11‘Squad’ Democrat Cori Bush ethics complaint expands over new payments to husband

July 27, 2023

EXCLUSIVE — A conservative group is expanding on its prior ethics complaintagainst “Squad” member Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) over her latest campaign payments to her husband, according to documents obtained by the Washington Examiner.

Bush in March faced ethics complaints from the right-leaning watchdog Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust and Committee to Defeat the President, a super PAC, over allegations she violated federal law in steering $60,000 in campaign funds in 2022 to Cortney Merritts for private security. Now, the anti-President Joe Biden super PAC has re-upped its investigative demand to the Federal Election Commission with a Wednesday complaint supplement detailing how Bush paid her husband another $30,000 in 2023 for “security services” and “wage expenses.”

“Cori Bush’s crime spree continues — now with convenient new descriptions in her FEC report,” Dan Backer, a Republican campaign finance lawyer for the Committee to Defeat the President, told the Washington Examiner. “Bush has walked into a legal trap of her making. She’s either falsifying FEC reports that her husband illegally provided security services he’s not licensed to provide, or he did illegally provide them and she violated the law prohibiting paying for illegal things.”

The Bush campaign’s newly published second-quarter filing revealed it paidMerritts $17,500 between April and June, following the $12,500 he pocketed in the first quarter of 2023. It is not entirely clear why some of the recent payments are now earmarked for a “wage expense,” and the Bush campaign did not reply to a request for comment.

Merritts and Bush have reportedly been together since before the Missouri congresswoman took office in 2021, though they got married in February in a private wedding ceremony. Bush, who has come under fire from Republicans for supporting defunding the police, has disclosed Merritts being on her campaign’s payroll since January of that year, records show.

While it’s not necessarily unlawful for lawmakers to use committee cash to pay family members, it’s often frowned upon by legal and ethics experts. The practice is allowed if a relative is compensated at a rate deemed as “fair market value,” according to the FEC, but the threshold is difficult to determine and often leaves room for gray areas when it comes to enforcement.

Backer’s complaint supplement against Bush alleged her campaign may have not been paying Merritts for actual “security services” at all, and has altered payment descriptions “to avoid further self-incrimination.” He is calling for the FEC to “promptly bring enforcement proceedings” against Bush, her campaign, and its treasurer Amy Vilela.

“Bush’s change in description of the payments to Merritts, while also making continued payments to other private security vendors, supports the assertion Merritts was never actually providing ‘security services’ — for which he is not licensed in either the Congressional district nor the District of Columbia — and the payments are simply converting contributions to personal, family use,” the supplement to the complaint stated.

Merritts isn’t the only person who has been paid for security from Bush, who voiced support after the murder of George Floyd in 2020 for stripping police of resources.

Her campaign has employed Nathaniel Davis III, a friend of the congresswoman who has claimed to be a 109 trillion-year-old spiritual guru, according to the Washington Free Beacon. Moreover, the Bush campaign has paid PEACE Security, a St. Louis-based corporation specializing in “armed security” as well as surveillance system sales and installation, public records show.

Senate Child Care — Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., speaks during a news conference as advocates call on the Senate to affirm the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Last week, Bush appeared at a press conference to speak about her joining House Democrats to reintroduce the People’s Response Act, a measure aiming to allocate funds to social workers for emergencies that involve mental health rather than law enforcement. One person at the event was Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation board member Shalomyah Bowers, who referred to Bush as “brilliant.”

Bowers was accused in a lawsuit in September of last year of unlawfully taking more than $10 million from donors of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, which in 2022 reported shelling out $1.7 million for “professional security services,” according to tax forms.

“Unsurprisingly, Democrats have gotten plain old lazy about violating federal election law knowing the FEC keeps covering for them,” Backer added.

A spokeswoman for the FEC told the Washington Examiner, “The Press Office is unable to discuss or comment on potential complaints due to confidentiality requirements and agency policy.”

11Biden campaigns on the economy at his own peril

July 26, 2023

OPINION:

The 2024 campaign is heating up, and President Biden is campaigning on … the economy?

On the campaign trail, Mr. Biden has doubled down on “Bidenomics,” which he claims to be “restoring the American dream.” Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is similarly championing the Biden economic platform, which is allegedly responsible for cutting inflation in half.

Was Bidenomics also responsible for the four-decade inflation high of 9.1% in June 2022? Or the 16.6% increase in inflation since Mr. Biden took office? I guess not.

While the liberal media paints the picture of a Biden-led economic resurgence, the cost of food is still up nearly 6% year-over-year. The price of baby food and formula is still up 7.5%. Fruit and vegetable costs are up almost 9%, and 11.5% for bread. The price of pet food, meanwhile, has jumped over 12%.

How about monthly rent? Up 8.3%.

