Month: April 2024

Attorneys for Kari Lake were back in court on Wednesday, fighting to obtain a hearing on damages before a jury in First Amendment-hating RINO Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer’s defamation lawsuit against Lake.

Attorneys for Richer reportedly seek damages amounting to millions of dollars.

Recall The Gateway Pundit’s recent reporting on a 2021 op-ed that Richer submitted to the National Review Magazine, where he reveals that he believes the First Amendment is “the biggest threat to elections and Democracy,” that his constituents are “idiots” and that “it may be time to revisit our First Amendment jurisprudence.” Jack Butler, editor of The National Review, rejected the draft op-ed, citing Richer’s attack on freedom of speech; however, Richer apparently gave a similarly written speech, ironically in commemoration of Constitution Day, to students of the Maricopa County Community College District, which was approved by the district beforehand.

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, Kari Lake recently pled no contest in the lawfare defamation case brought against her by fake “Republican” Stephen Richer and Protect Democracy – a far-left group of Soros and Obama-linked henchmen who are trying to silence all election critics on the right. Instead of allowing the Soros-linked far-left Protect Democracy to subpoena and dig through her personal communications and campaign secrets and wasting more time or money on the bogus lawsuit, Lake decided it was time to focus on her campaign. Lake is expected to face Soros-backed far-left Marxist Ruben Gallego in the 2024 general election for the U.S. Senate.

Despite Richer and the fake news media’s claims to the contrary, Lake never admitted to defamation. She only conceded that she did say things that hurt Richer’s feelings while still maintaining that nothing she said was defamatory. As stated in Lake’s Motion for Default Judgement, “It is often said that defaulting admits the allegations in the operative complaint. This is a misnomer.” The filing then cites case law, which states, “An entry of default serves as a judicial admission of all well-pleaded facts in the complaint. A party against whom default is entered, however, is not held to admit facts that are not well-pleaded or to admit conclusions of law. If a complaint does not include well-pleaded facts for a required showing, entry of default does not mean that required showing has been made.“

Closer Look: Kari Lake Didn’t Admit to Defaming RINO Election Official Stephen Richer in Defamation Case, She Outmaneuvered the Soros Thugs: “My Words Are True, But How Did They Hurt You?” (VIDEO)

Lake’s no-contest plea came after the Arizona Supreme Court, led in part by Vice Chief Justice Ann A. Scott Timmer, rejected Lake’s appeal in Richer’s anti-American defamation lawsuit.

It can be recalled that Ann Timmer’s sister Laurie Roberts, is a rabidly anti-Lake propagandist for the leftist Arizona Republic. And prior to Lake’s appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court, Laurie Roberts authored an article titled, “Kari Lake is in deep defamation doo doo after Court of Appeals ruling,” where she boasted about Lake’s loss and criticized her for using a First Amendment defense.

Roberts, who told The Gateway Pundit she speaks to her sister, Justice Timmer, “all the time,” could potentially be perceived as an influencer in Timmer and the Arizona Supreme Court’s opinions on Lake, though she contends that they “never” discuss politics. It looks like a conflict of interest for Roberts’ dishonest journalism and for Ann Timmer’s position on the state’s highest court.

Before Wednesday’s hearing, Lake’s attorneys sent the following letter to Richer’s attorneys on April 15, rejecting a proposed scheduling order and highlighting how Richer’s campaign and political image have actually benefitted from Kari Lake’s alleged defamation. The letter also showcases statements from Richer, which Lake attorneys say underscore “his exuberance at subjecting Kari Lake and the other Defendants to burdensome discovery.”

“We’re ready, and have been ready for some months, to start discovery. Lotta documents, recordings, etc we’d like to look at. And depositions… we’re gonna need a bigger boat…” Richer bragged in an X post last month.

We’re ready, and have been ready for some months, to start discovery.

Lotta documents, recordings, etc we’d like to look at.

And depositions… we’re gonna need a bigger boat… https://t.co/8e4yk0V9Za

— Stephen Richer—MaricopaCountyRecorder (prsnl acct) (@stephen_richer) March 20, 2024

Per 12 News AZ:

Lake’s lawyers asked the Maricopa County judge handling the case to proceed to a speedy hearing before a jury on monetary damages for Richer.

Neither Lake nor Richer were in court Wednesday for a status conference but their attorneys told the judge they cannot agree on what to do next.

Richer’s side has claimed damages could be in the millions, which Lake’s team has denied in court filings.

Lake’s attorneys want the case to go to a damages hearing, saying Richer’s team needs to outline compensatory damages.

Attorneys for Far-left Soros-tied Protect Democracy representing Stephen Richer are still seeking a discovery phase to dig through Kari Lake’s records and communications and seemingly interfere with her election for U.S. Senate. This clearly is a hit job on Kari Lake by her political opponents and Soros-backed entities, and Lake’s Soros-backed opponent, Ruben Gallego, will surely benefit.

Lake attorney Tim LaSota told the court, “We’ve admitted the facts and this is just a way to try and continue what we think this case has been about from the start… sideline Ms. Lake from the Senate campaign.”

Additionally, Richer’s attorney claims that this is not only about Richer’s feelings being hurt or monetary damages for the elected official but damages to his reputation as well.

