Dems defend ‘storming’ of ICE facility — DHS hits back with all the receipts
A trio of Democratic lawmakers say they were justified in “storming” an ICE facility in Newark, New Jersey, last week, arguing that President Donald Trump’s administration is “weaponizing law enforcement.”
Reps. LaMonica McIver, Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez, all Democrats from New Jersey, made the comments during a joint appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
“Chaos ensued when someone on the phone above the leaders of ICE who were with us at that facility instructed them to go out of the facility, go to the private property and lock the mayor of the largest city in the state of New Jersey up,” Coleman said.
WHITE HOUSE BLASTS DEMS ‘CROSSING THE LINE’ BY STORMING ICE FACILITY
“That’s absurd. That’s un-American. That’s scary. That’s determination to intimidate people in this country,” she added, claiming the administration is “lying at all levels.
The three lawmakers stormed Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark last week in an incident that was caught on video. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was also present and was arrested and charged with trespassing. Authorities claim an ICE agent was assaulted in the confrontation, which was caught on camera.
McIver also responded to accusations from the Department of Homeland Security that she “body slammed” law enforcement officers during the incident.
“I honestly do not know how to body slam anyone. There’s no video that supports me body slamming anyone,” she told CNN’s Dana Bash.
ICE FACILITY DEMOCRATS ‘STORMED’ HOLDS CHILD RAPISTS, MURDERERS: OFFICIALS
Mendez argued that it was the responsibility of the ICE officers and other law enforcement to ensure the situation didn’t get out of hand.
“There were a lot of opportunities for DHS, for ICE to de-escalate the situation. They chose not to,” Menendez said. “It’s something that should really shock all Americans.”
NEWARK MAYOR ARRESTED AS DEM CONGRESS MEMBERS STORM NEW JERSEY ICE PRISON TO CONDUCT ‘OVERSIGHT VISIT’
While the lawmakers objected to ICE detentions, they also admitted that they saw evidence that the inmates were well-treated and living in good conditions inside the facility.
During a press conference after the incident, McIver claimed she was “assaulted by multiple ICE officers while regional directors of ICE watched it happen.”
DHS footage posted to X Saturday appears to show McIver barreling unprovoked through law enforcement near the gate.
“WATCH: US Congresswoman LaMonica McIver (wearing a red blazer), storms the gate of Delaney Hall Detention Center ASSAULTING an ICE agent,” DHS captioned the video.
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DHS officials have not yet confirmed any pending charges against those accused of storming the center.
Trump cuts deal with America’s top rival — here’s the fairer playing field the US now has
President Donald Trump‘s 17th week back in the Oval Office will see him focus on his visit to the Middle East, which will mark the first major overseas trip of his second term.
“President Trump will return to [the Middle East to] re-emphasize his continued vision for a proud, prosperous and successful Middle East where the United States and Middle Eastern nations are in cooperative relationships and where extremism is defeated in place of commerce and cultural exchanges,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday.
“This trip ultimately highlights how we stand on the brink of the golden age for both America and the Middle East, united by a shared vision of stability, opportunity and mutual respect, the president greatly looks forward to visiting with our brave men and women in uniform at our U.S. air base in Qatar throughout this trip.”
Trump is slated to depart Washington, D.C., on Monday for visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The president disclosed last week, when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the White House, that he would be making “a very, very big announcement” ahead of his departure for the Middle East, but has not shared additional details.
TRUMP AND CHINA CLOSE IN ON TRADE DEAL AFTER PRODUCTIVE TALKS, BESSENT SAYS
“We’re going to have a very, very big announcement to make, like as big as it gets,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. “And I won’t tell you on what… and it’s very positive.”
“It is really, really positive. And that announcement will be made either Thursday or Friday or Monday before we leave,” Trump added. “But it’ll be one of the most important announcements that have been made in many years about a certain subject, very important subject. So you’ll all be here.”
ISRAEL SAYS TRUMP’S MIDDLE EAST VISIT IS THE ‘WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY’ FOR HOSTAGE DEAL
Trump’s four-day trip abroad comes amid continuing war between Israel and Hamas, ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, and reported plans to broaden his first administration’s Abraham Accords, which normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab League nations such as the United Arab Emirates.
