NationalWatch

A conservative legal watchdog group is heading to court to get the U.S. Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to explain how gunman Thomas Crooks had been able to “fire a relatively simple shot that came within an inch of killing President Trump and struck fellow Americans.”

In a lawsuit filed Thursday, America First Legal alleges that the Secret Service and DHS illegally concealed government records related to the attempted assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. The organization claims it submitted multiple public records requests about the incident but still has not received any documents.

“On July 13, the American people watched in horror as a lunatic attempted to assassinate former President, and current candidate for President, Donald Trump,” Gene Hamilton, AFL senior counsel said in a statement. 

WATCH ON FOX NATION: THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATIONS OF DONALD TRUMP

Thomas Matthew Crooks crawling on a roof moments before he attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump. (DJ Laughery (background))

“Today, there is widespread and bipartisan acknowledgment that there were catastrophic failures that tragic day and in the weeks and months ahead of it. We are committed to obtaining these records so that the American people can see for themselves exactly what senior DHS leadership was prioritizing in its mission, and why more resources were not devoted to the protection of President Donald J. Trump,” Hamilton said.

AFL requested documents pertaining to the Secret Service’s staffing shortages, hiring and employment standards and all communications to or from Secretary Alejnadro Mayorkas and two senior DHS official Kristie Canegello and Jonathan Davidson.

According to AFL, the Secret Service said it would not process their expedited public records’ requests, because there was “no threat to the life or safety of anyone” and that there was no urgency to grant their request. 

NEW WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIMS ON FIRST TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ‘HIGHLY DAMAGING’ TO SECRET SERVICE: HAWLEY

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, speaks during a rally, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Uniondale, N.Y.  (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill – both Republican and Democratic – have also been trying to obtain documents from government agencies related to the events that unfolded that day and what security lapses may have occurred.

“Politicians on both sides of the aisle and the American people both agree that USSS and senior officials at DHS are failing to provide well-deserved and well-needed transparency,” AFL said in its news release.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal recently told reporters on Capitol Hill that he is “reaching the point of total outrage,” because the DHS response has been “totally lacking.” 

“In fact, I think it’s tantamount to stonewalling in many respects,” the Connecticut Democrat said.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., also recently told Fox News Digital that the Secret Service had refused to release documents about Crooks’ autopsy report, saying, “We don’t have any of the trajectory reports.”

“So, where’d the bullets go? We don’t even know how they handled the crime scene,” he said. “We haven’t been able to interview the sniper who took out Crooks,” Johnson said. Crooks is the would-be assassin that, during the July 13 rally in Pennsylvania, opened fire, grazing the former president’s ear, killing a rally attendee and critically injuring two others.

TRUMP BLAMES BIDEN-HARRIS ‘RHETORIC’ FOR LATEST ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, SAYS HE WILL ‘SAVE THE COUNTRY’

Former President Trump was injured during an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

In light of the second attempted assassination of former President Trump’s life at his golf course in Florida last week, AFL said in it statement: “There is no denying that President Trump currently faces genuine threats, and AFL’s requests would help to ensure that USSS and DHS leadership are suffcieintly trained and staffed to ensure the safety of President Trump.”

“The American people and Congress need total transparency,” the group said.

FIRST ON FOX: The head of immigration enforcement under former President Trump is seeking to sound the alarm about Kamala Harris’ “open borders” policies and the truth about the crisis at the southern border — just as Harris is claiming she is the right candidate to tackle the border.

Tom Homan, a Fox News contributor who previously served as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under former President Trump, is preparing to engage in a series of virtual town halls with his nonprofit, Border911.

He intends for the town halls to bring awareness to the facts about the consequences of the ongoing crisis at the southern border, including sex trafficking and the smuggling of fentanyl into the United States.

MEXICAN GOVERNMENT BUSES MIGRANTS TO US BORDER AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION BECOMES TOP ELECTION ISSUE

As part of that, he is challenging the narrative by Vice President Kamala Harris that she is tough on border security. A recent ad by Harris said that “fixing the border is tough, so is Kamala Harris.”

President Trump and acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Thomas Homan talk during a law enforcement roundtable on sanctuary cities in the Roosevelt Room at the White House March 20, 2018, in Washington, D.C.  (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Border911, which is led by experts on border and national security from both Republican and Democratic administrations, is releasing a video that instead points to past comments by Harris that it says conflict with that narrative. 

They include her saying she was open to “starting from scratch” with ICE, decriminalizing illegal crossings, saying she supported “sanctuary” city laws and comparing ICE to the Ku Klux Klan as a senator.

“Kamala Harris wants everyone to believe she’s some border hawk now. But going all the way back to her days as DA in San Francisco, her statements and policies make it clear where she stands,” Homan, who served under multiple administrations, told Fox News Digital. “The fact is, she’s an open borders radical and, along with Joe Biden, she’s personally responsible for the current crisis.”

HARRIS SHIFTS POSITIONS ON BORDER, ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AS CAMPAIGN PROMISES ‘PRAGMATIC’ APPROACH

Republicans and the Trump campaign have zeroed in on the border, including Harris’ role in tackling root causes of migration. They have linked the historic highs seen during the border crisis to the policies of the Biden-Harris administration, including the ending of Trump-era policies they see as having successfully brought the border under control.

Conservatives have sought to paint Harris as a radical on illegal immigration, pointing to many of the same remarks featured in the video, just as the Harris campaign has sought to present her as the right candidate for border security.

A Harris campaign adviser told Fox News last month that Harris’ positions have been “shaped by three years of effective governance as part of the Biden-Harris administration.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, speaks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute leadership conference Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Her campaign said she believes illegal border crossings are illegal and supports “continuing to ensure sufficient resources to enforce our laws and prioritize detention and removal for individuals who pose threats to public safety and national security, as well as ensure compliance with immigration proceedings and decisions, including removal.”

More broadly, it has pointed to her backing of the bipartisan Senate package that emerged from negotiations in the chamber earlier this year, which increases funding for the border, including ICE bed space and a mechanism to limit asylum entries into the U.S. Conservatives said that bill would only serve to codify high levels of illegal immigration.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

“The only ‘plan’ Donald Trump has to secure our border is ripping mothers from their children and a few xenophobic placards at the Republican National Convention. He tanked the bipartisan border security deal because, for Donald Trump, this has never been about solutions, just running on a problem,” spokesperson Kevin Munoz said in a statement. 

“Like everything with Donald Trump, it’s never been about helping the country, it’s only about helping himself. There’s only one candidate in this race who will fight for bipartisan solutions to strengthen border security, and that’s Vice President Harris,” he said.

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Homan, however, says he isn’t trying to tell voters who they should pick in November, just to present the facts.

“We want to show the American people the truth so they can make their own decisions,” he told Fox News Digital.

Former Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi insisted on Wednesday that her party’s presidential nominating process after President Biden dropped out was “open,” and Vice President Kamala Harris “won it,” despite the absence of any such contest. 

Prior to Biden stepping down as the Democratic Party’s nominee in mid-July, Pelosi reportedly said she favored a competitive open primary process to replace him if needed. On Wednesday, Semafor’s Kadia Goba asked Pelosi if she had changed her mind after seeing all the “excitement” Harris generated when she was tapped to replace Biden.

“No, I didn’t change my mind. We had an open primary and [Kamala Harris] won it. Nobody else got in the race,” Pelosi said. “Yes people could have jumped in – there were some people who were sort of preparing, but she just took off with it, and actually it was a blessing because there was not that much time between then and the election and it sort of saved time.”

“But it wasn’t that we didn’t have an open primary,” Pelosi added. “It’s just that nobody got in because she had a running start.”

NANCY PELOSI GRILLED FOR TAKING SWIPE AT 30% OF REPUBLICANS: ‘NASTY, UNTRUE AND CRUEL’

Amid intra-party pressure, Biden dropped out of the race for president on July 21 and endorsed Harris as his successor the same day. Harris was the informal nominee from that point forward until the Democratic National Committee decided to implement an unprecedented virtual roll call ahead of its national nominating convention in August. The first-of-its-kind roll call vote ended with Harris getting 99% support from the party’s participating delegates. Harris was the only candidate who qualified for the virtual roll call vote, despite three challengers who wanted to run against her. The failed challengers were reportedly unable to collect the 300 delegate signatures necessary to gain access to the virtual ballot, according to Politico. 

