Month: March 2026

Molly Jong-Fast, a contributor at Vanity Fair and the New York Times, took to X to boast about uncovering “frivolous” spending in the Department of War (DoW), specifically around food expenditures for our active-duty troops.

In the X post, she discloses that “under Secretary Pete Hegseth’s stewardship,” in September, the Department of War spent $2 million on Alaskan King Crab, $6.9 million worth of lobster tails (labeling it a “favorite” of Hegseth’s Pentagon), and $15.1 million on ribeye steaks.

Some of the frivolous September purchases made under Secretary Pete Hegseth’s stewardship include a $98,329 Steinway & Sons grand piano for the Air Force chief of staff’s home, $5.3 million for Apple devices such as the new iPad, and an astronomical amount of shellfish, including…

— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) March 10, 2026

Jong-Fast’s post has garnered 2.6 million views as of this writing and has garnered “gotchas” and “whataboutisms” from several well-known anti-Trump voices, including a U.S. Representative on his official account.

Jemele Hill, a contributor for The Atlantic, reposted the “exposé,” stating, “But SNAP recipients are the REAL problem.”

Another contributor at The Atlantic, Thomas Chatterton Williams, simply wrote, “$6.9 million worth of lobster tail” in his repost.

Yet another contributor from The Atlantic, this time an editor, has weighed in on the post.  Norman Ornstein on X wrote, “It’s about the grift.  It is always about the grift” (to be fair, Ornstein could be taking a shot at Molly Jong-Fast’s grift post, but based on his colleagues, probably not).

U.S. Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) on his official government account posted, “But still no healthcare for you.”  Ironically, the cold-water lobster served by the Dept. of War is a critical component of much of the Massachusetts coastal economy.  Rep. McGovern, however, represents more inland counties in the Bay State.

Rick G. Rosner, a former Jimmy Kimmel writer and self-proclaimed “Genius” with the “World’s 2nd-highest IQ”, joked about whether FOX News would report on this discovery by Jong-Fast.

A Long Tradition in the U.S. Military

Rosner is probably correct:  FOX News won’t likely report on this ‘discovery.’  But not because of the politics of the ‘controversy’ in this “frivolous” spending or to prevent viewers from ‘finding out’.

No, FOX News won’t cover this ‘surf-and-turf discovery’ because it’s not an actual ‘discovery’ and it’s nothing new or exclusive to the Department of War under Secretary Hegseth and President Donald Trump.

In fact, this has been a tradition in the U.S. military with anecdotes dating back as far as the 1970s.  It became a staple during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars beginning in the early 2000s.

Online jokes began to surface in late February that troops were being served ‘surf-and-turf’ and knew what was about to happen: deployment.

But dating back to this writer’s personal experiences as a Marine infantryman serving in Afghanistan in 2010, 2011, and 2012, it wasn’t just a “last meal” as those claims allude to.  It was a staple for deployed Marines aboard Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan.

Most Fridays, the chow hall would serve steak and lobster to the deployed troops.  And for those of us that deployed to forward operating bases, it was something to look forward to in the weeks-long process to make it back to the States.

Often, Marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen deployed outside main operating bases were subject to Meals-Ready-To-Eat, or MREs, for months at a time.  Pre-packaged, vacuum-sealed food that was often barely edible (God forbid you got a Veggie Omelet) and heated up using a chemical reaction with water served as the primary sustenance for the majority of meals.

For those returning after a seven- to fifteen-month-long deployment, that ‘surf-and-turf’ at the DFAC was the first taste of real food many of these men and women had in months after long, grueling days sleeping on the ground, dealing with the elements, and often engaged in life-threatening combat operations.

To be clear, this ‘surf-and-turf’ was hardly a ‘gourmet’ meal.  But it was an absolutely incredible treat after the hell they’d just been through.  This depiction of ‘perception vs. reality’ is quite accurate:

Civilian perceptions may be wildly… off:

Perception: Reality: pic.twitter.com/3PgIVCGoH1

— Undercover Brother (@RealUCBfosho) March 11, 2026

Troops Actually PAY For Their Food

No one enlists in the U.S. military to get rich (keyword: enlists).  An E-3 without dependents in the military currently makes around $2,800 to $3,200, or roughly $700-800 per week, depending on time in grade.

