Cross-Examination

• Are we funding the Taliban? According to recent testimony from John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the answer to that question is likely “Yes.” “Unfortunately, as I sit here today, I cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban,” Sopko stated in his opening remarks to the House Oversight Committee. He then added, “Nor can I assure you that the Taliban are not diverting the money we are sending from the intended recipients, which are the poor Afghan people.” It was bad enough that after 20 years of war, during which the U.S. spent tens of billions of dollars on both military efforts and reconstruction projects, Joe Biden effectively surrendered it all to the enemy with his disastrous pullout. Now we learn that the Biden administration has given an additional $8 billion since leaving to the “Afghan people,” and no one in the administration thought it would go to the Taliban. This is not merely incompetence; it’s willful negligence.

• Tennessee Three get White House invite: In his administration’s ongoing effort to justify his move to infringe on Americans’ Second Amendment rights, Joe Biden has invited the infamous lawless Democrat lawmakers, dubbed by the mainstream media as the “Tennessee Three,” to the White House. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden wants to “thank them for speaking out and standing their ground and being very clear about what’s needed for our community.” So the three fame-seekers who have been exploiting the murder of six individuals at the hands of a “transgender”-identifying individual, and Biden — ignoring the elephant in the room of an obvious “hate crime” motivation — chooses instead to lionize three clowns for leading an insurrection in the state capitol. Guns may be the only thing protecting the sane from this growing leftist insanity.

• Cardona erases women: Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Tuesday refused to give a definition for “woman” during a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing. Cardona is proposing a change to Title IX protections for female athletes that effectively erases the biological definitional distinction in favor of a “gender identity” categorical interpretation. When pressed by Representative Andrew Clyde (R-GA) to define “woman,” Cardona refused to answer, stating, “Our focus at the department is to provide equal access to students, including students who are LGBTQ, access free from discrimination.” The clash comes as the Biden administration is looking to block Republican lawmakers’ efforts to pass legislation aimed at protecting women’s sports.

• RFK Jr. announces presidential candidacy: On Wednesday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. officially announced his entrance into the Democrat presidential primary. Sounding like an old-school Democrat, Kennedy declared that he was on a “mission … to end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power that is threatening now — threatening now — to impose a new kind of corporate feudalism in our country.” Kennedy, who has been a longtime sceptic of vaccinations, was especially so regarding the COVID vaccines and the government’s response of lockdowns on schools and businesses. Kennedy’s famous family name gives him immediate gravitas among Democrat voters; however, he is an anti-establishment candidate, which is certain to garner plenty of pushback from the current DNC establishment.

• Fetterman’s first hearing is an imbroglio: Pennsylvania Democrat Senator John Fetterman, who was in Walter Reed hospital for an extended period of time suffering from depression, finally chaired his first committee hearing on Wednesday. From his reading of his opening statement, it became painfully evident that the stroke Fetterman suffered on the campaign trail last year has damaged him significantly. He stumbled repeatedly as he read through documents related to the hearing topic, funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It was reminiscent of listening to a third-grader struggling to read through an unfamiliar text. After watching the display, it is clear that Fetterman is in no condition to fulfill the demanding role of a U.S. senator, let alone head a committee.

Headlines

• IRS agent alleges DOJ thwarting criminal prosecution of Hunter Biden (Just the News)

• New evidence emerges that Biden family profited from human trafficking, say House investigators (Washington Times)

• Hawley renews call for Mayorkas impeachment: “Biggest child smuggling operation” in U.S. history (Washington Examiner)

• Border officers find $21 million worth of fentanyl in green bean shipment (Free Beacon)

• Fauci testimony on gain-of-function research was “inconsistent” with existing intel, says ex-director of national intelligence (National Review)

• Matt Gaetz scolded for displaying leaked secret Pentagon docs in unclassified hearing (Washington Times)

• Fox to receive massive tax write-off for defamation settlement (National Review)

• Two teens charged in Dadeville, Alabama, mass shooting at Sweet 16 birthday party (Fox News)

• Good Samaritan who stepped in to save Chicago couple being brutally beaten sends message to Lightfoot (Fox News)

• After FBI busts Chinese “police station” in NYC, six more exposed in U.S. (NY Post)

• Americans struggle with 24 straight months of effective pay cuts under Biden (NY Post)

• Public pessimism on the economy hits a new high (CNBC)

• Meta has started its latest round of layoffs, focusing on technical employees (CNBC)

• Disney to reportedly cut “thousands” of jobs in second layoffs wave (NY Post)

• Penguin removes “unacceptable” words from P. G. Wodehouse novels, adds trigger warnings for “outdated” language (National Review)

• Undercover video reveals docs routinely approve puberty blockers for kids as young as eight (National Review)

• Washington State middle school blasted for “highly vile” licking game between staff and students (Fox News)

• Wired journalist banned from Twitter for reporting on hack of Matt Walsh (Forbes)

• TikTok to remove climate change denial videos and direct users to “authoritative information” (Sky News)

• Policy: Electric vehicle makers are threatening public safety (Washington Examiner)

• Humor: Damning leak reveals Matt Walsh knew what a woman was this whole time (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.