(SAN FRANCISCO) -- Federal prosecutors are seeking a maximum sentence for the man who was convicted of breaking into former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco home and attacking her husband Paul with a hammer in 2022.
The Department of Justice filed a sentencing memorandum Friday in anticipation of next week's sentencing of David DePape, saying he should be held in prison for 40 years for his crimes.
DePape was convicted in November for the Oct. 28, 2022, break-in and attack of Paul Pelosi.
Paul Pelosi, 84, suffered a skull fracture and was hospitalized for six days. The attack was captured on police body camera footage by officers who responded to the scene.
Federal prosecutors contend that the crime was an act of terrorism and that DePape should get more than the guidelines.
"The defendant planned a violent hostage-taking of the Speaker Emerita, and then nearly killed her husband. The defendant planned and unleashed violence and has stayed true to his belief that the actions were necessary," prosecutors said in the sentencing memorandum.
The attempted kidnapping charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison while DePape's second charge carries a maximum of 30 years in prison. Federal prosecutors asked that 20 years of the second charge run consecutively with the first count instead of concurrently.
DePape admitted on the stand that he broke into the home because he wanted to speak with Rep. Pelosi about what he claimed was Russian interference in the 2020 election. He claimed that Paul Pelosi was not his target.
DePape told investigators if she told the truth, he said he "would let her go, and if she 'lied' he was going to break 'her kneecaps,'" according to the criminal complaint.
"The violent lessons that the defendant wanted to teach are not permitted in this country, and the sentence that this court imposes must reflect the nature and circumstances of the offense," federal prosecutors said in the memorandum. In addition to the 40-year prison sentence, federal prosecutors want eight years of supervised release when DePape does get out of prison.
DePape's attorney did not immediately comment on the government's recommendations.
DePape is also facing state charges in connection with the attack including attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
(WASHINGTON) -- Although congressional Republicans have been slamming President Joe Biden over his decision to withhold certain bomb shipments to Israel, such a move is not unprecedented, as they've claimed.
Previous presidents, including Republican ones, have withheld aid to send a clear message to Israel and other allies, a foreign policy expert told ABC News.
However, given Biden's dispute with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu over a planned major invasion of Rafah and the risk of civilian casualties -- combined with political unrest in the U.S. – his move carries a heavier risk, said Michael Sullivan, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.
"This is all part of security cooperation," Sullivan said. "At the end of the day, the president has the right to use every tool he can in his toolbox."
Sullivan, a retired U.S. Army colonel who was involved with U.S. arms transfers, noted that Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush both halted key aid to Israel during their terms over concerns about Israeli actions.
In the summer of 1981, President Reagan held back the delivery of U.S. fighter jets to Israel for two months after it bombed a nuclear reactor in Iraq.
In July 1982, he halted a shipment of cluster shells to Israel over how Israel used the weapons during its invasion of Lebanon. American officials at the time were reviewing if the use of the weapons violated an agreement between the U.S. and Israel.
In March 1992, President Bush delayed a $10 billion loan to Israel over concerns about Israel going forward with settlements in the West Bank.
Sullivan said that there wasn't much political criticism of Reagan or Bush's aid pauses both domestically and internationally because the conflict in the Middle East was not at the front and center of foreign policy as it is today.
"Even when you had that rift there was still a clear understanding of U.S.-Israeli foreign policy and everybody moved on," he said.
Numerous factors involving the current conflict, including the increased political polarization in Washington, have created a different environment for the president creating more scrutiny, according to Sullivan.
The Biden administration told Israel last week that it would withhold the shipment of 3,500 bombs due to its concerns over an offensive into Rafah and the threat that posed to more than one million Palestinian civilians seeking refuge there.
Biden told CNN Wednesday that Israel has used those American weapons to kill civilians in its war on Hamas in Gaza.
"I'm not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities," Biden said.
The president and other White House officials have stressed their commitment to support Israel.
"And my commitment to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and its right to exist as an independent Jewish state is ironclad, even when we disagree," Biden said Tuesday in the U.S. Holocaust Museum's Days of Remembrance speech.
Several Senate Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham, have blasted Biden's move.
Graham said Israel is fighting a "just war" and making efforts to warn civilians before attacks.
"I think Israel is in a fight for its life that the reason so many Palestinians have been killed is because Hamas has command centers under hospitals. Don't reward their behavior," the South Carolina senator said at a news conference along with nine GOP colleagues.
Sullivan said the Republicans' objections not only ignored the precedent set by previous administrations when it comes to U.S-Israel policy, but also the fundamental understanding of the powers of the president when it comes to foreign relations.
"What I really think is that it's the politics of it, and everyone is looking for an advantage in an election year, but at the end of the day, President Biden is the commander-in-chief and he has the legal right to pause a military shipment," he said.
McConnell and other Republicans also accused Biden of caving into the pressure from pro-Palestinian protesters from around the country who have called for a cease-fire and colleges and universities to divest from Israel because of civilian deaths.
Sullivan said it's unclear how much the protests played into Biden's decision and it was more likely driven by the escalating concerns specifically about Rafah.
"We were getting closer to a cease-fire, and we have repeatedly urged Israel not to go into Rafah because of the humanitarian crisis. At this point it is, timing-wise, the right time to send that message," he said.
Sullivan emphasized that Biden's move did not end military aid to Israel and the nation still has enough firepower to defend itself or launch an attack on Rafah.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby did not have a timeline on how long the hold on the shipment will last, stating Thursday he believed "a lot is going to depend on what we see in Israel do in Rafah and in their planning for Rafah."
Sullivan said it is hard to predict the short-term outcome of Biden's action given the volatility of the situation.
"[Biden] and his administration has to know there will be costs to that decision whether it's politically or militarily," he said.
Netanyahu said in a statement that Israeli forces are still committed to a Rafah invasion.
However, Sullivan said that the U.S. weapons halt will still have an influence on Israeli operations and predicted other such pauses are on the table.
"Right now, Benjamin Netanyahu has every right to disagree and do what he wants to do, but now he has the understanding that if the U.S. doesn't agree, there are sticks as well as carrots," he said.
