Month: April 2025

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi; Rep. Anna Paulina Luna

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), chairwoman of the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, has intensified her demands for Attorney General Pam Bondi to release the long-awaited Jeffrey Epstein client list, citing the recent deaths of two victims and a growing erosion of public trust in the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The fiery congresswoman took to X on Monday, writing:

“2 Epstein victims are now dead. Every day the DOJ delays releasing the Epstein client list, public trust erodes & more lives are put at risk. I am calling on the DOJ and @AGPamBondi to act immediately — release the files. The American people deserve the truth.”

2 Epstein victims are now dead.

Every day the DOJ delays releasing the Epstein client list, public trust erodes & more lives are put at risk.

I am calling on the DOJ and @AGPamBondi to act immediately — release the files. The American people deserve the truth.

— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) April 28, 2025

Her urgent call follows the shocking and suspicious death of Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s most high-profile accusers.

Luna’s latest push follows months of frustration with the DOJ’s apparent stonewalling on the release of critical documents related to Epstein’s infamous sex trafficking network.

As chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee’s Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, Luna has been relentless in her pursuit of transparency, demanding not only the Epstein files but also records related to the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Gateway Pundit has previously reported on Luna’s efforts to hold Bondi accountable.

On February 25, 2025, TGP detailed Luna’s public confrontation with the Attorney General, noting that Luna had sent letters to the DOJ on February 11 and 19, requesting updates on the declassification process.

The DOJ’s failure to respond prompted Luna to take her grievances to X, where she wrote, “On Feb 11 & Feb 19, House Oversight sent a letter to the DOJ asking for status on releasing the Epstein files as well as JFK etc. The DOJ has not responded. Reaching out on X because we can’t seem to get a response from the AG. AG Pam Bondi, what is the status of the documents? These documents were ordered to be declassified.”

On Feb 11 & Feb 19, house oversight sent a letter to the DOJ asking for status on releasing the Epstein files as well as JFK etc.

The DOJ has not responded.

Reaching out on X because we can’t seem to get a response from the AG.@AGPamBondi what is the status of the…

— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) February 25, 2025

Bondi has repeatedly claimed she is reviewing the Epstein files, stating on Fox News that the documents are “sitting on my desk right now” and that their release is a directive from President Trump.

However, her promises have yet to materialize into the full disclosure demanded by Luna and her allies.

The Gateway Pundit reported that Bondi’s initial release was met with backlash, particularly after conservative influencers received binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1,” which contained little new information.

Luna clarified that neither she nor her task force had been consulted on the release.

The documents, consisting primarily of Epstein’s address book, fell short of the comprehensive client list demanded by lawmakers and the public.

Luna expressed her frustration on X, stating, “I nor the task force were given or reviewed the Epstein documents being released today… A NY Post story just revealed that the documents will simply be Epstein’s phonebook. THIS IS NOT WHAT WE OR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ASKED FOR and a complete disappointment. GET US THE INFORMATION WE ASKED FOR!”

https://t.co/Dvv71Fo5TG

— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) February 27, 2025

In March, during an interview with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on OANN, Luna announced that she is not confident about the Epstein client list release.

Gaetz asked her point-blank:

“Are you confident, as you sit here now, that there will be an Epstein client list that the American people will see?”

Luna’s response:

“I’m not confident on the Epstein client list because I haven’t had the briefing yet from the Department of Justice. I’ll know more tomorrow on that. But based on what I’m hearing from the attorney general, she keeps saying that she is going to release something, so I’m going to take her at her word for that. Now, whether that something is a full list, we have asked for the full list. We have asked for all the documentation. We are pushing for maximum transparency. But again, we do not hold declassification authority. That is up to the attorney general.”

The post Rep. Anna Paulina Luna Turns Up the Heat on AG Pam Bondi — Demands Immediate Release of Epstein Client List Amid Deaths of Two Victims and Dwindling Public Trust appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

President Donald Trump’s administration could spend four years just rounding up awful people.

On Wednesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Salt Lake City announced they had arrested a 24-year-old Somali man, Jibril Ali Ahmed, reportedly a Bloods gang member living in Murray, Utah.

Ahmed had been convicted of attempted murder — along with several other charges — after shooting at a store clerk, KTVU-TV reported.

