Embattled Biden border order loaded with loopholes ‘to drive a truck through’: critics


President Biden on Tuesday introduced executive actions to limit asylum claims at the southern border, but emerging details of the move show that the block contains significant exceptions that critics say you can “drive a truck through.”

“Today, I’m moving past Republican obstruction and using executive authorities available to me as president to do what I can on my own to address the border,” Biden said in a speech on Tuesday afternoon.

The presidential proclamation will temporarily suspend the entry of migrants across the southern border once the number of average border encounters exceeds 2,500 a day over seven days, officials said.

‘IT IS INSULTING’: BIDEN BORDER ORDER TAKES HEAT FROM DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS

Migrants standing in line at the Border

Migrants at the front of the line are processed for entry by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. (Jon Michael Raasch/Fox News Digital)

That will stay in effect until 14 days after there has been a seven-day average of less than 1,500 encounters along the border. It is accompanied by an interim final rule from the departments of Homeland Security and Justice. That rule will also apply a higher standard migrants must meet for initial asylum screenings. The move brought criticism from Democrats as well as Republicans and a threat of a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

However, the rule comes with a series of significant exceptions. In addition to not applying to legal immigrants, it also does not apply to unaccompanied children or to those judged to be “victims of severe forms of trafficking.” It also doesn’t apply to those who schedule an appointment on the CBP One app at a port of entry, where about 1,500 enter each day. There is also an exception for those who are allowed to enter “based on the totality of the circumstances,” which includes urgent humanitarian or law enforcement considerations.

BIDEN ORDER TO BLOCK MOST ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WHEN CROSSINGS SURGE AS ELECTION NEARS

Finally, it allows for the entry of noncitizens “due to operational considerations that warrant permitting the noncitizen to enter.”

Those exceptions sparked additional concern from Republicans, who were already sour on the order and believed it was too little too late.

President Biden walks off after speaking about an executive order at the White House on June 4, 2024.

President Biden walks off after speaking about an executive order at the White House on June 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

“The exceptions to Biden’s new EO are broad enough to drive a truck through,” Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“So, the message to the cartels and the smugglers is you have the greenest of green lights to smuggle trafficked children into this country, into various forms of servitude, slavery, sex trafficking, labor trafficking, other forms of abuse, imprisonment and torture,” former senior Trump White House official Stephen Miller said in response to the exception for unaccompanied minors.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas challenged that assertion on “Your World” when he was asked by Neil Cavuto if this was a green light for smugglers. He called the cartels “unscrupulous.”

“They exploit individuals of all different types of vulnerabilities. We are taking it to the cartels. We exempted unaccompanied children from this asylum bar because of the compelling humanitarian picture they present,” he said.

The Biden administration has also embraced those exceptions as a way in which the order differs from the Trump-era use of the authority used by Biden.

‘IT IS INSULTING’: BIDEN BORDER ORDER TAKES HEAT FROM DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS

“The action will not ban people based on their religion. It will not separate kids from their mothers. There are also narrow humanitarian exceptions to the bar on asylum, including for those facing an acute medical emergency or an imminent extreme threat to life or safety. And the Trump administration’s actions did not include these exceptions,” a senior administration official told reporters on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the action tightens policy for when officials seek to remove an illegal immigrant quickly under “expedited removal.” They previously asked each migrant if they feared persecution in their home country, and if they said yes, they would be given a “credible fear” screening. Now agents will no longer ask individually but will provide general notice to migrants and be on the lookout for verbal and nonverbal signs that someone may be fearful of being deported.

Behaviors officials are told to look out for include explicit statements expressing fear from migrants but can also self-harm and “non-verbal actions,” including hysteria, shaking, unusual behavior, “incoherent” speech patterns and an “unusual level of silence.” The guidance says that if an agent determines that a migrant is showing such a fear, they must first provide them with information and refer them to an asylum officer. 

As a result, signs will be posted in detention centers that say: “If you are hungry or thirsty, need medical care, fear persecution or torture if removed from the United States, have been a victim of abuse, have been a victim of a sexual assault, have witnessed a crime, tell an Officer. Your claim will be heard. You may be referred to a medical professional, an asylum officer, or other law enforcement professional.”

Translations will be made available in Arabic, Bengali, French, Haitian Creole, Hindi, K’iche’/Kxlantzij, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Turkish, and Vietnamese. The guidance also says that a video explaining the circumstances should be played every two hours on a daily basis. 

Conservative critics said the guidance shows that, despite the rollout, little will change.

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“The guidance basically spells out that if an illegal alien claims fear they have to be referred to the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) rubber stamp without question, which means nothing really changes, except CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection

 and ICE doesn’t ask them out the gate if they are scared to return home,” RJ Hauman, president of the National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE) and a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation told Fox News Digital. “Traffickers and cartels are sure to quickly adapt to this political gimmick. They will immediately instruct everyone to claim fear immediately upon arrest instead of waiting to be asked.”





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Hunter Biden trial enters day 5 after testimony from sister-in-law turned girlfriend: ‘panicked’


WILMINGTON, Del. — Hunter Biden’s sister-in-law-turned-girlfriend, Hallie Biden, took the stand in the first son’s criminal trial on Thursday, walking the jury through the ex-couple’s use of crack cocaine and events surrounding the disappearance of Hunter’s Cobra Colt .38.

“It was a terrible experience I went through, and I was embarrassed and ashamed. … I regret that period of my life,” Hallie Biden told the court on Thursday about her use of crack cocaine. 

Hallie Biden is Beau Biden’s widow, and she began a relationship with Hunter Biden in 2015, following her husband’s death from brain cancer. The pair had an on-and-off romantic relationship until about 2019, with Hunter Biden living in her home in Wilmington as well as the pair sharing a home in Annapolis, Maryland.

She testified that Hunter Biden introduced her to crack cocaine in 2018, noting that she deeply regretted her dalliances with the addictive drug and has since become sober. 

HUNTER BIDEN TRIAL ENTERS DAY 4 AFTER WILD TESTIMONY FROM EXES ON RAMPANT DRUG USE, TRASHED HOTEL ROOMS

Hunter Biden and Melissa Cohen Biden arrive at federal court

Hunter Biden arrives at the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 6, 2024, as his trial on felony gun charges continues. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Hallie Biden is a key figure in the trial: She was the one to toss Hunter Biden’s gun in a trash can outside a Wilmington supermarket, which led to police involvement ahead of the indictment last year. She also provided further insight into his addiction to crack cocaine during the year he purchased the gun.

Prosecutors are working to prove that Hunter Biden lied on a federal firearm form, known as ATF Form 4473, in October 2018 when he ticked a box labeled “No” when asked if he is an unlawful user of a firearm or addicted to controlled substances. Hunter Biden purchased the gun from a store called StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply in Wilmington.

HUNTER BIDEN TRIAL ENTERS 3RD DAY WITH CROSS-EXAMINATION OF FBI AGENT

Hunter Biden’s defense team does not deny the first son’s issues with addiction, which are well documented in his memoir, “Beautiful Things,” they instead argue that at the time of the gun purchase, Hunter did not consider himself a user of illegal substances. 

Hunter Biden is facing charges of making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.

A court sketch depicts Hallie Biden testifying on the stand during Hunter Biden’s trial

A court sketch depicts Hallie Biden testifying on the stand during Hunter Biden’s trial in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 6, 2024. (William J. Hennessy Jr.)

He pleaded not guilty in the case.

The total maximum prison time for the three charges could be up to 25 years. Each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release.

Hallie Biden was matter-of-fact in her responses to prosecutors on Thursday as they peppered her with questions about her relationship with Hunter Biden, how she learned Hunter Biden was a crack cocaine user, and the events surrounding her tossing out his gun in a panic in October 2018.

“I found [crack] and googled it because I didn’t know what it was,” Hallie Biden told the court of the first time she saw the drug in her home. “[Hunter Biden] told me what it was, crack cocaine.”

‘LIKE A SON’: FORMER TOP BIDEN ADVISER WITH DEEP BUSINESS TIES TO CHINA SPOTTED INSIDE HUNTER BIDEN GUN TRIAL

Hallie Biden, who testified under immunity, said she smoked crack cocaine and even accompanied Hunter Biden on drug deals. She became sober by August 2018.

The widowed mother of two was joined in court by her husband, John Hopkins Anning, who she married just last weekend.

She was grilled by both prosecutors and the defense team surrounding her discovery of Hunter Biden’s gun in the console of his truck on her property in Wilmington. She explained that after not seeing Hunter Biden for a while, he visited her home late Oct. 22, 2018, or early Oct. 23 and that he looked “tired, exhausted” and “could have been” on drugs. 

After dropping her children off at school on the morning of Oct. 23, Hallie Biden went over to clean out Hunter Biden’s truck to rid it of any potential drugs or alcohol in an effort to help his sobriety.

A court sketch depicts Hallie Biden testifying on the stand during Hunter Biden’s trial

A court sketch depicts Hallie Biden testifying on the stand during Hunter Biden’s trial in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 6, 2024. (William J. Hennessy Jr.)

“Aside from trash and clothes, I found remnants of crack cocaine, paraphernalia – oh, and the gun, obviously,” she said. 

Hallie Biden said she “panicked” when she found the gun, which was accompanied by a box of ammunition and a couple of loose bullets, and placed anything that appeared related to the firearm in a leather pouch she also found in the truck. She then placed the pouch in a shopping bag.

HUNTER BIDEN’S WIFE LASHES OUT AT FORMER TRUMP AIDE DURING COURT APPEARANCE: ‘PIECE OF S—‘

“I panicked, and I wanted to get rid of them,” she said of the pistol and box of ammo. “I didn’t want him to hurt himself or [for] my kids to find it and hurt themselves.”

She then drove to a nearby grocery store, called Janssen’s Market, and tossed the gun in a trash can located outside the store. The court was presented with surveillance footage of her dropping the bag containing the pouch and gun into the receptacle.

She told the court that she was “flustered” after discovering the firearm and now realizes it was a “stupid idea” that she made when she “panicked.” 