ABC News' Allison Pecorin and Conor Finnegan contributed to this report.
(ATLANTA) -- While President Joe Biden's slim victory over former President Donald Trump in Georgia last election cycle broke a nearly 30-year losing streak for Democratic presidential candidates in the state, his win also sparked Trump's attack against the legitimacy of the election itself.
While many issues -- from the economy to immigration -- are animating voters in the state, 2020 election denial still looms over the 2024 race in Georgia, where Trump has pleaded not guilty to 10 criminal counts over his alleged efforts to overturn the election there nearly four years ago.
But Biden's lackluster approval, and charges he hasn't lived up to some campaign promises, call into question whether the president can reassemble the coalition that delivered him his slimmest margin of victory -- less than a quarter of a percentage point -- over Trump in 2020.
"There's no question that this is going to be a close election," Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, a top Biden ally in the state, told ABC News senior congressional correspondent Rachel Scott.
Trump currently leads Biden in Georgia by an average of 5.5 percentage points, according to 538's polling average.
Warnock -- who has been on the ballot five times over a two-year span -- knows Georgia voters well. His advice to the president this election: "Keep telling the story about the work that we are doing."
To win in November, Biden needs to turn out voters -- and in particular, Black voters -- in metro Atlanta's densely populated Democratic strongholds. That includes the state's most populous county -- Fulton -- where Cascade Skating roller rink, a mainstay in Atlanta's Black community, is located.
Cascade owner Greg Alexander, who is planning to vote for Biden, said he "cannot in good conscience support Donald Trump," but he also said that Biden needs to do a better job selling his record.
"What I'm hearing is, what has Biden done for the country? What has been done for Black people?" Alexander told Scott. "I think if he's going to be successful in this go around, he has to really focus on getting the word out on, 'This is what I've done, this is what I stand for.'"
Navy veteran Bucky Bassette, a skater ABC News spoke to at Cascade, said he is still undecided about who he will support in November.
"What frustrates you most with President Biden?" Scott asked Bassette.
"I don't like to be pandered to," he said. "I don't like anyone to tell me who, who I should vote for. And I feel like a lot of times, you know, the Democratic Party at times does do that."
Bassette said he may sit out the election altogether -- and he's not alone. A January poll from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that 1 in 10 Black Georgia voters do not plan to vote in the presidential election this year.
Warnock said he believes Georgia voters, including Black voters, will "show up" for the president.
"Not to vote is to vote -- it is to push Donald Trump a little bit closer to the White House. And that is a dangerous proposition," he said.
A Trump victory, however, is what several voters ABC News met in Georgia are hoping for.
Tommy Thomas, the owner of Thomas Barber Shop in the affluent Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, supports Trump and is optimistic about his prospects in November, telling Scott, "I think if people look at their pocketbooks, I think they're gonna change your mind this time."
But to retake the state, Trump will also have to win back voters who have soured on him since the last election, voters like Lynn Dinkins, a self-described "big Nikki Haley supporter."
While Dinkins supported Trump in 2020, this time, she says his priorities are off.
"I feel like there's just so much drama associated with him at the moment, and I'm not convinced that he is necessarily focused on the issues at hand right now," she told Scott.
Out in Rockmart, Georgia, a city of about 5,000 people in Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's congressional district, support for the former president was strong.
"I like his vibe," said Bill Sportiello, the owner of local bar and grill, The Rails at Rockmart.
He said life was better for him during the Trump administration, and that Trump's legal issues are not a concern for him.
"I'm a businessman myself, and I feel it's more of a witch hunt than anything," he told Scott.
Sharon Capes, a patron at The Rails, told Scott that Trump's legal issues make her support the former president even more, and that she would "absolutely" still support Trump if he were convicted of a crime.
"No questions asked, no questions asked," she said. "I would bail him out if I could afford it."
Capes echoed Trump's false claims that the last election was stolen. Asked by Scott what would make her trust the election this time, Capes said she would probably trust it "if Trump wins."
Gabriel Sterling, the chief operations officer in the Georgia secretary of state's office, said that position undermines American democracy.
"What happens if he wins Georgia, but loses the country. Do you accept it then? What happens if he loses Georgia, but wins the country -- do you accept it then?" Sterling told Scott in an interview. "I mean, you can't base your belief in the outcome based on whether your side wins or not. That's just not logical."
A lifelong Republican, Sterling supported Trump in 2020. But when Trump refused to accept that he lost the election, Sterling became one of the loudest voices defending Georgia's election.
His plea to voters this cycle: Have faith in the system.
"Anybody saying, 'I feel safe about my vote here, but I don't know about those guys over there -- we do know about those guys over there.' It's a little bit different, but it's safe and secure everywhere in America," he said.
(WASHINGTON) -- Department of Veterans Affairs officials improperly approved nearly $11 million in bonuses to senior executives intended for other workers, a department watchdog said in a new report.
The money was recently allocated by Congress and intended to be used to recruit "critical skill" employees but ended up in the hands of senior executives in the VA's central Washington office, according to an inspector general's report posted Thursday.
The funds, authorized by the Pact Act, were meant to be incentives in hiring and retaining specialists needed to process billion in new benefits for veterans dealing with health issues from being exposed to burn pits. Agent Orange and other toxic hazards.
The IG report said the money was paid instead as bonuses to more than 180 senior executives last year, with several taking home more than $100,000.
The average bonus paid out was over $55,000, the report said.
The Washington Post first reported the results of the inspector general's investigation.
The IG said the improperly approved bonuses were due, in part, to breakdowns in leadership and controls at multiple levels of the VA.
The IG recommended the "Secretary of Veterans Affairs or his designee takes appropriate action to determine whether individuals involved in the decision-making process ... had any actual or apparent conflicts of interest and develop a process to ensure all decision-makers are free from conflicts when awarding future incentives."
When Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough in September ordered the executives to return the money, most did or agreed to do so, but 19 have challenged having to repay the bonuses, the IG report said.