However, as stated in an April 20 court filing by Kari Lake’s legal team, which is similar to their April 15 letter and again highlights Richer’s benefits from her alleged defamation, including a massive surge in fundraising numbers, “Richer’s own social media postings belie any damages to his reputation.”

On February 25, 2024, Richer posted on X that he had already fundraised $250k for this election cycle, nearly as much as the roughly $309k raised during the entire 2020 cycle. Additionally, last week, Richer showed his X followers that his campaign currently has more than $261k in cash on hand.

The filing also combats claims that Richer is entitled to punitive damages, that he can prove physical injury, and that he will be able to show proximate cause to prove that Lake is responsible for criticism and alleged threats through discovery.

“Richer also cannot deny that he has publicly made, and continues to make, statements highly critical of Donald J. Trump,” the Response from Lake contends to show how Richer is responsible for his own lack of popularity among Arizona Republicans. It should also be remembered that Richer oversaw early voting in Lake’s stolen 2022 election for governor and founded and operated the Pro-Democracy Republicans dark money PAC aimed at eliminating candidates with a MAGA agenda, and he admits to voting for Democrats last election cycle. 

Read the full April 20 Response Brief from Lake’s attorneys below:

The post Maricopa County RINO Stephen Richer and Soros Tied Protect Democracy Continue to Drag Out Defamation Lawsuit and Harass Kari Lake for Discovery After No-Contest Plea – Seek MILLIONS in Damages appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Katie Hobbs confronted at the gym by TGP correspondent Jordan Conradson

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs on Tuesday vetoed another bill that would have defined sex as “a person’s immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy, physiology, genetics and hormones existing at the time of the person’s birth” and protected girls’ showers in public K-12 schools. 

SB 1182, the Arizona Accommodations for All Children Act, would have required public schools in Arizona to provide a single-occupancy or employee shower room to students who are unwilling or unable to use the shared shower that corresponds to their sex.

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, Liberty High School in Peoria, Arizona came under fire for allowing a male student to use the girls’ locker rooms and showers alongside the girls. The biological male “had been reprimanded several times for loitering in the [girls’] bathrooms in August of 22,” one concerned parent told The Gateway Pundit.

The legislation would also grant a private cause of action against the public school to a person who encounters a person of the opposite sex in a public school shower room if the school or a school official permitted the individual of the opposite sex to use the shower room.

It also accommodates individuals who are unwilling or unable to use the shower room that corresponds to their sex by granting a private cause of action against the public school if their reasonable accommodation request is denied. Reasonable accommodations include access to a single-occupancy shower room or use of an employee shower room.

Still, Hobbs vetoed the bill, saying in a letter to Senate President Warren Petersen, “As I have said time and time again, I will not sign legislation that attacks Arizonans.”

Similarly, as The Gateway Pundit previously reported, Hobbs vetoed 2023 Senate Bill 1040, which would have required Arizona public schools to “provide a reasonable accommodation to a person who is unwilling or unable to use specified facilities designated for their sex in a public school building or multi-occupancy sleeping quarters while attending a public school-sponsored activity.”

These reasonable accommodations would include access to single-occupancy restrooms or changing facilities and use of employee restrooms or changing facilities to prevent undue hardship for students who are uncomfortable with members of the opposite sex using gendered facilities like bathrooms and locker rooms.

The proposal last session came after the female students at Liberty High School were forced to share bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers with male students who “insisted on using the girls’ bathrooms.”

However, Hobbs called the 2023 legislation “yet another discriminatory act against LGBTQ+ youth.” She added, “As I stated in my veto letter for SB1001, I will veto every bill that aims to attack and harm children.” SB1001, vetoed by Katie Hobbs last session. would have precluded schools from requiring employees to use a pronoun that differs from a minor student’s biological sex without parental permission.

What happened to women’s rights?

Per Axios, Hobbs vetoed a total of 143 bills last year. In total, she has vetoed 195 bills since taking office last January, shattering Democrat Janet Napolitano’s previous record of 181 vetoes during an entire four-year term.

It can be recalled that during Katie Hobbs’ first legislative session last year, after she stole the midterm election from conservative firebrand Kari Lake, Hobbs broke the record for the number of bills vetoed in a single legislative session, and she did it during her first 100 days in office. As The Gateway Pundit reported, Hobbs was also ranked as the third most unpopular Governor in America, with an approval rating of just 47%.

Hobbs vetoed several common-sense bills on Tuesday, including SB 2581, which would require proof of residency to vote in Arizona elections, and SB 1129, which would protect homeowners by allowing them to remove an unlawful occupant or a “squatter” from their property.

As The Gateway Pundit reported, Hobbs vetoed the voter residency bill, claiming that it “creates additional, unnecessary barriers for individuals registering to vote,” and the squatter bill, claiming it “fails to leverage existing legal mechanisms, respect the due process rights of lawful tenants, and minimize unintended consequences such as for victims of domestic violence.”

Lawless Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs Vetoes Bill to Require Proof of Residency for Voting

The post SICK: Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs Vetoes Bill Preventing Biological Males From Showering With Females in Public Schools, Says “I Will Not Sign Legislation That Attacks Arizonans” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

The Alvin Bragg lawfare case against President Trump is already falling apart in its New York courtroom.

