I’m sure you all remember Colorado’s unconstitutional attempt to remove Donald Trump from the presidential ballot because he allegedly launched an insurrection on January 6. Obviously, it wasn’t an insurrection, and Donald Trump didn’t do anything except tell people to march peacefully and patriotically. When he said “fight like Hell,” he certainly didn’t mean to […] The post Judge Merchan’s Daughter Has Sketchy Connections appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Tech adviser Jacob Helberg, who has donated large sums to Democrats, has joined a wave of big money donors rejecting President Joe Biden and supporting former president Donald Trump in 2024. Helberg has donated $1 million to Trump’s re-election effort, making the tech adviser one of the largest financial backers of Trump’s bid to win back the White House in November. Just four years ago, Helberg was using his money and influence to support Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s doomed campaign for president, according to The Washington Post. Helberg is one of a cadre of high-powered Silicon Valley businessmen who have warmed to Trump recently. “The social cost of supporting Trump isn’t as great as it was,” Helberg said of Silicon Valley society, many members of which see that “Trump was right on a lot of make-or-break issues for America.” After the Post reported Helberg’s contribution to the Trump campaign, Helberg posted on X: “This one’s for Israel.” This one’s for Israel. ?? ?? https://t.co/YR1lb0aM9Y — Jacob Helberg (@jacobhelberg) May 15, 2024 Helberg has given $844,600 to the Trump 47 joint fundraising committee, joining a small group of donors who have maxed out their contribution to the Trump group. By March, at least 20 others had given the limit to the group as well, according to FEC filings reviewed by the Post. Helberg and Trump agree on a number of issues, but mainly China. The tech adviser and the former president bonded recently at Trump’s Florida resort Mar-a-Lago over the need to take an adversarial approach to China on trade, Tiktok, and other issues. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP Helberg’s drift toward Trump is part of a trend of Democratic supporters who, disenchanted with Biden’s presidency, have taken a second look at Trump and like what they see, given the circumstances. Trump’s former ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, said that he has spoken with many Jewish donors who are skeptical of Trump, but with Biden’s tilt away from Israel, have given the Republican candidate a second look, according to The Free Press. “There is clearly a change going on, people who are active in politics with big money, people who were never Trumpers or reluctant ‘hold your nose Trumpers’ are telling me that Trump has to win,” Friedman told The Free Press. Democratic mega-donor Haim Saban wrote an email to two Biden aides last week warning against the president’s increasing antagonism toward Israel amid its war against Hamas. Saban criticized the president for holding up munitions to Israel. “Even beyond Israel,this [sic] sends a terrible message to our allies in the region ,and [sic] beyond,that, [sic] we can flip from doing the right [thing] to bending to political pressure,” Saban wrote. “Let’s not forget that there are more Jewish voters, who care about Israel,than [sic] [Muslim] voters who care about Hamas.” Democratic mega-donor Haim Saban wrote an email to Biden's aides Steve Ricchetti & Anita Dunn about Biden's decision to put on hold a weapons shipment to Israel: "Let's not forget there are more Jewish voters who care about Israel than Muslim voters who care about Hamas" pic.twitter.com/HdeI9iOL3W — Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) May 9, 2024

Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he could still see a scenario in which Democrats might be forced to remove President Joe Biden from the party’s 2024 ticket. Trump made the comments during an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt — where he also discussed his reaction to Biden’s debate challenge, issued earlier that morning in a 14-second video that included 5 jump cuts and the president suggesting that Trump “make my day.” “President Biden just issued you a debate challenge for June and September with the veeps talking in July. Do you accept?” Hewitt asked, and Trump said that he did. “Oh, absolutely. I’ve been trying to get, you know, he’s issuing it. I wonder whether or not he shows up, because you know, he also challenged me to golf. So I’m a very good golfer. He can’t hit a ball 50 yards. He said I’ll give him three a side, but he knows he’ll never play. This is sort of like that, I think. But I hope not, because I really think he has to debate.” Trump went on to say that as far as Biden was concerned, sooner was probably better. “He might as well get it over with, probably should do it early so that he can, you know, because he’s not going to get any better. … Every day is a down factor for him.” “Do you think if his infirmity increases, they will dump him, Mr. President, at the convention, replace him with Kamala or Gavin or someone like that?” Hewitt pressed. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP “I do. I do,” Trump said, adding, “I don’t think they’ll have a choice.” Hewitt pressed again, asking Trump who he thought might be chosen to fill that position: “Will it be Gavin? Will it be Kamala or somebody else?” “I don’t know. I mean, Gavin’s a terrible governor, Gavin Newscum, he’s a terrible governor,” Trump said. “I think he does a terrible job.” Trump went on to say that he thought California was “so beautiful” and it was terrible to see how Newsom was governing the state. “Everything is so good, but he just does a terrible job,” Trump said.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Biden administration has chosen to defund EcoHealth Alliance, a U.S.