NationalWatch

A Maine Republican state lawmaker wants to impeach the Maine secretary of state who removed former President Donald Trump from the primary ballot.

GOP state Rep. John Andrews said he wants to pursue impeachment against Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows after she disqualified Trump from the 2024 Republican primary ballot on Thursday.

In her ruling, Bellows cited Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which bans from office those who “engaged in insurrection.”

Andrews said in a statement that he filed a request with the Maine Revisor’s Office saying he wanted “to file a Joint Order, or whichever is the proper parliamentary mechanism under Mason’s Rules, to impeach Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.”

HOUSE DEMOCRAT FROM MAINE RIPS STATE’S DECISION TO TAKE TRUMP OFF BALLOT

“In Maine, the people do not elect the Secretary of State, Attorney General or Treasurer,” Andrews told Fox News Digital. “They are chosen by elected Democrat Party insiders after deals are made in the back room of State House.”

“Shenna Bellows knows that the process that put her there is extremely partisan,” he continued. “She should know better and be going out of her way to be as neutral as possible to serve every citizen in Maine and not just registered Democrats.”

“That’s why she swore an oath to the Constitution and not the Democrat Party,” he added. “We are still a republic, but moves like this fracture that foundation, which ultimately is the point of all this.”

Andrews said in his statement that he wants to impeach Bellows “on the grounds that she is barring an American citizen and [the] 45th President of the United States, who is convicted of no crime or impeachment, their right to appear on a Maine Republican Party ballot in March.”

“Donald J. Trump has met all qualifications for the March 2024 Republican Presidential Primary. He should be allowed on the ballot. This is raw partisanship and has no place in the offices of our state’s Constitutional Officers,” he continued.

Andrews’ press release noted a social media post he made, saying Bellows’ decision “is hyper-partisanship on full display.”

“A Secretary of State APPOINTED by legislative Democrats bans President Trump from the 2024 ballot so that she can jockey for position in the 2026 Democrat Primary for Governor,” Andrews said. “Banana Republic isn’t just a store at the mall.”

Andrews said Friday in a “FOX & Friends” interview that Bellows “has unilaterally disenfranchised 300,060 Maine voters with this partisan move.”

He also applauded U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a Maine Democrat, for speaking out against Bellows’ move, even with his dislike of Trump.

Golden slammed Bellows over the move, saying that he “voted to impeach Donald Trump for his role in the January 6th Insurrection.”

“I do not believe he should be re-elected as President of the United States,” Golden said Thursday night. “However, we are a nation of laws, therefore until he is actually found guilty of the crime of insurrection, he should be allowed on the ballot.”

The Maine secretary of state defended her move while responding to Golden’s criticism during a CNN interview on Friday.

“I reviewed Section Three of the 14th Amendment very carefully and determined that Section Three of the 14th Amendment does not say ‘conviction,’ it says ‘engage,'” Bellows said.

“And, let’s go back and keep in mind that the events of January 6, 2021, were unprecedented and tragic,” Bellows continued. “This was an attack, not only on the Capitol and the government officials, the former vice president, members of Congress, but an attack on the rule of law.”

“And the weight of evidence that I reviewed indicated that it was, in fact, an insurrection,” she added. “And Mr.  Trump engaged in that insurrection under Section Three of the 14th Amendment.”

In a shock decision issued Thursday evening, Bellows said Trump was ineligible for the state’s 2024 primary ballot, citing a clause in the U.S. Constitution that bars people who have “engaged in insurrection” from running for elected office without two-thirds congressional approval.

The clause was originally meant to bar former Confederate soldiers and officers from holding positions in the U.S. government or military.

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It was also referenced by Colorado’s highest court in a 4-3 ruling last week similarly barring Trump from that state’s primary ballot. The decision was challenged by the Colorado GOP, setting up a battle before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Bellows’ office declined to comment.

Fox News’ Liz Elkind contributed to this report.

CHICAGO (AP) — The 2024 elections will be dominated by the presidential contest and the battle for control of Congress, but another series of races is shaping up to be just as consequential.

Crucial battles over abortion, gerrymandering, voting rights and other issues will take center stage in next year’s elections for state supreme court seats — 80 of them in 33 states.

NATIONAL ARCHIVES SETTLES WITH MARCH FOR LIFE VISITORS TOLD TO REMOVE PRO-LIFE CLOTHING

The races have emerged as some of the most hotly contested and costliest contests on the ballot since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the consitutional right to an abortion. The decision shifted the abortion debate to states, creating a “new era” in state supreme court elections, said Douglas Keith, senior counsel in the judiciary program at the Brennan Center for Justice, which tracks spending in judicial races.

“We have seen attention on state supreme court elections like never before and money in these races like never before,” Keith said.

Heated court races in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania in 2023 handed victories to Democrats and saw tens of millions of dollars in TV ads, offering a preview of 2024. They’re also prompting groups to consider investing in states they would not previously have considered.

ABORTION AND GERRYMANDERING TOP ISSUES

At least 38 lawsuits have been filed challenging abortion bans in 23 states, according to the Brennan Center. Many of those are expected to end up before state supreme courts.

The ACLU is watching cases challenging abortion restrictions in Wyoming, Kentucky, Ohio, Utah, Florida, Nevada, Arizona, Nebraska, Georgia and Montana.

“After Roe v. Wade was overturned, we had to turn to state courts and state constitutions as the critical backstop to protecting access to abortion,” said Brigitte Amiri, deputy director at the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project. “And the stakes are unbelievably high in each of these cases in each of these states.”

The ACLU was among major spenders on behalf of Democrats in this year’s state supreme court contests in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Another big player in recent court races has been the Republican State Leadership Committee, which has said its focus is mainly on redistricting, or the drawing of political district boundaries. The group called state supreme courts the “last line of defense against far-left national groups,” but didn’t say how much it intends to spend on next year’s races or which states it’s focusing on.

In Ohio, Democrats are expected to cast state supreme court races as an extension of the November election in which voters enshrined the right to abortion in the state constitution. The state has more than 30 abortion restrictions in place that could be challenged now that the amendment has passed.

“The state supreme court is going to be the ultimate arbiter of the meaning of the new constitutional amendment that the people voted for and organized around,” said Jessie Hill, law professor at Case Western Reserve University and a consultant for Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights. “That is a huge amount of power.”

With three seats up for a vote and a current Republican majority of 4-3, Democrats have an opportunity to flip the majority of the court while Republicans will try to expand their control. Hill said the “very high-stakes election” will serve as another test of the salience of the abortion issue in turning out voters.

“We saw an incredible number of voters come out to vote on that amendment and an incredible amount of investment in those campaigns,” Hill added. “I think we’ll see a similar attention and investment in Ohio come next year.”

Redistricting also is likely to be a main focus in the state’s supreme court races, given the court will have realigned politically since it issued a series of rulings finding Ohio’s congressional and legislative maps unconstitutionally gerrymandered to favor Republicans, said David Niven, political science professor at the University of Cincinnati. He expects millions of dollars to be spent on those campaigns.

“There’s often little conversation about these races, but they are just so utterly consequential in very tangible, practical ways that touch voters’ everyday lives,” he said.

