NationalWatch

President Biden plans to kick off this year’s G-7 summit in Italy by signing a 10-year security agreement between the U.S. and Ukraine, the White House said.

Biden will sign the document alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The deal will ensure the U.S. continues to provide Ukraine with military equipment and weapons as the country continues to fend off Russian invasion.

The deal would not be binding once Biden leaves office, however, and former President Trump would be able to reverse the deal if he is elected in November.

“We want to demonstrate that the U.S. supports the people of Ukraine, that we stand with them, and that we’ll continue to help address their security needs not just tomorrow but out into the future,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters on Air Force One.

PUTIN’S FLEET OF WARSHIPS IN CUBA IS DIRECT WARNING TO BIDEN, EXPERTS SAY

President Biden, right, plans to kick off this year’s G-7 summit in Italy by signing a 10-year security agreement between the U.S. and Ukraine. (AP/Evan Vucci)

“If Vladimir Putin thinks that he can outlast the coalition supporting Ukraine, he’s wrong,” Sullivan added.

Republicans on Capitol Hill have grown increasingly skeptical of America’s continued funding for Ukraine. Several have called for more scrutiny of how the funds are being spent, while others have called for funding to be cut off entirely.

Trump himself has also demanded that Europe step up its support for Ukraine, lessening the load on the U.S.

“Why can’t Europe equalize or match the money put in by the United States of America in order to help a country in desperate need?” Trump wrote in April.

Former President Trump has demanded that Europe take a larger role in funding Ukraine’s defense against Russia. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)

He clarified that Ukraine’s “survival and strength” was important to the U.S. but that it should be of greater concern to Europe.

2 ARRESTED IN GERMANY FOR ALLEGED PLOT TO SABOTAGE US MILITARY FACILITIES ON BEHALF OF RUSSIA

“GET MOVING EUROPE!” Trump added. “In addition, I am the only one who speaks for ‘ME’ and, while it is a total mess caused by Crooked Joe Biden and the Incompetent Democrats, if I were President, this War would have never started!”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed security agreements with some 15 countries, including the U.S. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Russia invaded Ukraine in late February 2022. In the immediate months following, Ukraine saw widespread support from Western allies. However, that support has waned as the war drags on with no clear victory in sight.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Biden and Zelenskyy will hold a joint press conference after signing the deal Thursday.

Hillary Clinton on Wednesday endorsed the Democratic challenger running against vulnerable progressive Squad member Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., in a competitive House primary in New York. 

In a post on X, Clinton threw her support behind Westchester County Executive George Latimer. 

“With Trump on the ballot, we need strong, principled Democrats in Congress more than ever. In Congress, @LatimerforNY will protect abortion rights, stand up to the NRA, and fight for President Biden’s agenda—just like he’s always done,” she wrote. “Make a plan to vote by June 25th!” 

In response to Clinton’s backing, Latimer said, “Her voice gives even more momentum to our grassroots campaign, which keeps gaining strength because we stand strongly and honestly for our values and for our belief in delivering meaningful results for the communities we serve,” Politico reported. 

AOC SLAMMED FOR SAYING ‘FALSE ACCUSATIONS’ OF ANTISEMITISM ARE ‘WIELDED AGAINST PEOPLE OF COLOR’

Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks on stage during Vital Voices 3rd Annual Global Festival on May 30, 2024 in Washington, DC.  (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Vital Voices Global Partnership)

The endorsement came despite Bowman earlier in the day raising racism allegations against Latimer during an interview with Politico conducted in suburban Mount Vernon, N.Y.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-NY, speaks during a hearing with subcommittee members of the House Education and the Workforce committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on May 8, 2024, in Washington, DC.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

‘SQUAD’ MEMBER DEFENDS ‘RIVER TO THE SEA’ PHRASE INTERPRETED AS CALLING FOR ‘EXTERMINATION’ OF JEWS

“He’s in the pocket of Republican billionaires who want to take our voting rights, our reproductive rights, affirmative action and who are racist,” Bowman reportedly told Politico of Latimer. “And he also is not just anti-Black racist, he’s anti-Muslim racist.”

During a debate hosted by Spectrum-News Tuesday, Latimer accused Bowman of neglecting residents in parts of Westchester County and the Bronx who are White or Asian. 

Westchester County Executive George Latimer is running in the Democratic primary against incumbent Rep. Jamaal Bowman.  (Westchester County )

“You don’t mention people who are not Black or brown. There’s a whole district, Jamaal, that you’ve ignored and the district knows you’ve ignored it,” Latimer said. 

The primary face-off in New York’s 16th Congressional District comes amid divisions within the Democratic Party, as far-left progressives staunchly oppose Israel’s war in Gaza launched in response to the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas militants. Latimer receives backing from the pro-Israel AIPAC, and Latimer’s supporters have accused Bowman of trafficking anti-Semitic tropes and conspiracy theories. 

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Bowman, competing for a third term, is supported in the race by fellow Democratic “Squad” members, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York. High-profile Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., also are backing Bowman.

FIRST ON FOX: President Biden’s re-election campaign is attempting to set the narrative surrounding former President Trump’s business experience as the latter preps to sway leaders of the nation’s top companies during an event with major CEOs later Thursday.

Fox Business host Larry Kudlow will interview Trump before nearly 100 CEOs at the highly anticipated Business Roundtable event in Washington, D.C., where the former president will try to win over their support less than five months from the November general election, likely touting his decades of experience leading a major company.

Team Biden, however, wants those business leaders to view a different side of Trump that they say is evidenced by that very experience.

BIDEN TAKES HEAT FROM SWING STATE DEMOCRAT OVER HIGH GAS PRICES PLAGUING CONSTITUENTS: ‘DISAPPOINTING’

Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. (Getty Images)

“Donald Trump couldn’t run a lemonade stand, let alone our country. He is a fraud, a crook, and a failed businessman and president who left America in economic ruin,” Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer told Fox News Digital ahead of the event. 

“Donald Trump’s chaos hurt workers, small businesses, and families across America. The choice is clear: Joe Biden has created a booming economy for all Americans, with rising wages, more than 15 million new jobs, and stock market highs, and is building an economy for the future,” he added.

The campaign pointed to Trump’s various casino and hotel bankruptcies, as well as a number of other failed business ventures, such as his airline and university. It also argued his proposed policies relating to the economy and inflation would hurt Americans, citing commentary from some experts.

EXCLUSIVE: WAR VETERAN SAM BROWN VOWS TO DELIVER FOR AMERICANS ‘CRUSHED’ BY BIDEN’S POLICIES AFTER MAJOR WIN

A sign marks the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino May 8, 2004 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. (Craig Allen/Getty Images)

In arguing for Biden as an alternative to Trump, the campaign pointed to the unemployment rate being at near-historic lows and rising wages, although real wages do remain lower than when the president took office. 

The campaign cited lower inflation rates, which are down from historic highs earlier in his presidency, and a reduction in overall violent crime rates across the country. It also touted the creation of more than 15 million jobs, although many of those jobs were in place under the Trump administration and reappeared as businesses reopened following the pandemic.

Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt hit back at the attack, blasting Biden’s campaign for continuing “to deny that inflation is hurting the American people, proving how out of touch Joe Biden is with reality.”

“Biden has done nothing but make life more expensive, and he’s offering zero solutions to bring down the cost of living — as a matter of fact, Biden has doubled down on his plan to raise taxes and take MORE money from working families,” she told Fox.

WATCH: TRUMP RALLYGOERS REVEAL WHO THEY WANT AS VICE PRESIDENT

Trump Plaza neon sign in front of casino in Atlantic City, NJ (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

“President Trump built a billion-dollar real estate empire and employed thousands of people before creating the greatest economy in history as the 45th President of the United States with no inflation, cheap gas, and record-low unemployment, interest, and mortgage rates,” she said. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“President Trump is the businessman and strong leader that we need to end Joe Biden’s nightmare economy and make America wealthy again — and that’s one of the many reasons why President Trump is crushing Joe Biden in the polls,” she added.

White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients is expected to speak at the roundtable on behalf of Biden since the president departed for Italy to attend the G7 Summit on Wednesday, Axios reported.

