Category: The Washington Free Beacon
Bessent delivers bad news to Somalis on welfare: No more wire transfers to the homeland
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent revealed on Thursday that the Trump administration is clamping down on extra-national remittances by individuals exploiting public assistance.
The announcement, which comes on the heels of a series of damning revelations about fraud committed by Somalis in Minnesota, could prove impactful for the crime-ridden Islamic nation of Somalia.
After all, members of the Somali diaspora sent $2.12 billion in remittances home in 2024 alone. The loss of the American portion of this funding stream would not go unnoticed for a failed nation with a GDP in the neighborhood of $12 billion.
‘Our generosity has been taken advantage of.’
Bessent, who is also the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, “We are here to follow the money because that’s what Treasury does.”
“We did it with the mafia, we have done it with the cartels, and now we are going to do it with these Somali fraudsters,” continued Bessent. “Treasury has something called FinCEN, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and we are coming in.”
Bessent indicated that the agency is launching four investigations into money-service businesses “that we believe may have wired money out of the country — a lot of the ill-gotten, stolen money — over to the Middle East, over to Somalia. We’ll see where that’s going.”
Photographer: Ben Brewer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
As part of the crackdown, Bessent indicated that FinCEN will be issuing a Geographic Targeting Order, an order that imposes new identification and record-keeping requirements pertaining to transactions within a certain region, and engaging in “enhanced surveillance.”
“There’s something called a Suspicious Activity Report if a certain amount of money gets wired,” added Bessent.
According to guidance released in October by FinCEN, financial institutions are required to “file a SAR if the institution knows, suspects, or has reason to suspect that the transaction or series of transactions are designed to evade [currency transaction reporting] requirements.”
After Ingraham suggested the threshold was $10,000, Bessent said, “We’re lowering that to $3,000.”
In addition to significantly lowering the threshold for a SAR, Bessent said that “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.”
“If you are on public assistance, we are going to start pushing that you cannot wire money out of the country,” added Bessent.
“Our generosity has been taken advantage of.”
The treasury secretary further suggested that if a so-called asylum seeker is wiring 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.”
Days before President Donald Trump announced the termination of the Temporary Protected Status designation for Somalia, BlazeTV host Christopher Rufo and investigative reporter Ryan Thorpe detailed the alleged direction of stolen taxpayer funds by Somalis in America to terrorists abroad.
According to the duo’s City Journal report, federal counterterrorism sources confirmed “that millions of dollars in stolen funds have been sent back to Somalia, where they ultimately landed in the hands of the terror group Al-Shabaab.”
Al-Shabaab is a Somalia-based, Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist organization committed to waging a global jihad.
One confidential source told Rufo and Thorpe that “the largest funder of Al-Shabaab is the Minnesota taxpayer.”
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Fani Willis’ failed lawfare against Trump might cost her a fortune
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis did her apparent best to throw President Donald Trump in jail and failed miserably.
While Willis was disqualified in 2024 from the Georgia case regarding alleged 2020 election interference and the case was dropped late last year, the Democrat DA has proven unable to put the lawfare behind her.
In addition to having to fight misconduct allegations, Willis now faces the possibility of having to shell out millions to the president in attorney fees and costs, thanks to legislation ratified in May by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R).
‘It’s Fani Willis’ fault.’
The new law, which went into effect in July, provides “for the award of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs in a criminal case to the defendant upon the disqualification of the prosecuting attorney for misconduct in connection with the case and the subsequent dismissal of the case by the court of a subsequent prosecutor.”
Although the law might appear perfectly tailored to Trump’s case, the legislation had bipartisan support.
Photo by Dennis Byron-Pool/Getty Images
Trump is pushing for over $6.2 million in restitution. As the president’s legal team has reportedly already been paid, most of the requested funds would go to reimburse Trump.
Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead attorney in the case, told WXIA-TV, “I feel for the people in Fulton County, because Fani Willis has involved herself in improper conduct. She’s now set up a situation where her office, from funds that have been collected through Fulton County, will have to pay for it. It’s Fani Willis’ fault.”
“At the same time, maybe Fani Willis will tell us how much money she spent from her budget pursuing this politically motivated case against President Trump,” added Sadow.
Her office has since filed a motion to intervene in the matter, which states, “The statute raises grave separation-of-powers concerns by purporting to impose financial liability on a constitutional officer, twice elected by the citizens of Fulton County, for the lawful exercise of her core duties under the Georgia Constitution.”
Willis’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
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Cooper Union Settles Lawsuit With Jewish Students Forced To Hide From Anti-Israel Mob
Cooper Union agreed to address campus anti-Semitism to resolve a discrimination lawsuit brought by Jewish students who said the school failed to protect them from anti-Semitic attacks after they were trapped inside a library by a swarm of anti-Israel protesters.
The post Cooper Union Settles Lawsuit With Jewish Students Forced To Hide From Anti-Israel Mob appeared first on .
The Spectacle Ep. 312: Venezuela: Enemies Foreign and Domestic, Part II
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Iran Kills Dozens of Anti-Regime Protesters, Defying Trump’s Warnings
The Iranian regime has killed at least 38 people, including 8 children, since a wave of popular protests erupted across the country, defying President Donald Trump’s repeated warnings that the United States will use military force if the Islamic Republic murders civilians.
The post Iran Kills Dozens of Anti-Regime Protesters, Defying Trump’s Warnings appeared first on .
Georgetown Taps Hamas Apologist Mehdi Hasan as Visiting Fellow
Georgetown University has enlisted former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan as a visiting fellow to lead a discussion series that “will explore the role of debate, media, and persuasion in our deeply polarized society.”
The post Georgetown Taps Hamas Apologist Mehdi Hasan as Visiting Fellow appeared first on .
Obama judge derails probe into Letitia James
A federal judge who was appointed by former President Barack Obama issued an order on Thursday disqualifying John Sarcone as the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York.
Adding insult to injury, Judge Lorna Schofield then tossed the subpoenas Sarcone’s office issued in August to state Attorney General Letitia James regarding civil cases brought by the Empire State against President Donald Trump and the National Rifle Association.
‘It acts without lawful authority.’
Sarcone has been investigating whether James’ office violated the president’s civil rights and the rights of others.
Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Sarcone as interim U.S. attorney for NDNY on Feb. 28. His 120-day term began in earnest on March 1.
Since Sarcone was neither formally nominated by the president nor confirmed by the Senate, it was left up to a panel of judges overseeing the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York to appoint an attorney for the district at the end of Sarcone’s term, just one month after he was threatened with a knife, allegedly by an illegal alien.
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Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Image
Although the panel declined to grant Sarcone a permanent appointment, Bondi designated him special attorney and first assistant U.S. attorney, effectively keeping him in charge of the office.
Schofield claimed in her ruling on Thursday that Sarcone was not lawfully serving as the acting U.S. attorney for the NDNY as his appointment supposedly “violates the [Federal Vacancies Reform Act] and the statutes governing U.S. Attorney appointments.”
“When the Executive branch of government skirts restraints put in place by Congress and then uses that power to subject political adversaries to criminal investigations, it acts without lawful authority,” wrote Schofield.
She suggested further that because Sarcone “used authority he did not lawfully possess to direct the issuance of the subpoenas, the subpoenas are quashed.”
A spokesperson from James’ office said in a statement obtained by CNN, “This decision is an important win for the rule of law, and we will continue to defend our office’s successful litigation from this administration’s political attacks.”
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White House Creates New Assistant Attorney General Position To Go After Fraud
Vance said the White House decided the best way to streamline anti-fraud efforts was to create a new division at the Department of Justice.