An evidence photo shows the gun that Hunter Biden purchased.

An evidence photo presented by the prosecution shows the gun that Hunter Biden purchased. (U.S. Government Exhibit)

Hallie Biden walked the court through her messages and phone calls with Hunter Biden after she disposed of the gun. 

“I was just going to pretend like it wasn’t me,” she said, before Hunter Biden discovered his firearm was missing and texted her: “Did you take that from me?”

The first son apparently became angry with her actions regarding the gun, demanding she return to the market and “look for it.” She said that after her attempts to locate the pistol in the trash can, Hunter Biden told her to contact police and file a report.

HUNTER BIDEN’S DRUG USE: WHAT THE PROSECUTION NEEDS TO PROVE AND WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW

The jury was presented with video footage of her outside the market searching for the gun.

Hallie Biden’s testimony, when questioned by defense attorney Abbe Lowell, became confusing Thursday as he repeatedly questioned her on the timeline of events that day. Hallie Biden repeatedly used the phrase “I don’t recall,” and even remarked she was “confused” by his questions.

“There are just some things you remember and many things you don’t,” Lowell shot back.

Abbe Lowell arrives at the federal court

Attorney Abbe Lowell arrives at federal court during Hunter Biden’s trial in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 5, 2024. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

In addition to the court hearing testimony from the first son’s sister-in-law-turned-romantic partner, jurors heard continued testimony in the morning from the gun shop employee who sold Hunter Biden the gun in 2018, Gordon Cleveland; Delaware State Police Trooper Joshua Marley, who responded to Janssen’s Market when Hallie Biden filled a police report; former Delaware State Police Lt. Millard Greer; and an elderly man, Edward Banner, who discovered Hunter Biden’s discarded gun in the trash can.

Gordon Cleveland departs from federal court

Gordon Cleveland leaves federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

HUNTER BIDEN TRIAL: 9 KEY FIGURES WHO MAY TESTIFY

Banner, an 80-year-old man who is hard of hearing, elicited chuckles and laughter from the court for his responses to both prosecutor Derek Hines and Hunter Biden’s attorney, Lowell, on Thursday. The elderly man took the stand with the assistance of presiding Judge Maryellen Noreika, who hopped out of her leather chair to help seat Banner.

Hunter Biden and Melissa Cohen Biden arrive at federal court

Hunter Biden and wife Melissa Cohen Biden arrive at the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 6, 2024. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Hines and Lowell both questioned Banner from just feet away from the witness stand, as he could not hear them otherwise. Banner, a former employee of General Motors and a Navy veteran, recounted to the court that he has long gone through trash bins looking for materials to recycle in an effort to make money – “especially now with gas prices,” he quipped. 

Surveillance footage was played in court that showed Banner retrieving the gun from the trash can outside of Janssen’s Market. He said he remembered finding the gun, though not the exact day. He took the gun to his home and stored it in a box with another firearm he said he received from a former GM employee. He told the court he also remembered when a police officer, Greer, tracked him down and ultimately took the pistol into custody.

US V HUNTER BIDEN: OPENING STATEMENTS TO BEGIN IN FIRST SON’S FEDERAL GUN TRIAL AFTER JURY SEATED

Banner was an apparent delight to the jury, who chuckled at his remarks throughout the testimony, including when Hines asked him how long he’s been married. Banner said he believes he’s been married 11 years but that his wife would “know better than I do.” Hunter Biden was also seen smiling as Banner spoke before the court.

After Banner wrapped his testimony, Noreika joked with the attorneys that their up-close and personal questioning of the man at the witness stand was “not like in the movies.”

“No, it’s not the same as when Perry Mason did it,” Lowell joked in response.

Hunter Biden and Melissa Cohen Biden at federal court

Hunter Biden and wife Melissa Cohen Biden arrive at federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Hunter Biden was attentive throughout court proceedings, as he has been each day this week, taking notes, chatting with his defense team and making a beeline to his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, when court took breaks. He was seen planting a kiss on the top of his wife’s head ahead of court kicking off on Thursday.

First lady Jill Biden was not in court on Thursday, the first time so far this trial, instead traveling to Normandy, France, to join President Biden for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. She is expected back in the Wilmington, Delaware, court on Friday before flying back to France.

HUNTER BIDEN’S CRIMINAL TRIAL ON FEDERAL GUN CHARGES BEGINS WITH JURY SELECTION

Prosecutors said – after the jury left court for the day – that they will call their final two witnesses Friday: forensic chemist Jason Brewer and DEA Special Agent Joshua Romig. They anticipate resting by mid-Friday morning.

Lowell told the court he anticipates calling two to three witnesses, including making a determination tomorrow if he will call their own expert chemist. He said they could rest by Monday.

Kathleen Buhle departs the federal courthouse

Hunter Biden’s former wife, Kathleen Buhle, leaves the federal courthouse after taking the stand during his trial on June 5, 2024. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

It is unclear if the defense team will call Hunter Biden to testify.

Court resumes Friday at 9 a.m. and concludes for the week at 4:30 p.m.

Zoe Kestan departs the federal court after testifying in Hunter Biden’s trial

Zoe Kestan, former girlfriend of Hunter Biden, leaves federal court after testifying in his trial on June 5, 2024. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

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The trial previously included testimony from Hunter Biden’s ex-girlfriend, Zoe Kestan, who met the first son while working as a stripper in New York City when she was 24 and he was 48, FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen, and Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle. 



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Judge orders Steve Bannon to report to prison


A federal judge in Washington, D.C. has ordered Steve Bannon, longtime ally of former President Trump, to report to prison on July 1.

Judge Carl Nichols’ decision revokes Bannon’s bail. Bannon lost an appeal of his contempt of Congress conviction in May. Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison for ignoring a Congressional subpoena to testify regarding the January 6 capitol riot.

Bannon has yet to comment on Nichols’ ruling.

Bannon claimed he acted on the advice of his legal team and did not intend to break the law. Judge Bradley Garcia wrote that an acting on “advice of counsel” defense is “no defense at all.”

HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE INVESTIGATES ‘MANIPULATED’ EVIDENCE SEIZED BY FBI IN TRUMP CLASSIFIED RECORDS PROBE

Steve Bannon in court

A federal judge in Washington, D.C. has ordered Steve Bannon, longtime ally of former President Trump, to report to prison on July 1. (AP)

Bannon was first sentenced in October 2022. The sentence also included a $6,500 fine. DOJ prosecutors in the case had sought a 6-month sentence and a $200,000 fine.

REP. MASSIE PRESSES GARLAND ON CONSTITUTIONALITY OF SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S APPOINTMENT

“I want to say one thing — I respect the judge, the sentence he came down with today is his decision. I’ve been totally respectful to this entire process on the legal side,” Bannon said after the sentencing.

Steve Bannon in court

Bannon was first sentenced in October 2022. The sentence also included a $6,500 fine. (Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images)

Bannon’s defense team had argued that his attorney at the time he received the subpoena, Robert Costello, advised his client that he was not permitted, as a matter of law, in any way to respond to the notice, saying executive privilege had been raised and that it was not his privilege to waive. Costello wrote the committee to inform them that Bannon would comply if the panel worked out any privilege issues with former President Trump or if a court ordered him to comply, Bannon’s current attorney David Schoen said. 

FEDERAL JUDGE POSTPONES TRUMP’S CLASSIFIED RECORDS TRIAL WITH NO NEW DATE

Police try to hold back protesters during the January 6 riot at the US Capitol in 2021.

Bannon was convicted for refusing to testify before Congress regarding the January 6 riot. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

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“In America, we do not criminally prosecute, let alone convict and send to prison people who not only don’t believe their conduct to be wrongful or in violation of the law, but, as in this case, people who follow the advice of their lawyers who tell them that the law does not permit them to comply with a congressional subpoena when executive privilege has been invoked,” Schoen said last month.

This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.



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Hillary Clinton commemorates D-Day with post suggesting Trump is comparable to Hitler


Hillary Clinton marked the 80th anniversary of the D-Day operation with a social media post that appeared to cast former President Trump as a threat to democracy on par with Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

In an X post on Thursday, Clinton implied that democracy is at stake in the upcoming presidential election, with presumptive Republican nominee former President Trump challenging incumbent President Biden, a Democrat. 

“Eighty years ago today, thousands of brave Americans fought to protect democracy on the shores of Normandy,” Clinton wrote in an X post on Thursday. “This November, all we have to do is vote.” 

The D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944, is one of the most famous moments in U.S. military history. It was a turning point in World War II and the beginning of the liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany’s control by American and Allied forces. The implication from the failed 2016 Democratic nominee is that her former rival, Trump, is a threat to democracy similar to Hitler’s Third Reich — which sought world domination through conquest.

HILLARY CLINTON SWIPES DEMOCRATS, GIVES REPUBLICANS ‘CREDIT’: ‘NOTHING LIKE IT ON OUR SIDE’

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Rodham Clinton attends the broadway opening night of “The Wiz” at Marquee Theatre on April 17, 2024, in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

It wasn’t the first time Clinton has compared Trump to Hitler — in a May 21 post on X she called him, “Grifter Hitler,” and shared an Associated Press article about a video posted to Trump’s Truth Social account that referenced a “unified Reich” among hypothetical headlines if he wins the November election. The Trump campaign said the video was “created by a random account online and reposed by a staffer who clearly did not see the word.” 

A spokesperson for Clinton did not respond to a request for comment.

HILLARY CLINTON SLAMMED BY FELLOW DEMOCRAT FOR ‘DISMISSIVE’ REMARKS ABOUT ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS

Trump with Hannity

Former President Trump responded to claims he would seek retribution for the “lawfare” waged against him by Democrats in a new interview with FNC’s Sean Hannity.  (Fox News/Hannity)

“Hillary Clinton is a stone-cold loser who presided over the horrific Benghazi debacle that led to the death of Americans,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital. “Nobody takes Hillary seriously because it’s clear she is beclowning herself in order to stay relevant after President Trump crushed her in 2016.” Trump defeated Clinton in the 2016 presidential election with 304 Electoral College votes, narrowly winning several key battleground states, although Clinton won the popular vote by a 2.1% margin. 

