Trump says Hegseth's support is 'strong and deep' despite confirmation hurdles



President-elect Donald Trump said support for Pete Hegseth, his nominee to head the Department of Defense, remains "strong and deep" despite numerous reports suggesting otherwise.

Since Hegseth was first nominated for the post in November, various allegations ranging from alcohol abuse to sexual misconduct have plagued his confirmation bid. Hegseth and several of his colleagues have publicly denied these allegations.

'Pete Hegseth is doing very well,' Trump said in a Truth Social post on Friday. 'His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe.'

One of the most notable roadblocks for Hegseth has come from Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa. Sources close to the Senate told Blaze News that Ernst has lobbied against Hegseth's nomination, although she has publicly denied these reports. Other outlets have reported that Hegseth's support within the Senate GOP conference more broadly has wavered.

Despite this, Trump has maintained his wholehearted endorsement of Hegseth and reaffirmed that his support in the Senate remains "strong and deep."

"Pete Hegseth is doing very well," Trump said in a Truth Social post on Friday. "His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe."

"He was a great student - Princeton/Harvard educated - with a Military state of mind," Trump continued. "He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of [Defense], one who leads with charisma and skill. Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!"

While there seems to be a pressure campaign to have Hegseth step aside, both Trump and the nominee have maintained that he will go through with the confirmation process.

As of this writing, two of Trump's nominees have withdrawn from their respective bids.

Trump initially tapped Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida in November to serve as attorney general in the upcoming administration, although he later withdrew just two weeks later, as he felt that he had become a political distraction for the transition team. Trump later nominated former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi for the role.

Trump also recruited Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration on Sunday. Chronister withdrew his bid just a few days later on Tuesday, after becoming the subject of criticism over his past progressive policies and COVID policing.

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Trump's DEA pick withdraws amid backlash for woke past



Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister withdrew his bid to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration on Tuesday after becoming the subject of intense criticism for his past COVID enforcement and progressive policies.

Chronister withdrew just days after President-elect Donald Trump nominated him to head the DEA on Sunday. Within just a few days, it was uncovered that Chronister had bragged about arresting a local pastor for violating COVID regulations by hosting church services, released 165 inmates due to social-distancing regulations, withheld paid sick leave for deputies who were unvaccinated, encouraged social distancing on boats, and even celebrated Pride Month.

'Next time politicians lose their ever-lovin minds, he can redeem himself by following the Constitution.'

"To have been nominated by President-Elect Donald Trump to serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is the honor of a lifetime," Chronister said in a Tuesday post on X. "Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I've concluded that I must respectfully withdraw consideration."

"There is more work to be done for the citizens of Hillsborough County and a lot of initiatives I am committed to fulfilling," Chronister continued. "I sincerely appreciate the nomination, outpouring of support by the American people, and look forward to continuing my service as Sheriff of Hillsborough County."

Chronister was met with backlash from prominent voices in the days after his nomination, most notably from Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

"I’m going to call 'em like I see 'em," Massie said in a Sunday post on X following the nomination. "Trump’s nominee for head of DEA should be disqualified for ordering the arrest of a pastor who defied COVID lockdowns."

"This sheriff ordered the arrest of a pastor for holding services during the COVID panic," Massie said in a Tuesday post on X in response to the withdrawal. "He was tapped by Trump to head the DEA. Glad to see him withdraw from consideration. Next time politicians lose their ever-lovin minds, he can redeem himself by following the Constitution."

Chronister is now the second Trump nominee to have withdrawn from their respective bids. Less than two weeks after his nomination in November, former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida dropped his bid for attorney general, claiming that he had become a political distraction for the Trump transition team.

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Trump's DEA pick raises red flags: 'Disqualifying'



President-elect Trump nominated Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister on Sunday to head the Drug Enforcement Administration, prompting backlash from several Republicans.

Chronister was criticized for his handling of the COVID pandemic, which Republican Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.) called "disqualifying." Most notably, Chronister boasted at the time about arresting a local pastor who "intentionally and repeatedly disregarded" state and local COVID regulations by holding church services.

Chronister has also come under fire for celebrating Pride Month, releasing 165 inmates due to social distancing regulations, encouraging social distancing on boats, and even withholding paid sick leave for deputies who were unvaccinated.

"I’m going to call 'em like I see 'em," Massie said in a Sunday post on X. "Trump’s nominee for head of DEA should be disqualified for ordering the arrest a pastor who defied COVID lockdowns."

"Trump’s pick for DEA head, Chad Chronister, arrested pastors during COVID and let criminals out of jail," Liz Wheeler, host of "The Liz Wheeler Show" on BlazeTV, said in a Sunday post on X. "Mr. President, please withdraw his nomination. The last thing we need in federal law enforcement is a stupid power abuser."

Chad Chronister is a COVID tyrant who arrested a Christian pastor for holding church in person during the pandemic.

Chronister held a press conference bragging about the arrest.

Chronister abused his power; he’s unfit to lead the DEA.