“Eight years ago, President Trump’s first trip was to this same region of the world, where he introduced his bold peace-through-strength foreign policy strategy. On that trip, the president laid out his goal of eradicating terrorism and extremism in the region, which he successfully accomplished over the course of his administration with the total defeat of ISIS and the historic signing of the Abraham Accords,” Leavitt told the media on Friday.
TRUMP TEASES ‘VERY, VERY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT’ AHEAD OF MIDDLE EAST TRIP, CARNEY SAYS HE’S ‘ON EDGE OF MY SEAT’
Under his first administration, Trump made his maiden voyage as president in 2017 to Saudi Arabia and Israel, before also traveling to Europe. The trip to the Middle East this week is billed as Trump’s first major overseas travel as president, though Trump also visited Rome late last month for Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican.
CHINA TRADE TALKS
As Trump prepares to depart for the Middle East, administration officials spent the weekend in Geneva negotiating with Chinese counterparts to iron out a potential trade agreement.
Early Monday morning, the U.S. and China released a joint statement revealing that “the United States and China will each lower tariffs by 115% while retaining an additional 10% tariff,” according to the White House.
The U.S. imposed tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods earlier this year as the president looks to bring parity to the nation’s chronic trade deficit with foreign countries.
The tariffs on China followed Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” trade announcement, when he unveiled his reciprocal tariff plan on dozens of nations, including China. He paused all the reciprocal tariffs except on China later that month as countries requested to make trade deals. China, meanwhile, imposed their own tariffs on the U.S., including a 125% duty tax on U.S. goods.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with Chinese trade officials in Switzerland this weekend, where Trump said “great progress” was made between the two countries.
“Many things discussed, much agreed to. A total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner. We want to see, for the good of both China and the U.S., an opening up of China to American business. GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!” he posted on Truth Social on Saturday.
TRUMP SAYS 80% TARIFF ON CHINA ‘SEEMS RIGHT’ AHEAD OF WEEKEND TALKS WITH BEIJING
Bessent added on Sunday that the leaders from both countries held “productive” talks, before revealing early Monday that tariffs imposed on both countries would be reduced for a 90-day period.
PIVOTAL TRADE TALKS WITH BEIJING LOOM AS TRUMP SWEARS IN NEW US AMBASSADOR TO CHINA: ‘WHAT TIMING’
SOUTH AFRICAN REFUGEES TO ARRIVE IN US
The Trump administration is slated to begin welcoming White Afrikaners from South Africa to the U.S. this week as they face “unjust racial discrimination” in their home country, according to the administration.
“What’s happening in South Africa fits the textbook definition of why the refugee program was created,” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told reporters Friday. “This is persecution based on a protected characteristic – in this case, race. This is race-based persecution.”
Trump signed an executive order in February that cut U.S. funds to the South African government as well as an offer to Afrikaners allowing them to move to the U.S. under refugee status.
TRUMP TO BRING WHITE AFRIKANERS TO US AS REFUGEES FROM SOUTH AFRICA, IN WAKE OF EXPROPRIATION LEGISLATION
Trump signed the EO targeting South Africa after the country enacted a law allowing the government “to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation” and the country taking “aggressive positions toward the United States and its allies, including accusing Israel.”
“The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall take appropriate steps, consistent with law, to prioritize humanitarian relief, including admission and resettlement through the United States Refugee Admissions Program, for Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination,” Trump’s order said.
“Such plan shall be submitted to the President through the Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor,” he said.
Trump is expected to return from his trip to the Middle East on Friday, May 16.
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As of Sunday, Trump has signed 147 executive orders since his inauguration in January, including a whopping 143 within his first 100 days as president, dwarfing the number of EOs signed by his predecessors stretching back to at least President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
‘New media’ seat shakes up White House briefings — legacy press fumes
The “new media” seat at the White House has shaken up press briefings as the Trump administration aims to reach Americans who don’t rely on what it calls “the archaic White House press corps” for information.
The “new media” seat is the brainchild of press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who felt legacy media essentially had a monopoly over coverage of the White House. No seats were taken from anyone, as the designated seat to the right of the lectern is where White House staffers or guests traditionally sat along the side of the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.