(BALTIMORE) -- Maryland's Democratic Senate primary is careening toward a bitter finish as voters decide who to nominate in an unexpectedly competitive race in the deep blue bastion.
Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and Rep. David Trone are the two main contenders in a primary that has sparked debates over everything from money in politics to electability to Democrats' commitment to diversity to Senate control.
Trone, the wealthy founder of Total Wine & More and two-term congressman, has dumped more than $50 million of his own money into the race, has racked up endorsements from congressional colleagues and has insinuated that Alsobrooks isn't ready for the major leagues of federal politics.
Alsobrooks, a Black woman who oversees one of Maryland's largest counties in the suburbs of the nation's capital (which is also one of the country's richest majority Black counties) has consolidated support from local politicos while casting herself as an above-the-fray, grassroots contender.
Polling shows the candidates locked in a close race. According to 538's polling average in the Maryland Democratic primary as of May 10, Trone is polling at 44.3%, while Alsobrooks follows with 38.7%.
The victor will likely face popular former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, whose 11th-hour candidacy turned the race from a sleepy affair safely in Democrats' column to a race Democrats have to sweat in one of the country's bluest states -- with nothing short of Senate control at stake.
"The race is very fluid. If we were having this conversation a month ago, I'd say that there's a clear advance for David Trone. But County Executive Alsobrooks has had a good run here as of late," said longtime Maryland Democratic strategist Len Foxwell. "I think it's a toss-up right now."
Trone burst onto the scene with a war chest that would prove hard for Alsobrooks to match and for virtually any candidate anywhere to replicate, blitzing the airways with advertisements as part of a nine-to-one spending advantage over his opponent. Trone and groups supporting him have spent at least $45 million on advertising in the race, rapidly eclipsing Alsobrooks and groups supporting her, who put in at least $5.6 million on advertising, per nonpartisan ad tracking firm Ad Impact.
On top of that, Trone has the backing of congressional heavy hitters such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
However, he has been tripped up in the past few weeks. A verbal slip up in which he uttered a racial slur instead of the word "bugaboo" sparked a wave of negative headlines and ushered more endorsements to Alsobrooks. Also, a recent ad supporting Trone featured one supporter saying the Senate is not a place for those who need "training wheels" -- a swipe at Alsobrooks that critics said was a punch below the belt.
Trone apologized for the verbal slip, saying he didn't know the word was a racial slur. On Tuesday night, Trone said that the "training wheels" comment is one the supporter stands by, not one he made.
"And frankly, [Alsobrooks] doesn't have the experience at the federal level," Trone added -- a mea culpa Alsobrooks' supporters panned as inadequate.
Asked about the Trone's attacks on her experience level in Riverdale Park, Maryland, on Thursday, Alsobrooks told ABC News that the tightening of the race triggered his remarks.
"The truth of the matter is because we are on course to win the race, he's now turned to negative attacks," Alsobrooks said to reporters.
"My opponent has spent $62 million trying to buy this race -- after hearing about my experience, hearing about my record and about my vision for the state," Alsobrooks added.
Alsobrooks is facing the daunting task of matching up against one of Congress' wealthiest members by building support among popular lawmakers such as Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and members of what Foxwell called the state Democratic machine.
"[Alsobrooks] is the consummate insider [with] deep relationships inside the Annapolis clubhouse," he said. "What we're seeing is the Democratic political class and all these ads from the entire constellation of Democratic leaders in Maryland coming together behind [Alsobrooks]."
Alsobrooks' candidacy has clear historic significance, especially in a state where more than 30% of the population is Black. No Black women currently serve in the Senate, after their already minuscule ranks dwindled from one to zero, after Vice President Kamala Harris departed for the White House.
"Black women deserve to be in all spaces where decisions are being made. It is shameful that in 2024, we do not currently have a Black woman serving in the United States Senate," Dominik Whitehead, NAACP Vice President of Campaigns said in a statement to ABC News.
Taken together, the clashing appeals of the two candidates have set the stage for a race that observers said either Alsobrooks or Trone could win.
Towering over the race is Hogan, who hasn't run in a presidential year or for federal office before, but has a track record of winning over Democratic voters, making electability against the two-term former governor the heartbeat of the race rather than any of the minimal policy disagreements between Alsobrooks and Trone.
"A big part of the process for them is figuring out who has the best chance to win in November because it's likely that the Senate is going to be chipped by a few seats one way or the other," said Michael Hanmer, the director of the University of Maryland's Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement.
At a Tuesday night rally at a movie theater in Silver Spring, Maryland, Trone led a "beat Hogan!" chant and said that his record and experience means he has what it takes to win in the general election, even as he struggled to differentiate himself from Alsobrooks.
"This election, the U.S. Senate is at stake. Our democracy could be at stake," Trone told the crowd.
Interviews with voters revealed a particular attention to party control of the Senate next year and who could give Hogan a tougher challenge.
"I think right now, it's really hard for me to support Republican candidates in general," said Potomac, Maryland, voter Elizabeth Miller, who voiced worries about the "greater composition of our political sphere" and said she voted for Trone in the primary.
"I'm for sure voting Democrat just because having control in the Senate is such a big deal for me," added 18-year-old first-time voter Mackenzie Kinol, who was still deciding who to support when asked by ABC News on Tuesday.
Amid the Democratic infighting, Republicans are chomping at the bit to have Hogan on their general election ballot this November.
Sen. Steve Daines R-Mont., head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said last week that Hogan's favorable polling and posture as a "maverick" who breaks with both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden would make him competitive in November.
"He has a maverick kind of brand as a popular two-term Republican governor in a blue state. Marylanders -- they trust him. He's got a proven track record. And Larry Hogan is just a terrific candidate," Daines said at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast in Washington, D.C.
Daines echoed Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, who told Politico last week that he thought Maryland was in play for Republicans this cycle, along with Ohio, Montana and Pennsylvania.
But Nathaniel Rakich, senior elections analyst at 538, threw some cold water on Republican's Maryland pickup prospects.
