Hawley slams Dem activist for downplaying migrant crime: ‘Not an actual issue?’
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., drilled into a migrant rights activist in a heated moment during a Senate hearing on the “Remain in Mexico” policy on Thursday for what he said amounted to downplaying the murder of Laken Riley and for saying migrant crime is “not an actual issue.” “In March of 2024, you wrote: ‘The murder of a nursing student in Georgia has a lot of people on the right talking about migrant crime like it’s an actual issue,’” said Hawley. Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University who was found dead on the University of Georgia’s campus in February. Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegal immigrant, was found guilty of 10 total counts, including felony murder. He initially pleaded not guilty but was ultimately sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in November. “Here’s Laken Riley,” said Hawley as her picture was posted behind him. “Her murder, her horrific murder at the hands of this illegal migrant who was also unlawfully paroled in the United States. [Is] her death not an actual issue?” LAKEN RILEY ACT OVERCOMES FILIBUSTER IN SENATE AS DEMS GIVE GOP HELPING HAND The activist, Adam Isacson, who works as director of defense oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America, responded by saying: “Of course it’s an issue, it’s a tragedy.” “I didn’t say that Laken Riley’s death was not an actual issue, I said that migrant crime is not an actual issue,” said Isacson. “Migrant crime is much less of an issue than U.S. citizen-committed crime.” To which Hawley answered, “[Riley] is dead because of migrant crime.” Hawley also pointed to the case of a St. Louis-area 12-year-old named Travis Wolfe who was killed in a car crash involving an illegal immigrant. “I happen to think that their violent murders are actual issues,” he said. “And the fact that you would say otherwise, sit here and advise the Senate that the Laken Riley Act is a bad idea, that the whole thing is not an actual issue, it’s all just, what, made up? I think [it] is outrageous. I think it’s absolutely outrageous.” SENATE DEMS TO JOIN REPUBLICANS TO ADVANCE ANTI-ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION BILL NAMED AFTER LAKEN RILEY Isacson, who said he was invited to testify in the hearing by a Democratic member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said that the bipartisan Laken Riley Act, which has already passed in the House and would require ICE to arrest and detain illegal immigrants that have committed a crime, “could do a lot of harm” and “would allow me to say: ‘oh, this person shoplifted.’ And that would be enough probable cause to get somebody deported.” Hawley shot back: “I want the record to be clear on this, that migrant crime is a real issue.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “I think the Laken Riley Act is absolutely necessary,” he said. “In fact, I propose an amendment to the Laken Riley Act that will cover people like Travis Wolfe. I think that ICE ought to be detaining, ought to be required to detain, those illegal migrants who commit violent crimes against children like Travis Wolfe.” Speaking to Fox News Digital after the hearing, another one of the experts testifying, Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and law and policy expert at the Center for Immigration Studies, said that Hawley was “voicing the frustration that very many Americans feel about migrant crime in the United States.” FOX NEWS POLL: MAJORITIES SUPPORT MEASURES TO STRENGTHEN BORDER SECURITY AS THE ISSUE INCREASES IN IMPORTANCE “We’ve seen many not only high profile but shocking crimes that have been carried out in the United States by migrants who were stopped at the border and then released into the United States,” he said. “It’s called the Department of Homeland Security for a reason; the purpose of this department is to ensure that citizens of the United States and aliens who are lawfully here are protected from criminal predation. Unfortunately, on this at the border, the Biden-Harris administration dropped the ball.” “Individuals who are criminals, who by law should not be allowed into the United States at all, were actually released into this country and now they are free to prey on both migrant and citizen communities in this country,” Arthur added. “So, job one for Tom Homan — Donald Trump’s border czar — and the president himself is going to be rounding up, detaining and removing all the criminal aliens, all the individuals who are preying upon both migrant and citizen communities in this country.” Despite the theatrics, Arthur said it was a “good hearing” because there was “a lot of bipartisan agreement on the need to secure the border.” ARIZONA RANCHER SUFFERING IN DEMS’ BORDER CRISIS SAYS TRUMP DHS PICK NOEM SHOULD IMMEDIATELY DO 4 THINGS “Customs and Border Protection referred to Remain in Mexico as indispensable for border security the first time that it was used under the Trump administration,” he said. “I think that when you look at the amount of money that has flowed into the cartels’ pockets over the last four years, you know, as we’ve seen, 8 million, 10 million people come unlawfully into the United States and you contrast that to the number of people who were sent back to Mexico, I think that the balance is definitely in favor of enforcing the border and potentially re-implementing Remain in Mexico. “As long as the migrants continue to come to the United States in large numbers, the cartels are going to get rich, they’re just going to expand their capabilities and they’re just going to ship more drugs into the United States.”
