‘Not good!’ Senator cracks up overhearing GOP colleague defend Trump DOJ’s latest move
WASHINGTON — Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth cracked up talking about President Donald Trump's pardon of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), who was convicted of 18 corruption charges, including an effort to sell Barack Obama's senate seat after he was elected in 2008.
Raw Story discussed the matter with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) when Duckworth overheard the conversation and began laughing.
"Yeah, I've seen interviews. It sounds to me like it was also a politically motivated prosecution," Johnson said after talking about New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who had corruption charges dropped against him.
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"A convicted felon pardoning another convicted felon?" Duckworth asked. "That's all I gotta say."
"It's not good for anybody. It's not good for the country," she continued.
Duckworth added that she doesn't think anything could be done about it, but they could "ask the Supreme Court."
"Ask Susan Collins. She put some of those on the Supreme Court," she said.
Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison, but Trump commuted his sentence in February 2020, and he served just eight years.
Cops hunt 4-year-old boy whose disappearance 5 years ago was just reported
A small boy who was last seen five years ago and was just recently reported missing has left authorities in Delaware County, Indiana, scrambling for answers.
Four-year-old Hayden Manis, who had been living with his grandparents, was last seen on Christmas Eve in 2019. The child had just been reunited with his father, Dustin Manis, who regained custody after completing court-ordered probation, drug treatment, and counseling.
According to reporting from The Independent, Dustin kept in touch with the family via Facebook but never produced the child. He reportedly told family and police that Hayden's mother had the boy, "but authorities later confirmed that was a lie and the Department of Child Services never placed Hayden with her."
“We think [Hayden] actually went missing sometime in 2020 but, so far, we have not been able to pinpoint an actual date,” Delaware County Sheriff Chief Deputy Jeff Stanley told 13News in Indianapolis.
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Dustin's last direct message to his aunt in 2023 read, "Hey aunt barb, I promise on everything all is well,” he wrote,“[I] promise [I’ve] just been having a lot going on try to work on my family that I am making and what not I appreciate u reaching out and checking.”
Muncie, Indiana, police arrested Dustin on drug charges in November 2024. He died a month later from a drug overdose, The Independent reported.
“Just because Dustin Manis is dead does not mean the investigation is dead. We’re still going forward,” Delaware County prosecutor Eric Hoffman told 13News.
Hoffman also said he no longer believes the boy, who would be 9 years old, is still alive.
“It’s haunting. It’s definitely haunting, some of the facts of this case,” Hoffman said. “There are very few days I come to this office and I don’t think about Hayden Manis. This case is on my mind, and it’s on the investigators’ minds on a daily basis. We’re not going to stop until we get to an answer. We need to know the truth.”
‘Causing havoc’: Republican dodges as CNN host describes farmer’s plight under Trump
Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) on Tuesday struggled to answer questions from CNN's Dana Bash about major problems faced by American farmers thanks to the actions taken by X owner Elon Musk with the blessing of President Donald Trump.
During her interview with Smith, Bash played a video of a Missouri farmer named Skyler Holden discussing being unable to get payments he's owed from the United States Department of Agriculture to make improvements to his farm.
"It puts me in a bind because I've made business decisions based on that contract," Holden said.
"What do you say to Skyler Holden and people in that predicament?" Bash asked Smith.
"What I would say is that that the government needs to do a better job at working for the American people," Smith replied. "Too often it seems like the American people are working for the government, and the whole purpose of freezing and putting a hold on everything right now is to review, to make sure it's working the way that Congress and the executive is supposed to implement.
"It's unfortunate that this is the case. I've been talking with several farmers that have been experiencing this and trying to help guide them through this process, but it's all going to work out. Right now, it's a little bit disruptive, but that's what this administration promised whenever they were coming to Washington."
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Bash then pressed him and asked him to address the farmer who said that the current freeze in funding could "put him in a bad situation financially."
Smith dodged the question and said that the current problems with paying farmers were akin to issues he's experienced with trying to help a constituent file a claim with the Social Security Administration and he implied that this was because so many federal workers get to work from home.
Bash then pointed out that, under Musk, many federal workers have been shut out of their offices all together.
"There are a lot of full agencies that have been told not to come to work today that are causing some havoc around the country and around the globe," she said.
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