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Obama-Appointed Judge Strikes Down Trump Order Requiring Proof of Citizenship to Vote in U.S. Elections

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A federal judge, appointed by former President Barack Obama, has permanently enjoined an executive order by President Donald Trump that sought to reinforce election integrity by requiring proof of American citizenship to vote in federal elections, among other reforms.

On Tuesday, Judge Denise Casper, appointed to the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts by Obama in 2010, ruled that Trump’s executive order demanding that the Election Assistance Commission include a proof-of-American-citizenship requirement in its national mail voter registration form is unconstitutional.

“The Court DECLARES that §§ 2(a), 3(d), 4(a), 7(a) and 7(b) of the Executive Order are unconstitutional and void because they are ultra vires and violate the separation of powers under the United States Constitution,” Casper writes:

The Court PERMANENTLY ENJOINS Defendants, except President Trump, from taking any action to implement or enforce § 2(a) of the Executive Order or otherwise taking any steps to require documentary proof of citizenship as part of the federal mail-in voter registration form provided for in 52 U.S.C. § 20508.

The Court PERMANENTLY ENJOINS Defendants, except President Trump, from taking any action to implement or enforce § 3(d) of the Executive Order or otherwise taking any steps to alter the federal post card form provided for in 52 U.S.C. § 20301(b)(2) to require either documentary proof of citizenship or proof of eligibility to vote in elections in the State in which the voter is attempting to vote.

(Read more from “Obama-Appointed Judge Strikes Down Trump Order Requiring Proof of Citizenship to Vote in U.S. Elections” HERE)

Trump gets Into Shouting Match with Sen. Bill Cassidy over Iran War in Closed-Door Meeting; ‘Cluster F*ck’: Trump’s Dramatic Feud With Senate Republicans Boils Over

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By Fox News. President Trump and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) got into a shouting match during a lunch meeting Wednesday over the US war with Iran, according to sources and lawmakers who were in attendance.

GOP senators described Trump as being “mad as a murder hornet” and raising his voice at the Louisiana Republican for joining three other Republicans in a vote limiting his wartime authority.

Cassidy — who later quipped that the talks went “swimmingly” — called the president “my brother” several times during the heated exchange to lower tensions, Senate GOP sources said. The president spat back that Cassidy wasn’t his brother and told him to sit down, per CNN.

“[Trump] did not particularly care for my comments, raised his voice, I lost my temper,” Cassidy later recounted to reporters. “It’s the Irish in me.”

“But again I matched his tone and his volume, and it went back and forth,” he further explained. “So I sat down and tried to de-escalate. I guess my point is, though, that the American people need to know more than we are being told. The Senate needs to know.”

Cassidy lost his reelection to the Senate this year, when Trump backed his primary opponent in Louisiana. (Read more from “Trump gets Into Shouting Match with Sen. Bill Cassidy over Iran War in Closed-Door Meeting” HERE)

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‘Cluster F*ck’: Trump’s Dramatic Feud With Senate Republicans Boils Over

By Daily Caller. President Donald Trump’s highly anticipated appearance at the Senate Republicans’ weekly lunch took a turn for the worse, deepening the ideological fault lines between Congress and the White House.

Trump met with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and his Republican colleagues Wednesday to address disagreements on policies related to the Iran war and his flagship election integrity bill, known as the SAVE America Act.

These tensions reached a boiling point after Trump canceled the signing of a major bipartisan housing bill moments before the lunch was set to take place, in an attempt to further pressure the Senate to make progress on the SAVE America Act.

The lunch quickly escalated after Republican Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy — who is serving his last term after Trump backed a successful primary challenger — unloaded on the president for the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. A person familiar with the conversations told the Caller that Cassidy “went nuts over Iran,” saying the two got into a shouting match.

Trump reportedly told Cassidy to sit down and called him a “lunatic” when he refused. Cassidy also referred to Trump as “brother,” leading Trump to push back and say he wasn’t his “brother.”