ICE Salt Lake City posted about the arrest Wednesday on the social media platform X with a photo of Ahmed, reporting that he had been convicted of attempted murder, possession of a dangerous weapon, and rioting.

ICE Salt Lake City arrested Bloods gang member Jibril Ali Ahmed, 24, of Somalia living in Murray, UT. He was convicted of attempted murder, poss/dangerous weapon/restricted person, rioting. He shot at a convenience store clerk in 2021 after his associate’s bank card was declined. pic.twitter.com/lfiFBOpWdb

— ICE Salt Lake City (@EROSaltLakeCity) April 23, 2025

In April 2021, KUTV reported on the incident, which took place at a 7-Eleven in Millcreek, Utah.

Ahmed and a companion tried to purchase several items, but his friend’s card was declined, according to the news outlet.

After arguing with the clerk for several minutes, Ahmed pulled a handgun out of his waistband and fired, aiming at the store clerk’s head.

The clerk ducked and scrambled for cover as Ahmed continued shooting, firing a total of six shots. Fortunately for the clerk, every shot missed.

Then the two fled the store.

Man ‘high on molly’ shoots at, misses 7-Eleven clerk 6 times after friend’s card declined, that was the headline in 2021. Today, ICE Salt Lake City arrested Bloods gang member Jibril Ali Ahmed, 24, of Somalia living in Murray, UT. He was convicted of attempted murder,… pic.twitter.com/NBdPgPn5MH

— Heidi Hatch KUTV (@tvheidihatch) April 23, 2025

“Charging documents state that when police arrived, they found one of the store’s doors ‘heavily damaged from gunfire,’ several shell casings inside the store, and ‘bullet holes around the front clerk counter.’ Seven shell casings were recovered, the charges state,” according to a report at the time by Deseret News.

Police viewed surveillance recordings and later traced the getaway vehicle, the News reported.

They eventually located Ahmed, who “said he was high [on] ‘molly’ [a drug also known as ecstasy or MDMA] and didn’t know what he was thinking,” according to KUTV.

He “kept asking if the victim was still alive and uninjured” and “admitted to stealing the handgun from a friend.”

Now in the custody of ICE, hopefully Ahmed will see swift deportation, but why is this just happening now?

The answer is former President Joe Biden.

There’ s no clear indication how long this guy had been in the United States before the 2021 crime, but Biden’s administration had four years in which they could have booted him. Instead, they occupied themselves with ushering in tens of thousands just like Ahmed every month Sleepy Joe was in office.

And after this insanely violent 2021 crime, there’s no excuse for the Biden administration not to have acted to expedite his exit from this country. Instead, Biden’s officials were intent on tying the hands of immigration officials.

If there is any lasting legacy of the Biden administration, it is his reprehensible America-last lax immigration policy.

Biden, along with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and former Vice President Kamala Harris — also the former border czar, much as she prefers to deny it — did not just fail to protect the border.

They practically failed to acknowledge that a border exists.

By the grace of God, every shot Ahmed fired missed the store clerk.

Numerous dead Americans, like Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungaray, cannot say the same.

Border Czar Tom Homan and ICE are doing dangerous work, and the thanks he gets includes the scorn and rage of America-last leftist mobs who put criminals first.

Homan, ICE, and current DHS Secretary Kristi Noem should know that millions of us are with them for this work.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The post Meet the Insanely Dangerous Somali Biden Let Free in Utah – Now Jailed, Thanks to Trump appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

The hallowed National Crypt Church (James Rose, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception)

In these uncertain times regarding the direction of the Catholic Church, we must remember that no shift in papal politics should alter our faith in the New and Eternal Covenant.

This Easter, America’s Catholic Church, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, in Washington, DC, held a standing-room only Mass for worshipers to celebrate the holiest day on the Christian calendar, the Easter Vigil.

At 8:00 pm on Saturday, April 19, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception sealed its Holy Doors, as the Service of Light began with over 3500 worshipers celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Inside the pitch-black Great Upper Church, a vast clerical procession lit the magnificently bright Paschal Candle, dispelling the darkness of eternal death.

“On this most sacred night, our Lord Jesus Christ passed over from death to life. Christ, yesterday, and today, the beginning, and the end – all the time belongs to Him, and all the ages. The light of Christ, rising in glory, dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds,” His Eminence, Cardinal Christophe Pierre said.

