Category: Corruption O’ The Day

Just my opinion but this was intentional for more than one reason.
1 Political power through election fraud.
2 Graft via kickbacks from purposefully incompetent oversight of funding.

The Somali Fraud Story Busts Liberal Myths
Mass immigration, antiracism, and the welfare state lead inexorably to fraud.

There is a moment when every news story either achieves lift-off or tumbles back to the earth. Having covered a few that drove national headlines, I’ve discovered there is no universal formula for which ones hit the stratosphere, and which do not.

Our recent story detailing Minnesota’s Somali fraud rings has been one of the lucky ones, achieving liftoff in record time. City Journal reporter Ryan Thorpe and I summarized a decade of Somali fraud schemes that stole billions of taxpayer dollars, some of which ended up with Al-Shabaab terrorists back in Somalia. These were sophisticated criminal enterprises that exploited Minnesota’s generous welfare state, deployed accusations of racism to deter scrutiny, and looted the public treasury until local prosecutors did the hard work to bring them down.

The meta-story—how a news item weaves its way through public discourse—is also worth considering. When we published the story, it quickly dominated the conversation on conservative social media. It filtered upward to primetime Fox News, where, on Laura Ingraham’s program, I summarized the piece and called on President Trump to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for all Somalis in Minnesota.

Within hours, the president, who had been following the story, announced that he would revoke TPS for all Somali recipients. Then, over the Thanksgiving holiday, Trump raised the stakes with a blistering social media tirade that ripped into Somali fraudsters, accused Minnesota governor Tim Walz of mental deficiencies, and promised to stop all asylum cases and immigration from the Third World. This sequence of events turned the Minnesota fraud into the debate of the moment.

The next step in the process is for the liberal media to respond. Right on cue, CBS News published a story misrepresenting our report and “debunking” that misrepresentation—a claim that it eventually retracted under pressure. The New York Times did somewhat better, publishing a long feature on the Somali fraud, confirming key details, and opening the floodgates for discourse on the center-left. The spotlight thus turned to Governor Walz, who was at the helm when Somali thieves robbed Minnesota of billions.

On the surface, the Times story was an acknowledgment that this was a real scandal that the liberal press had missed. But the paper did not address the underlying narrative about why the fraud happened. Yes, the story is about a criminal enterprise, but it runs deeper than that. The story has touched a nerve because it busts liberal myths about immigration, anti-racism, and the welfare state.

Minnesota has long prided itself on its generous welfare programs and reputation for good governance. But after the mass arrival of the new Somali population—many of whom brought with them different attitudes toward government and civil society—these programs became a weak point. George Floyd’s 2020 death in Minneapolis demonstrated that scrutiny could be deflected by making baseless accusations of “racism” against anyone who raised questions about the missing funds.

The uncomfortable truth for Times readers is that all cultures are not equal. Therefore, not all cultures are compatible with all political systems. In this case, the Somali criminal enterprise is incompatible with a generous welfare state, particularly in the context of a racial politics that intimidates whistleblowers and other honest brokers.

Though this story was particular to Minnesota, disruptive mass immigration is a national phenomenon. During the four years of the Biden administration, America imported millions of foreigners, many illegally. Some of these have brought, or are trying to bring, negative aspects of their home culture to the United States.

Indeed, cultural incompatibility was a campaign theme during the 2024 election.  Venezuelan gangs took over apartment buildings in Colorado. Haitian migrants overwhelmed deindustrialized towns in the Rust Belt. The Somali fraud story is another point in this plotline.

The Trump administration claims to be on pace to “shatter” records of forced deportations and so-called self-deportations, but more must be done. The administration should put financial restrictions on illegal immigrants, like requiring proof of legal status for maintaining a bank account; and implement massive remittance taxes to reduce the profitability of illegal immigration and fraud. And it must line up the manpower to turbocharge the prosecution of immigrant fraud, in Minnesota and elsewhere.

The New York Times won’t spell it out in block print, but even devoted liberals are starting to ask questions about the welfare state’s combability with mass migration. The shocking scope and scale of the Somali fraud in Minnesota made this a story that could no longer be ignored.

Survey Says: Majority Think Government Corrupt, Disagree Who Can Fix It

A new Rasmussen survey released Tuesday reveals that four out of five likely voters believe corruption is a problem in Washington,. D.C. but they disagree on who can fix the problem.

Of the 80 percent who say government is corrupt, 44 percent think it is “very corrupt.”

