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Watch: Dem uses Jim Jordan’s ATF hearing to ask what happens if GOP abolishes agency

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) used House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan's (R-OH) hearing on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to point out what would happen if Republicans succeed in abolishing the agency.
At the Thursday hearing, Nadler posed the question about shutting down the ATF to agency Director Steven Dettelbach.
"If Republicans were to succeed in their effort to abolish the ATF, how would that affect public safety, particularly gun violence in this country?" Nadler asked.
"Protecting Americans from violent crime, including firearms violence, was, is, and will always continue to be ATF's top priority," Dettelbach said. "We investigate the most dangerous, worst of the worst. The people who are out there, trigger pullers, terrorizing our communities."
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Nadler pressed: "But if the Republicans were to succeed in their effort to abolish the ATF, how would that affect public safety?"
"Well, all of that would go away," the ATF director stated. "Our state and local partners who are asking for more ATF, they would be robbed of any ATF."
"It would be, all the cases that we do, all the gangs we prosecute, the RICOs, the VICARs, the cartel cases, all the things we do, would disappear," he added.
Before turning over the microphone, Nadler pointed to a letter "that explains the risk that unserialized firearms or ghost guns pose to the public, their proliferation among guns found at crime scenes, and the numerous efforts of the Department of Justice to reduce violence caused by ghost guns and other firearms and to promote public safety."
Lindsey Graham hammered for leaping to defense of MAGA staffer who posted Nazi language

The Trump staffer responsible for posting an image of Trump using Nazi-inspired language about a "unified Reich" has now been identified. It was Natalie Harp, a former One America News anchor who first gained national attention when she falsely claimed at the 2020 GOP convention that Trump cured her cancer, and has become known as the "human printer" for following Trump around with a tiny printing device to feed him stories that make him feel good about himself.
The campaign, for its part, says it was an innocent mistake and Harp didn't see the Nazi language in the video before posting it. And Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of Trump's closest allies in Congress, went out of his way to proclaim he still had confidence in her.
"Natalie Harp is a professional, smart, talented individual who has proven herself to be an asset to President Trump," stated Graham in a post on X. "I have complete confidence in Natalie."
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Commenters on social media were less than impressed — and many simply didn't buy the idea that Harp posted the language by accident in the first place.
"Talented at posting Nazi content?" wrote the account @jayacoop.
"Natalie Harp is a professional, smart, talented fascist who has proven herself to be an asset to the Unified Reich. I have complete confidence in devotion to the Project 2025 cause," wrote the account @DemocracyOn_X_, referring to the infamous plan by pro-Trump academics to remake the federal government into an army of Christian nationalists and MAGA loyalists.
"Only Lindsey Graham would take time to defend someone who is known as the 'human printer' to prove fealty to Trump for the 12,932nd time; while domestic & foreign affairs are in various forms of crisis & neglected by him," wrote former Senate staffer Howard Fineman. "Way to prioritize those taxpayer dollars, Lindsey!"
"Complete confidence as with the guy you accurately predicted would ruin the Republican Party?" wrote the account @kacang_tua, referencing Graham's infamous pre-2016 election tweet that nominating Trump would "destroy" the GOP — a sentiment he went back on as soon as Trump was elected.
"They used the word 'reich,' traitor," wrote the account @Staceyryn. "That’s not a mistake. This junior staffer may take the fall, but we all know you people mean it."
Republicans plan new criminal investigation into Hunter Biden

