NationalWatch

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., on Monday had some words for his Republican colleagues who may be on the fence about voting on another border bill later this week.

Asked whether he would vote on a second attempt at passing a border bill, Schumer said he would always vote to secure the border “better than what it is today.” 

“I would encourage my Republicans friends to — no matter what games you think that might be being played — when you get a chance to secure the border, take it. Take it because we need it that bad,” Schumer said. 

GOP SENATE CANDIDATE IN CRUCIAL STATE RIPS SCHUMER’S IMMIGRATION PUSH AFTER BORDER TRIP: ‘HEIGHT OF CYNICISM’

His comments come a day after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told his colleagues that the Senate will once again vote on a bipartisan border security bill this week. An effort in February collapsed after Republicans withdrew their support at the behest of former President Donald Trump. 

VULNERABLE HOUSE DEM FLIP-FLOPS ON IMMIGRATION AFTER DISMISSING BORDER WALL AS ‘SILLY’

The bill failed a test vote in February, by a vote of 49-50, short of the 60 votes needed to proceed. 

Schumer blamed Republicans for acquiescing to the GOP frontrunner in the presidential race. Republicans, meanwhile, objected to tying the bill to U.S. foreign aid for Ukraine and Israel. Schumer said the bill to be voted on this week would stand alone.  

Republicans in both chambers of Congress have signaled they will band together to block any hope of a Democrat-backed border bill getting to the finish line. 

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Record numbers of migrants have been caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border since President Biden took office in 2021, and border security has become one of the leading issues in the presidential campaign.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw and Reuters contributed to this report.

With five and a half months to go until the November election, former President Donald Trump enjoys the edge over President Biden in many national polls and surveys in the key battleground states that will likely decide their 2024 rematch.

And in April, for the first time, Trump also enjoyed the lead in monthly fundraising.

The president’s campaign announced on Monday evening that they and the Democratic National Committee hauled in over $51 million in fundraising last month. 

That’s significantly less than the $76 million that the former president and the Republican National Committee raised in April, according to an announcement earlier this month.

THE BLUE STATES TRUMP AIMS TO FLIP RED IN HIS 2024 REMATCH WITH BIDEN

“@TeamTrump and the RNC outraised Biden by $25 MILLION in April!” the RNC touted in a social media post.

The fundraising totals are a switch from March, when Biden and the DNC brought in roughly $90 million compared to $65.6 million for Trump and the RNC.

Biden had regularly been outpacing Trump in monthly fundraising, but Trump’s April haul was boosted by a record-setting $50.5 million that the former president’s campaign raked in at a single event early in the month with top dollar GOP donors that was hosted at the Palm Beach, Florida home of billionaire investor John Paulson.

WARNING SIGNS FOR TRUMP AND BIDEN AS THEY CAREEN TOWARDS FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

The Biden campaign, in their announcement, spotlighted that they have hauled in $473 million in the year since the president formally launched his re-election bid. 

They also showcased that they were sitting on a massive $192 million war chest as of the end of April.

They touted that Trump “trails badly in cash on hand” and that they have “the highest total of any Democratic candidate in history at this point in the cycle.”

The Biden campaign also spotlighted their small dollar donations, saying that “a majority of April’s raise came from grassroots donors, and one million more supporters were added to our email list in the month alone.”

They also took aim at Trump, arguing that his campaign “has focused nearly entirely on courting billionaire donors, maxing out early in the cycle instead of building a durable grassroots fundraising program.”

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In their announcement earlier this month, Trump campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles pointed to their grassroots fundraising prowess, saying that “with half of funds raised coming from small dollar donors, it is clear that our base is energized.”

And they pledged that “we are raising the resources necessary to deliver a victory in November.”

But the Biden campaign said that its fundraising advantage in recent months has allowed it to go up with major ad buys in the key states and to build formidable ground game teams in the battlegrounds.

Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said their fundraising “is giving us the resources necessary to invest in opening offices, hiring organizers and communicating across our battleground states in order to mobilize the coalition of voters who will decide this election.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Connecticut’s Supreme Court on Monday ruled that state elections officials violated the constitutional free speech rights of two Republicans running for the state legislature when it fined them thousands of dollars for criticizing the Democratic governor in ads paid for by their publicly funded campaigns in 2014.

In a 5-0 decision, the justices overturned the $5,000 civil fine against now-Sen. Rob Sampson and the $2,000 penalty against former Sen. Joe Markley imposed by the State Elections Enforcement Commission — a ruling their lawyer said could have influence in other states.

CONNECTICUT BECOMES ONE OF LAST STATES TO ALLOW IN-PERSON EARLY VOTING

The commission had determined that Sampson and Markley violated the rules of the state’s Citizens’ Election Program, which provides public funds to campaigns for statewide office and the legislature, when they sent out campaign materials touting how they would fight what they called the bad policies of then-Gov. Dannel Malloy.

While the program bars a candidate from spending their public funds on the campaigns of others not in their race, the Supreme Court said the commission went too far when it interpreted the law to mean Sampson and Markley couldn’t criticize Malloy, who was running for reelection.

“None of the communications at issue in this appeal could reasonably be construed as anything more than a rhetorical device intended to communicate the merits of the plaintiffs’ candidacies as bulwarks against the policies endorsed by Governor Malloy and the Democratic Party,” Chief Justice Richard Robinson wrote in the opinion.

Robinson added the commission “imposed an unconstitutional condition in violation of the first amendment to the extent that it penalized the mention of Governor Malloy’s name in a manner that was not the functional equivalent of speech squarely directed at his reelection campaign.”

The ruling cited several decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts on what limits can be placed on free speech in publicly funded campaigns. Thirteen states provide some form of public funding to candidates for state offices, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Charles “Chip” Miller, a senior attorney at the Institute for Free Speech who represented to the two lawmakers, said the Connecticut case appears to be the first of its kind and could have ramifications in other states if they seek outside guidance on the issue.

“To the extent that you can tie someone to an opposing candidate, you know, I think is extremely relevant now,” he said.

“You can talk about somebody being a Trump supporter, or a Biden supporter, be it yourself or someone else. Someone can run and they could say, ‘Hey, I’m a Sanders Democrat,’ and that means something. Right?” he said, referring to U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with the Democrats.

Other states that provide public funding for state campaigns, such as Arizona and New York, limit use of the money to the candidate’s own campaign. New York has specific language that bans spending that money to support another candidate.

The commission was reviewing the decision and consulting with the Attorney General’s Office to determine what to do next, said Michael J. Brandi, executive director and general counsel at Connecticut’s Elections Enforcement Commission.

“As the court wrote, it’s an issue of first impression and a notoriously tricky application of the law,” he said in a statement. “Connecticut is in the vanguard of campaign finance reform, so that’s to be expected.”

The state attorney general’s office, which represented the commission in the case, said it was reviewing the court ruling before deciding its next steps.

Markley, of Southington, won reelection as a senator in 2014 and left the legislature in 2019 after losing his bid for lieutenant governor. He said the commission’s interpretation of the law was “ludicrous” and he had believed it would be overturned by the courts.

“I think that what they were trying to do here in Connecticut was sufficiently outrageous that I doubt that such actions have even been contemplated in other states, because who would push for bans on what I think is such reasonable political communication?” he said.

Sampson, from Wolcott, won reelection to the House in 2014 and won the Senate seat vacated by Markley four years later. He said he felt “vindicated” by the court’s unanimous decision and pleased that future candidates can now exercise their free speech rights.

“In our case, it should have been perfectly reasonable for me to inform my constituents — and voters — that I did not support the policies of the former governor,” Sampson said in a statement posted on social media.

During the 2014 campaign, Sampson and Markley sent out postcards and flyers touting their fiscally conservative positions and saying they were key players in the legislature in fighting what they called Malloy’s “reckless” tax and spending policies. That year, Markley received about $57,000 in public funds for his campaign and Sampson got about $28,000.

Sampson’s Democratic opponent that year, John Mazurek, filed a complaint with the commission over the two Republicans’ campaign materials and their references to Malloy.

In 2018, the commission found that Sampson and Markley had violated the public campaign funding law by attacking Malloy, saying they were essentially spending the public funds on another 2014 campaign — Republican Tom Foley’s challenge against Malloy, who won reelection and later did not seek another term in 2018.

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Sampson and Markley appealed to Superior Court, which upheld the commission’s decision in 2022. Judge Joseph Shortall said that Sampson and Markley did not prove that their constitutional rights were violated by the commission, and that they had voluntarily agreed to accept public funding for their campaigns and the conditions that came along with the money.

They next appealed to the Supreme Court, which overturned the lower court on Monday.

Montana primary ballots up for consideration this year will offer voters a unique opportunity to audit the structures and powers of their city and county governments.