Their job entails grueling hours- often times waking up at 4 or 5 a.m. for physical training or PT, moving wherever the military needs you often with little notice or input, enduring ‘field ops’ for days or weeks at a time, random deployments for months or years at a time, and a 24/7 ‘on-call’ status.

Apparently, some people, including Molly Jong-Fast, Jemele Hill, Rep. McGovern, and Rick Rosner, aren’t aware that the troops actually pay for their own meals when in garrison.

Troops receive what is called Basic Allowance for Subsistence, or BAS.  BAS is usually deducted automatically from your pay for troops that aren’t deployed and live on base.  While deployed, they are not charged for food, however, they also don’t receive the BAS pay.

Current BAS pay is about $475 per month.  But when troops deploy and BAS is stopped, most will receive “Hostile Fire/Imminent Danger Pay” of about $225/month.  What a deal! Remember: you don’t enlist to get rich.

And to be clear:  troops living on base often times have to depend on private venues and grocery stores for food because the chow/mess halls have limited hours that often conflict with demanding work schedules.  If you miss those hours, you’re on your own.  But you still contribute (automatically) for that day’s rations.

Comparing these DoW purchases — end-of-the-year “use or it lose it” purchases for special occasions for the troops — to the massive fraud uncovered in Democrat sanctuary cities/states and the widespread SNAP fraud that’s been exposed is clearly not the “gotcha” that Jemele Hill, a sitting U.S. Representative, and contributors at The Atlantic imply it is.

 

A comprehensive list of commentators, public intellectuals, and journalists who don’t know anyone in the military, as indicated by their ignorance regarding the tradition of steak and lobster pic.twitter.com/S7Ml5zYsbh

— Luther R. Abel (@lutherabel1) March 11, 2026

Yes! I’ve been trying to tell ppl this but I’m just a very small account. I also know that the food choices on home base are often pretty dismal, limited hours, too, so many have to go off base to eat. Deployment food options are even worse, yet they get billed for it! pic.twitter.com/7dzuvYw3aS

— NHNative (@aNHsnowbird) March 11, 2026

The post Comparing Steak and Lobster for U.S. Troops to SNAP and Healthcare Fraud? Two MAJOR Reasons This Won’t End Well appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

An activist who ‘took matters into her own hands’ to help feed the homeless in MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, California, was severely beaten by a pipe-wielding homeless woman on February 22.

The victim, Eva Woods, has been feeding the ‘unhoused residents’ in Los Angeles for six years after resources were cut back because of Covid.

According to a GoFundMe set up Woods’ friend, a homeless woman approached Woods from behind and bashed her in the face with a metal pipe.

The homeless woman hit Woods in the jaw and knocked out six of her teeth.

Woods needed surgery on her upper and lower jaw and will need six dental implants.

Per the GoFundMe:

Hi, my name is Catherine Schetina, and I’m organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Eva Woods. I have known Eva for more than a decade. At the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, Eva immediately realized that services for the unhoused residents of Los Angeles would suffer as resources were cut and organizations shuttered.

She took matters into her own hands. We are now in our sixth year of the MacArthur Project – a mutual aid collective run entirely by volunteers. We provide more than 700 meals each week to the unhoused and housing insecure residents of MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, and over the past six years we’ve built incredibly powerful relationships within our communities. We’re there three days a week – Sunday lunch, Monday lunch, and Thursday breakfast. We also host monthly events and supply drives, distributing hygiene kits, grocery items, tents, shelter supplies, medical supplies, and so much more. We actively partner with the people we serve, and strive to bring them the items they tell us they need most.

Eva’s full time job is planning, executing, and responding rapidly to the needs of our unhoused neighbors. She’s been doing it incredibly well for six years now, and is supported by a generous community on Patreon that allows this to be her full time job. But today we’re asking for more help.

During our regular lunch service on Sunday 2/22, a woman came through the park with a metal pipe. Without conversation, she came up behind Eva and hit her in the jaw. Eva was taken to the hospital and had surgery the following day on her upper and lower jaw, both of which were broken. Her jaw is wired shut for the next four weeks, and then she’ll be able to get dental implants to replace the six teeth she lost.