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Time’s Up for TikTok
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump transition, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… – Trump swearing-in to move indoors due to cold weather – Trump DHS pick Noem pledges to end controversial app used by migrants on ‘day one’ – FBI agent who said New Orleans attack was ‘not a terrorist event’ has been reassigned The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a federal law that would ban the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok just two days before the bipartisan divestiture law is slated to take effect. “There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community,” the court wrote in the unsigned ruling. “But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary. “For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights. The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is affirmed.”…Read more READ IT AND WEEP: Biden’s official X account draws mockery with reference to constitutional amendment that doesn’t exist…Read more MORE TO COME?: Harris says she won’t go ‘quietly into the night’: ‘Our work is not done’…Read more BIDEN HIS TIME: Biden maintains he will not enforce TikTok ban, plans to punt to Trump administration…Read more HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Obama wishes wife Michelle happy birthday as she stays away from key public events…Read more FRIGID TEMPS: Trump inaugural moves indoors; last time that happened was Reagan’s second in 1985….Read more TRUMP’S CHAIR: RNC chair Whatley vows to be ‘tip of the spear’ to protect Trump after coasting to reelection victory…Read more ‘STAY TUNED!’: Trump needs ‘time to review’ SCOTUS decision, teases action in ‘not too distant future’…Read more HOMEGROWN BACKING: 400-plus farmers and growers groups urge Senate to confirm Trump USDA pick…Read more TECH ALLIES: Elon Musk to speak at Trump pre-inauguration rally: report…Read more BEIJING CALLING: Trump, China’s Xi speak on phone ahead of inauguration…Read more ‘WHO IS IN CHARGE?’: Dem senator quizzes Noem on how she will work with Homan…Read more FINISH THE JOB: Comer requests Trump DOJ prosecute James Biden for making ‘false statements’ during impeachment inquiry…Read more CLEANING HOUSE: Trump won’t wait for Senate confirmations to shake up State Department…Read more SIZE MATTERS: Trump likely to avoid inaugural crowd-size controversy with swearing-in moved indoors…Read more COUNTERING BELT AND ROAD: New set of bills would challenge CCP initiative: ‘We can mute China’s siren song’…Read more REPORTER DRAGGED OUT: Security drags journo out of Blinken’s final presser: ‘Why aren’t you in The Hague!’…Read more SLASH SPENDING: DOGE eyeing suggestions to slash federal DEI programs: report…Read more LAKEN RILEY: Bill in her honor overcomes filibuster in Senate as Dems give GOP helping hand…Read more VANCE VACANCY: Ohio Gov. DeWine chooses his Lt. Governor to fill JD Vance’s vacant seat…Read more EMOTIONALLY TAXING: House Dems threaten to block Trump’s big tariff plans: ‘Unacceptable’…Read more ‘TAKE THE GLOVES OFF’: Top border lawmaker pushes to declare bloodthirsty gang a terrorist organization…Read more DEI DIES: Midwest state’s DEI department nixed in new governor’s first major act…Read more BAD COMMUTE: City bus comes within inches of disaster on elevated overpass during rush hour…Read more ‘DISAPPOINTED’: Top NJ watchdog official abruptly resigns, is removed from state voter rolls following residency flap…Read more Get the latest updates on the Trump presidential transition, incoming Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com
Sam Altman’s OpenAI backing initiative headed by several anti-Trump staff pushing liberal causes
OpenAI has partnered with a new AI initiative led by a group co-founded with outgoing Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry that has pushed left-wing causes and has several board members aligned with Democrats. OpenAI, led by CEO Sam Altman, is backing an initiative known as AI 2030, which is aimed at shaping “public dialogue about U.S. competition against China on AI,” Politico reported in October. The initiative is led by the “non-partisan” think tank American Security Project (ASP), where Kerry was a founding member and served two stints on the board of directors. ASP has promoted the idea that climate change is a national security threat, and argued on its website that pulling out of the Iran Nuclear Deal was a bad idea that “harms national security.” The group previously received a $500,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation “for use by its World War Zero initiative, an effort to achieve