MAP BROADENS FOR CONSEQUENTIAL RACES

Pending legislative and congressional redistricting cases also could play a role in North Carolina.

Republicans in North Carolina are looking to expand their majority two years after the court flipped from Democratic control in the 2022 election. That flip to a 5-2 GOP majority led to dramatic reversals in 2023 on rulings made by the previous court, which had struck down a 2018 photo voter identification law as well as district maps for the General Assembly and the state’s congressional delegation.

Groups on both sides also are expected to focus on Michigan, where Democrats hold a 4-3 majority on the state Supreme Court. Candidates run without political affiliations listed on the ballot, though they’re nominated by political parties.

Two incumbents — one Democrat, one Republican — will be up for election in 2024. The court recently kept former President Donald Trump on the state’s ballot, denying a liberal group’s request to kick him off. It is currently weighing a high-profile case over a Republican legislative maneuver that gutted a minimum wage hike backed by voters.

2023 RACES A PREVIEW

In Wisconsin, abortion played a dominant role in the 2023 court race, with Democrats flipping the court to a 4-3 majority in a campaign that shattered previous national records for spending in state supreme court elections.

Liberal-leaning Justice Janet Protasiewicz defeated former Justice Dan Kelly, who previously worked for Republicans and had support from the state’s leading anti-abortion groups.

Protasiewicz was targeted with impeachment threats this year over comments she made on the campaign trail about redistricting as Republicans argued she had prejudged what then was an expected case on the state’s heavily gerrymandered state legislative districts. Experts say the controversy is an example of how more money and attention have changed the dynamics of many state supreme court races to be increasingly partisan.

Democrats in Pennsylvania added to their majority on the court after a race with tens of millions of dollars in spending. Democrat Dan McCaffery won after positioning himself as a strong defender of abortion rights.

CONTESTED SEATS EVEN IN DEEP RED STATES

It remains to be seen whether abortion rights will play a factor in states where party control isn’t at stake. That includes Arkansas, where the court is expected to maintain its 4-3 conservative majority. The seats up next year include the chief justice position, which has drawn three sitting justices.

A fight over abortion could wind up before the court, with a group trying to put a measure on the ballot next year that would scale back a state ban on the procedure that took effect once Roe was overturned.

Abortion rights supporters also aren’t writing off longshot states such as Texas and its all-Republican high court, which rejected the request from a pregnant woman whose fetus had a fatal condition to be exempted from the state’s strict abortion ban.

In Montana, Republicans have spent huge sums to try to push the court in a more conservative direction. The liberal-leaning court is expected to hear cases related to restrictions on transgender youth and abortion. A landmark climate change case also is pending before the court, which will have two of its seven seats up for election.

Jeremiah Lynch, a former federal magistrate running for the open chief justice position, has cast himself as a defender of the court’s independence and has warned voters to expect a barrage of negative advertising. Cory Swanson, a county attorney also running for the post, announced his bid on a conservative talk show and recently vowed to weed out any “radicalized” applicants for law clerks in response to antisemitism on college campuses.

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In West Virginia, where conservatives have a current 5-4 majority on the court and two seats will be up for grabs, GOP chair Elgine McArdle said Republicans aim to focus more on judicial races than in years past.

“One area the state party has never really engaged much in is nonpartisan races, including the judicial races,” McArdle said. “That won’t be the case this time around.”

Michael Cohen, former President Trump’s onetime fixer and lawyer, admitted in a filing unsealed Friday that he inadvertently gave his lawyer fake legal case citations generated by artificial intelligence in connection with a motion to end his supervised release early. 

U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman previously called the citations into question, writing earlier this month, “In the letter brief, Mr. Cohen asserts that, “[a]s recently as 2022, there have been District Court decisions, affirmed by the Second Circuit Court, granting early termination of supervised release.” 

Furman added, “As far as the Court can tell, none of these cases exist.”

Cohen said in his sworn declaration released Friday that he had found the phony citations through Google Bard, an AI service that he said he thought was a “supercharged” search engine. 

RITE AID BANNED FROM USING AI FACIAL RECOGNITION OVER LACK OF CONSUMER PROTECTIONS 

“As a non-lawyer, I have not kept up with emerging trends (and related risks) in legal technology and did not realize that Google Bard was a generative text service that, like Chat-GPT, could show citations and descriptions that looked real but actually were not,” Cohen said. “Instead, I understood it to be a super-charged search engine and had repeatedly used it in other contexts to (successfully) find accurate information online.”

ELON MUSK REPORTEDLY WARNED THAT AI COULD DESTROY HUMAN COLONY ON MARS: REPORT

In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to tax evasion, campaign finance charges and lying to Congress, spending more than a year in prison before he was put on supervised release. He was also disbarred as a lawyer. 

“It did not occur to me then and remains surprising to me now—that Mr. Schwartz would drop the cases into his submission wholesale without even confirming that they existed,” he added, citing his lawyer David Schwartz. “I deeply regret any problems Mr. Schwartz’s filing may have caused.” 

He said Schwartz’s alleged mistake was “a product of inadvertence, not any intent to deceive.”

E. Danya Perry, who represents Cohen and discovered the citations were fake, told the judge, “Mr. Cohen engaged in no misconduct and should not suffer any collateral damage from Mr. Schwartz’s misstep.”

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In an unrelated case earlier this month, two lawyers were fined $5,000 for citing fake cases generated by AI. 

Perry didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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What’s Happening? 

– Dem blasts decision to remove Trump from ballot

– DOJ threatens to sue Texas

– Haley walks back on slavery comment

– COLD BLOODED: Biden admin targets refrigerators, freezers

The year of ‘stop Trump’

Former President Trump faced unprecedented legal challenges as a frontrunner candidate of a major political party, and the year is ending with various state officials throwing fresh obstacles against his re-election.

In the last remaining business hours before 2024, Maine’s secretary of state moved to block Trump from the GOP primary ballot. Colorado also recently moved to block Trump from its primary ballot, but backed off pending the GOP’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

White House

‘NOT THE SECOND COMING’: Biden was ‘not certain’ about Carter’s re-election chances, floated replacing him: ‘That man’s in trouble’ …Read more

BORDER BATTLE: DOJ threatens to sue Texas over anti-illegal immigration law; Abbott prepared for Supreme Court fight …Read more

Capitol Hill

FISCAL HELL: Freedom Caucus warns GOP leaders against spending ‘agreement’ with Dems as shutdown deadline looms …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

GOLDEN STATE WIN: California secretary of state leaves Trump on the ballot after calls to remove him …Read more

RECORD TURNOUT?: Iowa GOP chair predicts ‘potential for a record turnout’ in 2024 caucuses as new voters ‘surge’ …Read more

‘SUPER SCARY’: Former WH comms director admits 2024 looks ‘really scary’ for President Biden …Read more

SQUEEZED: Don Lemon hits Haley walking back slavery comment after previous clash: ‘Didn’t offer me that same grace’ …Read more

DEMOCRATS DENIED: Hochul vetoes Democrat-backed bill changing state campaign financing program …Read more

