NationalWatch

The heiress to the fortune of a billionaire hedge fund manager has made a substantial donation to a super PAC aligned with socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a candidate who has said he does not believe billionaires should exist.

In what amounts to the largest contribution received this cycle, the Mamdani-aligned New Yorkers for Lower Costs PAC recently received $250,000 from philanthropist Elizabeth Simons, New York Post reported. 

Simons is the daughter of Jamie Simons, the late billionaire hedge fund manager who founded the extremely successful hedge fund Renaissance Technologies, built up a personal fortune worth $31.4 billion over the course of his lifetime and used billions of that money for charity.

“I don’t think that we should have billionaires because, frankly, it is so much money in a moment of such inequality, and ultimately, what we need more of is equality across our city and across our state and across our country,” Mamdani told NBC News in June. 

MEET MAMDANI’S RADICAL ADVISORY CIRCLE THAT INCLUDES COMMUNIST ACTIVIST, ANTI-ISRAEL ADVOCATES

News of Mamdani’s billionaire support prompted criticism on social media, including from Mamdani’s opponent, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. 

“Congrats to you, @ZohranKMamdani for completing the holy trinity of hypocrisy: Eat the rich → Cash their PAC checks,” Cuomo posted on X. “Freeze the rent → Rich guy in affordable housing you don’t need. Defund the police → Armed guards worldwide… from the campaign trail to Uganda. You are what you pretend to fight.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Mamdani campaign and New Yorkers for Lower Costs PAC, which operates independently of the campaign, asking if the funds would be returned or denounced but did not receive a response from either party.

MEET THE FORMER SOROS FOUNDATION EXEC CONNECTING OBAMA WORLD WITH MAMDANI CAMPAIGN

Railing against billionaires has been a common occurrence over the course of Mamdani’s campaign as he has attempted to position himself as a candidate who champions affordability and cost of living for New York City’s working class.

“We’re reaching New Yorkers who’ve been ignored by establishment politicians and crushed by the billionaire class,” Mamdani posted on X in March. “Our grassroots momentum will carry us over the finish line in June.”

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Mamdani has also criticized Cuomo for taking money from billionaires, posting on X in June, “We live in the most expensive city in the United States. Cuomo’s billionaire donors want it that way. But we have an agenda to make life affordable.”

Protesters continue to blast the Trump administration’s takeover of policing in Washington, DC, likening it to an “invasion” even as crime plummets.

Demonstrators, who did not appear to be part of a specific organization, on a pedestrian bridge on the I-95 in Virginia near the city this week, said that “our systems are being assaulted.”

“What the problem is, is that these are the National Guard are like my friends’ sons and daughters,” one woman told Fox News Digital. “It’s their time away from their family. The money being wasted to make a point is really sort of disgraceful and un-American because they’re sending them against actual Americans with weapons. And it’s really an invasion. And we’re not Russia, we’re the United States of freaking America.”

TRUMP VOWED DC TAKEOVER MULTIPLE TIMES ON 2024 CAMPAIGN TRAIL: ‘HE’S KEEPING HIS PROMISE’

The DC Police Union says crime has taken a tumble in since the takeover was announced by President Donald Trump earlier this month. On Thursday, it was noted that there were no reported homicides in the city in the past week.

In addition to the National Guard, numerous federal agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI, are on patrol in the capital city. Attorney General Pam Bondi signed an order that prompts local officers to comply with federal immigration authorities in a strong rebuke to the city’s own sanctuary policies.

PROTESTERS CONFRONT OFFICERS PATROLLING DC STREETS AFTER TRUMP POLICING TAKEOVER

“719 arrests and 91 illegal guns seized in Washington, DC Just yesterday we made 40 arrests, took 5 more illegal firearms off our streets, and had 36 ICE arrests—including a suspected MS-13 gang member. Thank you [President Trump] for your unwavering support to make DC safe again!” Bondi posted to X on Friday morning.

Trump has threatened to take the takeover a step further in a Truth Social post on Friday.

“Washington, D.C. is SAFE AGAIN! The crowds are coming back, the spirit is high, and our D.C. National Guard and Police are doing a fantastic job. They are out in force, and are NOT PLAYING GAMES!!!” he wrote.

“As bad as it sounds to say, there were no murders this week for the first time in memory. Mayor Muriel Bowser must immediately stop giving false and highly inaccurate crime figures, or bad things will happen, including a complete and total Federal takeover of the City! Washington D.C. will soon be great again!!!” the president added.

BLUE CITIES IN TRUMP’S CROSSHAIRS AFTER DC POLICE TAKEOVER

Another protester noted that he is glad to see that crime has dropped in the city, but said declaring the crime issue in Washington D.C. was not necessary.

“I really do believe that we are edging into an area where we are not following the law, where we’re not doing the things that we need to be doing in order to serve the people,” he said.

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“I’m very happy that crime’s down, and it doesn’t surprise me at all if you’re going to have troops and a lot of people having law enforcement on the streets,” he said. “The problem with this is that we are making an emergency out of something that wasn’t an emergency.”

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton, who served under President Donald Trump’s first administration, was the subject of FBI raids at his home and office Friday morning as federal authorities searched for classified documents. 

The raids follow a storied history between Trump and Bolton that has devolved into the pair trading repeated political blows on the public stage. 

News broke early Friday morning that FBI agents flocked around Bolton’s Maryland home and were seen carrying out boxes, which was followed hours later by the FBI raiding Bolton’s Washington, D.C., office.

“I’m not a fan of John Bolton,” Trump told reporters on Friday morning after the raids began, adding he saw the reports but was not aware of details on the raid ahead of time. “He’s a real sort of a lowlife.”

JOHN BOLTON BLASTED BY TRUMP ALLY ROGER STONE, WHO FACED BIDEN FBI RAID: ‘KARMA IS A B—-‘

“He’s a very quiet person, except on television, if he can say something bad about Trump,” Trump added. “He’s not a smart guy, but he could be a very unpatriotic guy. We’re going to find out.”

The remarks echo years of past comments the pair have shared in public forums airing their dissatisfactions with one another, most notably after Trump tapped Bolton to serve as his national security advisor in 2018. 

Fox News Digital took a look back at the pair’s relationship since Trump’s mad dash to fill his first administration in 2017, through his ouster of Bolton as the national security advisor and the ongoing clashes the pair have shared since. 

TRUMP–BOLTON FEUD BACK IN FOCUS AFTER FBI RAID: ‘NEVER HAD A CLUE … WHAT A DOPE!’

“I like (Bolton),” Trump said in 2015 while appearing on “Meet the Press” just weeks after announcing his candidacy for the White House. “I think he’s, you know, a tough cookie, knows what he’s talking about.”

Bolton was first speculated as a likely pick to serve as Trump’s secretary of state in December 2016, when Trump was preparing for his first inauguration after his upset victory over Hillary Clinton in the election that year. Pundits touted Bolton as an experienced foreign policy hawk who could bolster Trump’s diplomatic agenda, and conservative outlets such as the National Review’s editorial board implored the Trump transition team to choose Bolton, identifying him as a “hard-headed realist whose focus is always the national interest.”

JAMES COMER PRAISES KASH PATEL FOR ‘HOLDING DEEP STATE ACCOUNTABLE’ AS FBI RAIDS JOHN BOLTON’S HOME

Trump, however, ultimately tapped Rex Tillerson to serve as secretary of state. 

Bolton showered Trump with praise of his own ahead of his confirmation as national security advisor in 2018, calling the president “a terrific guy” who “knows a lot” when the administration kicked off in 2017. 

The warm relationship got cozier when Trump announced in 2018 on X that he called on Bolton to serve as his national security advisor 

“I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9.”

“I didn’t really expect that announcement this afternoon,” Bolton said on Fox News shortly after the announcement. “But it’s obviously a great honor and always an honor to serve our country.”

The pair found common ground on issues such as withdrawing the U.S. from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, otherwise known as the Iran nuclear deal, which was an Obama-era agreement with other world powers to limit Iran’s nuclear capabilities. 

Trump ultimately pulled the U.S. out of the agreement in 2018, slamming it as a “horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made,” and was backed by his hawkish group of foreign policy advisors, such as Bolton and then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. 

Bolton’s relationship with Trump began to sour as he advanced hard-line strategies toward U.S. adversaries, including Iran and North Korea. He had long advocated regime change in Tehran, though he later clarified in his role as national security advisor that American policy was “not regime change,” but rather a push for “massive change in the regime’s behavior.” Trump, by contrast, initially favored a more diplomatic path, urging that flaws he saw in the Iran nuclear deal be renegotiated before ultimately deciding to withdraw from the agreement altogether. 

