In a stunning performance that would have any stage magician green
with envy, the amazing sudden wealth of Democrat Representative Ilhan
Omar (MN-05) has evaporated, like dandelion fluff on a windy summer's
day.
The Squad member claims that the $30 million in wealth supposedly in the hands of her and her husband was just a mistake in accounting records.
Rep. Ilhan Omar,
D-Minn., said she is not a millionaire and blamed a major accounting
error after a congressional financial disclosure listing her assets as
high as $30 million drew scrutiny from Republicans and a congressional
watchdog.
An amended filing reviewed by The Wall Street Journal
shows Omar and her husband’s assets were between $18,004 and $95,000, a
sharp drop from an earlier disclosure that estimated their holdings
between $6 million and $30 million.
"The amended disclosure
confirms what we’ve said all along: The congresswoman is not a
millionaire," Omar spokesperson Jacklyn Rogers told the Journal, adding
that the filing was corrected "as soon as the discrepancy was
identified."
Uh huh.
Now, from (let's
be fair) between $8 million and $30 million, to somewhere between
$18,004 (seems oddly specific) and $95,000, that's quite a mistake. Any
accountant making a mistake that grand should be discharged. Also, are
we to believe that Ilhan Omar and her venture capitalist husband never
saw the initial report, which was horrendously in error? Are we really
supposed to believe that? Imagine your accountant coming to you with
paperwork showing your net worth at $30 million - wouldn't you stop and
say, "Hey, wait just a doggone minute here, I'm not that rich!"
Sorry, Ms. Omar, but my horse squeeze detector is off the scale right now.
A longtime Democratic operative who worked for top party figures before jumping into private ventures with the now-husband of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.,
Tim Mynett, is back in the spotlight as swindling allegations resurface
and Congress investigates Omar's skyrocketing net worth via her
husband's companies, according to her financial disclosures.
William Hailer and Mynett, who met working for now-Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison
when he was in Congress, were both political operatives before they
turned to venture capitalism and the wine industry. Hailer was a senior
advisor to former Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez and
also has an extensive history working for Ellison, who was the DNC
co-chair. Between consulting fees and reimbursements, Hailer raked in
over $250,000 advising the DNC and Ellison, according to FEC filings.
Here's the onion:
Through
these business ventures, which include wine and cannabis, Hailer left a
trail of fraud and swindling allegations tied to eSt Ventures, which
was co-founded by Hailer and Mynett, and the subsequently formed
Badlands Fund, which was created to control another investment fund that
the pair also created called Badlands Ventures.
Uh huh.
Now, even a rabid leftie like Ilhan Omar is
entitled to due process, which in her case would seem to be a
Congressional investigation into her sudden wealth - and its even more
sudden evaporation. Now, the world of venture capital and high finance
isn't a world I've ever moved in, not when I have to take a look at our
bank balances before dropping $200 worth of diesel fuel into my pickup.
But this sure smells fishy to me. This whole thing, an "accounting
error" that amounted to tens of millions, the fact that wasn't noticed
by Rep. Omar and her husband, who had to know they weren't really that
rich, and now the sudden resolution?
We watched on Thursday as the entertainment zine "Variety," and CNN
international anchor Christiane Amanpour,
crashed and burned in their
attempts to own Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
However, legacy media is
committed to its mission to take out the Trump administration cabinet,
especially the ones they really cannot stand: like Hegseth and FBI
Director Kash Patel. The end result of these quixotic campaigns is the
media beclowning themselves, as "The Atlantic" has now done.
On Friday night, The Atlantic released an anonymously sourced hit piece on Patel titled, "The FBI Director Is MIA: Kash Patel has alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences."
The article begins with an anecdotal story about Patel supposedly
losing access to his computer, and freaking out so much that he assumed
he had been fired. It rambles on with "people familiar with the matter"
sourcing, peppered with quotes from people who actually matter: like
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Acting Attorney General
Todd Blanche.
But
Patel, according to multiple current officials, as well as former
officials who have stayed close to him, is deeply concerned that his job
is in jeopardy. He has good reasons to think so—including some having
to do with what witnesses described to me as bouts of excessive
drinking. My colleague Ashley Parker and I reported earlier this month
that Patel was among the officials expected to be fired after Attorney
General Pam Bondi’s ouster, on April 2. “We’re all just waiting for the
word” that Patel is officially out of the top job, an FBI official told
me this week, and a former official told my colleague Jonathan Lemire
that Patel was “rightly paranoid.” Senior members of the Trump
administration are already discussing who might replace him, according
to an administration official and two people close to the White House
who were familiar with the conversations.
