MAR 20, 2025 Just now William Upton

Election Integrity

New York’s High Court Strikes Down NYC Law Allowing Noncitizens to Vote.

New York state’s highest court has struck down a New York City law allowing noncitizens to vote in city elections. On Thursday, the New York Court of Appeals—the equivalent of other states’ supreme courts—ruled in a six-to-one decision that NYC’s move to amend a local election law to allow noncitizens to cast ballots for municipal contests violated the state constitution.

“We also note that, during the 1894 Constitutional Convention, the delegates debated (and rejected) resolutions identifying 16 other states that allowed voting by certain non-U.S. citizens… the debate was animated by acommon understanding that the New York Constitution restricted the franchise to U.S. citizens,”the ruling states, adding:“Article II, section 1 has been amended several times since 1894, but the citizenship requirement has persisted. There is no evidence that any of the amendments changed the understanding that a voter must be a citizen to vote in New York.”

“Whatever the future may bring, theNew York Constitution as it stands today draws a firm line restricting voting to citizens. Accordingly, the order of the Appellate Division insofar as appealed from should be modified, without costs, in accordance with this opinion and, as so modified, affirmed,” the majority opinion concludes.

Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella brought the lawsuit with the backing of other Republican lawmakers and public officials.They successfully argued that the state constitution bars noncitizens from votingand that New York City has no legal avenue to abrogate that constitutional provision without the document being amended by state voters.

Noncitizen voting has become a serious issue in the United States, especially at the municipal level, where illegally cast votes can easily impact small electorates. The National Pulse has extensively covered the issue, noting at least one survey indicates that noncitizen voters could also be a significant source of voter fraud at the federal level.

https://thenationalpulse.com/2025/03/20/new-yorks-high-court-strikes-down-nyc-law-allowing-noncitizens-to-vote/

March 20, 2025

Anti-Trump Rick Wilson Banned from X for ‘Kill Tesla’ Call — Amid Wave of Attacks and Owner Doxxings.

Anti-Trump political strategist Rick Wilson has been banned from Elon Musk’s X platform, formerly Twitter. Wilson, a co-founder of the scandal-ridden Lincoln Project, had penned an article titled “Kill Tesla, Save the Country,” describing the Musk-owned electric vehicles business as a “bank for fascists”—at a time when Tesla facilities, vehicles, and their owners are being targeted across the country in acts of apparent political violence.

Wilson now claims the article calls only for a “social and media campaign to hit Tesla’s stock price.” However, it is illustrated with a picture of a Tesla vehicle on fire outside a Trump building, and subtitled ‘Elon Musk has a weak spot. Attack.’

He argues that Musk, who fronts President Donald J. Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is“inseparable” from his car company, describing it as a “goose-stepping hedge fund bankrolling [Musk’s] political fever dreams… of controlling the ruins of the American government as he becomes Earth’s first trillionaire and then the Emperor of Mars.”

Best known for orchestrating highly negative political campaigns, Wilson infamously declared he had “no moral center when it comes to political ads” and would “destroy the innocent and the guilty” to win when reflecting on a campaign he ran smearing a disabled Vietnam veteran.

Wilson’s Lincoln Project group has long been criticized for the action of co-founder John Weaver, accused by dozens of young males—including a 14-year-old boy—of sexual grooming and predation.

Initially suspended from X for 30 days, Wilson’s ban now appears indefinite. Responding to Wilson’s writings, Musk called the political operative a “psycho.”

https://thenationalpulse.com/2025/03/20/anti-trump-rick-wilson-banned-from-x-for-kill-tesla-call-amid-wave-of-attacks-and-owner-doxxings/

I hope the FBI is investigating him, they’ll find a lot more crimes.

March 20, 2025

Europe Postpones Tariffs on U.S. Whiskey and Other Goods, Fearing Trade War With Trump.

The European Union (EU) says it will now delay implementing tariffs against the United States, originally planned to begin at the end of March, until mid-April. While European officials claim the delay is to give more time to refine the list of U.S. products subject to the tariffs, it is widely seen as allowing more time for negotiations with U.S. President Donald J. Trump‘s White House.

Olof Gill, a spokesman for the European Commission, confirmed the delay on Thursday.“This provides additional time for discussions with the U.S. administration,” he stated.

