OH NO! They’ve got Trump now with this terrible new SCANDAL!!11!!1!!

Both Politico and The Hill have got President Trump against the proverbial wall and I don’t know what he’s going to do, since they clearly have the goods on him!!11!!11!!

Yes, I’m being sarcastic. But check out this latest ‘scandal’ they are pushing, via The Hill:

President Trump last week returned a mail-in ballot ahead of Florida’s primary election on Tuesday, Politico reported Monday, the second time he has done so amid his unfounded claims that mail-in voting contributes to election fraud.

The outlet added that Trump requested his ballot in late July and it was returned on Aug. 13, citing Palm Beach County voting records.

The Hill has reached out to the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections office for confirmation.

When asked for similar confirmation, White House spokesperson Olivia Wales emphasized Trump’s priority voter ID legislation, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, and its exceptions allowing mail-in votes for “illness, disability, military, or travel.” It was the same statement obtained by The Hill in March when Trump last voted by mail.

“As everyone knows, the President is a resident of Palm Beach and participates in Florida elections, but he obviously primarily lives at the White House in Washington, D.C.,” she said in a statement to The Hill. “This is a non-story.”

Trump signed an executive order in March to restrict mail-in voting. The order gave states until 60 days before the Nov. 3 midterms to notify USPS if they intend to submit a list of eligible voters — based on citizenship data. Only then would the service allow the states’ respective residents to receive mail-in or absentee ballots.

In June, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled that Trump’s order did not apply in 20-plus Democratic led states, nullifying the order. Talwani, an appointee of former President Obama to the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, wrote in the 27-page ruling that the order is “causing confusion” and “threatening both increasing chaos and an erosion of trust in our democracy.”

Trump notably spoke out against mail-in voting during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the last year of his first term, when more voters turned to mail-in voting amid the crisis. His condemnation later led to longstanding false claims that he won the 2020 presidential election, and not his successor, former President Biden.

But in March, Trump voted by mail from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach County. The ballot cast was for the special election between Democrat Emily Gregory and Republican Jon Maples, who are both vying for the state House seat vacated by Republican Mike Caruso. The president narrowly won the district in 2024.

The president, at that time, called mail-in voting “mail-in cheating.” He later defended his choice of voting by suggesting there was a difference between voting by mail when living out of state and voting by mail when within the borders of the state where one is registered to vote.

“No, I think mail-in voting is a terrible thing,” Trump added. “I think if you vote, you should go.”

This is so ridiculous. President Trump not only lives in Washington D.C, but travels much of the time. There’s no way for him to predict where he’s gonna be needed when election day comes.

But even more so, Trump doesn’t care about this use of mail-in ballots. This has never been a problem because it is requested by the voter. What Trump detests is blue states and cities automatically mailing out ballots to people – sometimes multiple ballots to the same people – when these voters (or non-voters) never requested them. It is and has been a recipe for cheating, as we’ve clearly seen.

These Trump-haters are so desperate, and it’s pathetic.

https://therightscoop.com/oh-no-theyve-got-trump-now-with-this-terrible-new-scandal111/

Texas Lawmaker Says Talarico 'Most Liberal' in State History Amid Speculation He Fabricated Intern Story: He 'Relies on Dishonesty'

Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate James Talarico speaks during a campaign rally as part of his "New American Dream Tour" in Pasadena, Texas, on Aug. 9, 2026. 

A Texas state legislator called Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico the “most liberal” candidate in the state’s history when reacting to allegations that the latter embellished his first story as a lawmaker.

As The Western Journal previously noted, Talarico suspiciously predicted he might be mistaken for an intern after he was first elected to the state House in 2018.

Twice after that election, Talarico said he feared he might be mistaken for a support staffer when reporting for his first day of work.

On Nov. 20, 2018, Talarico told KVUE-TV he feared he would be “stuffed into a locker” and that he might be confused for a lower-level staffer after taking his oath.

