US Intelligence Assets Said To Descend On Cuba

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US Intelligence Assets Said To Descend On Cuba

(John Weeks, Antiwar.com) Writing in POLITICO on Tuesday, Dasha Burns and Nahal Toosi reported that in recent months the US intelligence community has “sent spies and assets” to Cuba. Specifically, they reported the CIA has increased its presence on the island, which sits approximately 90 miles south of Florida.   

Burns and Toosi based their reporting on interviews with “two people familiar with the Trump administration’s plans for the island,” who were left anonymous due to the “sensitive” nature of the information they provided. The authors said the CIA, White House, Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence all declined requests for comment.

The report claimed the Trump Administration does not believe it has to resolve the war with Iran before taking military action in Cuba and that the Cuban issue is a “huge priority” of Secretary of State and Acting National Security Advisor Marco Rubio.

While the accuracy of the inside information cannot be verified, nor whether its status is official or unauthorized, the claims are consistent with recent rhetoric and actions of the Trump administration, and the US did reportedly take similar action before the January 3 attack on Venezuela to abduct President Nicolas Maduro.

Rubio, who is of Cuban descent, has been very hands-on regarding Western Hemisphere geopolitics. After the attack on Venezuela, Trump vowed the US would be “running” the country for an indefinite transition period, and Rubio was given that brief within the administration. By all accounts, he is eager to add running Cuba to his area of responsibilities and not optimistic about diplomacy.  

On July 20, his State Department published “Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism.” 

The nearly 100-page report described the Cuban state as “the center of a vast hemispheric network” intent on destroying the United States and collapsing Western Civilization.

The report depicted the small island nation as a subversive proxy of Russia, China, and Iran, as well as the true power behind several American leftist movements, including Antifa, Code Pink, and Black Lives Matter. It was part of a pattern of the US setting up pretexts for a potential attack on Cuba.

Government officials, from President Donald Trump on down, have described Cuba as a national security threat to the United States and the entire Western Hemisphere.

Washington has engaged in more than rhetoric. In June, massive sanctions were placed on Cuba that are forecast to create a “severe economic crisis.” Under the sanctions regime and a ramped-up oil embargo imposed after the attack on Venezuela, Cuba’s electrical infrastructure and healthcare system have collapsed, causing a major humanitarian crisis.

While crushing Cuba’s economy, Washington has also been sending aid to Cuban citizens run through nongovernmental organizations.

On July 21, the State Department announced “the first flight of humanitarian relief under Secretary Rubio’s historic commitment of $100 million in humanitarian assistance to the Cuban people, who are suffering from the consequences of the Communist regime’s kleptocracy, brutality, and economic incompetence.”

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com. 

Report: US Military Exercise Likely Caused a Civilian Plane Crash

Jose Nino
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Report: US Military Exercise Likely Caused a Civilian Plane Crash

(José Niño, Headline USA) Four people died over the New Mexico desert this spring, seemingly because of a military electronic warfare drill, and specialists in the field expect more accidents to follow, according to a report by Jeff Wise of Wired.

A Beechcraft King Air lifted off from Roswell Air Center shortly before midnight on May 13 carrying two pilots and two nurses, headed for Ruidoso and a waiting patient. Mild air, a clear sky, and sixty miles of ground pointed to an unremarkable 30 minute trip. The plane instead struck the Capitan Mountains near 9,950 feet, and everyone aboard died.

About 100 miles west sat NAVFEST, the annual Air Force event at White Sands Missile Range where electronic warfare units practice shutting down satellite navigation. Operators had already received an FAA warning that GPS might disappear over hundreds of miles from May 12 through May 18. The crew radioed Albuquerque Center eight minutes after departure to say the signal was gone. Three more aircraft called in the same trouble, prompting controllers to ask the military for a pause.

