Ex-Trump aide sued by Hunter Biden wants Biden-appointed judge off laptop case, fears ‘2020 all over again’
Garrett Ziegler, a one-time aide to former President Trump who is being sued by Hunter Biden for publishing the contents of his infamous laptop, is seeking to have a judge who was appointed by President Biden removed from the case. Ziegler argues that the outcome of the lawsuit not only has implications for the congressional impeachment inquiry, but also the 2024 election. In a recent motion in U.S. District Court for Central California, Ziegler’s attorney, Robert Tyler, requested that Judge Hernán D. Vera recuse himself from the case because his “impartiality will be reasonably questioned.” Vera made donations to Joe Biden’s campaign for president in 2020. He also was appointed to his position by President Biden just three months before Hunter Biden filed the lawsuit against Ziegler and one day after then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., announced a presidential impeachment inquiry had commenced in Congress. Tyler emphasized that he is not arguing against Vera’s integrity and assumes the court system assigned the judge to Hunter Biden’s lawsuit at random. “But there’s something called forum shopping that lawyers do,” he told Fox News Digital. “And here’s a case where our client resides in Illinois, he has no contact with California such that California should have any jurisdiction over this case, yet Hunter Biden’s lawyers filed this lawsuit to the Central District of California just shortly after Judge Vera’s appointed.” Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s legal team for comment on Tuesday. HUNTER BIDEN SUES FORMER WH AIDE FOR ALTERING, PUBLISHING ‘PORNOGRAPHIC’ PHOTOS FROM LAPTOP HE DENIES IS HIS The relief requested in Hunter Biden’s complaint would prevent and inhibit the public, media and Congress from accessing highly relevant evidence to the impeachment inquiry of President Biden, the motion says. Ziegler’s attorney further argued that Vera must recuse himself from the case “because the district court rulings in this case may affect the impeachment inquiry along with the future presidency of Joseph Biden, toward which Judge Vera made a financial investment and for which Judge Vera has an obvious interest and affinity.” “The availability of the information from the Hunter Biden laptop is incredibly important so that we don’t have 2020 all over again where somehow the Biden laptop is brushed under the rug and ignored or worse yet, it’s censored,” Tyler told Fox News Digital on Tuesday, referring to how the Hunter Biden laptop story was dismissed as “Russian disinformation” by a large portion of the media and suppressed by social media platforms. “That’s important I think not only to the presidential impeachment inquiry but also to the election.” Tyler’s motion criticizes how Hunter Biden filed the lawsuit against Ziegler, his company – Marco Polo USA – and 10 unidentified associates in September 2023, in the middle of his father’s re-election campaign and nearly three years after the dissemination of files emanating from the laptop he “abandoned” at a Delaware computer repair shop. The repair shop owner turned the laptop over to the FBI on or around October 2019 after discovering its “disturbing materials,” the motion notes. Hunter Biden’s lawsuit accused Ziegler and others of spreading “tens of thousands of emails, thousands of photos, and dozens of videos and recordings” that were considered “pornographic” on the laptop. The lawsuit describes Ziegler as a “zealot who has waged a sustained, unhinged and obsessed campaign” against the entire Biden family for over two years to “advance his right-wing agenda” and spent hours “accessing, tampering with, manipulating or copying” Hunter Biden’s data with his associates. GOP REP SPOTLIGHTS 3 KEY PIECES OF EVIDENCE THAT THE BIDEN FAMILY ‘CONTRADICTED’ THEIR BUSINESS COVERUP The lawsuit seeks a jury trial based on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and California’s Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act. Ziegler’s attorney counters that the former Trump aide and associates “prepared a credible investigative report,” known as the “Report on the Biden Laptop,” not to wage a campaign against Hunter Biden, but to “expose instances of foreign compromise” by Hunter Biden and his father, President Biden, which are “matters of great public interest and concern.” In preparing the report, Ziegler relied on copies of files from the laptop that “had already been widely circulated since at least October 2020 to numerous media outlets,” Tyler wrote. The motion states that Ziegler’s website with the Biden laptop report has been accessed by over 5 million Americans since its inception in June 2023 and more than 8 million Americans have accessed the free digital version of the report made available in November 2022. “Millions upon millions of visitors have come to this website for information,” Tyler said. “The information on this website is not