Former House Speaker Rep. Nancy holds a sign that says “Coach Walz” during the Democratic National Convention.

Conservatives focusing on the election called Pelosi’s comments about Harris’ nominating process a “joke” and a “lie.” 

“The votes of 14 million Americans who voted for Joe Biden were thrown away as Harris was installed as the Democrats’ nominee for president – a job for which she has never received a single vote,” said Ryan Walker, executive director at Heritage Action For America, a conservative political advocacy organization in Washington, D.C., affiliated with the Heritage Foundation. “Saying she won an open primary is a joke.” 

‘PAISANS FOR KAMALA’ EVENT FEATURES DE NIRO, PELOSI BLASTING TRUMP ON IMMIGRATION

“Listening to Nancy Pelosi’s comments about Joe Biden, you could almost forget that she was one of many who lied to us about his condition, right up until the moment it was no longer to her political advantage to do so,” Jenny Beth Martin, president of Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund, added. “It doesn’t surprise me at all that she’d now to try to lie about what she calls the ‘open nomination’ process that led to Kamala’s ascension.”

Meanwhile, academic elections experts told Fox News Digital that nothing illegal or undemocratic took place because ultimately it is each party’s purview how they go about nominating their candidate. 

“You could probably sue the party for a civil tort and say, you know, ‘They did something wrong to me here.’ But it wouldn’t be a violation of election law,” said Jeremy Mayer, a professor at George Mason University’s Schar School of Public Policy and Government. “It’s not a coup, as some would say.”

American University professor Leonard Steinhorn, a political communications expert, questioned what other options the party had at that point with the election being less than four months away.

“One has to ask themselves: What else would a party do?” he asked. 

Voters fill out their ballots at a polling station during Massachusetts state primary voting on Tuesday.

Mayer and Steinhorn also argued that the Republican Party would likely have done something similar with Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Trump’s vice presidential running mate, if the GOP nominee faced some sort of hurdle preventing him from running. 

PELOSI SUGGESTS ‘30%’ OF REPUBLICANS ARE RACIST, SEXIST, HOMOPHOBIC: THEY’D ‘NEVER’ VOTE DEMOCRAT

“You can always talk in ideal circumstances about what’s best and what ought to be. But you know, as there’s that old 1980s expression, ‘Reality Bites,’ and you have to be able to adjust and adapt to the circumstances that you have,” Steinhorn said. “In an ideal world, you may want to have the candidates vetted by the public more, whether it’s an open primary – which might have been impossible to set up in any number of critical mass states – or forums that would allow people to sort of evaluate different candidates. But at that point, Vice President Harris moved quickly with Joe Biden’s support, to consolidate her support and get the majority of the delegates. In which case, why would anyone else run?”

Mayer and Steinhorn also pointed out that, while the process did go against contemporary norms, it is not entirely unprecedented.  

“She was picked in the way that we picked our candidates from 1832 to 1968 – the convention – and that produced some pretty good presidents, but we expect today for a president to be picked by the people of the party in an open primary process. And that’s not what happened with Harris,” Mayer said. Meanwhile, Steinhorn pointed to former President Gerald Ford, who he said “did not once face any primaries or any national referendum at all.”

A new poll ahead of Tuesday’s ABC News Presidential Debate shows Vice President Kamala Harris leading former President Donald Trump by eight percentage points among likely voters in Virginia. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images.)

Last week, Pelosi also responded to questions on the fairness of the Democratic Party’s nomination process during an episode of ABC’s “The View.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

“It was an open [process],” Pelosi insisted. “Anybody could have gotten in. She got in, and she won, and a president of the United States had endorsed her who was very respected. So, that meant a lot, but people don’t understand, other people could have gotten in. She just locked it up. Politically astute, as I said to you before.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Pelosi’s office for comment but did not receive a response. 

Several Democrats responded overnight to news that the Teamsters, under General President Sean O’Brien, decided against issuing a presidential endorsement.

“Unfortunately, neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people are always put before big business,” O’Brien said in a statement.

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. who, like O’Brien, hails from the Boston area, called former President Donald Trump the “most anti-labor president we have ever had.”

“It’s clear that these workers are misinformed or uninformed about Trump’s record on labor,” McGovern told the Washington Times. “His allegiance isn’t toward working people.”

McGovern, the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, said it is obvious that Trump supports “rich people” over the working class.

The Teamsters have not made a non-endorsement since the 1996 contest between former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan. Their last GOP endorsement went to former President George H.W. Bush over then-Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis in 1988.

Meanwhile, Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., tweeted that Harris had cast the tie-breaking Senate vote to “protect Teamsters pensions.”

TEAMSTERS BOSS HAS NO REGRETS ON TIFF WITH SEN. MULLIN: ‘SOUNDED LIKE HE WANTED TO DATE ME, NOT FIGHT ME’

House Rules Committee ranking member James McGovern of Massachusetts

Horsford shared that Nevada’s Teamsters councils had bucked the national organization and independently endorsed Harris.

“She’s fighting for us,” Horsford said.

Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto, D-Nev., echoed Horsford, saying the Silver State’s Teamsters “know that Kamala Harris is a fighter for our union workers.”

“I learned it from my father who was a Teamster in Las Vegas: when we stand together, we win,” Cortez-Masto said.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker, meanwhile, called the Teamsters’ decision “disappointing.”

“Donald Trump refused to support a pension bill for Teamsters. It was Biden-Harris and Democrats who saved Teamsters pensions in the Butch Lewis Act of our American Rescue Plan — without one Republican vote,” she said on X, formerly Twitter. 

Trump, however, called the non-endorsement of Harris a “great honor” for him.

AUTO WORKERS FOR TRUMP LEADER SAYS THOUSANDS POISED TO BREAK FROM DEMS OVER GREEN POLICIES, JOB-KILLING REGS

Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., speaks with President Joe Biden. (Getty Images)

“They’re not going to endorse the Democrats. That’s a big thing,” Trump said while campaigning in New York City. The GOP nominee added that the internal Teamsters vote showed about 60% of national membership support his bid.

A leading progressive in Congress, Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, called the non-endorsement “unfortunate” while adding that the Evergreen State’s sub-council still supports Harris.

“I think you’re going to see more of that across the country,” she told the Times.

In a more direct shot at O’Brien, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., claimed the national leader has been “boosting Republicans all year while supporting anti-worker, anti-choice Senate candidates.”

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O’Brien has reportedly reached out to some Republican lawmakers, like Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. And JD Vance, R-Ohio, per the BBC, but it was the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail & Transportation union that recently gave the conservatives their endorsement.

Two U.S. Senate candidates whom the union did endorse, however, are Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.

A spokesman for Harris’ campaign said in a statement reported by multiple outlets that Trump believes striking workers should be fired, while Harris “literally walked the picket line.”

“The Vice President’s strong union record is why Teamsters locals across the country have already endorsed her — alongside the overwhelming majority of organized labor,” Lauren Hitt said.

In that regard, a council representing 35,000 Teamsters in the key swing state of Pennsylvania ignored O’Brien’s non-endorsement and threw their weight behind Harris. 

The board of Teamsters Joint Council 40, covering Pittsburgh, Erie, State College and Washington, held a separate vote, where they unanimously selected Harris.

“She is the best for our locals and best for our unions,” council president Carl Bailey told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

O’Brien has also not been afraid to tussle with Republicans, as he and Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., nearly came to blows during a 2023 hearing in which Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., had to intervene as Mullin rose from his chair — after the men told each other to “stand your butt up.”

Former President Donald Trump has faced two known assassination attempts against his life across a roughly two-month span, and he may still be in danger of others, experts warned Fox News Digital.

“This is not the last attempt that there’ll be. They’re going to keep coming at him,” Gene Petrino, a retired SWAT commander for Florida’s Plantation Police Department for 26 years and an expert on active shooter incidents, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. 

“Other people are gonna see it that way, and the only responsible thing to do is now increase, even more, his security footprint,” Petrino added. 

Trump was safely escorted from the green at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday after suspect Ryan Routh allegedly pointed a rifle towards the 45th president just outside the perimeter of the club. Routh fled the scene but was apprehended shortly thereafter on I-95. 

TRUMP BLAMES BIDEN-HARRIS ‘RHETORIC’ FOR LATEST ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, SAYS HE WILL ‘SAVE THE COUNTRY’ 

Former President Donald Trump, left, and Ryan Routh. (Getty Images)

Authorities are investigating the incident as an apparent assassination attempt against Trump.