Weeks later, he told the Austin American-Statesman, “My No. 1 goal is to not be confused for an intern.”

People whom The Western Journal spoke to about the apparent prognostication were not at all surprised that Talarico did, in fact, later claim twice that he was teased on his first day of work and mistaken for an intern.

Per one of those sources, Talarico has a penchant for being dishonest.

In a comment to The Western Journal, Republican state Rep. Brian Harrison said:

“James relies on dishonesty because he’s the most liberal statewide candidate in Texas history, and his entire campaign is based on covering up his radical past policy positions in a pathetic attempt to con Texans into believing he shares their values.”

Weeks after Talarico shared his apparent anxiety about being mistaken for an intern, he claimed that Capitol parking garage attendants quizzed him about his job status.

A Jan. 8, 2019, Texas Tribune profile was published the same day Talarico said he reported to work as a legislator for the first time with the state House in session.

“One of them told me I look like an intern,” he claimed of two garage attendants.

A month later, on a program called “Trey Blocker Show,” Talarico expanded the story.

He said, “The guys in the parking garage gave me a little bit of grief on my first day, saying I looked more like an intern than a legislator.”

Talarico added, “But I think that’s a compliment.”

The particularity of the prediction and its apparent coming to fruition follow a particular pattern for people who know or have been around Talarico.

The 37-year-old’s credibility has been a major question for months, since he announced his campaign and defeated U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the state’s Democratic Senate primary.

Talarico previously expressed his belief that there are a half-dozen genders and once publicly described God as “nonbinary.”

He has spent weeks trying to walk those statements back.

Karol Markowicz, a columnist for the New York Post, recently referred to Talarico’s entire public persona as an “act” after poring over many of his past public statements.

She concluded, “Democrats badly want to appeal to those voters, who feel like the party has gotten on the leftist crazy train and has zero interest in jumping off. But they’re skipping the part about running actual normal, sane candidates — in favor of people who can plausibly put on the act.”

https://www.westernjournal.com/exclusive-texas-lawmaker-says-talarico-liberal-state-history-amid-speculation-fabricated-intern-story-relies-dishonesty/

Escalating the White House Ballroom Kerfuffle

In the face of opposition from Democrats and the courts, President Trump has asked the Supreme Court to allow him to continue construction of the project.

Leftists reflexively hate everything President Donald Trump says or does, so when he proposed a new White House ballroom, they went (even more) nuts.

It all began last July, when he announced his intention to demolish the East Wing in favor of a ballroom, “privately funded by many generous Patriots,” that could seat nearly 1,000. “The site of the new ballroom will be where the small, heavily changed, and reconstructed East Wing currently sits,” Trump announced. “The East Wing was constructed in 1902 and has been renovated and changed many times, with a second story added in 1942.” The president and his administration laid out legitimate reasons for a ballroom, including the complete lack of a large room for hosting state functions.

“In my work with heads of state and foreign ministers, I am frequently hosted in reception facilities that are visually impressive and reflective of the wealth and beauty of the nations I am visiting,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week. “Instead, we must currently host such visits in plastic or canvas tents on the South Lawn with unsafe and unsanitary portable bathrooms and accommodations unbecoming our national stature.”

Though there are good reasons for this construction project, it would certainly be preferable if President Trump did more with Congress and less unilaterally. Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 seems to include the White House within congressional purview.

But Democrats pointing to the Constitution are not doing so in good faith. They never go along with anything Trump takes to Congress, regardless of the justification. Democrats have led the charge in opposing the ballroom, even though it’s the party of JFK, Bill Clinton, and Joe Biden. For them to suddenly express reverence for the White House is a bit too much.

It’s more akin to Cinderella’s wicked stepsisters obstructing her path to the ball out of jealousy and contempt.