altered except to the extent to black out genitals. Other than that, the content of the website, according to my client, has not been altered or manipulated, and so this information is critical, I believe, to the availability for the public, for the media and for Congress itself to be able to access and determine whether or not this president is one we should bring back in 2024, 2025.” Tyler noted how Marco Polo provided background research to the House Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees related to the Biden impeachment inquiry. During a recent House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing related to Hunter Biden’s refusal to attend a congressional deposition pertaining to his father’s impeachment inquiry, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., presented exhibits of evidence she received directly from Ziegler and other defendants, the motion says. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., then requested that the Democrats on the committee be provided the Biden laptop files. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., interjected that she can provide every Democrat a copy because “Marco Polo has the actual, entire publication.” “You mentioned you wanted to read some stuff, that would probably be something good to read, the Marco Polo Report,” Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., added. “It’s public record.”
GOP Colorado Rep. Ken Buck will resign from Congress by end of next week
Colorado U.S. Representative Ken Buck announced on Tuesday that he we will resign from the House by the end of next week. “It has been an honor to serve the people of Colorado’s 4th District in Congress for the past 9 years. I want to thank them for their support and encouragement throughout the years. Today, I am announcing that I will depart Congress at the end of next week,” Buck wrote in his release. “I look forward to staying involved in our political process, as well as spending more time in Colorado and with my family.” Buck has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since November 2014 and is currently assigned to the House Judiciary Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Buck was also one of three House Republicans who opposed the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Buck previously announced he was not running for another term. His resignation will squeeze the GOP’s majority even more. The breakdown will be 431 members with 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats. Now, the GOP will only be able to lose two votes of their own on any given issue. This is a developing story. Check back for more details.
Iowa senator seeks to increase government transparency and end Biden administration’s ‘secret spending’
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, will introduce a bill on Tuesday that seeks to bar government agencies from concealing details about reported transactions by mislabeling them as “other transaction agreements.” The legislation, titled, the Stop Secret Spending Act of 2024, seeks to prevent bureaucratic agencies from using the term “OTA” in reporting their spending to the Government Accountability Office. FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL TESTIFIES ‘I DID NOT EXONERATE’ BIDEN OTA’s are defined as “legally binding agreements other than standard contracts and grants that allow for flexible arrangements,” according to the GAO. According to the latest data, the current U.S. national debt stands at roughly $34.4 trillion and is increasing by about $1 trillion every 100-day period. The legislation would insert the phrase “other transaction agreement” into the list of terms considered “federal awards,” thus requiring various disclosures about the transaction such as the entities involved and the amounts. REPUBLICANS EXPOSE ‘WOKE’ ITEMS HIDDEN WITHIN BIDEN’S MASSIVE $7.3 TRILLION BUDGET Ernst’s new measure geared toward increasing government spending transparency comes during 2024’s Sunshine Week, which celebrates and recognizes the importance of openness in government and the dangers of excessive confidentiality. National Freedom of Information Day falls on March 16. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Ernst described it as “disappointing” to need to address this issue during Sunshine Week. “Once again, Biden is hiding billions by not disclosing the details about the dollars his deputies are doling out using loosely defined deals referred to as ‘other transaction agreements,’ or OTAs,” she explained. GUN RIGHTS GROUPS ASK SUPREME COURT TO STRIKE DOWN STATE’S ‘ASSAULT WEAPONS’ BAN These agreements amount to “sweetheart deals,” the Iowa senator said. In fiscal years 2020-2022, the GAO found that more than $40 billion was reported by agencies under the term’s umbrella. The office further noted that about $10 billion was seemingly related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that the expenditures weren’t reported to the GAO as such. It also detailed that agencies appeared