Special Counsel Hur Squares Off with White House, Says Biden ‘Willfully Retained’ Classified Memos

Special Counsel Robert Hur on Tuesday directly disputed the White House narrative on President Biden’s retention of classified documents after his vice presidency, confirming Biden “willfully” retained classified documents, indicated Biden lied to reporters when he said he did not share such information, and testified his report “did not exonerate” Biden of wrongdoing.

Read More

Special Counsel Hur Squares Off with White House, Says Biden ‘Willfully Retained’ Classified Memos

Special Counsel Robert Hur on Tuesday directly disputed the White House narrative on President Biden’s retention of classified documents after his vice presidency, confirming Biden “willfully” retained classified documents, indicated Biden lied to reporters when he said he did not share such information, and testified his report “did not exonerate” Biden of wrongdoing.

Read More

U.S. Senate Passes $95 Billion Foreign Aid Bill to Ukraine, Israel

Chuck Schumer

The U.S. Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after days of delay from Republicans who did not want to pass the funding without provisions to secure the southern border.

The legislation passed early Tuesday morning after a filibuster largely led by U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., ended. Now the legislation goes to the House, where it remains unclear if they can get the votes.

Read More

Commentary: The Speaker We Need

It might have been embarrassing, and it might have given the enemies in the political class ample opportunities to snicker and hurl insults. But at the end of the day, the result reached when Mike Johnson won a 220–209 vote over wannabe Def Poetry Jam participant Hakeem Jeffries was the best one America could have asked for.

We have, after three weeks of infighting and paralysis, a Speaker of the House — and what we have, by all indications, is something of which we can be very proud.

Read More

Commentary: The Matt Gaetz Fight

Matt Gaetz did with seven other votes what Kevin McCarthy could not do with more than half of the House chamber. He imposed his will.

The general commanding a majority of the troops on the field capitulated to Democrats to keep the federal leviathan, nay, the federal Cthulhu swinging its tentacles and snapping its claws. The general with fewer troops behind him imposed the change he desired, meaning he deposed the speaker he characterized as a liar.

Read More

Fiscal Conservatives from Arizona and Tennessee Helped Depose Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House

U.S. Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) laid it all on the line Tuesday afternoon in supporting a motion to vacate to remove Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-23) from the post he has tenuously held for less than a year.

Read More

Names of Potential Replacements Emerge amid What Appears Strengthening Effort to Remove McCarthy

A shortlist of potential House Republicans to replace Speaker Kevin McCarthy has emerged on Capitol Hill amid what appears to be a strengthening effort within the chamber’s GOP conference to replace him.

The effort is being led by Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, considered the biggest McCarthy critic in the conference, who has essentially said if the speaker uses Democrat votes to pass a spending bill he’ll lose his GOP speakership – in what is called a “motion to vacate.” 

Read More

Gaetz Moves to Censure Trump’s January 6 Judge

Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz on Friday introduced a resolution to censure U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan over claims she has shown “blatant political bias from the bench.”

“Judge Tanya Chutkan’s extreme sentencing of January 6th defendants, while openly supporting the violent Black Lives Matter riots of 2020, showcases a complete disregard for her duty of impartiality and the rule of law,” Gaetz said, according to The Hill. “Justice may be blind, but the American people are not – we see Judge Chutkan for her actions, and we rebuke them in the greatest possible sense.”

Read More

Campaign Trail Roundup: GOP Presidential Candidates Make Pitches at Iowa State Fair, DeSantis Booed at Iowa Racetrack

What a wild weekend in Iowa.

The presidential candidates who turned out for the Iowa State Fair came close to outnumbering the selections of food on a stick at the Iowa State Fair.

Read More

AOC, Gaetz Introduce Bipartisan Ban on Lawmakers Trading Stocks

New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz have joined forces to introduce a bill banning lawmakers, their spouses, or dependents from trading stocks.

House Problem Solvers Caucus co-chair Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Penn., and Democratic Illinois Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi joined the pair in introducing the Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act on Tuesday.

Read More

House Rejects Matt Gaetz’s Resolution to Remove Troops from Somalia

The House of Representatives has rejected a war powers resolution introduced by Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to remove U.S. military personnel from Somalia.

The recorded vote, held on Thursday afternoon, yielded 321 members voting against the bill with 102 voting in favor. The resolution, designated H.Con. Res. 30 and co-sponsored by Republican Reps. Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar of Arizona as well as Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, would have directed President Joe Biden to order all American troops to leave the country, with the exception of Marine Security Guards who protect the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu.

Read More

DOJ Inspector General Has No Answer to How Many in Government Can Spy on Americans Through ‘Backdoor’ Searches

Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz could not answer how many people in the federal government can use the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) on Americans through backdoor searches when Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz asked him at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Thursday.

FISA Section 702 enables intelligence agencies to carry out targeted surveillance of foreigners outside the U.S., but they have improperly used it on Americans. There were 3.4 million backdoor searches in 2021, according to an Office of the Director of National Intelligence 2022 Transparency report.

Read More

Republican States Weigh Rejecting Federal Education Funds to Block Federal Interference

Republican states are beginning to consider rejecting federal funding for K-12 education in order to keep out federal interference in the form of the strings attached to the monies.

In February, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton said he had introduced a bill to create a task force to weigh the idea of the state rejecting the roughly $1.8 billion of federal monies it receives for K-12 education.