The project recently experienced another setback that, I confess, made me laugh. Ten days ago, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 that the administration must halt construction until Congress approves the project. “Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help,” the two Democrat appointees wrote. “This holding has nothing at all to do with whether the proposed ballroom is desirable, or not, as a matter of policy. This ruling does not even necessarily mean that the Defendants may not ultimately construct the ballroom. What it does mean is that the Defendants may not do so during the district court’s expeditious litigation without securing Congress’s authorization, as the Constitution and laws require.”

Dissenting Judge Neomi Rao noted, “The district court elevated the aesthetic displeasure of a single passerby over the government’s security interests in the ballroom and the security risks of leaving an open construction site at the president’s home and office.”

On Friday, President Trump asked the Supreme Court to expedite a ruling allowing construction to continue. “The updated East Wing complex is absolutely required and should not be enjoined,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote on the president’s behalf. “This case involves an extraordinary and unlawful injunction that will halt the ongoing construction of the integrated military complex, including a totally secure ballroom space, at the East Wing of the White House, which is vitally required by national security.”

Initially, Trump pitched the ballroom as necessary for essentially entertainment functions. It had a price tag somewhere around $250 million, paid for by private donors. Now, the 90,000-square-foot facility is a $400 million project — some estimates now put it at $900 million, perhaps partially covered by taxpayers, though the White House denies this. Furthermore, Trump’s administration is calling it a “national security” necessity and a “military complex.” Trump didn’t even use the word “ballroom” in his Friday night Truth Social post about it.

What gives? Sauer cited “recent domestic and international assassination plots” against the president, which is legitimate. Many leftists want to kill this president, and Democrats don’t seem to mind that idea all that much. They and their Leftmedia allies would rather stir controversy over his Air Force One ruse.

To summarize the ballroom saga, however, the whole fiasco reflects poorly on everyone.

President Trump showed little inclination to inform Congress of his plans, preferring to raise money separately, knock down the East Wing, start construction, and deal with the fallout later by claiming he had already started and couldn’t stop now.

Yet who could blame him? He has justifiable reasons for wanting to renovate the White House, which other presidents have done with nary a peep from the critics piling on him now. And Democrats bear a closer resemblance to the British soldiers who burned down the White House in 1814 than to the “preservationists” constantly cited by the president’s Leftmedia critics. The idea that “progressives” want to conserve anything is utterly laughable. For Trump, simply starting the ballroom was the only way it was ever going to happen.

Trump is a builder. His critics are destroyers. Yet the American people would be better served if all of our elected officials upheld their oaths to support and defend the Constitution.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/129974-escalating-the-white-house-ballroom-kerfuffle-2026-08-17

Eric Swalwell confessed to drug-fueled sex romp with suspected Chinese spy ‘Fang Fang,’ bombshell files reveal

 Eric Swalwell confessed to a prescription drug-fueled sex romp with a suspected Chinese spy, according to newly released FBI files that confirm for the first time the disgraced former congressman got physical with Beijing’s purported honeypot.

The former East Bay congressman had “physical relations” with Christine Fang, also known as “Fang Fang,” on at least two occasions, according to investigative files made public Monday by the White House Transparency Task Force.

On one occasion, Fang showed up at Swalwell’s apartment late one night demanding to be let in, with the Democrat admitting the two “hooked up” after he had taken an Ambien — his explanation for barely remembering the tryst.

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Christine Fang, aka “Fang Fang,” was a suspected Chinese spy who targeted US politicians while a student in California.

A former Swalwell campaign aide told FBI agents in a May 1, 2015, interview that Fang was “very flirtatious” and boasted to Swalwell “that she was not wearing any underwear” upon arriving at his doorstep unannounced.

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Newly released files reveal Eric Swalwell confessed to sex with the known operative as part of a top-secret FBI probe.Swalwell, whose career and campaign for California governor imploded this past April after accusations of rape and sexual assault by multiple women, was interviewed at the FBI’s Oakland outpost in 2015, as Fang became the subject of a counterintelligence investigation over her relationships with Bay Area and national political figures.