"In 2020, only one state voted for different parties for president and Senate. In 2016, none did. Perhaps it could happen this year in a swing state, but Maryland voted for Biden by 33 percentage points in 2020, and he will probably win it by a similar margin in 2024. A Senate candidate overperforming his party's presidential candidate by that much is virtually unheard of," Rakich said.
(WASHINGTON) -- A federal appeals court upheld the criminal conviction of ex-Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon for defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison for contempt in October 2022, but U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols agreed to postpone the jail term while Bannon appealed the decision.
"We conclude that none of the information sought in the trial subpoenas was relevant to the elements of the contempt offense, nor to any affirmative defense Bannon was entitled to present at trial," the three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals said in its opinion Friday.
"The judgment of conviction and sentence [is] affirmed," the judges concluded.
Former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro is currently serving a four-month sentence in prison after he was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress.
Prosecutors had been seeking a six-month sentence for Bannon, though he could've faced up to two years in prison.
Bannon was also ordered to pay a $6,500 fine, much less than the $200,000 the government had been seeking.
Prosecutors blasted Bannon's reason for skipping the subpoena, writing in their sentencing request, "From the time he was initially subpoenaed, the Defendant has shown that his true reasons for total noncompliance have nothing to do with his purported respect for the Constitution, the rule of law, or executive privilege, and everything to do with his personal disdain for the members of Congress sitting on the Committee and their effort to investigate the attack on our country's peaceful transfer of power."
Bannon is facing an unrelated trial on fraud charges connected to the "We Build the Wall" online fundraising campaign, which was supposed to raise money for Trump's signature domestic project. Instead, prosecutors allege Bannon defrauded donors by falsely promising that none of the money they donated would be used to pay the salary of "We Build the Wall" president Brian Kolfage -- while Bannon secretly funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to Kolfage by laundering it through third-party entities.
Bannon has pleaded not guilty. The trial was scheduled for May, but has been postponed to later in the year since Judge Juan Merchan is currently overseeing the hush money trial for Bannon's former boss, Trump.
ABC News' Katherine Faulders, Alexander Mallin and Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
Linh Nguyen is the executive director of nonpartisan nonprofit Run AAPI. -- ABC News
(NEW YORK) -- As the largest growing group of eligible voters in the United States, the Asian American Pacific Islanders vote will be crucial in the upcoming election. In an effort to harness that vote, several organizations are launching campaigns with influencers who have large AAPI followings to mobilize voters ahead of November.
Ameya Okamoto, a New York-based nail artist who specializes in bold, concept-driven sculpture nail art, is one of those influencers.
"I did nail art, kind of inspiring and calling to the Asian American community to kind of turn up for the midterms, which I think a lot of people don't think enough about," Okamoto said about one of her videos created for a campaign run by Run AAPI, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization.
Campaigns from groups such as Run AAPI and Asian American Futures are seeking to take advantage of the growing Asian American Native-Hawaiian Pacific Islander population in the U.S., which has grown 81% from 2000 to 2019. About 15 million Asian Americans are projected to be eligible to vote in 2024 -- a number that has ballooned by 15%, or roughly 2 million voters, in the last four years, according to Pew Research Center. About 15 million Asian Americans are projected to be eligible to vote in 2024, Pew Research Center found.
This summer, these campaigns will especially look to recruit influencers with large AAPI followings in battleground states. Thao Nguyen, a Georgia-based TikToker with more than 400,000 followers, was recruited for a pilot version of Run AAPI's summer campaign in 2022.
She used a "red flags" trend -- describing a list of turnoffs -- to bring up the topic of voting.
"No. 3: people who don't care about politics. I don't understand why people sit at home and complain about things that were different in their community when they could just go vote for somebody that stands for that," she said in the video, which has more than 14,000 views.
Run AAPI Executive Director Linh Nguyen said the organization -- as well as other similar organizations -- are looking for influencers in areas with multiple AAPI candidates as well. She said they are looking to target areas such as Orange County, California, where Reps. Young Kim and Michelle Steel are both fighting to keep their seats and State Sen. Dave Min is looking to replace Rep. Katie Porter.
The hope, Linh Nguyen said, is to signal something bigger within the young AAPI community.
"Generally the younger Asian American community, like we are shaping everyday life, right?" she said. "And whether that's shaping political life, political representation, how we see ourselves in entertainment, on the news, how we're represented in so many other facets of life."
For the 2023 midterm election, Linh Nguyen reached out to Okamoto, who lives near New York's 3rd Congressional District. Asian American voters make up more than 20% of voters in the area, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
This February, Tom Suozzi, a Democrat, won that district's congressional seat in a special election to replace ousted Republican Rep. George Santos. Souzzi's campaign dedicated resources to reaching the AAPI community, which, Linh Nguyen said, highlights how candidates should be targeting growing, young diverse communities.
"They are the next generation of political thought leaders. They're the ones who are going to change the whole policy landscape, how we think of governance," Linh Nguyen said. "But it really does live online. And it's exciting to see that come into play."
Okamoto said she was grateful for the chance to be part of "something bigger" with her posts. She said she's glad to use her platform to get out the AAPI vote, especially at a time when she's finally feeling more proud of her Japanese heritage.
"A lot of my clientele are young Asian American girls and a lot of them find me through social media. And a lot of our conversations are about family and identity, and how we show up in the world physically, because that has kind of become a big part of my art practice," Okamoto said. "What are the choices that you are allowed to make that feel empowering to you? Because we all deserve that."
Kim Renyolds, governor of Iowa, center, during a news conference in Mission, Texas, Oct. 6, 2021. Texas Governor Abbott and Republican state chief executives from around the nation gathered at the border to again call attention to unauthorized immigration across the Rio Grande. -- Sergio Flores/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) -- The Department of Justice and civil rights groups filed two separate lawsuits on Thursday aiming to block a controversial immigration law -- known as SF 2340 -- from going into effect in Iowa.
SF 2340 authorizes local law enforcement officials to arrest migrants who have previously been deported or removed from the country, or who have been denied entry in the past. It also gives judges the power to order a person to be sent back to the country from which the person entered the United States.
The law also does not prohibit children from being charged.
