FBI Official Took Vacation to ‘Bucket List’ Countries on Taxpayers’ Dime, DOJ-OIG Finds

Ken Silva
-
0
FBI Official Took Vacation to ‘Bucket List’ Countries on Taxpayers’ Dime, DOJ-OIG Finds

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The DOJ Inspector General released a report Friday about an FBI deputy director and another employee who went on a 13-day vacation funded by the U.S. taxpayers.

According to the DOJ-OIG, the two FBI officials went on a government-paid, 13-day international trip to two countries for the purpose of visiting two of the assistant director’s personal “bucket list” countries.

“The Assistant Director participated in 1 day of meetings in one country, a morning of meetings in another country, and spent 4 days at a beach resort, at government expense, between the meetings in the two countries,” the DOJ-OIG report said.

“The OIG also found that the Assistant Director’s conduct violated several provisions of DOJ’s travel policy.”

The assistant director retired before the DOJ-OIG contacted him/her for an interview. The inspector general is unable to compel retired personnel to participate in interviews. It’s unclear what happened to the other FBI employee who went on the trip.

The DOJ-OIG said it provided its full report to the FBI “for any action it deems appropriate.”

The FBI rarely takes action against officials who are caught by the DOJ-OIG committing wrongdoing.

In July, for instance, the inspector general found that a then-FBI supervisory special agent solicited and used prostitutes overseas. However, the Justice Department declined to prosecute the agent.

And according to a 2020 Associated Press article entitled, ‘Under the rug:’ Sexual misconduct shakes FBI’s senior ranks, the last time the OIG did an extensive probe of sexual misconduct within the FBI, it tallied 343 “offenses” from fiscal years 2009 to 2012, including three instances of “videotaping undressed women without consent.”

That AP investigation identified at least six sexual misconduct allegations involving senior FBI officials over the past five years, including two new claims brought by women who say they were sexually assaulted by ranking agents.

“Each of the accused FBI officials appears to have avoided discipline, the AP found, and several were quietly transferred or retired, keeping their full pensions and benefits even when probes substantiated the sexual misconduct claims against them,” the AP reported in December 2020.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

Trump Says He Is Trying to Get Bagram Air Base Back from the Taliban

Headline USA Editor
-
0
Trump Says He Is Trying to Get Bagram Air Base Back from the Taliban

(Kyle Anzalone, Antiwar.com) President Donald Trump said he was working to reestablish America’s largest military base in Afghanistan. While Trump negotiated an agreement with the Taliban to end the Afghan War, he has argued that President Joe Biden made a mistake by withdrawing from the Bagram Air Base.

While discussing Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, Trump explained that the US made a mistake by withdrawing from the Bagram Air Base, and he had planned to keep the facility. However, Trump signed an agreement with the Taliban to end the Afghan War and withdraw from the country.

Trump says he is now working to establish the military facility. “We gave it to them for nothing. We’re trying to get it back, by the way. That could be a little breaking news, we’re trying to get it back because they need things from us,” The President said Thursday.

While Trump did not elaborate on what he may offer the Taliban, the US maintains crippling economic sanctions on Afghanistan, and the country faces intense poverty.

The President went on to say that the base will give the US a military position near China’s nuclear weapons facility. “We want that base back but one of the reasons we want the base is, as you know, it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons,” he added.

It’s unclear how the Taliban will respond to Trump’s proposal to reoccupy part of Afghanistan. Lastweek, Washington made a prisoner exchange deal with the Taliban that is part of a larger effort to normalize US-Afghan relations.

Shortly after invading Afghanistan, US and allied forces took control of Bagram from the Taliban and expanded the facility. It became the largest US military facility in the country. Biden withdrew from Bagram in August 2021, and the Taliban resumed control.

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com. 

Republican Staffer Burnt Alive in Her Home

Ken Silva
-
0
Republican Staffer Burnt Alive in Her Home

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) A congressional staffer for Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, was reportedly burned to death in her home earlier this month.

According to local Uvalde outlet KSAT, the 35-year-old staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, died Sunday after a “Saturday night incident at her home.”

“Paramedics, firefighters and police responded to Santos-Aviles’ home around 9:30 p.m. Saturday for a disturbance,” KSAT said, citing a police report.

“A close family member told KSAT Investigates Wednesday a relative called emergency services after finding Santos Aviles on fire outside of her home. The family member said Santos-Aviles was airlifted to SAMMC in San Antonio to be treated for extensive burns.”

A family member reportedly said the staffer’s death was an accident. Authorities were still investigating the matter as of the publication of this article.

“When we arrived, we learned of a fire behind the residence that had been put out with a fire extinguisher,” fire chief Mario Rangel reportedly told the San Antonio Express-News.