The National Pulse previously reported thatthe EU announced tariffs targeting U.S. goods such as bourbon, jeans, and motorcycles—appearing designed to harm globally popular American brands—in response to Trump’s global tariffs on steel and aluminum. Following the announcement, President Trump responded, stating the U.S. would consider a 200 percent tariff on certain EU products like French wine.

Trump’s threat to impose crippling tariffs on wine and other alcohol products has caused several European national leaders to push against the EU’s retaliatory trade measures. Notably, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni cautioned against entering a “vicious circle” of trade measures. Meanwhile, France’s Prime Minister François Bayrou warned that Europe risks targeting inappropriate sectors.

EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic acknowledged on Thursday thatnegotiations will likely remain stalled until April 2, when President Trump’s wider reciprocal tariff policy takes effect. The admission suggests that the EU’s delay is less about refining the list of American goods to be tariffed and more with internal pressure from European leaders who fear the repercussions a trade war with the United States would have on their national economies.

https://thenationalpulse.com/2025/03/20/europe-postpones-tariffs-on-u-s-whiskey-and-other-goods-fearing-trade-war-with-trump/

March 20, 2025

Judge Warns Trump Admin of ‘Consequences’ for Deporting Venezuelans Against His Orders.

A Barack Obama-appointed U.S. District Court judge who has tried to block the deportation of Venezuelan gang members hasthreatened the Trump administration with “consequences” if it ignores his orders. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who initially ordered the return of over 250 individuals deported to El Salvador, is pressing for compliance with his directives. (Veiled threats from a judge? That sounds like intimidation practices)

When the ruling was issued, the administration appealed, asserting that the presidential actions were beyond judicial review and noting that the deportation flights had already left U.S. airspace.

Judge Boasberg required the administration to provide specific flight details, including departure and landing times. However, the Department of Justice (DOJ) argued that providing such information would interfere with executive functions and expose sensitive negotiations with other countries. Despite the extended deadline set by the judge, the DOJ maintained its stance, disputing the court’s requests.

In its appeal, the Trump administration argued that the district court’s nationwide injunction against the use of the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act to deport illegals is judicial overreach, citing the President’s authority to protect national security. The administration highlighted the connections between the Venezuelan government and the deported individuals, particularly with members of the gang Tren de Aragua, operating as a significant threat.

While it is unclear what “consequences” Boasberg is threatening, he could, in theory, find members of the administration in contempt for defying his orders.However, President Trump—who has called for Boasberg’s impeachment—could issue pardons for any such charges, creating a constitutional impasse.

https://thenationalpulse.com/2025/03/20/judge-warns-trump-admin-of-consequences-for-deporting-venezuelans-against-his-orders/

This judge knows he went too far, and it’s going to have significant blowback on him and other judges. Real Justice will be given to all of them.

Wisconsin’s Susan Crawford Donated To Democrat Fundraising Giant Under Fire For Alleged Fraud

By: Shawn Fleetwood March 20, 2025

Wisconsin’s leftist state supreme court candidate Susan Crawford previously gave hundreds of dollars to a Democrat-aligned fundraising platform under fire for alleged fraud, The Federalist has learned.

Federal Election Commission records reviewed by The Federalist appear to show that Crawford — who is running against conservative Brad Schimel in Wisconsin’s April 1 supreme court race — gave numerous small-dollar donations to ActBlue during her time as a private lawyer. As described on its website, ActBlue is an “online fundraising platform for Democratic candidates up and down the ballot, progressive organizations, and nonprofits.”

Totaling $250 across eight years (2011-2017), the donations were made during Crawford’s time working with the Madison-based law firm Pines Bach LLP(formerly Cullen Weston Pines & Bach LLP). According to The Cap Times, Crawford worked with the firm for roughly eight years before successfully winning election as a Dane County Circuit Court judge in 2018.

Pines Bach LLP named Crawford an official “partner” in September 2013 and subsequently congratulated her on her 2018 victory.

Federalist readers are likely familiar with the scrutiny ActBlue has come under in recent years over allegations that loopholes within its donor verification system may have allowed unlawful monies to fund left-wing political causes. Until late last year, for example, the Democrat-aligned fundraising giant had accepted donations made via credit cards that did not include the card verification value, or CVV.