The DOJ's lawsuit comes just one week after Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton penned a letter to Gov. Kim Reynolds, obtained by ABC News, urging her to strike down the law by May 7 or face legal action.
The state lawmakers passed the law last month and Gov. Kim Reynolds signed it, it's scheduled to go into effect on July 1.
"Iowa cannot disregard the U.S. Constitution and settled Supreme Court precedent," said Boynton in a statement. "We have brought this action to ensure that Iowa adheres to the framework adopted by Congress and the Constitution for regulation of immigration."
The law was largely shaped after a similar law in Texas -- Senate Bill 4, also known as SB 4 -- which is currently blocked from going into effect while its constitutionality is decided by the courts. The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against that law as well, which allows local law enforcement officials to arrest migrants they suspect of entering the country illegally. Like the Iowa law, it authorizes a judge to order a person's removal from the country.
Early on Thursday, the American Immigration Council, American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Iowa filed a separate lawsuit on behalf of the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice and two people the immigrant rights organization represents.
In the lawsuit, lawyers for the group said the law does not create exceptions for people who have previously been deported or denied admission, but who were later given authorization to be in the country. The groups said this means even people who have been granted asylum, are part of a protected class, or have green cards could be arrested and imprisoned.
One story highlighted in the lawsuit is that of an 18-year-old Honduran migrant whose father was murdered and sister was kidnapped in her home country. She came to the U.S. when she was 14, but was deported, according to the ACLU. She later came back to the U.S. on her own and was granted asylum.
The groups allege she'd be eligible for arrest and imprisonment under the law. A conviction under the law would carry anywhere from a 2-10 year prison sentence. Some offenders could face up to 5 years in prison, under a Class D felony, if their removal was "subsequent to a conviction for commission of two or more misdemeanors involving drugs, crimes against a person, or both," the law states.
Others could be charged with a Class C felony and face up to 10 years in prison if they were previously removed due to a felony conviction. All convicted people would face a removal order although some would get the opportunity to opt for removal instead of further prosecution.
"This ugly law is deeply harmful to Iowa families and communities. Iowa lawmakers knowingly targeted people who are protected by federal immigration laws and who are legally allowed to be here, like people granted asylum, or special visas given to survivors of domestic violence or other crimes," ACLU of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis Austen said in a statement. "And there are lots of good reasons — related to foreign relations, national security, humanitarian interests, and our constitutional system — why the federal government enforces our immigration law, instead of all 50 states going out and doing their own thing to enforce their own separate immigration schemes. It's hard to overstate how awful and bizarre this law is."
In a post on X, Gov. Reynolds accused President Joe Biden of refusing to enforce existing immigration laws.
"The DOJ and ACLU are suing lowa for protecting our citizens, all while Joe Biden refuses to enforce immigration laws already on the books. If he won't stand for the rule of law, lowa will!" the governor wrote.
(WASHINGTON) -- President Joe Biden is taking heat from all sides as he faces what could be the most fraught moment in the Israel-Hamas war since fighting broke out seven months ago.
A dizzying number of recent developments, both at home and abroad, have underscored the politically perilous path Biden finds himself on as he navigates criticism from Republicans and Democrats unhappy with his approach to the conflict.
All this mixed up with his reelection campaign in which polls show voters say they trust Donald Trump to do a better job in the same tough situation.
"I think he's in a very precarious position," Guy Ziv, the associate director of American University's Center for Israel Studies, told ABC News.
Aaron David Miller, a former State Department diplomat now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, described Biden as being stuck in a "strategic cul-de-sac with no easy way out."
College protests have brought the overseas turmoil closer to home than ever before as students across the U.S. express frustrations with Biden's response to Israel's war in Gaza and show support for Palestinians. Along with chants of "Genocide Joe," the campus unrest has produced images of mass arrests, some violent clashes and accusations of antisemitism.
Congressional Republicans have seized on the fallout as a unifying election-year issue for their party, denouncing the scenes as "chaos" borne from Biden's policies and claiming he hasn't done enough to protect Jewish students.
Biden has pushed back on GOP efforts to brand him with the narrative, this week forcefully condemning what he called a "ferocious surge" in antisemitism in a major address on Holocaust remembrance, saying hate speech of any kind has no place on any campus.
"The campus protests, if I could sum it up in a few words: It's terrible for Biden, it's very good for Trump and it won't change U.S.- Middle East policy one iota," said Miller.
Republicans -- and even some Democrats -- are now pouncing on Biden's new warning to Israel that the U.S. will withhold weapons Israel could use in a major invasion of Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering. A shipment of some 3,500 bombs was paused last week.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, angry that top Republicans weren't informed beforehand, slammed Biden's decision as a "senior moment." Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, called it "disgraceful" as he spoke to reporters before entering the Manhattan courtroom on Thursday where he's on trial for allegedly falsifying business records about hush money payments prosecutors say were made to boost his 2016 election prospects.
Meanwhile, many progressives and a number of mainstream Democrats continue to pressure Biden to take a tougher stance on Israel as Palestinians face a growing humanitarian crisis. Parts of Gaza are currently experiencing a "full-blown famine," a top United Nations official recently warned, though no formal declaration has been issued by the organization.
Democratic criticism could ramp up further when the Biden administration submits a highly-anticipated report to Congress in the coming days on whether Israel has violated international law in Gaza, or if Israel does mount a major ground offensive in Rafah, putting Palestinian civilians even more at risk.
Biden has largely sought to balance unwavering support for Israel's security and harsh condemnation of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack with alleviating hardship for civilians suffering in Gaza by pushing for more humanitarian aid and urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to better protect them or face consequences.
Ziv, who previously worked at the State Department and on Capitol Hill, applauded Biden's "cool-headed" response and ability to handle "a very difficult situation and not to succumb to any of the louder, more extreme voices on either side."
Divided Supreme Court rules no quick hearing required when police seize property "He's navigating a very fine line," Miller said of Biden. "And I think he wants to continue navigating it."
