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‘Pedophile protector!’ Ex-cop gets in Dan Bongino’s face over Epstein probe failures
Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino was confronted in public Saturday over his handling of the criminal probe into Jeffrey Epstein and potential co-conspirators, with one heckler issuing Bongino an especially brutal nickname, as seen in a clip of the confrontation that went viral on Sunday.
Details of the event Bongino was confronted are sparse, though the conservative news website The Gateway Pundit reported Sunday that it took place Saturday evening. Far-right lawyer and Army veteran Ivan Raiklin also confirmed details of the incident after refuting claims that he had been the one to confront the former FBI deputy director. Bongino has also shared at least 10 posts on social media Sunday morning mocking the group that apparently confronted him.
In the video, an unidentified individual recording the encounter approached Bongino and immediately began insulting the ex-FBI official.
“You’re a pedophile protector!” the individual can be heard shouting. “A pedophile protector, pedophile protector!”
A visibly angry Bongino fired back and could be heard shouting “go volunteer to do something!"
“I was a cop for nine years, you’re a pedophile protector, f-----!” the individual said, using a homophobic slur. “You’re a pedophile protector, f--- you, dude, f--- you!”
Raiklin was initially attributed as having been the one to confront Bongino by several prominent X users, an attribution he refuted several times.
“I wasn't the one who said that nor caused the scene,” Raiklin wrote in a social media post Sunday. “It was some former cop.”
Another clip of the encounter filmed from a different angle – shared by the far-right extremist group Oath Keepers – shows Bongino lashing out at the group, shouting “you didn’t do s—!”
Bongino has faced MAGA outrage in the wake of his resignation from the FBI over his agency’s handling of its probe into Epstein and potential co-conspirators. Despite having hyped up theories around Epstein prior to his role at the agency, he later signed off on a memo that concluded Epstein had died by suicide and that no evidence existed to prosecute potential co-conspirators of Epstein.Tom Homan scrambles to explain ICE airport duties after Trump puts him under the gun
Donald Trump’s impulsive weekend decision to deploy U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to the nation’s airports to do the jobs of TSA agents not being paid by the administration, put his border czar on the spot on CNN.
Early Sunday morning, the frustrated president said ICE would pulled from their jobs grabbing immigrants off the street to help out at airports plagued by TSA sick-outs and that Homan would be responsible for getting it done.
Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Tom Homan, who inherited former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s duties after she was fired, was pressed by host Dana Bash over training for agents who have no airport security experience .
According to Homan, it is a “work in progress” and details are still be worked out before the Monday deadline.
“Are ICE agents even remotely trained to handle security at airports?” the CNN host asked.
“Ice agents receive high-level training,” Homan insisted. “And, you know, ICE agents are assigned at many airports across the country already. They do a lot of investigation, criminal investigation on smuggling reports. But, you know, there's, I mean, there's a lot TSA agents covering exits, you know, people that enter through the exits. You know, certainly a highly trained ICE law enforcement officer can cover an exit that makes people don't go through those exits entering the airport, through the exits. That stuff like that relieves that TSA officer to go to screening and to, to reduce those lines. “
“I don't see an ICE agent looking at an x-ray machine because they're not trained in that,” he admitted.
After the Trump official elaborated, “So hopefully we'll have all those answers here by this afternoon, but we're working on it. And when we deploy tomorrow, we'll have a well-thought-out plan to execute,” the skeptical CNN host asked, “With respect, if you're doing this in 24 hours, how well thought out could it possibly be?”
“Again, ICE has been at airports across the country for a long time. It's just expanding those things,” Homan pushed back. “Look, it does it –– how much of a plan does it mean to guard an exit, to make sure no one comes through that exit? And we're talking about security options. And these officers are well-trained in security and they're well-trained in identification. And we're going to do what we can to help TSA move those people through the line.”
- YouTube youtu.be
‘That’s just not true!’ Black journalist pushes back at attorney’s DEI example
On CNN's newly launched "Table for Five" with host Abby Phillip, journalist Cari Champion butted heads with attorney Arthur Aidala during a heated discussion over companies abandoning their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies.