(Read more from “‘Cluster F*ck’: Trump’s Dramatic Feud With Senate Republicans Boils Over” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Republicans Break with Trump to Rebuke Iran War — but it Won’t Change Policy

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Senate Democrats scored another win in pushing back against President Donald Trump’s war in Iran on Tuesday, but the symbolic victory won’t actually curb his war powers in the region.

Aided by absences from Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Dave McCormick, R-Pa., Democrats and a handful of Republicans passed a war powers resolution rebuking the conflict in Iran. It’s the same resolution that passed the House earlier this month in a rare display of House Republicans breaking with Trump.

Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Bill Cassidy, R-La., joined nearly every Senate Democrat to adopt the resolution on a 50 to 48 vote.

But unlike several previous attempts in the Senate to curb Trump’s authority, the House-passed measure does not carry any legally binding weight and won’t go to the president’s desk for his signature, where it would likely be vetoed.

Still, after stumbling last week, Democrats notched another victory against the war. (Read more from “Republicans Break with Trump to Rebuke Iran War — but it Won’t Change Policy” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Trump’s Iran Agreement Embraces Sanctions Relief, a Policy He and His Team Once Denounced

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For years, President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance argued against deals that provided financial concessions to Iran, saying that giving the regime money fuels terror. But now the agreement they’ve reached to end the war with Tehran is poised to hand the regime billions.

For the better part of a decade, Trump’s central indictment of former President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal was simple: Giving Tehran access to frozen assets enriched a dangerous regime and got the United States little in return.

Trump’s current secretary of state and vice president went even further, co-sponsoring legislation as senators that argued Iranian frozen funds could not be safely released because the money, even with rules governing its use, could end up being utilized in a dangerous way.

Now, all three are backing an agreement that spells out US commitments to potentially release those funds and lift sanctions on Tehran but leaves specific details on Iran’s nuclear program to future negotiations.

Administration officials have downplayed the significance of the written document and said the movement of any money will be performance-based. They also have said the atmosphere of this deal is different from previous ones because the US has degraded Iran’s military. (Read more from “Trump’s Iran Agreement Embraces Sanctions Relief, a Policy He and His Team Once Denounced” HERE)

Fed-Up Trump Threatens to ‘blow the s–t’ Out of Iran — Prompting Tehran to Storm out of US Peace Talks

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By New York Post. Iranian negotiators stormed out of the high-level peace talks with the US in Switzerland on Sunday after a frustrated President Trump unleashed his fury on the regime — threatening to seize the Strait of Hormuz and “blow the s–t out of them.”

The talks were abandoned after just 80 minutes when the discussions entered a “difficult phase” following “an insulting message by the US president,” Iran’s state news agency reported.

Vice President JD Vance, who was spearheading the negotiations, had earlier said the US hoped to “turn over a new leaf” with the Islamic Republic.

The talks in the Qatari-owned mountaintop resort of Buergenstock in Switzerland were the first to be held under the terms ‌of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreed a week ago.

But hopes of progress were swiftly dashed, and the diplomatic efforts were cut off when Trump, who had been criticized for being too soft on the regime with the MOU, warned that the US would hammer Iran if it didn’t open the Strait of Hormuz and rein in its terrorist proxies. (Read more from “Fed-Up Trump Threatens to ‘blow the s–t’ Out of Iran — Prompting Tehran to Storm out of US Peace Talks” HERE)

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Major dispute to threaten Trump’s Iran deal over billions in frozen Tehran funds: expert

By Fox News. As U.S. and Iranian negotiators met in Switzerland on Sunday, a regional analyst warned that a dispute over billions in potentially unfrozen Iranian assets could quickly test the durability of a fledgling interim agreement.

The disagreement is emerging, they say, as Washington and Tehran begin implementing the memorandum of understanding signed June 17, with negotiators holding the first round of talks at Bürgenstock, near Lucerne, Switzerland.

According to Iran International, President Masoud Pezeshkian had signaled Tehran’s expectations early Sunday, saying, “$6 billion of our funds in Qatar will be returned. Trump, who tried to deny Iran its rights, acknowledged them in his recent speech.”

