'Focus on what's going to win'

'Our brothers and sisters in Christ are being persecuted'

'Get the f-ck out of here'

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., a member of House Republican leadership and gubernatorial candidate in New York, is warring with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., over how the GOP’s narrow House majority should be managed heading into 2026. What started with Stefanik leveling an accusation that Johnson was “protect[ing] the deep state” by allegedly blocking a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act has turned into an all-out offensive on Johnson’s leadership. Stefanik has now claimed Johnson’s leadership of the House GOP has left the conference “rudderless,” and that if there was another vote for House Speaker today, Johnson would not have the vote. “He certainly wouldn’t have the votes to be speaker if there was a roll-call vote tomorrow,” Stefanik said of Johnson in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal. “I believe that the majority of Republicans would vote for new leadership. It’s that widespread.” Stefanik went so far as to suggest former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was better at the role. “Whereas Kevin McCarthy was a political animal, Mike Johnson is a political novice and, boy, does it show, with the House Republicans underperforming for the first time in the Trump era,” Stefanik said. The New York Republican added that President Donald Trump “is the leader of the Republicans and he certainly doesn’t need Mike Johnson.” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images) In response to Stefanik’s remarks, Johnson told reporters Wednesday, “I’m not sure how to comment on what Elise is doing or what the rationale behind this is, but you can talk to Republicans in Congress. 99.9% are united. We’re working together to keep delivering our agenda and that’s my focus.” The speaker added that, “I think we’re leading and delivering. I’ve made the point. We’ve had the most consequential congress in the modern era and objectively I think it’s one of the top five of all time. So we’ll put the record up against all that.” The dispute first bubbled up Monday, when Stefanik said Johnson was “getting rolled by House Dems” because, according to Stefanik, Johnson had refused to put a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act that would require the Federal Bureau of Investigation to tell members of Congress if candidates are being investigated. Johnson, Stefanik asserted, was “siding with [House judiciary committee Democrat Rep.] Jamie Raskin against Trump Republicans to block this provision to protect the deep state.” Johnson was asked about the social media spat over the provision on Tuesday. “I don’t exactly know why Elise won’t just call me. I texted her yesterday,” said Johnson. “I explained to her on a text message as soon as I heard this… it has to go through committees of jurisdiction… there’s a four corners engagement and agreement that’s required.” ? Elise Stefanik GOES OFF on Mike Johnson following his response to a question from @AndiNapier this morning about Stefanik's accusation that the Speaker is 'protecting the deep state.' https://t.co/24H2cPmxab pic.twitter.com/ggbJY7XtgS— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) December 2, 2025 Johnson said that House and Senate leaders of the committees of jurisdiction were not able to agree on the provision, and for that reason it was not included. But Johnson also said he was not aware of how the debate over the provision had progressed. “In this case—I found out last night, this wasn’t even on my radar—that that apparently didn’t happen,” he said. By Wednesday, after a discussion with President Donald Trump and the Speaker, Stefanik had gotten what she wanted, announcing that the provision would be returned to the bill. “He [Johnson] and I had very successful discussions last night. It’s a provision that he supports. Jim Jordan, the four corners—other than Jamie Raskin—they supported the provision, which, and first of all, it’s good policy,” she said Wednesday morning on CNBC. Discharge Petition Stefanik, who is running for governor in New York in 2026, is also supporting a discharge petition—a means of forcing a bill to come to a vote if leadership or committees are not advancing it—from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., that would force consideration of a new bill to crack down on stock trading among members of Congress. Stefanik is one of ten Republicans to sign on to the petition so far, which will require 218 signatures in order to succeed. “This bipartisan, commonsense, good governance discharge petition will finally crack down on the corrosive decay of a Congress that is failing the American people,” Stefanik said in a statement of the petition. Discharge petitions, which have become increasingly common this Congress, are not beloved by all, and are often seen as a flouting leadership’s agenda. “I am not a fan of the discharge petition. That is a tool of the minority,” House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain, R-Mich., told The Daily Signal Tuesday when asked about its increasing prevalence.  “I come from the business world. If you have an idea, if you have a product or a piece of legislation that you want to get on the floor, it’s your job to sell it, right?” House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain, R-Mich. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) McClain admitted that getting buy-in from enough Republicans to advance a bill can be difficult with the GOP’s narrow majority in the House. “We have a very diverse conference, right? We have people who are in very, very ruby red seats and then we have people that are in not so ruby red seats that maybe Biden won by eight points,” McClain said. “So that is an interesting piece to navigate, but at the end of the day, you got to navigate it.” Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., who formerly chaired the Main Street Caucus and was instrumental in raising the threshold for a motion to vacate the Speaker’s office, also expressed a dislike for the discharge petition becoming more common. “I’m not a big fan of discharge petitions. Let’s be clear, discharge petitions empower the minority,” he told The Daily Signal Tuesday. Of major concern to these Republicans is the idea that members of their own party could empower Democrats to take contentious votes in the run up to the 2026 midterms. “They allow a small group of Republicans, five or 10, to empower the Democrats to control the floor… it’s a tool that I’m not a fan of. But there are a lot of tools that I don’t particularly like that occasionally have their uses. I would not want to entirely get rid of the discharge petition. I would say I wish members were a little more reticent to look to that discharge petition any time they didn’t get their way.” The Daily Signal was referred to public statements when contacting Johnson’s and Stefanik’s offices. The post Stefanik and Johnson War Over House GOP Leadership appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis did not just blow up her own witch-hunt RICO prosecution through her unethical misbehavior. She handed the persecuted defendants, including President Donald Trump, the right to send Fulton County taxpayers the bill. A Fulton County judge has finally dismissed the 2020 election prosecution case Willis pursued against President Donald Trump and the remaining defendants in its entirety. It was a meritless case that should never have been brought in the first place. This came after the Georgia Court of Appeals and then the state Supreme Court disqualified Willis over a “significant appearance of impropriety” arising from her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she hired, Nathan Wade, as well as numerous other problems with the case. Georgia Code § 17-11-6, enacted this year, gives every defendant whose charges were dismissed the right to recover “all reasonable attorney’s fees and costs” from the budget of the DA’s office itself. In plain English, Willis’s ethical lapses did not just destroy her own high-profile prosecution. It opened the door for as many as 15 defendants to send their multimillion-dollar legal invoices to the taxpayers of Fulton County. Many of those taxpayers voted to reelect Willis as their DA in last year’s election, bringing to mind the famous line from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” uttered by Puck: “What fools these mortals be!” In August 2023, Willis brought her politically-motivated indictment against Trump and 18 co-defendants, accusing them of a criminal “enterprise” to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. Nineteen people in all were unjustly dragged into court, from the former president to lawyers, party officials, and local activists, simply for doing what they had every constitutional right to do: question the outcome of the election, provide legal advice, and lobby state legislators to address their concerns. Four defendants, facing early trial dates and multiple felony charges, eventually entered plea deals to minor charges in exchange for dramatically reduced sentences (and were granted first-offender status, which means that those convictions will be wiped away if they successfully complete a period of probation), leaving Trump and 14 others to face trial. It was supposed to be the showcase trial of Willis’s tenure, something she obviously envisioned putting her, a local, unknown prosecutor, on the national stage of the Democratic Party: the “Fulton 19” in a televised, RICO spectacle that she herself predicted could take four months of trial time and 150 witnesses. But the unjustified prosecution turned into a soap opera about the prosecutor’s misdeeds. Defense motions revealed that Willis had appointed her romantic partner, private attorney Nathan Wade, as special prosecutor and paid him hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funds to run the case. Bank and credit-card records showed Wade paying for trips with Willis to places like Napa Valley and the Caribbean at the same time, prompting allegations that she personally benefited from