Conservative complaints about DEI has led to unfounded and unjust attacks on a multitude of government and corporate employees who are not white and male and Champion pointed out that if one if not white with an Ivy League education you become a target.
"You think about Ketanji Jackson, our [Supreme Court] Justice and I think of this woman and how hard she worked and they said she was a DEI justice," she stated. "And I thought to myself –– or like when you look at Kamala Harris or people who have went to Harvard and Yale and have the same exact, the same exact resume as their white counterpart, their white male counterpart, DEI is so trendy."
ALSO READ: Inside the parade of right-wing world leaders flocking to D.C. for Trump's inauguration
"And when it comes from someone from a conservative side and they label that, it becomes this truth," she noted. "I often ask my question when I look at [Fox News personality] Pete Hegseth, I wonder, if they say he's a DEI candidate, would that be unfair to say? I don't know why we can't use them? Cha cha cha cha cha. Why we can't use the same words?"
As attorney Aidala leaned into herto reply, she added, "I know, I'm gonna let you get to it. But why can't we use the same words that they use on us? "
"But it comes from the United States Supreme Court," the attorney interjected. "The decision last year about the Harvard admissions, and they just said it violated the 14th Amendment and it really had to do with, I think, Asian students who were being excluded from going to Harvard because there were too many Asian students."
"Their grades were very high and so that's where this all comes from," he added. "Corporate America is basically following, well, if they did it to Harvard –– don't worry, I can't even spell Harvard so, you know, I'm not from Harvard –– if they're going to rule there the next stop is corporations because you're only hiring this person because of the DEI.''
"That's just not true!" Champion exclaimed as CNN host Phillip stepped in.
You can watch below or at the link.
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‘Real job stress’: Democrats handed fresh advice on how to make Trump’s life miserable
According to one columnist, Democrats have nothing to fear in the future with Donald Trump unable to run again in 2028 and, therefore, they should bedevil him at every turn and make the next four years unbearable for him.
In a column with the none-too-subtle headline of "Shove the Presidency Down Trump’s Throat," Jason Linkins of The New Republic suggests heaping problems on the president-elect to the point where they "Wake him up early and keep him up late."
Pointing out that Trump's extremist agenda precludes any reason to call for national "unity," Linkins wrote, "Rather than exert so much energy trying to thrust Trump out of the presidency, liberals would be well served to spend their time thrusting the presidency upon Donald Trump. Instead of searching for illusory quick fixes for the existence of the Trump administration, start demanding the Trump administration fix everything quickly."
ALSO READ: Inside the parade of right-wing world leaders flocking to D.C. for Trump's inauguration
According to the columnist, Trump proved in his first term that he doesn't handle stress well, fumbling every crisis, and that Democrats should make him a punching bag for everything happening in the country that is headed south.
"They [Democrats] need to raise a hue and cry over everything under the sun that’s broken, dysfunctional, or trending in the wrong direction; pile line items on Trump’s to-do list," he wrote before suggesting, "Every day, get in front of cable news cameras and reporters’ notepads with a new problem for Trump to solve and fresh complaints about the work not done."
"It’s always been something of a mystery why someone who was making it in America as an idle rich celebrity a--shole abruptly changed course and decided that what he really wanted to do with his life was to become responsible for an entire nation and its problems," he wrote and added Trump should be spending his golden tears enjoying life.
"In this universe, liberals would do well to find creative ways to make Trump regret his choices," he advised.
You can read more here.
‘Half the country still dislikes him’: Trump warned he could ‘find himself in trouble’
Donald Trump is being warned he needs to tap the brakes on some of his most prominent initiatives lest he find himself alienating voters who gave him the benefit of the doubt.
In a blunt editorial from the Wall Street Journal opinion page editors, the president-elect, who will assume power on Monday, was admonished that "half the country still dislikes him" and that he is on a short leash.
According to the editors, "Mr. Trump has political running room, though it’s not unlimited. His victory was solid but no landslide," before adding, "... the GOP majority in the House is so narrow that a couple of willful Members can kill anything. Mr. Trump could quickly find himself in trouble if he exceeds his mandate from voters."
