White House Counsel Will Scharf sent a pointed letter to California Democrat Rep. Robert Garcia, the incoming chairman of the House Oversight Committee, on Monday, reminding him that congressional investigations and subpoenas must serve a legitimate legislative purpose under the Constitution.

The letter, which the White House released over the weekend, cites a series of public statements from Garcia and other Democrats promising a flood of subpoenas against the Trump administration and says such threats “may cross the line into blatant criminality” while declaring that the administration “will not be extorted and will not be cowed.”

Scharf wrote that compulsory process exists only for oversight functions and that “abusive threats and public statements about the indiscriminate issuance of subpoenas, along with threats directed at prospective targets within the Administration make it abundantly clear that any forthcoming investigative processes will be deployed to harass and aggrandize, rather than to advance any legitimate legislative end.”

He specifically referenced Democrats promising to hand out subpoenas “like candy” and “like Mardi Gras beads,” along with Garcia’s own post-election warning that administration officials should “lawyer up.”

The letter states that threats designed to deter officials from public service or process used merely to abuse or instill fear “may cross the line into blatant criminality,” and that “issuing unlawful subpoenas with the intention of depriving citizens of their constitutional rights and privileges may warrant further investigation.”

WATCH:

TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE JUST FIRED BACK AT DEMOCRAT ROBERT GARCIA… AND THE MESSAGE IS CLEAR: BACK OFF!

White House Counsel Will Scharf sent a pointed letter to incoming House Oversight Chairman Robert Garcia, challenging his threats against Trump administration officials.

After all the talk of investigations, subpoenas, and political payback, I see this as a VERY important signal.

THE WHITE HOUSE ISN’T WAITING AROUND TO BE ATTACKED. IT’S PUNCHING BACK!

And there’s a fascinating connection to a famous century-old essay called A Letter to Garcia. Sometimes leadership begins with one decisive message…

I explain why this letter could tell us plenty about the battles ahead on “Early Bird With Ed Martin,” on @RealAmVoice!

WATCH!

— Eagle Ed Martin (@EagleEdMartin) November 13, 2026

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, during Garcia’s appearance on CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins, the incoming Oversight chair named his first targets for immediate investigations and hearings once Democrats take the House majority in January.

Garcia singled out White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, saying Miller “should be preserving documents” and that the committee has “serious questions” it wants answered from him regarding deportation and detention policies.

He also listed former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, former Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr., and Eric Trump as priorities, framing the Trump family as the committee’s top priority.

Garcia responded to Scharf’s letter by saying it appeared the president “has something to hide” and that “Congress’ authority comes from Article I of the Constitution, not from the permission of the White House.” He has previously described administration responses as “cowardly.”

“Congress has wide latitude to conduct investigations and oversight, an authority inherent in the power to legislate,” Garcia wrote, according to a report from ABC News. “We are a co-equal branch of government and will not be deterred by baseless threats from a weaponized DOJ or from the President’s lawyers.”

Attorney General Todd Blanche has said the Justice Department would stand behind administration officials facing such demands.

The letter cites Supreme Court precedents including Watkins v. United States and Trump v. Mazars to underscore that investigations conducted purely to punish are indefensible and must be tied to a valid legislative purpose.

The post White House Counsel Warns Incoming Oversight Chair Garcia That Subpoena Threats Are Abusive and May Cross into Criminality appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

A father in Erie County, Ohio, was sentenced to six years in prison for terrorizing his children and stepchildren with a cattle prod for disciplinary reasons.

Robert Bores received the maximum sentence allowed under the law after pleading guilty to two felony counts of domestic violence for his alleged actions involving the cattle prod.

Bores was sentenced this past Thursday by Judge Roger Binette in the Erie County Common Pleas Court. The overall case lasted for over two and a half years.

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Binette said that Bores used the cattle prod on the kids, which included an incident where one of the kids was shocked for not putting away laundry.

The kids were 8 and 9 years old when the incidents took place.

Brent English, who is Bores’ attorney, made the claim that he was only trying to scare them and that he never intended physical harm.

Prosecutors did not see it that way. Paulette Lilly, the Chief Assistant Erie County Prosecutor, explained to the judge that a cattle prod is designed for large animals, and not for disciplining kids.

Prior to sentencing, the judge referred to statements made by the kids in court documents.

“The cattle prod (was used) on the back of one of the children, the butt of another child, and on the arms and leg of another child. The item he used was used for animals, not for humans,” said Binette. Fox 8 reported.