BOLTON TWEET DURING RAID SHOWS FOCUS WAS ELSEWHERE AS FBI SEARCHED HIS HOUSE

“John Bolton is absolutely a hawk. If it was up to him, he’d take on the whole world at one time, okay?” Trump said of Bolton in June 2019, underscoring the bubbling tensions between the two on foreign policy. 

In April 2018, Bolton suggested North Korea follow Libya’s example of denuclearization, which he called the “Libya model,” and included the country giving up its nuclear weapons in 2003 in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Bolton’s comments about such a model for North Korea set off condemnation in Pyongyang as they raised concerns this would lead to potential regime change. 

Trump cited the comment following Bolton’s abrupt exit from the White House in September 2019. 

“We were set back very badly when John Bolton talked about the Libyan model … what a disaster,” Trump told reporters at the time. 

Days ahead of Bolton’s ouster, Trump was slated to meet with Taliban leaders in an effort to negotiate peace in Afghanistan, but the meeting never took place and Bolton reportedly slammed such an effort in conversations with Trump, media outlets reported at the time. 

Bolton was ousted from his role as national security advisor Sept. 10, 2019, with Trump characterizing the departure as a firing, and Bolton saying he tendered his resignation and was not fired. 

JOHN BOLTON’S HOME RAIDED BY FEDERAL AGENTS, SOURCES SAY

“I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House,” Trump tweeted in 2019. “I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration, and therefore I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning. I thank John very much for his service. I will be naming a new National Security Advisor next week.”

Bolton shot back on X that he “offered to resign last night and President Trump said, ‘Let’s talk about it tomorrow.'”

The former national security advisor was replaced by Robert C. O’Brien, with Trump and Bolton continuing their contentious relationship years later. 

The raid on Bolton’s home is part of the “early stages of an ongoing investigation into John Bolton,” Vice President JD Vance said Friday during an appearance on “Meet the Press.” Bolton was not arrested or in custody amid the early morning raids. 

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The searches are focused on potential classified documents agents believe Bolton may still possess, Fox News reported. 

President Donald Trump kicked off the week meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders at the White House — just days after Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska — and said he has roughly two weeks to determine how the U.S. will proceed in the ongoing negotiations. 

A primary focus of the meetings was discussing various security measures to prevent Russian aggression against Ukraine again, after the Trump administration reported that Putin was on board with permitting the U.S. and its European allies to provide additional protection for Ukraine, akin to protections included in NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense clause.

RUSSIANS MADE CONCESSIONS ‘ALMOST IMMEDIATELY,’ TRUMP ENVOY SAYS OF PUTIN SUMMIT

However, Trump said Tuesday that sending U.S. troops to Ukraine to bolster security in the region was off the table. 

Meanwhile, Trump told reporters Friday that he’ll have a better sense of whether a deal that ends the conflict is feasible and what kind of actions the U.S. should take moving forward on negotiations in the coming weeks. 

“We’ll see what happens. I think over the next two weeks, we’re going to find out which way it’s going to go,” Trump told reporters Friday. 

“It’s going to be a very important decision,” Trump said. “And that’s whether or not it’s massive sanctions or massive tariffs, or both. Or do we do nothing and say, ‘It’s your fight?’” 

Here’s what also happened this week:

Trump completes ride-along with police, National Guard

Trump also joined law enforcement and National Guard troops in Washington Thursday evening amid his administration’s federal takeover of the city and efforts to crackdown on crime.

“We’ve had some incredible results and results have come out and it’s like a different place,” Trump told the police and National Guard troops Thursday. “It’s like a different city.” 

Vice President JD Vance visited National Guard troops in Washington’s Union Station Wednesday. 

TRUMP JOINS POLICE AND MILITARY FORCES IN WASHINGTON STREETS

“We are seeing really substantial effects because these guys are busting their a–,” Vance said Wednesday. 

“Right here in Union Station, you have vagrants, you have drug addicts, you have the chronically homeless, you have the mentally ill who harass, who threatened violence, who attacked families,” Vance said. “And they’ve done it for far too long. This should be a monument to American greatness.”

Trump initially mobilized 800 D.C. National Guard troops as part of his effort to reduce crime in Washington on Aug. 11. Since then, National Guard troops from Ohio, West Virginia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee also have been tapped to support the Trump administration’s effort.

FIFA World Cup draw to hit Washington 

Trump also unveiled plans with FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the Oval Office Friday to hold the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center Dec. 5. During the event, FIFA will divyy up all the teams into 12 different groups. 

TRUMP ANNOUNCES KENNEDY AS FIFA WORLD CUP DRAW VENUE

“On Dec. 5 of this year, the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw will take place at the Kennedy Center. Some people refer to it as the Trump-Kennedy Center, but we’re not prepared to do that quite yet – maybe in a week or so,” Trump said.

“But right here in Washington, D.C., it’s a tremendous honor to bring the global event and this incredible group of people and these unbelievable athletes — the best athletes in the world — to the cultural center of our nation’s capital,” Trump said. 

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed a few of the convicted, violent criminals arrested in Washington D.C. as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital. 

DHS shared the arrests of five individuals caught in D.C. with Fox News Digital, which include illegal immigrants convicted of rape, child molestation, assault, and robbery with a deadly weapon.

“Secretary Noem unleashed the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) to target the worst of the worst—including gang members, murderers, pedophiles, terrorists, and rapists,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, DHS has arrested more than 359,000 illegal aliens and removed more than 332,000.”

DOJ INVESTIGATING POSSIBLE DC CRIME DATA MANIPULATION AMID TRUMP’S CRACKDOWN ON VIOLENCE

David Pineda-Medrano, an illegal migrant from Guatemala, was previously convicted of attempted first-degree child sexual abuse and sexual abuse of a minor and assault causing bodily injury. 

Junior Alexi Medina-Fuentes, an illegal migrant from Honduras, was previously convicted of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon in Texas. 

Ja Mi, an illegal migrant from Thailand, was previously convicted of second-degree forcible rape in North Carolina.

DC HAS MURDER-FREE WEEK AS AG BONDI TOUTS 77 MORE ARRESTS IN FEDERAL TAKEOVER

Jorge Andres Garcia-Celis, an illegal migrant from Mexico, was previously convicted of molestation of a minor in California.

Leonardo Varela-Lopez, a criminal illegal migrant from Mexico, was previously convicted of assault and three counts of driving under the influence in Utah. 

The quintet of illegal migrants from various countries are just a few of the criminals that ICE and DHS have rounded up in D.C. as President Trump continues his push to crack down on crime in Washington.  

TRUMP ADMIN BANS HOMELESS CAMPS IN DC PARKS AMID CRIME CRACKDOWN

“The facts are ICE is targeting the worst of the worst—including murderers, MS-13 gang members, pedophiles, and rapists. 70% of ICE arrests are of criminal illegal aliens who have been convicted or have pending charges in the U.S.—that doesn’t even include known or suspected terrorists, foreign gang members, convictions for violent crimes in foreign countries, or INTERPOL notices,” McLaughlin told Fox.

Trump declared a crime emergency on August 11th following several incidents of violent crime in DC, including the beating of ex-Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer Edward Coristine, nicknamed “Big Balls.” 

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President Trump also implied that Chicago, Illinois, could be the next stop on his crime-tackling tour, telling reporters in the Oval Office Friday that “we’re going to make our cities very, very safe,” the president said. “Chicago’s a mess.”

Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston

President Donald Trump praised DHS Secretary Kristi Noem for moving to paint the entire southern border wall black, saying it will increase the wall’s effectiveness, making it “untouchable” for would-be illegal immigrants.

Speaking to the press in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump said, “I didn’t know she was listening” when he suggested the wall should be black.

“So, I turn on last night and I see Kristi is painting the wall and it looked beautiful, by the way, when that paint went on, it’s beautiful,” he said, adding, “It’s hot, if it’s white, it’s not hot. If it’s black, it’s going to be very hard to climb that sucker.”

The president also touted the wall’s quality, saying, “I built the same wall that the Border Patrol asked me to build,” consisting of high-grade steel, reinforced with thick rebar and 9,000-pound concrete.

RUBIO PAUSES WORKER VISAS FOR TRUCK DRIVERS AFTER DEADLY FLORIDA CRASH INVOLVING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT KILLS 3

Noem announced on Tuesday that the entire southern border wall will be painted black as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to increase the effectiveness of the wall as a deterrent.

Speaking in front of a portion of the southern border wall in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, Noem explained that the wall would be painted entirely black for the dual purposes of making it heat up more and thus harder to climb, as well as preserving the metal from rust.  