ALSO READ: Fox News has blood on its hands as Trump twists the knife
Applauding his plan to expel criminal undocumented immigrants, the editors stated he runs the risk of overreach if his plans also "means midnight raids on busboys, or separating mothers from children," in which case, "the politics could turn fast."
"The biggest risk in our view is Mr. Trump’s desire to court adversaries in search of diplomatic deals for their own sake. He won’t settle the Ukraine war in a day as he promised, but an ugly deal that favors Russia could be his version of President Biden’s flight from Afghanistan," the editors warned before suggesting, "Most important will be his courtship of Chinese dictator Xi Jinping. Former Trump security adviser John Bolton writes in his memoir that Mr. Trump said in his first term that a U.S. defense of Taiwan was implausible, and Mr. Xi can read. China could react to Mr. Trump’s tariffs with a blockade of Taiwan, or perhaps by taking nearby islands now controlled by Taiwan. How would Mr. Trump respond to avoid the risk of war? Would he cede Taiwan to Mr. Xi?"
They concluded, "If Mr. Trump focuses on settling scores rather than raising incomes, Democrats will sweep the 2026 midterms and progressives will return to power with a vengeance in 2028," before cautioning, "A second presidential chance would be a terrible thing to waste."
You can read the entire editorial here.
U.S. bans red food dye over possible cancer risk: health authorities
Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden's administration on Wednesday announced a ban on Red Dye No 3, a controversial food and drug coloring long known to cause cancer in animals.
Decades after scientific evidence first raised alarm, Red 3, as it is also called, is currently used in nearly 3,000 food products in the United States, according to the nonprofit Environmental Working Group.
"FDA is revoking the authorized uses in food and ingested drugs of FD&C Red No 3 in the color additive regulations," said a document from the Department of Health and Human Services, published in the Federal Register on Wednesday.
The decision follows a petition filed in November 2022 by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and other advocacy groups, which cited the "Delaney Clause" -- a provision mandating the prohibition of any color additive shown to cause cancer in humans or animals.
Notably, the FDA determined as early as 1990 that Red 3 should be banned in cosmetics because of its link to thyroid cancer in lab rats.
However, the additive continued to be used in foods, largely due to resistance from the food industry. Manufacturers of maraschino cherries, for example, relied on Red 3 to maintain the iconic red hue of their products.
It's also present in thousands of candies, snacks and fruit products.
The United States is one of the last major economies to take action on the dye. The European Union prohibited its use in 1994, with similar bans implemented in Japan, China, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
CSPI hailed the decision as overdue and expressed hope it would lead to further action against other potentially harmful chemicals in food.
"They don't add any nutritional value, they don't preserve the food -- they're just there to make food look pretty," Thomas Galligan, a scientist with CSPI, told AFP.
"There's growing discussion across the political spectrum about food additives and chemicals, which reflects ongoing failures by the FDA."
© Agence France-Presse
Joni Ernst mocked for Hegseth flip because people were being ‘nasty’ to her on X
Sen. Joni Ernst's decision to throw her support behind embattled Fox News personality Pete Hegseth drew mockery on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Wednesday morning.
Reacting to the decision by the Iowa Republican to throw in her lot with Hegseth despite credible allegations of sexual assault and public drunkenness, co-host Joe Scarborough skewered her for first expressing doubts about Donald Trump's controversial nominee and then rolling over after a far-right pressure campaign was waged against her on X.
"You know Joni Ernst came out and she spoke her mind and was very concerned obviously about women in combat, something that she has fought for in her public life," he told his panel. "Also very concerned about sexual harassment and sexual abuse inside the military. And she made no secret of the fact that she was concerned about Pete Hegseth and that she had a couple of hours of people saying nasty things about her on x and asked somebody reportedly, 'How do I make this stop?'"
ALSO READ: Fox News has blood on its hands as Trump twists the knife
"The people who get voting cards these days, it's crazy," he laughed. "It really is."
With the conversation turning to other possible GOP senators who could balk at voting for the nominee due to his lack of experience and sordid history, Scarborough noted that Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) was a possible no vote, and used her as an example to again take a jab at Ernst.
