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Karger Demands Feds Investigate Brian Brown’s Secret Trip To Russia As Possibly Criminal

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Fred Karger is asking Secretary of State John Kerry and Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate National Organization for Marriage (NOM) president Brian Brown‘s secret trip to Russia. A centuries-old federal law, the Logan Act, makes it a felony for U.S. citizens to negotiate with foreign governments against America’s interests. Brown reportedly addressed Russian lawmakers in an attempt to get them to pass sweeping anti-gay legislation.

Karger is the first gay Republican presidential candidate in American history. He founded Rights Equal Rights, (formerly Californians Against Hate,) and has spent years investigating and suing NOM for violation of federal political finance laws, including their repeated refusal to disclose their donors.

LOOK: NOM’s Brian Brown Went To Russia To Stop 600,000 Orphans From Being Adopted By Gays

“It has recently come to my attention that a citizen of the United States, Brian S. Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) may have violated the Logan Act by recently collaborating with Russian Duma (Parliament) officials without prior authorization of the United States government,” the letter from Karger to Eric Holder and John Kerry reads. “The Logan Act (18 U.S.C.A. § 953 [1948]) is a single federal statute making it a crime for a citizen to confer with foreign governments against the interests of the United States.”

Brown, which Right Wing Watch first reported last week, and as The New Civil Rights Movement also reported, made a secret trip to Russia and formally addressed the Russian government in a reported attempt to influence the outcome of bills that make discussion of homosexuality and parenting by LGBT people and same-sex couples illegal.

“The presentations by NOM’s Brian Brown were apparently very effective,” Karger’s letter states. “Five days later, the Duma passed a ban on the adoption of Russian children by same-sex couples and by single people living in countries that allow marriage equality.”

Immediately after Mr. Brown’s meetings and testimony in the Russian capital, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a severe crackdown on LGBT rights, affecting all LGBT visitors to Russia to include Americans.

If Mr. Brown did travel to Moscow with French religious leaders with the express intention of furthering discrimination against LGBT Russians and all LGBT travelers to Russia, this could be in direct conflict with current United States laws.

It has been widely reported that Mr. Putin’s crackdown against LGBT rights in Russia was in part responsible for President Obama’s cancelation of his much-anticipated visit to Moscow in August for talks with Russian President Putin.

Karger told Then New Civil Rights Movement via an email conversation that “[i]f in fact Brian Brown did meet with Russian officials without the express consent of the United States government he could face serious consequences in this country. We cannot have American citizens lobbying foreign governments on issues that may harm our interests.”

He added, “I hope that the Obama Administration will immediately investigate Brian Brown’s actions and all details of his secret trip to Russia which occurred just four months ago.”

 

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Vulgar Trump Boast Claims Credit for Olympics—and Blames ‘Rigged’ Race for Comeback

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President Donald Trump’s remarks at the Kennedy Center board dinner Monday night included a vulgar expression, a conspiracy theory about the 2020 election, pointed criticism, unfounded self-congratulatory claims, and a suggestion of political retribution.

“What a group of good friends,” Trump told the Kennedy Center’s leadership at the White House event, The Daily Beast reported. “We’re gonna bring this place back. It’s not so good. I thought it was gonna be beautiful.”

Trump also “accused Kennedy Center’s previous leadership of wasting millions of dollars on ‘rampant political propaganda, DEI, and inappropriate shows.'”

“Who thinks of these ideas?” he asked. “We’re bringing our country back so fast.”

READ MORE: Leavitt’s Deficit Denial and the First Ever Trillion-Dollar Defense Budget Built on It

In remarks promoted by the White House Director of Communications, Steven Cheung (video below), an unleashed Trump did not hold back.

The President told the captive audience, “we got the Olympics, and then we got through Johnny, the boss, we got — he’s a friend of mine — we got the World Cup. I got ’em both. And I said, ‘Man, I won’t be president. I won’t be — I got the Olympics and the World Cup, and I won’t be president. And they’re gonna forget that I got them. Nobody’s gonna mention it, because, you know, a little bit, that’s the way life is.'”