It’s funny how numbers work. Going from one to two sounds totally different than “200%,” but it’s all a matter of framing.

On the one hand, Mr. Biden and his allies are right to realize that the 2024 election will come down to the economy. Electorally speaking, they are better off harping on the economy than affirmative action or gender identity, given that pocketbook issues affect us all.

But in their hubristic self-righteousness, Biden Democrats are misreading the room. Drawing more attention to Bidenomics is bound to backfire because it only draws attention to its unpopularity.

Doubling down on the Biden economy means doubling down on fear, frustration and utter disgust. At a time when nearly 70% of Americans fear a potential recession, it is hardly the time to champion recessionary economics.

If Bidenomics is so successful, then why do so many people hate it? I’m not the only one asking the question. Look no further than former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich’s latest lament, “Why aren’t Americans happier about the economy?”

Because when you strip away the Biden narrative, the numbers don’t lie: U.S. inflation is still above the Federal Reserve’s own target rate of 2%, signaling more interest rate increases in the months ahead. The national mortgage rate average currently exceeds 7% — up from 2.65% when Mr. Biden became president.

At the same time, wage growth isn’t keeping up with inflation, so people are less able to afford the cost of living, whether it means buying groceries or financing a home. People are losing money in Mr. Biden’s economy, and they know it.

Americans aren’t stupid. People can tell when their wallets feel lighter, and they are right to blame Mr. Biden for it.

After all, the president’s current approval rating is barely 40%, and even lower in battleground states.

Do you know what’s even lower? Mr. Biden’s economic approval rating. Only 1 in 3 U.S. adults approve of the president’s economic “leadership.”

People in states like Pennsylvania are struggling to pay for gas, electricity and other necessities, and even most Democrats aren’t sold on Bidenomics. For American voters, the economy remains the top concern in the 2024 election, despite the White House’s rosy tweets.

Yet Mr. Biden doubles down on a losing issue, all while sending tens of billions of dollars to Ukraine.

I still haven’t seen a White House tweet about the Ukraine war’s financial toll — not on Ukraine, but on American taxpayers.

Nor have I seen a tweet about the American dollar potentially losing its status as the global economy’s reserve currency. Nor is there a tweet about Saudi Arabia favoring the Chinese yuan over the petrodollar.

What I have seen is Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen bowing at the feet of the Chinese government — America’s chief economic rival.

What I see daily is the Biden administration treating China as an ally instead of an adversary, despite China’s own intentions to the contrary. Millions of other Americans see it too.

If President Biden campaigns on the economy, he does so at his own peril. There’s no worse bet in American politics than Bidenomics.

11Joe Biden’s Criminal Behavior Risks National Security, Justifies Impeachment

July 11, 2023

The walls have closed in on Hunter Biden, the president’s beleaguered son whose shady business activities grow more nefarious by the day. Some semblance of accountability recently came in the form of a guilty plea, when Hunter admitted to federal tax evasion.

Based on the Justice Department’s court filings, Joe Biden’s son failed to pay taxes in a timely matter for the years 2017 and 2018, owing at least $200,000 in total. While the exact sentence remains unclear, a slap on the wrist is most likely. No punishment has been administered for Hunter’s nefarious business dealingswith foreign governments in China, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and other countries. So the walls have really only closed in a bit.

Despite countless millions of dollars being at stake in moves that potentially jeopardized U.S. national security, Hunter continues to duck responsibility—emboldened by a Washington establishment that fails to look closer at the evidence.

One thing is clear: Hunter Biden and “corruption” are synonymous. The president’s son clearly leveraged his last name and various political connections for personal profit. Hunter adds no other value to Chinese or Ukrainian energy companies but the close ties to his father and other high-ranking Democrats. Foreign companies knew that, paying Hunter for access, and access alone.

It’s not breaking news to suggest Hunter’s hands are dirty; they have never been clean. What matters more at the moment, however, is Joe Biden’s response to his son’s various scandals. And that response is far, far worse than any of Hunters’s transgressions. As federal regulators have probed Hunter in recent months, the president has repeatedly, stubbornly undermined their efforts to profess “love” for his son. (The liberal media all too willingly laps up the love story too.)

According to IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley and others, Biden’s DOJ provided Hunter with preferential treatment, slow-walked all investigation into his business activities, and failed to mitigate any potential conflicts of interest involving the president. The recent federal tax charge is essentially a sweetheart deal brokered to benefit Joe Biden when a much more serious punishment was fair game.

Shapley, a 14-year IRS veteran, admitted that his attempts to look further into money trails connecting the president were blocked by more senior prosecutors. With roadblocks erected to protect Joe Biden, a sweetheart deal became inevitable, despite the possibility of Hunter coordinating with his father. All the while, the president’s son wrote off as business expenses the money paid for prostitutes, sex club memberships, and hotel rooms for alleged drug dealers. In Shapley’s words: “I would say that [senior prosecutors] limited certain investigative leads that could have potentially provided information on the President of the United States.”

