Mike Huckabee

Biden’s State of the Union

After the decisive results of the Super Tuesday primaries, I quoted the British phrase, “It’s all over but the shouting.” Well, last night, we got the shouting. I don’t know what his staffers pumped President Biden full of in preparation for his State of the Union speech, but it’s a safe bet it was not Relaxium.

In fact, it’s hard to say which was worse: Biden’s State of the Union speech or the actual state of the union under Biden, which got very little time last night. The “speech” was a disjointed, angry, shouted laundry list of leftist pipe dreams (The PRO Act? No thanks!), false claims, timeworn campaign tropes (“Make the rich pay their fair share!”) and unfair political attacks with no shape or structure. Biden just careened from one DNC talking point to the next like billiard balls bouncing off each other.

The dark, divisive, partisan nature of the speech didn’t just target Trump, Republicans and their supporters. There was also a very disturbing moment when he seemed to threaten the six attending Supreme Court Justices to their faces by warning them that they were about to see the electoral power of women furious over Roe v. Wade being overturned. Earth to Biden: It’s not the Supreme Court’s job to care about elections or public opinion polls. It’s their job to determine if something is constitutional, which Roe clearly was not. So stop trying to gin up threats from your more deranged followers in an attempt to intimidate them.

https://www.westernjournal.com/biden-just-threaten-scotus-justices-attendance-called-sotu/

By the way, Republicans are not running on a promise to pass a national anti-abortion law (Trump has suggested a 16-week limit, which is two weeks beyond France's law); and when Biden says he will codify Roe into law, that’s a lie. Roe was actually far more restrictive than the radical, unfettered abortion-until-birth law he wants to pass. Also, the Alabama Supreme Court did not outlaw in-vitro fertilization, and the state’s Republican legislature and Governor had, the day before, passed and signed a law protecting IVF procedures.

Of course, the media will attempt to paint the speech as a triumph, a repudiation of the idea that he’s too old or impaired for the job (or at least that he can’t stay awake past 9 o’clock.) They’re lauding his “energy” and “vigor,” with the A.P. describing Biden as “feisty,” which is like calling Godzilla “grumpy.”

On the other side, we’re hearing complaints that it was the worst SOTU in history, an “utter disgrace” with no inspiring appeals to unity or our shared values as Americans, just an unprecedented and “unhinged” diatribe against his political opponents, by turns angry or mocking, with a shocking opening that tried to compare his opponent Donald Trump to Hitler. It was also delivered in a rushed, slurring rant that made it seem as if he’d guzzled two gallons of Red Bull before taking the podium (entirely possible.)

The moment that’s going viral is when Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene heckled him into saying Laken Riley’s name, and he did make some moving comments about the young woman who was allegedly murdered by a Venezuelan illegal alien who’d been released multiple times. He botched her name as “Lincoln Riley,” but at least he paid tribute to her. But if you want to know how seriously the Democrats really take the issue of criminal illegal aliens preying on Americans, consider that some of them, including Nancy Pelosi, seemed more upset over Biden referring to the alleged murderer as an “illegal” rather than the PC term “undocumented” than they are over her murder.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/03/07/watch-joe-biden-mispronounces-laken-rileys-name-at-state-of-the-union/

Also, the White House is refusing to back the Laken Riley Act, which would require the deportation of illegal aliens with serious criminal records (it also got backing from only 37 House Democrats), saying they should pass that “immigration reform” bill instead.

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2024/03/08/white-house-refuses-to-support-laken-riley-act-says-get-on-board-with-senate-bill/

And Democrat Senate Majority Whip Dick Durban blocked a vote on “Sarah’s Law,” a law that would require ICE to detain (not deport, just detain) illegal aliens charged with killing or seriously injuring another person. It’s named after Sarah Root, another young American killed by an illegal alien drunk driver. It’s kind of hard to refute the “population replacement conspiracy theory” when the Dems refuse even to detain illegal aliens for killing American citizens.

https://www.westernjournal.com/democratic-senator-blocks-bill-require-detainment-illegal-immigrants-charged-violent-crimes/

Back to the SOTU: Some Republicans in the hall complained that Biden was speaking so fast and mumbling and slurring so much that they couldn’t understand what he was saying. I caught most of it, I think, and I still couldn’t understand some of it. For instance, is it really an applause line to brag that jobs building roads and bridges will go to Americans? Who else would build roads and bridges in America? Unless we start importing Irish and Chinese workers again, like we’re building the Transcontinental Railroad.

Or his claim that sending soldiers to Gaza to build a pier is not “putting boots on the ground.” Will they be wearing sandals, or avoiding touching the ground by riding on hoverboards?

Or his declaration that all children should learn to read by the third grade. That’s a pretty low bar even for today’s public schools. Admittedly, people who didn’t learn to read until the third grade are the Democrats’ target demographic.

I’m not going to go through the speech in detail and fact-check every patently false claim because the newsletter would be longer than the Hong Kong phone book. Plus, a number of outlets have already done a great job of that, and I’ll link to them below. But here are just a few whoppers that stood out for me:

* Virtually everything he said about the economy was patently false: “I inherited an economy that was on the brink. Now our economy is the envy of the world! 15 million new jobs in just three years – that’s a record! Unemployment at 50-year lows!”

As Breitbart.com noted, just prior to the pandemic, under Trump, there were over 152 million jobs. There are now 157.7 million. Most of the “new jobs” Biden takes credit for are Trump-era jobs artificially shut down by the pandemic and that people returned to when the lockdowns ended. Many of the actual “new jobs” are government jobs.

Today’s unemployment rate is 3.7%. Just before the pandemic hit, under Trump, it was 3.5%. As for Biden inheriting an economy that was “on the brink,” it was actually strongly rebounding from the shutdowns. In the third quarter of 2020, it grew at an annual rate of 33.1% as businesses reopened. Fourth quarter 2020 growth was 4.3%, and in the first quarter of 2021, before any Biden policies took effect, the economy grew 5.2%.

* He actually pulled out the Democrat election year perennial that Republicans want to slash Social Security. I’ve been hearing this lie since I was a boy, and I’m now eligible for Social Security. Trump has already stated that he will not stand for any cuts in benefits for Social Security and Medicare recipients. So that was just an empty scare tactic, and a cliched one at that.

FYI: The big problem with demagoguing Social Security this way is that studies show it is likely to run out of money by 2032, but anyone who dares try to suggest a way to save it immediately gets hit with ads accusing them of wanting to wheel grandma over a cliff. So politicians soon learn to do nothing and hope they won’t be in office when the day of reckoning arrives. Saving Social Security will require political courage, honesty and placing the welfare of seniors over political advantage, so I don’t see that happening. But if you’d like to hear an intriguing suggestion for saving SS – one that could even result in a surplus that saves it for future generations – without tax increases or cutting current benefits, check out this video, which also includes a clip of Trump saying he will not cut Social Security:

Mike Huckabee

As I’ve been telling people for years, politics is a contact sport and you’d better not get into it if you can’t stand the sight of your own blood. That’s why I find it incredibly hypocritical that so many people pretend to get their bloomers in a twist over Donald Trump’s “mean tweets,” especially when they’re usually in response to someone launching an incredibly nasty, unfair or untrue assault on him. Here’s an example of how much theater is really involved in politics.

We’ve all heard about the alleged bad blood between Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Well, the instant it became apparent that Trump was going to be the GOP nominee, what did McConnell do? Did he throw a fit, call Trump a fascist and storm out of the Party, the way Democrats must’ve hoped? Nope, he endorsed Trump. McConnell issued this statement:

“It is abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the requisite support of Republican voters to be our nominee for president of the United States. It should come as no surprise that as nominee, he will have my support.”

And did Trump fire back with a mean tweet, sarcastically mocking McConnell for their prior disagreements? Nope. Here’s his response on Truth Social:

“Thank you, Mitch. I look forward to working with you and a Republican Senate MAJORITY to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

And that’s how politics is supposed to work. It’s like a prize fight: you might bruise each other while it’s going on, but once it’s over, you shake hands and get back to work. It’s only the people who let politics become an all-encompassing obsession who can’t be civil to people they disagree with in any way. That’s why Democratic Party politics has become more like a religious cult that chases away anyone who questions the dogma in any way until there’s nothing left but a fanatical group of hardcore Kool-Aid drinkers.

Mike Huckabee

President Biden gives his State of the Union speech tonight, and Democrats are quietly nervous about whether he’ll be able to get through it without going off the Teleprompter in some disturbing way. They’re trying to lower expectations (is that even possible?) by claiming that Trump makes rhetorical slips, too. Yes, but Trump doesn’t make slips like claiming he’s been endorsed by Woodrow Wilson, whom he had lunch with last week.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/democrats-quietly-nervous-bidens-performance-state-of-union-believe-will-make-mistakes

I’m sure Biden will be pumped full of…let’s say, Vitamin B12…and he’ll probably get through the speech without going full-on Captain Queeg. I’m concerned not about the way he’ll say it but what he’ll actually say. If the advance word is accurate, it’s going to be another divisive speech filled with transparent lies about his nonexistent accomplishments and promoting the Democrats’ only argument for reelecting them: “Trump is HITLER!!!”