Noem credited the “one big, beautiful bill” that was passed by Congress in July for allocating “an incredible amount of resources” that she said is “going to allow us to continue construction” of the wall, which she said is advancing at a pace of about half a mile of new wall per day.

The secretary explained that the new paintwork comes “specifically at the request of the president, who understands that in the hot temperatures down here, when something is painted black, it gets even warmer, and it will make it even harder for people to climb.”

DHS SECRETARY REVEALS WHY BORDER WALL IS BEING PAINTED BLACK

“So, we are going to be painting the entire southern border wall black to make sure that we encourage individuals to not come into our country illegally, to not break our federal laws, but that they will abide and come to our country the right way so that they can stay and have the opportunity to become United States citizens and pursue the American dream,” said Noem.

Speaking in the White House on Friday, Trump recalled the moment he told Noem, “We got to get a coat of paint on it.”

“And I didn’t know she was listening, but I said, we got to get a coat of paint, and it should be black because black makes the steel very hot. It’s untouchable,” he explained. “You could fry an egg on it, and if you got a good, black, flat paint, it would look beautiful, and it will preserve it from rust. And that was it, and I gave it to her along with 30 other things.”

SANCTUARY CITIES DEFY BONDI’S DEADLINE TO COOPERATE: ‘NO INTENTION OF CHANGING’

Turning to Noem, who was in the room beside him, Trump asked, “Is that going to be a two-coat job or one coat?” to which the secretary answered, “Just one coat.”

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The president quipped back, “The two-coat [job] will take place in three years from now, we’ll do the second.”

“But it looks beautiful,” he continued. “But thank you very much. I didn’t know you were listening. Like, we talked about seven different subjects. And all of a sudden, I see you’re out there painting with a lot of painters and everything else, but it was a beautiful thing to see.” 

President Donald Trump’s grip on Washington D.C.’s police force continued into a second week, spurring Democrats to reignite demands for the district to become a state.

Trump last week invoked a provision of the Home Rule Act, the law that gives the nation’s capital some autonomy from Congress, to effectively take over the Metropolitan Police Department in an effort to crack down on crime.

Since then, numerous federal law enforcement agencies and the National Guard, aided by reserves from states across the country, have patrolled the streets of D.C., and the White House has touted rapid decreases in crime and dozens of arrests.

CAPITOL HILL PREPARES FOR HIGH-STAKES BATTLE OVER TRUMP CRIME PACKAGE, DC POLICE AUTHORITY

Because it’s not a state, Washington has no voting representation in Congress and, despite having a mayor and city council, is overseen by Congress.

But some lawmakers see the move as another attempt by the president to overextend his powers, and argue that it’s another reason that D.C. should be a state — a notion that Trump last week rebuked as “ridiculous.”

“If D.C. was a state, the president could not do what he is doing outside of the federal enclave,” Sen. Paul Strauss, the district’s shadow senator, told Fox News Digital.

Strauss, D-D.C., has long pushed for statehood in his role as shadow senator, Washington D.C.’s elected non-voting member of the Senate. He said the whole idea behind statehood is to give D.C. residents agency and self-determination, something he believed the crackdown was ignoring.

“It would be one thing if we actually had a crime emergency here, but we don’t,” Strauss said. “Violent crime in particular is down to 30-year lows. That’s not what’s happening here. He is using these national guardsmen and women as a stunt, and that’s wrong.”

TRUMP AUTHORIZED TO CONTROL DC POLICE INDEFINITELY UNDER HOUSE GOP PROPOSAL

His colleague in the House, D.C. non-voting Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, also a Democrat, agreed.

“The president’s abuses are evidence of the urgent need for D.C. statehood so that more than 700,000 D.C. residents can finally have the full rights and privileges afforded to other Americans, including control of their own local resources and policies,” she said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers countered that violent crime in the district has “been spiraling out of control – and the Democrats are lying to the American people when they pretend there is no crime in our nation’s capital.” 

“If they needed some anecdotal evidence, they could ask their own Democrat colleague about the time he was carjacked outside of his D.C. apartment by three armed criminals,” she told Fox News Digital. “The Democrats’ case of Trump Derangement Syndrome is so severe, they won’t even support President Trump’s commonsense policies to remove dangerous criminals from the streets of our nation’s capital.”

Strauss and Norton were joined by lawmakers from neighboring Virginia and Maryland, the states that Washington, D.C., was carved out of over two centuries ago, who argued that Trump’s move to federalize the local police shined “a light on the urgent need for D.C. statehood.”

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told Fox News Digital that the police takeover was “a prime example of why D.C. deserves the same rights as states.”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., charged that “Republicans in Congress have been all too willing to play political games with the district’s funding for public safety and critical services while backing an authoritarian overreach by a lawless president.”

Van Hollen announced plans earlier this month to reintroduce a bill alongside Norton to grant statehood to D.C.

Van Hollen, Norton and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., introduced a joint resolution in the House to halt Trump’s takeover of the D.C. police, too.

REPUBLICANS READY TO SUPPORT TRUMP’S MOVE TO SKIRT CONGRESS IN DC CRIME CRACKDOWN

Raskin told Fox News Digital in a statement that the district’s residents are “the only people who live in a capital city on earth who are disenfranchised in their national legislature.”

“The people of Washington have petitioned for statehood and should be admitted as a state rather than treated as a MAGA-colonized populace,” he said.

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But the reality of actually turning D.C. into a state, at least while Republicans have a trifecta in Washington, is slim at best.

“I think there’s probably not a pathway to get this done while Republicans control all three branches of the government,” Strauss said. “Because they have shown that they’re more interested in the partisan impact of controlling the legislative branch and not really interested in the principle of self-determination for Washington, D.C., residents.”

Democratic socialist and Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fateh, a Somali American, is being knocked for holding a political rally in a foreign language that appeared entirely devoid of any American flags.

This comes as Fateh, who has been likened to socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, lost a critical endorsement from the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL).

House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., commented on the rally, saying in an X post, “This is the least shocking news: There were almost no American flags at a @OmarFatehMN rally. Palestinian stickers were the main focus instead.”

“That’s what you get when Democrats back a candidate who puts America last, hands out benefits to illegals, and pushes to defund the police,” wrote Emmer.

MINNEAPOLIS DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST OMAR FATEH VOWS TO PROTECT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM ‘HOSTILE’ TRUMP ADMIN

Popular conservative social media account “End Wokeness” posted several excerpts from the rally, which included chanting in a foreign language and a crowd holding signs supporting Fateh.

“Omar Fateh rally in Minneapolis last night. 0 English. 0 American flags,” End Wokeness commented.

Another conservative influencer, Eric Daugherty, also chimed in, saying, “This was the rally for Omar Fateh last night, candidate for Mayor of Minneapolis. Third world music, third world language, third world attire.”

“Minneapolis is doomed,” added Daugherty.

“RED, WHITE &… GONE,” another popular conservative account called NewYork-I posted, adding, “Omar Fateh rally in Minneapolis without a single U.S. flag or word of English.”

REPUBLICAN LEADER SHREDS TIM WALZ OVER MINNESOTA LAW THAT FREED AXE MURDERER

On Thursday, the Minnesota DFL dropped its endorsement of Fateh, citing “substantial failures in the Minneapolis Convention’s voting process.”

DFL Party Chairman Richard Carlbom said in an official statement on Thursday that “after a thoughtful and transparent review of the challenges, the Constitution, Bylaws & Rules Committee found substantial failures in the Minneapolis Convention’s voting process on July 19th, including an acknowledgment that a mayoral candidate was errantly eliminated from contention.”

Carlbom said that as a result of the review, “the Constitution, Bylaws & Rules Committee has vacated the mayoral endorsement.”

He called on the Minnesota Democratic Party to “turn our focus to unity and our common goal,” saying, “with an eye towards the 2026 midterms, the Minnesota DFL will broaden our coalition to elect leaders who will build an affordable economy that works for everyone.”

Fateh’s campaign had not responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by the time of publication.

However, in a video statement posted on X, Fateh claimed that the decision to revoke his endorsement was made by “28 party insiders” who he said included supporters and donors of incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey. Frey is also a Democrat and has been endorsed by Minnesota Democratic Gov. and one-time vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz.

MAMDANI-MENTUM: WHO ARE THE OTHER SOCIALIST CANDIDATES SOARING AMONG DEMOCRATS

“This is exactly what Minneapolis voters are sick of, the insider games, the backroom decisions and feeling like our voice doesn’t matter in our own city,” Fateh claimed.