On July 13, Trump held a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was shot in the ear by 20-year-old Matthew Crooks. Crooks opened fire on the president while perched on a nearby roof, injuring two others attending the rally, and killing local dad and volunteer firefighter Corey Comperatore. 

The attack in July unfolded just two days ahead of the Republican National Convention kicking off in Milwaukee. Trump attended the convention despite the attack and was seen wearing a bandage over his ear when he accepted the GOP’s presidential nomination. 

“The amazing thing is that prior to the shot, if I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit its mark and I would not be here tonight. We would not be together,” Trump said at the RNC in his acceptance speech. 

Former President Donald Trump was injured during an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“Bullets were flying over us, yet I felt serene. But now the Secret Service agents were putting themselves in peril. They were in very dangerous territory,” Trump continued. “Bullets were flying right over them, missing them by a very small amount of inches. And then it all stopped. Our Secret Service sniper, from a much greater distance and with only one bullet used, took the assassin’s life. Took him out.”

“This is my fear. When it rains, it pours … I don’t think it stops at two.”

— Bill Stanton, former NYPD officer and security expert

The apparent failed attempted assassination in Sunday’s attack did not fire a shot off – unlike Crooks – as a Secret Service agent spotted him and shot at him first.

RYAN ROUTH, ARMED MAN ARRESTED AT TRUMP GOLF COURSE, POSTED PROLIFICALLY ABOUT TRUMP, POLITICS 

Former President Donald Trump looks on during the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Monday, July 15, 2024. (Photo by Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Petrino lauded the actions of the Secret Service and other law enforcement on Sunday for protecting Trump before the unthinkable unfolded, but the attempt has sparked concern among security experts. 

“They did a great job this time. They seemed to be on the ball,” he said before adding he believes “there should have been more” effort on the part of Trump’s security detail to catch Routh before he was located just roughly 300 yards from the 45th president. 

FBI investigators carry a box of evidence from the perimeter of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. Ryan Routh was arrested earlier this week after allegedly attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump while hiding in the bushes along the golf course. (Mega for Fox News Digital)

Bill Stanton, a former NYPD officer and an executive protection expert, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that he also fears bad actors will make another attempt on Trump’s life. 

“This is my fear. When it rains, it pours … I don’t think it stops at two,” Stanton said.

Both Stanton and Petrino called for an increase in security surrounding Trump, which echoed calls from Capitol Hill that Trump be offered heightened protection following the second attempt. 

“It is imperative that the USSS detail assigned to President Trump be afforded additional protective resources, including greater staffing capabilities that would allow agents to secure a broader perimeter,” Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., wrote in a letter to acting Director Ronald Rowe on Tuesday. 

Marshall and Tuberville, joined by Sens. James Risch, R-Idaho; Mike Lee, R-Utah; Marco Rubio, R-Fla.,;Bill Cassidy, R-La.; Rick Scott, R-Fla.; and Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., requested that Rowe and the Secret Service “designate President Trump as a protectee with the same level of protective resources afforded to a sitting president.” 

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT SUSPECT LAUGHS, SMILES DURING FIRST COURT APPEARANCE IN FLORIDA

Ryan W. Routh, suspected of attempting to assassinate Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course, stands handcuffed after his arrest during a traffic stop near Palm City, Florida, on Sept. 15, 2024. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office/Handout via REUTERS)

Trump, as well as Petrino and Stanton, pinned blame for the second attempt on inflammatory political rhetoric, with the former president specifically pointing to comments from the Biden-Harris administration. 

“[The suspect] believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,” Trump told Fox News Digital on Monday. “Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out.” 

WHITE HOUSE CONTINUES TO CALL TRUMP ‘THREAT’ TO DEMOCRACY DESPITE MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS ON FORMER PRESIDENT’S LIFE 

In the interview, Trump pointed to President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ past comments describing him as a “threat to democracy,” while telling Americans they are “unity” leaders. 

“It is called the enemy from within. They are the real threat,” Trump said.

Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department patrols outside of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. Ryan Routh was arrested yesterday after an alleged assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at the Florida golf course. (Mega for Fox News Digital)

During the White House press briefing on Tuesday, Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked if the administration planned to drop using words such as “threat” to describe Trump, considering the second assassination attempt. Doocy noted in his question that Trump has lobbed similar attacks against Biden and Harris. 

HOUSE DEM LEADER RAILS ‘WE MUST STOP’ MAGA AMID NEWS OF 2ND TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT 

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended the use of the word, citing Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters breached the U.S. Capitol. 

Trump is back on the campaign trail this week, heading to Long Island for a campaign rally on Wednesday. False reports spread across social media ahead of the rally that explosives had been found in a car near where Trump was set to speak. 

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The reports were quickly dismissed by local officials as false, but underscore ongoing concerns and potential threats against Trump. 

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

The Harris campaign addressed the revelation by federal agencies that individuals tied to the Biden campaign were targeted by Iranian actors with emails containing stolen Trump campaign materials, stating that they do not know of any materials sent “directly” to the Biden campaign, but that some people received emails on their personal accounts.

“We have cooperated with the appropriate law enforcement authorities since we were made aware that individuals associated with the then-Biden campaign were among the intended victims of this foreign influence operation,” Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson Morgan Finkelstein said in a statement.

“We’re not aware of any material being sent directly to the campaign; a few individuals were targeted on their personal emails with what looked like a spam or phishing attempt,” Finkelstein added. “We condemn in the strongest terms any effort by foreign actors to interfere in U.S. elections including this unwelcome and unacceptable malicious activity.” 

In a joint statement released Wednesday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the FBI, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said, “Iranian malicious cyber actors in late June and early July sent unsolicited emails to individuals then associated with President Biden’s campaign that contained an excerpt taken from stolen, non-public material from former President Trump’s campaign as text in the emails.” 

PAKISTANI MAN WITH IRAN TIES PLEADS NOT GUILTY IN ALLEGED MURDER-FOR-HIRE PLOT TO ASSASSINATE US POLITICIANS

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Leadership Conference, at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024.  (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

“There is currently no information indicating those recipients replied,” the statement continued. “Furthermore, Iranian malicious cyber actors have continued their efforts since June to send stolen, non-public material associated with former President Trump’s campaign to U.S. media organizations.” 

The agencies said such “malicious cyber activity” served as the latest example of Iran’s multipronged approach “to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our electoral process.” 

“As the lead for threat response, the FBI has been tracking this activity, has been in contact with the victims, and will continue to investigate and gather information in order to pursue and disrupt the threat actors responsible,” the statement said. “Foreign actors are increasing their election influence activities as we approach November. In particular, Russia, Iran, and China are trying by some measure to exacerbate divisions in U.S. society for their own benefit, and see election periods as moments of vulnerability.” 

Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s campaign spokesperson, said the development “is further proof the Iranians are actively interfering in the election to help Kamala Harris and Joe Biden because they know President Trump will restore his tough sanctions and stand against their reign of terror.”

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump raises his fist as he departs a campaign event at Nassau Coliseum, Wednesday, Sept.18, 2024, in Uniondale, N.Y.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“Kamala and Biden must come clean on whether they used the hacked material given to them by the Iranians to hurt President Trump. What did they know and when did they know it?” she said in a statement.

A Harris campaign official told Fox News Digital that “the material was not used.”

IRAN TRIED TO INFLUENCE ELECTION BY SENDING STOLEN MATERIAL FROM TRUMP CAMPAIGN TO BIDEN’S CAMP, FBI SAYS

President Biden, left, holds up the arm of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, right, while on stage at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Phoenix Awards Dinner in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024.  (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Federal authorities said they have thwarted Iranian assassination plots against U.S. politicians in recent months. U.S. officials say Trump, as well as President Biden and Nikki Haley, were among the targets. Earlier this week, a Pakistani man with deep ties to Iran was arraigned in Brooklyn federal court for alleging paying undercover agents he believed were hitmen to carry out the assassinations this summer. 

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Within two months, Trump has faced two assassination attempts at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and while golfing at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida, though authorities haven’t publicly linked either plot to Iran. 

Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., led several Republicans in a bid to increase U.S. Secret Service (USSS) protections for presidential nominees in the wake of the second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.

“Over the course of just 65 days, two deranged individuals have tried to kill President Donald Trump, and one was able to shoot him in the head,” Scott wrote of his introduction of the Protect Our Presidents Act.