The dispute traces back to discussions at the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, where world leaders debated the issue.

“We have taken their money, it isn’t our money, it is their money, and we froze it,” President Donald Trump said. “At a certain point in time, I guess we’re going to have to give it back.” (Read more from “Major dispute to threaten Trump’s Iran deal over billions in frozen Tehran funds: expert” HERE)

Fox Host Mark Levin Is Now Trashing Trump

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Fox News host Mark Levin accused President Donald Trump of “trashing” and “bullying” Israel, in recent posts on X and during the monologue of his Saturday show.

During a Thursday press conference, Vice President JD Vance criticized Israeli officials who “attacked” the memorandum of understanding Trump signed with Iran, setting up a 60-day period of negotiations to secure a final peace deal. Levin tore into Trump during a rant which lasted for over 17 minutes Saturday night.

“I want to say to people in and out of the administration: stop trashing, smearing, bullying the little state of Israel. Stop cozying up to and telling us that the enemy regime in Iran is now more rational, more moderate, and a regime that we can deal with,” Levin demanded. “When just a few months ago they slaughtered 50,000 people, they’re still hanging young people today and, if they had a nuclear missile today, they’d fire it into our country as sure as I’m alive.”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but if people think they can bully a little country, Israel — a people that have existed 4,000 years through the Babylonians and the Persians, through the Romans and the Third Reich — into surrendering their defense and their decision on how to secure their country, they get another thing coming,” Levin continued. “I think it’s outrageous.”

Levin also took potshots at Trump on social media, including referencing the $400 million Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar which was converted into a new airframe in support of the Air Force One presidential airlift mission. The two government-ordered Boeing 747-8 aircraft are suffering overruns and delays pushing their delivery past 2028. (Read more from “Fox Host Mark Levin Is Now Trashing Trump” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Meloni Slams Trump’s Claim She ‘Begged’ for a Photo with Him as Italy’s Top Diplomat Cancels US Trip

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The Italian government closed ranks on Friday to slam U.S. President Donald Trump over his claim that Premier Giorgia Meloni had “begged” for a photo with him during the recent G7 summit, a pushback that suggested America’s longtime European ally had had enough of Trump’s boasting and criticism.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani abruptly cancelled a planned trip to the United States this weekend, calling Trump’s claims “serious and offensive” toward Meloni and all of Italy. The Foreign Ministry later announced that the business and scientific forum Tajani was to attend in Miami had also been called off.

Meloni for her part posted a video calling Trump’s claims “completely fabricated” and expressing astonishment that he would invent such things about an ally.

“Italy and I do not beg,” she said pointedly. (Read more from “Meloni slams Trump’s claim she ‘begged’ for a photo with him as Italy’s top diplomat cancels US trip” HERE)

White House Spars with MAGA Allies as Iran Deal Sparks Conservative Revolt

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The Trump White House is lashing out at some of its most reliable allies as a bitter civil war erupts on the right over the administration’s controversial Iran agreement.

Conservative commentator Batya Ungar-Sargon became the latest target Friday after she blasted the deal as an “utter humiliation” for the US and accused Vice President JD Vance of unfairly attacking Israel while defending Tehran.

Within hours the official White House rapid-response account on X unloaded on the conservative pundit in a pair of scathing posts.

“The only humiliation here is Batya desperately begging for an additional brain cell because her failing TV show is even more irrelevant than the likes of Kaitlan Collins and Fake Tapper,” the account, Rapid Response 47, wrote.

Collins, CNN’s chief White House correspondent and the host of a primetime show, has been a frequent target of Trump, as has Jake Tapper, the host of the network’s daily political wrap-up show “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”

(Read more from “White House Spars with MAGA Allies as Iran Deal Sparks Conservative Revolt” HERE)

Mark Levin Calls Out JD Vance Directly as MAGA Civil War Heats Up

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By Mediaite. Shortly after Vance made his comments, Levin fired off a tweet that read, “I think it’s terrific that people who will likely seek the GOP nomination for president are revealing themselves. Amazing how Iran is being talked about as increasingly reasonable and moderate as Israel is being smeared left and Woke Right.” . . .