"I mean, we will see what happens with Lisa Murkowski, somebody who does not let an hour and a half of tough times on social media move her," he stated before adding, "We'll see what happens with Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) we'll see what happens with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) We will see what happens to Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA)."
Watch below or at the link or click the link.
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‘Pedophile protector!’ Ex-cop gets in Dan Bongino’s face over Epstein probe failures
Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino was confronted in public Saturday over his handling of the criminal probe into Jeffrey Epstein and potential co-conspirators, with one heckler issuing Bongino an especially brutal nickname, as seen in a clip of the confrontation that went viral on Sunday.
Details of the event Bongino was confronted are sparse, though the conservative news website The Gateway Pundit reported Sunday that it took place Saturday evening. Far-right lawyer and Army veteran Ivan Raiklin also confirmed details of the incident after refuting claims that he had been the one to confront the former FBI deputy director. Bongino has also shared at least 10 posts on social media Sunday morning mocking the group that apparently confronted him.
In the video, an unidentified individual recording the encounter approached Bongino and immediately began insulting the ex-FBI official.
“You’re a pedophile protector!” the individual can be heard shouting. “A pedophile protector, pedophile protector!”
A visibly angry Bongino fired back and could be heard shouting “go volunteer to do something!"
“I was a cop for nine years, you’re a pedophile protector, f-----!” the individual said, using a homophobic slur. “You’re a pedophile protector, f--- you, dude, f--- you!”
Raiklin was initially attributed as having been the one to confront Bongino by several prominent X users, an attribution he refuted several times.
“I wasn't the one who said that nor caused the scene,” Raiklin wrote in a social media post Sunday. “It was some former cop.”
Another clip of the encounter filmed from a different angle – shared by the far-right extremist group Oath Keepers – shows Bongino lashing out at the group, shouting “you didn’t do s—!”
Bongino has faced MAGA outrage in the wake of his resignation from the FBI over his agency’s handling of its probe into Epstein and potential co-conspirators. Despite having hyped up theories around Epstein prior to his role at the agency, he later signed off on a memo that concluded Epstein had died by suicide and that no evidence existed to prosecute potential co-conspirators of Epstein.Tom Homan scrambles to explain ICE airport duties after Trump puts him under the gun
Donald Trump’s impulsive weekend decision to deploy U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to the nation’s airports to do the jobs of TSA agents not being paid by the administration, put his border czar on the spot on CNN.
Early Sunday morning, the frustrated president said ICE would pulled from their jobs grabbing immigrants off the street to help out at airports plagued by TSA sick-outs and that Homan would be responsible for getting it done.
Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Tom Homan, who inherited former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s duties after she was fired, was pressed by host Dana Bash over training for agents who have no airport security experience .
According to Homan, it is a “work in progress” and details are still be worked out before the Monday deadline.
“Are ICE agents even remotely trained to handle security at airports?” the CNN host asked.
“Ice agents receive high-level training,” Homan insisted. “And, you know, ICE agents are assigned at many airports across the country already. They do a lot of investigation, criminal investigation on smuggling reports. But, you know, there's, I mean, there's a lot TSA agents covering exits, you know, people that enter through the exits. You know, certainly a highly trained ICE law enforcement officer can cover an exit that makes people don't go through those exits entering the airport, through the exits. That stuff like that relieves that TSA officer to go to screening and to, to reduce those lines. “
“I don't see an ICE agent looking at an x-ray machine because they're not trained in that,” he admitted.
After the Trump official elaborated, “So hopefully we'll have all those answers here by this afternoon, but we're working on it. And when we deploy tomorrow, we'll have a well-thought-out plan to execute,” the skeptical CNN host asked, “With respect, if you're doing this in 24 hours, how well thought out could it possibly be?”
“Again, ICE has been at airports across the country for a long time. It's just expanding those things,” Homan pushed back. “Look, it does it –– how much of a plan does it mean to guard an exit, to make sure no one comes through that exit? And we're talking about security options. And these officers are well-trained in security and they're well-trained in identification. And we're going to do what we can to help TSA move those people through the line.”
- YouTube youtu.be