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13154759/biden-state-union-address-trump-putin.html?ito=social-twitter_dailymailus

We know Biden won’t use the speech the way it’s supposed to be used, to tell us the state of America, because that would be catastrophic for his reelection chances. So according to the Daily Mail, he’s going to dispense a lot of campaign balloon juice about how great the economy is thanks to him, and paint a dark picture of the stark choice between him and “Trump and the MAGA Republicans” (“Ooooh, scary, kids!”) who are (say it with me!) a “threat to our democracy!” You know, with the way they’re always trying to prosecute and jail their political opponents and remove them from the ballot. Oh, wait: that’s the Democrats.

I’d also advise you not to play any drinking games that require you to take a belt whenever he mentions January 6^th. You might die of alcohol poisoning.

According to Biden’s advisers, he will ask Americans “whose side are they on?” Do “they want lower health care costs, democratic freedoms and to keep Ukraine from being swallowed up by Russian leader Vladimir Putin? Or do they want to side with drug company profits, tax breaks for the wealthy and Putin?”

Oh, what a ball of nonsense to untangle. First of all, nobody’s on the side of Putin, but I noticed that he waited to invade Ukraine until Trump was gone and Biden was President. I have a feeling that wasn’t a coincidence.

And has anyone done more for drug company profits than Joe “Take this untested vaccine or else!” Biden? According to Democrats, all tax breaks are for “the wealthy,” including the Trump tax cuts that disproportionately helped lower- and middle-income earners. Of course, the biggest tax of all is inflation. He will brag about lowering the rate of increase in prices, which was caused by his profligate spending and lowered by the Fed’s painful interest rate hikes. Slightly slower price increases don’t help put food on the table or pay the mortgage, especially now that the median monthly mortgage payment is around $2200.

Let me be clear: I’m not mindlessly on the side of any political party, not even my own, at least not at the expense of the nation. I’m on the side of America, which I see hurting and under assault. I’m not supporting Trump because I think he’s perfect or I worship him. I’m not a Democrat so I don’t look to politicians for saviors. I have a Savior already. I want politicians to be public servants who love America and want to make things better for all its people, not to abuse their offices to demonize half the population and terrorize the other half, just so they can keep their sorry rear ends in seats of power.

So the big question isn’t “Can Biden get through tonight’s speech without having a meltdown?” The question is, can the rest of us?

Guests to look for tonight

Here are some of the guests to look for at tonight’s State of the Union Address. I’m telling you now because I do not expect the mainstream news outlets to identify some of these people, since it would not look good for Biden and the Democrats to remind you of their existence.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/madelineleesman/2024/03/07/state-of-the-union-guests-n2636163

And here are two people who were invited but turned it down, for obvious reasons.

https://www.westernjournal.com/laken-rileys-parents-reject-invite-bidens-state-union/

Mike Huckabee

Over the weekend, Donald Trump added to his GOP primary lead with commanding wins in the Missouri, Michigan and Idaho caucuses.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/03/02/trump-romps-in-idaho-caucus-this-is-your-country-and-its-also-trump-country/

However, there was good news for Nikki Haley: she finally won her first GOP primary. The bad news: it was in DC, where Republicans are nearly as rare as fiscal responsibility. She beat Trump by nearly 2-1 in the ground zero of federal government swamp dwellers, but that was out of a turnout of fewer than 2,000 voters, and who knows how many of them were actually Republicans. Personally, I doubt that there are that many Republicans in DC, and I also doubt that most Republicans outside of DC will consider being DC’s preferred Republican to be a selling point.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/03/03/nikki-haley-projected-winner-dc-swamp-republican-primary/

Maybe DC voters approve of the fact that she’s nowhere near even being elected yet and she’s already breaking promises she put into writing. That’s a very popular thing in Washington.

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2024/03/03/nikki-haley-im-no-longer-bound-by-pledge-to-support-trump-rnc-is-not-the-same/

She might want to savor that victory while she can because tomorrow is Super Tuesday, when 15 states plus American Samoa hold primaries. Polls suggest that Trump could garner enough delegates to nearly lock up the nomination. It takes 1,215. He currently has 244 and 874 will be awarded tomorrow.

Mike Huckabee

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments in the appeal from Trump’s legal team regarding presidential immunity from criminal prosecution in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s “January 6” case, and has set the date for April 22.  This is a question of historic proportion that has never been addressed by the High Court. 

Specifically, the question, as expressed by the Court, is, “Whether and if so to what extent does a former President enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve OFFICIAL ACTS [emphasis ours] during his tenure in office.”

Given the schedule, and the fact that the trial is on hold --- if it ever takes place at all, depending on their ruling --- means it almost certainly won’t get started, let alone have a verdict, before the election.  It was Judge Tanya Chutkan, who has expressed strong bias against President Trump and his supporters and handed down some incredibly long sentences to J6 defendants, who had first denied Trump’s motion, saying, “Nothing in American history justifies the absolute immunity [Trump] seeks.”

It should be noted that Trump is not seeking ABSOLUTE immunity.  This argument involves actions he took as part of being President, which is to say, constitutionally.  The proper way to deal with such a matter is through impeachment and conviction.  Trump was already impeached by Congress --- on his way out the door --- over his actions on January 6 and found not guilty in the Senate.

Trump’s appeal of Judge Chutkan’s ruling went to a three-judge panel of the DC Circuit Court; recall that leftist Judge Florence Pan brought up a ridiculous hypothetical involving a U.S. President using Seal Team Six to assassinate a political rival.  They upheld Chutkan’s order 3-0, rejecting his immunity claim.

The next step was Trump’s request for an “en banc” hearing, which is to say, the full court would hear the argument, and filed an emergency application to SCOTUS to put the panel’s court order on hold in the meantime.  Special Counsel Smith, in his hurry to get the case to trial in a DC (kangaroo) court before the election, filed an opposition to Trump’s request.  “Delay in the resolution of these charges threatens to frustrate the public interest in a speedy and fair verdict…” he wrote.

Note:  In a DC court, with Chutkan presiding and before a jury full of virulent anti-Trumpers who’ve convicted him in advance of “insurrection,” fair’s got nothing to do with it.  And the right to a speedy trial is not out of “public interest” or to satisfy what the prosecutor wants --- it’s for the defendant, who in this case is TRUMP, who does not want to go to trial at all.

One possible scenario, according to investigative reporter and analyst Julie Kelly, is that the Supreme Court will decide as early as sometime in May --- still pretty fast --- that a President can be prosecuted for acts taken in office.  (That’s a decision that would have a lot of ramifications for future Presidents, for sure.)  In that case, the trial in Chutkan’s courtroom will re-commence.  Three months will have been lost, and Kelly estimates that a trial wouldn’t get underway until late August.

But Kelly believes that due to the complexity and historic importance of this decision, they likely won’t have a ruling until the conclusion of this term, at the end of June.  That would push the trial to late September.

In that case, a conviction --- oops, I mean “verdict” --- probably wouldn’t be reached before Election Day.  For months, Smith has been trying to move heaven and earth to get a conviction before voters cast their ballots, obviously hoping to make a big dent in his support and lose the election for him.

Of course, there’s one more possible scenario:  that the Supreme Court reverses the appellate panel and says a President cannot be prosecuted for actions taken as part of his official presidential duties.  Then the criminal case against Trump will...go away.

Trump’s political foes had been hoping the Court would let the appellate ruling stand, meaning the trial could now go full steam ahead.  Julie Kelly’s piece features some examples of hysteria --- caution:  some extremely profane --- from the left, as posted on X (Twitter); one of the worst is (unsurprisingly) from Nancy Pelosi: “The Supreme Court is placing itself on trial with its decision to hear the former president’s total immunity claim.  It remains to be seen whether the justices will uphold the fundamental American value that no one is above the law --- not even a former president.”

“The Supreme Court is placing itself on trial”?  Really??

Oh, and you’ll be hearing that phrase --- “no one is above the law” --- even more during the coming weeks.  Better have some Excedrin on hand, because that drum is going to be beating nonstop.  But this case isn’t about being above the law.  If it weren’t much more complicated, SCOTUS could just wave its collective hand and give the DC court its blessing.   

Another lovely X posting referred to Judge Pan’s absurd hypothetical and also to Trump being assassinated: “The good news is that SCOTUS will probably rule on whether Biden [has] absolute immunity in time for him to order SEAL TEAM 6 to take him out, as Trump’s lawyer said Biden could do.”

https://www.declassified.live/p/supreme-court-to-consider-presidential

Back in January, Kelly examined Pan’s hypothetical and the “unseriousness” of that panel of judges.  In addition to Pan, a Biden appointee, the panel consisted of Michelle Childs, another Biden appointee, and Karen Henderson, a George H. Bush appointee.  (It just smells wrong to have Biden appointees ruling on cases that so directly affect the fate of his political rival, doesn’t it?  Chutkan, who had said in her written opinion that the presidency is not a “get-out-of-jail-free card,” is an Obama appointee.)

As Kelly writes, “Given the unprecedented nature of the matter before the court, one would assume the two Biden-appointed judges would take extra care in conducting the hearing as impartially and untheatrically as possible...That, however, did not happen.”

