NationalWatch

It’s officially game on in Pennsylvania, as Republican candidate Dave McCormick and Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr. were projected the winners of the two major party Senate primaries in the northeastern battleground state.

Both candidates, who were unopposed in Tuesday’s Democratic and GOP primaries, will now face off in a high-profile and expensive Senate showdown that is one of a handful across the country which will likely decide whether the GOP wins back the Senate majority.

McCormick, a former hedge fund executive, West Point graduate, Gulf War combat veteran and Treasury Department official in former President George W. Bush’s administration, is making his second straight bid for the Senate.

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He was part of a crowded and combustible battle for the 2022 GOP nomination. He ended up losing the nomination by a razor-thin margin to celebrity doctor and cardiac surgeon Mehmet Oz, who secured a primary victory thanks to a late endorsement from former President Donald Trump. Oz ended up losing the general election to then-Democrat Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.

This time around, McCormick faced no major opposition in the GOP primary. He was backed last year by longtime Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell as well as the Pennsylvania GOP, and was encouraged to run by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is the party’s Senate campaign arm.

TRUMP MAKES MAJOR ENDORSEMENT IN KEY SENATE RACE

McCormick endorsed Trump early last month after the former president scored major victories in the coast to coast Super Tuesday contests and Nikki Haley – Trump’s last remaining rival for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination – dropped out of the White House race.

Trump, the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee, returned the favor earlier this month, endorsing McCormick.

Casey, the son of a popular former governor, is running for a fourth six-year term in the Senate. He served a decade as Pennsylvania’s auditor general and then treasurer before winning election to the Senate in 2006.

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The most recent public opinion polls indicate Casey holding a single-digit advantage over McCormick.

Democrats currently control the U.S. Senate with a 51-49 majority, but Republicans are looking at a favorable Senate map this year, with Democrats defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs. 

Three of those seats are in red states that Trump carried in his 2020 election defeat to President Biden — Ohio, Montana and West Virginia, where Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin is not running for re-election. And Pennsylvania is one of five key general election battlegrounds where the Democrats are defending seats. Democrats may also have to worry about holding the open Senate seat in blue Maryland, where former GOP Gov. Larry Hogan is running.

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

A member of the far-left “Squad” survived a challenge from a centrist Democrat on Tuesday despite her sharp criticism of Israel that threatened her effort to win re-election in a district with a sizable Jewish community.

Rep. Summer Lee, a first-term congresswoman, will once again be the Democrat nominee to represent Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District, after defeating local councilwoman Bhavini Patel.

Lee’s victory follows that of fellow “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., in 2022, when she was nearly ousted in her own primary after making controversial remarks about police and Israel throughout her political career.

COLUMBIA ALUM OBAMA SILENT AS JEWISH FACULTY, STUDENTS FACE ANTISEMITIC HARASSMENT ON CAMPUS

The race was viewed as an early test of how progressive Democrats critical of Israel might perform with voters as the party faces a continued divide over support for one of America’s closest allies in the Middle East amid continued Gaza military operations in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack.

Since the attack and the war’s escalation, Lee had called for a ceasefire and opposed sending more funding to Israel.

She had come under fire in recent months from pro-Israel groups and the Jewish community for her rhetoric on the war, including an open letter signed by dozens of rabbis condemning her “divisive rhetoric” they said had been “perceived as openly antisemitic.”

DEMOCRATS HOLD MAJOR 2024 ADVANTAGE AS HOUSE REPUBLICANS FACE FURTHER CHAOS, DIVISION

While campaigning, Patel framed Lee’s anti-Israel stance as part of a left-wing politics too extreme for the people of the district, and argued it ran in contrast to President Biden’s agenda as he faces his own challenge of winning Pennsylvania against former President Donald Trump in November.

The issue of antisemitism was a particularly potent issue in the 12th district because it is home to the synagogue where a gunman killed 11 congregants in 2018, the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history.

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Lee’s victory helped her avoid being the first House Democrat incumbent to lose a primary this year. Other “Squad” members are also expected to face tough primary challenges from centrist Democrats, including Reps. Cori Bush, D-Mo., Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.

Fox News’ Emma Colton and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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

A man who became a fugitive after a federal jury convicted him of assaulting police officers during the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced on Tuesday to six years in prison.

David Joseph Gietzen, 31, of Sanford, North Carolina, struck a police officer with a pole during a mob’s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

JAN. 6 WAS NOT AN INSURRECTION, SAYS TURLEY, WARNS DEMOCRATS OF ‘SLIPPERY SLOPE’ THREATENING DEMOCRACY

Gietzen told U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols that he didn’t intend to hurt anybody that day. But he didn’t express any regret or remorse for his actions on Jan. 6, when he joined a mob of Donald Trump supporters in interrupting the joint session of Congress for certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory.

“I have to make it explicitly known that I believe I did the right thing,” he said before learning his sentence.

The judge said Gietzen made it clear during his trial testimony — and his sentencing hearing — that he clings to his baseless beliefs that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump.

“Mr. Gietzen essentially was unapologetic today about his conduct,” Nichols said.

Last August, a jury convicted Gietzen of eight counts, including assault and civil disorder charges. After his trial conviction, Gietzen disregarded a court order to report to prison on Oct. 20, 2023, while awaiting sentencing. He missed several hearings for his case before he was arrested at his mother’s home in North Carolina on Dec. 12, 2023.

“This pattern of flouting rules and laws and doing what he wants, regardless of the consequences, is how Gietzen operates,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing.

Defense attorney Ira Knight said Gietzen apparently remained at his house, “just waiting to be picked up,” and wasn’t on the run from authorities or trying to hide after his conviction.

Prosecutors recommended a prison term of 10 years and one month for Gietzen, who worked as a computer programming engineer after graduating from North Carolina State University in 2017 with bachelor’s degrees in computer engineering and electrical engineering.

“Clearly, Gietzen is bright and able to get something done when he puts his mind to it – be it a college degree or assaulting officers as part of in a violent mob,” prosecutors wrote.

Gietzen’s attorneys requested a four-year prison sentence.

“David’s current philosophy is that he no longer wishes to be engaged with the political process,” defense attorneys wrote. “His involvement with politics has concluded and should be an indication to the Court that he is no longer interested in being a threat to the public or political process.”

Gietzen traveled to Washington, D.C., with his brother from their home in North Carolina. He attended then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6 before marching to the Capitol.

As the mob of Trump supporters overwhelmed a police line on the Capitol’s West Plaza, Gietzen shoved a police officer, grabbed another officer’s gas mask and struck an officer with a pole.

“And all of Gietzen’s violence was based on a lack of respect for law enforcement and the democratic process — its goal was to get himself and other rioters closer to the building so they could interfere with the certification of the election,” prosecutors wrote.

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Gietzen later bragged about participating in the riot in messages to friends and relatives, saying he had “never been prouder to be an American.”

More than 1,350 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Over 800 of them have been sentenced, with roughly two-thirds getting terms of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years.

Former President Trump said he plans to “fire” the “radical left” individuals that “have allowed our colleges to become dominated by Marxist maniacs and lunatics” and ensure higher education is focused on “defending the American tradition” if elected to a second term. 

The 2024 Republican presumptive presidential nominee posted an education policy video to his Truth Social Tuesday night amid violent antisemitic anti-Israel protests on college campuses across the nation. 