This woman, and this incident, are not representative of the culture of MacArthur Park and the community we serve there. She is not someone we’ve met in the past, and others in the park weren’t familiar with her. This was absolutely a bizarre one off, and we would truly hate for the people who rely on us, and who we have built such incredible relationships with over the past six years, to suffer as a result of this single woman’s actions. Eva is healing well and will be back in the park as soon as possible. In the meantime, we need your help.

Eva was able to cover the hospital stay and surgery costs, but the projected cost of the dental implants is $30,000. Any amount you can contribute to help her cover those fees would be deeply appreciated. Eva is the most community-minded person I know, in addition to being an incredible mom to her daughter, Stella Price. She has taught me, and everyone who volunteers with us, the true definition of serving others. She is an unstoppable force of nature, but right now, she needs our help.

We will continue to share updates and disclose exactly how the money is broken down in paying for the implants. The current projections are as follows –

Individual Implants: 6 x $4,250 = $25,500
Consultation: $200
Flipper: $1000
Scans/X-Rays: $1000
Lab Fees: $500
Anesthesia: $1500
Medications: $100
Grafting/Misc: $200

PROJECTED TOTAL: $30,000

The post Activist Who ‘Took Matters Into Her Own Hands’ to Help Feed ‘Unhoused Residents’ in Los Angeles Severely Beaten with Metal Pipe by Homeless Person appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

The White House on Tuesday responded to a report from Axios that Republican lawmakers are being urged by the Trump Administration to stop using the phrase “mass deportations” ahead of the midterm elections. 

They did not appear to deny the report, however. Instead, the White House highlighted the high percentage of deportations for illegal aliens with a criminal record, adding, “Nobody is changing the Administration’s immigration enforcement agenda.”

White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said in a statement to Fox News, per Bill Melugin,

“Nobody is changing the Administration’s immigration enforcement agenda. President Trump’s highest priority has always been the deportation of illegal alien criminals who endanger American communities. As the Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly said, approximately 70% of deportations to date have been illegal aliens with criminal records.

Thanks to President Trump’s strong immigration enforcement policies, approximately 3 million illegals have left the United States, either through forced deportation or self-deportation, with zero illegals coming through the most secure border in U.S. History for nine straight months.”

MORE: Statement to @FoxNews via WH official @ATJackson47:

“Nobody is changing the Administration’s immigration enforcement agenda. President Trump’s highest priority has always been the deportation of illegal alien criminals who endanger American communities. As the Department…

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) March 10, 2026

White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair also responded on X yesterday, emphasizing the Trump Administration’s commitment to deporting “the violent/criminal illegals.”

It’s very simple:

Republicans want to keep deporting the violent/criminal illegals that Joe Biden & the Democrats in Congress let in.

Democrats want to shield them from deportation, which is why they unanimously support sanctuary cities.

Republicans will get the violent criminals out. Democrats will throw the border back open.

Choose accordingly.

It’s very simple:

Republicans want to keep deporting the violent/criminal illegals that Joe Biden & the Democrats in Congress let in.

Democrats want to shield them from deportation, which is why they unanimously support sanctuary cities.

Republicans will get the violent…

— James Blair (@JamesBlairUSA) March 10, 2026

This comes after sources told Axios that Blair urged GOP lawmakers at the annual House retreat last weekend to avoid “mass deportation” language and focus on the removal of illegals who committed additional crimes.

Per Axios:

White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair privately urged House Republicans on Tuesday to stop emphasizing “mass deportations” and instead focus their messaging on removing violent criminals, according to sources in the closed-door briefing.

State of play: Blair delivered the message during a policy listening session with House Republicans at their annual retreat in Doral, Florida.

He encouraged members to focus on deporting violent offenders rather than defending the broader concept of mass removals.

The advice signals a recalibration by the White House — and reflects growing concern among some Republicans that Democrats are successfully framing Trump’s immigration policy as overly sweeping and indiscriminate.

Blair instead told Republican lawmakers that they should find “real Americans” to bear witness to the benefits of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which passed last summer, according to the report.

This also comes as Trump’s own vision for the mass deportations he promised on the campaign trail is changing to focus on the criminals, not people who only came in illegally.

During a press briefing on January 20, one year after Inauguration Day, Trump told reporters that he wanted to “lighten up” on the deportations, describing illegal workers as “good people.”

