Flirting with MAGA Money: The Shady RFK-Trump Scheme That Nearly Destroyed the Libertarian Party – Part 2 – The JFC

Source: Jake Porter’s Analysis & Investigations
by Jake Porter

“Desperate to escape a financial death spiral—with revenues plummeting by nearly half since the 2022 Mises Caucus takeover—the Libertarian National Committee (LNC) didn’t just look for donors. They entered into a bizarre, legally questionable financial pact with a candidate who wasn’t even their nominee. Even worse? The party Chair personally enriched herself in the process.” (04/09/26)

https://jakeporter.substack.com/p/flirting-with-maga-money-the-shady-89e

Thomas L. Knapp

This Isn’t Ronald Reagan’s FCC

Source: The Dispatch
by Berin Szóka

“Last month, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr threatened the licenses of broadcasters who ‘are running hoaxes and news distortions — also known as the fake news.’ ‘This isn’t Reagan’s FCC,’ he had declared just a few weeks before. That’s because President Ronald Reagan knew better. That’s why he vetoed the Fairness in Broadcasting Act of 1987.” (04/09/26)

https://archive.is/GzuN7

Thomas L. Knapp

US Judge Orders Pentagon to Restore Press Access

Source: US News & World Report

“A ⁠U.S. ⁠judge in Washington ruled on Thursday ⁠that the Pentagon is hampering journalists in defiance of a court order ​that required it to restore access to credentialed reporters covering the seat of U.S. military power. U.S. District Judge Paul ‌Friedman said the Defense Department must ‌comply with his earlier order that sided with The New York Times and other news organizations ⁠challenging restrictions ⁠imposed on them last year. ‘The Department cannot simply reinstate an unlawful policy under ​the guise of taking ‘new’ action and expect the Court to look the other way,’ Friedman wrote in his ruling. The judge called the Pentagon’s actions a ‘blatant attempt to circumvent a lawful order of the Court.'” (04/09/26)

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-04-09/us-judge-orders-pentagon-to-restore-press-access

Thomas L. Knapp

Melania Trump says she’s “never been friends with Epstein”

Source: Axios

“First lady Melania Trump denied that she had a friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein or that she had any ties to his crimes in a head-turning White House address Thursday. … Trump has previously taken legal action over claims related to herself and Epstein with three publishers issuing apologies for publishing claims that the sex offender introduced her to her future husband. … She did not answer any questions shouted by reporters as she left.” (04/09/26)

https://archive.is/hdgG8

Thomas L. Knapp

For second time, Trump seeks to eliminate federal funding for tribal colleges and universities

Source: SFGate

“For the second year in a row, the Trump administration is proposing slashing federal funding for tribal colleges and universities. President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2027 budget proposal calls for a $1.5 trillion increase to defense spending and would carve billions of dollars out of programs that fulfill trust and treaty responsibilities to tribal nations, including entirely eliminating funding for the Institute for American Indian Arts, the country’s only federally funded college for contemporary Native American arts. The budget proposal released last week also calls for cutting funding for TCUs, as well as funding for two schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Education: Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas and the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in New Mexico. Students at both colleges sued the BIE last year over funding and staffing cuts made by the administration.” (04/09/26)

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/for-second-time-trump-seeks-to-eliminate-federal-22197743.php

Steve Trinward