TRUMP SLAMS COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY FOR CLOSING CAMPUS AMID ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS: ‘MEANS THE OTHER SIDE WINS’

“For many years, tuition costs at colleges and universities have been exploding and I mean absolutely exploding,” Trump said. “While academics have been obsessed with indoctrinating America’s youth, the time has come to reclaim our once great educational institutions from the radical left. And we will do that.” 

Trump said his “secret weapon” will be the “college accreditation system,” which he says is called “accreditation for a reason.” 

“The accreditors are supposed to ensure that schools are not ripping off students and taxpayers, but they have failed totally,” Trump said. 

Accreditation is a third-party review process to review whether education programs meet defined standards of quality. 

“When I return to the White House, I will fire the radical left, accreditors that have allowed our colleges to become dominated by Marxist maniacs and lunatics,” the former president continued. “We will then accept applications for new accreditors who will impose real standards on colleges once again, and once and for all.” 

Trump said the standards would include “defending the American tradition and Western civilization, protecting free speech, eliminating wasteful administrative positions that drive up costs, incredibly, removing all Marxist diversity, equity and inclusion bureaucrats, offering options for accelerated and low cost degrees, providing meaningful job placement and career services, and implementing college entrance and exit exams to prove that students are actually learning and getting their money’s worth.” 

Trump also said, if elected, he would direct the Justice Department to “pursue federal civil rights cases against schools that continue to engage in racial discrimination.” 

Trump added that schools “that persist in explicit, unlawful discrimination under the guise of equity will not only have their endowments taxed, but through budget reconciliation.” 

Trump said he would advance a measure to have universities “fined up to the entire amount of their endowment.” 

“A portion of the seized funds will then be used for restitution for victims of these illegal and unjust policies–policies that hurt our country so badly,” he said. 

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MOVES TO HYBRID LEARNING ON MAIN CAMPUS AMID ANTISEMITIC PROTESTS

“Colleges have gotten hundreds of billions of dollars from hardworking taxpayers, and now we are going to get this anti-American insanity out of our institutions once and for all,” he continued. “We are going to have real education in America.” 

The former president’s policy video was posted to Truth Social Tuesday afternoon, shortly before he blasted Columbia University for moving its classes virtual amid days and days of massive pro-Gaza protests on campus. 

“They’re closing Columbia now? I mean, it’s just crazy,” Trump said. “Columbia should gain a little strength, a little courage and keep their school open.” 

Trump’s comments came after students at Columbia University were instructed that classes had shifted to virtual or hybrid amid ongoing safety concerns stemming from the anti-Israel protests filling the campus. 

“It’s crazy because that means the other side wins,” Trump said Tuesday. “When you start closing down colleges and universities—that means the other side [wins.]” 

“The people running Columbia have made a grave mistake,” Trump said. 

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Columbia University’s updated guidelines, as of Tuesday morning, said all courses on the Morningside main campus have moved to hybrid learning “until the end of each school’s Spring 2024 semester.”

“Safety is our highest priority as we strive to support our students’ learning and all the required academic operations,” the school’s Provost Angela Olinto wrote in a statement released early Tuesday morning. “It’s vital that teaching and learning continue during this time.”

Former President Trump slammed Columbia University for closing its campus amid violent anti-Israel, pro-Gaza protests, urging the college to “gain a little strength” and “courage,” while saying the move “means the other side wins.” 

Trump took reporter questions in Trump Tower on Tuesday evening before a meeting with former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, who is the current vice president of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party. 

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MOVES TO HYBRID LEARNING ON MAIN CAMPUS AMID ANTISEMITIC PROTESTS

The former president and presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee was asked if he would visit with Jewish students this week amid protests, following the news that House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to visit Columbia University’s campus Wednesday. 

“Well, we have a lot of different things, but what’s going on with the colleges—and, they’re closing Columbia now? I mean, it’s just crazy,” Trump said. “Columbia should gain a little strength, a little courage and keep their school open.” 

Trump’s comments came after students at Columbia University were instructed that classes had shifted to virtual or hybrid amid ongoing safety concerns stemming from the anti-Israel protests filling the campus. 

“It’s crazy because that means the other side wins,” Trump said Tuesday. “When you start closing down colleges and universities—that means the other side [wins.]” 

The former president, pointing to Aso and Japan said “in Japan, they don’t know about that. They don’t close. They keep it open. They make it work.” 

“The people running Columbia have made a grave mistake,” Trump said. 

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS: 5 DRAMATIC MOMENTS FROM A WEEK OF CHAOS

Columbia University’s updated guidelines, as of Tuesday morning, said all courses on the Morningside main campus have moved to hybrid learning “until the end of each school’s Spring 2024 semester.”

“Safety is our highest priority as we strive to support our students’ learning and all the required academic operations,” the school’s Provost Angela Olinto wrote in a statement released early Tuesday morning. “It’s vital that teaching and learning continue during this time.”

IVY LEAGUE ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS’ PROTESTS SPIRAL INTO ‘ACTUAL TERROR ORGANIZATION,’ PROFESSOR WARNS

The announcement comes amid continued antisemitic protests on the New York City campus and just a day after classes were made virtual on Monday.

The guidance, signed in tandem with Chief Operating Officer Cas Holloway, also affects faculty and staff.

The guidance comes amid days of protests at Columbia, where anti-Israel agitators initially formed an encampment — setting up tents and refusing to leave— on the campus last week. The protesters have marched in and around the campus demanding the school lose affiliations with groups that support Israel amid its war with Hamas in Gaza, which has resulted in tens of thousands of civilian deaths.  

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT ORDERS VIRTUAL CLASSES AS ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS TAKE OVER: ‘WE NEED A RESET’

Columbia University President Dr. Nemat “Minouche” Shafik said in a statement posted in the early hours Monday morning, that she was “deeply saddened” by certain actions of the agitators and called for a “reset.”

“I am deeply saddened by what is happening on our campus,” Shafik wrote. “Our bonds as a community have been severely tested in ways that will take a great deal of time and effort to reaffirm. Students across an array of communities have conveyed fears for their safety and we have announced additional actions we are taking to address security concerns. The decibel of our disagreements has only increased in recent days. These tensions have been exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia who have come to campus to pursue their own agendas.”

DEMOCRATIC REP GOTTHEIMER SAYS HE WOULD BE WORRIED TO SEND CHILDREN TO COLUMBIA AFTER VISITING PROTESTS

Shafik, on Monday, said the university needs “a reset.” 

More than 100 of the protesters were arrested last week amid the unrest.

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Antisemitic protests have broken out at colleges and universities across the nation including New York University in New York City and Yale University in New Haven, Ct. 

Fox News’ Lawrence Richard contributed to this report. 

The House GOP’s push to pass border security reform through the divided 118th Congress could end up an unrealized dream.

A spokesperson for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pointed out to Fox News Digital that House Republicans have passed multiple border security and immigration enforcement bills – none of which have been taken up by the Democrat-controlled Senate.

The Johnson spokesperson indicated that with Republicans and Democrats still far apart on the issue, House GOP leaders are relying on former President Trump to take back the White House next year for any meaningful border policy changes to take place.