“It is unthinkable that this could happen in America today and demands the immediate action of Congress,” he said. 

‘I’VE NEVER SEEN THIS’: TOP REPUBLICAN DETAILS LEVEL OF SECRET SERVICE ‘LACK OF COOPERATION’

Sen. Rick Scott’s bill would codify that presidential nominees are entitled to the same protection as the sitting president. (Reuters)

“Today, I am leading my Republican colleagues to introduce the Protect our Presidents Act, which mandates that the USSS provide the same level of protective services to presidential nominees that it affords to sitting presidents.”

“President Trump has great officers and agents working around the clock to keep him safe, but it’s clear that the vile rhetoric on the left toward President Trump has made him a target and more resources are required to ensure the safety of him and his family. I urge Senate Democrats to join Republicans to quickly pass this bill that will support the protection of President Trump and all future presidential nominees.”

The Florida Republican was joined by cosponsors Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., James Risch, R-Idaho, Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Ted Budd, R-N.C., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo.

HARRIS AND TRUMP DEADLOCKED IN PENNSYLVANIA AS FORMER PRESIDENT TRAILS IN OTHER ‘BLUE WALL’ STATES: POLL

The measure would require that the Secret Service give nominees for president a level of protection on par with the current president. However, a nominee is free to decline this. 

It would additionally extend that presidential-level protection to vice presidential nominees, in this case to Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn.

GOP SENS CALL ON SCHUMER, DEMS TO TAKE UP BORDER BILLS AS THEY TOUT IMMIGRATION VIGILANCE

FBI investigators carry a box of evidence from the perimeter of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Mega for Fox News Digital)

Additionally, the bill led by Scott would require regular reporting from the Secret Service to leaders of the House and Senate on the status of candidates’ protection. Such reports would include threat levels, security measures, costs, amount of personnel assigned and any needs that are unmet. 

On Wednesday, the Secret Service told Fox News Trump actually had the same level of protection on Sunday during the second assassination attempt, as he did when he was president. In fact, they told Fox News that not only had Trump’s security increased from the first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, but that it was part of what helped thwart the attempt on Sunday. 

SECRET SERVICE TOLD LOCALS THEY WOULD ‘TAKE CARE OF’ BUILDING USED BY THOMAS CROOKS TO SHOOT TRUMP

Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. of the U.S. Secret Service addresses the media at a press conference with updates on the investigation into the apparent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Mega for Fox News Digital)

The USSS revealed that President Biden, Trump, and Vice President Kamala Harris are all outfitted with counter snipers, counter assault, counter surveillance, protective intelligence and drone teams. 

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This high level of protection for presidential candidates would be codified by Scott’s bill. 

The House is set to vote on a similar bill, which has gained bipartisan backing in the lower chamber, on Friday. It would also grant major presidential candidates the same protection as sitting presidents.

New data from the Howard University Initiative on Public Opinion offers insight into black voters’ support heading into the 2024 presidential election.

The Howard University poll shows an overwhelming majority of black voters in the seven swing states support Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump.

A whopping 82% of respondents told pollsters that they supported Harris compared to just 12% that backed Trump.

NEW POLL INDICATES WHETHER HARRIS OR TRUMP HAS THE EDGE IN THE MOST IMPORTANT BATTLEGROUND

Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a Fox News Town Hall with Sean Hannity at the New Holland Arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Approximately 5% of respondents indicated they are undecided and the final 1% said they intend to vote for a candidate other than Harris or Trump.

The data shows a significant difference between age groups.

Approximately 89% of black voters over 50-years-old backed Harris, while only 8% backed Trump and 4% backed an alternative candidate.

AMERICANS FAVOR TRUMP ON IMMIGRATION, SUPPORT MASS DEPORTATION OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, POLL FINDS

Among young black voters, the majority still overwhelmingly backed Harris (75%) but support for Trump doubled to 16% and support for alternative candidates shot up to 9%.

This age difference was most obvious among men — men under fifty-years-old broke 72% to 21% in favor of Harris, contrasted against 88% to 10% among men over fifty.

The Howard University poll surveyed black voters over the age of 18 and registered to vote in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

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Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) leadership conference in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The poll was conducted between Sept. 4 and Sept. 11 with a total of 1,000 respondents and a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points.

Individuals were surveyed via landline, cellphone, and text-to-web. 

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — A Haitian community leader in an Ohio town that burst into the national spotlight over longtime residents’ claims about disturbing incidents involving refugees argues that America’s history means the country should be open to taking in more migrants.

“America is a beacon of the world in terms of democracy, where they say that human [rights] have to be respected and where they say that they treat people with respect and dignity,” Viles Dorsainvil, the executive director of Springfield’s Haitian Community Help and Support Center, told Fox News Digital. “I think the American forefathers made that clear, that America should be an open country for everybody.”

The comments come as Springfield, Ohio, which sits about 50 miles west of Columbus, has recently been thrust into the national spotlight, most notably after comments last week by both people on the top of the Republican presidential ticket, former President Trump and running mate Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

“Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country,” Vance wrote in a post on X last week. “Where is our border czar?”

HAITIAN REFUGEES ‘DON’T UNDERSTAND THE LAWS,’ FORMER LAWMAKER SAYS AMID FATAL WRECK, CULTURAL CLASHES

Viles Dorsainvil is the executive director of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center in Springfield, Ohio. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Trump made a similar claim during last week’s debate when answering a question about immigration.

“They’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats,” Trump said. “They’re eating the pets of the people that live there, and this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.”

While the claims about eating pets have yet to be verified and have been fiercely denied by local leaders, many longtime locals have expressed frustrations with the situation in Springfield.

The town, which had previously experienced decades of population decline and had a population of under 60,000 in the 2020 census, has suddenly grown by thousands of Haitian migrants in just a few years, straining resources and causing some tensions between longtime residents and those new to the community.

“We’ve got an influx of folks that have come in, and I think we were a little bit shocked that it was close to 20,000 people in a community of 60,000, and that’s caused some issues between the folks that live here and the folks that are coming in,” former Republican state Rep. Kyle Koehler, who is now running for state senate, told Fox News Digital.

HAITIAN INFLUX CAUSING ONE MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN AMONG SPRINGFIELD RESIDENTS

Rose Groute Creole Restaurant in Springfield, Ohio, is a popular Haitian food establishment that opened in August 2023. (Michael Lee/Fox News Digital)

Locals have especially expressed frustrations over road safety, arguing that immigrants who have no to little experience driving in their home countries have been allowed to take to the streets with ease, causing a dangerous situation on the roads.

“We do have a really abnormal number of car accidents that are happening,” Koehler said. “And it’s not only the number but the severity of them. When you go on a street that is a 35-mile-an-hour speed limit, and there’s a car sitting on its hood, and I’m not talking about one, I’m talking about five or six accidents a week like that, you begin to wonder.”

SPRINGFIELD PASTORS SPEAK OUT ON HAITIAN REFUGEE CHALLENGES: ‘THE SUFFERING IS REAL’

Those tensions seemingly peaked in August 2023 when a bus carrying dozens of local schoolchildren collided with a minivan, injuring more than 20 students and killing one, 11-year-old Aiden Clark.

Dorsainvil acknowledged that the incident increased tension in Springfield, though he expressed optimism that things had “started to get back to normal.” That is until the community was thrust back into the spotlight by Trump and Vance.

Nevertheless, Dorsainvil admitted some tensions do remain in the community.

“There is a group of people who believe that we are here to take away their benefits or whatever belongs to them or take away their job or whatever,” Dorsainvil said, arguing that much of the disconnect between members of his community and longtime locals boils down to cultural differences.

The Haitian community center in Springfield, Ohio, is shown here. (Michael Lee/Fox News Digital)

“This is why … in this nonprofit we work on implementing a cross-cultural education … to put on some events to help Americans understand our culture,” Dorsainvil said. “We have this kind of Q&A from time to time with some American friends and trying to see if we can implement more programs to educate the American friends that we have here. We also have programs to educate Haitians about American culture and what they should do to integrate in the community.”

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But Dorsainvil also stressed that most members of the community have been friendly and welcoming, while local leaders have worked hard to address any tensions in Springfield.

“Officials have been working to address it, and they also have an inclusive approach,” Dorsainvil said. “The city is a welcoming city. We have officials who are willing to work with the immigrants and local leaders as well. … Springfield is a very welcoming city apart from a group of people who believe that we shouldn’t be here.”

Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.

The presidential race begins for thousands of voters today as Wisconsin starts mailing ballots to eligible voters.

With one point separating Vice President Harris and former President Trump in the Badger State, the campaigns are set to spend the next 47 days fighting for every ballot.

Voting begins in some form for many voters in more than half of all states by the end of the month, including Michigan and North Carolina.

Wisconsin is one of the most competitive states this cycle

Wisconsin is one of three Rust Belt states that voted for Trump in 2016, then flipped back to the Democrats in 2020. President Biden won the state by just 20,682 votes or 0.7 points.

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: TRUMP LOSES HIS EDGE AS WE BRACE AGAIN FOR POST-DEBATE IMPACT

Like the other competitive midwestern states, it is defined by its White working class population. Fifty-eight percent of the state’s voters are White without a college degree according to the Fox News Voter Analysis. That is fifteen points higher than the national electorate.

Those voters favored Trump by 11 points in the last presidential cycle, and he will look to build on that margin to put this state back into the GOP’s column.

Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks at a campaign rally in Savannah, Georgia, U.S., August 29, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

For Democrats, the goal is to keep turnout high in the cities and surrounding areas by activating Black and suburban voters. There are highly populated pockets of deep blue vote in Milwaukee and Madison, and the counties that those cities call home make up nearly a quarter of the statewide vote.

Key races in Wisconsin

Wisconsin also has a Senate race and eight U.S. House races on the ballot. The most competitive include:

• Senate: Democratic senator Tammy Baldwin will face Republican banker Eric Hovde as she seeks a third term. The race is ranked Lean D on the Fox News Power Rankings.
• Wisconsin’s 1st district: Republican Rep. Bryan Steil has held this southeastern district including Kenosha since 2019; this time, he’s up against local Democrat Peter Barca. This race is Likely R on the Power Rankings.
• Wisconsin’s 3rd district: GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden was one of a handful of Republicans to flip a seat in the midterms, and his district includes a handful of blue-leaning areas like Eau Claire and La Crosse. He faces Democratic small business owner Rebecca Cooke. This race is also Likely R on the Power Rankings.

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: VOTERS’ APPETITE FOR TICKET-SPLITTING WILL DECIDE THE SENATE

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally held with Republican vice presidential nominee Senator JD Vance, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., August 3, 2024.  REUTERS/Megan Varner

How to vote in Wisconsin

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes, and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the Wisconsin elections website.

Registering to vote

Wisconsin allows voters to register online or by-mail until the end of October 16.

Voters who miss that date can still register by printing, signing and delivering their registration form with proof of evidence to a municipal clerk or a polling place on Election Day. 

RFK JR SUES NORTH CAROLINA TO REMOVE NAME FROM BALLOT BEFORE ELECTION

Voting

Like most states, Wisconsin allows voters to cast an early ballot either in person or by mail, or in person on election day.

Early voting

Voting by mail

Any Wisconsin registered voter can cast an absentee ballot. No excuse is required.

Voters must request an absentee ballot, fill it out with an eligible witness and place it in a signed, sealed certified envelope. Voters can find the full list of steps online.

Ballots can be returned by mail, at a clerk’s office, or at an assigned polling place or absentee counting location on Election Day.

Once a voter submits their ballot, they can track its status online.

Voting in person

Wisconsin also allows voters to cast their absentee ballot at locations such as a clerk’s office or local library starting October 8.

Voting on election day

Voters can also cast a ballot in person on election day at their assigned polling place.

Upcoming early voting dates

With absentee ballots out to a wide group of voters, Wisconsin is the first state to kick off election season in earnest. Alabama and Kentucky started sending ballots to voters who have an excuse to vote by absentee last week.

Tomorrow, Virginia will be the first state to allow its voters to cast a ballot early in-person, and seven more states will make absentee ballots available.

By the end of the month, 26 states and DC will have begun some form of voting.

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For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes, and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the Wisconsin elections website.

The Biden administration’s use of humanitarian parole to bring in migrants through “lawful pathways” as a strategy to end the crisis at the southern border remains under scrutiny amid an ongoing debate about Haitian migration — and as officials reveal how many have been allowed in under the programs.

The Biden administration, as it sought to control a spiraling border crisis last year, expanded two avenues for migrants to enter legally and be paroled into the U.S. One allows migrants to schedule appointments at the ports of entry using the CBP One app, and allows up to 1,450 migrants to enter daily. 

The other is the parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. Under that program, migrants with sponsors can apply for authorization without heading to the border and fly or transport themselves into the U.S. once approved and vetted. Up to 30,000 a month are allowed in under that program.

TRUMP REVEALS NEW PLEDGE AMID HAITIAN REFUGEE CONTROVERY: ‘I WILL SAVE OUR CITIES’

CIUDAD JUAREZ , MEXICO – MAY 23: Migrants wait in line to enter the shelter set up by the authorities for migrants as migrants wait for an appointment through the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) one application in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on May 23, 2023.  ((Photo by Christian Torres Chavez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images))

The administration released statistics on Monday showing that nearly 530,000 nationals from those four countries have been granted parole through the end of August 2024.

That is after the program was briefly suspended in July after an internal report found multiple instances of fraud from sponsors offering support to migrants coming in on the program. DHS announced last month that it had resumed processing of authorizations after it implemented new safeguards.

The fraud discovery led to fresh calls from Republicans for the administration to shut down the program. Republicans have said that the Biden administration’s use of parole is unlawful, saying it is in breach of the law — which limits the use of parole to a “case by case” basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.

DHS has defended its use of parole, and has said it has been tied to a sharp drop in encounters when used.

“All CHNV beneficiaries continue to be thoroughly screened and vetted by CBP prior to their arrival to the United States and must meet other eligibility criteria authorization to travel to the United States in a safe, orderly, and lawful way once they purchase their own commercial airline tickets,” Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said on Monday.

“Since DHS has implemented these safe, orderly and lawful processes, encounters of CHNV nationals in between POEs are down 99%,” the statement said.

Separately, CBP says that approximately 813,000 individuals have scheduled appointments to be paroled into ports of entry using the CBP One app. In August, there were 44,700 appointments made. 

BIDEN ADMIN RESTARTS CONTROVERSIAL MIGRANT FLIGHT PROGRAM WITH ADDITIONAL VETTING AFTER FRAUD REVELATIONS 

WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 17: U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, is interviewed by David Rubenstein, co-founder of Carlyle Group Inc, during an Economic Club of Washington event at the Marriott Marquis Hotel on May 17, 2024 in Washington, DC.  ((Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images))

It means that more than 1.3 million have been paroled in via the two programs since they began less than two years ago.

Those who are brought in are vetted, and are then allowed to stay for up to two years and can work in the U.S. But multiple Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sources have told Fox News that they do not have the workforce or resources to find and deport such a large population of people if they overstay.

ICE FINDS, ARRESTS HAITIAN MIGRANT WHO WAS RELEASED ON $500 BOND AFTER BEING CHARGED WITH RAPING CHILD IN MA

The administration says that its strategy of expanding lawful pathways while implementing “consequences” for illegal entry has led to a sharp decrease in encounters at the southern border. There were 107,503 encounters at the border in August, down from 232,963 in August last year. Encounters have dropped by more than 50% since June, when President Biden signed an executive order that limited arrivals across the border when encounters reach a certain level. Officials have urged Congress to provide more funding and broader reforms to help fix what it says is a “broken system.”

President Joe Biden withdrew from his re-election bid in late July, endorsing Vice President Harris as his replacement. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“CBP continues to enforce the Securing the Border interim final rule and deliver strong consequences for illegal entry, and encounters between ports of entry remain at their lowest level in years,” acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller said in a statement on Monday.

But the use of parole has come under fresh scrutiny not just due to the discovery of fraud in the CHNV program, but also due to the debate over the surge of Haitian migrants into towns like Springfield, Ohio, where 12-15,000 migrants have moved in recent years into the town of just over 60,000.

The use of parole was criticized by House Republicans in a report on Wednesday, obtained first by Fox News Digital, which accused the administration of having “wantonly flouted this law by granting parole to millions of illegal aliens and creating parole programs for various nationality groups, neither of which are consistent with the law.”

DHS has consistently defended its use of parole, and won a case against a coalition of Republican-led states challenging the law in March.