to use different strategies in reporting transactions as OTAs. Per the GAO, “Policymakers and the public will continue to lack complete spending information and transparency of OTAs,” until they are considered federal rewards and held to that reporting standard. FDNY UNION BOSS BREAKS SILENCE ON STAFF CHEERING TRUMP, BOOING LETITIA JAMES Ernst slammed the Treasury Department, in her statement to Fox News Digital for suggesting that OTA spending should not be reported to USASpending.gov because it isn’t currently defined as a federal award. She cited the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, noting that it states “federal financial assistance and expenditures” totaling more than $25,000 should be reported. SENATE REPUBLICANS DEMAND DOCS, INFO ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED WITH LAKEN RILEY’S MURDER “Seems pretty clear to me!” Ernst said. Because of this, she said she plans to give the department her monthly “Squeal Award.” The purpose of the recognition is to identify and call out “wasteful” expenses. President Joe Biden’s fiscal year 2025 budget, which was released Monday, includes borrowing $16.3 trillion. According to the White House, the amount would be partially offset by taxes raised on corporations and the nation’s highest earners. The Biden administration has said his budget proposal would actually lower the national deficit by $3 trillion over 10 years.
Senate GOP bills target sanctuary cities after Laken Riley’s death
FIRST ON FOX: North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis will introduce two bills Tuesday aimed at holding sanctuary cities accountable for what he calls lax policies toward illegal immigration and refusal to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The first bill, titled the Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act, would create a private right for victims of rape or other felonies and their family members to sue states and districts if they refuse to honor detainer requests from the Department of Homeland Security. In order to qualify for federal grants, local governments and states would have to give up their immunity against this legal action. THE GENERAL ELECTION COULD START TODAY, HERE IS WHAT TO KNOW The second measure, known as the Immigration Detainer Enforcement Act, would give the DHS secretary, rather than the attorney general, the authority to issue detainer requests for illegal immigrants. It would further remove language dictating that an illegal immigrant must be considered at risk of escaping before a warrant can be issued in order for a detainer to be sought. The bill would also allow DHS to compensate local and state jurisdictions for claims against them due to their enforcement of ICE detainers. SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR TO TESTIFY AT HOUSE JUDICIARY AFTER BIDEN CLASSIFIED RECORDS REPORT “For too long, we have watched local jurisdictions in North Carolina and across the country ignore the lawful notification and detainer requests made by ICE agents and instead release dangerous criminals back into their communities and put innocent lives at risk,” Tillis said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “It is time for Congress to step in and put an end to this madness by holding sanctuary cities accountable and empowering ICE to gain custody of criminal illegal immigrants so they can’t cause more harm and violence.” Both of the bills are being co-sponsored by Sens. Ted Budd, R-N.C., Tim Scott, R-S.C., Steve Daines, R-Mont., Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., Mike Rounds, R-S.D., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark. Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., are co-sponsors of the Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act. DEFYING TRUMP, HOUSE GOP PLANS TO FORGE AHEAD WITH TIKTOK BILL THAT COULD BAN APP “Sanctuary states and cities that refuse to enforce the law make Americans less safe,” Ricketts also told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Adding incentives for cooperation with ICE will get dangerous criminals off our streets. These two bills would bring needed accountability to those who facilitate illegal immigration and bring justice for the victims of sanctuary policies.” The new legislation is being introduced in the wake of the death of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus. The suspect in her killing is a Venezuelan man who illegally immigrated to the U.S. in 2022. Jose Antonio Ibarra, 22, is being detained without bond on a variety of charges, including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, kidnapping, and several others. TRUMP LEGAL TEAM’S NEW STRATEGIC MOVE IN BRAGG’S HUSH MONEY TRIAL Riley’s death last month captured national attention. President Biden even appeared to succumb to pressure from congressional Republicans, mentioning her in his State of the Union address on March 7. Many Republican members of Congress donned pins with Riley’s name on them to the event.