There is a clear double standard when it comes to Joe Biden, a Democratic president and liberal media darling who is routinely portrayed as an “aw-shucks” figure. As Shapley put it, “If [Hunter] was a small business owner or any other non-connected individual, they would have been charged with felony counts.”

Just imagine if Donald Trump happened to be involved in the same situation. The former president, slammed for how he scooped ice cream or saluted U.S. troops, would be skewered in public discourse for even a dreamed-up connection to corruption in his personal orbit. If a “Russian collusion” myth somehow got Donald Trump impeached, what is the punishment for Joe Biden?

Biden isn’t just protecting his son. As vice president, he potentially participated in a shakedown of foreign governments that has national security ramifications today. According to the New York Post, Israeli professor and “missing witness” Dr. Gal Luft was allegedly arrested in Cyprus to stop him from testifying to the House Oversight Committee that the Biden family received payments from people associated with Chinese military intelligence.

The mounting evidence of Biden’s criminal behavior is now forcing the hand of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who must take a stand.It won’t be an easy choice, since the Speaker of the House is traditionally hesitant to initiate an impeachment proceeding against a duly elected president. It is one of the most solemn decisions that a Speaker can make, and it should only be done under the most serious of circumstances.

Recent history has also shown that American voters are skeptical of the partisan abuse of the impeachment process, and they tend to rally in support of the president. Following the Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky scandals, the Republican-controlled House impeached Bill Clinton, only for Clinton to finish his second term with the highest approval rating of any modern president. In a similar fashion, Trump, who was impeached twice based on obvious political motivations, now narrowly leads Biden in head-to-head 2024 polls.

Speaker McCarthy must consider the political ramifications of impeaching Biden entering an election year. Such a decision is fraught with political risks, but the evidence being brought by multiple whistleblowers against Biden has become overwhelming. If true, the alleged criminal activity is precisely why the Founding Fathers included the impeachment process in the U.S. Constitution.

By the standard of the anti-Trump Left, Biden should have already been impeached, without even mentioning the ongoing investigation into his mishandling of classified documents. If the allegations are true, the president was an accomplice to Hunter’s crimes, possibly even receiving kickbacks himself. He therefore compromised the office of the presidency, putting himself at risk of blackmail at the whims of the Chinese government and others. Yet, to quote Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), the Washington establishment is now “working harder than an ugly stripper” to cover up for the Biden family.

As long as a sitting president is allowed to meddle in probes against his own family members, especially those who dealt frequently with foreign governments, U.S. national security will be in jeopardy. When foreign adversaries like China and Russia may have compromised a president’s son, only for that president and his son to be treated with kid gloves, America grows weaker.

At a time when strength is needed in geopolitics, the Bidens make America less secure. They only bring weakness, and we all suffer the consequences.

Ted Harvey serves as chairman of the Committee to Defeat the President.

11DCCC, Marc Elias’ firm accused of ‘apparent civil violations’ of federal election law

April 17, 2023

FIRST ON FOX: An anti-Biden political action committee (PAC) filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) alleging “apparent civil violations” of election law between the House Democrats’ campaign arm and top liberal lawyer and former Hillary Clinton attorney Marc Elias’ law firm.

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the complaint filed by the Committee to Defeat the President as well as their letter to Justice Department election crimes branch Director Robert Heberle regarding the allegations against the DCCC and Elias Law Group.

Counsel for the Committee to Defeat the President Dan Backer, who sent the letter to the DOJ, told Fox News Digital for “years, the infamous Marc Elias and the corrupt Democrats in his orbit have violated federal campaign finance laws, and it’s high time to hold them accountable.”

Attorney Marc Elias preps with attorneys Roopali Desai (far left), Sarah Gonski (left) and Amanda Callais on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016, before the hearing for his lawsuit against Arizona over voting rights. Elias is the general counsel for the Hillary Clinton campaign.

“Americans deserve to know the truth about the Democratic Party’s shady money laundering schemes, especially when campaign funds are supposed to be spent in one way and they get spent in another,” Backer said.

“Based on the Committee’s robust research, and Elias’ own shady past, it seems pretty clear that Elias and other Democrats have engaged in false reporting, and that cannot go unchecked,” he continued.

A letter from the FEC obtained by Fox News Digital acknowledged the receipt of the complaint.

In the letter, Backer wrote to Heberle about “possible criminal violations of both the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and the federal Criminal Code” allegedly committed by the DCCC and Elias Law Group.

