Category: Donald Trump
Democrat ex-lawmaker who heckled Trump convicted in COVID fraud scheme
A leftist former lawmaker was sentenced last month after being convicted of fraudulently obtaining a COVID-19 relief loan.
Ibraheem Samirah, a former Democratic Virginia state delegate, made headlines in 2019 for interrupting President Donald Trump’s Jamestown speech, holding up a sign that read, “Deport hate” and “reunite my family.”
‘The defendant was stealing federal tax dollars at the same time he was deciding how to spend Virginia tax dollars.’
Samirah, 34, was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay $88,000 in restitution after he pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, according to a Tuesday report from the Washington Post.
Prosecutors argued that the former lawmaker received an $83,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan in May 2020 for his dental practice in Fairfax County. He applied in August 2021 to have the loan forgiven, which would require the PPP funds to have been used for payroll, rent, or mortgage payments.
Samirah claimed that the loan would be used to pay four workers at his practice. However, court documents revealed that his business had no payroll employees. Additionally, it had no active financial account to disburse payroll funds until a few days before applying for the loan.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
Samirah allegedly fabricated payroll and tax records to secure the loan. The funds were distributed through bank accounts belonging to the supposed employees and then transferred into Samirah’s own account, according to prosecutors.
“The defendant was stealing federal tax dollars at the same time he was deciding how to spend Virginia tax dollars,” prosecutors wrote.
Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Samirah told the Post that he had a “mistaken understanding of the PPP loan process,” which he claimed was “weaponized by Donald Trump’s Justice Department.”
He told the news outlet that he intended to use the cash to hire workers to market his business; however, on the loan application, he claimed that the funds would go to existing employees. He explained that he changed his mind about hiring new workers after realizing the pandemic would be prolonged. Instead, he spent the money on dental equipment and office furnishings, which were not authorized uses of the funds.
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Here’s everything Senate Republicans accomplished while Democrats forced record-breaking shutdown
While Democrats forced the longest government shutdown in American history, Senate Republicans continued to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Democrats initially shut down the government for a record-breaking 43 days in an attempt to force Republicans to negotiate on Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year. Over 40 days into the shutdown, eight Senate Democrats eventually caved and voted with Republicans to pass the funding bill Monday night.
‘Democrats stood on the sidelines.’
Senate Democrats walked away from the shutdown with nothing to show for it except for a commitment from Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to hold a vote on ACA subsidies. Notably, this offer was available to Democrats on day one of the shutdown.
As Democrats feigned outrage over the shutdown they started, Thune and his Republican colleagues were hard at work confirming Trump’s nominees and passing legislation with conservative wins.
RELATED: ‘Temporary crumbs’: Out-of-touch Democrat gives stunning rebuke of Trump’s ‘No Tax on Tips’ policy
Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
In the early days of the shutdown, Senate Republicans confirmed a batch of 107 of Trump’s nominees in a 51-47 party-line vote. Throughout the shutdown, the Senate also confirmed 11 nominees to serve as federal judges.
Since Trump took office in January, the Senate has confirmed 310 civilian nominations, including high-profile Cabinet members, federal judges, and ambassadors.
The Senate also passed several key pieces of legislation to advance Trump’s agenda during the shutdown while Democrats stood on the sidelines.
Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
Senate Republicans unanimously passed four Congressional Review Act resolutions aimed at addressing and even repealing former President Joe Biden’s energy policies. One resolution even secured the support of Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who consistently voted with Republicans throughout the shutdown to reopen the government.
The National Defense Authorization Act also got the Senate’s stamp of approval, providing an additional $6 billion in addition to the $25 billion allocated in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to boost the production for crucial munitions like F-35s and shipbuilding.
In addition to bolstering American military dominance, the NDAA “repeals or amends more than 100 provisions of statute to streamline the defense acquisition process, reduce administrative complexity, and remove outdated requirements, limitations, and other matters.”
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Georgia Judge Drops Three Of Trump’s Charges In Election Interference Case
‘informed and transparent determination’
Trump Will Order DOJ To Investigate Epstein’s Links To Bill Clinton, Major Banks
‘Now that the Democrats are using the Epstein Hoax’
‘Temporary crumbs’: Out-of-touch Democrat gives stunning rebuke of Trump’s ‘No Tax on Tips’ policy
Democrats are once again taking aim at President Donald Trump’s policies, but this time they are aiming toward one of his most popular campaign promises.
Trump debuted his “No Tax on Tips” policy on the 2024 campaign trail, which quickly earned the support of the majority of Americans irrespective of their political affiliation. The policy later made its way into Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Congress passed along party lines in July.
‘Nevadans know who put more money back in their pockets, and it wasn’t the Democrat frauds.’
Although Trump’s landmark legislation was rebuked by Democrats, some singled out the No Tax on Tips provision as a positive policy. Despite the bipartisan support, other Democrats continue to reject even this popular policy.
One Democratic operative offered a particularly tone-deaf criticism, calling the policy mere “crumbs.”
RELATED: Eric Swalwell offers melodramatic response to Trump DOJ probe: ‘I refuse to live in fear’
Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
“D.C. Republicans are giving temporary crumbs to working families,” Lindsay Reilly, a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said of the provision, according to Politico. “Meanwhile, millions of families are at risk of losing their health care, hundreds of hospitals could close, and countless Americans could lose their jobs — all to pay for permanent tax cuts for billionaires.”
Not all Democrats share Reilly’s sentiments. Some Democrats actually support the idea of minimizing taxes on tips or even getting rid of them altogether. Rep. Steven Horsford (D) of Nevada — a state where many workers depend on tips — went so far as to create his own version of the legislation to address tax on tips, saying that “the Republicans got their bill wrong from the beginning.”
Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Because some “out-of-touch” Democrats like Horsford have tried to reclaim the idea of eliminating tax on tips, the National Republican Congressional Committee argued that effort is an indicator of the policy’s popularity.
“Nevadans know who put more money back in their pockets, and it wasn’t the Democrat frauds who are trying to claim credit,” Christian Martinez, a spokesperson for the NRCC, told Politico. “Out-of-touch Democrats Steven Horsford, Dina Titus, and Susie Lee can’t lie their way out of this one.”
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