“These processes — a safe and orderly way to reach the United States — have resulted in a significant reduction in the number of these individuals encountered at our southern border,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. “It is a key element of our efforts to address the unprecedented level of migration throughout our hemisphere, and other countries around the world see it as a model to tackle the challenge of increased irregular migration that they too are experiencing.”

Additionally, there have been a number of crimes allegedly committed by those brought in via parole, including a Haitian migrant accused of molesting a boy in Massachusetts. Meanwhile, Mexico last week put out a video of buses transporting migrants with CBP One appointments to the U.S. border. Former President Trump this week also renewed his pledge to end the CBP One app and the various uses of parole by the Biden administration.

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“As President I will immediately end the migrant invasion of America,” Trump said in a social media post on Sunday.

“We will stop all migrant flights, end all illegal entries, terminate the Kamala phone app for smuggling illegals (CBP One App), revoke deportation immunity, suspend refugee resettlement, and return Kamala’s illegal migrants to their home countries (also known as remigration),” he said.

Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., described the level to which the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service have prevented the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) from obtaining crucial materials to investigate the failures that led to the assassination attempts against former President Trump.

“Things like the autopsy report, you know, the House has it under subpoena. We don’t have it,” he told reporters. 

“[The] toxicology report; we don’t have any of the trajectory reports. So, where’d the bullets go? We don’t even know how they handled the crime scene,” said Johnson, ranking member of the HSGAC Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI).

GOP SENS CALL ON SCHUMER, DEMS TO TAKE UP BORDER BILLS AS THEY TOUT IMMIGRATION VIGILANCE

Sen. Ron Johnson, right, described the specific requests that have yet to produce results from the Secret Service and FBI. Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe is pictured on left. (Reuters)

The senator pointed to the amount of time that has passed since the July 13 assassination attempt against Trump, noting, “There’s just basic information we should have right now, and we don’t have it.” 

“We haven’t been able to interview the sniper who took out [Thomas] Crooks,” Johnson said. Crooks is the would-be assassin that, during the July 13 rally in Pennsylvania, opened fire, grazing the former president’s ear, killing a rally attendee and critically injuring two others. 

According to the Republican, the sniper who shot Crooks was the first person he wanted to interview. 

SECRET SERVICE TOLD LOCALS THEY WOULD ‘TAKE CARE OF’ BUILDING USED BY THOMAS CROOKS TO SHOOT TRUMP

Thomas Matthew Crooks (DJ Laughery (background))

Further, he said they hadn’t been provided any FD-302 forms by the FBI, which are used to investigate through results of interviews. Johnson pointed out that FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate told him during a hearing in July that the bureau would provide the forms as soon as they could.

“I haven’t gotten one,” he said. 

“They’ve done 1,000 interviews. We’ve done 12,” the senator said.

‘AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE’: SENATE REPUBLICANS CONDEMN PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY’S UN BID TO UNDERMINE ISRAEL

Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office, Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. of the U.S. Secret Service, and Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office attend a press conference on Monday, the day after an apparent assassination attempt on former President Trump in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The Wisconsin Republican said the lack of information is consistent with slow-walking. 

He also said that a recent briefing to the chairs and ranking members of both HSGAC and PSI from Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe did not provide the senators with any new information. 

Johnson described that the few documents which had been provided to the lawmakers were “heavily redacted.” 

“And in this case, unusually. I’ve never seen this,” he remarked of the redactions. 

TOP SENATE DEMOCRAT ‘ANGRY’ OVER BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN ‘STONEWALLING’ AFTER TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS

Former President Trump was injured during an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Noting that it wasn’t his “first rodeo,” Johnson recalled that redactions are normally black, blocking out certain parts of text. “These are just whiteouts.”

“So, I don’t know. Was it just a single word?” he asked. 

He said in some cases it wasn’t evident whether something had been obscured in the documents or not due to the white redactions. 

“That’s the level of opacity that we’re getting in terms of their lack of cooperation with our investigation,” Johnson added. 

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The Secret Service has reiterated that it is cooperating with Congress’ investigations despite bipartisan outcry and accusations of “stonewalling.”

In a comment to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the Secret Service said, “The U.S. Secret Service is cooperating with a wide range of reviews and investigations related to the attempted assassination on Former President Donald Trump. This includes multiple Congressional investigations, including inquiries by the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in the Senate, and a special bipartisan task force in the House of Representatives.”

“Since July 13, we have provided more than 2,800 pages of responsive documentation to these entities and have made our employees available for interviews as requested. On Sept. 12, Acting Director Ron Rowe briefed members of U.S. House and Senate committees regarding the agency’s mission assurance investigation. Given the volume of requests, the jurisdiction of requesters, and the finite capacity of resources and staff to respond, the U.S. Secret Service is prioritizing our responses to those listed above.”

The mother of a woman allegedly murdered by an illegal immigrant from El Salvador gave emotional testimony to lawmakers Wednesday about the moment she found out about her daughter’s death while testifying that U.S. borders are “not safe.”

Patty Morin, whose daughter Rachel was killed last year in Maryland, testified at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on the border crisis.

Police found Rachel’s body stuffed in a culvert and, after a months-long investigation, identified her suspected killer as an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who is also accused of murder in his home country and raping a mother and her 9-year-old daughter in Los Angeles.

“It was such a complete shock to our whole family. It took ten months for them to find this suspected illegal immigrant,” she told lawmakers.

TOP HOUSE COMMITTEE SHREDS BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN ON BORDER CRISIS IN NEW REPORT: ‘ASSAULT ON THE RULE OF LAW’ 

Patty Morin, whose daughter was murdered, testifies during a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing at the U.S. Capitol Sept. 18, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

“An illegal immigrant that was a gotaway from El Salvador had waited for her on the trail. I was told that they grabbed her, dragged her through the woods, raped her, strangled her, murdered her. We were told that her body was blanketed in bruises. And I can tell you from looking at her when I went to the funeral home that it was probably the most graphic thing that I’ve ever seen,” she said.

The hearing, “A Country Without Borders: How Biden-Harris’ Open-Borders Policies Have Undermined Our Safety and Security,” saw lawmakers trade barbs over who was responsible for the crisis at the border, which saw a historic number of migrants hit the border and a number of criminals released into the U.S. as part of that wave.

Ahead of the hearing, Republicans released a report slamming the Biden administration’s policies and blaming it for the crisis and the consequences that followed.

Rachel Morin was dragged off a hiking trail Aug. 5, 2023, and brutally murdered.  (Family handout)

“As we continue to witness Biden and Harris’ resistance to doing anything meaningful about this disaster, we have to ask — why? Why did they let this crisis take place and why have they let it continue,” Chairman Mark Green told the committee.

BIDEN-HARRIS BORDER CRISIS: VICTIMS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIME TESTIFY IN HOUSE HEARING

While Republicans blame the Biden administration for the crisis, the administration and Democrats say it is the fault of Congress for failing to pass broader immigration reforms to fix a “broken” system and provide additional funding. They have pointed, in particular, to a bipartisan Senate bill to provide more funding and limits on asylum entries. Republicans refused to back that bill, saying it would codify high numbers at the border.

With that stalling, President Biden signed an order limiting entries into the U.S. in June. The administration says that has led to a sharp drop in encounters at the border since then.

“While you probably won’t hear it from those on the other side, border encounters are at their lowest level in years since the president’s proclamation on June 4, and encounters along the border and ports of entry have decreased by 55%, with Border Patrol recording the lowest number of border encounters since September 2020,” ranking member Bennie Thompson said.

He also scolded Republicans for not backing the Senate bill.

TRUMP MEETS WITH RACHEL MORIN FAMILY AT BORDER

“At the direction of former President Trump, Republicans blocked the Senate bipartisan border deal, and they are refusing to move necessary border security funding. Republicans don’t want border security solutions. They want a political issue,” he said.

But Morin had a warning for Americans watching the hearing. 

“They say that the borders are safe. We live 1,800 miles away from the southern border. They’re not safe. They’re not safe. If you have a sanctuary city in your state, you’re not safe,” Morin warned.

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Fox News’ Michael Ruiz contributed to this report. 

More than 150 House Democrats voted against a bill that would deport illegal immigrants convicted of a sexual offense or conspiracy to commit such a crime.

The Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act passed the House of Representatives along bipartisan lines on Wednesday. All present Republicans voted for the bill, as did 51 Democratic lawmakers. The measure passed 266 to 158.