Shortly after Vance made his comments, Levin fired off a tweet that read, “I think it’s terrific that people who will likely seek the GOP nomination for president are revealing themselves. Amazing how Iran is being talked about as increasingly reasonable and moderate as Israel is being smeared left and Woke Right.”

“Here’s a novel idea: stop bullying our ally and cozying up to our enemy,” he added in a follow-up.

In an earlier tweet on Thursday, Levin responded to Vance’s declaration that he is “not uncomfortable” with the idea of a photo op alongside Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf.

“Fwiw, bad idea,” commented Levin. “You’ll regret it certainly down the road. But always a bad idea to stand with a top official of a terrorist regime that killed and maimed thousands of Americans and tens of thousands of Iranians just a few months ago.”

(Read more from “Mark Levin Calls Out JD Vance Directly as MAGA Civil War Heats Up” HERE)

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JD Vance Makes Stunning Veiled Threat To Israel Amid Trump Criticism: ‘Wake Up And Smell The Reality!’

By Mediaite. Vice President JD Vance issued a stunning veiled warning to Israel amid dissent over President Donald Trump’s 14-point Memorandum of Understanding with Iran. . .

When Vance was asked about the crack at Thursday’s White House press briefing, he gave a stark response, cautioning Israeli critics that Trump and the United States are their only friends and demanding they “wake up and smell the reality of the situation”:

GATEWAY PUNDIT’S JORDAN CONRADSON: Jordan Conradson with the Gateway Pundit. I want to talk back to the Lebanon component.

There’s a report in Axios that Netanyahu is fuming over this. Israel doesn’t feel bound to MOU as it relates to Lebanon.

As you mentioned, your frustration with Israel striking in Beiruit hitting apartment buildings.

If that continues, could it torpedo the deal? And what would the US’s response be to a broader war in Lebanon involving Israel?

VICE PRESIDENT JD VANCE: Yeah, well, I don’t want to get into hypotheticals that could torpedo the deal because I think the president’s expectation is that all of our friends, the Israelis, the Arabs in the region, we’re going to work together and actually see this deal to completion.

Now, I saw the Axios report that Netanyahu is fuming. That’s not reflective of the conversations that I’ve had with him, but maybe he’s saying something to somebody else that he’s not saying to me.

What I will say, and this does bother me, is that you’ve seen people within Bibi’s cabinet who have come out and attacked the deal and in some ways very personally attacked the President of the United States.

And I guess my message to them would be twofold.

Number one, Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time. And he happens to be the head of state of the world superpower.

If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world.

And the second message I would give to some of those cabinet members, Bibi, to his credit, has not gone down this path. But to some of these cabinet members in Israel who are attacking the President of the United States, the other thing that I would say is that over the last three months… Two-thirds of the defensive weapons that have protected your homeland have been built by American hands and paid for by American tax dollars.

The problem for Israel is not Donald J. Trump. And anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the President of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation that country is in. Thank you all.

(Read more from “JD Vance Makes Stunning Veiled Threat To Israel Amid Trump Criticism: ‘Wake Up And Smell The Reality!’” HERE)

Trump Confirms Peace Deal with Iran Is ‘Complete’, to Be Signed in Switzerland

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President Donald Trump confirmed that a peace deal with Iran was “complete,” and added that the Strait of Hormuz was re-opening, and that the U.S. Navy’s blockade of the strait would come to an end.

“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” Trump wrote in Truth Social post. “Congratulations to all! I hereby authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif shared in a post on X that after “intensive talks” both the United States and Iran had reached a peace deal. Sharif added that the “official signing ceremony” for the peace deal would take place on Friday, June 19 in Switzerland.

“Following intensive talks, we are pleased to announce that the Peace Deal between the United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran has been REACHED,” Sharif said. “Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”

“The official signing ceremony will be on Friday, 19 June in Switzerland,” Sharif added.

(Read more from “Trump Confirms Peace Deal with Iran Is ‘Complete’, to Be Signed in Switzerland” HERE)