MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN…

Corruption in the court?
America First Legal (AFL) is a nonprofit established in 2021 by former Trump administration officials, including Stephen Miller, Gene Hamilton, and Mark Meadows. They posted a highly disturbing report Sunday evening about a judge who blocked an executive order from Trump. The content below is copied word-for-word from the AFL.

“BREAKING — FEDERAL JUDGE McCONNELL MUST RECUSE HIMSELF IMMEDIATELY. AFL has uncovered a major potential conflict of interest for Judge John McConnell, Chief Judge of the federal district court of Rhode Island, who halted President Trump’s temporary spending freeze.

AFL has uncovered evidence suggesting that Judge McConnell appears to be currently serving on the Board of Directors for the non-profit NGO Crossroads Rhode Island, where he was previously the Chair of the Board and is still currently listed as the Chair-Emeritus. In fact, Judge McConnell has appeared as a Director on Crossroads’ IRS Form 990 every year since he took the federal bench in 2013. And, for much of that time, he served as Chair of the Board, a position he held from 2011 through 2021.  Prior to serving as Chair, he was the Vice Chair in 2009 and 2010 and a board member from 2006 to 2008.

According to Crossroads’ 2023 Form 990, Crossroads Rhode Island received over $18.6 million in government funding that year alone. That accounted for over half of its $30 million of revenue. AFL’s review of required disclosure forms reveals that since Judge McConnell became Vice Chair of the Board of Crossroads Rhode Island in 2009, the organization has received over $117.6 million in government funding (accounting to the end of 2023).

This year, Rhode Island government records show that Crossroads Rhode Island has already received just under $2.9 million in FY2025 to provide various programs and services to Rhode Island, one of the plaintiffs. Why is this significant? Keep reading.

It is common practice for the federal government to disburse money to the states, which then hand it out to NGOs like Crossroads Rhode Island. Here, Judge McConnell ordered taxpayer dollars to continue flowing to the states, including Rhode Island, writing, “states rely on federal funds to provide and maintain vital programs.”

USA Spending shows that in the past 15 years, 155 federal grants to Rhode Island state and local governments list Crossroads Rhode Island as a sub-awardee. In FY2023 alone, the organization’s audit shows that more than $10 million in federal funding flowed through Rhode Island to Crossroads.

In short, in the 18 years Judge McConnell has been on the board of Crossroads Rhode Island, it has received over $128 million in government funding.  When Judge McConnell ruled against the Trump Administration and required federal taxpayers to continue funding the State of Rhode Island, it seems that he also required continued funding for his pet “non-profit,” Crossroads Rhode Island.

Federal law, 28 U.S.C. § 455, requires judges to disqualify themselves “in any proceeding in which [their] impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” The law further requires judges to disqualify themselves when they are a fiduciary or have any other interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding.

Directors of non-profits have fiduciary responsibilities to their organizations under Rhode Island Law. 7 R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-6-22(b). The Judicial Conference of the United States imposes the same rules in the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges. But that’s not all… Judges must avoid even the appearance of bias. In the words of the Supreme Court, ​​“An insistence on the appearance of neutrality is not some artificial attempt to mask imperfection in the judicial process, but rather an essential means of ensuring the reality of a fair adjudication. Both the appearance and reality of impartial justice are necessary to the public legitimacy of judicial pronouncements and thus to the rule of law itself.”

To recap: Judge McConnell has been on the board of an NGO for nearly 20 years, a board he still apparently sits on. In that time, that NGO has received over $128 million dollars in government funding from the state, a recipient of federal taxpayer dollars. This NGO, to which he owes a fiduciary duty, stood to lose millions of dollars based on the outcome of his decision in the case. Given the heightened public scrutiny of this case and the profound constitutional implications inherent in binding the actions of the President of the United States, the appearance of a conflict of interest is highly problematic, to say the least.

If, as the documents suggest, Judge McConnell has been a leader of Crossroads Rhode Island, and if, as the documents also suggest, he knew or should have known that Crossroads Rhode Island would stand to benefit from his ruling against the federal taxpayers, then it seems he should have fully disclosed his entanglement with this federally funded organization up front and recused himself from the matter.  He did not do these things. Now, it appears he should immediately vacate his TRO and swiftly recuse himself from this case without delay to comply with his ethical obligations.