This local government review appears as a “study commission question” toward the end of ballot forms. Most urban voters will see two entries — one for city and one for county governments.

JUSTICE KAGAN BLOCKS EFFORT TO STOP MONTANA FROM MAILING BALLOTS TO ALL VOTERS

Set forth in the Montana Constitution, this voter-initiated review is offered every 10 years in all 56 counties and 127 incorporated municipalities. Any jurisdiction where voters approve the review in the June 4 primary election will kick off a two-year process examining the ways that cities and counties define their governments.

Reviews focus on legislative powers, which are held by a city council, county board of commissioners or similar elected group. Also up for review are executive branch functions, which includes hiring staff and running daily operations of the city or county. Perhaps most importantly, reviews can shift the balance of power between the two branches.

“This is all an experiment,” said Dan Clark, director of the Local Government Center at Montana State University. “There’s no right or wrong. If this isn’t working as well as they’d like it to, what might work better? And let’s try it.”

A review can lead to small changes, like setting new terms for elected officials or designating ward-by-ward versus at-large representation. It can also restructure the top tier of the government operation, laid out in state statute as “forms.”

Variations of those forms include a commission-executive, in which a city council and mayor serve legislative and executive functions, respectively. An alternative is the commission-manager form, in which the elected legislative body appoints a city manager to handle executive functions. A charter form of government is also an option, giving governments more latitude to define the details and duties of the government and its staff.

There is also a town meeting form, which is only available to towns with less than 2,000 people. The residents of voting age make up the legislative branch, and a quorum is reached if 10 percent of that population attends a meeting. Clark said that Pinesdale, with fewer than 1,000 residents in the Bitterroot Valley, operates this way.

If voters approve a review for a particular government on June 4, a study commission will be elected this November to review potential changes to local governance and suggest solutions. Residents who are eligible to hold elected office in their jurisdiction can file to join the commission. After nearly two years of study, the commission suggests changes, and voters have the chance to accept or reject the commission’s proposals.

The process is funded by a property tax levy, usually collecting an amount in the low six figures. Local governments were required to approve a suggested funding level earlier this year. Any unused funds return to the government’s general fund.

Historically, Montana cities and counties going through change, such as population growth, are more likely to undergo a local government review as their needs evolve.

“Some communities will be content with their form of government. They haven’t experienced a lot of change,” Clark said. “Other communities might feel the need to make that change. There’s growth. They’re getting bigger, more complex, and maybe looking to different structures that might meet the challenges they might make into the future.”

One recent example came out of a review that Bozeman voters approved in 2004. After the two-year study, voters approved a city charter in 2006 that created the city charter, formalized neighborhood councils, and approved the direct election of the mayor. Another proposal that came out of this review, a suggestion to bring the number of City Commission members to seven, failed in a subsequent vote in 2010.

This year, Bozeman is the site of some organizing in support of a city government review. An effort by a group called Represent Bozeman has the support of former Mayor Carson Taylor, as well as current Deputy Mayor Joey Morrison. In a public forum earlier this week, Morrison told an audience that he supports a change in the pathway to the mayor’s office, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. The current city charter has elected mayors to serve two years as deputy before taking over the mayoral position. Morrison is currently in his first year of that process after being elected in 2023.

Represent Bozeman is led by Bozeman Tenants United, which supported Morrison’s mayoral bid.

Organizer Emily LaShelle said the group supports a vote in favor of local government review with a few goals. The first is ward elections and representation for city commission members rather than at-large positions. She said the group hears from renters in northeast Bozeman who don’t feel seen by commissioners who often come from the more affluent neighborhoods.

“In a lot of ways, the reason the tenants union took this on is that so many of the working-class Bozemanites feel deeply unrepresented by the local government,” she said.

Represent Bozeman also supports full-time City Commission positions, which she said would support more working-class representation.

LaShelle said the group also wants to shift the power dynamics between elected officials and appointed city staff. This stems in part from the troubled exit of former City Manager Jeff Mihelich, who accepted severance earlier this year after a leaked video showed him making disparaging comments about commissioners and their work.

Bozeman’s city charter directs city staff to carry out much of the legislation that comes from the City Commission, which LaShelle said leaves too little room for elected officials to carry out their work and creates a barrier against public accountability.

“It makes it harder for regular people to make change,” she said. “There are so many incredible groups in Bozeman to make change. But the current system is outdated and makes it really hard for the people in Bozeman for real democracy to happen.”

A similar effort pushing for local government review is taking place in Billings. David Goodridge is a commercial Realtor and broker who said he learned about the mechanism after years of frustration about the pace of action at the Billings City Council.

Goodridge voted against the measure in 2014. Back then, he said, he looked at the prospect of an additional, yearslong government commission that cost six figures and didn’t like the idea. He says now that he voted against the very instrument that could bring the change he wanted to see at the council.

“My goal for the last eight months has been to try, from a grassroots position, to educate as many people as I can to not be afraid of this ballot item,” Goodridge said. “It’s a good thing.”

This time around, his effort is called “Get To Yes.” The basic idea is to bring awareness to this down-ballot item and advocate for a vote to get the process started.

Like LaShelle, Goodridge feels that Billings’ City Council has ceded too much power to appointed staff.

“The question I ask a lot of people in presentations is: who do you think is applying vision to the community? Elected leaders or the bureaucracy?” Goodridge said.

He also wants to see the mayor as a full-time position in Montana’s largest city and wants resources for council members to devote more time to their public roles.

“An elected person only has whatever time they have available to them to dive in and understand a complex zone change, a complex staffing issue, an infrastructure problem,” he said. “If all the time they have is just what they have in volunteer time, 10 to 20 hours isn’t going to cut it.”

Goodridge said he has received some monetary support from the Billings Association of Realtors and some in-kind donations for website development and marketing materials, though in total it amounts to less than $2,000. While he has a wish list for his preferred local government structure, his main goal is to secure voter approval for a review process on June 4.

Clark, with MSU’s Local Government Center, said that the intent of the process is not to be a referendum on the actions or policies of elected officials. It’s more about how the government operates regardless of who holds office or staff positions.

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In Billings, Goodridge said he has been waiting 10 years to get this chance to rally voters behind a review.

LaShelle hasn’t been waiting for another review since the 2004 study led to a brand new city charter. But she sees different needs for Bozeman 20 years later.

“It’s changed a lot since then,” she said. “And I think maybe the city charter worked for that Bozeman, but it’s certainly not working now. I don’t think we can wait another 10 years.”

FIRST ON FOX: The NAACP leader who introduced President Biden in Detroit on Sunday night was previously slammed by the Anti-Defamation League for inviting notorious antisemite Louis Farrakhan to speak at his church where the controversial minister lashed out at Jewish people and referred to them as “satanic.”

Rev. Wendell Anthony, President of the Detroit Branch of the NAACP, stood on stage with Biden in Detroit on Sunday night at the NAACP Detroit Branch’s 69th annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner, where the president gave a speech repeating his talking point about bringing people together and slammed former President Trump for being too divisive.

Anthony, who presented Biden with a lifetime achievement award on Sunday night, has a long history of associations with Farrakhan, who leads the Nation of Islam group, including being slammed by the Anti-Defamation League in 2013 for inviting the minister to speak at his church where he espoused antisemitic rhetoric.

Farrakhan spoke at Anthony’s Detroit-based church, Fellowship Chapel, at least three times in 2005, 2013, and 2015. The Michigan Chronicle reported in 1994 that Anthony was a guest speaker at the Nation of Islam’s 64th annual “Saviour’s Day.”

WHITE HOUSE VISITOR LOGS CONTRADICT BIDEN SPOKESMAN’S VOW TO BAN DC OFFICIAL WHO PRAISED NOTORIOUS ANTISEMITE

“The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed deep disappointment with the members of Detroit City Council and local clergy who met with and embraced the anti-Semitic and racist leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, during his visit to the city last week,” the May 2013 press release stated. 

“During his visit to Detroit, Minister Farrakhan was invited by Rev. Wendell Anthony, President of the Detroit Branch of the NAACP, to address the Fellowship Chapel on May 17. His speech, which was attended by U.S. Rep. John Conyers and Detroit City Councilmember JoAnn Watson, among other prominent city leaders, invoked hateful anti-Semitic canards and open racism. Thus far, none of the leaders present for his remarks have publicly condemned Minister Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic rhetoric, and several have praised him.”

The ADL statement alleges that during the speech, Farrakhan “spewed hateful anti-Semitic invective, referring to ‘Satanic Jews’ and the ‘Synagogue of Satan’ supposedly controlling major institutions.”

“He expressed his love for President Barack Obama, but added that the president ‘surrounded himself with Satan…members of the Jewish community,’” the ADL said. 