Nowadays, the seat is filled by new and emerging voices who typically get introduced by Leavitt before being called upon for the first question of the briefing, which traditionally went to the Associated Press under previous administrations.
EX-CNN JOURNALIST SPEAKS OUT ON BIDEN COVER-UP, SAYS WHITE HOUSE AIDES MADE IT DIFFICULT ON PRESS
Some of the “new media” seat’s occupants, such as Axios’ Mike Allen and 2Way’s Mark Halperin, are longtime D.C. insiders who currently work for upstart organizations, while others, like “Unbiased Podcast” host Jordan Berman, wouldn’t have sniffed the briefing room under previous administrations.
“The legacy media’s charade of inclusivity has been exposed by their resistance to allow emerging voices into the press briefing room. Americans have found new ways to digest their media—and we cater to the people, not the archaic White House press corps,” assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital.
The “new media” seat has also faced criticism, largely from legacy outlets, and some of the occupants have been criticized for lobbing softball questions at briefings or heaping praise on Leavitt and the president. But White House insiders believe negative coverage of the opportunity for new voices is proof that traditional outlets are scared to relinquish control of the briefing room.
Ruthless Podcast co-host John Ashbrook occupied the seat in January and asked Leavitt if the legacy media was out of touch with the border crisis. He embraced his role as an outsider in the briefing room despite what he called “eye rolls and smirks” from traditional journalists.
“Every dirty look from legacy media was wiped away when they had to write down the news made in response to the question I asked,” Ashbrook told Fox News Digital.
While Ashbrook used his lead-off question to prompt criticism of the press, other “new media” seat occupants have asked about such topics as transgender athletes, artificial intelligence, the economy and foreign policy.
PODCAST HOST SAYS HE RECEIVED ‘EYE ROLLS,’ ‘SMIRKS’ FROM REPORTERS DURING WHITE HOUSE BRIEFING DEBUT
“Timcast IRL” host Tim Pool has been one of the more polarizing occupants of the seat. When Pool was announced as the seat holder last month, the move was swiftly criticized by mainstream reporters.
New York Times reporter Ken Bensinger reminded his followers on X that Pool was tied to a Tennessee-based media company accused of receiving money from Russia (Pool has denied any wrongdoing), while a USA Today reporter took issue with his signature beanie cap.
Pool, who has 2.4 million followers on X, said he noticed “snooty looks” from some legacy reporters and “disdain” for his presence on social media following the opportunity.
“All they’ve done in that press room is march in lockstep with each other, all reporting the same falsehoods, the same angles, the same manipulations. There’s no curiosity. The questions they largely ask are predictable. And yet, if any other company wants to come in, it’s a whiplash, it is an attack, it’s vitriol. They’re acting more like high school teen girls than professionals,” Pool told Fox News Digital.
Pool said that during the Biden administration, White House reporters from liberal, mainstream outlets were largely not curious or intentionally tried to obfuscate facts and details to push a political ideology. He’s thrilled that Leavitt has shaken things up to offer a break from the “faux adversarial questions” that liberal reporters asked during the Biden administration.
“There needs to be an attempt to create competition in the journalistic space so that we’re not getting the same worldview from every single reporter,” Pool said. “Naturally, they’re upset by the competition. But all I see is, with the new media personalities coming in, they’re largely on the other sides of the political spectrum, but even then, they’re not in complete agreement on everything.”
“I do think this is a great step forward in bringing in new voices with different perspectives, which is what diversity was supposed to mean,” he continued. “It was an honor and a privilege.”
WHITE HOUSE REPORTERS RESPOND AFTER BEING CALLED OUT FOR WEAK COVERAGE OF BIDEN’S DECLINE AT WHCD
The “new media” seat has also been occupied by The Bulwark’s Andrew Egger, Breitbart’s Matt Boyle, podcaster Sage Steele, Rumble’s Chris Pavlovski, X’s John Stoll, Semafor’s Shelby Talcott, The Daily Wire’s Mary Margaret Olohan, “Breaking Points” co-host Saagar Enjeti, Townhall’s Katie Pavlich, Merit Street Media’s Lyndsay Keith, NOTUS reporter Jasmine Wright, Matthew Foldi of the Washington Reporter, Punchbowl’s Brendan Pedersen and Blaze Media correspondent Chris Bedford, among others.