A no-win situation? Maybe not
Unfolding in the background are touch-and-go negotiations for a cease-fire deal. Talks reached a "critical stage," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said earlier this week, after Hamas unexpectedly announced it accepted a proposal -- one that Israel said did not meet their requirements. CIA Director William Burns was in Cairo this week to try to bridge the gap between the two sides, but talks ended Thursday with no resolution.
An agreement to stop hostilities in Gaza, even temporarily, and return Israeli and American hostages held by Hamas may be the only way for Biden to silence most of his critics, experts said.
"In the immediate sense, a cease-fire and bringing calm to the region this summer would be a huge, huge achievement," Ziv said.
"Without this Israel-Hamas deal, there's no way to change the picture," said Miller. "No way to de-escalate Israeli military activity, no way to surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza on a regular basis, no way to free the hostages, including six Americans, and no way to even begin introducing the administration's regional peace initiative."
Looming large over Biden is what impact the Israel-Hamas war will have on his chances in the U.S. presidential election.
"Obviously success is the best outcome. How long he has is not completely clear," said Jon Alterman, the director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"The best thing is when November rolls around, he can point to the episode as one where he both advanced the interests of Israelis and Palestinians and American interests," Alterman said. "And there's six months between now and November."
An ABC News/Ipsos poll released last week found Americans divided on U.S. policy toward the conflict, but that salience on the issue was low. The war ranked last in a list of topics Americans said will be an important issue for them in November.
But the question remains as to whether even a small number of defections from Biden would be enough to sink him in swing states like Michigan and Wisconsin, which saw protest votes against his handling of Israel's war in Gaza in those states' Democratic primaries.
"The issue for Biden is not those voters turning to Trump, it's the fact that they may not turn out at all," said Miller. "We don't know how the Israel-Gaza issue, even if it continues in the state that it's in now, is going to affect voting in November."
(WASHINGTON) -- Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester will continue his efforts to distinguish himself as a border security hard-liner on Thursday by becoming the first Senate Democrat to back an immigration bill that has been championed by Republicans in both chambers of Congress.
On Thursday afternoon, Tester will announce his intention to co-sponsor the Laken Riley Act, a bill named after a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed while out on a run near the University of Georgia campus in February. Authorities say her alleged perpetrator is an undocumented migrant who was previously arrested for a non-violent crime but released by the New York Police Department.
The Laken Riley Act would require federal officials to apprehend and detain undocumented immigrants who commit crimes such as burglary, shoplifting or larceny until these individuals are removed from the United States.
The bill cleared the House in early March with support of every Republican and 37 Democrats.
But it hasn't gotten as robust support from Democrats in the upper chamber.
Tester will become the first Senate Democratic co-sponsor of the legislation, joining a slate of GOP co-sponsors. The move comes as the Montana Democrat, who faces a tough reelection this November, looks to further establish himself as a border security hard-liner.
"Keeping Montana safe is my top priority, which is why I've repeatedly called on the Biden Administration and Congress to do more to secure the southern border and have worked to get the brave men and women in law enforcement what they need to keep criminals off our streets," Tester said in a statement. "After hearing from law enforcement officers across Montana, I'm backing the Laken Riley Act to make sure that individuals who enter our country and commit a crime are held accountable so that no Montana family has to worry about the safety of their loved ones."
Tester faces reelection in his deep-red state, where likely Republican Senate nominee Tim Sheehy is working to make high numbers of unauthorized border crossings and the spread of fentanyl top issues for his campaign.
In recent months, Tester has become more and more outspoken about the challenges at the southern border.
Tester was closely watched during an effort by House Republicans to convict Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas during a quickly-dispensed-with impeachment trial.
Though Tester did ultimately vote with his party to prevent a trial, he called the situation at the southern border "completely unacceptable" and said that the Biden administration needed to "do more" to keep the county safe.
Though there was an effort earlier this year to advance the bipartisan border security bill drafted by Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Ct., Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and James Lankford, R-Okla., those efforts ultimately stalled out after Senate Republicans rejected the deal because they felt it was not strong enough.
Senate Democrats, led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Murphy, said yesterday they hope to reopen discussion about the border security provisions, just as sources tell ABC News that DHS is slated to propose a change to the process for those seeking asylum.
(WASHINGTON) -- Witnesses testifying at a congressional hearing have accused the U.S. intelligence community of deliberately downplaying dozens of Anomalous Health Incidents (AHIs) affecting U.S. personnel, often referred to as "Havana dyndrome."
"It is my view that the executive branch, particularly at the behest of and manipulation by officials within CIA, is not truthfully reporting what it knows," said Mark Zaid, an attorney representing more than two dozen victims of "Havana syndrome," citing U.S. intelligence that he says he's seen in his work but could not reveal in an unclassified setting.
An assessment released last year by the U.S. intelligence community found it was "very unlikely" that a foreign adversary was behind the cases of the so-called "Havana syndrome" affecting U.S. diplomats, intelligence community members, and Defense Department officials.
Each of the witnesses at Wednesday's Homeland Security subcommittee hearing disputed the intelligence community's claim, citing undisclosed classified intelligence that they say proves their assertion.
Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Greg Edgreen, who ran the Pentagon's investigation into "Havana syndrome," told lawmakers the attacks are likely tied to "directed energy," shot through a kind of futuristic weapon. He said there are "extremely strong" indications that at least some of these incidents were the result of attacks conducted by Russian intelligence.
"Give me 20 minutes in a [secure facility] and I'll convince all of you," Edgreen said.
When asked for comment, a CIA spokesperson referred questions to Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which issued last year's assessment.
ABC News has reached out to the ODNI for comment.
Last March, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said in a statement that the health events were probably the result of other factors such as "preexisting conditions, conventional illnesses, and environmental factors."
Haines added that the evidence also did not indicate that a "causal mechanism," such as a weapon, or a "unique syndrome" brought on the reported symptoms.
Zaid told the committee he's aware of attacks on U.S. personnel all over the world, including on U.S. soil. Many attacks, he says, were concentrated in Northern Virginia, an area home to many CIA officers.
"There are at least two dozen cases that even the CIA acknowledges they can't explain away by any other alternative factors," Zaid added, referring to a 2022 assessment by the agency that examined roughly 1,000 "Havana syndrome" cases.
