Category: Blaze Media
Biden-voting Secret Service agent stripped of security clearance after spilling beans to undercover reporter
The U.S. Secret Service has placed an agent assigned to Vice President JD Vance’s protective detail on administrative leave after he allegedly divulged sensitive security secrets to an undercover female reporter.
In footage published on Tuesday by investigative journalist James O’Keefe, USSS agent Tomas Escotto appears to share various specifics regarding Vance’s security detail with the reporter as well as photos revealing the methods used to transport the vice president.
‘When one person falls short, it places an added burden on colleagues who are left to rebuild trust.’
“What we uncovered is troubling,” said O’Keefe, who indicated that the engagements took place in the wake of the attempted break-in at Vance’s Cincinnati home. “We hope that bringing this to light strengthens security and helps prevent future vulnerabilities in our government.”
The video and text messages published by O’Keefe appear to show that Escotto, a self-identified Biden voter, provided the reporter with:
- real-time locations of the vice president;
- insights into Vance’s future travel plans;
- the particulars of how far ahead and behind agents walk in relation to Vance;
- the security detail’s shift schedule;
- photographs taken on duty containing location metadata; and
- photographs providing insights into how the vice president’s vehicle is secured and stored for international travel.
After indicating in the footage that he only received his citizenship in 2018, Escotto criticizes the Trump administration’s immigration policies, stating, “They’re deploying tactics that shouldn’t be deployed.”
Al Drago-Pool/Getty Image
O’Keefe noted that ahead of publishing the video, his team coordinated with the USSS, redacting sensitive operational details at their request.
Blaze News has reached out to Vance’s office for comment.
Deputy Secret Service Director Matthew Quinn confirmed in a statement to O’Keefe that the incident is under investigation and “the employee involved has been placed on administrative leave with his clearance suspended and access to agency facilities and systems revoked.”
The USSS is now also requiring all personnel to retake the agency’s anti-espionage training “in order to ensure employees are aware of the threats posed by individuals aiming to exploit agency employees for information about our protective operations.”
Quinn said in a memo to USSS employees that was obtained by O’Keefe, “Over the past several months, an agency employee was deliberately targeted and manipulated by a citizen-journalism media organization that misrepresented itself in an effort to get close to the employee and expose sensitive information. This is the second time in less than a year that our personnel have been subjected to this same deceptive tactic.”
“When one person falls short, it places an added burden on colleagues who are left to rebuild trust that each of us works hard every day to earn and protect,” added Quinn.
Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet was among those who emphasized the gravity of O’Keefe’s damning exposé, stating, “This is one of the most disturbing videos I’ve seen in some time. Those tasked with protecting the president, VP, and their families should be a top national priority.”
“That a Secret Service agent could be leaking sensitive information and endangering their lives is a national security threat of the highest importance,” added Kolvet.
Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, noted, “The Secret Service is a dangerous mess.”
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Is real-life ‘Star Wars’ America’s manifest destiny?
On December 18, 2025, the White House released an executive order on “Ensuring American Space Superiority.” The document begins with a premise that is less policy than existential stance: “Superiority in space is a measure of national vision.” This technical roadmap finds room for the terminology of providence, suggesting that a country’s greatness is now to be measured by its cosmic reach.
The order attempts to revive a specific American mythology. Since the 1960s, we have been told that space is the “final frontier,” a phrase that carries a reminder of 19th-century manifest destiny. The document reaffirms belief in America’s providential expansion, positioning the United States as the nation destined to lead in exploration, security, and commerce. It transforms orbits and planets into strategic high ground, repositories of resources that serve national ends.
Business leaders such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are the cultural heroes of this narrative.
We are, it seems, in the midst of a new space race. The memory of Apollo 11, that singular image of the Stars and Stripes planted in the lunar dust, remains the template. The order calls the return of Americans to the moon through the Artemis Program by 2028, a deadline meant to reassert leadership in a domain now crowded with rivals. The primary antagonist in this narrative is China, which has announced its own plans to land taikonauts on the moon by 2030. Former NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has been blunt, citing China’s aggressive claims in the South China Sea as an analogy for what might happen in lunar locales.
