Latest news with #OathKeepers
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Ex-GOP Governor Makes Bold Accusation Against AOC, Ilhan Omar Over Gaza
Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu boldly argued Monday during a panel discussion on CNN's 'NewsNight' that Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) are 'antisemitic' for joining college protests against Israel's war in Gaza. The Republican lobbed the accusation after fellow political commentator Maria Cardona argued President Donald Trump is to blame for the recent antisemitic attacks across the U.S., as a result of his support for white supremacist groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. 'That is absolutely nuts. You guys are barely scratching the surface here,' Sununu replied on Monday. 'This isn't just about; we need more Democrats to condemn what's happening,' he continued. 'How about let's get Democrats not joining in on it? How about AOC and Representative Omar don't join those college campuses?' Ocasio-Cortez and Omar have criticized Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza to varying degrees: both have called it a 'genocide,' while Omar physically joined Columbia University's demonstration last year and saw her own daughter arrested for participating. Sununu argued that the rise of antisemitism in the U.S. 'starts on the college campuses' and 'empowers people to go beyond' words. The panel had been discussing Sunday's attack in Boulder, Colorado, where a man yelling 'Free Palestine' injured eight people. 'I want to be a little bit more specific about what we're talking about here,' said host Abby Phillip. 'I definitely think, to the congressman's point, there are specific things that are being said on these campuses that are antisemitic,' she added. 'But the idea that AOC and … Omar are engaging in those activities, I'm not sure that there's a lot of evidence of that.' Sununu said, 'They showed up on those campuses. They spoke at the campuses!' Phillip replied, 'But here's what I'm saying — do you understand what I'm saying? If they show up on college campuses to protest the situation in Gaza, is that, are you saying, automatically the same thing as uttering antisemitic words and using antisemitic language?' To which Sununu had a very plain response. 'Yes, they're antisemitic,' he said. 'Make no mistake about it, this is all based on antisemitism.' Phillip: But the idea that AOC and Rep. Omar are engaging in those They showed up on those campuses Phillip: If they show up on college campuses to protest, you know, what the situation in gaza is that are you saying automatically the same thing as uttering… — Acyn (@Acyn) June 3, 2025 When asked what specific evidence he might have that the congresswomen are antisemitic, beyond merely attending demonstrations or criticizing the Israeli government's relentless bombardment of Gaza, Sununu baselessly replied: 'Supporting terrorists?' The former lawmaker's argument has since been shredded on social media, as neither Omar nor Ocasio-Cortez has ever endorsed terrorists. Both have criticized Israel's military campaign, but also publicly denounced Hamas, as well as Sunday's attack in Boulder. Phillip said regarding Omar and Ocasio-Cortez, 'There's a difference between protesting and saying and doing antisemitic things.' State Department Memo Found No Evidence Tying Tufts Student To Antisemitism Or Terrorism: Report The GOP Says It's Fighting Antisemitism In Colleges. Some Students Call BS. In Political Switchup, Biden State Dept. Spokesman Says Israel's Committing War Crimes
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Ex-GOP Governor Makes Bold Accusation Against AOC, Ilhan Omar Over Gaza
Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu boldly argued Monday during a panel discussion on CNN's 'NewsNight' that Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) are 'antisemitic' for joining college protests against Israel's war in Gaza. The Republican lobbed the accusation after fellow political commentator Maria Cardona argued President Donald Trump is to blame for the recent antisemitic attacks across the U.S., as a result of his support for white supremacist groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. 'That is absolutely nuts. You guys are barely scratching the surface here,' Sununu replied on Monday. 'This isn't just about; we need more Democrats to condemn what's happening,' he continued. 'How about let's get Democrats not joining in on it? How about AOC and Representative Omar don't join those college campuses?' Ocasio-Cortez and Omar have criticized Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza to varying degrees: both have called it a 'genocide,' while Omar physically joined Columbia University's demonstration last year and saw her own daughter arrested for participating. Sununu argued that the rise of antisemitism in the U.S. 