Reporters from outlets such as the AP, CNN, Reuters, ABC, CBS, NBC, USA Today, The New York Times, NPR, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal and Fox News have assigned seats at White House press briefings, while reporters from smaller outlets stand along the crowded perimeter of the room.
Leavitt explained why she has taken a different approach to the media during a May 5 appearance on “Hannity.”
“It’s because President Trump has revolutionized media and the way Americans consume media. He started this on the campaign when he opened the campaign to social media influencers and podcasters, and he was willing to take that nontraditional media route. We’ve continued that effort at the White House,” Leavitt said.
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Former Obama press secretary Jay Carney even praised Leavitt’s changes to the White House press operation.
“I think it’s important to recognize the media landscape has changed, to bring in new voices, to shake things up,” Carney said at an ROKK Solutions event last month when asked about the new media seat.
“I think that’s admirable,” Carney continued. “Everybody can learn from that.”
Middle Eastern royal offers to donate jumbo jet to Trump — Dems immediately make move
A Democratic congressman is calling for an ethics investigation over President Donald Trump’s plans to accept a $400 million jet from Qatar that would temporarily serve as Air Force One before being allotted to Trump’s presidential library after he leaves office.
Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., wrote to the Government Accountability Office on Sunday, noting that the plane would be the single most expensive gift ever received by a U.S. president. Torres derided the deal as a “flying grift,” arguing it violates the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which “explicitly prohibits any person holding public office from accepting ‘any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.'”
“I am writing to express alarm over reports that President Donald Trump is poised to accept a luxury aircraft — a Boeing 747-8 — from the government of Qatar. The plane, so opulent it has been described as a ‘palace in the sky,’ is set to be made available to President Trump for official use as Air Force One and then for private use once he leaves office,” Torres wrote.
“This ‘flying grift’ is merely the latest chapter in a tawdry tale of presidential profiteering unprecedented in American history,” Torres added.
TRUMP TEASES ‘VERY, VERY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT’ AHEAD OF MIDDLE EAST TRIP, CARNEY SAYS HE’S ‘ON EDGE OF MY SEAT’
Trump described the deal in his own words on social media in a post Sunday night.
“So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40-year-old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane,” he wrote.
“Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!!” he added.
Taking questions at the White House on Monday, he also said he wouldn’t plan on using the jet after leaving office.
“It would go directly to the library after I leave office,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t be using it, no.”
TRUMP STAFFERS LOAD BOXES OF ITEMS SEIZED BY FBI IN 2022 MAR-A-LAGO RAID ONTO AIR FORCE ONE
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told “FOX & Friends” Monday that the legal details “are still being worked out.”
“Any donation to this government is always done in full compliance with the law, and we commit ourselves to the utmost transparency, and we will continue to do that,” Leavitt said, adding that Trump “only works with the interests of the American public in mind.”
ABC News reported that Trump toured the plane in West Palm Beach earlier this year. While the deal is set to be announced during Trump’s trip to the Middle East this week, the actual transaction is not expected to be made until later. Qatari officials say they expect to donate the plane through the Pentagon.
“The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense, but the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made,” Qatari embassy official Ali Al-Ansari told ABC News.
Presidents have for decades circumvented the Emoluments Clause by classifying gifts they receive while in office as gifts to the office of the president. Those gifts are then cataloged and stored as part of their presidential libraries after leaving office. While presidents maintain some level of access to the items in their libraries, they do not own them directly and must purchase them from the federal government in order to secure private ownership.
TRUMP STAFFERS LOAD BOXES OF ITEMS SEIZED BY FBI IN 2022 MAR-A-LAGO RAID ONTO AIR FORCE ONE
If the jet were to enter Trump’s presidential library, it is unclear how costs would be apportioned for maintenance and usage costs.
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When not in office as president, Trump has traveled in his private Boeing 757 jet, dubbed Trump Force One. That jet is famously emblazoned with Trump’s last name and was frequently seen in the backdrop of campaign rallies.