Next, the ministers transferred the fire of Eternal Life to the faithful – lighting thousands of handheld candles from the great Paschal Candle flame.

Here is an astounding image of the Great Upper Church, once the Holy Assembly became furnished with the sacred fire of Eternal Life.

Screen Image/Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Watch the indescribably holy Service of Light that begins Easter Vigil Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, here.

Over the span of 2.5 hours, the Easter Vigil proceeded with many sacred, traditional hymns sung only on Easter – punctuated by an uplifting homily, preached by His Eminence, Cardinal Christophe Pierre.

Finally, a Holy Eucharist was received by over 3500 worshipers.

At the conclusion of the Mass, the faithful remained to worship within the 82 chapels dedicated to the blessed virgin Mary inside the Basilica, the largest Catholic church in North America.

After first breaking ground in 1920, the Basilica finally completed its construction in 2017. The Basilica now stands among the ten largest Catholic churches in the world.

Here are TGP’s exclusive images of the breathtaking frescos adorning the ceilings of the Basilica’s Great Upper Church.

James Rose, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

We must now pray for an increased return to grace for the Catholic Church globally, while remembering, most essentially, that the teachings of Jesus Christ remain accessible to us in every waking moment.

The post Inside America’s Catholic Church – Exclusive Look at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC, Ahead of Next Week’s Papal Conclave appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

In a recent presidential statement, Donald Trump avoided the phrase “Armenian genocide” in what might be considered an olive branch towards a renewed bilateral relationship with a changed Turkey. April 24, Armenian Remembrance Day, often occasions a presidential message, but traditionally avoids incendiary terms. 

“Today we commemorate the Meds Yeghern, and honor the memories of those wonderful souls who suffered in one of the worst disasters of the 20th Century,” the statement read. “One and a half million Armenians were exiled and marched to their deaths in the final years of the Ottoman Empire. On this Day of Remembrance, we again join the Great Armenian Community in America, and around the World, in mourning the many lives that were lost.” 

This is different from President Joe Biden’s statement, which reflected his policy of viewing the world through the binary lens of democracy and autocracy. His statement started, “Today, we pause to remember the lives lost during the Meds Yeghern—the Armenian genocide—and renew our pledge to never forget.”

This isn’t the first time Trump has gestured towards his “good friend” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Trump waxed lyrical about the Turkish president recently while sitting next to the visiting Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who was in Washington, DC to lobby against selling F-35s to Turkey and against tariffs on Israel, as well to promote a joint strike on the Iranian nuclear program. “Congratulations, you’ve done what nobody’s been able to do in 2,000 years. You’ve taken over Syria with different names, but same thing. I said, you’ve taken it over. He’s taken it over through surrogates,” Trump said.

As I have written in these pages, there is an interesting historical parallel here, and the rise of Turkey and the chain reaction that development has set off in the greater Middle East is one worthy of chronicling. Rarely in international relations do we get to see a former great power reverse long-term decline and gain influence at such an accelerated pace that it becomes the top contender for regional preponderance. Trump instinctively seems to recognize that reality, and has quietly preferred a new equilibrium in the region; this naturally might realign regional forces to the consternation of others. 

Some of it might be attributed to the president’s instinctive realism and desire to deal with strong rulers, with whom long-term alignments can be arranged without worries about public passions and political volatility. But, squint a little, and one might be able to catch the first glimpses of an interesting balance of power in the making. 

The Turkish question will continue to vex Europe, especially post-American retrenchment. Turkey is too big and too important geographically to keep out of European balance. It shows a growing appetite to provide order, to push for political settlements and new equilibria in the historic lands it ruled for centuries.

There is no real hegemonic challenge to the U.S.; even China is surrounded by powerful states that are openly hostile to the idea of a Chinese order. (Chinese conduct also doesn’t make it easy to ally with her, as Britain is finding out.) American problems are internal, from trade deficits, to inequality, to a budding oligarchy and a notoriously pseudo-intellectual elite, to imperial overstretch abroad, and the potential collapse of the meritocratic, race-neutral Trump coalition due to growing racial animosity from certain segments of the coalition. But like all internal problems, they can be solved with prudent politics, a unifying optimistic story, and the imposition of stern order on those who attempt to harm this coalition. But Europe is in a different spot. Her problems are structural, based on history and geography.