It was obvious from the start of this latest garbage lawsuit against President Trump that there was never a case against Trump but the Marxists in New York insisted on pushing forward with the case anyway.

Now they are hoping that a corrupt court and leftist jurors will find Trump guilty of the latest made-up crime they are throwing at him in hopes to sway uninformed Americans to vote for Old Joe in 2024.

On Thursday David Pecker destroyed the prosecution’s case.

Pecker is the former CEO of American Media until August 2020. He was the publisher of National Enquirer and several other popular publications.

He testified that Trump “had no idea what [he] was talking about” when he asked about reimbursing Michael Cohen for the Stormy payment

He also said the “catch & kill” scheme was devised by him and Michael Cohen–NOT Donald Trump!

FOX News reported:

FOX reporter: Pecker also said when he spoke to Trump about Trump reimbursing Michael Cohen for paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels, Trump told him he had no idea what Pecker was talking about.

Pecker testified again about purchasing the lifetime rights to former Playboy model, Karen McDougal’s story as well. He said he did that in part because he and Cohen had concerns it would hurt Trump’s campaign. Notably, he did not say those concerns came from Trump himself.

There never was a case here against President Trump anyway. Now, the primary witness confirmed President Trump knew nothing about this payment discussed in the case.

Another nothing-burger goes up in flames.

Via Johnny MAGA:

David Pecker’s testimony today destroyed the prosecution’s case

He testified that Trump “had no idea what [he] was talking about” when he asked about reimbursing Michael Cohen for the Stormy payment

He also said the “catch & kill” scheme was devised by him & Cohen–NOT Trump pic.twitter.com/q9lr7GCDbP

— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) April 25, 2024

The post Developing: David Pecker’s Testimony Destroys Prosecution’s Case Against Trump appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has insisted that the recent U.S. foreign aid package to Ukraine was a small change for the American taxpayer.

In an interview with Fox News’s Dana Perino, McConnell said that the $61 billion foreign aid package passed by Congress last week was “not a whole lot of money.”

“It is only 0.2 per cent of our gross domestic product, so put in that context, it’s not a whole lot of money for us, but it’s a very significant step for them because it gives them the more sophisticated weapons they need to hold the Russians at bay,” he explained.

“Russians are trying to take their country and they have an enormous incentive, and it doesn’t require any of our personnel, we’re not getting any Americans killed, we’re helping them defend their independence and also degrade the military of one of our biggest adversaries,” he continued.

Fox News’ Dana Perino: “Is $60 billion [in the foreign aid package] enough money for Ukraine to push back Russia decisively?”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): “Well, we hope so.” pic.twitter.com/pcJL0v3uKs

— The Recount (@therecount) April 24, 2024

The bill, which passed on a 79-18 vote, combines $60 billion in aid for Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel’s war against Hamas, and approximately $4 billion designated for the Indo-Pacific region. It also includes a provision that could potentially result in the banning of TikTok within the United States unless the company agrees to divest.

Earlier this week, McConnell also slammed conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson for the “demonization” of Ukraine among the Republican grassroots.

“I think the demonization of Ukraine began by Tucker Carlson, who, in my opinion, ended up where he It should have been all along, which is interviewing Vladimir Putin. And so he had an enormous audience, which convinced a lot of rank and file Republicans that maybe this was a mistake.”

The post Mitch McConnell: $61 Billion Ukraine Aid Package ‘Not a Whole Lot of Money’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

***Please support political prisoner Ryan Samsel’s legal defense here. ***

Alleged government plant James Ray Epps repeatedly claimed during his leaked interview with the Federal Bureau of Investigations that he stopped on the Ellipse in Washington DC at the Stop the Steal rally on January 6, 2021, to listen to former President Donald Trump’s speech.

“I mean this is what I tried to do. I mean I tried to calm them down,” Epps is heard telling an FBI agent a series of lies on a Jan. 8 2021 recorded phone call obtained by The Gateway Pundit.

“And the next morning we went down to the Capitol, — oh, not the Capitol,” he continued, “the, the, uh, the place where the president was going to speak. And we listened.”

In reality, as Trump delivered the momentous speech on the Ellipse, Epps was on a strange expedition, imploring every person he encountered to go into the Capitol building, where many would later be shot by police, bombed by cops with flash grenades, tear-gassed by law enforcement officials, murdered, entrapped with stacks of federal criminal charges and entrapped by the FBI for trespassing.

“As soon as President Trump is finished speaking, we are going to the Capitol! It’s going in that direction. That’s where our true problems lie,” he yelled at every bystander he encountered on the streets of the nation’s capital during Trump’s speech.

How could Epps have stopped to listen to the president’s speech when he was fixated on a bizarre expedition to direct demonstrators to, “Go to the Capitol!” and relentlessly cajoling the massive crowd to “Go.. in…to the building!”

As exhibited in J6 A True Timeline, the banned documentary showcasing the timeline of the events of January 6, President Trump took the microphone at 12:01 PM. Trump spoke at the Elipse for 40 minutes while Ray Epps, the entire time, was filmed on the streets directing the crowd to the Capitol building.

