New documents suggest a Biden-era FBI investigation went way beyond the 2020 election, the Federal Reserve makes its interest rate decision, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio ends his trip in the Middle East as Israel moves into Gaza City.

It’s Thursday, September 18, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.

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Biden FBI Targeted TPUSA, Other GOP Groups

Topline: Whistleblower documents reveal that during the Biden administration, the FBI secretly targeted Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA and other conservative groups.

The investigation targeted not just President Trump, then candidate Trump, but a wide range of conservative groups – including TPUSA. Known as Arctic Frost, the FBI investigation began in April 2022 under the direction of then-Director Christopher Wray. It ensnared 92 Republican-linked entities, from the Republican National Committee to state attorneys general associations.

The aim: The stated objective was to examine what the FBI described as a “multifaceted conspiracy” to keep Donald Trump in power after the 2020 election. This included investigating false claims of election fraud and filing lawsuits to challenge the election results. Documents show that the probe also focused on financial aspects, including post-election fundraising that allegedly misled donors about overturning the election results, as well as ties to the January 6 Capitol riot.

But whistleblowers told Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) that the probe expanded far beyond the 2020 election. In November 2022, the probe was handed over to Special Counsel Jack Smith and involved coordination with not only the FBI and DOJ, but also the National Archives, the U.S. Postal Service, and other agencies.

The scale: More than 150 interviews conducted, more than 400 subpoenas issued – including 300 for witness records, 200 phone selectors, and 20 financial probes – plus search warrants for 10 phones, 20 devices, seven iCloud accounts, 28 emails, and even Trump’s Twitter.

But why? What’s not clear is the specifics of why TPUSA, or really any of these groups, were targeted. There has been no evidence to suggest that TPUSA was involved in a false elector scheme, any financial misconduct, or any other activity that should have put them in the crosshairs of federal investigators. More declassified releases are expected.

Fed Cuts Rates

Topline: Amid President Trump’s ongoing push to reshape the Federal Reserve, Chairman Jerome Powell announced a cut in interest rates on Wednesday, offering a potential jolt to the Trump economy. 

Powell said the Federal Reserve will be lowering its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point — the first cut since last December. That means some minor, but tangible, relief for those buying a home or car, refinancing their student loans or credit card debt, and so on.

From the horse’s mouth: Powell on Wednesday said: “While the unemployment rate remains low, it has edged up. Job gains have slowed, and downside risks to employment have risen. At the same time, inflation has risen recently and remains somewhat elevated. In support of our goals and in light of this shift in the balance of risks, today the Federal market committee decided to lower our policy interest rate by a quarter percentage point.”

What’s next: Investors are confident this is just the first cut. They’re predicting similar quarter-point cuts in October and December. Many of those investors were clearly thrilled by the news — we saw both the DOW and S&P 500 jump to record highs on Wednesday.

Trump makes moves: This month, Trump appointed and the Senate approved Stephen Miran, one of his top economic advisers, to the Fed’s powerful Board of Governors. That makes Miran one of 12 people voting on rate decisions — while the other 11 voted Wednesday for a quarter-point cut, he was the only one who voted for a larger, half-point cut.

Miran’s role as chair of the White House Economic Council makes him the first Governor in the Board’s 100-plus-year history who’s also technically an employee of the president — though he’ll take a leave of absence from his White House role. 

Democrats respond: Democrats in Congress introduced a bill Tuesday that would bar Federal Reserve officials from simultaneously holding another position appointed by the president. That bill is unlikely to pass the Senate, given the Republican majority, but it could be revived in the future, depending on the outcome of the midterms next year. 

Rubio Visits The Middle East As Israel Moves On Gaza City

Topline: Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to the Middle East this week as Israel launched its long-awaited ground invasion of Gaza City, a major population center and one of the last strongholds of Hamas.

Expert opines: Victoria Coates, vice president of the National Security and Foreign Policy Institute at The Heritage Foundation, on the consequences of the invasion of Gaza City: “I think the region understands that this has to happen. It would be desirable to come up with a solution for the Palestinians of Gaza before this was necessary. But the fact of the matter is that Hamas won’t let them out. They’re the only population on the planet that aren’t being allowed to flee from a war zone. And part of that is Hamas. And part of that is the fact that the Egyptians won’t let them cross there. The Jordanians won’t let them come to Jordan. That also is telling.”

