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Bruce Blakeman’s running mate pick rejects offer due to 24/7 campaign commitment

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is running as the sole Republican for New York governor, was dealt a slight setback on Monday after his first choice for running mate rejected the offer to run at the top of the ticket this year.

Fulton County Sheriff Richard Giardino said he could not accept the nomination of lieutenant governor because he could do give the attention it deserved while conducting his law enforcement duties.

“I realized I would be campaigning 24/7,” Giardino told the New York Post after his decision was first reported by an Albany television station. “I can’t be 24/7 campaigning across the state and effectively do my job as sheriff.”

The news comes as Blakeman is set to attend the New York GOP’s three-day nominating convention in Nassau County, starting on Monday. His running mate pick was expected to be announced at the convention.

Blakeman is eyeing a different upstate New York sheriff to become his nominee for lieutenant governor, according to the Times Union. Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood has not yet accepted the offer, and it remains to be seen whether he will make a decision by the end of the state GOP nominating convention this week.

Blakeman is expected to be nominated at some point during the convention, as he is the presumptive Republican nominee after Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) dropped out of the gubernatorial race in December. Shortly thereafter, the Nassau County official nabbed an endorsement from President Donald Trump.

“Bruce Blakeman is a FANTASTIC guy, will win the big November Election and, without hesitation, has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Governor of the ONCE GREAT STATE OF NEW YORK (IT CAN BE GREAT AGAIN!),” Trump said in a glowing endorsement message on Truth Social. “BRUCE BLAKEMAN WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”

Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino, who is running as a Republican to succeed Stefanik in Congress, prematurely celebrated Blakeman’s selection of Giardino over the weekend.

HOCHUL TAPS FORMER NYC COUNCIL SPEAKER ADRIENNE ADAMS AS RUNNING MATE

Meanwhile, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) announced last week that former New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams will be her running mate. The women-led ticket is being challenged by Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who chose former Buffalo mayoral candidate and socialist India Walton as his running mate last week.

New York’s primary election is scheduled for June 23, followed by the general election on Nov. 3.

Pirro signs DOJ motion to dismiss Bannon contempt indictment
This looks less like justice and more like strategy.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro signed a motion on Monday to dismiss with prejudice former Trump aide Steve Bannon’s indictment on contempt charges.

“The government has determined in its prosecutorial discretion that dismissal of this criminal case is in the interests of justice,” the court document stated. “Defendant Bannon does not oppose this motion.”

Bannon was once convicted for defying a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee.

The case was heading toward the Supreme Court, but the new motion makes it appear the Justice Department wants to end the case without a review from the high court.

Spanberger’s actions mimic ‘a progressive Democrat’: Byron York
Confidence requires clarity.

Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York compared Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

York said Spanberger campaigned in the Virginia gubernatorial race on a centrist platform, being “portrayed in the media every day as a moderate.” Her 15% margin of victory in November comes as “progressives and moderates” within the Democratic Party battle for control, with lawmakers like Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) representing the former group.

“So now, she [Spanberger] becomes the governor of Virginia, and what does she do? First of all, she rejoins something called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which is a climate group that the former Republican governor had taken Virginia out of,” York said on Fox News Live. “That’s exactly the sort of thing that, say, AOC would do if she’d become governor.” 

York also said Spanberger’s decision to sign an executive order terminating any cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is in line with what Ocasio-Cortez would do. Spanberger’s attempt to “raise more taxes” through various means, including on fantasy sports contests, is the “sort of thing” a progressive Democratic leader would do, York explained.

York noted that these possible tax increases come after Spanberger has made “big promises” on state-supported healthcare and childcare, and needs to find funding “somewhere.”

He concluded that while it’s possible some of Spanberger’s plans for the state “won’t work,” the governor can still issue executive orders to carry out actions, meaning there’s “not a whole lot you can do about it.”

TRANSGENDER SEX OFFENDER RICHARD COX FOUND GUILTY OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES

Spanberger signed a bill on Friday that sends several constitutional amendments on redistricting, same-sex marriage, redistricting, and abortion to Virginia voters. The governor said the new redistricting map, which heavily favors Democrats, is “temporary and responsive.”

The amendments are all expected to pass in November.

EXCLUSIVE: Heritage Action Makes SAVE America Act ‘Key Vote’
Same show, different day.

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL — Heritage Action, a conservative grassroots 501(c)(4) organization, will key vote the SAVE America Act on its legislative scorecard.

The SAVE America Act, recently introduced by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, would institute national requirements of proof of citizenship to register to vote, as well as photo identification to vote in federal elections.

“This action would hold members accountable to the conservative base that is counting on Congress to advance the President’s agenda,” Heritage Action told The Daily Signal.