the prosecution through shared luxury travel on the county’s dime. Judge Scott McAfee did not initially find an actual financial conflict, but he did find that the relationship created an “appearance of impropriety” and a “financial cloud of impropriety and potential untruthfulness” over the prosecution. Wade resigned to keep Willis on the case, but that was not enough to remedy the “impropriety.” Upon appeal from Trump and the other defendants, the Georgia Court of Appeals disqualified Willis outright (and her entire office), holding that her conduct created a “significant appearance of impropriety.” The Georgia Supreme Court wisely declined to rescue her when it decided not to hear her appeal. Once Willis was out, responsibility passed to Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, to determine if the prosecution should be dropped or referred to a DA in a different county to pursue. After reviewing the evidence (or should we say lack of evidence?), the law, and the costs involved, Skandalakis moved to dismiss all the charges that remained against the defendants. In his motion to the court, he wrote what should have been obvious from the very beginning, that “It is not illegal to question or challenge election results. Our nation’s foundational principles of free speech and electoral scrutiny are rooted in this very freedom.” As our colleague John Malcolm pointed out long ago in a previous article, Skandalakis noted that the alternate electors who were prosecuted “lacked criminal intent” and “believed their actions were legally required to preserve Georgia’s electoral vote in the event” Trump won his then-pending lawsuit contesting the results.  And the lawyers who were prosecuted? Skandalakis said he was “extremely reluctant to criminalize the act of attorneys providing flawed legal advice.” While we might disagree with his claim that the lawyers provided “flawed” legal advice, the point Skandalakis makes is vitally important—the lawyers were being criminally prosecuted for doing what lawyers are supposed to do: provide good faith legal advice and vigorously represent their clients, even if the arguments they make are ultimately rejected by a court. He noted that since “multiple interpretations are equally plausible, the accused is entitled to the benefit of the doubt and should not be presumed to have acted criminally.” McAfee then issued a one-paragraph order dismissing the case “in its entirety.” That phrase should keep Fulton County’s finance office awake at night. When legislators passed the bill to codify § 17-11-6 this year, they were not shy about what they were doing. Asked whether the measure would benefit the Trump defendants, the bill’s sponsor explained that it would apply to “all 15 defendants” who were still fighting the case. The new law mandates two crucial things. First, it says that if a prosecuting attorney in a criminal case “is disqualified due to improper conduct” and a subsequent prosecutor or the court dismisses the case, the defendant “shall be entitled to an award of all reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred by the defendant in defending the case.” Second, and most important for taxpayers, it mandates that any award “shall be paid from the funds of the office of the prosecuting attorney as budgeted by the county.” Nineteen defendants were indicted. Four took plea deals. That leaves up to 15 individuals, including the former president, whose charges have now been dismissed in their entirety and who may invoke § 17-11-6. What might that cost? We already know some of the numbers that are public. The Georgia Republican Party spent roughly $2.3 million defending three of its leaders who served as alternate electors. Other defendants poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into high-powered legal teams or raised large sums on crowdfunding sites to keep up with the onslaught. Trump himself has been represented by nationally known lawyers whose hourly rates are not exactly discounted. Local media are already reporting that Fulton County taxpayers could be “on the hook” for “tens of millions” of dollars in fee awards if the defendants file, as they no doubt will, motions seeking those funds under the new statute and judges deem their bills to be reasonable. Those payments must come out of the budget allocated to the Fulton County DA’s office, which means either service cuts, delayed reforms, or higher taxes to refill the pot. Fulton County is already contemplating a property tax increase of roughly $32 million just to address a separate federal mandate to fix its “abhorrent, unconstitutional” jail conditions. In other words, while Willis may never personally sign a reimbursement check, her conduct has put every homeowner and small business in Fulton County in the position of underwriting the legal defense of the victims she chose to indict in her unwarranted prosecution to further her political ambitions. When a prosecutor’s “improper conduct” blows up a case, the innocent should not be financially ruined for the privilege of having been wrongly dragged into court. Reimbursement