Stephen Alford, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is accused in a plan that offered to shut down a high-profile, criminal sex-trafficking investigation into the lawmaker.A Florida developer and fraud convict was arrested Tuesday on a charge that he tried to extort $25 million from the father of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). | (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)A Florida developer and fraud convict was arrested Tuesday on a charge that he tried to extort $25 million from the father of Rep. Matt Gaetz in exchange for a presidential pardon that would shut down a high-profile, criminal sex-trafficking...…Stephen Alford, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is accused in a plan that offered to shut down a high-profile, criminal sex-trafficking investigation into the lawmaker.A Florida developer and fraud convict was arrested Tuesday on a charge that he tried to extort $25 million from the father of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). | (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)A Florida developer and fraud convict was arrested Tuesday on a charge that he tried to extort $25 million from the father of Rep. Matt Gaetz in exchange for a presidential pardon that would shut down a high-profile, criminal sex-trafficking...WW…

Almost no one involved in GOP politics in Florida, where the company is headquartered, has a clue about the firm conducting the review.Arizona Republicans chose the firm Cyber Ninjas to audit the ballots cast in 2020 in the Phoenix area. | Matt York/AP PhotoA successful ninja is unseen, unheard, stealthy.By that standard, the firm Cyber Ninjas — which Arizona Republicans chose to audit the ballots cast in 2020 in the Phoenix area — fits the bill: Almost no one involved in election or politics in Florida, the state where the company is headquartered, seems to have heard of it or knows...…Almost no one involved in GOP politics in Florida, where the company is headquartered, has a clue about the firm conducting the review.Arizona Republicans chose the firm Cyber Ninjas to audit the ballots cast in 2020 in the Phoenix area. | Matt York/AP PhotoA successful ninja is unseen, unheard, stealthy.By that standard, the firm Cyber Ninjas — which Arizona Republicans chose to audit the ballots cast in 2020 in the Phoenix area — fits the bill: Almost no one involved in election or politics in Florida, the state where the company is headquartered, seems to have heard of it or knows...WW…

The Florida Democrat told POLITICO she may run for governor or Senate in 2022.Rep Val Demings, a former Orlando police chief, rose to national prominence as a House impeachment manager and as a possible running mate for Joe Biden last year. | Mandel Ngan-Pool/Getty ImagesFlorida Rep. Val Demings said she’s “seriously considering” a statewide bid against Sen. Marco Rubio or Gov. Ron DeSantis, boosting Democratic hopes in a battleground state that’s growing increasingly red.Demings, a former Orlando police chief, rose to national prominence as a House impeachment manager and as a last year....…The Florida Democrat told POLITICO she may run for governor or Senate in 2022.Rep Val Demings, a former Orlando police chief, rose to national prominence as a House impeachment manager and as a possible running mate for Joe Biden last year. | Mandel Ngan-Pool/Getty ImagesFlorida Rep. Val Demings said she’s “seriously considering” a statewide bid against Sen. Marco Rubio or Gov. Ron DeSantis, boosting Democratic hopes in a battleground state that’s growing increasingly red.Demings, a former Orlando police chief, rose to national prominence as a House impeachment manager and as a last year....WW…

Federal prosecutors might now have two cooperating witnesses in sex-crimes investigation.Federal authorities are examining Rep. Matt Gaetz's Bahamas trip to see if it violated the Mann Act, which forbids transporting people across state lines to engage in prostitution. | Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesMIAMI — Matt Gaetz’s former girlfriend has told friends she’s worried that the woman who is key to the federal government’s sex-crimes investigation tried to get her to incriminate the Florida lawmaker on a recorded call.The revelation raises the possibility that federal prosecutors have two top...…Federal prosecutors might now have two cooperating witnesses in sex-crimes investigation.Federal authorities are examining Rep. Matt Gaetz's Bahamas trip to see if it violated the Mann Act, which forbids transporting people across state lines to engage in prostitution. | Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesMIAMI — Matt Gaetz’s former girlfriend has told friends she’s worried that the woman who is key to the federal government’s sex-crimes investigation tried to get her to incriminate the Florida lawmaker on a recorded call.The revelation raises the possibility that federal prosecutors have two top...WW…

Federal agents executed a search warrant and seized the Florida congressman’s iPhone last winter.Rep. Matt Gaetz, who has not been charged, has consistently denied the two anonymous claims against him: that he had sex with a 17-year-old girl and paid for sex. | Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesMIAMI — The group took off for their Bahamas weekend getaway on three separate flights. Most of the passengers, which included at least five young women, flew out of Orlando on two separate private planes. flew commercial.The details of that September 2018 trip are sparse, but they are critical to the...…Federal agents executed a search warrant and seized the Florida congressman’s iPhone last winter.Rep. Matt Gaetz, who has not been charged, has consistently denied the two anonymous claims against him: that he had sex with a 17-year-old girl and paid for sex. | Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesMIAMI — The group took off for their Bahamas weekend getaway on three separate flights. Most of the passengers, which included at least five young women, flew out of Orlando on two separate private planes. flew commercial.The details of that September 2018 trip are sparse, but they are critical to the...WW…