LEFT-WING ACTIVIST WHO HIRED ONE OF FARRAKHAN’S ‘TOP SOLDIERS’ HAS VISITED BIDEN WHITE HOUSE 7 TIMES

Congressman John Conyers, Jr., a Democrat who passed away in 2019, ultimately apologized for attending Farrakhan’s speech saying that the minister made “unacceptable racist, anti-Semitic, and homophobic statements” which “I condemn in the strongest possible terms.”

Fox News Digital could not confirm what Rev. Anthony said in his introduction of Farrakhan when he spoke at his church, but a tweet from “Brother Abdul Qiyam Muhammad,” whose Linkedin says he is a “staff writer” for the Nation of Islam’s Final Call newspaper, said Rev. Anthony’s introduction was “phenomenal” and said he was on the “witness stand” for Farrakhan. 

Another disciple of Farrakhan tweeted out a quote attributed to Anthony from the 2013 appearance at Fellowship Chapel, saying, “Don’t get mad with Farrakhan for striking a match, get upset with yourself for not keeping the fire going.”

“The enemy that owns [reality TV] is the same people that own Hollywood, the same people that control your press, the same people that control your media, the same people who are the publishers, the same people who are the distributors, the same Synagogue of Satan, and they put you before the world in this disgraceful matter,” Farrakhan said in May 2013 at Fellowship Chapel, according to the ADL.

“What are you feeding filth to your people, you’re popular in filth, but they pay well. See, because you’re Satan’s man. He gives you money, that’s what you want. They print it all day long now next to the Holocaust place in Washington…These are not good people, these are Satanic minds,” he continued. “Whatever God says thou shalt not do, they make sure that they tell you it’s all right and then publicize it.”

BIDEN GIVES INTERVIEW TO RADIO SHOW THAT PROMOTED NOTORIOUS ANTISEMITE WHO COMPARED JEWS TO ‘TERMITES’

In addition to the visits to Anthony’s church, Farrakhan was also a guest speaker at a “Religious leaders’ breakfast” in 2004 for a “Freedom Weekend” hosted by Freedom Institute for Economic, Social Justice and People Empowerment, a think tank founded by Anthony. The think tank’s website lists Farrakhan along with other activists as “the best and brightest in their respective fields.”

In 1995, Anthony was quoted as praising Farrakhan as “the only man with the vision to envision” the Million Man March, saying, “He is the only leader speaking to the moral issues of decay in our community, and that’s why people are responding to his call.” 

Anthony wasn’t the only person with ties to Farrakhan at the dinner. A Facebook social media post shows that Troy Muhammad, who also goes by Troy X and is a “State Representative for Minister Louis Farrakhan and as Minister of Muhammad Mosque #1, was in attendance. The long Facebook post thanked Anthony and Kamilia Landrum, whose Facebook bio says she is the executive director of the NAACP’s Detroit branch, for “their efforts” in organizing the dinner. One of the pictures he included was a placard that said, “Michigan Representative of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.”

Troy X also noted he walked out of the building when Biden was being introduced and said he was just attending to support the NAACP.

The White House has previously faced criticism for its ties to Farrakhan’s network including a left-wing activist who hired one of Farrakhan’s ‘top soldiers’ visiting the White House 7 times. 

Last fall, President Biden sat down for a radio interview with a show that has actively promoted Farrakhan’s teachings. 

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The White House previously told Fox News Digital, “For decades, President Biden has unequivocally condemned Louis Farrakhan and the repugnant Antisemitic hate he represents.”

Andrew Bates, who was recently promoted to White House Senior Deputy Press Secretary and Deputy Assistant to the President, also told Fox News Digital previously that a Washington, D.C., official who repeatedly praised Farrakhan wouldn’t be invited back to the White House. That claim turned out to be false after visitor logs showed she visited the White House at least two more times.

 “In addition to asking them to pray like hell for me — (laughter) — I asked their advice on a bunch of things,” the White House transcript of a Biden campaign stop quotes Biden as saying about the reverends he has met with in Detroit. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, NAACP, and Anthony’s Fellowship Chapel for a comment but did not immediately receive a response.  

Fox News’ Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump said the judge presiding over the NY v. Trump trial, Juan Merchan, can earn back “respect” if he rules to dismiss the case. 

“This case should be dropped by the judge. I think the judge, if he did, that … could gain the respect back. The appellate court has to step in, something has to happen. Think of it, the Republican Party, one of the two great parties, nominates somebody to be their candidate. And that candidate now has been sitting here for almost five weeks in a freezing cold icebox listening to this stuff,” Trump said Monday following a whirlwind day in court. 

“I think the case is going very well. We’ve asked for termination of the case. This case should be terminated. This shouldn’t go anywhere. It should be terminated right now. And New York State has to build up its system again. New York State can’t let this happen. We can’t let this happen. There were no crimes. We did nothing wrong. And I want to get back to campaigning. I’m representing millions and millions, hundreds of millions of people,” Trump later added. 

Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche on Monday motioned for an order of dismissal, citing that there has been no evidence any of the business records or filings related to the case were false. The case itself focuses on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. DA Alvin Bragg’s office must prove to the jury that not only did Trump falsify the business records related to payments to Stormy Daniels, but that he did so in furtherance of another crime – conspiracy to promote or prevent election. 

COHEN’S BOMBSHELL ADMISSION COULD LEAD TO HUNG JURY, IF NOT ACQUITTAL: EXPERT

The prosecution team argues that Trump falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former pornography star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an affair with Trump. Trump has pleaded not guilty in the case and has repeatedly denied any affair with Daniels. 

NY V TRUMP: MICHAEL COHEN ADMITS TO STEALING TENS OF THOUSANDS FROM FORMER PRESIDENT’S BUSINESS

Blanche said there were “absolutely no false business filings” and no evidence of connection to Trump.

“How on earth is keeping a false story from voters criminal?” Blanche said.

“There is no way the court should let this case go to the jury with Mr. Cohen’s testimony,” he added, referring to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen. 

Merchan told the court he would rule on the motion to dismiss at a later time. 

NY V. TRUMP: MICHAEL COHEN TESTIFIES HE’S CONSIDERING CONGRESSIONAL RUN

Monday was another action-packed day in court, including the prosecution team’s star witness, Cohen, admitting in testimony that he stole thousands of dollars from the Trump Organization. 

Cohen said that he stole $30,000 from the Trump Organization by overstating how much he paid a tech company that provided services for the company. Cohen said he told former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg in 2017 that he had paid tech firm Red Finch $50,000 out of his own pocket, and that he still needed to be reimbursed for the payment. 

Weisselberg and Cohen in 2017 calculated a $420,000 repayment to Cohen for his $130,000 payment to Daniels, as well as the alleged $50,000 payment to Red Finch. 

Cohen said Monday before the court, however, that he only paid Red Finch $20,000 – meaning he pocketed $30,000 when he was reimbursed. 

TRUMP SLAMS NY COURT SYSTEM, BOASTS HE’S GOING ‘TO WIN’ EMPIRE STATE

“You stole from the Trump Org, right?” Trump attorney Todd Blanche asked Cohen Wednesday morning. 

“Yes, sir,” Cohen responded. 

Cohen said taking the funds was “almost like self help,” claiming he took the funds because he was “angry” that his yearly bonus had been slashed. 

Legal experts sounded off that Cohen’s admission to stealing has further torpedoed his credibility. The comments Monday come after Cohen had already repeatedly been labeled a “grifter” and liar by legal experts. Cohen is a disbarred attorney who was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 after he pleaded guilty to charges such as campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress.

NY V. TRUMP TO RESUME WITH CONTINUED CROSS-EXAMINATION OF MICHAEL COHEN AS TRIAL NEARS CONCLUSION

Amid his testimony Monday, Cohen also said he’s mulling a potential congressional run, citing he has the “best name recognition out there.”

Cohen was the prosecution team’s final witness, with the defense team now calling their witnesses in the case. The defense team first called Daniel Sitko, a paralegal in Blanche’s law firm, and then Robert Costello, a former legal representative of Cohen who testified before a grand jury last year that Cohen is a “serial liar.” 

The courtroom became tense during Costello’s testimony, with Merchan ordering the media and jurors out of the room after Costello audibly and visibly disapproved of the judge’s rulings sustaining multiple objections from the prosecution team.

“I want to discuss proper decorum in my courtroom,” Merchan said after the jury left. “You don’t say strike it because I’m the only one who can strike it.” 

MICHAEL COHEN ONCE SWORE TRUMP WASN’T INVOLVED IN STORMY DANIELS PAYMENT, HIS EX-ATTORNEY TESTIFIES

Merchan reprimanded Costello to not roll his eyes or react to his rulings. Before the jury came back into the courtroom, Merchan asked Costello: “Are you staring me down?”

Costello will resume his cross-examination testimony Tuesday. Closing arguments in the case are anticipated to be held next Tuesday. 