House GOP report alleges Jan 6 committee ‘deleted records and hid evidence’
House Republicans released a report claiming the Jan. 6 select committee “deleted” records and hired “Hollywood producers” to promote a political narrative while investigating the circumstances surrounding supporters of former President Donald Trump breaching the Capitol in 2021. “For nearly two years, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s January 6th Select Committee promoted hearsay and cherry-picked information to promote its political goal – to legislatively prosecute former President Donald Trump,” Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., chairman of the Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Oversight, said in a statement accompanied by his “Initial Findings Report” on Monday. “It was no surprise that the Select Committee’s final report focused primarily on former President Trump and his supporters, not the security failures and reforms needed to ensure the United States Capitol is safer today than in 2021.”‘ Loudermilk’s oversight subcommittee of the House Administration Committee released an 81-page report Monday that investigated “the security failures of January 6th which House Democrats failed to investigate in the 117th Congress.” JAN 6 COMMITTEE ALLEGEDLY SUPPRESSED TESTIMONY SHOWING TRUMP ADMIN PUSHED FOR NATIONAL GUARD PRESENCE: REPORT Among its key findings, the report stated that the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol was designed “to promote a political narrative” reportedly at the direction of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “Pelosi made the unprecedented decision to refuse to appoint minority members chosen by the minority to the Select Committee. They hired Hollywood producers to assist with their primetime hearings. They refused to adopt rules, allowing them to operate without limits, to project their predetermined narrative to the world,” the report’s key findings page states. LIZ CHENEY CALLS SPEAKER JOHNSON ‘DANGEROUS’ FOR HELPING TRUMP ‘UNDERMINE OUR REPUBLIC’ Within the report, it details that the Jan. 6 committee “enlisted the help of Hollywood producers to edit USCP closed circuit television (“CCTV”) footage, as well as videos of depositions and transcribed interviews, for use at public hearings.” LIZ CHENEY CALLS SPEAKER JOHNSON ‘DANGEROUS’ FOR HELPING TRUMP ‘UNDERMINE OUR REPUBLIC’ The Jan. 6 committee was founded in July 2021 to investigate the breach of the U.S. Capitol earlier that year by supporters of Trump ahead of President Biden officially taking office on Jan. 20. The Jan. 6 committee’s investigation was carried out when Democrats held control of the House. The committee concluded its 18-month investigation last year, when Republicans regained control of the House, and sent referrals to the Justice Department recommending Trump be criminally prosecuted for his involvement in the lead-up to supporters breaching the Capitol. The committee was composed of seven Democrats and two Republican lawmakers, Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both of whom are no longer in office. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chaired the committee, while Cheney served as vice chair. Loudermilk’s report argued that Cheney’s position was reserved for a Democrat, and that she should not have served as vice chair. “Cheney was not the minority ranking member but served as Vice Chair of the Select Committee – a position under House Rules for a member of the same party as the Chair. Pelosi appointed Cheney to the Select Committee as one of Pelosi’s eight majority appointments to the Select Committee. Former Select Committee staff members spoke out against Cheney’s insistence that the Select Committee focus on President Trump,” the report’s key findings found. Republicans have long claimed that the committee was improperly constructed, including in a court case in 2022, when a federal judge appointed by Trump validated the Jan. 6 committee’s investigative pursuits, including allowing the committee to obtain Republican National Committee’s marketing email data in the lead up to Jan. 6. LIZ CHENEY CALLS SPEAKER JOHNSON ‘DANGEROUS’ FOR HELPING TRUMP ‘UNDERMINE OUR REPUBLIC’ Loudermilk’s report also asserted that the committee “deleted records