“Let me be clear,” he went on, “We’re still in this fight and we’re going to win.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Frey’s office for comment, but also did not receive a response by the time of publication.

In an X post, Frey wrote, “I’m proud to be a member of a party that believes in correcting our mistakes, and I’m glad that this inaccurate and obviously flawed process was set aside.”

ILHAN OMAR ERUPTS AT OWN PARTY FOR RENEGING ON SOCIALIST CANDIDATE’S ENDORSEMENT: ‘INEXCUSABLE’

“I look forward to having a full and honest debate with Senator Fateh about our city’s future, with the outcome now resting squarely where it should — with all the people of Minneapolis,” he wrote.

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Emmer, meanwhile, weighed in on the controversy, telling Fox News Digital that “even Omar Fateh’s own state party knows his radical, leftist policies would just add to the damage the DFL has already done to Minneapolis.” 

“They can blame their unsecured voting system, as ironic as that is, but we all know Fateh’s agenda was always doomed to fail,” said Emmer. 

As the 11th member of former President Joe Biden’s administration appeared before the House Oversight Committee this week, Fox News Digital asked senators on Capitol Hill if former Vice President Kamala Harris should testify next. 

“I think they should take her behind closed doors and figure out what she knows and what she’s willing to talk about,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said. 

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., is leading the investigation into the alleged cover-up of Biden’s cognitive decline and use of the autopen during his tenure as president. 

Comer said on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” last month that the “odds” of Harris getting a subpoena to appear before the House Oversight Committee are “very high.” 

INSIDE THE BIDEN COVER-UP PROBE: 8 AIDES QUESTIONED, MORE ON THE WAY

While Marshall told Fox News Digital that Harris should testify, he admitted, “I don’t think you need her testimony to show Americans what I knew as a physician a long time ago, that Joe Biden had a neurodegenerative disease of some sort.”

HOUSE REPUBLICANS FLOAT GRILLING JOE, JILL BIDEN AS FORMER AIDES STONEWALL COVER-UP PROBE

Marshall has a medical degree from the University of Kansas and practiced medicine for more than 25 years before running for public office. 

“All you had to do is look at his very fixed, flat face,” Marshall explained. “Look at his gait, the way he walked. He had a shuffled walk. He didn’t move his arms, hardly at all. When he talked, it was very monotone, a very soft voice. He had malingering thought processes. I don’t think it took much to figure that out.”

After listing the former president’s symptoms, the Kansas senator lamented that Biden “turned weakness into war,” creating a national security threat. 

During Biden’s presidency, the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan resulted in the death of 13 U.S. soldiers, Russia invaded Ukraine and Hamas attacked Israel, triggering the ongoing war in Gaza.

But as Republicans demand transparency, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told Fox News Digital that he is far more worried about the “challenges we face right now,” particularly on the economy, inflation and the impact of Trump’s tariff policies. 

Meanwhile, Sen. John Hoeven R-N.D., defended the accountability argument, telling Fox News Digital that Americans “always want more information and more transparency.”

“If you’re involved in an administration, you [should] always be willing to come in and say what you did and why you did it, and you know what it’s all about. I mean, that’s how it works, and that’s what the American people want,” he said. 

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Fox News Digital reached out to Biden and Harris for comment but did not immediately receive a response. 

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. 

The Texas Senate on Friday passed a new congressional map in a Trump-backed bid to bolster the Republican Party’s chances of maintaining their majority in the U.S. House next year. 

The new Texas map secures an additional five Republican-leaning congressional districts in the Lone Star State, shifting the balance of power ahead of competitive midterm elections expected in 2026. 

Republicans pulled off the political victory despite weeks of Democrats breaking quorum, which included fleeing the state to avoid a redistricting vote. 

The Republican-controlled state Senate passed the redistricting map on Friday, just two days after clearing the GOP-held House by an 88-52 vote. Next up, the measure heads to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for his signature. 

ABBOTT SCORES BIG WIN IN REDISTRICTING BATTLE AS TEXAS DEMOCRATS’ BLOCKADE COLLAPSES

Abbott pushed for the creation of a new map to adhere to President Donald Trump’s desire to not see a repeat of the 2018 election cycle, when Democrats handily regained the majority in the House and acted as a foil to the president’s legislative aspirations toward the end of his first term.

Sen. Phil King, R-Tx., carried the map in the Senate, and contended on the floor that the map generated more competitive districts, but still believed they would be won by Republicans during the 2026 midterm election cycle. 

“[House bill] four, I believe, should elect more Republicans to the U.S. Congress, but I’m here to tell you, there are no guarantees,” he said.

TEXAS GOP LAWMAKERS POISED TO FINALIZE TRUMP-BACKED MAP AFTER DEM REDISTRICTING WALKOUT ENDS

While Republicans control a supermajority in deep-red Texas, Democrats still need to create a quorum in the House to actually move the process along.

Dozens of Texas Democrats fled the state to stall the process, creating a national media frenzy and generating support from Democratic donors, including groups linked to George Soros and Beto O’Rourke, to help pay for their fines, travel and lodging.

It generated pushes to have them arrested by Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, as well as a request from Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to have the FBI track them down and the DOJ launch an investigation into the political action committees funding their escape.

Democratic leaders announced Monday they would return for the second special session following California’s plan to redraw its maps to soften the blow from the Lone Star State, ending the blockade and allowing Republicans to charge ahead. 

Texas House Democrats accused the GOP of crafting a map that was illegal and racially discriminatory, and they tried and failed on the House floor to add amendments to the bill that would have halted the process. Despite Democrats’ best efforts, Texas House Republicans shot down a dozen amendments to the bill. 

“Members, it breaks my heart to see how this illegal and rigged, mid-decade redistricting scheme is dividing our state and our country,” Rep. Chris Turner, a Democrat, said. “This is Texas, it’s not Washington D.C. The impulses of outside politicians and their billionaire backers shouldn’t dictate what we do in this chamber, in this House.”

Rep. Todd Hunter, a Republican who wrote the bill for the new map, countered that four of the five new districts were “majority-minority Hispanic,” noting that each of the new districts now trended Republican. Still, he had no qualms as to why Republicans were pursuing changes to the congressional maps. 

“The underlying goal of this plan is straightforward, [to] improve Republican political performance,” he said. 

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The Democrats’ blockade ended on Monday, when Abbott called for a second special session after their demands for California to also begin a redistricting cycle were met in an effort to nullify the map Texas Republicans were creating.

However, Abbott’s push could still be nullified. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Democrats passed their own new map on Thursday, which creates five new districts that lean Democratic and jeopardize the seats of Republicans. 

But the map is not official yet, given that California voters will get to weigh in on Nov. 4 to decide if they want to accept the changes. 

Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s release from custody is making waves on social media amid Immigration and Customs Enforcement being told they are not allowed to arrest him due to an order from a federal judge in Maryland.

“Activist liberal judges have attempted to obstruct our law enforcement every step of the way in removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from our country,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem posted on X.  Today, we reached a new low with this publicity hungry Maryland judge mandating this illegal alien who is a MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator be allowed free.”

“By ordering this monster loose on America’s streets, this judge has shown a complete disregard for the safety of the American people. We will not stop fighting till this Salvadoran man faces justice and is OUT of our country,” she continued.

Abrego Garcia is on his way back to Maryland from Tennessee, and a U.S. Magistrate Judge ordered that if he is taken into ICE custody that he will have “access to his attorneys” in order to “prepare for trial in this case.”

‘LAWLESS AND INSANE’: TRUMP ADMIN READIES FOR FIGHT AFTER JUDGES BLOCK ABREGO GARCIA REMOVAL FOR NOW

Abrego Garica was first deported to El Salvador for being a suspected gang member, which caused a nationwide controversy that sparked visits to the Central American country, including by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland.

However, he ended up later facing charges in the U.S. for alleged human smuggling after a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop resurfaced.

“Abrego is reminded, as stated in the conditions of release appended hereto, that he must comply with any conditions of release, bond, or bail imposed by any other governmental agency, including, without limitation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) or Department of Homeland Security,” Judge Barbara Holmes wrote on Friday. “Abrego is further reminded that, if he is taken into ICE custody, he is required by the conditions of his release to consent to being transported back to this district for further proceedings in this case.”

Those who disagreed with the order expressed their frustrations on social media.

“Abrego Garcia is a criminal illegal alien, wife-beater, and an MS-13 gang member facing serious charges of human smuggling,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. “He will face justice for his crimes. It’s an insult to his victims that this left-wing magistrate intervened to put him back on the streets. Garcia will be subject to ankle monitoring to ensure the safety of the American public until further action can be taken.” 

