Release the hostages, or there will be 'HELL TO PAY': Trump warns Hamas



President-elect Donald Trump delivered a stark ultimatum to Hamas on Monday, calling for the immediate release of hostages abducted during the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack against Israel.

Hamas' brutal assault resulted in the tragic deaths of approximately 1,200 civilians and injuries to 8,700 others. The extremist group kidnapped hundreds of hostages, including infants, women, and the elderly.

'Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America.'

On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces announced that Omer Neutra, a 21-year-old American-Israeli dual citizen who was previously thought to be a hostage, was actually murdered during the October 7 attack.

It is believed that three American hostages — Eden Alexander, 21; Keith Siegel, 65; and Sagui Dekel-Chen, 35 — are still alive and being held by Hamas more than a year later.

The terror organization released a propaganda video on Saturday that showed Alexander alive and, while under duress, calling for Trump to "use your influence and the full power of the United States to negotiate our freedom." The footage warned that "time is running out."

Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, "Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East - But it's all talk, and no action!"

"Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity," Trump declared.

"Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!" he demanded.

In October, the Israeli government confirmed that it killed Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas who was one of the masterminds behind last year's attack.

Over the weekend, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told "Face the Nation" that he believes the terror organization is "feeling the pressure."

"They're feeling the pressure because one of their main partners in crime here, Hezbollah, has now cut a ceasefire deal," Sullivan stated. "They're feeling the pressure, of course, because their top leader, Sinwar, has been killed. So they may be looking anew at the possibility of getting a ceasefire and hostage deal."

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Liberal establishment throws conniption over Trump's FBI director announcement; Patel speaks out



Establishmentarians hostile to President-elect Donald Trump have spent weeks characterizing former National Security Council official Kash Patel as a threat to their dysfunctional status quo.

Former FBI Special Agent Daniel Brunner told CNN last month that "putting someone like Kash Patel in the position of director of the FBI is, I believe, extremely, extremely dangerous." Andrew McCabe, the former FBI deputy director who undermined the Trump presidency with Crossfire Hurricane, said, "There is a lot of damage someone like Kash Patel could do."

Following many such unintentional endorsements, Trump announced Saturday that he will nominate Patel as FBI director Christopher Wray's replacement.

Although Patel wasted no time indicating what he intends to achieve at the FBI, elements of the liberal establishment and intelligence community signaled a desire to instead rely on their own slapdash dystopian fiction for insights into what might happen next.

'I think the best-case scenario for everybody is that Kash Patel and this talk of Kash Patel ends.'

David Frum, the former George W. Bush speechwriter and Atlantic editor who suggested days after Trump was shot in Pennsylvania that the gunman and his target were "common enemies of law and democracy," tweeted, "We are headed toward a US constitutional crisis vastly bigger than Watergate."

MSNBC talking head Joe Scarborough similarly panicked, saying, "This is not only bad for the men and women who run the FBI. This not only bad for the rule of law. This is not only bad for the First Amendment. This is not only bad for the United States of America. This is bad for Donald Trump. This is bad for the Trump administration. This is not going to end well. So I think the best-case scenario for everybody is that Kash Patel and this talk of Kash Patel ends."

The Washington Post's Ruth Marcus complained, "This is not normal," and urged Republican senators to "stand up to Trump."

Although the GOP won a majority in the U.S. Senate, those nominal Republicans who reportedly refused to support Matt Gaetz's appointment to run the Department of Justice — Sens. Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and John Curtis (Utah) — could help spike Patel's nomination.

McCabe griped to CNN on Sunday, "The installation or the nomination, I guess we should say at this point, of Kash Patel's FBI director can only possibly be a plan to disrupt, to dismantle, to distract the FBI and to possibly use it as a tool for the president's political agenda."

"And, you know, as an organization, we know what that looks like. This country has been there before, right?" continued McCabe, James Comey's former right-hand man who shut down investigations into the Clinton Foundation in 2016.

McCabe quickly made clear that he was not referencing the Biden FBI's targeting of pro-life activists, traditional Christians, political opponents, and outspoken parents, but rather the FBI's former targeting of communists.

"The pre-Watergate FBI, the J. Edgar Hoover FBI struck fear in the hearts of Americans across the spectrum — of politicians, people in entertainment, people in the civil rights community — because the director operated at the direction of presidents to collect political intelligence and to utilize the legal authorities, the investigative authorities of the FBI, to terrorize and intimidate Americans," said McCabe.