The Indian political realist Kautilya, in his Mandala theory, coined the concept of enemy’s enemy, which proposed that immediate neighbors are the enemies of the state, and that any prudent sovereign should therefore consider that the state bordering the other side of a neighboring state can be an ally. Kautilya’s Arthashastra, written around a hundred years after Thucydides, was translated to English and in something of a historic irony essentially led to the “divide and rule” strategy of the British in India. It is unlikely that Trump has read any of it, but characteristically, he has perhaps grasped—Kautilya might say, as a prudent sovereign—the historic importance of Turkey in his bid to burden-shift to Europe, while keeping the continent on some form of a leash to dissuade it from uniting politically.  

In fact, one of the first splits after (even a hypothetical) American retrenchment is already emerging on the question of Turkey and how to fit her into the European balance: as a historic balancer to Russia and a glue in Western-Islamic alliance against any concentrated Eastern power center, or a neo-Ottoman empire with predatory designs over Armenia, Syria, Cyprus, and Greece? Keeping Turkey out of Europe would result in a massive rising enemy just outside the frontiers, and accepting it would only encourage internal tensions and centrifugal forces within the European Union.

Trump understands that “Europe,” despite decades of supranational narrative building, is not a singular coherent political and strategic entity bound by one culture and language. The chances are that, without the Pax Americana, the EU will split along the standard historic divisions. This is not to say that a return of historic animosity and war in the old continent is desirable, and, for what it is worth, a compromise burden-sharing force posture is already available. But the point remains the same. America will be just fine, but it is better to have individual good bilateral relations with the major powers of the globe, including Russia and Turkey, as in a concert of great powers, than to have the crusading foreign policy of a legion of democracy versus autocracies. The latter encourages reckless and free-riding smaller allies to pursue potentially dangerous utopian aims. The ancients, both Thucydides and Kautilya, would perhaps approve of this realism.

The post Turkey and Trump’s Balance-of-Power Instincts appeared first on The American Conservative.

The late Robert Novak is often credited with saying, “God put the Republican Party on Earth to cut taxes. If they don’t do that, they have no useful function.”

The simple reading of Novak’s witticism is that tax cuts are and always will be the GOP’s top priority. A more cynical reader, however, might syllogistically conclude the GOP isn’t good for much else.

President Donald Trump found this out the hard way in his first term. Surely, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provided real tax relief for American families, incentivized real investment, and led to real GDP growth for the U.S. economy. Trump, McConnell, and others had to spend real political capital to get it done. And yet, the TCJA, signed into law in December 2017, was also a way for the GOP to recover after Obamacare repeal failed in July of that year.

Congress must again pass Trump’s agenda through the budget reconciliation process, but it is no longer 2017. Trump is back with a much larger and more defined mandate and much more political capital (though he spent not a little of it on Liberation Day and what has ensued). Immigration and inflation were the animating issues of the 2024 campaign, and Trump gave voters a simple solution to these problems: deport and drill. Tax cuts were promised, too, but they played a supporting role. Now, however, the tax cuts have taken center stage, and they remain the largest risk in delaying, if not derailing, the rest of Trump’s agenda.

Before Congress left for Easter break, they managed to pass the budget resolution that provides instructions for committees as they dive into the nitty-gritty of the “one big, beautiful bill.”

Some elements of the reconciliation package are straightforward and deliver on Trump’s chief promises. For example, Congress has authorized up to $175 billion for increased border funding through the reconciliation process—more funding through the appropriations process will follow.

Congress is set to return to Capitol Hill on Monday, where Speaker Mike Johnson has set an aggressive timeline to bring the reconciliation package to the floor. The House and Senate will be in session for four weeks before their Memorial Day break, and Johnson wants to pass the package the week of May 19.

Already the House’s budget reconciliation process has suffered delays. In early January, Johnson was saying he wanted reconciliation done and dusted by late April. By February, it was early May. It’s no surprise, then, that House and Senate sources have cast serious doubt on Johnson’s latest deadline, with rumors percolating in the media that July 4 or August recess seems more likely.

How much further could Johnson’s deadline be extended, now that Congress is having the hard conversations in which members find out exactly what they aren’t getting?

The Treasury Department might provide an answer to that question next week. The Treasury Department is expected to give Congress its estimated “X date,” the day when the government will exhaust its ability to borrow, as tax receipts become known.

It could also be possible the rumored “real” deadlines could be moved up.