Israel recently targeted Hamas leaders staying in Doha, Qatar, with an airstrike that was immediately condemned by the Qatari government, which has served as one of the main Arab state mediators between Israel and the terror group Hamas. To the extent that the strike affects negotiations, Coates says it is possible that the impact will be beneficial, “because we weren’t getting anywhere with the old process.”

Coates: “This was a big step on the part of Israel to strike Hamas in Doha. At least one Hamas terrorist died. So I’m not going to be sorry about it. But at the same time, that was a potential world crisis between Israel and Qatar and potentially with the rest of the Gulf. Now, the good news is that the secretary flew directly from Tel Aviv to Doha … And so he was pretty much demonstrating through his travel that he’s going to go talk to both of them. There’s going to be a direct flight in between them. And … at the Arab summit meeting in Doha, the Abraham Accords countries did not withdraw from the accords. It happened to be the fifth anniversary of the accords on Monday, and that did not happen. They decided to stay in. And so that, to me, is the most powerful symbol that the accords will endure – and we can get back at some point to the business of increasing normalization.”

A 10,000 member-strong group called the Socialist Rifle Association has been conducting weapons training for transgender and Marxist-Leninist extremists, and its members have been linked to at least four major crimes, including the firebombing of Tesla dealerships, a Daily Wire investigation found.

Members stock up on assault rifles and tactical gear like gas masks, and receive membership cards bearing an image of Karl Marx and the quote, “Any attempt to disarm workers must be frustrated, by force if necessary.” Videos show them preparing for engagements that look more like war than self-defense, running through the woods and hitting long-range targets. A common logo is the transgender flag with an assault rifle and the phrase, “defend equality.”

SRA members say their interest is to defend against fascists and Nazis. But according to court documents, they apply those labels loosely, citing incidents like the January 6 Capitol protests, where guns were largely absent, as reason to prepare for war.

Radical leftist organizations have come under increased scrutiny since the assassination of Charlie Kirk. On Wednesday night, for example, Trump declared Antifa, the violent “anti-fascist” network known for its street protests, as a terrorist organization.

The Socialist Rifle Association has a chapter in chapter in Utah, where Kirk was shot. It advertises “inclusive firearms education,” with a rainbow-colored target and the tagline “women-friendly, BIPOC-friendly, queer-friendly.” One of its posters says “I will die fighting for this cause,” a quote attributed to John Brown, “a radical abolitionist who was murdered by the capitalist slave-owning class.” On June 19, the Utah chapter asked members to “Support Arturo Gamboa, an Antiracist accused of murder.”

The chapter and SRA’s national headquarters both told The Daily Wire that Tyler Robinson, who is charged with murdering Kirk in that state, was not a member, but did not answer whether his transgender-identifying boyfriend Lance Twiggs was, with national citing confidentiality policies.

The radical organization has, however, spread disinformation to label Kirk a threat. On SRA’s Reddit forum, a thread falsely claimed years ago that “Charlie Kirk, CEO of Turning Point USA, is openly calling for the lynching of transgender individuals.” After Kirk was assassinated, SRA members mocked him, expressed enthusiasm, and wished that the man who shot President Donald Trump had similar marksmanship.

Four of the 13 national leaders currently listed on SRA’s national web page go by “they” pronouns. On September 13, hours after Kirk’s assassination, the organization put out a statement that did not mention Kirk, but instead said, “The Socialist Rifle Association opposes in the strongest terms the stripping away of gun rights for our trans comrades.”

Kwesi Andoh, secretary of the Maryland chapter of SRA / Arming the Left documentary

“Hospitalize your local fascist”

The Daily Wire was able to identify several violent crimes linked to Socialist Rifle Association members, with indications in each case that the violence was politically motivated.

On July 4, a group of militants allegedly swarmed law enforcement at an ICE facility in Alvaredo, Texas and “opened fire at the unarmed DHS correctional officers.” One of them, Benjamin Hanil Song, is charged with shooting a police officer in the neck. Song was a member of the Socialist Rifle Association’s Dallas-Fort Worth chapter, a fellow group member told KERA. Of the 10 co-defendants charged with attempted murder of a federal officer, at least two claimed to be transgender: Cameron Arnold, who went by Autumn Hill, and Bradford Morris, who went by Meagan Morris. Authorities recovered nine firearms in the home where Arnold lived with about six other transgenders.

