Washington Examiner

Johnson looks to muscle through immigration enforcement bill with an unruly caucus

1 hour agoCenter Right

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is attempting to usher through a party-line immigration enforcement funding bill on Tuesday in what will be a test of party unity despite a slim margin in the House. The $70 billion legislation will give funding to Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which were left out of a Department […]

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Jared Kushner makes Hunter Biden scandal look like pocket change: author

Raw Story

10 hours ago

Jared Kushner makes Hunter Biden scandal look like pocket change: author

Jared Kushner's foreign business entanglements make Hunter Biden's overseas dealings look minor by comparison, an investigative author argued this week, accusing Washington of waving through a conflict of interest that dwarfs the one Republicans spent years probing.Casey Michel, whose forthcoming book "United States of Oligarchy" examines oligarchic influence in America, made the case on The Bulwark podcast on Monday alongside host Andrew Egger. He argued that Kushner went from being widely mocked in Middle Eastern diplomatic circles during Trump's first term to a billionaire reliant on money from Gulf autocrats.Asked to compare the two, Michel didn't mince words. "You cannot compare the final numbers, the totality of what Hunter Biden or Jared Kushner have taken in," he said.Hunter Biden was selling paintings for up to $100,000, a sum that would represent a great deal to most Americans. However, compared to Kushner, those figures are "miniscule," said Michel, adding that Kushner is a version of Hunter Biden who made exponentially more money. Kushner is now a billionaire, with Egger noting he's a version of Hunter Biden "who made 10,000 times as much money."At the center of the critique is Affinity Partners, the private equity firm Kushner launched in 2021 after leaving the White House. Reuters reported that the firm's assets jumped 60% to $4.8 billion by the end of 2024, up from $3 billion the prior year, after a cash injection from Gulf investors, including Qatar's sovereign wealth fund.Kushner is now serving as a U.S. envoy in talks covering Gaza, Ukraine, and Iran, all while holding no Senate-confirmed role and carrying no conventional diplomatic credentials. That dual role has drawn scrutiny even from Republicans — and has echoes of the foreign-influence concerns Democrats have raised for years.Republican Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.) questioned the arrangement in February, telling ABC News that Kushner and fellow envoy Steve Witkoff are "not subject to Senate confirmation, and they're not subject to oversight." Putting the pair in charge of three simultaneous negotiations, he added, "doesn't make any sense to me."According to a March 19 letter from House Oversight Democrats, Affinity has collected roughly $157 million in fees from foreign clients — including about $87 million directly from the Saudi government — while, the lawmakers said, generating little to no return for investors. The letter argued that the structure raised the possibility that Kushner was acting as an unregistered foreign agent.Republicans, by contrast, spent years demanding investigations into Hunter Biden's board seat at Ukrainian energy firm Burisma and his overseas business ties. President Joe Biden pardoned his son in December 2024 before any foreign-influence case was brought.Jared Kushner Makes Hunter Biden Look Like a Boy Scout (w/ Casey Michel) by The BulwarkRead on Substack

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Knick's legend Bill Bradley: Trump is ‘second fiddle’ to fans

Alternet.org

11 hours ago

Knick's legend Bill Bradley: Trump is ‘second fiddle’ to fans

President Donald Trump may plan on drawing attention to himself by seeing the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden for the 2026 NBA Finals, but one former Knicks player and politician says he will never upstage Knicks fans.Trump is “second fiddle” to the main attraction because "the people are there to see these two teams play," former Sen. Bill Bradley (D-NJ) told CBS News on Monday. "And what is compelling about the teams are the values they display like unselfishness, discipline, resilience, the kind of things that we need more of in our world at large."Bradley spent 10 seasons in the NBA playing for the Knicks, winning two titles in the 1969-1970 and 1972-1973, which are also the last championships that the Knicks ever picked up."If you think of your teammate first and yourself second, that's an important thing that the Knicks today and the Knicks in the past demonstrate," Bradley explained when asked what the current Knicks time has in common with the ones for which he played. "If you're disciplined, you're not just flying off but you're playing to plan; that's another thing. So this is not rocket science. It's what a team does if they want to be a champion. And I think this team has the makings of a champion."He also said that Madison Square Garden is a special place to play because of the attitude and behavior of the fans."They applaud the pass that leads to the pass that leads to the basket,” Bradley said. “They applaud boxing out on rebounds. They applaud the subtleties of the game. And they are deeply enthusiastic and loyal and dedicated to their team, and I think you'll see that in the arena tonight, as you have in all the other games."The Knicks are currently ahead of the San Antonio Spurs with two wins to their zero wins, and the first team to win four games are declared champions."If the Knicks go in 3-0, I mean, I know I'm gonna be there on that fourth game expecting them to be crowned champions that night,” Bradley said. “And there'll be millions of other people who will think the same thing."Bradley clearly hopes that his team will be able to deliver the goods for their longtime fans, who have waited more than half a century for this moment."It gives them something to hope for,” Bradley said. “It gives them something to believe in."When Trump shows up on Monday night, it is widely expected that he will be greeted with a chorus of boos. According to the Washington Post reporter Dan Diamond, Trump is "widely expected to be showered with boos" even though he was invited by Knicks owner James Dolan."Some sports fans and analysts have urged Trump not to attend the game — commentator Stephen A. Smith said it would create an unnecessary spectacle — or pledged to jeer the president," Barrett explains in the Post. "Online betting services also predict Trump will be booed in his visit to deep-blue New York City and the Knicks' arena, Madison Square Garden. The team's fans are famously unforgiving — quick to taunt rival players, the team's own stars and recent New York mayor Eric Adams just days after his inauguration."Barrett concluded, "As an added frustration, Trump's presence will create logistical hurdles for the roughly 20,000 other attendees, who have been told to arrive at least two hours before tip-off because of the enhanced security measures that follow the president."

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Alternet.org

11 hours ago

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is demanding the removal of acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte from his post in exchange for supporting an extension of a government spy tool set to lapse this week. When asked Monday if there was any scenario he would support an extension of Section 702 of the […]

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