Epp’s demonstrably false claim about stopping to listen to Trump’s speech is among numerous falsehoods the only “insurrectionist” heralded by the corporate press told the bureau, in clear violation of federal law.

Lying to corporate press and state-run mainstream media primetime on 60-minute or and all access interviews with the New York Times, is one thing.

Flagrantly lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigations is a federal violation governed by 18 U.S.C. § 1001, punishable by up to five years in prison.

The penalty could be extended to a maximum of eight years if the misstatement relates to any act of international or domestic terrorism. The statements do not have to be made under oath to get charged under this federal statute.

Making false statements that violate federal law are related to the crimes of obstruction of justice and perjury, which are penalized under 18 U.S.C. § 1621 and 18 U.S.C. § 1505.

One of the most common ways for someone to face a federal false statement charge involves lying to FBI agents during an interview. Federal prosecutors frequently use the False Statement Accountability Act to indict or threaten to indict someone they believe is not cooperating with a criminal investigation.

Federal prosecutors sought to incarcerate former National Security Advisor Gen. Michael Flynn for violating 18 U.S.C. § 1001. Flynn pled guilty to making false statements to the FBI surrounding the bogus Russia probe then withdrew his plea prior to sentencing and was pardoned by Trump. Trump advisor Roger Stone was dragged out of his home by the FBI in a predawn raid for allegedly providing false statements to the FBI and pardoned by the former president.

But Ray Epps is above the law.

As TGP reported, on Jan. 8, 2021, hours after Epps discovered his photo was published on the Most Wanted List for his role in the Capitol riot, the 62-year-old former Oath Keeper called the FBI and asked a federal agent to remove his picture from the bureau’s website and provided numerous false statements about his actions on January 5 and 6, 2021.

He devoted most of the call to persuading the bureau to target J6 political prisoner Ryan Samsel, whom Epps whispered to and stalked during the riot, and criminally implicating other demonstrators he implored to, “Go into the building!”

TGP allowed Samsel to review the exculpatory evidence prosecutors withheld during his trial in violation of Brady v. Maryland.

“This is all scripted,” Samsel told TGP in an exclusive interview. “[Epps] is a paid agitator and we are going to get to the bottom of it.”

Epps insisted on the call with the FBI that he “kind of put his arm around” Samsel to “try to calm him down. If true, it would have been a sudden deviation from the mission he had been on for hours, walking the streets of DC inciting people to break the law.

“Ray Epps never whispered in my ear to ‘calm down,’” Samsel shot back. “What he said was, ‘Don’t pull you’ve got to push. I got people, or wait until more people. That’s exactly what he said. I’ve challenged the government to this, and I said, ‘Well, why don’t you have me take a polygraph test and have Ray Epps take a polygraph test.’

“They don’t want him to take a polygraph test because he’s lying. He’s lying about so, so much.”

***Please support political prisoner Ryan Samsel’s legal defense here. ***

The former Marine at the center of the Capitol attack’s most persistent conspiracy theories and his wife Robyn conspicuously insisted he went to DC to “calm them down” a combined 16 times on the unredacted 27-minute call.

The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment provides that “in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right … to be confronted with the witnesses against him” at trial. Generally, the right is to have a face-to-face confrontation with witnesses who are offering testimonial evidence against the accused in the form of cross-examination during a trial.

But US district federal judges have trashed the US Constitution under the installed Biden regime. Ryan Samsel has never had the opportunity to face his accuser.

Revolver News’ Darrin Beattie called attention to Epp’s Jan. 5 alibi attending.

“He just, ‘Went to D.C. to defend Trump and to attend the speech on a last-minute thing with his son,’ to attend Trump’s speech on election fraud. The only thing is, Epps didn’t attend the speech,” Beattie noted on Tucker Carlson’s former Fox News broadcast before Carlson was fired from the network allegedly for exposing the fedsurrection.  

“Epps travels all the way from Arizona to DC, this ‘big Trump supporter,’ and he doesn’t even attend the speech,” Beattie continued. “Instead, he fixates on this bizarre mission to get everyone to go into the Capitol.” 

As police sprayed the crowd with deadly CS gas and flash grenades, Epps boasted to his nephew in a  2:12 pm text message on Jan. 6 that he, “Orchestrated it.”

In July 2021, the FBI removed Epps from its Most Wanted List.

Last Sept., Epps pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds. On Jan. 9, Epps was sentenced to a year of probation, ordered to pay $500 in restitution and to serve 100 hours of community service for his role in the riot.

“Jan. 6 violence was not generated by the FBI; it was generated by people like me who supported President Trump and listened to his lies,” Epps told Chief Judge James Boasberg at his sentencing.

A self-proclaimed former Trump supporter, Epps told Judge Boasberg he now “knows Joe Biden won the election and said he underwent a “life-changing reality shift” when the “Trump cult” turned on him and his wife and hopes to help others “learn the truth” of the 2020 election results.

Prosecutors argued several “distinctive and compelling mitigating factors” set Epps’s case apart from other rioters’ cases, noting Epps turned himself in two days after the riot and attempted to de-escalate conflict between law enforcement and rioters at least five times that day.