On March 18 in Las Vegas, Paul Hyon Kim set on fire and shot up five Teslas, leaving a Molotov cocktail inside one, charging documents said. Teslas had, of course, been treated as a political symbol by the left because of Elon Musk’s support for Donald Trump.

The court papers said “Kim has an Instagram page where he follows the Socialist Rifle Associations’ page. In a post from October 2018, on the Reno Socialist Rifle Association’s Instagram page, is a picture of a subject that appears to be Paul Kim training with firearms.” Law enforcement said it retrieved a bolt-action rifle, an AK style rifle, and a newspaper article “about a mass shooting incident” from his apartment.

On January 20, the day Donald Trump was sworn in as president, Adam Matthew Lansky allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at a Tesla dealership in Salem, Oregon. He returned to the same dealership a month later and shot it up using a semi-automatic rifle with a suppressor, according to court documents.

“Lansky is a competitive shooter and a former member of the Socialist Rifle Association. He is skilled and well-practiced in the use of firearms and combat scenarios. The [improvised incendiary devices] used by Lansky were all manufactured by him,” prosecutors said.

Court papers say this is Adam Lansky

In October 2021, Daniel Alan Baker of Florida was sentenced to 44 months in prison for threats. After the pro-Trump Capitol protest on January 6, 2021, Baker offered “cash rewards for information leading to the verified identification of an and every individual in this video. Don’t worry, I wont ne [sic] going to the cops. We have decided to handle this ourselves.”

Prosecutors said “Baker has made multiple violent threats to those he claims are white supremacists, fascists, United States persons with different ideologies than his, and allies of the United States. In addition, Baker has promoted the killing of United States military officers.” In 2017, Baker joined “a sub-affiliate of Kurdistan’s Working Party, which has been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization,” they said.

As the 2020 election approached, he wrote “God I hope the right tries a coup Nov 3rd cuz I’m so f–king down to slay enemies again.” On December 14, 2020, he posted a photo to his Instagram account that read “Hospitalize your local fascist” and “#stabnazis.”

Baker told prosecutors that he was a member of the Socialist Rifle Association, and said, “I believe that the philosophy of an anarchism leads to socialism. And I believe that the government should provide for everyone’s housing, healthcare, food. I even believe that the government should distribute weapons to people who are loyal citizens.”

SRA Founder Alex Tackett / Imgur

‘As a transgender socialist, half the country wants me dead’

The Socialist Rifle Association was incorporated in Kansas in 2019 by Alexander Tackett, who later began identifying as a woman named Alex Norma Tackett. A website for a queer bookstore he owned said, “Lilith [it/she] & Alex Tackett [she/it] are a trans lesbian couple living in Wichita with their six-year-old son.”

Its co-founder was Faye Ecklar, who explained that “I believe firearms ownership is necessary because as a transgender socialist, half the country wants me dead, and the other half is happy to watch. Plus, the means of production won’t seize themselves.”

According to Ecklar, a survey of SRA’s members found that it was 30% anarchist, 30% Marxist-Leninist or Maoist, 30% Democratic Socialist, and 10% other. One-third were “LGBTQ” and 8% were transgender, according to a 2019 New Republic article titled, “How Antifa Is Arming Itself Against a Trump Crackdown.”

With chapters in states across the country, organizing for in-person events and online on Discord, by 2020, the group claimed “10,000 comrades.” According to the IRS, federal tax-exempt status was revoked in May 2023 after it failed to file financial returns for three years. The IRS said it could not comment.

Arming the Left documentary

The nonprofit is still credentialed at the state level in Kansas. Its 2022 and 2023 filings listed Christopher Killips as president, but in internal documents he went by a gruesome female name, “Killashandra Killips.” Its most recent filing, in 2024, lists as president Brett Bieder, who goes by “Whargoul” and serves as vice president of the Nippersink Library Board of Trustees in Illinois.

A documentary crew interviewed members of the Maryland chapter, which included many members who shared fixations that have become a recurrent theme in shooters. The chapter’s treasurer described himself as “a non-binary, trans-femme, commie gun-owner” who likes “video games and martial arts.”

The chapter holds “Queer Range Days” and “POC Range Days.” On September 10, it announced an upcoming event training “Arab folks and those hailing from the middle east” in firearms, advertising it with a picture of what looks like Osama bin Laden and Keffiyah-wearing Hamas terrorists.