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Republican Rep. Keith Self of Texas called for the Treasury to investigate the Islamic Society of North America for allegedly illegal campaign donations.Self said that the nonprofit violated financial rules by supporting Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrat candidate for one of the two U.S. Senate seats from Michigan.'Taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize a nonprofit acting like a campaign committee for the Red-Green Alliance.'Self cited a report in the Middle East Forum that said the campaign had set up a booth at the Huntington Place hall during an Islamic Society of North America convention."The booth displayed large 'Abdul for U.S. Senate' and 'Muslims for Abdul' campaign banners, urging attendees to elect Mr. El-Sayed. Campaign personnel reportedly distributed campaign literature, solicited donations, and promoted a $50 contribution in exchange for campaign [T-shirts]," the letter read."Attendees were also provided with QR codes directing them to donate or volunteer for the campaign, as well as given invitations to a campaign fundraiser," he added. "Campaign personnel were also reportedly active participants throughout the convention. They were observed waving campaign posters, distributing campaign flyers, and placing campaign materials on seats. A campaign volunteer reportedly distributed literature to attendees as they exited the hall following Mr. El-Sayed's speech."Self wrote that the candidate would be allowed to attend the event but that 501(c)3 rules strictly forbid that group from endorsing the candidate or allowing fundraising for the campaign to occur.He also pointed out that the group was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation case, involving the provision of funding for the Hamas terror group.Self called on Scott Bessent, the secretary of the Treasury, to investigate the group and review its tax-exempt status. RELATED: 'He's full of s**t': Trump RIPS INTO Abdul El-Sayed after his victory in Democratic primary "Taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize a nonprofit acting like a campaign committee for the Red-Green Alliance," Self wrote."These circumstances warrant a thorough examination of whether ISNA participated or intervened in a political campaign," he concluded.Blaze News requests for comment from both the Islamic Society of North America and the El-Sayed campaign were not returned in time for publication.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here

Years after defending California's response to the coronavirus pandemic, Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom listed some of the mistakes made.Newsom made the admissions in a bizarre interview with Jake Tapper of CNN where both appeared to be trying to fly-fish in a river in Montana.'I regret that, obviously.'Tapper asserted that there needed to be a commission to understand the pandemic and what responses worked and which did not work."Yeah, look, everyone's a genius in hindsight, so, you know, coulda woulda," Newsom responded."What would you do differently?" Tapper asked."I had a whole chapter just about Purell. We were running around doing price-gouging legislation against Purell, and everyone was thinking it was a Purell-based crisis," referring to his book."People were scrubbing their groceries," Tapper recalled."Yeah! I mean, [Republican Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis was closing down his beaches before we closed ours. The idea that we closed beaches was insane. In hindsight," Newsom replied."Obviously the schools taking too long," he added. "A lot of districts were open, but the big ones weren't. L.A. refused. And I regret that, obviously."Tapper noted that teachers said that reopening schools too soon would kill them. Then he pressed Newsom on the scandal when he was caught attending a dinner at a ritzy restaurant with little to no pandemic protections."What on earth were you thinking?" Tapper asked."Just a boneheaded decision, a stupid decision, I just ... dialing it in, we were exhausted, friend's birthday, it was a restaurant that was open the night before."And it was just against the spirit of the rules that I was promoting," he added. "It was completely legit condemnation."He said he had a mask when he walked in and when he walked out of the restaurant. BlazeTV host Steve Deace lambasted the governor in comments to Blaze News."I don't think there's anything sincere about Gavin Newsom whatsoever except his political ambitions," said Deace. "So I suspect this is only being said as a means by which to triangulate as the Democrat nominee in 2028, when he'd likely be running against someone seen as an extension of Trump, who was president at the advent of the scamdemic."RELATED: Gavin Newsom tries to dunk on Trump and gets obliterated with online ridicule Newsom has admitted that he's looking at a possible campaign for the Democratic nomination for president in 2028.The entire video of the fly-fishing interview can be viewed on CNN's YouTube channel. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The head of a Texas political action committee has been caught on an undercover video apparently admitting how his group was able to pay voters indirectly to vote for the group's candidate for the U.S. Senate.The undercover video, shared Wednesday, was recorded by Townhall and appeared to show Texas Majority PAC organizing manager Sky McAdams explaining how the scheme worked.'If I was a Republican, I would be pissed. I would be like, that’s shady as f**k.'"We are paying people $25 to attend a one-hour Zoom class to learn why voting is important and why the Republicans are causing all of these bad things," McAdams says, according to the video. "So it’s, like, a roundabout way of paying people for their votes, essentially. Which is interesting."While paying voters directly would be illegal, McAdams seemed to admit that his program is "essentially" doing that indirectly."You can’t pay someone to vote for someone," McAdams continues, according to the video. "You can’t be like, ‘Here’s $25. Go vote for me.’ You can say, ‘Attend a one-hour class and you can receive $25.’ And then the class just talks about, like, the importance of it. It’s a little gray."On the video, McAdams smiles and adds, "If I was a Republican, I would be pissed. I would be like, that’s shady as f**k."The scheme is called a "paid relational program" that is run through software named "Rally" and operated by a company called "Relentless."Texas Majority PAC was under investigation for allegedly funding state Democrats who fled Texas in order to block a vote on congressional redistricting. The group is funded in part by billionaire leftist George Soros.Townhall posted the edited video on social media, where it was widely circulated.RELATED: James Talarico shamelessly politicizes Amazon worker's tragic death to attack capitalism In response to the video, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Talarico's Republican opponent, said, "Absolutely outrageous! James Talarico's team just admitted they are trying to bribe people for votes. Texans aren't for sale, no matter how much James Talarico thinks they are."A Texas Majority PAC spokesperson told Blaze News that McAdams had misrepresented the program and has since been fired."Participants in the program are being paid for grassroots organizing work," the spokesman added in a statement. "The way it was described by one rogue employee is factually incorrect, not how we operate, and they were immediately fired."Blaze News' requests for comment from Relentless and the Talarico campaign were not returned in time for publication.Relentless claims on its website that it netted "47,533 Democratic votes" in other campaigns in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania in 2024.The Texas Majority PAC said in financial disclosures that it had spent $500,000 on services from Relentless. Townhall noted hypothetically that at $25 per vote, that sum could net about 20,000 ballots.AG Paxton also oversaw the investigation into Texas Majority PAC.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Sacha Baron Cohen is bringing Ali G back to the big screen, but the character is already stirring controversy.Tens of thousands of emails were sent urging theaters not to screen "Ali G: Who Iz I?" over accusations that the character is rooted in offensive racial stereotypes — something that’s never stopped theaters from promoting his films before.And for this reason, BlazeTV hosts Stu Burguiere and Dave Landau aren’t sure the negative hype is entirely organic.Dave recalls his old films where he would interview important figures like Dick Cheney who “wouldn’t know who he was.”“It was always a fascinating interview because he would just bomb the interview, and it was always pretty funny to watch,” he says, noting that his film "Borat" made him laugh “the hardest” he ever has in theaters at “how unbelievably funny and inappropriate it was.”“I am not a fan at all ... of this, ‘Well, our standards have changed, and now he can’t do this character anymore.’ It's more of just like, 'I don’t know, I’m kind of done with that character from 20 years ago,'” Stu chimes in.“Well, everybody knows who he is,” Dave agrees. “So it’s either they’re in on the joke, or they’re being paid to be on it. I mean, half the trailer is just people breaking because they know who he is.”“It’s played out,” he continues. “We know the joke and so do the people that he’s playing the joke on. I certainly don’t think it’s racist. If it’s racist against anybody, it’s probably Jews, and he’s Jewish.”“I mean, the most offensive stuff in Borat was against Jewish people,” he adds.Dave also notes sarcastically that “sending emails because a movie shouldn’t be shown and getting 37,000 of them” doesn’t “at all build hype and give incentive for places to show a film.”“I’m kind of skeptical, honestly,” Stu says. “It feels to me like a promotional stunt, like, ‘Oh gosh, everyone’s calling him racist, this is a big controversy.'”Want more from Stu and Dave?To enjoy more of Stu and Dave's lethal blend of wit, humor, and insightful commentary subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.