Epps’s sentencing was underway at the same time Trump was in the same D.C. federal courthouse. Trump’s legal team was arguing before a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel that his federal election interference case should be dismissed because he was acting in his official capacity as president. 

Epps gets no prison time.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has charged Trump with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, one count of obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, one count of conspiracy against rights in Washington, DC for contesting the most ostensibly rigged election in US history. 

In the 39 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,385 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol.

While Epps walks scot-free, Samsel was convicted of eight eight felony counts for joining the crowd in pushing over flimsy bike racks surrounding the Capitol grounds at the start of the riot, carrying a cop who was toppled over by the protesters pushing the bike racks to safety, providing medical aid to another protester who police shot in the face, protecting the wounded demonstrator from arrest and then getting shot at by police. Samsel, himself, was almost shot in the face by police during the Capitol riot. In footage of the police lacing the crowd with deadly less-than-lethal munitions, an explosion visibly ignites inches away from Samsel’s head and he sustains the scars on his ear from the injury. 

***Please support political prisoner Ryan Samsel’s legal defense here. ***

The Pennsylvania barber and former MMA fighter questions why Ray Epps continues to be given special treatment by the government when January 6 has destroyed his life.

FBI agents apprehended Samsel with lasers of their AR15s pointed at his head while raiding his Pennsylvania home on January 29, 2021. Over the past three and half years in pretrial incarceration, Samsel has been tortured and brain injured from beatdowns by federal agents, and repeatedly denied life-saving surgery. In one instance, he was strapped in a four-point restraint chair backward and ruthlessly beaten as officers spat his face calling him “white supremacist” and “domestic terrorist.” Currently detained in MDC Brooklyn, the same jail system where Jefferey Epstein allegedly killed himself, Samsel has been transferred to 19 different correctional facilities 28 times over the past three years.”

“I want to challenge the government, even if they may retaliate and assault me for exposing the truth like they usually do —  you can’t fear, folks. I’m curious as to why I am being treated like this, and guys like Ray Epps are in the comfort of their homes?”

Samsel provided TGP his medical records substantiating his claims about being repeatedly assaulted, once almost killed by guards in the DC gulag after refusing to cooperate with authorities in a plea agreement, and was nearly beaten to death in Pennsylvania while incarcerated after guards discovered he was surviving on food J6 political prisoner Zachary Rehl managed to “fish” him through the toilet when he was being starved. 

“These pictures were taken about three weeks after I was assaulted in the DC jail. Even my hands were bruised, because they were punching my hands, and punching my hands until my hands were literally the color black. Look at the difference between how I am treated, and some of these other guys who went to trial and refused to plea,” Samsel said. “Why are guys like Ray Epps being treated perfectly fine?”

“This is selective prosecution. Epps is a free man with his family at home when I’ve been constantly moved to dozens of different jails – I’ve been in New York; Ive been in Philly, I’ve been in Virginia, moved everywhere and each place I’ve gone I’ve been extremely mistreated. Still to this day I haven’t gotten any medical treatment. I put God first. If they want to take my life, all they can do is destroy my body. I want to take care of it as best I can, but if they want to kill it, you can have it. Come get it. The soul — you can’t destroy my soul.”

WATCH: 

In an April 2021 in-person interview with the FBI, Epp continues to bureau, even contradicting what he told the bureau on Jan. 8.

Stay tuned.

***Please support political prisoner Ryan Samsel’s legal defense here. ***

The post UNMASKED: J6 Political Prisoner Ryan Samsel Exposes James Ray Epps Breaking Federal Law In Leaked FBI Call: ‘We Were Listening To The, Uh, Speech’ [Part 2] appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

A lesser man staring down a criminal conviction, even on utterly bogus charges, might break under the stress of the event, or succumb to doubt and despair.  But Donald Trump, as the saying goes, is made of sterner stuff.  This stuff was readily on display Thursday morning in Midtown when he was greeted to a hero’s welcome before a litany of construction workers, representing the Steamfitters Union 638.  Close to a thousand union workers, many of them still registered Democrats, arrived at the crack of dawn – before the President’s scheduled court proceeding – to serenade the President with a traditional New York homecoming.

What was especially remarkable about the event, which was spearheaded by the New York Young Republican Club, was not so much the enthusiasm among this traditionally Left-leaning voter bloc.  Nor even was the fact that legions of them braved unseasonably chilly temperatures to come out at the crack of dawn, deep in the belly of the beast of liberal Manhattan, to showcase their support for President Trump (of note: their leader, Bob Bartels, said that “President Trump is leading Joe Biden three to one” of their 9,000-member union).

Nay, what was truly remarkable about the largely impromptu meetup was how organic it felt, and how strong President Trump’s support remains, even as he is hamstrung by an illegitimate court proceeding that in large part is preventing him from campaigning in this crucial election year in more important battleground states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Georgia.  Nevertheless, only Donald Trump can make a tour de force out of what was really just a cobbled together side act for a campaign that has been slowed down by a weaponized justice system.  Even so, the turnout, media presence, and optics of the union workers event would be envied by many other presidential campaigns (especially Joe Biden) — which would consider an event of this notoriety a main act.

