Day: April 18, 2025

FBI Hands Judicial Watch Small Portion of Covenant School Manifesto Pages as Tennessee Star Lawsuit Continues

Tom Pappert

The FBI on Friday gave Judicial Watch a small portion of the 1,299 pages left by transgender Covenant School shooter Audrey Hale, who killed six on March 27, 2023, with heavy redactions on portions of the killer’s full 2023 journal that was already published in full by The Tennessee Star last year. 

The Star last September published about 90 pages that were written by Hale in her 2023 journal, which was recovered by law enforcement in her vehicle after the attack, alongside a spiral notebook that reportedly contained an operational plan for the atatck. In 2023, conservative comedian and pundit Steven Crowder published two pages from the spiral notebook.

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Government Watchdog Files Ethics Complaint Against Sen. Van Hollen over Trip to El Salvador to Meet with Alleged Gangbanger

American Greatness
Chris Van Hollen

A conservative government oversight non-profit organization has filed an ethics complaint against Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) for “assisting a foreign terrorist organization” with his trip to El Salvador to meet with deported alleged MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), the American Accountability Foundation demanded that the secretary of the Senate be instructed “not to foot the bill for Van Hollen’s trip” and called for the Senate Ethics Committee to open “an immediate investigation.”

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Convicted FBI Lawyer Spared from Prison by Boasberg Far More Involved in Russia Probe than Known

Just the News
FBI

Convicted FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith — whom Judge James Boasberg gave a slap on the wrist for his crimes years before becoming a public foe of President Donald Trump’s deportation policies — was more deeply involved in the deeply flawed Crossfire Hurricane investigation than previously known.

Clinesmith, who worked on both the FBI’s Hillary Clinton email investigation and on the Trump-Russia collusion inquiry, pleaded guilty to falsifying a document during the bureau’s efforts to renew FISA authority to wiretap Carter Page, who was an adviser to Trump’s 2016 campaign.

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Energy Experts Say Trump Admin’s Deregulation Agenda Could Fuel Coal’s ‘Revival’

Daily Caller News Foundation
coal mining

Within the first months of his second administration, President Donald Trump has prioritized “unleashing” American energy and has already axed several of what he considers to be burdensome regulations on the coal industry, promising it’s “reinvigoration.”

Trump signed an executive order on April 8 to revive the coal industry, and shortly after moved to exempt several coal plants from Biden-era regulations. Though it has become a primary target of many climate activists, coal has been historically regarded as readily available and affordable, and several energy policy experts who spoke with Daily Caller News Foundation believe Trump has the cards necessary to strengthen the industry.

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DHS Document Confirms Kilmar Abrego Garcia Suspected of Human Trafficking During 2022 Traffic Stop in Tennessee Prior to Release by FBI

Tom Pappert
Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Two days after The Tennessee Star exclusively reported that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was pulled over by the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) in late 2022, when an officer suspected he was engaged in human trafficking, Bill Melugin of Fox News published a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document confirming many details. 

The DHS document confirms THP stopped Abrego Garcia on December 1, 2022 for speeding and failing to maintain his lane. It also confirms THP officers suspected the alleged Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang member was participating in “Labor/Human Trafficking” while transporting eight individuals from Texas to Maryland, meaning a total of nine individuals were traveling in the vehicle.

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Report: Abortions Increased Again in 2024 Post-Roe, Surpassing One Million Unborn Babies Killed

Admin

Breitbart   Abortions in the U.S. narrowly increased again in 2024, resulting in an estimated more than one million unborn babies killed, according to a new report from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute. Guttmacher’s Monthly Provision study found that abortions increased less than one percent between 2023 and 2024, with approximately 1,038,100 unborn babies killed. In 2023, the U.S. saw “the highest number and rate of abortions measured” in “more than a decade,” with an estimated 1,026,690 unborn babies killed, according to the organization. Guttmacher collects data on surgical and medication abortions provided at brick-and-mortar health facilities, as well as abortion pills provided through telehealth in the U.S. READ THE FULL STORY                 