ELECTION PROPOSALS: Arkansas group advocating for paper ballots resubmits proposal to state attorney general …Read more

Across America

AMNESTY ON THE TABLE?: US-Mexico migration meeting included talks on ‘regularizing’ illegal immigrants living in US …Read more

HARVARD BLUE: All but 3 of more than 100 high dollar donations from Harvard employees go to Democrats: report …Read more

WHAT IS SWATTING?: What is ‘swatting,’ the ‘criminal harassment’ that has targeted three Republican lawmakers since Christmas? …Read more

BUCKEYE BATTLE: Riley Gaines puts heat on Republican Ohio governor to sign trans bill …Read more

BACK TO SCHOOL: Key moments that defined education in America in 2023 …Read more

FOLDING: New Hampshire casino faces shutdown following alleged COVID-19 relief fund fraud by state senator …Read more

‘WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED’: Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones becomes latest victim of ‘swatting’ incident: ‘I will not be intimidated’

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

Migrant numbers at the southern border in December have broken the record for monthly encounters, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources tell Fox News — just as U.S. and Mexico officials met this week and discussed the benefits of “regularizing” those in the country illegally.

Sources say there have been more than 276,000 migrant encounters in December so far, already making it the highest month on record. 

The previous record was set in September when officials saw 269,735 encounters. The number includes illegal immigrants encountered between ports of entry and migrants entering at ports of entry via the CBP One app. 

US-MEXICO MIGRATION TALKS INCLUDED BENEFITS OF ‘REGULARIZING’ ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS LIVING IN US 

It means that since the new fiscal year began on Oct. 1st, there have been more than 760,000 migrant encounters at the southern border, making the first quarter of FY 24 the highest quarter on record.

It caps a year at the southern border where multiple records have been repeatedly smashed, and where Border Patrol have consistently been overwhelmed by the numbers they are seeing.

Republicans have blamed the surge on the policies of the administration, including the ending of Trump-era policies, while the administration says it is dealing with a hemisphere-wide challenge and needs more funding and immigration reform legislation from Congress. 

LIBERAL MAYORS PUSH BIDEN FOR EMERGENCY DECLARATION, ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO DEAL WITH MIGRANT CRISIS

It has adopted a strategy of expanding “lawful” pathways for migration, cracking down on smugglers and increasing what it says are consequences for illegal entry. A DHS official told Fox this month that there have been 400,000 removals between May and the end of November — nearly the number of removals in all of FY19.

However, officials have also told lawmakers that they are releasing 5,000 illegal immigrants a day into the U.S., and that doesn’t include those being paroled in at ports of entry. 

Currently the White House is requesting $14 billion in border funding as part of the emergency supplemental funding request, but that has stalled as Republicans demand additional restrictions on asylum and the government’s use of parole to stop the interior releases.

This week Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas were part of a U.S. delegation to Mexico City where they met with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

In the joint statement, the countries affirmed their commitments to “orderly, humane and regular migration” and stressed their efforts to tackle “root causes” of migration, disrupt human smuggling and promote private investment while also investing in “ambitious development programs” in the region.

But the statement also said that officials discussed the “benefits” of granting some form of legal status for illegal immigrants already in the U.S., including those protected by the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) — an executive order signed by President Barack Obama, which shielded some illegal immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as minors.

“The delegations also discussed the benefits of regularizing the situation of Hispanic migrants who have been undocumented for several years and the DACA beneficiaries, who are a vital part of the US economy and society,” the joint statement said, adding that the delegations will meet again in January.

That immediately drew criticism from Republicans, who warned that such moves would only exacerbate the crisis.

MIGRANT CRISIS INCREASING STRAIN ON BORDER OFFICIALS, IMMIGRATION COURTS WITH MASSIVE NUMBERS 

“At a time when America is experiencing the worst border crisis in our nation’s history, it is unconscionable to hear the Biden Administration’s announcement that Secretaries Mayorkas and Blinken discussed with the President of Mexico amnesty for illegal immigrants,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said. “The United States must focus on policies that deter — not attract — people attempting to come here illegally, and the smugglers who profit from the catastrophe at our border.” 

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“This development further demonstrates the Administration has no real intention of solving the humanitarian disaster and immediate national security crisis their policies have created. President Biden needs to stop vacationing and take immediate steps to stop the flow of illegal immigration into our country. Our nation’s security and sovereignty depend upon it, and the American people demand it,” he said.

Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

A Democratic House lawmaker from Maine is criticizing his state’s decision to remove former President Donald Trump from the 2024 Republican primary ballot.

“I voted to impeach Donald Trump for his role in the January 6th insurrection. I do not believe he should be re-elected as President of the United States,” Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, began on Thursday night.

“However, we are a nation of laws, therefore until he is actually found guilty of the crime of insurrection, he should be allowed on the ballot.”

POLL SHOWS BIDEN HITTING RECORD LOW APPROVALS, FALLING BEHIND AGAINST TRUMP IN 2024 MATCHUP

In a shock decision issued Thursday evening, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said that Trump was ineligible for the state’s 2024 primary ballot. She cited a clause in the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that bars people who have “engaged in insurrection” from running for elected office without two-thirds congressional approval.

The clause was originally meant to bar former Confederate soldiers and officers from holding positions in the U.S. government or military.

It was also referenced by Colorado’s highest court in a 4-3 ruling last week similarly barring Trump from that state’s primary ballot. The decision was challenged by the Colorado GOP, setting up a battle before the U.S. Supreme Court.

FBI, DENVER POLICE INVESTIGATING THREATS AGAINST COLORADO JUDGES WHO BARRED TRUMP FOR STATE’S BALLOTS

Bellows’ Thursday night decision has unified the Republican Party around Trump, including his allies and rivals.

While most national Democrats remained silent on the matter, some did applaud Trump’s removal from the Maine primary ballot.

“The text of the Fourteenth Amendment is clear. No person who engaged in an insurrection against the government can ever again serve in elected office,” Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, wrote online.

WILL ELECTIONS FINALLY BE SECURE AND HONEST IN 2024?

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“On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump incited a violent mob to block Congress from certifying the Electoral College [and] overturn the 2020 presidential election. Our Constitution is the very bedrock of America and our laws and it appears Trump’s actions are prohibited by the Constitution.”

Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., similarly said on X, “Donald Trump incited a violent riot to overthrow American democracy. Of course he should be banned from the presidency forever.”

WATERLOO, Iowa – The longtime chair of the Iowa GOP says there’s a chance for a “record turnout” when his state’s caucuses on January 15 lead off the Republican presidential nominating calendar.

The Republican record was set eight years ago, when roughly 186,000 voters cast ballots in a wide-open GOP caucus that was narrowly won by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.

“I think there is a potential for a record turnout. Certainly we’re going to be well above 100,000,” Iowa Republican Party chair Jeff Kaufmann emphasized in a recent Fox News Digital interview.

Kaufmann pointed to what he characterized as a surge in new voters showing up at Republican presidential campaign events across the Hawkeye State.

RAISING THE STAKES: ARE TRUMP’S EXPECTATIONS TOO HIGH IN IOWA’S JAN. 15 REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CAUCUSES?