'starts on the college campuses' and 'empowers people to go beyond' words. The panel had been discussing Sunday's attack in Boulder, Colorado, where a man yelling 'Free Palestine' injured eight people. 'I want to be a little bit more specific about what we're talking about here,' said host Abby Phillip. 'I definitely think, to the congressman's point, there are specific things that are being said on these campuses that are antisemitic,' she added. 'But the idea that AOC and … Omar are engaging in those activities, I'm not sure that there's a lot of evidence of that.' Sununu said, 'They showed up on those campuses. They spoke at the campuses!' Phillip replied, 'But here's what I'm saying — do you understand what I'm saying? If they show up on college campuses to protest the situation in Gaza, is that, are you saying, automatically the same thing as uttering antisemitic words and using antisemitic language?' To which Sununu had a very plain response. 'Yes, they're antisemitic,' he said. 'Make no mistake about it, this is all based on antisemitism.' Phillip: But the idea that AOC and Rep. Omar are engaging in those They showed up on those campuses Phillip: If they show up on college campuses to protest, you know, what the situation in gaza is that are you saying automatically the same thing as uttering… — Acyn (@Acyn) June 3, 2025 When asked what specific evidence he might have that the congresswomen are antisemitic, beyond merely attending demonstrations or criticizing the Israeli government's relentless bombardment of Gaza, Sununu baselessly replied: 'Supporting terrorists?' The former lawmaker's argument has since been shredded on social media, as neither Omar nor Ocasio-Cortez has ever endorsed terrorists. Both have criticized Israel's military campaign, but also publicly denounced Hamas, as well as Sunday's attack in Boulder. Phillip said regarding Omar and Ocasio-Cortez, 'There's a difference between protesting and saying and doing antisemitic things.' State Department Memo Found No Evidence Tying Tufts Student To Antisemitism Or Terrorism: Report The GOP Says It's Fighting Antisemitism In Colleges. Some Students Call BS. In Political Switchup, Biden State Dept. Spokesman Says Israel's Committing War Crimes
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Trump Says He Will Consider Pardoning Men Convicted In Kidnapping Plot Of Gov. Whitmer
President Donald Trump said he will look into potentially pardoning the men convicted in the failed 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. 'I will take a look at it. It's been brought to my attention,' Trump told reporters at the White House Wednesday. 'I did watch the trial. It looked to me like somewhat of a railroad job.' Trump, questioning the fairness of the trial and minimizing the men's actions, said he thought those convicted 'were drinking' and 'said stupid things.' Trump has previously dismissed the kidnapping scheme as 'fake,' and claimed the Democratic governor was never in any danger. 'The sting that they did involving Gretchen Whitmer was fake, just like those who instigated January 6,' he said in 2022, referring to those who participated in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol a year before. 'It was a fake deal, fake. It was a fake deal.' Trump's vow this week follows the U.S. Justice Department's newly appointed pardon attorney, a defender of the Jan. 6 insurrectionists, calling the convictions of at least two of the anti-government extremists involved in the Whitmer case 'very suspect.' 'On the pardon front, we can't leave these guys behind. In my opinion, these are victims just like January 6. So we are processing that,' Ed Martin Jr. said in an interview Thursday with 'The Breanna Morello Show' on Spotify. Martin was responding to a question about the convictions of Barry Croft Jr. and Adam Fox, who were accused of leading the violent kidnapping plot and trying to blow up a bridge to ease their escape. The men's defense team had accused the FBI of entrapping the pair, saying they were nothing more than 'big talkers' who wouldn't have actually pulled off a kidnapping. They recently lost an appeal of their convictions. 'The FBI was so unworthy of our trust, they were so dishonorable during those years, the Biden years, and it was so bad,' Martin said while justifying their potential pardons. 'There's very little I will take at face value from the FBI and I'm sorry for the good men and women who may be there, I don't know. I just know that I can't trust them.' Martin likened the mens' criminal case to the 'weaponization of government,' and said 'the president will want to know the facts about it.' Martin is also reportedly examining a potential pardon for the leader of the far-right Oath Keepers group, Stewart Rhodes, over his involvement in the 2021 riot. Whitmer, who was never physically harmed, had partially blamed Trump for inciting the plot, saying he stoked public mistrust and anger in response to her handling of the coronavirus pandemic. A Second Crypto Investor Is Charged With Kidnapping And Torturing A Man In A Posh NYC Apartment Trump Pardon Attorney Examined Full Clemency Request For Oath Keepers Leader Donald Trump Openly Selling Access To Those Who Put The Most Cash In His Pocket Gov. Whitmer Addresses Her Controversial Working Relationship With Trump Democrats Call Out Gretchen Whitmer For White House Visit Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Decries 'Calls To Hate' Behind Political Violence