And Republicans need to be careful, because Rasmussen says 43 percent of survey respondents think Democrats can handle the issues of government better, while 41 percent think the Republicans can do a better job. Sixteen percent aren’t sure one way or the other.

The survey of 1,155 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on Nov. 13 and 16-17 by Rasmussen Reports with a margin of sampling error at +/- 3 percentage points and a 95% level of confidence.

“Not surprisingly,” said Rasmussen, “78 percent of Democrats trust their own party more to handle issues of government corruption and government reform, and 77 percent of Republican voters trust the GOP more. Unaffiliated voters are about evenly divided, with 37 percent trusting Republicans more and 36 percent trusting Democrats more to handle corruption and reform issues, while 27 percent are not sure.”

The survey results probably should not surprise anyone, considering all that has been said about certain members of Congress getting wealthy from insider trading and not being held accountable. On the other hand, some people on Capitol Hill have been criminally prosecuted over the years, with individuals such as New Jersey’s Bob Menendez and New York’s Anthony Weiner going to prison.

According to Rasmussen, “76 percent of voters agree that federal agencies such as the FBI and CIA need major reform, including 45 percent who Strongly Agree. Only 17 percent disagree.”

Breaking things down along party lines, Rasmussen said “Eighty percent (80%) of Republicans at least somewhat agree that federal agencies such as the FBI and CIA need major reform, as do 71% of Democrats and 75% of voters not affiliated with either major party.

“Forty-nine percent (49%) of Democrats, 39% of Republicans and 45% of unaffiliated voters believe the federal government is Very Corrupt,” Rasmussen added.

@WallStreetApe

Woman who grew up in Southern California says she saw first hand out illegals qualify for Section 8 and all our benefits

“I saw exactly how they did it and what they did and how they were able to get away with it for so long. So how they would do it is when you fill out these applications, there is a box that asks you, now they’ll initially ask you for your social security number and date of birth, whatever. But there’s a box that said check here if you do not have a social security number. Once you check that box, baby, you’re a celebrity after that.

— The border is right there. So the women and children would come over. And they’ll apply to all this aid. They’ll check that box. Do not have a Social Security number. And then they will get immediate assistance.

– They’ll get the Section 8
– They’ll get cash assistance
– They’ll get EBT
– They’ll get free lunch for the kids
– They’ll get ESL (English second language)
– They’ll get free tutoring

they’ll get everything they need, right? Because they’re not a citizen, so they need the emergency help

but here’s what they would do.

The men would be there too. They just wouldn’t include them on any paperwork. The men would be in the home, but the men would go to work. All while they woman and children are getting all this free everything, they would go to work.

They would do construction, get paid under the table, odd jobs, handyman work, paid under the table, fixed cars, paid under the table, have a food stand or food truck, cash only, okay? Selling whatever they can sell, reselling, doing whatever they can, all under the table. And the women would do it, too. So they getting all this money, cash only, tax free, no proof of anything, and living high off the hog off of our money that we’re actually paying off the government, off the handouts. That they say we take.

That’s how they were doing it.“

“That’s how they’ve been. Getting away with it. The men, they be out there making money and even the women, they be out there making money, cash only, tax free with the handouts of the government.”

She then explains what illegal businesses they run in California and how they avoid taxable income and reporting

 Two Michigan Politicians Indicted For More Of That Election Fraud That Doesn’t Exist.

From Michigan comes news of more of that election fraud that doesn’t exist.

Two Hamtramck city councilmen were arraigned Tuesday on election fraud charges.

During separate hearings in Hamtramck’s 31st District Court, Muhtasin Sadman and Mohammed Hassan were arraigned on multiple counts, including forging signatures on absentee ballot applications, and election law forgery.

Mohammed Hassan is a Democrat. I can’t find a political affiliation for Sadman, but I would bet money he is as well.

A not guilty plea was entered on behalf of the defendants, who did not speak during their short hearings.

District Judge Alexis G. Krot set a personal bond for both councilmen, who must surrender their passports. The judge also ordered the media to turn off their recording devices during each hearing, and ordered the defendants to avoid contact with witnesses who the judge wanted to remain anonymous.

Separate preliminary examinations for the councilmen were scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 28. Probable cause conferences were rescheduled for Aug. 21.

Following each hearing, Jeffery Maynard, Sadman’s attorney, and Scott Ruark, Hassan’s attorney, declined to comment.

The charges follow a two-month investigation by the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office, which was appointed by the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan to look into the allegations.