Santos-Aviles’s apparent LinkedIn profile says she was executive director of the Uvalde Area Chamber of Commerce until November 2021, when she left to work as the regional director for Rep. Gonzales’ office in Uvalde.

Tragically, her last words were, “I don’t want to die,” her mother reportedly said.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

Trump to Import Korean ‘Expertise’ after Sparking Backlash w/ ICE Raid

Jose Nino
-
0
Trump to Import Korean ‘Expertise’ after Sparking Backlash w/ ICE Raid

(José Niño, Headline USA) In the aftermath of an ICE raid detaining hundreds of South Korean workers at a Georgia factory, President Donald Trump has moved to reassure foreign investors and ease diplomatic tensions by signaling support for bringing in foreign expertise in American industry.

According to a report by Axios, President Trump on Sunday welcomed foreign experts to train Americans in advanced manufacturing following a diplomatic crisis sparked by the mass detention of South Korean workers at a Georgia battery plant.

The controversy erupted earlier this month when Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted its largest single-site raid since Trump took office, arresting approximately 475 workers at a Hyundai-LG joint venture electric vehicle battery facility under construction in Ellabell, Georgia. 

More than 300 South Korean nationals were among those detained, many of whom were shackled and transported to detention centers.

The images of detained workers in handcuffs sparked national outrage across South Korea’s political spectrum. Conservative outlet Chosun Ilbo condemned the operation as a “merciless arrest operation that cannot occur between allies,” while left-leaning Hankyoreh questioned whether this was an appropriate way for the United States to treat an ally.

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau became the first senior American official to express regret over the incident during talks with South Korean First Vice Minister Park Yoon-joo in Seoul on Sunday. “Deputy Secretary Landau expressed deep regret over the incident and proposed using it as a turning point to improve the system and strengthen the South Korea-U.S. relationship,” Seoul’s Foreign Ministry stated.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick earlier blamed Hyundai for the visa complications, telling Axios that the company should have contacted him directly.

“I called up the Koreans, I said, oh, give me a break. Get the right visa and if you’re having problems getting the right visa, call me. I’ll call Kristi Noem,” Lutnick said. “We’ll help you get the right visa, but don’t do it the wrong way.”

Trump’s Truth Social post on Sunday appeared designed to reassure foreign investors while acknowledging America’s technological limitations.

“When Foreign Companies who are building extremely complex products, machines, and various other ‘things,’ come into the United States with massive Investments, I want them to bring their people of expertise for a period of time to teach and train our people how to make these very unique and complex products,” Trump wrote.

The president specifically mentioned critical sectors where America needs foreign expertise. “If we didn’t do this, all of that massive investment will never come in the first place. Chips, Semiconductors, Computers, Ships, Trains, and so many other products that we have to learn from others how to make, or, in many cases, relearn, because we used to be great at it, but not anymore,” he stated.

The raid threatens billions in Korean investment commitments. Hyundai alone plans to spend $26 billion on American auto and battery plants, while South Korea recently agreed to invest $350 billion in the United States under a broader trade deal per a report by Reuters. 

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson emphasized that legal pathways remain available. “Any foreign workers brought in for specific projects must enter the United States legally and with proper work authorizations. President Trump will continue delivering on his promise to make the United States the best place in the world to do business, while also enforcing federal immigration laws,” she said.

Trump concluded his social media statement with an apparent attempt at damage control. “I don’t want to frighten off or disincentivize Investment into America by outside Countries or Companies. We welcome them, we welcome their employees, and we are willing to proudly say we will learn from them, and do even better than them at their own ‘game,’ sometime into the not too distant future!” he wrote.

 

 

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

Emmanuel Macron’s Wife to Present ‘Photographic’ Evidence She’s a Woman

Luis Cornelio
-
0
Emmanuel Macron’s Wife to Present ‘Photographic’ Evidence She’s a Woman

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, are prepared to present photographic and scientific evidence in court to prove that she is a biological woman, their attorney said.

The Macrons filed a defamation lawsuit in July against podcast host Candace Owens, who claimed that the French First Lady was born male and later transitioned.

Owens alleged Brigitte was born a man called Jean-Michel Trogneux and even said she would bet her “entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man.”

The couple’s attorney, Tom Clare, told the BBC the trial will feature “expert testimony that will come out that will be scientific in nature,” as quoted by the New York Post and the Guardian.

He also confirmed that photos purportedly showing Brigitte while pregnant and raising her children will be presented as evidence.

Clare said that the experience had been “incredibly upsetting” for Brigitte and that Owens’s comments, which he said were a “distraction” for Macron.

“It is a process that she will have to subject herself to in a very public way,” he added. “But she is firmly resolved to do what it takes to set the record straight.”

The Macrons are seeking both compensatory and punitive damages in the defamation case, though the exact amount has not been specified.