Democrats and President Biden have consistently attacked Trump as a threat to democracy since the January 6 riots, when a mob of Trump supporters marched on the U.S. Capitol in 2021 and interrupted Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Biden defeated Trump. They have also accused Republicans of acting to disenfranchise minorities through voter ID laws, limits on mail-in ballots and other election regulations Democrats say make it harder to vote. 

BILL AND HILLARY CLINTON TO HOST EXCLUSIVE BIDEN DINNER FUNDRAISER

Biden/Trump split

Voters say President Biden is more trustworthy on issues of election integrity and protecting democracy than former President Trump, according to recent polls.  (Win McNamee/Michael M. Santiago)

Trump has brushed off these attacks, telling Fox News in a recent interview he is the “opposite” of a threat to democracy. 

In issue polling for the presidential election, voters consistently say they trust Biden more than Trump on topics of election integrity, preserving or protecting democracy and ensuring fair elections. A recent Fox News poll found Biden leading Trump by seven points on the issue of election integrity.

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However, Trump leads Biden on key issues including the border and immigration, the economy, foreign policy and crime, according to the Fox News Power Rankings Issues Tracker.



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Youngkin declares ‘independence from California’ as Virginia exits emissions pact


Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has withdrawn the state from a 2021 pact that had mandated adherence to California’s stringent emissions standards – including a ban on internal combustion vehicles by 2035.

Youngkin and legislative Republicans previously failed to repeal the law, which linked Virginia with California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) standards, and Wednesday’s move similarly did not go over well with some state Democrats as of the following morning.

In an interview Thursday, Youngkin bluntly said, “They’re wrong,” when asked about Democratic pushback that he and Attorney General Jason Miyares were overstepping their bounds.

“In fact, the law is very clear and the [Miyares]’ opinion is clear and straightforward. The California Regulatory Framework ACC-1 sunsets on December 31st, 2024.”

YOUNGKIN: EDUCATION IS THE BEDROCK OF THE AMERICAN DREAM

Then-Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin holds a campaign event in Amherst, Virginia, October 28, 2021.

Then-Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin holds a campaign event in Amherst, Virginia, October 28, 2021. (Charlie Creitz/Fox News)

“The new California framework, ACC-2, we are choosing not to enter into and are exercising our autonomous decision authority to, in fact, place ourselves under the federal government’s guidelines here as opposed to California,” he said.

“There’s no controversy. And once again, these are the exact same legislators that surrendered Virginia’s autonomy in decision-making over this, over this issue to California’s unregulated regulators. And, we’re taking it back.”

In response to the administration’s move, state Sen. Scott Surovell, the number-two Democrat in the chamber, compared Youngkin to Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and accused Miyares of giving Youngkin “cover” to act as such.

Surovell called Youngkin and Miyares’ actions “reckless, illegal and unconstitutional” in comments reported by the Virginia Mercury. 

“[They] are destructive of Virginia’s pro-business reputation,” Surovell said, adding that the American Revolution was fought so that a state executive would never be able to “nullify laws by-press-conference.”

Youngkin appeared unfazed by the Putin allegation, telling Fox News Digital that Virginia simply “declared independence yesterday from California.”

YOUNGKIN VETOES A SLEW OF VIRGINIA BILLS INCLUDING CONTRACEPTION ACCESS MEASURE

“Virginians should be deciding what car they drive, not California’s unelected regulators. These misguided mandates were wrong from the beginning and we are going to liberate Virginia from them.”

He predicted that if the regulatory pact were to remain in place, it would cost Virginians a net $1.2 billion to comply, calling it an unwarranted economic penalty on hard-working residents.

When it comes to the future of U.S. energy production and technology, Youngkin added that it will be American innovation – not bureaucratic whims – that craft it.

In a statement, state Sen. Ryan McDougle, a New Kent County Republican who joined Youngkin’s withdrawal request, said the CARB standards are unique to California and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s own orders.

“Virginia’s laws should not be determined by California politicians. Instead, our laws should be decided by Virginians who are elected to serve Virginia and address issues that face our commonwealth, not a state nearly 3,000 miles away,” McDougle said.

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Miyares said that if the Democratic majority in the General Assembly wants to craft a bill imposing outside control over Virginia residents’ vehicle purchases, he welcomes that debate:

“That’s the beauty of democracy,” he said, calling California’s rules unrealistic and costly: “If you want to purchase an electric vehicle, that is your choice, but, rather than enforcing a one-size-fits-all mandate, I want Virginia consumers to choose the transportation options that best suit their specific needs and circumstances.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Newsom’s office for comment.



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Trump VP contender clashes with top Democrats over his ‘Jim Crow’ comment


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Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida is returning fire after top Democrats took aim at the leading Black surrogate for former President Trump over comments he made earlier this week.

The controversy focuses on what Donalds – who sources indicate is on Trump’s short-list for 2024 running mate – said on Tuesday night regarding the quality of life for Black families during Jim Crow-era racial segregation.

Donalds spoke in Philadelphia as he and Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas, a fellow Black Republican and Trump surrogate, kicked off a series of gatherings titled “Congress, Cognac, and Cigars.”

TRUMP CAMPAIGN SETS UP SHOP IN BLUE PHILADELPHIA IN FIGHT FOR KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE

Byron Donalds fires back at critics in the controversy over his 'Jim Crow' comments

Republican Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida, left, and Wesley Hunt of Texas headline a Black voter outreach event titled “Congress, Cognac, and Cigars” on June 4, 2024, in Philadelphia. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

The GOP outreach effort by Donalds and Hunt for Black male voters in key battleground states comes as recent public opinion polling suggests Trump is making gains with Black voters and chipping away at President Biden’s once overwhelming lead as the two face off in a 2024 election rematch.

During Jim Crow, the Black family was together,” Donalds said at the event. “During Jim Crow, more Black people were not just conservative – Black people have always been conservative-minded – but more Black people voted conservatively.”

POLLS INDICATE BLACK SUPPORT FOR TRUMP ON THE RISE

Pointing to welfare polices during the 1960s under Democratic President Lyndon Johnson, Donalds said “you go down that road, and now we are where we are,” he added, referring to welfare policies instituted during the 1960s.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the top Democrat in the chamber, on Wednesday took to the House floor to rip Donalds.

“It has come to my attention that a so-called leader has made the factually inaccurate statement that Black folks were better off during Jim Crow. That’s an outlandish, outrageous and out-of-pocket observation,” Jeffries said.

And Jeffries, pointing to the Jim Crow era, emphasized “we were not better off when people could be systematically lynched without consequence…. How dare you make such an ignorant observation. You better check yourself before you wreck yourself.”

SOURCES: DONALDS ON TRUMP’S SHORT LIST FOR RUNNING MATE 

Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison of South Carolina, who is Black, also criticized Donalds.

Donalds posted a video on social media of the comments he made in Philadelphia regarding Jim Crow. And in a separate video posted to social media, he fired back at the Democrats.

He argued that Democrats are “trying to say I said Black people were doing better under Jim Crow. I never said that. They are lying.”

“What I said was you had more Black families under Jim Crow, and it was the Democrat policies under H.E.W., under the welfare state, that did help to destroy the Black family,” Donalds said. “I also said you’re seeing a reinvigoration of Black families today in America, and that is a good thing.”

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And pointing to the House Democratic leader, he wrote “@RepJeffries you need to check your sources and stop lying to the American people because you and @JoeBiden are losing Black men.”

The Biden campaign spotlighted the controversy surrounding Donalds.

“Donald Trump spent his adult life, and then his presidency undermining the progress Black communities fought so hard for – so it actually tracks that his campaign’s ‘Black outreach’ is going to a white neighborhood and promising to take America back to Jim Crow,” Biden-Harris spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in a statement.

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



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Texas AG Ken Paxton endorses Trump attorney in Missouri AG race: ‘The right person’


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FIRST ON FOX: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is throwing his support behind one of former President Trump’s attorneys in the GOP primary race to serve as Missouri’s chief legal officer.

Paxton said he is “confident” that Will Scharf, who’s working alongside the former president to appeal his conviction on 34 felony counts in New York, is the best person to “protect the freedoms and liberties” of Missouri residents.

“I wholeheartedly endorse Will Scharf for Missouri Attorney General,” Paxton said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. “I know Will personally, and I am confident that he is the right person to protect the freedoms and liberties of all Missourians. As one of President Trump’s lead attorneys, Will Scharf is relentlessly battling against Biden’s witch hunt into President Trump.”

TRUMP LAWYER SPARS WITH HOST OVER EX-BIDEN DOJ OFFICIAL TAPPED IN NEW YORK HUSH MONEY CASE

Ken Paxton, Will Scharf

Texas AG Ken Paxton said he is “confident” that Will Scharf, inset, is the “right person to protect the freedoms and liberties” of Missouri residents. (Getty Images | Will Scharf campaign)

“If he can defend and fight for President Trump, he most certainly can take on the Republican establishment in Missouri. We need more leaders like Will,” added Paxton, who has served as attorney general for the Lone Star State since 2015.

Offering appreciation for the Republican attorney general’s support, Scharf said in a statement, “Ken Paxton has been on the front lines of the legal fights to secure the border and defend President Trump. It is a great honor to have his endorsement, and I look forward to working with him.”

Scharf is seeking to defeat incumbent Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey in the state’s Aug. 6 primary election. The winner of that primary will move on to the state’s November general election, where they will have an advantage in the GOP-dominated state.

Scharf received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University, his law degree from Harvard University, clerked for two federal appeals court judges and has worked at CRC Advisors, a conservative public relations firm.

Will Scharf, Donald Trump

Former President Trump is shown with Will Scharf (Will Scharf)

EXCLUSIVE: MISSOURI AG TORCHES KANSAS CITY’S ‘RETALIATION’ AGAINST CHIEFS KICKER EXPRESSING CHRISTIAN BELIEFS

In addition to being one of Trump’s lawyers, Scharf has worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney in St. Louis, and worked on the campaign and later in the office of then-Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.