Former Bush adviser John Bolton, a key proponent of America's disastrous 2003 invasion of Iraq, similarly criticized Trump's decision, reportedly stating, "Trump has nominated Kash Patel to be his Lavrenty Beria. Fortunately, the FBI is not the NKVD. The Senate should reject this nomination 100-0."

Vice President-elect JD Vance responded, "John Bolton has been wrong about everything so I guess Kash must be pretty awesome."

'You shut down the Hoover building immediately.'

In his announcement on Truth Social Saturday, Trump noted, "Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and 'America First' fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People. He played a pivotal role in uncovering the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, standing as an advocate for truth, accountability, and the Constitution."

"Kash did an incredible job during my First Term, where he served as Chief of Staff at the Department of Defense, Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council," continued the president-elect. "Kash has also tried over 60 jury trials. This FBI will end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle the migrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the Border. Kash will work under our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to bring back Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity to the FBI."

After first making an X account, Patel shared the following statement: "It is the honor of a lifetime to be nominated by President Trump to serve as Director of the FBI. Together, we will restore integrity, accountability, and equal justice to our justice system and return the FBI to its rightful mission: protecting the American people."

While Patel has been highly critical of the FBI, he told Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck in December 2023 that the bureau is "fixable" and explained what reform might look like.

"You shut down the Hoover building immediately. I think you literally open it up the next day as a museum of the deep state and you let everybody walk the halls for free, and you leave that behemoth open 365 days a year," said Patel. "You need like 20 people in a skiff to run the FBI. The other 7,000 agents that are sitting in that building should be chasing criminals around America, not distorting statistics about January 6 so Chris Ray can go to Congress and lie and say, 'Domestic violent terrorism is on the rise.'"

While various Democrats joined McCabe in throwing tantrums, various Republican lawmakers celebrated Trump's choice.

'He is a man of honor, unquestionable loyalty, and an American Patriot.'

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wrote, "Kash Patel has extensive experience in national security and intelligence. He is an America First patriot who will bring much-needed change and transparency to the FBI."

Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty (R) told NBC's "Meet the Press," "There are serious problems at the FBI. The American public knows it. They expect to see sweeping change, and Kash Patel is just the type of person to do it."

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said, "I look forward to supporting him and pushing this nomination across the finish line."

"Kash will get confirmed by the Senate," tweeted Rep.-elect Abe Hamadeh (R-Ariz.). "He is a man of honor, unquestionable loyalty, and an American Patriot. Kash is the son of Indian immigrants who escaped Uganda's genocidal dictator, Idi Amin. He WILL restore and uphold the rule of law, and the FBI will be premier again!"

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'No one is above the law': Biden's 'unconditional' pardon of his son covering Burisma years stuns liberals and critics alike



President Joe Biden and other elements of his administration have managed to evade the legal consequences meted out to Americans of other political stripes. Biden apparently figures his son should be afforded the same luxury.

After repeatedly vowing he would not do so, and just months after declaring without qualification, "No one is above the law," Biden issued a "full and unconditional" pardon for son Hunter Biden.

The pardon gives Hunter Biden a pass on any crimes committed between Jan. 1, 2014, and Dec. 1, 2024. This 10-year window of clemency not only lets him off the hook for his felony conviction on gun charges and for his felony tax offenses, but also conveniently overlaps with the Bidens' scandalous dealings with the Ukrainian company Burisma, where Hunter was appointed director in 2014, as well as with the communist state-linked organization CEFC China Energy and other questionable foreign entities.

The brazenness and breadth of the pardon has stunned critics and fellow travelers alike, prompting even CNN and Politico to admit its "extraordinary" and "unprecedented" nature.

'The most lawless administration in history.'

"I am satisfied that I'm not going to do anything," Biden told reporters in June, following Hunter's conviction on federal gun charges. "I said I'd abide by the jury decision. I will do that. And I will not pardon him."

On Sunday — a day after President-elect Donald Trump indicated he would nominate Kash Patel as FBI director Christopher Wray's replacement — Biden signed the pardon for Hunter Biden, suggesting that his son was "treated differently" than other criminals.

"The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election," wrote Biden. "No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter's cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong. There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they've tried to break me — and there's no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough."

According to Biden, his son — who had an affair with his dead brother's wife; initially refused to acknowledge then attempted to avoid paying child support for the daughter he sired with a former stripper; used illicit substances that would land other Americans in prison; enriched himself abroad using his family brand; and allegedly engaged in an international influence-peddling scheme with his father — is a victim of a "miscarriage of justice."