“You come to these events, regardless of the candidate, and you ask how many people are going to caucus for the very first time. I’m seeing a fourth, a third of the people raising their hand,” Kaufmann said. “That’s the unknown factor that makes it harder to predict, but it makes it wonderful as a party chair to know that we’re going to have even more registered Republicans.”

The caucus, unlike most primary elections, is run by the state party. And Kaufmann, with the clock ticking toward caucus day, shared his concerns.

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN IOWA SHOWS 

“We’ve got 1,657 precincts. Almost 10,000 volunteers. Anything can go wrong, but the key is making sure you have stopgaps, you have double checks, you have everything that you need in order to make sure that a process that big, that reliant on volunteer help, everything goes well. So I don’t sleep for the next four weeks,” he said as he spoke with Fox News six days before Christmas at a rally headlined by former President Donald Trump.

But he added: “we feel good with where we’re at. We’re doing caucus trainings by the hundreds.”

Trump remains the commanding front-runner in the Iowa GOP presidential caucus, with his support at 50% or more in the latest surveys. A FOX Business poll indicated Trump at 52%, far ahead of two closes rivals — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 18% and former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at 16%.

The Trump campaign’s ground game operation in Iowa is leagues ahead of his 2016 effort, when he narrowly lost the caucuses to Cruz. 

“Ted Cruz won in 2016 because his ground game was fantastic,” Kaufmann, who remains neutral in the Republican nomination race, told Fox News.

AS FRONT-RUNNER TRUMP RETURNS TO IOWA, RIVALS HALEY AND DESANTIS TURN UP THE VOLUME — ON EACH OTHER

And pointing to the 2024 Trump campaign, Kaufmann emphasized that “their ground game has increased immensely.”

After losing to Cruz eight years ago, Trump, in an unproven claim, charged that “Cruz didn’t win Iowa. He stole it.”

It was a taste of things to come, as Trump has repeatedly charged without providing concrete evidence that his 2020 general election loss to President Biden was “rigged” with “massive voter fraud.”

But Kaufmann said he’s not concerned about Trump claiming that the 2024 caucuses will be “rigged” if the former president doesn’t live up to expectations.

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“We have such a transparent process. We count the ballots in the actual room. We report the ballots in the actual room,” he emphasized.

And Kaufmann added that “the conversations I’ve had with the Trump campaign have not revolved at all around any kind of rigged elections or anything of that nature. . . . We’ve got some great ground games right now in this state. And Donald Trump has one of those great ground games. And so that’s what wins an Iowa caucus.”

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

California voters will have the option to select former President Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary despite calls from the state’s lieutenant governor to remove him from the ballot.

Secretary of State Shirley Weber certified the list of candidates Thursday night.

GAVIN NEWSOM BLASTS EFFORT TO BLOCK TRUMP FROM CALIFORNIA BALLOT: ‘WE DEFEAT CANDIDATES AT THE POLLS’

The decision from the Golden State came hours after Maine’s secretary of state disqualified the GOP front-runner from the ballot – a move that comes in the wake of a similar ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court.

The divided court ruled that Trump is ineligible to run for the presidency under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause, arguing that his actions fueled the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by right-wing protesters aiming to disrupt congressional certification of President Biden’s 2020 election victory.

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Activists in other states, such as Oregon, have asked election officials to remove the former president from their states’ primary ballots under Section 3 of the 14th amendment.

Efforts to remove Trump from the primary ballots in Minnesota and Michigan were unsuccessful.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to make a final decision on Trump’s eligibility nationwide.

Maine’s Democratic secretary of state on Thursday disqualified former President Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot. 

The decision follows a ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court earlier this month that booted Trump from the ballot there under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Colorado is a Democratic-leaning state that is not expected to be competitive for Republicans in November.

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This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is cleaning up comments she made about the U.S. Civil War after catching heat from both sides of the political aisle.

Haley faced a backlash from the White House and fellow Republicans on the campaign trail after she declined to mention slavery as the reason for sparking the U.S. Civil War during a town hall event on Wednesday.

“I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run — the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do,” she said.

TRUMP JR SAYS HE’D GO TO ‘GREAT LENGTHS’ TO PREVENT THIS REPUBLICAN FROM JOINING DAD’S CAMPAIGN

“It was about slavery,” President Biden posted on X with a clip of Haley’s comments.

“Yikes,” the campaign of fellow GOP candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote.

Haley has since clarified that she believes the Civil War was sparked by slavery but that the “bigger issue” was determining the role of government in people’s lives. She further addressed the issue during a press gaggle with New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu on Thursday.

“I think everybody thinks that the Civil War was about slavery. It was more, what’s the bigger issue of it?” she explained to Fox News’ James Levinson. “You know, we went through 80 years of that, and we know that people were struggling with ‘What’s the role of government? What’s the role of individual freedom?’ And the lesson we should take away from the Civil War is, yes, never allow slavery to happen again. But what does that mean for government and the role of individual freedom?”

“We want every person to have the freedom of speech, religion, to live their life without anyone doing anything to hamper that,” she said. “That’s what this was about. So, if it required clarification of saying, yes, the Civil War was about slavery, I’m happy to do that.”

“But look, I know it very well,” she added. “I fought and took down the Confederate flag in South Carolina. I am very aware of what that is. But for us to move forward as a country, what’s the lesson in it? And the lesson is every person deserves freedom, and we have to always fight for it every single day.”

Sununu also chimed in, saying Haley’s comments were “spot on.”

“Spot on. That’s it. The Civil War is about slavery,” he told reporters. “She acknowledged it. Moving on.”

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While Haley received some backlash for her initial comments, not everyone joined in the pile-on, with some conservatives arguing it was a “gotcha” question.

“She couldn’t have actually handled it better,” Fox News host Griff Jenkins said on “Fox & Friends.” “And in that moment, I think she handled it quite well, considering, and didn’t give in to what would clearly, as you point out, a gotcha question.”

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What’s Happening? 

-Rep. Tlaib calls Israeli PM Netanyahu a ‘genocidal maniac’

-Chris Christie launches first major ad blitz against Trump

-Liberal mayors call for national emergency to combat migrant crisis

South Carolinian Roots

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley caught heat from both sides of the political aisle after she declined to mention slavery reason U.S. Civil War.

At a town hall Wednesday, the former U.N. ambassador was asked what about “the cause” of the Civil War, to which she joked: “Well, don’t come with an easy question or anything.”

“I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run — the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do,” she continued in part.

The questioner expressed shock that Haley didn’t mention slavery in her answer, and clips of the exchange began circulating widely. President Biden’s X account ridiculed Haley, and fellow presidential contender Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign picked up on it as well.

On Thursday, Haley suggested that the question came from an unfriendly “Democratic plant,” since the questioner declined to give his name. She also defended her comments, and said that everyone knows the cause of the Civil War was slavery.

“Everybody thinks that the Civil War was about slavery,” Haley told Fox News during a press gaggle after a campaign event Thursday. She added that as former governor of South Carolina who helped take the Confederate flag from the state capitol, she is well aware of history.