Fridays are
usually the day when politicians and government departments and
agencies throw out the news and information that's forgettable or that
they don't want anyone to notice. Director Patel, and people who
actually work alongside him, did notice this naked attempt at teardown,
and quickly pushed back.
Benjamin Williamson, Assistant Director of the FBI Office of Public Affairs wrote to the fauxnalist who authored the hit piece:
Top
to bottom, this is one of the most absurd things I've ever read.
Completely false at nearly 100% clip. And with a two hour deadline.
Copying my colleague Erica. We'll get you some more thorough responses.
Patel posted an image of this correspondence with the message, "see you and your entire entourage of false reporting in court."
see
you and your entire entourage of false reporting in court... But do
keep at it with the fake news, actual malice standard is now what some
would call a legal lay up. https://t.co/MfbHH8OtLvpic.twitter.com/kw5U3LrfMM
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) April 18, 2026
You
would think between the embarrassment (to The Atlantic) over
Signalgate, and their made up "suckers and losers" mess, that The
Atlantic would quit while they were behind. But apparently not.
Litigator Jesse R. Binnall even corresponded with The Atlantic before
the hit piece dropped, giving detailed accounting on exactly what the
article got wrong. Binnall warned that should they move forward to
publish the article without correcting the record, they would be subject
to legal action.
This is the letter we sent to The Atlantic and Sarah Fitzpatrick
BEFORE they published their hit piece on FBI Director @FBIDirectorKash. They were on notice that the claims were categorically false and defamatory. They published anyway.
Williamson's colleague Erica Knight wrote a detailed breakdown on
just how this nonsense came about. According to Knight, every other D.C.
publication were privy to these rumors and allegations. Some had had
them pitched directly to them, and gave it a hard pass. But The
Atlantic? They said, "Hold my beer."
The
Atlantic published a "bombshell" on Director Patel tonight that every
real DC reporter chased, couldn't verify, and passed on.
Here's
reality. Since being sworn in, Director Patel has taken a grand total of
17 days off — half as much time off as Comey and Wray — and he…
The
Atlantic published a "bombshell" on Director Patel tonight that every
real DC reporter chased, couldn't verify, and passed on.
Here's
reality. Since being sworn in, Director Patel has taken a grand total of
17 days off — half as much time off as Comey and Wray — and he spends
twice as much time in the office as either of them ever did. The
so-called "intoxication incidents" The Atlantic breathlessly reports
have happened exactly ZERO times. Under his tenure: 67,000 arrests
nationwide. Violent crime arrests up 112%. Murder rate down 20%. 1,800
criminal gangs dismantled. 2,200+ kilos of fentanyl seized — enough to
kill 178 million Americans. 300 human traffickers arrested. 6,200+
missing children recovered. 1,700 online predators arrested — a 490%
increase. 8 of the Top Ten Most Wanted captured, double the previous
four years combined. 1,000+ agents redeployed from DC bureaucracy back
to field offices chasing criminals.
The Atlantic's "reporting"?
Fabricated stories about "breaching equipment" that was never requested.
Intoxication claims with not a single witness willing to put their name
on one. A paragraph — I'm not kidding — about the FBI Store not
carrying "intimidating enough" merchandise. Every serious DC reporter
passed on this. Sarah Fitzpatrick and Jeffrey Goldberg printed it
anyway.
Knight ended with an affirmation of what Patel said: "lawsuit is being filed."
The
sad reality: The Atlantic has money to burn and lawyers on speed dial
willing to do their bidding. Their only care is how much mileage they
can get out of their fake scandals and false narratives, especially when
it comes to furthering their Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Clint
Brown, Patel's "Sherpa" during his FBI confirmation process, responded
on X to the article's author, and in so many words said exactly what is
stated above.
Your anon sourced story is BS.
Oh
and by the way, it was no pressure campaign that got Kash confirmed. He
did his homework, studied every brief I wrote him (and I wrote them all
personally). If I sent him material at say 2am, he would respond with
questions by 3am. He was always available and never hard to reach.