Per Wired, neither pilot had much experience. Captain Keelan Clark, 30, had held his commercial license for eighteen months and had worn the fourth stripe for only weeks. First officer Ali Kawsara, 23, was eight weeks into the job. Stripped of GPS, they lost the satellite guided approach they had trained on, and the King Air wandered ten miles beyond its landing pattern while controllers worked the other emergencies.

The crew then spotted Ruidoso’s airport lights from 31 miles out and asked for a visual approach, which controllers approved. A wall of rock stood between the aircraft and those lights, invisible in the dark.

“When those lights go out, man, you know you are in big trouble,” airline pilot Juan Browne told Wired.

A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report found that jamming blanketed the crash site during the flight. Wired tracked notices for at least ten comparable exercises over the preceding year.

“As drone warfare and electronic warfare expand, airlines are increasingly encountering navigation disruptions hundreds of miles beyond the actual conflict zone,” Cyviation CEO Eliran Almog told the outlet.

Industry figures argued to Wired for precision over brute force.

“Counter-drone technology has to be surgical, not a sledgehammer, because the airspace we’re trying to protect is the same airspace the economy runs on,” said Kris Brost of Robin Radar Systems.

José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino  

Scientists are Certain a Wayward SpaceX Rocket Slammed into the Moon as Predicted

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Scientists are Certain a Wayward SpaceX Rocket Slammed into the Moon as Predicted

(Headline USA) A SpaceX rocket that launched a pair of lunar landers slammed into the moon as predicted on Wednesday after drifting off course for the past year, scientists reported.

Although no one observed the actual 5,400-mph (8,700-kph) collision, a telescope in Chile spotted what astronomers have identified as the debris plume resulting from the crash. Space tracking experts said it was inevitable that the leftover rocket segment plowed into the moon.

It’s the latest instance of lunar litter, a problem that many fear could worsen as the U.S. and China race to put astronauts on the moon. In 2022, a Chinese rocket unintentionally hit the moon following a lunar mission, and many more stray rocket pieces likely struck the moon in decades past without scientists’ knowledge.

SpaceX’s Julianna Scheiman said this week that the company is working with NASA to avoid future wrecks, stressing that this projected crash was not deliberate. A combination of solar activity and gravity accidentally put it on a collision course with the moon, she said.

Boston University’s Carl Schmidt said he is “100% certain” that his team’s observations revealed signs of the lunar crash. The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope detected a stream of sodium and lithium stretching for miles (tens of kilometers) into space for at least five to 10 minutes following the impact, he added.

“We don’t have images of the impact” but there’s telescope evidence, Schmidt said in an email.

Even before signs of the debris plume were spotted by the telescope in Chile, retired astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell noted that observations of the dead 4-ton upper stage on Tuesday night showed it heading straight for the moon. The anticipated crash site was a dusty, barren patch near Einstein Crater on the moon’s sunlit western limb — near the edge of the near and far sides, which is especially difficult to observe from Earth.

“There’s no doubt in my mind” that the rocket “is now in teeny, little pieces scattered over the moon near Einstein Crater,” McDowell told The Associated Press.

“As a physicist, I know that what goes up must come down,” he added.

Stargazers knew it would be difficult, if not impossible, from the ground to see the plume of dust and rock ejected from the resulting crater, let alone the flash of light from the impact. Orbiting spacecraft had the best chance of witnessing anything — or at least observing the crater after the fact.

Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek was among those aiming his telescope at the moon at the appointed time, but he came up empty.

“We knew this would be a long shot,” Langbroek said.

Like McDowell, Langbroek said he had “no doubt” the rocket met its doom.

Visual confirmation, McDowell noted, will have to wait for NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to fly over the crash scene and send back photos of the impact crater. The space agency doesn’t expect that to happen until next week.

The Falcon rocket’s upper stage — a fat cylinder more than 40 feet (12 meters) long — hoisted two private lunar landers from Cape Canaveral on Jan. 15, 2025. It ended up adrift after putting Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost and ispace’s Resilience on course for the moon. Resilience wrecked, but Blue Ghost aced its touchdown, becoming the first private spacecraft to do so.