Trump’s lament continued: “And then they rig the election.”

“And then I said, ‘You know what I’ll do? I’ll run again, and I’ll shove it up their a–,'” Trump said, to applause. “And that’s what I did, and all of a sudden, I then realized, I said, ‘You know what? I got the Olympics, I got the World Cup, and I got the 250th [anniversary].”

READ MORE: No Trump, No FEMA? Tornado Ravaged City’s Mayor Pleads for Federal Assistance

“So if they would have left us alone and wouldn’t have cheated on the election and wouldn’t have rigged it, I would have been retired right now. I would have been happily doing something else, and instead they have me for four more years. Can you believe it?”

HuffPost noted that Trump “appointed himself chair of the Kennedy Center earlier this year amid a pro-MAGA purge of the historically bipartisan organization.”

The video, posted to Cheung’s official account on X, has been viewed over 300,000 times in just 12 hours.

Watch below or at this link.

READ MORE: White House Scrambles to Clean Up Trump’s Walmart ‘Rage Tweeting’ Amid Upcoming ‘Standoff’

 

Image via Reuters

 

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Leavitt’s Deficit Denial and the First Ever Trillion-Dollar Defense Budget Built on It

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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is bragging that President Donald Trump has submitted the largest budget ever for the Pentagon: one trillion dollars, about $150 billion more than President Joe Biden’s final budget request. Critics are blasting the White House for insisting that the Republicans’ new budget—which guts Medicaid, reduces taxes (primarily for the wealthy), and eliminates the Department of Education, does not increase the deficit.

“He’s gonna be the first president to introduce a trillion-dollar budget,” Secretary Hegseth told Fox News’ Will Cain on Monday (video below). “That’s not just spending more. It’s also being serious about an audit. It’s also finding cuts where we pull out the Biden garbage and put in President Trump’s priorities. So we’re going to invest a generational investment in those capabilities.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked on Monday if President Trump is “okay with this bill adding to the deficit?”

READ MORE: No Trump, No FEMA? Tornado Ravaged City’s Mayor Pleads for Federal Assistance

“This bill does not add to the deficit,” Leavitt insisted, before claiming that it “will save $1.6 trillion.”

Economist Justin Wolfers appeared to disagree, posting a chart that shows that the GOP/Trump budget legislation increases the deficit by more than one-third.

The Hill reported that the “tax portion of Republicans’ wide-ranging bill full of President Trump’s domestic priorities would cost $3.7 trillion over the next decade, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) found.”

“Tables from the JCT, which is the official revenue scoring body of Congress, show that extensions of the 2017 tax cuts and other measures will add about $5.6 trillion to the deficit, while cuts to renewable energy incentives and amped international tax enforcement will reduce the deficit by about $1.9 trillion.”

READ MORE: White House Scrambles to Clean Up Trump’s Walmart ‘Rage Tweeting’ Amid Upcoming ‘Standoff’

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) commented, “It doesn’t ‘save’ a $1 trillion, it slashes it from programs like Medicaid and SNAP, kicking millions of Americans off their healthcare and nutrition programs You also forgot to mention the other $3-4 trillion being spent on tax cuts for the wealthy that’ll explode our deficit.”

The Wall Street Journal delivered more math, saying that the GOP “plan won’t reduce federal budget deficits and would make America’s fiscal hole deeper.”

“The current proposal would increase projected budget deficits by nearly $3 trillion through 2034, locking in tax cuts and spending increases that outweigh reductions in spending on Medicaid and nutrition assistance. While Republicans, who have vowed to reduce red ink, say higher economic growth will fill the gap, budget analysts across the political spectrum have panned the Republican plan, warning that it worsens the U.S. fiscal picture.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

RELATED: ‘Bonanza for Billionaires’: Johnson Celebrates ‘Victory’ of Medicaid-Gutting Tax Cuts Bill

Image via Reuters 

 

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No Trump, No FEMA? Tornado Ravaged City’s Mayor Pleads for Federal Assistance

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At least 28 people across three states were killed when tornadoes struck Kentucky, Missouri, and Virginia on Friday, with a governor and a mayor calling them among the worst they’ve ever seen. Unseen, however, has been any acknowledgment or support from President Donald Trump or, according to some reports, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“What we need right now is federal assistance,” declared St. Louis, Missouri Mayor Cara Spencer on MSNBC (video below) on Monday, “we need federal assistance.”

