Trump's pick to temporarily take over as the country's top spy chief had a bizarre past, according to reports that dug up his old antics. Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte used to host an event where people were slapped with sex toys, according to reporting by The Daily Beast. He was also accused of influencing Trump's posting of a Christ-like image of himself earlier this year, The Beast added. Pulte, who's also the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, appeared at an event with internet influencer PP from "ThePPShow" and was awarded a novelty trophy saying "Bill Pulte F—" on one side and "Only the Young" on the other side, according to The Daily Beast, which noted it was in part a reference to a Taylor Swift song.In a resurfaced video of the event, Pulte blurted out “I like only the young,” before exclaiming that the trophy “looks pretty bad—” as it was handed to him. He then dropped it after getting “too excited,” he said in the video.He was pressured off the board of Pulte Homes, his grandfather's company, because of his self-promotion, the New York Times reported.Pulte, who used to hold shares of Bed Bath & Beyond, wore bulletproof vests, saying he was afraid that anti-Bed Bath & Beyond forces might try to kill him, the Beast reported. He tried to claim the company wasn't really bankrupt and could still be saved in 2023, but the company went bankrupt anyway that year, The Bulwark reported.The FHFA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence didn't respond to The Daily Beast's request for comments.
A former top MAGA influencer still blasts the MAGA cult and the operators that drive the movement from the top.“The structure and the architecture of MAGA is very indistinguishable from a cult,” explained Ashley St. Clair, Elon Musk's ex-lover, former MAGA influencer and the mother of one of his children, in a podcast appearance with The Left Hook’s Wajahat Ali. Describing how she dropped out of college to be a full-time MAGA influencer while dating an older man who served MAGA under the name DC Drano, she described how “he was molding me. He was like, ‘Here's what you put on the sign outside of the ICE detention center,’ directing my content. ‘Here's how you monetize Instagram, here's how you do all this.’ So I was very much molded by that.”Described by Ali as a former "dutiful MAGA bot" who once repeated "all the cliché talking points," St. Clair now says leaving the cult is one of the hardest things to do."[O]nce ... you're with this very controversial crowd online, you cannot just change your political views. Changing your political views means you're blowing up your whole life — your social community, the way you provide for your family, the roof over your head. It's not just like, ‘Oh, now I believe in less fiscal conservatism.’ It is really going against people who do not take kindly to people leaving their gang.”St. Clair continued, “You're on the receiving end of a lot of smear campaigns, attacks, and harassment — things that frankly put your family in danger — to speak out and go against the grain. And not that it's an excuse — I don't want anyone to think that the things I'm saying right now are an excuse for the rhetoric I was involved in — but rather I'm trying to understand the pathology of how people get stuck in this, and feel like they don't have a way out.”Later in the conversation, Ali returned to the subject of why so many people in the Trump movement stand by him. He found a potential motive in addition to it being a political cult.“When I was a contributor at CNN — a contributor, rather, I should say — in the green room, this was right before COVID, nearly every single Trump supporter that I went on and debated with on a panel, pretty much across the board — I would say except two at the time, actually: Paris Denard and Geoffrey Lord — everyone in the green room said, ‘I can't stand Trump, he's so annoying, the MAGA movement is so stupid, look at these idiots.’”Once the cameras started rolling, however, Ali said all he heard from them was “MAGA talking point, MAGA talking point, MAGA talking point.” He claimed he responded by telling them “‘You know, no one's putting a gun to your head. You could literally just join me and call them out.’ And they said, ‘Yeah, but this is where my bread is buttered. This is how you stay relevant.’”St. Clair is not the only ex-Trumper to describe the MAGA movement as a cult. In February, former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) made the same point in a Substack post while describing Trump’s militant behavior toward Greenland, Venezuela and Iran.“I thought you wanted him to end wars all over the world,” Walsh said. “You said you wanted him to end American entanglement in conflicts and wars around the world. America shouldn’t be involved in these wars, you said. That’s why you’re voting for Trump, you said.” Then, despite Trump’s actions against Denmark, Venezuela and Iran, they still support him.Walsh continued, “You’ve got no argument against people calling you a cult. And if he takes us to war against Iran, and you clap and applaud and throw him flowers, Trump supporters, I will be at the front of the parade calling you a cult.”