The moon is the new go-to destination in space, with NASA envisioning a stampede of robotic craft over the next several years to form the foundation for a sustainable lunar base. Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin will provide the lunar landers for NASA’s Artemis astronauts.

Musk’s Starship is making steady progress in test flights from Texas. Bezos’ Blue Moon lander has yet to launch. One or both landers will take part in next year’s Artemis III, a docking rehearsal in orbit around Earth. A lunar touchdown by astronauts — the first since NASA’s Apollo moonshots — could follow as soon as 2028.

“Things are going to get a lot busier near the moon,” McDowell said. “At that point an impact like this on the lunar surface plowing up huge amounts of dust going for hundreds of miles around is not going to be acceptable.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

FAA is Investigating Why a Plane was Allowed to Take Off as President Trump’s Helicopter Approached

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FAA is Investigating Why a Plane was Allowed to Take Off as President Trump’s Helicopter Approached

(Headline USA) The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating why a plane was allowed to take off as President Donald Trump’s helicopter was approaching Reagan National Airport Tuesday afternoon in what appears to be a violation of safety procedures put in place after last year’s midair collision near that busy Washington D.C. airport.

The incident occurred as Marine One left the White House for Andrews Air Force Base with the president aboard for the first leg of a West Coast trip. A commercial jet took off at the same time. The FAA decided after 67 people died on Jan. 29, 2025 when an airliner collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter that all takeoffs and landings at Reagan would be halted anytime a helicopter passes by the airport.

The airplane that took off Tuesday was climbing above Marine One as the helicopter approached, so the two aircraft were not on a collision course.

The FAA said in a statement that the preliminary investigation showed “there was a momentary loss of separation after which the aircraft continued to move away from one another.”

“The air traffic controller was in contact with both the commercial pilot and Marine One pilot during the loss of separation,” the FAA said.

The White House emphasized that President Trump was not in danger during the incident.

“Marine One flights are piloted by some of the best aviators in the world, and at no point was the President in harm’s way,” said White House spokesman, Kush Desai.

And the Marine Corps defended the actions of their helicopter pilots.

“There were no ‘close calls’ with the routine Marine One movement,” Tuesday, said Marine Corps spokesman, Capt. Jacob Sugg in an email. “Washington National Tower did not delay the helicopter crew, ask them to hold, or otherwise alter their flight profile. To the contrary, the ATC team approved the requested route and provided timely and appropriate traffic information.”

The Wall Street Journal first reported the incident.

The airspace near the White House and Reagan is heavily congested with military and commercial aircraft.

Poor communication between the military and the civilian air traffic controllers at Reagan has been an issue in the past. It came out last spring after one of the hearings on the midair collision that a hotline connecting the Pentagon to the tower at Reagan hadn’t been working for more than three years, and the FAA hadn’t even realized it.

The Federal Aviation Administration took steps to ensure that helicopters and airplanes would no longer share the same airspace around Reagan National Airport shortly after the investigation into last year’s midair collision began. The rules also prohibit air traffic controllers from relying on visual separation and require all military aircraft to broadcast their locations.

The main group of family members of the victims of last year’s crash questioned why the government hasn’t done more to prevent collisions in the crowded airspace around Reagan in a post on X Wednesday morning. The family members have been urging Congress to reach a compromise and pass the package of aviation safety reforms that the NTSB recommended after the midair collision.

The NTSB said Wednesday morning that it is still gathering information about Tuesday’s incident involving Marine One and hasn’t yet decided whether to investigate.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

Trump Administration Offers $25M for US Citizen Said to Lead Mexico’s Most Powerful Cartel

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Trump Administration Offers $25M for US Citizen Said to Lead Mexico’s Most Powerful Cartel

(Headline USA) The State Department on Wednesday offered a $25 million reward for information leading to the capture of Juan Carlos González, or “Pelón,” scaling up pressure on a U.S. citizen who has emerged as the figurehead of Mexico’s most powerful cartel.