of their legal fees can’t reimburse these defendants for the aggravation, stress, reputational harm, and the personal, emotional costs they have suffered, but at least some of their financial woes will be addressed through this law. But there is a second lesson that Georgia, and the rest of the country, should draw from this fiasco. Prosecutorial power is so immense that its misuse by unethical lawyers can be catastrophic, not just for the defendants who have to fight baseless charges, but for taxpayers who have to remedy that DA’s malfeasance. The Willis-Wade debacle also made the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office an object of ridicule. Now it threatens to drain millions from public safety budgets to reimburse defendants who never should have been victimized in the first place. Georgia legislators did the right thing when they made counties liable for the costs of prosecutorial misconduct. But they should also make sure that district attorneys face real, personal consequences for the same illicit behavior. That means tighter rules, mandatory disclosure of personal and financial ties with outside counsel, and a meaningful disciplinary process when a DA’s inexcusable “lapse in judgment” results in the collapse of such sham show trials and political vendettas. The lesson is simple. When prosecutors treat their office as a vehicle to further their political agendas and personal relationships, it is not just defendants who suffer. It is every citizen who pays taxes and discovers they are footing the tab for someone else’s lawfare. The post The Trump Case Is Finally Dead, but Fani Willis Left Fulton County Taxpayers on the Hook for Millions of Dollars appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Politico: A Third of Trump Voters Say the Economy Is the Worst They've Seen

In an unexpected act of random journalism on ABC’s World News Tonight, Martha Raddatz reported a sourced set of facts that destroyed the “war crimes” narrative pushed by the elitist media over the last week. Then, in a quick reversal, Raddatz sought to rebuild the narrative by omitting critical facts from her equivalent report on Good Morning America. Watch the initial reporting as aired on World News Tonight: ABC’s Martha Raddatz on Wednesday’s ‘World News Tonight’ about drug boat-gate: “And tonight, new information: According to a source familiar with the incident, the two survivors climbed back on to the boat after the initial strike. They were believed to be potentially in… pic.twitter.com/R5eHFzzDql — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 4, 2025 MARTHA RADDATZ: And tonight new information: according to a source familiar with the incident, the two survivors climbed back onto the boat after the initial strike. They were believed to be potentially in communication with others, and salvaging some of the drugs. Because of that, it was determined they were still in the fight and valid targets. A JAG officer was also giving legal advice. So again, David, that video will be key and Admiral Bradley will be on The Hill tomorrow behind closed doors. This new reporting demolishes the entire premise of the “Double Tap” narrative, which suggested that the narcotraffickers were helplessly clinging to the wreckage of their vessel, and therefore protected from additional strikes. That underlying principle, hors d’ combat, fueled the entire war crimes narrative. But in one fell swoop, Raddatz reported that (a) the traffickers climbed back onto the boat, (b) attempted to salvage the drugs, and (c) called for help. Inasmuch as the drug ferrying is the hostile action and the vessel operators attempted to continue their mission, the facts reported by Raddatz appear to clearly indicate that hors d’ combat does not apply- therefore making a subsequent strike legal. That takes us to (d) this strike was ordered by Admiral Mitch Bradley with legal advice from a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer.  But there is a war crime narrative to push as part of an ongoing operation to undermine both President Trump and the military. This new reporting is simply too inconvenient, and so some of it must be excised and bolstered with narrative support. Watch as Raddatz runs back some of Wednesday’s reporting but with a critical element left out: COWARDICE: ABC News tries to revive the War Crimes Hoax by omitting one critical piece of information from last night's viral video in today's Good Morning America segment: that a JAG was on hand and providing legal advice at the time of the strikes. https://t.co/hoJLfbwnAQ pic.twitter.com/cfkMSdmVJp — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) December 4, 2025 RADDATZ: And this morning, new details about that September 2nd operation that has some accusing the administration of war crimes. The suspected boat is seen here being hit by a U.S. air strike. Shortly afterwards, sources say two survivors were seen climbing back onto the boat. It's against the laws of war, to strike shipwrecked survivors. JACK REED: This is not a complex legal theory. This is not a gray area. The manual addresses this exact situation with crystal clarity. Orders to fire upon the shipwreck are clearly illegal.  