FLASHBACK: TRUMP-MANHATTAN DA CASE: BOB COSTELLO TESTIFIES TO GRAND JURY, SAYS MICHAEL COHEN IS A ‘SERIAL LIAR’

Trump has consistently maintained his innocence in the case, calling it a “sham” and “witch hunt” promoted by the Biden administration and Department of Justice ahead of the 2024 election. 

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“It’s an attack on [President Biden’s] political opponent. That’s all it is. All of the things you saw over the last four weeks, most of it should have never even been brought up. And then on top of that, there’s no crime. And we go on day after day. And I have to tell Iowa, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t be able to make it.’ I tell New Hampshire, ‘Sorry, I won’t be able to make it. I’m sitting in an ice box all day,'” Trump told the media earlier Monday before day 19 of the trial kicked off. 

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report. 

Republicans in both chambers of Congress are preparing to band together to block any hope of a Democrat-backed border bill getting to the finish line. 

In a letter to senators dated Sunday evening, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., revealed his plan to bring an immigration bill to the floor once again after it was rejected primarily by Senate Republicans in February. 

“We are hopeful this bipartisan proposal will bring serious-minded Republicans back to the table to advance this bipartisan solution for our border,” he wrote. 

DUELING IVF BILLS TAKE CENTER STAGE AS PARTIES BUTT HEADS ON REPRODUCTIVE TECH REGULATION

He noted that he doesn’t expect to get full support from either party, but described the border measure negotiated by Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and James Lankford, R-Okla., as “a tough, serious-minded, and – critically, bipartisan – proposal to secure our border.”

The White House promptly backed Schumer’s plan, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre calling on “every senator to put partisan politics aside and vote to secure the border.”

BALANCE OF POWER: VULNERABLE DEMS LOOK TO DIFFERENTIATE THEMSELVES FROM UNPOPULAR BIDEN

Republicans were quick to push back on the majority leader’s characterization of the bill. “The fake border bill will fail, again, because it does nothing to seriously secure the border – just cement outrageous levels of illegal immigration,” wrote Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. 

“Ironically, some Democrats will vote against it, because even pretending to limit illegal immigration is a step too far for them,” he added. 

The bill failed a test vote in February, by a vote of 49-50, short of the 60 votes needed to proceed. 

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., slammed Democrats reviving the bill as “political theatre.” 

“He thinks this vote will make you think Republicans are to blame for Biden’s border crisis,” he wrote on X. 

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., similarly labeled Schumer’s plan as “kabuki theater.” 

Republicans were quick to reject the negotiated legislation after hearing some of the elements and seeing the bill text, which many described as weak and even counterproductive. 

SEN DURBIN DEMANDS JUSTICE ALITO RECUSE FROM TRUMP CASES AFTER FLYING UPSIDE-DOWN US FLAG

Lankford, who notably helped craft the bill, denounced last week the then-speculation of Schumer bringing the measure back to the floor. “Listen, if we’re going to solve the border issues, it’s not going to by doing competing messaging bills. If we’re going to solve this, let’s sit down like adults and let’s figure out how we’re going to actually resolve this together,” he said in floor remarks.

Lankford was one of only four in his party to vote in favor of moving forward with the negotiated bill in February. It’s unclear if he would support it again. 

His fellow negotiator, Murphy, has led the charge to reconsider the bill. “Republicans don’t care about fixing the border,” he wrote Monday on X. “They want the border a mess because it helps them politically.”

It’s unlikely that the measure will be able to get 60 votes in order to move forward, spelling doom for the bill a second time. But if it were to get past the upper chamber, House Republican leadership made it clear it would be “dead on arrival” in its lower counterpart. 

AOC RIPS FETTERMAN FOR COMPARING HOUSE TO ‘JERRY SPRINGER’ SHOW: ‘I STAND UP TO BULLIES’

In a statement, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Republican conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said, “Leader Schumer is trying give his vulnerable members cover by bringing a vote on a bill which has already failed once in the Senate because it would actually codify many of the disastrous Biden open border policies that created this crisis in the first place.”

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They further highlighted several tougher illegal immigration and border bills that have been passed by the Republican-majority House. “If Senate Democrats were actually serious about solving the problem and ending the border catastrophe, they would bring up H.R. 2 and pass it this week,” they said. 

H.R.2 includes nearly all Republican priorities and has been disregarded by Democratic leaders. Schumer previously remarked that the bill was full of “hard-right border policies” and said it would never be able to pass through Congress. 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene responded to Rep. Jasmine Crockett on Monday for seeking to profit off her dust-up with the Georgia Republican during a chaotic House hearing last week.

Crockett’s campaign filed a trademark application on Sunday for the phrase “bleach blonde bad built butch body,” to be used for hats, hoodies, socks, and t-shirts, among other things, according to a document viewed by Fox News Digital.

“I’m very happy with myself. I turn 50 on Monday, and I’m so excited that I’m still alive and healthy and have done so much in life. And I think no matter what shape, size or how we look, we need to be ourselves, not telling women the only way to be attractive or accepted is to have fake boobs, fake hair, fake lashes, and injected faces,” Greene told Fox News Digital. “I mean, we all wear makeup and do lashes and stuff sometimes, but it’s out of control. Women need a better message for women.”

Tensions ran high at last week’s late night House Oversight Committee meeting to advance a contempt of Congress resolution against Attorney General Merrick Garland.

DOJ WILL NOT TURN OVER BIDEN’S RECORDED INTERVIEW WITH SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR TO CONGRESS

At one point, Crockett criticized Greene’s line of inquiry to fellow Democrats on the committee, to which Greene responded, “I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what you’re reading.”

It prompted a flurry of jeers from Crockett’s fellow Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who forced the panel to vote on whether Greene could speak further. 

Just as Greene was recognized, Crockett asked Comer for clarification, “I’m just curious, just to better understand your ruling, if someone on this committee then starts talking about somebody’s bleach blonde bad built butch body, that would not be engaging in personalities, correct?”

A day later, Crockett announced “A Crockett Clapback Collection” that would “feature various swag that includes random things I’ve said.”

HOUSE GOP THREATENS TO HOLD AG GARLAND IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS OVER RECORDINGS OF BIDEN INTERVIEW IN HUR CASE

“The money will go to ensuring that we have a Democratic House!” she wrote X, formerly Twitter, accompanied by a photo of a male model wearing a black shirt emblazoned with her remarks about Greene.

Greene appeared to indirectly respond with a video of herself on the platform lifting weights, lauding herself as “built and strong.”

Crockett, meanwhile, accused Greene of racism during a recent CNN interview. She mentioned Greene’s comment about her eyelashes.

A spokesperson for Greene said, “The only person who has made this about color is Jasmine Crockett when she attacked MTG’s hair.”

The spokesperson also pointed out that Crockett’s new fundraising venture comes after multiple Democrats accused House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., of fundraising off of that hearing and other committee proceedings.

SEN DURBIN MULLS REVIVING TOOL THAT COULD STYMIE TRUMP NOMINEES IN ANOTHER TERM

At one point, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrat on the committee, said in the hearing, “There is an ethics principle that no solicitation of a campaign or political contribution may be linked to an action taken or to be taken by a member or employee in his or her official capacity. That’s just a reminder to my side. I hope that nobody is linking specific actions that you’re taking on the Oversight Committee to campaign contributions or solicitations.”

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The Greene spokesman accused Democrats of “pure hypocrisy.”

But Crockett’s office responded to Fox News Digital, “The condemnation of Comer’s email was not merely because it referred the Committee, but rather because the content within it that clearly violates ethics rules.”

“In contrast, Rep. Crockett did not engage in an official act merely by saying these six words and one would be hard pressed to find how these six words could be found as one,” Crockett’s office added.

Fox News Digital reached out to Raskin’s office to ask whether his comments extended to Crockett as well. Fox News Digital also reached out to Crockett’s campaign for a response to Greene.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California took a moment in his keynote speech at the Vatican’s Climate Summit last week to jab Donald Trump, accusing the former president of cozying up with big oil companies in what he called “open corruption.”

“And with respect and, forgive me, if this comes off a little too harsh. It’s been said and I’ll repeat it: the polluted heart of the climate crisis are these fossil fuel companies that have been lying to us,” Newsom said in his 10-minute speech Thursday. “They’ve been deceiving us. They’ve known the science. They’ve denied the science. They’ve delayed advancement.”

“And in peril of further alienating some, I have to call this out as well. I don’t want to talk in the paradigm of a political conscience – I mentioned two Republicans, but let me mention one other,” Newsom continued. “Former President Donald Trump, who just last week, I never thought I’d see this. I’ve heard it, but I’ve never seen it. Donald Trump, just last week, had oil executives convening, talking about his election. And he openly asked them for $1 billion to roll back the environmental progress of the Biden administration, the environmental progress that we’ve made over the course of the last half century. Open corruption.”