Read More

Republicans Andy Biggs, Ken Buck, and Matt Gaetz Explain Why They Voted Against Parents Bill of Rights Act: ‘The Federal Government Should Not Be Involved in Education’

The U.S. House passed the Parents Bill of Rights Act Friday, with most House Republicans voting in favor of the bill that would require school districts to give parents access to their children’s curricula and reading lists, to inform parents of any violence occurring on campus, and to notify parents if their child is sharing a bathroom or locker room with a student of the opposite biological sex.

The measure passed by a vote of 213-208, with five Republicans voting no. Representatives Mike Lawler (R-NY-17); Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05); Matt Gaetz (R-FL-01); Ken Buck (R-CO-04); and Matt Rosendale (R-MT-02) all voted against the legislation.

Read More

Gaetz Introduces Resolution Forcing House Vote on Removing U.S. Troops from Syria

Rep. Matt Gaetz introduced a resolution to force the House to vote on directing President Joe Biden to remove the U.S. military from Syria, where they have been involved since 2014, the Florida Republican congressman’s office announced Wednesday. 

Gaetz, a House Armed Services Committee member, filed the one-page War Powers Resolution on Tuesday after four U.S. servicemembers and a working dog were wounded in a raid that resulted in the death of a senior Islamic State leader.

Read More

Gaetz: Republicans Will Release 14,000 Hours of January 6 Tapes That Have Been Hidden from the Public

House Republicans intend to release 14,000 hours of January 6 tapes that have been hidden from the public, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) revealed on Tuesday.

During an interview with Turning Point USA (TPUSA) president Charlie Kirk on his radio show,  Gaetz said that releasing the tapes “would give more full context to that day rather than the cherry-picked moments of the January 6th committee.”

Read More

House Adjourns Until 10 p.m. After McCarthy Comes Up Short for Speaker in 13 Rounds

The House of Representatives convened on Friday for the fourth day of voting for speaker and House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy has picked up 15 votes from GOP holdouts but he’s still short of the simple majority needed to win.

The House passed a motion to adjourn until 10pm. McCarthy told reporters he’s confident he will have the votes to win Friday evening.

Read More

Commentary: Kevin McCarthy Is Not the Right Leader for the Moment

The administration is aiding and abetting an invasion of the Southern border. Our rights are being stripped away. We are at war and the enemy is within.

In response to this existential threat, we’re told that we need to entrust a congressman previously recognized as the “tech industry’s best friend” as our leader.

Read More

Report: Prosecutors Recommend Not Charging Gaetz in Sex-Trafficking Case, Citing Witness Credibility

Career federal prosecutors have reportedly recommended against charging GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz is a sex-trafficking investigation, telling Justice Department superiors that a conviction is unlikely.

The recommendation is in part because of credibility issues with the case’s two key witnesses, people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post, which on Friday reported on the status of the roughly 2-year-old investigation.

Read More

Matt Gaetz Introduces Bill Banning IRS from Acquiring Ammunition

Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) introduced a bill this week that would ban the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from purchasing any more ammunition, after having already reached an alarmingly high amount.

As reported by Just The News, Gaetz’s bill, the “Disarm the IRS Act,” would forbid the tax-collecting agency from buying ammunition after the agency has already acquired up to 5 million rounds. In 2022 alone, the agency has purchased at least $725,000 worth of ammo.

Read More

Rep. Gaetz Introduces Bill to Ban IRS from Acquiring Ammunition

Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz has introduced a bill to disarm the Internal Revenue Service.

Along with fellow Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Jeff Duncan (S.C.), and Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Gaetz is pushing the “Disarm the IRS Act,” which would prohibit the IRS from acquiring (by purchase or otherwise) any ammunition.

Read More

Florida Department of Law Enforcement Investigating 2020 Election Interference Claims in Orlando

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) announced they have opened an investigation into the 2020 election related to Florida Senate District 9, which saw then-candidate Jason Brodeur (R) defeat Patricia Sigman (D) by approximately 2 percentage points.

The Orlando Sentinel reported the specific allegations have not been publicly disclosed, but noted the Seminole and Volusia County election, and the political scene at-large, has been mired in scrutiny and controversy for months.

Read More

Two New Names on Subpoena List in Gaetz-Tied Sex Trafficking Probe

The names of two new men connected to the alleged underage sex trafficking case involving Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL-01) have been released.

One of them is a friend and former employee of Joel Greenberg, the Gaetz associate at the center of the case who pleaded guilty to sex trafficking and other crimes earlier this week. 

Read More

Joel Greenberg, Matt Gaetz ‘Wingman’, Pleads Guilty in Sex Trafficking Case

Matt Gaetz and Joel Greenberg

As expected, Joel Greenberg, the former elected tax collector in Seminole County (near Orlando) and friend and ally of Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, plead guilty on Monday to federal charges. The charges included sex trafficking a minor, ID theft, stalking and fraud. Greenberg reached a deal with federal officials which cut the original 33 charges to six, but is still facing the mandatory minimum prison sentence of 12 years.  Greenberg has agreed to “cooperate fully” with federal prosecutors.

Now the focus will turn to Gaetz.

Read More

Report: Feds Expect Plea Deal from Matt Gaetz ‘Wingman’ in Sex Trafficking Case

Joel Greenberg

Citing “multiple people familiar with the situation,” POLITICO reported that Joel Greenberg, a close associate of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL-01), will plead guilty in an Orlando federal court Monday to charges related to the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl, in exchange for a lenient sentence. 

Greenberg, a friend of Gaetz whom the congressman described as his “wingman,” could provide evidence to federal investigators in a separate case against Gaetz, according to the report. 

Read More