AND HERE’S ANOTHER GREAT STORY…

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was on national TV Sunday defending VP JD Vance’s Munich address on free speech, and then suddenly things turned bizarre…

While appearing on Face the Nation, Rubio clashed with CBS’s Margaret Brennan after she suggested that free speech zones enabled the Holocaust. Brennan cited Vance’s remarks at the Munich Security Conference, where he condemned Europe’s “Soviet-style” censorship of recent years.

Rubio politely blasted Brennan for her wildly inaccurate remarks about who and what caused the murder of millions of Jews. He said, “I have to disagree with you. Free speech was not used to cause a genocide.” Rubio concluded by telling the radical leftist that she had her history wrong.

MY OPINION…

If you listen to The DML News Podcast, or if you read my 47 Report Op-Ed last Sunday, then you know I predicted it would be a matter of days until someone in DC tracked down the shady histories of the radical judges who are getting in Trump’s way. There is no valid reason why any judge would rule against a common sense inspired executive order to prevent billions of dollars being wasted.

Trump is trying to save America, which means the corruption and dishonesty has to stop. For any judge to step in the way of ending corruption and unjust spending can only mean one thing: the judge is part of the corruption.

SIDE NOTE: Email providers continue to fight the 47 Report newsletter by putting it
in the S P A M folder. Be sure to check in that folder if you do not see us in the inbox. Also, respond to this email to show you want it each morning. The more you interact with the newsletter (click links, ratings, etc) the more it indicates you want it in your inbox.

THE ADMINISTRATION…

• President Trump attended the Daytona 500 for the second time, taking ceremonial laps in "The Beast" and saluting the flag to cheers.

• Trump is reportedly considering withdrawing the United States from NATO.

• President Trump confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin “wants to stop fighting” and dismissed claims of broader ambitions beyond Ukraine. He cited a three-hour meeting with envoy Steve Witkoff, reinforcing his belief that Putin seeks to end the conflict.

• Trump and Elon Musk will give their first joint TV interview with Sean Hannity at the White House, airing this Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 9 p.m. ET.

• The Trump administration fired 13 immigration judges and five assistant chief judges, aligning with his pledge to reduce the federal workforce. Two other judges were also dismissed. Immigration courts face over 3.7 million cases backlogged, with judges averaging 4,500 pending cases each.

• HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. cut nearly half of the CDC’s disease detectives and laid off 1,300 staff on his first day, aligning with Trump and Musk’s government downsizing efforts.

• The Trump administration has initiated widespread layoffs across several federal health agencies, including the CDC, but also the FDA, Medicare, and others. Approximately thousands of employees, many on probationary status, have been informed that their performance or fit was deemed inadequate for continued employment.

• Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced it recovered $1.9 billion, which the Biden administration misplaced from Housing and Urban Development funds.

• The Trump administration canceled $881 million in education research contracts, citing wasteful spending. DOGE flagged projects like a $1.5 million study on mailroom operations, $4.6 million for meeting coordination, and $3 million for an unused report.

• A federal judge ruled in favor of DOGE, denying a request to block its access to sensitive federal data. Unions and nonprofits sought to prevent DOGE from obtaining records from three agencies, but the judge upheld the government's classification of DOGE as an agency.

• A federal judge reinstated the DOGE Federal Employee Buyout Plan.

• The Economist reported that Republican-led states are creating agencies that “mirror Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s DOGE effort” to “cut federal spending and slash state agencies.”

• DOGE requested access to the IRS's Integrated Data Retrieval System, which stores millions of Americans' tax records. The tightly controlled system manages taxpayer data, but access has not been granted yet. The NY Times reports that the IRS plans to comply.

• The IRS is preparing to lay off approximately 15,000 employees as early as this week during the peak of tax season.

• The Trump administration has initiated the dismissal of hundreds of probationary employees from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), who are involved in maintaining critical air traffic control infrastructure. Concurrently, Elon Musk's SpaceX team is preparing to visit the FAA's Air Traffic Control System Command Center to potentially update the air traffic control systems.

• On Fed. 15, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Forces conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria targeting and killing a senior finance and logistics official in the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din (HaD), an Al-Qaeda affiliate.

• The Trump administration may ban the use of food stamps for purchasing junk food, with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins leading the effort alongside HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

• Elon Musk has shared data from the Social Security database suggesting there are millions of individuals registered with implausible ages, including people supposedly over 140 years old, and even claims of individuals in age ranges up to 369.

• The Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court to remove Hampton Dellinger, a Biden appointee, as head of the Office of Special Counsel.

• Trump appointed Nixon Foundation chief Jim Byron as a senior advisor at serving under Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

• In a tweet over the weekend, Trump called out to lawyers and judges to protect the American people from “gate crashers” (illegal aliens) by readdressing the meaning of the 14th Amendment.