Both the House and Senate have included instructions to address the debt limit. The House version would raise the debt ceiling by $4 trillion, while the Senate looks to increase it by $5 trillion. In all likelihood, this would punt further debt ceiling debates until after the 2026 midterms. Without the budget reconciliation process, Congress would have to pass a standalone bill that would require 60 votes, risking a possible calamity due to Democratic obstruction.

Nevertheless, the race is on to iron out the details of the reconciliation package—its working title, the “Renewing the American Dream Act.”

And it’s something of a miracle Congress is even this far along in the process. The House budget resolution would have been dusted had conservatives not removed their opposition to the resolution after receiving assurances from House and Senate leadership that the reconciliation package would include $1.5 trillion in spending cuts.

The motivation for these deep spending cuts is primarily the economic impact of the tax cut on the public fisc. When all is said and done, the tax cut is expected to be well over $5 trillion. Around $4.5 trillion in deficits created by the continuation of the TCJA might disappear in the final text of the budget reconciliation package if Republicans are allowed to go forward with the currency policy baseline rather than the current law baseline. (That does not mean, however, that those deficits don’t exist.)

All eyes are now on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has been instructed to cut $880 billion. A large chunk of those cuts are expected to come from Medicaid, which Democrats have used as fodder for their base.

Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA) told Fox Business on Easter Monday that Republicans are looking at Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) changes to meet the target. FMAP reform would be the right scale, but unlikely to succeed. That’s especially true in that Johnson already took FMAP changes off the table in February, and a dozen House Republicans sent a letter to leadership saying they would not support any package that reduces Medicaid benefits on April 14. One of the signatories of that letter, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), recently told reporters, “We’re not going to support anything that would lower the FMAP, and we’re not going to support anything that puts caps on traditional Medicaid.”

“We are still in the process of exploring options throughout our jurisdiction and putting together options for our members to examine,” Energy and Commerce Committee spokesman Matt VanHyfte told PunchBowl. “With that in mind, we are not yet ready to comment on policy-specific items that may or may not be included in the final bill text.”

But Republicans better be ready with those items soon or risk imperiling the problems that propelled Trump to victory. “We’ve got to have Congress fund this operation,” Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said in an interview nearly three weeks ago now. “We got to buy more detention beds. We need more flights. We need more officers. We need more overtime.”

“Is it taking too long? Yes, it’s taking too long,” Homan said. “I wish they would have passed it by now.”

The post Is the Tax Cut Becoming a Burden on Other Parts of the MAGA Agenda? appeared first on The American Conservative.

Donald Trump is eager to be the peacemaker president. As the Gaza and Ukraine wars rage on, there is one file where he has a serious shot: Iran. Prospects of a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal have improved following a recent rally of surprising fast-paced negotiations. 

Trump now faces a choice: support a deal that contains Iran’s nuclear program with potential to unlock a lucrative market opportunity for U.S. companies, or risk war—prompting Iran to race for a bomb and potentially costing American lives and extensive military resources. 

The U.S. and Iran have held three rounds of indirect talks and one expert meeting in just over two weeks. Following this weekend’s talks in Oman, Trump stated that the negotiations are “going very well” and “We will have something without having to start dropping bombs.” Both countries appear committed to reaching a breakthrough and have agreed to meet again in the coming days. Nevertheless, significant technical hurdles remain, and there are spoilers on many sides seeking to derail the momentum.

The core trade-off seems settled: to deny Iran pathways to a nuclear weapon in return for economic relief. Yet U.S. administration officials are sending mixed messages about its bottom line for an acceptable Iranian nuclear program. 

Having for now lost the battle over military strikes, Iran hawks have shifted to derailing the talks. They began by proposing a “Libya model” for the deal that dismantles Iran’s nuclear program. Now they are shifting focus to proposing the repeatedly failed idea that Iran should not enrich any uranium on its soil. Another effort under way is to place restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities in perpetuity. 

Iran has rejected these proposals as contravening its rights to peaceful uranium enrichment under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran’s ultimate decision-maker, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has clearly green-lit the current negotiations and, for now, boxed in the hardliners who oppose diplomacy and prefer a confrontational approach. Nevertheless, Iran also has its own red lines and over the past 20 years demonstrated it will not capitulate to maximalist demands such as dismantlement and zero enrichment, nor will it disarm itself of its conventional weapons such as missiles. 