As The Federalist’s Matt Kittle previously reported, a big part of the controversy surroundingActBlue are accusations that it has acted as a “’money laundering operation,’ suspected of serving as a conduit for smurfing.”Former Federal Election Commission member Hans von Spakovsky has described smurfing as a campaign finance-relatedprocess that “involves breaking up large-scale donations in a way that disguises who the money is actually coming from, so the contribution limits on how much money can be donated to a particular candidate can be skirted.”

As part of their ongoing efforts to investigate the fundraising platform,congressional Republicans issued a letter several months ago expressing concerns that ActBlue“has maintained poor anti-fraud practices that have allowed bad actors to make fraudulent political donations, including from foreign sources.” They most recently sent a request to the Treasury Department last week for “Suspicious Activity Reports” filed since January 2023 that relate to “money laundering, counterfeit credit/debit card, credit card or debit card fraud, false statements, wire transfer fraud, or identity theft” associated with ActBlue.

The New York Times reported earlier this month that ActBlue is currently engulfed in “internal chaos,” with “at least seven senior officials resigning late last month and a remaining lawyer suggesting he faced internal retaliation.” The outlet noted how the “exodus has set off deep concerns about ActBlue’s future.”

Despite the allegations of financial wrongdoing plaguing the Democrat-aligned fundraising machine she previously donated to, Crawford has sought to make campaign spending a major part of her messaging strategy ahead of Wisconsin’s April 1 election.Specifically, she’s attempted to create controversy over monies donated in support of Schimel tied to Elon Musk.

During the candidates’ lone debate last week, for instance, Crawford conflated Schimel and Musk’s names in a statement decrying the money the latter’s PACs have reportedly spent to support the former’s election.

“Elon Schimel is trying to buy this race. And people are very upset about that and they are disturbed about that,” Crawford said.

What Crawford and her backers have often ignored, however, is the influx of out-of-state cash boosting her campaign stemming from Democrat mega-donors. Campaign finance records show that leftist billionaire George Soros, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman have collectively given hundreds of thousands to the state Democrat Party bankrolling Crawford’s campaign.

https://thefederalist.com/2025/03/20/wisconsins-susan-crawford-donated-to-democrat-fundraising-giant-under-fire-for-alleged-fraud/

Democrats Face Backlash From Donors As Hakeem Jeffries Lands In L.A. For Big-Ticket Fundraiser

By Dominic Patten, Ted Johnson March 19, 2025 4:17pm

• EXCLUSIVE: As Hakeem Jeffries treks to Los Angeles for a big-ticket fundraiser, anumber of Hollywood donors are staying on the sidelines out of fatigue, frustration and even fear over the ability of the Democratic party to stand up to Donald Trump.

•“I’m not interested, skipping it,”one usually very dependable Dem check-writer said of Jeffries’ event Wednesday hosted by Hope Warschaw.

• “The Democrats are all about the midterms, great. But that’s next year,they’re blowing it against Trump now,” the producer added of the party’s leadership and its opposition to the chaos and of Donald Trump’s return to the White House. “A lot of that is on Hakeem, Schumer, Pelosi and the rest of them.”

• Out on the West Coast last month to talk withSilicon Valley Democrats, Jeffries’ fundraiser tonight has tickets going from $10,000 a couple to $100,000. With the man who would be speaker accompanied by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Rep. Suzanne DelBene (D-WA), all proceeds raised will go to the Jeffries Victory Fund, which hands out money to the DCCC and others.

•A reliable ATM for Democrats, some Hollywood donors are disappointed with where the party has been, or rather not been, over the past two months.

•“Why is there no plan, no strategy besides showing up on MSNBC?”another longtime Tinseltown supporter fumed.“Trump said what he was going to do, even if they thought only half of it could happen.They should’ve been prepared, they should [be] protecting people, vets, from Trump and [Elon] Musk.”

• In fact, according to a number of sources Deadline has spoken with,not only are the usual suspects not showing up to the New York Democrat’s eventwith activist Warschaw tonight in Los Angeles, but a number of them also declined invitations to the more exclusive intimate dinnerJeffries had set for this evening.

• In addition to feeling that Democrats in Congress lack fight and spine against the hard-right Project 2025 agenda and Musk’s DOGE attack on the federal bureaucracy,several well-heeled donors say they feel “betrayed” by the party’s 2024 campaign.