While the 1967 Outer Space Treaty forbids claiming sovereignty in space, there is fear that the first mover will gain de facto control. The rhetoric has shifted. We have moved from the cooperative optimism of the Apollo-Soyuz era to a harder-edged strategic competition. The order even revokes certain prior structures, such as the 2021 National Space Council, in favor of a more “America First” approach. This is a shift from the “global commons” to the “ultimate high ground.”
The technical ambitions of the order are sweeping. It delineates four priority areas, beginning with a permanent lunar outpost by 2030. To achieve this, the government is leaning heavily on the “power of American free enterprise.” The order sets a target of attracting $50 billion in private investment into U.S. space ventures by 2028. Business leaders such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are the cultural heroes of this narrative, visionary risk-takers who are expected to provide the commercial replacement for the aging International Space Station by 2030.
RELATED: ‘Who put them there?’ Scientists struggle to explain UFO-like objects
Photo by Barney Wayne/Keystone/Getty Images
However, beneath the talk of economic growth and high-paying aerospace jobs lies a more somber preoccupation with security. The order directs the Pentagon to demonstrate prototype missile defense technologies, an “Iron Dome for America” in space. The U.S. Space Force is no longer merely a passive observer but now must develop capabilities to directly counter threats. We are entering an era of satellite dogfighting, where maneuverable spacecraft practice close-approach maneuvers near U.S. assets. In 2024, intelligence revealed that Russia was developing a nuclear-powered vehicle capable of carrying a weapon into orbit, a development the order addresses by instructing agencies to draft plans for countering such placements.
Perhaps the most striking technical goal is the National Initiative for American Space Nuclear Power. The order calls for deploying nuclear reactors on the moon and in orbit by 2030. This deployment is a significant challenge, building small nuclear plants for extraterrestrial use, but it is seen as a necessary precursor for faster deep-space travel and energy-intensive lunar mining. The intent is to ensure that the foundational architecture of space activity, 50 or 100 years from now, bears a “Made in USA” stamp.
This drive for superiority explicitly equates technological progress with national destiny. The White House fact sheet links these efforts to a “pioneering legacy” that stretches from Lewis and Clark to the moon. The narrative is designed to rally public support, turning scientific milestones into geopolitical trophies. By connecting cosmic endeavors to broadband internet and weather forecasting, the administration tries to frame space superiority as a bread-and-butter issue rather than a merely abstract concern. Yet it cannot answer the deeper questions about our relationship with space. Marshall McLuhan once noted that with satellite technology, the Earth has become a “global theater” enclosed by a man-made environment. From this god’s-eye view, the planet becomes a dataset to manipulate rather than a home to nurture.
The order bets squarely on expansion, following the logic of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, who said that, while Earth is the cradle of humanity, one cannot live in a cradle forever. However, as we venture out, the stakes are not merely who gets there first, or who builds the most, but whether our reach for the stars elevates the human spirit or merely extends our appetites into the void. The destiny we are shaping is, for the first time, interplanetary. Whether we go as guardian angels or warring gods remains the crucial question.
3 reasons Renee Good’s death won’t spark a civil war
On January 8, following the death of Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer after she struck him with her vehicle, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) strongly hinted that civil war was in the cards.
“When things looked really bleak, it was Minnesota’s 1st that held that line for the nation on that July 3, 1863, and I think now we may be in that moment, that the nation’s looking to us to hold the line on democracy, to hold the line on decency, to hold the line on accountability, and more than that, to rise up as neighbors and simply say, ‘We can look out for one another,’” he said during a press conference addressing Good’s death.
His statement came just one day after Walz announced that he’d placed the Minnesota National Guard on a “warning order” amid tensions over federal immigration enforcement, protests, and Good’s shooting.
Many conservative media figures and Republicans have denounced Walz’s rhetoric as dangerous and inflammatory, arguing that he is intentionally stoking insurrection in hopes that a civil war will ignite.
But BlazeTV host John Doyle says that’s “not going to be the case.” On this episode of “The John Doyle Show,” Doyle explains why Good’s death isn’t going to be the catalyst that sparks civil war.
Reason #1: Good is white.
“You’re not exactly going to get people to come out onto the streets to more or less protest the death of a white woman — whether that is because, you know, they do not align with her racially or because they are, like, white liberals who do not view that to be as much of a tragedy,” Doyle says.
Reason #2: Normal people will continue doing normal people things.
