February 2, 2025

CIA Admits COVID-19 Pandemic Caused by Lab Leak

After years of denials, this week, the CIA joined the FBI and finally acknowledged that the China Virus that killed 1.2 million Americans originated from a lab leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

What changed? Why the sudden reversal?  Donald Trump, that’s why.  Specifically, John Ratcliffe, the newly confirmed director of the CIA, who has long said he thought the lab leak theory was the most plausible explanation for the pandemic declassified the CIA’s judgment for public release.

Not too long ago, conservatives, doctors and scientists who dared question the narrative that the virus was caused by natural origins were criticized, fired from their jobs, deplatformed, or otherwise cancelled.

Over seven million people died worldwide.  The COVID-19 virus caused one of the worst pandemics in modern history.  China needs to pay for unleashing the virus.  That’s not to say we are blameless. The United States provided funding to the Wuhan Institute of Virology through grants awarded to U.S.-based nonprofit organizations.  Perhaps we will get the full truth now that Donald Trump is back.

Trump Reinstates Military Servicemembers Who Refused the Jab 

Speaking of COVID-19, this week President Trump issued an executive order announcing he would offer a full reinstatement to any servicemember who was fired from the military due to Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.  The president noted that the vaccine mandate was unfair, overbroad and an unnecessary burden on our servicemembers.  The executive order restores them to their former rank with full backpay, benefits and bonus payments.  Over 8,000 troops were unjustly discharged by Biden for refusing to get the jab. Under the Biden Administration, our military saw weak leadership that prioritized woke policies over readiness and lethality.  Not one service member should have been fired for rejecting the vaccine and President Trump’s decision reverses one of the most sweeping purges of combat-ready troops in modern U.S. history.

Transgender Arrested for Trying to Kill Treasury Secretary

A biological man who thinks he’s a woman was arrested this week near the Capitol for attempting to assassinate U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent.  He was found carrying a Molotov cocktail and knives.   He also confessed to planning on killing Defense Secretary Hegseth and House Speaker Johnson and allegedly told police he expected he would have to “kill, at least, three U.S. Capitol Police officers to get to Bessent and kill him.”

The reason the would-be transgender assassin gave for wanting to kill these officials was “to send a message against the Nazis in the Trump Administration.”  The left likes to demean Trump voters by often referring to them as Nazis or fascists.   Don’t believe me? Asked by Anderson Cooper on CNN if she believes Trump is a “fascist,” Kamala Harris said, “Yes, I do.” Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, compared a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden to a 1939 Nazi rally. Just this week a local official in the Michigan Democratic Party slammed Trump supporters suggesting any who supports the president is a Nazi.  Liberal hatred and name-calling are dog whistles for crazed individuals to act out in violence and it needs to stop.

Trump Stops Biden’s Plan to Send $50 Million for Condoms to Gaza

Just when you thought you’ve heard everything, along comes news from the White House that the Biden Administration had earmarked $50 million for condom distribution in Gaza.  In her first-ever press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the OMB found “that there was about to be $50 million taxpayer dollars that went out the door to fund condoms in Gaza. That is a preposterous waste of taxpayer money.”  I agree!

Incidentally, if you’re thinking that all these condoms sent to Gaza are being used for contraceptive purposes guess again.  The Jerusalem Post reported in 2020 that scores of condoms were being used to create improvised explosive device-carrying balloons that winds would carry into southern Israel, raising alarm on schoolyards, farmlands and highways, burning thousands of acres of land and causing millions of dollars in damage.

Thankfully, President Trump put a stop to it this week shortly before they were due to be disbursed.

It’s Mail Time!

📬  I receive thousands of letters each week and I appreciate hearing from everyone. Here are a few letters I received this week:

📨 Alyssa D. from Goodyear chimed in with this letter:

The Supreme Court ruling immunizing President Donald Trump against any criminal responsibility for official acts in violation of criminal law is egregious. We cannot allow anyone elected president to commit crimes without criminal liability. A president who knows they can commit crimes with impunity is dangerous. We must be able to hold our elected officials accountable.