Read her piece for her blow-by-blow description of how that hearing went.  Kelly also delves into the various political associations, and it doesn’t get more anti-Trump and swampy than this.  (For example, she’s known former DOJ lawyer (and Lisa Page’s attorney) Amy Jeffress for three decades and attended Jeffress’ wedding, officiated by Merrick Garland.  The groom was DC District Court Judge Chris Cooper, appointed by Obama.  DC is so...cozy.

Kelly also asks the same question we have, about just how “randomly” judges are selected for cases.  “...Pan is oddly seated on an unusually high percentage of consequential political cases,” she observes, and offers examples.  Pan must be enjoying her work; last week, her panel denied the appeal of Russel Alford, who was sentenced by Judge Chutkan to 12 months in prison for being inside the Capitol building for 11 minutes on January 6.  He wasn’t violent or destructive, but Chutkan had apparently found him “guilty by association” anyway, and the panel upheld this, with Pan writing that “a jury could rationally find that his unauthorized presence in the Capitol as part of an unruly mob contributed to the disruption of the Congress’s electoral certification and jeopardized public safety.”

This is the kind of twisted rationale being used by these judges.  And Judge Chutkan is presiding over President Trump’s “J6” trial.

https://www.declassified.live/p/the-hackery-of-judge-florence-pan

RELATED READING:  Speaking of the swamp, here’s an outstanding piece by Robert Chernin in REALCLEAR POLITICS on the recent revelations concerning Obama’s CIA spying on Trump’s campaign.

As Chernin sums up the problem, “The involvement of foreign allies in surveilling American citizens under the pretext of national security raises serious questions about the integrity of our democratic processes and the autonomy of our nation’s intelligence operations.”

In other words, if anything is a threat to “Our Democracy,” this is it.  A must-read.  Too bad the very people who need to read it the most will avoid it like the plague.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2024/02/28/obamas_cia_asked_foreign_intel_agencies_to_spy_on_trump_campaign

Mike Huckabee

https://www.westernjournal.com/poll-shows-americans-new-top-concern-country-horrible-news-biden/

It’s assumed that this surge in concern about illegal immigration is fueled by outrage over the murder of University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, allegedly by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela who was stopped at the border but released, then arrested in New York but released again by authorities who deliberately refused to hand him over to ICE for deportation. At least New York City Mayor Eric Adams is finally calling for change in that insane policy, but it’s like closing the barn after the horses got out.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/02/27/democrat-nyc-mayor-eric-adams-calls-for-changing-sanctuary-city-law-that-protected-laken-riley-s-accused-killer/

Riley’s murder is the latest and most shocking example of Americans paying the price for the invasion of unvetted aliens, but she’s sadly not the first and only such victim. And if we count the Americans killed by fentanyl that’s pouring across the border and being distributed by illegal alien drug gangsters, the tragic human toll of Biden’s border policies is astronomical.

I’m glad to see that the American people are too smart to buy the feeble attempts to spin and gaslight this story away, from the media trying to cover up the suspect’s background by calling him “an Athens resident” to saying the crime shows the “dangers women face” when running outdoors alone.

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2024/02/27/katie-porters-response-to-an-illegal-immigrant-murdering-riley-laken-is-simply-awful-n2170648

So are they trying to blame Laken for her own murder because she dared to think she had a right to go jogging without being murdered? This is as disgusting as the European media who responded to Muslim immigrant rape gangs by telling women not to dress too provocatively. Democrats have already prioritized "trans rights" over women's rights; now they're doing the same thing with "illegal alien criminal rights."

We know why she was murdered: Because Democrats believe in things like open borders, sanctuary cities, refusing to enforce laws and blaming crimes on the victims instead of the perpetrators. This poll shows that Americans now see through that. Let’s hope the polls in November show that they’ve had more than enough of it.

Mike Huckabee

“This time it’s really happening,” Steve Baker posted on X Tuesday. 

Baker, who as an independent journalist covered the riot on January 6, 2021, was finally told last week --- after two and a half years --- that he would have to turn himself in to the FBI this week.  (He had a false alarm late last year, but this time it’s for real.)  Sure enough, Baker has just been notified that there’s now a signed arrest warrant and he’s supposed to surrender in Dallas this Friday. 

The instructions are oddly specific.  He’s supposed to surrender at 7AM, wearing “shorts and sandals” (?).  He speculated Tuesday that he’ll be put through the “humiliation” of changing into an orange jumpsuit and being handcuffed.  From that point, he’ll be transported to the Dallas courthouse to appear at a 10AM hearing before a federal magistrate.  Probably in an orange jumpsuit, no doubt meant to provide a nice chilling effect to other independent journalists.

These are reportedly misdemeanor charges, so Baker had thought this might be a simple order to appear, but no --- instead they have chosen the full-out “arrest warrant” route. 

The last time we updated this story, Baker didn’t even know what the charges against him would be.  He STILL doesn’t know.  Withholding the charges is, according to his attorney, a “really unusual” move.  The attorney, James Lee Bright, said he’s hoping to get a copy of the complaint as early as possible Friday morning.  Can you even imagine what it must be like to know you’re going to be indicted but not to know what for?

One thing they did tell Baker’s legal team:  their client is not expected to be detained, so there’s no need to arrange bail.  (Question:  If that’s true, why won’t they let him wear his own street clothes to the arraignment?  That doesn’t make any more sense than anything else about this case.) 

As long as Baker is awaiting trial, he’ll face travel restrictions and almost certainly will not be allowed to travel to Washington DC, which, Baker said, “will have a deleterious impact on my work.”  It’s also possible that there will be other restrictions:  gag orders from talking about the case, restrictions or an outright ban on social media, and possibly orders to surrender electronic devices and firearms.  “All unknowns,” Baker said.

Now working full-time for BLAZE NEWS as an investigative journalist, Baker said it will be a “relief” to get this step over with.  At the same time, it’s weighing hard.  “I’m not a depressive person, but I’m not happy about this,” he told THE BLAZE.  “I have prayed, ‘Lord, let this cup pass from me,’ but apparently it’s not going to.”

Baker has been waiting a long time for that “knock on the door” from the FBI.  For many months, things sort of went quiet.  According to BLAZE MEDIA editor-in-chief Matthew Peterson, it was after that news outlet started working with him that the government “sprang back into action.”  As we’ve reported, the FBI had talked to Baker in December about surrendering but then told him it could be put off till after the Christmas holidays.  Wasn’t that thoughtful of our friends in law enforcement?  But now the time has come.

BLAZE MEDIA will apparently be participating in Baker’s defense.  “We will be showing the world footage from January 6 that shows Steve was clearly present that day as an independent journalist,” Peterson said.  “Government retaliation such as this against journalists contradicts the very idea of a free press, the purpose of our form of government, and what once was the American way of life.”

It’s sad to have to say so, but with what we know about the politicization of the FBI and what is NOW the American way of life, it’s impossible not to wonder at the timing of Baker’s arrest.  He had spent a great deal of time going through hours of recently-released security camera video of the area near the entrance to the DNC headquarters, where a “live” pipe bomb was “found” --- sorry for all these quotation marks, but they’re to make a point --- just minutes before the election certification process was scheduled to start, and had recently offered his findings.

Regular readers of this newsletter know all about this:  the fact that the bomb was discovered by plainclothes law enforcement (what are the odds?); the odd casualness with which the Secret Service and Capitol Police received the report of a “live bomb,” even allowing passersby --- including children --- to walk right by it; the unexplained presence of Kamala Harris at the DNC when she was about to be certified as VP-elect at the Capitol building, and, perhaps most of all, the curious inability of a bomb-sniffing dog to sniff out a bomb supposedly sitting just a few feet away.  All of this cast doubt on the official story.

Last October, Baker’s investigation also questioned something else:  the testimony of Capitol Police Special Agent David Lazarus that led to the convictions of several Oath Keepers.  Tediously examining January 6 closed-circuit video frame-by-frame, Baker found that Lazarus couldn’t possibly have been in the right place at the right time to have seen what he testified to.  Presumably, these convictions are now being appealed on the basis of this finding.

Recall also Capitol Hill Police Officer Harry Dunn, who had insisted --- in very emotional testimony --- that rioters frequently yelled racial slurs at him that day.  Baker’s review of all the video showed no evidence of this actually happening.  (We can’t say conclusively that this didn’t happen even once, but the video surely would have picked something up if it had been going on repeatedly.)  But in an update on Dunn, he was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by Biden last year and appears to have a bright political future, running for Congress in Maryland with the endorsements of Congress members Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell, Bennie Thompson and Jasmine Crockett (Houston, TX).  As you know, Bennie Thompson was the chairman of Nancy Pelosi’s J6 Kangaroo Kommittee.

As reported in THE NEW YORK TIMES, he claimed in an interview “that he believed he was the candidate best equipped to combat the right-wing movement loyal to former President Donald J. Trump.”

