The Patriot Post® · Thursday: Below the Fold
Dem senator makes fruitless attempt to return MS-13 gangster to the U.S.: Maryland Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen made a well-publicized trip to El Salvador on Wednesday. Van Hollen was attempting to bully El Salvador’s government into returning a wife-beater, suspected human-trafficker, and MS-13 “Chequeo” to America. “Chele” is better known by his given name, Kilmar Abrego Garcia — or, as the Leftmedia calls him, “a Maryland father.” Van Hollen spoke to Salvadoran Vice President Félix Augusto Garay, who stonewalled every attempt the senator made to meet with, talk with, or even see Garcia. On Monday, another Maryland illegal was convicted of the rape and murder of Rachel Morin. Van Hollen has released a statement on that case reaffirming his commitment to protecting the rights of illegals. Democrats love illegals, not Americans.
Contempt over deportation flights? James Boasberg, the district judge who has proven to be the Trump administration’s biggest nemesis when it comes to pursuing the deportation of criminal illegal aliens, has once again thrown his weight around. On Wednesday, Boasberg issued a 48-page order determining that the Trump administration had engaged in “willful disregard” of his March 15 emergency order to temporarily halt deportation flights to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act. Two of those flights were in the air when Boasberg issued his order, and they continued to El Salvador. Boasberg said that he had ordered those flights to “immediately” return to the U.S. and has given the government until April 23 to provide evidence why it should not be held in contempt. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung responded, “We plan to seek immediate appellate relief.”
Trump admin to install 17 miles of buoys in border river: The Trump administration will soon take a proven barrier concept and apply it to a 17-mile stretch of the Rio Grande along the Texas-Mexico border. That concept is a floating buoy barrier, which Texas deployed along a mile-long stretch of the river near Eagle Pass. Border Patrol “was studying their use at the end of Trump 45 and thought they were an excellent method to secure the border and save lives,” explained Border Czar Tom Homan. “They were not deployed because the administration changed hands. Gov. Abbott deployed them soon after and proved that they were very effective.” When Texas first deployed its buoy wall in 2023, the Biden administration took the state to court. Now, under Trump, the DOJ is in the process of dropping its case against Texas.
Shapiro arsonist was an anti-Semite: “We celebrated our faith last night, proudly, and in a few hours, we will celebrate our second Seder of Passover,” said Governor Josh Shapiro the day after the governor’s mansion was firebombed. At the time, the motivation for the attack was unknown. Now, word of the arsonist’s anti-Semitism is coming out. Cody Balmer, the alleged arsonist, called 911 after the attack and ranted about Shapiro’s plans against the Palestinian people, calling him a monster. Regarding the room where Shapiro had celebrated Passover hours before, he added, “All he has is a banquet hall to clean up.” Balmer is being charged with five first-degree felonies. In Pennsylvania, a hate-crime charge ups the ante, but Balmer’s charges are already the highest possible.
UK Supreme Court knows what a woman is: Is a woman an adult human female, or a man with a certificate? This was the fraught legal question the United Kingdom Supreme Court tackled this week. The justices, none of whom is a biologist, unanimously ruled in favor of biological sex on Wednesday. The case was brought by For Women Scotland (FWS), a feminist group, over the question of whether “trans-women” counted toward Scotland’s goal of 50% female representation on public boards. FWS lawyers rightly noted that if “trans-women” counted, the desired equality could be met with 50% men, and 50% men dressed as women. Lord Patrick Hodge, deputy president of the Supreme Court, counseled against reading this judgment as a triumph for any particular part of society. Whatever Hodge says, one side of this issue relies on truth and the other on lies.
Iranian spy at FAA: A naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Iran pleaded guilty to espionage charges on Wednesday. Abouzar Rahmati, who lived in Great Falls, Virginia, worked for a Federal Aviation Administration contractor between 2017 and 2024. However, Rahmati was formerly a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from 2009 to 2010 and admitted to working as a spy for the Iranian government. As an FAA contractor, Rahmati had access to sensitive U.S. aviation information, which he shared with Iranian intelligence. While working for the FAA contractor, Rahmati downloaded at least 175 GB of files related to the National Aerospace System (NAS), NAS Airport Surveillance Radar systems, and radio frequency data. He subsequently took these files on a trip to Iran in 2022 and shared them with government officials. Rahmati faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Jeffries supports stock-trading ban for lawmakers: House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries has jumped on board a bipartisan initiative that would ban congressional lawmakers from trading stock. “So many of these people are crooks, liars, and frauds,” Jeffries claimed in a recent interview. “We do need to change the law so that sitting members of Congress cannot trade stock, period. Full stop.” The timing of Jeffries’s sudden decision to promote this legislation is telling. It was only after Donald Trump paused his reciprocal tariffs that Democrats charged him and Republicans with “market manipulation.” Did Jeffries ever level such a charge against former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, one of the wealthiest members of Congress, especially given her opposition to such a stock ban? This is all political posturing on Jeffries’s part, though it would be good for Congress to pass such a bill, which Republican members of the Freedom Caucus have been calling for.
WH changes media access rules in latest hit against AP: When the Associated Press continued to use the outdated term “Gulf of Mexico” instead of the official term “Gulf of America,” Donald Trump revoked the AP’s special “wire service” access for events. When it brought and won a case to restore that access, his administration ended special access for all wire services. Traditionally, AP, Reuters, and Bloomberg had seats in the press pool as wire services. Initially, that changed to one rotating seat between Reuters and Bloomberg, but now the seat is gone entirely. Instead, Reuters and Bloomberg can rotate into the print media seat while the AP is still excluded. Critics argue that accurate real-time reporting on the administration’s actions will be lacking without these seats. That threat rings hollow, as NBC, iHeartRadio, The New York Times, and others were still in the pool on Wednesday.
Headlines
Newsom announces lawsuit against Trump administration over tariffs (Center Square)
China faces 245% Trump tariff (Newsweek)
Trump admin looks to rescind Harvard’s tax-exempt status (National Review)
Noem announces cancelation of $2.7 million in grants to Harvard (The Hill)
State Department shutters Global Engagement Center after COVID censorship controversy (NY Post)
Third top Pentagon aide on administrative leave over leaks probe (Fox News)
The IRS scheduled maintenance of its payment system on Tax Day, said payment was still due regardless (Not the Bee)
Fencer Stephanie Turner put on 12-month probation after refusing to compete against male athlete (NY Post)
Humor: 10 reasons women make better astronauts than men (Babylon Bee)
For the Executive Summary archive, click here.