GOP PREPS ATTACKS ON VULNERABLE DEM SENATORS OVER MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT TRIAL DISMISSAL

“House Republicans have passed multiple border security bills – including our signature Secure the Border Act, Laken Riley Act, and Consequences for Social Security Fraud Act – which have been ignored by the Democrat Senate and proves their unseriousness when it comes to dealing with the border catastrophe,” Johnson’s office said. “Democrats have only proposed measures for political cover that won’t fix the problem, and Republicans are not going to let the White House accept anything less than transformative change.”

“House Republicans understand that the only way to truly solve the problem is to elect President Trump in November.”

REPUBLICANS PREDICT DEMS TO PAY ‘HEAVY PRICE’ IN ELECTION AFTER MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT BID FAILS

Fox News Digital had reached out to Johnson’s office two days after the speaker convened a rare Saturday session to pass his $95 billion foreign aid proposal. 

While the wide bipartisan margin demonstrated a victory for Johnson in his still relatively new leadership role, GOP rebels who have been increasingly critical of Johnson for crossing the aisle on key legislation were furious that he passed roughly $61 billion in Ukraine aid without trying to force through border security measures.

“The only path forward for substantive border legislation was to leverage the Biden regime’s push for more Ukraine aid,” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., wrote on X last week.

Johnson has also maintained for months that President Biden himself has the unilateral ability to stop the border crisis through executive action – something the White House has pushed back on, arguing a permanent fix has to come from Congress.

The statement from Johnson’s office Tuesday came after Fox News Digital asked if he had spoken with Biden recently about the possibility of executive action on the border, or whether House Republicans could be looking at using the next big legislative fight – fiscal year 2025 government funding – as an area to jam the Senate on border security.

An earlier attempt to pass foreign aid alongside a bipartisan border security deal failed when Republicans in both the Senate and House argued the border measures included would have only codified the Biden administration’s existing bad policies.

‘CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY’ OF SENATE DEMS QUASHING MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT TRIAL QUESTIONED BY EXPERTS

Democrats, however, refused Republicans’ urging to take up their Secure the Border Act, calling its Trump administration-era immigration provisions a non-starter.

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Meanwhile, a House GOP aide familiar with the House Homeland Security Committee’s work said the panel was conducting multiple investigations into the Biden administration’s handling of the border, but would not discuss any pending legislation that House GOP leaders could have potentially held up as a new push for reform.

The House GOP aide said Republicans were committed “to respond[ing] to this crisis and [making] sure people know [they] take this issue very seriously.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office for comment.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article’s headline has been updated to more clearly reflect that Johnson’s office was referring to the Senate.

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’s response to antisemitic protests angers social media

-Schumer to take up $95B aid package despite bipartisan opposition

-Judge hammers Trump attorneys over gag order

Another crime

New York prosecutors on Tuesday revealed the other crime they claim former President Trump was trying to conceal when he allegedly falsified his business records.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. In order for prosecutors to secure a criminal conviction, they must convince the jury that Trump allegedly committed the crime of falsifying business records in “furtherance of another crime.” 

The supposed “other crime” has been speculated about among legal scholars and pundits, but on Tuesday New York prosecutor Joshua Steinglass on Tuesday identified the legal code: Trump allegedly ran afoul of a New York law called “conspiracy to promote or prevent election.”

New York Law 17-152 states: “Any two or more persons who conspire to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means and which conspiracy is acted upon by one or more of the parties thereto, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”

White House

‘BOTH SIDES’ ANSWER: Biden’s response to antisemitic protests angers social media users …Read more

COMMITMENT ISSUES: Biden could be denied pivotal state by growing movement …Read more

SILENT LEADER: Education secretary silent on protections for Jewish students as Ivy League campus descends into antisemitic chaos …Read more

Capitol Hill

‘FINISH LINE’: Schumer to take up $95 billion Israel, Ukraine aid package despite bipartisan opposition …Read more

‘A LAME DUCK’: Speaker Johnson dodges ouster vote amid heated MTG rhetoric …Read more

‘HE’S TRYING VERY HARD’: Trump defends Johnson as Marjorie Taylor Greene pushes to oust speaker …Read more

POISON IVY: NY House Republicans band together to demand Columbia president step down …Read more

‘CESSPOOL OF PARTISANSHIP’: GOP lawmaker demands answers on former Biden official joining Trump’s prosecution team …Read more

BOTCHED PROBE: Bombshell House report bashes CIA handling of internal sexual assault cases …Read more

‘PRO-HAMAS RHETORIC’: Republicans demand Biden officials address Columbia University ‘pro-terrorist mobs’ …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

ELECTION INTERFERENCE: Study finds Facebook has ‘interfered’ with elections in the US at least 39 times since 2008 …Read more

‘A DISGRACE’: Trump blames Biden for college anti-Israel protests …Read more

Across America

LOSING IT: Judge hammers Trump attorneys over gag order …Read more

NOT A PEEP: Columbia alum Obama silent as Jewish students face antisemitic harassment …Read more

SENATOR IN SLAMMER: Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker arrested on suspicion of burglary …Read more

PROMOTING MISERY: Climate activists have new target in mind for major summer protest …Read more

NEW DOCUMENTS: Judge unseals FBI files in Trump’s Florida case, including detailed timeline of Mar-a-Lago raid …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.

Former President Donald Trump slammed what he described as an “unconstitutional” gag order imposed on him during his trial in Manhattan, while pinning blame for the trial and ongoing anti-Israel protests unfolding on college campuses nationwide on President Biden. 

“We have a gag order, which to me is totally unconstitutional. I’m not allowed to talk, but people are allowed to talk about me. So they can talk about me,” Trump said outside the courtroom. “They can say whatever they want, they can lie, but I’m not allowed to say anything. I just have to sit back and look at why a conflicted judge has ordered me to have gag order,” he said.

“I don’t think anybody’s ever seen anything like this. I’d love to talk to you people. I’d love to say everything that’s on my mind, but I’m restricted because I have a gag order,” he continued. 

Trump was back in court on Tuesday, when presiding Judge Juan Merchan held a hearing on the prosecution’s request that Trump be held in contempt for violating a gag order. Merchan imposed the gag order on Trump before the trial began, ordering Trump to abstain from making comments — or directing others to make comments — regarding witnesses’ potential participation or the prosecution team. The gag order does allow Trump to publicly speak about District Attorney Alvin Bragg. 

LIVE UPDATES: NY VS. TRUMP TRIAL TO RESUME AS FORMER PRESIDENT FIGHTS OFF GAG ORDER ALLEGATIONS 

Prosecutors presented 10 instances of Trump allegedly violating the gag order in social media posts during the hearing. The DA’s office argues he should pay a $1,000 fine each for a handful of the instances. 

Trump’s legal team pushed back that the posts in question were examples of the 45th president responding to attacks. 

Merchan has not issued a decision yet on whether Trump is found in contempt. He did warn the Trump defense team that they were “losing all credibility” during the hearing. 

NY VS. TRUMP: FIRST WITNESS TAKES THE STAND IN MANHATTAN COURT

“I’ve asked you 8 or 9 times, ‘show me the exact post that he was responding to’ and you haven’t been able to do that once,” Merchan told Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche. 

“I have to tell you right now, you’re losing all credibility in the court,” Merchan added. 

Trump continued in his comments after court wrapped up for the day that the ongoing anti-Israel demonstrations raging on some of the nation’s most elite college campuses are “Biden’s fault,” in addition to the trial itself. 