Bailey has spent nearly his entire career in Missouri. The Army veteran received his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Missouri, worked in the state attorney general’s office, and he was an assistant county prosecutor and a state government lawyer before joining the office of Gov. Mike Parson, who eventually appointed him as attorney general.

In recent weeks, prominent conservative groups from outside Missouri have spent millions backing Scharf.

Missouri AG Andrew Bailey

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images/File)

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The Republican Attorneys General Association, which normally supports GOP attorney general incumbents, has stayed out of the Missouri primary. Some of the association’s biggest contributors, however, are backing Scharf. They’re doing so by making contributions to a Missouri arm of Club for Growth, a major funding power that focuses on aiding fiscally conservative candidates and that, in turn, is airing ads to boost Scharf and criticize Bailey.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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Trump, Biden supporters sharply divided over ‘culture war’ and ‘woke’ issues: Here’s where they stand


Pew Research Center survey reveals that supporters of President Biden and former President Trump are sharply divided over topics described as “culture war” or “woke” issues, including gender identity, the toughness of the American criminal justice system and illegal immigration. 

The polling, which was conducted between April 8-14 and involved 8,709 U.S. adults, comes as both candidates are gearing up for what is anticipated to be a hotly contested election this November. 

The Pew findings show that 90% of Trump supporters believe gender is determined by sex assigned at birth, compared to just 39% of Biden supporters. Nearly 60% of those who support Biden say gender can be different from the sex assigned at birth, compared to only 9% of Trump backers. 

When it comes to the criminal justice system, 81% of Trump supporters said it’s not tough enough on criminals, compared to just 40% of Biden supporters who felt the same way. 

NEW POLL REVEALS BIDEN LOSING SUPPORT FROM THIS KEY DEMOGRAPHIC MONTHS BEFORE ELECTION DAY 

Joe Biden and Donald Trump split image

A new Pew Research Center survey has found that those who support Joe Biden and Donald Trump sharply disagree on cultural issues. (Getty Images)

Voters also were split on the need to deport undocumented migrants from the U.S. 

Sixty-three percent of Trump supporters signaled in the Pew Research Center survey that they are in favor of a national law enforcement effort to deport undocumented migrants currently living on American soil, compared to only 11% of Biden supporters. 

The survey also found that only 27% of registered voters who support Trump believe the legacy of slavery affects the position of Black people in the U.S. today, while 73% say it has little to no impact, according to the Pew Research Center. 

When Biden supporters were asked the same question, 79% said the legacy of slavery is still making an impact on the standing of Black people, compared to 20% who said it doesn’t have much of an effect. 

HILLARY CLINTON COMMEMORATES D-DAY WITH POST SUGGESTING TRUMP IS COMPARABLE TO HITLER 

Trump speaks in NYC

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speak during a campaign rally in the south Bronx, in New York City, on Thursday, May. 23. (AP/Yuki Iwamura)

Despite their differences, there are some areas where both Biden and Trump supporters find common ground. 

The Pew Research Center says the survey found 59% of Trump supporters and 51% of Biden supporters believe increased use of artificial intelligence in daily life is bad for society. 

Biden speaks in Pennsylvania

President Biden speaks during a campaign rally at Girard College on May 29 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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It also says 94% of Biden supporters and 79% of Trump supporters believe people openly discussing mental health and well-being is a good thing for society. 



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Biden says he’s known Putin for more than 40 years


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President Biden on Thursday claimed to have known Vladimir Putin for “over 40 years,” despite the Russian leader having served as a KGB agent dating back to the 1980s. 

The flub came during an ABC News interview with anchor David Muir as the president was visiting the Normandy American Cemetery in France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

“I’ve known him for over 40 years. He’s concerned me for 40 years,” Biden said. “He’s not a decent man. He’s a dictator and he’s struggling to make sure he holds his country together while still keeping his assault going,” referring to Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

BIDEN TAKES HEAT OVER GAFFE URGING AMERICANS TO ‘CHOOSE FREEDOM OVER DEMOCRACY’

Biden and Putin

President Biden on Thursday said he’s known Russian President Vladimir Putin for 40 years during a TV news interview.  (AP)

Putin began working as an intelligence officer for the then-KGB in 1975 after attending Leningrad State University. He was in the East German city of Dresden in 1985 where he witnessed the collapse of a communist state first-hand in 1989.

He then began a career in government that catapulted him to the upper echelon of Russian politics. Putin has held continuous positions as president or prime minister since 1999.

Biden’s comments came amid another round of gaffes and slip-ups at public events that left critics questioning his cognitive performance. Most recently, he raised eyebrows when he said last month at the White House Rose Garden that American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who is currently being held captive by Hamas, was in attendance. 

“My administration is working around the clock to free the remaining hostages, just as we have freed hostages already. And here with us today is Hersh Goldberg-Polin,” Biden said, before quickly correcting himself. 

“And still he is not here with us, but he’s still being held by Hamas,” Biden then said, recognizing the 23-year-old’s parents, who were in attendance that day. 

TRUMP THREATENED WITH JAIL IF HE MISSES HUSH MONEY TRIAL AS BIDEN CAMPAIGNS IN PENNSYLVANIA

On May 19, Biden claimed at a Michigan campaign event that he was vice president during the COVID pandemic and that former President Obama dispatched him to Detroit to help battle the disease. 

“And when I was vice president, things were kind of bad during the pandemic,” he said. “And, what happened was Barack said to me: ‘Go to Detroit — and help fix it.’” 

At a trade union conference in Washington, D.C., in April, he read the instructions on the teleprompter out loud.

“I see an economy that grows from the middle out and bottom up, where the wealthy pay their fair share, so we can have childcare, paid leave and so much more and still reduce the federal deficit and increase economic growth. Folks, imagine what we can do next, four more years, pause,” Biden said.  

President Biden speaking

President Biden once faced criticism on social media over an apparent gaffe when he claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently “losing the war in Iraq.” (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

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That same month, he urged Americans to “choose freedom over democracy” by reelecting him. The White House recently issued nine corrections to Biden’s gaffe-filled speech to the NAACP in May. 



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Biden’s ‘perpetual state of confusion’ on display in Normandy amid rising cognitive questions


The Republican National Committee (RNC) research division posted several videos on X that appeared to show President Biden in “a perpetual state of confusion” following his speech in Normandy on Thursday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

The RNC research account, which is managed by former President Trump’s campaign and the RNC, rattled off several posts on X of the president in Normandy, with one video showing Biden bending down at one point, seeming to be uncertain whether it was time to sit down.

“Awkward,” the RNC captioned the video. 

BIDEN WHITE HOUSE URGED DEMOCRATS TO CALL BACK WALL STREET JOURNAL AS IT REPORTED ON PRESIDENT’S MENTAL ACUITY

two images of President Biden at Normandy on June 6, 2024

The Republican National Committees research division posted several videos on X Thursday that appeared to show President Biden in a “perpetual state of confusion.”

In part of Biden’s speech to D-Day veterans, he appeared to misspeak while urging allies to support Ukraine in its war against Russia, saying that hundreds of thousands of Russian military personnel were killed in Ukraine.

“They’ve suffered tremendous losses with Russia – the numbers are staggering, 350,000 Russian troops dead or wounded,” he said.

Later, Biden claimed in an ABC interview with David Muir that he’s known Vladimir Putin “for over 40 years,” notwithstanding the fact that Putin served as an undercover KGB intelligence officer for the Soviet Union throughout the entire 1980s.

“I’ve known him for over 40 years. He’s concerned me for 40 years. He’s not a decent man,” Biden told Muir.

BIDEN DISPLAYS SIGNS OF DECLINE IN PRIVATE MEETINGS WITH CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS: REPORT

black/white photo of D-Day airfield at Normandy

An improvised airfield built quickly after D-Day and used by American and Allied forces in Normandy, France, in June and July 1944. (ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Another video showed Biden walking off with his wife, Jill, as the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, continued to greet and chat with World War II veterans. In a hot mic moment, Biden appeared to say to Macron, “My advance team said I gotta be the first one to leave,” in another video capturing the interaction. 

Questions about Biden’s mental acuity circulated this week after The Wall Street Journal’s bombshell report that interviewed 45 lawmakers and administration officials about Biden’s mental performance.

Biden, 81, is the oldest person to hold the presidency and has faced skepticism from voters and Republican lawmakers about his ability to do his job. Many Republicans and even some Democrats said the president showed his age in private meetings.

Most of the people interviewed by the outlet who were critical of Biden’s performance were Republicans, although some Democrats said the president showed his age in several exchanges. These interviewees participated in meetings with Biden or were briefed on them contemporaneously, including administration officials and other Democrats who did not express concerns about how the president handled the meetings.

EX-BIDEN STAFFER CALLS OUT DEMOCRATS FOR ‘FAUX OUTRAGE’ OVER WSJ ARTICLE ABOUT PRESIDENT’S MENTAL SHARPNESS

President Biden closeup shot

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

White House officials, however, dismissed many of the accounts from people who have met with the president or been briefed on those meetings, saying such criticisms were motivated by partisan politics.

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Congressional Republicans, foreign leaders and nonpartisan national-security experts have made clear in their own words that President Biden is a savvy and effective leader who has a deep record of legislative accomplishment,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said. “Now, in 2024, House Republicans are making false claims as a political tactic that flatly contradict previous statements made by themselves and their colleagues.”

Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report. 



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Trump VP contender leads GOP effort to reach Black voters as Biden loses grip


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South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott’s aligned PAC is spearheading a campaign to reach Black voters ahead of the election as concerns grow over President Biden’s popularity with the demographic credited with winning him the presidency in 2020. 

The Great Opportunity PAC unveiled a $14.3 million plan to court Black and Hispanic voters in battleground states ahead of the general election. 

“The Republican Party has, I think … a good sense and a good marketing machine and, frankly, a good microphone and someone who is good at speaking into that microphone,” Scott said of former President Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee.