Lawmaker stunned after lifting floorboards, finding staircase going beneath the Capitol
Under the floorboards of the U.S. Capitol lie hidden staircases and passageways left over from the iconic building’s original construction in the 18th century, a viral video posted by Republican North Carolina Rep. Tim Moore shows.
“Construction started in the 1700s and there are all sorts of little hidden passageways. As you saw, I just pulled this cover up, and you can see,” Moore said in a video posted to his official congressional X account on Friday, showing a secret door in the floor of the Capitol.
The U.S. Capitol’s construction was commissioned in 1793, with President George Washington laying the cornerstone that same year. The original building was completed in 1826, with various expansions made across the decades, such as a visitor center that opened in 2008.
SECRETS OF THE CAPITOL ROTUNDA
Moore took viewers inside the Capitol’s Lincoln Room, which he said is one of his favorites to show visitors to Washington, D.C., noting it’s where Abraham Lincoln would sit by a fire and read letters when he served as a congressman representing Illinois from 1847-1849.
TRUMP TO BUILD NATIONAL CENTER FOR HOMELESS VETERANS WITH FUNDS PREVIOUSLY SPENT ON HOUSING FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS
“But the most interesting part of the room is underneath the floorboards,” Moore posted to X.
The North Carolina Republican opened a hidden door on the floor, revealing a dusty and historic staircase leading to what appeared to be another room below.
TRUMP TO CREATE TASK FORCE TO PLAN ‘EXTRAORDINARY CELEBRATION’ FOR 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICA’S INDEPENDENCE
“We’re just off of what’s called Statuary Hall, which at one time was the actual House chamber.… But this is just an example of some of the little hidden secrets in the Capitol,” Moore said.
The lawmaker added that he heard through Capitol building lore that the staircase under the Lincoln Room was used by British soldiers in the War of 1812 to set fire to the historic building. Known as the “Burning of Washington,” British soldiers in August 1814 set fire to the U.S. Capitol, the Washington Navy Yard and the White House – which was then known as the Presidential Mansion – before storms put out the fires and military personnel were called to D.C. to defend it from British forces. The War of 1812 ended in 1815.
TRUMP TO CREATE TASK FORCE TO PLAN ‘EXTRAORDINARY CELEBRATION’ FOR 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICA’S INDEPENDENCE
Moore’s tour of the secret staircase comes as President Donald Trump prepares to kick off America’s 250th anniversary of its founding on July 4, 2026. Trump signed an executive order just days after his inauguration this year detailing how his administration will prepare for the massive celebration, including launching a White House task force, building monuments celebrating the nation’s founding and historical leaders, and protecting monuments from vandalism following such attacks during the riots and protests that swept the nation in 2020.
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The Army will hold a 250th anniversary of its founding next month with a planned parade that will stretch from Arlington, Virginia, to the National Mall.
More evidence blows lid off Nike’s ties to youth transgender athlete research
Three weeks ago, OutKick first reported that evidence strongly suggested that sports apparel giant Nike funded a study on “transgender” youth athletes. Since then, the company has remained virtually silent about its alleged role. Perhaps Nike believes that ignoring it will make it go away.
At the time, the evidence that OutKick had were comments from researchers working on the study. Boston Children’s Hospital attending physician and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical school Kathryn Ackerman said during a seminar in 2023: “Recently, we got some money from Nike, who wanted to study this more… they wanted to look at transgender folks who are going through the transition younger. So, if we are talking about athletes who are pausing puberty and then doing gender-affirming care and cross-hormonal treatment, what happens to them over time.”
In a 2024 edition of “Boston Children’s Hospital Magazine”, the medical center promoted its youth transgender athlete study and said that Nike was funding the study, in part.
(Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
A second researcher on the study, Joanna Harper (a biological male who “identifies” as a “transgender woman”), also publicly stated that Nike was funding the study in a recent interview with the .
Despite those public comments about Nike’s financial commitment, the company has only given one comment to OutKick, and they were on background and not on the record. A Nike executive with knowledge of the situation told us that the study “was never initialized” and “is not moving forward.”
Now, OutKick has uncovered additional evidence of Nike’s role. In the winter 2024 edition of “Boston Children’s Hospital Magazine,” the medical center touted on page 23 its youth transgender athlete study, and its most important financier.