Ultimately, he addressed any concerns senators had. He studied the law
enforcement issues in each of their states and came prepared with plans,
ideas, and questions for addressing the unique law enforcement needs of
each state. THAT is who Kash Patel is and it’s why the FBI has been so
effective in the last year.
I’ve never once seen him over drink.
Not once. You are spinning that narrative because you know POTUS
doesn’t view that favorably, even admitted as much in your story.
And I’m not hard to find. Pretty obvious why you didn’t reach out to me for comment.
Hey @S_Fitzpatrick
I was Kash Patel’s Sherpa on the transition. I spent nearly all day
everyday with him for 3+ months and have been with him frequently since.
I have never seen the type of behavior that you’re describing from him.
If
this was such a bombshell as the author claimed, then Journalism 101
dictates at least two credible sources to corroborate your claims,
especially when that type of verification is readily available. It
appears the FBI Office of Public Affairs, and people like Clint Brown,
were more than willing to share credible information with The Atlantic
for the story. But pushing out an email for comment from a high-ranking
government official just two hours before publication is clearly an
attempt at ambush. The Atlantic wasn't looking for anything credible,
they were simply trying to get another notch on their belt.
As my colleague Brad Slager aptly put it: "Emotionally rushing hit pieces out eclipses the use of pragmatic thought."
Obviously.
Like Hegseth, Patel not only laughs in their faces, it's a clear indicator that he's doing his job.
Memo
to the fake news - the only time I’ll ever actually be concerned about
the hit piece lies you write about me will be when you stop. Keep
talking, it means I’m doing exactly what I should be doing. And no
amount of BS you write will ever deter this FBI from making America…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) April 18, 2026
said
the other day that nearly 80 million people specifically voted for
Donald Trump, and thus it was incumbent on Republicans to pass the SAVE
America Act and other legislation that the president supports.
Tuberville was right about Trump: many, if not most, of those who voted
in 2024 for Donald Trump did so because of the man. Whereas some people
vote based on party, independent of the candidate, Donald Trump is the
main draw for many voters. Whether it be his colorful ways, supportive
family, fighting style, blunt presentation, reliability with friends and
allies, little dance, or other features, there is simply nobody like
Donald Trump. The stock market is reaching highs, the Iranians are
assessing massive damage, tariff revenue is enormous, the armed services
reached their recruiting goals five months early, etc. The U.S. and the
world are different and, for many, better due to the actions of Donald
Trump.
So what happens after Trump? The basic thinking is that JD Vance is
the heir apparent of MAGA and the obvious choice to run in 2028. Some
people whisper that Vance will take the family over country route and
not actually run. There are other Republicans who might have an eye on
the prize, though Marco Rubio
has consistently said that he will not run
if Vance chooses to do so. So what about JD Vance? Nobody can be a
Trump II. Fine. But is JD Vance a good fit for the tens of millions who
supported Donald Trump, the man and his policies?
Before the vice
president left for Pakistan recently in order to talk to the Iranians,
he gave a quick interview on the tarmac in Hungary. There had been an
open point on Lebanon and the ceasefire. Iran claimed that the two were
intertwined as the Iranians are desperate to save their decades-long,
hundreds of billions of dollars investment in the Shiite terror group,
Hezbollah. The U.S. said that Israel stopping its military campaign in
southern Lebanon was never included in the 15-point ceasefire document.
What struck me was a comment that Vance made on the subject. In the
interview, he said that the issue of a Lebanese ceasefire was one of
misunderstanding, but he went on to say
that the negotiations should not fall over Lebanon, “which has nothing
to do with them [the Iranians].” My “uh-oh” sensor went off. Now I
appreciate that it is hard to give a cogent interview while halfway on
one’s way home, but the question is whether JD Vance really meant what
he said. Lebanon is everything to Iran. I recently saw an interview
with Ayatollah Khomeini on an Air France flight back to Iran. He was
asked what he felt returning to his homeland. His answer: “Nothing.” His
only goal was to spread Shia Islamic teachings and terror, and if
Tehran was a good place to set up his office, so be it. Lebanon has been
the graveyard of dozens of IRGC generals and officials. Not
surprisingly, when the beepers exploded, the Iranian ambassador to
Lebanon was seriously injured. Why would he have a beeper meant for
Hezbollah operatives?