RADDATZ: But the sources say they were potentially in communication with others in the area, and attempting to salvage some of the drugs that had been in the boat's cargo. Because other vessels were in the area, sources say, they were determined to be, quote: “still in the fight” and considered a valid target. So what’s the walkback here? Raddatz revives hors d’combat legal peril. First, by bifurcating her sourced report. Second, she interjects the line about shipwrecked survivors. Raddatz then includes a quote from the senior Democrat in the Senate Armed Services Committee. Finally, she adds the rest of her reporting with one major omission: Raddatz does not mention that there was a JAG advising Admiral Bradley as the strikes went down. This is a major walkback from the prior inconvenient reporting, with a clear intent of rebuilding a shattered war crimes narrative. But, as has been the case with so many narcovessels as of late, this one isn’t going to be able to be put back together. Click “expand” to view the full transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on ABC’s World News Tonight on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2025, and Good Morning America on Thursday, December 4th, 2025: ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT 12/3/25 6:32 PM DAVID MUIR: Good evening. We begin tonight here with breaking news, what ABC News has just learned tonight about that second deadly strike on that alleged drug boat from Venezuela. And President Trump tonight and what he’s now saying about releasing video of the second strike. It comes amid growing scrutiny surrounding Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. And on a separate front tonight, sources now telling ABC News the Pentagon inspector general has found Secretary Hegseth put U.S. military personnel and their mission at risk by discussing sensitive information in a group chat using a commercial app, the Signal messaging app, about another operation. Martha Raddatz leading us off tonight with late reporting here. MARTHA RADDATZ: Tonight the controversy swirling around Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth expanding. Sources tell ABC News the Pentagon's independent watchdog has found Hegseth endangered the lives of American troops by using the commercial messaging app Signal to share highly sensitive plans for military strikes on Yemen with administration colleagues, his wife who is not a government employee, and a reporter who was accidentally added to a group chat. At the time, Hegseth insisted he’d done nothing wrong. PETE HEGSETH: Nobody was texting war plans. RADDATZ: He blamed former employees. He blamed the media. HEGSETH: They take sources from disgruntled former employees and then they try to slash and burn people. And ruin their reputations. Not going to work with me. RADDATZ: But the Pentagon inspector general's new report has, according to sources, determined that if the information hegseth shared on Signal had fallen into enemy hands, American troops could have been in danger, and that it should not have been sent on the unsecure messaging app. According to sources, Hegseth refused to sit down with the inspector general. Instead, providing a statement saying he'd acted within his rights, because he has the power to classify and declassify information. Today, a Pentagon spokesman called the report “a total exoneration" and The White House said President Trump stands behind Secretary Hegseth. But the report is the latest blow to the embattled secretary, who has spent days trying to explain this September attack on a suspected drug boat off the coast of Venezuela. After this first strike, a second missile was fired, reportedly targeting two survivors. International law prohibits killing enemy combatants who no longer pose a threat. The day after the attack, Hegseth said he watched it happen. HEGSETH: I watched it live. We knew exactly who was in that boat. We knew exactly what they were doing. RADDATZ: Now he claims he only watched the first strike. HEGSETH: I did not personally see survivors, but I stand -- because the thing was on fire. Exploded, fire, smoke, you can't see it. You have digital -- this is called the fog of war. RADDATZ: The secretary insists he wasn't the one who ordered the second strike. Instead, pointing the finger at the mission's commander, Admiral Mitch Bradley. Tonight, ABC’s Selina Wang asking President Trump if he will release the video of the second strike. SELINA WANG: Will you release video of that strike so that the American people can see for themselves what happened? DONALD TRUMP: I don't know what they have. But whatever they have, we will certainly release. No problem. RADDATZ: So we've seen the video of the first strike, but that second strike video that the president said would be released will be key. And tonight new information: according to a source familiar with the incident, the two survivors climbed back onto the boat after the initial strike. They were believed to be potentially in