Lawmakers on the committee promised to continue to examine these claims and hear more from the witnesses in a classified setting.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, testifying elsewhere on Capitol Hill Wednesday, was asked about compensation for Defense Department personnel who have reported symptoms associated with AHI.
"Will you commit to this committee that the department will work on that and provide the required payments to victims?" asked New Hampshire Democrat Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
"Absolutely, senator," Austin said.
The Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks (HAVANA) Act of 2021 passed by Congress authorizes government agencies to provide payments to personnel who have suffered brain injuries from hostilities while on assignment.
A U.S. official told ABC News on Wednesday the Department of Defense has "provided medical assessment and/or treatment in the military health care system for more than 200 people" relating to AHI since 2016. But the official wouldn't say how many of those were deemed to have suffered traumatic brain injuries, citing patient privacy rules.
But so far, none has received payments.
"DOD has not made any HAVANA Act payments yet, because we are working to establish implementation guidance for the Department," the official said. "We expect to issue such guidance this summer."
A study published last month by the National Institutes of Health concluded: "There was no significant MRI-detectable evidence of brain injury among the group of participants who experienced AHIs compared with a group of matched control participants."
But the Pentagon might provide compensation to some possibly affected individuals, regardless.
"The implementation guidance will address criteria for determining who qualifies for compensation. We anticipate that MRI results will be one of several factors considered in making the determinations," the official said.
President Joe Biden greets a supporter as he meets with campaign volunteers at Dr. John Bryant Community Center in Racine, Wisconsin, on May 8, 2024. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) -- In his fourth trip to Wisconsin already this year, President Joe Biden on Wednesday, at an intimate campaign event in the swing state, sought out Black voters to speak about the stakes in November.
The event was the first in a series of engagements the campaign has scheduled through the month of May that focus on deepening contacts with what it has deemed to be the core constituencies critical in the 2024 election.
"I got involved in politics because of the African American community," Biden told the mainly Black audience of local supporters and community members in Racine County.
The president, who has faced criticism from key Democrats, including South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, for his lagging polling numbers in the Black community, sought to woo the key demographic in Wisconsin by drawing a sharp contrast with former President Donald Trump.
"Trump means what he says and he says he's gonna get rid of all the stuff that we've done," Biden said.
On a call with reporters, Biden's deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks said the campaign is "attempting to earn every vote."
"The general election is just starting to crystallize for voters across the country, and we're taking advantage of the moment to meet them where they are," Fulks said.
Racine Police Chief Art Howell, who introduced Biden at the event called the event "encouraging."
"The folks that were there, were able to really connect with the president on an intimate level. Learn more about his past accomplishments, current agenda and vision moving forward," Howell said.
Biden also touted his administration's policies that have directly affected the Black community, including capping insulin out-of-pocket costs at $35.
In a memo released Wednesday, the campaign argued that Trump has failed the Black community, saying he's supported legislation that cost the state more than 83,000 jobs.
“While Trump and his MAGA allies abandon efforts to reach Black voters, the Biden-Harris campaign has been showing up early and often,” said Wisconsin Director Garren Randolph in the memo. “President Biden and his campaign are committed to meeting voters where they are to earn their vote. That’s a stark contrast to Donald Trump, who has virtually no campaign infrastructure in the state and is driving away voters with his job-killing, extremist agenda.”
On Wednesday the campaign announced a new $14 million paid media investment for May that includes seven-figure investments into African American, Hispanic, and AAPI media.
Wisconsin has special political significance. It's part of the critical "blue wall" in the Midwest that voted Democratic for decades before Trump's candidacy. Biden only won the state over Trump in 2020 by some 20,000 votes. A loss in November would likely be a major blow to his reelection effort.
According to the latest Marquette Law School polling, just 37% of Black voters in Wisconsin say they're "very enthusiastic" about November's presidential election. The coveted group makes up nearly 7% of the state's population, according to the 2020 census and 21% in Milwaukee.
In a recent Washington Post/Ipsos poll, Biden faces additional problems with Black Americans in terms of turnout. The poll found that 62% of Black Americans say they're "absolutely certain to vote," down from 74% in June 2020.
Shanice Jones, who has been out canvassing in Milwaukee for the group Black Leaders Organizing for the Community, or BLOC, said she's "tired" of supporting presidential candidates who she said don't support her community.
"I feel like everybody deserves a chance once they get that chance, but it's up to what you do when you get to office to prove if you deserve another chance. And right now, the way he's going, I really don't feel like he should," she said.
President Joe Biden steps off Marine One upon arrival at Soldier Field Landing Zone in Chicago, on May 8, 2024. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) -- President Joe Biden said Wednesday that American bombs have been used to kill civilians in Gaza and doubled down on his administration's plan to withhold weapons that Israel could use as part of a major invasion of Rafah.
More than a million Palestinians have sought refuge in the city in southern Gaza.
At least 30 people had been killed in Rafah since Tuesday, including women and children, the Al Kuwaiti hospital spokesperson in Rafah told ABC News. More than 33,000 have been killed overall in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
"I know that you have paused, Mr. President, shipments of 2,000 pound U.S. bombs to Israel due to concern that they could be used in any offensive on Rafah. Have those bombs, those powerful 2,000 pound bombs been used to kill civilians in Gaza?" CNN's Erin Burnett asked in the rare major network television interview.
"Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers," Biden answered.
"I made it clear that if they go into Rafah -- they haven't gone in Rafah yet -- if they go into Rafah, I'm not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, that deal with that problem," the president said.
"So it's not over your red line yet?" Burnett asked of Israel's current action in Rafah.
"Not yet. But it's -- we've held up the weapons. We've held up the one shipment. It's an old shipment. We've held that up," Biden said.
The White House on Tuesday called the Israeli incursion into Rafah "limited in scope" so far.
Israel on Wednesday appeared to downplay the U.S. withholding the bombs.
"We are responsible for the security interests of the State of Israel, and we are attentive to the interest of the United States in the region," Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said.