“I hope that you will not allow the Biden Administration’s political appointees within the Department of Justice to allow President Biden’s close political allies to gain an unfair advantage in the electoral process by violating federal criminal law with impunity,” Backer wrote.

Backer pointed out the “FECA requires each political committee to report to the FEC the purpose of each of its operating expenditures over $200” and that in “a series of FEC filings over the course of 2021 and 2022, the DCCC reported making a total of $5,177,460.62 in payments between October 19, 2021, and July 15, 2022, to Elias Law Group for ‘RECOUNT LEGAL [SERVICES].’”

DCCC spokesperson Chris Taylor insisted the campaign committee "is proud to have a strong union that protects workers."

“The DCCC’s reported purpose for this nearly $5.2 million in disbursements appears to have been false, for several reasons,” Backer wrote.

Backer pointed out that, at “the time these payments were made, there were no longer any recounts pending arising from congressional elections in 2020” and that “such payments occurred as much as a year prior to the 2022 general election, making it highly unlikely they were connected to potential recounts in that election.”

“Indeed, it does not appear the Elias Law Group used this nearly $5.2 million to prepare for potential recounts in connection with the 2022 general election,” he wrote. “Between July 15, 2022 and December 31, 2022, the DCCC paid the Elias Law Group a total of over $7.3 million, also for ‘RECOUNT LEGAL [SERVICES],’ to prepare for any recounts, monitor the conduct of voting, and conduct any necessary post-election litigation.”

“Likewise, it is unlikely these payments were made in connection with recounts arising from the 2022 primary elections, since the DCCC typically stays neutral in such races and does not provide legal assistance to particular candidates,” Backer added.

Backer also alleged that Elias, “the name partner of Elias Law Group, has a history of allowing Democratic political committees to misrepresent the nature of his firm’s legal services to shield their activities from public scrutiny,” pointing to his former firm, Perkins Coie’s work on the debunked Steele dossier.

“Elias has also been sanctioned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit for lack of candor,” Backer wrote. “Another federal court accused him of attempting to ‘impinge[]’ upon ‘free, open, rational elections.’”

“It is reasonably possible Elias Law Group facilitated the DCCC’s false reporting by providing fraudulent billing statements misrepresenting the purpose of the firm’s charges, to assist in shielding the true nature of their activities from public scrutiny,” Backer alleged.

Backer alleged Elias Law Group and the DCCC “may have violated four federal statutes:” “FECA criminal provisions,” the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act,” statutes regarding “false statements,” and “conspiracy” statutes.

“Particularly in light of the Democratic national party committees’ past efforts to fraudulently conceal the purpose of their payments to Mark Elias, and Elias’ history of dishonesty in the federal courts, I hope you will thoroughly investigate this matter,” Backer wrote.

Elias, one of the most influential liberal attorneys in Washington, departed the Perkins Coie law firm in 2021 to start the Elias Law Group. Elias’ firm focuses on electing Democrats, supporting voter rights, and helping “progressives make change,” a past Perkins Coie press release said.

The Democratic superlawyer’s firm has since pulled in massive amounts of cash from several left-wing committees. During the 2022 election cycle, the DCCC paid Elias Law Group more than $14 million, a Fox News Digital review of Federal Election Commission records shows.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol Building on Dec. 7, 2022.

The Sen. Chuck Schumer-aligned Senate Majority PAC, which works to elect and maintain Democrats in Congress’s upper chamber, directed nearly $3 million to the Elias Law Group for legal services. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) sent almost $2 million to the firm for legal services throughout the midterm elections.

However, the DNC and Elias’ firm will no longer work together, a spokesperson for the firm and DNC recently confirmed.

The DCCC and Elias Law Group did not respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiries on the accusations from the anti-Biden super PAC.

11Biden Democrats Weaponize Government Against Their Political Opponents

April 10, 2023

Securing former President Donald Trump’s surrender, Democrats have taken historical precedent and spit on it. Last week will go down as one of the darkest in the history of American politics.

In Biden’s America, Democrats are more emboldened than ever before to target their political opponents by any means necessary—from dubious legal claims to vitriolic attacks through media channels. Bankrolled by left-wing financier George Soros and his family, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is desperate for his five minutes of fame and taking down Trump is the North Star for liberal Democrats. Rather than confronting violent crime in his own backyard, Bragg is singularly focused on a political vendetta, and his brainchild—the Trump indictment—can only be described as the ugliest witch hunt in recent memory.

Bragg is hitting Trump with 34 felony counts for the falsification of business records, but the charges are just window dressing. Trump’s real “crime” is being the leader of the “MAGA” movement, which Democrats have vowed to undermine and destroy for years now.

This is just politics—plain and simple. And, unfortunately, President Biden and his allies have made the weaponization of government a troubling trend since 2020. On the Left, targeting your opponents and their supporters is now standard operating procedure.