action and mobilization through awareness and public education to halt the increase of global carbon emissions.” The Rockefeller Foundation has dished out tens of millions of dollars to left-wing causes. BIDEN ISSUES SECOND AI ACTION DURING FINAL WEEK IN OFFICE WITH EXECUTIVE ORDER FAST-TRACKING US INFRASTRUCTURE Kerry’s former chief of staff David Wade, who gave Hunter Biden rapid response help as the Burisma scandal swirled, currently sits on the board of directors and recently authored an op-ed in The Hill explaining how AI in the U.S. has reached its “Sputnik moment,” outlining the need to compete with China on AI. Former Obama Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who called then-President Trump an “embarrassment” in 2018, also sits on the board of ASP. ELON MUSK, AI AND TECH TITANS, VENTURE CAPITALISTS INVITED TO PRE-INAUGURATION DINNER AT DAWN OF TRUMP ERA Rep, Don Beyer, D-Va., who is also on the board at ASP, has publicly opposed Trump’s tariff policies, calling them “idiotic” and “illegal” in a 2023 press release. In 2018, ASP promoted an op-ed by Board Member Matthew Wallin in which he criticized Trump’s diplomatic tactics against Russian President Vladimir Putin. In 2017, Wallin amplified the debunked media narrative in a post on X, then Twitter, that Trump called White supremacists at the deadly Charlottesville rally “good people.” Chris Lehane, who serves as OpenAI’s Head of Global Policy, is the author of the infamous and controversial “Vast Right Wing Conspiracy” memo promoted by then-first lady Hillary Clinton dismissing the Monica Lewinsky scandal as part of a right-wing media conspiracy. Along with being a longtime Democratic Party consultant, Lehane has recently contributed money to help former Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Altman recently followed other tech titans and made a substantial $1 million gift to Trump’s inauguration in his personal capacity, but has faced scrutiny for previous high-dollar donations to left-wing efforts, including a $250,000 donation to a Democratic super PAC and opposition research firm American Bridge during the 2020 election. OPENAI CEO SAM ALTMAN RINGS IN 2025 WITH CRYPTIC, CONCERNING TWEET ABOUT AI’S FUTURE Altman has donated to hundreds of Democrats in recent years compared to just one Republican, Newsweek reported this past summer. He was also recently tapped to be a co-chair for the incoming Democratic mayor of San Francisco’s transition team. In addition to hosting a fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang at his San Francisco home in late 2019, Altman has donated over $1 million to Democrats and Democratic groups, including $600,000 to the Sen. Chuck Schumer-aligned Senate Majority PAC, $100,000 to the Biden Victory Fund and over $150,000 to the Democratic National Committee (DNC). He also gave thousands to state Democratic parties and top Democrats in the House and Senate. In 2014, Altman co-hosted a fundraiser for the DNC at Y Combinator’s offices in Mountain View, California, which was headlined by then-President Obama. Following Trump’s victory in November, Altman posted on X, “congrats to President Trump. i wish for his huge success in the job.” “It is critically important that the US maintains its lead in developing AI with democratic values,” he added. During Altman’s tenure from 2014 to 2019 as the CEO of Y Combinator, an incubator startup that launched Airbnb, DoorDash and DropBox, he talked about China in multiple blog posts and interviews. In 2017, Altman said that he “felt more comfortable discussing controversial ideas in Beijing than in San Francisco” and that he felt like an expansion into China was “important” because “some of the most talented entrepreneurs” that he has met have been operating there. Altman’s résumé and AI efforts have drawn the ire of Trump ally Elon Musk in recent years. Musk said last year, “I don’t trust OpenAI. I don’t trust Sam Altman. And I don’t think we ought to have the most powerful AI in the world controlled by someone who is not trustworthy.” Musk, who has been involved with a highly publicized legal tussle with Altman, has also said that OpenAI’s ChatGPT function is infected with the “woke virus.” ChatGPT is an AI chatbot whose core function is to mimic a human in conversation. Users across the world have used ChatGPT to write emails, debug computer programs, answer homework questions, play games, write stories and song lyrics, and much more. “It is going to eliminate a lot of current jobs, that’s true. We can make much better ones. The reason to develop AI at all, in terms of impact on our lives and improving our lives and upside, this will be the greatest technology humanity has yet developed,” Altman said in a 2023 interview with ABC News. “The promise of this technology, one of the ones that I’m most excited about, is the ability to provide individual learning — great individual learning for each student.” WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)? In recent months, OpenAI has reportedly been quietly pitching its products to the U.S. military and pursuing defense contracts, Forbes reported. In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for OpenAI said, “America has to win the AI race, and that is why Americans from both sides of the