“We have a lot of heart for people. They came in illegally, but they’re good people, and they’re working now on farms, and they’re working in luncheonettes and hotels and all. And we’re not looking— we’re looking to get the criminals out right now, the criminals, and I think it’s very important,” he said. “in theory,” he said, illegal alien workers “should be” deported, “but we’re focused on the murderers, the drug dealers, the mentally insane.”

WATCH:

Before this, on July 3, 2025, Trump stunned supporters by revealing that legislation is being drafted to protect illegal aliens in the agriculture and hospitality industries while speaking in Des Moines, Iowa.

“You had cases where, not here, but just even over the years, where people have worked for a farm, on a farm, for 14, 15 years, and they get thrown out pretty viciously, and we can’t do it. We’ve got to work with the farmers and people that have hotels and leisure properties too,” Trump told supporters during a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds last year. “I think that that’s going to make a lot of people happy. Now, serious, radical right People, who I also happen to like a lot, they may not be quite as happy, but they’ll understand. Wont they?”

WATCH:

The post JUST IN: White House Responds to Report that House GOP Told by White House to Avoid Mass Deportation Messaging in Midterms appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

President Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks in Hebron, Kentucky, this afternoon ahead of the May 19 primary election. 

Trump’s speech today in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District comes as he seeks to unseat Rep. Thomas Massie, one of his most vocal critics on the right, who has broken with Trump and the GOP on several issues, including the Epstein Files and war with Iran.

The President has endorsed former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein to challenge Massie in the primary. However, Massie thinks he can still win despite Trump’s repeated attacks and support for Gallrein.

“People support Trump, but they also support what he campaigned on,” Massie told NBC News on Tuesday. “When people support me, they’re supporting the things that Donald Trump campaigned on actually getting done. And when they support Donald Trump, they’re supporting the man they voted for in the last election.”

Ahead of his speech, Trump hit Massie again, calling him “Rand Paul Jr.,” a “COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER as a Congressman, and a Human Being,” and a “MISFIT, who should be voted out of Office, ASAP.”

Full statement below:

The Republican Party’s Worst “Congressman,” EVER, Thomas Massie, is attacking GREAT Navy Seal Hero, Ed Gallrein, who is running against him in the Primary, saying that Ed became an Independent for a period of time, long ago. The fact is, many people do that, but Ed still supported me, and strongly, which is far more than Massie ever did, or does. Ed came back into the Party after he saw the Strength and “Wisdom” that I displayed. Many people have joined, and rejoined, our Party, but Massie did not, because he only votes, “NO!” It will be interesting to see what he does with THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, which is, simply:

1. ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW VOTER I.D. (IDENTIFICATION!).

2. ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP IN ORDER TO VOTE.

3. NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS (EXCEPT FOR ILLNESS, DISABILITY, MILITARY, OR TRAVEL!).

4. NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS.

5. NO TRANSGENDER MUTILATION SURGERY FOR CHILDREN.

He’d like to vote, “NO,” but on this one, there may be too much pressure, even on him, to do that. Thomas Massie, sometimes referred to as Rand Paul Jr. because he only votes “NO,” is A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER as a Congressman, and a Human Being. He is disloyal to the Republican Party, the People of Kentucky and, most importantly, he is disloyal to the United States of America! He is a MISFIT, who should be voted out of Office, ASAP. VOTE FOR ED GALLREIN, A MAN WHO HAS MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT. HE IS A TRUE AMERICAN HERO! President DONALD J. TRUMP

 

Trump is scheduled to speak at 4:25 pm ET.

Watch live below:

The post WATCH LIVE: President Trump Delivers Remarks in Hebron, Kentucky Ahead of Thomas Massie Primary Election – 4:25 PM ET appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Howard Schultz, the former CEO of far-left Starbucks, and his wife are fleeing woke Washington state for Florida for their “retirement phase” following the state’s advancement of a new “millionaire tax.”

The announcement came after Seattle-based Starbucks said it would open a new corporate office in Nashville.

Fox News reports:

Both announcements come as Washington state has been working to pass what has been dubbed the “millionaires tax,” which would impose a 9.9% income tax on households earning more than $1 million annually.

The Washington State House of Representatives passed the controversial bill in a 51-46 vote. The bill must now be confirmed by the State Senate before Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson can sign it into law.

