Category: The Washington Free Beacon
‘You’re a left-wing hack!’ Karoline Leavitt rips journalist over ‘biased’ ICE claims
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt torched a “left-wing” reporter who challenged the administration’s defense of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Niall Stanage, a White House columnist for The Hill, asked Leavitt to defend Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s remarks claiming ICE is “doing everything correctly.” Stanage pointed to the shooting of Renee Good that has engulfed the media, as well as deaths and alleged improper detainments over the last year.
‘You should be reporting on the facts.’
“Secretary Noem spoke to the media and she said, among other things, that they are doing everything correctly,” Stanage said. “32 people died in ICE custody last year, 170 U.S. citizens were detained by ICE, and Renee Good was shot in the head and killed by an ICE agent. How does that equate to them doing everything correctly?”
“Why was Renee Good unfortunately and tragically killed?” Leavitt returned.
RELATED: ICE officer suffered internal bleeding following Renee Good incident: Report
Leavitt sparred with Stanage, noting that he intentionally withheld figures that outline successful deportations of illegal aliens and the removal of violent criminals from America.
“Because an ICE agent acted recklessly,” Stanage replied.
“Oh, okay! So you’re a biased reporter with a left-wing opinion,” Leavitt said.
“You’re a left-wing hack! You’re not a reporter. You’re posing in this room as a journalist, and it’s so clear by the premise of your question.”
“You and the people in the media who have such biases but fake like you’re a journalist, you shouldn’t even be sitting in that seat. But you’re pretending like you’re a journalist, but you’re a left-wing activist, and the question that you just raised and your answer proves your bias. You should be reporting on the facts.”
RELATED: ‘Don’t make a bad decision’: ICE officer warns smug leftists allegedly trailing agents in their SUVs
Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Leavitt grilled Stanage for failing to name the innocent Americans who were killed by illegal aliens, doubling down and defending ICE’s role in deporting violent criminals.
“Do you have the numbers of how many American citizens were killed at the hands of illegal aliens who ICE is trying to remove from this country? I bet you don’t,” Leavitt said. “I bet you didn’t even read up on those stories. I bet you never even read about Laken Riley or Jocelyn Nungaray or all of the innocent Americans who were killed at the hands of illegal aliens in this country.”
“The brave men and women of ICE are doing everything in their power to remove those heinous individuals and make our communities safer. And shame on people like you in the media who have a crooked view and have a biased view and pretend like you’re a real honest journalist.”
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‘We’re hot on their trail’: Trump zeros in on leakers after IT contractor allegedly spills Venezuela secrets to reporter
The Trump administration revealed that a government contractor leaked information about the military operation in Venezuela earlier this month.
‘There could be some others, and we’ll let you know about that. We’re hot on their trail.’
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the FBI searched the home of one of its reporters, claiming the raid was part of an investigation into Aurelio Perez-Lugones.
Perez-Lugones is a Maryland resident who was working as a systems engineer and information technology specialist for a government contracting company when federal authorities arrested him. He has maintained Top Secret security clearance since at least 2000, according to a January 9 affidavit.
Federal prosecutors accused Perez-Lugones of printing screenshots of a Top Secret report, as well as writing classified information on a notepad and taking the sheets of paper home. When authorities searched his home last week, they allegedly found multiple documents that were marked as Secret, including a document found in his lunch box.
The criminal complaint claimed the documents were related to “national defense.” However it did not specify any details, such as whether the information pertained to the United States’ recent operation in Venezuela.
FBI Director Kash Patel shared a statement on Wednesday about the recent arrest of the leaker and that individual’s ties to the Washington Post.
Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“This morning the @FBI and partners executed a search warrant of an individual at the Washington Post who was found to allegedly be obtaining and reporting classified, sensitive military information from a government contractor — endangering our warfighters and compromising America’s national security,” Patel wrote.
During an interview with Fox News, Attorney General Pam Bondi described the leaker as an IT contractor who had been working with the Department of War and allegedly leaked information related to “a foreign adversary.”
“The great men and women of the FBI executed a search warrant at the direction of Kash Patel and my office on the reporter’s home, seizing the devices that contained classified material regarding our foreign adversaries,” Bondi stated.
RELATED: Online sleuths spot numerous signs that a US strike on Iran is imminent
Attorney General Pam Bondi. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
President Donald Trump also addressed news about the alleged leak, describing the suspect as the “leaker on Venezuela.”
“A very bad leaker. So there could be some others, and we’ll let you know about that. We’re hot on their trail,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday, adding that the alleged leaker would “probably be in jail for a long time.”
Trump officials have confirmed that the suspected leaker is in custody.
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Senators Urge DOJ To Probe ISIS-Linked Somali ‘Nonprofit’ After Omar Tried To Earmark $1M For It
Notably, Generation Hope MN founder Abdirahman Warsame’s older brother, Abdirizak Mohamed Warsame, was arrested in 2015 for alleged preparing to move to Syria to join ISIS, a terrorist organization.