The reward was bumped up from $5 million. The Trump administration offered a total of $100 million in rewards for various leaders of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG, and restricted the visas of family members and business associates of cartel members.

The State Department said it was aimed at “crippling the organization’s leadership” while President Donald Trump has ramped up pressure on Mexico and other Latin American nations to carry out his security agenda.

CJNG is among eight Mexican cartels designated as a foreign terrorist organization. The group was dealt a blow in February when leader Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, or “El Mencho.” was killed by the Mexican military. The U.S. provided intelligence for the operation, which resulted in a burst in violence in the state of Jalisco.

González, Oseguera Cervantes’s stepson and a dual Mexican and U.S. citizen, is reported to have taken control of the cartel, which is involved in everything from avocado production to drug smuggling.

Wednesday’s move comes a few weeks after the Trump administration slapped sanctions against 50 people and companies linked with the cartel, including González. The sanctions froze assets and blocked U.S. financial transactions with those cited.

The cartel is considered the largest in Mexico, with a presence in 21 of its 32 states. Its operations have extended to several countries, including the United States.

The Trump administration has ramped up pressure on the government of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to crack down more heavily on cartels, even threatening military action against the groups.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

State of New Mexico Sues Justice Department and Todd Blanche, Saying They Blocked its Epstein Probe

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State of New Mexico Sues Justice Department and Todd Blanche, Saying They Blocked its Epstein Probe

(Headline USA) The state of New Mexico sued the Department of Justice and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday, saying the federal government blocked the state’s ability to investigate the sex crimes of financier Jeffrey Epstein at a ranch there.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., said the Justice Department and Blanche stonewalled New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s criminal investigation into Epstein and others, taking steps that “actively harms victims and undermines the public interest.”

The lawsuit, which seeks judicial intervention to force the federal government to turn over relevant materials to New Mexico’s investigators, was filed on the same day that New Mexico is releasing a report showing its preliminary findings from an ongoing probe into Epstein and his ranch.

Torrez and his senior prosecutors “have faced sustained resistance” to the kind of information-sharing that had occurred in the past between state and federal investigators, the lawsuit said.

In a statement, the Justice Department said it was not releasing some information the state requested because federal court orders ban disclosing “victim-identifying information carte blanche, and New Mexico has provided no lawful basis to justify such sweeping disclosures.”

It said protecting victim privacy remains a top priority, though the Justice Department “remains available to assist New Mexico’s investigation consistent with the law and binding court orders.”

The lawsuit said the Justice Department and Blanche were hiding information about Epstein and his co-conspirators when New Mexico is one of the few jurisdictions that may still be able to hold Epstein’s associates accountable or “provide some sense of justice to survivors.”

In a video conference call with reporters, Torrez said his office has made 10 separate requests for key information and has been ignored or denied.

“We have heard repeatedly they will cooperate and what our team has experienced is anything but cooperation,” Torrez said.

“Todd Blanche today with a stroke of a pen could grant us the access that he claimed,” Torrez said. “Instead they have decided to stonewall, to obstruct and to frankly conceal for whatever reason.”

Epstein took his own life in a federal jail in New York City in August 2019 after he was denied bail on sex trafficking charges lodged against him when he was arrested a month earlier.

His former girlfriend and close associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after she was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking charges at a trial in Manhattan, where some of the witness testimony alleged that Epstein and Maxwell had sexually abused women at the New Mexico ranch.

Epstein purchased his sprawling estate in Stanley, New Mexico, a sparsely populated ranching community about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Santa Fe, in 1993 from former Democratic Gov. Bruce King and built a hilltop mansion with a private airstrip and helipad.

The property was sold by Epstein’s estate in 2023 to the family of Don Huffines, a Republican who was recently appointed state comptroller in Texas. In a February social media post on X, Huffines said the property has been renamed San Rafael Ranch after a saint associated with healing and that his family plans to operate a Christian retreat there.