Indeed, since his criminal trial began in New York City, President Trump has utilized the opportunity to experiment with more grassroots-style campaigning methods – making lemonade out of lemons.  Last week he strode into a Bodega in Spanish Harlem, to tremendous acclaim, in a neighborhood that was mostly Hispanic and Democratic-leaning.  This week he met with Union Workers in the heart of Manhattan.  In the coming weeks, he has teased rallies in the South Bronx and Madison Square Garden (and perhaps other locations in New York, too), and will also be campaigning in neighboring New Jersey, where he is already scheduled to appear for a May 11th rally in Wildwood.  New Jersey, much like New York, is another deep blue state.  And yet, several reputable polls have placed him within a 5-point reach of Biden there, which is even closer than New York, where the President has also significantly narrowed the gap to within single digits in recent months.

In fact, President Trump has been so successful with these less structured campaign events that some pundits have characterized them as more powerful, and effective, methods of outreach than even his now world-famous rallies, which have become a staple of the 45th President’s political brand.  However, by taking his message directly to the people, particularly in areas that have suffered true blight at the hand of the Biden regime’s destructive policies – whether through their unwillingness to crack down on crime, or their refusal to manage the border crisis, or their stripping away Americans’ right to defend themselves with a firearm – the message has been a powerful one, activating voter blocs in the process that would otherwise not normally vote for a Republican presidential candidate.

The bottom line is that virtually all Americans are worse – far worse – now than they were four years ago when President Trump was still in office, even during the height of covid.  Our economy has been brought to a crawl, weighed down by lingering inflation (which has almost completely eroded the value of the dollar), stagnant wages, enervated supply chains, mediocre growth, crushing debt, and offshoring of industry.

Our border crisis has reached a catastrophic level: illegals flood cities like New York like never before, and government officials are clueless about how to handle it, afraid of being politically incorrect and doing what is necessary – a wholesale deportation – to undo the great damage wrought to our society by the Biden Regime’s suicidal policies.

Our system of justice has been weaponized beyond repair – and Americans feel these effects viscerally, not just vicariously through the political persecution of Donald Trump.  Faithful Catholics are being added to FBI lists, while parents who dare so criticize woke public school curricula are treated as domestic terrorists by the Biden Regime’s Department of Injustice — and imposed heavy-handed legal penalties.

Legions of January 6th defendants, whom President Trump rightly terms “political hostages” — are being held in detention, so many of their due process rights denied without even being charged with a crime.  Countless more face lengthy prison sentences, all for committing at worst a misdemeanor.  They languish in solitary confinement, at the directive of our government, for sometimes months on end in inhumane conditions that we would be ashamed to keep ISIS terrorists or MS-13 gang members, whose crimes cannot even be placed in the same universe as those Americans who peacefully demonstrated at the Capitol on January 6th, 2021.

For these reasons, and many more, once insurmountable Democratic havens like New York and New Jersey are beginning to show cracks.  The blue wall that President Trump pierced in the Midwest in 2016 is beginning to trickle over to the northeast, and the west, and other regions of the country that Democrats in the not-too-distant past once retained a formidable grip on.  President Trump’s gains are bolstered by his uncanny appeal to working class people, legacy Americans who do not want their fundamental liberties and rights denied by their government – or their way of life outsourced to China, South America, or the Middle East.

The invasion at our southern border is emblematic of a much larger invasion – and subversion – to our national identity, being carried out with impunity by a political elite that includes members of both party establishments, which remains utterly and dogmatically committed to selling America out to the world.  President Trump offers the only antidote to preserve our time-honored traditions, those things that made America special and unique for over two centuries, but now is on the precipice of being lost forever – notwithstanding a dramatic course correction.

That course correction can only be accomplished through the movement President Trump first launched in 2016, when he descended the fateful Trump Tower escalator.  Make America Great Again gave the President two electoral victories in 2016 and 2020 and will do so again – with even more zeal this time around – because the stakes are that much higher, and millions more Americans have been awakened — and galvanized — to these harsh realities, which affect each and every one of us – regardless of race, religion, creed, or ideology.

It is for this reason, ultimately, that best explains why President Trump has catapulted in the polls and will carry this momentum all the way to victory come November, so long as we the people do our part to help get him there.

The post New York Is Trump Country appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

The White House has introduced a special routine for when Joe Biden departs and returns to the White House on the Marine One helicopter.

According to a report from Axios, advisors to the geriatric president are increasingly concerned that his inability to walk properly is highlighting his old age and declining mental condition.

The outlet reports:

President Biden has introduced a change to his White House departure and return routine. Instead of walking across the South Lawn to and from Marine One by himself, he’s now often surrounded by aides.

With aides usually walking between Biden and journalists’ camera position outside the White House, the visual effect is to draw less attention to the 81-year-old’s halting and stiff gait. Some Biden advisers have told Axios they’re concerned that videos of Biden walking and shuffling alone — especially across the grass — have highlighted his age.

Can’t Make It Up: The President of the United States has been assigned “walkers.”

You heard that right. The man that has access to nuke codes now requires aides to escort him across a lawn.

