President Donald Trump insisted Friday that his campaign did not collude with Russian operatives in 2016.
"Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for President. The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong - no collusion!" he tweeted.
The remarks came shortly after Rod Rosenstein announced indictments against 13 Russian individuals and three Russian entities in special counsel Robert Mueller's probe.
The indictments allege the Russian operatives were intent on meddling "with U.S. elections and political processes." That meddling included "supporting the presidential campaign of then-candidate Donald J. Trump and disparaging Hillary Clinton."
Rosenstein said the operation used "Russian shell companies."
"It employed hundreds of persons for its online operations, ranging from creators of fictitious personas to technical and administrative support, with an annual budget of millions of dollars," he explained.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus spoke out against Speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) deal with President Joe Biden to raise the nation's debt limit.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) called the deal "fake news," and Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) argued no deal should be made to prevent default on U.S. debt.
"I want to thank all of my members behind me that have got the courage to stand up and say no to this bill," Norman said. "Folks, the two factions that are supporting this bill, China, because they're just buying more debt to control America, and the Biden administration, which, as the hearings are showing, is corrupt and compromised to China."
"Somewhere, somebody has got to stop it," he continued. "This group behind me is willing to do that."
Norman noted he would have a chance to block the bill during Rules Committee hearings.
"Folks, if we can stop it there, I will stop it," he vowed. "Let's call their bluff on it. The best deal is no deal."
A Miami man avoided prison after admitting to threatening Black protesters with a gun and hurling racial slurs during a demonstration on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Mark Bartlett tried to claim self defense under Florida's "stand your ground" law, but a judge rejected that argument in April and sentenced him Tuesday to 20 years of probation after he pleaded guilty to all five counts in the case. He he could be hit with 55 years in prison if he violates any terms of the agreement, reported WPLG-TV.
Bartlett was recorded on video confronting a group of Black teenagers and children, some as young as 11 years old, who were protesting the lack of affordable housing as part of a nationwide "Bikes Up, Guns Down" campaign on Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2019.
“Get in front of my car, you f---ing piece of s--t, -- n---ers suck” Bartlett yelled at one protester holding a sign that read "Preserve Affordable Housing."
Video shows the demonstrators didn't react to Bartlett with violence or display any weapons as they blocked the Brickell Avenue Bridge, but Bartlett's then-girlfriend Dana Scalione can be heard threatening them from his Range Rover.
“Get the f--k out of here, you f--king piece of s--t, you f--king losers,” Bartlett yells, jumping out of his SUV wielding a gun.
Scalione pulled out her phone and then shouted that Bartlett had run over her foot.
Bartlett had claimed that he confronted the protesters with a firearm because he feared for Scalione's safety, and he apologized in court for his actions and racist language.
The judge said he only accepted the plea agreement because the victims agreed to the terms, which forbids Bartlett from contacting them and requires him to complete 320 hours of community service and undergo anger management classes and racial sensitivity training.
A Memorial Day mass shooting 20 miles north of Miami left nine people, including children as young as one, wounded, yet Governor Ron DeSantis hasn't said a word about it publicly, leading many on social media to blast the Florida Republican who for months has been highly-focused on his presidential campaign.
"Nine people were wounded Monday evening when gunfire erupted along a beachside promenade in Hollywood, Florida, sending people frantically running for cover along the crowded beach on Memorial Day," CBS News reports. "The shooting happened on the Hollywood Oceanfront Broadwalk near a convenience store, a Ben & Jerry's ice cream store and a Subway sandwich shop."
Police continue to search for "two people they believe were involved in the shooting. The department released the surveillance video alongside still images of the individuals and asked that anyone who recognizes them contact police."
"Several children were among those injured. Police spokesperson Deanna Bettineschi said four children between the ages of 1 and 17 were hit, along with five adults between 25 and 65," CBS News adds.
Governor DeSantis, who is hosting a major event in Iowa Tuesday, has not said a word on his Twitter accounts, has not posted a statement on his government website, and it does not appear he has spoken to reporters about the mass shooting.
The governor's official press secretary did, however, take time to attack California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who noted on social media that DeSantis recently signed a permit less carry bill into law, which will further expand the number of guns on the streets.
"California Gov. Gavin Newsom was fact-checked by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' spokesman after he blamed the Memorial Day shooting in Hollywood, Florida, on laws DeSantis signed that are not yet in effect," Fox News reported. "Newsom reacted to reports of the shooting on social media, blaming gun violence on a bill DeSantis signed in April that eliminates the requirement for an individual to obtain a permit to carry a concealed firearm."
DeSantis' government spokesperson Jeremy Redfern, on what he says is his "personal" Twitter account, tweeted: "Hi Gavin, How does a law that doesn’t take effect until July 1st change this outcome?"
But Governor Newsom's remarks are entirely factual.
"DeSantis signed a permit-less carry bill in April that removes requirements for:
-background checks
-instruction
-training+oversight
Until our leaders have the courage to stop bowing down to the NRA and enact common sense gun safety this kind of senseless violence will continue," he wrote via Twitter.
Meanwhile, many on social media are blasting DeSantis for ignoring the mass shooting.
"9 people were shot in Hollywood, Florida and it sure as hell wasn’t by Drag Queens," one social media user wrote, referring to DeSantis' attacks on drag queens and the the LGBTQ community, and making clear drag queens aren't a danger.
"Ron DeSantis had laws changed so he could stay Governor AND run for POTUS," another social media user said, accurately. "MEANWHILE he ignores what is happening in Florida. He hasn't said ONE WORD about this mass shooting (a 1 year old got shot) in HIS STATE this weekend. Ron, I think you should leave."
In response to a news report on the shooting, another user simply said, "Thank you Ron DeSantis."
"To all the Ron DeSantis supporters out there. 9 people were just shot and not one word from your precious governor," wrote another on Twitter.
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