OBAMA STRESSES CRITICAL DEM SENATE MAJORITY FOR APPOINTING PREFERRED JUDGES

TIM SCOTT

Scott is being considered as a running mate for Trump.  (Getty Images)

“We have a real strong opportunity to make this election unlike the previous election,” he emphasized in a briefing on the strategy. 

PAC Executive Director Jennifer DeCasper outlined in a memo Thursday that “Control of the White House, Senate and House could come down to less than 100K votes across a half dozen states.”

MCCONNELL TAKES AIM AT ‘ISOLATIONIST’ COLLEAGUES IN SCATHING D-DAY ESSAY

A voter casts a ballot

Black voters have become a concern for Democrats. (Erin Kirkland/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

She noted that, over time, there have been natural and incremental shifts in the voting behavior of Black and Hispanic voters. However, she claimed, “We have not made the investment necessary to earn and win this vote.”

This comes as Biden’s campaign grapples with trying to maintain its minority supporters, a significant number of whom are dissatisfied with the current economic climate. A recent Fox News Poll showed the president with the support of 72% of Black voters. While the number is an increase from 66% in February, it is still below the 79% he had prior to getting elected in 2020. 

The campaign has appeared to acknowledge this issue, launching initiatives to specifically target minority voters and courting them across the country. 

‘MISLEADING’ DEM CONTRACEPTION BILL FAILS KEY VOTE AS GOP SLAMS BROAD PROPOSAL

Scott’s PAC revealed that its new campaign will be a “full-scale, 360-degree communications and voter contact plan targeting swing and low-propensity Black and brown voters.” 

The group’s largest investment — $9 million — will go toward direct voter contact. The plan also includes significant spending on earned and paid media, survey research, data and analytics, operations and legal. 

With this initiative, DeCasper said the goal is to “target, persuade, and turnout low-propensity and swing Black and Hispanic voters in target Presidential and Senate states.”

The plan will incorporate various events with influential surrogates, such as elected officials. It will also rely on “canvassing, digital marketing, direct mail and targeted paid advertising.”

JON TESTER CAMPAIGN ADMITS ‘HARD TRUTH’ SENATE RACE WILL BE EXPENSIVE AND CLOSE

Trump overlooks Bronx crowd

Trump traveled to the Bronx in New York City for a rally. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

According to DeCasper, if Trump raised his margin with non-college-educated voters by two points and non-white voters by just three points, “he’d win five additional states, bringing him to a 297-241 victory in the Electoral College.”

She also said the change would affect several key Senate races

Donald Trump, Tim Scott

Scott, right, has been a top surrogate for Trump.  (Getty Images)

“President Trump has done a really good job of trying to figure out how to get in front of voters in unique ways and unique places that has not been done before,” Scott explained. 

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“I’ve been talking about this for years, that we have to go where we’re not invited. We have just not had enough candidates doing that in the party.”

Scott is notably on Trump’s short list of potential running mates in the November presidential election. 

“Thanks to Bidenflation and Bidenomics, Black voters are worse off today than they were under President Trump,” DeCasper wrote in the memo. “But this is not enough for us to automatically break historic voting patterns.”

Biden campaign senior spokesperson Sarafina Chitika told Fox News Digital in a statement, “Donald Trump is running his campaign the way he’s lived his life: not giving a damn about Black people or our communities.”

“Trump entered public life by falsely accusing five black men of murder and political life trying to delegitimize the first Black president as the architect of birtherism. It’s why the first thing he did after taking over the RNC was shut down its minority outreach centers, and it’s why he’s now trotting out backbenchers and C-listers in a last-ditch effort to defend his racist agenda. President Biden is on the campaign trail showing up – himself – to earn, and not ask for, Black Americans’ support. That is what leadership looks like,” she continued. 

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



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Fox News Politics: Declinin’ Biden?


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

What’s happening…

– Biden gives speech near the beaches of Normandy to commemorate D-Day

– Kamala Harris’ late night appearance interrupted by anti-Israel demonstrator

– Hunter Biden was back in court where his sister-in-law and ex-lover testified about his addiction… and hers

Cognitive concerns

Ex-Biden administration staffer Michael LaRosa called out “faux outrage” from Democrats after a bombshell Wall Street Journal story from Wednesday revealed that President Biden is showing “signs of slipping” in private meetings.

“The faux outrage over the use of blind sources is especially rich coming from political staffers in both parties,” LaRosa wrote in a social media post responding to Democratic lawmakers who attacked “anonymous” Republican sources quoted by the Journal. 

“The NYT, the WSJ, the WAPO are not extensions of the Democratic Party and nor should they be,” LaRosa declared. 

Biden’s recent gaffes and misstatements have come under scrutiny as the campaign heats up, and as he prepares to debate former President Trump in June.

BIDEN IN DECLINE? White House urged Dems to tout Biden’s sharpness ahead of WSJ report …Read more

President Joe Biden speaking with reporters

President Biden was fact-checked by TIME.  (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

White House

‘NO COMMENT’: FBI still mum on Hunter Biden laptop …Read more

‘C’MON NOW’: Ex-Biden staffer calls out Democrats for ‘faux outrage’ over article about aging president …Read more

D-DAY WARNING: Biden, speaking near beaches of Normandy, urges world to support Ukraine against Russia …Read more

Capitol Hill

UP IN THE AIR: House lawmakers are using this jaw-dropping way to commemorate D-Day in Normandy …Read more

RED FLAG: GOP House candidate’s legal work for CCP-tied company scrutinized …Read more

‘WREAKING HAVOC’: GOP rep identifies understated fallout from border crisis …Read more

‘DISGRACED ISOLATIONISTS’: McConnell ties WWII tensions to current day with dire warning …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

‘MAGA NIGHTMARE’ Dem candidate floats ‘re-education camp’ for Trump voters …Read more

FIRING BACK: War of words erupts between Trump VP contender Donalds and top Democrats over his ‘Jim Crow’ comment …Read more

‘INACTION’: Kamala Harris appearance on Kimmel show disrupted by anti-Israel protesters …Read more

VETTING UNDERWAY: Trump campaign accelerates vetting of potential running mates …Read more

LOW ENERGY: Republicans eye Biden energy policies as weak spot in race to keep House …Read more

DECISION TIME: Arizona voters will decide fate of Texas-style border law at the ballot box …Read more

Hunter Biden arrives at federal court

Hunter Biden arrives at federal court, Monday, June 3, 2024, in Wilmington, Del.  (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Trials and Tribulations

‘RUSSIAN PLAYBOOK’: Video goes viral of media pundits previously casting doubt on Hunter laptop …Read more

LOVE AND DRUGS: Hunter Biden returned to court after whirlwind day of testimony from exes …Read more

EXPANDED HEARING: Trump classified docs judge expands hearing to consider ‘unlawful’ appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith …Read more

Across America

DECLARING ‘INDEPENDENCE’: Youngkin pulls VA out of CA green pact …Read more

SORE LOSER: Did Hillary Clinton just compare Trump to the Nazis on D-Day? …Read more

‘MAN OF GREAT PRINCIPLE’: Reagan’s principles, patriotism remembered 20 years after his death …Read more

Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox.

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



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DOJ sentences elderly pro-life activist to prison over 2020 incident


An elderly woman from Massachusetts was recently sentenced to prison following a 2020 pro-life demonstration at an abortion clinic.

Kingston resident Paula “Paulette” Harlow, 75, was handed a two-year prison sentence May 31 over an October 2020 incident that involved her and fellow pro-life activists blocking an abortion clinic. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Harlow and 10 other pro-life activists were charged with “civil rights conspiracy and Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act violations.”

“[The defendants] forcefully entered the clinic and set about blockading two clinic doors using their bodies, furniture, chains, and ropes,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said. “Once the blockade was established, they live-streamed their activities.

“As the evidence at trial showed, the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to create a blockade at the reproductive health care clinic to prevent the clinic from providing, and patients from receiving, reproductive health services.”

TRUMP SAYS ABORTION SHOULD BE DECIDED BY THE STATES, ‘WILL OF THE PEOPLE’

Split image of DOJ logo, pro-life sign and Harlows smiling

Paulette and John Harlow are hoping for mercy as the DOJ plans to imprison the ailing 75-year-old over a pro-life event in 2020. (Paulette Harlow)

Blocking abortion clinics is a violation of the FACE Act, which was signed into law by President Clinton in 1994. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Harlow explained that she has been on house arrest in recent weeks and expects to know soon if she needs to surrender to authorities.

Harlow said the 2020 incident took place at a clinic run by Dr. Cesare Santangelo, a doctor who has been accused of conducting late-term abortions. She described the demonstration as peaceful.

“We were there to intervene, to put our lives on the line, to intervene … between the death of the child and the abortionist, peacefully,” she said. “[We were] there trying to talk to the mother. … They feel forced into it for whatever their circumstances are. So, we need to try to surround them with love, with support.”

Harlow, a Catholic, explained that she became pro-life when she saw Lennart Nilsson’s photograph of an 18-week-old fetus published in Life magazine in 1965.

MAJOR PRO-LIFE GROUP LAYS OUT AGGRESSIVE PLANS FOR 2024 ELECTIONS: ‘LARGEST GROUND GAME YET’

Split images of John and Paulette Harlow smiling

Paulette’s husband, John Harlow, called the prosecution of his wife “devastating.” At left, the couple is pictured renewing their vows at Cana of Galilee. (Paulette Harlow)

I saw the light [when] I saw the pictures in Life magazine that Nilsson did,” she said. “The children, they have no voice, and they’re hidden. That is as poor as you can get. You can’t even protect your own life.

“We have to make them visible and make them heard.”

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Paulette’s husband, John Harlow, said he was distraught over the legal situation.

“It’s devastating, what they’re doing — the whole trial and sentence and everything,” he said. “But my wife doesn’t want the focus to be on her. The real outrage is the fact that children are being aborted.

“We’re all concerned about her. I told the judge I’d go to jail for her if I could. … But we’re in this together, and we wish the outcome had been different. But it is what it is.”