On the same day that “Twitter Files” journalist Matt Taibbi testified to a House subcommittee on the weaponization of government, the Biden administration once again—you guessed it—weaponized government, with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) paying Taibbi a visit at his home. Is that just bad luck? Or a coincidence?

Given the political retribution carried out by Biden’s former boss, Barack Obama, I wouldn’t be so naive. Under the Obama administration, the IRS infamously targeted right-leaning nonprofit organizations, and Biden is simply carrying on that unsavory legacy.

Should we also ignore Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) arresting pro-life activists? For engaging in a so-called “civil rights conspiracy,” whatever that means? Of course not, not when DOJ officials were intimately involved with the Trump indictment.

The Biden administration has taught Americans to assume the worst about the Left’s motives. Hunter Biden is somehow still being investigated by the Biden DOJ, despite all of the details from his even more infamous laptop already being released to the public. Similarly, the investigation into Joe Biden’s document leak is still ongoing, even though the documents were first discovered last November. Five months later, Biden officials continue to deny, ignore, and change the subject, while Americans are no closer to accountability.

It seems that targeting a former president is a higher priority than the one currently in office. Accountability for the Biden family’s seemingly nefarious, high-dollar connections to China, Russia, and Ukraine is similarly elusive—years after the fact.

These are dark days indeed. Over two years into the Biden administration, America’s political landscape has become a breeding ground for unprecedented retribution. On a regular basis, Biden vilifies “MAGA Republicans” in public, and his words match the actions of the Democratic Party writ large—Bragg et al.

The Left still cannot accept the fact that tens of millions of Americans voted for Trump in 2016 and again in 2020, and left-wing Democrats will stop at nothing to strike back. Targeting the “MAGA” crowd—real or contrived—amounts to a Tarantino-style revenge fantasy for the radical Left. The Democratic Party is now full of John Wicks taking matters into their own hands.

I worry about the darkness to come, with so many dangerous precedents being set now. Once the government is weaponized once, its weaponization becomes all the more inevitable in the future—especially with Democrats in power. Under Biden’s leadership, there is no light for Americans at the end of the tunnel.

11Cori Bush hit with second FEC complaint over campaign security payments to husband

March 15, 2023

FIRST ON FOX: Missouri Democratic Rep. Cori Bush is facing a second Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint over her campaign security payments to her husband.

The newest complaint comes from the Committee to Defeat the President, an anti-Biden super PAC, which alleges Bush has “flouted” federal campaign finance laws by paying her new husband, Cortney Merritts, $60,000 for security last year. Merritts does not have a license to perform security functions in the congresswoman’s district.

“If federal officials are willing to take a hard look at ‘AOC,’ they shouldn’t be giving a free pass to other corrupt Squad members,” Ted Harvey, the committee’s chairman, told Fox News Digital.

“In addition to breaking the law to bankroll her now-husband, Cori Bush has repeatedly misled constituents, claiming to be a voice for the voiceless despite primarily focusing on enriching herself and her family.

Rep. Cori Bush’s campaign paid her new husband, Cortney Merritts, $60,000 while paying six figures to a private security company. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

“Bush’s utter disregard for the law — not to mention her blatant left-wing hypocrisy — cannot be allowed to stand, and the committee is going further than any other organization to take action against her.”

The “Squad” member’s campaign paid Merritts, whom she married in February, $60,000 as it also paid $225,281 to the St. Louis-based PEACE Security firm for personal protection throughout 2022. Bush and Merritts have been together since before she entered Congress in 2021, a press release from her office said.

Merritts collected the security checks despite not having a private security license in the city of St. Louis or St. Louis County, which includes Bush’s entire congressional district. A license is required to perform the services in the area, Fox News Digital previously reported.

This is the second FEC complaint against Bush’s campaign over the payments. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

This is the second complaint Bush is facing over her payments to Merritts. In early March, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) filed a complaint to the FEC’s acting general counsel, Lisa Stevenson, asking the commission to investigate whether “Rep. Cori Bush and her campaign committee may have used campaign funds for personal use.”

“Any time a member of Congress puts someone with a close personal relationship on the campaign payroll, increased scrutiny is necessary to ensure the legal standard has been met, which, in this case, are that the payments were for ‘bona fide services at a fair market value,'” Kendra Arnold, FACT’s executive director, told Fox News Digital.

Bush’s campaign paid over $500,000 for private security as she called to defund the police. (CBSN)

“Both the fact that reportedly Bush’s husband isn’t licensed to provide security services for which he was paid, and that she was simultaneously paying large amounts to another company for the same services raise red flags that warrant an investigation by the FEC.”

Bush’s campaign did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment by press time.