The bill (primarily SB 6346 in the Senate, companion HB 2724 in the House) places a 9.9% tax on Washington taxable income (based on federal adjusted gross income with adjustments) above $1 million per household.

Washington State Rep. Natasha Hill (D-3) claimed during the debate that Washington’s wealthy would not flee the state if passed, but the Schultzes apparently did not get the memo.

Rep. Natasha Hill says WA wealthy won’t leave due to income tax. Says they’d pay more elsewhere. House debate on final passage continues 24 hrs after bill came to the floor pic.twitter.com/mc89T0FoOx

— Carleen Johnson (@CarleenJohn1970) March 11, 2026

Schultz shared the announcement on LinkedIn:

“Forty-four years ago, Sheri and I made the cross-country trip from NYC to Seattle in our 1979 Audi along with Jonas our Golden Retriever. We were starting a new life. Sheri would be the breadwinner in the family, taking on a career in design. And I started a new job on September 7, 1982, at a place called Starbucks. Back then, the Pike Place Starbucks only sold whole bean coffee. Today, it’s the most visited Starbucks in the world. The history of the company is bound up in the very foundation, walls and floorboards of our first store in the city’s historic market.”

“The spirit of continuing forward has long underpinned our approach to life—in business, in philanthropy and most importantly, as a family. For those of you who know us well, we have entered the “retirement” phase of our lives. (A term we are both just getting used to.) Last year we traveled to dozens of places around the world—places we were too busy to see when building Starbucks and raising kids. And we have moved to Miami for our next adventure together. We are enjoying the sunshine of South Florida and its allure to our kids on the East Coast as they raise families of their own.”

“Like many other Seattle-based companies, Starbucks today stands on the shoulders of the many Pacific Northwesterners who built the company. They helped shape the culture, the benefits and the brand, contributing to the civic, community and public life of the city and state. It is our hope that Washington will remain a place for business and entrepreneurship to thrive, creating essential opportunity for those in Seattle and the surrounding areas.”

“Over the years, as Sheri and I grew our family and built Starbucks globally, we were witness to the astonishing development of Seattle. We focused on doing our part to help those at risk and facing hard times in our city. In 1990, Sheri started the Schultz Family Foundation, launching critical work to help others in our community and beyond—work that has grown in scale and impact with each passing year. We have entrusted the leadership of the Foundation to our dear friend Vivek Varma with a mandate to accelerate our philanthropic investments to drive meaningful change. While our private family office will move to Miami, our Foundation will continue operations in Seattle.”

“We will be forever grateful for the memories made in Seattle and the relationships built along the way. To the family, friends and partners who made Seattle our home for so many years, thank you.”

“Onward. Sheri and Howard Schultz.”

 

The post Former CEO of Woke Starbucks Flees Blue State to Retire in Florida appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

President Trump on Wednesday stopped to chat with reporters on the South Lawn before departing for Ohio and Kentucky.

The president is traveling to Reading, Ohio, to visit pharmaceutical manufacturing company Thermo Fisher to tout lower drug prices.

A reporter asked President Trump about a new report that claims the United States is responsible for a deadly missile strike on an Iranian elementary school.

Earlier Wednesday, The New York Times reported that the US is responsible for a missile strike on an elementary school in Iran that killed 175 people.

The Associated Press reported that on February 28, missile strikes hit the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school.

According to a report, the missile strike on the elementary school was the result of a ‘targeting mistake.’

Breaking News: The U.S. was responsible for a missile strike on an Iranian school, an ongoing military investigation found. The inquiry said the strike — which Iranian officials said killed at least 175 people — was the result of a targeting mistake. https://t.co/88FIdIJOQi

— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 11, 2026

“It’s one of the most devastating single military errors in recent decades,” The New York Times reported.

An ongoing US military investigation has determined that the US is responsible for the Tomahawk missile strike on an Iranian elementary school because of a targeting mistake.

It’s one of the most devastating single military errors in recent decades. https://t.co/y8UwVt278D

— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) March 11, 2026

A reporter asked President Trump about the New York Times’ report on the US strike on the elementary school.

“I don’t know about that,” President Trump said before walking away.

WATCH:

Reporter: As Commander-in-Chief, do you take responsibility for the U.S. striking an Iranian elementary school?

