SCOTUS Backs Trump: Votes 9:0 to Curb Migrants’ Asylum Claims

The Supreme Court has unanimously decided to handcuff liberal judges who want to help the growing number of migrants who lose their asylum pleas at the Justice Department.

“The unanimous decision in Urias–Orellana v. Bondi is a win for the Trump Administration in maintaining a high burden to overturn [the Justice Department’s] immigration courts in asylum cases,” said lawyer Jonathan Turley.

The decision means that millions of migrants will face even tougher pressure to leave the United States, especially after they are arrested by ICE.

The win is one of many gains by President Donald Trump’s deputies as they try to accelerate the number of self-deportations and ICE deportations. For example, in December, 38 percent of the migrants detained by ICE chose to go home rather than file lawsuits to stay in the United States.

The court decision in Urias-Orellana v. Bondi was written by the court’s most left-wing judge, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. (Read more from “SCOTUS Backs Trump: Votes 9:0 to Curb Migrants’ Asylum Claims” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Senate Debate On Iran War Turns Into Senile Men Shouting At Sky

The Senate sort of debated a war powers resolution on Wednesday that might have eventually stopped the war in Iran, although the resulting vote was only on a motion to bring the resolution to the floor. That vote failed, leaving the Trump administration with what amounts to implied congressional permission to continue. As Rand Paul noted, speaking as the only Republican who supported the measure, “This essentially is the vote whether to go to war or not.”

But the Senate wasn’t debating the war, or debating Trump: It was debating against its own history, poorly and without noticing, in a mostly incoherent series of self-negating rhetorical maneuvers. Taken as a whole, the Senate doesn’t seem to have known what it was debating at all.

You can watch the debate-shaped thing here, in an eight-hour video that doesn’t contain eight hours of war powers discussion. During speeches about the war, senators shouted and spoke of the need for urgency, invoking all of the usual language about the judgment of history. Between speeches, they took long pauses, and senators popped in with speeches on hockey, Netflix, healthcare, tax cuts, and housing shortages in Pennsylvania.

Somewhere around the middle, Colorado Democrat John Hickenlooper got in a campaign speech that mentioned the war while hitting all the major talking points of the day: job growth, rent, child care. Here’s a senator’s urgent contribution to a debate about a war powers resolution, with bombs currently falling: “According to Moody’s, the top 10% of U.S. households now account for nearly half of all spending. That means on paper the economy may look relatively good, but only for half of Americans. Half of Americans at the top. And while working families struggle to get by, the president has given an extra boost to the powerful and well-connected.” Hickenlooper’s office proudly posted a transcript, if you want to see it for yourself. You can feel how deeply he cares about stopping the war.

If you don’t have a habit of torturing yourself by watching legislative debate, you might have found yourself surprised by the coupling of a frequent recourse to rhetoric about urgency with an unmistakable lack of actual urgency. This is normal. It would take the United States Senate nine hours to evacuate a burning tour bus. They give viewers the sense of being the audience for bingo night at a convalescent home. (Read more from “Senate Debate On Iran War Turns Into Senile Men Shouting At Sky” HERE)

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Congress Votes to Summon Attorney General Bondi in Epstein Case

A congressional committee has voted to summon US Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify about the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The motion to subpoena Bondi was introduced by Nancy Mace, a Republican lawmaker, who accused the justice department of a “cover-up”. . .

“The Epstein case is one of the greatest cover-ups in American history. His global sex trafficking network is larger than what is being revealed,” Mace wrote on social media. . . 

On Wednesday, five Republicans, including Mace, and Representatives Lauren Boebert, Tim Burchett, Michael Cloud and Scott Perry, joined Democrats on the House Oversight committee to vote in favour of the subpoena or legal summons.

“Three million documents have been released, and we still don’t have the full truth,” Mace wrote. “Videos are missing. Audio is missing. Logs are missing. There are millions more documents out there.” (Read more from “Congress Votes to Summon Attorney General Bondi in Epstein Case” HERE)

Kristi Noem Confronted About Rumored Fling Playing White Knight While Husband Looks On

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem was confronted on Wednesday about her top adviser, Corey Lewandowski, reportedly firing a pilot on her behalf as rumors of an alleged affair continued to circulate.

Democratic Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin confronted Noem during the House Judiciary Committee’s “Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security” hearing about a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report that alleged Lewandowski fired a Coast Guard pilot after Noem’s blanket was left behind on a government jet. Noem’s husband, Bryon, sat quietly while Raskin mentioned Lewandowski, with whom she is rumored to have had an extramarital relationship.

“Apparently, when your special blanket, your blankie was left on one of the government jets and not transported over the new one, your special government employee, Corey Lewandowski, chivalrously stepped forward to fire the pilot mid-air. A 2003 Coast Guard graduate and distinguished U.S. Coast Guard Commander in Air Station, Washington D.C.,” Raskin said. “But then he had to be rehired immediately because there was no one else who could fly the two of you on the rest of the journey back home.”

Reports of an alleged extramarital relationship between Noem and Lewandowski have long circulated in political circles, which caused President Donald Trump to reject Lewandowski’s request to become Noem’s chief of staff, The WSJ reported. Trump reportedly knew about the relationship and repeatedly brought it up to associates.

A reporter asked Trump about the alleged relationship on Air Force One in February; Trump responded by saying he had no knowledge of the rumors and would “find out about it.” (Read more from “Kristi Noem Confronted About Rumored Fling Playing White Knight While Husband Looks On” HERE)

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Only One Republican Backs Failed Attempt To Restrict Trump’s Iran Military Action

The Senate voted down legislation Wednesday aimed at blocking President Donald Trump from taking military action against Iran without congressional approval.