“This is where FEMA and the federal government has got to come in and help communities,” Mayor Spencer urged. “Our city cannot shoulder this alone. The State of Missouri cannot shoulder this alone. We need partners at the national level, at the federal level to step up and help.”

Spencer explained, “this is what the federal government is for. We need your help, we need the help of the broader community.”

READ MORE: White House Scrambles to Clean Up Trump’s Walmart ‘Rage Tweeting’ Amid Upcoming ‘Standoff’

“FEMA has not been on the ground—we do not have confirmed assistance from FEMA at this point,” Spencer said. “I do want to say, however, every other level of government has been on the ground with us, helping in every capacity possible. But when you have a disaster of this scale, eight miles of just pure destruction, this tornado didn’t just touch down and leave, this tornado ripped through our community for a full eight miles in the city of St. Louis, and this is an area that has needed help, that we need investment, you know, our North St. Louis has been neglected for a long time, and we need the help of our partners here.”

At a news conference, Spencer had called it “one of the worst storms,” ABC News reported. She said that “the devastation is truly heartbreaking—and let’s not forget people have lost their lives. We are continuing to make sure that we are identifying all those that are injured, in addition to the massive amount of property damage that has taken a huge toll.”

Tornadoes were reported in three more states, bringing the total to six states and 26 tornadoes.

“Over 462,000 customers were without power across multiple states, stretching from Michigan to Tennessee.”

As of publication time, NCRM was unable to find anything from President Donald Trump on his Truth Social page about the tornadoes’ death and destruction. It does not appear he has offered support or guidance, nor has he suggested he will visit the areas.

“You can not only see the destruction, you can feel it,” Kentucky Democratic Governor Andy Beshear told reporters on Saturday as he toured his state, according to ABC. “Beshear, who declared a state of emergency ahead of the storms, said he’s been governor for at least 13 federally declared disasters related to weather and this storm was one of the worst in terms of loss of life and damage.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a social media post made no mention of FEMA, but said that she had spoken to Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, “to offer federal resources and action for the deadly tornadoes and storms impacting Missouri, Kentucky, and Illinois.”

READ MORE: ‘Bonanza for Billionaires’: Johnson Celebrates ‘Victory’ of Medicaid-Gutting Tax Cuts Bill

She suggested that the federal government would take a back seat to local efforts.

“We discussed how while emergency management is best led by local authorities, we reinforced that DHS stands ready to take immediate action to offer resources and support,” Noem wrote on Saturday. “Local emergency managers should swiftly notify people in the affected areas to take action to protect themselves and their belongings. DHS stands ready to help when a state needs, requests, and declares an emergency.”

Fred Wellman, an Army combat veteran and host of the “On Democracy” podcast from the St. Louis area, on Saturday wrote: “Yesterday my hometown was hit with massive tornadoes. We weren’t expecting them in places that have never been hit before and have no idea who will help us. FEMA is all but dead and our state is run by Republicans that hate the city. This is the canary in the coal mine.”

On his Substack he noted: “A tornado went through my town yesterday, and no one in this entire country is going to help us….and the ones that should are fine with that.”

Monday morning he added, “here we are two days later and not one peep from Trump or even a response from FEMA at all. 5 dead, 5,000 homes damaged, $1.6B in damage and not even a s—– Truth social post or email from FEMA.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Deeply Fascist’: Massive Banner of Trump on Government Building Sparks ‘North Korea’ Vibes

 

Image via Reuters

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