Trump ABANDONS $1.8 billion 'slush fund' in humiliating U-turn as his own party turns on him

Trump appoints housing official as acting director of national intelligence

Bill Pulte has shown a willingness to go after the president's perceived enemies.

'Serious concern': Ex-DOJ attorneys sense troubling new direction for Trump crackdown

The Trump administration is pushing deep into new territory in its immigration crackdown, moving beyond deportations to target the citizenship of naturalized Americans in a campaign that legal experts warn could ultimately be weaponized against political opponents.The Justice Department has filed more denaturalization cases in the last 16 months than were filed across all four years of the Biden administration, according to federal data, and attorneys general offices across the country have been tasked with identifying hundreds of additional targets, reported NPR. Department leaders pressuring lawyers to generate cases quickly — sometimes by scanning news stories and social media posts – and while the cases filed so far largely involve serious criminal conduct like drug trafficking, child sexual abuse, terrorism-related activity and war crimes, legal scholars say the infrastructure being built around this effort is far more alarming than any individual case."Once it becomes easy to take somebody's citizenship away — it becomes easy to take anybody's citizenship away," warned Cassandra Robertson, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University who has studied denaturalization.What makes the program particularly troubling to civil liberties advocates is how little protection defendants have. In civil denaturalization proceedings, Americans are not entitled to appointed counsel if they cannot afford it. There is no statute of limitations, meaning the government can reach back decades for evidence, and several cases reviewed by NPR were resolved with little or no court appearance by the defendant.The administration has also signaled the program could expand beyond criminals. Trump and administration officials have publicly threatened the citizenship of political figures including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar — comments Robertson calls evidence of a real risk of "political retribution."A former DOJ attorney who spent nearly a decade in the office that handles these cases said the mandate under Trump has shifted dramatically. Where lawyers once had discretion to pursue only strong cases, they are now directed to go after anyone potentially eligible — including those with minor paperwork errors or immaterial discrepancies."The retaliatory nature of this administration and using the law in any type of legal maneuvering to go after its enemies — that is a serious concern of mine," the former DOJ attorney said, speaking anonymously for fear of government retaliation.Legal experts note that federal judges — not administration-controlled immigration courts — still oversee these cases, providing some check on potential abuse, but with hundreds of cases now in the pipeline, that guardrail may soon face its first serious test.

Trump reveals his pick to replace embattled Tulsi Gabbard as intel chief

Donald Trump has announced who will replace Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard following her planned resignation.

'Remarkable moment' flagged as Trump appoints official already 'frustrating' insiders

Donald Trump’s decision to appoint Bill Pulte, a businessman currently serving as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHA), to replace departing DNI director Tulsi Gabbard set off a wave of surprise and consternation on MS NOW Tuesday morning.On Truth Social , Trump made the announcement that Pulte would serve as acting director despite having zero experience in intelligence gathering and analysis, having spent his life working in his family's home construction business.MS NOW’s Jonathan Lemire read the breaking news, which led his colleague Eugene Daniels to point out that Pulte's only seeming ally in the White House is the president himself.Pulte has been involved in making wild accusations of mortgage fraud aimed at some of Donald Trump enemies that have gone nowhere when the Department of Justice later investigated.According to Daniels, because of that, the appointment may not sit well within the White House.“This would seem to be a an escalation in Trump's efforts to relitigate 2020,” Lemire suggested. “Those investigations, which Gabbard was already doing, but also potentially trying to build more acts of retribution against folks.”"It's all loyalty, right?” Daniels replied. “Because Bill Pulte, who is a businessman, does not have experience in foreign policy in the way that you would probably want the DNI to actually have. Their job is to be the go-between all of the intel agencies and typically give the presentation to the president about what the intel agencies are saying or doing. He is also someone who folks in the white house have been a little bit frustrated with, not Donald Trump, obviously.”“Remember that Jesus meme?, He is the one that Donald Trump talked with before he posted it,” Daniels recalled. “And so that caused a whole kerfuffle for folks when that was reported out at the time. I will say this is, once again, just Donald Trump finding folks who have no experience. It doesn't matter to him, trying to figure out how do I get the things that I want?”Lemire closed with, "Tulsi Gabbard sort of sidelined herself because she disagreed with trump in the Iran war. So she was left out of a lot of key decisions. That's still a really important job and Pulte comes in here with zero experience in the intelligence community is a remarkable moment." - YouTube youtu.be