More recently, at a TPUSA event last week, JD Vance spoke. Ben Shapiro
noted
that his response to the young audience was troubling.
Essentially, he
stated that okay, you may not like our being friends with Israel, but
there are so many other things that you do like, such as beating up
Iran, raising wages, etc., that you should judge us on the whole and
join us going forward. I have seen at other TPUSA events with Vance and
other Republican stars where they skirt the Groyper arguments against
Israel (“attacking Christianity!” “making a genocide!” “the USS
Liberty!”) and say, yeah, let’s talk about other stuff that you like.
All of the calumnies thrown at Israel by the Groyper-Tucker Carlson wing
of the party are lies. There have been no Israeli attacks on Christian
sites, with the Christian population of Israel the only one growing in
the Middle East. There was no genocide in Gaza, with the population
growing and over 80 percent of those killed identified by Hamas as their
operatives. The Liberty attack was a mistake; Israel apologized and
paid reparations. Hey, did we hear anything from these clowns about the
Muslim Kuwaiti pilot who whacked three American F-15Es at the start of
the current war?
Do you know how not anti-Christian Israel is?
After the Kotel or Western Wall was closed to prayers for the duration
of the shooting war, it finally opened after the ceasefire took hold.
Several family members went to the Old City to pray at “the Wall.” They
were not allowed to enter the Old City. Why? Because it was the Saturday
on which local Christians have their Fire Ceremony, so access to the
Old City was denied to non-Christians. My wife tried to get in at
several points, but the walled city was blocked off to all but
Christians and residents of the Old City. Now, does that sound like
anti-Christian bigotry? I remember similar events from the past and
being rerouted due to a Christian march in the Armenian Quarter. What I
just wrote, Vance should have cited. He should have fought back against
the strong Groyper, Jew-hating movement infesting TPUSA and younger
Republicans. But he chose to punt: Okay, you may not like our Middle
East policies, but how ‘bout them tax cuts? The GOP has a Jew-hating
problem imported from the Left/Muslim nexus. It’s no coincidence that
Tucker Carlson has high praise for Qatar, Islam, and Muslim cities being
superior to Western cities. Vance said that Theo Von was the go-to
podcaster. A doorknob is more knowledgeable than Von. Von asked Joe Rogan how much longer Israel will “let us stay alive.” And this is Vance’s guy?
So is JD Vance the real deal? Nobody is going to be Donald Trump, and
there is no point trying to compare any potential 2028 candidate with a
model that they made one copy of and then destroyed the mold. We should
be grateful for Donald Trump’s forceful leadership in an age of wet
noodles, but we must realize that just as George H. W. Bush was no
Ronald Reagan, the next president will not tell a rally that he is going
to bomb the s**t out of America’s enemies. Vance may not run, or he may
be bested by someone else in the party. But if Vance is the nominee and
he can’t get his head around Israel as a good country and not a
genocider or starver of the millions, then he will lose some of the MAGA
base. The U.S.-Israel relationship is based on respect, and I have
heard only praise from Pete Hegseth and Adm. Brad Cooper regarding
Israel’s full participation in the war against Iran. While the Gulf
states do little, Israel dropped 18,000 munitions prior to the
ceasefire. Where is the praise of a true ally while the Europeans hide
in the sand? Where is the counter to Groyper anti-Israel lies? Silence
here is not golden.
One can’t expect a guy who grew up in the Rust
Belt to have the knowledge and experience with Jews that a New York
real estate developer has. Donald Trump grew up among Jews, and he
learned respect from his father, who did not take rent from Holocaust
survivors who could not afford it. I don’t believe for a minute that JD
Vance is an antisemite, and even if he won’t divorce himself from Tucker
Carlson’s hatred, I know that he is a friend of Israel and the Jewish
people. I don’t think he fully understands the region, and I hope that
he is a quick learner.
Accounts on social media have managed to
find audio from the Indian oil tanker that was targeted by the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard Corps while crossing the Strait of Hormuz.
Audio
of the Indian oil tanker Sanmar Herald pleading with Iranian forces to
stop shooting at it in the Strait of Hormuz this morning. pic.twitter.com/7Y5n7Jb7o0
The
captain of the Indian vessel pleaded with the Iranians to stop firing
upon their ship, and attempted to remind them that they were the ones
who granted clearance to the vessel in the first place. The attack on
the Indian vessel led to their government summoning Iran’s ambassador to
India, Mohammad Fathali, to demand answers for why their ship was
subject to strikes despite receiving clearance.