“That’s Biden’s fault,” he said of the school protests. “And by the way, this trial is all Biden.”

“He can’t put two sentences again, but he’s out campaigning,” Trump continued of Biden. “He’s out campaigning. And I’m here in a courtroom sitting here … sitting up as straight as I can all day long. Because you know what? It’s a very unfair situation.”

NY VS. TRUMP: JUDGE WARNS TRUMP TEAM THEY’RE ‘LOSING ALL CREDIBILITY’ IN GAG ORDER HEARING

Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts. 

NY VS. TRUMP: JUDGE DELIVERS JURY INSTRUCTIONS AS OPENING STATEMENTS KICK OFF

The trial focuses on Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen paying former pornographic actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 to allegedly quiet her claims of an alleged extramarital affair she had with Trump in the early 2000s. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels.

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Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen and fraudulently logged the payments as legal expenses. 

President Biden cast the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, and his framing of former President Trump’s response, as the impetus for his 2020 White House run – but Biden now faces his own “Charlottesville moment.”

Biden has repeatedly and emphatically condemned the riots in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 for spewing “antisemitic bile,” even saying the protests motivated his run for the White House last election cycle.

“In that moment, I knew the threat to this nation was unlike any I had ever seen in my lifetime,” Biden said in 2019 of the riots when announcing his run for the White House against then-President Trump. 

Flash forward to 2024, antisemitism is running rampant on the campuses of some of the country’s most elite universities, including protesters on Columbia’s campus saying Jewish students were Hamas’ “next targets” amid ongoing protests. 

FETTERMAN ‘NOT WRONG’ TO COMPARE COLUMBIA PROTESTS TO CHARLOTTESVILLE, CNN HOST SAYS

“Al-Qassam you make us proud, kill another soldier now,” protesters on the Ivy League campus chanted over the weekend, referring to the military wing of the terrorist organization Hamas. 

They also chanted: “We say justice, you say how. Burn Tel Aviv to the ground” and “Hamas we love you. We support your rockets, too.”

The protests in Charlottesville in 2017, which played out across two days in August of that year, included White nationalists descending on the city who were met by hundreds of counter-protesters. The protests devolved into violence, including three deaths and dozens of injuries stemming from a car plowing through people and other attacks.  

IVY LEAGUE ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS’ PROTESTS SPIRAL INTO ‘ACTUAL TERROR ORGANIZATION,’ PROFESSOR WARNS

The protests were condemned by both Republicans and Democrats as a hateful display of bigotry, including Trump at the time, who said in a statement that such protests and violence have “no place in America.” 

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides,” Trump said in August of that year. Trump added days later in a press conference that he condemned the “egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence” and came under fire from Democrats for his remarks that there was “blame on both sides” and “very fine people, on both sides.”

DEARBORN ACTIVISTS’ PUSH TO BAIL ON BIDEN SPREADS TO OTHER KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES

Biden pointed to Trump’s comments as helping motivate him to run for the presidency. 

“With those words, the president of the United States assigned a moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it,” Biden said in 2019 when announcing his candidacy. 

Biden has repeatedly pointed to Charlottesville as a moment of shame for the nation, including on the fourth anniversary, when the White House released a statement saying the rally was a “battle for the soul of America was laid bare for all to see.” 

MICHIGAN ARABS AND MUSLIM COMMUNITY WORK TO BEAT BIDEN IN 2024 RACE: BIDEN ‘THINKS WE’RE BLUFFING’

“The forces of hate and violence were summoned from the shadows as Neo-Nazis, Klansmen, and white supremacists descended on a historic American city. With torches in their hands and veins bulging from their necks, they spewed the same antisemitic bile that was heard in Germany in the 1930s and with the same beatings and bigotry we saw in Jim Crow America for nearly a century,” he said. Though Biden has repeatedly cited Charlottesville, he has come under criticism, as recently as five months ago, for not visiting the city following the protests. 

“Charlottesville, Virginia,” were even the first two words Biden uttered when announcing his run for the White House. 

Biden is now facing his own “Charlottesville moment,” as protests rage on college campuses stretching from Yale to the University of California, Berkeley, as anti-Israel students set up encampments while demanding their schools completely divest from Israel.

Protests had spread across the nation in October of last year, when Hamas launched its first attacks against Israel, sparking war. They have since intensified, including this month. 

A Columbia professor told Fox Digital over the weekend that anti-Israel campus groups have morphed into becoming an “actual terror organization,” citing the protester who was seen holding a sign reading, “Al-Qasam’s (sic) next targets” that pointed toward Jewish students. A rabbi on Columbia’s campus has warned Jewish students to leave campus due to the antisemitism. 

“The events of the last few days, especially last night, have made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety in the face of extreme antisemitism and anarchy,” Rabbi Elie Buechler wrote to students over the weekend. “It deeply pains me to say that I would strongly recommend you return home as soon as possible and remain home until the reality in and around campus has dramatically improved.”

BIDEN CRUSHED FOR EQUIVOCATING ON ANTISEMITIC PROTESTS: ‘VERY FINE PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES’ MOMENT

More than 100 protesters were arrested on Columbia’s campus last week, while dozens more were arrested on Yale’s and NYU’s campus this week. 

Biden on Monday reiterated his condemnation of the violent protests, while facing criticisms online that his remarks echoed what Trump said in 2017 of the Charlottesville riots. 

“I condemn the antisemitic protests. That’s why I have set up a program to deal with that. I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians,” Biden told reporters Monday. 

“This sure sounds like he’s ACTUALLY saying there are very fine people on both sides,” OutKick founder Clay Travis said.

ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS COULD ‘ESCALATE,’ TURN MORE EXTREME TO GET BIDEN’S ATTENTION, REPORT WARNS 

“Joe Biden condemned what he called the ‘antisemitic bile’ of right-wing marchers in Charlottesville, Virginia, and called it a ‘defining moment’ for America. Today we’re witnessing Charlottesville happening on the campus of Columbia University but Biden is silent. This is a defining moment for this presidency. Will he keep pandering to the antisemitic left or confront it the way he did the antisemitic right?” Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen tweeted. 

American Spectator writer Nate Hochman noted, “I’m old enough to remember when ‘good people on both sides’ was evil and racist.”

WHITE HOUSE CONDEMNS ‘BLATANTLY ANTISEMITIC’ PROTESTS AS AGITATORS ENGULF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

The Federalist’s editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway wrote, “President Biden says there are good people on both sides of October 7.”

Earlier this month, Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, who has openly supported Israel and condemned members of his own party for not doing the same, compared the protests unfolding on college campuses to Charlottesville. 

“I fully agree with the White House – these ‘protests’ are antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous. Add some tiki torches and it’s Charlottesville for these Jewish students,” Fetterman tweeted as the Columbia protests intensified over the weekend. 

Israel has become a lightning rod for the Democratic Party since October, with the party’s progressive faction, such as members of the Squad, coming under fierce condemnation from the Jewish community and conservatives for not taking harder stances against Hamas. Biden is even facing an “​​Abandon Biden” movement in battleground states such as Michigan and Wisconsin, stemming from the president’s support of Israel during its war in Gaza. The movement calls Israel’s actions “genocide.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Biden campaign and the White House for comment on the matter Tuesday, but did not receive a response from either.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Lee and Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report. 