NEWSOM IGNORING CALIFORNIA CRISES TO PROMOTE HIMSELF IN PRO-ABORTION CAMPAIGN, GOP LAWMAKERS SAY

Newsom’s reference was to a meeting the former president reportedly had at Mar-a-Lago with top oil excecutives, the New York Times reported earlier this month, citing two people who were present at the meeting. 

The Vatican summit, which was spearheaded by Pope Francis in 2022 after he deemed climate change an “ecological sin” caused by human negligence, is organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. According to the academy, so-called climate resilience “requires both cross-disciplinary partnerships among researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs, as well as [transdisciplinary] partnerships between science and community leaders including faith leaders, NGOs, and the public.”

“Mayors and Governors form the core of such transdisciplinary partnerships,” it says on its website.

During Newsom’s speech, he also hailed California as a leading example in its progressive green energy policies, as the state is investing more than $48 billion in climate change initiatives alone, including $10 billion in zero-emission vehicles and chargers.

“California has exceeded its nation-leading environmental goals,” Newsom said. “We’re in the ‘how’ business, and it’s about the power of emulation, proving that we can run the fifth-largest economy, its economic engine, as we change the way we produce and consume energy.”

However, the Golden State will fail to meet its climate change mandates unless it nearly triples its rate of reduction of greenhouse gases through 2030, an analysis in March by Beacon Economics, an L.A.-based economic research firm, reported. Newsom’s office dismissed the report at the time to Fox News Digital and said “we’ll continue proving everybody wrong.”

OUTSPOKEN PRO-ABORTION GOVERNOR GETS SPEAKING SLOT AT VATICAN SUMMIT

Nonetheless, Newsom’s invitation to speak at a prominent Vatican event came as a surprise to many. Newsom, who is Catholic, has touted social progressive policies – often at odds with the Catholic Church’s dogma – in his state since he assumed office in 2019. 

One of those policies was when the blue-state leader made California the first “sanctuary state” in 2022 for transgender children from more restrictive states seeking sex-change surgeries. Meanwhile, the Vatican also formally reaffirmed and expanded on the Catholic Church’s teaching regarding gender theory – which it holds as an inadmissible ideology – asserting that attempts to alter an individual’s immutable gender are ultimately misguided attempts to play God.

But in an interview that aired Sunday, Pope Francis took aim at conservatives opposed to the evolutionary doctrines of the Catholic Church, saying they held a “suicidal attitude” toward it. 

VATICAN PREPARING DOCUMENT ON ‘IMMORAL TENDENCIES’: GENDER THEORY, SURROGACY, AND MORE

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Francis was asked about his controversial comments about LGBTQ individuals and the Vatican’s endorsement of blessings for individuals in same-sex relationships during the “60 Minutes” interview that aired on Sunday. Host Norah O’Donnell asked him if he had a message for conservative bishops in the U.S. who’ve criticized his “efforts to revisit teachings and traditions” in the church.

“You used an adjective, ‘conservative.’ That is, conservative is one who clings to something and does not want to see beyond that,” Francis said. “It is a suicidal attitude. Because one thing is to take tradition into account, to consider situations from the past, but quite another is to be closed up inside a dogmatic box.”

Fox News Digital’s Kristine Parks contributed to this report. 

Pennsylvania may be 1,600 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, but the GOP candidate aiming to flip the crucial Northeast battleground state’s Democratic-held Senate seat from blue to red this fall is spotlighting the combustible issues of border security and immigration.

Republican Dave McCormick claims that a new move by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the chamber, to vote this week on a standalone border policy bill is “the height of cynicism.”

McCormick is challenging longtime Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr. in a high-profile and expensive Senate showdown that is one of a handful across the country that will likely decide whether the GOP wins back the Senate majority.

The GOP Senate nominee, a West Point graduate, Gulf War combat veteran, and former hedge fund executive and Treasury Department official in George W. Bush’s administration, spent the weekend touring the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona.

IT’S GAME ON IN THIS BATTLEGROUND STATE’S CRUCIAL SENATE RACE 

McCormick, in an interview Monday morning on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends,” took aim at President Biden, charging that the situation at the southern border is “a leadership failure that you just can’t believe.”

“I’m on the border at 2 a.m. and about 50 illegal migrants walk across the border. In that group that I saw there’s five or six military-aged men from Syria and there’s a handful of Chinese nationals, just when I was there at 2 in the morning,” McCormick recollected. 

McCormick argued that it’s “a killer on two levels… the cartels are not just in the drug business, they’re in the human trafficking business.”

REPUBLICANS CLAIM CASEY’S SHIFTED HIS STANCE ON BORDER CRISIS

Illegal immigration and border security have long been top of mind for Republican voters, and GOP leaders for over three years have heavily criticized Biden and his administration over the surge in migrant crossings, as well as the smuggling of deadly fentanyl, across the border. The president’s approval rating on handling the border and immigration remains deeply underwater. 

The issue is front and center not only in the rematch between Biden and former President Trump, but it’s also in the spotlight in this year’s battle for the Senate majority.

McCormick returned to Pennsylvania from his trip to the border on Sunday, as Schumer in a letter to fellow senators wrote, “We are hopeful this bipartisan proposal will bring serious-minded Republicans back to the table to advance this bipartisan solution for our border.”

The bipartisan border security bill was negotiated by Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz. The measure went down to defeat earlier this year when most Republicans withdrew their support at the urging of Trump, in an apparent move to prevent Biden from securing a victory on the key campaign issue.

The bill is not expected to pass this time around, with most Republicans, including Lankford, still opposed, as well as a handful of far-left Democrats. The vote appears to be an election-year move by Schumer to paint Republicans as putting campaign politics over policy and unwilling to solve the border crisis.

And House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said if the bill reaches his chamber, it would once again be “dead on arrival.”

SCHUMER SAYS SENATE TO VOTE ON BORDER SECURITY BILL THIS WEEK

McCormick argued that the move by Schumer is “the height of cynicism.”

And he claimed that “the bipartisan legislation that was put forward is in fact essentially giving resources to accelerate the processing of the asylum cases, not to secure the border. And so that’s why I oppose it.”

“Right now, Chuck Schumer and Bob Casey are working to accelerate the resettling of illegal immigrants into our communities, not to secure the border,” McCormick charged.

But Democrats counter that the Border Act would not only reform U.S. asylum laws – by making modifications to parole and asylum provisions – but also lead to the hiring of thousands of border agents.

McCormick, who has repeatedly highlighted border security and immigration as he runs a second straight time for the Senate, claimed, “If Joe Biden and Bob Casey really wanted to do something about the border, they would have done something years ago…. Democrats don’t want to deal with it until it becomes a political challenge, which is where we are now.”

Casey has been a leading voice among Senate Democrats in recent months in urging more action from the White House to deal with the immigration and fentanyl crisis at the southern border.

“In order to meaningfully address the fentanyl crisis, law enforcement officers at our Nation’s borders must be equipped to combat the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs,” Casey and 16 of his Senate colleagues wrote earlier this year in a letter to Biden. “We must also support the law enforcement agencies that are investigating these smuggling and trafficking crimes and working to disrupt the transnational criminal networks that threaten our country and our communities.”

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But the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, pointing to Casey’s voting record in the Senate, has argued that he pushed certain immigration fixes during election years and voted against them in off years – a characterization Casey’s office disputes. 

In a statement earlier this year to Fox News Digital, Maddy McDaniel, communications director for Bob Casey for Senate, said, “Casey has a long record of working to strengthen border security and passing bipartisan legislation to combat fentanyl smuggling across the border.”

McDaniel also charged that “McCormick refused to support a bipartisan bill that was called the ‘toughest border and immigration law in modern history,’ was supported by border patrol and would have cracked down on fentanyl trafficking – that’s why Pennsylvanians know McCormick can’t be trusted.”

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen is mulling a run for Congress. 

The admission came on the witness stand Monday on what is his fourth day of testimony in the NY v. Trump case.

Cohen told the court that he would pursue congressional office because he has the “best name recognition out there.” He did not elaborate if he would run in New York, or if he would run as a Republican or Democrat. 

Trump attorney Todd Blanche pressed Cohen if his name recognition is due to Trump, sparking Cohen to explain that his well-known name is partly due to his work for Trump, but is not because of Trump. 

NY V TRUMP: MICHAEL COHEN ADMITS TO STEALING TENS OF THOUSANDS FROM FORMER PRESIDENT’S BUSINESS

“My name recognition is because of the journey I have been on,” Cohen said. 

His testimony in Manhattan court came amid him also saying that he worked on pitching a TV show about himself, called “The Fixer,” but that it has not yet been picked up by a network. 