As your constituent, I’m calling on you – and all of Congress – to pass a constitutional amendment as quickly as possible restoring checks and balances to our government and reining in this extreme expansion of presidential power. Justice Sotomayor described this ruling best: “In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law.”

✍ Alyssa, the recent Supreme Court opinion delivered by Chief Justice John Roberts says that the president “…  may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled, at a minimum, to a presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts.  The decision is not partisan.  In fact, the opinion delivered by Chief Justice Roberts also says that “… immunity applies equally to all occupants of the Oval Office, regardless of politics, policy, or party.” 

I have been extremely concerned by political persecution against President Donald J. Trump.  It remains clear that he has not been a target because he broke the law, but because he is the leading threat to the deep state and the Washington D.C. swamp.  The Supreme Court’s ruling protects President Trump from shameful lawfare attempts against him.

📨 Rhiannon S. from Goodyear wrote in:

I oppose H.R. 569, a blatantly unconstitutional attack on American birthright citizenship. The 14th Amendment is clear, and the century-old precedent of US v. Wong Kim Ark affirms that anyone born in and subject to the jurisdiction of the United States is born a citizen, no matter what. Stop the disrespect of our Constitution now.

✍ Rhiannon, On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order to end the Executive Branch’s enforcement of “birthright citizenship,” a legal fiction founded on an erroneous interpretation of the 14^th Amendment to our Constitution.  According to this fiction, the child of any alien (that is, non-citizen) born on U.S. soil is automatically granted American citizenship and all the rights and privileges thereof.  This misunderstanding of the 14^th Amendment betrays history, withers our sovereignty, and erodes the concept of American citizenship so far that it has nearly lost all meaning.  Allow me to explain.

The authors of the 14^th Amendment never intended to extend the benefits of U.S. citizenship to the children of aliens.  The Amendment, ratified in 1868, was authored to extend American citizenship to freed slaves and their children in the aftermath of the Civil War.   According to Section 1 of the 14^th Amendment, “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”  That second clause, “and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” is critical to the proper interpretation of this Amendment.  Illegal aliens, citizens of a foreign country, are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.  In fact, their very presence on U.S. soil without the express permission of American authorities as outlined in the U.S. Code, puts them in violation of federal law.  Black Americans, on the other hand, were subject to the jurisdiction of the United States during Reconstruction, the period following the Civil War; but they were wrongly treated like second-class citizens in many parts of the country.  The 14^th Amendment clarified—in conjunction with the 13^th and 15^th Amendments—that Black Americans are entitled to the same rights of life, liberty, and property as white Americans.

Beyond denying the simple fact that foreign citizens are subject to the jurisdiction of their own governments, rather than the United States, this incorrect interpretation of the 14^th Amendment also robs American citizenship of its sanctity and uniqueness.  If any non-citizen who steps foot on your soil is allowed to call their children “Americans,” then who are you?  Why are you any different from them?  Many illegals, I assume, are “good people,” to quote President Trump.  But being a “good person” is not what makes you an American citizen!  It certainly does not qualify me for Japanese or Israeli citizenship.  And if I tried to tell Israeli officials that they owed me citizenship because I was a “good person,” they would have every right to turn me away.  As a citizen of the United States, you know that your government was established to serve your interests, first and only.  It goes without saying that your government should understand the distinction between you, your fellow citizens, and every other person on the planet.  If they don’t, do you really have a country at all?  

Within hours of President Trump’s Executive Order to restore integrity to American citizenship, 22 states sued.  This lawfare does not constitute legitimate, grounds-based opposition to President Trump nor to a proper reading of the 14^th Amendment.  It merely exists to stall the President and keep him from enforcing the 14^th Amendment in a manner consistent with its intended use.

I agree with President Trump’s Executive Order, and I stand prepared as a Member of the House of Representatives to take all steps necessary to codify his correct interpretation of the 14^th Amendment into law and reverse this America-Last policy of extending American citizenship and its benefits to the children of illegal aliens.

