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Biden agency chief has 'slow-rolled' SBA's cooperation in electioneering probe says House committee

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Biden agency chief has 'slow-rolled' SBA's cooperation in electioneering probe says House committee

EXCLUSIVE: The chairman of a House committee tasked with overseeing small business and commercial issues sent the Small Business Administration (SBA) a scathing letter Friday outlining how it has purportedly failed to hand over sufficient subpoenaed documents.

Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, previously noted the SBA used a 2021 Biden executive order on “promoting access to voting” to forge a “Memorandum of Understanding” (MOU) with the Michigan Department of State.

The way the MOU has been acted upon is controversial and potentially unconstitutional, Williams has said, as he and others in Congress previously accused the SBA of using it to funnel resources to a swing state in a partisan way. He previously said the SBA is “diverting its resources away from assisting Main Street so it can register Democratic voters” in Michigan. 

On Friday, Williams wrote SBA administrator Isabel Casillas-Guzman to criticize “lackluster production of documents pursuant to the committee’s July 30, 2024 subpoena.”

LAWMAKERS DEMAND ANSWERS FROM TOP MICHIGAN OFFICIAL OVER ALLEGED ‘WEAPONIZATION’ OF TAXPAYER FUNDS FOR ELECTIONEERING

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Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams, right, is accusing President Biden of using the Small Business Administration as a campaign arm. (Getty Images)

Williams had asked for, and later subpoenaed, travel calendars for agency staff, as well as other key documents in his probe into whether SBA’s work under the MOU is indeed partisan or worse.

“Since the first request was made by this Committee on March 20, 2024, the SBA has produced approximately 500 pages of documents, a substantial portion of which is just one email chain; further, nearly 20 percent of the documents produced by the SBA were entirely unresponsive to the Committee’s requests,” the letter went on.

“It remains unclear why the SBA has slow-rolled productions and wasted time producing documents that were either nonresponsive to Committee’s requests or duplicative.”

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Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams is targeting a partnership started by the Michigan Department of State and Small Business Administration chief Isabel Guzman. (Getty Images)

In May, the SBA was also sued on a coinciding front by the conservative Oversight Project, a government transparency watchdog, after it too made Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for similar documentation.

In that filing, plaintiff Mike Howell called the documents sought a “matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exists possible questions about the government’s integrity which affect public confidence.”

In Friday’s letter, Williams said the SBA has provided “zero calendars” despite the subpoena, as well as a document describing the “implementation plan” of its voter outreach work, as required under President Biden’s separate order.

Williams also said he is aware of the aforementioned separate FOIA litigation and that the agency attested therein that such a document does exist.

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A source familiar with the committee’s work said government officials also accused the panel of making baseless allegations surrounding the investigation and said the agency is trying to cover up any electioneering.

Williams told Fox News Digital on Friday he remains disappointed at what he characterized as a woefully insufficient response by the SBA.

“Instead of cooperating with basic congressional oversight, the SBA has once again given us documents that are not responsive to our requests – despite their claims otherwise. With the presidential election less than three months away, our investigation is more important than ever,” Williams said.

“Let me be clear, this Committee will not stop until we put an end to the SBA’s abuse of taxpayer resources, and ensure they refocus their efforts to the mission of supporting Main Street.”

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Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who was not party to the letter but has been a key voice in the upper chamber on the matter, said that if the agency has done nothing wrong, then it should welcome “the opportunity to share its work.”

“There is a very simple solution here – for the SBA to stop playing games and be fully transparent.”

The SBA, through a spokesperson, argued late Friday the agency rightly provided “extensive testimony, briefings, transcribed interviews, documents and other information in response to congressional inquires, including the Committee’s most recent subpoena.”

“We are continuing the work to fulfill the subpoena beyond our initial document production. Any suggestion that the agency is conducting improper work or that its response has been anything other than cooperative is simply not true,” the spokesperson added.

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

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Midwest

Judge orders Ilhan Omar attack suspect to remain in custody pending trial

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Judge orders Ilhan Omar attack suspect to remain in custody pending trial

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The man accused of squirting Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., with a syringe of apple cider vinegar during a town hall in Minneapolis last month will remain in custody until he stands trial, according to court documents.

Magistrate Judge David Schultz ordered Anthony Kazmierczak, 56, to remain in custody pending trial, citing “exceedingly serious and dangerous circumstances” of the assault allegations.