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Trump Administration Replaces Acting IRS Commissioner

Admin

Axios   The Trump administration ousted Gary Shapley as acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, multiple outlets reported on Friday, citing anonymous sources. The interim position has had a revolving door as President Trump’s pick awaits Senate confirmation. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent took issue with Shapley’s appointment, as first reported by the New York Times. READ THE FULL STORY               

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ICE Partnerships with Local Law Enforcement Triple as Trump Continues Deportation Crackdown

Admin

CBS News   As President Trump aims to carry out what he’s called “the largest mass deportation in history,” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been rapidly expanding a program that deputizes local law enforcement to perform immigration enforcement duties. As of Thursday afternoon, April 17, there were 456 active 287(g) agreements, or partnerships between ICE and local agencies — more than three times as many as there were in December 2024, according to data on ICE’s website. An additional 63 agreements were still pending. While some of the agreements only grant permission for local law enforcement to ask questions about immigration status at a jail book-in, an increasing number follow what ICE calls a “task force model,” giving local authorities the ability to carry out immigration enforcement duties during routine policing, such as during a traffic stop.   READ THE FULL STORY                 

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Tennessee Governor Appoints State’s First Chief Immigration Enforcement Officer

Kaitlin Housler
Bill Lee

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee appointed long-time law enforcement veteran Ryan Hubbard to serve as the state’s first-ever chief immigration enforcement officer.

The chief immigration enforcement officer will lead the Tennessee Chief Immigration Enforcement Division (CIED), a new division within the Tennessee Department of Safety, established through legislation passed by the Tennessee General Assembly earlier this year.

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Tennessee Star Obtains Bodycam Image of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from 2022 Traffic Stop amid Public Records Request

Tom Pappert
Garcia traffic stop

The Tennessee Star on Friday obtained an image of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran national deported last month by the Trump administration, which was captured by a Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) body camera during agency’s now-confirmed stop of the illegal immigrant in late 2022. 

The image is captured from the passenger side of the vehicle, showing one of Abrego Garcia’s seven passengers sitting next to him. In the image, Abrego Garcia is depicted looking toward the officer from the driver’s seat, with one hand visible, while the passenger stares directly forward. Both men appear to be wearing seat belts.

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Lawsuit Forces All 15 Arizona Counties to Begin Removing Noncitizens from Voter Rolls

Rachel Alexander
Voter registration

All 15 of Arizona’s counties agreed to settle a lawsuit brought last September by America First Legal (AFL) against their recorders over failing to remove noncitizens from voter rolls. Maricopa County agreed to the settlement earlier this month, Yavapai and Mohave counties settled in November, and the remaining counties settled last Wednesday, sending requests to the Department of Homeland Security to assist them in verifying voters’ citizenship. In January, there were 50,000 federal-only voters on the state’s voter rolls, which are voters who are only allowed to vote in federal races due to failing to produce documented proof of citizenship (DPOC). 

“This settlement is a great result for all Arizonans,” AFL Senior Counsel James Rogers said in a statement on Monday. “This will help County Recorders find and remove any aliens on their voter rolls. It will also potentially enfranchise federal-only voters whose citizenship is confirmed, which would allow them to vote in State and local elections. AFL congratulates each of Arizona’s 15 County Recorders for taking this bold and important step for election integrity in the State.”

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Commentary: Lexington and Concord at 250

RealClearWire
The Lexington Minuteman

This April marks the 250th anniversary of the famous shots fired at Concord, Massachusetts, that set off the American Revolution. Captain Levi Preston, who fought there, later captured the principles at stake during an interview decades later in 1843. When pressed on various grievances, he replied, “Young man, what we meant in going for those redcoats was this: we had governed ourselves, and we always meant to. They didn’t mean we should.”

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