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

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump made history in 2016 when, as a presidential candidate, he issued an initial list of 11 people he would use as a “guide” for potential Supreme Court nominees, to allay concerns he would not choose conservative judges. He added to those lists while president, which included his three high court candidates: Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

He was the first major presidential candidate to telegraph his political strategy so clearly on a tea-leaves topic that is fraught with uncertainty.

Sources close to the presumptive GOP nominee say he again plans to release a similar list in coming weeks or months. As he did eight years ago, Trump will be emphatic, saying he would only choose from the new slates of candidates if there is a Supreme Court vacancy.

As he did during his first election campaign and as president, Trump has been consulting with conservative legal voices, including those from the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation. He has also spoken with GOP members of Congress to seek their input, say sources close to the former president.

TRUMP ENDORSEMENT IN BATTLEGROUND STATE ANOTHER VICTORY FOR SENATE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN CHAIR

Former President Trump gives a speech in Las Vegas. (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The level of serious consideration for any individual candidate remains a highly flexible, amorphous standard, given Trump’s reputation for shifting political views and strategies.

Trump’s large number of federal judicial appointments (245) in his first term would give him a deep bench of candidates to possibly serve on the Supreme Court, including a number who clerked for Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh as well as the late Antonin Scalia.

Sources say that professional pedigree would be an important factor to Trump, since all three of his high court picks also clerked there (Gorsuch and Kavanaugh for Justice Anthony Kennedy, Barrett for Scalia). 

What follows is an unofficial list of potential candidates for the Supreme Court by Trump. It was compiled from a number of sources, including officials within his inner circle, and Republican political and legal circles.

His team is still compiling a public list that remains in flux, but these are some of the names being considered: 

TRUMP PLEDGES TO ELIMINATE TAXES ON TIPS FOR SERVICE WORKERS DURING LAS VEGAS RALLY

Former President Trump gives a speech at a rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Judge Amul Thapar, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, chambers in Covington, Kentucky

Born 1969. Thapar was the first federal district court judge of South Asian descent, whose family emigrated from India. Trump interviewed him personally in 2017 for the Scalia vacancy while still a district judge, then became the president’s second judicial pick when elevated to the appeals court. He was later interviewed by the president for the 2018 high court seat filled by Kavanaugh. Thapar would have the enthusiastic support of his home state senator, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Thapar was previously a U.S. attorney.

Judge James Ho, 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Dallas

Born 1973. A former Justice Thomas law clerk and former Texas solicitor general, Ho was appointed to the federal bench in 2018. Born in Taiwan, his parents immigrated to California when he was a child. If nominated, he would be the first Asian-American justice. In October remarks at the Heritage Foundation, Ho urged his conservative bench colleagues to “get comfortable” with criticism over their rulings, speaking out against “fair-weather originalism” over that judicial philosophy.

Judge Gregory Katsas, D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Washington

Born 1964. Add him to the list of onetime Justice Thomas law clerks who could make a Supreme Court short list. A former Trump White House deputy counsel, he was appointed to the high-profile appeals court in 2017, where Thomas, Scalia, Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John Roberts all once served. His age may be a potential drawback if the president is seeking someone younger who would presumably carve a longer legacy on the bench.

Judge Neomi Rao, D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Washington

Born 1973. Rao grew up in Detroit, the daughter of Indian immigrant physicians. Like her D.C. Circuit colleague Katsas, Rao was a Justice Thomas law clerk. After working as a private attorney and law professor, she was nominated by Trump to the federal appeals court seat held by now-Justice Kavanaugh.

Judge Barbara Lagoa, 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Miami

Born 1967. Former Florida Supreme Court justice, the first Hispanic woman and the first Cuban-American woman on that bench. A finalist for the 2020 Supreme Court vacancy that went to Justice Barrett.

Kate Comerford Todd, former deputy White House counsel

Born 1975. Another former Justice Thomas law clerk, she was given serious consideration for the 2020 high court vacancy that went to Justice Barrett. At the time, Todd was a key Trump White House adviser on judicial selection, among other areas. Now a private attorney, she could play another prominent role in a Trump administration, but her lack of judicial experience may be a drawback. Described as smart, principled, with a strong “originalist” view of the Constitution.

JORDAN PETERSON SAYS HE’S BAFFLED BY ‘DEGREE OF ANIMOSITY’ TOWARD TRUMP BY ‘ELITIST LEFTIST TYPES’

The Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Judge Lawrence Van Dyke, 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Reno, Nevada

Born 1972. A former Nevada and Montana solicitor general who worked for his family’s Montana construction business while in college. His supporters say that as a private attorney, Van Dyke did pro bono work for both the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom and the progressive ACLU. His 2019 Senate confirmation to the appeals court was contentious, with the nominee tearfully denying claims he was and would be unfair as a judge to the LGBTQ+ community. 

Judge Britt Grant, 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Atlanta 

Born 1978. Former justice on the Georgia Supreme Court. Prior to her state appointment in 2017, Grant served as the Georgia solicitor general and as a private attorney. She served as law clerk to then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the D.C. Circuit. He swore her in to her current post in August 2018 during his own high court confirmation.

Judge Kyle Duncan, 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Born 1972. The Louisiana native worked in the state’s attorney general’s office and was then general counsel of the conservative Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. As a private attorney, he represented 15 states before the Supreme Court that had prohibited same-sex marriage. The high court ultimately ruled such laws unconstitutional. Duncan’s views on LGBTQ+ rights were a major source of contention at his Senate confirmation hearings for the appellate court seat in 2018.

Judge Andrew Oldham, 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Austin, Texas

Born 1978. Former law clerk to Justice Alito, and served as general counsel to Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbot before assuming his federal judicial seat.

Judge Kevin Newsom, 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Birmingham, Alabama

Born 1972. A former Justice David Souter law clerk, Newsom was Alabama’s solicitor general before joining the federal bench. 

Judge Joan Larsen, 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Born 1968. A former law clerk to Justice Scalia, she delivered one of the tributes at his memorial service in March 2016. She served in the Justice Department office that produced the legal justifications for the enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, that critics have called torture. Larsen was previously on the Michigan Supreme Court before becoming a federal appellate judge in 2017. A finalist for the high court in 2018 and 2020, Trump teased to Fox News four years ago he was considering “a great one from Michigan” and later said she was “very talented.” The seat ultimately went to Justice Barrett.

Fun fact: As a college student, Larsen volunteered for Democrat Joe Biden’s 1988 presidential candidacy – “stuffing envelopes, making phone calls,” as she recalled – but her current conservative credentials are little in doubt.

TRUMP ANNOUNCES MAJOR ENDORSEMENT IN CRUCIAL BATTLEGROUND SENATE RACE

David Ryan Stras at the confirmation hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Judge David Stras, 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Minneapolis

Born 1974. Served on the Minnesota Supreme Court and believed to be the first Jewish member of the state’s high court. Stras, too, clerked for Justice Thomas and once headed the Institute for Law and Justice, a well-respected academic think tank on public policy and judicial politics. Nominated in 2017 to sit on the appeals court.

Kristen Waggoner, Alliance Defending Freedom CEO, president and general counsel

Born 1972. Prominent conservative legal advocate whose faith-based organization has won 15 cases before the Supreme Court. That includes the Masterpiece Cakeshop litigation over the right of private business owners to refuse their artistic services that might violate their “sincerely-held” religious beliefs, including opposing same-sex marriage. Waggoner is a Washington state native.

Judge Allison Jones Rushing, 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Asheville, North Carolina

Born 1982. The North Carolina native was a law clerk for then-Judge Gorsuch and later Justice Thomas. She, too, was considered for the 2020 high court vacancy.

Judge Patrick Wyrick, U.S. District Court for Western Oklahoma, Oklahoma City

Born 1981. Prior to his appointment in 2019, the Atoka, Oklahoma, native served on the state’s highest court and as the state’s solicitor general.  