“But for us to move forward as a country, what’s the lesson? And the lesson is every person deserves freedom and we have to always fight for it every single day,” Haley said.

Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton jumped into the fray with a take of his own: “The Civil War started because the American people elected an anti-slavery Republican as president and Democrats revolted rather than accept minor restrictions on the expansion of slavery to the western territories,” he said on X.

White House

‘ELECTRIFY EVERYTHING’: Biden declared an all-out war on home appliances in 2023 …Read more

MORE AID: U.S. to send $250 million to aid Ukraine, warning that Congress would have to approve any additional funds …Read more

Capitol Hill

‘NOT DOING ENOUGH’: Dem lawmaker calls out Biden administration for listening to immigration activists more than border communities …Read more

SWATTED: MTG pledges crackdown on ‘swatting’ hoax as GOP senator becomes latest target …Read more

VANDALISM: Democrat Ritchie Torres speaks out after anti-Israel activists leave bloody baby Jesus doll outside his office …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

ON THE BALLOT: Colorado GOP includes Trump on 2024 ballot following Supreme Court appeal …Read more

PUSHING BACK: Chris Christie takes aim at Trump in first major ad blitz of 2024 campaign …Read more

GREENER PASTURES: Colorado congresswoman moves to run in district being vacated by Rep. Ken Buck …Read more

ANOTHER ONE: Georgia lawmaker appointed to judgeship, triggering special election for House seat …Read more

JUMPING SHIP: Democrats switch over to Republican Party in key swing state …Read more

Across America

‘IT BAFFLES ME’: NYC mayor getting silent treatment from Biden over migrant crisis …Read more

NEVER MET HIM: James Carville responds to Fetterman insults about his relevancy …Read more

‘FIGHTING TERRORISM’: Former MSNBC host decries ‘rural rage’ …Read more

HOLLYWOOD DIVIDED: The celebs who faced backlash for controversial takes on Israel-Hamas War …Read more

FRACTURED POINTS OF VIEW: How the Israel-Hamas war divided and inflamed newsrooms in 2023 …Read more

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

The Colorado secretary of state will include former President Donald Trump on the 2024 Colorado primary ballot after Republicans filed an appeal to the Supreme Court.

On Wednesday, the Colorado GOP filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court after the state Supreme Court’s decision to remove Trump from the primary ballot.

Following the appeal, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced that she will include Trump on the primary ballot on the January 5 certification deadline, unless the U.S. Supreme Court affirms the lower court’s ruling or declines to take up the case.

COLORADO GOP ASKING US SUPREME COURT TO OVERTURN RULING DISQUALIFYING TRUMP FROM 2024 BALLOT

“Donald Trump engaged in insurrection and was disqualified under the Constitution from the Colorado Ballot,” Griswold said in a press release.

“The Colorado Supreme Court got it right. This decision is now being appealed,” she continued. “I urge the U.S. Supreme Court to act quickly given the upcoming presidential primary election.”

Trump’s inclusion on the ballot creates an unprecedented situation for the U.S. Supreme Court amid two dueling rulings — the controversial Colorado ruling and the Michigan Supreme Court’s ruling batting down an attempt to remove Trump from the primary ballot there.

The Colorado Supreme Court stayed its ruling until January 4 to allow time for an appeal to its decision.

The two states’ contradicting rulings will likely spur the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case, which will set the legal precedent for the rest of the country.

The U.S. Supreme Court has a ticking political time bomb on its hands: the body will have to decide the case before Super Tuesday, March 5.

The deadline, however, comes with a few wrinkles.

According to Griswold’s press release, the deadline for 2024 primary ballots to be sent out to military voters is January 20.

Additionally, February 12 is the first day that ballots will be mailed out to voters, and at the end of the month, on February 26, the first day of primary voting takes place.

It is unclear what would happen to any released ballots if the U.S. Supreme Court declines the appeal or doesn’t take up the case after they are sent out.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Colorado GOP for comment.

Earlier this month, the Colorado Supreme Court, in a 4-3 vote, overturned a lower court ruling that allowed Trump to appear on the ballot as a presidential candidate. The initial ruling said a president is not among the officials subject to disqualification on a ballot.

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On December 19, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Trump is ineligible to appear on the primary ballot due to the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Colorado Supreme Court simultaneously stayed that ruling until January 4, with that stay remaining in place in the event of an appeal.

“By excluding President Trump from the ballot, the Colorado Supreme Court engaged in an unprecedented disregard for the First Amendment right of political parties to select the candidates of their choice and a usurpation of the rights of the people to choose their elected officials,” attorneys for the state Republican party wrote in a petition after the December 19 ruling.

Fox News Digital’s Kerri Kupec and Louis Casiano contributed reporting.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is catching heat from both sides of the political aisle after she declined to mention slavery as the reason for sparking the U.S. Civil War.

A voter asked the former U.N. ambassador during a New Hampshire town hall on Wednesday what was “the cause” of the war, to which she joked, “Well, don’t come with an easy question or anything.”

“I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run – the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do,” she continued.

TRUMP JR SAYS HE’D GO TO ‘GREAT LENGTHS’ TO PREVENT THIS REPUBLICAN FROM JOINING DAD’S CAMPAIGN

“I mean, I think it all comes down to the role of government,” she added. “We need to have capitalism. We need to have economic freedom. We need to make sure that we do all things so that individuals have the liberties so that they can have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to do or be anything they want to be without government getting in the way.”

The voter responded that he was shocked she didn’t mention the word “slavery.”

“What do you want me to say about slavery?” Haley asked. “Next question.”

Haley’s response sparked backlash from the White House to the campaign trail.

“It was about slavery,” President Biden posted on X with a clip of Haley’s comments.

Bryan Griffin, the press secretary for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2024 presidential campaign, wrote: “On today’s scoreboard, Donald Trump complained about his treatment in the movie Home Alone 2, Nikki Haley stepped in a giant mess of her own making, and @RonDeSantis dismantled the far-left Miami Dade school union. Take your pick!”

“Not stunning if you were a Black resident in SC when she was Governor,” wrote DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison. “Same person who said the confederate flag was about tradition & heritage and as a minority woman she was the right person to defend keeping it on state house grounds. Some may have forgotten but I haven’t. Time to take off the rose colored Nikki Haley glasses folks.”

Haley clarified her remarks in a New Hampshire radio interview Thursday morning.

“Yes, we know the Civil War was about slavery. But more than that, what’s the lesson in all this? That freedom matters. And individual rights and liberties matter for all people. That’s the blessing of America. That was a stain on America when we had slavery. But what we want is never relive it. Never let anyone take those freedoms away again.”

Haley’s campaign pointed to her most recent comments when reached by Fox News Digital.

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Democrats in Pennsylvania — President Biden’s birthplace — are flipping to the Republican Party in droves, according to the swing state’s recent voter registration data.

Pennsylvania holds crucial importance for Biden’s reelection bid. He notably hailed Philadelphia campaign donors as the “backbone” of his presidential campaign earlier this year.

As of Dec. 18, 35,589 Democrats reregistered as Republicans in the state so far this year; in contrast, 15,622 Republicans switched to the Democratic Party, data from the state department shows.