The pardon clears Hunter Biden for all offenses against the U.S. that he has committed or may have committed, "including but not limited to all offenses charged or prosecuted (including any that have resulted in convictions)," in the 10-year period.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) responded to the pardon on X, writing, "Democrats said there was nothing to our impeachment inquiry. If that's the case, why did Joe Biden just issue Hunter Biden a pardon for the very things we were inquiring about?"

"The most lawless administration in history," wrote Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).

Trump wrote, "Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!"

Liz Wheeler, BlazeTV host of "The Liz Wheeler Show," tweeted, "I'm surprised anyone believed Joe Biden when he claimed he wouldn’t pardon Hunter. Obviously that was a lie. Joe was always gonna pardon Hunter. Not because Joe is a 'good father.' Because Hunter was the bagman who collected corrupt money for Joe. I thought everyone knew this."

Politico admitted the pardon is "an extraordinary political act with extraordinary legal breadth" that is "deliberately vague."

'This is a bad precedent.'

Former U.S. pardon attorney Margaret Love told the publication, "I have never seen language like this in a pardon document that purports to pardon offenses that have not apparently even been charged, with the exception of the Nixon pardon," referring to President Gerald Ford's blanket pardon of President Richard Nixon in 1974.

Love added, "Even the broadest Trump pardons were specific as to what was being pardoned."

Samuel Morrison, an attorney who similarly worked in the Office of the Pardon Attorney for over a decade, told Politico, "It is an extraordinarily broad grant."

Morrison suggested that Biden has effectively cleared Trump to go the distance with his own pardons, noting, "It gives him some political cover. I think some January 6 pardons are probably coming — at least some, maybe all."

CNN indicated that the pardon "deepened an entanglement of politics and the rule of law that has tarnished faith in American justice" and "may be seen as a stain on his legacy and his credibility."

The New York Times indicated that Hunter Biden would most likely not have qualified for a pardon recommendation under the criteria used by the Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney.

Some Democrats and fellow travelers have similarly acknowledged that the play to insulate Hunter Biden from consequence was a grave error.

"I am disappointed that he put his family ahead of the country," wrote Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D). "This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation. When you become President, your role is Pater familias of the nation. Hunter brought the legal trouble he faced on himself, and one can sympathize with his struggles while also acknowledging that no one is above the law, not a President and not a President's son."

"A selfish and senile old man," tweeted FiveThirtyEight pollster Nate Silver. "Why do you think Trump(ism) gains a following? Well, actually, that's complicated. But part of it is because elites of all political stripes are absolutely out for themselves and complete moral hypocrites. And Democrats stake a claim to moral superiority when Trump does not."

Silver added, "Don't vote for any Democrat in 2028 who doesn't repudiate the pardon within 48 hours."

By pardoning his felonious son, Biden may have done more than just nuke his remaining credibility. He may have transformed into a courtroom foe.

Former U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman noted that the "pardon is extremely broad and covers activities while Joe was vice president. This means that Hunter cannot plead the Fifth if asked about his business dealings with Ukraine and China, including his Dad's involvement, because, with his pardon, he has no risk of criminal jeopardy."

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'He has his own agenda': Mark Zuckerberg dines with Trump — does he want to make America great again?



Meta CEO and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg reportedly had dinner with President-elect Donald Trump at his Florida golf club on the day before Thanksgiving.

Zuckerberg was first spotted on the property around 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time before reports were confirmed later in the evening.

A Meta spokesperson told CBS News that Zuckerberg was "grateful for the invitation to join President Trump for dinner and the opportunity to meet with members of his team about the incoming Administration."

Stephen Miller, Trump's former adviser and now deputy chief of staff, said that while Zuckerberg has his own interests, he assured the Trump team that he's hoping to help revive the country.

"Mark, obviously, he has his own interest, and he has his own company, and he has his own agenda,” Miller said in an interview, according to the Associated Press. "But he's made clear that he wants to support the national renewal of America under Trump’s leadership."

— (@)

The relationship between Trump and Zuckerberg has been a contentious one, with Trump being kicked off Facebook after January 6, 2021, with the social media platform claiming that his posts had potentially encouraged violence. Trump's account was then restored in 2023 but with reported "guardrails."

Any restrictions were allegedly lifted in July, before Trump's 2024 election victory, potentially allowing Trump to reach his combined 65 million followers across Facebook and Instagram, both owned by Meta.