These handlers now walk between Biden and the pool cameras, “to draw less attention to… pic.twitter.com/RO81Dvufb6

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) April 26, 2024

Meanwhile, the White House has also “taken steps” to prevent the 81-year-old from falling over:

The White House also has taken steps to prevent the president from tripping, as he did last summer on a stage at the Air Force Academy. Biden increasingly has worn shoes with extra support, including a pair of black Hoka sneakers. His doctor has disclosed that the president suffers from “spinal arthritis” and “mild sensory peripheral neuropathy of the feet” which has contributed to his stiff gait while walking.

Biden resisted taking steps to account for his age early in his presidency, but has shifted gears recently. Besides the different footwear, he now enters Air Force One on a lower level, taking shorter stairs than the ones used on his early trips to climb to the plane’s cabin. Biden also continues to do physical therapy and stretching exercises most days.

Since seizing office back in 2021, Biden has repeatedly tripped, stumbled and outright fallen over while on official duties. Such incidents underline both his declining physical and mental health, amid a growing body of evidence that he is suffering from dementia or some other degenerative illness.

The post REPORT: White House Aides Prohibit Biden From Walking Solo, Devise Special ‘Routine’ to Stop Him from Falling Over appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

A lot is written every single day about how overpowered the Ukrainians are in their fight against the ever-strengthening Russian Federation forces.

But now, the most pressing issue of the absolute lack of manpower by the Kiev regime is coming to the forefront of public opinion.

About a million military-age males have fled the Ukrainian territory seeking to avoid military service which has become in many ways a death sentence.

Not only that, but as much as 100 thousand troops have reportedly deserted their positions.

Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu has just stated that Kiev’s military losses have topped half a million troops.

In this context, Ukraine has started to resort to radical moves, suspending consular services for military-age male citizens abroad.

Read more:

THE HUNT FOR DRAFT DODGERS: Ukraine Consulates Abroad Cease Providing Services for Military-Aged Men

The reaction came instantly: huge crowds of men could be seen gathering outside the Ukrainian passport service in Warsaw.

They are protesting the suspension of consular services – including the issuance of passports – for Ukrainian men of conscription age abroad.

Kyiv Post reported:

“The suspension was introduced yesterday after Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said services would be suspended until it introduces new procedures to comply with the new mobilization law, signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 16, limiting consular services for Ukrainian men aged 18-60 abroad without military registration

Videos are circulating on social media of huge crowds of Ukrainian men – 300 according to some sources – gathering outside a passport service to voice their dissent. Some said they would stay as long as it takes to receive their passports.”

Ukrainian Telegram channels report that Polish police took no action.

The only documents being issued are for them to return home.

They will not be very well received, if Minister Kuleba’s words are any indication.

“’How it looks now: a man of conscription age went abroad, showed his state that he does not care about its survival, and then comes and wants to receive services from this state’, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on the social network X (formerly known as Twitter) yesterday.

‘If anyone believes that while someone is fighting far away at the front line and risking his or her life for this state, someone else is staying abroad but receiving services from this state, then this is not how it works’.”

Poland, for its part, seems overly eager to send those young men to the meat grinder.

Polish defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said his country is ready to ‘help Ukraine to get military-age males to return and help their home country in fighting in the war against Russia’.

Those Ukrainian refugees who are subject to military service ‘could’ go back to fulfill their civic obligation, Kosiniak-Kamysz told Polish television.

Reuters reported:

“‘I think many Poles are outraged when they see young Ukrainian men in hotels and cafes, and they hear how much effort we have to make to help Ukraine’, he said, without giving any details on how Poland will help.

Some 4.3 million Ukrainians are living in European Union countries as of January, 2024, of whom about 860,000 are adult men, the Eurostat database estimates. Poland has granted temporary protection status to 950,000 Ukrainians, the second-largest number after Germany.

‘Any support is possible’, Kosiniak-Kamysz said about how Poland would respond if Kyiv asked for help in bringing home those who may lose their right to stay in Poland once their passports expire.”

The post Ukrainian Expats in Warsaw Protest Lack of Consular Services – Poland Considers Forcibly Sending The Draft Dodgers Back to the Meat Grinder appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

The University of Southern California has announced it will cancel its main graduation ceremony over security concerns.

In recent weeks, pro-Palestine protests have erupted all over USC’s campus, causing significant security risks on campus.

Many of the protests have been organized by USC Divest from Death Coalition, an organization that is demanding USC to cut financial ties with Israel.

After canceling the graduation ceremony, USC wrote to students, “We understand that this is disappointing; however, we are adding many new activities and celebrations to make this commencement academically meaningful, memorable, and uniquely USC.”

The protests on USC’s campus grew larger last week after USC decided to inform valedictorian Asna Tabassum that she would not be allowed to deliver a speech at graduation, citing potential campus security risks.

Tabassum believes she was nixed from delivering the speech due to her vocal support of Palestinians in Gaza.

After facing scrutiny over its decision to cancel its valedictorian speech – and one day after more than 90 people were arrested at a Pro-Palestinian protest on campus – USC is canceling its main graduation ceremony that had been planned for May 10. https://t.co/HMRrLFPfp3 pic.twitter.com/lr5XIrOrLo

— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) April 25, 2024

Per The Asscoiated Press:

The University of Southern California canceled its main stage graduation ceremony Thursday as college officials across the U.S. worried that ongoing campus protests against the Israel-Hamas war could disrupt May commencement ceremonies.