The state trend was first reported Tuesday by Newsweek.

RAMASWAMY VOWS TO WITHDRAW FROM COLORADO PRIMARY BALLOT UNLESS TRUMP IS ON IT, CALLS ON GOP OPPONENTS TO JOIN

Biden’s ties to his home state deepen with wife Jill’s roots in Montgomery County and granddaughter Maisy’s recent graduation from the University of Pennsylvania.

On Wednesday, the White House announced that Biden would make his first visit to Philadelphia on Jan. 6.

Nathan Benefield, senior vice president of the Commonwealth Foundation — a Pennsylvania-based public policy think tank — said that while Pennsylvania is a swing state, “by all the polling, Joe Biden is unpopular here,” and much of it is attributed to the president’s “Bidenomics.”

“Voters are saying they’re not happy with Bidenomics and the economy, and I think that’s reflected in the registration and some of the voting patterns,” Benefield told Fox News Digital in an interview Wednesday.

“Whether Trump and Biden are at the top of the ticket or not, I do think it’s going to be pretty much one of the closest states next year,” he said.

Benefield suggested that a shift is occurring among blue-collar Democrats in the state, particularly those in the western region who have historically favored Republicans in presidential elections. This change seems to be permeating to lower-level elections, and it’s now becoming evident in their party registration.

TRUMP’S REPUBLICAN WHITE HOUSE RIVALS RALLY AROUND FORMER PRESIDENT IN BALLOT BATTLE

State voter registration data also indicates a significant trend for both parties, revealing that a substantial number of voters are disassociating themselves from party affiliation. Specifically, 20,908 Democrats and 18,927 Republicans chose to leave their respective party memberships.

In 2020, Biden defeated Trump by 1.2 percentage points to reclaim the state for the Democrats that Trump had flipped in 2016. 

Pennsylvania will have 19 electoral votes up for grabs in 2024 — down one from 2020 — and the latest surveys indicate that Biden is either even with Trump or trailing slightly.

In 2020, Trump lost to Biden in Pennsylvania by just under 80,000 votes.

VOTING EXTENDED IN CONGOLESE ELECTION AMID POLLING DELAYS

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Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Chris Christie is pushing back against calls from fellow Republicans for the former two-term New Jersey governor to drop out of the GOP presidential nomination race in the first major ad blitz of his 2024 bid.

“Some people say I should drop out of this race. Really? I’m the only one saying Donald Trump is a liar,” Christie said while speaking directly to the camera in a spot launching on TV and digital on Thursday.

Christie’s campaign said the commercial is the first spot in what they tout as a seven-figure ad buy in New Hampshire, the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest after Iowa’s caucuses in the GOP presidential nominating calendar.

As Christie runs a second time for national office, he faces a steep uphill climb against former President Donald Trump, who is the commanding front-runner in the race as he makes his third straight White House bid. Similar to the 2016 cycle, Christie is once again concentrating his time and resources in New Hampshire, where independent voters and moderates have long played a crucial role in the state’s famed primary.

CHRISTIE SAYS SUNUNU ENDORSEMENT OF HALEY ‘DOESN’T CHANGE MY STRATEGY’

Christie’s been running a frugal campaign since declaring his candidacy in June – with ads in support of him coming from an aligned super PAC titled Tell It Like It Is – but he has switched into a higher gear in recent weeks, increasing the number of events he’s hosting with Granite State voters.

The former governor ran his first TV spot of his campaign earlier this month, which was backed by six-figures. Now, he’s upping the ante by shelling out at least $1 million for commercials.

SUNUNU ON HALEY’S 2024 RIVALS: ‘I THINK THEY SHOULD ALL GET OUT’

A Trump ally turned vocal GOP critic, Christie is now taking aim at the former president in his new commercial.

Christie charges in his new ad that Trump “pits Americans against each other,” adding that the former president’s Christmas message to anyone who disagrees with him was “rot in he**.”

When referring to the Jan. 6, 2021, deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters that temporarily disrupted congressional certification of President Biden’s victory over the then-president in the 2020 election, Christie said: “he caused a riot on Capitol Hill. He’ll burn America to the ground to help himself. Every Republican leader says that in private. I’m the only one saying it in public.”

THESE TOP FIVE MOMENTS IN 2023 SHAPED THE 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY RACE

“What kind of President do we want? A liar or someone who has the guts to tell the truth?” Christie asked in the ad. “New Hampshire. It’s up to you. I’m Chris Christie and you bet I approve this message.” 

Christie’s in third place in many of the most recent polls in New Hampshire, far behind Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration.

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Haley, who has been rising in the polls the past couple of months, enjoyed a surge in the surveys in recent weeks after she landed the endorsement of popular Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire. That sparked calls from some Republican insiders and voters for Christie to end his White House bid in order for the anti-Trump vote to consolidate around Haley.

Christie has repeatedly pushed back against the calls by saying he’s the only Trump rival in the race who’s directly taking on the former president. He told Fox News Digital earlier this month that he’s “not going anywhere, so let’s be really clear about that.”

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

The Colorado Republican Party said it’s asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that barred former President Donald Trump from appearing on the state’s 2024 ballot. 

Earlier this month, the Colorado Supreme Court, in a 4-3 vote, overturned a lower court ruling that allowed Trump to appear on the ballot as a presidential candidate. The initial ruling said a president is not among the officials subject to disqualification on a ballot. 

“By excluding President Trump from the ballot, the Colorado Supreme Court engaged in an unprecedented disregard for the First Amendment right of political parties to select the candidates of their choice and a usurpation of the rights of the people to choose their elected officials,” attorneys for the state Republican party wrote in a petition of the Dec. 19 ruling. 

POLL SHOWS BIDEN HITTING RECORD LOW APPROVALS, FALLING BEHIND AGAINST TRUMP IN 2024 MATCHUP

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Colorado GOP. 

In their opinion, the justices on the state’s high court wrote that Trump “incited and encouraged” the use of violence to prevent the peaceful transfer of power on Jan. 6, 2021, when many of his followers stormed the U.S. Capitol as congressional lawmakers were certifying President Biden’s election win. 

The case is being appealed based on three main arguments: whether the president is among those officials subject to disqualification by Section Three of the 14th Amendment, the so-called insurrection clause; whether Section Three is “self-executing,” meaning that it allows states to remove candidates from a ballot in absence of any congressional action. 

The last point rests on whether denying a political party the ability to choose a candidate of its choice in a presidential primary and general election violates the First Amendment Right of Association. The attorneys said by excluding Trump, Colorado’s highest court has concluded that individuals, courts and election officials can possess legal authority to enforce Section Three. 

“Rejecting a long history of precedent, a state Supreme Court has now concluded that individual litigants, state courts, and secretaries of state in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia have authority to enforce Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment,” the state party wrote.

The party also said that other states may follow Colorado’s lead and exclude Trump from their ballots as well. Disqualification lawsuits relating to Trump’s appearance on the ballot are pending in 13 states, including Texas, Nevada and Wisconsin.