Contradictory U.S. statements on its position could be intended as trial balloons to test Tehran or appease hawks. They could, however, also indicate that no one—including Trump—knows what he wants. Unless clarified, this weakens the U.S. team’s ability to deliver the swift deal Trump demands and opens space for spoilers.

An active opponent of Trump’s negotiation strategy is Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is pushing the U.S. towards military strikes against Iran and the total dismemberment of its nuclear program. It is not clear whether the U.S. has established any red lines for Israeli attacks against Iran. In a recent interview, Trump noted he did not “stop” Israel from attacking Iranian nuclear sites, although he “didn’t make it comfortable for them.” 

While Israel is unlikely to attack Iranian nuclear sites openly so long as U.S.–Iran talks are ongoing, Israel could conduct covert attacks inside Iran (an exercise in which it has a long, successful history). As U.S. and Iranian negotiations kicked off in Oman on Saturday, an unprecedented blast went off in Iran’s biggest port—killing over 40 and injuring 1,200 people. The Iranian government says it is investigating the cause, and has so far not linked the explosion to an attack. Nevertheless, rumors have spread that Israel was the instigator. (A 2020 cyberattack on the same port was attributed to Israel in reporting by the Washington Post.) 

Israeli covert attacks would present a dilemma for both Iran and the Trump administration. If Iran counter-escalates, this shrinks the space for Trump to continue talks and may provoke U.S. military support to Israel for further attacks. If Iran walks away from the talks, it fulfils Netanyahu’s plan to sabotage diplomacy and leaves the U.S. more prone to the military option. If Iran doesn’t respond at all, it could encourage continued Israeli attacks. To avoid this trainwreck, President Trump should clearly outline to Netanyahu that there should be no covert or overt attacks inside Iran so long as U.S.–Iran negotiations are moving forward. 

The price tag of diplomatic failure is high for both Iran and the U.S. The idea that Iran’s nuclear program can be stopped with a clean surgical strike is a fallacy. Iran now has immense know-how, and enough nuclear fissile material to produce multiple bombs in the space of a few weeks. Without the U.S. occupying Iran, military strikes can at best setback the nuclear program for an estimated year, rather than eliminate it. The U.S. would have to commit resources to regular bombing campaigns inside Iran. 

Each bombing round carries risks of an escalatory response against U.S. military and diplomatic personnel in the Middle East and regional allies. A strike could also push Iran toward weaponization in hardened underground sites—something American intelligence recently stated hasn’t happened since 2003. Trump and Iran would probably be consumed by such a military confrontation for years. 

Trump and Khamenei seem to recognize that risking conflict is reckless and unnecessary. The two sides now need to keep up the diplomatic momentum. Tehran should accept Washington’s offer for direct high-level talks to speed up a framework agreement defining negotiation goals. This can cement the political buy-in from both sides, making it harder for spoilers to derail negotiations. Holding such talks in Riyadh during President Trump’s upcoming visit could involve Saudi Arabia constructively and protect the process from Israeli sabotage efforts. 

Extensive technical talks are required on nuclear measures, economic relief and sequencing of actions. But Trump and Khamenei should initially agree to three new benefits neither side has previously dared to offer.

First, Iran can open itself to the most expansive verification and monitoring ever voluntarily provided by a country over its nuclear program. A new way to enhance verification is for Iran and the U.S. to engage in direct civil nuclear cooperation—with American companies and scientists on the ground. Under the previous 2015 nuclear deal, the UK, Russia, and China signed deals to work within Iran’s nuclear industry. In a new deal, the U.S. and Iran should do the same. 

Second, Iran should offer longer caps on restricted nuclear activities than those in the 2015 deal. Arms control agreements are normally time-bound, but often subject to renewal. It is highly unlikely that Iran will agree to restrict all its nuclear activities in perpetuity. However, Tehran should accept long-term sun-sets and agree to renew others at a future date. 

Third, a new deal should enable direct trade and investment. One of Trump’s criticisms with the original deal was that the U.S. was easing sanctions against Iran without economically benefiting from it. Lifting U.S. secondary sanctions opened the lucrative Iranian market for Europe, Russia, and China while keeping the door shut to American companies. A new deal should go further by easing U.S. primary sanctions and other legal impediments blocking economic engagement with Iran. 