11President Biden Unfit, Unprepared to Combat an Aggressive China

February 19, 2023

China is on the move. President Biden, meanwhile, is failing America to an astonishing degree.

I grew up in Colorado at the foot of Cheyenne Mountain, the original home of the joint U.S.-Canadian North American Air Defense Command (NORAD). NORAD’s primary mission is to protect North American air space. So, in the midst of the Chinese ballon scandal, what exactly went wrong? How was China’s first spy balloon able to fly across Alaska and parts of Canada before being spotted by a private pilot flying above Montana?

What Americans have seen in recent days is an unacceptable failure on the part of the entire U.S. national defense system—and the commander in chief. The American people deserve answers from the man “in charge,” Joe Biden.

How is it that the Biden administration allowed the (first) Chinese ballon to fly across the entire continental United States before shooting it down over the Atlantic Ocean? How much intelligence was our enemy—China’s communist government—able to collect? Americans still don’t know the full story.

This incompetent, irresponsible handling of an unprecedented national security breach is outrageous. President Biden must be held accountable.

As more details are revealed, it’s clear that the Chinese Communist Party is mobilizing heavily. According to the unfit and unprepared Biden administration, China’s ballon surveillance program is “global in scope.” Similar surveillance devices have been spotted in the Middle East, including Afghanistan. And China is now increasing its defense budget by 11 percent, setting its sights on nearby Taiwan.

This is the most aggressive, emboldened version of communist China that we’ve seen in decades. And it’s no coincidence: China, led by Xi Jinping, has been emboldened by President Biden, whose administration has either inadequately dealt with the Chinese threat or ignored it altogether. There is a reason why China is aligning itself with the likes of Iran and Russia now, aggressively courting America’s adversaries as allies.

The reason is Joe Biden. Lest we forget the State of the Union, where he barely mentioned China as an adversary. The president spent more time lamenting hotel and baggage fees than confronting the Chinese threat with any semblance of resolve, strength, or leadership. Even worse, he reminded Xi that the Biden administration seeks “competition, not conflict” with China.

The only issue with Biden’s faux-diplomacy is that Xi disagrees. As the recent wave of Chinese balloon surveillance reminds all Americans, the Chinese government obviously sees the United States as an enemy. The Biden administration may seek competition, but Xi’s government has made conflict more likely than at any point in recent memory.

The logical question is this: What does the Biden administration do in response? Unfortunately, the “who” suggests the American response will be as passive and weak as can be expected from a president out of his depths. President Biden has yet to even brief the American people on China’s maneuvering or the potential for U.S. retaliation, whatever that may be (or not).

Expecting answers, American citizens have received a combination of mixed messaging from Biden officials and radio silence from their boss. At least we now know that aliens aren’t to blame, courtesy of White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

The current commander in chief is a far, far cry from his predecessors, who regularly addressed Americans during times of crisis. President Biden’s non-response to the Chinese threat is a sobering departure from another Democrat, President John F. Kennedy, whose famous address on the Cuban Missile Crisiscleared the bare-minimum bar of actually informing the public. That historic response—delivered by a man fit for the job—clearly asks too much of President Biden.

The federal government’s top priority is to expose and counter any and all acts of Chinese aggression. For too long, politicians like Biden have appeased or disregarded an expansionist China, intent on dominating global affairs in more ways than one. Now the chickens are coming home to roost.

The rapid expansion of Chinese-controlled TikTok on American soil is not only another example of China’s resurgent power play, but also another blatant failure on the part of Biden Democrats who treat the TikTok menace like it doesn’t exist. Even as Republicans attempt to mitigate TikTok’s surveillance of countless consumers, they are met with ridicule from Democrats and their media allies.

Enough: The time to respond to China is now. For the national disgrace named Joe Biden, the clock is ticking.

11Katie Porter faces complaint over reaping benefits of university ‘subsidized affordable housing’

January 20, 2023

FIRST ON FOX: Embattled Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., is facing a Federal Elections Commission (FEC) complaint alleging she is continuing “to reap the benefits” of the University of California at Irvine’s “subsidized affordable housing” even though she is not a full-time staff member.

The Committee to Defeat the President — an anti-Biden political action committee (PAC) that started in 2013 as the Stop Hillary PAC — filed its FEC complaint against Porter on Friday.

“Embroiled in scandals, Rep. Porter needs to be held accountable to American voters, and the Committee will stop at nothing to demand accountability,” Ted Harvey, chairman of the Committee to Defeat the President, told Fox News Digital.

The Committee to Defeat the President — an anti-Biden political action committee (PAC) that started in 2013 as the Stop Hillary PAC — filed their FEC complaint against embattled California Democrat Rep. Katie Porter on Friday. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

“It’s time to drain the Washington swamp for good, and that starts with calling out left-wing hypocrites like Porter,” Harvey said.

