House Administration Chair Warns Hyperpolitical DAs: Weaponize the Law, Lose Federal Funding

Amid the Manhattan district attorney’s reported planning to arrest former President Trump next week under a novel legal interpretation of a state law against falsifying business records, Chairman of the House Administration Committee Bryan Steil (R-Wisc.) issued a blunt warning Monday to hyperpolitical big city district attorneys: Any federal funding their offices receive may be at risk if they are abusing their prosecutorial power to settle political scores rather than fight violent crime.

“Often the federal government is funding and providing resources to prosecutors across the United States,” Steil told the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show. “The purpose of that is to make our cities safer. If we find out through this investigation that instead those are being used to weaponize DAs across the country with a purpose of grinding a political ax rather than making our communities safer, we’re gonna have to go back into the funding model.”

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Trump Grand Jury Hearing Canceled Ahead of Possible Indictment: Reports

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office reportedly canceled the grand jury meeting scheduled for Wednesday in the case against former President Donald Trump, who faces a possible indictment in connection to alleged hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

The jurors are on standby for Thursday, according to multiple media reports.

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Memos from 2018-19 Shake Up Trump Case: Cohen Denied Having Incriminating Evidence on Hush Money

An attorney who advised disgraced Trump organization lawyer Michael Cohen provided Manhattan prosecutors with voluminous documentation, including contemporaneous emails and memos, purporting to show that in 2018 Cohen wanted Donald Trump to help cover his legal bills and repeatedly claimed he had no evidence incriminating the former president in a hush money deal with porn actress Stormy Daniels.

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Fed Raises Interest Rates a Quarter-Point, Highest Levels Since 2007

The Federal Reserve hiked its target federal-funds interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point Wednesday, the ninth in a series of hikes that started in March 2022.

The hike brings Fed’s target rate to a range between 4.75 percent and 5 percent with the Fed maintaining its pace of slowed increase. Most economists expected a quarter-point interest-rate hike in an effort to bring inflation down, but the current banking calamities contributed to the possibility of a pause, according to Bloomberg.

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Janet Yellen Says More Bank Bailouts Could Be on the Horizon

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in remarks Tuesday that regulators may ensure all deposits at more banks following the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank depositor bailouts.

Yellen said the bailouts were essential to safeguard the U.S. banking system in prepared remarks at the American Bankers Association Tuesday, referencing the Federal Reserve’s actions in insuring the deposits of SVB’s customers.

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Parent Groups ‘Fed Up’ with Striking Los Angeles Unions ‘Using Kids as Pawns’

Parent groups in California and those specifically in Los Angeles are enraged that tens of thousands of staff and teachers of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) went out on strike Tuesday, demanding higher pay and increased staffing in district schools.

“Parents are fed up with LAUSD unions using kids as pawns in contract negotiations,” tweeted Parent Union (CPC), a coalition of parents, parent groups, education reform advocates and community leaders dedicated to advancing meaningful education policies, accountability and choice in California’s K-12 education system.” 

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TikTok Tracking Code Has Infected Many State Government Websites: Report

Tracking code created by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance Ltd. has been discovered in 30 state government websites, Feroot Security says, according to the Wall Street Journal.

This type tracking code, or “pixel” is commonly placed by website administrators to track the results of advertising on TikTok, the outlet reported. Using data gathered in January and February, Feroot Security revealed such pixels in 30 websites maintained by 27 states, some of which have banned TikTok from their government networks and devices.

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Cuyahoga County GOP Stands Up to ‘Politically Motivated Prosecution’ of Donald Trump

The Cuyahoga County GOP says that bringing politically motivated charges against former President and 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump will severely undermine America’s confidence in the judicial system.

According to a Fox News report, the Manhattan District Attorney‘s office requested a meeting with law enforcement on Friday in anticipation of a potential indictment of Trump this week.

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Sex Abuse Allegations Surrounding Nonprofit Are ‘Irrelevant,’ Says Minnesota Dem Looking to Fund Their Work

A Democratic state representative called the past alleged sexual assault of a minor at the hands of a nonprofit employee “irrelevant” during a Minnesota committee meeting to consider funding to display artifacts from Honor the Earth, an indigenous group that brings awareness to environmental issues.

