Latest Headlines

'Living in fear': Oath Keepers leader's ex-wife terrified he'll get a Trump pardon

The former wife of imprisoned Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes said on Friday she's deeply concerned that President-elect Donald Trump will grant her one-time husband a pardon.

Appearing on CNN, Tasha Adams told host Jim Acosta that her husband is dangerous and why she fears his potential release.

Keep reading... Show less

Ex-Trump aide says president-elect's defense nominee may be vulnerable to 'blackmail'

A former White House aide said that Donald Trump's nominee for defense secretary was vulnerable to blackmail due to his past behavior.

Pete Hegseth's attorney threatened legal action against a woman who accused the former Fox News host and Pentagon nominee of sexual assault, saying she had violated a nondisclosure agreement after accepting a settlement over her allegations, but former Trump aide Alyssa Farah Griffin told CNN the whole scenario made him unqualified to lead the Department of Defense.

Keep reading... Show less

Indicted New York Mayor Eric Adams leaves open switch to GOP: report

His approval rating might be at rock bottom, but New York City Mayor Eric Adams may bring his lack of popularity to a new political party.

An October Marist Poll cited 69% of New Yorkers who wanted to see Adams resign after his federal indictment.

Keep reading... Show less

'Is he really alive?': Ex-GOP insider blasts Trump pick Pete Hegseth as a 'zombie' nominee

According to former Republican speechwriter Elise Jordan, she doesn't see a pathway for embattled Pete Hegseth to win over enough senators to become Donald Trump's secretary of defense.

During an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Jordan slyly suggested that Hegseth –– whose future is under a cloud over allegations of public drunkenness and accusations of sexual assault –– could be wasting his time walking the hall of Congress with his wife trying to round up support.

In that vein, she suggested that the former Fox News personality is a "zombie" nominee unwilling to admit that his nomination is dead.

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Senate Dems consider whether Biden should ‘clear the slate’ and pardon Trump

Asked if Trump is letting his top Pentagon pick dangle, she told hosts Willie Geist and Jonathan Lemire, "I think he will let him hang on."

"Pete Hegseth is like a zombie nominee; he is wandering around. He is in the game, but is he really alive? No one is quite sure," she explained. "It is very hard to imagine [Senators] Tammy Duckworth and Joni Ernst signing off on someone who has said the things about women in combat that Pete Hegseth said."

"The sexual assault allegations aside, the fact that Pete Hegseth said he will quit drinking when he becomes a D.o.D. secretary? That's outrageous," she exclaimed. "That's what background checks screen for; people who do not have substance abuse problems because they can be easily blackmailed."

Watch below or at the link.

Keep reading... Show less

House GOP faces 'fate worse than death' because of its own 'incompetence': analysis

Republicans in the House of Representatives have a highly ambitious agenda that they want to pass even though they have a razor-thin majority that leaves them with no room for error.

The American Prospect's David Dayen took a look at the daunting timeline Republicans face and has concluded that they really could fail to deliver on their vow to extend the tax-cut package they passed seven years ago.

Keep reading... Show less

Mar-a-Lago insiders suspicious of GOP senator's motive for opposing defense pick: report

Donald Trump's allies don't trust the motivations of the leading opponents to Pete Hegseth's nomination for defense secretary.

The president-elect's choice to lead the Pentagon has been meeting with senators this week to reassure them about reports of his alleged sexual assault, excessive drinking, sexual harassment and questionable financial management, but Trump aides working on his nomination have assured the transition team they have not yet counted three GOP senators opposed to his confirmation, two sources told The Guardian.

Keep reading... Show less

Trump insiders frantic he's being 'neutered' by GOP senators: WaPo reporter

After the failure of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to make it to a Senate confirmation hearing after Donald Trump tapped him to be his next attorney general, GOP resistance to secretary of defense nominee Pete Hegseth has the president-elect's inner circle in a panic.

That is the opinion of Washington Post journalist Jacqueline Alemany who stated on MSNBC that there is a growing fear that Trump is getting pushed around by Republican senators.

With Hegseth struggling to win over reluctant conservative lawmakers due to allegations of a drinking problem and an accusation of sexual assault, the president-elect facing is the prospect of two of his highest-profile Cabinet choices going down in flames.

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Senate Dems consider whether Biden should ‘clear the slate’ and pardon Trump

According to Alemany, that is a growing concern within the former president's inner circle.

"This has been the one benefit of having other candidates that are more overtly controversial," she told the hosts. "There's –– it's been a little bit of a deflection tactic from some of the other more, some of the other candidates and nominees who also have controversies, controversies that haven't yet spilled out into public view yet."

"But what you're saying exactly is why Trump aides are telling us behind the scenes that backing Hegseth and continuing to stand by him is so important," she reported. "To show and not allow this narrative to set in that the GOP-led Senate has essentially neutered Trump's power and his mandate to appoint people into his positions, people who are loyalists who are going to carry out his campaign promises and his MAGA mandate."