Among the Democrats who voted for the bill are Reps. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska; Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez, D-Wash.; Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla.; and Hillary Scholten, D-Mich.

Two of the Democrats who voted for it are seeking higher office — Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., is running for Senate, and Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., is running for governor.

In addition to deporting migrants convicted of sex crimes, the legislation would also deem illegal immigrants who admit to domestic violence or sex-related charges — or are convicted of them — to be inadmissible in the U.S.

EX-BORDER CHIEF WARNS OF ‘SIGNIFICANT THREAT’ AS MIGRANT NUMBERS SKYROCKET: ‘ENTIRE SECTORS’ MISSING AGENTS

The House of Representatives passed a bill to deport migrants convicted of sex crimes. (Getty Images)

It’s part of a wider legislative push by the House GOP to spotlight issues stemming from the border crisis, which has for months affected cities and states across the country.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital hours before the vote that she “100%” anticipated Democrats voting against her bill.

“If you vote against it, you’re sexist against women,” Mace declared.

“I mean, truly, because we’re talking about illegals who are here who are committing domestic violence, rape and murder on women and children — they’ve gotta go. They shouldn’t be allowed into our country.”

GERMANY CLAMPS DOWN ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AS COUNTRY FORCED TO RETHINK POLICIES AMID VOTER ANGER

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced the bill earlier this year. (Reuters/Mike Segar)

Democrats have panned the bill as xenophobic, however.

“Here we are again, debating another partisan bill that fear mongers about immigrants, instead of working together to fix the immigration system,” Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said during debate on the bill.

“I probably shouldn’t be too surprised. Scapegoating immigrants and attempting to weaponize the crime of domestic violence is appearing to be a time-honored tradition for Republicans.”

TOP HOUSE COMMITTEE RAMPS UP PRESSURE TO OBTAIN ‘IMPORTANT’ DOCS ON HARRIS’ ROLE IN BORDER CRISIS 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has put a heavy emphasis on the border crisis. (Getty Images)

Despite the wider pushback, however, GOP efforts to highlight the border crisis have gotten modest Democratic support.

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House Republicans previously passed a bill to detain and deport migrants convicted of assaulting law enforcement with the help of 54 Democrats — while 148 lawmakers voted against the measure.

Meanwhile, the GOP-backed Laken Riley Act, named after an Augusta University nursing student who was allegedly killed by an illegal immigrant, netted support from 37 House Democrats.

New video of U.S. troops being shot at overseas contradicts Vice President Kamala Harris’ claim the U.S. does not have troops in an active combat zone, according to Rep. Jim Banks.

The harrowing footage shows a firestorm of bullets and explosives targeting U.S. troops and was taken within the last “few months,” according to the Indiana Republican, who obtained it from a service member. 

The time and place of the footage cannot be divulged due to national security concerns. 

During her debate with former President Trump last week, Harris boasted of the Biden administration’s efforts to get U.S. troops out of war zones like Afghanistan.

MILITARY EXPERTS REJECT HARRIS CLAIM OF ‘NO US SOLDIERS IN COMBAT ZONES’ 

“There is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world, the first time this century,” she claimed. 

U.S. troops stand in formation on Memorial Day 2024 in Iraq, a designated combat zone. (U.S. Army)

“That is just a complete lie,” Banks told Fox News Digital. “This video proves that we have troops being fired on.”

“Without a doubt,” U.S. troops are being fired at regularly, added Banks, an Afghanistan veteran and Armed Services Committee member. 

“We have troops currently in Syria. We still have troops in Iraq. We have troops in the Middle East. The Houthis are using our Navy ships as target practice. We have dangerous threats around the world, and Kamala Harris is trying to score cheap political points and lie to the American people right before the election to say that we don’t have troops in combat zones,” Banks said. 

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Iraq and Syria are designated combat zones, and troops that serve there earn combat pay. The U.S. has about 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria. The Defense Department is in talks about a plan to pull Americans out of Iraq beginning next year.

In an operation last month, U.S. troops and Iraqi forces killed a senior commander with the Islamic State, in addition to several other prominent militants, for a total 14 ISIS operatives. 

U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., arrives for a House Republican members meeting as the conference continues to debate the race for speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol Oct. 19, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Five U.S. troops were wounded in the raid itself and two were injured from falls during the operation. 

The Islamic State group seized territory at the height of its power and declared a caliphate over swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014. It was defeated in Iraq in 2017, but attacks by ISIS sleeper cells across Iraq and Syria have been on the rise over the past few years. 

A soldier from the U.S.-led coalition gestures toward schoolchildren during a joint U.S.- Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces patrol in the countryside of Qamishli in northeastern Syria Feb. 8, 2024. (Reuters/Orhan Qereman)

The Pentagon told Fox News Digital that service members are stationed in various dangerous locations but noted that those deployments are made by the executive branch and not due to wars declared by Congress.

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“An aspect of military service includes serving in locations where hostile actions may occur,” a defense official said. “Those locations are designated by executive order and/or the secretary of defense.

“However, it’s important to note that just because a service member is in one of these locations does not mean they are engaged in war,” the official added. “The U.S. is not currently engaged in a war and does not have troops fighting in active war zones anywhere in the world.”

With fewer than 47 days until the November election, Vice President Harris and former President Trump are tied with likely voters in Pennsylvania, which could be the state to decide the contest on Election Day. 

Trump and Harris each garnered 49% of likely voters in the Keystone State, per a new Marist Poll. 

Furthermore, 90% of likely voters who said they had a candidate preference also reported strongly supporting them. 

GOP SENS CALL ON SCHUMER, DEMS TO TAKE UP BORDER BILLS AS THEY TOUT IMMIGRATION VIGILANCE

A new poll shows former President Trump and Vice President Harris tied in battleground Pennsylvania. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

“Pennsylvania is attracting the most attention of the Rust Belt states from the presidential candidates and with good reason,” said Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. “It’s the biggest prize in the region and the most competitive. Winning Pennsylvania doesn’t guarantee the White House, but it goes a long way.”

In two other so-called “blue wall” states, Michigan and Wisconsin, Harris topped Trump in the survey. 

The vice president is up five points in Michigan, 52% to Trump’s 47%. However, the margin is razor-thin in Wisconsin, where she only beat him by one point, 50% to 49%. 

According to Miringoff, “of the three so-called blue wall states, Michigan is the one where there is a difference between Harris and Trump.”

SECRET SERVICE TOLD LOCALS THEY WOULD ‘TAKE CARE OF’ BUILDING USED BY THOMAS CROOKS TO SHOOT TRUMP

Republican presidential nominee former President Trump laughs while responding to a question from a reporter in Howell, Mich.  (Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

“The Michigan vote is being driven by Trump’s high negatives with Vance certainly providing no help for the GOP ticket,” Miringoff added, referencing the 53% of Michigan likely voters that view Trump unfavorably. 

Inflation was the top issue for most Pennsylvanians by far, with one-third saying so. Despite it being a campaign priority for Democrats across the country, abortion was the fourth most likely to be a top issue for voters, at just 11%. It was beaten by immigration at 15%, and preserving democracy, which garnered 27%. 

The top issue breakdown among Wisconsin voters was similar to that of Pennsylvania, but in Michigan, the issue of preserving Democracy proved to be the most important for the greatest number of voters. 

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Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally in Pittsburgh, Pa. (Getty Images)

At 30%, the most likely Michigan voters cited it as such. Inflation was close behind, at 29%. Immigration followed at 15%, while abortion received 10%. 

In all three states, an at least 20-point gender gap exists between Harris and Trump, with men breaking more often for the former president and women tending to choose Harris. 

GOP DEMANDS TRUMP HAVE ‘SAME LEVEL’ SECRET SERVICE PROTECTION AS BIDEN AFTER 2ND ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

People vote in Madison, Wis., during the 2022 elections. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

While the gap exists for both of them, Trump’s woes with women seem to loom larger than Harris’ issue with men. Trump’s gap is particularly wide with women in Michigan, where Harris leads him by the most. In the state, the distance between Harris and Trump among likely women voters is 15 points. 

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The close polls come as Trump seems to be losing his edge in two critical states, according to the most recent Fox News Power Rankings. Both North Carolina and Georgia, which were once considered Republican strongholds, are now rated toss-ups in the presidential race. 

With these presidential race shifts by Fox News Power Rankings, Harris has taken the overall lead in the forecast for the first time. 