President Trump: “I don’t know about that.”
pic.twitter.com/GTMix0dgyX

— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) March 11, 2026

The post President Trump Responds to Report Claiming US is Responsible For Missile Strike on Iranian Elementary School (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has reportedly vacated her Washington, D.C. residence and moved into secure housing on a heavily fortified military base after federal authorities flagged credible threats against the top law enforcement official.

According to the New York Times, the relocation occurred within the past month after law enforcement warned of escalating risks tied to two explosive developments.

Security concerns reportedly escalated after the U.S. captured Venezuelan dictator and narco-terrorist Nicolás Maduro earlier this year, an operation that shook criminal networks tied to the regime.

Federal officials believe retaliation threats from cartel-linked groups may have contributed to the heightened security measures surrounding Bondi.

Maduro had been indicted by the United States on narco-terrorism charges and was the subject of a record $50 million U.S. reward before American forces captured him during a military operation in January.

At the same time, Bondi has been facing intense scrutiny and political pressure over the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation files.

Officials reportedly determined that Bondi’s Washington residence was no longer suitable, given the nature of the threats she has received.

The concerns reportedly include threats from criminal organizations as well as intense backlash tied to the federal government’s handling of the Epstein files.

Bondi relocated within the past month to one of several secure military installations in the D.C. area, the same type of hardened housing now being used by other Trump warriors, including Stephen Miller, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

A spokesman for Bondi wisely declined to confirm the exact location and asked the media not to publish it, citing obvious security concerns.

The post AG Pam Bondi Reportedly Vacates D.C. Home — Moves Into Fortified Military Base Amid Cartel Threats Linked to Maduro Capture and Epstein Files Controversy appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Voting machine company Smartmatic is asking a federal judge to dismiss criminal charges brought by the Justice Department, arguing the case represents a “vindictive and selective prosecution.”

The Washington Post reports that the company’s London-based parent firm filed the motion Tuesday in federal court in Miami.

According to its lawyers, the charges are politically motivated by Trump’s continued resentment over the stealing of the 2020 presidential election.

“Since returning to office, President Trump has openly waged a campaign of retribution against his perceived enemies — chief among them those who undermine his mantra that the 2020 election was rigged,” attorneys for the company wrote in their filing.

“Put simply, the charging decision is consistent with an administration that prioritizes targeting its enemies over equal protection under the law,” they added.

The criminal case itself centers on alleged bribery connected to elections in the Philippines, not the United States.

Federal prosecutors charged two Smartmatic executives in 2024 with paying bribes to secure contracts tied to the country’s 2016 election system, yet Biden prosecutors declined to charge the company itself.

Yet, soon after President Trump returned to office, the Justice Department expanded the case and secured an indictment against Smartmatic’s parent company, SGO Corporation Limited, in October.

The indictment includes six counts tied to bribery and money laundering.

“The only consequential changes in this case since 2024 were the President, his DOJ, and their well-documented crusade to unconstitutionally target their perceived political enemies,” attorneys Jenny Kramer and Christopher C. Marquardt wrote.

BREAKING BIG: Federal Prosecutors Charge Smartmatic Executives for Bribing Election Officials More than $1 Million in Philippines

Although Smartmatic machines were used in only one U.S. jurisdiction during the 2020 election, the company became a flashpoint in the fight for election integrity.

As part of its own campaign of retribution, the company has filed defamation lawsuits against numerous prominent figures and media outlets, including Fox News, MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and Jeanine Pirro.

Smartmatic’s board of directors, Peter Neffenger, coincidentally just happened to also be on Joe Biden’s transition team and nobody thought that somebody involved in an election company directly involved in U.S. elections, specializing in election machines with backdoors,… pic.twitter.com/VywvSU0nXG

— The SCIF (@TheSCIF) March 9, 2026

The company and its executives have pleaded not guilty to the bribery charges. If the judge allows the prosecution to move forward, the trial is scheduled for 2027.

The Department of Justice has so far declined to comment.

The post Smartmatic Cries ‘Vindictive and Selective Prosecution’ as DOJ Moves Forward With Bribery Case appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

During a Senate Budget Committee hearing on Tuesday, Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH) questioned former Biden advisor Brendan Duke on whether illegal immigration into the United States is a crime. Duke is a former senior policy advisor for the Biden administration and now serves as senior director for federal budget policy at the Center for American Progress.