Trump should withdraw his nomination. pic.twitter.com/8jXtoPIX8q
— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) December 1, 2024

Chronister has also come under fire for celebrating Pride Month, releasing 165 inmates due to social distancing regulations, encouraging social distancing on boats, and even withholding paid sick leave for deputies who were unvaccinated.

"Trump’s pick for DEA head Chad Chronister withheld taxpayer money from unvaccinated deputies if they got sick," Wheeler said in a Sunday post on X. "He gave taxpayer money to vaxxed deputies. Despicable."

"Please, Pres. Trump, withdraw this nomination," Wheeler continued. "The last thing we need in federal law enforcement is more tyranny."

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Trump’s Woke DEA Pick Arrested Christian Pastor, Released Criminals, Penalized Unvaccinated Employees

Chad Chronister doesn't belong anywhere near a position of power.

Mexican cartel worked with US-based group linked to Chinese underground banking to launder drug money: DOJ



The Department of Justice announced Tuesday that a five-year investigation revealed that a Mexican cartel worked with a United States-based group linked to Chinese underground banking to launder drug trafficking money.

A press release from the DOJ stated that "Operation Fortune Runner" uncovered that a money laundering network connected to the Sinaloa drug cartel coordinated with a money transmitting group based in San Gabriel Valley, California, to process "large amounts of drug proceeds in U.S. currency in the Los Angeles area." According to federal authorities, the California-based group has ties to Chinese underground banking.

'A partnership between Sinaloa Cartel associates and a Chinese criminal syndicate operating in Los Angeles and China.'

The groups allegedly concealed the proceeds and made the funds available to the cartel's members in Mexico and elsewhere.

"The Justice Department today announced a 10-count superseding indictment charging Los Angeles-based associates of Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel with conspiring with money-laundering groups linked to Chinese underground banking to launder drug trafficking proceeds. During the conspiracy, more than $50 million in drug proceeds flowed between the Sinaloa Cartel associates and Chinese underground money exchanges," the DOJ's press release read.

Chinese and Mexican law enforcement agencies arrested fugitives named in the DOJ's superseding indictment after they fled the U.S., the department stated. Twenty-four defendants are facing multiple charges, including "one count of conspiracy to aid and abet the distribution of cocaine and methamphetamine, one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, and one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business," the department reported.

Edgar Joel Martinez-Reyes, 45, of East Los Angeles, was accused of using numerous strategies to conceal the money's source, including trade-based money laundering schemes, "structuring" assets, and cryptocurrency.

The investigation resulted in the seizure of roughly $5 million in illicit drug proceeds, 302 pounds of cocaine, 92 pounds of methamphetamine, 3,000 Ecstasy pills, 44 pounds of psilocybin, ketamine, three rifles, and eight handguns.

U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California stated, "Dangerous drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine are destroying people's lives but drug traffickers only care about their profits."

"To protect our community, therefore, it is essential that we go after the sophisticated, international criminal syndicates that launder the drug money," Estrada continued. "As this indictment and our international actions show, we will be dogged in our pursuit of all those who facilitate destruction in our country and make sure they are held accountable for their actions."

Drug Enforcement Administration administrator Anne Milgram explained that Mexican drug cartels are motivated by money and "responsible for the worst drug crisis in American history."

"This DEA investigation uncovered a partnership between Sinaloa Cartel associates and a Chinese criminal syndicate operating in Los Angeles and China to launder drug money. Laundering drug money gives the Sinaloa Cartel the means to produce and import their deadly poison into the United States," Milgram added.

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DEA agent accused of taking $250K in mafia bribes, covering for sex-trafficking strip club, helping HS teacher with marijuana side hustle



A former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent is accused of taking $250,000 in bribes from the mafia, covering for a strip club allegedly involved in sex trafficking, and helping a high school English teacher with his marijuana side hustle.

The federal trial in upstate New York has begun for Joseph Bongiovanni – the former DEA agent accused of providing the Buffalo Mafia with an "umbrella of protection" in exchange for massive bribes.

The Associated Press reported, "Bongiovanni was raised in a tight-knit Italian American community in North Buffalo and known as a 'door kicker' in the DEA, defense attorney Parker MacKay said, 'not the type to sit in front of a computer.'"

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Tripi told the jurors on Thursday that Bongiovanni turned to help the mafia after he encountered financial issues stemming from a costly divorce and his fondness for luxury trips.

Tripi claimed Bongiovanni had an admiration for those associated with "Italian organized crime."

Bongiovanni, 59, is accused of being a "double agent" who betrayed his badge to take $250,000 in bribes from the mafia to help the organized crime syndicate from getting caught by the feds.

The former DEA agent allegedly would tip off the mafia as to when they were "all clear" and law enforcement was not hot on their tail. Bongiovanni is said to have leaked intelligence to the mafia and opened fictitious cases to make it appear that he was investigating certain mafia members or to claim them as informants. Since Bongiovanni pretended to investigate the Buffalo Mafia, he would receive notice of any time another agency began investigating the criminal organization.