“Pioneering research, supported in part by Nike, Inc. and led by Boston Children’s, is designed to answer key questions about physiologic and athletic changes resulting from gender-affirming care,” the magazine states. “The study will fill a critical gap and inform future sports policy decisions.”
A blurb in the Winter 2024 edition of “Boston Children’s Hospital Magazine” mentions Nike as a funding source for a study on youth transgender athletes. (issuu.com/Boston Children’s Hospital Magazine)
It’s important to reiterate that Ackerman, the lead researcher on the study, works at Boston Children’s Hospital.
OutKick reached out to Nike, again, to ask if they wanted to provide additional comments and/or context about their role in the study, given that Boston Children’s Hospital promoted it and linked the sports apparel giant as a financial backer. As they have on almost every occasion, Nike did not respond to OutKick’s request.
OutKick also reached out to Boston Children’s Hospital to ask if the study was still ongoing and how much money Nike provided for the research. They also did not respond to our request.
So, Nike told OutKick the study “was never initialized” and is “not moving forward.” Which means that Boston Children’s Hospital was promoting a study that never even began? That seems unlikely. Unfortunately, no one will answer our questions. Their silence is deafening, but it’s not going to stop our quest for answers.
Karen Read’s flirty texts with ATF agent behind O’Keefe’s back read aloud during trial
During hours of cross-examination
from defense attorney Alan Jackson on Friday, Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik was asked to read a long string of text messages exchanged between Read and Brian Higgins, a Canton-based ATF agent with whom she was flirting behind O’Keefe’s back.
Having Bukhenik read the texts allows the defense to introduce hearsay statements into the case, according to Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts defense attorney who is following the case closely. They also raise questions about the integrity of the investigation, something the defense has aimed to discredit entirely.
“They are being entered not for the truth of what is contained in them but to show that they existed,” she told Fox News Digital. “That is important because the defense wants to be able to argue that these messages existed, and did or did not the investigation consider them as a lead? Wouldn’t the knowledge of a romantic flirtation between Karen Read and Brian Higgins create the possibility of conflict between Brian Higgins and John O’Keefe?”
Read the full story here.
Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik returned to the witness stand on Monday to face a third day of cross-examination from defense attorney Alan Jackson.
Jackson pushed Bukhenik on his handling of the department’s investigation into the death of Boston police officer John O’Keefe, specifically questioning Bukhenik’s role as former investigator Michael Proctor’s supervisor.
“You would agree that your supervision has a direct impact on the character and quality of the subordinate investigators that you supervise,” Jackson said.
“Yes, sir,” Bukhenik replied.
Jackson went on to grill Bukhenik on his involvement in a text message group chat between Proctor, Bukhenik and several other investigators involved in the case that began with Trooper David Dicicco sending a photo of Karen Read’s defense attorney, David Yannetti.
“Michael Proctor then responded, correct?” Jackson asked.
“That’s what it says here,” Bukhenik said. “Yes.”
“And then [Proctor] responded, ‘Funny, I’m going through his retarded client’s phone,’ correct?” Jackson said.
“That’s what it says,” Bukhenik said. “Yes.”
Jackson questioned Bukhenik on his choice to react to Proctor’s message with a “thumbs up.”
Jackson went on to read messages from Proctor indicating he was searching for nude photographs of Karen Read before commenting on the photo of Yannetti.
“Michael Proctor then responded again, is that right?” Jackson said. “He wrote, ‘No nudes so far,’ correct?”
“That’s what it says,” Bukhenik said. “Yes.”
Bukhenik’s choice to give Proctor a positive evaluation within the department remained under fire by Jackson, with the defense attorney pointing to comments from Bukhenik that Proctor handled the investigation with “integrity.”
“I believe that as a U.S. citizen, he has the right to comment,” Bukhenik said. “That’s his First Amendment right, we uphold the Constitution. It’s unfortunate, unprofessional,
Judge Beverly Cannone called Court into session on Monday following a pre-planned late start.