Cohen has previously floated a potential congressional run, including earlier this month on his TikTok account when he said he would run as a Democrat, the Washington Post reported.  

TRUMP SLAMS NY COURT SYSTEM, BOASTS HE’S GOING ‘TO WIN’ EMPIRE STATE

“I am interested and there’s a multitude of folks encouraging me to run,” Cohen said of a potential congressional run last year in comments to Semafor. 

He also previously ran as a Republican for New York City Council in the early 2000s, Spectrum News previously reported. A Democrat defeated Cohen in his quest for the seat. 

Cohen is a disbarred attorney who was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 after he pleaded guilty to charges including campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress. Cohen’s testimony in the NY v. Trump case included him detailing last week that he also lied under oath to Judge William H. Pauley, who sentenced him to three years in prison. 

NY V. TRUMP TO RESUME WITH CONTINUED CROSS-EXAMINATION OF MICHAEL COHEN AS TRIAL NEARS CONCLUSION

Cohen has been slammed as a “grifter” by some critics and legal experts. Last week, ​​a lawyer who formerly advised Cohen, Robert Costello, testified before Congress that Cohen is a serial liar.

NY V TRUMP: AS ‘STAR WITNESS’ MICHAEL COHEN TESTIFIES, TRUMP ALLIES FLOCK TO COURT TO ‘SUPPORT THEIR FRIEND’

NY v. Trump focuses on the prosecution team trying to prove Trump falsified business records 34 times to conceal a $130,000 payment to former pornography star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an affair with Trump. Trump has pleaded not guilty in the case and has repeatedly denied any affair with Daniels. 

BIDEN MOCKED FOR APPARENT SMALL SHOWING OF SUPPORTERS IN DEM CITY: ‘NOBODY CARED’

Trump briefly addressed the media on Monday morning – when court started nearly an hour earlier than it’s typical 9:30 a.m. start time – where he slammed the case as one promoted by the Biden administration and Department of Justice ahead of the 2024 election, and lamented that the trial has kept him from the campaign trail. 

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“It’s an attack on [President Biden’s] political opponent. That’s all it is. All of the things you saw over the last four weeks, most of it should have never even been brought up. And then on top of that, there’s no crime. And we go on day after day. And I have to tell Iowa, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t be able to make it.’ I tell New Hampshire, ‘Sorry, I won’t be able to make it. I’m sitting in an ice box all day,'” he said. 

Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen admitted in testimony Monday that he stole thousands of dollars from the Trump Organization by overstating how much he paid a tech company that provided services for the Trump Organization. 

“You stole from the Trump Org, right?” Trump attorney Todd Blanche asked Cohen Wednesday morning. 

“Yes, sir,” Cohen responded. 

The testimony stems from his comments last week, when he detailed to the court that he and former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg calculated a $420,000 repayment to Cohen for his $130,000 payment to former pornography star Stormy Daniels. Cohen’s payment to Daniels came ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. 

TRUMP SLAMS NY COURT SYSTEM, BOASTS HE’S GOING ‘TO WIN’ EMPIRE STATE

Cohen previously testified that the repayment was “grossed up” to prevent him from taking a tax hit, and also included reimbursement for paying tech company Red Finch an alleged $50,000. 

NY V. TRUMP TO RESUME WITH CONTINUED CROSS-EXAMINATION OF MICHAEL COHEN AS TRIAL NEARS CONCLUSION

Cohen testified Monday that he went to TD Bank and withdrew cash over a couple of days to pay Red Finch for its services, which he stored in a brown paper bag. The cash ultimately totaled about $20,000, which he gave to Red Finch’s CEO, according to Cohen, but he said he never gave the company the total $50,000. 

During a 2017 meeting on the repayment plan, Cohen said he told Weisselberg he paid Red Finch $50,000 – meaning he pocketed a $30,000 difference. 

NY V TRUMP: AS ‘STAR WITNESS’ MICHAEL COHEN TESTIFIES, TRUMP ALLIES FLOCK TO COURT TO ‘SUPPORT THEIR FRIEND’

“You lied to Weisselberg about how much you needed for Red Finch?” Blanche asked Cohen, and Cohen confirmed he had. 

He testified that the Trump Organization thought he paid the full amount, for which he was still reimbursed despite not having actually paid it.

“Have you paid back the Trump Organization for the money you stole from them?” Blanche also asked Monday.

“No, sir,” Cohen responded.

BIDEN MOCKED FOR APPARENT SMALL SHOWING OF SUPPORTERS IN DEM CITY: ‘NOBODY CARED’

Cohen’s testimony marks the fourth day he has taken the stand. Trump’s legal team last week said they anticipated wrapping up cross-examination with Cohen on Monday. Closing arguments for the case are anticipated next Tuesday, following the Memorial Day holiday. 

Cohen’s testimony last week included him describing that he used his personal funds to pay Daniels in 2016 through a home equity line of credit. Cohen testified he did this because Trump told him to “handle it” because the story could be damaging to the campaign. 

Trump has pleaded not guilty in the case, and has also repeatedly denied ever having an affair with Stormy Daniels. 

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Last week, ​​a lawyer who formerly advised Cohen, Robert Costello, testified before Congress that Cohen is a serial liar. Costello testified before Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s grand jury in March, before Trump was indicted, and recalled interactions with Cohen. 

Fox News Digital’s Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report. 

President Biden appeared to claim he was vice president during the coronavirus pandemic and that former President Barack Obama had dispatched him to Detroit to help with the response.

In comments first reported by the New York Post, Biden addressed an NAACP campaign event in Michigan Sunday night, where he repeatedly railed against his presumptive Republican opponent, former President Trump, while offering an aside about the contagion – which began in 2019 while the latter was in office.

“When I was vice president, things were kind of bad during the pandemic,” Biden said near the beginning of his remarks.

“And, what happened was Barack said to me: Go to Detroit – help fix it.”

BIDEN BIZARRELY ENDS CONNECTICUT SPEECH WITH ‘GOD SAVE THE QUEEN, MAN’

Going on to reference Detroit Democratic Mayor Mike Duggan, who was seated to Biden’s right, the president continued, “Well, the poor mayor – he’s spent more time with me than he ever thought he’s going to have to.”

Duggan then rose and shook Biden’s hand.

The pandemic, numbered COVID-19 due to global health officials having deemed it an outbreak in 2019, transpired in the latter years of Trump’s term, not Obama’s. Biden succeeded Trump during the denouement of the pandemic.

Elsewhere in the speech, Biden referenced working with civil rights activists in his youth, and quipped that Detroit helped “put food on” his family’s table, as his father, Joseph Biden Sr., was in the automobile business.

BIDEN DROPS EMBARRASSING GAFFES DAYS AFTER LIBERAL MEDIA HYPES SOTU PERFORMANCE

Reserving much of his remarks for criticism of Trump, Biden claimed at one juncture that “MAGA Republicans” want to engage in book-banning and other endeavors he described as extremist.

“All that progress is at risk. Trump is trying to make the country forget just how dark things were… when he was president,” Biden said.

“We will never forget him lying about how serious the pandemic was, telling Americans ‘just inject bleach’ – I think that’s what he did. I think that’s why he’s so screwy.”

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In another jab, Biden warned against his predecessor potentially nominating more justices to the Supreme Court: “Do you think he’ll put anybody [there] who has a brain?”

“It’s clear when he lost in 2020, and I mean this sincerely: something snapped in Trump. He just can’t accept he lost… That’s why January 6 happened.”

A mid-April Fox News Poll in Michigan found 46% of registered voters there support Biden, while 49% support Trump. Trump gained two percentage points in that survey over a similar one conducted in February. Two years prior, Biden led Trump by eight percentage points in the Great Lakes State.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response by press time.

Former President Donald Trump ripped the New York justice system in comments ahead of court Monday, while touting that he believes he can win the historically blue Empire State this election cycle. 

“The criminal justice system is on trial in New York,'” Trump said Monday morning, reading an excerpt from legal expert and lawyer Alan Dershowitz. He then added: “I love this state. I love the people of the state. I’m running hard in New York,” Trump said Monday morning. 

“I think we’re going to win New York,” he said. 

Trump also cited other cases he’s faced in the state while slamming the court system as “corrupt.” 

TRUMP WARNS TROUBLE BREWING WITH STRENGTHENED RUSSIA-CHINA TIES AS HE’S STUCK IN ‘ICEBOX’ COURTROOM

BIDEN MOCKED FOR APPARENT SMALL SHOWING OF SUPPORTERS IN DEM CITY: ‘NOBODY CARED’

Trump is back in Manhattan for his 19th day in court, where his former attorney Michael Cohen faces ongoing cross-examination. The case focuses on the prosecution team trying to prove Trump falsified business records 34 times to conceal a $130,000 payment to former pornography star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an affair with Trump. 