“Once again, woke progressives like Rep. Porter are happy to receive government-funded salaries, benefits, and now subsidized housing for themselves, while driving our economy into the gutter and doing everything possible to squelch opposition,” Dan Backer, counsel to the Committee to Defeat the President, told Fox News Digital.

“Porter should pay her fair share like everyone else,” Backer added.

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the FEC complaint filed by the committee, which alleges Porter continues “to reap the benefits of subsidized affordable housing in a pricey housing market” after taking office in 2019.

READ THE COMPLAINT >>

“Prior to becoming a Congresswoman, Porter was a law professor at the University of California Irvine (‘UC Irvine’),” the complaint said. “As a UC Irvine law professor, she took advantage of a housing benefit for university employees and purchased a home in University Hills, an academic community on the UC Irvine campus developed to provide affordable housing to ‘eligible full-time employees.’”

“The median home values in University Hills are significantly below the median home price in Irvine and there is a waiting list for this significant housing benefit,” it said. “In fact, while Porter was being recruited by UC Irvine in 2009, she joined the University Hills waiting list and delayed joining the faculty until housing became available in 2011.”

The committee wrote that eligibility “for University Hills residency is dependent on UC Irvine employment” and pointed out “Porter was elected to Congress in 2018, took office in 2019, and has been on unpaid leave from UC Irvine since 2019.”

“Thus, although Porter has not been an active ‘full-time’ employee at UC Irvine since 2019, she continues to reap the benefits of subsidized affordable housing in a pricey housing market,” the complaint said.

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the FEC complaint filed by the committee, which alleges Porter continues "to reap the benefits of subsidized affordable housing in a pricey housing market" after taking office in 2019.

Porter’s campaign did not immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, but UC Irvine did, and said Porter is a “UCI faculty member on an approved leave without pay.”

“Faculty members on approved leaves without pay remain UCI employees, and as such they can maintain their homes in University Hills,” a UCI spokesperson said. “Those who take these leaves without pay generally do so to perform outside work in academia or industry … or in public service, as is the case with Porter.”

The spokesperson also rejected the argument that UCI provided “subsidized” housing. “Home prices there are below market value because of the university maintains ownership of the land and leases it to the homeowners – because of this ground lease, homeowners own their houses but not the land beneath it. As a result, home prices remain below-market.”

Porter’s newly-announced bid for Senate is off to a rocky start as the congresswoman finds herself embroiled in scandal. The congresswoman has found herself taking heat for how she treated a veteran and former staffer in July for allegedly violating “office protocols” by catching COVID-19.

Porter was also accused of making rude and racist comments to staff and “ridiculed people for reporting sexual harassment.”

The congresswoman has found herself taking heat for how she treated a veteran and former staffer in July for allegedly violating “office protocols” by catching COVID-19. Porter was also accused of making rude and racist comments to staff and “ridiculed people for reporting sexual harassment.” (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The MAKERS Conference)

Porter responded to the allegations by trying to soften her image amid her tumultuous campaign kickoff.

In just her first week in the fray, the California congresswoman responded to the allegations of a toxic work environment during an interview Thursday, where she said she is “willing to expect people to work hard.”

“But let’s be clear, of course I want their best effort. Of course, I want my best effort,” Porter said on the “Pod Save America” podcast. “The American people deserve no less.”

“I regret if this employee feels disgruntled. She finished her term in her fellowship. It was a two-year fellowship. I enjoyed working with her,” the congresswoman continued, referencing the allegations first posted by the Dear White Staffers Instagram account. “And I’m excited to continue to get to work with my staff on this campaign and on the official side.”

“I’m willing to expect people to work hard. I work hard, and I think that’s what the American people should expect,” she added.

Porter also made headlines in October when text messages between her and Irvine, California, Mayor Farrah Khan, were published that showed the Democrat Senate hopeful berated the city mayor and insulted the city police department.

Porter also made headlines in October when text messages between her and Irvine, California, Mayor Farrah Khan were published that showed the Democrat Senate hopeful berated the city mayor and insulted the city police department.(Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS)

The texts followed a fight that broke out at the congresswoman’s July 2021 town hall that saw the man Porter lives with arrested.

In the texts, Porter criticized Khan by saying she would not call the mayor after Julian Willis was arrested after he allegedly punched a pro-Trump protester, giving the protester a bloody nose.

“You can lecture me on professionalism. And see what happens,” Porter wrote after she famously wore a Batgirl Halloween costume to the House of Representatives on the same day Democrats voted for a resolution on ground rules for the impeachment inquiry surrounding then-President Donald Trump.

Porter also trashed the Irvine police department after the arrest, calling the force a “disgrace” and that she “will never trust them again.”