Before the jury was called in, Cannone told both sides’ attorneys she arrived to find three motions filed this morning, with special prosecutor Hank Brennan raising a legal precedent surrounding a defense argument that an investigation may have been so inadequate that it creates reasonable doubt.
Brennan pointed to the 1980 case Commonwealth v. Bowden before arguing the defense should not have “limitless” ability to question witnesses about evidence that may not be relevant in the case and that improper questions “inflames the jury.”
“The defense could say the same about the prosecution too,” David Gelman, a Philadelphia-area defense attorney and former prosecutor, told Fox News Digital. “Unless it’s blatant, the judge will deny this quickly.”
Following a brief sidebar, the jurors were called into the courtroom and Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik returned to the stand.
Karen Read arrived at Norfolk Superior Courthouse as testimony in her second murder trial is set to enter its fourth week, with Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik expected to return to the witness stand.
Read is facing the possibility of life in prison for
the alleged killing of Boston police officer John O’Keefe on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022.
Karen Read’s trial is set to enter its fourth week on Monday with Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik taking the stand for his third day of cross-examination.
On Friday, jurors heard Bukhenik read text messages from Read and Brian Higgins, with defense attorney Alan Jackson grilling the police sergeant on the flirtatious nature of the conversations leading up to John O’Keefe’s death.
Read is facing murder charges for the alleged killing of John O’Keefe on Jan. 29, 2022 and if convicted, Read could spend the rest of her life behind bars.
Prosecutors allege Read struck O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV in a drunken rage, leaving him to freeze to death in the front yard of 34 Fairview. Read’s defense is arguing she is being framed by the local police department in an elaborate cover-up with former investigator Michael Proctor previously at the helm.
NFL team’s 437-pound rookie could be answer to stopping Eagles’ unstoppable play
Could this Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie defensive lineman be the answer to stopping the Philadelphia Eagles’ dreaded “tush push” play?
Desmond Watson would’ve made NFL Draft history as the heaviest player ever to be taken at 464 pounds with a 6-foot-6 frame, but the Bucs quickly added him as one of their 15 undrafted free agent signings.
He’s been coined “the tush push terminator” due to his ability to stuff the line of scrimmage, and he was a sight to see at the team’s rookie minicamp.
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Watson has already been cutting weight as he tries to make the Bucs’ roster, coming in at 437 pounds for minicamp.
Before the draft, Watson discussed his understanding that he would need to cut weight to realize his NFL dream.
He said stopping to eat while driving has been a main reason why he gained so much weight during his time with the Florida Gators.
AT 464 POUNDS, FLORIDA DT DESMOND WATSON SEES WEIGHT LOSS AS PATH TO NFL
“Stopping while driving,” Watson said when asked about bad habits he’s tried to shed at his pro day. “My biggest thing is keep going, get to where I need to get. There are stores and a lot of temptations. That’s helped me immensely: Don’t go inside the gas station. Pay at the pump. Because inside, it’s snacks and all types of things like that. Don’t pull over. If you’re on the highway, stay on the highway until you get where you’ve got to go.”
The heaviest player in the NFL last season was Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Daniel Faalele at 6-foot-8 and 380 pounds. And while there is no official record for the heaviest player in the NFL, many agree it was former Chicago Bears tackle Aaron Gibson, who weighed 410 pounds during his career from 1999-2004.
Watson said he’s trying to eat better, especially when it comes to snacking. It’s been peanuts and almonds recently, and his main meals have changed as well.
If Watson were to make the Bucs’ roster, they would have quite the formidable defensive interior, especially with his role model, Vita Vea, doing what the rookie hopes to in the NFL.
At 347 pounds, Vea’s athleticism is a sight to behold on game day, as he swallows up quarterbacks and running backs alike with his ability to penetrate into the backfield at nose tackle.
Watson doesn’t possess Vea’s athleticism, but he can move for his size. He also would’ve set the NFL Combine bench press record if he were present, as he repped 225 pounds 36 times at Florida’s pro day.
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And considering the tush push – NFL owners are expected to discuss a potential ban on it later this offseason – having a duo like that in the interior could be the antidote for defenses stopping the short-yardage play that teams are trying to replicate from the Eagles.
Watson is also hoping to play for the team he grew up near, as he’s from Plant City, which is east of Tampa.