FBI Sniper Testifies in Alleged Would-be Trump Assassin’s Trial

Headline USA Editor
-
0
FBI Sniper Testifies in Alleged Would-be Trump Assassin’s Trial

(Headline USA) An FBI sniper testified Thursday about the effectiveness of a hiding spot chosen by a man accused of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump at his Florida golf course last year.

FBI Special Agent Nicholas Schnelle said the sniper set up along the fence of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach was about 126 feet away from the sixth hole, and it was well hidden by vegetation.

“It’s close and unobstructed,” Schnelle said.

Schnelle testified that the SKS rifle recovered from the scene has an effective range of about 350 meters, nearly 10 times the distance from the hiding spot to the green. Any competent marksman would have been able to hit a human-sized target on the green with the rifle’s basic iron sights, but the scope recovered from the scene would have made the shot even easier, Schnelle said.

Thursday was the sixth day of testimony in the trial of Ryan Routh, who prosecutors said spent weeks plotting to kill Trump before aiming a rifle through the shrubbery as Trump played golf on Sept. 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach country club.

Routh has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several firearm violations.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon had initially blocked off more than three weeks for the trial at the Fort Pierce federal courthouse. But prosecutors said they expect to rest their case Friday, and Routh, who is representing himself, is set to begin his case on Monday. Routh has indicated he plans to call a firearms expert, as well as two character witnesses. He hasn’t said whether he plans to testify himself.

Also Thursday, a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office detective testified that a man who looked like Routh visited the Palm Beach International Airport about a week before the alleged assassination attempt and spent time in an atrium where he could watch the Trump plane take off. Detective Kenny Smith described watching a series of security videos that followed the man’s path as he drove into the parking garage, walked to the atrium, watched the plane fly away and then left the airport.

During cross examination, Routh asked, “Is it illegal to go to the airport and take pictures of airplanes?”

Smith responded that it was legal.

Routh also asked Smith if he had watched the part of the video that showed the man speaking with a security guard about an unattended bag that was eventually retrieved. Smith acknowledged that he had seen that, but it wasn’t included with the prosecution’s questioning.

Recounting the alleged attack at the golf course, a Secret Service agent testified last week that he spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot, the agent said.

Law enforcement obtained help from a witness who testified that he saw a person fleeing the area after hearing gunshots. The witness was then flown in a police helicopter to a nearby interstate where Routh was arrested, and the witness said he confirmed it was the person he had seen.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

 

Paxton Exposes Alleged Ballot Harvesting Scheme in Texas

Luis Cornelio
-
0
Paxton Exposes Alleged Ballot Harvesting Scheme in Texas

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A Texas woman has been arrested for allegedly orchestrating an illegal ballot harvesting scheme in the 2022 midterm elections, state authorities announced Wednesday.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the suspect, Modesta Vela, was arrested on Sept. 4 in Starr County.

He alleged that Vela targeted “numerous” residents over the age of 65 in Roma, Texas, a city in the county where she was taken into custody.

“Though liberals and the left-wing media like to pretend otherwise, we know that election fraud is real and a serious threat,” Paxton said in a press statement.

“Criminals trying to steal our elections and rig the democratic process will be found, arrested, and prosecuted,” he added.

Local outlet KRGV Channel 5 reported that Vela, who is no longer in custody, “personally” signed an absentee ballot for a woman over 65.

Vela then mailed the ballot knowing it did not reflect the voter’s intent, the outlet reported, though it did not specify the candidate involved.

“Vela was trying to take advantage of voters and broke the law by illegally ballot harvesting and targeting a Texan seeking to engage in our elections. Now, it’s time for Vela to answer for her actions in court,” Paxton added.

Headline USA reached out to the Starr County Sheriff’s Office and Starr County Jail, but officials could not immediately provide further details about Vela’s case.

Headline USA also contacted Paxton’s office requesting a copy of the indictment.

Did a Republican Make a Backroom Deal to Save Ilhan Omar?

Luis Cornelio
-
0
Did a Republican Make a Backroom Deal to Save Ilhan Omar?

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) One of the four Republicans who joined Democrats Wednesday to save Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., from a censure resolution may have had another motive: protecting himself from his own censure threats.

Reps. Cory Mills, R-Fla., Mike Flood, R-Neb., Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., and Tom McClintock, R-Calif., voted with Democrats in a razor-thin 214–213 tally to block Omar’s censure over her smear of slain conservative icon Charlie Kirk.

Mills, meanwhile, has faced two censure threats from Democrats amid personal and professional allegations of misconduct, all of which are currently under review by the House Ethics Committee.

The accusations include threatening to release sexually explicit material of an ex-girlfriend, possible assault and rumored financial misrepresentations in disclosure filings.