Border Patrol Chief Owens announces retirement, Texas border czar to take over
Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens is stepping down from his role as head of the agency – telling Fox News that his agents have given 100% in difficult conditions, including some of the worst conditions he’s seen in his entire career. Owens, who was promoted to Border Patrol Chief in 2023, is retiring in April. Texas Border Czar Mike Banks will be tapped to be the next chief. Owens spoke to Fox News about his time as chief during some of the most intense moments of the crisis at the southern border. He said it was “bittersweet” because it is the end of a chapter in his life. TOP BORDER LAWMAKER PUSHES TO DECLARE BLOODTHIRSTY GANG A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION: ‘TAKE THE GLOVES OFF’ “But at the same time, it’s a happy one because I feel like I made my difference, and it’s time to hand it off to the next generation.” Fox asked him about the surge in border crossings his men and women dealt with – including the surge in 2021 in Del Rio and overwhelming numbers at Eagle Pass, Texas. “I hadn’t seen anything like that. And it’s that was as bad as I had seen it in my entire career. And at every moment, the men and women are trying to find a way to take care of that so that they could get back out there on patrol and keep the bad actors from coming in,” he said. He described how Border Patrol agents would go from performing CPR on babies to going after a gang member or convicted felon. “That takes a toll on anybody. And what I saw was those men and women deal with that not just once in a while, but daily and every single day. No matter how frustrated they got, they get up the next morning, they put that uniform on and they went out there and they give 100%. I owed them 100% as well,” he said. As for Banks, Owens said he considers him a friend and said that he is “confident and optimistic about our future with him at the helm.” “He loves the Border Patrol just like I do. And he’s going to keep his focus on the mission of keeping this country safe from harm,” he said. Owens also said he has “never seen a situation where I would say the border is secure.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS “Because for me, a secure border means if something bad tries to come into this country, I’m going to be able to detect it and stop it. There’s too many gaps and vulnerabilities today that still exist on our border,” he said. Outgoing DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas praised Owens in a statement, saying he “embodies the ethos of the United States Border Patrol – ‘Honor First.’ “Chief Owens has dedicated his life to public service. Throughout his career in the Border Patrol – from his first assignment at Calexico Station to his command of the elite BORTAC unit in El Paso, from his leadership of the USBP Academy to the Laredo Sector, Del Rio Sector, Washington, D.C., and many duty stations in-between – he has always stepped up and stepped in whenever the challenges have been greatest, and wherever his talents have been most needed. He rose through the ranks of the Border Patrol by virtue of his extraordinary leadership and his bravery, integrity, and decency,” he said. “It is these qualities that made Chief Owens the best and right person to lead the Border Patrol during an intensely difficult time. I am grateful that he accepted the challenge, just as he has accepted so many others throughout his distinguished law enforcement career. The Border Patrol, and the Department of Homeland Security, are stronger today because of Chief Owens,” he said. The announcement comes days before President-elect Trump will take office, and is expected to launch a mass deportation operation as well as renewed efforts to ramp up border security. On Friday, Kristi Noem, Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, faced her confirmation hearing. During that hearing, she also pledged to secure the border, including promising to end the use of the CBP One app and related parole programs introduced by the Biden administration.