11America, Brace for a Red Wave on Tuesday. It’s Real.

November 03, 2022

For months, Americans have been hearing about a “red wave.” Joe Rogan’s predicting one, the liberal media agrees, and actual American voters are venting their frustrations on a daily basis.

In President Biden’s America, the frustration is well-deserved. The U.S. economy is on the brink of recession (if it’s not recessionary already), American pocketbooks are being decimated by inflation and stock market downturns, and then there’s the lack of response from Biden Democrats who have no real solutions to America’s problems.

Not surprisingly, Biden’s approval rating remains in the gutter. Breaking news: Only 10 percent of voters under 40—once a reliable Democrat voting bloc—still support the Biden presidency, expressing deep concerns about the inflationary economy. That doesn’t bode well for Democrats on Election Day, no matter how often they change the subject to abortion and similar issues. Nor does historical precedent bode well either, with the incumbent party in the White House generally losing congressional seats two years into power.

On the Left, the general excitement just isn’t there. From crime and illegal immigration to the economy, there are so many problems in Biden’s America that it’s virtually impossible for even liberals to rally around a stale Democratic Party. The leader of that party inspires no hope, optimism, or passion, with Barack Obama recently being dragged out of retirement to help lessen the blow.

Trump rallies and Biden “rallies” are night and day. Even Obama can’t compete with the enthusiasm of the Trump years, and many Republicans are building on that momentum en route to victory. Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC), a staunchly “America First” candidate, now has the upper hand on Cheri Beasley—a radical supporter of the “Black Lives Matter” and “Defund the Police” movements—in North Carolina’s Senate race. When polls should be tightening up, Republicans like Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Dr. Mehmet Oz (Pennsylvania) are surging against their opponents.

Look at New Hampshire, which Biden won by roughly eight points in 2020 and Democrats have won consistently since 2000. Races in the Granite State are now leaning Republican, and they’ll lean even further right on Election Day. Because the state does not have early voting, public sentiment is poised to become even more anti-Biden in the coming days.

The 2022 electoral shift is driven in large part by a demographic shift, with minority groups embracing the Republican platform of law and order in unprecedented ways. Many Asian, Black, and Hispanic voters are seriously questioning their allegiances to the Democratic Party, which seems to care more about transgender issues than pocketbook policy priorities like economic growth, business expansion, and job creation. Now more than ever before, there is a real competition for minority votes, with Democrats losing ground and Republicans taking advantage.

When it’s all said and done, most Americans just want to live the American Dream and support the candidates who make their lives easier. They want to support the political party in favor of economic prosperity—one that isn’t distracted by ridiculous social issues of the day. And, when it’s all said and done, the 2022 midterms will prove that Republicans like Rep. Mayra Flores (R-TX) aren’t “one-off” success stories. Election Day will punish Democrats who shun people like Flores just because they happen to believe in traditional American values rather than liberal talking points.

My organization, the Committee to Defeat the President, has been mobilizing unprecedented support for pro-Trump Republicans in recent months. The energy on the ground is incredibly high. Based on the Committee’s interactions at the grassroots level, Republican excitement and enthusiasm are palpable. We’re investing in states like New Hampshire and North Carolina because voters are giving the “America First” platform a popular mandate once again.

The red wave is real because no amount of liberal demagoguery or left-wing political spending can overcome America’s popular mandate. And the Biden agenda is historically unpopular.

Believe what you’ve heard about Republican gains in 2022. They are real, and they will wipe out countless Democrats on Election Day.

11Conservative PAC invests $1M to help Budd in final days keep NC Senate seat, defeat Biden agenda

October 25, 2022

A top anti-Biden super PAC announced Tuesday that it will invest over $1 million in North Carolina to help GOP Senate nominee Ted Budd in the final days of his campaign keep the seat for Republicans and defeat Democrat President Joe Biden’s agenda.

The group, the Committee to Defeat the President, will file for over $1 million in independent expenditures in its effort to help Budd, backed by former President Trump, defeat Democrat rival Cheri Beasley.

Roughly $900,000 will be allocated to strategic digital production, targeted placement and social media advertising – in addition to roughly $250,000 in get-out-the-vote phone calls and text messages.

“The people of North Carolina need to recognize that the status quo simply isn’t good enough for America – neither in their state nor the country more broadly,” said committee chairman Ted Harvey. “Americans shouldn’t have to deal with rising prices, higher crime rates, and left-wing radicalism, but that is unfortunately a reality in Biden and Beasley’s America.”

The group says the investment plays to its strengths of turning out historically low-propensity registered Republican voters who have strongly supported Donald Trump, citing recent successes in Tennessee.

“Ted Budd is the man to help get America back on track, and we are proud to support his candidacy for U.S. Senate,” Harvey also says.

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