In April, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office requested a special prosecutor to explore allegations that Hassan, Sadman and others who have not been charged conspired to receive unvoted absentee ballots that had been signed by recently naturalized citizens, and then filling in the candidates of their choosing. In June, the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan selected the Monroe County prosecutor to explore the accusations.

Sounds like the immigrant-to-Democrat voting fraud pipeline is alive and well in Michigan.

“Sadman forged an absentee ballot application with the intent to defraud and aided or counselled two unqualified electors to vote in the 2023 election,” Monroe County prosecutors said in a Monday press release. “It is further alleged that Council Member Mohammed Kamrul Hassan also forged an absentee ballot application with the intent to defraud in the 2023 election for City Council. Several law enforcement agencies conducted thorough investigations and submitted their findings to our office.”

Did either defendant have anything to say for himself? Yes. “The charges are made up to make the Bangladesh and Muslim communities to look bad.”

Oh yeah, he’s guilty as sin.

That post also noted some curious voting patterns in that election:

In the August Primary Election, [Nayeem Leon] Choudhury was the top vote-getter but, in the November election, he fell to fifth place out of a field of six candidates – an unheard-of drop-off for a top contender.

And Sadman, an obscure newcomer to politics, rose from fifth place in the primary election to the number two spot in the November election.

Hassan rose from fourth place — right behind Lynn Blasey, the only female in the election — to go on to become the top-vote getter in November’s election.

Hassan and Sadman’s sudden rise in the November election edged out Blasey from taking a seat on council.

Choudhury also claimed, that in the November 2023 election, 200 absentee ballots had not been counted.

Asked why he made this claim, Choudhury told The Review at the time:

“I don’t know, the whole community is shocked and saddened that they voted for me by absentee ballots — over a thousand. They don’t know why I lost against a candidate that came in fifth place in the primary.”

Once again, note the willingness of Democratic politicians to (allegedly) commit voting fraud in a relatively low stakes City Council election. Does anyone doubt that they’d be even more willing to break the law in higher-stakes elections? And remember that Michigan was one of those states with 3 AM ballot shenanigans in 2020.

Also note the evidence of plenty more illegal shenanigans going on there. “The investigation was initiated by suspended City Manager Max Garbarino. After Garbarino made the allegations in May, amid a visit by the FBI, he suspended Police Chief Jamiel Altaheri. The City Council, prompted by Mayor Amer Ghalib, in turn suspended Garbarino.”

“The people responsible for the previous suspensions have been suspended.”

Here’s to hoping a lot of disinfecting sunlight gets shined under all the dark rocks of Hamtramck’s government…

Cynical Publius

Dear Democrats:

Hey. How’ve you been?

It’s been a rough 25 years. It feels like ever since that hanging chad election in 2000, we have been at each others’ throats. Mostly this is because we’ve let the hyperbole and the wild conspiracy theories control us on both sides. Now I say that is 80% you and 20% us (because you control the media), and we’ve done our fair share with Birthers and Big Mikers, but the bottom line is that neither side trusts what the other side says.

That’s a shame.

I get why you may not trust us. But you are going to have to on what we are about to tell you. Sometimes objective truths need to be said, and we’re about to say them.

Buckle up Buttercups. What you are about to read is 100%, verifiably true:

1. In the 2016 presidential election, the Hillary Clinton campaign fabricated out of the ether a wholly fictional “dossier” alleging that Donald Trump was an agent of the Russian Federation.

2. This “dossier” was shared with intelligence and law enforcement agencies in the friendly Obama Administration, and treated as reliable intelligence even though those agencies knew it was highly suspect.

3. This wholly-fabricated “dossier” was then used as a legal basis for surveillance and wiretaps on members of the Trump Team before and after the election, and the communications equipment in the Trump Transition Team HQ in New York was in fact wiretapped by the Obama Administration.

4. After the election was over and Trump had won, the intelligence community determined that there was no material Russian interference in the election. Barack Obama directed them to reverse that finding.

5. This new, false finding, coupled with the ongoing concerns regarding the dossier became the bases for a concerted effort by the Obama Administration to prevent Donald Trump from ever taking office, even though the American people had just elected him. The ongoing Potemkin Villages of the dossier and the IC report were the bases for numerous unlawful warrants on the Trump team, the creation of interview traps where Trump members might incriminate themselves by making a false statement to the FBI, and generally encircling the entire Trump transition team via subterfuge and placing them in a public aura of an illegal enterprise and not a validly-elected administration.

6. With the Obama plan unable to prevent Trump from taking office, his loyalists who remained in the new Trump Administration did their very best to work towards removing Trump via scandal, with James Comey being the chief bagman via the bogus dossier.