Democrats Are Begging Radical Members Not To Revive the ‘Abolish ICE’ Craze. It’s Not Working.
Sensible Democrats who care about winning elections are begging their elected leaders to ignore the screeching activists who are (once again) hounding them to abolish ICE, the immigration enforcement agency.
The post Democrats Are Begging Radical Members Not To Revive the ‘Abolish ICE’ Craze. It’s Not Working. appeared first on .
FACTION NEWS: The day the media taught me it’s always wrong to be right
My first experience with an activist journalist came in 2019. I had traveled to Oregon’s state capitol in support of a small group of Republican state legislators. They had refused to appear for a vote, to prevent the Democrats from passing a hotly contested education bill.
This was a strategy the Republicans had used before. Oregon is a solid blue, Democrat-run state. Often, the only tool the Republicans had to stop a bad bill was to leave town and thus deny the legislature their quorum (the necessary number of legislators needed to vote).
Did she really hate Republicans so much, she couldn’t contain her rage for the 10 seconds she was required to listen to my answer? She was a professional news reporter.
So that’s what they did. The Democrats were up to their usual money-wasting, ideology-pushing ways. So the Republicans went AWOL.
Breaking the ice
Our busload of Republican volunteers — about 20 of us — unloaded at the state capitol.
There was media everywhere. The day before, the Democrats had threatened to send the state police after the rogue legislators and drag them back to the capitol building.
To this, one of our more salty, cowboy hat-wearing legislators responded: “Send bachelors and come heavily armed.”
This was about as colorful as politics got here in Oregon.
So that’s why we were there. To show the public that those renegade Republicans had the support of their constituents.
We’d been told to look presentable and interact with the media if possible. I was wearing glasses, a sweater, and a button-down shirt. I looked like a school teacher or maybe a writer (which I am) or one of those retirees who volunteers for things (which I also am).
We gathered in the crowded capitol building. There were reporters and camera crews scattered throughout. I felt like I should break the ice and go talk to one.
I spotted a TV crew from the Portland Fox affiliate. The reporter was dressed up, hair and makeup camera-ready. She was probably 45 years old. She appeared to be a seasoned, professional reporter.
So I walked over to her and said: “Do you guys need to interview a Republican? Do you want a quote?”
“Yeah, sure,” she answered.
Spirited debate
At this point, I was still very new to politics. To me, it still seemed like a game. Like a friendly competition. But that’s what I liked about it. I enjoyed being part of a team and engaging in spirited debate with the other team.
But I also believed in fair play and maintaining a sense of humor. That was my take on the present situation. It was funny. The outlaw Republican cowboys versus the non-binary, they/them Democratic elites? This was a great story!
Which was why it was getting so much attention. And why the capitol was packed with people. Even the national news was covering it.
Seethe the day
The cameraman lifted his camera onto his shoulder. I straightened my sweater and brushed my hair back with my hand.
The reporter asked if I was ready, and I nodded. They turned on the camera.
In her professional voice, the reporter asked me if the Republicans’ leaving town was the proper way to debate an education bill.
She pointed the microphone at me, and I answered, “They’re totally outnumbered. But most people agree with them. So I do think it’s an appropriate strategy.” Or something like that.
That was it. A couple sentences. Clean and simple. She was going to need a quote from someone on the Republican side, so I gave her one.
Not only that, I knew to look at her and not the camera as I spoke. To actually listen to her question before I answered. So it would look good on TV.
But that was the problem. When I looked into her face, she was glaring at me. She had this look in her eyes. It was a look I was not prepared for. I’m not sure I’ve ever actually seen someone look at me like that.
It was a look of total hatred. Like burning, seething hatred. And it was leveled at me! And I was being cheerful and nice. I was helping her out!
Hate on the hour
That look on her face was disturbing. Once they turned the camera off, I just walked away.
What was this woman’s problem? Did she really hate Republicans so much, she couldn’t contain her rage for the 10 seconds she was required to listen to my answer? She was a professional news reporter. She was 45 years old!
If it were some 22-year-old who just graduated from “activist” journalism school, I could understand. But this was a grown woman. Had she never done this before?
Hey, lady: You’re not supposed to HATE people for having an opposing opinion. I DID YOU A FAVOR!
RELATED: ‘Subhuman ghouls’: People, WaPo trash Scott Adams hours after his death
Photo by Bob Riha Jr./Getty Images
‘Love’ wins
So now, several years have passed, and I see this same phenomenon almost every night on my local news. Not necessarily seething hatred. But something similar. Specifically: the constant messaging that any conservative position, on any issue, is — of course — totally evil. And that the left is always morally correct.
That’s what I saw in the eyes of that local Fox reporter. A total lack of perspective. A soulless fanaticism. She was like a “hate robot” with one mission: the annihilation of people like me!
Unfortunately, this behavior is commonplace now. The division continues to get worse. I don’t know what the solution is, except to point out that hating people, at this intensity level, can’t be good for your health. If you’re hating and seething, you’re probably hurting yourself more than anyone else.