That same month, Trump posted a warning on Truth Social that he considered sending those committing election fraud to prison, directly referencing Zuckerberg.

"If I’m elected President, we will pursue Election Fraudsters at levels never seen before, and they will be sent to prison for long periods of time. We already know who you are. DON’T DO IT! ZUCKERBUCKS, be careful!" Trump wrote.

Prior to Trump's re-election, UFC fighters Michael Chandler and Jorge Masvidal pontificated on why Zuckerberg has seemingly made a shift in his attitude since being interviewed by Joe Rogan and appearing at UFC events.

"I just think Zuck started training, that testosterone started going through the roof. ... He realized what being a sovereign individual means," Chandler explained. "You don't know how not sovereign you are until you stand in front of a man, and he beats the crap out of you, and then you pick yourself back up and you do it again, or you get choked out and then you got to get up and do it again."

Chandler continued, "I think Zuck has started to realize that, and now he's starting to lean over [to the right] a little bit."

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3 American citizens imprisoned in China for years released



Three American citizens who have been locked up in China for years have been released.

Politico, which first reported the story, claimed that Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung have been released as part of a prisoner swap between the U.S. and China.

Swidan, a 48-year-old Texas native, was arrested 12 years ago for allegedly manufacturing and trafficking drugs. He was then put on trial for an agonizing five and a half years before being sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. A court upheld that death sentence last year.

The Dui Hua Foundation, a prisoner advocacy nonprofit based in San Francisco, claimed that the evidence against Swidan was "entirely circumstantial," and in 2020, the U.N. determined that Swidan's detention was "arbitrary," Politico reported.

"I’m just elated and excited — I can’t even believe it," his mother, Katherine Swidan, told the outlet after learning the news of her son's release.

The family had previously expressed concerns about his health and possible suicidal ideation.

Both Li and Leung were convicted of espionage.

Li, a 60-year-old Chinese immigrant who lived in New York, was arrested by Shanghai police in September 2016, according to the AP. In July 2018, a court sentenced him to 10 years in prison, another sentence that the U.N. later described as "arbitrary," as well as "political and not criminal" and "at least in part attributable to his status as a foreign national of Chinese heritage," Politico said.

Li suffered a stroke while incarcerated, CBS News reported.

Leung, a 78-year-old permanent resident of Hong Kong, was arrested in 2021, accused of spying in China on behalf of American intelligence agencies since 1989. Last year, he was sentenced to life in prison and had more than $70,000 worth of property confiscated.

'Soon they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years.'

Though CBS News and the AP indicated that the U.S. State Department classified all three men as "wrongfully detained," Politico reported that Leung — whom CNN described as "a veteran leader of several pro-Beijing groups in the United States" — was not considered to be "wrongfully detained" by either the State Department or the U.N.

State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel was similarly vague about Leung's case in May 2023, telling CNN cryptically: "Broadly on wrongfully detained designations, that work is a deliberative process that is ongoing."

In any case, all three are now free and should be back in the U.S. "in a few hours," a senior White House official said, according to Politico.

"Soon they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years," the White House said in a statement.

A statement from a National Security spokesman indicated that China no longer has any wrongfully detained Americans in custody: "Thanks to this administration's efforts and diplomacy with the PRC, all of the wrongfully detained Americans in the PRC are home."

They are expected to be taken to Brooke Army Medical Center outside San Antonio, Texas, which is equipped to give former hostages psychological evaluations and help them reacclimate into society.

The men were released to U.S. custody in exchange for "unidentified Chinese nationals," CNN reported. The U.S. has also officially reduced the travel advisory level for China from three to two, encouraging Americans to exercise "increased caution" in the communist country rather than to "reconsider" traveling there.

The Chinese embassy in Washington declined CNN's request for comment.

The release of the detainees comes at the tail end of the Biden-Harris administration, and some outlets are declaring it a last-minute victory for the outgoing administration.

The release also comes just days after President-elect Donald Trump promised to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese goods in retaliation for China reportedly manufacturing fentanyl and then shipping it into the U.S.

"This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!" Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday.

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'Karma is a b****': Trump taps epidemiologist targeted by Biden admin and censored online to run NIH



Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, an esteemed epidemiologist and professor of health policy at Stanford University, refused to accept the premise advanced early in the pandemic by medical establishmentarians and lawmakers that lockdowns, vaccine mandates, masking for kids, and other ruinous COVID-19 policies were the best ways to prevent infection and get back to normal.