and hid evidence” ahead of Republicans taking the House majority during the 2022 election cycle. “THE SELECT COMMITTEE DELETED RECORDS AND HID EVIDENCE – Reps. Thompson and Cheney failed to turn over video recordings of witness interviews and depositions despite using these recordings in their high-profile, primetime hearings. The Subcommittee recovered over one hundred deleted or password-protected files, including some files that were deleted days before Republicans took the majority. They also hid multiple transcribed interviews of witnesses who had firsthand knowledge of Trump‘s actions on January 6,” the report found. Trump has repeatedly claimed the committee deleted and destroyed evidence, including this year in a Truth Social post singling out Cheney. “Why did American Disaster Liz Cheney … ILLEGALLY DELETE & DESTROY most of the evidence, and related items, from the January 6th Committee of Political Thugs and Misfits. THIS ACT OF EXTREME SABOTAGE MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR MY LAWYERS TO PROPERLY PREPARE FOR, AND PRESENT, A PROPER DEFENSE OF THEIR CLIENT, ME. All of the information on Crazy Nancy Pelosi turning down 10,000 soldiers that I offered to to [sic] guard the Capitol Building, and beyond, is gone,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Jan. 1, 2024. LIZ CHENEY ADDRESSES CRITICISM OF HER CRITIQUES OF TRUMP AND BIDEN Cheney responded to the report early on Tuesday morning on X, arguing the report works to “cover up” Trump’s actions in 2021. “If your response to Trump’s assault on our democracy is to lie & cover up what he did, attack the brave men & women who came forward with the truth, and defend the criminals who violently assaulted the Capitol, you need to rethink whose side you’re on. Hint: It’s not America’s,” Cheney tweeted Tuesday. Last week, Loudermilk’s office released transcripts of a “withheld” committee interview with a Trump administration official, White House deputy chief of staff Anthony Ornato, that reportedly undermines the committee’s report that they did not have evidence showing the Trump White House requested National Guard assistance for Jan. 6. Ahead of serving as White House deputy chief of staff, Ornato served decades in the Secret Service. REP LOUDERMILK BLASTS JANUARY 6 COMMITTEE FOR TARGETING HIM: ‘THERE IS A WAR ON THE TRUTH IN THIS COUNTRY’ The interview, which was first reported
Massachusetts Gov. Healey urges FEMA to reconsider disaster aid request after severe flooding
Gov. Maura Healey is appealing a decision of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deny the state’s request for a major disaster declaration to support Massachusetts cities and towns battered by severe weather and flooding in September. Healey said the state has appreciated FEMA’s partnership but is concerned that the federal agency’s assessment of her request failed to include certain identified costs. “These storms were devastating for our communities. I saw the impacts firsthand – homes and businesses were destroyed, roadways and bridges were inaccessible, and some residents had to be evacuated. Six months later, they are still rebuilding,” Healey said in a letter Monday to President Joe Biden. EXTENSIVE FLOOD DAMAGE PRODS NEW ENGLAND STATES TO REEVALUATE DAMS, CULVERTS “The state has done all that we can to support their recovery, but the needs far outpace our available resources.” Healey added. In her letter, Healey noted that Springfield experienced what she described as a catastrophic water main break attributed to the failure of a culvert and subsequent erosion related to the rainfall experienced on the evening of Sept. 11. Healey said the city of Leominster submitted a list of 56 damaged sites, but FEMA only included seven in its validation process. FLOODING AT MASSACHUSETTS HOSPITAL DISRUPTS FERTILITY TREATMENT SERVICES FOR 200 PATIENTS Healey urged FEMA to reconsider the state’s request. “Our communities must know that both their state and federal governments understand the severe challenges and stress they are facing, and that we are here to help,” Healey wrote. “Their recovery is particularly daunting given the knowledge that the next severe storm could be around the corner, as we continue to see the escalating impacts of climate change,” she added.