Duke’s answer was classic Biden-era deflection: “I don’t know anything about this.”

Bernie Moreno: Do you think it should be a crime to enter the country illegally?

Brendan Duke: I don’t know anything about this. I’m here to talk about budgets with the budget.

Bernie Moreno: You don’t have to… Look, I’m not a lawyer. You don’t have to be a lawyer. It’s a simple question. Should it be a crime? I’ll say it slowly, should it be a crime to enter the United States of America illegally? Without permission.

Brendan Duke: I don’t know anything about this.

Bernie Moreno: Do you have a home? I run. Do you have a place that you sleep in?

Brendan Duke: Yes, correct.

Bernie Moreno: Okay. Should it be a crime for people to enter your home without permission?

Brendan Duke: Yes.

Bernie Moreno: You’re pretty certain on that one?

Brendan Duke: Yes.

Bernie Moreno: Okay, but you’re not sure if it’s okay to enter America without permission? Which is our home, by the way. You don’t know about America. Okay. Got you.

All right, so this is the best the Democrats can come up with, Mr. Chairman. I hope the ranking member can listen for just a second, if you don’t mind.

This is the best witnesses you’ve got. A guy who can’t distinguish whether it’s okay to have people enter our country illegally.

Watch:

Sen. @berniemoreno is stunned by Biden-Harris staffer who doesn’t know if it’s a crime to cross the border illegally. pic.twitter.com/4kd9YY0AoO

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 10, 2026

The post Sen. Bernie Moreno Slams Former Biden Advisor’s Answer on Illegal Immigration Law: Dems ‘Best Witness’ is ‘Guy Who Can’t Distinguish Whether It’s Okay to Have People Enter Our Country Illegally’ (Video) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Omri Raiter, CEO of Rakia, a company that detects patterns in cryptocurrency movements using legally obtained or open-source signals, began his remote interview with The Gateway Pundit by saying that the area of the Middle East he was calling from was being bombed. “This is not standard,” he joked, but it had been going on for over a week. His firm is tracking financial movements in and out of Iran, and he has detected a major uptick since the war began.

Raiter made clear, for compliance purposes, that the information he was providing was from open-source intelligence that he and his company have been tracking and analyzing, looking for anomalous movements of cash. “It’s a non-secret that there’s lots of crypto moving around the IRGC.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the military force that reports directly to the ayatollah, uses cryptocurrency to fund its operations and to support proxy terrorist groups such as the Houthis, Hezbollah, and Hamas. According to the largest and most respected crypto research firms, Iran has a crypto ecosystem of about $8 billion, around 50 percent of which is controlled by state entities, including the IRGC.

Many people mistakenly believe that cryptocurrency is untraceable, but it is actually extremely traceable because every transaction is assigned a unique identifier, known as a transaction ID or TXID, along with the sender’s and receiver’s wallet addresses, all of which are permanently recorded on a public ledger.

Some platforms require less verification and documentation than others, and these are the ones preferred by terrorists and criminals. So, the ownership of the coins may not be clear, but the movement is. And this is how Raiter knew that money was moving in and out of Iran, by checking the IP addresses sending and receiving crypto and the many stops the crypto sometimes makes along the way.

Raiter said the pattern was very straightforward. “We saw a movement of millions, tens of millions going to hundreds of millions,” he said, explaining that this activity began in the first hours of the war. According to him, the transfers appeared to originate from Iranian accounts. Some were already known accounts, while others were unidentified but were being accessed from Iranian IP addresses.

“Something very interesting happened,” Raiter added. He explained that the Iranian government shut down the country’s internet, a move that would normally halt most online activity. However, his team observed what they call the “blackout paradox.”

“The whole country’s internet is out. There is no Twitter, no Facebook, no nothing.” Yet despite the blackout, the blockchain data showed continued activity. “We see more than 1,000 crypto nodes of transfer still communicating to the internet,” Raiter said.

Glancing at his screen, Raiter said the activity had been happening all morning. “Right now, there is no internet, and the nodes are communicating. Only the government can control that.” He said the explanation was simple: the transfers were government-controlled.

“And I’m talking about wallets with an overall value of over three billion U.S. dollars,” he said. Raiter explained that he was reading directly from a map displayed in his system, which showed more than 1,000 active crypto transfer nodes.