Axios
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Trump pardons criminals with MAGA credentials or big money
Two reality stars, a MAGA-aligned sheriff and a former nursing home executive with a well-connected mother recently joined the list of President Trump 's clemency recipients. The big picture: Though early in his second term, Trump's pardons mark a continuation of his first-term trend of granting clemency to political loyalists. He's not the first president to pardon political allies, but his clemency actions signal strong messages about his priorities. His second-term clemency actions started with a controversial avalanche of pardons for Jan. 6 rioters and commutations for members of extremist groups the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. Since then, several loyalists and wealthy allies have received relief for white-collar crimes. Driving the news: Trump said on Tuesday he plans to pardon reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley who were convicted of tax evasion and bank fraud in 2022. Savannah Chrisley, who has been advocating for her imprisoned parents' release, filmed an episode of "My View with Lara Trump" with the president's daughter-in-law that aired earlier this month, and spoke at the Republican National Convention last summer. Zoom out: Trump in April also pardoned Paul Walczak, a former nursing home executive who was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution for tax crimes. Walczak's pardon has received particular scrutiny because of the political activity of his mother, Elizabeth Fago, a GOP donor who recently attended a $1-million-per-person fundraising dinner at Mar-a-Lago, the New York Times reported. And on Tuesday, Trump issued a pardon for a former Virginia sheriff, Scott Jenkins, whom a jury convicted on federal fraud and bribery charges last year. Trump wrote on Truth Social that Jenkins and his family had "been dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ" — a statement reminiscent of his own contention that the cases against him were politically motivated by a " weaponized" Justice Department. In his sentencing memorandum, Jenkins' attorneys wrote that he "adamantly maintains his innocence." Ed Martin, who Trump originally nominated to be D.C.'s top prosecutor but is now serving as Trump's pardon attorney, posted in a thread about Jenkins' pardon, "No MAGA left behind." Friction point: Martin's comment sends the message that the pardon power is being "totally and thoroughly politicized" Liz Oyer, the former DOJ pardon attorney, told PBS. The White House did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment. What they're saying: "One thing that is easy to see is, setting aside the January 6 clemencies, that there's really been a focus on grants to people who committed financial crimes," said Mark Osler, a law professor at the University of St. Thomas and a former federal prosecutor. Clemency trends within administrations are not uncommon, he noted, pointing to former President Obama's focus on clemency for drug-related charges. "But one thing that we do see is that this president uses clemency for message sending about policing, about the previous administration, about financial crimes, and that's message-sending in a way that is probably stronger than we've seen with previous presidents," he said. Flashback: During Trump's first term, he gave clemency to several allies, including former chief strategist Steve Bannon, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Charles Kushner, the father of Trump's son-in-law and current U.S. ambassador to France. What we're watching: Trump has already signed dozens of pardons and commutations since taking office — on top of the 1,500-plus Jan. 6 defendants — which is toward the high end at the start of a presidency in recent decades. Catch up quick: Alice Marie Johnson, who was pardoned by Trump after having her life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense commuted under his first term, was appointed"pardon czar" in Trump's second White House. "I think that what a lot of people hope is that Alice Johnson, who received one of those worthwhile pardons in the first Trump administration, will be a forceful voice for everybody else — that is those who don't have access to the president at parties and other events," Osler said. He added, "I just have to hope that within the White House, there's someone who will be the advocate for those people, the ones who are not wealthy, but who really changed their lives."