The designation comes as the House lines up a vote on the bill later this week.

The SAVE America Act is an updated version of the SAVE Act. It adds a provision requiring individuals to present an eligible photo identification document to vote to the original voter integrity bill passed by the House in June.

Roy, who first introduced the bill under President Joe Biden’s administration, told The Daily Signal that he is “encouraged to see” that Heritage Action “stands behind” the updated bill, which already included requirements for voters to provide proof of citizenship and for non-citizens to be removed from existing voter rolls.

“This updated legislation reflects common sense: we must require basic proof to ensure only American citizens vote in American elections,” Roy added.

Heritage Action’s decision to key vote the bill for its legislative scorecard comes after President Donald Trump urged Congress for more election integrity legislation.

“America’s elections are rigged, stolen, and a laughingstock all over the world,” the president wrote on Truth Social last week. “We are either going to fix them, or we won’t have a country any longer. I am asking all Republicans to fight.”

Though Pew Research recently found that 83% of Americans support voter ID measures, Senate Democrats have stated they will try to prevent the legislation from reaching the president’s desk.

In a press release last week, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., claimed that the SAVE Act would “disenfranchise millions of Americans,” and “is reminiscent of Jim Crow era laws.”

Schumer added that the bill will be “dead on arrival” if it makes its way to the Senate and also threatened “another prolonged Trump government shutdown” if the legislation were attached to an appropriations package.

President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he supports using the standing or talking filibuster to pass election integrity measures.

“I’d love to use the [standing] filibuster,” the president said. “Voter ID is very important.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., recently told reporters that “some of our colleagues in the Senate are interested in” using the standing filibuster.

“We will have a conversation about it,” the majority leader added. “Nothing decided.”

Despite the ambiguity over a potential vote on the SAVE America Act in the Senate, Roy remains optimistic about the growing support behind his bill.

“While a small number of Democrats supported the SAVE Act last year, and I am encouraged by comments from Senator Fetterman, Democrat leadership continues to support voting by non-citizens,” Roy said.

The …

Bipartisan Senate bill targets money laundering linked to drug trafficking, terrorism
Who's accountable for the results?

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Sen. Amy Klobuchar introduced a bipartisan measure to crack down on money laundering by increasing penalties and ensuring laws apply to systems used by drug traffickers and terrorists.
Grassley, R-Iowa, and Klobuchar, D-Minn., introduced the "Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Finance and Counterfeiting Act" Friday to enhance criminal money laundering statutes.
ALLEGED SINALOA CARTEL FENTANYL PRODUCER CHARGED IN NEWLY UNSEALED US FEDERAL INDICTMENT
The bill would update counterfeiting laws to prohibit state-of-the-art counterfeiting methods and increase penalties for bulk cash smuggling.
The bill would also ensure money laundering laws apply to informal value transfer systems that are often used by drug traffickers and terrorists.
The introduction of the bill comes as Trump administration officials warn that hostile actors, like cartels and terrorists, are funding operations through complex financial channels across the U.S. border. 
Grassley and Klobuchar also said the bill would prohibit the cross-border shipment of blank checks for the purpose of evading reporting requirements.
"Criminal enterprises and terrorist organizations depend on ill-begotten cash to carry out their dark deeds. As money laundering methods have evolved over time, so must the government’s efforts to exact justice," Grassley said, adding that their bill would ensure law enforcement "has the tools they need to track down dirty money, hold criminals accountable and prevent further crimes."
Klobuchar added that as criminals and terrorist organizations "develop new methods to launder money, we must provide our law enforcement with the tools they need to keep American communities safe."
FBI BUSTS ALLEGED MADURO-LINKED MONEY LAUNDERING NETWORK SPANNING MULTIPLE NATIONS
"This bipartisan legislation makes necessary updates to anti-money laundering statutes and counterfeiting laws, ensuring the law enforcement community can stay one step ahead of those working to undermine our nation’s safety and security," she said.
The bill also would establish a new money laundering violation that would prohibit the transfer of funds into or out of the United States — funds specifically being transferred with the intent to violate U.S. income tax laws.
The bill would also prohibit conspiracies to create illegal money services businesses; grant wiretapping authority to investigate currency reporting, bulk cash smuggling, illegal money services businesses and counterfeiting offenses; and grant the U.S. Secret Service the explicit authority to …

Rubio blasts China over 'unjust and tragic' 20-year sentence for Hong Kong democracy activist Jimmy Lai
Notice what's missing.

