BREAKING: Manhattan DA Sues to Block Jim Jordan’s Demand for Info on Trump Case

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg filed a lawsuit today that seeks to block subpoenas from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who is seeking records about his office’s prosecution against former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Jordan’s subpoena recipients include Mark Pomerantz, who had been leading a criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump before quitting last year in a clash over the direction of the probe. Jordan’s committee launched a probe into possible prosecutorial abuse by Bragg, days after he charged Trump in a 34-count felony indictment in connection with an alleged hush-money scheme.

The Manhattan D.A.’s office has accused Jordan’s committee of overstepping its legal authority and infringing on New York state sovereignty, despite the fact that Bragg is attempting to use federal law to beef up the misdemeanor charges, which already have passed New York’s statute of limitations otherwise.

On Tuesday, Bragg took his allegations to court.

“Congress has no power to supervise state criminal prosecutions … Yet that is precisely what Chairman Jordan is trying to do. He and his allies have stated they want the District Attorney to come to Capitol Hill to explain himself and to provide ‘a good argument’ to Congress in support of his decision to investigate and prosecute Mr. Trump,” Bragg said in his lawsuit.

“But subpoenaing a former line prosecutor to talk about an ongoing criminal prosecution and investigation is no less of an affront to state sovereignty than subpoenaing the District Attorney himself.”

Bragg asked a New York judge to declare the subpoena served on Pomerantz as unconstitutional. He also wants the judge to protect him “in the event Chairman Jordan or the Committee serves subpoenas on the District Attorney himself or any of his current or former employees or officials.”

Bragg has hired the private law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher to assist his office in the lawsuit.

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

Bullhorn Blaring Tenn. Lawmaker Ran for Office as Clean-Cut Centrist

(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Justin Pearson, a recently-expelled Democrat member of the Tennessee state legislature, has a history of running centrist campaigns, in which he has tried to appeal to all parties.

But in recent months, he has launched into full-fledged radicalism, culminating in his leading of an insurrection at the Tennessee legislature, RedState reported.

Specifically, Pearson ran for class president of Bowdoin College in 2016, making a campaign video soaked with moderate language wherein he presented himself as a standard middle-class aspiring politician.

“How can we represent all voices in a conversation?” he said, suggesting that he would partner with Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, in pursuit of the “radical middle,” wherein “all voices” would partake in common dialogue.

In this way, he would ease tension that can “only be resolved by standing with one another” and “listening and engaging with the student body.”

Since that time, Pearson has adopted a new persona, a new style and a new way of speaking, reinventing himself the manner of 1960s revolutionaries like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.

 

“Yes I tell you, it was a sad day on Saturday,” he said dramatically, alluding to his expulsion from the House.

“All hope seemed to be lost,” Pearson continued, mimicking the intonation of MLK. “Representatives were thrown out of the state house. Democracy seemed to be at its end.”

Pearson concluded his speech to hoots and hollers, which were ruled out of order immediately. The vote was taken soon thereafter, and Pearson was expelled from the House.

Rep. Gloria Johnson, a white state congresswoman who had joined the Pearson and his ally, Justin Jones, but reportedly didn’t use disrupt order as much as the others, suggested that she got off the hook because of her race.

She told reporters that she “couldn’t feel good about her survival” while her two black colleagues were expelled while she was permitted to continue. Johnson survived the expulsion resolution by one vote.

Former President Barack Obama chimed in on the Tennessee state house drama, lamenting the erosion of “civility and democratic norms” which are so necessary to “progress.”

White House Tells Media to Stop Reporting on Leaked Pentagon Intel

(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) John Kirby, the White House coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council, begged journalists not to report on recent  classified documents leaked from the Pentagon.

According to the Daily Wire, Kirby detailed the White House’s response plan to the biggest cybersecurity breach in the U.S. since 2013, whe whistleblower Edward Snowden exposed the secret domestic-surveillance operations being conducted by the National Security Agency.

“Without confirming the validity of the documents, this is information that has no business in the public domain,” Kirby said, responding to questions in a press briefing.

“It has no business—if you don’t mind me saying—on the front pages of newspapers or on television,” he continued. “It is not intended for public consumption and it should not be out there.”

The Department of Defense announced on Sunday that they worked to validate and recover the documents, which contain confidential information about China, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, government surveillance and more.