WATCH: Hur fires back at Dem accusing him of helping Trump by targeting Biden’s memory during heated exchange
Special Counsel Robert Hur’s testimony before Congress on Tuesday devolved into a heated exchange when one Democrat accused him of trying to help former President Donald Trump win this year’s presidential election by targeting President Biden’s memory in his report released last month. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga. – who was widely mocked for claiming in 2010 that a U.S. military buildup on Guam would cause the island to capsize – used his allotted time during the hearing to take jabs at the Federalist Society and suggested Hur would gain personally from a Trump victory in November. Johnson began his questioning by detailing Hur’s career track and noting he worked for multiple “known” members of the Federalist Society, a conservative and libertarian-leaning constitutional originalist group, before making his accusations pertaining to Trump. HUR TRANSCRIPT CONFIRMS BIDEN MEMORY LAPSES, CONTRADICTS PRESIDENT’S CLAIM ABOUT EXCHANGE OVER SON’S DEATH “Despite clearing President Biden from being prosecuted, you used your report to trash and smear President Biden because he said in response to questions over a five-hour interview that he didn’t recall how he got the documents,” Johnson said. Johnson went on to accuse Hur of knowing his report would “play into the Republicans’ narrative” concerning Biden’s age, and that he knew they would “expand upon that narrative” by asking him to testify before the committee that day. “Congressman, I reject the suggestions that you have just made. That is not what happened. Partisan politics played no part whatsoever in my work. My work was independent and fair,” Hur hit back, speaking over Johnson as he attempted to interrupt Hur’s response. HUR TESTIFIES HE ‘DID IDENTIFY EVIDENCE’ THAT ‘PRIDE AND MONEY’ MOTIVATED BIDEN TO RETAIN CLASSIFIED RECORDS Johnson then demanded to know if Hur was a member of the Federalist Society, to which Hur said he was not. “But you are a Republican, though, aren’t you? Johnson asked. “I am a registered Republican,” Hur answered. “And you’re doing everything you can do to get President Trump re-elected so that you can get appointed as a federal judge, or perhaps to another position in the Department of Justice. Isn’t that correct?” Johnson asked, drawing a laugh from Hur. “Congressman, I have no such aspirations, I can assure you. And I can tell you that partisan politics had no place whatsoever in my work. It had no place in any of the investigative steps that I took, it had no place in the decision that I made, and it had no place in a single word of my report,” Hur responded.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice balances coaching girls basketball, pursuing US Senate seat
When West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice recently returned to the spotlight, it wasn’t as the state’s top executive. Or a wealthy businessman. Or even as a candidate for the U.S. Senate. The term-limited Republican was instead back on the court, guiding a high school team in the quarterfinals of the state basketball tournament. Compared to his everyday dealings as governor as well as owner of the posh Greenbrier Resort and more than 100 other businesses, it was a respite for the 72-year-old former billionaire who moonlights as the girls coach at Greenbrier East. WEST VIRGINIA GOV JIM JUSTICE VOWS TO SIGN LEGISLATION PROTECTING WOMEN’S SPACES: ‘I’LL SIGN IT VERY PROUDLY’ It was a chance for him to focus on a group of young players who’d won 21 of their 25 previous games. The school last won the state title in 2012, also under Justice, who’s been the girls coach since 2000. He also has been president of youth baseball’s Little League chapter in Beckley since 1992. “I love my job being with kids,” Justice said. “Giving time to kids is precious and mandatory today. Like it or not like it, but these rascals go through a whole lot of pressures today that we never had before.” Justice has let his assistant coaches handle team practices when he’s elsewhere on official duties. He also was the school’s boys basketball coach for six years until deciding he couldn’t give it the focus it required due to being governor. WV GOV. JUSTICE TO DELIVER FINAL SPEECH BEFORE BRINGING ‘FOLKSY’ STYLE TO US SENATE RUN The girls job alone is challenging, “but really and truly, it’s a real honor for me to be with them,” he said. “And I mean it when I say I love every last one of