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Mike Lee, R-Utah

A few members of Congress typically get mentioned on these lists, often as a political courtesy, especially to those senators that would vote on any nomination. Frequently mentioned are two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Cotton is an outspoken Trump supporter and a vocal advocate for gun rights and immigration reform. Lee may have the best credentials of any lawmaker to be a justice: a former appellate and constitutional lawyer, both in Utah and Washington, who twice clerked for Alito on both the federal appeals court and later the Supreme Court. The relative youth of both senators (Cotton is 47 and Lee is 52) would ensure either could serve many years on the high court and bring a unique, politically charged dynamic to it.

Former President Trump will travel to the nation’s capital on Thursday to take part in a series of meetings with Republicans from both the House and Senate, and attend an event with top business executives in America.

The former president’s meetings with congressional Republicans will be “looking ahead at the policies that will save the nation,” a senior Trump campaign official told Fox News Digital.

Such policies, according to the campaign official, include “Trump’s commitment to protecting seniors with no cuts to Social Security or Medicare, policies that actually secure our border and make our communities safe again, an America first foreign policy that reclaims peace through strength and world leadership, and economic policies of lower taxes that reignite the vibrant Trump economy we had just a few years ago.”

With less than five months to go before Election Day, Trump will kick off his Thursday morning at the Capitol Hill Club – a popular members-only haunt for House Republicans in Washington, D.C., that also serves as home to the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) – around 9:30 a.m.

TRUMP TO MEET WITH HOUSE, SENATE REPUBLICANS IN DC THIS WEEK

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, left, former President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (Getty Images)

An invitation sent to senior House GOP aides on Tuesday morning, obtained by Fox News Digital, showed that Trump is coming on a joint invitation from House leaders – Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.

House GOP leaders have been almost completely in lockstep with Trump since Johnson took the speaker’s gavel in late October. Multiple sources previously told Fox News Digital that Johnson keeps Trump in the loop before announcing major House agenda items.

Trump and the GOP lawmakers will “discuss growing the House Republican majority and the 2025 legislative agenda,” Johnson’s office told Fox News Digital.

Following his meeting with House Republicans, which will be closed to the press and take place amid a House Judiciary Committee hearing to examine Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s “political prosecution of President Trump,” the former president will take part in a discussion with top business leaders.

Trump will attend and speak at an event hosted by Business Roundtable, an association of more than 200 CEOs of America’s leading companies. There, he will make his case for a more prosperous economy should he receive a second term in the White House.

The off-the-record discussion, which is scheduled to start at 11:15 a.m., will be steered by FOX Business host Larry Kudlow, who served as the director of the National Economic Council in the Trump administration from 2018 to 2021.

Former President Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Sunset Park in Las Vegas on June 9, 2024. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients will also be in attendance for the roundtable discussion, speaking on behalf of President Biden while he travels overseas for the G-7 Summit in Italy.

TRUMP-BACKED PRIMARY CANDIDATES RUN THE TABLE, PROVING HIS POWER IN THE PARTY: ‘WITH HIM 110%’

After the roundtable event, Trump will meet with Senate Republicans at 12:30 p.m.

A Trump campaign source told Fox News Digital that Trump’s meeting with Republicans from the upper chamber will be closed to the press and take place at the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) headquarters.

Senate GOP Conference Chair John Barrasso’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital on Monday that Trump would address Senate Republicans this week.

“I’ve invited President Trump to meet with members of our Republican Conference,” Barrasso, R-Wyo., wrote to fellow Senate Republicans in a message obtained by Fox News Digital. “I believe it will be helpful to hear directly from President Trump about his plans for the summer and to also share our ideas for a strategic governing agenda in 2025.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who endorsed Trump’s bid to take back the White House in March, said Wednesday that he would be in attendance for the meeting and that the former president has “earned the nomination by the voters” for the 2024 presidential election. It’ll be the first time the two high-profile Republicans have met since December 2020.

After the gathering concludes, Trump and Senate Republicans are expected to speak to members of the press.

Former President Trump leaves after addressing members of the media following the verdict in his New York trial at Trump Tower on May 31, 2024. (Getty Images)

Trump’s visit comes as he continues to shape his own presidential re-election and GOP races across the country, just weeks ahead of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The former president’s trip also comes as he continues to face a steady stream of legal battles. The deadline for Trump’s legal team to file any post-trial motions in New York v. Trump is set for the end of the day Thursday.

After meeting with congressional Republicans on Thursday, Trump will have another sitdown with Johnson and NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson, R-N.C., from his Mar-a-Lago resort on Monday, a source familiar with planning told Fox News Digital.

Fox News’ Liz Elkind, Julia Johnson, and Brooke Singman contributed to this update.

Former North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee has won the Republican primary for Nevada’s 4th Congressional District and will face incumbent Democrat Rep. Steven Horsford in the November general election.

Lee, who is backed by former President Donald Trump, was leading his closest competitor, Air Force veteran David Flippo, when the Associated Press called the race.

Trump offered his endorsement less than two weeks before the primary, but it appears to have been enough to give Lee the opportunity to flip what could be one of the more competitive House seats for Republicans this year.

WATCH: TRUMP RALLYGOERS REVEAL WHO THEY WANT AS VICE PRESIDENT

John Lee, Republican candidate for Nevada’s 4th Congressional district, speaks to Republicans gathered for the Freedom Rally and Candidate Roundup at the Ahern Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev., on Thursday, May 23, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Lee served as North Las Vegas’ mayor from 2013-2022, and also served in the state Senate from 2004-2012 and the state Assembly from 1996-2002.

Republicans currently hold a slim 218-213 vote majority in the House of Representatives, a smaller majority than after the 2022 midterm elections following multiple resignations and an expulsion.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., speaks on infrastructure and climate change during a news conference outside the Capitol on August 23, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Elections analysts rate the race for Nevada’s 4th Congressional District as “likely Democratic.”

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

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has filed a motion to dismiss the appeal by former President Trump and co-defendants in his case to have her disqualified from litigation over her romantic affair with a subordinate counsel. 

In the motion filed Wednesday, Wills argued that Fulton Superior Court found there was no sufficient evidence to support their claims that Willis has a conflict of interest, and says that there is “no basis” to appeal Judge Scott McAfee’s March ruling allowing Willis to stay on the case.

“As both this Court and the Supreme Court have repeatedly held, Georgia appellate courts will not disturb a trial court’s factual findings on disputed issues outside of certain, very rare, circumstances. When a trial court makes determinations concerning matters of credibility or evidentiary weight, reviewing courts will not disturb those determinations unless they are flatly incorrect,” the motion states.

“Appellate courts will not—indeed, may not—substitute their own appraisal of the factual record for the trial court’s. This principle has been reiterated time and again.” 

“The State respectfully submits that, with such due deference afforded to the trial court’s factual findings, there exists no basis for reversal of the order at issue,” the motion states. 

GEORGIA PROSECUTOR FANI WILLIS APPEALS AFTER JUDGE DROPS MULTIPLE TRUMP CHARGES

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis looks on during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia.  ((Photo by Alex Slitz-Pool/Getty Images))

Trump and several co-defendants alleged earlier this year Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade were romantically involved prior to his hiring and that she financially benefited from the relationship, allegations they both have denied.

Judge Scott McAfee’s order in March said that Wade had to be removed in order to keep Willis from disqualification in the Trump election interference case in Georgia. McAfee allowed the defense to appeal his ruling, and the appeals court announced last week that it will hear the defense’s case to still have Willis disqualified. 

The appeals court agreed to hear the case on Oct. 4 and paused all other litigation concerning Trump and those defendants until the disqualification matter is settled. 

TRUMP’S APPEAL TO DISQUALIFY FANI WILLIS FROM GA CASE GETS OCTOBER HEARING DATE

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks to the media after winning the Democratic primary on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Buckhead, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

“The State’s motion to dismiss the interlocutory appeal, which has already been permitted by the Court of Appeals, appears to be a last ditch effort to stop any appellate review of DA Willis’ misconduct,” Steve Sadow, lead counsel for Trump said in a statement Wednesday. 

“The State’s motion deliberately failed to mention that Judge McAfee’s ruling stated an ‘odor of mendacity remains’ from the hearing testimony by the DA and the State’s witnesses. The judge also said there were “reasonable questions” as to whether Willis and former prosecutor Wade testified untruthfully. The State has tried this gambit before with no success,” he said. 