Republicans in the House are eyeing a new attack on President Joe Biden's son.
According to Fox's congressional reporter Chad Pergram, GOP members are saying Hunter Biden delivered "falsehoods" while giving a deposition to Congress during an impeachment hearing involving his father, and they are seeking a criminal referral to the Justice Department.
Read Also: Hunter Biden wants to testify openly — but Republicans won’t let him
According to the Fox report, House Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) says Biden "mischaracterized" his role working for his own firm, Rosemont Seneca. Biden said that he didn't "control" the bank accounts for the company and they were not "affiliated with him."
The company was co-owned by Biden and associate Devon Archer. Both men were on the account, Archer claimed.
Since the testimony, Republican Reps. James Comer (KY) and Jim Jordan (OH) claimed Archer delivered damaging testimony that would be important to their impeachment efforts.
The Washington Post characterized Archer's testimony, saying, "Hunter Biden wanted to give the impression he could bend Joe Biden’s will but, in private conversation, he said he couldn’t."
“He was getting paid a lot of money,” Archer said, talking about Biden's connection with the Ukrainian company Burisma, which Biden was on the board of and which is at the center of Republicans' bribery allegations. “And I think, you know, he wanted to show value," Archer went on.
According to Smith, however, Burisma was depositing the pay for Hunter Biden's board membership into their business account.
Smith then claims that foreign wires were "allegedly" transferred from a Porsche dealer "through an entity' used to buy Hunter Biden's car. Under questioning, Hunter Biden was asked about a "corporate secretary," which he said he didn't know existed.
Smith makes it clear that he can't confirm the facts of the accusation. Smith then alleges that when buying the Porsche, Biden confirmed his employment by agreeing, "I, Robert Hunter Biden, hereby certify that I am the duly elected, qualified and acting Secretary of Rosemont Seneca Bohai, LLC."
A board secretary is not the same as a corporate secretary.
The third statement Republicans allege Biden lied about was when he said the phrase, "I’d never pick up the phone and call anybody for a visa."
Smith said that there was an email they "obtained" between Archer, Biden and a Ukrainian associate about Burisma's CEO having his visa revoked and other limitations on his foreign travel.
The email from Archer reads: "Considering we are having dinner with the Foreign Minister Thursday night, we think we might have a good shot of smoothing things out. As follow up please sent Hunter an email with all [his] passport and visa documents and evidence and copy me. We'll take it from there."
Smith says that Archer and Biden passing off the information was the same as "picking up the phone" to "call anybody for a visa."
Finally, Smith claims that Biden lied about WhatsApp messages to a Chinese business associate, Raymond Zhao, saying that he had messaged the wrong Zhao when he sent it. Smith claims Biden is lying because there is no other Zhao in Biden's phone.
‘Republican civil war’: Details surface of GOP lawmaker’s massive retaliation campaign

The Texas Republican Party is in the middle of a purge of its own membership, at the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott — and out-of-state donors, according to a new report.
The Texas Republican governor, after a group of state legislators defied him over private school voucher funding, is mounting a campaign of retaliation that sets a new political precedent, Politico reported Wednesday.
"[Abbot] helped knock off seven incumbents in the Republican primary in March and is targeting a handful more contests at the end of the month by handpicking conservative challengers and collecting millions of dollars from donors in Texas and beyond," the report states.
"Another two anti-voucher incumbents lost even though they weren’t specifically blacklisted by Abbott."
Politico reports this turmoil is taking place as "enormous amount of money" pours into Texas Republican primaries from "national pro-school-choice groups."
"Abbott’s targeting of former allies has escalated a Republican civil war that is defining Texas politics today, all in pursuit of enacting a voucher law that stands to remake K-12 education in the nation’s second biggest state," the report states.
ALSO READ: 'Oh, come on!' Tommy Tuberville dismisses Trump connection to 'unified Reich' video
All of this is going on at the same time that scandal-plagued Attorney General Ken Paxton is separately targeting lawmakers who voted for his impeachment — including House Speaker Dade Phelan, who has been forced into a runoff to keep his job.
A number of familiar names have contributed to the effort to bump off disloyal GOP lawmakers, noted the report:
"Backed by deep-pocketed conservative figures like former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and Republican megadonor Jeff Yass, the school-choice movement has leveraged Republican majorities in state legislatures across the country to pass laws that provide families with lump sums to spend on private school tuition. The efforts, according to supporters, are meant to bolster parental rights by giving families the financial freedom to choose a different option for schooling their children."
ALSO READ: Delay, delay: Lauren Boebert keeping personal finances secret until after GOP primary
In reality, voucher programs similar to the one proposed in Texas, which have their historical roots in attempts to maintain racial segregation, have broadly failed to improve student outcomes in other states, while worsening inequality and funding issues across the education system.
‘It was to screw me’: Giuliani whines about being hit with 10K bond amid bankruptcy

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani complained Tuesday after being ordered to put up collateral for a $10,000 secured bond in an Arizona case about "fake electors."
Soon after appearing remotely before a judge in Maricopa County, Giuliani spoke on his podcast about the requirement for a bond as he faces bankruptcy proceedings. Arizona officials alleged Giuliani participated in a scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election with fake electors.
"You don't bring a case like this if you're not crooked," he said of the prosecution. "You got to show I'm a, I'll cheat for Biden too. I mean, you did a pretty damn good job on the election of cheating and the next election too."
"The judge set a $10,000 bail for me because I'm going to run away," he told his audience. "No, it was to screw me because I made it difficult for them to find me."
ALSO READ: Trump campaign allegedly took ‘excessive’ contributions by the nickel and dime
Giuliani disputed the notion that he was challenging to find.
"Now think about the idiocy of it," he said. "I have been prosecuted in Atlanta, I've shown up every time. I'm sued by all kinds of people; I showed up for my trial, where the verdict took place. There's no history of any kind of bail risk."
"So they had to have a $10,000 bail just for punitive reasons," he added. "This, again, proof that this is a completely political prosecution."
Giuliani has said that he is not guilty of any crimes.
"These charges are essentially a cut and paste version of what they're attempting to use to interfere with the 2024 Election and to take down President Trump and anyone willing to take on the permanent Washington political class," Giuliani spokesperson Ted Goodman said in a statement. "Joe Biden and his allies continue to weaponize the criminal justice system in their quest to take down President Trump and hold on to power. Mayor Rudy Giuliani—the most effective federal prosecutor in U.S. history—looks forward to full vindication soon."
Watch the video below from The Rudy Giuliani Show or click here.
‘Crimes on top of crimes’: Internet erupts over classified docs found in Trump’s bedroom