Parents demand enforcement of quarantine rules that will keep the senator’s children out of class.In this image from video, Sen. Ted Cruz walks to check in for his flight back to the U.S., at Cancun International Airport in Cancun, Mexico, on Thursday. | Dan Christian Rojas/AP PhotoThree weeks before Sen. Ted Cruz embarked on his to escape the aftermath of Texas’s devastating winter storm, the elite K-12 Houston private school attended by his two daughters emailed a Covid warning to parents about international travel.The bottom line: St. John’s School students who travel internationally...…Parents demand enforcement of quarantine rules that will keep the senator’s children out of class.In this image from video, Sen. Ted Cruz walks to check in for his flight back to the U.S., at Cancun International Airport in Cancun, Mexico, on Thursday. | Dan Christian Rojas/AP PhotoThree weeks before Sen. Ted Cruz embarked on his to escape the aftermath of Texas’s devastating winter storm, the elite K-12 Houston private school attended by his two daughters emailed a Covid warning to parents about international travel.The bottom line: St. John’s School students who travel internationally...WW…

“Biden is going to be dealing with a minority in Congress if he continues down some of these paths,” said one Democratic congressman.Migrants are loaded onto a bus by U.S. Border Patrol agents after being detained when they crossed into the United States from Mexico. | Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesDemocrats in Texas and other states where immigration has been a lightning rod issue are growing increasingly uneasy that the White House is walking into a political buzz saw in its zeal to unwind hard-line Trump administration policies.Biden has not yet implemented expansive policy changes. The vast...…“Biden is going to be dealing with a minority in Congress if he continues down some of these paths,” said one Democratic congressman.Migrants are loaded onto a bus by U.S. Border Patrol agents after being detained when they crossed into the United States from Mexico. | Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesDemocrats in Texas and other states where immigration has been a lightning rod issue are growing increasingly uneasy that the White House is walking into a political buzz saw in its zeal to unwind hard-line Trump administration policies.Biden has not yet implemented expansive policy changes. The vast...WW…

The White House hopes the unprecedented blitz of executive actions will help build momentum for its Covid-19 rescue package.President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris meet with Sens. Mitt Romney, Susan Collins and others to discuss a coronavirus relief package at the White House on Feb. 1. | Evan Vucci/AP PhotoGo big. Go fast. And, if need be, go without the GOP.Since assuming office two weeks ago, President Joe Biden has made this his credo while instituting a record 45 executive actions that fulfill campaign promises on everything from climate change to racial equity to...…The White House hopes the unprecedented blitz of executive actions will help build momentum for its Covid-19 rescue package.President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris meet with Sens. Mitt Romney, Susan Collins and others to discuss a coronavirus relief package at the White House on Feb. 1. | Evan Vucci/AP PhotoGo big. Go fast. And, if need be, go without the GOP.Since assuming office two weeks ago, President Joe Biden has made this his credo while instituting a record 45 executive actions that fulfill campaign promises on everything from climate change to racial equity to...WW…

State Republicans worry the first-term congresswoman will taint the entire 2022 ticket with a stamp of conspiracy theory and extremism.Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's extremist beliefs and promotion of bizarre conspiracy theories have rocketed her to national notoriety. | Erin Scott-Pool/Getty ImagesThe Georgia GOP is tearing itself apart in a civil war. It lost two Senate seats in an ill-fated January run-off election. And the once-Republican suburbs in metro Atlanta — the most populous part of the state — have bolted toward the Democratic side.Now, it’s contending with another budding...…State Republicans worry the first-term congresswoman will taint the entire 2022 ticket with a stamp of conspiracy theory and extremism.Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's extremist beliefs and promotion of bizarre conspiracy theories have rocketed her to national notoriety. | Erin Scott-Pool/Getty ImagesThe Georgia GOP is tearing itself apart in a civil war. It lost two Senate seats in an ill-fated January run-off election. And the once-Republican suburbs in metro Atlanta — the most populous part of the state — have bolted toward the Democratic side.Now, it’s contending with another budding...WW…

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.SKIP TO CONTENTBy , and MIAMI — When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis went , he panned the Covid lockdowns former President Donald Trump encouraged early in the coronavirus pandemic.The remarks made for irresistible headlines — the two GOP heavyweights and possible 2024 contenders were feuding. Just days before, Trump had appeared to take a swipe at DeSantis, calling “gutless.”Both camps have denied any real friction, and they blamed “the media” for overhyping tensions, but Trump advisers say they see a hidden hand...…IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.SKIP TO CONTENTBy , and MIAMI — When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis went , he panned the Covid lockdowns former President Donald Trump encouraged early in the coronavirus pandemic.The remarks made for irresistible headlines — the two GOP heavyweights and possible 2024 contenders were feuding. Just days before, Trump had appeared to take a swipe at DeSantis, calling “gutless.”Both camps have denied any real friction, and they blamed “the media” for overhyping tensions, but Trump advisers say they see a hidden hand...WW…