Biden’s last-minute constitutional change slammed by legal experts: ‘Cynical and irrelevant’
Legal experts slammed President Biden’s announcement declaring the 28th Amendment law as “cynical and irrelevant.” Biden on Friday released a statement saying the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) should be considered ratified and a new addition to the U.S. Constitution. “It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people. In keeping with my oath and duty to the Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex,” he said. BIDEN’S OFFICIAL X ACCOUNT DRAWS MOCKERY WITH REFERENCE TO CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THAT DOESN’T EXIST “Biden’s announcement is both cynical and irrelevant,” said former Assistant U.S. attorney and Fox News contributor Andrew McCarthy. “If he believed what he is saying, he would’ve said it when his administration started, not when he is on his way out the door as a failed, one-term president. “More importantly, the president has no constitutional role in the amendment process, so his view carries no weight.” “President Biden seems intent on moving his administration from the odious to the absurd,” Jonathan Turley, Fox News contributor and the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, told Fox News Digital. “This was an embarrassingly pandering moment to the most extreme elements in his party. It is a position based on a long-rejected and frankly ridiculous foundation.” When asked about the timing of the announcement by reporters, Biden said Friday, “Because I had to get all of the facts and I contacted every constitutional scholar in the world to make sure it was the right decision.” The ERA would prohibit discrimination based on gender. It was sent to the states for ratification in 1972, with Congress setting a 1979 deadline for three-quarters of state legislatures to ratify the amendment. The deadline was later extended to 1982. DANA PERINO KNOCKS BIDEN’S CONTROVERSIAL FAREWELL ADDRESS Virginia became the last state to pass the amendment in 2020, pushing the final number of states who had passed the amendment to a total of 38. McCarthy noted that the ERA “was not ratified by the states within the statutorily allotted timeframe.” “The only way to get it into the Constitution would be to start all over again,” McCarthy said. “Everybody knows this, including Biden. That is why the national archivist has not published it, nor has Biden had the temerity to try to order that that be done.” Turley also said: “Biden notably stopped short of giving the left what it wanted most: an actual executive order on the ratification. He simply made a declaration and presumably left the matter up to the archivist.” ERA: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT The national archivist is responsible for making constitutional amendments official. The archivist had previously declined to certify the amendment, citing a 2020 opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel of the DOJ (OLC) that “affirmed that the ratification deadline established by Congress for the ERA is valid and enforceable.” “The OLC concluded that extending or removing the deadline requires new action by Congress or the courts. Court decisions at both the District and Circuit levels have affirmed that the ratification deadlines established by Congress for the ERA are valid,” the National Archives said in a statement in December. “Therefore, the Archivist of the United States cannot legally publish the Equal Rights Amendment. As the leaders of the National Archives, we will abide by these legal precedents and support the constitutional framework in which we operate.” “This is just pandering,” McCarthy said. “It will have no lasting significance.”