New York prosecutors on Tuesday revealed the other crime they claim former President Trump was trying to conceal when he allegedly falsified his business records.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. In order for prosecutors to secure a criminal conviction, they must convince the jury that Trump allegedly committed the crime of falsifying business records in “furtherance of another crime.” 

TRUMP TRIAL: FORMER PRESIDENT ‘INNOCENT,’ SAYS DEFENSE AS DA ALLEGES ‘CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY’

Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts. 

New York prosecutor Joshua Steinglass on Tuesday said the other crime was a violation of a New York law called “conspiracy to promote or prevent election.”

Prosecutors will try to prove that the alleged conspiracy was to conceal a conspiracy to unlawfully promote his candidacy.

“Any two or more persons who conspire to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means and which conspiracy is acted upon by one or more of the parties thereto, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,” New York Law 17-152 reads. 

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo, during his opening argument Monday, said the case against Trump “is about a criminal conspiracy and a cover-up.” 

Colangelo argued that months after Trump announced his candidacy for president in June 2015, he invited former CEO of American Media Inc. (AMI) David Pecker to Trump Tower for a meeting. His then-attorney and “fixer” Michael Cohen was also at the meeting. AMI owned the National Inquirer. 

“Those three men formed a conspiracy to influence the election,” Colangelo argued.

Colangelo claimed Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 to “silence” her and make sure the public did not learn of an alleged sexual encounter with Trump. Colangelo claimed that after the election, Trump reimbursed Cohen through a series of monthly checks from his businesses but claimed that he disguised those payments as payments for legal services. 

Colangelo alleged that Pecker, Cohen and Trump “conspired to influence the 2016 presidential election,” and said Pecker would gather harmful information and prevent it from going public. Colangelo alleged he only published flattering stories about Trump and negative stories about opponents. 

Colangelo claimed that the men used a practice called “catch & kill,” saying they bought damaging information, had the seller of that information sign a non-disclosure agreement and then blocked the information from being published. 

Colangelo said the practice was used three times — once to block a story a former Trump Tower doorman was trying to sell about an alleged out-of-wedlock child. Colangelo said the payment was $30,000. The doorman’s story was eventually proven to be untrue. 

BRAGG SAYS HE WILL TRY TO ‘DISCREDIT’ TRUMP IF HE TESTIFIES IN HIS DEFENSE DURING CRIMINAL TRIAL

The next payment was to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claimed a romantic and sexual relationship with Trump. Colangelo alleged that Cohen asked AMI to buy the story. Colangelo said AMI paid McDougal $150,000 in exchange for “unlimited life rights” to her story. 

Colangelo also alleged there was a payment made of $130,000 to Daniels. 

Colangelo said that when it came time to pay Cohen back, Trump “didn’t negotiate the price down — he doubled it.” Colangelo alleged that his “willingness to do this shows the importance of hiding the payments” and alleged “overall election conspiracy.” 

But Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche rejected the prosecution’s argument, declaring: “President Trump is innocent.”

“None of this was a crime,” Blanche said. “People say that Trump is trying to cover up payments — think… President Trump did not pay Cohen back $130,000. He paid Cohen $420,000.” 

He added, “Would a frugal businessman repay a $130,000 debt to the tune of $420,000?” 

Blanche said that the money “was not a payback,” and said Trump, in 2017, after the election, was paying legal fees. 

He added, “I have a spoiler alert — there is nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It’s called democracy. They put something sinister on it.” 

NY VS TRUMP: THE EVIDENCE PROSECUTORS CAN PRESENT IF FORMER PRESIDENT TESTIFIES

Blanche argued that Cohen paying Daniels “was not illegal” and said that entering into a non-disclosure agreement was also not illegal, saying companies “do that all the time.” 

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“There is nothing illegal about it,” Blanche said, arguing that Daniels was attempting to try to embarrass Trump with “all sorts of allegations” that could be “damaging to him and damaging to his family.” 

“Trump fought back to protect his family, reputation, brand,” Blanche said. “And that is not a crime.” 

FIRST ON FOX: A House Republican lawmaker is demanding answers from the Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding the hiring of a former Biden administration attorney on the prosecution team of former President Donald Trump.

Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas sent a scathing letter to DOJ and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Tuesday, highlighting the hire of Michael Colangelo on the team attempting to charge the former president with 34 counts of falsifying his business records, including alleged hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. 

Colangelo was previously employed as a senior official at President Joe Biden’s DOJ, but reportedly left his role in December 2022 to work as Senior Counsel at the DA’s office a few months before the indictment of Trump.

“The politicized persecution of former President Trump and the collusion between the Biden Administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Manhattan District Attorney (DA) General’s Office have raised several concerns among the public,” Gooden wrote in the letter obtained by Fox News Digital, demanding documents pertaining to Colangelo’s hiring documents be released.

SUPREME COURT PREPARES TO DEBATE TRUMP IMMUNITY CLAIM IN ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE

Gooden also requested any and all communication between Bragg and Colangelo while he was still employed at DOJ “to ensure transparency and accountability are upheld in this case.”

In the letter, the congressman questioned whether Colangelo was asked to leave by the department, or if he accepted a position in a lower office voluntarily and if he remains in contact with DOJ officials.

GOV GAVIN NEWSOM WORRIES ABOUT ‘OVERINDULGENCE,’ ‘OBSESSION’ WITH TRUMP HUSH MONEY TRIAL: ‘LESS IS MORE’

Additionally, the Texas lawmaker asked if Colangelo was asked to leave, “what was he promised in return for accepting such a substantial demotion from his position at DOJ to joining a Manhattan DA prosecution team.”

“The Department of Justice under President Biden has proven to be a cesspool of partisanship, further evident by the hyper-politicized courts that have taken up President Trump’s criminal trials,” Gooden’s letter read. “DA Bragg’s decision to hire Mr. Colangelo, a former DOJ official with close ties to the White House and Attorney General Garland, is yet another example of the unconstitutional approach to President Trump’s trial.”

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Gooden asked to receive a response to his questions by May 24, 2024.

Trump is currently on trial for making alleged hush money payments while he was campaigning for president in 2016. The former president has pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, and will spend the next several weeks of his 2024 presidential campaign in the courtroom.

Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ and Bragg’s office.

Judge Juan Merchan told President Donald Trump’s defense team they were “losing all credibility” during a Tuesday hearing on whether the 45th president violated a gag order in the Manhattan criminal trial. 

“I have to tell you right now, you’re losing all credibility in the court,” Merchan told Trump attorney Todd Blanche on Tuesday. 

Tuesday’s court proceedings began with Merchan hearing the prosecution’s request that Trump be held in contempt for violating a gag order that bans him from speaking publicly about witnesses and family members of court officials.

Merchan imposed the gag order on Trump before the trial began, ordering him to abstain from making comments — or directing others to make comments — regarding witnesses’ potential participation or the prosecution team. The gag order does allow Trump to publicly speak about District Attorney Alvin Bragg. 

LIVE UPDATES: NY VS. TRUMP TRIAL TO RESUME AS FORMER PRESIDENT FIGHTS OFF GAG ORDER ALLEGATIONS 

The DA’s office last week argued that Trump violated the order on several occasions, including on social media, and argued he should pay a $1,000 fine each for a handful of the instances. Prosecutors alleged Tuesday that Trump violated the order a total of 10 times. 