Schiff said in a statement, “Harry Dunn defended my life on January 6, and I’m proud to stand beside him and endorse him in his race to represent Maryland’s 3^rd Congressional district.  We need fighters like Harry in Congress, where he will continue to stand his ground, fight for accountability, and protect our democracy.” (Fun fact: every time Adam Schiff says, “Protect our democracy,” a Founding Father winces in his grave. Apparently, Democrats are now “protecting our democracy” by arresting journalists for exposing their lies.)

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/05/us/politics/harry-dunn-congress-jan-6.html

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2024/02/27/political-notes-dunns-haul-hogans-liquor-message-health-picket/

This weekend, we’ll have an update on Baker’s arraignment and the charges he faces.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/blaze-news-investigative-writer-steve-baker-says-fbi-wants-him-to-self-surrender-friday-in-dallas-over-his-jan-6-reportin

Kenneth Allard

On Tuesday, February 27, President Biden needed to generate headlines demonstrating that he is really still functioning as the nation’s chief executive, appearances to the contrary. In due course, Senator Chuck Schumer and Congressman Hakeem Jeffries left their White House meeting and ambled outside to descry: Republican inaction on Ukraine (most important); funding the government (which runs out of money on Thursday); and (oh yes) the ongoing shambles once known as our southern border. The headlines were urgently needed for two reasons: to put pressure on the Republican House to keep the government open; but mostly to counteract other headlines about Biden’s migrant hordes. The latter problem has leap-frogged from being an outrageous inconvenience in Democrat-controlled cities to a national problem of public safety.

The latter inconvenience creates a particular problem for the legacy media that, in deference to their Democratic masters, normally tries to downplay any adverse news about immigration, scary crime stories most of all. During my decade as a military analyst with NBC News and MSNBC, the only story more compelling than a fiery, multi-vehicle traffic accident on the near-by New Jersey Turnpike was when an attractive white lady either went missing or met with a tragic outcome. The murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley and the arrest of Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, are stories that continue to resonate on raw American nerves. It is one thing to expose the American welfare state to 10 million impoverished new claimant; but quite another when a president willfully creates a national-security nightmare instead of vigorously defending the common good.

Congressman Tony Gonzales – a career Navy veteran who represents Texas 23^rd District  - sums it up succinctly:  “If we fail to secure the border, we’re going to continue losing American lives – whether through fentanyl overdoses, car chases with smugglers or, God forbid, a terrorist action…We need to stop treating this issue like we have all the time in the world to fix it.”

As a fellow Cold War vet, I suspect that Congressman Gonzales joins me in worrying about the fate of Ukraine. Because deterrence is multi-faceted, Putin’s decision to invade fully reflected his judgment of the awkward US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Equally problematic: the war’s last two exquisitely painful years where American largesse focused not so much on victory but on just not losing. Despite the staggering losses endured by the Russians, former US defense secretary Robert Gates said in a recent Washington Post interview, “It’s no longer a stalemate. The Russians have regained momentum… Everything I’m reading is that the Russians are on the offensive along the 600-mile front.” Because of flagging US support, “the Russians are feeling that the tides have turned, and while there is much to be done, the initiative has passed to them.” 

"https://thehill-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/thehill.com/policy/defense/4481737-russia-broken-stalemate-ukraine-gates/amp/

As if these immediate crises were not enough to worry about, Americans should never assume that nothing else is wrong. That point was forcefully made earlier this month by Heritage Foundation Senior Fellow (and former Marine) Dakota L. Wood. For many years, the Heritage Foundation has compiled an authoritative analysis of American military forces, their equipment, training and readiness; the Heritage report for 2024 supported Mr. Wood’s chilling assessment. 

 At present, the U.S. military is roughly half the size it needs to be. Moreover, most of its primary equipment (planes, ships, tanks, etc.) is 30 to 40 years old, and soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and guardians are training only a fraction of what they should to be competent in battle. Yet senior leaders in the Pentagon…who have access to the facts (and who should know better) continue to say we have the best military in the world, as if saying so makes it so. It does not.

I found Mr. Wood’s final summation even more troubling since deterrence ultimately depends on our ability to defeat an enemy in battle. “So if our military is at great risk of not being able to win … well, it doesn’t have much deterrent value. Our potential enemies can see this; the American public, not so much.” https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/2024-us-military-weak%E2%80%A6and-should-scare-you-209335

Bottom Line: The 2024 Presidential campaign should discuss the requirements for national survival, not just national security.

Colonel Ken Allard is a former West Point faculty member, Dean of the National War College and an on-air military analyst for NBC News.

Mike Huckabee

As regular readers will know, Steve Baker at THE BLAZE has spent many months investigating the January 6 riot and subsequent prosecution, tirelessly combing though hours of video to try to get the full sense of what really happened.  With the release --- at last --- of surveillance camera video from outside the DNC headquarters, he’s been focusing on the pipe bombs that were placed at or near the headquarters of the DNC and RNC, and we’ve featured his reporting here.  Baker has been waiting a long time for that “knock on the door” from the FBI, and last week, it came.

Figuratively, anyway.  He’s been told he has to turn himself in to face misdemeanor charges.

As Baker posted on X: “Misdemeanors?  For what?  Terrorism?  Is there such a thing as misdemeanor terrorism charges?  60 other journalists entered the Capitol on J6.  Do we all have to see the world through the same prism?  Here we go.  Game on.  I will not take a plea deal.”

He plans to make the case for selective and vindictive prosecution.  He is a JOURNALIST.

At REVOLVER NEWS, there’s a video clip with Glenn Beck and Baker talking about the optics of the pipe bomb story that day and the limitations put on the FBI investigation afterwards.  Be sure to see it.

https://revolver.news/2024/02/breaking-doj-to-arrest-the-blazes-independent-j6-journalist-steve-baker-for-covering-the-capitol-riot/

In another case of journalist harassment, Catherine Herridge, recently fired from CBS NEWS, has reportedly received the materials CBS confiscated from her, which would have included information on confidential sources going back years.  The corporation says no one has looked through any of that information and that her former office was secure after she left (or, as we would imagine, was escorted out by security).  Hey, their word on that is good enough for us!

You know when we’re joking, right?

The U.K. DAILY MAIL has details.  According to their report, and that of the NEW YORK POST, Herridge had been working on a story “related to Hunter Biden’s laptop.”  You know, the one that had the classic earmarks of Russian disinformation.  More on that soon.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13117901/CBS-notes-journalist-fired-investigating-Hunter-Biden.html

Sidenote: Giving credit where it’s due, the SAG-AFTRA union that represents TV journalists as well as actors (some fall into both categories) actually defended Herridge, condemning CBS for its “shocking,” “absurd” and “completely inappropriate” actions.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/sag-aftra-condemns-cbs-news-233301995.html

As Hunter Biden prepares for questioning by congressional committees this week (or else for how to avoid it, ha), the special counsel handling his prosecution on gun charges is being accused of endangering national security through his incompetence.

This stems from Special Counsel David Weiss’s charges filed last week against FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, who is now --- after working with the FBI for a decade and being considered a reputable confidential human source (CHS) --- alleged to have made false statements in the Biden finance case.  Among other things, he claimed Burisma founder Mykola Zlochevsky had said he “paid $5 million to one Biden and $5 million to another Biden.”  This claim was immortalized in 2020 in an FBI agent’s “1023” interview notes.

(Incidentally, that “1023” is absolutely NOT the “centerpiece” of the bribery allegations about the Bidens, despite Democrats’ claims.  We’ve been all over that, Jamie Raskin.)

As legal analyst Margot Cleveland reports, “In indicting Smirnov, Weiss confirmed his office had botched the Hunter Biden investigation by ignoring the FD-1023 for nearly three years — and then only investigating Smirnov’s claims after Grassley made the document public. Specifically, according to Thursday’s indictment, the FBI did not question Smirnov about his reporting until Sept. 27, 2023.” 

Then-Attorney General William Barr had tasked the Pittsburgh office with screening any information relating to Ukraine, which agents appear to have done with this “1023.”  The U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh, Scott Brady, had found no connection with “known sources of Russian disinformation” and had forwarded the “1023” to Weiss’s team in Delaware.  Smirnov continued to be a CHS for the FBI.

But earlier this month, when Smirnov was arrested, Weiss argued in a memorandum in favor of detention that because of his many connections to foreign intelligence services, Smirnov was a flight risk.  Smirnov had made no secret of these to the FBI; the FBI knew about them because he’d reported these to his handler.  Read Cleveland’s column, and she outlines the connections in detail.  Smirnov was re-arrested on Thursday, after first being allowed to be free on bond while wearing an ankle monitor.

These are the sorts of connections that a CHS normally has.  (How else is he supposed to have anything in the way of information to pass along?)   From all appearances, the DOJ is using them now to throw Smirnov under the bus and discredit the claims of Biden financial impropriety.

In his filing, Weiss said Smirnov had claimed to have seen video of Hunter at a Russian-controlled hotel in Kiev.  But they apparently have established that Hunter had never traveled to Kiev.  This might have just been a mistake, but in his filing, Weiss claimed that this meant Smirnov is attempting to interfere with the 2024 election.  Quite a leap.

“He [Smirnov] is actively peddling new lies that could impact U.S. elections after meeting with Russian intelligence officials in November,” Weiss wrote.