“With the number of challenges to President Trump’s candidacy now pending in other states, ranging from lawsuits to administrative proceedings, there is a real risk the Colorado Supreme Court majority’s flawed and unprecedented analysis will be borrowed, and the resulting grave legal error repeated,” the petition states. 

In the lower court ruling, Colorado District Judge Sarah B. Wallace allowed Trump to stay on the ballot, but found that he “engaged in insurrection” for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Biden won Colorado by 13.5 points in 2020.

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On Wednesday, the Michigan Supreme Court rejected an attempt to remove Trump from the state’s 2024 Republican primary ballot.

“Significantly, Colorado’s election laws differ from Michigan’s laws in a material way that is directly relevant to why the appellants in this case are not entitled to the relief they seek concerning the presidential primary election in Michigan,” Justice Elizabeth Welch wrote Wednesday, explaining the court’s ruling.

Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

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What’s Happening? 

– Blinken, Mayorkas meet with Mexican president over migrant crisis

– Senator Fetterman snaps at questions over Biden’s popularity

– Melania Trump celebrates Christmas with ailing mother

Gender-neutral toy sections

California stores with more than 500 employees will soon be fined for not having a “gender-neutral” toy section once a new state law kicks in Jan. 1.

The bill, signed in 2021 by Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, will force stores that sell childcare items or toys to pay a $500 fine should the store fail to create a gender-neutral toy section for kids 12 years old and under. 

A childcare item, according to the legislation text, “means any product designed or intended by the manufacturer to facilitate sleep, relaxation, or the feeding of children, or to help children with sucking or teething.”

Traditional boys and girls sections won’t be outlawed, but a gender-neutral section must also be created. 

Failure to comply after Jan. 1, 2024, may result in civil penalties, enforced through legal action by the state attorney general, district attorney, or city attorney, with penalties ranging from $250 to $500 for subsequent violations.

White House

RULES FOR THEE: VP Harris again ridiculed for gas stove pic …Read more

Capitol Hill

‘NOTHING’ JUSTIFIES A DELAY: Prosecutors reject Menendez’s plea to delay federal bribery trial …Read more

FUNDING DEADLINE APPROACHES: Senate will have to pass key spending bills after holiday recess …Read more

‘SHUT THE F— UP’: John Fetterman has choice words for Democratic strategist who warned of Biden’s waning popularity …Read more

UNLIKELY ALLIES: Democratic, Jewish member of Congress says his friendship with ‘Squad’ member Rashida Tlaib is ‘not easy’ …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

ESTABLISHMENT ‘PUPPET’: Trump Jr. says he’ll ‘make sure’ this GOP candidate doesn’t join dad’s campaign …Read more

REJECTED: State Supreme Court shoots down attempt to keep Trump off ballot …Read more

Across America

NORTH DAKOTA BLUES: North Dakota Republican lawmaker under scrutiny after slurs to police during DUI stop …Read more

CARING FOR MOM: Melania Trump celebrates Christmas with her ailing mother …Read more

RED LADY: New York Times faced intense scrutiny in 2023 over Israel-Hamas coverage …Read more

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

Special Counsel Jack Smith has filed another motion with the district court, which seeks to tamp down what former President Donald Trump‘s legal team can tell a jury in his federal trial currently scheduled for March.

The motion, filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, is seeking to limit what statements Trump can make leading up to his scheduled March 4 federal trial on alleged 2020 election interference. 

That includes a request to prevent Trump from telling the jury he is being prosecuted by the DOJ in coordination with President Biden, as well as suggestions by Trump of undercover agents fomenting violence at the Capitol riots, and of “foreign influence” in the 2020 election.

“Through public statements, filings, and argument in hearings before the Court, the defense has attempted to inject into this case partisan political attacks and irrelevant and prejudicial issues that have no place in a jury trial,” Smith’s team told U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.

SPECIAL COUNSEL IN TRUMP CASE UNCONSTITUTIONAL, FORMER REAGAN AG SAYS

“Although the Court can recognize these efforts for what they are and disregard them, the jury – if subjected to them – may not. The Court should not permit the defendant to turn the courtroom into a forum in which he propagates irrelevant disinformation, and should reject his attempt to inject politics into this proceeding. To ensure that the jury remains focused on its fact-finding duty and applies the law as instructed by the Court, the defendant’s improper evidence and argument should be excluded.”

The filing claims that “through his groundless demand for discovery of evidence regarding ‘investigative misconduct,’” Trump “has suggested that he intends to impeach the integrity of the investigation by raising wholly false claims such as the Government’s non-existent ‘coordination with the Biden Administration’ and other empty allegations recycled from the selective and vindictive prosecution motion that he based on anonymous sources in newspaper articles.”

“Although the defendant is entitled to cross-examine the Government’s law enforcement witnesses about matters fairly within the scope of their direct testimony, he cannot raise wholly irrelevant topics in an effort to confuse and distract the jury. Much as the defendant would like it otherwise, this trial should be about the facts and the law, not politics.”

SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH TO USE DATA FROM TRUMP’S PHONE IN ELECTION INTERFERENCE TRIAL: COURT FILING

The motion seeks to prevent Trump from telling jurors about the potential punishment he could face if convicted, as well as blaming law enforcement agencies for a lack of preparation in advance of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

“Evidence about undercover actors holds no probative value here,” Smith’s team wrote in the filing regarding the riot, saying the “defendant also appears poised to blame undercover agents, government informants, or confidential human sources (collectively, ‘undercover actors’) for the violence at the Capitol on January 6.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

The motion to preclude Trump from introducing broad categories of arguments is a way for prosecutors to try to set parameters on what information they believe the jury should, or should not, hear when the case reaches trial. It was filed as the case is effectively on hold during an appeal of the former president’s claims that he is immune from prosecution for acts taken while in the White House.

JACK SMITH WANTS ‘DOWN AND DIRTY’ TRUMP CONVICTIONS TO INFLUENCE 2024 ELECTION: ALAN DERSHOWITZ

“A bank robber cannot defend himself by blaming the bank’s security guard for failing to stop him,” prosecutors wrote. “A fraud defendant cannot claim to the jury that his victims should have known better than to fall for his scheme. And the defendant cannot argue that law enforcement should have prevented the violence he caused and obstruction he intended.”

The Supreme Court declined last week to get involved in the dispute for now, but a federal appeals panel is set to hear arguments on the matter on Jan. 9. The trial is scheduled for March 4 in federal court in Washington, but it could be postponed by appeals of the immunity issue.

Chutkan imposed a partial gag order against Trump in October blocking him from making statements targeting Smith, his staff, potential witnesses and court personnel.

Chutkan said the former president is able to criticize the Justice Department in general terms and has the right to post his view that the case against him is politically motivated. However, the judge said Trump cannot post attacks against prosecutors or court staff.

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A federal appeals court upheld key parts of that gag order in December.

“An Appeals Court has just largely upheld the Gag Order against me in the ridiculous J6 Case, where the Unselect January 6th Committee deleted and destroyed almost all Documents and Evidence, saying that I can be barred from talking and, in effect, telling the truth,” Trump posted on Truth Social after that ruling. 