Both Wade and Willis denied they were in a romantic relationship prior to his hiring and that the couple would split the costs of their shared travels; Willis said she reimbursed Wade for her share of the trips in cash.

In his March order, McAfee said while Willis’ “reimbursement practice” was “unusual and the lack of any documentary corroboration understandably concerning,” he ultimately decided that the defendants did not present “sufficient evidence” that expenses weren’t “roughly divided evenly.” 

FANI WILLIS’ EX-STAFFER TESTIFIES SHE WAS FIRED AFTER BLOWING WHISTLE ON DA’S SPENDING

Special prosecutor Nathan Wade sits in court during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Alex Slitz-Pool/Getty Images)

He also said that “the evidence demonstrated that the financial gain flowing from her relationship with Wade was not a motivating factor on the part of the District Attorney to indict and prosecute this case.”

In February, Judge McAfee held a two-day evidentiary hearing where the defense, led by attorney Ashley Merchant, set out to expose a money trail that would mean Willis has a conflict of interest in the case against Trump and should be disqualified.

“[T]he Court finds that the record made at the evidentiary hearing established that the District Attorney’s prosecution is encumbered by an appearance of impropriety,” McAfee wrote in his order.

“As the case moves forward, reasonable members of the public could easily be left to wonder whether the financial exchanges have continued resulting in some form of benefit to the District Attorney, or even whether the romantic relationship has resumed.”

“Put differently, an outsider could reasonably think that the District Attorney is not exercising her independent professional judgment totally free of any compromising influences. As long as Wade remains on the case, this unnecessary perception will persist,” he said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Wade subsequently resigned from the DA’s office. 

When the defense in March submitted a joint motion for a Certificate of Immediate Review, McAfee said that his Order on the Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss and Disqualify the Fulton County District Attorney issued March 15 “is of such importance to the case that immediate review should be had” and allowed the defendants to ask the Georgia appeals court for an opportunity to appeal, which the court granted last month. 

The House voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress on Wednesday, referring the top Department of Justice (DOJ) official for criminal charges.

The measure passed nearly along party lines in a 216 to 207 vote, with just one Republican, Rep. David Joyce, R-Ohio, voting against it.

Joyce said in a statement after the vote, “As a former prosecutor, I cannot in good conscience support a resolution that would further politicize our judicial system to score political points. The American people expect Congress to work for them, solve policy problems, and prioritize good governance. Enough is enough.”

GOP lawmakers aimed to hold Garland in contempt over his refusal to turn over audio recordings of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Biden.

Hur concluded that no criminal charges were warranted in Biden’s handling of classified documents, but also said the 81-year-old president presented himself “as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” and that “it would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him — by then a former president well into his eighties — of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.”

JOHNSON FLOATS DEFUNDING SPECIAL COUNSEL’S OFFICE AMID JACK SMITH’S TRUMP PROBE

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., right, teed up a successful vote on a contempt of Congress resolution against Attorney General Merrick Garland. (Getty Images)

Biden and his allies aggressively pushed back on concerns about his mental fitness in the report’s wake.

The Justice Department released a statement from Attorney General Garland after the vote.

“It is deeply disappointing that this House of Representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon. Today’s vote disregards the constitutional separation of powers, the Justice Department’s need to protect its investigations, and the substantial amount of information we have provided to the Committees,” he said.

“I will always stand up for this Department, its employees, and its vital mission to defend our democracy.”

Republicans seeking the audio recording argued it would provide critical context about Biden’s state of mind. Democrats, meanwhile, have dismissed the request as a partisan attempt to politicize the Department of Justice.

“It’s a huge disappointment. I think it’s an abuse of the congressional contempt power,” Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., told Fox News Digital of the GOP effort.

HILL AID INTERFERES WITH FOX NEWS CAMERA CREW DURING TLAIB INTERVIEW

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, however, argued that the DOJ’s refusal meant Garland simply wanted it hidden.

“There’s only one reason why the attorney general would do that. He doesn’t want us to hear it. That’s why,” Roy said on the House floor Wednesday. “And there’s really only two reasons why that would be the case — either the transcript doesn’t match the audio, or the audio is so bad that he doesn’t want us to hear it.”

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, argued that Garland did not want to hand over the tapes because of what is on them. (Getty Images)

The pursuit of Hur’s audio tapes is part of the House GOP’s wider impeachment inquiry into President Biden, investigating allegations he used his political position to enrich himself and his family. Biden has denied accusations of wrongdoing.

House Republicans halted advancement of a contempt resolution against Hunter Biden, the president’s son, earlier this year after GOP investigators reached an agreement with his attorneys.

Meanwhile, two ex-Trump administration aides — former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon — were convicted on contempt of Congress charges for dodging subpoenas by the House select committee on Jan. 6.

TRUMP GUILTY VERDICT REVEALS SPLIT AMONG FORMER GOP PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY OPPONENTS

Both were referred for criminal charges by the previous Democrat-controlled House of Representatives. The DOJ did not act on a third referral by Democrats for former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

It’s highly unlikely the DOJ will act on House Republicans’ Garland referral, something that frustrated House Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, left, and former Trump adviser Peter Navarro were both found guilty of contempt of Congress. (Getty Images)

“I’m not optimistic, because I think the DOJ has proven themselves very partisan and not honest brokers of how they apply the law,” said Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

When asked if he thought the DOJ might act, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., quipped, “Not likely.”

Garland took an indirect shot at Republicans’ pushback on the DOJ in a Washington Post op-ed on Tuesday morning.

“In recent weeks, we have seen an escalation of attacks that go far beyond public scrutiny, criticism, and legitimate and necessary oversight of our work. They are baseless, personal and dangerous,” he wrote. “These attacks come in the form of threats to defund particular department investigations, most recently the special counsel’s prosecution of the former president.”

Longtime Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., says he’ll be in attendance on Thursday as Senate Republicans meet in the nation’s capital with former President Donald Trump.

It will be the first time Trump and McConnell will have seen each other in person in nearly four years.

Trump, the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee, is holding behind closed doors meetings Thursday morning with House Republicans and Thursday afternoon with Senate Republicans.

And McConnell reiterated to reporters on Wednesday that “I’ll be at the meeting tomorrow.”

TRUMP’S IMMENSE GRIP OVER GOP REMAINS FIRM AS HIS ENDORSED CANDIDATES RUN THE TABLE IN REPUBLICAN PRIMARIES

President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., talk to reporters in the Rose Garden following a lunch meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 16, 2017. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

McConnell and Trump haven’t talked since December 2020, as their working relationship turned frosty following President Biden’s election victory over then-President Trump. 

McConnell formally recognized Biden’s presidential election victory after the former vice president was confirmed the winner by the Electoral College on Dec. 15, 2020.

A few weeks later, McConnell said Trump was “morally responsible” for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters who aimed to upend congressional certification of Biden’s White House win.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., gives remarks during a presentation at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 2. (Fox News)

Trump, in the ensuing years, regularly lambasted McConnell in social media posts, calling him, among other things, an “absolute loser.” And the former president also made derogatory remarks about McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, who served as Trump’s transportation secretary.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

But fast-forward to this year and McConnell endorsed Trump after the former president in early March clinched the 2024 GOP nomination.

Former President Trump speaks during a campaign event at Wildwood Beach in Wildwood, New Jersey, on May 11. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“It is abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the requisite support of Republican voters to be our nominee for President of the United States,” McConnell said at the time. “It should come as no surprise that as nominee, he will have my support.”

On Wednesday, McConnell emphasized during his weekly Senate leadership news conference that “I said three years ago, right after the Capitol was attacked, I would support our nominee regardless of who it was, including him. I’ve said earlier this year, I support him. He’s earned the nomination by the voters all across the country.”

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

EXCLUSIVE: Nearly two dozen state financial officers sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., late Wednesday demanding he take up a bill prohibiting the Biden administration from implementing a program that tracks private investment transactions.

Twenty-three officials in 19 states crafted a letter that demands a bill from Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., the Protecting Investors’ Personally Identifiable Information Act, be immediately acted upon.

Loudermilk’s bill, H.R. 4551, formally prohibits the SEC from requiring personally identifiable information to be collected under the SEC’s new program and “for other purposes.”