In December, the Justice Department started releasing investigative records pertaining to Epstein and Maxwell in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Complaints quickly arose about shoddy redactions and too many sealed materials from accusers and members of Congress who fought to pass the transparency act. Records that were released, including photographs, interview transcripts, call logs, court records and other documents, were either already public or heavily blacked out, and many lacked necessary context.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

Miller Vows to Fight Moreno’s Abuse Allegations

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Miller Vows to Fight Moreno’s Abuse Allegations

(David Beasley, The Center Square) A Northeast Ohio Republican congressman continues standing firm amid calls for his resignation over allegations he abused his ex-wife and a former girlfriend.

U.S. Rep. Max Miller plans to ask for a congressional ethics investigation on himself, he said Tuesday on social media.

“In light of all the renewed interest in my family affairs I am going to file my own paperwork for an ethics investigation into myself to clear my name from these horrific attacks on myself and family,” the congressman wrote. “I have absolutely nothing to hide. We will be providing the committee all necessary documents needed for a detailed examination. The accusations continue to change, but my facts stay the same. I am looking forward to my colleagues reading everything for themselves.”

Miller faced a 4 p.m. Wednesday deadline to withdraw from the November election to allow the Grand Old Party to put another name on the ballot.

Among those calling Miller to step down are his former father-in-law, U.S. Sen Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, who called Miller a danger to the senator’s daughter and granddaughter.

”As a father and husband, I can tell you the last two years have been pure hell for my wife Bridget, our daughter Emily, me, and our entire family in the aftermath of Emily’s divorce,” Moreno wrote on social media. “It has been horrific to watch this play out in full public view, all while knowing an innocent 2-year-old girl is caught in the middle.”

Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., also joined the call for Miller’s resignation.

Miller denies the charges and President Donald Trump on Monday did not call for him to drop out.

On a Newsmax appearance on Wednesday, Miller alluded to information he had about Moreno that the first-term senator “doesn’t want to get out.” Miller said he was not going to share it.

Miller, representing Cuyahoga, Holmes, Medina and Wayne counties, also released an online public Dropbox that says contains underlying documents, recordings and records relating to the allegations.

Miller, on the White House staff during Trump’s first term, has also likened his controversy to allegations Trump faced and fought over the years.

Former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, Miller’s ex-girlfriend, in a recent book also accused Miller of being violent. She filed for a restraining order against him Sunday in Cuyahoga County.

In an interview on CNN, Miller said Grisham and his ex-wife are lying, along with another women who leveled similar allegations when Miller was a teenager.

“Every single time, and people have asked me, what are you going to do, are you going to drop out of this race, are you going to resign, are you going to get out before the deadline, my answer to you Jake is no,” Miller told CNN’s Jake Trapper. “And I can tell you why. In 2016 when President Donald J. Trump faced the most extreme allegations in the world that hit him day after day, and people in the media very much like yourself and others, said he had no shot at winning, that he should not be the President of the United States. But guess what, he stayed in and he was resilient.

“What the American people can see is that they can see that somebody is fighting and they are resilient and that is a quality they cherish. So, for no second am I going to sit here and be debased by false and baseless allegations and be pushed out of a seat I’ve worked so hard to represent.”

Progressives Celebrate Michigan U.S. House Wins

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Progressives Celebrate Michigan U.S. House Wins

(Andrew Rice, The Center Square)  U.S. House candidates in Michigan celebrated wins on a night where progressive candidates pushed back against establishment Democrats.

Results from Tuesday’s elections paint a picture of how the makeup of Congress will shake out in November as Democrats seek to take back the legislative chamber.

District 4

Michigan Sen. Sean McCann will face off against Rep. Bill Huizenga, in Michigan’s fourth congressional district. 

Huizenga has criticized McCann for previous policies that raised taxes, including policies to raise Michigan’s gas and other energy-related costs. 