“In other words, people can speak violently and viciously against me, or attack me in any form, but I am not allowed to respond, in kind. What is becoming of our First Amendment, what is becoming of our Country? We will appeal this decision!”

Trump pleaded not guilty in federal court to all four federal charges stemming from Smith’s investigation into 2020 election interference and the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

The judge presiding over the New York Trump Organization trial also imposed a partial gag order to prevent all parties from engaging in any verbal attacks against court staff after Trump criticized a member of the judge’s office on social media.

An appeals court stay was temporarily issued on the New York gag order, but it was reinstated in November.

“Merry Christmas to all, including Crooked Joe Biden’s ONLY HOPE, Deranged Jack Smith, the out of control Lunatic who just hired outside attorneys, fresh from the SWAMP (unprecedented!), to help him with his poorly executed WITCH HUNT against ‘TRUMP’ and ‘MAGA,'” Trump posted on Truth Social on Christmas Day.

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: Former first lady Melania Trump celebrated Christmas with her ailing mother, Fox News Digital has learned. 

A source close to the former first lady told Fox News Digital that she did not attend the Trump family Christmas celebration at Mar-a-Lago earlier this week so that she could spend time with her ailing mother. 

MELANIA TRUMP TO SPEAK TO NEW AMERICAN CITIZENS ABOUT RESPONSIBILITY OF ‘GUARDING OUR FREEDOM’

“Melania has always been very devoted to her entire family,” a source close to Melania Trump told Fox News Digital. “It should be no surprise that she spent this Christmas with her ailing mother.” 

Former President Trump and Melania’s son, Barron, attended the Christmas dinner with his father and other family members at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. 

MELANIA FULLY BEHIND TRUMP’S 2024 CAMPAIGN, SAYS IT WOULD BE A ‘PRIVILEGE’ TO SERVE AS FIRST LADY AGAIN

The former first lady, in an interview with Fox News Digital earlier this year, said she fully supports her husband’s presidential campaign and looks forward to “restoring hope for the future and leading America with love and strength” during a possible second term in the White House. She told Fox News Digital it would be a “privilege” to serve as first lady again. 

Trump said that if she has “the privilege” to serve as first lady again in 2024, she would continue to prioritize initiatives focused on the well-being and development of children, to ensure they have the “support and resources they need to reach their full potential.”

Former President Trump currently holds a commanding lead over the GOP primary field. 

During her time as first lady, Melania Trump hosted virtual roundtables on foster care as part of her “Be Best” initiative, and focused on strengthening the child welfare system. She worked with members of Congress on legislation that secured funding for grants awarded to youth and young adults currently or formerly in foster care to help pay for college, career school or training. The bill ultimately was signed by then-President Trump in December 2020.

MELANIA TRUMP ROLLS OUT ‘AMERICAN CHRISTMAS’ ORNAMENTS, NFTS TO HELP FUND SCHOLARSHIPS FOR FOSTER CHILDREN

Since leaving the White House, the former first lady also created special edition Non-Fungible Tokens. A portion of those proceeds went toward her initiative “Fostering the Future” to secure education opportunities and scholarships for children in the foster care community.

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Meanwhile, earlier this month, Melania Trump spoke to new American citizens about the “responsibility” of citizenship and the importance of “guarding our freedom” during a naturalization ceremony in the historic National Archives Rotunda. 

The ceremony featured 25 people from 25 nations sworn in as new citizens of the U.S. before the Constitution and other founding documents.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas are meeting with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday to discuss the “unprecedented” migration in the hemisphere just as migrant numbers are breaking records in the U.S. and a new caravan is moving north.

Blinken is traveling to Mexico City, where he will join Mayorkas and White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall, in a meeting with Lopez Obrador.

The State Department said that the officials will discuss “unprecedented irregular migration in the Western Hemisphere and identify ways Mexico and the United States will address border security challenges, including actions to enable the reopening of key ports of entry across our shared border.” 

MIGRANT CRISIS INCREASING STRAIN ON BORDER OFFICIALS, IMMIGRATION COURTS WITH MASSIVE NUMBERS 

“Secretary Blinken will reaffirm the United States’ commitment to the Los Angeles Declaration for Migration and Protection, and underscore the urgent need for lawful pathways and additional enforcement actions by partners throughout the region,” the State Department said.

The LA declaration was unveiled last year and involved commitments from multiple nations in the hemisphere to manage the massive migrant wave moving through the region.

The Biden administration has emphasized the importance of regional cooperation to what it sees as a region-wide challenge, as well as the importance of expanding “lawful pathways” for migrants. The U.S. has set up regional processing centers in the region, while significantly (and controversially) expanding the use of humanitarian parole to allow tens of thousands of migrants into the U.S. each month.

However, the crisis, which has dogged the administration since taking office, has continued and has ramped up in recent weeks and months, threatening to shatter additional records.

Fox News reported this week that during the four-day Christmas weekend, there were more than 35,000 migrant encounters, and since Dec. 1, there have been over 250,000 migrant encounters at the southern border — meaning December could break the monthly record for encounters set in September (269,735).

NOVEMBER SAW NEARLY QUARTER OF A MILLION MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AMID NEW BORDER SURGE

Meanwhile, another migrant caravan, estimated to include over 8,000 migrants, has been making its way through southern Mexico. Caravans regularly make the trip toward the border but often break up before reaching the U.S. with migrants making their own way, boarding trains or settling in Mexico.

Back home, the Biden administration has said it needs more funding from Congress and legislation to fix a “broken” system. It has also said that it is expanding additional lawful pathways while at the same time increasing consequences for illegal entry.

However, Republicans have blamed the crisis on the Biden administration’s policies, including its releases of migrants into the interior, narrowed ICE deportation priorities and the rollback of Trump-era policies like border wall construction and the “Remain-in-Mexico” policy.

While the White House has requested $14 billion in additional border security funding, that request is currently tied up in Washington amid Republican calls for more limits on asylum and the use of humanitarian parole. The White House has said it is open to compromise, but some Democrats have pushed back against any additional limits.

Lopez Obrador has been weighing in on U.S. politics and feuding with Republicans over the border. He recently attacked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for signing a law that allows law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants.

“The Texas governor acts that way because he wants to be the Republican vice presidential candidate and wants to win popularity with these measures,” Lopez Obrador said. “He’s not going to win anything. On the contrary, he is going to lose support because there are a lot of Mexicans in Texas, a lot of migrants.”

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In March, after Republicans called for additional actions against Mexican drug cartels, Lopez Obrador announced an “information campaign” against Republicans “for Mexicans who live and work in the United States and for all Hispanics to inform them of what we are doing in Mexico and how this initiative by the Republicans, in addition to being irresponsible, is an offense against the people of Mexico, a lack of respect for our independence, our sovereignty.”

Last week, the Mexican president said the U.S. wants Mexico to do more to stop migrants coming to the border, either by stopping them from getting into Mexico from Guatemala or limiting travel across Mexico by train and bus.

Lopez Obrador said he wants the reduction of sanctions against Cuba and Venezuela and more development aid to countries where migrants are originating in return.

Fox News’ Griff Jenkins and The Associated Press contributed to this report.