Lawmakers in the upper chamber voted 52 to 48, giving Trump the greenlight to continue his strikes on Iran without worrying about Congress. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a cosponsor of the legislation, was the only Republican to vote with nearly every Democrat aiming to curb the president’s authority to use military force without first consulting Congress.

“They’ve [Iran has] been saying they’re one week away from a nuclear weapon, I think, since 1996,” Paul told reporters Wednesday. “The other thing is, ‘Oh no, we’re really been at war for 40 years, and now we’re just ending the war.’ I mean, most of the arguments don’t seem to hold water.”

Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman also broke with his party and sided with Republicans, even going as far as to commend Trump for taking out the oppressive regime.

“So for me, why can’t we just say, ‘look, this is a good thing the way we are,’” Fetterman said Wednesday. “And now, what’s the end game? Well, the end game is for more real peace, rather than just putting out tweets and statements saying we can never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb. When someone does something about that to make that happen, you know, I think we should just [be] country over party.” (Read more from “Only One Republican Backs Failed Attempt To Restrict Trump’s Iran Military Action” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Ex-Marine Dragged Out of Hearing After Anti-Iran War Protest

A man was violently dragged out of a Capitol Hill hearing on Wednesday, March 4, by police and a Republican Senator after interrupting the proceedings to protest the war in Iran.

Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana said he assisted officers in physically ejecting “an unhinged protester” from the Armed Services hearing.

The protester, Brian McGinnis, describes himself as a Marine veteran and is running as a Green Party candidate in North Carolina’s Senate race.

In another video posted online, McGinnis can be heard yelling: “America does not want to send its sons and daughters to war for Israel.”

This footage shows members of the Capitol Police attempting to remove McGinnis from the hearing room. McGinnis appeared to struggle with officers near the doorway when Sheehy stepped in.

(Read more from “Ex-Marine Dragged Out of Hearing After Anti-Iran War Protest” HERE)

Trump Plot to Steal Thomas Massie’s Staff Revealed

The extraordinary lengths President Donald Trump allegedly went to keep his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein out of the spotlight included trying to poach the staff of a GOP nemesis.

Rep. Thomas Massie claims key members of his team were offered more prestigious jobs in the Trump administration in an effort to stall legislation that would have forced the Department of Justice to release all documents linked to Jeffrey Epstein, according to The Atlantic.

The Kentucky libertarian told the magazine there was a “360-pressure campaign” from the Trump administration to derail his push for a congressional vote on releasing the so-called Epstein files last summer—pressure so intense it rippled across his entire orbit.

Most notably, Massie recalled multiple instances in which his staffers were offered administration posts or lucrative private-sector roles. One employee, he told The Atlantic, received an offer that would have doubled his salary just weeks before the House was set to vote on releasing the files.

“Did it ever occur to you that they might be offering you this job to basically make me less effective?” Massie said he asked the staffer. The aide, who turned down the job, replied, “That’s what my mom said.” (Read more from “Trump Plot to Steal Thomas Massie’s Staff Revealed” HERE)

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Even GOP Senators Rip Noem Over $220M Taxpayer-Funded TV Ads — Starring Her

Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem was ripped by even GOP senators Tuesday over her agency shelling out $220 million in taxpayer funds for TV ads — starring her.

Noem, 54, appeared on Capitol Hill for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing involving oversight of her department, and the whopping cost of the ad campaign targeting illegal migrants quickly took center stage.

“How do you square [cuts to DHS contracts] with the fact that you have spent $220 million running television advertisements that feature you prominently?” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said.

Noem replied, “Sir, the president tasked me with getting the message out to the country and to other countries with putting commercials out that if they were in the country illegally, that they needed to leave.”

The incredulous Republican said he couldn’t believe President Trump would have approved of the costly ad strategy.

“I’m not saying you’re not telling the truth. It’s just hard for me to believe,’’ he said. (Read more from “Even GOP Senators Rip Noem Over $220M Taxpayer-Funded TV Ads — Starring Her” HERE)

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Michigan Imam Mourns ‘Beloved’ Khamenei, Says He Was Martyred by ‘Wretched Hands,’ Slams U.S. Strike as ‘War Against Justice’

A Metro Detroit imam publicly praised Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a “martyr” in remarks delivered during a Ramadan program at his mosque amid joint U.S.-Israel operations in Iran and the death of the brutal dictator.

On Saturday in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, Mohammad Ali Elahi, spiritual leader of the Islamic House of Wisdom, delivered a eulogy for Khamenei during a livestreamed event at the mosque, as reported by the Middle East Media Research Institute.

lahi, an Iranian-born cleric who emigrated to the United States in 1991 and established the Islamic House of Wisdom in Metro Detroit, described the death of Khamenei as a profound loss and condemned U.S. military actions that preceded it.

Lamenting what he called the “depths of the tragedy,” Elahi characterized the “evil” and “ugly” operations in Iran as “a war against justice, against humanity, against morality, against legality, [and] against truth.”

(Read more from “Michigan Imam Mourns ‘Beloved’ Khamenei, Says He Was Martyred by ‘Wretched Hands,’ Slams U.S. Strike as ‘War Against Justice’” HERE)

Pentagon Identifies Four of Six U.S. Army Casualties During Iran Strikes

The Department of War (DOW) publicly identified four of the six U.S. Army casualties following the strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The four identified were Army Reserve Soldiers serving in support of Operation Epic Fury, with ages ranging from as young as 20 to as old as 42, including one woman.

Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida.
Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska.
Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa.

All those identified reportedly “died on March 1, 2026, in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, during an unmanned aircraft system attack.” They were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, Des Moines, Iowa.

(Read more from “Pentagon Identifies Four of Six U.S. Army Casualties During Iran Strikes” HERE)