Democrats abruptly abandoned their censure threats against Mills shortly after he broke the tie in the 213-213 tally to table the measure against Omar, Axios and the Daily Caller reported.

Mills defended his vote, claiming Omar’s comments were protected under the First Amendment. Flood echoed that defense, warning of potential retaliation if Democrats regain the majority.

Had the censure passed, Omar would have been formally reprimanded before the House, forced to stand in the well of the chamber as the censure was read aloud, and most importantly, stripped of her committee assignments.

She currently serves on the influential House Education and Workforce Committee and the House Budget Committee.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who introduced and led the censure effort, scolded the four Republicans for shielding Omar from accountability.

“They didn’t stand with Charlie Kirk,” Mace wrote. “They didn’t stand with the millions of Americans mourning his death. They stood with the one who mocked his legacy. They showed us exactly who they are, and we won’t forget.”

By contrast, Omar celebrated the outcome, insisting her remarks were free speech.

“Four Republicans didn’t join Democrats to protect me, they joined to defend the first amendment and sanity,” she wrote on X. “No one should be going after them. This country stands for freedom and right now what people are doing is totally unacceptable.”

Alleged Kirk Assassin’s Gamer Pseudonym Was Reportedly ‘Donald Trump’

Ken Silva
-
0
Alleged Kirk Assassin’s Gamer Pseudonym Was Reportedly ‘Donald Trump’

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Alleged Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson used the pseudonym “Donald Trump” while playing on the gaming platform Steam, according to a Thursday report from Bloomberg.

The factoid about Robinson’s gamer name came in a report that also revealed that the Secret Service is investigating the assassin, even though Kirk wasn’t under the agency’s protection.

“Agents are working with the FBI to study Robinson’s behavior and online activity, including his use of Trump’s name on Steam, as part of a profile they are building,” Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources.

“The aim is to understand how suspects form grievances, how they select targets and whether their actions signal broader risks to current or former officeholders.”

According to Bloomberg, Robinson’s Steam account is 11 years old.

“It lists an account that appears to belong to his partner as a friend. Some comments on the account were disabled shortly after Bloomberg reached out to Valve [the company that runs Steam] for comment,” Bloomberg added.

The government has falsely linked assassin’s to Steam in the past. Indeed, days after the July 13 assassination attempt against Donald Trump, Congress was provided information from the FBI that Thomas Crooks “previewed” his attack on Steam.

However, FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress on weeks later that the Steam account in question did not, in fact, belong to Crooks. Wray admitted that his own agents were duped by a fake account—meaning that the FBI briefed Congress with fake evidence in the crucial hours following an assassination attempt against the presidential frontrunner.

“That’s a situation where in our effort to give real-time information, since we’ve provided that information, we’ve since learned that the July 13 ‘premier’ profile page on the gaming platform—it turns out, it was not the shooter. It was some other individual, who as a sick joke, after the shooting created the profile page pretending to be the shooter,” Wray said in response to questions from Rep. Benjamin Cline, R-Va.

“That person has since admitted to it,” Wray said, referring to the hoaxer. “Among the other challenges we as investigators have, we have people creating accounts pretending to be somebody when it’s not the actual person.”

Wray did say that Crooks had multiple accounts on gaming platforms.

“We do believe he was a gamer and that he did have different types of gaming accounts,” Wray said.

The FBI has yet to release any information on Crooks’s gaming account.

The House Oversight committee has subpoenaed the heads of Steam, Discord, Twitch and Reddit to testify in a hearing about the radicalization of online forum users, including instances of open incitement to commit politically motivated acts.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

Erika Kirk Named CEO of Turning Point USA

Headline USA Editor
-
0
Erika Kirk Named CEO of Turning Point USA

(Andrew Rice, The Center Square)  Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, has been named the chief executive officer and chair of the board at Turning Point USA.

Charlie Kirk founded the organization in 2012.

Erika Kirk, 36, was “unanimously” voted in by the board of directors to take over operations at the conservative political advocacy organization, according to a social media post from TPUSA.

Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on Sept. 10 while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University.

Turning Point USA’s social media post also said Charlie Kirk expressed to multiple executives that he wanted his wife to take on this position in the event of his death.

“Charlie prepared us all for a moment like this one,” TPUSA’s board of directors members wrote in a letter posted to social media. “Turning Point USA was built to survive even the greatest tests.”

“All of us at Turning Point USA have a special role in carrying Charlie Kirk’s mantle and completing his vision to bring us closer to our Lord and fostering a prosperous country for generations to come,” the letter read.

“We will not surrender or kneel before evil. We will carry on. The attempt to destroy Charlie’s work will become our chance to make it more powerful and enduring than ever before,” the letter read.

1...459460461...3,825Page 460 of 3,825