Was Smirnov lying to the FBI, or was he not?  Either way, this makes the FBI look really bad.  If he was feeding them false information, we know they were using him as a CHS for years, and continued to.  He gave them the information in that “1023” three years ago.  As Cleveland asks, “What information might our FBI have entrusted Smirnov with for those three years?”

If Smirnov wasn’t feeding them false information, then the FBI is railroading him to create the false narrative that his story incriminating the Bidens in a bribery scheme is “Russian disinformation.”  Oh, but the FBI would NEVER do something like THAT.

https://thefederalist.com/2024/02/21/david-weisss-latest-motion-shows-by-protecting-the-bidens-he-compromised-national-security/

Sadly, the plan seems to be working; look at how the mainstream media is running with the “Russia” theme AGAIN.  NBC NEWS even brings up the “classic earmarks” letter about the laptop signed by 51 former intel officials, some of whom now say they feel “vindicated.”  (We’re sorry; this commentary was supposed to be about REAL journalism.)

https://news.yahoo.com/ex-u-spies-warned-hunter-140041533.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

To clarify: No, claiming to have found some real “Russian disinformation” doesn’t mean you’ve been vindicated for falsely suggesting that something entirely different was “Russian disinformation.”

RELATED:  James Biden, younger brother of the President, appeared last week before the committees conducting the impeachment inquiry --- the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the Judiciary Committee. In his opening statement, James said:

“I have had a 50-year career in a variety of business ventures.  Joe Biden has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest in those activities.  None.”

He also said that “because of my intimate knowledge of my brother’s personal integrity and character, as well as my own strong ethics, I have always kept my professional life separate from our close personal relationship.”  He said he’d never relied on his “status as Joe Biden’s brother.”

“Those who have said or thought otherwise were either mistaken, ill-informed, or flat-out lying,” he said.  Well, he can say that all he wants, but business associate Rob Walker’s earlier testimony confirmed that, as the House Oversight Committee put it, “Joe Biden met with nearly every foreign national who funneled money to his son.”

According to a source who spoke to FOX NEWS, James said he was not part of a deal with Hunter Biden and Biden associates James Gilliar, Rob Walker and Tony Bolukinski. When he was shown a contract with his signature on it and asked specific questions about it, his memory seemed shaky.  He said he “did not recall” signing a contract he’d signed with Hunter.

Tony Bobulinski testified a couple of weeks ago that “...it is clear to me that Joe Biden was ‘the brand’ being sold by the Biden family.  His family’s foreign influence peddling operation --- from China to Ukraine and elsewhere --- sold out to foreign actors, who were seeking to gain influence and access to Joe Biden and the United Sates government.”

Hunter is scheduled to testify Wednesday, or else to put on another dog-and-pony show with Kevin Morris and entourage in tow.  Who knows?

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/james-biden-testimony-president-never-had-involvement-financial-interest-business-ventures

Mike Huckabee

Here are more details on former President Trump’s appeal of the outrageous fine imposed on him by a New York judge.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/02/26/trump-appeals-355-million-ruling-in-new-york-civil-fraud-case/

New York DA Alvin “Let ‘Em All Go But Trump” Bragg is taking a cue from his fellow politically-motivated prosecutors and seeking a gag order on Trump, to block him from talking about certain aspects of the alleged hush money case he’s ginned up.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/rebeccadowns/2024/02/26/yet-another-gag-order-request-is-coming-for-trump-n2635765

Attorney Mike Davis of the Article 3 Project blasted Bragg’s motion in a lengthy tweet. He pointed out that it’s the defendant, not the government, who has constitutional rights to a speedy trial and free speech. He wrote:

“If there’s anyone on the planet who must have the ability to speak out about the judge, court staff, prosecutors, witnesses, and process, it is a criminal defendant going through the criminal process. This is un-American. It is a very dangerous, destructive precedent. Gagging a criminal defendant turns the U.S. Constitution on its head--from a shield to protect Americans from the government to a sword the government deploys to attack us.”

“The Democrat prosecutors and judges waging this lawfare and election interference against Trump are going to cause the federal and state judiciaries to lose their legitimacy with half the American people.”

The only part of that I’d quarrel with is “are going to.”

Finally, talk about a delicious irony: One of the strongest arguments for overturning the ruinously large fine on Trump in his New York real estate fraud case is the Eighth Amendment protection against excessive fines. The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in 2019 that that protection does apply to state courts. And one of the strongest arguments for Trump to cite came from liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who said:

“The prohibition embodied in the Excessive Fines Clause carries forward protections found in sources from Magna Carta to the English Bill of Rights to state constitutions from the colonial era to the present day. Protection against excessive fines has been a constant shield throughout Anglo-American history for good reason: Such fines undermine other liberties. They can be used, e.g., to retaliate against or chill the speech of political enemies.”

I might not have agreed with many of her rulings, but judging from this, there’s no doubt she was psychic.

Mike Huckabee

Former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov has definitely been “caught in the ‘Crossfire’” of the Biden international financial scandal --- Ukraine/Russia branch.

Not only has he been taken back into custody on charges of obstructing justice and giving false information to the FBI --- which seems quite out of character for him after working for them for well over a decade as a highly-paid, reliable source --- but now the judge in the case says he’ll be jailed indefinitely after it was determined he was a flight risk.

After Smirnov was arrested upon his arrival from overseas at Las Vegas International Airport earlier this month, a federal magistrate dismissed prosecutors’ flight-risk argument and released Smirnov with conditions, taking his passport and requiring him to wear an ankle monitor.  But that did not satisfy the judge who will be presiding over his case, Federal District Judge Otis D. Wright II of the Central District of California, who on Monday said the defendant will be denied bail and retained until trial.

Here’s the local perspective, from the LOS ANGELES TIMES, a surprisingly even-handed write-up with detail we haven’t seen elsewhere.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-02-26/fbi-informant-bidens-detention-hearing

When Smirnov was re-arrested, nine handguns and $980,000 in cash were found in his condo.  (We’ve learned from Fani Willis’ recent testimony that keeping that kind of money in your condo is perfectly normal --- if you’re a black woman.  I digress.)

Anyway, Smirnov is a dual American/Israeli citizen.  He pleaded not guilty during Monday’s hearing.  We’d like to know how they determined that what he told them Zlochevsky had said about the Bidens was fabricated, as that hasn’t really been made clear.  Special Counsel David Weiss is saying that Smirnov admitted that Russian intelligence officials were “involved in passing” him the story.  Does that mean this particular piece of information was necessarily false?  Regardless, mainstream “journalists” are now running with this, agreeing with Democrats (typical) who ludicrously say there’s no longer any evidence of Biden bribery and influence peddling.

As Matt Vespa at REDSTATE has said, “In truth, the allegations by Weiss about Smirnov prove no such thing. It is well established that President Biden’s son, Hunter, and brother, James, sold access. There are many emails and text messages, for example, showing the two men promising meetings and involvement from President Joe Biden in various business deals. And one of Hunter Biden’s business partners has testified that selling access to Joe Biden was at the center of various deals the men sought with investors around the world, from Ukraine to China.” 

But the “Justice” Department now claims that Smirnov was lying in a 2020 FBI interview when he said Burisma founder Mykola Zlochevsky had claimed he’d “paid one Biden $5 million and another Biden $5 million.”  The indictment says this was “false derogatory information” about Joe Biden (“Public Official 1”) and son Hunter (“Businessperson 1”).  More details about Smirnov’s re-arrest and detention in Vespa’s most recent column...

https://redstate.com/jeffc/2024/02/26/judge-orders-former-fbi-informant-jailed-indefinitely-pending-biden-bribery-scandal-trial-n2170602

By the way, as campaign season moves forward, we’ll all be seeing a lot more in the media about “Russian operatives” and “Russian disinformation,” with the message that these are being used to help Trump.  It’s hard to believe they’re trotting out the “Russia” narrative again when we know it was “Trumped-up” to begin with.  But Smirnov’s detention certainly pushes that narrative.  And as Dan Bongino points out, Monday’s NEW YORK TIMES ran a big story called “The Spy War:  How the CIA Secretly Helps Ukraine Fight Putin” that actually contained this sentence:  “The Ukrainians also helped U.S. officials pursue the Russian operatives who meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election between Donald J. Trump and Hillary Rodham Clinton.”

Here we go again.

Related to that, Margot Cleveland had a great column on February 15, after the news had broken that our own intelligence community originated the whole “Russian disinformation” theme and, long before the opening of “Crossfire Hurricane,” started the foreign intel surveillance of those 26 Trump associates.  She’s wondering if Hillary’s campaign was actively coordinating with our intel community to target Trump and, if so, when that effort might have started.  Fascinating reading…

https://thefederalist.com/2024/02/15/did-our-intelligence-agencies-suggest-the-russia-hoax-to-hillary-clintons-campaign/

One of Bongino’s sources on X, FoiaFan, had an intriguing comment about the Smirnov arrest:  “Smirnov was apparently spying for the United States against Russia, and they are burning him publicly by making detailed recitations of his spying.  Super-classified stuff that we NEVER get to see.  Why?”  Well, it seems they’re trying to turn the story around and show him working for Russia.