• Ric Grenell, Trump’s special envoy, said he may run against Kamala Harris for California governor next year.

• Vivek Ramaswamy has filed to run for Ohio governor, following hints since leaving the Trump administration’s DOGE on Inauguration Day.

• Arizona Republican Karrin Taylor Robson announced her gubernatorial bid. A small business owner and lawyer, she launched her campaign with an ad focused on Trump's return and reclaiming Arizona from Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. Robson previously lost the 2022 GOP primary to Trump-backed Kari Lake.

• The US Army’s latest recruitment ad reflects the no-nonsense Trump era, starkly contrasting Biden-era campaigns. Released this week, the video features a tattooed Special Forces trainer showcasing raw strength, including a 500lb deadlift. The trooper also declares, “Stronger people are harder to kill.”

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joined U.S. and Polish forces for a snowy workout in Poland over the weekend. On his first overseas trip, he shared photos of pre-dawn pushups and jogging with Army V Corps troops.

• The often liberal UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has declared his readiness to deploy British troops to Ukraine to enforce a peace deal, a move intended to deter further aggression from Russia. Trump has indicated openness to allowing European countries to purchase American-made weapons for Ukraine.

VICE PRESIDENT

JD Vance criticized CBS’s Margaret Brennan for her “crazy exchange” in linking the Holocaust to free speech during a contentious interview with Secretary Rubio, who was defending Vance’s remarks in Munich. Reacting on X, Vance wrote: “This is a crazy exchange. Does the media really think the holocaust was caused by free speech?”

CONGRESS

Senate Democrats are divided on resisting Trump’s push to cut USAID. Some align with the GOP, citing foreign aid’s role in countering China, while others push for outright opposition, calling bipartisanship futile.

Senator Lisa Murkowski supports the downsizing government but claims that Trump’s mass firings are doing “more harm than good.” The Republican says over 100 Alaskans may be affected, hurting disaster preparedness and energy production.

Senator Lindsey Graham said Trump must negotiate an end to the Ukraine and Gaza wars, even though he didn’t start them. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Graham agreed the conflicts likely wouldn’t have happened under Trump but now sees it as his responsibility to see they come to a conclusion.

Senator Josh Haley’s questioning of a federal loan officer went viral over the weekend. In the video, Haley addresses the conflict of interest that exists when the head of the federal loan program is being paid separately, for appearances and speeches, but the same entities that apply for loans. Watch the video.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin warned that rising national debt threatens U.S. security, noting interest payments now exceed defense spending. He made the remarks on ABC’s This Week while discussing DOGE cutting waste.

Also on ABC’s This Week, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries criticized Trump and Republicans for failing to prioritize lowering costs despite campaign promises.

THE CRAZY LEFT

YOUR OPINION…

Good morning. I’ve been a follower of you and your news since the 2015 Walk and Talks. My wife and I traveled from WV to Florida to attend a meet and greet you held with your family several years ago. I’ve always and continue to trust the information you give on so many topics. 

Your new 47 Report is awesome and as a business owner myself, I find it hard to find time to follow all the daily news that’s coming out at warp speed. However, your 47 Report makes it so simple and easy to follow. It’s to the point and smaller, with compacted news segments. I love it!

This is an email to simply say, THANK YOU for your hard work and help with me being able to have a trusted news source. God bless you, your family and the USA!!!!!

Regards, Scott Followay

DML PODCASTS

THE DML NEWS PODCAST (M-F)

Watch today’s show LIVE at 9:30 am ET on TeamDML, Facebook, Rumble, or X.
Audio version: Subscribe for free at Apple Podcasts.

LIFE AFTER 50 (Weekends)

This new weekend program pulls DML away from the news and politics so he can interview people who are 50 or older. Each interview offers an interesting story. DML has launched a dedicated YouTube channel for the program (subscribe for free).
Coming Up: Feb. 22: Ep8. Patrick Asare, 63, is an immigrant from Ghana. He has the most interesting and inspiring immigration story ever told. And coming from DML, that says something. You won’t want to miss it.

BEFORE YOU GO!

Download the DML News App for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to stay ahead of breaking news, reports, videos, and more.

47 Report is written by Denny Lynch, Ryan Lynch, and DML, with artwork by Ashley Lynch and input from Mary Lynch.

Please rate today’s newsletter, and leave a comment with feedback…

Have a blessed day,
The Lynch Family