Welcome to the RedState Weekly Briefing — where we take a quick look at the week’s most viewed stories in case you missed any of them. I won’t lie — I’ve not yet peeked to see which stories are in the mix; I’m anxious to see what most caught people’s attention in this whirlwind week. Grab a cup of coffee (or something stronger if you’re so inclined), and sit down with this 21st Century Weekend Edition of your favorite (online) publication — here we go!
#1 – Trump Rips Security Clearances From the 51 Spies Who Lied, Then Hit Them With Another Bombshell — by Rusty Weiss
In other words, the Biden campaign was the impetus for the letter, intel officials swore to it, the media dutifully refused to cover it, and social media shut down those who did. It was a coordinated election interference campaign. Making the 2020 presidential election rigged.
Blinken, notably, was not pardoned by former President Joe Biden on his way out of the White House. Nor were these intelligence officials.
#2 – Liz Cheney, Take Note: Republicans Just Formed a New J6 Subcommittee, and There’s an Interesting Twist — by Teri Christoph
RedState’s Bob Hoge reported in December on the findings by Loudermilk and the old committee, noting it had “concluded that A) the events were preventable and B) Cheney may have criminally tampered with a witness during the inquiry.”
It seems a significant shift to move the J6 subcommittee from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform to the House Judiciary Committee, and is likely a direct result of Biden pardoning all those involved with the nefarious J6 Committee. There are a lot of Americans who would like to see true justice exacted here, using all judicial means possible, and this could be a significant step in making that happen.
#3 – What Hamas Gave the Three Released Female Hostages Will Make Your Skin Crawl and Your Anger Boil Over — by Bonchie
Naturally, the Red Cross, which couldn’t be bothered to do anything for the hostages throughout their captivity, tried to take center stage by being the go-between. In one last bit of propaganda, Hamas made sure the trucks were surrounded and that the hostages had to walk through a conglomerate of militants who were touching and harassing them. The Red Cross was fine with that, once again showing why no one should ever give a dime to that dumpster of an NGO.
The abuse didn’t stop there, though. Hamas also gave the hostages “gift bags” and forced them to take smiling photographs. What was in the bags? According to reports, the terrorists put pictures of the hostages while they were in captivity along with a map of Gaza and a “certificate.”
#4 – Trump’s January 6 Pardons Met Mass Resistance From DC Jail and Federal Bureau of Prisons — by streiff
The authority to hold these prisoners expired at midnight on Monday. The Fourteenth Amendment clearly states that the government can’t “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” Instead, they were subject to unlawful detention that is nearly indistinguishable from kidnapping or abduction.
This is from RedState columnist and former contributor Bill Shipley, who represented several dozen January 6 defendants and who is not given to hyperbole:
I’m just now getting up to speed on the problems at DOC in the District.
This is UNBELIEVABLE.
These defendants now have a civil rights suit against DC.
The pardon’s were dated yesterday – 1/20. Any lawful authority to keep a defendant in custody ended at 11:59 pm.
Beyond…
— Shipwreckedcrew (@shipwreckedcrew) January 21, 2025
#5 – Trump and Vance Sit Through ‘Woke’ Sermon at National Prayer Service, Their Responses Are Absolute Gold — by Bonchie
I won’t go too far into the weeds about how far off the rails the Episcopalian Church has gone, but if you’ve been around the political block, none of this will surprise you. Clips of largely female “clergy” pushing left-wing ideology have become commonplace on the internet. Far from preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they have transformed Christianity into a vessel for their universalist, hedonist politics, with a special emphasis on LGBT issues.
In short, it’s heresy. Figures like Budde have taken the Word of God and cast it aside for a worldly ideology that just so happens to line up directly with their selfish political wants. That’s not Christianity. It’s idolatry that preserves sin, leading people away from the transformative power of the Gospel.
