Leaked audio: Texas AG Ken Paxton privately admits Trump hurt Republican midterm numbers

Ken Paxton Caught Privately Trashing Trump in Leaked Audio

In a leaked audio recording, Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton privately admitted that President Donald Trump's midterm convention in Dallas hurt Republican candidates.

At a private fundraiser in Washington last Thursday, Paxton spoke candidly about the event, according to a recording shared with The New York Times.

In the recording, Paxton is asked: "Do you feel like he's a little bit of a drag?" It is not immediately clear to whom the speaker is referring.

"So to be honest with you, the numbers—when we did that convention—it dropped our numbers. Everybody's numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good," Paxton said.

Three other people confirmed Paxton's attendance at the fundraiser to the Times. Two recalled that Paxton was asked this question, and one recalled his negative response. The person who recorded the audio opposes Paxton's Senate campaign.

Paxton's comments are a humiliating gaffe for Trump, who backed the attorney general against Senator John Cornyn in a shocking political maneuver.

The Republican midterm convention in Dallas earlier this month was key to Trump's plan to energize his base—but polls have shown that Democrats benefited far more than Republicans did. RealClearPolitics's Generic Congressional Vote, which averages results of other major polls, showed a sharp rise in support for Democrats after the convention, while Republicans' support stayed about the same.

Paxton has long struggled to match Democratic candidate James Talarico's funding. According to their latest quarterly filings with the Federal Election Commission, Talarico's campaign had raised $31.6 million, while Paxton had only raised $9.3 million.

Trump has repeatedly pledged his desire to see Paxton elected but hesitated to commit any part of his $400 million MAGA Inc. war chest to help him win. Earlier this month, Trump held a fundraiser in Houston that was touted as a lifeline for Paxton's campaign—but the money actually went to the Republican National Convention, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The president's super PAC eventually gave $10 million to fund two advertisements for Paxton's campaign. Meanwhile, Republican donors have been skittish about contributing to Paxton's campaign amid mounting scandals.

More on Paxton: Ken Paxton Defends One-Day Plea Deal Offered to Child Sex Predator

Florida Designates CAIR and Other Groups as Terrorist Organizations

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday the implementation of the "anti-sharia law" he signed earlier this year, officially designating 90 groups as terrorist organizations, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim advocacy group in the nation.

Florida's authority on the matter superseded the State Department, which does not list CAIR as a terrorist organization, thanks to a state law (H.B. 1471) that went into effect in July. That allowed Florida's domestic security chief to officially identify terrorist organizations without federal involvement. The state government proceeded without public input.

The Muslim Brotherhood and antifa also received the terror group designation. Other groups targeted include the Venezuelan crime syndicate Tren de Aragua, two Mexican drug cartels, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran.

The groundwork for the new labels came via an executive order DeSantis signed last December. At the time, CAIR's Florida chapter sued DeSantis, claiming the order, which stripped the group's access to state resources, was unconstitutional. Another lawsuit from the group is expected following DeSantis's latest action.

"There is nowhere in that notice any allegation or evidence that CAIR has engaged in any violent or dangerous act in violation of Florida or U.S. law," Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU National Security Project, said Tuesday, noting that the ACLU plans to file for a preliminary injunction on behalf of CAIR's Florida chapter. "And that's the first requirement for something as serious as this."

Shamsi added that the "relentless" effort to label CAIR as a terrorist organization is "unnecessary, unprecedented, and unconstitutional."

Read more: Trump Declares Palestine Action Far-Left Terrorist Group

Venezuelan Immigrant Shot by ICE Charged with Assaulting Federal Officer

The food delivery driver shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last week, Venezuelan immigrant Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, was charged Tuesday with one count of assaulting, resisting, interfering, and impeding a federal officer.

The Department of Justice accused Garcés Pérez of ignoring federal agents' instructions and driving away when they tried to pull him over in Austin, Texas. As he left, the DOJ claimed, his driver's side mirror hit one of the agents in the chest. An ICE agent said that after a short, high-speed car chase, Garcés Pérez tried to hit him with his car, at which point the agent said he shot into the car and hit Garcés Pérez in the back.

Parts of the incident were captured by a body camera, according to the DOJ, but only still images have been released to the public. Garcés Pérez disputes the government's account, stating that a black SUV came out of nowhere and tried to hit his car while he was in the middle of a food delivery. He said he thought the SUV was an aggressive driver and tried to drive away, only for the SUV to ram his car and turn on its police lights after the crash. He was then shot after the car was stopped, according to The New York Times.

Since the incident, Garcés Pérez's lawyer Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said he has languished in ICE custody without adequate medical care, having spent just three hours in a hospital before being taken to ICE's detention center in Pearsall, Texas, without seeing his wife. A spokesperson for Lincoln-Goldfinch said in a statement Tuesday that the bullet is still lodged in Garcés Pérez's body after nearly nine days.

"Rather than provide the life saving medical care he needs, DHS and the government are playing games with his life," the statement said.

Editor's Pick: ICE Gets Wildly Conflicting Orders Ahead of Midterms

Hegseth Plans to Cut 20% of Pentagon Leadership Slots

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is planning to cut 20 percent of the Pentagon's slots for admirals and generals, two officials told The Hill Tuesday. Hegseth will formally announce the reductions during his State of the Force address in Quantico, Virginia, on Wednesday.

Hegseth has already overseen a vast reduction in top-ranking military personnel. At the time of his confirmation, there were 10 four-star generals on active duty. Now there are just five—the smallest number to lead the service in years.

In May, Hegseth signed an order directing the U.S. military to slash the number of active-duty four-star generals, as well as general and flag officers, by 10 percent, and reduce the number of general officers in the National Guard by a minimum of 20 percent. At the time, Hegseth claimed the "Less Generals, More GIs" policy would allow for a leaner military structure, but provided no guidance for how these cuts ought to be made.

In April, Hegseth fired Army chief of staff Gen. Randy George and forced out at least three senior officers believed to be in the running to replace George. All in all, Hegseth has forced out at least half a dozen senior officers, undermining military readiness in the ongoing campaign in the Middle East.

Hegseth's leadership has come under increased scrutiny amid mounting reports that he concealed casualties among U.S. service members, depleted the U.S. weapons stockpile, directed massive, unchecked government spending, and allowed horrific conditions aboard long-deployed U.S. ships that led to a number of attempted suicides.

There are also matters of killing schoolchildren and nearly starting World War III—both tied to his overreliance on artificial intelligence.

Earlier this month, the House announced it would end its voting session early to avoid an impeachment vote on Hegseth. The vote won't take place until after the midterm elections, but a number of Senate Democrats have already...

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