Watch below or at the link.

Keep reading... Show less

Trump FBI pick may have already sabotaged his own revenge campaign: legal expert

FBI director nominee Kash Patel has openly boasted of plans to use the government to exact revenge on President-elect Donald Trump's political enemies.

But Paul Rosenzweig, the former deputy assistant secretary for policy at DHS during the George W. Bush administration, thinks that Patel may have already blown up his own plans to go after Trump critics simply by talking about them in the open.

Keep reading... Show less

MSNBC's Jen Psaki predicts when Pete Hegseth nomination will be 'killed'

MSNBC host Jen Psaki made an appearance on "Morning Joe" on Friday and weighed in on whether Pete Hegseth will make it to his Senate confirmation hearing as the embattled ex-Fox News host is buffeted by reports alleging drinking problems and accusations of sexual assault.

Speaking with "Morning Joe" co-hosts Willie Geist and Jonathan Lemire, Psaki, a former President Joe Biden press secretary, suggested there is a big difference between what is being said in public and what is said behind the scenes.

"I think there's what's happening publicly and then there's what's happening privately and what's happening privately really tells you the whole story with nominations," she explained before recalling, "This didn't always used to be the case; it used to be many years ago that senators would come out and say 'I'm going to vote for this person' or 'I'm not going to vote for this person,' but now because so many Republican senators especially are concerned about being a target of Trump, all of this is basically quiet defiance."

Keep reading... Show less

'Nothing that can be done': Trump makes first comment on at-risk Pete Hegseth nomination

Donald Trump has largely left his choice for Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, to fight his own battle for winning approval of Republican Senators who will decide Hegseth's fate.

Reports have suggested Trump isn't working the phones for Hegseth, which is something he reportedly did do for his failed pick, Matt Gaetz. At least one GOP Senator has hedged her bets on whether she would support Hegseth.

Keep reading... Show less

'Will be ugly': CNN host flags 'the big tell' about status of Pete Hegseth nomination

Pete Hegseth is making the rounds on Capitol Hill trying to reassure senators over allegations about excessive drinking, sexual misconduct and other concerning behavior, but CNN's Michael Smerconish said there's an obvious indicator that his nomination is toast.

Aides working with Hegseth have told Donald Trump's team there aren't enough "no" votes to sink his nomination, but Smerconish doesn't think he has the full support of the president-elect, even if his allies are pushing hard to get him confirmed despite worrying reports about his background.

Keep reading... Show less

'Good lord, what's going on here?' MSNBC host stunned by GOP lawmaker's meltdown

On Friday morning, MSNBC host Willie Geist was stunned and appalled after watching a clip of a Texas Republican get into a screaming match with acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe during a hearing on Thursday.

The hearing on the Donald Trump assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, which the the Washington Post's Jackie Alemany stated was productive until the altercation, descended into chaos as Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) bellowed and pointed his finger at Rowe who returned fire.

Following sharing the clip, a stunned Geist uttered, "Good lord, what's going on here?"

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Senate Dems consider whether Biden should ‘clear the slate’ and pardon Trump

"Yeah, Willie, it's actually, I have to say, up until that moment I was in the room I was thinking to myself, 'Wow, this is really such a substantive congressional hearing that we're having,' there were a lot of productive exchanges between Republicans and Democrats until that moment," the Washington Post reporter responded.

"Actually the exchange began with Pat Fallon asking Rowe why, as the second in command to [ex-CIA director] Kimberly Cheatle at the time of the assassination attempt if he was aware of some of the heightened threats against Donald Trump... and more proactive in terms of deploying counter-surveillance units and counter-assault units to try to ultimately prevent the assassination attempt on Donald Trump," she elaborated.

"Basically insinuating that Rowe was in a position as the number two at the agency at the time to try to have the knowledge to prevent something like that," she continued. "And then from there it devolved into Fallon accusing Rowe of trying to position himself for personal gain, that he was essentially auditioning for a job for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris by trying to get in the back of this photo op."

Geist then noted that Republican lawmakers, under Donald Trump, have become notorious for using hearings to get attention for themselves.

'I think some of those members of Congress, as you know Jackie, are used to using those hearings to grandstand, maybe raise some money, get some clips online," he observed. "Not always used to getting it back as good as they gave in that hearing."

You can watch below or at the link right here.

Keep reading... Show less

'Very disturbing': Lawmaker highlights concerning 'pattern' in Trump pick's positions

A Democratic lawmaker raised "disturbing" concerns about Donald Trump's choice to oversee the nation's most secret information.

The president-elect has nominated former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, but Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI) echoed concerns that have been raised for years about her appetite for Russian propaganda and her controversial 2017 meeting with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

Keep reading... Show less