7. While everything described above was happening, it was all being leaked to the media in an effort to discredit and cripple the Trump Administration. Often bogus information would be fed to a media source, the source would report it, and then the fact that the media reported the bogus information was used by Democrat operatives as a basis for legitimizing it, i.e. “the wrap up smear.”

8. All of the above became such a burden on the new Trump Administration that a special prosecutor, Robert Mueller, was appointed to cut through to the truth. Unfortunately Mueller was relying on the same fake dossier and bogus IC reports, so bogus data led to a bogus investigation that served no other purpose than to cripple the Trump Administration for two years.

9. To summarize points #1 through #8 above, the Obama/Hillary plan had three steps: (i) spread Russia lies so Trump loses the election; (ii) if Trump wins the election, spread Russia lies so he is never inaugurated; and (iii) if he is inaugurated, spread Russia lies to cripple his ability to govern.

10. After Trump lost in 2020 and he started indicating that he would run again, the Obama team, now with Biden installed in the White House as a puppet, knew they could not let him win as he would unravel what they had done, make it public, and potentially cause a bunch of them to end up in prison. So they coordinated lawfare attacks on Trump across the nation using Democrat operatives, thinking that Trump would end up in prison or his reputation would be in such tatters that he could never be elected. That backfired.

11. Trump got elected in 2024.

12. On July 18, 2025, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a treasure trove of heretofore hidden information which, alongside already-public information about the fake dossier, shows that everything we say above is 100%, inarguably, reliably, factually, objectively accurate.

We repeat, everything written above is VERIFIABLY, OBJECTIVELY TRUE.

We know you love to say how much you “love democracy.”

Do you? Do you REALLY “love democracy”?

What is described above is the most undemocratic thing imaginable.

Forget any arguments about whether something was criminal or the statute of limitations or whatever other technicality distractor gets thrown out there, we have a very simple question for you:

HOW CAN YOU TOLERATE THIS?

Please consider this letter a peace offering. If you are willing to acknowledge what transpired and offer an apology, we might be able to begin to trust each just a teeny bit. We are all Americans, after all.

Sincerely,

The American Coalition of Non-Smoothbrained Conservatives

This Government Official Tried to Punish the NRA—Now the Court Just Gave Her a Free Pass

Remember when a New York state official used her position to pressure financial institutions to stop working with the National Rifle Association (NRA)? Well, a federal appeals court seems to believe she should not be held accountable for blatantly violating the organization’s constitutional rights.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that former Superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services Maria Vullo is entitled to be protected by qualified immunity.

And we wonder why our government officials are so corrupt.

In its lawsuit, the NRA alleged that Vullo “used [her] powers to coerce and retaliate against financial institutions that conducted business with the NRA to deprive the NRA and its members of their First Amendment rights.”

The court acknowledged that Vullo’s statements and guidance letters prompted these companies to reassess their business relationships with the NRA. However, the court decided Vullo is entitled to qualified immunity because she did not directly target the NRA’s speech. Instead, she sought to coerce banks and insurance companies to cut ties with the organization, which harmed the NRA indirectly.

In essence, the court pointed out that Vullo was targeting the NRA’s business relationships, not its speech, which means it wasn’t obvious that her actions violated the First Amendment. “Vullo is not alleged to have targeted a speaker (the NRA) or a conduit for the NRA’s speech (for example, a publisher) but third-party, regulated entities,” the court stated.

The court’s argument was predicated on the notion that Vullo’s actions did not violate a law that was “clearly established” at the time she was targeting these companies. To put it simply, the qualified immunity doctrine protects government officials unless they broke a law that was so well-defined that a reasonable official would know they were breaking it.

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Joe Biden’s Doctor Just Plead the Fifth – What Is He Hiding?

It appears former President Joe Biden’s doctor desperately does not want to testify before Congress about his former boss’ mental deterioration.

Dr. Kevin O’Connor, who served as Biden’s physician while he was in office, has refused to testify in closed-door proceedings as House Republicans investigate how the former president’s cognitive decline affected his presidency, according to Politico.

O’Connor asserted doctor-patient privilege and his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, according to a statement from his attorneys. He had repeatedly argued his duties as a doctor complicated his testimony and prevented him from sharing some sensitive information. But House Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-Ky.), who is leading the investigation, has rejected those claims.