•“They told us [Kamala] Harris was going to win, they told us they had the votes, and then they lost every single swing state,” a top publicist with a number of clients who were active on the Harris/Walz campaign told Deadline.“We were lied too, or misinformed at best, and we got Trump again.”

• On the other hand, James Costos, a longtime Democratic fundraiser and activist, said there have been several non-fundraising listening and strategic planning calls with party leaders, including Jeffries and Democratic National Committee chairman Ken Martin. The leaders provided insights into what they were doing behind the scenes and publicly, he said, adding that he was pleased by the “warming the engines” approach.

•“The Democrats are finally playing a multidimensional chess game(KEK), and everything being played out isn’t on the ‘public’ playing field,” Costos said. “Democrats who are complaining are playing a spectator sport. Complaining to the media isn’t how we win. That’s a losing position.”

• “Sunday we had a good conversation about the path forward, particularly as it relates to making sure we all speak with one voice in the effort to stop these Medicaid cuts from ever being enacted into law,” Jeffries said at a Brooklyn event Tuesday.

• “Talk is cheap and easy,” one industry donor responded to Jeffries’ words. “I want to see them take the fight to Trump, not just roll over.” Initiatives like the revamped Democratic Daily Download don’t seem to be making many inroads to voters or donors.

• “It’s a joke,” the donor said bluntly. “A bad joke, not funny or effective.”

• At this point of previous presidential races, there is typically a fair degree of so-called donor fatigue, particularly after a stinging loss.

• Mathew Littman, a partner at HowLitt who leads a group of creative professionals “==I think people in the entertainment industry are very, very frustrated by what is going on in D.C.”

• Littman, who spoke at a Democratic House issues conference in Virginia last week, said that “one thing that Democrats are not doing is messaging 24/7,” noting how much Trump and Musk are on social media and elsewhere commanding attention.

•“You are not going to get people enthusiastic unless they see you fighting,”he said.

https://deadline.com/2025/03/hakeem-jeffries-la-fundraiser-backlash-1236331073/

20 Mar, 2025 18:42

Kiev uses McDonald’s to replenish depleted army ranks

A controversial video has has appeared on the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Tik Tok account

The Ukrainian military has turnedto fast food in a bid to lure more young recruits into the army’s ranks. A fresh video published by the nation’s defense ministry on Tik Tok tells its target audiencejust how many cheeseburgers they can afford by joining the country’s forces to fight Russia.

A short clip shows a man dressed in plain clothes coming out of a McDonald’s. The manasks “how many cheeseburgers can be bought for 1 million hryvnas ($24,000)” and goes on to reveal that15,625 burgers can be bought for that sum in Ukraine. A person aged between 18 and 24 can get the needed sum by signing a contract with the defense ministry, he adds.

The video is part Kiev’s attempts to recruit more soldiers in the face of heavy casualties in its conflict with Russia and a mobilization campaign marred by widespread draft dodging and desertion.

In February, the defense ministry announced “special contracts” for volunteers aged 18 to 24, promising an equivalent ($24,000) for one year’s service, with $5,400 paid upfront and the remainder distributed over the service period.

Those under 25 years old are exempt from conscription.However social media users accused the military of trying to “organize the genocide of Ukrainian youth at a very cheap cost.”

“They are measuring the lives of our children in cheeseburgers,” one wrote.“This is cynical, I have no words,” another said. Some alsosaid that no money was worth going to the frontlines.

Many commenters also argued that the ministry’s “special contract”for youths is “discriminatory” against other Ukrainian servicemen, who receive much smaller salaries.

Kiev significantly tightened the mobilization regulations last year and lowered the conscription age from 27 to 25. The measures have failed to boost enlistment or replenish battlefield losses however. Ukraine’s Western backers demanded Kiev lowers the mobilization age down to 18 years, a suggestion Vladimir Zelensky described as politically unworkable.