Trump has pleaded not guilty in the case and has maintained his innocence. 

Trump’s legal team said last week they expect to wrap up questioning with Cohen early Monday morning. Closing arguments could begin as early as Tuesday. 

Trump’s remarks Monday morning included lamenting that the court’s earlier than typical start time – which began at 8:45 a.m. as opposed to its usual 9:30 a.m. start – which he said prevented him from campaign obligations. 

NY V. TRUMP TO RESUME WITH CONTINUED CROSS-EXAMINATION OF MICHAEL COHEN AS TRIAL NEARS CONCLUSION

“I’m here instead of campaigning. As you know, I was supposed to be in a very different state this morning, and the judge actually decided to call it early. And yet it looks like we’re going have a very big gap between days, and it’s going to be determined right now in court. But we’re here about an hour early today. I was supposed to be making a speech for political purposes. And I’m not allowed to have anything to do with politics because I’m sitting in a very freezing cold courtroom for the last four weeks. It’s very unfair,” Trump said. 

Trump also slammed the case again as a political attack against him at the hands of the Biden administration. 

“It’s an attack on [President Biden’s] political opponent. That’s all it is. All of the things you saw over the last four weeks, most of it should have never even been brought up. And then on top of that, there’s no crime. And we go on day after day. And I have to tell Iowa, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t be able to make it.’ I tell New Hampshire, ‘Sorry, I won’t be able to make it. I’m sitting in an ice box all day,'” he said. 

The 45th president has largely been kept away from the campaign trail amid the trial, as he’s required to be in court four days a week unless presiding Judge Juan Merchan made a rare exception, such as on Friday when Trump attended his son Barron’s high school graduation. Trump has made a few campaign stops since last month, including holding a rally that has been described as historic in deep blue New Jersey. At least 80,000 supporters joined Trump on the beaches of Wildwood last weekend for a rally. 

NY V TRUMP: AS ‘STAR WITNESS’ MICHAEL COHEN TESTIFIES, TRUMP ALLIES FLOCK TO COURT TO ‘SUPPORT THEIR FRIEND’

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He is expected to hold his next rally in the Bronx, another historically deep blue area, which will be his first New York rally since 2016. Trump has also repeatedly floated holding a rally at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan ahead of the election. 

Former President Trump’s criminal trial is expected to resume Monday with Michael Cohen on the stand for the third day of cross-examination by defense attorneys. 

Cohen, who previously served as Trump’s lawyer and described himself as the former president’s “fixer,” is set to take the stand again at 9:30 a.m. Monday in Lower Manhattan. 

NY V TRUMP: AS ‘STAR WITNESS’ MICHAEL COHEN TESTIFIES, TRUMP ALLIES FLOCK TO COURT TO ‘SUPPORT THEIR FRIEND’

Cohen, who is said to be Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s “star witness,” first took the stand last week, answering questions from New York prosecutors as they seek to make their case against the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee. 

Prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump falsified business records 34 times to conceal a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, a pornographic performer, in the lead-up to the 2016 election to silence her about an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and maintains his innocence. 

“I didn’t violate any law,” Trump said after court on Thursday. “This is a scam.” 

Trump’s defense attorney, Todd Blanche, began his cross-examination of Cohen on Tuesday, which continued through the day Thursday. Court did not meet Friday so the former president could attend his youngest son Barron Trump’s high school graduation in Palm Beach, Florida.

MICHAEL COHEN ONCE SWORE TRUMP WASN’T INVOLVED IN STORMY DANIELS PAYMENT, HIS EX-ATTORNEY TESTIFIES

Court does not meet on Wednesdays. 

So far, Cohen has testified that he personally made the $130,000 payment to Daniels using a home equity line of credit in an effort to conceal the payment from his wife. Cohen said he did this because Trump told him to “handle it” and prevent a negative story from coming out ahead of the election. 

Cohen testified that he was “reimbursed $420,000” for the $130,000 he paid to Daniels. Cohen said former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg suggested he “gross up” the payments and claimed that Trump knew the details of that reimbursement. 

The prosecution presented Cohen with 11 checks totaling $420,000. Cohen confirmed that they were all received and deposited. The checks had a description of a “retainer,” which Cohen said was false. 

Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche was able to get Cohen to testify about the non-disclosure agreement signed by Daniels in October 2016. 

Cohen confirmed that the contract, which Trump never signed, was lawful, and he admitted that non-disclosure agreements are not unusual. The contract was signed using pseudonyms.

Cohen also testified that he sent statements to reporters declaring that Trump was not a party to the Daniels payment. 

Blanche also has highlighted Cohen’s history of lying under oath dating back to 2017, including to Congress about a Trump Tower Moscow project and federal investigators from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office.

Under oath last October, Cohen said he lied under oath more than once in front of Judge William H. Pauley, who sentenced Cohen to three years in prison in 2018 after he pleaded guilty to charges that included campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress.

Cohen agreed again Thursday that he did indeed lie under oath to Pauley. 

Blanche’s questioning also led Cohen to admit that he believes he shouldn’t have been charged with some federal crimes in 2018, including tax evasion, related to his investments in New York City taxi medallions.

“You felt that you did not engage in tax fraud, but you had to plead guilty to protect your wife and family?” Blanche asked.

“Correct,” Cohen responded.

Blanche also said Cohen lied about speaking to Trump on Oct. 24, 2016. Cohen claimed he spoke to then-candidate Trump about the Daniels payment. 

MICHAEL COHEN TESTIFIES HE SECRETLY RECORDED TRUMP IN LEAD-UP TO 2016 ELECTION

Blanche again accused Cohen of lying and insists he never spoke with Trump that day.

Cohen responded, “I always ran everything by the boss immediately.”

“That was a lie, you did not talk to President Trump,” Blanche said.

“I’m not certain that’s accurate,” Cohen responded. 

Cohen maintains, based on the records that he was able to review, that he spoke with Trump’s former bodyguard Keith Schiller – but also believes he spoke with Trump about the Daniels deal.

“We’re not asking what you believe,” Blanche responded.

Cohen also admitted that he “took some credit” for Bragg’s indictment of Trump last year, which led to the historic and unprecedented criminal trial of a former U.S. president. 

Blanche played a clip in court of Cohen saying during a 2020 podcast interview, “I absolutely hope he ends up in prison…”

Asked by Blanche whether he believes he played a role in Trump’s indictment from New York prosecutors, Cohen responded, “I took some credit.”

Cohen also testified that he wanted to be considered for a top role in the Trump administration, like attorney general or chief of staff, for “ego purposes.” 

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Blanche said the defense expects to wrap up cross-examination on Monday. Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger said she will have less than an hour on redirect questioning of Cohen. 

The defense anticipates reaching a decision on other witnesses soon, and said it’s reasonable that they could “get on and off” the stand on Monday.

It is unclear, at this point, if Trump will testify in his own defense. 

When President Biden said that Americans can “buy any kind of car they want,” he failed to factor in new emissions standards his administration is putting in place that will reduce consumer choice, industry experts say.

During a speech delivered on Tuesday outside the Rose Garden, Biden focused on protecting U.S. jobs from unfair foreign trade practices and promised to not allow China to control the market for internal combustion engines or electric vehicles (EVs).

“I want to make this clear, notwithstanding what the other guy is saying – can buy any kind of car they want… but we’re never going to allow China to unfairly control the market for these cars, period,” he said, as “the other guy” appeared to be a reference to former President Trump, who made waves for predicting an auto industry “bloodbath” if Democrats continue their EV push.

Geoff Moody is senior vice president of American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), a trade association representing companies like Chevron, ExxonMobil, Koch and others. He said that Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation “is functionally a ban on sales of most new gas cars by 2032.”

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“The policy is going to both limit the availability of new gas cars and push the cost of remaining gasoline-powered vehicles out of reach for most Americans,” he said, adding that EPA compliance scenarios he has viewed project new internal-combustion-engine car sales to fall drastically from 84% at present to below 30% in 2032.

“The whole point of the rule is to push American drivers toward electric vehicles by limiting their other options,” Moody said.

American Petroleum Institute executive Will Hupman echoed some of that sentiment, predicting that it could effectively eliminate most new gas-powered vehicles in the future. 

In April, Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. launched an effort to stymie the new restrictions via the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to make an expedited attempt to invalidate new agency rules. 

Marshall told Fox News Digital on Thursday the president’s comment sounded like a “political-showboating” response to such objections.

“Now that he’s facing backlash, Biden is trying to walk back his irresponsible EV mandates that drive American jobs and our auto-manufacturing overseas,” Marshall said. “He hopes he can buy some political goodwill from the unions by flip-flopping on these tariffs while simultaneously stabbing them in the back with unrealistic goals of an all-electric transportation system.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, who co-sponsored a similar effort, told Fox News Digital the president is either “being dishonest or he is unaware that his administration has been hijacked by far-left extremists trying to regulate combustion engines out of existence by finalizing regulations that amount to an EV mandate.”

