Good evening. I’m British Chris, and you’re watching Raw America.
Trump’s Border Patrol chief has resigned amid explosive new allegations involving sex workers. A federal judge has handed Trump a stinging defeat in his billion-dollar defamation suit against the Wall Street Journal. White House advisors are panicking over Trump’s plans to hand out 250 pardons to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, and the House GOP are sweating bullets over a Republican who’s been a complete no-show for more than two months.
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Trump’s Border Patrol Chief Resigns Amid Sex Worker Allegations
Mike Banks, the head of U.S. Border Patrol, abruptly resigned Thursday under a cloud of very serious allegations.
Six current and former Border Patrol employees told the Washington Examiner that Banks regularly traveled to Colombia and Thailand to solicit sex workers, and that he bragged about it to colleagues. One agent told the outlet his boss regularly travels to “third-world countries to take advantage of poor women.” He added it “disgusted the hell out of me.”
Here’s where it gets even worse. An investigation into Banks’ alleged conduct was launched, and then shut down. Who shut it down? Kristi Noem’s Department of Homeland Security. So the Trump administration not only had this man running the entire Border Patrol, they killed the investigation that might have exposed him sooner.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott released a statement thanking Banks for his “decades of service” and congratulating him on his “second retirement.” Not a word about the allegations or the terminated investigation. Just a warm send-off for a man accused of exploiting vulnerable women abroad.
Judge Cripples Trump’s Wall Street Journal Lawsuit
A federal judge has dealt a major blow to Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal. Trump’s lawyers wanted to use the discovery process to go on a fishing expedition for evidence, hoping to build a case for “actual malice,” which is the high legal bar required to win a defamation case when you’re a public figure. U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles, an Obama appointee, said no.
In a May 13 order, Gayles ruled that allowing Trump to conduct discovery on actual malice, when his initial defamation claim already fell short, would be “exactly the type of expensive yet groundless litigation” that federal courts are supposed to prevent.
The lawsuit stems from Journal reporting about a birthday book Ghislaine Maxwell made for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003. One sexually explicit letter in the book bore Trump’s signature. Trump sued over the story. Gayles tossed the case in April but gave the president an opening to refile with a stronger legal argument. That’s the opening Trump’s team is now trying to exploit, and the judge just slammed it shut.
This is all happening at the same time the administration is subpoenaing the Journal over its coverage of the Iran war, which press freedom groups have called a direct attempt to intimidate journalists. And through it all, millions of pages of the Epstein files are still being withheld from the public. The White House has consistently stalled, downplayed, and deflected every serious call to release them.
White House Frets Over Trump’s 250-Pardon Bonanza
Donald Trump is planning to announce 250 pardons to mark America’s 250th birthday, and some of his own advisors are worried it’s going to blow up in their faces.
The pardons are expected to be announced either on either June 14, which is Trump’s 80th birthday, or the Fourth of July. A White House official stressed to the Wall Street Journal that no final decisions have been made.
Trump’s pardon record since returning to office has been, to put it gently, generous to his friends. He pardoned Changpeng Zhao, who pleaded guilty to a money-laundering scheme. Zhao helped out the crypto venture run by Trump’s oldest sons. He also pardoned Trevor Milton, who was convicted of defrauding investors in his electric truck company and owed his victims millions in restitution that was never paid back.
Congressional Democrats are investigating whether some of these pardons were essentially purchased, with recipients funneling money through lobbyists, lawyers, and social media influencers. It’s a serious inquiry, and so far the White House is refusing to comply.
House GOP Panics Over Missing Congressman
House Republicans have a serious problem that’s getting worse by the day. Republican Congressman Tom Kean of New Jersey hasn’t shown up for work since March 5. And Speaker Mike Johnson, according to Punchbowl News, has spoken with Kean exactly once since then.
Kean’s office has said he’s dealing with a medical issue and will be back soon. An Apri; 28 statement from Kean read that his doctors “continue to assure me that my recovery will be complete.” His office told Punchbowl there’s “absolutely nothing to worry about” and that he’ll be back to a full schedule very soon.
But that message isn’t landing with leadership. One unnamed senior Republican staffer told the outlet: “I don’t have any idea what’s going on.” Around half a dozen other lawmakers and aides have reportedly said the same thing.
The timing couldn’t be worse. Kean represents New Jersey’s 7th District, which is one of the most competitive in the country. Trump carried it by a single point in 2024. Democrats already have a well-funded primary field ready to go after the seat. And every day Kean is absent is another day Republicans can’t fully count on their already-thin House majority.
A senior Republican leadership source confided to Punchbowl that this saga is “about more than one person at this point,” adding that the real question is “the ability to hold the seat in the fall.” The source added that Republicans asking people to trust them won’t work, because nothing about their behavior lately has inspired trust.
That’s about as pointed as it gets in the typically guarded language of congressional leadership. Whatever is happening with Tom Kean, the clock is ticking, and his party knows it.
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Thanks for watching. I’m British Chris, with Raw America. We’ll see you tomorrow.
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