In 2022, Ukraine declared a general mobilization, prohibiting most men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country. Millions did, however, through corruption and graft. In the country recruiters have begun raiding public places for potential conscripts, leading to violent confrontations with those trying to evade the draft.

https://www.rt.com/russia/614555-kiev-fast-food-army-ranks/

20 Mar, 2025 21:25

Hungary refuses to support EU call for more military aid to Ukraine

The bloc published the joint statement without unanimous support, bypassing past policy

The European Commission (EC) has published a joint declaration calling for increasing the flow of military aid to Ukraine without unanimous support of EU leaders, following a summit in Brussels on Thursday. Hungarian Prime Minister ViktorOrban once again refused to sign the meeting’s culminating document.

EC rules state that such documents require the unanimous support of all 27 members of the EU. Thursday’s joint statement was published as a short, three-sentence document, with the lengthy declaration urging more military aid to Kiev added as an appendix, bypassing Orban’s veto. The subject will be raised again on Friday, it said.

Orban explained that he was opposed to the bloc’s “pro-war” position on the Ukraine conflict.

“We will not allow a common European position to be formed that includes Hungary and is pro-war,” the Hungarian leader said in a statement after the meeting.

Earlier this month, Orban vetoed €30 billion (£32 billion) in proposed EU military aid for Kiev, arguing that it served the continuation of the Ukraine conflict.

Commenting on the decision in an interview to the media, the Hungarian leader insisted that the bloc cannot afford to bankroll Ukraine in its entirety.On top of funding its military, the EU would have to support all Ukrainian civic government, as “Ukraine, as a state, is not functioning,” he said.

Moscow has repeatedly argued that the supply of Western armaments to Ukraine only serves to prolong the conflict, while effectively making its backers in the West party to the conflict.

https://www.rt.com/news/614560-hungary-blocks-call-military-ukraine/

Judge blocks DOGE from accessing Social Security data of millions of people

“The DOGE Team is essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion,” said U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in a 137-page ruling.

By Kyle Cheney 3/20/25

A federal judge has barred Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive systems at the Social Security Administration, saying the group appears to be on a “fishing expedition” that could jeopardize the data of millions of people.

“The DOGE Team is essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion,” said U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in a 137-page ruling. “It has launched a search for the proverbial needle in the haystack, without any concrete knowledge that the needle is actually in the haystack.”

Hollander, an appointee of President Barack Obama, said the group’s broad access likely violated privacy laws. The Maryland-based judge ordered an immediate halt to the DOGE Social Security team’s access to any systems that contain sensitive data of Social Security recipients. She ordered Musk, DOGE and other affiliates to destroy any non-anonymized data they’ve obtained.

“Ironically, the identity of these DOGE affiliates has been concealed because defendants are concerned that the disclosure of even their names would expose them to harassment and thus invade their privacy,” the judge wrote.

“The defense does not appear to share a privacy concern for the millions of Americans whose SSA records were made available to the DOGE affiliates, without their consent.”

Hollander also barred the group from installing software in Social Security systems and to remove any software that has been installed since President Donald Trump began his second term. DOGE, under the order, is also prohibited from altering any code in the Social Security system.

The judge left room for DOGE team members to eventually regain access to sensitive data of recipients, but only after certifying they had completed required training and after providing a “detailed explanation” — potentially with court review — of the need to obtain “non-anonymized” data.

Hollander agreed that DOGE’s stated goal to root out “fraud, waste and mismanagement” is “in the public interest.”

“But, that does not mean that the government can flout the law to do so,” Hollander wrote. “The President’s advisors and employees are not exempt from the statutes Congress enacted to protect American citizens from overbroad and unnecessary access to their [private information].”

The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by two labor unions and an advocacy group who claimed that DOGE’s sweeping access to their members’ information presented a grave risk of data breaches and abuse.

In the suit, the groups relied heavily on the testimony of a senior Social Security Administration official, Tiffany Flick, who retired in February amid some of the early chaotic weeks of DOGE’s effort to access government systems. Hollander credited Flick’s assertions that DOGE team members received an unusual level of access to social security systems.

“In granting the DOGE Team access to records in the manner alleged, SSA veered far from principles that have been the mainstay of the Agency,” Hollander wrote, adding, “They have not provided a particularized explanation of how or why virtually the entire database of SSA is needed to conduct the investigation, or why redacted or anonymized records, at least initially, would be inadequate. The silence on this issue is deafening.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/20/judge-blocks-doge-from-accessing-social-security-data-of-millions-of-people-00241204