“On the advice of his legal counsel, Dr. O’Connor refused to answer questions that invaded the well-established legal privilege that protects confidential matters between physicians and their patients,” the statement read. “His assertion of his right under the Fifth Amendment to decline to answer questions, also on the advice of his lawyers, was made necessary by the unique circumstances of this deposition.

The statement also cited President Donald Trump’s own invocation of his Fifth Amendment right before his deposition with New York State Attorney General Letitia James, quoting Trump’s suggestion that only “an absolute fool” would refuse to take the Fifth.

O’Connor requested that Congress delay his appearance, citing concerns about sharing information protected by doctor/patient privilege. The Associated Press reported that he is seeking a delay to ensure that privileged information is not shared. He recently asked to delay his requested testimony because he hopes to hammer out an agreement that will protect doctor-patient confidentiality.

Dr. Kevin O’Connor, who served as Biden’s physician at the White House, requested a delay until the end of July or early August “to reach an accommodation that will protect the very substantial privilege and confidentiality interests of Dr. O’Connor and former President Biden,” according to a letter from his lawyer sent to Rep. James Comer of Kentucky on Saturday. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter.

A spokesperson for Oversight Republicans said the committee will follow the House’s deposition guidelines, which allow for witnesses to assert privilege on a question-by-question basis, with the committee chair ruling on each claim. But O’Connor is not allowed, in the committee’s view, to delay or decline a congressional subpoena due to concerns over questions about potentially privileged information.

The back-and-forth is part of a broader struggle over the scope of the House Republican inquiry into Biden’s age and mental fitness, with serious implications for both politics and policy. Republicans have also claimed that some policies carried out by the White House “autopen” may be invalid if it is proven that Biden was mentally incapacitated for some part of his term.

Here’s what’s happening: House Republicans are trying to show that Biden’s cognitive issues severely impacted his presidency to the point that his staffers essentially ran the country during his term. O’Connor and his legal team know this and are trying to prevent lawmakers from getting to the truth.

This probably won’t work.

Even with O’Connor’s invocation of the Fifth Amendment, it is likely that Congress might just find what they are looking for even without his help. It was abundantly clear that Biden’s mental acuity was lacking all throughout his presidency. There have already been indications that he was not up to the job and that several executive orders were signed with the autopen without his knowledge.

With Republicans in charge of the White House and the legislature, there won’t be enough roadblocks preventing them from ascertaining what was going on in the White House over the past four years. At some point, America will find out the truth — and it will probably be uglier than we think.

Military Arms
@MAC_Arms

Here’s my take on the Epstein files scandal. I have no evidence of this, only my gut instincts.

The list that we were told existed before it didn’t exist likely contained the names of some very powerful people in government on both sides of the aisle along with unelected bureaucrats and political donors.

This scandal threatened to completely disrupt our government and shake what little trust people have in it to the ground. No one on either side of the aisle wants that, this potentially threatens both parties equally.

Why isn’t Hakeem Jeffries on CNN screaming foul right now? Pelosi? AOC? Crickets. I scanned their X profiles and I see no mention of this news, not yet anyway. If Trump farts, within minutes the usual suspects are all over social media and traditional media screeching. We’re over 12 hours into this “news” and again… nothing.

Also keep in mind that the real power brokers in DC aren’t elected. Many were likely on that list too, and they definitely don’t want their names in lights. Many of them exist in the shadows and this would drag them into the light.

May be? It may be the worst scandal since Woodrow Wilson, and over the same type of incapacity. Watergate was a criminal conspiracy to cover up a dirty political campaign trick. Bidengate involves the hijacking of the presidency itself, with a conspiracy that involves senior leaders of a major political party and Cabinet officials, not to mention Vice President Kamala Harris herself. And let’s not forget that the Protection Racket Media didn’t just fail to uncover it, they actively acted to cover it up — for four full years.
Watergate was a bungled frat prank in comparison.
– Ed Driscoll

Of course, Tapper is still trying to CYA because the media – lapdogs of the demoncraps – conveniently neglected to do their purported jobs.

NIH investigates Biden last-minute $89 billion grant to ‘seemingly dormant’ University of California nonprofit

Nonprofit founded in 2022, never raised nor spent a dime

The National Institutes of Health will look into an $89 billion, 25-year grant awarded to the Alliance for Advancing Biomedical Research in the last days of President Joe Biden’s administration.

The nonprofit “operate[s] exclusively for the benefit of” the University of California system, according to its tax filings. However, the nonprofit, formed in 2022, has never raised a dime nor spent a dime.

Furthermore, the California-based nonprofit would operate the lab at Maryland’s Fort Detrick, taking the contract away from Leidos Biomedical Research. As reported by The Washington Free Beacon, Leidos “held that role for about 30 years.”