Some universities called in police to break up the demonstrations, resulting in ugly scuffles and dozens of arrests, while others appeared content to wait out student protests as the final days of the semester ticked down.

USC announced the cancellation of the May 10 ceremony a day after more than 90 protesters were arrested on campus. The university says it will still host dozens of commencement events, including all the traditional individual school commencement ceremonies where students cross a stage and receive their diplomas.

Tensions were already high after the university canceled a planned commencement speech by the school’s pro-Palestinian valedictorian, citing safety concerns.

Over 90 protesters were arrested just one day before USC announced the cancellation of the graduation ceremony.

WATCH:

#BREAKING: The University of Southern California (USC) has CANCELLED their commencement ceremony for graduates, citing “safety concerns.”

This is due to the widespread pro-Palestine protests on campus.

60,000 people traditionally attend the event. pic.twitter.com/x77wtqyVqe

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 25, 2024

The post USC Cancels Graduation Ceremony After Facing Security Concerns Over Pro-Palestinian Protests appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Two young women are driving towards the Alabama state line. The driver is seeking an abortion, which is illegal in the state of Alabama. In the passenger seat, her friend encourages her that she will not get caught, since the two are almost out of the state. Less than a mile from the border, however, blue lights flash them over, and a law enforcement officer walks up to the car with a pregnancy test. 

This is not a true story: It is a fever dream of an advertisement campaign launched in the state of Alabama this week by California’s Gov. Gavin Newson. In a stunning instance of intrastate political interference, Newsom has launched similar campaigns in Arizona and Tennessee, and is targeting Alabama specifically while state lawmakers weigh a bill that would penalize the act of helping a woman travel out of state to receive an abortion. Newsom might be playing a long game for the Oval Office—and this move would certainly suggest that—but his state also stands to benefit from abortion tourism, especially from neighboring Arizona. All this raises the question of whether there are any limits on the governor of one state influencing the politics of another.

It is hard not to see a bigger picture forming here, one in which leaving abortion decisions to the states to decide sounds increasingly impossible. Just this week, the Biden administration issued a new rule expanding the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to hide abortion medical records from law enforcement investigations. This is not merely a strategic move for the Biden reelection campaign but also unavoidably hampers pro-life wins at the state level. As the politics of abortion become increasingly contentious, and January feels like a long time to wait for making substantial moves, the political left is seizing power wherever it can be found to take this debate to the national stage, where they are confident the pro-death strongarm will prevail.

The HIPAA expansion means that women who receive abortions in states where abortions are illegal are now effectively immune to that state’s efforts to enforce its own law. While private medical information has been protected under most circumstances since HIPAA was created, it was also always available to law enforcement in special cases, such as in a criminal investigation. Now, by executive declaration, any information about an abortion is exempt from disclosure, even in criminal cases, making it practically impossible to prove an illegal abortion has occurred. Of course, national rules trump local laws, meaning states that do ban abortion are powerless to counteract the Biden administration’s new rule. The only recourse is through the presidency or federal law. 

This is one reason why national legislation is inevitable: The left is already making national moves. Thus, the question is not whether abortion will be regulated nationally, but who will do the regulating: Will the right answer these moves? So far, Republican leaders seem to prefer running from the playing field, as Trump did in claiming abortion should be left to the states to decide, for fear of harming Republicans’ chances in November. And fair enough: Most polling on abortion regulation is not in Republicans’ favor. Meanwhile, the left is unafraid to make national abortion legislation a key goal. Some have even gone so far as to say that “any candidate who doesn’t outright promise to protect abortion rights at a federal level with proactive legislation has no regard for ‘the will of the people.’” 

The story doesn’t have to end there, however. Forty Days for Life’s Shawn Carney recently compared the pro-life movement to the gay rights movement, the latter of which forced a mind-boggling pendulum swing from obscene fringe to corporate-backed ascendancy in the span of some 10 years: “After losing referendum after referendum, same-sex marriage advocates didn’t go away; they went for broke. Just three years after winning their first referendum, they achieved total victory on June 26, 2015 when the Supreme Court—wrongly in my opinion—redefined marriage for all 50 states with Obergefell.” In other words, the appearance of an uphill battle does not necessitate a loss, and most definitely does not preclude fighting back harder. Needless to say, this is not how the Republican Party has traditionally operated, but just as painfully obvious are the party’s results, which are further from the target today than ever. 

Abortion tourism seems poised to force the question before Republicans are ready to answer. The practice has opened a load of state sovereignty questions which demand a higher authority to resolve. Does a state have a right to ban its residents from leaving? Can another state be permitted to interfere? Normally, a medical practitioner has to seek additional licensing to work in another state, but California is already working to offer reciprocity for Arizona OBGYNs who cross into the Golden State to perform abortions, incentivizing an exodus of doctors from the desert. Can Arizona protect itself, or the federal government protect Arizona, from such predatory behavior by neighboring states? These are questions for constitutional scholars, but they are being answered in real time by real political actors who care little for parchment barriers. 

The “New Right” has made waves by claiming the mechanisms of the state may and should be used for the common good. Here is an issue where such power may be used without embarrassment.

The post Abortion Tourism Is the Next Frontier  appeared first on The American Conservative.