Although he and other principals behind the Great Barrington Declaration were ultimately vindicated, at the time, he faced incredible abuse. President Joe Biden's former chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci and former National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins conspired to issue a "quick and devastating takedown" of Bhattacharya's criticism while many of the professor's peers personally attacked him. Adding injury to insult, Bhattacharya was censored online.

This prime target for suppression by the current administration is now the nominee to serve as director of the next administration's National Institutes of Health.

'The hammer of justice is coming.'

"I am thrilled to nominate Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, to serve as Director of the National Institutes of Health," President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday evening. "Dr. Bhattacharya will work in cooperation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to direct the Nation's Medical Research, and to make important discoveries that will improve health, and save lives."

Dr. Bhattacharya said that he was "honored and humbled" by the nomination and vowed to "reform American scientific institutions so that they are worthy of trust again and will deploy the fruits of excellent science to make America healthy again!"

Trump's selection was widely celebrated, especially by those critical of Democratic censorship as well as the scientific establishment's deadly and credibility-destroying hostility to alternative viewpoints.

"I'm so grateful to President Trump for this spectacular appointment," tweeted Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services. "Dr. Jay Bhattacharya is the ideal leader to restore NIH as the international template for gold-standard science and evidence-based medicine."

Blaze News editor in chief Matthew J. Peterson wrote, "This is what winning looks like right here. @Dr.JBhattacharya in this role is right and just. The hammer of justice is coming. The era of blackpilling is over. We live in a new era — a new @frontier_mag_. Pick up your shield and sword and get ready to rumble."

'It will be a major step forward to have an NIH Director who will fight science fraud and repudiate science fraudsters.'

Matt Kibbe, the BlazeTV host of "Kibbe on Liberty" and "The Coverup," which recently featured Bhattacharya, stated, "Jay Bhattacharya was deemed a 'fringe epidemiologist' by former NIH Director Francis Collins, who demonized him for asking obvious questions about the government's authoritarian response to Covid. Now, Jay will take the helm at NIH, and clean house of all those who corrupted public health and did so much damage to Americans during the pandemic. Karma is a b****."

Molecular biologist Dr. Richard H. Ebright of Rutgers University tweeted, "It will be a major step forward to have an NIH Director who will fight science fraud and repudiate science fraudsters. Rather than an NIH Director — like former NIH Director Francis Collins — who prompted science fraud and rewarded science fraudsters."

Earlier this year, Bhattacharya joined Ebright and other scientists in seeking accountability from those scientific journals that happily published "unsound scientific papers" by Fauci, disgraced EcoHealth Alliance boss Peter Daszak, and elements of their inner circle that downplayed the likely lab-leak origins of COVID-19 during the pandemic.

BlazeTV host Steve Deace, responding to the fact that Bhattacharya is poised to take over the job of a man who recently sought to destroy his reputation, wrote, "Do not be deceived. God will not be mocked. A man will always reap what he sows."

Bhattacharya co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, which suggested that geriatrics and other higher-risk groups should engage in shielding, whereas healthy individuals should "immediately be allowed to resume life as normal." Healthy individuals, it suggested, would be better off catching the virus and developing natural immunity. This greatly angered elements of the medical establishment who preferred coercive medicine, blanket lockdowns, and school closures.

Fauci called the declaration "total nonsense."

Scores of other so-called experts claimed in a response published in the Lancet, the "John Snow Memorandum," that the call for herd immunity and other proposals raised in the declaration were dangerous and unscientific. The memo was signed by thousands of scientists and endorsed by the Federation of American Scientists.

Extra to facing criticism from his peers, Bhattacharya was censored online. Reporting from Elon Musk's "Twitter Files" revealed that under previous management, the platform put the professor on a "Trends Blacklist," ensuring that his tweets would be suppressed, including his suggestion that pandemic lockdowns were harmful to children.

'All were suppressed.'

Bhattacharya was among the individual plaintiffs who joined the states of Missouri and Louisiana in taking legal action against President Joe Biden, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Anthony Fauci, and various Biden administration officials. The case — Missouri v. Biden,which became Murthy v. Missouri — exposed some of the ways the Democratic administration colluded with social media platforms to suppress dissenting voices and criticism of COVID-19 policies.

U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty noted that the Biden administration

used its power to silence the opposition. Opposition to COVID-19 vaccines; opposition to COVID-19 masking and lockdowns; opposition to the lab-leak theory of COVID-19; opposition to the validity of the 2020 election; opposition to President Biden's policies; statements that the Hunter Biden laptop story was true; and opposition to policies of the government officials in power.