NY VS. TRUMP: JUDGE DELIVERS JURY INSTRUCTIONS AS OPENING STATEMENTS KICK OFF

The defense team argued in the hearing that Trump was responding to attacks when he made comments allegedly violating the order. Merchan pressed Blanche to provide instances of where Trump was responding to a specific incident. 

“I’ve asked you 8 or 9 times, ‘show me the exact post that he was responding to’ and you haven’t been able to do that once,” Merchan said. 

The defense team argued that Trump did not violate the order and should not face penalties. 

Trump has repeatedly slammed the gag order as “unconstitutional” and a tool used to silence him. 

“Judge Juan Merchan, who is suffering from an acute case of Trump Derangement Syndrome (whose daughter represents Crooked Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, and other Radical Liberals, has just posted a picture of me behind bars, her obvious goal, and makes it completely impossible for me to get a fair trial) has now issued another illegal, un-American, unConstitutional ‘order,’ as he continues to try and take away my Rights,” Trump posted on Truth Social last month after he was given a gag order limiting what he could publicly say about the case. 

Following the gag order hearing, the trial will continue until 2 p.m. Tuesday. The court is expected to again hear from the prosecution’s first witness, former media publisher David Pecker. 

NY VS. TRUMP: FIRST WITNESS TAKES THE STAND IN MANHATTAN COURT

Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts. 

The trial itself focuses on Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen paying former pornographic actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 to allegedly quiet her claims of an alleged extramarital affair she had with the then-real estate tycoon in the early 2000s. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels. 

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Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen and fraudulently logged the payments as legal expenses. Prosecutors are working to prove that Trump falsified records with an intent to commit or conceal a second crime, which is a felony. 

Ahead of entering Manhattan court on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump slammed anti-Israel protests raging on college campuses as a “disgrace” while pinning blame on President Biden. 

“What’s going on at the college level … Columbia, NYU and others is a disgrace. And it’s really on Biden,” Trump said Tuesday morning outside the courtroom.

“He’s got the wrong words. He doesn’t know who he’s backing. And it’s a mess. And if this were me, they’d be after me, they’d be after me so much, but they’re trying to get him a pass. And what’s going on is a disgrace to our country. And it’s all Biden’s fault, and everybody knows it. He’s got no message, he’s got no compassion and doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Trump continued, adding Biden is the “worst president in the history of our country.”

Antisemitism has intensified on the campuses of some of the country’s most elite universities in recent days, including protesters on Columbia’s campus saying Jewish students were Hamas’s “next targets” amid ongoing demonstrations. More than 100 students were arrested on Columbia’s campus last week, while dozens more were arrested on Yale’s and NYU’s campuses this week. Some students have also established encampments on campus demanding their schools completely divest from Israel. 

LIVE UPDATES: NY VS. TRUMP TRIAL TO RESUME AS FORMER PRESIDENT FIGHTS OFF GAG ORDER ALLEGATIONS 

A rabbi at Columbia even warned Jewish students to leave campus due to the antisemitism, while a professor at the university told Fox Digital this weekend that anti-Israel campus groups have morphed into becoming an “actual terror organization” during the recent protests. 

“Al-Qassam you make us proud, kill another soldier now,” protesters on Columbia’s campus were seen chanting over the weekend, referring to the military wing terrorist organization Hamas. 

TRUMP RAILS AGAINST MANHATTAN DA BRAGG, SAYS ‘NUMEROUS OTHER AGENCIES’ DIDN’T PUSH CASE

Biden and the White House has condemned the protests, including on Monday when he came under fire for equating the antisemitic protests with people who “don’t understand” the Palestinians. 

“I condemn the antisemitic protests. That’s why I have set up a program to deal with that. I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians,” Biden told reporters Monday. 

Trump continued in his comments Tuesday that Biden is “no friend of Israel” or the “Arab world.” 

“It all starts with Joe Biden. The signals he puts out are so bad. And I can tell you he’s no friend of Israel, that’s for sure. And he’s no friend of the Arab world either,” Trump said Tuesday morning outside the courtroom. 

“He wants to take like a middle ground. And oftentimes that doesn’t work, but it’s certainly not working here. But what he’s done to Israel is abandon them, and he’s trying to be as nice as he can to the other side,” Trump continued.

NY VS. TRUMP: JUDGE DELIVERS JURY INSTRUCTIONS AS OPENING STATEMENTS KICK OFF

The 45th president is in Manhattan for the second week of his trial involving 34 counts of allegedly falsifying business records in the first degree. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

The charges were brought by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in connection to Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen paying former pornographic actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 ahead of the 2016 election to allegedly quiet her claims of an extramarital affair. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels. 

NY VS. TRUMP: FIRST WITNESS TAKES THE STAND IN MANHATTAN COURT

Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen and fraudulently logged the payments as legal expenses. Prosecutors are working to prove that Trump falsified records with an intent to commit or conceal a second crime, which is a felony. 

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The case kicked off in earnest on Monday, after the court spent last week selecting and seating 12 jurors and six alternates to the panel. Tuesday will include a hearing on the prosecution’s request that Trump be held in contempt for violating a gag order, which bans him from speaking publicly about witnesses and family members of court officials, as well as continued testimony for the trial’s first witness, former media publisher David Pecker.

Former President Donald Trump has come to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s defense, as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., pushes for the Louisiana Republican’s ouster from the leadership position. 

“Well, look, we have a majority of one, OK?” Trump told radio host John Fredericks on Monday. “It’s not like he can go and do whatever he wants to do. I think he’s a very good person. You know, he stood very strongly with me on NATO when I said NATO has to pay up …It’s a tough situation when you have. I think he’s a very good man. I think he’s trying very hard. And again, we’ve got to have a big election.” 

Fredericks had asked the presumptive GOP nominee, who spent earlier Monday in a Manhattan courtroom listening to his defense and prosecutors’ opening statements in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s hush-money criminal trial, how he squares “this divide with MAGA and Mike Johnson.” 

Trump did praise Johnson for having secured as part of the package that Ukraine would receive more than $9 billion of economic assistance in the form of “forgivable loans.”

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE CALLS JOHNSON’S FOREIGN AID PACKAGE HIS ‘3RD BETRAYAL’ OF AMERICAN PEOPLE

“We’ve got to election some people in Congress, much more than we have right now,” Trump continued. “We have to elect some good senators. Get rid of some of the ones we have now, like Romney and others. And we have to have a big day, and we have to win the presidency. If we don’t win the presidency, I’m telling you I think our country could be finished… We are absolutely a country in decline.” 

Greene, a strong Trump ally, called on Johnson to resign after the House passed a $95 billion foreign aid package that includes about $61 billion for Ukraine, or she would move to have him ousted as Speaker. 

“Mike Johnson’s leadership is over. He needs to do the right thing to resign and allow us to move forward in a controlled process,” she told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “If he doesn’t do so, he will be vacated.”

3RD REPUBLICAN CALLS FOR SPEAKER JOHNSON’S OUSTER OVER $95B FOREIGN AID PLAN

Though Johnson has drawn ire from some House conservatives for working across the aisle to secure deals with President Biden on federal spending, government spying and, most recently, Ukraine, the political environment has changed since House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was removed from the speakership over similar frustrations last October. 

Inching closer to the November election, Republicans maintain a slimmer majority after McCarthy resigned from the House after his ouster as speaker and Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., was expelled from the lower chamber of Congress. Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., voiced support for Greene’s motion to vacate Johnson from the speakership last week. 

But Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., head of the House Freedom Caucus who supported McCarthy’s ouster, told The Hill he opposed booting Johnson from the top job. 

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“My judgment and estimation is that this is not the time to do that,” Good reportedly said. 

Candidates seeking the Republican nomination for Indiana’s next governor will take to the debate stage Tuesday night, two weeks ahead of the state’s May 7 primary election.

Each of the six candidates in the competitive, multi-million dollar primary race have cast themselves as an outsider in an appeal to conservative voters, despite five holding statewide roles at some point. Whoever wins the primary is most likely to take the November general election in a state that reliably elects Republicans.

Tuesday is the last televised debate before the primary for the candidates vying to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, who has not endorsed a candidate. Early voting has already started in Indiana.

FORMER HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLER TAKES DOWN INDIANA SANDWICH SHOP ATTACKER: ‘YOU SHOULD STAND UP FOR PEOPLE’

U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, who flipped a Democratic Senate seat in 2018, boasts such advantages as name recognition, money and former President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Braun’s campaign spent over $6 million in 2024, according to the latest summary report. But he may not be able to attend the debate because of Senate votes that begin Tuesday in Washington on aid packages for Ukraine and Israel.

Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch — another familiar name thanks to running twice with Holcomb — has campaigned to slash the state’s income tax and promised to boost addiction and mental illness services. Crouch ended the most recent fundraising period with $3 million — the most cash on hand of any Indiana gubernatorial candidate. But she spent only $2.1 million in the first three months of the year.

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Businessperson and former commerce secretary Brad Chambers ‘ messaging is more moderate than the other candidates, focusing on the economy. Chambers spent $6.7 million this year and reports show he has contributed $8 million to his campaign.

The top priorities for Eric Doden, also a former state’s commerce secretary, include a plan to invest in Indiana’s small towns. He spent $5.2 million in the first three months of this year and last reported having about $250,000 of cash on hand.

Once a rising star in Indiana politics, former Attorney General Curtis Hill has struggled to compete. Hill lost the Republican delegation nomination in 2020 following allegations that he groped four women in 2018. Also running is Jamie Reitenour, a mother with no political experience, with backing of Hamilton County Moms For Liberty. She has said she would appoint its leader to head the state education department.

Sen. Jon Tester is the target of a new multi-million dollar ad blitz that highlights the vulnerable Montana Democrat’s record on illegal immigration.

The $15.2 million statewide ad campaign financed by One Nation, which is closely aligned with Senate Republican leadership, is set to run until Sept. 2. The ads will reach voters through broadcast, cable and digital platforms. 

SEN TIM SCOTT, COLLEAGUES LAUNCH NEW VIDEO SERIES AIMED AT COURTING BLACK VOTERS

The video, titled “Line,” shows Tester speaking out against amnesty early in his Senate career before a more recent vote to provide a path to legal status and citizenship for an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants. The ad further notes the senator’s votes to continue funding locales, such as New York City, that have sanctuary policies in place for illegal immigrants. 

MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT TRIAL POISED TO PRESSURE THESE VULNERABLE SENATE DEMS

The advertisement urges viewers in Montana to push Tester to “stop supporting Biden’s border disaster” and support the Republican-led border bill. The Secure the Border Act, which has been touted by Republicans in the House and Senate, would require that construction is resumed on the southern border wall, make asylum standards stricter, add more Border Patrol agents and bar the Department of Homeland Security from using its app to help illegal immigrants in the U.S., among other things. 

“The pro-illegal immigration policies Senator Jon Tester voted for led to the crisis at our Southern border,” One Nation President and CEO Steven Law said. “Senator Tester has repeatedly voted to fund sanctuary cities and grant amnesty to illegal immigrants. He even voted to allow President Biden to stop building the border wall. Senator Jon Tester needs to stop supporting President Biden’s border disaster.” 

Tester’s campaign, however, accused the group of distorting the senator’s record, pointing to Tester’s support for a controversial bipartisan border package negotiated in the Senate. That bill ultimately failed to advance due to opposition from influential conservative border hawks, including former President Donald Trump.

BIDEN HOLDS NARROW LEAD OVER TRUMP IN NEW POLL DESPITE CONCERNS HE’S ‘TOO OLD’ FOR A SECOND TERM

“[Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell’s dark money group is flooding Montana with millions of dollars to lie about Jon Tester’s record of fighting to pass one of the toughest border security bills in decades, cracking down on the fentanyl crisis, and his opposition to sanctuary cities,” Tester’s campaign countered in a statement.

The Montana Senate race is expected to be competitive and is rated a “Toss Up” by leading nonpartisan political handicapper The Cook Political Report. Tester’s Republican opponent in November is likely to be former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, who is running in a largely uncontested primary. 

NEVADA DEM DUMPS $14M INTO ADS AS CRITICAL SENATE RACE SHIFTS TO ‘TOSS UP’

As the border crisis emerges as a top issue for voters nationwide, including in Montana, Tester has been careful in his approach to legislative issues involving immigration or the border. Republican senators accused him last month of being unwilling to vote on immigration-related amendments ahead of the passage of the $1.2 trillion spending package. Tester and his office vehemently denied those claims. 

Tester is likely to face additional pressure in the coming weeks as the Senate takes up the House-passed articles of impeachment for Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. The charges stem from his handling of the border crisis. Democrats are expected to use a maneuver to quickly dismiss the trial, rather than letting it play out. But getting the support of the entire caucus is crucial, as the Senate is narrowly divided, 51-48, in favor of the Democratic caucus.

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Asked what Tester would be doing once the articles are delivered, a representative for the senator told Fox News Digital, “Senator Tester will review the articles when they are sent over to the Senate.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., revealed last week his intention to deliver the articles to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on April 10. 

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

The Georgia legislature passed new election ballot reforms that could have a big impact in the 2024 election in the key battleground state, should Gov. Brian Kemp sign the bill into law. 

The Georgia state legislature passed GOP-backed Senate Bill 189 last week, which now awaits Kemp’s signature or veto. 

The bill would grant access to Georgia’s ballot to any political party that has qualified for the presidential ballot in at least 20 states — a change that could boost independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and potentially draw votes away from President Biden. 

The bill also makes ballots, once certified, immediately available as public record in an effort to increase the scope of poll watchers on Election Day. It also makes audits of voter rolls easier, to ensure deceased residents or those who have moved out of state are no longer eligible to vote. 

LIBERAL GROUPS SUE TO BLOCK NEW ALABAMA VOTING LAW BANNING BALLOT HARVESTING

Hans von Spakovsky, an election law expert and former member of the Federal Election Commission, said the Georgia legislature, through measures like Senate Bill 189, is trying to address several administration problems highlighted in the 2020 election.

“The Georgia legislature has been trying to correct the vulnerabilities that allowed some of those administrative problems to creep in,” von Spakovsky told Fox News Digital in an interview. 

Von Spakovsky, who also served on the Board of Advisors of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and on the Fulton County Board of Registrations and Elections, praised the measure as an effort to make future elections “as transparent as possible.”

MAIL-IN BALLOTS MUST HAVE DATES ON ENVELOPES, PENNSYLVANIA APPEALS COURT RULES

Andrea Young, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Georgia, has said the legislation violates the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), and threatened to sue if it becomes law.