“THIS IS INSANE! Our justice system needs an OVERHAUL!” conservative podcaster Nick Sortor posted to X.

“This is why we can’t have nice things,” Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk replied.

FEDERAL PROSECUTORS TELL JUDGE THEY WILL DEPORT KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA TO A THIRD COUNTRY AFTER DETENTION

“This is UNACCEPTABLE!” a political commentator under the name of “Gunther Eagleman” posted.

“These federal judges are trying their best to fill our streets with dangerous illegal criminals. They are a disaster for our nation, and know nothing about justice,” one user posted.

While there was frustration on the right, some on the left cheered his release.

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“Finally!!! Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia has been released from TN custody and is on his way to reunite with his family in Maryland,” one user posted to X.

ABREGO GARCIA LAWYERS ASK US JUDGE TO ORDER RETURN TO MARYLAND AMID ONGOING CRIMINAL CASE

“Abrego Garcia has landed in the United States to face justice,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in June.  “A grand jury in the Middle District of Tennessee returned a sealed indictment charging him with alien smuggling and conspiracy.”

His lawyers have maintained that the case is politically motivated.

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“A group of the most senior officials in the United States sought vengeance: they began a public campaign to punish Mr. Abrego for daring to fight back, culminating in the criminal investigation that led to the charges in this case,” his lawyers said in a filing on Tuesday.

“Rather than fix its mistake and return Mr. Abrego to the United States, the government fought back at every level of the federal court system. And at every level, Mr. Abrego won,” they added.  “This case results from the government’s concerted effort to punish him for having the audacity to fight back, rather than accept a brutal injustice.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired the head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which issued an assessment on U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, as well as other senior military officials. 

Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse will no longer serve as head of the DIA, a senior defense official told Fox News Digital on Friday. 

The firing came months after DIA details of the preliminary assessment of Operation Midnight Hammer were leaked to the news media. The assessment questioned the effectiveness of the strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TAKES ON NEW BATTLE SHUTTING DOWN INITIAL IRAN STRIKE ASSESSMENTS

After the June strikes, President Donald Trump said Iran’s nuclear program had been “completely and fully obliterated.” However, the DIA found that the strikes only set Tehran back a few months. 

In a news conference after the strikes, Hegseth tore into the media and accused the press of misrepresenting the facts. 

“You, the press, specifically you, the press corps, because you cheer against Trump so hard,” he said. “It’s like in your DNA and in your blood to cheer against Trump because you want him not to be successful so bad. You have to cheer against the efficacy of these strikes. You have to hope maybe they weren’t effective.”

‘THE MISSION WAS ACCOMPLISHED’: SENATE REPUBLICANS PUSH BACK AGAINST LEAKED REPORT ON IRAN STRIKES

“You want to call it destroyed, you want to call it defeated, you want to call it obliterated — choose your word. This was an historically successful attack,” he added. 

In addition to Kruse, Hegseth removed Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, the chief of the Navy Reserve, and Rear Adm. Milton Sands, a Navy SEAL officer who oversees Naval Special Warfare Command.

“Effective immediately, Rear Admiral Milton ‘Jamie’ Sands III will no longer serve as Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command,” a Navy official said. “Effective immediately, Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore will no longer serve as the Chief of Navy Reserve.” 

Lacore led around 59,000 reserve component personnel in the Navy and the Marine Corps. As a Naval aviator, she has 1,300 flight hours in military aircraft and was commanding officer of the U.S. base in Djibouti before becoming Chief of the Navy Reserve. The reason she was fired is unknown. 

Sands was a Navy SEAL who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He was the Chief of Staff for U.S. Special Operations Command, Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command Africa, and Commander of Naval Service Training Command. The reason he was fired is unknown. 

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Trump has fired other military officials in recent months, including Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as the Navy’s top officer, the Air Force’s second highest-ranking officer, and the top lawyers for three military service branches.

Up to 1,700 National Guardsmen are set to mobilize in 19 states in the coming weeks to assist the Department of Homeland Security with President Trump’s nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration and crime, Pentagon officials confirmed to FOX News. 

Documents obtained by FOX News show planning for activations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming – with status effective from August through mid-November. Texas is projected to host the most significant Guard presence. 

The National Guard soldiers being mobilized will effectively serve as a support pillar to a sweeping federal interagency effort, while also serving as a visible deterrent force, a U.S. Defense official said. The service members supporting ICE will be preforming case management, transportation, logistical support, and clerical functions associated with the processing of illegal migrants at the facilities. “The in-and-out processing may include personal data collection, fingerprinting, DNA swabbing and photographing of personnel in ICE custody,” the official said. 

TRUMP JOINS POLICE AND MILITARY FORCES IN WASHINGTON STREETS

President Trump has indicated in recent days his administration aims to broaden the DC operation to other states, telling a group of federal agents and National Guard troops at a DC patrol center Thursday, “We’re going to make it safe, and we’re going to then go on to other places.”

On Friday in the Oval Office, Trump said, “I think Chicago will be our next. And then we’ll help with New York,” Trump said. 

A U.S. Defense official told FOX, “We won’t speculate on further operations, but can tell you that the department is a planning organization and continues to work and plan with other agency partners to protect federal assets and personnel.”

Fewer than 2% of the authorized forces have mobilized so far, but missions coordinated under state governors are projected to expand in the coming weeks – including in Virginia, where approximately 60 soldiers and airmen will begin training August 25th to begin duty by early September, the Virginia National Guard confirmed.

“VNG personnel will not conduct law enforcement functions, and VNG support will not include making arrests,” a spokesperson for the Virginia National Guard tells FOX.  “VNG Soldiers and Airmen will report directly to ICE leadership at their assigned duty locations but remain under the control and direction of the Virginia Governor and Adjutant General of Virginia.” 

The deployment of National Guard troops — a state-controlled reserve force — will allow the U.S. military to provide a more direct role in supporting federal immigration enforcement amid as the Trump administration pushes forward with mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ASSIGNS MILITARY ATTORNEYS TO PROSECUTE DC CRIMES AMID FEDERAL CRACKDOWN

Under the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, use of the military for civilian law enforcement is limited – but the National Guardsmen will be mobilizing under Title 32 Section 502F authority, to which Posse Comitatus does not apply.  At the request of DHS, in July, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved hundreds of additional forces for DHS-ICE Interior Enforcement support, and switched existing approvals from Title 10 to Title 32 status.

“We understood ICE’s needs at that time to be more administrative in nature…as planning continued, working with our partners, it became clear more that ICE needed something different,” a U.S. defense official told FOX.

Service members supporting ICE will be performing case management, transportation, clerical functions, and logistical support – which may include data collection, fingerprinting, DNA swapping, and photographing of personnel in ICE custody. 

“As you can imagine and appreciate, some of those start to get close to that law enforcement line. So it’s best that these people are in a Title 32 status so that we are absolutely staying within the law of what we’re doing and providing the appropriate support,” the official said.

Most deployments remain in the planning and coordination stage with DHS and governors, but documents show operations beginning in Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Nevada during the first week of September.

“Under Title 32, the guardsmen are under the command and control of their governors. So, it’s up to the governors when they’ll bring those forces …as the governors and the states coordinate with DHS, that timeline will differ state by state,” the defense official said. Vermont declined to activate its National Guardsmen, despite the authorization from the Pentagon to assist the DHS-ICE Interior Enforcement Mission.

HUNDREDS ARRESTED AS TRUMP’S WASHINGTON, DC, CRIME CRACKDOWN HITS FULL STRIDE

The news comes as almost 2,000 National Guard soldiers from Washington DC and six states have been deployed to support law enforcement in Washington DC. Under direct presidential authority, Guard members were assigned to posts at monuments, checkpoints, and traffic stops in all eight wards, with a mission focused on deterring crime and keeping a visible security presence around the city.

At the authorization of Secretary Hegseth, those National Guard members can now carry weapons if needed for their individual tasks. But DC is different under Title 32. For the states it would be up to the individual governors who act as command and control. 

A U.S. Defense official said while the mobilizations in 19 states and activation of DC National Guard both fall under President Trump’s larger directive protecting territorial integrity and immigration policies, the missions are distinct and separate.

“The big question is how long do we stay? Because if we stay, we want to make sure it doesn’t come back. So we have to take care of these criminals and get them out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. 

Officials have tied the effort in Washington DC to beautification ahead of next year’s 250th Independence Day celebration. But President Trump has hinted he may request the Guard stay in DC for an extended period of time, and then take the operation to other parts of the country. 

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“We’re not playing games. We’re going to make it safe, and we’re going to then go on to other places,” Trump said to a crowd of National Guardsmen and federal law enforcement at a DC patrol center this week.