Biden's comments to CNN were the most outspoken he's been to date publicly on how far he's willing to go to curtail U.S. aid to Israel.
Biden said the U.S. will "continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks that came out of the Middle East recently."
"But it's, it's just wrong. We're not going to -- we're not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used, that have been used," Biden said.
Burnett also sought to nail down Biden's view of what Israel is doing in Rafah right now, and if he believes that qualifies as a major ground invasion in Rafah that he has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be a major mistake.
"No, they haven't gone into the population centers. What they did is right on the border. And It's causing problems with, right now in terms of -- with Egypt, which I've worked very hard to make sure we have a relationship and help," he said.
"But I've made it clear to Bibi and the war cabinet, they're not going to get our support, if in fact they go in these population centers," he added.
(WASHINGTON) -- Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Wednesday officially triggered a vote on her motion to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, but within minutes Democrats joined almost all Republicans to overwhelmingly reject her move.
There were audible boos from lawmakers in the chamber as Greene spoke at length about her grievances with Johnson as she called for a vote.
The Georgia congresswoman, flanked by co-sponsor GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, asserted Johnson had "not lived up to a single one" of the promises he made the Republican conference after he was elected to the top post in October.
"By passing the Democrats' agenda and handcuffing the Republicans' ability and influence legislation, our elected Republican Speaker Mike Johnson has aided and abetted the Democrats and the Biden administration in destroying our country," Greene said.
Johnson was on the House floor with his leadership team as Greene read her resolution.
The House quickly moved to hold a vote on a motion to table, or effectively kill, Greene's effort to oust Johnson. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise rose to request the vote on tabling Greene's resolution, which passed with bipartisan support.
The final vote to dismiss Greene's motion was 359-43 with seven lawmakers voting present. Lawmakers cheered when the tally was read out.
Eleven Republicans and 32 Democrats voted against killing Greene's motion.
Johnson joked with reporters after the vote, saying, "it’s just another Wednesday on Capitol Hill."
The speaker called Greene's resolution a "misguided effort," and thanked his colleagues for supporting him.
"Hopefully, this is the end of the personality politics and the frivolous character assassination that has defined the 118th Congress. It's regrettable. It's not who we are as Americans and we're better than this. We need to get beyond it," Johnson said.
Greene told ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott after the vote that she was not surprised by the vote against her motion to vacate the speaker's chair.
"I think this is exactly what the American people needed to see," she said.
"I didn't run for Congress to come up here and join the uni-party, and the uni-party was on full display today," she added. "As a matter of fact, [the Republican Party] proved they're ready to do everything with the Democrats."
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said his party's decision to help save Johnson's job was aimed at restoring common sense and quelling chaos in Washington.
"Our decision to stop Marjorie Taylor Greene, from plunging the House of Representatives and the country into further chaos is rooted in our commitment to solve problems for everyday Americans in a bipartisan manner," the New York congressman told reporters. "We need more common sense and less chaos in Washington, D.C. Marjorie Taylor Greene and extreme MAGA Republicans are chaos agents."
When asked repeatedly whether Democrats would vote to save Johnson again if further motions to remove him are filed -- or if Democrats would demand concessions from Johnson to do so in the future -- Jeffries said "the vote clearly speaks for itself."
"It was a vote of conscience. It was overwhelming. It was decisive. And we need to move forward as a Congress," he added.
Greene did not answer when asked if she plans on trying to kick out Johnson again.
Former President Donald Trump, who has backed Johnson during his feud with Greene, said in a post on Truth Social that now was not the time to be making motions to vacate.
"If we show DISUNITY, which will be portrayed as CHAOS, it will negatively affect everything! Mike Johnson is a good man who is trying very hard. I also wish certain things were done over the last period of two months, but we will get them done, together," he said.
Nevertheless, Greene said she was thankful for Trump's support.
Greene's move Wednesday was a sudden shift in tactics after she appeared to be backing off her weekslong threat, following back-to-back meetings with Johnson on Monday and Tuesday.
In between meetings, she had given Johnson a list of demands she wanted implemented, which included no more aid to Ukraine and defunding special counsel Jack Smith's office.
U.S. President Donald Trump, center, son Barron Trump, left, and First Lady Melania Trump walk on the South Lawn of the White House after exiting Marine One in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) -- Barron Trump, the youngest child of former President Donald Trump, was chosen as one of Florida's at-large delegates for the Republican National Convention, according to a list of delegates obtained by ABC News.
In response to the news of Barron Trump being selected as one of Florida's at-large delegates to the Republican National Convention, a Trump campaign official told ABC News that the former president's youngest son is "very interested" in the political process.
"Yes, he's on the delegation roster and Barron is very interested in our nation's political process," the campaign official said.
Other Trump family members who have played an active role in Trump's presidential campaign will also serve as at-large delegates, including Trump's older sons, Eric Trump, Don Jr. Trump and his girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Trump's youngest daughter, Tiffany Trump.
Eric Trump will serve as delegation chair while Guifoyle serves on the Platform Committee.
The list also includes close allies of the former president who will serve as delegates, including Pam Bondi, Sergio Gor, Steve Witkoff and Ike Perlmutter.
"We are fortunate to have a great group of grassroots leaders, elected officials, and members of the Trump family working together as part of the Florida delegation to the 2024 Republican National Convention," Florida GOP Chair Evan Power said in a statement. "The RPOF is ready for a great convention in Milwaukee, but more importantly, we are excited as we continue to lay the groundwork in Florida for success. Mark my words, we are going to win and we will win big in November!"
NBC was the first to report on Barron Trump being chosen as a delegate.
Congratulations to our Valentine's Day Sweets For Your Sweet Winner! Shana Carroll of Alpena only missed the number of hearts in the jar by two, guessing 1,014, actual number was 1,012! She wins a prize package that includes gifts from Village Chocolatier; Precious Petals by Jamie; Tom's Tumblers; Northwoods Steakhouse; Modern Craft Winery, Salty Jo's Halotherapy and Saganing Eagles Landing Casino & Hotel! Thanks to everyone who registered!
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