Fox 8 Reported:

SANDUSKY, Ohio (WJW) — An Erie County judge has sentenced Robert Bores to six years in prison, the maximum sentence possible, after he pleaded guilty to two felony counts of domestic violence involving allegations that he used an electric cattle prod to punish his children and stepchildren.

Judge Roger Binette handed down the sentence Thursday in Erie County Common Pleas Court, bringing an end to a case that had been moving through the court system for more than two and-a-half years.

During the sentencing hearing, the judge described how Bores used the cattle prod on young children, including an incident in which one child was shocked for failing to put away laundry.

Tampa Free Press Reported:

Most parents rely on timeouts or taking away screen time when chores go undone, but an Ohio father went with a high-voltage barnyard approach that just landed him a six-year prison sentence.

News clip below.

Watch:

The post Ohio Father Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Terrorizing His Children with Electric Cattle Prod appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Outgoing Flint, Michigan City Councilman Leon Abdullah El-Alamin pleaded guilty to election law false swearing and no contest to felony assault and domestic violence charges on Thursday, just days after losing his bid for reelection.

The Democrat entered the pleas in Genesee County Circuit Court before Judge Khary Hanible on what had been scheduled as the first day of his trial on the assault charges.

El-Alamin pleaded guilty to one felony count of falsely swearing on an affidavit of identity when he filed to run for council.

Prosecutors alleged he claimed to live at a property inside Flint city limits in 2024, shortly after his appointment as interim 1st Ward councilman following the death of Eric Mays.

A tenant who lived at the address testified that El-Alamin never resided there and served only as landlord.

El-Alamin later won a special election to finish out the term.

Investigators determined he actually lived outside the city in Mount Morris Township.

In the separate assault case, El-Alamin pleaded no contest to felony assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and misdemeanor domestic violence.

Make sure you’re sitting down for this…

Democrats are supporting a career criminal for Flint, Michigan City Council

I’m not kidding

Leon El-Alamin previously served 7 years in prison on weapons & drug charges.

He’s facing a felony charge for allegedly assaulting a woman by choking her, hitting her in the face, and pulling out her hair.

He’s also facing election fraud charges for allegedly falsely claiming he lived in Flint to file to run for city council.

A resurfaced video allegedly shows El-Alamin approaching one of his tenants’ homes to evict them while wielding an AK-style firearm.

He’s a current city councilor and advanced to the general election where he will face a challenger for his reelection bid

What is going on in Michigan?!

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 6, 2026

Those charges stemmed from a July 2025 incident at a home he owns in Mount Morris Township, where he was accused of punching, choking, and pulling the hair of a woman, according to a report from ABC News.

The cases had been delayed multiple times.

A sentencing hearing covering both charges is set for January 4.

The post Flint Democrat Councilman Pleads Guilty to Election Fraud and ‘No Contest’ to Felony Assault appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

As the Gateway Pundit recently reported, the state of California is going down the road that led to the 2008 financial crisis, by letting people buy more house than they can afford.

Now a former advisor to Joe Biden is suggesting a nationwide policy of letting people buy a house with just $1,000 down.

This is their fix to the housing crisis. They want to repeat bad history.

From Newsmax, via Yahoo Finance:

Former Biden economic adviser Lael Brainard is proposing a new federal mortgage program that would let qualifying first-time buyers purchase a home with just $1,000 down, financed through higher mortgage insurance fees, Bloomberg reports.

The Kitchen Table Project estimates the proposal could bring 2.2 million additional renter households into the homebuying market.

The proposed Federal Housing Administration program would require “strong underwriting criteria,” including a credit score of at least 660 and monthly debt payments below 50% of income.

To cover the cost, the group proposes increasing the FHA’s upfront mortgage insurance premium by about 30 basis points, or 0.3 percentage points.

“Not only can it help move 2.2 million renters into homeownership, it can also be done without any cost to the US government,” said Brainard, who led the National Economic Council under President Joe Biden.

Down payment assistance typically involves “grants, and grants are a direct cost to the government, and we know that we already have additional fiscal priorities,” she said.

“We really looked for proposals that could be done with a minimal amount of taxpayer funding.”

It’s such a dumb idea.

In the private sector, making a loan to someone who is unlikely to be able to pay it back is called “predatory lending.”