If the bill passes, the signatories argue it could stymie the Securities and Exchange Commission from continuing its implementation of changes to the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT), a tracking mechanism for trading activity on the stock market. 

SEC FACES LAWSUIT ALLEGING ‘MASS SURVEILLANCE’ OF STOCK MARKET DATA

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, a Trump appointee, warned the CAT serves as a “comprehensive surveillance database that will collect and store every equity and option trade and quote from every account at every broker by every investor.”

The signatories warned in the letter of civil liberties concerns in that regard as well as the CAT’s “questionable legality.”

“We share the concerns of the American Securities Association … and numerous members of the House and Senate who … [have] expressed concern,” the letter states.

SEC’S SCRUTINY OF BINANCE IS SIMPLY SEEKING INVESTOR PROTECTION: GARY GENSLER

They also said it may be against the law to establish such a database via federal rule versus an act of Congress.

The CAT’s collection of retail investors’ information “poses a clear threat to the security of every American investor,” the signatories argued, as a central database is also more susceptible to hackers.

State financial officers who signed the letter included Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who is up for re-election this fall, along with South Carolina Treasurer Curtis Loftis, West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore, Alabama Auditor General Andrew Sorrell, Nevada State Controller Andy Matthews and Indiana Treasurer Daniel Elliott.

Matthews said the bill gives Congress the opportunity to “resolve a serious threat to the privacy of the American people.”

Elliott said the CAT is a “data privacy nightmare” that allows the feds to wrongly track financial information of typical American retail investors.

“Our government has shown that when it gives itself this amount of power, it will act irresponsibly and in ways that will harm average American citizens. This entire project should be subject to an act of Congress, not un-elected Washington bureaucrats.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

A group tied to another noted Hoosier, former Vice President Mike Pence, also spoke out against the SEC’s move and pressed for Johnson to act.

“Conservatives should co-sponsor and demand a floor vote on [the bill] … to ensure that Americans’ financial data is protected,” a June 5 release from Pence’s group, Advancing American Freedom, stated.

“Traditionally, Americans’ financial holdings are kept between them and their broker, not them, their broker and a massive government database. The only exception has been legal investigations with a warrant.”

The bill has 13 co-sponsors, all Republicans, the latest addition being Rep. Alex X. Mooney, R-W.V., who added his name to the legislation April 23.

Meanwhile, the executive director of the State Financial Officers Foundation Action told Fox News Digital the SEC database was never congressionally authorized and called for a floor vote “as soon as possible,” highlighting due process concerns.

The SEC formally adopted Rule 613 enacting the plan in 2023, while the CAT system has been in place in some form since 2012, according to the commission’s website. The finalized phase of implementation occurred May 31.

The commission argued in announcing the new rule that it creates a trail that allows regulators to efficiently and accurately track all securities activity throughout U.S. markets.

Calls placed to Johnson’s office for comment were not returned before press time. 

House Republicans are skeptical that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will act on their newly passed criminal referral against Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Multiple GOP lawmakers argued it would be hypocritical of the DOJ not to act, given the recent prosecutions and guilty verdicts for former Trump administration aides Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon following similar referrals.

“I don’t have much hope that this administration is going to follow the letter of the law or the intent of Congress or the subpoenas for the president,” Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., told Fox News Digital.

“It’s just a further manifestation of the weaponization of the DOJ. So they’re not playing umpire, they’re not behaving as the executive…they’re not calling balls and strikes. They’re just frankly doing things for what look like political purposes, which is not their job,” he said.

JOHNSON FLOATS DEFUNDING SPECIAL COUNSEL’S OFFICE AMID JACK SMITH’S TRUMP PROBE

House GOP lawmakers like Reps. Byron Donalds, left, and Mike Garcia, right, are skeptical the DOJ will follow through on the House’s contempt resolution for Attorney General Merrick Garland, center. (Getty Images)

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said when asked if he anticipated the DOJ following through on the House’s will, “Garland’s gonna take up his own contempt resolution? Not likely.”

“There’s nothing but hypocrisy, especially considering the fact that President Trump cited executive privilege for Steve Bannon, and Merrick Garland had moved forward anyway,” Donalds said.

GOP lawmakers aimed to hold Garland in contempt over his refusal to turn over audio recordings of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Biden.

HILL AID INTERFERES WITH FOX NEWS CAMERA CREW DURING TLAIB INTERVIEW

Republicans are seeking audio tapes of Special Counsel Hur’s, left, interview with President Biden, right. (Getty Images)

Hur’s findings cleared Biden of wrongdoing in his handling of classified documents, but also said the 81-year-old president presented himself “as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” and that “it would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him-by then a former president well into his eighties-of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.”

Biden and his allies aggressively pushed back on concerns about his mental fitness in the report’s wake.

Republicans seeking the audio recording argued it would provide critical context about Biden’s state of mind. Democrats, meanwhile, have dismissed the request as a partisan attempt to politicize the Department of Justice (DOJ).

TRUMP GUILTY VERDICT REVEALS SPLIT AMONG FORMER GOP PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY OPPONENTS

The DOJ followed through on two of three criminal referrals sent to them by the previous Democrat-controlled Congress but did not act on a third criminal contempt resolution aimed at former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Meadows, Bannon and Navarro were all targeted for dodging subpoenas from the now-defunct House select committee investigating January 6.

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, left, and former Trump adviser Peter Navarro, right, were both found guilty of contempt of Congress. (Getty Images)

“I’m not optimistic because I think the DOJ has proven themselves very partisan and not honest brokers of how they apply the law,” Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., said of the Garland resolution.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“I think there’s ample evidence that he is in contempt, and I hope that they’ll not be hypocritical. I mean, it’d be a sad day for America,” he said.

Garland took an indirect shot at Republicans’ pushback on the DOJ in a Washington Post op-ed on Tuesday morning.

“In recent weeks, we have seen an escalation of attacks that go far beyond public scrutiny, criticism, and legitimate and necessary oversight of our work. They are baseless, personal and dangerous,” he wrote. “These attacks come in the form of threats to defund particular department investigations, most recently the special counsel’s prosecution of the former president.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., will attempt to force a vote Wednesday evening on a Supreme Court ethics bill backed by Democrats amid recent scrutiny of Justice Samuel Alito and renewed calls for the conservative justice to recuse from former President Trump’s immunity case. 

Durbin will lead fellow Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats, Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., in a request to bring the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act to the floor for a vote around 5:30 p.m.

However, unanimous consent to consider the measure will not be granted, as Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., will object, his office told Fox News Digital. 

LINDSEY GRAHAM REQUESTS FULL SENATE BRIEFING ON ISIS BORDER THREAT AFTER TERRORIST BUST

Sen. Dick Durbin will attempt to force a vote on a Supreme Court ethics reform bill, but Sen. Lindsey Graham will object to it. (Getty Images)

If brought for a vote and passed, the bill would require the Supreme Court to create an ethics code that is publicly available. It would additionally allow for complaints to be lodged against justices and for a judicial investigation panel to then review them. 

The measure advanced out of the committee last year by a party line vote, with 11 Democrats in favor and all 10 Republicans opposed. 

BIDEN PUSHED TO REVOKE AL JAZEERA CREDENTIALS AFTER ISRAELI HOSTAGE REPORTEDLY FOUND IN JOURNALIST’S HOME

Sens. Whitehouse, left, and Durbin have made a concerted effort to push Justice Alito to recuse. (Getty Images)

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., praised Judiciary Democrats for their work on the bill after it advanced, saying at the time, “I support Chairman Durbin, Senator Whitehouse, and the Judiciary Committee’s work on SCOTUS ethics reform, and I look forward to working with them to make progress on this legislation.”

But since its advancement, the bill has remained in limbo. 

Schumer’s office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital regarding his plans for bringing it to the floor. 

DEMS CLAIM GOP ‘CONSPIRACY THEORIES CRUMBLED’ AFTER HUNTER BIDEN GUILTY VERDICT

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Judiciary Democrats have made a renewed and concerted push to increase accountability for Supreme Court justices in the wake of the controversy surrounding Alito and his wife. The New York Times recently reported on an upside-down American flag that flew at their Virginia home in the weeks following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, as well as an “Appeal to Heaven” flag that was on display at a beach home belonging to the Alitos. 