Among other things, the NVRA, signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993, bans states from removing registered voters from voter rolls unless certain criteria are met.

“The majority in the Georgia General Assembly persists in passing laws that will undermine our democracy,” Young told local news station FOX 5. “This is a recipe for election chaos, and we strongly urge the governor to veto it.” 

But von Spakovsky said he doesn’t see anything in the state’s measure that would violate the NVRA, and says that similar legal challenges in other states have failed. He also noted that claims by President Biden two years ago that other Georgia election reforms — like requiring ID for absentee ballots — were a mechanism to suppress minority voters and amounted to “Jim Crow 2.0” have proven to be false. Von Spakovsky noted that a survey conducted by the University of Georgia found that precisely 0% of Black respondents said that they had a “poor” experience voting in 2022, compared to 0.9% of White voters.

AG GARLAND PLEDGES TO FIGHT VOTER ID LAWS, ELECTION INTEGRITY MEASURES

“I have a lot more confidence that we’re going to have a good election this year than I did in 2020,” von Spakovsky said. 

Janae Stracke, vice president of outreach at the conservative group Heritage Action, said that lawmakers in Georgia “deserve a lot of praise for their work to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat through commonsense proposals that are often supported by a bipartisan majority of Americans.”

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“Free and fair elections are the bedrock of our republic, and everyone deserves to know their vote will be counted accurately this November,” she said. 

The ACLU did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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? 

– GOP’s Ukraine skeptics draw battle lines

– Biden renews effort to cancel student loans despite SCOTUS ruling

– GOP candidate with famous last name shatters fundraising record

Some Democrats worry about accidentally registering the wrong kind of voter

An internal memo showing panic within the Democratic Party over its “nonpartisan” voter registration efforts potentially helping former President Trump is drawing criticism from those who say the registration efforts were a “partisan scam” from the start.

Democrats across the country have become increasingly concerned over the amount of support Trump is pulling from usually reliable demographics and donors have been bickering over an internal memo casting doubt on whether the party should continue using nonprofits to register unregistered voters over fears it could help Trump, the Washington Post reported this week. 

“Indeed, if we were to blindly register nonvoters and get them on the rolls, we would be distinctly aiding Trump’s quest for a personal dictatorship,” the memo explained, casting doubt on the longstanding voter registration push that typically has resulted in favorable results for Democrats in previous elections.

White House

HANDOUT TAKE 2: Biden to defy Supreme Court in second attempt at sweeping student loan handout …Read more

Capitol Hill

KEY DEMANDS: Baltimore Bridge collapse: House Freedom Caucus demands limits on federal funding …Read more

SETTING THE STAGE: House GOP Ukraine skeptics draw battle lines ahead of funding fight …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

APRIL SHOWERS: Billionaire donors pour cash into Trump campaign coffers: ‘fundraising juggernaut’ …Read more

NOT SO FAST: RFK disavows campaign email calling Jan. 6 protesters ‘activists’ stripped of ‘constitutional liberties’ …Read more

FLIP TO RED?: Daughter of this blue bastion’s last Republican senator shatters state Republican fundraising record …Read more

KEY GROUP: Latino voters may make or break the presidential election in swing states like Nevada …Read more

‘REALLY BUGS ME’: ‘The Rock’ explains why he’s not endorsing Biden this time, how he feels about ‘woke culture’ …Read more

CHECKS AND BALANCES: Poll finds Americans’ support for checks and balances depends on who is in office …Read more

‘REAL THREAT’: Democratic strategist boasts party fought to undermine ‘dangerous’ third-party threat to Biden …Read more

Across America

‘TEXAS IS GROUND ZERO’: Texas Gov. Abbott travels to sanctuary city to say he won’t stop bussing in illegal immigrants …Read more

BREAKING AND ENTERING: Caught on camera: Crowds of illegal immigrants cut razor wire, rush into Texas …Read more

‘PARTISAN SCAM’: Democrats ripped for admitting ‘quiet part out loud’ after panic about key strategy helping Trump …Read more

‘HORRIFIC MANAGER’: ‘Shark Tank’s’ Kevin O’Leary shreds AOC over her district looking like a ‘Third World country’ …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.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on Friday said he is “disturbed” by “the weaponization of government against” former President Donald Trump. 

He also vowed that if elected president, he would appoint a special counsel to investigate whether “prosecutorial discretion was abused for political ends” in cases related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. 

Kennedy on Friday issued a statement in an effort to “clarify his views on the events of January 6, 2021.”

TRUMP SAYS HE WILL FREE JAN. 6 RIOTERS ON FIRST DAY IF RE-ELECTED

“January 6 is one of the most polarizing topics on the political landscape. I am listening to people of diverse viewpoints on it in order to make sense of the event and what followed. I want to hear every side,” Kennedy said, adding that it is “quite clear that many of the January 6 protesters broke the law in what may have started as a protest but turned into a riot.” 

“Because it happened with the encouragement of President Trump, and in the context of his delusion that the election was stolen from him, many people see it not as a riot but as an insurrection,” he said. 

But Kennedy said that “reasonable people, including Trump opponents, tell me there is little evidence of a true insurrection.” 

“They observe that the protesters carried no weapons, had no plans or ability to seize the reins of government, and that Trump himself had urged them to protest ‘peacefully,’” Kennedy said. 

HOUSE JAN. 6 COMMITTEE DELETED MORE THAN 100 ENCRYPTED FILES DAYS BEFORE GOP TOOK MAJORITY: SOURCES

“Like many reasonable Americans, I am concerned about the possibility that political objectives motivated the vigor of the prosecution of the J6 defendants, their long sentences, and their harsh treatment,” he continued. “That would fit a disturbing pattern of the weaponization of government agencies — the DoJ, the IRS, the SEC, the FBI, etc. — against political opponents.” 

Kennedy said that though he opposes Trump “and all he stands for,” he is still “disturbed by the weaponization of government against him.” 

“As President, I will appoint a special counsel — an individual respected by all sides — to investigate whether prosecutorial discretion was abused for political ends in this case, and I will right any wrongs that we discover,” Kennedy said. “Without the impartial rule of law, there is no true democracy or moral governance.” 

Kennedy said that Jan. 6 is being used by both parties to “pour fuel on the fire of America’s divisions,” saying that Republicans and Democrats claim that in 2024 “a victory by their opponents means the end of democracy.” 

Biden has used Jan. 6 during campaign speeches and even his State of the Union address to illustrate why Trump should not be elected president again. 

“Instead of demonizing our opponents as apocalyptic threats to democracy, let’s focus on the issues and priorities of how they will govern, and defeat them at the ballot box rather than through legal maneuvers and dirty tricks,” Kennedy said. 

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Kennedy went on to blast both Trump and Biden for presiding as president during “the continued worsening of our national debt, chronic disease epidemic, government corruption, erosion of civil liberties, and foreign military entanglements.” 

“Maybe it is because the establishment parties differ very little on these key issues that they campaign on the demonization of their opponents and all who support them instead,” he said. 

Special Counsel Jack Smith has charged Trump with conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. Those charges stemmed from Smith’s investigation into whether Trump was involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and any alleged interference in the 2020 election result.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

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The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on April 25 on the issue of presidential immunity, and whether Trump is immune from prosecution in Smith’s case. 

More than 1,350 people have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the Justice Department.