“Transfer nodes of crypto still online in Tabriz, over 800 nodes in Shiraz,” he said, naming several additional Iranian cities. Despite the nationwide blackout, he described the network activity as clearly visible on the blockchain. “Literally a dark area. No internet, zero connection, and we see the beacon.”

In a different scenario, before the war, Raiter said, “You could tell me maybe these are honest people that have crypto.” The plausible explanation on any other day might have been that people were trying to get their money out of the country or trading cryptocurrency to survive during difficult times.

However, Raiter pointed out that there was a “monkey wrench” in this explanation. “They don’t have any internet connection, right? The only way to keep these wallets alive is if you’re the IRGC.” He speculated that even if small traders or ordinary citizens were making honest movements of coins through private internet connections, the IRGC would likely discover them.

“Everybody knows Iran is not a joke. If somebody’s being caught now having connection to the Western world, this can have severe ramifications.”

Raiter was able to determine from the IP addresses associated with these transactions that the accounts were not routing their internet traffic through Starlink or other satellite services, but rather through terrestrial Iranian IP addresses during a period when ordinary Iranians had no internet access.

“Two hours ago, less than one percent of active internet connections in the whole country were operating, and yet more than 1,000 crypto nodes were still connecting. So now we understand that again it’s crypto. Nobody can say who owns the wallet.”

Raiter said the destinations of the transfers were revealing. “When you see that the transfer goes to safe havens, which when I define safe havens in crypto terms it means the Netherlands, France, the U.K., we see more transfers to different places, but these are the high-volume ones.”

He added that the scale of the transactions was what made them noteworthy. “If it was very small volume, it wouldn’t be interesting to anybody.” But the size of the transfers not only attracted attention, it suggested the IRGC or the Iranian government, the only actors in Iran likely to control that kind of money.

Raiter said he could see IP activity hopping between servers and destinations associated with Lebanon and Yemen. He cautioned that he could not definitively prove the transfers were funding Hezbollah, the Houthis, or other proxy groups because he does not have access to banking records. However, the activity was suspicious.

“In the middle of the war, seeing money jump to places known for illegal transfers to Lebanon and Yemen, and the controlling IP address is Iran, that’s a very, very specific thing to show,” he said.

To illustrate the activity, Raiter shared a screenshot from the monitoring system his company uses. The system identified a computer operating from an Iranian IP address that remained active. According to him, the computer did not resemble a normal user device. Nearly 40 percent of the software and cookies on the machine were related to cryptocurrency platforms.

“I don’t know many normal people in the West who have forty different accounts on crypto assets on one PC,” he said. “Unless you’re a crypto trader, you don’t see something like that.”

Raiter also pointed to several specific websites appearing in the system logs. Among them were the cryptocurrency exchanges MEXC and BestExchange, as well as a VPN service called IVPN. According to him, these exchanges are known for requiring minimal identity verification.

“Most people will say these are just exchange websites,” he explained. “But if you read online, they support exchange with minimal KYC, ‘know your customer’ requirements.” In practice, he said, these platforms often do not require passports, phone numbers, or other identifying documentation to open accounts.

The device he observed was configured with both Farsi and English keyboards. The username appearing in the system also appeared Iranian. Raiter emphasized that he could not identify the individual operating the computer or determine exactly what transactions were being made. However, he said the technical indicators were significant.

According to internal system logs from Rakia, the first few hours of the conflict saw more than $12 million move through automated transactions that rapidly hopped from wallet to wallet. The amount was suspicious, given that the average annual income in Iran is just over $4,000.

“If you have ten million dollars in the current situation in Iran, you can buy factories,” he said, explaining that such sums would represent enormous wealth in the country’s struggling economy. And like in so many dictatorships, the wealthiest entity in Iran is the government.

The question now is why the Iranian government was sending millions of dollars to Hezbollah and the Houthis. So far, the Houthis have stayed out of the conflict, and the Lebanese government has ordered Hezbollah not to get involved. Hopefully, these movements of cash do not represent advance payments for joining the fight in the coming days. Either way, this incident underscores why the Trump administration and many analysts believe the Iranian regime has to be completely eradicated and a new democratic government established in Iran.

The post Tracking Iran’s Suspicious Cryptocurrency Movements appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.