communication with others, and salvaging some of the drugs. Because of that, it was determined they were still in the fight and valid targets. A JAG officer was also giving legal advice. So again, David, that video will be key and Admiral Bradley will be on The Hill tomorrow behind closed doors. MUIR: Behind closed doors. Martha Raddatz leading us off tonight. Martha, thank you. ABC GOOD MORNING AMERICA 12/4/25 8:05 AM GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Now to the growing scrutiny for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and new details emerging about the second strike on an alleged drug boat that lawmakers and legal experts from both parties have called a potential war crime. The mission’s commander set to testify on Capitol Hill. We have Chief Global Affairs Anchor Martha Raddatz right here with the latest. Good morning, Martha. MARTHA RADDATZ: Good morning, George. Admiral Mitch Bradley will be behind closed doors Secretary Hegseth said Bradley made the decision to launch a second strike on the boat, which Hegseth says is legal, but he is not the one who will ultimately decide that.  This morning on Capitol Hill, Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley will be in the hot seat, as furor over the administration’s boat strikes in the Caribbean intensify. RAND PAUL: I think it’s absolutely illegal.  MARK WARNER: I want to hear the truth. One strike, two strikes, three strikes- how many people in the water? RADDATZ: And this morning, new details about that September 2nd operation that has some accusing the administration of war crimes. The suspected boat is seen here being hit by a U.S. air strike. Shortly afterwards, sources say two survivors were seen climbing back onto the boat. It's against the laws of war, to strike shipwrecked survivors. JACK REED: This is not a complex legal theory. This is not a gray area. The manual addresses this exact situation with crystal clarity. Orders to fire upon the shipwreck are clearly illegal.  RADDATZ: But the sources say they were potentially in communication with others in the area, and attempting to salvage some of the drugs that had been in the boat's cargo. Because other vessels were in the area, sources say, they were determined to be, quote: “still in the fight” and considered a valid target. ABC’s Selina Wang asked President Trump if he will release video of the second strike. DONALD TRUMP: I don't know what they have, but whatever they have we'll certainly release, no problem. RADDATZ: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who oversees the operations, says he personally didn't see any survivors or the second strike, but calls the decision to strike twice Admiral Bradley’s call. PETE HEGSETH: He sunk the boat, he sunk the boat and eliminated the threat. And it was the right call, we have his back. RADDATZ: But this morning, Hegseth is facing backlash. PAUL: I don't like the Secretary of Defense blaming it on a military commander, these commands came from him and I think the buck stops with him. RADDATZ: And now, lawmakers will have have more questions for Hegseth after a new Pentagon watchdog report concluded he risked endangering U.S. troops when he relayed sensitive information about military strikes in Yemen  over the commercial messaging app Signal back in March. Sources tell ABC News the Defense Department’s inspector general says Hegseth shared information classified by U.S. Central Command on the app with colleagues and even his wife. On one of the Signal chats, a reporter was mistakenly added to a chain with some of the most powerful people in government. Hegseth facing pressure, said at that time he knew exactly what he was doing. HEGSETH: Nobody's texting war plans. I know exactly what I’m doing, exactly what we’re directing. RADDATZ: Sources say Hegseth refused to sit down for an interview as part of the investigation, instead telling the IG, in a statement, that he has the power to classify and declassify information, and that the chat on Signal would not put troops at risk, if exposed- an assertion the IG rejects. RADDATZ: Hegseth says the report has exonerated him by the finding that he didn't share classified information, but again, the investigation also came to a conclusion Hegseth has long denied, that the chat details could have endangered the lives of the American military pilots, George. STEPHANOPOULOS: And, of course, the way they come up with the idea that he didn't put forward classified information, is that he just declassified it himself. Meanwhile, we’re also learning that the admiral in charge of the Southern Command where these operations are taking place was forced out? RADDATZ: He was forced to retire. He was told to retire. This is Admiral Alvin Holsey, and the retirement was announced in October. But we are told that it was one of those things where- leave- he had questions about the legality of the strikes in Venezuela, in the Caribbean and he is now on his way out. George. STEPHANOPOULOS: Martha Raddatz, thanks. MICHAEL STRAHAN: Those are questions people still have. All right. Thank you so much, Martha.  