Harlow with sister, friend and adopted daughter

Harlow told Fox News Digital her sister Jean (left) is in jail over the same incident. (Paulette Harlow)

FORMER POP STAR SHARES ABORTION REGRET: ‘I HAVE A GRAMMY BUT NONE OF IT WILL BRING MY CHILDREN BACK’

Harlow, who has extensive medical issues, worries incarceration could further cause her health to decline.

“I’m 76, and I have a lot of conditions,” she said. “Incarceration would be detrimental because I won’t have access to the things I have now. And I won’t have John, who’s here just helping me with everything.

Split image of Life Magazine fetus and Harlows together

Paulette Harlow became pro-life when she saw Lennart Nilsson’s 1965 photo of an 18-week-old fetus in Life Magazine. (Paulette Harlow//Getty Images)

“There’s a lot to take care of.”

Harlow also told Fox News Digital her sister Jean is in jail over the same incident.

HERE ARE THE TOP 4 MOMENTS FROM THE 2024 MARCH FOR LIFE

“I consider it an incredible honor,” she said. “And I considered going to court an incredible honor. And I was really very grateful when I came out of court because not everybody has the opportunity to do that. And it was wonderful.”

Paulette and John Harlow

Paulette and John Harlow on a cruise in 2019. (Paulette Harlow)

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Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ for comment, but officials did not respond.



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New York Democrat congressional candidate suggests MAGA supporters go to ‘re-education camp’


EXCLUSIVE: The New York Democratic congressional candidate running against GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik suggested “MAGA” supporters should attend a “re-education camp” after the 2024 election — even if Democrats see a “resounding blue wave.” 

Paula Collins, who is running against Stefanik, R-N.Y., in New York’s 21st congressional district, made the comments during a public Zoom Townhall this week, where she appeared to admit that “re-education” would be controversial. 

Trump rally New Jersey

Republican presidential candidate former U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan has become a dirty word for the left. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

“Even if we were to have a resounding blue wave come through, as many of us would like, putting it all back together again after we’ve gone through this MAGA nightmare and re-educating basically, which, that sounds like a rather, a re-education camp. I don’t think we really want call it that,” she said during the Zoom townhall. “I’m sure we can find another way to phrase it.” 

STEFANIK FILES ETHICS COMPLAINT AGAINST TRUMP TRIAL JUDGE, CITES DAUGHTER’S WORK FOR GROUP PROMOTING DEMS

In an email to Fox News Digital, Collins explained her comments. 

“We currently have lawmakers, including Rep. Elise Stefanik, who mis-quote or mis-understand the law,” Collins told Fox News Digital. “Even if MAGA were to be resoundingly defeated, we would need to engage in widespread civics education, which both red and blue voters acknowledge has been slipping in recent years.” 

Elise Stefanik

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., speaks during a news conference in the U.S. Capitol to recognize law enforcement as part of Police Week on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images))

Collins said “the goal would be such that regular citizens could understand the process by which the state courts process matters, compared to the federal court circuit, and so forth.” 

“Rep. Elise Stefanik does not show a good understanding of the court structure in her home state of New York,” Collins continued. 

Paula Collins and Elise Stefanik

Paula Collins and Elise Stefanik (Paula Collins for Congress/Getty Images)

Collins pointed to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against former President Trump, in which he was found guilty on all counts of falsifying business records. Collins said that trial and the charges are “a state matter, not a federal matter.” 

Collins said Stefanik’s “outcry bespeaks a lack of basic civics education, as well as a basic lack of respect for the state supreme court system in her home State of New York.” 

SOME FORMER ‘NEVER TRUMP’ VOTERS NOW SAY THEY’RE BACKING GOP NOMINEE AFTER HIS CONVICTION

“Similarly, many voters have misunderstandings and lack of regard for basic judicial systems that underscore the need for civics education,” Collins said. 

Senior advisor to Elise Stefanik, Alex DeGrasse, however, said Collins’ comments would be seen as offensive to many Republicans. 

“This radical New York City Democrat Socialist who literally is renting a bed and breakfast room in NY-21 was caught on tape saying she wants to force Trump voters through ‘re-education camps,’” he said. “Everyone knows she will be defeated by Elise Stefanik by a historic margin.” 

DeGrasse added that “this is yet another reason by President Trump, Elise Stefanik, and voters in Upstate and across America will clean the Democrats’ clocks at the ballot box this November.” 

DeGrasse was referring to Collins’ being from New York City. Collins has said that before the spring of 2024, she lived full time in New York City. 

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Collins is a New York cannabis tax attorney. 

According to election documents, Collins is based out of her law office, the Law Office of Paula Collins, PLLC in New York City. She currently rents a room in a rental housing unit in Canton, N.Y. to claim residency in the district. 

Collins has never voted in the district. 



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Biden campaign’s 2020 narrative about Hunter’s laptop collapses after Biden DOJ enters into trial evidence


The “Russian information operation” narrative that was pushed by dozens of former intelligence officials and amplified by the Biden campaign a couple weeks before the 2020 election took a major blow this week when the federal government entered Hunter Biden’s laptop into evidence for his gun trial.

After years of the authenticity of the laptop being downplayed by former intel officials, prominent Democrats, and the White House, Hunter’s laptop was officially entered into evidence by Biden’s Department of Justice and is being used to attempt to prove that Biden was addicted to drugs at the time he purchased a gun in 2018, a violation of federal law. 

The laptop was introduced by prosecutor Derek Hines and handed to FBI agent Erika Jensen, who explained earlier this week how the FBI authenticated the laptop and extracted data. For the gun trial, she testified about dozens of text messages, metadata, photos and short videos found on phones and iCloud accounts belonging to Biden. 

One of the most significant denials of the authenticity of the laptop came two weeks before the 2020 presidential election when 51 former intelligence officials claimed in a letter that the laptop was fabricated by Russia to influence the presidential election. 

HUNTER BIDEN’S WIFE LASHES OUT AT FORMER TRUMP AIDE DURING COURT APPEARANCE: ‘PIECE OF S—‘

Joe Biden, Hunter Biden

President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. (Getty Images)

The crafting of that memo, which was ultimately published by Politico, involved coordination between the Biden campaign and the former officials, House Republicans concluded in an investigation.  

Fox News Digital previously reported that House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, sent a letter to Secretary of State Blinken last year saying, “Based on Morell’s testimony, it is apparent that the Biden campaign played an active role in the origins of the public statement, which had the effect of helping to suppress the Hunter Biden story and preventing American citizens from making a fully informed decision during the 2020 presidential election.”

Morell also said that he received a call from Biden’s White House counselor Steve Ricchetti, who was serving as the chairman of the 2020 campaign at the time, following the Oct. 22 debate. Morell said the call was to thank him for spearheading the letter.

DEMOCRATS LOST ONE PRECIOUS THING AT HUNTER INFLUENCE PEDDLING HEARING

Hunter Biden departs the federal court with his wife Melissa Cohen Biden

Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, departs the federal court with his wife Melissa Cohen Biden, on the second day of his trial on criminal gun charges in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., June 4, 2024.  (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

According to the GOP’s report, former CIA senior adviser Nick Shapiro drafted a media pitch and shopped the letter to The Associated Press, The Washington Post and Politico. He then forwarded the letter to then-Biden campaign spokesperson Andrew Bates, who is currently the White House deputy senior press secretary, tipping them off before publication and saying, “This is what I gave them.” 

“Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say,” Bates tweeted after the Politico story was published, including a link to the article.

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Hunter Biden departs the federal court

Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, gets into a vehicle, as he departs the federal court, on the second day of his trial on criminal gun charges in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., June 4, 2024.  (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

“Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say,” tweeted Jen Psaki, who later became Biden’s White House press secretary.

“If we see tonight from Donald Trump these attacks on Vice President Biden’s family, I think we need to be very, very clear that what he’s doing here is amplifying Russian misinformation,” said Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager who later served as White House communications director.

Indeed, Biden brought up the letter during his final debate against former President Donald Trump, saying the laptop was a “Russian plant” and a “bunch of garbage.”

“There are 50 former national intelligence folks who said that what he’s accusing me of is a Russian plant,” Biden said at the time. “… Five former heads of the CIA, both parties, say what he’s saying is a bunch of garbage. Nobody believes it except his good friend Rudy Giuliani.” 

Kerri Kupec Urbahn, Fox News Legal editor, posted on social media on Tuesday that the prosecution’s introduction of the laptop was a key moment in the case.

“Biggest takeway from court today: the laptop is real, we saw it with our own eyes, it belongs to Hunter Biden, and the FBI/DOJ are using information extracted from it in the gun case,” Urbah said. “Curious if the 50+ intel experts plan to put out an updated letter in time for this year’s debates.”

The White House and Biden campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
 

Fox News Digital’s Jessica Chasmar and Emma Colton contributed to this report



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Obama stresses critical Dem Senate majority for appointing preferred judges


Former President Barack Obama emphasized the importance of preserving the Democratic Senate majority during a fundraiser Wednesday night, highlighting the chamber’s unique ability to confirm judges nominated by the president. 

“The ability to get judges appointed — never been more critical than it is today,” he said during the event in Potomac, Maryland. 

“On the legislative side, there have been some remarkable achievements that were only achieved because of that very slender, narrow win that we had,” he continued, according to a partial transcript released by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). 

MCCONNELL TAKES AIM AT ‘ISOLATIONIST’ COLLEAGUES IN SCATHING D-DAY ESSAY

Obama speaking at White House

Obama stressed the importance of maintaining the Senate majority. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

His remarks at the fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) fundraiser came as President Biden, his former vice president, hit a milestone by officially confirming 200 judges during his term. Biden is currently outpacing former President Donald Trump, who was lauded by Republicans for speedily confirming judges himself. 

The Democrats are currently in the majority in the Senate but face a significant disadvantage with the 2024 electoral map, in which several vulnerable incumbents are in competitive races. The party has also sustained the loss of Sens. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., both of whom are leaving office and switched to registered independents during their tenure. With Manchin’s exit, Republicans are expected to gain a seat in the chamber, while Arizona’s race is considered a deadlock that could go either way. 