The Washington Free Beacon reported the “seemingly dormant” Alliance for Advancing Biomedical Research now faces an investigation, after Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley raised questions about the massive grant.

“It’s outrageous Biden’s NIH shoved a nearly $90 billion contract out the door just days before President Trump returned to office,” Grassley told the news outlet.

“Even worse, the money would have flowed to an organization that can’t clearly protect itself from adversaries like China,” Sen. Grassley said. “I’m very glad HHS heeded my calls to reverse course and is now re-evaluating its initial proposal. I urge the department to ensure efficient use of taxpayer dollars as it works to defeat cancer and save lives.”

The Free Beacon reported further:

Grassley also said he was concerned about the University of California’s well-documented failure to protect its labs from security breaches by China’s government.

“It has been reported that between 1987 and 2021, at least 162 scientists who had worked at Los Alamos [National Laboratory] returned to China to support a variety of domestic research and development programs, including at least 59 who were involved with China’s talent programs,” Grassley wrote [in a letter to the NIH]. “It appears that the University of California’s inability to keep China out of U.S. R&D is an issue that spans nearly four decades.”

Leidos previously expressed its disappointment in January, when it lost the contract.

“While we are disappointed that we may not continue this particular work and partnership, we expect to receive more information on our proposal in the coming days, which will help us better understand the evaluation process and next steps,” the Frederick News-Post reported on Jan. 23.

Since taking office, President Donald Trump and his administration have sought to root out waste and abuse, with a particular emphasis placed on the National Institutes of Health and its billions of dollars in research funding.

How Democrats used NGOs to end-run voters: A ‘parallel government.’

I’m often darkly amused by common examples of inherently false nomenclature: “Jumbo shrimp.” “Government ethics.” “Unbiased news media.”

And one of our society’s biggest falsehoods-in-a-name: “Non-governmental organizations.”

Until recently these groups have been widely seen as international, idealized versions of domestic non-profits.

We thought of them as do-good organizations set up by people who really care — about the environment, or poor people, or children, or freedom.

We imagined they raise money, help the downtrodden, send out press releases and engage in other private activities to promote the causes they favor.

Trump is deworming Washington — now to keep the parasites out for good
They’re not government entities, we thought — the very name says that — but a species of private charity whose good intentions deserve the benefit of any doubt.

Perhaps some NGOs do operate in that way.

But as we’ve learned recently, partly as the result of Department of Government Efficiency digging, many “non-governmental” entities are really just fronts for government activities that Americans would never stand for if Washington attempted them directly.

For example, America’s border crisis was funded in large part by Joe Biden’s government, which sent large sums of money in the form of grants to various NGOs that helped train migrants on how to get to the United States — and how to claim asylum when they arrived.

NGOs helped the illegal immigrants with expenses on their way, and then provided legal resources and more than $22 billion worth of assistance for them — including cash for cars, home loans and business start-ups — once they got in.

This was US taxpayer money, laundered through “independent” organizations that served to promote goals contrary to US law, but consistent with the policy preferences of the Biden administration.

Under President Donald Trump, this funding halted — and, unsurprisingly, the flow of illegal immigrants did, too.

Likewise, the weird wave of sudden global enthusiasm for “trans rights” and novel ideas about gender turns out to have been largely funded by the US government through USAID grants.

Federally funded NGOs spent millions on everything from a transgender opera in Colombia, to a campaign promoting “being LGBTQ in the Caribbean,” to an LGBTQ community center in Bratislava, Slovakia.

As data expert Jennica Pounds (“DataRepublican” on X) put it, “Over the last few months, we’ve come to a realization that should have landed much harder: NGOs weren’t just adjacent to government.”

They were tools of government, “the parallel government,” Pounds wrote, specifically doing things that Washington bureaucrats knew full well they couldn’t easily do themselves.

The big surprise is that we’re so surprised this has been going on.

The lack of accountability also made NGOs a perfect conduit for funneling money to Washington insiders.

It’s been a profitable cycle: Politicians fund agencies; agencies make grants to NGOs; NGOs hire politicians’ wives and offspring — and sometimes the politicians themselves, once they’ve left office.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), for example, voted to award $14.2 million to Ocean Conservancy since 2008, Fox News reported — and the NGO, in turn, paid his wife Sandra Whitehouse and her firm $2.7 million for consulting work.

No wonder the Washington establishment went crazy when Trump and DOGE started cutting off such funds.

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