Democratic critics have suggested that the flags were displays of support for those who rioted on Jan. 6. Alito has denied this.

The reports prompted several letters to both Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts from Durbin, Whitehouse and Blumenthal, requesting a meeting with Roberts and Alito’s recusal from 2020 election-related cases.

SUPREME COURT HISTORICAL SOCIETY BLASTS ‘SURREPTITIOUS’ RECORDING AS DEMS TARGET JUSTICE ALITO

Judge Samuel Alito, Supreme Court nominee, answers questions during his confirmation hearing, Jan. 12, 2006, on Capitol Hill. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Alito has since refused to step back from such cases, which include the matter of Trump’s immunity claim in his federal election interference case, in which a decision from the court is expected this month. 

The unanimous consent request also comes in the wake of secret recordings that were taken by an undercover liberal filmmaker at the Supreme Court Historical Society’s annual dinner on June 3. The recordings feature Alito acknowledging that “there are differences on fundamental things that really can’t be compromised” when it comes to ideological differences. Alito additionally agreed with the activist’s statement suggesting the country should return to “godliness.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In an op-ed on Tuesday for the Wall Street Journal, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., slammed his Democratic colleagues’ attempt to pass the legislation. The Republican explained that the court is charged constitutionally with the power to govern itself. “Liberals complain that the court’s binding ethics rules lack an ‘enforcement mechanism’ to ensure recusal when they want it,” he wrote. “But this complaint would throw the Constitution out the window.”

“The court rightly vests judicial power in its democratically legitimate members as the Constitution requires. Democrats instead want a bureaucracy to ‘administer’ it,” he said in a scathing rebuke of the Democratic effort. 

FIRST ON FOX: Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance and Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz are demanding answers from Secretary of State Antony Blinken surrounding a State Department-linked Ukrainian nongovernmental organization (NGO) that published a list of Americans labeled “Trumpists and Communists” for their opposition to providing more U.S. funds to Ukraine, Fox News Digital exclusively learned. 

“On June 6, 2024, a Ukrainian corporation, Texty.org.ua, published an online article entitled ‘Rollercoaster: From Trumpists to Communists. The forces in the U.S. impeding aid to Ukraine and how they do it,’” the pair of Republican lawmakers wrote in their letter to Blinken. “The title of this article oversells the product: it is a substantively thin piece, largely an excuse to smear a large group of Americans who have been skeptical of aid to Ukraine in one form or another.” 

“But it is being broadcast as a part of a coordinated media strategy that has all the hallmarks of a U.S.-targeting influence operation,” the lawmakers continued, identifying the names detailed in the article as an “Enemies List.” 

Vance, who is considered a top contender as former President Trump’s running mate in the 2024 election, and Gaetz sent the letter to Blinken on Wednesday, demanding information – including any grant agreements – the State Department has with the NGO and its founder, Anatoly Bondarenko. 

HOUSE PASSES $60B UKRAINE AID BILL AS GOP REBELS THREATEN TO OUST JOHNSON

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, left, and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, right, are demanding answers from Secretary of State Antony Blinken regarding an apparent “enemies list” by a State Department-affiliated organization. (Photos by Stephanie Keith, Saul Loeb, andJohannes Simon for Getty Images)

Texty.org.ua published a list of 388 individuals and 76 organizations identified as alleged “Trumpists and Communists” for publicly opposing further funding to Ukraine as it continues battling Russia. As of last month, Congress has approved a total of $175 billion in aid and military assistance to Ukraine, following Russia invading the nation in February 2022. 

The pair of lawmakers highlighted to Blinken in their letter that the list includes 116 House members and 21 senators – all of whom are Republicans. 

DEMS SAVE JOHNSON’S $95B FOREIGN AID PLAN FROM GOP REBEL BLOCKADE

“If this were merely some random news outlet in a foreign nation, such a hit piece would be easily ignored,” the lawmakers wrote. Bondarenko, the founder of Texty.org.ua, however, is “listed on a U.S. government website as supported by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, left, walks with President Biden down the colonnade to the Oval Office during a visit to the White House Sept. 21, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Evan Vucci-Pool/Getty Images)

A link provided by the lawmakers to the Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs’ public diplomacy program website, called Tech Camps, details Bondarenko is “one of the founders of Texty.org.ua,” which is a news outlet that combines “classical and ‘digital’ journalism.”

HOUSE TAKES KEY TEST VOTE FOR JOHNSON’S $95B FOREIGN AID PLAN AFTER DEMS HELP IT ADVANCE

“He leads a team of 7 and is in charge of the data journalism part of the newsroom with four people working as designers, programmers and journalists at the same time. The team works on projects about corruptions, education, health care, news, city environment, state procurements, and specializes in telling a story using data visualization techniques. Anatoly holds a Masters degree in Engineering,” the U.S. government website states of Bondarenko. 

Rep. Matt Gaetz, wearing a Laken Riley pin, is seen in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., on March 7, 2024, ahead of the President’s State of the Union address. (Aaron Schwartz/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Texty.org.ua’s piece lists the so-called “Trumpists and Communists” in graphics, organizing the names, organizations and movements into three categories: Politics, Media, and Experts. The list includes politicians such as Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Tim Scott, Gov. Ron DeSantis, as well as groups such as the “Squad” and the MAGA movement. 

TENSIONS ERUPT ON HOUSE FLOOR AS CONSERVATIVES CONFRONT JOHNSON ON $95B FOREIGN AID PLAN

Former President Trump headlines a Republican National Committee spring donor retreat in Palm Beach, Florida, on May 4, 2024. (Donald Trump 2024 campaign)

“We’ve identified a broad spectrum of aid opponents, ranging from Trump supporters to communists, and examined their connections,” the text from the article reads. 

‘NOTHING MORE BACKWARDS’ THAN US FUNDING UKRAINE BORDER SECURITY BUT NOT OUR OWN, CONSERVATIVES SAY

“While our research does not cover every public figure opposing aid to Ukraine, it highlights prominent individuals and common arguments that often mirror Kremlin propaganda,” it continued. 

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 28: U.S. Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) questions witnesses in a hearing of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, in the Cannon House Office Building on February 28, 2023 in Washington, DC. The committee is investigating economic, technological and security competition between the U.S. and China.  ( Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Republican Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, who was listed on Texty’s “enemies” roundup, sent a letter to Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, asking them to end U.S. support to Texty. The committee on Tuesday passed a resolution effectively defunding the NGO, sparking applause from Banks in comment provided to Fox Digital.

“I was just designated an ‘opponent of Ukraine,’ after being sanctioned by the Russian regime. I’m not bothered by what foreign nations think of me. But it’s shameful for our agencies to be using Hoosiers’ tax dollars to collaborate with foreign groups that attempt to intimidate U.S. citizens and lawmakers. I’d like to thank the Republicans on the Appropriations Committee for defunding any such work with the Data Journalism Agency,” Banks said in comment Wednesday afternoon. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting of the Presidential Council for Science and Education via videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow on Thursday, Feb. 8. Denmark is warning that Russia could attack NATO in the next three to five years. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Vance and Gaetz called on Blinken to send them information by June 28 regarding “all releasable material related to Department of State support for Anatoly Bondarenko or Texty.org;” “Provide a list of any Department of State directives, master agreements, or other policies that outline obligations of grantees or subgrantees of the Department relevant to the above publication;” “Provide a list of any grants or other awards by the Department of State to Anatoly Bondarenko or Texty.org or Texty.org.ua;” and “Inform us whether or not the Department of State is initiating any investigation into violations of Departmental policy regarding this matter.” 

Then-President Trump, right, welcomes J.D. Vance, then-Republican candidate for U.S. senator for Ohio, to the stage at a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar )

“Needless to say, whatever one thinks of American foreign aid or support for Ukraine, all Americans can agree that our tax dollars should not be supporting direct attacks on U.S. persons based upon reasonable political disagreement, and especially not direct attacks on U.S. legislators based solely upon their vote,” they wrote. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department for comment on the letter but did not immediately receive a response. 