Security officials worked with allies and Congress to make the announcement and are progressing on finding the culprit.

According to a defense official, Gen. Mark Milley—the retiring chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—and other high-ranking military officials originally requested the compilation of the documents. However, the files were available to many other staff members with the proper security clearance.

The source of the leaked documents remains unknown, although the Associated Press and other outlets reported that the leak was likely to have originated via the social-media platform Discord.

The Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into the case.

In Monday’s press conference, Kirby said officials know very little at this time but suspected that the source of the leak also tampered with some of the images.

Kirby explained that President Joe Biden was staying up to date on the situation.

The leaked documents show that the Biden administration spied on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and speculated as to what might happen in the event of his death, even while shoveling more than $100 billion toward the war effort against Russia.

U.S. officials feared that the leaks could jeopardize numerous foreign connections by exposing the degree to which the nation’s intelligence and military agencies spy on their ostensible allies.

Abortion-Pill Providers Sued for Wrongful Death in Texas Test Case

(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) A nonprofit law firm known as the Thomas More Society challenged an abortion pill distribution network, seeking restitution for wrongful death on behalf of a Texas man against three women who helped his now-divorced wife abort their child.

Marcus Silva accused Jackie Noyola, Amy Carpenter and Aracely Garcia for assisting his former wife, Brittni Silva, by helping her in obtaining illegal abortion pills and conspiring to conceal her pregnancy and subsequent death of their child, Breitbart reported.

Under the Texas Heartbeat Act, anyone who “aids or abets” a “criminal abortion,” is liable to charges. In Texas, a criminal abortion takes place after the ability to detect a heartbeat, which is usually around five weeks gestation.

Attorneys on the case discovered that a New York-based nonprofit working towards “reproductive justice” for Latina women may employ Garcia. She has worked with the organization since 2018.

Texas Solicitor General Jonathan Mitchell, who helped author the Heartbeat Act, sent a litigation-hold letter to the group, ordering them to keep all records related to Garcia or any documents that “might have [to do] with obtaining or distributing abortion pills, including the abortion pills that were used to murder baby Silva.”

“We intend to take discovery from the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice to determine whether Ms. Garcia acted within the scope of her employment when she participated in the murder of Mr. Silva’s child,” the letter continued. “We will also take discovery on whether anyone at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice assisted Ms. Garcia in obtaining or distributing abortion pills.”

Peter Breen, executive vice president and head of litigation for the Thomas More Society, was excited by this significant finding so early in the case and expressed hope to litigate abortion pill networks out of existence.

“We’d like to get to the abortion pill distribution networks. If we can go all the way back to the manufacturer, we’re glad to do that too. Finding out early-on here that a national abortion organization may employ one of the defendants — that was a pretty big finding,” he said. “I’m hoping that we are going to have more big findings that will help us to uncover these people doing crimes in the state of Texas and other pro-life states.”

Maine City Swamped w/ Illegals, Begs for Donations to Support

(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) The capital of Maine, which faced a massive influx of illegal aliens in the spring of 2022, recently asked individuals to give tax-deductible donations to the city in order to provide the illegal immigrants housing in the city.

Last spring, the city of Portland wrote a letter detailing their “dire” financial state—a direct result of hundreds of illegals coming from the southern border—and warned that the city’s social services funding would soon run out.

A year later, the city of Portland offered housing to “asylum seekers” in the local ExpoCenter via funding from donors, the Daily Wire reported.

“The intent is to open [the expo] and offer complete and total wrap-around services that are targeted to the population that will be staying here,”  Kristen Dow, Portland’s Director of the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement.

Dow and Maine’s HHS want to serve illegal migrants who declared their intent to gain asylum in the U.S. after crossing the border. After being provided with a distant court date by border officials, they are free to wander within the borders of the country until their summons.

In her statement, Dow announced that she anticipates nearly 300 illegals to attend the opening night of the shelter.

Since the beginning of 2023, 1,000 migrants have arrived in the city, which has less than 70,000 year-round residents.

“This is a very dire situation, and the opening of the expo is the last overnight overflow space that we as city staff have available to open and operate,” Interim City Manager Danielle West said. “We are truly beyond our capacity to be able to continue to provide compassionate care for those seeking shelter.”