‘MISLEADING’ DEM CONTRACEPTION BILL FAILS KEY VOTE AS GOP SLAMS BROAD PROPOSAL

Judge holding gavel

Biden confirmed 200 judges last month.  (iStock)

Three Democratic incumbents are embroiled in reelection races that are so close that non-partisan political handicapper the Cook Political Report deemed them “Toss Ups,” while Republican reelection races are almost all considered relatively safe. 

The emphasis on the ability to appoint judges also coincides with calls for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to retire, so that Biden can appoint her successor. Trump notably was able to confirm three Supreme Court justices, leading to a number of landmark decisions, such as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade. 

JON TESTER CAMPAIGN ADMITS ‘HARD TRUTH’ SENATE RACE WILL BE EXPENSIVE AND CLOSE

U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor speaking

Sotomayer has been urged to retire. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Aside from the Supreme Court, Trump managed to appoint nearly the same number of appellate level judges as Obama did in only half the amount of time. The former president is expected to bring a similar urgency to judicial appointments in a second term if he wins in November, which would be significantly aided by a Republican Senate Majority. 

Obama informed attendees on Wednesday that preserving the Democratic majority in the chamber will take “a lot of work” and “a lot of organization.” 

‘PARENTAL RIGHTS’: GOP WARNS DEM SENATE BILL IS ABOUT MORE THAN CONTRACEPTION

Larry Hogan and Angela Alsobrooks

Larry Hogan is a uniquely popular Republican in the blue state. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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In Maryland, where the fundraiser was held, Democratic Senate nominee Angela Alsobrooks faces an unforeseen obstacle to election in Republican candidate Larry Hogan, a former two-term governor. The state has long been considered safely Democratic but with Hogan’s entrance into the race, Cook Political Report changed the rating to “Likely Democratic,” acknowledging his history as governor. His candidacy has similarly prompted some speculation that Republicans could gain a seat in blue Maryland.

A spokesperson for Obama did not provide additional comment to Fox News Digital. 

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





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FBI still mum on laptop as it gets entered into evidence in Hunter Biden trial


The FBI is remaining silent on the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop nearly four years after its refusal to verify its authenticity caused social media companies to bury stories about it ahead of the 2020 election.

The FBI said it had “no comment” when asked by Fox News Digital if the bureau had any regrets about not acknowledging the authenticity of Biden’s laptop now that it has been introduced as evidence in Biden’s criminal gun trial.

The existence of the laptop was first revealed by the New York Post in the weeks leading up to the 2020 election between now-President Biden and former President Trump, with the outlet reporting on contents on the laptop it claimed detailed the Biden family’s influence peddling scheme.

BIDEN’S CLAIMS THAT HUNTER LAPTOP WAS ‘RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION’ DEBUNKED BY HIS OWN SON

closeup of Hunter Biden arriving to federal court

Hunter Biden arrives at the federal court on the opening day of his trial on criminal gun charges in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 3, 2024. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

Social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter were quick to act and limit distribution of the New York Post story on the laptop, with Twitter banning links to the story from being posted on its platform. Meanwhile, Facebook temporarily reduced the reach of posts containing stories about the laptop until it could be verified by independent fact-checkers.

According to reporting from the Atlantic, Facebook’s decision to limit distribution of the story was based on an FBI warning that social media companies watch for disinformation in the weeks leading up to the election. That fact was seized upon in a House Judiciary Committee letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray last year, with lawmakers questioning why the FBI refused to verify the authenticity of the laptop despite knowledge that the device was not part of a Russian disinformation campaign.

“The FBI’s failure to alert social-media companies that the Hunter Biden laptop was real, and not mere Russian disinformation, is particularly troubling,” the letter to Wray read. “The FBI had the laptop in their possession since December 2019 and had warned social-media companies to look for a ‘hack and dump’ operation by the Russians prior to the 2020 election. Even after Facebook specifically asked whether the Hunter Biden laptop story was Russian disinformation, [Laura] Dehmlow of the FBI refused to comment, resulting in the social-media companies’ suppression of the story. As a result, millions of U.S. citizens did not hear the story prior to the November 3, 2020 election.”

Hunter Biden arriving at federal court

Hunter Biden arrives at the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on June 6, 2024 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

NEW YORK TIMES FINALLY CONFIRMS HUNTER BIDEN’S LAPTOP AFTER DISMISSING IT AMID 2020 CAMPAIGN

Outlets such as the New York Times and Washington Post would later publish their own analysis of the laptop, finding nearly two years later that the contents of the device were real and not the result of a Russian disinformation campaign.

Nevertheless, Wray defended the FBI in a congressional hearing shortly before receiving the Judiciary Committee letter last year, calling accusations that the bureau favored the Biden family “ludicrous.”

Christopher Wray speaking

FBI Director Christopher Wray. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“The work the men and women of the FBI do to protect the American people goes way beyond one or two investigations that seem to capture all the headlines,” Wray said at the time.

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However, Wray refused to engage in specific questions about the investigation into Biden, a policy of silence that has persisted into the present day, with the bureau referring Fox News Digital’s questions about the laptop to the special counsel’s office.



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Trump classified docs judge expands hearing to consider ‘unlawful’ appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith


The judge presiding over former President Trump’s classified documents case has expanded a hearing for later this month to focus on whether the appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith was unlawful and invalid. 

Judge Aileen Cannon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida postponed the trial stemming from Smith’s investigation into Trump’s alleged improper retention of classified records indefinitely. 

FEDERAL JUDGE POSTPONES TRUMP’S CLASSIFIED RECORDS TRIAL WITH NO NEW DATE

Upon postponing the trial, Cannon scheduled deadlines for reports on June 10 and 17 – and a nonevidentiary hearing on a motion to dismiss on June 21 – “based on unlawful appointment and funding of special counsel.” 

Cannon has expanded that June 21 hearing to allow amici to argue before the court, as well as Trump defense attorneys and federal prosecutors. 

Former Attorney General Ed Meese, who served under former President Ronald Reagan, filed an amicus brief in the case, in which he argues that Garland’s appointment of Smith as special counsel – a private citizen at the time – is in violation of the Appointments Clause of the Constitution. 

“Not clothed in the authority of the federal government, Smith is a modern example of the naked emperor,” the brief states. 

“Improperly appointed, he has no more authority to represent the United States in this Court than Bryce Harper, Taylor Swift, or Jeff Bezos,” they argued. 

trump and jack smith

Donald Trump and Jack Smith (Getty Images/File) (Getty Images)

Meese argues that the “illegality” of Smith’s appointment is “sufficient to sink Smith’s petition, and the Court should deny review.” 

Meese and company noted in the brief that Smith was appointed “to conduct the ongoing investigation into whether any person or entity [including former President Trump] violated the law in connection with efforts to interfere with the lawful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election or the certification of the Electoral College vote held on or about January 6, 2021.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland defended his move this week during a hearing on Capitol Hill, arguing that “there are regulations under which the Attorney General appoint Special Counsel, they have been in effect for 30 years, maybe longer, under both parties.” 

“The matter that you’re talking about, about whether somebody can have an employee of the Justice Department serve as special counsel has been adjudicated,” Garland argued, adding that he and other special counsel appointments that he and other attorneys general have made cite a regulation that points to a statute. 

REP. MASSIE PRESSES GARLAND ON CONSTITUTIONALITY OF SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S APPOINTMENT

Meese, however, in his briefs filed in several points in the Trump cases, argued that “none of those statutes, nor any other statutory or constitutional provisions, remotely authorized the appointment by the Attorney General of a private citizen to receive extraordinary criminal law enforcement power under the title of Special Counsel.”

Ed Meese

Former Attorney General Edwin Meese delivers remarks after being awarded the National Medal of Freedom by President Donald Trump during a ceremony in the Oval Office at the White House Oct. 8, 2019 in Washington, D.C. Meese was appointed attorney general by President Ronald Reagan and served from 1985 to 1988.  ((Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images))

Meese’s brief was even mentioned in a question by Justice Clarence Thomas in the Supreme Court oral arguments over Trump’s presidential immunity in Smith’s other case regarding 2020 election interference–which the high court is expected to decide this month.

Presenting arguments on June 21 in Florida on behalf of Meese will be Josh Blackman, Gene Schaerr and Matthew Seligman. 

Meanwhile, Cannon scheduled an additional hearing from June 24 to June 26 and set deadlines for disclosures from the special counsel for early July and the defendants’ speedy trial report for July 19 – the final day of the Republican National Convention.

Trump is set to be sentenced in Manhattan after being found guilty on all counts in New York v. Trump stemming from District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation on July 11. 

Cannon scheduled a status conference for July 22 and another hearing for later that day.

Cannon did not schedule a new trial date.

Trump faced charges stemming from Smith’s investigation into his possession of classified materials. He pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony counts from Smith’s probe, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements.

Trump was also charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of the investigation: an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts.

Trump pleaded not guilty.

Mar-a-Lago exterior

Former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla.  (Charles Trainor Jr./Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Cannon’s move last month to indefinitely postpone the trial comes after Cannon unsealed a slew of documents related to the FBI’s investigation into the former president and the FBI’s raid on his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, estate in 2022.

The documents provided a detailed look into the personnel involved in the raid on Mar-a-Lago and a play-by-play timeline of it. One of the documents is an FBI file that suggests the agency’s investigation into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents was dubbed “Plasmic Echo.”

HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE INVESTIGATES ‘MANIPULATED’ EVIDENCE SEIZED BY FBI IN TRUMP CLASSIFIED RECORDS PROBE

Another unsealed FBI memo memorialized the role of Garland in the investigation.

In a document dated March 30, 2022, Garland provided his approval to allow the investigation into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents to upgrade to a “full investigation.”

“This email conveys Department of Justice (DOJ) Attorney General (AG) [Merrick Garland] approval for conversion to a full investigation,” a synopsis of the restricted document reads.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland

Attorney General Merrick Garland (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Also, last week, Smith and federal prosecutors admitted in a court filing that documents seized during the raid on Mar-a-Lago are no longer in their original order and sequence.