"All were suppressed," wrote Doughty. "It is quite telling that each example or category of suppressed speech was conservative in nature. This targeted suppression of conservative ideas is a perfect example of viewpoint discrimination of political speech."

While the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately let the Biden administration off the hook, claiming that "the individual nor the state plaintiffs have established Article III standing to seek an injunction against any defendant," the lawsuit helped paved the way for Kennedy v. Biden as well as Dressen, et al. v. Flaherty, et al., a lawsuit filed against the Biden administration by vaccine-injured Americans.

'Make America Healthy Again!'

The ruling also helped emphasize the difference between Biden and Trump.

Bhattacharya noted on X following the court's ruling, "The Supreme Court just ruled in the Murthy v. Missouri case that the Biden Administration can coerce social media companies to censor and shadowban people and posts it doesn't like."

"This now also becomes a key issue in the upcoming election. Where do the presidential candidates stand on social media censorship? We know where Biden stands since his lawyers argue that he has near monarchical power over social media speech," continued Bhattacharya.

The candidate promising to protect free speech and hold censorious tech companies accountable ultimately won the day, putting Bhattacharya in a position where, if confirmed, he is unlikely to again be shut up and shut out.

"Together, Jay and RFK Jr. will restore the NIH to a Gold Standard of Medical Research as they examine the underlying causes of, and solutions to, America's biggest Health challengers, including our Crisis of Chronic Illness and Disease," Trump noted in his announcement. "Together, they will work hard to Make America Healthy Again!"

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Bhattacharya will oversee the world's top medical research agency, its $48 billion budget, and 27 institutes and centers.

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Biden admin's lawfare against Trump cost taxpayers over $50 million: Report



The Biden-Harris administration reportedly spent at least $50 million in taxpayer funds to go after President-elect Donald Trump in two federal criminal cases.

Fox News Digital reviewed Department of Justice expenditure reports, indicating that the Special Counsel Office, led by Jack Smith, incurred costs of $9.25 million from November 2022 to March 2023. A subsequent report showed an additional $14.66 million spent over the next six months. From October 2023 to March 2024, there was another $11.84 million in expenses. The expenditures from April 2024 to September 2024 have not yet been reported, but based on the average of the previous reported periods, it is estimated to be approximately $12 million.

'Empty and lawless.'

Therefore, since Smith's appointment in late 2022, the office has reportedly spent an estimated total of approximately $47.5 million.

The news outlet stated that the expenditures included both direct and indirect costs related to the two federal indictments overseen by Smith.

Newsweek reported earlier this month that the total is likely "well past" $50 million when including expenditures from September 30 onward.

Ultimately, the Biden administration's relentless lawfare against Trump came to a screeching halt following the outcome of the presidential election.

In the summer, Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida dismissed one of Smith's federal cases against Trump, where the president-elect was accused of mishandling classified documents. In her dismissal, Cannon ruled that Smith's appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional. Smith filed an appeal but moved to place that request on hold earlier this month.

On Monday, Smith requested to dismiss the other federal case against Trump, which alleged that he tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Smith cited a longstanding DOJ policy that prevents the agency from filing criminal charges against a sitting president. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan approved Smith's motion to dismiss the case without prejudice, thereby allowing the option to reinstate the charges in the future.

However, CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig explained on Tuesday why he believes the federal cases will not be revived after Trump's presidency despite being dismissed without prejudice.

"Yes, technically the cases were dismissed without prejudice, which means technically someone could come back in four years and reinstitute these charges," Honig said. "It's not mathematically eliminated. That's not gonna happen for a lot of reasons. First of all, four years from now is an eternity. Whoever the next president is in 2029, the next attorney general is gonna have no appetite in bringing this case back."

Honig also stated that "there are moves Donald Trump's DOJ could make" to eliminate that possibility.

"They can go back to the court and say, 'We want to switch this from without prejudice to with prejudice,' meaning it cannot be brought back. Who knows, Donald Trump may try to issue himself a pardon, something we've never seen before," he continued. "So I wouldn't hold out any expectation that this case ever gets charged in 2029."

Trump now faces only two state-level indictments, one in New York and the other in Georgia. However, the judge overseeing his New York criminal case, where he was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records, has agreed to review the defense's request to dismiss the case. The Georgia case remains tied up in the courts, with some speculating it may also be thrown out over Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' potential disqualification.

On Monday, Trump posted a statement on Truth Social responding to the recent case dismissal.