“Not only are we going to enforce the law, normal people are just going to kind of allow us to do it, and it’s going to be really cool,” Doyle says.
“I like going on social media and seeing, like, my normie friends going about their lives, posting their Instagram stories, and I like seeing that because I know for a fact that all, like, the theater kids, all the leftists are seeing the normal conduct of people, and they’re seething about it. They’re angry because normal people just aren’t freaking waking up. And that makes me quite happy.”
Reason #3: It’s all theater.
“You had CNN running segments on this supposed uprising with experts warning of widespread civil unrest. Politicians, of course, were getting in on this, like Tim Walz alluding again to using the Minnesota National Guard to #resist deportations. He’s since cucked on this because that’s all it is, right? It’s intoxicating rhetoric,” laughs Doyle.
“It is trying to give the appearance of doing something when they’re going to have to completely surrender to the Trump administration and to the federal government. … They are trying to give gibs to their activist base.”
“[Democrats] wanted it to sound like the prelude to something actually big, this like real event and this real energy that could be absorbed by some kind of political machine so that they could finally freaking stand up and resist and we could have our civil war. … Except that is simply not going to happen because all these people do is complain and cry and bark,” Doyle says.
“They rarely bite. When they bite, it’s because they have control of the federal government,” he continues. And right now, they don’t.
To hear more of Doyle’s analysis, watch the video above.
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Stepfather accused of horrific sexual abuse of 12-year-old boy tries to commit suicide in jail, prosecutor says
The mother of a 12-year-old boy is accused of horrific acts of sexual abuse that included her husband, the stepfather of the boy, according to Oklahoma police.
The boy had gone missing from the Chickasha home for nine days before he was found by volunteers at the family farm in Caddo County on Sunday.
‘Some terrible world we live in. I think he went through a terrible ordeal, and I’m just thankful to God that he’s alive.’
Police arrested his stepfather, 43-year-old George Franklin Cole Jr., and his mother, 33-year-old Kimberly Cole, while the boy was missing.
After he was found, the boy told police that he was trying to escape after years of torture from his mother and stepfather. He was placed in state custody while police investigated the allegations.
The Coles are accused of abusing the boy and another victim from as far back as 2020.
The stepfather allegedly bound the boy with handcuffs and zip-ties, stabbed him, and tased him. He also beat him with a nightstick and used a cattle probe on him, according to court documents.
The boy’s mother was accused of similar crimes, as well as counts related to bestiality.
George Cole faces 14 felonies that include eight counts of child abuse, one count of child sexual abuse, three counts of child neglect, and conspiracy. Kimberly Cole faces 11 charges that include three counts of child abuse, three counts of child neglect, two counts of child sexual abuse, two counts of crimes against nature, and one count of conspiracy.
On Monday, George Cole appeared in court and received a $2.5 million bond. After returning to his cell, the man tried to killed himself by hanging, according to Caddo County district attorney Jason Hicks.
The boy’s biological father is trying to regain custody.
One of the relatives of the victim said that police returned him to the Coles after he ran away and sought help from his step-great-aunt. She also said she witnessed evidence of the abuse.
“It’s just terrible thing. Some terrible world we live in. I think he went through a terrible ordeal, and I’m just thankful to God that he’s alive,” neighbor Vaughan Craddock said.
George Cole was hospitalized after his suicide attempt.
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‘REST IN PEACE, SCOTT ADAMS’: White House, President Trump Pay Tribute to Dilbert Creator
Cartoonist, author, and political commentator Scott Adams died Tuesday after a battle with prostate cancer.
Migrant welfare recipients called out for funding TERROR GROUPS overseas with taxpayer dollars
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is warning that the federal government is about to crack down on migrant welfare recipients who send money overseas — and BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales is shocked that it was ever allowed in the first place.
“And from now on, anyone who wires money out from one of these money service businesses has to check a box saying whether they are on public assistance. And if you are on public assistance, we are going to start pushing that you cannot wire money out of the country,” Bessent told Laura Ingraham on Fox News.
“Well, what if they lie and they don’t tell us they’re on public assistance?” Ingraham asked. “That’s a crime, lying on a federal form.”
“We’re going to follow it up, and we are going to push that you can no longer do that. The American people, our generosity has been taken advantage of,” he responded.