The now-45-year-old claimed to the FBI that both of his encounters with Fang, described as a “striking individual” in the documents, took place at his apartment “probably before he was first elected to Congress in 2012.

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Fang, far right, helped place an intern in Swalwell’s congressional office.

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Swalwell is currently the subject of multiple investigations.

“One night FANG came over late in the evening and started banging on SWALWELL’s door,” the document states. “SWALWELL let her in and she and SWALWELL hooked up. FANG left after a couple hours.”

“SWALWELL barely remembers the event because he had taken an Ambien prior to FANG arriving,” according to the document, helpfully clarifying that “SWALWELL takes Ambien to help him sleep.”

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Fang and Swalwell had a relationship that concerned federal investigators.

According to interview notes, Swalwell — a member of the Dublin City Council before his election to Congress — told investigators he and Fang had “casual” relations and often communicated via text message.

The files were posted months after Swalwell accused the Trump administration of meddling in the California governor’s race following FBI Director Kash Patel teasing the release of the files in late March.

Swalwell’s links to Fang were first reported by Axios in December 2020, and led to then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) booting him from the House Intelligence Committee in January 2023.

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Fang is pictured with California Congresswoman Judy Chu.

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Former Rep. Mike Honda, left, Fang, and Assemblyman Ash Kalra seen at an event.

Fang, believed to be an operative for the Chinese Communist Party’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), helped organize fundraisers for Swalwell in Las Vegas and California, according to a witness interview.

She also reportedly cultivated relationships with a network of rising politicians and other influencuers across the US.

Fang repeatedly encouraged Swalwell to visit China — even extending an invitation to Swalwell’s father and his family following the congressman’s 2014 re-election, according to newly declassified documents.

“When Swalwell’s father later mentioned this to him, he [Swalwell] thought it was odd,” investigators wrote. “Neither Swalwell’s father nor his family traveled to China.”

Swalwell did not respond to The Post’s request for comment Monday.

Sara Azari, an attorney for Swalwell, who is currently under investigation by the Fair Political Practices Commission, blasted the document dump Monday as old news.

“There is nothing new here,” Azari said in a statement to The Post. “The government’s own memorandum confirms what Congressman Swalwell has said for more than a decade: he did nothing wrong, and there was no basis to charge him with any offense.”

She added: “What is new and deeply concerning is the apparent use of federal law enforcement information to punish or embarrass an outspoken critic of the current administration. An investigation that produced no charges and no finding of wrongdoing should not be resurrected years later as a vehicle for political retaliation.

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Swalwell was the Democratic frontrunner for California governor until early April.

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Fang repeatedly encouraged Swalwell to visit China — at one point extending an invitation that included his family.

“The facts have not changed. Only the political motive for publicizing them has. That should concern anyone who believes federal law enforcement must remain independent of political retribution.”

Although portions of the document are redacted, they describe Fang as having been deeply involved in Swalwell’s political operation.

The FBI documents also show Fang helped place an intern in Swalwell’s congressional office in Washington, D.C. The FBI memo says Fang asked Swalwell to help the intern secure another internship, this time with a different member of Congress.

Swalwell told agents he declined, saying he did not remember having advised or complained about the intern and did not want to provide a recommendation.

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Fang (top row, second from right), was reportedly a Chinese spy who targeted US politicians.

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Swalwell resigned from Congress and suspended his campaign after allegations of rape and sexual assault emerged.The FBI records do not say whether the intern was a Chinese intelligence operative or whether they obtained or passed on classified information.

Fang is believed to have returned to China in mid-2015 as an FBI investigation into allegations she solicited illegal campaign donations for Swalwell and acted as an unregistered foreign agent reached an advanced stage. 

https://nypost.com/2026/08/17/us-news/eric-swalwell-hooked-up-with-suspected-chinese-spy-christine-fang/