"These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought. Over $100 Million Dollars of Taxpayer Dollars has been wasted in the Democrat Party's fight against their Political Opponent, ME. Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before," he wrote.

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Trump's pro-life pick to run CDC is bad news for status quo, Big Pharma — good news for vax oversight



President-elect Donald Trump selected former Florida congressman Dr. Dave Weldon (R) on Friday as his nominee for director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a pick celebrated by his proposed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

As with most of Trump's other nominations, Dr. Weldon, 71, has all the makings of a disruptor, prompting establishmentarians to take notice and clutch pearls. After all, Dr. Weldon has long criticized the agency he is poised to run, has raised concerns about vaccine safety, and has been consistently pro-life even when politically inexpedient.

"In addition to being a Medical Doctor for 40 years, and an Army Veteran, Dave has been a respected conservative leader on fiscal and social issues, and served on the Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, working for Accountability on HHS and CDC Policy and Budgeting," Trump noted in his announcement. "Dave also served in a leading role in Government Oversight and Reform Committee Hearings, addressing issues within HHS and CDC. Dave has successfully worked with the CDC to enact a ban on patents for human embryos."

Dr. Weldon sponsored the Fetus Farming Prohibition Act of 2006, which effectively prohibits the solicitation or acquisition of tissue from human babies gestated for research purposes.

Trump stressed that Americans have "lost trust" in the federal health establishment, including the CDC, and indicated that Dr. Weldon will help restore that faith and "ensure Americans have the tools and resources they need to understand the underlying causes of disease, and the solutions to cure these diseases."

A survey examining Americans' trust in public health agencies published last year in the journal Health Affairs revealed that 16% of respondents said they don't have "very much" trust in the CDC's recommendations and 10% indicated they do not trust the agency "at all." Of those surveyed, 37% said they had a "great deal" of trust in the CDC's recommendations, and another 37% said they "somewhat" trust the agency.

Another survey published earlier this year in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Health Forum indicated that 24% of respondents had little or no trust in the CDC.

'Dave will proudly restore the CDC to its true purpose.'

The CDC, home to over 12,000 employees and operating with a discretionary budget of over $9 billion this year, did a great deal during the pandemic to undermine its credibility.

For instance, former Biden CDC director Rochelle Walensky pushed novel vaccines on the American public, including resilient children, some of which were later found to be unsafe; discounted warnings from an agency advisory panel about booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine and recommended them anyway; claimed in 2021 that "vaccinated people do not carry the virus, don't get sick"; repeatedly extended the moratorium on rental evictions, citing the need to stop the spread of COVID-19; and colluded with the American Federation of Teachers and its boss Randi Weingarten at the expense of American children.

The agency also initially cast doubt on whether the experimental COVID-19 vaccines were causing myocarditis in young Americans; recommended that everyone in K-12 schools wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status, which studies have indicated did far more harm than good; and coordinated with social media companies to censor vaccine criticism online.

The CDC's role in the Biden administration's censorship efforts has not only hurt its reputation but made it a target for numerous lawsuits.

Several vaccine-injured Americans recently filed a lawsuit against the CDC and other elements of the Biden administration for allegedly working to "coerce, induce, and collude with social media platforms to censor, suppress, and label as 'misinformation' speech expressed by those who have suffered vaccine-related injuries."

"As a father of two and a husband of 45 years, Dave understands American Family Values, and views Health as one of utmost importance," continued Trump. "Dave will prioritize Transparency, Competence, and High Standards at CDC. Dave will proudly restore the CDC to its true purpose, and will work to end the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and Make America Healthy Again!"

'We must eliminate all real and perceived conflicts of interest.'

Kennedy, who previously highlighted Dr. Weldon's work exposing the CDC's problems, congratulated him over the weekend, stating, "Dave's leadership at CDC will bring the truth and transparency needed to restore the public's confidence in this institution."

Weldon, like Kennedy, has refused to blindly trust in federal health agencies, particularly when it comes to their vaccine oversight.

In 2007, Dr. Weldon introduced legislation aimed at moving vaccine safety oversight from the CDC — an agency whose dual objectives of high immunization rates and vaccine safety may oftentimes conflict — to an independent agency that would report directly to the HHS secretary.

He noted in a statement at the time, "Federal agencies charged with overseeing vaccine safety research have failed. They have failed to provide sufficient resources for vaccine safety research. They have failed to adequately fund extramural research. And, they have failed to free themselves from conflicts of interest that serve to undermine public confidence in the safety of vaccines."