The massive fraud being exposed in Minnesota is just “the tip of the iceberg,” when it comes to social program scams in states run by Democrat governors, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said Wednesday. Democrat governors like Minnesota's Tim Walz insist on pouring tax money into social programs where fraud is pervasive – even when they’re alerted to the fraud by whistleblowers, Comer said in an interview with Fox News:  “The fraud entailed a whole menu of government programs – social programs. And that’s the kind of the mojo for the Democrat Party now: they want to sink more and more money into social programs, but yet they refuse to accept responsibility for any type of waste, fraud and abuse.” Despite whistleblowers’ reports of massive fraud, “Tim Walz and Keith Ellison, the attorney general, apparently turned a blind eye to that for fear of political retaliation,” Comer said. “Such a disregard for taxpayer dollars is criminal in itself – but, to do it for political gain, that’s even worse.” “Hopefully, we can set an example and hold people accountable for this type of negligent abuse of tax dollars, because I think this is not just a Minnesota thing,” Comer said: “This is the tip of the iceberg and I think this investigation could lead to many more investigations in other states and, hopefully finally, some savings of taxpayer dollars.” Gov. Walz should be held accountable because he “was warned of this massive amount of fraud and yet he turned a blind eye for political reasons” – but, so should any other governors who are willfully permitting fraud, Comer said: “So, we want to stop this from happening, obviously, but we want to find and hold people accountable for allowing this to happen and see if this is being replicated in other states.”   ?@gopoversight is investigating massive taxpayer fraud in Minnesota under Gov. Walz — and a potential cover-up. Over $1 BILLION in taxpayers’ money was fleeced by scammers. I'm demanding state documents and records from Gov. Walz and AG Ellison to protect taxpayers. @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/lOPGwykuQN — Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) December 3, 2025

If at first you don’t succeed try and try....and try again? ABC must have thought that was the way in spending one news cycle each on their flagship newscasts Good Morning America and World News Tonight falsely spinning viewers there was no context to President Trump’s scathing comments about Somalis living in the United States. But on the third try on Thursday’s World News Tonight, someone there must have decided to grow a spine and tell Disney viewers the truth that Somalis have been on the President’s mind given both planned Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) raids and the bombshell revelation about Somalis allegedly orchestrating a massive welfare fraud scheme in Democrat-run Minnesota. ABOUT TIME: After lying for three newscasts, ABC News finally admitted on Wednesday’s ‘World News Tonight’ there actually WAS context to President Trump ripping Somalis as “garbage” and it was related to the welfare fraud scheme in Minnesota@MaryKBruce was sent to walk the… pic.twitter.com/o79kWdOZXI — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 4, 2025   It must have pained chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce to not be a liberal partisan for a few seconds in noting ICE was out in Minneapolis “targeting the Somali community as the President doubles down on his attacks” and a day after he called them “garbage.” It was then she actually explained why Somalis were causing such a stir: BRUCE: It comes as House Republicans launch an investigation into widespread Covid-era fraud involving some members of Minnesota’s large Somali community. The New York Times reports 59 people have been convicted in schemes involving more than $1 billion in stolen taxpayer money that was supposed to go to children and other social services. President Trump seizing on this story as he widens his immigration crackdown. But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey defending the Somali community. MAYOR JACOB FREY (D): He’s wrong and we want them here. Somali people have been an extraordinary benefit. Bruce should try this fairness and honesty act more often. Unfortunately, Thursday’s Good Morning America didn’t rerack this story and moved on all together. CBS and NBC, meanwhile, covered the ICE raids and fraud scheme angles on both their main Wednesday night and Thursday morning shows, but colored it as offensive Trump would be weighing in. “Now to those new ICE enforcement operations in Minneapolis coming just as President Trump is doubling down on his inflammatory comments about the large Somali community in the city,” said anchor Tom Llamas on NBC Nightly News. Correspondent Maggie Vespa griped about ICE operations “as President Trump is doubling down on his comments railing against the Somali community here, the largest in the U.S.” and sucked up to Somali immigrant and Minneapolis City Councilman Jamal Osman, who claimed his young daughter asked him “why are we being singled out.” Wednesday's 'NBC Nightly News' complained about President Trump's “inflammatory comments about the large Somali community in the city” and that Somalis are feeling as though Trump has “creat[ed] fear and unfairly blam[ed] the whole community” pic.twitter.com/QjED08EDHO — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 4, 2025   Only later in the piece did she mention the welfare fraud and run to another Somali to explain away said crimes (click “expand”): VESPA: Federal prosecutors have charged dozens of people in Minnesota’s Somali community for allegedly stealing hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money, including from government programs meant to give meals to low income children. TRUMP: This beautiful place and I see these people ripping it off. [SCREEN WIPE] We don’t want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and fix it. VESPA: This son of Somali immigrants, who does not want to give his name, says the President is creating fear and unfairly blaming the whole community. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Other people hearing that, you know, they’re going to really use that to come at us. That is what I’m really scared of. Vespa returned for Thursday’s Today and griped Trump’s comments “taking aim at the large Somali community here” were “stoking widespread anger and fear.” Large portions were repeats from Wednesday night, but she had more from Osman, who claimed without pushback that Somalis are being “hunt[ed]” by ICE. She also had more form the unidentified Somali male, who said Trump’s been using “that one percent” who participated in the scheme as “scapegoat to do whatever he wants.” Going lastly to CBS, both Wednesday’s CBS Evening News and Thursday’s CBS Mornings at least had the respect to offer more than a sentence explaining why Somalis are seen as running afoul of the law. As you’ll see with the former, it was still rather soft It took *three* news cycles for the CBS Evening News to do anything more than one single sentence on *why* President Trump has been teeing off on Somalis in Minnesota Of course, Wednesday's segment included a Somali on Minneapolis's city council excusing the fraud ring b/c… pic.twitter.com/iuykw3lW0U — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 4, 2025   That said, CBS Minnesota’s Jonah Kaplan had the most meat on the bone about the rampant corruption (even though he didn’t mention the refusal to put a stop to it earlier likely stemmed from not wanting to appear racist) (click “expand”): KAPLAN: Minnesota is reeling from a fraud scandal involving $1 billion siphoned from multiple federal programs during the COVID pandemic. In the past three years, 87 people have been charged, 61 convicted, most of Somali descent. Erica MacDonald was U.S. attorney for the district of Minnesota during the first Trump administration. [TO MACDONALD: What happened in Minnesota where fraud was able to run rampant that it didn’t in other states? ERICA MACDONALD: Lack of accountability, frankly. We knew that fraud occurs and there’s warning signs that come with it, and they were ignored in this case. KAPLAN: According to investigators, the schemes involved bogus receipts and invoices for meal programs, housing assistance and behavioral health services, charging the state millions for services that were never provided. (....) KAPLAN: Some House Republicans on an Oversight Committee in Washington announcing in a news release they’re launching their own investigation into the allegations of fraud and accusations that some of that money could have been funneled directly to terror groups overseas, but I spoke with a number of federal investigators, and they tell me there is no evidence that that happened. Instead, the fraudsters allegedly stole the money and kept it for themselves and spent it on things like cars, houses, diamonds, and so much more[.] Kaplan’s story nearly reaired in full for Thursday’s CBS Mornings, but Kaplan’s live read-in described the Twin Cities as “a community on edge” with “roughly 80,000 Somalis living here in the area, and their leaders are warning that they’re being unfairly blamed and targeted because of a fraud scandal worth more than $1 billion that have implicated more than a dozen Somalis.” To see the relevant transcripts from December 3, click here (for ABC), here (for CBS), and here (for NBC). To see the relevant transcripts from December 4, click here (for CBS) and here (for NBC). 

President Donald Trump's administration is honoring fallen National Guard member Spc. Sarah Beckstrom in the wake of her horrific murder just yards away from the White House grounds. The White House lowered all flags on the grounds to half-staff on Thursday after Beckstrom succumbed to her wounds on November 27, Thanksgiving Day. The suspect is a CIA-linked Afghan national who allegedly shot her and fellow guardsman Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe in Washington, D.C, the day prior. Beckstrom was only 20 years old. 'The Biden administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States.'The proclamation from Trump's administration extended the honor to "all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, December 4, 2025."The flags will also be lowered at American embassies, legations, consular offices, and military facilities across the world. RELATED: Trump to 'permanently pause' migration from third-world backwaters in wake of National Guard member's grisly murderFlags at the White House are lowered to half-staff in memory of Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom.May God bless her family, our National Guard heroes, and the United States of America. ??? pic.twitter.com/OyOGMc0dv3— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) December 4, 2025 Twenty-nine-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who was officially charged with Beckstrom's murder, also allegedly ambushed 24-year-old Wolfe, who is miraculously expected to recover. Lakanwal first came to the United States under President Joe Biden's administration under the program Operation Allies Welcome following the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Lakanwal was also a member of a CIA-backed military operation to hunt down Taliban commanders. RELATED: Suspect in National Guard shooting was part of CIA-backed unit that hunted down Taliban commanders Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images"In the wake of the disastrous Biden withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 due to his prior work with the U.S. government, including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, which ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation," CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement to Fox News Digital.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!