DOJ ‘politicized’ under Biden, Ted Cruz confident Pam Bondi will reverse it
As Senate confirmation hearings for several of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks get underway, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is particularly eager to see former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed as the nation’s top law enforcement official. “Pam Bondi did a terrific job at her confirmation hearing,” Cruz told Fox News Digital in an interview Thursday. “She’s going to be confirmed. She will be the next attorney general. And I believe, actually, every one of the Trump cabinet nominees is going to be confirmed.” Cruz said that Bondi, who also was a personal lawyer to Trump, “may be the single most important cabinet nominee President Trump has made.” BONDI SPARS WITH SCHIFF AT TESTY CONFIRMATION HEARING: ‘YOU WERE CENSURED’ “And the reason for that is under Joe Biden, tragically, we have seen the Department of Justice politicized and weaponized in a way that there is no precedent in our nation’s history for how they turned the Department of Justice and the FBI into an arsenal to go after the president’s political enemies,” Cruz said. During Bondi’s hearing on Wednesday Cruz qasked her whether she would investigate the thousands of unaccounted-for migrant children who have entered the United States. Bondi responded, “Yes, Senator.” When asked whether he was confident that she would follow through on that if confirmed, Cruz said, “I am.” “These were unaccompanied minors, little girls, little boys that came into this country that were in the custody of the federal government, and the federal government handed them over to adults,” Cruz said. “Many of the adults were not relatives, and they have now lost them. They don’t know where they are.” ‘MASTERCLASS’: BONDI FLIPS SCRIPT ON DEM SENATOR AFTER SUGGESTING SHE WILL WEAPONIZE DOJ Republican lawmakers have been critical of the Biden administration’s handling of the illegal migrant crisis over the past four years. Shortly after Trump’s electoral victory in November, House Republicans grilled Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra over the administration’s process used to vet sponsors. Speaking before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security and Enforcement, Becerra testified about his department’s Refugee Resettlement Office, which is charged with caring for, and placement of, unaccompanied migrant children. Republican subcommittee members accused the Biden administration of rushing migrant children out of HHS custody and into the hands of unvetted sponsors, who sometimes exploited and abused them. Cruz said that he also asked Trump’s pick for HHS secretary, RFK Jr., to conduct an investigation of lost migrant children, “because we have an obligation,” he said. “Those were children in the custody of the government,” Cruz said. “We have an obligation to go and protect those kids.” TRUMP AG PICK PAM BONDI WOULD ‘MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN’ WITH ‘BACK TO BASICS’ DOJ APPROACH: FORMER COLLEAGUE Bondi has secured the support of current and former state attorneys general across the country, as well as more than 100 former top Department of Justice officials. The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on her nomination in the coming days. If the committee approves the nomination, the full Senate will then schedule a vote to confirm her appointment. Although an exact date for the final confirmation vote has not been announced, it is anticipated to be within the next two weeks. Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Treasury Department recoups $31 million in improper government payments to dead people
The Treasury Department announced this week that it had recouped more than $31 million in fraud and improper payments to dead people during just five short months of having access to the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) federal death database. The Treasury Department issues billions of payments every year, including benefit payments, federally funded state-administered payments and other miscellaneous payments. Sending those funds and others by accident to people who are dead has been a long-standing problem within the federal government, according to fiscal watchdog group OpenTheBooks. In 2020, the Government Accountability Office estimated that during the first round of COVID-19 stimulus checks, $1.4 billion was sent to dead people. Across all three rounds of stimulus checks during the pandemic, nearly $3.6 billion went to dead people, according to OpenTheBooks. GAO CHIEF SAYS IRS KNEW IT WAS SENDING STIMULUS PAYMENTS TO DEAD PEOPLE The SSA is the only government agency with a database that records the deaths of U.S. citizens. In 2023, as part of an omnibus appropriations bill, Congress granted access for the Treasury Department, on a temporary basis, to have access to the database to help prevent improper payments to dead people. The temporary basis is set to expire in 2026. “While this should have been a no-brainer for a long time, it’s promising to see some taxpayer funds being recouped with basic communication among executive agencies,” said John Hart, executive director of OpenTheBooks. “Too often the left hand just doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, and it’s resulted in trillions of dollars in improper payments.” COMER REPORT REVEALS BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN’S ‘RAMPANT WASTE, FRAUD, ABUSE’ Hart blamed the nearly $4 billion in COVID-19 stimulus payments sent to dead people on the Internal Revenue Service’s failure to check the SSA’s death database. He also pointed out how, in addition to improper payments through the stimulus check program, the Small Business Administration also sent more than $3 billion more to dead people in the form of forgivable loans “to entities on the Treasury Department’s ‘Do Not Pay’ list.” “Today’s news is a step in the right direction, but there are miles to go before we break even,” Hart said. After news of the recovered payments was announced, Fiscal Assistant Secretary David Lebryk noted that the results were “just the tip of the iceberg.” “Congress granting permanent access to the Full Death Master File will significantly reduce fraud, improve program integrity, and better safeguard taxpayer dollars,” he said.