Despite the city reaching its purported breaking point, ExpoCenter will provide food, shelter and other services to illegal aliens via donations and volunteers.

“The City will use any monetary donations received to provide shelter/housing assistance and basic human necessities,” a notice from the city says online.

The situation at the southern border continues to worsen, even to the point where Democrats have come out against the Biden administration’s lack of action on the matter, particularly as it pertains to migrant children.

A Florida-based grand jury recently accused the administration of assisting human traffickers in the abuse of children.

“This process exposes children to horrifying health conditions, constant criminal threat, labor and sex trafficking, robbery, rape, and other experiences not done justice by mere words,” the panel stated.

Hunter’s Business Partners Visited White House over 80 Times During Obama Admin.

(Corine Gatti, Headline USA) President Joe Biden claims of knowing little about his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings, but several people associated with his now-defunct Rosemont Seneca Advisors firm reportedly visited the White House more than 80 times during the Obama administration. 

Fox News Digital reported business partners and assistants from Hunter’s Rosemont Seneca Advisors made several visits to the White House. Joan Mayer, who served as vice president of Rosemont Seneca Advisors, made 17 visits between 2008 and 2017. Records indicated that Mayer had met with Biden’s aides and other White House personnel such as Kellen Suber, Danielle Borrin and Nancy Orloff, the news outlet found. 

Former Hunter Biden aide Anne Marie Person was no stranger to the White House. She had visited the presidential residence on at least five occasions prior to joining Vice President Biden’s staff in 2014. Arlene Busch, formerly a partner at Rosemont Seneca Partners, visited the White House at least four times between 2009 and 2013, the report noted.

It also came out that Hunter’s former business partner, Rob Walker, had visited the Obama White House at least 16 times while Joe Biden was vice president, Fox News Digital reported in late March.

Walker reportedly paid more than $1 million to Hunter, James Biden and Hallie Biden from a company that was connected to the Chinese Communist Party, which raised more questions.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital at the time, “It’s no surprise that another Biden family associate frequently visited the Obama-Biden White House,” he said.

“We already know that another associate visited the White House almost 30 times when Joe Biden was vice president,” Comer added. “This is more evidence showing the Biden family enterprise centered around Joe Biden’s political career. Americans deserve answers about the Biden family’s business schemes, and we will keep pressing for transparency and accountability.”

Bud Light Sales Predictably Plunge after Diving into Culture War

(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Bud Light sales have plunged in the wake of the company’s recent ill-advised foray into the ongoing culture war over the normalization of transgenderism, Fox Business reported.

“They’ve already done enough damage in one week to disrupt year-long sales projections,” said one beer sales representative who sells to massive distributors such as Costco.

“You don’t just make up those sales,” the representative added. “People aren’t going to drink twice as much Bud Light the following weekend to recover the lost business.”

The boycott comes after Anheuser–Busch, the parent company of the Bud Light, hired transgender social-media personality Dylan Mulvaney to represent brand—a slap in the face to many typical Bud Light drinkers.

Alissa Gordon Heinerscheid, a marketing coordinator for the company, claimed that it was necessary to detach the “declining” Bud Light brand from its frat-party image, instead emphasizing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

In the wake of Bud Light’s betrayal of its customers, several high-profile musicians announced that they would boycott the beer, including Travis Tritt, John Rich and Kid Rock.

Longtime customers likewise decided over the weekend to drink beers made by companies that do not feel the need to showcase their leftist values.

Jeff Fitter, owner of Missouri sports bar Case & Bucks, said that Bud Light has estranged the vast majority of its normal customer base.

“I think society flexes it muscles sometimes and reminds manufacturers that the consumer is still in charge,” Fitter said. “In Bud Light’s effort to be inclusive, they excluded almost everybody else, including their traditional audience.”

Fitter’s bar, which is located near St. Louis—the hometown of Anheuser-Busch—saw a massive drop in the sales of Anhueser–Busch products over the weekend, including a 30% decline in bottles, and 50% drop in drafts.

Bud Light—which reportedly bests Miller Lite and Coors Light by a 25-to-one ratio at the Braintree Brewhouse, near Boston—was almost universally boycotted, according to owner Alex Kesaris.

Nearly 80% of those who normally opt for Bud Light ordered alternative beers, he said. The remaining 20% who placed their normal Bud Light order “weren’t on social media and hadn’t heard yet” about the company’s new collaboration with Mulvaney.