them. They give me energy. They give me youth, to tell you the truth.” The pause in politics on Super Tuesday came at a busy time and just before a critical point in his career. In May, Justice, who is finishing up his second term as governor, will seek the Republican nomination for a U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democrat Joe Manchin. But having a revolving door of responsibilities hardly fazes Justice. “To be straight up honest, I don’t go on vacations. I don’t want to go on a vacation,” he said. “I love being in this state with the people, in the schools, doing everything that they’re doing.” For a few hours, though, Justice didn’t have to be concerned about the state’s finances or his own, and there’s plenty of frayed nerves about that to go around. The West Virginia Legislature was in the final week of its 60-day session. Its work on the annual budget hit a snag over serious questions from the federal government about state spending on education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Justice’s businesses have been the target of efforts to collect fines, late taxes and debts. Bluestone Resources was ordered to turn over a helicopter for sale in a debt dispute involving an investment firm. And a Virginia bank seeking more than $300 million on defaulted business loans called off the planned auction of land along a golf course at the governor’s resort, which is in White Sulphur Springs near the Virginia border and 11 miles from the high school of about 1,050 students. Justice recycles his small coach’s salary back into the basketball program. As governor, Justice has said he donates his $150,000 state salary to his wife Cathy’s education initiative. He’s known for quirky, unpredictable speeches and drew national attention when he lifted his dog and showed its rear end during his 2022 State of the State speech in response to a comment from Bette Midler. At the Charleston Coliseum a few miles from the state Capitol, several members of Justice’s staff and cabinet sat behind Greenbrier East’s bench. If Justice had a security detail with him at the game, it wasn’t noticeable, and certainly not alongside him. Over in the student section, Parker Hill flashed a cardboard cutout of Justice’s face. “Big Jim!” Hill yelled. At 6-foot-7, Justice towers over his players, who simply refer to the former college golfer as “Coach.” Ben Routson, Greenbrier East’s former athletic director and now the principal, has known Justice for 10 years and says they’ve always had a good relationship. “To us, he’s just like anyone else. He’s Coach Justice,” Routson said. “He’s personable. He’s very good to our kids and very good to our school.” Swinging his left leg as he sat on a stool, Justice put both hands on his head in frustration when one of his girls missed a layup. He did it again when another player grabbed a rebound, turned and threw the ball directly to an opponent, who scored easily. That gaffe prompted a chiding later from Justice: “Will you just slow down?” Mainly, Justice tries to be encouraging to a lineup filled with freshmen and sophomores. “Show them what you can do,” he said during a timeout. “He definitely gives us some hard times,” sophomore Kennedy Stewart said after the Spartans’ 47-31 loss to defending state champion Morgantown. Teammate Ava Workman quickly added, “He makes jokes with us, too.” “They’re dad jokes,” Stewart explained, prompting a playful nudge from a beaming Justice. Justice’s daughter, Jill, played for him in the state tournament two decades ago. She’s now president of her father’s resort and a physician at its health clinic. Her brother, Jay, runs the family’s coal and agricultural businesses. WEST VIRGINIA GOP GOV. JUSTICE JUMPS INTO RACE TO CHALLENGE DEMOCRATIC SEN. MANCHIN IN 2024 Greenbrier East also advanced to the tournament in 2020, but hours before its game, Justice the governor called everything off as the COVID-19 pandemic bore down on West Virginia. Stewart’s sister was on that team. Now, it was her turn. “This is better than just watching them. I got to play,” Stewart said. “And I’ll have that forever.” If Justice wins the Senate seat, he plans
Mumbai-Ahmedabad new Vande Bharat Express launched: Check timings, top speed, stations and more
The first Vande Bharat Express between the two commercial hubs was launched in September 2022.
Henry Cuellar launches new border security group for Democrats
The new task force is advocating for the bipartisan legislation that died after Donald Trump turned on the package.