The House of Representatives passed a bill approving an additional $9 billion in aid to Ukraine and placing harsh sanctions on Russia. Meanwhile, Trump is pushing for both Russia and Ukraine to make compromises, and Zelensky calls for face-to-face negotiations with Putin in a letter sent to the Russian President.
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One of President Donald Trump's staunch allies on the Georgia State Election Board resigned on Thursday, according to a new report. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Janice Johnston, who helped push Trump's election conspiracies in an effort to change state voting laws, resigned because of "family and personal responsibilities.” Johnston was a key ally as Trump spread the narrative that he had won the 2020 general election, speaking out against employees at the Fulton County Election Board. “While I may be leaving the board, I’m not leaving the cause,” Johnston said. “My commitment to election integrity remains as strong as ever, and I’ll continue supporting efforts that strengthen confidence, transparency and trust in our elections.”Her resignation happened at a time when Trump and the GOP are gearing up for a significant battle in the midterms. The GOP has redrawn several state maps in an effort to blunt Democratic gains. But recently, some experts have started warning the GOP that it may be on track to lose both the House of Representatives and the Senate after the election results are tallied. "During her tenure on the five-person state board, Johnston and a new majority voting bloc tested the limits of its rulemaking authority ahead of the 2024 presidential election, including required hand counts of ballots and election inquiries," the report reads in part. "The Georgia Supreme Court rejected those and other changes pushed by the majority, ruling that the appointed board cannot create rules that conflict with or go beyond laws passed by legislators," it added.
The Epstein files and Pam Bondi's testimony released on Thursday could come back to haunt Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as he approaches his Senate confirmation hearing process, a legal expert said.During a live broadcast with CNN anchor Jake Tapper, CNN legal analyst Elie Honig noted that Bondi, who served as the former attorney general until she was fired by President Donald Trump in April, told lawmakers that Blanche was overseeing the release of the Epstein files and could come under further scrutiny because of her comments."It has to be a big problem for Todd Blanche, Jake, because there's nothing good in this whole mess of the Epstein files, legally or politically," Honig said. "And if you look at today's transcript, Pam Bondi truly does Todd Blanche no favors," Honig explained. "And I don't think she's trying to hurt him."He argued that Bondi was making an effort during the closed-door testimony with the House Oversight Committee to "praise Todd Blanche's skill and ethics and his handling of this whole process." "But the bottom line is it's disastrous," Honig added. "Todd Blanche was in charge. Pam Bondi makes that clear: the process that resulted in the release of victims' names, the process that resulted in the improper redaction of wrongdoers' names, and a process that was chaotic, overdue, and satisfied no one. And there's no way for Blanche to get out of that. It's actually surprising when you read the transcript how little Bondi knew about what was going on. This seems like it was a complete delegation, and you can bet this will come up in a big way when Todd Blanche goes in front of the Senate for his confirmation hearings."
An Oklahoma man has been arrested on nine felony charges for allegedly making death threats against Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).According to Politico, while the motive of 63-year-old David Shuck has not been publicly released, the Justice Department "described the case as part of an initiative related to an order President Donald Trump signed last September, known as NSPM-7, targeting 'domestic terrorism and organized political violence'" — with an emphasis specifically on "Antifa" and other left-wing protest activity.NSPM-7 has raised alarm bells from legal observers, who have warned it could be used to target Trump's political critics.Another criticism of the operation, per the report, is that it characterizes Antifa "as an organized entity when it is a vague label applied to a wide range of dissenting groups and people."Shuck, who, according to the report, previously served 18 months in prison for a marijuana grow operation, is out of jail on $10,000 bond as of press time.Death threats against public figures have been an ongoing issue for years, and have targeted officials in both parties. In one of the most bizarre recent examples, a U.S. Senate candidate was arrested last month over threats to kill President Donald Trump.
Nancy Pelosi, on Thursday, once again snapped at a Lindell TV reporter, Alison Steinberg, over January 6 questions.
The post “Shut Up! – Get Away!” – Pelosi Snaps at Lindell TV Reporter Over January 6 Questions (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