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“There are some boxes where the order of items within that box is not the same as in the associated scans,” Smith’s filing states.  

The prosecutors had previously told the court that the documents were “in their original, intact form as seized.” 

House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan is investigating whether that evidence was “altered or manipulated.”

Smith also charged Trump in a separate jurisdiction – in Washington, D.C. – out of his investigation into election interference and Jan. 6. Trump pleaded not guilty to those charges, as well.

That trial is postponed indefinitely. The Supreme Court is considering arguments on presidential immunity and whether Trump is immune from prosecution in Smith’s case.

The high court is expected to rule on the matter by mid-June.



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Biden’s border crisis is ‘wreaking havoc’ on K-12 schools, says top GOP lawmaker



While crime and housing are often at the forefront of illegal immigration discussions, a top GOP lawmaker said this week that the toll it takes on public schools and students is wrongly being overlooked.

In a lengthy interview with Fox News Digital, Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., chairman of the House Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee, said the migrant influx from the porous southern border is “wreaking havoc” on U.S. schools.

“Right now, that we know of, 10 million illegals have entered the country illegally under Joe Biden for the last three years. We say ‘we think we know.’ We really don’t know,” he said.

“Because now there’s a term … gotaways. We believe that approximately 500,000 illegal children are now in this country. And one of the very first places we feel the impact of illegal immigration is our K-12 schools.”

FLASHBACK: PA REPUBLICANS DRAFT BILL DIVERTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM SECRETIVE BIDEN DHS FLIGHTS TO DELAWARE

Bean said his committee heard from representatives from school districts in both red and blue states who told shocking stories of how they have handled ever-increasing enrollments of foreign national juveniles.

“We heard [of] teaching in the hallways. We heard of massive use of resources to scramble to hire teachers that teach in foreign languages — In fact, one school district has over 17 different languages that they have had to hire for. That’s just a vast draining of resources.”

Bean’s Republican colleague, House Education Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., echoed some of his comments from his Wednesday interview. 

Foxx, whose Blue Ridge Parkway district is far-flung from Mexico, said every state is a border state given the current crisis.

“I’m very sorry for all of these children who are coming unaccompanied … they can’t find bilingual teachers … I’m from North Carolina, and it’s already hard enough to find any teachers, let alone teachers who can speak other languages.”

Bean also told the story of a teacher who recounted having a migrant student in her class who appeared to be in his 20s, while claiming to be 18 on his documentation.

“It’s just happening more and more. I think it is because everything’s out of control. Enough. Let’s fix this border. Let’s get back to American schools doing what we do best, which is teaching our students math, reading and science.”

ICE ORDERED TO HALT KNOCK-AND-TALK TACTICS FOR IMMIGRATION ARRESTS

“We’re hoping that Joe Biden was watching our hearing. If he didn’t, maybe he’ll be watching this news story — that illegal immigration is wreaking havoc on our K-12 school system. It’s got to stop.”

Bean said the negative effects of illegal immigration puts a further strain on U.S. schools, which are still reeling from COVID-19 lockdowns and the abrupt shift to remote learning. 

He said the results of both crises are seen in standardized test scores, which he calculated to be the worst in about 20 years.

“We’re now competing against China and India and other countries that want to do us harm. We’ve always banked on the fact that our educational system is among the best in the world. We can’t say that right now,” Bean said. “So why do we want to dilute the resources, the limited resources we [have] by this massive influx?”

Bean predicted that President Biden and some Democrats will argue that the White House is indeed taking action to stem the tide of illegal immigration and therefore lessen the blow to the public school system. However, he characterized Biden’s recent border-related executive order as a misnomer.

“I think [his order] has more holes than Swiss cheese,” he said. “The way it’s done, it really doesn’t shut down the border. It says, OK, we’re going to have 2,500 come back. How do you know that? The border is either shut down or it’s not. 

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“Hopefully, if Joe Biden can’t shut down the border, maybe there’s somebody that’s coming in behind him that can,” he said, in an apparent reference to former President Trump.

In regard to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Bean said he engaged in a game of “Congressional Blame-Game Bingo” during his Tuesday hearing, wherein he predicted a series of buzzwords and politicized terms that he would hear when his critics were presented with a viewpoint they disagreed with.

Bingo terms included “it’s Trump’s fault,” “xenopobia” and “blame Republicans.”

The latter, he said, stems from a common campaign allegation that the GOP does not seek to properly fund schools. Bean said that, instead, massive amounts of money are being spent on U.S. education with little to show for it.

During the hearing, Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., pushed back on Bean’s claims the influx of migrant students matriculating through the education system is a crisis.

“This idea that immigrant students are a hindrance on public education: I would challenge you to look across the country at your valedictorian or your salutatorian or your top 10 in any high school class, and you’re going to find a first generation immigrant,” Hayes said. 

“You’re going to find students who, as soon as they overcame the language barrier, showed that their lack of English proficiency was not a measure of intelligence.”

She also said former President Trump wants to abolish the Education Department, which she characterized as proof of Republicans’ unserious tact on the overall issue.

When asked to respond to Bean’s comments and the hearing writ-large, Rep. Robert Scott’s, D-Va., office directed Fox News Digital to Rep. Suzanne Bonamici’s opening statement at Bean’s hearing.

In her remarks, Bonamici accused committee Republicans of using the forum to undermine the 1982 Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe, which affirmed education as a fundamental right regardless of immigration status.

Bonamici said Republicans are wrongly “scapegoating migrant children” and should instead focus on keeping kids safe by addressing gun violence and other issues.

In response to an inquiry about Bean’s hearing, the Department of Homeland Security pointed Fox News Digital to a recent interview between Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Fox News’ Neil Cavuto, in which the cabinet member told “Your World” it is imperative to resurrect and pass the most recent border control legislation.

“That bipartisan Senate bill would deliver for us changes to 30-year-old laws that are incredibly needed. We’re dealing with a terrifically broken asylum system, and it would deliver for us resources at a level that we desperately need that we do not have,” Mayorkas said in-part.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House but did not receive a response.



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GOP candidate for swing House district once defended Chinese company in lawsuit


A lawyer and Republican candidate for a U.S. House seat in the swing state of Michigan has in the past defended a Chinese-owned firm linked to multiple espionage investigations.

Michigan-based attorney Paul Hudson, who is running in the GOP primary for Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District, served as one of the attorneys defending Yubei (Xinxiang) Power Steering Sys. Co., in a 2015 lawsuit filed by Global Technology Inc., a Michigan company.

Yubei (Xinxiang) Power Steering is a subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), a defense contractor owned by the Chinese Communist Party that has faced multiple espionage investigations, including accusations the firm stole secret F-35 information to incorporate into Chinese aircraft.

A 2014 Fox News report on the incident noted that the alleged espionage took place in 2007, with a secretive Chinese military unit passing F-35 technology data to the AVIC that later turned up in China’s new J-20 stealth fighter jet.

AIR FORCE WARNS CHINESE COMPANY’S NORTH DAKOTA MILL WOULD BE ‘SIGNIFICANT’ NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT

CCP rally at Chinese primary school

Teachers and students sing together to celebrate the founding day of the Communist Party of China at Wenhua Road Primary School in Zaozhuang, China. (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

The Chinese firm’s involvement in the espionage case was one of several cases of Chinese companies spying in the U.S., eventually leading to President Trump signing a 2020 executive order that prohibited American companies from owning shares in companies the Defense Department listed as being linked to the People’s Liberation Army, including AVIC.

Reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Hudson’s campaign argued the candidate “has represented a wide variety of clients in hundreds of cases in his 18 years of practicing law in Michigan.”

“In this decade-old case, Paul assisted a firm client in a limited appeal involving a contract dispute,” the spokesperson added. “The only issue at hand was a narrow jurisdictional issue in which the Sixth Circuit unanimously agreed with his client’s position, and the case was quickly dismissed.”

But the issue could play an outsized role for voters in Michigan, especially in the aftermath of a high-profile dispute between a small Michigan town and a Chinese company last year.

At issue in that case was a lawsuit filed by Gotion Inc., a subsidiary of China-based Gotion High-Tech, against Green Charter Township, Michigan. Voters in Green Charter Township, which is just north of Michigan’s 3rd District, fought back against plans led by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for Gotion to build an electric vehicle battery plant near an area military base after the company’s Chinese ties were revealed, leading to the case that generated national headlines.

Gretchen Whitmer, Democratic governor of Michigan

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

CHINA SPY BALLOON SHOWS COUNTRY IS PREPARING CITIZENS FOR WAR THAT COULD COME ‘AT ANY POINT’

The Gotion case was top of mind for Hudson’s GOP primary opponent, Michigan financial adviser Michael Markey, who argued Michigan “cannot afford to elect a congressman who is in the pocket of the Chinese Communist Party.”

“This is not just a concern for voters, it is a concern for national security,” Markey told Fox News Digital. “His ties to the Chinese Communist Party should be an immediate disqualifier for running for Congress.”

Markey argued that Hudson has demonstrated he will put his personal interests ahead of those of voters, noting China’s well-documented attempts to disrupt American interests.

“It is clear that Paul Hudson is a lawyer for sale to the highest bidder, and in this case, the highest bidder is the Chinese Communist Party,” Markey said. “Paul chose to defend the Chinese Communist Party to line his pockets at the expense and safety of Michigan and America.”

The campaign of the 3rd District incumbent, Rep. Hilary Scholten, D-Mich., did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

Rep. Scholten at press conference

Rep. Hillary Scholten (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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Meanwhile, the spokesperson for Hudson’s campaign pointed to the candidate’s long history of “opposing Chinese aggression and influence,” noting Hudson has been a strong advocate of rebuilding the Pacific Fleet and has supported increased defense spending to counter China, including support for the recent $8 billion aid package to Taiwan.

“Paul also supports the work and leadership of the Michigan congressman in his neighboring district, John Moolenaar, who heads the House Select Committee on the CCP and is doing important work to expose and counter China’s influence operations in our homeland,” the spokesperson said.

Michigan’s congressional primary elections will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 6.



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