And speaking of Margot Cleveland, we’ve now come full circle because her latest column is about the arrest of Smirnov and the Democrats’ use of the recycled “Russian disinformation” garbage to exonerate Biden of Ukrainian bribery allegations before the election.

She outlines all the other evidence --- yes, it is mountainous --- that exists to prove the allegations against Biden and his family, saying it “comes from their own mouths, texts, emails and loyalists.”

“So it’s appalling,” she says, “to see the Biden corruption deniers’ manipulation of the Smirnov indictment to launch another Russian-collusion hoax, promising the American people that the entirety of the Biden corruption scandal and Hunter Biden’s legal problems is a Russian disinformation campaign designed to interfere in the 2024 presidential election.”

Cleveland also shows how odd remarks dropped into the indictment by Special Counsel David Weiss seem designed to further the made-up “Russian disinformation” story.  And she even cites the same NBC story we did, quoting some members of that group of 51 former intel officials who wrote the infamous “classic earmarks” letter about Hunter’s laptop, saying they feel “vindicated” by Smirnov’s arrest.

She notes that House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerry Nadler has now written to AG Merrick Garland and DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz asking for an investigation of former U.S. Attorney Scott Brady, who had vetted Smirnov’s FBI interview notes as part of his assignment from then-AG William Barr to screen information that came in pertaining to Ukraine.  Nadler also wants an inquiry into Barr.  Cleveland shows how, in this letter, Nadler distorts Brady’s own testimony to accuse HIM of lying about vetting Smirnov’s interview.

“THE FEDERALIST has reviewed the entire [Brady] transcript,” Cleveland writes, “and not only does it prove Nadler’s accusations are fraudulent, it confirms the idiocy of the idea that Smirnov was part of some Russian disinformation op to interfere in our elections.”

Incidentally, it was the vetting process done by Brady’s office at Barr’s request that first turned up Hunter’s connection to Burisma, as this was told to the FBI by a confidential human source (CHS).  Brady saw a passing reference to this in one FBI agent’s interview notes and requested that the FBI re-interview him to find out if it might be significant.  (Hoo boy, was it significant.)  The CHS was re-interviewed, and it was that interview we see immortalized in the “1023” at issue, which Brady testified later that he thought credible.  That CHS:  Alexander Smirnov, who is now being held without bail.

https://thefederalist.com/2024/02/26/democrats-spin-weisss-latest-indictment-into-new-russia-hoax-to-let-biden-skate-in-2024/

RELATED STORY:  Hunter Biden has a unique strategy for staying sober this year.

As he told AXIOS in a rare interview, he’s doing it for the good of the country.

In this case, he said, “I have something much bigger than even myself at stake.  We are in the middle of a fight for the future of democracy.”

He’s framed his struggle for sobriety as necessary to avoid putting his father in a bad light before the presidential election and inadvertently helping Trump get back in office.  Why, that would be terrible!  Just think --- if Hunter slipped and somehow the news got out, he might cost his father enough votes in a few swing states that even massive cheating with mail-in ballots couldn’t make up for it, and our democracy would be lost!

It occurs to us that if he happens to know who dropped off that baggie of cocaine at the White House, he might also want to tell THAT person how important sobriety is, for now.  The discovery of cocaine in the West Wing was not a good look for anyone there, including the Big Guy.  Please, please, for the sake of our democracy, keep all the drugs away from the White House, at least until after the election!

Matt Vespa at TOWNHALL spared no words about Hunter’s sense of self-importance, calling the AXIOS interview “one of the worst examples of malignant narcissism to ever exist in the political realm.”   

“This is a man who has been credibly accused of sex-trafficking women and who pimped himself out to the Chinese communists now believing that his ‘sobriety’ is one of the keys to saving American democracy,” Vespa said.  “...According to Hunter Biden, the Republic hinges on his ability to not end up back on the snow. You can't make this stuff up. It's too absurd.” 

But AXIOS presented this seriously, going on “to paint Hunter as a model for other addicts.”  Well, of course they did.  Hunter, like any recovering addict, has to put his faith in something larger than himself, which in this case is the desperate need to keep Democrats in power.  That’s the most important thing of all.

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2024/02/26/hunter-biden-joins-the-fight-against-trump-with-sociopathic-proclamation-n2170574

Mike Huckabee

With the South Carolina 2024 Republican presidential primary and Super Tuesday fast approaching, change is needed urgently, or it’s lights out for our great republic.

It is crucial that American voters are well informed as they go to the polls. In 2024, we have witnessed some progress in putting America first, from states’ fight against the fentanyl epidemic to the historic impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, but we’re a long way from the November election.

With the media, Washington deep state and economic globalists working as an unholy trinity, we won’t have the luxury President Biden enjoys of endless vacation days and ice cream by the gallon. With primary voters going to the polls, remember that former President Donald Trump is the only one who has a track record of fighting for the forgotten men and women of America.

Mr. Trump fought for manufacturing jobs and delivered. The only thing the establishment and their wholly owned government-funded bureaucrats manufacture are phony indictments designed to keep you from even getting to vote for Mr. Trump.

Our focus on putting American interests first begins with protecting American manufacturing workers and their families from foreign countries that cheat. For years, elites in Washington have failed to protect American manufacturing workers from job-killing trade deals.

In South Carolina, the aluminum industry supports hundreds of good-paying manufacturing jobs. In 2015, the domestic aluminum industry was on the brink of collapsing due to China, Russia, the Middle East and other countries flooding the global marketplace with unfairly traded aluminum. With aluminum plants in South Carolina and across the country set to close, the future was bleak for thousands of aluminum workers and their families.

To save American jobs, Mr. Trump took bold and decisive action by signing into law the Section 232 aluminum tariffs, which levied a 10% tariff on all foreign aluminum imports. It wasn’t just protecting jobs. It protected U.S. national security. Mr. Trump showed tremendous leadership by imposing tariffs on all foreign aluminum imports to protect us from cheating countries. Mr. Trump stood with workers. It’s time we stand with him.

As voters go to the polls in South Carolina, the positive impact of Mr. Trump’s policies can be seen firsthand there. The nation’s newest aluminum smelter, Century Aluminum Mount Holly outside Charleston, provides more than 450 direct aluminum jobs, contributing more than $700 million in annual economic activity.

Due to Mr. Trump’s America First trade policies, this plant restarted half of production capacity and invested over $90 million, bringing the plant to 75% of overall production capacity, creating hundreds of new good-paying aluminum manufacturing jobs. The Mount Holly smelter produces aluminum, a crucial component for medical equipment and military applications that keep America safe.

While some people may not have liked Mr. Trump’s tough-guy approach, his policies actually put America first. Across the country, the Section 232 aluminum tariffs created more aluminum jobs and have been instrumental in allowing the U.S. to strengthen its domestic supply chains so we don’t have to rely on China, Russia or the Middle East for aluminum that our military needs in times of crisis. Mr. Trump didn’t just talk tough. He was tough on our adversaries, and we were stronger because of it.

Mr. Trump showed and continues to show tremendous leadership in standing up to countries that seek to harm the United States. Government-owned Russian aluminum producers provide military and financial backing to Russia’s assault against the people of Ukraine. According to media reports, some of Russia’s largest aluminum producers recruit soldiers to fight in Ukraine and fund their military salaries in support of Vladimir Putin’s war.

Mr. Trump imposed sanctions on Russian aluminum in the past. Mr. Biden has failed to enforce violations of the original deal, suspending them. Because of Mr. Biden’s weak leadership, two more U.S. smelters have been forced to shut down.

The Biden administration has failed to impose sanctions against Russian state-owned aluminum producers. Mr. Trump saved the U.S. aluminum industry, and he would not have weakened our country by allowing these smelters to close. Let me be clear: Mr. Trump will always stand with American manufacturing workers and put America first.

As the South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday approach, voters must demonstrate unwavering support for our country and the leaders who will fight for you and your family. Mr. Trump will always fight for the forgotten men and women of America, and he will never forget our great American manufacturing workers. As voters go to the polls, let’s stand shoulder to shoulder with Mr. Trump and allow him to finish the work he started in 2016 so we can truly Make America Great Again.

This column originally ran in the Washington Times. You can read it here.

• Mike Huckabee was the 44th governor of Arkansas and a 2016 Republican candidate for president. He is currently host of “Huckabee” on TBN and a Fox News contributor.

Mike Huckabee

Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team!

Today, if you have a moment, leave me a comment about something you read. Comments show that we have an active community of readers.

Sincerely,

Mike Huckabee

P.S. The Morning Edition is a reader-supported publication. It delivers Monday-Saturday.

Daily Bible Verse

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Ephesians 1:7

Newsletter Notes

9 stories

3,659 words

Reading time: About 17 minutes

President Trump’s Town Hall

Former President Trump took part in a town hall with Laura Ingraham on Fox News last night. Here’s the full video:

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6347311209112

A couple of major moments: Trump said he was willing to debate President Biden any time on any issues, but he doubts that Biden will debate him. Also, when asked about the claim that he will seek “revenge” on those who have relentlessly smeared, prosecuted and undermined him, he replied, “I don't care about the revenge thing. I know they usually use the word revenge. Will there be revenge? My revenge will be success.”