Qatari PM details Gaza ceasefire implementation, monitoring
NewsFeed In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, Qatar’s prime minister detailed monitoring mechanisms for the Gaza ceasefire. He also defended his country’s role in negotiating the agreement despite “false accusations” from foreign politicians. Published On 17 Jan 202517 Jan 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Former CIA employee pleads guilty to leaking files on Israel’s Iran strikes
Asif William Rahman has pled guilty to transmitting classified national defence information, the US Justice Department says. A former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee has pleaded guilty to leaking secret documents about Israel’s plans to strike Iran last year during a period of escalating regional tensions linked to Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon. In a statement on Friday, the United States Department of Justice said Asif William Rahman, 34, pleaded guilty to two counts of “willful retention and transmission of classified information” related to national defence. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 15 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for both counts, according to a plea agreement. “Mr. Rahman betrayed the trust of the American people by unlawfully sharing classified national defense information he swore an oath to protect,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G Olsen said in the statement. “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that the Justice Department will spare no effort to swiftly find and aggressively prosecute those who harm the United States by illegally disclosing our national security secrets.” Advertisement The FBI arrested Rahman — whom the US government said was an employee of the CIA since 2016 and had a Top-Secret security clearance — in Cambodia in November. US media outlets reported at the time that American officials accused him of leaking documents prepared by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), which analyses images and information collected by US spy satellites. The NGA also conducts work in support of secret US military operations. The documents, which appeared in October on a channel of the Telegram messaging app, had noted that Israel was moving military assets in place to conduct a military strike in response to a ballistic missile attack by Iran on October 1. Iran said those launches were carried out in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital, Tehran, as well as the killing of a senior Iranian military official. Israel carried out its own attack on multiple sites in Iran in late October. Citing court documents, the Justice Department said on Friday that Rahman had accessed and printed two documents marked “Top Secret” that contained national defence information “regarding a US foreign ally and its planned actions against a foreign adversary”. “Rahman removed the documents, photographed them, and transmitted them to individuals he knew were not entitled to receive them,” the department said. Adblock test (Why?)
More than 230,000 displaced in DRC since start of the year, UN says
The UN says the forced displacement is one of ‘the most alarming’ humanitarian crises in the world. More than 230,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of the year amid escalating violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the United Nations. The UN refugee agency UNHCR on Friday described the displacement as “the most alarming” humanitarian crisis in the world. The resource-rich eastern provinces of North and South Kivu – which are home to more than 4.6 million displaced people according to the agency – have been mired in conflict for three decades, with the M23 rebel group becoming one of the most powerful armed groups in recent years. Designated a “terrorist movement” by the DRC government, M23 has seized large areas of eastern DRC since 2021, and earlier this month, took control of the town of Masisi in North Kivu. Earlier this month, Bertrand Bisimwa, the head of the political wing of M23, told Al Jazeera that the group is fighting a “defensive” war. “Escalating clashes between non-state armed groups and the Congolese army in North and South Kivu provinces are intensifying one of the world’s most alarming yet under-reported humanitarian crises,” said Eujin Byun, spokesperson for UNHCR speaking to reporters in Geneva. Advertisement The conflict, Byun warned, is “marked by widespread human rights violations and massive forced displacement”. Byun noted that intense fighting in the Masisi and Lubero territories forced approximately 150,000 people to flee their homes between January 1 and 6 alone. Many returned briefly during a lull in fighting on January 4, but were forced to flee once more as new fighting erupted, according to the UN. In South Kivu’s Fizi territory, the local government has requested international assistance, noting that 84,000 people have sought refuge there. Byun cautioned that civilians are enduring “indiscriminate bombings and sexual violence,” with children also being targeted. “Already, dire humanitarian conditions are worsening rapidly, and access to these vulnerable populations is severely restricted by insecurity, roadblocks and the presence of violent armed actors,” Byun added. UNHCR has stated it is ready to provide assistance as soon as access is restored, but emphasised that more funding is urgently needed. Adblock test (Why?)