The U.S. urged China to reverse what Secretary of State Marco Rubio called an "unjust and tragic" sentence against Hong Kong publisher and democracy activist Jimmy Lai, after Beijing-backed courts handed the 78-year-old a 20-year prison term under the national security law. 
"The conviction shows the world that Beijing will go to extraordinary lengths to silence those who advocate fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong," Rubio said in a statement. "The United States urges the authorities to grant Mr. Lai humanitarian parole."
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) used Hong Kong’s courts to sentence Lai on Monday, cementing one of the most consequential national security cases since Beijing imposed a sweeping new law in the wake of months-long anti-CCP protests.
Lai, a billionaire media entrepreneur, founded the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper in 1995 once Hong Kong’s most outspoken pro-democracy publication. He is among the highest-profile figures arrested under the 2020 National Security Law Beijing imposed following the unrest.
The protests, sparked by fears Beijing was eroding Hong Kong’s promised autonomy, were followed by a sweeping security crackdown that criminalized dissent and reshaped the city’s legal system.
MARCO RUBIO VOICES CONCERN THAT AMERICANS MAY SOMEDAY BE ARRESTED FOR SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS WHEN VISITING EUROPE
The sentence also puts renewed pressure on President Donald Trump, who has previously spoken out about Lai’s detention and is expected to travel to Beijing in April amid broader negotiations with China. Human rights advocates and some lawmakers have urged Trump to raise Lai’s case directly with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, warning that silence would be read in Beijing as acquiescence.
Trump said in December 2025 that he had personally urged Xi to release Lai. 
"I spoke to President Xi about it, and I asked to consider his release," Trump said. "He’s not well, he’s an older man, and he’s not well, so I did put that request out. We’ll see what happens."
Hong Kong authorities convicted Lai of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, a national security offense under the Beijing-imposed law. Prosecutors argued that Lai and his co-defendants used his media platform and international network to lobby for sanctions, blockades or other hostile actions by foreign governments against China and Hong Kong — actions the court said threatened national security. 
Judges labeled Lai the "mastermind" of the alleged plots.
RUBIO SAYS COMMITMENT TO TAIWAN WON'T CHANGE AMID TRADE TALKS WITH CHINA
Lai also was convicted of conspiracy to …

Ghislaine Maxwell dangles Trump and Clinton carrot in bid for clemency
Same show, different day.

Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of the disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is interested in a clemency-for-cooperation deal that her attorney said could help clear President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton from unsavory allegations.

Maxwell’s lawyer, David Oscar Markus, said his client is “prepared to speak fully and honestly if granted clemency by President Trump,” arguing that “only she can provide the complete account” of Epstein’s crimes. Markus added that “both President Trump and President Clinton are innocent of any wrongdoing,” a claim Democrats immediately dismissed as a bargaining tactic.

Ghislaine Maxwell invoked her Constitutional right to silence this morning before @RepJamesComer and the House Oversight Committee. Here is the statement I gave to the Committee explaining why:

Members of the Committee:

On my advice, Ghislaine Maxwell will respectfully invoke…
— David Oscar Markus (@domarkus) February 9, 2026

House Oversight committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) confirmed that Markus pleaded her 5th Amendment rights and raised a clemency demand during Maxwell’s deposition with lawmakers on Monday.

Comer said Maxwell declined to answer questions but emphasized that the committee’s focus remains on extracting information relevant to Epstein’s network and government handling of his investigation.

The Epstein files released by the Department of Justice refer to both Trump and Clinton repeatedly, but in different ways. Trump is referenced largely in flight logs and social settings from the 1990s, with no allegations that he participated in or had knowledge of Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation, and records show he severed ties with Epstein years before the financier’s first criminal case. Clinton, by contrast, is documented as having taken multiple trips aboard Epstein’s private jet after leaving the White House and is referenced in Epstein-related scheduling and contact records, though the files contain no direct evidence tying either former president to criminal conduct.

Democrats say Maxwell’s refusal to talk is ‘campaigning’ for clemency

Democrats, meanwhile, accused Maxwell of using Congress as leverage to secure a pardon. Reps. Suhas Subramanyam (D-TX) and James Walkinshaw (D-VA) separately suggested that Maxwell was “campaigning” for clemency and that her public claims about Trump and Clinton were designed to increase pressure on the White House.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) said …

ICE Officers Should Be Held Accountable. These Law School Students Know How.
Every delay has consequences.

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StudentNation

/ February 9, 2026

ICE Officers Should Be Held Accountable. These Law School Students Know How.

Over 2,600 students and legal academics have signed a letter calling on Congress to close a loophole to allow individuals to sue federal officers for violating the Constitution.