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

House Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan to avert a partial government shutdown failed on Wednesday. 

It was voted down 202 to 220, with two Republicans – Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky. – voting “present.”

At least nine Republicans voted against House GOP leadership’s bill, a six-month extension of the current year’s federal funding levels coupled with a measure to require proof of citizenship in the voter registration process.

Three Democrats voted in support of the measure – Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., and Don Davis, D-N.C.

The bill began hemorrhaging support soon after Johnson rolled it out during a conference call with House Republicans earlier this month – to the frustration of the majority of the House GOP.

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U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is pictured in front of the U.S. Capitol. (Getty Images/AP)

A significant number of Republicans object to a stop-gap spending patch called a continuing resolution (CR) on principle – believing it to be an unnecessary extension of government bloat.

National security hawks expressed concern about the impact of a six-month funding extension on military readiness without added funds to keep up with rising costs.

The discord has caused tensions to run high within the House GOP.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a vocal supporter of the bill and author of the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, said of fellow Republicans: “I would dare any one of my colleagues who are against this plan, come forward with a better plan that we will actually be able to move, pass, and unite the Republican Party to go beat Democrats.”

“Don’t predict failure and then be the reason why we fail – and that’s what some of my friends are doing, unfortunately,” Roy said on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” program. 

Johnson allies have also pointed out that this plan would be a strong opening salvo in a negotiation with the Democrat-controlled Senate on government funding – the speaker himself has repeatedly said the SAVE Act is worth fighting for.

JOHNSON UNVEILS TRUMP-BACKED HOUSE GOP PLAN TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, SETS UP BATTLE WITH SCHUMER

Rep. Chip Roy is one of the strongest advocates for Johnson’s plan. (Getty Images)

Both Republican and Democratic leaders have conceded a CR is necessary to give congressional negotiators more time past the Oct. 1 deadline to hash out fiscal year 2025’s priorities.

Democrats, however, have called for a “clean” CR free from conservative policy riders. And senior lawmakers in both parties argued that a CR through December is the best course of action to allow Congress to reevaluate after the election.

Johnson has repeatedly insisted he had no “plan B” beyond Wednesday’s vote. He said as much to GOP lawmakers in a closed-door Wednesday morning meeting, two sources told Fox News Digital.

MCCARTHY’S ‘FINAL STRUGGLES’ THREATEN TO HAUNT JOHNSON’S GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN FIGHT

But with his initial plan defeated, Johnson is now caught between two warring Republican factions – one that wants him to leverage a partial government shutdown, and one that is reluctantly conceding that the House GOP could be left with no choice but to pass a “clean” CR into December.

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump, who initially backed the six-month CR plus SAVE Act plan, more recently advocated for congressional Republicans to shut down the government if they did not get “absolute assurances on election security.”

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a town hall meeting moderated by Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan, on September 17, 2024.  (JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

A majority of Republicans, however, are publicly and privately conceding that they would bear the brunt of public anger over a government shutdown weeks before Election Day.

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Vulnerable Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., insisted to reporters on Wednesday morning that “there’s not going to be a shutdown.”

When asked directly about Trump’s insistence, Lawler answered, “I’m not shutting the government down. My colleagues aren’t shutting the government down.”

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Standing in front of a packed arena on New York’s Long Island, former President Donald Trump predicted victory in November in the reliably blue state.

“It hasn’t been done for a long time. But we are going to win New York. And that’s the first time in many, many years that a Republican can honestly say it. And we’re going to do it,” Trump vowed.

“We have to do it. We do it, and the election nationwide is over,” Trump added as he spoke to what his campaign said was a capacity crowd of roughly 16,000 people packed into an arena in Nassau County, a suburban New York City Republican stronghold.

Trump made a similar pledge four years ago before losing his native state to President Biden by over 23 points. And polling strongly suggests that Trump has no serious chance of carrying New York in his 2024 election showdown with Vice President Kamala Harris.

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Former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, headlines a rally at the Nassau Coliseum, in Uniondale, New York on Sept. 18, 2024 (Fox News – Julia Bonavita )

It’s been 40 years since a Republican nominee has carried New York state in a presidential election. 

You have to go back to President Ronald Reagan, who won the state as part of his landslide re-election victory in 1984.

Trump promised New Yorkers that if he wins back the White House, “I’m going to reduce your taxes, reduce your crime, and reduce your levels of stress.”

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLL SHOWS IN THE HARRIS-TRUMP SHOWDOWN

And the former president pledged that during a second Trump term, “I will officially make the Ground Zero site at the World Trade Center a national monument protected and maintained by the United States government.”

Wednesday’s rally was Trump’s second large campaign event this year in the Empire State, after drawing a big crowd in the New York City borough of the Bronx in May. 

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

While there was some chatter of New York potentially being in play as President Biden’s poll numbers started cratering following his disastrous late-June debate performance against Trump, the conversation was fleeting and quickly dissipated when Harris replaced Biden atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket two months ago.

So why — with less than 50 days to go until Election Day and time becoming a very precious commodity — did Trump hold a campaign rally just outside of New York City?

“Quite clearly, New York is the biggest media hub in the country,” Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh told Fox News on the eve of the rally.

Murtaugh emphasized that “when [Trump] delivers a message there, it’s piped directly into homes in every market in every battleground state. The most valuable commodity we have is President Trump’s time. And that event is making efficient use of it.”

DOES TRUMP OR HARRIS HAVE THE EDGE IN THESE KEY BATTLEGROUNDS?

While Trump is extremely unlikely to carry New York in the White House race, the rally may help Republicans down-ballot, as they try to hold on to their House of Representatives majority in November’s elections.

Several GOP-controlled House seats in New York state are considered vulnerable this year, including one held by Rep. Anthony D’Esposito of Long Island. A number of them were at the rally and spoke ahead of Trump. And the former president gave the House Republicans and congressional candidates shoutouts as he addressed the crowd.

D’Esposito, in an interview with Fox News’ Bryan Ilenas, said “it is very clear – perhaps New York is not a battleground state, but what there is – is there’s a battleground right here on Long Island. And when Trump wins on Election Night, he is going to need a House majority and that House majority runs through the Empire State.”

Trump’s rally was his first since this past weekend’s apparent second assassination attempt against the former president, and the 78-year-old GOP nominee insisted that the incidents had “hardened my resolve.”

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“These encounters with death have not broken my will,” he emphasized. “They have really given me a much bigger and stronger mission. They’ve only hardened my resolve to use my time on Earth to make America great again for all Americans, to put America first.”

And Trump said that “God has now spared my life — it must have been God, thank you — not once but twice.”

Fox News’ Jennifer Johnson contributed to this report

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

In an effort to “sow discord and shape the outcome of U.S. elections”, Iranian cyber actors sent messages during the summer to people involved in President Biden’s then re-election campaign containing stolen material from former President Trump’s campaign, U.S. agencies said.

“Iranian malicious cyber actors in late June and early July sent unsolicited emails to individuals then associated with President Biden’s campaign that contained an excerpt taken from stolen, non-public material from former President Trump’s campaign as text in the emails,” the FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a joint statement on Wednesday. 

The agencies noted that there is currently no information indicating if recipients replied to the messages.

IRAN TRYING TO SABOTAGE TRUMP’S PRESIDNETIAL CAMPAIGN: US INTELLIGENCE

U.S. intelligence officials believe Iran is meddling in the 2024 election. (Getty Images)

The U.S. intelligence agencies also alleged that Iran has continued their election interference since June and has sent stolen Trump campaign material to U.S. media organizations.

“Furthermore, Iranian malicious cyber actors have continued their efforts since June to send stolen, non-public material associated with former President Trump’s campaign to U.S. media organizations,” they said.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei delivers remarks on Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran Nuclear Issue in 2015 between five permanent members of United Nations Security Council, Germany and Iran on February 17, 2021 in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Leader Press Office / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The agencies said that the continued election interference from Iran is to “stoke discord and undermine confidence in our electoral process.”

“As the lead for threat response, the FBI has been tracking this activity, has been in contact with the victims, and will continue to investigate and gather information in order to pursue and disrupt the threat actors responsible,” they said. “Foreign actors are increasing their election influence activities as we approach November.”

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Iran is not the only foreign adversary accused of meddling with the 2024 presidential election. On July 10, ODNI officials called Russia the “preeminent threat” to the election.