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2024/02/21/trump-explains-what-his-revenge-will-be-n2635522

While I love that he’s taking the high road and refusing to respond to the slander, I hope he won’t consider it “revenge” to justifiably fire, and when called for, prosecute people who have clearly abused their power to weaponize the government and target political opponents. One of the greatest missed opportunities of his first term was that he didn’t use his famous catchphrase “You’re fired” nearly often enough. I’d like to see that rectified in his second term, especially if he wants to avoid being undermined from within the way he was in his first term.

Must-read column

Must-read column by Byron York at Townhall.com in which he gives us some little-discussed insight into why Judge Engoron levied that outrageous $355 million fine on Trump, and (surprise!) it has little to do with the actual law. It’s largely because Engoron decided that Trump didn’t show any “contrition” or “remorse.” He apparently handed down that outrageous nuclear verdict because Trump didn’t grovel before him but instead acted as if he’d done nothing wrong, just because he’s the only person in 70 years ever to be prosecuted for doing what every other business person in New York does when taking out loans.

As York puts it, it wasn’t justice, it was “retribution.” But I think we all knew that going in.

https://townhall.com/columnists/byronyork/2024/02/21/judge-engorons-retribution-n2635501

York also compiles a number of quotes from New York Attorney General Letitia James from her campaign, making it abundantly clear that she hated Trump and would abuse the power of her office to go after him and “bring him down,” before she’d even figured out what the charges would be (FYI: This Stalinesque tactic is exactly the opposite of how legitimate prosecutors operate. You’re supposed to identify a crime first, then decide who to charge for it; not target the person then come up with something to charge them with)

Having tasted blood, James is determined to go for the jugular, and is now talking about seizing Trump’s properties (and likely selling them off for pennies on the dollar) to destroy his real estate empire in New York. And she sneers at the warning that her unbridled leftist tyranny is convincing other businesses to flee New York. She scoffed, “Last I checked, tourism is up. Wall Street is doing just fine.”

That’s odd. I checked while writing this, and the Dow was down 120 points, after taking a 500-point drop last week. Plus, the stock market is not a local business. And in addition to the major venture capitalists announcing that they’ll no longer invest in New York, America’s oldest firearms manufacturer, Remington, is fleeing its home in Ilion, New York, after 208 years to move to Georgia.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/retail/ny-village-losing-its-soul-nations-oldest-gun-manufacturer-flees-blue-state-georgia

By the way, Letitia: those aren’t tourists crowding New York City, they’re illegal aliens.

For the record, I thank God every week that I now film my TV show in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and no longer have to commute to Manhattan!

SCOTUS declines to hear Virginia education case

Even with its alleged conservative majority, the Supreme Court has dodged its duty too many times, usually because Chief Justice Roberts seems more concerned with maintaining the lofty image of the SCOTUS than with wading into the Court’s sometimes-messy prime directive of protecting the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

That happened again on Tuesday when the SCOTUS declined to hear a case challenging an elite Virginia high school’s admissions policy that allegedly discriminates against Asian-Americans for being too well-qualified. This may keep them from being accepted to Ivy League schools (that could be a blessing in disguise, but that’s another story.) In a furious 10-page dissent joined by Justice Thomas, Justice Samuel Alito called the lower court’s ruling allowing the school’s policy to stand "patently incorrect and dangerous.”

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/alito-issues-fiery-10-page-dissent-supreme-court-declines-review-high-school-admissions-case

Alito wrote, "What the Fourth Circuit majority held, in essence, is that intentional racial discrimination is constitutional so long as it is not too severe. This reasoning is indefensible, and it cries out for correction…The holding below effectively licenses official actors to discriminate against any racial group with impunity as long as that group continues to perform at a higher rate than other groups…The Court’s willingness to swallow the aberrant decision below is hard to understand. We should wipe the decision off the books, and because the Court refuses to do so, I must respectfully dissent."

The SCOTUS also earned a rebuke from Alito for refusing to hear a case to determine whether potential jurors can be excluded based on having sincere, traditional religious beliefs. Alito rightly noted that, just as he warned in the case where they “discovered” a right to same-sex marriage, the SCOTUS is allowing “Americans who do not hide their adherence to traditional religious beliefs about homosexual conduct” to be “‘labeled as bigots and treated as such’ by the government.”

(Of course, much of the media are framing this as "Alito defends bigotry against gays" instead of "Alito opposes bigotry against people of faith, just as he opposes liberal bigotry against Asian Americans.")

Both of these cases illustrate the dangers of allowing unconstitutional laws, policies and regulations to be created and then hoping the Supreme Court will do its job and protect the Constitution. We should instead be doing everything possible to elect officials, both locally and on the national level, who will protect Constitutional rights and hold them accountable, so we don’t have to rely on the last line of defense.

Biden vs Trump

This morning, the White House once again thumbed its nose at the Supreme Court, announcing another $1.2 billion in student loan forgiveness (which the SCOTUS ruled it has no power to implement. Someone please mention that to the committee looking into Biden's impeachment.) As the linked story notes, “Biden has now unilaterally wiped away nearly $138 billion in federal student loans for almost 3.9 million borrowers without a single act of Congress.”

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/biden-cancels-1-2-billion-student-debt-six-months-schedule

Correction: He hasn’t “wiped away” that debt, since that’s impossible. He’s just taken it off the backs of the people who willingly agreed to take out loans and repay them, and dumped the cost onto the backs of taxpayers who might not even have had the chance to go to college, or who worked their way through or paid off their own student loans.

So just to be clear: Trump is fined $355 million for taking out loans and paying them back, but Democrat voters who take out loans and fail to pay them back get rewarded by having someone else pay their loans off for them. And this is the party that claims to be the champion of “justice.”

Report: $517 million to illegal immigrants

According to a Fox News Digital review of state and local programs, Democrat mayors and governors spent at least $517 million from Biden’s $1.2 trillion “American Rescue Plan” that was meant to help Americans during the COVID pandemic on support for “undocumented residents” (i.e., illegal immigrants.)

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dem-states-cities-overrun-migrants-funneled-millions-federal-covid-19-aid-support-illegals

As the Economic Policy Innovation Center put it, "This means the Biden Administration directly subsidized ‘undocumented’ immigration under the guise of COVID-19 pandemic relief."  I assume it’s like the payoffs of student loans: Democrats using our tax money to buy the support of one of their voting blocs.

Haley’s bait-and-switch

Nikki Haley ticked off some reporters Tuesday by calling a press conference that was allegedly going to include some major news. It got media attention because they assumed she was announcing that she was dropping out of the race, considering she’s yet to win a primary and is at least 25 points behind Trump in polls for the upcoming primary in her home state of South Carolina. But she pulled a bait-and-switch by making the “big announcement” that she’s not dropping out, regardless of what happens in South Carolina.

Haley said, “Why would I [drop out] when only, at that point, four states have voted? Ten days after South Carolina, another 20 states vote. I mean, this isn’t Russia.” I’m not sure what that means. Are Russian political candidates forced to drop out if they keep losing and are 25 points behind in the polls, or do they just figure out for themselves that they should drop out?

https://www.westernjournal.com/nikki-haley-makes-major-campaign-announcement-amid-talks-dropping-race/

I’ve said before that I don’t want to tell anyone else when it’s time to quit, but I can’t see any path forward to victory for Haley. At this point, she’s wasting her supporters’ time and money on what I can only imagine is an audition for a slot as a Trump-hating Republican on MSNBC. If she really cares about stopping the incalculable damage being done to America by the Biden White House, then it’s time to put the divisive attacks on Trump aside and start working to unify the party, focus the message and win in November.

As I told Sean Hannity on Fox News last night, Trump should ignore Haley, stay above the intra-party sniping, and concentrate on contrasting his positive vision for America with the disastrous policies of the Democrats. He should also go easy on personal attacks on Biden, since I’m not convinced he’ll be the nominee, but anyone who replaces him will be nothing but a different face on the same failed, destructive policies.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6347287727112

Surprise:  the FBI’s “RNC” pipe bomb story has big problems, too

We’ve previously reported that the so-called “RNC” bomb was found in a back alley right next to the adjacent Capitol Hill Club and was actually closer to it than to the RNC headquarters building, although the FBI has made “RNC bomb” part of the narrative.  There’s a nice symmetry to it:  DNC, RNC.  Now, investigative reporters Michael Shellenberger and Alex Gutentag are focusing on this.  Is it another made-up story by the FBI, designed to give it maximum political overtones?

This is a second case of what the FBI has said was an active bomb placed the night before but with a one-hour kitchen timer attached to it.  As with the DNC bomb (which really was at the DNC), the timer had 20 minutes remaining.  This makes no sense if these were intended to go off.

The new piece of information is that according to an experienced security analyst who came forward with a report to Congress, the FBI has to be misrepresenting the location of the bomb allegedly found at the RNC.  In a series of illustrations, he has corrected the FBI’s misleading map to show where the bomb was actually found --- practically on the other side of the Capitol Hill Club from where the FBI has maintained, much farther from the RNC.