George Mason University violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by illegally using diversity, equity and inclusion practices, the Department of Education announced Friday.

The department’s Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation into the institution’s hiring and promotion practices last month following a complaint filed by several of its professors who claimed preferential treatment was given to prospective and current faculty members from “underrepresented groups” to advance “anti-racism.”

The complaint accused George Mason President Gregory Washington of issuing guidance that prioritized diversity initiatives over qualifications.

“In 2020, University President Gregory Washington called for expunging the so-called ‘racist vestiges’ from GMU’s campus,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education Craig Trainor said in a statement. “Without a hint of self awareness, President Washington then waged a university-wide campaign to implement unlawful DEI policies that intentionally discriminate on the basis of race. You can’t make this up.”

TRUMP-APPOINTED JUDGE STRIKES DOWN ANTI-DEI MEASURES FROM EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

“Despite this unfortunate chapter in Mason’s history, the University now has the opportunity to come into compliance with federal civil rights laws by entering into a Resolution Agreement with the Office for Civil Rights,” he continued. “In the last seven months, this much is clear: The Trump-McMahon Department of Education will not allow racially exclusionary practices—which violate the Civil Rights Act, the Equal Protection Clause, and Supreme Court precedent—to continue corrupting our nation’s educational institutions.”

The Office for Civil Rights proposed a possible resolution to the university’s president that includes six conditions to which the institution must agree. The university must agree to the conditions within the next 10 days to resolve the matter.

The proposed resolution would require the university to send a statement to students and faculty committing to comply with Title VI in its recruitment, hiring, promotion and tenure decisions, and the statement should include a personal apology from the university’s president for “promoting unlawful discriminatory practices.”

GMU BOARD AGREES TO CUT DEI PROGRAMS WHILE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVING RAISE FOR EMBATTLED PRESIDENT

The statement must also be displayed prominently on the university’s website and any contrary statements would have to be removed, according to the proposed resolution.

The university would need to agree to revise any policies and documents used in its recruitment, hiring, promotion and tenure process and must remove any provisions that require or encourage the use of race as a factor in these practices.

The federal government also said George Mason must conduct annual training for anyone involved in these practices to affirm that it would not give preferences based on race.

Additionally, the institution must make records demonstrating compliance with the agreement available to the government upon request.

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George Mason’s failure to agree to the proposed resolution could lead to a loss in federal funds.

The Trump administration has already pulled funding from several universities, including Harvard, Columbia and the University of California, Los Angeles, over discrimination accusations and their handling of alleged antisemitism on campus.

Fox News Digital reached out to George Mason for comment.

Virginia leaders from both parties have condemned a racist sign aimed at Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, which was raised during a protest outside a school board meeting where she was speaking.

Earle-Sears — the Republican nominee in the state’s gubernatorial race — spoke at the Arlington County school board meeting on Thursday, which was reviewing its transgender bathroom policy. Outside the meeting, where a transgender rights rally was being held, a person displayed a racist sign directed at Earle-Sears. 

The protester’s poster, which has gone viral on social media and sparked outrage from across the political spectrum, read: “Hey Winsome, if trans can’t share your bathroom, then Blacks can’t share my water fountain.”

POLITICAL ACTIVIST CJ PEARSON SAYS WHITE LIBERALS ARE STARTING TO FEAR THEY’RE LOSING ‘POWER’ OVER BLACKS

Governor Glenn Youngkin defended Earle-Sears on X on Thursday, blasting what he labeled as the “hypocrisy of the liberal left.”

“Winsome is so much bigger than this idiocy,” Youngkin added.

Attorney General Jason Miyares joined in, writing on X: “This is wrong. [Winsome Earle-Sears] — and Virginia — deserve better.”

VIRGINIA LT. GOVERNOR ON WHY HER STATE IS AT RISK OF LOSING FEDERAL FUNDING OVER TRANSGENDER BATHROOMS

Virginia state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, who is also the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, denounced the poster, saying it evokes the “pain of racism, segregation and Jim Crow-era ugliness.”

“These sentiments are unacceptable,” Hashmi said on X. “We each have a responsibility to move our communities to unity and to reject all forms of bigotry.”

In a post to X, Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones echoed the other leaders’ sentiments, calling the sign a “horrific display of racism.”

VIRGINIA SCHOOL DISTRICTS SUPPORT FOR TRANSGENDER STUDENTS’ RIGHTS IN GOVERNOR’S RACE SPOTLIGHT

“My parents grew up during the height of segregation in America,” Jones said. “This horrific display of racism is wrong and unacceptable. It has no place in our communities or politics, period.”

Republican lieutenant governor nominee John Reid wrote on X, “There’s no place for hate here in Virginia. This is wrong. Will [Abigail Spanberger] or [Ghazala Hashmi] condemn racist attacks like this?”

Sen. Minority Leader Ryan McDougle took to X to write, “The tolerant left strikes again.”

In an X post, Sen. Schuyler Van Valkenburg wrote: “Two wrongs don’t make a right. Been teaching my kids – and students – that for years. In the age of Trump it’s easy to get in the gutter. We should insist on betting the better angels of our nature.”

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Del. Mike Cherry, R-Chesterfield, said on X: “Wow. Sad.”

Earle-Sears’ opponent, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., also condemned the sign, calling it “racist, abhorrent and unacceptable,” but Earle-Sears felt that her response should have been stronger.

“A very weak response from a very weak person who we know cannot lead Virginia as governor,” Earle-Sears asserted. “She’s finally come out of hiding when she should have a long time ago come out and defended so many things that are so wrong, and she’s been absent.”

 

Defense Department civilians are volunteering by the hundreds for temporary details with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), joining efforts to bolster operations at the troubled southern border under President Donald Trump’s priority to secure it.

In under 48 hours, nearly 500 volunteers answered the president’s call of duty, as assignments became available via USAJOBS.com. Recruiting agencies include Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“This is a national security problem, and our civilians have the critical skill sets to support DHS in their mission,” Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Civilian Personnel Policy Michael A. Cogar said. “We’re proud that our civilians are already willing to sign up.”

Assignments last up to 180 days, providing skills ranging from intelligence analysis to detention support.

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE RECRUITING CIVILIAN VOLUNTEERS FOR TRUMP ADMIN’S IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN OPERATIONS

A DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital the initiative reflects Trump’s “whole-of-government approach” to removing national security threats, including gang members and terrorists.

“ICE, CBP, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense are embracing President Trump’s whole-of-government approach to protecting the American people,” a DoD spokesperson said to Fox News Digital.

“DOD civilians — who have already undergone rigorous vetting and demonstrated their commitment to serving this nation — are invited to volunteer for temporary ICE assignments to help make America safe again and remove national security threats—including gang members and terrorists from our country.”

PENTAGON UNVEILS NEW MEDAL FOR TROOPS DEPLOYED IN TRUMP’S SOUTHERN BORDER CRACKDOWN

Civilian employees were notified via email earlier this week, and can apply through USAJOBS, after which DHS will coordinate with their respective agencies for ultimate approval. If approved, candidates can be deployed within 96 hours.

All DoD civilian employees in good standing with at least 90 days at their current agency can apply. Assignments last up to six months and roles currently run through Sept. 30, 2026.

Volunteers will provide logistical and technical support including data entry, planning, case processing, linguistics and human resources. Civilian DoD employees maintain their pay and benefits while on assignment with eligibility for overtime, while gaining cross-agency experience and professional development.

“This mission is truly critical, not just for DHS, not just for DOD, but for the entire country,” Cogar said in a DoD memo released Friday. 

“Any individual, any one person, can have a force-multiplying effect for those DHS agents, allowing them to focus on what they do best, while we can provide that technical support that they need to be on target, on mission and out there every day focused on the safety of our nation.”

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The program follows Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s June directive that also opened DHS placements for retiring service members through the SkillBridge program. The DoD SkillBridge program allows retiring service members to obtain ‘real-world training and work experience in in-demand fields of work.’

Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.

Hours of interviews between Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and a federal prosecutor were released by the Department of Justice on Friday afternoon. 

During the recorded sessions in which the convicted sex offender, who was found guilty for her role in Epstein’s crimes, was granted immunity, she made several interesting claims. 

Here are 10 top takeaways. 

Claims there is no client list

EPSTEIN’S FORMER LAWYER: GHISLAINE MAXWELL SHOULD GET IMMUNITY IN EXCHANGE FOR SECRETS

Maxwell denied the existence of a black book with Epstein’s clients on it – and least to her knowledge. 

“There is no list,” she told Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. 