On the Iranian side, there is a stunning rhetorical turn actively welcoming U.S. trade and investment. But even if U.S. sanctions are eased, Iran must overhaul its sanctioned economy and banking system to attract meaningful Western investment. This requires years-long commitment by Iran to root out corruption and mismanagement, and calm the country’s political volatility triggered in large part by human-rights abuses and social repression.

Unlike in 2015, today’s Middle East geopolitics gives Trump a chance to make a U.S.-Iran deal a regional gamechanger. Iran has suffered a blow to its regional deterrence against Israel through the loss of dominance in Syria and Lebanon. Having already been forced to give up certain cards, Tehran may find it more palatable to offer concessions. Simultaneously, Iran has improved ties with Arab Gulf monarchies, opening new opportunities for the U.S.

While the U.S.-Iran deal should stay focused on nuclear issues, it can be interwoven with a separate track of security dialogues between Iran and its Arab neighbors, led by Saudi Arabia. These should involve a robust regional discussion on curtailing the role of non-state armed groups loyal to Iran and strengthening the central states across the Arab world. In return, following the easing of U.S. sanctions against Iran, companies within the GCC states could also move into the Iranian economy. Iran and Saudi Arabia could also start the much-needed dialogue on regional nuclear cooperation, which can further advance international confidence in Iran’s nuclear program. 

These measures increase the longevity of a potential U.S.-Iran deal by boosting confidence in Iran, the U.S., and the Arab region. In this way, President Trump can achieve a historic deal that strengthens the non-proliferation regime, makes Israel safer, and gives the Middle East a real chance for stabilization.

The post Here’s How an Iran Deal Could Work appeared first on The American Conservative.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer appeared on AL Sharpton’s MSNBC show over the weekend and claimed that Trump is trying to intimidate judges. This is a new Democrat talking point over the arrest of Judge Dugan in Wisconsin.

This claim from Schumer is especially rich, considering the fact that in 2020, he very publicly threatened Supreme Court Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch, saying they would ‘reap the whirlwind.’

Schumer is trying to frame this issue as a constitutional crisis and Al Sharpton did his best to try to help him.

Transcript via Real Clear Politics:

AL SHARPTON: Immigration advocates have been warning we are on the verge of a constitutional crisis. Has that crisis arrived, Senator?

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER: Yes! It has, unfortunately. Because what? Trump wants to be king. A king doesn’t have a constitution. A king just does whatever he wants and beyond. He just goes along with them.

They’re trying to intimidate judges. This is not the first time or the second. They’ve said they want to impeach judges. They said they’re going to go after judges who don’t agree with them. That is so against the Constitution. The Constitution believes and has been written with the wisdom of the Founding Fathers, that we should have separation of powers. There should be an independent judiciary. When you go before a judge, you think that you hope and believe that that judge is impartial. What Trump, Bondi, and the whole Justice Department are trying to do is push that judge, threaten that judge, so the judge is no longer impartial. It is outrageous in both cases.

Check out the side by side comparison video below:

2025: Chuck Schumer says Trump wants to intimidate and threaten judges.

2020: Chuck Schumer tries to intimidate and threaten Justices of the Supreme Court. pic.twitter.com/FdisnZKk0I

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) April 27, 2025

During the same segment, Schumer told Sharpton that he is not stepping aside as Dem leader in the Senate:

Chuck Schumer says he’s not retiring:

“I’m staying put because I’ve been able to unite my caucus in a very strong fight against Trump.”

Imagine thinking your number one job qualification is fighting the man the American people just elected in an electoral landslide. Shameful. pic.twitter.com/bP1aH5Mo7n

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) April 28, 2025

Schumer’s approval ratings are awful but it looks like Democrats are stuck with him, for now anyway.

The post Chuck Schumer Claims Trump is Trying to Intimidate Judges – Forgets That He Threatened Members of SCOTUS in 2020 (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama recently appeared on a liberal podcast and claimed that the issue of the deportation of illegal aliens keeps her up at night. She has apparently forgotten that when her husband was president, he was frequently described as the ‘deporter in chief.’

It’s likely that Ms. Obama simply made these comments in service to the Democrat party, which clearly thinks it has found a winning issue in defending people who are in the country illegally.

It’s just another case of virtue signaling that the left has become known for.