“Our generosity is funding al-Shabaab and Iranian interests. … This is really bad,” Ingraham chimed in.
“The money is supposed to go for alleged asylum seekers and their families and children, and if you were wiring the money out of the country, one of two things must be true: You are getting too much money and your benefits should be cut, or you are part of this conspiracy,” Bessent said firmly.
“If the federal taxpayers are paying for you to live here, you’re not allowed to send their money. It’s not even your money. Their money, my money, you’re not allowed to send overseas. That should not be controversial at all,” Gonzales comments on “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered.”
“If you are so broke that you need taxpayer dollars, you are not allowed to send it overseas. You’re not allowed to send it to your family overseas. You’re not allowed to send it to terror groups overseas. You’re not allowed to send it to anybody overseas,” she continues.
And the amount of immigrants receiving benefits from taxpaying American citizens is not a small number.
“You’ve got over half of immigrant-headed households that receive cash, food, medical care, or housing benefits from taxpayers. Over half, according to the Center for Immigration Studies,” Gonzales says.
“We know that over half of these people are taking more than they are bringing to the table,” she continues, pointing out that money sent or brought back by migrants is “almost three times as much as global foreign aid.”
“Look at that chart: 822 billion versus 288 billion in foreign aid. … This is just these people coming here, taking from us, and then sending it back home or sending it to their favorite terror group,” she adds.
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Trump says he will cut federal funds to sanctuary cities and states — beginning in 3 weeks
President Donald Trump said that he would seek to end federal funds to sanctuary cities and those states that have sanctuary cities by the beginning of February.
Trump made the comments during an address at the Detroit Economic Club, where he also advocated cutting credit card interest rates to a maximum of 10%.
‘It breeds fraud and crime and all of the other problems that come, so we’re not making any payment to anybody that supports sanctuary cities.’
“Starting February 1, we are not making any payments to sanctuary cities or states having sanctuary cities because they do everything possible to protect criminals at the expense of American citizens,” the president said.
“It breeds fraud and crime and all of the other problems that come, so we’re not making any payment to anybody that supports sanctuary cities,” he added.
When asked to elaborate on the decision, he offered no further details.
“You’ll see,” Trump said. “It’ll be significant.”
The Department of Justice had previously identified 11 states they considered to be sanctuary states that included California, New York, and Connecticut.
Trump has tried to cut federal funds twice before but was blocked by judges’ rulings in both instances. In early January, he tried to cut $10 billion from child-care services but was blocked by a New York judge. In October, he cut almost $8 billion of funding from states that voted for Kamala Harris, but that effort was blocked by a Washington, D.C., judge.
He also touted his record on the economy during the speech.
“Growth is exploding, productivity is soaring, investment is booming, incomes are rising. Inflation is defeated,” Trump said.
RELATED: Faith leaders organize ‘underground railroad’ to hide illegal aliens from Trump deportations
New York Immigration Coalition president Murad Awawdeh released a statement condemning the president’s decision against sanctuary cities.
“Punishing states and cities that refuse to participate in the federal government’s inhumane and cruel attacks on immigrants is simply a playground bullying tactic. New York’s hardworking families, children, and elderly will pay the price if Trump gets his way,” Awawdeh wrote.
“Federal funding belongs to us all, as part of our government’s responsibility to ensure needs like healthcare, education, infrastructure, and public safety are met,” he added. “We expect New York City and other sanctuary jurisdictions to call this bully’s bluff by litigating this egregious violation of our City and State’s 10th Amendment rights and the federal government’s responsibility to provide essential services to all counties, cities and states.”
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Scores of Violent Criminal Aliens Arrested in Minnesota as Media Focuses on Anti-ICE Protests
In just a few weeks Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested around 2,000 dangerous criminal aliens in Minnesota, including murderers, pedophiles, rapists and gangbangers though you would never know it based on mainstream media coverage. That is because most news outlets are focusing exclusively on the ICE agent shooting of a woman who interfered […]
The post Scores of Violent Criminal Aliens Arrested in Minnesota as Media Focuses on Anti-ICE Protests appeared first on Judicial Watch.
Time to Stand With the People of Iran
Two years ago this month, I wrote an essay here at American Spectator entitled “We are at war with Iran’s…
