent’ Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response

Corine Gatti
-
0
Biden Creates New ‘Permanent’ Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response

(Corine Gatti, Headline USA) Medical martial law could repeat itself, despite President Joe Biden’s administration stating that the COVID-19 pandemic had ended.

The Biden regime quietly and without public notice last week formed a new permanent office within the White House called the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, coming within two months of officially terminating the public health emergency triggered by the coronavirus.

“This will be a permanent office in the Executive Office of the President (EOP) charged with leading, coordinating, and implementing actions related to preparedness for, and response to, known and unknown biological threats or pathogens that could lead to a pandemic or to significant public health-related disruptions in the United States,” the White House said in a statement.

The Gateway Pundit noted that Air Force Maj. General Paul Friedrichs, who has been in leadership positions with NATO, was tapped to lead the new office. Friedrichs served as “special assistant” to the president as senior director of global health security and biodefense at the White House National Security Council.

“When President Biden came into office, we inherited a once-in-a-generation public health and economic crisis but no plan to get us out of it,” White House Chief of Staff Jeffrey D. Zients said in a statement, building on previous claims that it had been left high and dry by the Trump administration and Operation Warp Speed. “This office — under the strong and capable leadership of Major General Friedrichs — will lead the charge to ensure that never happens again.”

The Biden-Harris Administration touted they made significant investments in COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments during the pandemic, ensuring wide availability, while mandating vaccinations, closing schools and driving the economy off a cliff. The new initiative would also address “potential” public health outbreaks.

While the establishment ostensibly loosened its authoritarian grip over the last 10 to 12 months, and most COVID-era mandates have been dropped, a haunting reminder of the allegedly dormant rules, practices, restrictions and orders continue to loom with Biden’s newly-created, permanent pandemic office.

1...1,8421,8431,844...3,886Page 1,843 of 3,886