Breitbart News reports:

Michelle Obama Fears Trump Deportation Policy: Not Enough Advocates; ‘It Keeps Me Up at Night’

Former first lady Michelle Obama is frightened by President Donald Trump’s deportation policy, she discussed during an episode of the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast.

Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, discussed fears they had growing up dealing with race issues, when she was asked to identify the “hardest recent test of that fear.”

“In this current climate, for me it’s, you know, what’s happening to immigrants,” the former first lady replied, explaining that she is no longer fearful for herself — due to her celebrity status — but is instead fearful for illegal immigrants.

“I drive around in a four-car motorcade with a police escort. I’m Michelle Obama. I do still worry about my daughters in the world even though they are somewhat recognizable,” Obama said. “So, my fears are for what I know is happening out there in streets all over the city.”…

“And we know that those decisions aren’t being made with courts and with due process,” Obama said, suggesting the Trump administration is making these types of decisions based on looks alone — not actual legal status or criminal history, as is reality.

Here’s the video:

NEW: Michelle Obama says Trump’s deportation policy “keeps her up at night,” despite the fact that her husband deported more people than any other president.

Remarkable.

President Barack Obama deported a whopping 3,000,000 illegal immigrants, demolishing the… pic.twitter.com/uBOIGdSm9H

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 29, 2025

Did the “Deporter in Chief” keep her up at night in fear, too? https://t.co/oQy3laqggX

— Ricardo Musculo (@1DrRick) April 28, 2025

You know the old saying. Democrats – It’s different when WE do it.

The post Michelle Obama Claims Deportation Issue Keeps Her up at Night – Forgets Her Husband Was Called ‘Deporter in Chief’ (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

One of the new books currently being pushed by journalists desperately trying to pretend that they weren’t part of the cover-up of Biden’s decline, claims that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was terrified to face then Ohio Senator JD Vance in the vice presidential debate last fall.

Anyone who was watching that debate knows that this was a major turning point in the election.

Tim Walz seemed completely unprepared to answer difficult questions about his past and his record. He truly looked like a deer in headlights.

JD Vance, on the other hand, was calm, cool, and collected. Vance answered questions confidently and intelligently. Any doubts people had about Vance were gone before the event was even finished.

Twitchy reports:

The Minnesota Governor is the toast of the Democrat Party these days, traveling the country in fake ‘town hall meetings’ that are actually Democrat fundraisers. He talks about ‘freedom’ at these events as if we don’t remember that he openly stated that he doesn’t believe in the First Amendment.

But the real revisionism going on with Walz’s ‘town halls’ is about Walz himself. Democrats and the media want to pretend that he is a serious person in national politics, and make us forget that just a few months ago, Walz showed everyone in America how unserious he is in his debate with Vice President JD Vance.

No, we didn’t forget, ‘knucklehead.’

In a new now-it-can-be-told book, ‘reporters’ Jonathan Allen (NBC) and Arnie Parnas (The Hill) describe Walz’s preparation for that debate, and it is exactly what we would have expected, given his performance on stage that night.

Is anyone surprised by this claim?

During the 2024 campaign, @Tim_Walz was so anxious for his debate with @JDVance that he couldn’t sleep and aides had to remind him to eat.

The debate “terrified him,” Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes write in their book “FIGHT.” pic.twitter.com/qfr1YVHX1H

— Reagan Reese (@reaganreese_) April 27, 2025

This was the moment Tim Walz realized he was the deer and JD was the F150 pic.twitter.com/7DoofC8G3v

— Jack Poso (@JackPosobiec) October 2, 2024

What gave it away? https://t.co/j0r74jGUBx pic.twitter.com/u7Qusgc48A

— IAmSilky (@IAmVerySilky) April 27, 2025

The debate performance Walz gave that night will be talked about for years. It was a perfect example of what not to do in a debate.

The post New Book Claims Tim Walz Was Terrified to Face JD Vance in 2024 Vice Presidential Debate appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Liberal Mark Carney defeated conservative Pierre Poilievevre and New Democrat Jagmeet Singh in the national elections on Monday.

The race was called by 10:15 Eastern Time Zone.

The post CANADIAN ELECTION CALLED: Liberal Mark Carney Who Promises to Crush Free Speech Defeats Conservative Poilievre Who Lost 30 Pt Lead in 3 Months After He Started Bashing Trump appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.