“Michigan Democrat Tax Man [Sean McCann] has a long record of raising costs on hardworking Michiganders while lining his own pockets,” the National Republican Congressional Committee wrote. “He’s too extreme.”

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer endorsed McCann and said he would lower costs for residents. 

“As a state senator, Sean McCann helped lower costs by cutting taxes for working families and seniors,” Whitmer wrote. 

Huizenga has a significant fundraising advantage in the race with more than $2.2 million in cash on hand while McCann follows with more than $1.6 million in cash on hand, according to the Federal Elections Commission. 

District 7

Progressive William Lawrence overcame controversy to secure the Democratic nomination against Rep. Tom Barrett.

“The mission is to beat Tom Barrett and send an unbought, independent-minded representative of mid-Michigan to Congress,” Lawrence wrote on social media.

Lawrence came under fire after his comments criticizing Black Democratic leaders surfaced. The Congressional Black Caucus condemned Lawrence’s remarks and called for other groups to stop supporting him.

Lawrence called for a one-year federal moratorium on AI data centers and to preserve game and wildlife areas. He overcame challenges from former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink and Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam. 

In July, Barrett was one of four Republican lawmakers to vote against President Donald Trump’s continued military operations in Iran.

Barrett leads Lawrence with more than $2.8 million in cash on hand, compared to more than $380,000, according to the Federal Elections Commission.

District 8

Republican candidate Thomas Smith, who withdrew from the race but was still on the ballot, overcame Trump-endorsed Amir Hassan for the party’s nomination. He said he would return to face off against Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Mich., in November.

“I look forward to working with Speaker Johnson and the entire Republican team to expand our House majority and advance President Trump’s America First agenda,” Smith said in a statement.

Hassan said he “fell short” in a video posted to social media on Wednesday and that he was “disappointed but not defeated.”

“To all the winners yesterday, congratulations,” Hassan said. “I’m very excited for the top of our ticket and we will get out and vote.”

Michigan’s eighth congressional district leans in favor of Democrats, according to the Cook Political Report. McDonald Rivet has more than $4.2 million in cash on hand, according tot he Federal Elections Commission.

District 10

Christina Hines, a prosecutor, overcame challenges from two other Democrats to face off against Michael Bouchard in Michigan’s fifth congressional district, a seat vacated by John James, the Republican candidate for governor.

EMILYs List, a political network aimed at electing pro-choice Democratic candidates, congratulated Hines on her nomination Wednesday.

“A working mom, sexual assault prosecutor, and relentless advocate for her community, Christina has the experience, values, and coalition needed to win,” the network wrote in a statement. “This district is one of Democrats’ most promising flip opportunities this cycle, and Christina is exactly the kind of candidate who can win this seat.”

Michael Bouchard, a sheriff and Trump-endorsed candidate, has touted his record leading missions to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. He criticized the Biden administration’s border policies.

“The Army taught me that weak leadership has consequences and I’m ready to lead America back,” Bouchard said in an advertisement.

Bouchard leads in fundraising with more than $950,000 in cash on hand, compared to Hines with $150,000.

District 13

Democratic Socialist Donovan McKinney ousted Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., in the Detroit congressional district. McKinney will face off against Republican T.P. Nykoriak.

“Donovan is a former union member fighting to get money out of politics, a green new deal, and union jobs,” the Democratic Socialists of America wrote on social media.

McKinney fiercely criticized Thanedar, a billionaire, for his support of Israel and taking donations from corporations and PACs.

“I’m going to Congress to fight for Medicare for All, universal free childcare, getting big money out of politics, ending taxpayer-funded genocide, and delivering for working people every single day,” McKinney said.

Nykoriak, his Republican challenger, has sought office several times over the past decade. He was convicted of stealing more than $70,000 in U.S. savings bonds from a Michigan church in 2016.

He has focused his campaign on decriminalizing marijuana, ending qualified immunity for federal officers and protecting welfare programs, according to his website.