By the way, two judges dissented in the Wong Kim Ark, and concluded the 14th amendment did not grant birthright citizenship.   They explained “Nobody can deny that the question of citizenship in a nation is of the most vital importance. It is a precious heritage, as well as an inestimable acquisition, and I cannot think that any safeguard surrounding it was intended to be thrown down by the amendment.”

📨 Larry O. from Quartzsite sent in:

I am writing in support of efforts to delay the implementation of the ban on TikTok. TikTok is used by over 170 million Americans. It has become an essential economic driver in the US, and the platform sustaining millions of small businesses that will be decimated if the ban is allowed to proceed.  Any such ban also unreasonably and unacceptably infringes on the free speech of US Citizens, protected under the First Amendment. The Government should have a very high burden of proof to attack Free Speech, which they have NOT met. No evidence has been presented to the 170 million American users of the platform that there is indeed a genuine threat to national security. I believe such a delay will allow time for an alternate, less onerous and drastic solution to any actual security issues, should they exist at all. 

✍ Larry, As you alluded to, TikTok is a social media application currently owned by ByteDance which is a Chinese company. Public Law 118-50, which was signed into law by Joe Biden, includes the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act which makes unlawful certain actions related to the distribution in the United States of a “foreign adversary-controlled application,” including applications operated by ByteDance or TikTok unless a qualified divesture is executed.  Essentially, this law bans TikTok unless it is sold in accordance with certain terms.

A version of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act made it through the House of Representatives as part of the 21st Century Peace through Strength Act.  I hope you are pleased to know that I voted against this legislation.  While I am concerned about TikTok’s link to China, I also worry about the free speech and free market implications of a TikTok ban.

I also believe that online platforms should have a free and fair market for competition with other platforms.  The suppression of TikTok would arguably serve to benefit other big tech companies.  In fact, President Donald Trump noted in a Truth Social post that “If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business. I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last election, to do better. They are a true enemy of the People!”  

Thankfully, President Donald Trump instructed the Attorney General not to enforce the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act for 75 days to determine his administration’s appropriate course of action regarding TikTok.  I strongly support President Trump’s action which gives us the best of both worlds, eventual enforcement of the law, but also a potential deal to keep TikTok online.  I sincerely hope a deal can be made, especially if it means TikTok is sold to an American company.

Tweet of the Week:

Photo of the Week:

📸 Mike Covell from Prescott, AZ shares this amazing photo he recently snapped of full moon over Prescott National Forest.  Thanks for sharing, Mike!

Do you want the chance for your photograph to be featured as our “Picture of the Week?”   If so, send your best shots along with a brief description to Anthony.foti@mail.house.gov.  Remember to include your name and where you live.

Gosar in the News and Other Must-Read Stories:

📰 ABC 15 Arizona: Navajo Nation families struggle for health coverage after Congress lets RECA lapse

🗞 The Post Millennial: Scott Bessent’s would-be assassin revealed to be trans woman on a ‘mission’

📰Newsweek: Donald Trump Blocks $50 Million Funding for Condoms in Gaza

🗞 New York Post: ABC, CBS, NBC spent 46 minutes covering Trump Jan. 6 pardons, less than 4 minutes on Biden pardons

📰New York Post: Trump to sign executive order reinstating thousands of troops discharged for not taking COVID jab

⚠ Warning!!  The Gosar Weekly Newsletter is meant for discerning readers with above average intelligence.  We link to interesting stories.  We get stories a couple different ways: Google alerts, a third-party aggregator and sometimes readers send stuff.  We don’t vouch for every publication or every author.  If we link to a story, it is because of that story. The views expressed in any of the publications do not represent any promotion, endorsement or reflection of Congressman Gosar’s views.  While we try our best, we cannot guarantee every news organization spouting hatred, animosity or divisiveness will be filtered from appearing in the Gosar Weekly Newsletter.  We will endeavor to prevent that from happening by never linking to Fake News organizations including CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Rolling Stone, the Arizona Republic, the Arizona Mirror, Media Matters or the New Republic.