"If government-funded vaccine safety research is to be broadly accepted, we must eliminate all real and perceived conflicts of interest," continued Dr. Weldon. "Otherwise, we will fail to achieve the level of acceptance that is necessary to restore, build, and secure public confidence over the long-run. A vaccine safety program housed anywhere within the CDC fails to achieve this independence."

'He is a dangerous pick to lead CDC.'

Trump's nominee has not only ruffled feathers by expecting both quality and quantity when it comes to immunizations but by expressing concern about the link between mercury — thimerosal — in vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders.

While various Republicans have celebrated the pick, Democratic lawmakers and elements of the American health establishment have concern-mongered about the possibility of Dr. Weldon as CDC director.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, who has received millions of dollars from Big Pharma and the health industry, said in a statement, "Dr. Dave Weldon is an extremist with zero public health experience who has spent years promoting anti-vaccine conspiracy thinking and junk health plans."

"He is a dangerous pick to lead CDC," added Murray.

Murray suggested further that Dr. Weldon's pro-life views were especially distressing, stating that "there is no reason to entrust the work of tackling our nation's maternal mortality crisis and collecting data essential to understanding the deadly outcome of abortion bans to the man responsible for the Weldon Amendment that allows health care providers to deny women essential abortion care."

Dorit Reiss, a vaccine policy researcher at the University of California Law-San Francisco, told NBC News, "Anti-vaccine people are celebrating this because they firmly see Weldon as an ally."

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Trump announces massive tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China



President-elect Donald Trump appeared ready to take action on his threat to hit other countries with tariffs in order to obtain foreign policy goals.

On Monday, he announced via social media tariffs on the countries Canada, Mexico, and China over immigration and other concerns.

'We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!'

"As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before. Right now a Caravan coming from Mexico, composed of thousands of people, seems to be unstoppable in its quest to come through our currently Open Border," Trump wrote.

"On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders. This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!" he added.

"We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!" Trump concluded.

In a second post, he said he would impose a tariff on China over fentanyl being sent into the U.S.

"I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States – But to no avail. Representatives of China told me that they would institute their maximum penalty, that of death, for any drug dealers caught doing this but, unfortunately, they never followed through, and drugs are pouring into our Country, mostly through Mexico, at levels never seen before," he wrote.

"Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America," he added.

Free market advocates have criticized Trump for pushing tariffs by arguing that they usually lead to trade wars that escalate prices and lead to counterproductive market consequences.

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Trump throws his support behind MAGA ally to replace Matt Gaetz



President-elect Donald Trump endorsed Jimmy Patronis, Florida's chief financial officer, to replace former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz after the Florida firebrand resigned his congressional post.

Gaetz resigned from Congress shortly after Trump nominated him for attorney general, sparking a slew of online and media controversy. Less than two weeks later, Gaetz decided to withdraw his bid for attorney general so as not to further distract from the Trump transition team. Gaetz confirmed that he does not intend to return to serve in the 119th Congress, leaving the seat vacant.

As a result, Patronis' name was floated as a potential Gaetz replacement. Patronis, who has long been an ally to Trump, earned his wholehearted endorsement.

"Jimmy Patronis, Chief Financial Officer for the Great State of Florida, has done a tremendous job as CFO, where he also serves as the State's Fire Marshall, and as an important member of the Florida Cabinet," Trump said in a Truth Social post Monday. "I hear that Jimmy is now considering launching a Campaign for Congress in Florida's 1st Congressional District!"

'Should he decide to enter this Race, Jimmy Patronis has my Complete and Total Endorsement.'

Trump pointed to Patronis' political experience as well as local ties to Florida's 1st district, further bolstering the endorsement.

"A fourth generation Floridian from the beautiful Panhandle, and owner of an iconic seafood restaurant, Jimmy has been a wonderful friend to me, and to MAGA," Trump continued. "I hear that As your next Congressman, Jimmy would work tirelessly alongside of me to Grow our Economy, Secure our Border, Stop Migrant Crime, Strengthen our Incredible Military/Vets, Restore American Energy DOMINANCE, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment."

"Should he decide to enter this Race, Jimmy Patronis has my Complete and Total Endorsement," Trump said. "RUN, JIMMY, RUN!"

Patronis responded to Trump in an X post on Monday, seemingly open to the idea of running to replace Gaetz.

"Put me to work, Mr. President!" Patronis said. "I am here to serve."

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