Amelia Dal Pra

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Observers film ICE agents on February 5, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
(Stephen Maturen / Getty)

This story was produced for StudentNation, a program of the Nation Fund for Independent Journalism, which is dedicated to highlighting the best of student journalism. For more StudentNation, check out our archive or learn more about the program here. StudentNation is made possible through generous funding from The Puffin Foundation. If you’re a student and you have an article idea, please send pitches and questions to [email protected].

At a moment when lawless conduct by federal immigration agencies is facing increased public scrutiny following the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, a coalition of law students is demanding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials be held to account for their violence across our nation.

What started as a late-night idea, inspired by an opinion essay by Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and professor Burt Neuborne, has become a nationwide movement. I worked with a group of Berkeley Law students, including my peers Zadie Adams, Isaiah Paik, Shree Mehrotra, and Kaylana Mueller-Hsia, and professors to write and circulate a letter to Congress calling for a federal equivalent of Section 1983 that would close a long-standing loophole and allow individuals to sue federal officers for constitutional violations.

Currently, Section 1983 allows individuals to sue state or local officers for constitutional violations, but not federal officials. A federal version of Section 1983 would allow people to hold federal officers accountable when their rights are violated. Our proposed bill preserves the original meaning of Section 1983 by eliminating qualified immunity, a doctrine that lets many officials escape accountability for constitutional violations. When Congress enacted Section 1983 in 1871, the law contained no qualified immunity defense; the Supreme Court created it more than a century later. We seek to mirror the original meaning of Section 1983 and extend those same accountability standards to federal officers.

Within days of starting this initiative, students across Berkeley and other law schools—such as the University of Minnesota, New York University, and Texas …

1933 Revisited
This framing isn't accidental.

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OppArt Today 8:30 am 1933 Revisited 1933 Revisited
Trump’s ICE agents terrorize American citizens unchecked.

Gary Taxali

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February 9, 2026

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From Minneapolis to Venezuela, from Gaza to Washington, DC, this is a time of staggering chaos, cruelty, and violence. 

Unlike other publications that parrot the views of authoritarians, billionaires, and corporations, The Nation publishes stories that hold the powerful to account and center the communities too often denied a voice in the national media—stories like the one you’ve just read.

Each day, our journalism cuts through lies and distortions, contextualizes the developments reshaping politics around the globe, and advances progressive ideas that oxygenate our movements and instigate change in the halls of power. 

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Gary TaxaliGary Taxali is a Canadian fine artist and illustrator whose work has appeared around the world. He is a tenured faculty member at Ontario College of Art & Design University in Toronto and lectures internationally.

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Keith Ellison: Trump Hates Minnesotans Because We Love Each Other
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.

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Keith Ellison: Trump Hates Minnesotans Because We Love Each Other

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Comment

/ February 9, 2026

Keith Ellison: Trump Hates Minnesotans Because We Love Each Other

The president has gone after us because of who we are and what we value. We have an obligation to resist.

Keith Ellison

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Minneapolis, February 3, 2026.(Charly Triballeau / AFP via Getty Images)

This article appears in the
March 2026 issue, with the headline “Why We Fight.”

Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration campaign that has targeted the city of Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota, which I serve as attorney general, appears to be the single largest deployment of immigration agents in the history of the United States. This domestic invasion has inflicted tremendous damage on our state.

Federal agents have killed two people in two weeks—Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old poet and mother of three, and Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse who worked at the Minneapolis VA hospital. (There has been at least one additional nonlethal shooting.)

Agents have stopped countless numbers of people and demanded, in effect, that they show their papers—in America. We have seen door-to-door searches where agents barge into people’s homes without cause. We have seen stores shuttered, markets shut down, restaurants under siege, employees afraid to go to work, and students afraid to go to school. We will be living with the scars from these abuses for years to come.

That is why my office sued the Trump administration. We sought a restraining order to halt Operation Metro Surge in its tracks. The lawsuit that we filed was, to my mind, necessitated by the federal government’s unprecedented abuse of the Constitution and by President Trump’s overt promise of “retribution” against the state of Minnesota. We have been able to marshal facts to show that the reason Trump’s domestic army has flooded our state is not because we have an especially large population of undocumented immigrants. Rather, we have been targeted because Trump sees us as his political enemy. That is a violation of our First Amendment right to free expression.

In addition, the 10th Amendment gives Minnesota dual sovereignty with the federal government. Yet we have seen the White House try to force elected leaders to bend to its will rather than to the will of the people of our state. The federal government has deployed more than 3,000 masked and heavily armed agents to achieve what Congress or a court would never grant: coerced control over the politics of Minnesotans.

People may ask, “Why is Minnesota having to deal with this targeted oppression?” One answer is that we voted against the president three …