HB 2091 would allocate $200,000 to Honor the Earth and other organizations that would be used to curate and display their collections in a Minnesota museum over two years, according to the bill. Michael Dahl, a central community organizer for Honor the Earth, was accused in 2015 of assaulting a teenage boy during the 1990s, according to a lawsuitfiled by former employee Margaret Campbell, but one legislator said those allegations were “irrelevant” to the current legislation.

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DeSantis Proposes Ban on Central Bank Digital Currency to Prevent ‘Woke Ideology’

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis is calling on his Legislature to pass a bill that would prohibit any federally adopted Central Bank Digital Currency from being used in the state.

“A federally controlled Central Bank Digital Currency is the most recent way the Davos elites are attempting to backdoor woke ideology like Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) into the United States financial system, threatening individual privacy and economic freedom,” DeSantis’ office said Monday, taking aim at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in an announcement about the proposal.

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Kari Lake Submits Final Brief to Arizona Supreme Court Requesting Review

The Arizona Supreme Court is holding a private conference on Tuesday to discuss whether or not to accept Kari Lake’s appeal of lower courts dismissing her lawsuit contesting her loss of the gubernatorial race. In addition to her initial petition for review, Lake filed a reply to the defendants’ responses to her petition, and The Gavel Project’s Ryan Heath filed his own amicus curiae brief supporting her. 

The Arizona Sun Times spoke with Jennifer Wright, who served as the Arizona Attorney General’s Election Integrity Unit civil attorney under the previous Republican administration, but who joined Abe Hamadeh’s legal team in his election challenge in that race due to the current Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes “targeting” her. Wright brought up one of the primary concerns Lake has pointed out about the lower courts’ dismissals; their reliance on a “clear and convincing” standard for evidence.

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Michigan College Holds Segregated Graduation Celebrations

A public university in Michigan promoted several graduation celebrations that are organized based on students’ race, according to the university website.

Grand Valley State University (GVSU) will hold five graduation celebrations to recognize students in several different groups, its website promotes. The celebrations, which are held in addition to the university’s larger commencement ceremony, are offered for Asian, black, “latino/a/x,” LGBTQIA+ and Native American graduates.

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Commentary: A Trump Arrest Imperils the American Idea

Peril awaits the America I love if the 45th president of the United States is arrested or even “just” arraigned. When a former American president is targeted by the politically despicable woke, we all face disaster.

We have rules in the American game. Most of those rules are set forth explicitly in our Constitution, its amendments, and two centuries of binding judicial opinions interpreting, adding to, or deleting rules. One might call those rules “America’s Written Law.” And then there are unwritten rules one might call “America’s Oral Law,” the traditions that have been handed down from generation to generation. How can we know what these Oral Laws of America are if they are not written anywhere? We just do.

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Trump Seeks to Bar Georgia DA from Charging Him amid Possible New York Arrest

Former President Donald Trump’s legal team filed a petition on Monday with a Georgia state court to bar the Fulton County district attorney from pressing charges against him.

Trump attorney Drew Findling submitted the filing to the Superior Court of Fulton County, asking that DA Fani Willis be barred from further involvement in the ongoing investigation and that a grand jury report regarding Trump’s attempts to challenge the results of the 2020 election in the state be “quashed.”

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Ohio Residents Ask Ohio Supreme Court to Split Abortion Constitutional Amendment Proposal into Multiple Issues

On Monday, two Southeast Ohio residents asked the state Supreme Court to overturn the Ohio Ballot Board’s decision last week to advance a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize abortion throughout the state.

According to the lawsuit, the Ohio Ballot Board erred last week when it decided that the proposed amendment contained only one issue, when it actually contained two or more. A proposal including more than one amendment would need to be divided into separate issues under Ohio law.

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Sparks Fly at Only Debate Before Wisconsin Supreme Court Election

Two weeks to the day before a crucial election to decide whether conservatives or liberals control Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, the two candidates sparred in the only debate before Election Day.

The face-off Tuesday between far-left Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz and conservative former state Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly quickly took on the feel of bitter divorce proceedings — packed with allegations of corruption, scandals, and lies.

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Wisconsin Law Firm Files Discrimination Lawsuit Against Biden’s Woke Small Business Agency

The Biden administration is facing another discrimination lawsuit, accused once again of employing identity politics to play favorites. 

On Tuesday, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed the complaint in U.S. District Court-Northern Texas alleging President Joe Biden’s Minority Business Development Agency “violates the Constitution’s core requirement of equal treatment under the law.” 