Maxwell said she believed the origin of rumors that there was a list came in 2009 after Epstein had finished a 13-month sex trafficking sentence in Florida, and a lawyer at Rothstein Adler involved in a civil suit against him called the FBI to say he had a “piece of evidence” that belongs to Epstein.

That was “the list,” she claimed, adding that she believes he became a confidential informant to the FBI.

She said he obtained the list through a sting operation involving Epstein’s former butler, who said in a deposition he had “handwritten notes, or a journal, whatever.” 

Doesn’t believe Epstein killed himself

GHISLAINE MAXWELL TELLS DOJ SHE DOESN’T BELIEVE JEFFREY EPSTEIN DIED BY SUICIDE IN FEDERAL PRISON

Maxwell said she doesn’t believe Epstein killed himself when he was found hanging in his New York jail cell in 2019. 

“I do not believe he died by suicide, no,” she told Blanche when asked. 

She added that she didn’t have any speculation about who could have killed him, but claimed the U.S. Bureau of Prisons is rife with mismanagement. 

“If it is indeed murder, I believe it was an internal situation,” she said, adding she didn’t believe his death was a way to silence him. 

“I do not have any reason to believe that,” she told Blanche. “And I also think it’s ludicrous because if that – I also happen to think if that is what they wanted, they would’ve had plenty of opportunity when he wasn’t in jail. And if they were worried about blackmail or anything from him, he would’ve been a very easy target.”

Never saw President Donald Trump do anything inappropriate

Maxwell said while she believes President Trump (before he was president) and Epstein were friendly, she didn’t think they were “close.”

“I think they were friendly, like people are in social settings. I don’t — I don’t think they were close friends or I certainly never witnessed the president in any of — I don’t recall ever seeing him in his house, for instance.” she said. “I actually never saw the president in any type of massage setting.”

She added, “I never witnessed the president in any inappropriate setting in any way. The president was never inappropriate with anybody. In the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects.” 

Former President Bill Clinton never went to Epstein’s island 

Maxwell claimed that former President Bill Clinton, whose name has previously been linked to Epstein, “absolutely never went” to Epstein’s Caribbean island where sex trafficking of young girls took place. 

She added, “I can be sure of that because there’s no way he would’ve gone – I don’t believe there’s any way that he would’ve gone to the island, had I not been there. Because I don’t believe he had 16 an independent friendship, if you will, with Epstein.” 

She also said that Clinton was her friend, not Epstein’s, and that she knew him through the Clinton Global Initiative and was part of the inception of the organization. 

TRUMP DOJ TO BEGIN HANDING OVER EPSTEIN FILES TO HOUSE OVERSIGHT INVESTIGATORS

Calls Epstein ‘disgusting,’ but doesn’t believe he’s guilty of everything he was accused of 

Maxwell called Epstein “disgusting” in the interview but said she doesn’t believe he was guilty of all the accusations. 

“I do believe that Epstein did a lot of, not all, but some of what he’s accused of, and I’m not here to defend him in any respect whatsoever,” Maxwell told Blanche. “I don’t want to, and I don’t think he requires, nor deserves any type of protection or – from me in any way, to sugarcoat what he did or didn’t do.”

She added, “This is one man. He’s not some – they’ve made him into this – he’s not that interesting. He’s a disgusting guy who did terrible things to young kids.”

Never saw Prince Andrew do anything inappropriate and believes the photo of him with accuser Virginia Giuffre is fake

Maxwell told Blanche that she also never saw Prince Andrew do anything inappropriate while she was with him, adding that she believes the infamous photo of the prince with his hand around accuser Virginia Giuffre when she was 17 isn’t real. 

“I believe it’s literally a fake photo,” she said of the picture, purported to have been taken at her former London townhouse. “I do not know that they met.”

Giuffre died of suicide earlier this year. She had accused the royal of forcing her into sex inside Maxwell’s home in London’s ritzy Belgravia neighborhood. The prince was relieved of his royal duties amid fallout from the scandal but has always denied allegations of wrongdoing. He agreed to pay Giuffre an undisclosed settlement in 2022 and to donate to her charity for crime victims.

BILL BARR TESTIFIES HE DIDN’T SEE INFO TO WOULD ‘IMPLICATE’ TRUMP IN EPSTEIN CASE, COMER SAYS

Maxwells claims she has memory problems after being on suicide watch for 2 years

Maxwell claimed to Blanche her “memory’s not as good as it was” because she was kept on suicide watch at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after her arrest for nearly two years, and she was woken up every 15 minutes. 

She said because of her memory lapses she had taken notes before the interviews, and throughout the interview still struggled to recall many details. 

Claims Epstein had a heart condition and told her he couldn’t have sex often

Maxwell said that when she traveled with Epstein, they slept in the same bed, but he told her he had a heart condition and couldn’t have sex frequently. 

“Which meant that he didn’t have intercourse a lot, which suited me fine, because I actually do have a medical condition, which precludes me having a lot of intercourse,” she told Blanche. 

She added that she didn’t know the exact nature of the condition, but he liked “other forms of sexual activities.”

Claims Epstein never loved her and said she wasn’t his type and that he told people to lie to her 

Maxwell told Blanche she and Epstein had a friends with benefits relationship while she was working with him, but at one point Epstein said that one of his associates didn’t want to be seen with her too much because of her father’s company’s embezzlement accusations. 

But she said she believed that was all a ruse just to keep her from traveling with Epstein. 

“Today – not contemporaneously, but today I don’t believe that that’s even true. I think it was used as a means to not have me travel with him to Ohio or whatever. It was just a way to park me,” she said.

She added that after her arrest during the legal discovery process she saw evidence that “he would actively tell other people to lie to me or conceal things from me, and that he never loved me and I wasn’t his type.” 

Claims Epstein took testosterone, which altered his character 

Maxwell also claimed that in the late ‘90s, Epstein started taking testosterone, “and that altered his character.”

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While discussing the frequency at which he got sexual massages, she said the testosterone both made him more “aggressive” and she thought it likely “altered his desires.”

Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking of minors. 

Mayor Brandon Johnson blasted President Donald Trump over what he described as “threats” to deploy the National Guard in Chicago to crack down on crime.

Johnson’s comments came hours after the president on Friday said Chicago would be the next city to see federal intervention after the mission to decrease crime in Washington, D.C. concluded.

“After we do this, we’ll go to another location, and we’ll make it safe, also,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “We’re going to make our country very safe. … Chicago’s a mess.”

Johnson released a statement noting the city had not received any formal communication about additional federal law enforcement or military deployments to Chicago, adding he has “grave concerns” about the impact of any “unlawful deployment.”

TRUMP VOWED DC TAKEOVER MULTIPLE TIMES ON 2024 CAMPAIGN TRAIL: ‘HE’S KEEPING HIS PROMISE’

Johnson called the Trump administration’s efforts “uncoordinated, uncalled-for and unsound,” seemingly snapping back at the president, who called him “grossly incompetent” earlier in the day.

He added the city has reduced homicides by 30%, robberies by 35% and shootings by almost 40% in the last year, suggesting federal action would deteriorate trust.

“Unlawfully deploying the National Guard to Chicago has the potential to inflame tensions between residents and law enforcement when we know that trust between police and residents is foundational to building safer communities,” Johnson wrote. “An unlawful deployment would be unsustainable and would threaten to undermine the historic progress we have made.”

BLUE CITIES IN TRUMP’S CROSSHAIRS AFTER DC POLICE TAKEOVER

The city, which struggles with poverty and gang activity, has a crime rate higher than the national average.

However, 2023 crime data shows other Illinois cities, including Chicago Heights, Danville, Peoria, Rockford, and Harvey, had substantially higher violent crime rates than Chicago.

‘RADICAL’ DC OFFICIALS TREATED OFFICERS ‘LIKE CRAP,’ POLICE LEADER SAYS – 7 ATTACKS THAT LED TO TRUMP TAKEOVER

“The National Guard will not alleviate the housing crisis,” Johnson wrote. “It will not put food in the stomachs of the 1 in 4 children that go to bed hungry every night in Chicago. The National Guard will not fully-fund our public schools or provide mental healthcare or substance abuse treatment to Chicagoans in need.

“The National Guard is no substitute for dedicated local law enforcement and community violence interrupters who know and serve our communities every day. There are many things the federal government could do to help us reduce crime and violence in Chicago, but sending in the military is not one of them.”

Trump federalized D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department on Aug. 11 under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which allows the president to take emergency control of the police force for 30 days. 

Just over a week later, six red states pledged to send 2,000 guardsmen to the nation’s capital to help with the efforts, alongside agents from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

An official confirmed to Fox News on Friday Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized soldiers and airmen to be armed in D.C., if their mission requires it.