In the public sector, it’s called an “affordability measure.” https://t.co/W05XutzCsy

— Dominic Pino (@DominicJPino) November 10, 2026

This is a horrible idea that would just make housing even more unaffordable and potentially lead to a 2008-type disaster. If this were to arrive on President Trump’s desk, I hope he would veto it. There is so much brain rot about housing in this country. https://t.co/adWaSgnuOH https://t.co/TsFwDJ42qs

— Anthony LaMesa (@ajlamesa) November 10, 2026

Feels as though we tried this once before – can’t recall how that turned out??!! https://t.co/QoTpw1Cnjg

— Scott Kupor (@skupor) November 11, 2026

This will not end well.

The post Democrats Determined to Remake the Mistakes That Led to the 2008 Financial Crisis appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Iran exported a single cargo of liquefied petroleum gas in October as the U.S. naval blockade cut its petroleum exports to a trickle. Tanker incidents were reported near the Strait of Hormuz on November 10 and 11, and Iran-backed Houthis fired on Saudi Arabia on both days.

United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), an advocacy group, put October exports at 15,806 barrels per day in its October Tanker Tracker, based on that single cargo. That was down from 50,789 barrels per day in September, and exports to China, Iran’s key buyer, were zero in both months. Iran loaded about 2 million barrels per day in March, according to Kpler and Vortexa estimates, before Washington reimposed the blockade on July 14. UANI recorded 956 transits through the Strait of Hormuz in October, an average of 30.8 per day, with U.S. naval forces directly protecting many of them.

Seatrade Maritime News counted eight vessels attacked by Iran in the strait and the Gulf from November 1 to 8. The Joint Maritime Information Center kept the Hormuz threat level at “severe.”

On November 10, UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that a tanker was struck by a projectile of unknown origin about 19 nautical miles northeast of Limah, Oman. The tanker’s master said all crew members were safe and reported no environmental impact. That afternoon, ADNOC Logistics & Services confirmed that one of its vessels was damaged in an attack in UAE territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. On November 11, UKMTO received a report of another tanker incident in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said two tankers burned on November 10. It said one struck a naval mine and the other had attempted “an unauthorized route” while escorted by U.S. fighter jets. On November 11, the IRGC Navy said two more tankers struck mines on an unauthorized route. It was unclear whether the IRGC and UKMTO were referring to the same vessels.

The Houthis appeared to be sitting out the conflict early on before they entered Iran’s war in July. An October attack on King Khalid International Airport killed 13 people and wounded more than 300. A Houthi attack on November 8 damaged an Aramco administrative building in Riyadh. The group has vowed to continue operations deep inside Saudi territory.

Saudi air defenses intercepted another round of Houthi missiles and drones on November 10 and 11. On the first day, coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile and a cruise missile heading toward Riyadh, a ballistic missile aimed at the south, and a drone over the Eastern Province. On November 11, the coalition said it destroyed three cruise missiles headed toward the Riyadh region, two drones aimed at Mecca and southern areas, and two missiles fired toward the west.

An Aramco facility and King Khalid International Airport were among the targets the Houthis named when they claimed four operations using ballistic missiles and drones on November 10. The following day, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the group struck the airport with three cruise missiles and also struck Pumping Station No. 11 in Yanbu. Saree denied targeting Mecca and said the group targets oil facilities and military bases, a line consistent with its propaganda campaign alongside Tehran. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed the Houthi claims.

The State Department ordered non-emergency U.S. government employees and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, effective October 23, citing escalating Houthi hostilities against the kingdom.

The November strikes came three months after Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on August 7. The agreement treats an armed attack against any one of the three countries as an attack against all three. It builds on a bilateral Saudi-Pakistan defense agreement signed in 2025.

As tanker attacks were reported in the Gulf and the Houthis fired on Saudi Arabia, France publicly accused an Iranian cyber unit of sabotaging hundreds of French retail sites. On November 10, France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs attributed cyberattacks against France to Shahid Kaveh, an offensive cyber unit affiliated with the IRGC’s Electronic Warfare and Cyber Defence Organization. French cyber authorities said the unit sabotaged refrigeration controllers at about 700 retail sites on October 11 and 12. At least 15 fires broke out. The Paris prosecutor requested international arrest warrants for three of the unit’s commanders. Iran’s government denied any role.

In Iraqi Kurdistan, President Nechirvan Barzani received an Iranian delegation on November 8. The two sides reviewed security agreements among Baghdad, Erbil and Tehran, including a 2023 pact under which Baghdad committed to preventing Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region from attacking Iran. They also agreed to expand cooperation in several areas.

The post Middle East Report: U.S. Blockade Chokes Iran’s Oil Exports as Tehran and the Houthis Escalate Attacks appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.