“They didn’t order it again,” he said, after they were informed of Bud Light’s marketing gaffe.

REPORT: Homeless Cabins Built on Prime Riverfront Property in Portland

(Headline USA) Portland residents are demanding answers from the city about new homeless cabins that have popped up on prime river real estate over the past several months.

According to local reports, homeless people have begun building makeshift cabins, complete with doors, windows and solar panels, along the Willamette River — a ritzy part of the city. There are about “nine structures” just across from resident Ric Scaramella’s riverside condominium, he said.

“These are not tents,” he told KGET. “These are structures.”

Scaramella said he’s called or complained to different government agencies more than 40 times, but has yet to receive a response. Residents said garbage and debris from the makeshift homeless neighborhoods have already begun piling up along the shoreline.

One of the homeless people living along the river, who identified herself as Paula, said she’s lived in the area “off and on about a year and a half.”

“I have anxiety issues, and I think I have personality disorders, too, that I’m dealing with. I think that’s what’s kept me out here so long,” she said, admitting that she is addicted to meth.

“There’s a few shelters I like. They would have been great except for the no-drugs thing. That sucks. I don’t think drugs are my problem,” she continued. “I think my problem is I have no place to wash my hair and go to the bathroom.”

When asked about the cabins, government agencies told KOIN that the property is not their responsibility since it is owned by railroad company Union Pacific. 

Union Pacific, however, has said the area is governed by complex common-law rules that the government should enforce.

“Union Pacific Police regularly patrol our property and enforce trespassing laws; however, this area is particularly challenging to enforce, because cabins are near the water’s edge. Under Ordinary High Water Mark common law, the boundary separating public land from private land is determined by natural fluctuations of the water, making it a legal gray area,” the company said in a statement.

N.Y. Grants Pot Licenses to Felons, Snubs Disabled Vets

(Robert Jonathan, Headline USA) In the name of social justice, the state of New York is reportedly prioritizing felons over disabled military veterans when it comes to marijuana dispensary licensing.

Legislators in the Democrat-controlled state legalized the sale of recreational weed to those age 21 and older through a law called the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act that was enacted back on March 31, 2021, although the implementation was slow in coming.

The MRTA set a goal of awarding 50% of marijuana store licensing opportunities to “social and economic equity applicants.”

Under the law, this preference extends to “individuals from communities disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of cannabis prohibition, minority and/or women-owned businesses, distressed farmers, and service-disabled veterans.”

New York’s Office of Cannabis Management and the Cannabis Control Board have allegedly created a cannabis carve out, a so-called justice class, in which only applicants with a criminal history currently are eligible for the business go-ahead.

Bureaucrats are thus allegedly ignoring the other DEI categories required under the statute, thereby excluding disabled vets and others from the pot party.

According to the New York Post, “[S]o far, the first 300…licenses have been set aside solely for applicants found guilty of a pot-related charge or related to someone swept up before the drug’s legalization.”

Disabled U.S. Army vet Carmine Fiore, who chairs the Cannabis Association of New York’s Veterans Committee, told the Post that “The whole veterans community is in an uproar.”

In this context, Fiore maintained that “Only criminal applicants have been allowed to apply.”

He further asserted that “the OCM’s actions are not only biased and discriminatory against veterans, they are also potentially illegal” because regulations creating a conditional dispensary license for the favored group allow “ex-cons to ‘leapfrog’ disabled vets under the special license.”

As alluded to above, this social injustice arrangement is not set forth in the law itself, which suggests that regulators might have exceeded their authority. The conditional license arrangement also apparently enables ex-con entrepreneurs to bypass the initial financing and leasehold screening that applies to other applicant pools.

Democrat state Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, who chairs a veterans-related committee notified Gov. Kathy Hochul in a draft letter that “We are concerned that the OCM is not following the MRTA as it is written.

“Those who have sacrificed to serve their country — especially those who have been injured because of their services or other worthy social equity groups — are currently being overlooked,” the senator asserted.

The OCM claims that it is reaching out to veterans groups.

The first retailer in New York to sell marijuana for adult recreational use opened in late December 2022.

Recreational use of marijuana has been approved in 21 states with the idea gaining traction as a way to generate tax revenue. The residual effects on society itself reman to be seen.