Hartman Files Democratic Nominating Petitions; Submits 12,000 Signatures

A controversial Democratic candidate in Texas has proclaimed she would use Immigration and Customs Enforcement centers for a new purpose — to round up "American Zionists."

According to the San Antonio Current, Maureen Galindo, a sex therapist running for Texas' newly-redrawn 35th Congressional District consisting of eastern San Antonio and the exurbs around it, posted to Instagram that she will "turn Karnes ICE Detention Center into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking." She added that "it will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles, which will probably be most of the Zionists.”

In her Instagram post, which spanned several pages and ranted against "billionaire Zionists that control San Antonio," she also accused her Democratic primary opponent, Bexar County Sheriff's Deputy Johnny Garcia, of "want[ing] Mexicans and Jews in warehouses." She has previously claimed, with no evidence, that Garcia is part of a human trafficking operation on behalf of Zionists.

Galindo has repeatedly faced accusations of being antisemitic, which she denies, claiming that she supports "the Indigenous Jews (The Semites) of the Middle East" over "the Fake Jews" committing genocide against them.

All of this comes as mainstream Democratic figures in Texas and around the country line up behind Garcia's candidacy.

It also comes as a mysterious PAC with ties to the GOP has worked behind the scenes to boost Galindo to voters in the 35th District, which has been made significantly more Republican-leaning as a result of Texas lawmakers' MAGA-ordered mid-decade redistricting.

The Department of Justice has issued an order permanently barring the United States from pursuing any tax claims or other legal actions against President Donald Trump, his family, his trusts, and his companies, according to a Justice Department document signed Tuesday by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

The order, issued in connection with the settlement of Trump v. Internal Revenue Service, stated, "The United States RELEASES, WAIVES, ACQUITS, and FOREVER DISCHARGES" the plaintiffs and is "FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED from prosecuting or pursuing, any and all claims, counterclaims, causes of action, appeals, or requests for any relief" against Trump or related parties.

The settlement agreement had already created what the DOJ calls Trump's "Anti-Weaponization Fund," a $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded pot to compensate people who claim they were politically targeted by previous administrations.

The barred claims include anything that "have been or could have been asserted" against the plaintiffs arising from three categories: matters raised or that could have been raised in the case or pending agency claims; "Lawfare and/or Weaponization"; or "any matters currently pending or that could be pending (including tax returns filed before the Effective Date) before Defendants or other agencies or departments."

The order was first flagged by CBS News reporter Scott MacFarlane.

During testimony on Tuesday, Blanche defended the $1.776 billion fund and was accused of still acting as Trump's personal attorney.

MeidasTouch wrote in reaction, "Trump's personal attorney is at it again."

A conservative columnist warned on Monday that her Republican colleagues just made a "tacit admission" about the 2026 midterms that could blow up in their face.

S.E. Cupp, a columnist for CNN, said during a segment on "The Source" with host Kaitlan Collins that Republicans have all but admitted that they don't stand a chance during the midterms with their push for mid-cycle redistricting. While those efforts seem to have paid off so far, Cupp warned that they could energize the Democratic base in a way that thwarts all the time Republicans spent trying to rig the election in their favor.

"Here's the thing that I think is important to point out if you care about democracy," Cupp said. "The republicans have done what they've done because they've been allowed to. But it's also a tacit admission that they know they cannot win without rigging it. They're out of ideas. They're not even attempting to win new voters or win back the voters that they've been losing since gaining them in 2024."

Several Republican states from Texas to Louisiana and Tennessee have adopted new election maps ahead of the midterms in an effort to preserve the Republican majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Cupp warned that voters can see through the Republicans' plans, and that may cause them to backfire in November.

"So this is the giddiness and the crowing I'm seeing from republicans about the state of the redistricting math and how it's helping Republicans," she said. "What they're not saying out loud is what I think a lot of voters can see, which is you had to rig it to make yourself competitive. And I don't even know if this will still make them competitive. They might actually be handing Democrats an advantage by really ginning up that base, firing them up to go and vote."