If there was any remaining doubt about former President Trump’s sway over the Republican Party, dismiss it.

The presumptive GOP presidential nominee firmly remains his party’s ultimate kingmaker – candidates who landed the coveted Trump endorsement all won their primary battles on Tuesday as four states held intra-party contests.

And in a couple of high-profile cases, Republican primaries that were supposed to be competitive contests ended up as blowouts with the Trump-backed candidates easily cruising to victory.

“With all things equal, you want the president’s endorsement. End of story,” longtime Republican consultant Dave Carney told Fox News. “It’s not a guaranteed win, but it is really important. It sends a signal to primary voters of your credentials.”

WHAT TRUMP-BACKED SAM BROWN TOLD FOX NEWS AFTER HIS LANDSLIDE GOP SENATE PRIMARY VICTORY

Former President Trump points during a campaign rally at Sunset Park in Las Vegas on June 9, 2024. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

And seasoned GOP strategist and communicator Lance Trover, spotlighting that the party remains firmly under Trump’s grip, said, “I don’t know that there’s really any question about where Republican voters are and who they’re aligned with.”

TRUMP ENDORSEMENT IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE A VICTORY FOR SENATE GOP CAMPAIGN CHAIR

A last-minute endorsement by Trump in Nevada likely boosted Army veteran Sam Brown to a more than 40-point victory in the GOP Senate primary in the key race in a crucial Western battleground that may determine if Republicans win back the chamber’s majority.

Brown, a former Army captain who was severely burned and permanently scarred in 2008 when his vehicle ran over an explosive device in the war in Afghanistan, ended up crushing his main Republican rival – Jeff Gunter, a wealthy dermatologist who served as Trump’s ambassador to Iceland.

Republican senatorial candidate Sam Brown speaks at an election night party Tuesday, June 11, 2024, in Reno, Nevada. (AP Photo/Tom R. Smedes)

Trump’s endorsement Sunday in Nevada was the latest example of the former president backing the candidate supported by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is the Senate GOP’s campaign arm.

In South Carolina, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace survived a serious primary challenge for a second straight election cycle. 

Mace won renomination in South Carolina’s competitive Low Country-based 1st Congressional District by easily defeating Catherine Templeton, a former director of South Carolina’s labor agency who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018, and Marine Corps veteran Bill Young.

MACE CRUSHES CHALLENGERS IN HIGH-PROFILE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY SHOWDOWN

Templeton was backed by millions spent by outside groups aligned with former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Unlike two years ago, when he had her back, the former House speaker targeted Mace, who last year was one of eight House Republicans to break ranks and vote to oust McCarthy. 

The former speaker is seeking revenge as he works to defeat the eight Republican lawmakers, and McCarthy-aligned outside groups shelled out millions of dollars to run ads supporting Templeton and targeting Mace.

In 2022, Trump targeted Mace after she blamed him for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters aiming to upend congressional certification of President Biden’s 2020 election victory. Mace won a single-digit victory over a Trump-backed challenger.

But fast-forward two years, and Mace now had Trump’s backing after she endorsed the former president and campaigned for him earlier this year in South Carolina’s crucial GOP presidential primary.

Trump also had an impact on the GOP primary race in the 4th District in upstate South Carolina. That’s where three-term Rep. William Timmons narrowly fended off a challenge from state Rep. Adam Morgan, who ran to Timmons’ right.

“There’s no doubt that Timmons would have lost without the Trump endorsement,” a Republican source who works on House races told Fox News.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In Maine’s 2nd Congressional District – where Republicans are once again hoping to knock off moderate Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, who is running for a fourth term in a mostly rural district won by Trump in both 2016 and 2020 – the former president’s endorsement made a major impact.

State Rep. Austin Theriault, a former NASCAR driver who had Trump’s backing, defeated state Rep. Mike Soboleski by more than 30 points.

And in North Dakota, Trump’s endorsement of Rep. Kelly Armstrong likely helped the three-term Republican representative top Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller in the race to succeed GOP Gov. Doug Burgum.

Burgum, who is considered a top contender to serve as Trump’s running mate, had backed Miller in the primary.

Former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a caucus night rally in Las Vegas, Feb. 8, 2024, as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum watches. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Carney, who stayed neutral in the GOP presidential primaries but is now steering a pro-Trump super PAC, noted that compared to two years ago, when a number of high-profile Trump endorsed candidates won primary battles but went down to defeat in the general election, “he’s being more judicious in who he’s endorsing.

And Trover, a top aide on Burgum’s unsuccessful 2024 presidential primary campaign, emphasized, “I think you’re seeing more and more of a unified Republican Party as we inch forward toward the general election.”

He argued that the GOP is “a unified party that’s going to be with him 110% of the way, no matter what happens.”

Republicans did under perform in Tuesday’s one general election showdown – a special congressional election in red-state Ohio.

Republican state Sen. Michael Rulli defeated Democrat Michael Kripchak, an Air Force veteran, by less than 10 points in the race to succeed former GOP Rep. Bill Johnson, who stepped down earlier this year to serve as president of Youngstown State University.

Johnson overwhelmingly won the mostly rural and blue-collar district by 35 points in his 2022 re-election and Trump carried the district by 29 points in 2020.

But the massive swing in the Democrats’ favor is the latest example of their party over performing in special elections.

National Republican Congressional Committee communications director Jack Pandol argued that his party is “not sweating” the results in the special election and dismisses talk that the contest was a barometer for things to come in November, as the House GOP works to defend its razor-thin majority in the chamber.

“It’s a special election. It’s off-calendar. Turnout is really low,” Pandol told Fox News. “I don’t think that it’s useful or instructive to try to read into this too much.”

And he predicted that House Republicans “will eviscerate” Democrats with “presidential-level turnout.”

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

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is asking Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to organize a full briefing for lawmakers in the chamber on the threat of ISIS terrorism presented by the vulnerable southern border. 

The senator requested the leaders’ “immediate assistance” to set up a classified briefing for senators on the issue in a letter sent Tuesday. 

Graham’s urgency on the matter was prompted by a recent revelation that eight Tajikistan nationals with ties to ISIS were busted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the FBI in New York City, Los Angeles and Philadelphia after entering the country illegally over the southern border. The sting was first reported by the New York Post’s Jennie Taer.

BIDEN PUSHED TO REVOKE AL JAZEERA CREDENTIALS AFTER ISRAELI HOSTAGE REPORTEDLY FOUND IN JOURNALIST’S HOME

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., during a hearing on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

A federal source told Fox News that the suspected terrorists had been fully vetted prior to being released into the country. 

“While members of the Intelligence Community have offered piecemeal briefings to Congress, I believe that the threat is urgent and that a briefing should be held with all members before the Senate’s scheduled departure from Washington, D.C. at the end of next week,” the South Carolina Republican wrote. 

DEMS CLAIM GOP ‘CONSPIRACY THEORIES CRUMBLED’ AFTER HUNTER BIDEN GUILTY VERDICT

Neither Schumer’s nor McConnell’s offices immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

Following the reports of the ISIS-tied immigrants’ arrests, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the FBI said in a statement, “Over the last few days, ICE agents arrested several non-citizens pursuant to immigration authorities. The actions were carried out in close coordination with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces. The individuals arrested are detained in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.”

SUPREME COURT HISTORICAL SOCIETY BLASTS ‘SURREPTITIOUS’ RECORDING AS DEMS TARGET JUSTICE ALITO

A group of over 100 migrants attempting to enter the US illegally rush a border wall Thursday, March 21, 2024.  (James Breeden for New York Post / Mega)

“As the FBI and DHS have recently described in public and partner bulletins, the U.S. has been in a heightened threat environment. The FBI and DHS will continue working around the clock with our partners to identify, investigate, and disrupt potential threats to national security.”

‘LOOSE CANNON’: SENATE DEM ESCALATES ATTACK ON JUSTICE ALITO AFTER SECRET RECORDING

This split shows DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and migrants at the southern border. (Photos by David Peinado/Anadolu via Getty Images and Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Graham’s request comes as fears of terrorism originating at the southern border continue to heighten. 

“The fact that these eight ISIS suspects got through the southern border really is a travesty,” retired U.S. Army Major General Dana Pittard said on Fox & Friends in response to the latest event.