Iranian
Ambassador to India Mohammad Fathali leaves from Ministry of External
Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi after he was summoned by Indian Government
over Iranian Navy firing at two Indian vessels even after giving the
clearance to move at Strait of Hormuz. pic.twitter.com/zL8Q3mhnBF
BREAKING:
India is expected to summon Iran's ambassador after the IRGC fired on
Indian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz this morning, including a
supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi oil, despite having
given the vessel clearance to pass.
Another radio message from the Iranians appears to have
been relayed to all ships in the region, warning them that they are not
permitted to pass through the Strait.
Audio recording from the IRGC’s message to tankers on the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. pic.twitter.com/liEFQRsdEK
Reuters
is reporting that Iran is broadcasting this VHF message: "Attention all
ships, regarding the failure of the U.S. government to fulfil its
commitment in the negotiation, Iran declares the Strait of Hormuz
completely closed again. No vessel of any type or nationality…
The 2022 death of Amy Eskridge, a Huntsville, Alabama–based
researcher, has now resurfaced online as the 11th case in a growing
list of scientists who have died or disappeared under unusual
circumstances.
Her death has drawn renewed attention after at
least 10 other recent cases involving individuals tied to U.S. military,
nuclear and aerospace research have prompted questions about whether
any pattern exists.
President Donald Trump said Thursday he had "just left a meeting" on the issue and vowed answers within days, calling the situation "pretty serious."
"I hope it’s random, but we’re going to know in the next week and a half," Trump told reporters.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X Friday that the White House's investigation will leave "no stone unturned."
"In
light of the recent and legitimate questions about these troubling
cases and President Trump’s commitment to the truth, the White House is
actively working with all relevant agencies and the FBI to holistically
review all of the cases together and identify any potential
commonalities that may exist," Leavitt said.
"No stone will be unturned in this effort, and the White House will provide updates when we have them."
An
F-1 engine used on NASA’s Saturn V rocket is displayed at the Marshall
Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., a hub for aerospace and defense
research where Amy Eskridge lived and worked.(Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)
While
officials have not confirmed any connection between the cases, the
overlap in timing and the individuals’ ties to advanced research fields
has fueled growing public attention and speculation.
Eskridge died
June 11, 2022, in Huntsville, Alabama, at the age of 34, according to
obituary records. Her death has been reported as a self-inflicted
gunshot wound, though limited official details have been publicly
released.
Eskridge
co-founded the Institute for Exotic Science and described her work as
focused on experimental propulsion concepts, including what she referred
to as "antigravity" research.
"We discovered antigravity, and our
lives went to (expletive) and people started sabotaging us," she said
in a 2020 interview with Youtuber Jeremy Rys. "It’s harassment, threats.
It’s awful.
"If you stick your neck out in public, at least
someone notices if your head gets chopped off," Eskridge added. "If you
stick your neck out in private, they will bury you. They will burn down
your house while you’re sleeping in your bed, and it won’t even make the
news."
In the same interview, she described what she characterized as escalating pressure surrounding her work.
"I
have to publish because it’s only going to get worse until I publish,"
she said, adding that the situation was "getting more and more
aggressive."
Melissa Casias is another of the 11 scientists whose deaths or disappearances are now being scrutinized. (Sierra Casias)
Michael David Hicks is another of the scientists who went missing or died under mysterious circumstances. (Fox News)
In
presentations and interviews, Eskridge also suggested that researchers
working on unconventional technologies could face pressure to move their
work out of the public domain, describing what she saw as a pattern in
which scientists who reported breakthroughs would "disappear" from
public work or stop publishing.
Eskridge’s death is being cited
alongside cases involving retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William "Neil"
McCasland, NASA scientist Monica Jacinto Reza, contractor Steven Garcia,
astrophysicist Carl Grillmair, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
physicist Nuno Loureiro, NASA engineer Frank Maiwald, Los Alamos–linked
employees Melissa Casias and Anthony Chavez, NASA researcher Michael
David Hicks and pharmaceutical scientist Jason Thomas.
The
Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
told Fox News Digital it is investigating the deaths and
disappearances.
"NNSA is aware of reports related to employees of
our labs, plants and sites and is looking into the matter," a statement
from the department said.