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

Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening…

-Republicans rally around GOP senator after ousted Dem jumps into high-profile Ohio race

-Top Trump agency slashes billions in government waste with move to expose ‘abuse’ of US tax dollars

-John Bolton’s home raided by federal agents

Maxwell says she never saw Trump do anything inappropriate, new DOJ docs reveal

Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell told the Department of Justice earlier in 2025 that she never saw President Donald Trump act inappropriately, according to DOJ documents released Friday of her interview. 

“I think they were friendly like people are in social settings. I don’t — I don’t think they were close friends or I certainly never witnessed the President in any of — I don’t recall ever seeing him in his house, for instance.” she told the DOJ. “I actually never saw the President in any type of massage setting. I never witnessed the president in any inappropriate setting in any way. The president was never inappropriate with anybody. In the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects.” 

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche interviewed Epstein associate Maxwell at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee, Florida, in July, where she has been serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking…READ MORE.
 

White House

BOLTON STONED: John Bolton blasted by Trump ally Roger Stone, who faced Biden FBI raid: ‘Karma is a b—-‘

JUDICIAL CLASH: Jackson scathing dissent levels partisan charge at colleagues after high-profile ruling

‘WORKING BACKWARDS’: ‘Leftist’ taxpayer-funded academy sparks backlash after moving against Trump’s rollback of key regulation

‘UNFOCUSED’: Trump–Bolton feud back in focus after FBI raid: ‘Never had a clue … what a dope!’

‘WONDERFUL JOB’: Longtime Trump ally formally succeeds Whatley as Republican Party chair

SECURITY SPOTLIGHT: Bolton tweet shows focus was elsewhere as FBI searched his house

TESTING TRUTH: Jillian Michaels accuses CNN of ‘lying,’ ‘smearing’ her after viral slavery debate

ON DUTY: Hegseth authorizes 2,000 National Guard troops to carry weapons in DC if necessary
 

 

World Stage

TRAITOR FOR CASH: US Navy sailor convicted of selling military secrets to China for a year and a half

BLOOD FOR MOSCOW: Kim Jong Un acknowledges deaths of 100 North Korean soldiers he sent to fight for Vladimir Putin

Capitol Hill

‘CRITICAL RESOURCES’: GOP senator reveals which ‘essential’ measure will help crackdown on child trafficking

SWAMP STRIKE: James Comer praises Kash Patel for ‘holding deep state accountable’ as FBI raids John Bolton’s home

Across America 

TRUCKER BRO NABBED: ICE arrests brother of illegal immigrant trucker in deadly Florida Turnpike wreck

CULTURE WAR: DeSantis fires back after Dem decries Florida’s move to ditch LGBT rainbow colors from crosswalk in Orlando

FREE MAN: Abrego Garcia released from jail, will return to Maryland to await trial

IT’S A ‘MESS’: Trump hints at federal crackdown in Chicago amid DC anti-crime push

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell told the Department of Justice earlier in 2025 that she never saw President Donald Trump act inappropriately, according to DOJ documents released Friday of her interview. 

“I think they were friendly, like people are in social settings. I don’t — I don’t think they were close friends or I certainly never witnessed the President in any of — I don’t recall ever seeing him in his house, for instance.” she told the DOJ. “I actually never saw the President in any type of massage setting. I never witnessed the president in any inappropriate setting in any way. The president was never inappropriate with anybody. In the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects.” 

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche interviewed Epstein associate Maxwell at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee, Florida, in July, where she has been serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking. 

The interview was held across a two-day period, with the administration weighing in August whether to release the audio file and transcript of the interview, senior administration officials previously told Fox Digital. 

Maxwell explained in her interviews that she first met Trump in the 1990s through her father, saying Trump was “always very cordial and very kind to me.”

EPSTEIN’S FORMER LAWYER: GHISLAINE MAXWELL SHOULD GET IMMUNITY IN EXCHANGE FOR SECRETS

“Well, I just want to say for my relationship with President Trump — relationship’s a big word — but I just want to say that I met him or I believe I may have, because of my father in the ’90s,” she said. 

“Trump was always very cordial and very kind to me,” she continued. “And I just want to say that I find … I admire his extraordinary achievement in becoming the president now. And I like him, and I’ve always liked him. So that is the sum and substance of my entire relationship with him.” 

As for Epstein’s relationship with Trump, Maxwell said she only ever witnessed the pair interacting in social settings and that she was unsure how they struck up a friendly association. 

“I don’t know how they met, and I don’t know how they became friends,” she told Blanche. “I certainly saw them together and I remember the few times I observed them together, but they were friendly. I mean, they seemed friendly.” 

“I believe I only ever saw them in social settings,” she continued. “I don’t recall any private settings.” 

Epstein was a notorious predator who pleaded guilty to procuring underage girls for prostitution in 2008, before he was arrested in 2019 on new federal charges of sex trafficking minors and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors. The predatory billionaire, who had rubbed elbows with the world’s elites stretching from Bill Gates to being photographed with Trump long before his presidency, was found dead in his New York City jail cell in August 2019 by apparent suicide. 

Maxwell continued in her DOJ interviews that she last saw Trump in the mid-2000s in a social setting. When pressed if Maxwell had ever heard rumors or witnessed Trump do anything inappropriate with “masseuses or with anybody in your world,” she gave a firm denial. 

“Absolutely never, in any context,” she responded. 

Toward the end of her interview, Maxwell asked Blanche to add to the records that she believes Trump was “swept into” the controversy surrounding Epstein. 

“I just would like to put out there that I also focused on how I think the president got swept into some of this unnecessarily, by the way,” she said. “And I’m not a conspiracy theorist, and I certainly don’t subscribe to all the — all of everything that I see. But I do believe that there is animus in some areas that may have contributed to how the use of the president to harm him, that I find deeply offensive.” 

“And whilst I can’t obviously say definitively that that is what it is, I would like to show you what I see so that you can evaluate it and do with that as you see fit if it needs to be addressed. I’ve seen it, it struck me, and I would like to give it to you,” she continued, before Blanche agreed to her request and the interview wrapped for the day. 

Maxwell weighed in on Epstein’s 50th-birthday “book,” which included people sending him cards in 2003, but said she did not recall Trump sending Epstein a card and reported she had no evidence of such a card in her discovery of legal proceedings. 

The DOJ and FBI said in a joint memo in July that the two agencies had no further information to share with the public about Epstein’s case and death, determining that he died by suicide, and that there was no list of clients whom Epstein may have procured for exploitation by third parties. 

The memo set off condemnation from some MAGA supporters, who said the reports would not make the Epstein scandal disappear and continued calling for documents to be released. Such supporters claim that Epstein did not hang himself, and that the death was allegedly part of a bigger cover-up protecting elites allegedly involved in his sexual abuse of minors.  

Trump repeatedly has slammed the Epstein case as a hoax promoted by the Democrats, including chastising reporters who asked him about the matter when the FBI and DOJ first reported evidence showing Epstein committed suicide. 

GHISLAINE MAXWELL FOLLOWS PRISON FITNESS ROUTINE, VIDEO SHOWS, AS DOJ’S JEFFREY EPSTEIN MEMO DRAWS HEAT

“For years, it’s Epstein, over and over again,” Trump said in a July Truth Social post. “Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden administration.”

“They created the Epstein Files, just like they created the FAKE Hillary Clinton/Christopher Steele Dossier that they used on me, and now my so-called ‘friends’ are playing right into their hands,” Trump wrote. “Why didn’t these Radical Left Lunatics release the Epstein Files? If there was ANYTHING in there that could have hurt the MAGA Movement, why didn’t they use it?”

Amid mounting calls from voters that the government release more details on Epstein, Trump instructed the Justice Department in July to release “all credible” evidence in the files. 

“We’d like to release everything, but we don’t want people to get hurt that shouldn’t be hurt, and I would assume that was why he was there,” he told Newsmax in July.  

The White House referred Fox News Digital to Trump’s public comments earlier Friday when asked about the Maxwell interview drop. 

“Innocent people shouldn’t be burt, but I’m in support of keeping it totally open,” Trump told the media Friday of keeping the Epstein case open. “I couldn’t care less. You got a lot of people that it could be mentioned in those files that don’t deserve to be, people, because he knew everybody in Palm Beach.”

“This is a Democratic hoax to try and get the significance of what we’ve done over the past seven months,” he added. “Nobody’s ever seen anything like it. They say it’s number one in history. What we’ve done, including stopping seven wars, I mean.” 

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Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman, Breanne Deppisch and Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.