MIKE LEE PRAISES TRUMP FOR RESISTING CLINTON LAWFARE, WARNS BIDEN OF SLIPPERY SLOPE

FBI Director Christopher Wray warned of terrorist threats.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

FBI Director Christopher Wray testified last year that foreign terrorists who are potentially among groups of individuals illegally crossing the border are a “source of great concern for us. That’s why we’re aggressively using all 56 of our joint terrorism task forces.”

Wray further revealed at the time that they had observed an increase in known or suspected terrorists that have sought to cross the border over the last five years. Notably, encounters with individuals on the terror watchlist rose to a record sum in fiscal year 2023. 

Fox News’ Bill Melugin and Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report. 

North Dakota voters on Tuesday approved a ballot measure that sets age limits on congressional candidates. 

The measure creates a new article in the North Dakota Constitution entitled “Congressional Age Limits,” that establishes “no person may be elected or appointed to serve a term or a portion of a term representing North Dakota in the U.S. Senate or the U.S. House of Representatives if that person could be 81 years old by December 31 of the year immediately preceding the end of the term, and any such person is prohibited from appearing on the ballot.” 

According to the election results shared online by the North Dakota Secretary of State, 60.88% of voters approved the measure, while 39.12% voted against it. A total of 111,709 votes were cast. 

The ballot measure, which bars people from running or serving in the U.S. House or Senate if they are to turn 81 years old during their term, is intended to avoid age-related and cognitive issues among officeholders, supporters say. Though it would not apply to presidential contenders, the measure comes in the same election year as there are serious concerns over 81-year-old President Biden’s mental fitness. 

REP. ARMSTRONG WINS GOP NOMINATION TO SUCCEED GOV. DOUG BURGUM IN NORTH DAKOTA

A voter places a ballot for the 2020 presidential election in a drop box outside the Cass County Courthouse in Fargo, North Dakota, on Oct. 15, 2020. (Dan Koeck/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

It passed the same day that U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong won Tuesday’s Republican primary for governor of North Dakota, while longtime public utilities regulator Julie Fedorchak finished first in a rambunctious GOP race for the House seat he will vacate. Armstrong, who currently occupies North Dakota’s lone House seat, beat Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller in the race to succeed Republican Gov. Doug Burgum, who did not seek a third term and is under consideration to be 77-year-old Trump’s vice presidential running mate.

Some legal experts view the measure as a test case for revisiting a 1995 U.S. Supreme Court ruling against congressional term limits. A state legislative panel attached a $1 million cost estimate to the measure in anticipation of a lengthy legal challenge, The Associated Press reported. 

Former President Trump arrives to speak at a caucus night rally in Las Vegas, Feb. 8, 2024, as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum watches. Burgum is on Trump’s 2024 VP shortlist. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

EXPERTS REVEAL MAJOR ‘DOWNSIDE’ TO POTENTIAL TRUMP VP PICK: ‘NO WOW FACTOR’

Jared Hendrix, chair of the sponsoring committee, told the North Dakota Monitor that age limits are crucial to ensure lawmakers are healthy enough to adequately represent North Dakotans’ interests in Washington, D.C. “We just decided talking about it, thinking about it, that 81 was a good number where there’s virtually no opposition at that point,” Hendrix told the newspaper in February. 

Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller and Gov. Doug Burgum on Oct. 23, 2023. North Dakota saw competitive primary contests Tuesday for Congress and governor after Burgum announced he would not seek another term.  (AP Photo/Jack Dura, File)

Republican U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, who had no primary challenge to his re-election bid, opposed the measure, saying voters should be able to choose whomever they want.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“To limit those decisions arbitrarily just doesn’t make sense to me,” Cramer, 63, told the AP. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Drew Johnson has won the Republican primary in the battleground 3rd Congressional District and will face incumbent Democrat Susie Lee in what is expected to be a tough general election fight.

The Associated Press called the race for Johnson early Wednesday morning. The outcome is an upset victory for the candidate, who faced stiff competition in a crowded field of Republican rivals, including former Nevada state Treasurer Dan Schwartz and former Nevada state Sen. Elizabeth Helgelien.

“I’m honored to earn the trust and support of Republican primary voters in Nevada’s crucial 3rd Congressional District. The pundits didn’t give us a chance, but we outworked our opponents and overperformed expectations,” Johnson said in a statement.

Lee, who faced little competition in the Democratic primary, maintains a strong fundraising advantage and is expected to put up a tough fight with the backing of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as the party aims to flip control of the House of Representatives from Republicans.

WATCH: TRUMP RALLYGOERS REVEAL WHO THEY WANT AS VICE PRESIDENT

Drew Johnson, Republican candidate for Nevada’s 3rd District, gives a tour of the Pioneer Saloon where he was holding a meet and greet in Goodsprings, Nevada. (Getty Images)

“Right now, voters are struggling to make ends meet, worried about our country’s open borders, and fearful of crime in their own neighborhoods. I look forward to providing voters with a positive vision for cleaning up the mess Susie Lee and Joe Biden have created,” Johnson said.

Republicans hold a slim 218-213 majority in the House and are aiming to expand that majority after losing a number of members to resignations and one expulsion over the past year.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Rep. Susie Lee walks down the House steps at the Capitol, April 1, 2022. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Former Nevada state Treasurer Dan Schwartz was one of several Republicans running in the 3rd District GOP primary. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Election analysts rate the race as either “lean” or “likely” Democratic.

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

Congressional Democrats criticized their Republican counterparts over alleged hypocrisy after they were not satisfied when President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, was found guilty of federal firearms charges on Tuesday. 

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., remarked that “my Republican friends have gone on and on about how Democrats have weaponized the [Department of Justice], but their conspiracy theories crumbled this morning when Hunter Biden, the son of the president, was found guilty in a federal court on three gun-related charges.”

“The divide here is stunning. And it’s a great reminder that one political party remains committed to the rule of law and the other doesn’t. It’s that simple,” McGovern added. 

SUPREME COURT HISTORICAL SOCIETY BLASTS ‘SURREPTITIOUS’ RECORDING AS DEMS TARGET JUSTICE ALITO

Rep. Jim McGovern called out his Republican colleagues. (Juan David Moreno Gallego/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

When asked if the verdict undermines GOP claims that the justice system has two tiers, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., responded to Fox News, “How could you make the argument when this justice system has just handed down a verdict when it comes to the son of the President of the United States?”

‘LOOSE CANNON’: SENATE DEM ESCALATES ATTACK ON JUSTICE ALITO AFTER SECRET RECORDING

Chairman Richard Durbin, (D-IL), attends a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to examine Texas’s abortion law on Capitol Hill on Sept. 29, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images)

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., pointed to the difference between the two political parties in the aftermath of former President Trump’s guilty verdict in New York and Biden’s guilty verdict in Delaware. 

“Compare and contrast the difference in reaction between the Republicans or Democrats,” he said. “The Republicans are attacking our entire system of justice and the rule of law if they don’t like the way that one case came out.”

TRUMP TO MEET WITH HOUSE, SENATE REPUBLICANS IN DC THIS WEEK

Hunter Biden arrives to federal court with his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, Tuesday, June 11, 2024 in Wilmington, Delaware. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

However, he said, after Hunter Biden’s verdict, “I don’t hear a single Democrat crying foul.”

Durbin also addressed addiction and the toll it has taken on Americans. “There were so many thousands of American families that have been hurt painfully by addiction,” the Illinois senator said. 

MIKE LEE PRAISES TRUMP FOR RESISTING CLINTON LAWFARE, WARNS BIDEN OF SLIPPERY SLOPE

President Biden speaks during a campaign event at the Martin Luther King Recreation Center in Philadelphia on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Now it’s touched the First Family of the United States. I know the president, it means so much to him personally, because of his love for his son. He and his — Jill have weathered this storm for many years. I’m sure their hearts are broken,” he added. 

In a statement following his son’s guilty verdict, President Biden remarked on how proud he is of Hunter as a father, referring to his son’s battle with addiction. 

“I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal. Jill and I will always be there for Hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support. Nothing will ever change that,” he said. 

Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this report.