-based nonprofit group that has been heavily scrutinized for its collaboration with a lab in Wuhan, China, on bat coronavirus experiments following the start of the COVID pandemic that killed millions of people around the world. An official with HHS sent an email to Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, conveying the decision to suspend the group and proposed debarment from federal government procurement and non-procurement programs for a period that usually is up to three years — but could be longer — effective as of May 14. “HHS believes there is adequate evidence in the record for this debarment cause and that immediate action is necessary to protect the public interest,” the notification said. The GOP-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, which released the letter and an HHS action referral memo, announced that the agency cited evidence from its May 1 interim staff report looking at evidence surrounding EcoHealth Alliance’s research activities just before Daszak gave testimony for the investigation. “EcoHealth & Dr. Daszak facilitated gain-of-function research in China without proper oversight & willingly violated multiple requirements of NIH [the National Institutes of Health] grants. They should never again receive a single penny from the U.S. taxpayer,” the panel said in a post to X. Daszak long denied that EcoHealth violated NIH rules, and former government officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, pushed back on claims that the U.S. agency funded gain-of-function research — in which viruses are manipulated to become more dangerous. The Trump administration pulled funding for EcoHealth, but NIH reinstated a grant — with restrictions — last year. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP “EcoHealth Alliance is disappointed by HHS’ decision today and we will be contesting the proposed debarment,” an EcoHealth Alliance spokesperson told The Daily Wire in an email. “We disagree strongly with the decision and will present evidence to refute each of these allegations and to show that NIH’s continued support of EcoHealth Alliance is in the public interest.” More than 7 million people diagnosed with COVID-19 have died worldwide. The origin of the pandemic became a topic of fierce debate, with two leading theories being there was a natural emergence or a lab leak. Beijing denied being to blame, but State Department records suggest COVID emerged from a “lab-related accident” and the Chinese Communist Party tried to cover it up. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who has driven an inquiry in the upper chamber into Fauci and the pandemic’s origins, responded to the HHS decision by posting to X, “Finally, the Biden Admin. agrees to ban Peter Daszak and EcoHealth Alliance, who financed the gain-of-function research in Wuhan, from getting any more taxpayer $.” Coronavirus Pandemic Subcommittee Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) said his panel will continue to investigate EcoHealth and the origins of COVID-19, including efforts to secure outstanding documents from Daszak and his team to answer questions from congressional investigators. “We will hold EcoHealth accountable for any waste, fraud, and abuse and are committed to uncovering any illegal activity, including lying to Congress, NIH, or the Inspector General,” Wenstrup added in a statement.

Montana‘s Jon Tester is running for his fourth term in the U.S. Senate and he’s found himself an interesting political target: his own political record.  On key issues from illegal immigration to hunting, Tester is openly campaigning against the political positions he took as a lawmaker. The longtime senator has attempted to distance himself from his own record as he likely faces his most difficult campaign yet. Tester has never been up for reelection with former President Donald Trump, who won Montana by double-digits in both 2016 and 2020, on the other side at the top of the ticket. Montana is expected to be a key battleground state for control of the Senate, as Democrats attempt to maintain their narrow advantage.  One of the key areas where Tester is going after his own views is on President Joe Biden’s handling of the border. His campaign is showcasing him attacking Biden over the border, and his ads feature positive images of a border wall. In recent years he has not only said Biden was working to secure the border, but also argued that a wall is an ineffective border measure.  “Jon Tester is working with Republicans to do whatever it takes to finally secure the border,” a campaign spot called “Protect Montana” says. “Tester says this is especially urgent because the opioids trafficked are direct threats to Montana. I’m Jon Tester and you’re damn right I approve this message.” This differs from his message just a year ago in May 2023, when he praised Biden for his handling of the border on  “Morning Joe” and called for Congress to pass legislation creating a “pathway” to citizenship for illegal immigrants.  “I think the big issue here is we need to make sure the southern border is secure and I think the President has helped do that,” Tester said on the MSNBC show.  Another recent ad that shows Tester working across the aisle to address the border crisis features shots of a section of border wall as the narrator says that he “knows defending Montana starts with securing the border.” Back in 2019, Tester said that there was no need for a border wall “from sea to shining sea” and said that a border wall was not going to do much to help stop illegal immigration.  In another shift, Tester attempted to take credit for the fact that he helped block the Biden administration’s push to pull funding from school hunting programs. The ad features a hunter education teacher praising Tester for opposing Biden’s Department of Education move last summer to block funding for school hunting and archery programs. The move was enabled by the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, a measure that Tester supported. READ MORE: Montana Democrat Takes Credit For Saving Hunting Program He Himself Voted To Put In Jeopardy In a similar move, Tester took credit for the IRS’s decision to postpone a requirement that would mandate a special tax form to detail a $600 Venmo or PayPal transaction. The requirement had been part of Biden’s “American Rescue Plan,” which Tester had voted for.  Tester has also criticized the influence of lobbyists in Washington, but it turns out that he is the second biggest recipient of lobbyist money in the Senate for the 2024 cycle, getting at least $428,088 in contributions from lobbyists. Tester’s relationship with the revolving door has long been a vulnerability. After he promised not to let lobbyists write legislation, emails emerged last year showing the Montana Democrat let lobbyists write bills. Donors to Tester’s campaign include former Alaska Democratic Senator Mark Begich and former South Dakota Democratic Senator Tom Daschle, both of whom are now registered as foreign agents.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP Tester, who is running for his fourth term in the Senate, is being challenged by Republican Tim Sheehy, a former Navy Seal. The Montana Democrat did not respond to a request for an interview with The Daily Wire.