“Federal resources should be focused on violent crime, organized drug trafficking, fentanyl distribution, human trafficking, and international criminal organizations, not on individuals whose only federal offense involved simple marijuana possession,” his website reads.

McKinney joins a number of Democratic Socialists in U.S. House races across the country. Candidates in New York City and Denver are vying to represent the empowered group in Congress. 

Accused of Hitting on His Aides, Rep. Edwards Quits Reelection Bid

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Accused of Hitting on His Aides, Rep. Edwards Quits Reelection Bid

(Headline USA) Embattled North Carolina Republican congressman Chuck Edwards withdrew from his reelection campaign on Wednesday, two days after the House Ethics Committee recommended he be censured for unprofessional and inappropriate conduct toward two young female aides in his office.

The Ethics Committee recommended the censure, an act registering its deep disapproval of a lawmaker’s conduct that does not meet the threshold for expulsion, on Monday. The panel highlighted numerous examples of actions it considered improper, including Edwards providing the young women with lavish and recurrent gifts, making comments regarding their appearance and dress, inviting them to intimate dinners and vacations, and sending notes regarding his affection.

Edwards, 65, denied that any of his conduct was intended as a sexual or romantic advance, but the committee said his behavior would “lead a reasonable observer to interpret it as such.”

Edwards, who is serving his second term, said that he made the decision to drop his reelection bid after “much prayer and reflection” and that he would complete the current term.

“Serving Western North Carolina has been the honor of my life,” he said in a post on X. “Thank you for your trust, prayers, and support. God bless WNC and America.”

The Ethic Committee described Edwards’ actions as “beyond inappropriate” but said it found no evidence that he explicitly propositioned any person under his employ or engaged in any sexual activity with them.

In a response to the Ethics Committee’s report, Edwards’ attorneys argued that the committee’s findings “exonerate” the congressman. His attorneys said the recommendation of censure was an “extraordinarily harsh and infrequent punishment” based on vague standards and adherence to the spirit of House rules, “not based on a direct violation of House rules addressing sexual misconduct.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Rand Paul Announces Contempt of Congress Vote Against Dr. Fauci

Luis Cornelio
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Rand Paul Announces Contempt of Congress Vote Against Dr. Fauci

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Embattled Dr. Anthony Fauci could be held in contempt of Congress as early as Thursday after Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., announced that his committee will vote on a resolution stemming from Fauci’s refusal to answer questions during a recent Senate hearing.

Paul said via X that the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will vote Thursday on whether to hold Fauci in contempt after he repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a tense July 29 hearing.

Paul also released the text of the proposed contempt resolution through the committee’s website.

The hearing focused on the release of Fauci’s pandemic-era government notes, which appeared to contradict several of his public statements about COVID-19.

Among other revelations, the notes suggested Fauci privately viewed the theory that the virus leaked from a laboratory as plausible despite publicly dismissing the theory as fringe.

At the center of the contempt effort is Paul’s argument that Fauci could not invoke the Fifth Amendment because former President Joe Biden’s sweeping pardon shields him from federal prosecution for conduct occurring between Jan. 1, 2014, and Jan. 20, 2025.

According to Paul, that protection eliminated any legitimate risk of self-incrimination.

“Anthony Fauci is fully protected by a sweeping pardon, immune from prosecution, and he still refuses to comply with a lawful subpoena. That’s the very definition of contempt for the American people,” Paul wrote on X.

Paul first hinted that he planned to pursue contempt proceedings after the hearing.

In a statement released by the committee, Paul reiterated that Fauci effectively forfeited his protection against self-incrimination during the hearing.

“During the hearing, I ruled that the Fifth Amendment did not apply because of the pardon, and that Fauci had waived any remaining privilege by giving opening testimony,” Paul said in the statement. “I ordered him to answer and warned him about contempt, yet he still refused. That is obstruction of a congressional investigation. The Committee will act accordingly.”

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