Bongiovanni allegedly encouraged his law enforcement colleagues to spend less time investigating Italians and focus on blacks and Hispanics, "n****** and s****" he purportedly said.

According to the AP, "Bongiovanni also is accused of vouching for criminals, filing bogus reports and swiping a sensitive DEA case file on organized crime that he stored in his basement after his abrupt retirement."

Prosecutors allege Bongiovanni went out of his way to protect the Pharoah's Gentlemen’s Club – a strip club in Cheektowaga that reportedly featured illegal drug use and sex trafficking.

The strip club's owner, Peter Gerace Jr, was childhood friends with Bongiovanni and is the grandson of Joseph Todaro – the "reputed leader of the Buffalo Mafia."

Tripi accused Gerace of providing "cocaine and women to high-end clientele."

Prosecutors said Gerace sought Bongiovanni's assistance in covering up the overdose of a stripper.

Gerace reportedly was heard on voicemail asking the former DEA agent about tracing a drug dealer's cellphone, "Is there a way to ping it like police do? I just want to know if you could do that or not."

Gerace's attorney, Mark Foti, said his client "denies all charges and looks forward to confronting the government’s evidence at his trial."

Prosecutors expect to call a public high school English teacher to the stand, who admitted to running a marijuana-growing operation while receiving confidential information from Bongiovanni.

Tripi said of Bongiovanni, "He did just enough legitimate work to avoid detection. He almost got away with it."

Tripi told jurors, "Sometimes the DEA doesn’t get it right. He was able to manipulate everyone because, in law enforcement, there’s a certain amount of trust that’s inherent. He did it under the watch of supervisors who under-supervised him.”

Bongiovanni has denied the counts of bribery, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice that could put him in federal prison for the rest of his life.

Bongiovanni's attorneys argue that he never took any bribes and that the government's case against him is built on the questionable testimony from individuals holding grudges against him and others who are seeking sweet deals from the Department of Justice for their testimony against him.

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'It seems it is just flowing over the borders': Rick Harrison of 'Pawn Stars' says son Adam died due to fentanyl overdose



Rick Harrison of "Pawn Stars" fame has said that his son Adam Harrison died due to a fentanyl overdose.

"Yes, I can confirm Adam died from a fentanyl overdose," he said in a statement, according to Fox News Digital. "The fentanyl crisis in this country must be taken more seriously. It seems it is just flowing over the borders and nothing is being done about it. We must do better."

Adam Harrison was just 39 years old.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco Cartel are behind the the majority of fentanyl flowing into the U.S.

"While the cartels' operations are based in Mexico, DEA has identified more than 50 additional countries where these criminal networks operate," a DEA press release states. The agency said that cartels buy chemicals from companies located in China, concoct the drug "in Mexico, and then traffic and distribute finished fentanyl widely throughout the United States."

"Today, fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. In calendar year 2023, DEA seized more than 77 million fentanyl pills and nearly 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder. This is the most fentanyl seized by DEA in a single year. It amounts to more than 386 million deadly doses of fentanyl—enough to kill every American," the DEA noted in a press release.

DEA New Jersey Field Division Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz described the drug as "the greatest threat to our nation," according to the press release.

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Feds Started A Dangerous Game With Hunter Biden’s Laptop, But GOP Lawmakers Can Finish It

Here's how to unravel the government's info op falsely branding Hunter Biden's laptop as 'Russian disinformation.'

GOP Reps: Stopping Communist China’s Plan To Poison America With Fentanyl Starts With Securing The Border, Sanctions

The cartels that control the border may be responsible for smuggling fentanyl but their operations are sustained by CCP-linked investors.

DEA alert about dangerous fentanyl and xylazine cocktails warns of potential for 'rotting of human tissue — that may lead to amputation'



The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a public safety alert warning about an uptick in the trafficking of dangerous drug concoctions containing fentanyl and xylazine.

"Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier," DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said, according to the alert. "DEA has seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of 50 States. The DEA Laboratory System is reporting that in 2022 approximately 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xylazine."

"Xylazine and fentanyl drug mixtures place users at a higher risk of suffering a fatal drug poisoning," the DEA alert noted. "People who inject drug mixtures containing xylazine also can develop severe wounds, including necrosis—the rotting of human tissue—that may lead to amputation."

The FDA indicates that while xylazine is approved to be used in animals, it is not safe for humans. According to the FDA, "Repeated exposure to xylazine, by injection, has been associated with severe, necrotic skin ulcerations that are distinctly different from other soft-tissue infections (e.g., cellulitis, abscesses) often associated with injection drug use. These ulcerations may develop in areas of the body away from the site of injection."

"The Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco Cartel in Mexico, using chemicals largely sourced from China, are primarily responsible for the vast majority of the fentanyl that is being trafficked in communities across the United States," the DEA noted.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has been reporting massive numbers of southwest land border encounters month after month — there have been more than 1 million during the five-month period spanning from October through February.

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