Former President Donald Trump had even more classified documents hidden away in his bedroom — four months after the FBI executed their search at Mar-a-Lago.
The revelation, spelled out in newly-released court filings, caused an eruption from observers on social media.
"Crimes on top of crimes," wrote music producer Shawn Patterson.
"In my observation, not even the anti-anti-Trumpers defend the 'documents case.' (The outright Trumpers, sure. With them, the Fifth Avenue Principle applies.)" wrote Jay Nordlinger, an editor for the conservative National Review.
"Utter disregard shown for US security," wrote Doug Thompson of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
ALSO READ: Trump campaign allegedly took ‘excessive’ contributions by the nickel and dime
Other commenters took aim specifically at U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, the jurist overseeing the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case against the former president.
A Trump-appointee, Cannon caused outrage when she punted the case indefinitely, beyond the election, citing the large number of unresolved issues to rule on — many of which critics say she sat on for months without action.
Cannon in a recent filing also expressed her "disappointment" in special counsel Jack Smith for asking for redactions to protect witnesses and grand jurors.
"Reminder that the MAL docs case was and will always have been the cleanest, most straightforward criminal prosecution of the four against the former president," wrote national security lawyer Bradley Moss. "That the public won't see it brought to fruition before they go to the voting booth is a stain on the judicial system."
"Trump was still keeping classified documents in his bedroom AFTER the Mar-a-Lago search but according to Judge Cannon, what they were, why he had them & what he did with them are simply not questions the American people should have answers to before casting our votes in November," wrote political commentator @JoJoFromJerz.
"Cannon is a f---ing accomplice and you can't convince me otherwise," wrote former Ohio Democratic congressional candidate Aaron Paul Godfrey.
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Ted Cruz snaps as Dem invokes famous 2013 clash: ‘You’re not Dianne Feinstein’

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) interrupted Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing Tuesday to tell the Texas Republican she felt "personally aggrieved" by his lecturing — only to have Cruz fire back by invoking the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, snapping, "You're not Dianne Feinstein."
The blowup came after Cruz delivered a lengthy monologue at a hearing on the Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais ruling — a 6-3 decision gutting Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act — accusing Democrats of believing Black candidates can only win in gerrymandered districts.
"The Democrats are fond of telling this story that is, and I wish I could find a kinder way to say it, a flat-out lie," Cruz said, rattling off Black Republican lawmakers elected in majority-white districts: Sen. Tim Scott, Reps. Burgess Owens, Byron Donalds, John James, and Wesley Hunt.
"In the Democrats' world, you're not Black if you're not a liberal Democrat," Cruz declared. "There is an arrogance to African American voters."
The Texas Republican then accused Democrats of being the real gerrymandering offenders, demanding to know how many Republicans represent New England in the U.S. House.
"Zero. Zero," Cruz said. "They've drawn every district in a naked gerrymander, and yet they're very upset that their illegal pursuit of power has now been stopped by the Supreme Court."
That's when Hirono cut in.
"Point of personal privilege," she said. "I feel personally aggrieved to sit here and to be lectured by my colleague from Texas."
Hirono then reached back more than a decade to invoke a now-famous clash between Cruz and Feinstein, who memorably told a freshman Cruz during a 2013 hearing on gun safety that she was "not a sixth grader."
"This reminds me of the time when he was first elected to the Senate, and the Judiciary Committee had a hearing on gun safety, and he felt a need to lecture Dianne Feinstein," Hirono said. "And she said to him, something along the lines of, 'I did not sit here on this committee for however many years she did, only to be lectured by you.'"
"And that is how I feel," Hirono continued. "So why don't you just stop lecturing the rest of us? Just because you think you are the smartest person in the world doesn't mean the rest of us agree with that."
Cruz didn't let it go.
"I knew Dianne Feinstein. I served with Dianne Feinstein," he shot back. "And you're not Dianne Feinstein."