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Trump Blasts DeSantis, Predicts Ramaswamy Will Overtake Florida Governor in the Polls

Former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social Monday to fire another round at GOP rival and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, asserting that fellow GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will overtake “Ron DeSanctimonious” in the polls. 

“Ron DeSanctimonious is dropping in the Polls so fast that he soon may be falling behind young Vivek Ramaswamy,” Trump wrote on his social network platform. 

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Kari Lake Bashes Rep. Ruben Gallego for Reported Involvement with Failed Bank Plan that Took Money from Latinos

Republican Kari Lake released a statement Monday, bashing Arizona Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) after a report surfaced that he was involved in creating a bank aimed at helping the Hispanic community, which ultimately fell through and took money from some Latinos.

“These troubling revelations should be concerning to every single voter in Arizona. Ruben is just another corrupt politician looking to line his own pockets at the expense of everyday Arizonans. Despite being a Bernie-worshiping socialist, Ruben will always put his own financial interests first. Arizona deserves better than a craven man willing to sell out his constituents at a moment’s notice for an easy buck. I believe Arizonans are ready for a new generation of citizen leaders who are ready to work for the people,” Lake said in an email to the press.

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Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro Would Deplete Rainy Day Fund While State Expert Suggests It Should Be Larger

Pennsylvania’s official fiscal watchdog this week told state senators that the commonwealth’s Rainy Day Fund contains less money than many experts recommend — and that’s before Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro’s long-term fiscal plan burns through it. 

The state Treasury currently keeps $5.7 billion in the Rainy Day Fund to help public institutions endure revenue losses resulting from economic downturns. According the the department’s own calculations, current reserves in this account could sustain General Fund expenditures for just under 43 days. 

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Politically Diverse Groups Back Free Speech at Pitt After Pennsylvania Lawmakers Urge Event Cancellation

After two Pennsylvania lawmakers last week called for cancelling upcoming conservative appearances at the University of Pittsburgh, a politically diverse array of voices are responding in favor of free speech. 

Representatives Jessica Benham (D-Carrick) and Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia), who co-chair the state House LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus, denounced the state-related university for permitting the presence of speakers who oppose liberal views of transgenderism. The guests they find objectionable include Cabot Phillips, senior editor of the The Daily Wire news organization, who is scheduled to speak this Friday; Riley Gaines, a former college swimmer and critic of biological males competing in women’s sports, who will appear on March 27; and Michael Knowles, a Daily Wire commentator, who will debate transgender economist Deirdre McCloskey on April 18. All speakers are being sponsored by student-led associations. 

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Wyoming Passes Bill to Ban Men from Women’s Sports, Becoming 19th State Overall to Do So

A new bill has passed in the Wyoming state legislature forbidding biological men from competing in women’s sports, thus making Wyoming the 19th state in the country to pass such legislation.

Breitbart reports that the bill will become law without the signature of Governor Mark Gordon (R-Wyo.), who refused to veto it but also would not sign it. In a letter to Secretary of State Chuck Gray (R-Wyo.), Gordon described the legislation as “discriminatory” and “overly draconian.” Gordon also claimed that the bill “pays little attention to fundamental principles of equality.”

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U.S. Bishops Warn Against Catholic Doctors Performing ‘Gender Transition Procedures’

U.S. Catholic bishops urged medical professionals to not perform gender transition surgeries, warning that they are not a “not morally justified” practice, according to a Monday statement.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released its statement titled “Doctrinal Note On The Moral Limits To Technological Manipulation Of The Human Body” Monday to address the recent controversy surrounding transgender ideology within the church. The bishops acknowledged the benefits of modern technology in the medical field, but also said that some of the results of technological advancement can inhibit the “true flourishing of the human person.”

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Commentary: The Things Students Are Learning After They Left Public Schools During Pandemic

The education disruption caused by mass school closures and prolonged remote instruction beginning three years ago this month led many families to seek other learning options beyond an assigned district school. Emerging research reveals just how significant and sustained that shift was.

In a new report, “Where the Kids Went: Nonpublic Schooling and Demographic Change during the Pandemic Exodus from Public Schools,” Stanford economist Thomas Dee reveals that more than 1.2 million students left district schools during the pandemic response. That exodus endured throughout the 2021/2022 academic year, as families continued to opt for private schools and homeschooling even though most district schools reopened. 

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