At
the same time, there is no publicly available evidence linking
Eskridge’s death to those cases, and authorities have not indicated any
connection between her work and the circumstances of her death.
Her case has also become the subject of speculation in online and alternative technology communities,
where some commentators have raised questions about the circumstances
surrounding her death. Those claims, however, remain unverified and are
not supported by official findings.
Zohran Mamdani’s grandiose tax plan is collapsing under its own
hubris, and patriotic New Yorkers are finally seeing the smoke and
mirrors for what they are: political theater dressed up as fiscal
policy. What was sold as a bold raid on “the rich” has run headlong into
reality — resistance from Albany, skepticism from the City Council, and
sober budget analysts who say the numbers don’t add up.
The
centerpieces of Mamdani’s proposal — a 2 percentage-point income
surcharge on New Yorkers making over $1 million and a massive corporate
tax hike — sounded good at rallies but require state approval and
complex legal gymnastics to implement. Those aren’t local talking
points; they’re concrete policy moves that experts and legal memos have
repeatedly warned would be difficult to execute and easy to game.
Worse
for Mamdani, Governor Kathy Hochul and other state leaders have
publicly cooled on his plan, leaving the mayor’s signature promises
stranded without the Albany support he needs. You don’t need to be a
bureaucrat to understand the lesson: you can’t unilaterally tax your way
out of a budget shortfall when the state holds the pen on the law.
Back
in the city, the City Council has pushed back with a competing savings
plan and blunt calls to avoid new property levies, forcing Mamdani into
the uncomfortable position of defending threats to homeowners he
promised to protect. Independent budget analysts and the city’s own
fiscal office have flagged that his numbers rely on Albany saying yes
and on optimistic revenue estimates that haven’t materialized.
Conservative
analysts have been vindicated in warning that such tax fantasies would
do real harm — driving businesses and high earners out of the city,
hollowing out the tax base, and saddling working families with higher
costs in the long run. Critics from across the spectrum note the revenue
projections are shaky and that threatening property-tax hikes as a
bargaining chip only reveals weak leadership, not competence.
Hardworking
New Yorkers deserve more than sermonizing and stunt politics; they
deserve fiscal discipline, accountable leadership, and policies that
grow opportunity instead of punishing success. If Mamdani truly cares
about the city, he’ll stop playing populist games, work with Albany and
the Council on real reforms, and stop waving a wrecking ball at the very
people whose jobs and investments keep New York alive.
A massive update in the Tyler Robinson case has the nation watching as
prosecutors continue to move aggressively after the September 10, 2025,
killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.
Robinson was arrested days after the shooting and has been charged with
aggravated murder and related offenses; state authorities have signaled
they will seek the death penalty given the circumstances of the attack.
Americans deserve the truth, and law-and-order conservatives will
insist on a full, transparent prosecution that delivers justice for a
brutal, political killing.
President Donald Trump said Friday that he trusts Iran to follow
through on its commitments, signaling a notable vote of confidence even
as tensions between the two countries have persisted.
Asked by ABC News whether he believes the Iranians can be relied upon to honor their obligations, Trump answered yes. He did not elaborate.
The president also suggested that Iran may be reaching a point of
fatigue, hinting that such a shift could influence its behavior on the
global stage.
"I think they've had it. I think they've had enough," Trump said. "That can happen to anybody.
"Even people like you and I can say, 'I've had enough.'"
Iran said Friday it had fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to
commercial vessels, but Trump said the American blockade on Iranian
ships and ports "will remain in full force" until Tehran reaches a deal
with the U.S., including on its nuclear program.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi
posted on X that the crucial
waterway, through which about 20% of the world's oil is shipped, was now
fully open to commercial vessels, as a 10-day truce between Israel and
the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon appeared to hold.
The president's expression of trust stands out against the backdrop
of years of strained relations between Washington and Tehran.
Trump has previously taken a hard-line stance on Iran, often
criticizing its leadership and policies while emphasizing economic
pressure and deterrence measures.
Direct talks between the U.S. and Iran last weekend were
inconclusive, as the two nations could not agree about Iran's nuclear
program and other points.
Trump suggested a second round of talks could happen this weekend.
"The Iranians want to meet," he said in a brief telephone interview with Axios. "They want to make a deal.
"I think a meeting will probably take place over the weekend."