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Trump's pardon attorney considers full clemency for Oath Keepers and founder Stewart Rhodes over Jan. 6 crimes
The man Donald Trump appointed to review pardon requests at the Department of Justice is already reviewing full clemency for Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers militia group who was convicted of treason-related charges in connection with the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol. Justice Department pardon attorney Ed Martin recently met with lawyer Peter Ticktin, who delivered 11 pardon applications — including one for Rhodes, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 18 years in prison in connection with the Capitol assault. Hours after taking office, Trump commuted his sentence, along with the sentences of 13 other Capitol rioters, including Oath Keepers and Proud Boys members who were similarly convicted. Rhodes was released from prison hours later. Martin, a prominent 'Stop the Steal' activist who defended Jan. 6 defendants, was briefly Trump's top prosecutor in Washington, D.C., tasked with running the office that handled those prosecutions. Trump recently withdrew his name for consideration for the role and instead installed him as the pardon chief and head of the Justice Department's 'Weaponization Working Group.' According to Politico, the renewed effort to fully pardon Rhodes and other Jan. 6 offenders was arranged by Ticktin and Treniss Evans, who help run the right-wing nonprofit legal group American Rights Alliance. Proud Boys members Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Dominic Pezzola and Zachary Rehl are also seeking full pardons through Ticktin and Evans. 'I know Ed Martin and I felt it was important to bring these particular applications to his attention,' Ticktin told Politico, which first reported the pardon requests. 'I listened! Cuz he's wise,' Martin said about the meeting. The Independent has requested comment from Ticktin and the White House. A fresh round of pardon requests from defendants charged with the most serious crimes surrounding the attack will now head to White House pardon czar Alice Johnson. Trump is meanwhile expected to issue pardons for reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were convicted of tax evasion and bank fraud and sentenced to several years in prison. The president also recently pardoned Paul Walczak, who pleaded guilty to tax crimes. The pardon was issued one month after Walczak's mother attended a Mar-a-Lago fundraising dinner charging $1 million per person. The president has pardoned nearly 1,600 defendants charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol. Rhodes founded his far-right anti-government militia group in 2009 and claimed thousands of members across the country, including current and former service members and law enforcement officers, preparing for armed civil war in defense of what they perceive as threats to the Constitution. Rhodes and his allies spent weeks discussing a violent response to the 2020 election on encrypted messaging apps, then organized a weapons and supply cache at a nearby hotel before joining the mob. After several members breached the Capitol, shouting 'this is our f*****g house' and 'we took the f*****g Capitol,' Rhodes hailed them as 'patriots.' He told an ally that his only regret that day was that the group wasn't armed. Rhodes did not enter the building. Days after Jan. 6, Rhodes typed a message intended for then-President Trump, calling on him to 'save the republic' or 'die in prison.' That message was ultimately never delivered, but it echoed another message published on the Oath Keepers website weeks earlier, urging Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act and deputize Rhodes and the Oath Keepers to take up arms. 'It's better to wage it with you as Commander-in-Chief than to have you comply with a fraudulent election, leave office, and leave the White House in the hands of illegitimate usurpers and Chinese puppets,' Rhodes wrote at the time. He followed up with another message demanding that Trump deliver a 'crushing blow' to his enemies 'while they sleep, wrapped in their arrogance.' Rhodes also instructed his allies to 'get gear squared away and ready to fight,' adding that 'Trump has one last chance right now to stand but he will need us and our rifles too.' More than 1,000 Jan. 6 defendants pleaded guilty. More than 200 people were found guilty at trial — including 10 defendants like Rhodes and Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio were found guilty of seditious conspiracy. Judges who presided over Jan. 6 cases have barely hidden their contempt for Trump's sweeping pardons for virtually every member of the mob — and have issued stark warnings against attempts to rewrite the history of the attack. Last year, the federal judge who presided over Rhodes's case said the prospect of a pardon for his crimes 'is frightening and ought to be frightening to anyone who cares about democracy in this country.' 'You, sir, present an ongoing threat and a peril to this country and its democracy and the very fabric of this country,' District Judge Amit Mehta told Rhodes during his sentencing hearing in 2023. 'You are smart, you are compelling, and you are charismatic. Frankly, that is what makes you dangerous.' District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who presided over Trump's federal election interference case, wrote that Trump's pardons 'cannot whitewash the blood, feces, and terror that the mob left in its wake.'