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Sullivan, whose state has pushed back often against many Biden-era environmental rules, added that if Biden remains serious about a transition to electric vehicles, then he should reverse an administration move that restricted access to the Last Frontier’s Ambler Mining District, where rare earth minerals required for EV batteries can be extracted.

“The United States desperately needs [those minerals] not only if the president wants companies to build more EVs, but for important defense projects,” Sullivan said, arguing against continuing to import them instead.

While Biden’s EPA’s emissions standards do not constitute a blanket prohibition on internal combustion engines, automobile and fossil fuel trade organizations claim that to them, they may as well have.

Delving into the specifics of the new regulations, the AFPM wrote in a fact sheet that the average car tailpipe emission would have to be 85 grams per mile, which it described as unrealistic. It claimed that under a carbon credit-based system within the new rules, not every buyer who wants a new gas-powered car can get one if a dealer has not sold enough EVs.

When asked about Biden’s comments and consumer choice concerns in regard to the new mandates, a spokesperson for General Motors said it is continuing to grow its electric vehicle fleet while retaining a broad suite of gas-powered options for customers.

The spokesperson also called it “challenging.”

“The flatter curve approach will allow for the continued development of the EV market and the necessary support like infrastructure and supply chain. We are still awaiting final rules from the Department of Transportation on CAFE regulation[s] to fully understand how [they] will impact our portfolio of products.”

The EPA pushed back on the criticisms and characterizations of its new standards, telling Fox News Digital the new rules actually expand consumer choice and pass on cost savings to drivers in the area of $62 billion worth of reduced yearly fuel and maintenance costs.

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“By encouraging continued development of more efficient vehicles, EPA’s standards are also projected to save Americans on average about $6,000 over the lifetime of a new model year 2032 light-duty vehicle, compared to a vehicle meeting the 2026 standards, by accelerating adoption of technologies that reduce fuel and maintenance costs as well as pollution,” an EPA spokesperson said. They denied the new regulations constitute a mandatory transition from internal combustion to electric power.

A White House spokesperson echoed much of the EPA’s sentiment, telling Fox News Digital that 
Biden is “investing in a future that is made in America by American workers as we position the United States to lead the clean energy future.” They credited the Inflation Reduction Act with making electric cars more affordable and claimed more American drivers are purchasing EV cars every day.

Several congressional Democrats who publicly voiced support for Biden’s new regulations did not return requests for comment on the president’s recent remarks.

The U.S. Senate will once again vote on a bipartisan border security bill this week after previous efforts collapsed when Republicans withdrew their support, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a letter to colleagues Sunday. 

In the letter, Schumer said the Border Act had received endorsements from the likes of the National Border Patrol Council and that congressional Republicans and Democrats alike were “prepared to join arms and act to secure our nation’s border.” 

Schumer took shots at his Republican colleagues, who he accused of acquiescing to former President Trump after he “demanded [that] congressional Republicans kill the legislation.”

He said Democrats’ commitment to act “never waned.”

RUBIO BACKS DEPORTATION PLAN, REVERSING PREVIOUS STATEMENTS: ‘INVASION OF THE COUNTRY’

“That is why the Senate is prepared to take up the bipartisan Border Act as a standalone measure this coming week,” Schumer said. “We are hopeful this bipartisan proposal will bring serious-minded Republicans back to the table to advance this bipartisan solution for our border.” 

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The Border Act would reform U.S. asylum laws, hire thousands of border agents and seek to curtail fentanyl smuggling, among other measures, the Democrat leader said.

The previous legislation, which was tied to U.S. foreign aid for Ukraine and Israel, stalled in the Senate after Trump told Republicans not to support it. The bill to be voted on this week would stand alone, Schumer said.

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Record numbers of migrants have been caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border since President Biden took office in 2021, and border security has become one of the leading issues in the presidential campaign.

Trump is seeking to return to office by challenging Biden in the Nov. 5 election.

Reuters contributed to this report.

House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., on Sunday defended a recent speech she delivered to the Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem, torching President Biden’s “betrayal of the importance of the U.S.-Israel alliance.” 

Stefanik, who is meeting with Israeli leaders at the same time Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan is also visiting Jerusalem, appeared on “Fox News Sunday” after speaking at the parliament building. Fox News host Shannon Bream asked the third-highest ranking House Republican if the concept broadly adopted in the 1940s of leaving partisan politics at the water’s edge and minority leaders refraining from criticizing a sitting American president while abroad was now “out the door.” 

But the congresswoman, reportedly on former President Trump’s 2024 VP shortlist, shot back that she had been “invited to talk about my work when it comes to combating antisemitism and my strong record when it comes to U.S./Israel support.” 

“The world needs to know, and Israel needs to know, that the House Republican majority stands strongly with Israel,” Stefanik said. “That this equivocation, this weak, failed leadership that we are seeing from Joe Biden, that’s not where the American people are, that’s not where the United States Congress is. And it’s not reflective of the legislation that we passed that Joe Biden signed into law. So, it is important for the world to hear. The world is looking for moral leadership, Shannon. And it’s important that House Republicans step up to fill that void, which we have under Speaker Johnson’s leadership.” 

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Stefanik said the main focus of her speech “was that the American people stand strongly with Israel, as do House Republicans,” referencing how on Thursday the House passed legislation that rebuked Biden for pausing a shipment of bombs to Israel, seeking to force the weapons transfer. 

Debate over the bill showed Washington’s deeply fractured outlook on the Israel-Hamas war. The White House and Democratic leadership scrambled to rally support from a House caucus that ranges from moderates frustrated that the president would allow any daylight between the U.S. and Israel to progressives outraged that he is still sending any weapons at all. The bill passed comfortably 224-187 as 16 Democrats joined with most Republicans to vote in favor. Three Republicans voted against it.

“You’ve had equivocation after equivocation from Democrats, led by Joe Biden, or whether it’s Chuck Schumer calling for a new leader replacing Prime Minister Netanyahu, that is not the place – that is not the type of leadership we need to be seeing from the highest levels of the United States of America,” Stefanik said. “And that’s one of the focuses that I had today in my speech at the Knesset, that House Republicans stand strongly with Israel at their time of existential need.”

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“Oct. 7 was the bloodiest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” she added. “We want to make sure Israel has all the resources, no equivocation that it comes to eradicating Hamas.” 

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Amid concern that tens of thousands of people have been injured and killed in Gaza, Bream noted that Amnesty International sounded the alarm that U.S. weapons are being used in violation of international and U.S. laws. Stefanik, in response, said Hamas uses civilians as shields, while “Israel has great respect when it comes to human rights” and “that’s why the United States stands fully with Israel, and that’s why they need to be a voice of truth, as those antisemitic propaganda are being shared around the world and being shared by perpetrators who support this terrorism.” 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla, shifted gears from his previous stance on former President Trump’s deportation plans, which he had panned as “not a workable plan.”

“Yes,” Rubio said during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, where he was asked whether he supports Trump’s plan to use the military to deport illegal immigrants from the country. “We cannot absorb 25, 30 million people who entered this country illegally. They’re here illegally, what country on earth could tolerate that?” 

The comments were seemingly in stark contrast to Rubio’s previous stance on the issue, most notably as a primary rival of Trump’s in 2015. Then, Rubio was critical of the Trump plan to round up and deport the millions of illegal immigrants living in the United States.

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“We have 12 or 13 million human beings who have been here for a long time. There’s not really a realistic way of rounding up and deporting 12 or 13 million people and our nation wouldn’t want to do that anyway. It does need to be addressed and it does need to be addressed in a series of manners; we’re not going to be able to do it in one big piece of legislation – we learned that two years ago, the last time we tried,” Rubio said while campaigning in Iowa in 2015, according to a report from Politico.

Trump has vowed to implement a plan of mass deportation if he wins November’s election, promising last month to use the National Guard if needed to deport illegal immigrants from the country.

Rubio acknowledged that there were millions more people in the country today compared to when he gave the NBC interview, but argued that the dangers of the U.S. being unable to properly vet the flow of incoming migrants justified “dramatic” action.

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“We’re going to have to do something dramatic to remove people from this country that are here illegally, especially people we know nothing about,” Rubio said.

Asked why his stance has changed since campaigning against Trump nearly a decade ago, Rubio argued that the situation itself has changed since then.

“When I said that back in 2013 when I was involved in immigration reform, we had 11, 12 million people that had been here for longer than a decade, now we’ve had almost that number in the last three years alone,” Rubio said, noting that he believes some of those who have entered the country more recently could include “terrorists.”

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“This is not immigration, this is mass migration,” Rubio said. “This is an invasion of the country.”

Rubio’s office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.