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Good morning, 

Yesterday, we asked readers if they trust the Federal Bureau of Investigation. You will find the results—and a sampling of responses—below.

This is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, January 7, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Thousands From Hostile Nations Found Crossing Into Texas

• As criminal activity remains a key concern at the Texas border, Robert Montoya reports more than 10,000 individuals from hostile nations have been detained since 2021.
   
• A study by a Texas House committee examining hostile foreign threats to the state finds 8,954 Chinese nationals have been captured and detained by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Close to 2,000 Russians and more than 200 Iranians have also been detained.
      
• Meanwhile, the number of Venezuelans affiliated with a violent gang entering Texas has "surged dramatically." Gov. Greg Abbott has designed Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization.

Related News

• The four men, ranging in age from 18 to 39, were arrested as they attempted to cross the Texas-Mexico border in Val Verde County on New Year’s Eve. They were part of a larger group of 22 illegal aliens from Columbia, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela.

Is Catholic Charities Helping Bring Illegal Aliens to Fort Worth Schools?

• New reports suggest that Catholic Charities of Fort Worth is working with the Fort Worth Independent School District to bring in illegal aliens. Emily Medeiros has the story.
       
• The International Newcomer Academy in Fort Worth ISD is intended exclusively for unassimilated migrant children. According to a review of documents by the Republican Party of Tarrant County, a vast number of students in the INA school are illegal aliens who don’t speak English or Spanish.
      
• CCFW has been given nearly a billion tax dollars by the Biden administration. Tarrant County GOP research has found that the grant received by CCFW is used to offset the costs of the FWISD program.
       
• "Once again, we have discovered more evidence that Catholic Charities of Fort Worth is a willing accomplice in the corrupt federal government plan to import millions of illegal aliens from all around the world into America. This won’t stop until we shut off the money." – Bo French

EXPOSED: Gateway Drug

• The new season of EXPOSED is now available. All five episodes can be found on all the major podcasting platforms. 
        
• In this season of EXPOSED, Daniel Greer is pulling back the curtain on the rigged games, political corruption, and corporate scandals that have plagued the Texas Lottery since its inception.
  👉 Episode 1: Lotto Lies
  👉 Episode 2: The Inside Job
  👉 Episode 3: The Wild West
  👉 Episode 4: Predatory by Design
  👉 Episode 5: The Lottery Commission Is Gone

Harris County DA Caught in Law License Controversy

• Less than a week after being sworn in as Harris County’s district attorney, Sean Teare came under fire following revelations that his law license had been suspended for failing to complete the Minimum Continuing Legal Education requirements. Michael Wilson reports that while Teare’s eligibility to practice law has now been restored, many questions remain.
      
• It is unclear how long he’d been ineligible to practice law. Shortly after the ineligibility was publicly discussed by political observers, the State Bar’s website was updated to indicate that Teare was once again eligible to practice law in Texas.
       
• Critics point out that resolving such issues can be as simple as self-reporting compliance without necessarily addressing the underlying causes of the suspension.
       
• The DA's office told Texas Scorecard the matter involved an unpaid fee that has now been paid.

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Quote-Unquote

"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of freedoms of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."

– James Madison​

Y'All Answered

Last week, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick blasted the FBI's special agent in charge in New Orleans as "idiotic" for suggesting the New Year's Day attack was not terrorism. The agency has been slammed for its involvement in the "Russiagate" hoax targeting Donald Trump, complicity in covering up details about Hunter Biden's laptop, and the January 6th protest at the U.S. Capitol in 2021.

Yesterday, we asked readers if they trust the Federal Bureau of Investigation. As it turns out, 97.1 percent of readers said they do not trust the FBI, leaving just 2.9 percent who do.

Here is a sampling of the responses we received from folks after they took the survey...

• “Being born in the former Soviet Union, the FBI is beginning to look like the NKVD... later renamed KGB! It is no longer a law enforcement agency but an agency enforcing political ideology!” – John Makow
      

• “Things I trust more than the FBI: Dade Phelan with my liquor cabinet, Congress with my money, and I-35 through Austin. The only positive aspect of their increasing audacity is that it is waking more people up to the reality of a nefarious Deep State. Kash Patel can’t get here quickly enough.” – Elissa Harrell
       

• “I am counting on Kash Patel to begin the clean out of the rot from the top down when he becomes FBI director.” – Chuck Farch
      

• “Trust isn’t given blindly—it’s earned, and the FBI’s recent track record isn’t exactly inspiring confidence.” – Sharla Miles
      

• “The FBI is just one more example of the adage ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ Oversight is the biggest responsibility of our elected officials, and they prove time and again they are unwilling to do their job.” – Steve Sullivan
      

• “The FBI has been weaponized by the present administration.  Why should we trust them to get anything right?” – Elyce Mouskondis
       

• “I do not trust the FBI.  The FBI has been a politicized weapon since its inception. What we're seeing is not new, it is only newly visible.” – Chris Breaux
      

• “Y'all could have stopped at ‘Do you trust the Federal’ because my answer would always be ‘no, never,’ when it comes to anything our horrific excuse for a federal government does. The Texas government is not far behind that.” – Allison Love
      

• “The FBI has a terribly scandalous history of being politicized and corrupt, entrapping citizens to commit crimes and falsifying evidence.” – Joel Vandenhouten
     

• “The FBI has overstepped their bounds just like the C.I.A. and the rest of the government entities. They don't do their job. They go after innocent people, instead of the criminals.” – Donna Langston
      

• “The ghost of J. Edgar shall forever haunt this agency, rendering it forever suspect.” – Randy Wright
       

• “I trust the Hollywood version of the FBI more than the actual agency.” – Elizabeth Day
      

• “Since its inception, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been a highly political agency.  That has not changed.” – Monte Long
      

• “I don’t trust them further than I could collectively throw their ‘leadership’!” – Shilo Platts
      

• “How many times do we have to catch the FBI in a lie before we finally get it and defund/restructure/disband them?” – Kathy Parker
      

• “Today's FBI is rotten to the core. This includes the ‘rank-and-file’ who are afflicted with 'blind-eye' syndrome, are incompetent, or just don't care.” – Charles McCord