Elderly grandmother stabbed to death on Atlanta train in unprovoked daytime attack; she was stabbed 18 to 20 times: Officials

An elderly grandmother was stabbed to death on an Atlanta train over the weekend in an unprovoked, daytime attack, authorities said.Arrest warrants indicate that the 66-year-old victim was stabbed 18 to 20 times while aboard a MARTA train Saturday, WXIA-TV reported.'There was nothing she wouldn't do for her family because her family is her everything.'John Elijah Matthews, the 25-year-old suspect, first cut the throat of victim Margaret Swan just seconds after he walked next to where she was seated on the train nearing the Oakland City MARTA station, WXIA said, citing arrest warrants. Oakland City is an Atlanta neighborhood.Video from inside the train indicates that the two never communicated, the station said, citing warrants.Video showed Swan sitting alone aboard the train at 11:21 a.m., WXIA said, adding that just before 11:25 a.m. Matthews is seen walking to the side of the train where Swan was sitting.Just 19 seconds later, Matthews "is seen walking up to [Swan] and standing just to her right," the station said, adding that several seconds later he took out a knife, opened it, and cut the victim in the throat.Warrants say Swan was screaming and trying to get up from her seat as Matthews held her and stabbed her, WXIA reported.Matthews was then seen on video "throwing [Swan] to the floor and standing near her until the train arrived at the Oakland City Station" less than two minutes later, WXIA added.Warrants indicate that when the train arrived at Oakland City, Matthews exited the train with the knife still in hand as officers rushed to the scene, the station reported.Warrants add that officers tried unsuccessful lifesaving measures on Swan, WXIA reported.The station noted in a news video that Matthews was arrested "almost immediately" after the attack and that he waived his Monday hearing.RELATED: Karoline Leavitt blasts media for 'shamefully' ignoring horrific stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Matthews does not have an address or phone number, the station said, citing warrants, and he "did not want to continue speaking with detectives" at the College Park MARTA Police Precinct.WXIA said searches of metro Atlanta court and jail records did not immediately indicate clearly whether Matthews has a prior criminal history in the area.The station added that Matthews is charged with murder in Saturday's killing.RELATED: Van Jones claims there's 'NO EVIDENCE' of racial animus in Charlotte stabbing. Audio in murder footage suggests otherwise. "My mom was the rock of her family," Swan's daughter, Shanae Sams, told WXIA. "There was nothing she wouldn't do for her family because her family is her everything."Sams added to the station that her mother's killer "didn't just take away a mom, but my children's grandmother was taken away."Swan had five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, WXIA reported, adding that her daughter said she used the train frequently.A MARTA spokesperson told the station that "this appears to be a senseless act of violence, and our thoughts are with the victim's loved ones and those who witnessed this horrific incident."The agency added to WXIA that "we understand the concern and fear incidents like this can cause for those who ride and work on the MARTA system. MARTA Police are actively investigating and remain committed to the safety and security of our riders and employees."The station's news video added that with the FIFA World Cup soccer matches coming to Atlanta this month, concern for safety aboard MARTA trains has increased.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Trump names Bill Pulte acting director of national intelligence

Trump Names Pulte as Acting Director of National Intelligence

President Donald Trump said he is tapping Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as the acting Director of National Intelligence. Pulte will keep running the FHFA as well. Bloomberg's Tyler Kendall reports. (Source: Bloomberg)

Trump taps ally Bill Pulte to serve as top intelligence chief

US president says head of Federal Housing Finance Agency will serve as acting director days after Gabbard exits roleDonald Trump has tapped a close ally to serve as the country’s top intelligence official, days after Tulsi Gabbard announced her exit from the role.The US president said that Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), and heir to a home construction company fortune, will serve as acting director of national intelligence. Continue reading...