“The Court further finds detention is warranted in this case because clear and convincing evidence shows that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably assure the safety of the community, should Mr. Kazmierczak be released pending trial,” Schultz wrote in the order of detention dated Monday.

Omar was speaking about immigration policy and called for a transparent investigation and legal action against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as the abolition of the agency when the alleged attack happened. She also said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem should resign or “face impeachment.”

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A man is tackled after spraying an unknown substance later identified as apple cider vinegar at Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., during a town hall she was hosting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 27, 2026. (Octavio Jones / AFP via Getty Images)

Kazmierczak allegedly admitted to Minneapolis police during his arrest that he had squirted vinegar on Omar.

He was subsequently charged with one felony count of terroristic threats and one count of fifth-degree assault.

BROTHER OF MAN ACCUSED OF SPRAYING ILHAN OMAR SAYS SUSPECT HATED SOMALI COMMUNITY FOR YEARS

Kazmierczak made an initial court appearance earlier this month. He was wearing a yellow jumpsuit, a color that his court-appointed defense attorney John Fossum told the courtroom signifies his client was being held in solitary confinement. Fossum also expressed concern for Kazmierczak’s mental state.

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Anthony James Kazmierczak was later charged with one felony count of terroristic threats and one count of fifth-degree assault. (Hennepin County Jail)

During the appearance, Kazmierczak waived his right to a hearing on probable cause.

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Kazmierczak has a criminal history and was convicted of driving while intoxicated in 2009 and again in 2010. Records indicate he served one day in jail followed by five years supervised probation for the 2010 conviction and was put on home detention for 30 days in relation to his 2009 conviction.

Fox News’ Rachel Wolf, Adam Sabes, Jessica Sonkin and David Spunt contributed to this report.

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Detroit, MI

RECAP: Detroit’s lack of execution results in 5-2 loss at Carolina | Detroit Red Wings

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RECAP: Detroit’s lack of execution results in 5-2 loss at Carolina  | Detroit Red Wings


RALEIGH, N.C. – Wrapping up the February portion of their 2025-26 regular-season schedule, the Detroit Red Wings unfortunately spent most of their Saturday night playing catch-up in an eventual 5-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center.

“They’re a heck of a team,” Detroit captain Dylan Larkin said. “This is a hard building to play in…They’re the class of the East, and you got to come in here at some point and get points. I just didn’t think we executed. We allowed them to be on top of us and come back in waves on Talbs.”

Goalie Cam Talbot made 30 saves in his first start since Jan. 22 for the Red Wings (34-20-6; 74 points), who moved to 11-5-2 on the road since Dec. 6. Meanwhile, turning aside 27 shots netminder Frederik Andersen helped the Hurricanes (38-15-6; 82 points) win their fifth straight game and extend their point streak to 12.

“We’re leaving without points, so that’s real disappointing,” Detroit head coach Todd McLellan said. “I thought that the game was real fast to begin with. There was a lot of pace going both ways. It was a good game for us to play in. A lot of their offensive opportunities came off of basically our tape…[Carolina] really took advantage of our mistakes.”

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Detroit held steady against Carolina’s characteristically heavy, initial 10-minute push in the opening frame, but the leaders of the Metropolitan Division went up 1-0 when Taylor Hall blocked Simon Edvinsson’s shot attempt in their defensive zone and proceeded to score on a breakaway at 14:05.  Then with eight seconds left in the period, while the hosts were on the man advantage, Sebastian Aho’s shot from the left face-off circle deflected off Edvinsson’s stick down low and into the back of the net to extend their lead to 2-0.

“They come out flying and shoot a lot of pucks,” Larkin said. “You can’t really pay attention to the shot clock because they fire it from everywhere, but I liked our start. It’s just that we had some times where we didn’t execute, and they score with eight seconds left. That’s a tough one, but we responded well. We won the second period.”

The Hurricanes struck again just 2:52 into that second period, as Eric Robinson jammed a wrist shot from the top of the crease to push ahead 3-0. But in a span of just 47 seconds late in the stanza, the Red Wings beat Andersen twice to put the hosts on their heels and make it a one-goal game going into the second intermission.



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Milwaukee, WI

At the Bar

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At the Bar


The bar can be “the place” where memories are made, friendships blossom, and stories live forever. This episode of Real Stories MKE features stories from Dasha Kelly, Kristia Wildflower, Shep Crumrine, and Katelyn Nye. Real Stories MKE is hosted by Kim Shine and Joel Dresang with support from producer Jasmine Gonzalez and audio engineer Sam Woods.



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