On his negotiating team, Trump said: "Steve [Witkoff] and Jared
[Kushner] will be going out, and maybe JD [Vance]. Haven't spoken to JD
about that yet," ABC News reported.
The president said talks would take place only in Islamabad.
"I'm not interested in going to countries that didn't help," he said.
There are some stories out there to write about where little input
from the writer is needed for the point to be made, because the subjects
of the stories tell it so much better themselves. This is one of those
stories. The only thing I'm going to do is set the stage.
On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing, where the subject to be discussed was "The Human Toll of Sanctuary Policies: Stories from Victims and Families."
There
were four witnesses. The Democrat witness was attorney Antonio
Romanucci, whose law firm, Romanucci & Blandin LLC, is representing
the family of Renee Good. After expressing condolences to the other
witnesses, Romanucci described Ms. Good as someone whose death was "collateral damage" from ICE "rounding up black and brown people [and] terrorizing them."
The
other three witnesses were Angel Moms who had children who were
victimized by criminal illegal immigrants as a result of sanctuary city
policies. Laura Wilkerson's son, Joshua, was murdered by an illegal immigrant. Jen Heiling lost her son, Brady, in a car accident
that also claimed the life of his girlfriend, Hallie Helgeson. Mrs.
Heiling said they were killed by an intoxicated illegal immigrant who
was a repeat traffic offender.
Patricia Fox is the mother of
Carissa Aspnes, who was riding on the back of a friend's motorcycle when
a car driven by an illegal immigrant crossed over
several lanes of Denver traffic, causing the motorcycle to hit it and
causing Carissa to be thrown into a concrete barrier. Fortunately,
Carissa survived but is now "minimally conscious, nonverbal," and has to
be fed through a feeding tube. She requires 24-7 care.
Gallingly, Democrat Rep. Hank "Guam" Johnson (GA-04) characterized
the hearing as a theatrical production whose sole purpose was to stir up
"bias and prejudice against immigrants who are people of color," and
even suggested it should be about other topics. He also complained about the seating order for the witnesses:
After
offering brief condolences to the families of victims allegedly killed
and critically injured by illegal immigrants, Johnson immediately
pivoted to a partisan attack, arguing the committee should instead be
holding hearings on the "human toll" of the "Trump MAGA tax cuts,"
Trump's foreign policy with Iran or the "cover up of the Epstein files."
He
went on to list a string of violent crimes committed by White men and
noted the death of Renee Good, who was killed by federal authorities in
January while protesting immigration enforcement.
"I'm not
minimizing the tragedy that is before us today with you three women, but
the other tragedies at the hands of non-immigrants are just as
important," Johnson said.
Not surprisingly, it did not go well for Johnson, with GOP Rep. Brandon Gill (TX-26) being the first to go off:
"That was one of the most disgusting testimonies I have ever heard."
Rep.
Brandon Gill torched Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson for appearing to
downplay the tragedies of grieving families during a "Sanctuary
Policies" hearing.
"What the hell is wrong with you guys? The
reason they're here is because of open borders that you guys perpetrated
for four years."
But it was the Angel Moms who delivered the most powerful response to Johnson:
"You
can put me in whatever order, in whatever seat. My tragedy is never
going to be OK," Heiling told Johnson. "Today's our day. Hear us. Leave
your butts in your seat. I don't want to hear your butts."
[...]
"We
can't pick a headstone because that makes it too real. But you can sit
here and tell us about what kind of hearing this should be," Heiling
said. "Renee Good is not the same as angel families. She made a choice.
... Brady and Hallie didn't get a choice. ... They were living [by]
American laws ... and they were stolen by somebody who doesn't care."
Ms.
Fox pointed out to Johnson that she is, in fact, a woman of color who
"woke up brown every day" but correctly pointed out that the hearing had
nothing to do with race. After also going off on Johnson about trying
to change the topic of the hearing, Fox invited the Democrats on the
committee to come help feed her daughter and get her out of bed, and
then try to lecture her on what they should be talking about.
Mrs. Wilkerson added that no one should get "sanctuary" from the law,
including illegal immigrants, and said it was astonishing they even had
to be there "begging you to obey the laws that y'all made."
The Angel Moms start talking at around the 7:45 mark in the video below. Watch:
The opening statements of the Angel Moms, which I linked above, are also powerful, and I encourage everyone to read them.