As we reported quite a while back, the “RNC” bomb was supposedly discovered shortly before the DNC bomb, by a woman named Karlin Younger who was going back and forth to do laundry and who worked for a security contractor for the (surprise) FBI.  But what we didn’t know till now is this security expert’s observation:  that the way she described her reaction to the bomb was oddly worry-free, “unrealistically calm.”

More on this as it develops, which we have a feeling will be soon.

Public

FBI Claim That Alleged January 6 Pipe Bomb Was Left At Republican Headquarters Is False, New Evidence Suggests

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), last year, somebody planted a bomb at the Republican National Committee (RNC) headquarters on January 5 to go off on January 6, the day of the Capitol riot. But the person who was the FBI’s Director of the Washington Field Office on January 6, 2021…

Read more

3 days ago · 476 likes · 100 comments · Michael Shellenberger and Alex Gutentag

Nick Arama at REDSTATE wrote about this, too.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2024/02/20/new-j6-bomb-information-n2170371

COMMENTARY: More on FBI informant Smirnov that doesn’t add up

In breaking news Tuesday evening, Alexander Smirnov, the longtime FBI informant whose alleged lies relating to Biden bribery were immortalized in that “1023” is now being said by Special Counsel David Weiss to have ties with Russian intelligence.  Those ties, he says, were “involved in passing a story about Hunter Biden that has been critical to congressional Republicans’ efforts to investigate the first family.”

Actually, as we’ll get to below, it’s not so critical.  But Democrats want us to believe it is.  And mainstream media is running with the “Russia” theme.  Note the headline on ABC NEWS…

https://abcnews.go.com/US/hunter-biden-informant-charged-lying-high-level-russian/story?id=107389985

The filing by Weiss sounds suspiciously like yet another of the intelligence community’s “Russian disinformation” tales:  "Smirnov's efforts to spread misinformation about a candidate of one of the two major parties in the United States continues," the filing states. "What this shows is that the misinformation he is spreading is not confined to 2020. He is actively peddling new lies that could impact U.S. elections after meeting with Russian intelligence officials in November.”

Aside from the now-tired references to “Russian disinformation,” there’s something about this story that just isn’t right.  For years, this individual was a highly-paid and utilized confidential human source (CHS) for the FBI.  As recently as last summer, they were refusing to release the “1023” because, they claimed, it would compromise a valuable source.  Did they still not know last summer that he had lied to them in 2017?  About something so consequential?

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky said, “When asked by the committee about their confidence in the confidential human source, the FBI told the committee the [CHS] was credible and trusted.”  Smirnov, he said, “had worked with the FBI for over a decade and had been paid six figures.”  Of course, Smirnov was also well aware that lying to a federal agent is against the law.

So, “Did Smirnov really lie about this or not?” is just the first of the questions we have.  Why did the DOJ not charge Christopher Steele with the same crime, when he seemingly committed it with his “dossier” falsely tying Trump to Russia?  And why did they wait years to charge Smirnov with lying, or even just to change their tune on the matter of his reliability?

We all understood when the “1023” story broke that the notes of an FBI agent in such a report constitute raw intelligence that still requires investigation and verification.  Without that next step, it wasn’t solid evidence of the Biden family’s wrongdoing, yet the media and Democrats (same thing) are now talking as if all the evidence the committee has gathered had just gone away somehow.  Au contraire.  Plenty of evidence is there, mostly in the form of financial records and sworn testimony.

So...drop the impeachment inquiry?  Are they kidding?

It’s easy to speculate, so let’s.  Perhaps Smirnov used to be a trusted source but was found out by the Russians and compromised somehow, made to pass along certain information.  But why would Russia want him to pass along a story damaging to Biden, when we now have good reason to believe that Putin really did NOT want Trump in the White House due to his unpredictability.  (Note:  this is just the opposite of what our intelligence community was telling us.)  Again, it doesn’t make sense.

FOX NEWS reports that Smirnov has been released from custody in Las Vegas after turning in his passport; he’s wearing an ankle monitor.  If he disappears, the one way to find out if Burisma founder Mikola Zlochevsky really said he “paid $5 million to one Biden and $5 million to another Biden” is to hear it from Zlochevsky himself.

More on this soon.

RELATED:  President Biden’s younger brother James is set to answer questions (well, to face questions, at least) behind closed doors today for the House impeachment inquiry regarding the use of Joe’s name to generate business.  (Hunter is scheduled for February 28.)  As you know, former Hunter business partner Tony Bobulinski has said that President Biden “lied to the American people” about this.  Questions for James will focus on those “loans” between James and Joe and how they fit into the complicated web of payments that allegedly were part of an influence-peddling and bribery scheme.  Two so-called “loan repayment” checks, written in 2017 from James to the then-former Vice President --- he had just left office --- are central to this inquiry:  one for $200,000 and the other for $40,000.

As Mike Davis said on FOX NEWS last night, the problem with the Biden family is that they have more than $20 million from foreign governments and other entities, distributed to every family member (well, except Hunter’s 6-year-old daughter in Arkansas), that needs to be explained.  What were they selling other than Joe Biden’s name?  

We’ll have a report tomorrow on James’ testimony, at least as much as can be gleaned from the press statements given after a closed-door session.  Don’t expect us to take Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin seriously.  Talk about an unreliable source!

https://redstate.com/jeffc/2024/02/18/bombshell-report-reveals-bidens-brother-used-his-name-in-dealings-with-failed-hospital-chain-n2170301

ALSO RELATED:  For when you have time, John D. O’Connor at PJ MEDIA has a detailed piece on how Special Counsel Hur’s “classified document” report on President Biden managed to gloss over what may be obstruction of justice by Biden and his team.  Would Trump get away with this lack of documentation by those on his team going through boxes of potentially classified material?  Are you kidding?

“If the scene had exonerated Biden,” O’Connor writes, “Hur would have had photos galore, common sense suggests.”  But for some reason nobody on his team took out a cell phone to get even one picture of the vast pile of boxes they found.

And now it’s impossible to examine the 28 boxes that they delivered to the Archives.  Under the Presidential Records Act, these documents are for the exclusive use of President Biden for the next 12 years --- and even after that, access is limited.  As O’Connor reports, “We therefore must wait 12 years to investigate further whether Biden obstructed justice or used classified documents after leaving office.  Of course, by then, the statute of limitations would have lapsed on these possible crimes.”

https://pjmedia.com/john-o-connor/2024/02/19/how-hurs-report-hid-bidens-obstruction-n4926571

Oh, and by the way, here’s a surprise:  Special Counsel Hur has missed the deadline set by Congress to turn over the transcript of the interview with President Biden.  Guess it’s subpoena time.

https://dailycaller.com/2024/02/20/doj-robert-hur-joe-biden-interview-transcript-release-deadline-house-judiciary-oversight-committee/

COMMENTARY: Fake news alert!  Trump sneaker-buyer is NOT a “Russian oligarch”

As Truman Capote famously said: “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.”

And the media hardly ever will, at least not when the story has anything to do with President Trump.  If you’ve seen the story about the $9,000 purchase of a pair of Trump’s limited-edition high-top gold sneakers --- autographed, of course --- at Philadelphia’s “Sneaker Con” (yes, they have conventions for EVERYTHING), you likely saw the purchaser identified as a Russian oligarch.  Obviously, the fake Trump-Russia narrative still hasn’t gone away.

The media apparently glommed on to some inaccurate report that supported the preferred narrative and repeated it like the simpleminded Greek chorus they are.  Next thing you know, this man will be investigated by the FBI for (nonexistent) ties to Russian intelligence.  (That’s a joke, but these days, you never know.)

As BLAZE MEDIA reported Tuesday, “Various social media users with significant followings insinuated that the sneaker game presented an opportunity for Trump and Moscow to collude.”  In their stories and tweets, the purchaser of this pair of collectibles was alternately described as a “Russian oligarch,” a “Russian CEO” and a “shady Russian watch dealer.”

Here’s who he really is: Roman Sharf is a proud U.S. Army veteran and a Republican.  His business is not “shady”; his company “Luxury Bazaar,” has for two decades sold pre-owned luxury watches.  He came to America as a 13-year-old refugee from Ukraine when it was still part of the Soviet Union.  He says his dad had four dollars in his pocket when they arrived.  In a video posted on X, he also says he “busted my a-- working every dirty job under the sun to get where I am today to get to a point where I can splurge on a $9,000 pair of collectible sneakers.”

He is not pro-Russia.  In fact, through his charitable organization, he says that since the war in Ukraine started, he has raised over a quarter of a million dollars in aid to Ukraine.

After being threatened with a boycott of his business, he says, “There’s not a mean tweet in the world, there’s not an IG post, there’s not a news article that’s gonna stop me from being who I am and that is a patriot of this country...”

After this experience, he laments how divided our country is but says nothing is going to stop him from being a patriot.  Watch his powerful statement here:

https://twitter.com/romansharf/status/1759717137059381645?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed

Here’s the story at THE BLAZE.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/luxury-watch-dealer-who-bought-trump-sneakers-stomps-russian-oligarch-narrative

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