NationalWatch

The Harris campaign dodged answering questions about why Gov. Tim Walz did not complete the required coursework to retire from the Army National Reserves with the high-ranking title of command sergeant major – a rank he’s repeatedly claimed having attained despite retiring as a master sergeant.

Walz served 24 years with the Army National Guard, retiring in 2005 after he and his battalion were deployed to Italy in 2003 to support U.S. operations in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. After returning from Italy, Walz was promoted to the command sergeant major rank, but he did not complete coursework with the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy to retain the rank in retirement. Walz instead retired as a master sergeant, one rank below command sergeant major.

Fox News Digital reached out to both the Harris campaign and Walz’s gubernatorial office to ask why Walz did not complete coursework with the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy before retiring from the Minnesota National Guard in 2005, and both did not provide comment to explain the decision.

Instead, the Harris campaign directed Fox Digital to a Minnesota Public Radio article from 2018, when a public affairs officer for the Minnesota National Guard told the outlet that “it is legitimate for Walz to say he served as a command sergeant major.”

FORMER LEADER OF WALZ’S BATTALION PUBLISHES SCATHING MESSAGE AIMED AT GOVERNOR’S MILITARY CAREER: REPORT

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File)

“[The public affairs officer] said the rank changed because Walz retired before completing coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy along with other requirements associated with his promotion,” the article explained. 

Fox News Digital again asked the campaign for comment as to why Walz did not complete the course work but did not receive a follow-up reply. 

WALZ ACCUSATIONS OF ‘STOLEN VALOR’ PROMPT BATTLE BETWEEN HOUSE VETERANS

Last week, the Harris campaign updated its biography for Walz to omit a reference that he is a “retired Command Sergeant Major,” correcting the bio to show Walz “served as a command sergeant major.”

Walz’s military record with the Army National Guard has come under increasing scrutiny since last week, when Vice President Harris named the Minnesota governor as her 2024 presidential running mate. After the announcement, veterans began sounding off on social media and to the media with criticisms of Walz’s “stolen valor.”

Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, attend a campaign rally in Las Vegas on Aug. 10, 2024. (RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP via Getty Images)

Walz has previously publicly used language suggesting that he deployed to war zones during his 24 years of service with the Army National Guard, including that he would like to ban the kind of guns he had “carried in war” and describing himself as a retired command sergeant major. Walz was never deployed to a combat zone in his decades of service. 

The Harris campaign said last week that Walz “misspoke” when he claimed he carried firearms “in war.” 

JD VANCE ACCUSES TIM WALZ OF ‘LYING’ ABOUT MILITARY SERVICE: ‘STOLEN VALOR GARBAGE’

“In making the case for why weapons of war should never be on our streets or in our classrooms, the Governor misspoke,” campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt told the media. “He did handle weapons of war and believes strongly that only military members trained to carry those deadly weapons should have access to them, unlike Donald Trump and JD Vance who prioritize the gun lobby over our children.”

Media pundits took to social media with thoughts on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Walz retired ahead of his unit – 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery – deploying to Iraq in 2005, and he launched a successful congressional run in Minnesota. Walz served in the U.S. House from 2007 until 2019, when he launched his campaign for Minnesota governor. He is currently serving his second term as the Gopher State’s governor. 

VP KAMALA HARRIS PICKING GOV TIM WALZ AS RUNNING MATE MET WITH MEDIA SCORN: ‘SUCH A WEIRD CHOICE’

“Walz left the National Guard in May 2005 after 24 years of service. His unit was not given deployment orders to Iraq until July. He had put his retirement papers in 5-7 months prior to his retirement in May,” the Minnesota National Guard said in a statement last week as questions mounted around Walz’s military career.

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“Second, there are questions about whether he served in OEF. His battalion was sent to Europe, in his case Vicenza to train units in artillery – his specialty was artillery. If you are deployed overseas in support of OEF according to the National Guard you officially served in OEF, whether you touched foot in Afghanistan or not. That is in his official military service record below,” the statement added.

After a tough summer at the ballot box for members of the so-called “Squad,” the group of progressive and diverse House Democrats is facing its final intraparty challenge on Tuesday as four states in the Midwest and New England hold primary elections.

Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota faces voters one week after her fellow Squad member, Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, lost her bid for re-nomination and nearly two months after another Squad member, Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York, fell to his primary challenger.

But Omar, who made history as the first Somali American in Congress and the first woman of color to represent Minnesota on Capitol Hill, is the favorite as she faces three primary challengers in the Democrat primary. Omar is seeking a fourth two-year term representing the Minneapolis-anchored 5th Congressional District.

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKING IN THE 2024 ELECTION

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)

Bush and Bowman faced well-funded challengers and millions in outside spending by United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. While Omar is also a very vocal critic of Israel, she hasn’t been targeted by any ads from the United Democracy Project.

And Omar is considered to be in a much better political position than she was two years ago when she narrowly defeated Don Samuels, who for a second straight cycle is her top challenger.

But Samuels, in an interview Monday on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” said he’s seen a surge in his fundraising and in volunteers to his campaign in the week since Bush’s defeat. And he said Omar is “divisive and combative. She picks a side including, simply trying to divide her, her constituency, and ignores the other side.”

Minnesota’s primary comes a week after Vice President Harris named the state’s governor, Gov. Tim Walz, as her running mate on the Democrat 2024 ticket. And an old clip of Walz praising Omar has gone viral in recent days.

Vice President Harris greets Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in Eau Claire, Wis., on Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Arguably the highest-profile Squad member, three-term Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, easily crushed her primary challenger in June.

The only other Squad member with a primary yet to come this cycle is Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, who is unchallenged in her September contest.

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Sen. Amy Klobuchar is the overwhelming favorite in a five-candidate Democrat Senate primary as she seeks a fourth six-year term representing Minnesota in the chamber. Eight candidates are running in the GOP Senate primary.

In neighboring Wisconsin, Democrat Sen. Tammy Baldwin is unopposed in her party’s primary as she seeks a third term. Republican businessman Eric Hovde, a real estate developer who’s loaned his campaign $13 million and who is backed by former President Trump, faces nominal opposition in the GOP primary.

Two Democrats are running in their party’s primary in western Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, with the winner taking on Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden, a staunch Trump ally, in November.

And in northeast Wisconsin’s heavily red 8th Congressional District, all eyes are on the GOP primary in the race to fill the seat of former Rep. Mike Gallagher, who left Congress in April. Taking place alongside the primary is a special election for the remainder of Gallagher’s current term, which expires at the end of the year.

In Connecticut, the spotlight is on Republican primaries to challenge two longtime Democrat members of Congress: Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Jim Himes.

In Vermont, two Democrats are vying for their party’s gubernatorial nomination, with the winner challenging Republican Gov. Phil Scott in November.

Scott, a moderate Republican and GOP Trump critic, is unopposed in his party’s primary as he seeks a fifth two-year term steering Vermont. Even though Vermont is a reliably blue state. Scott remains popular and grabbed nearly 70% of the vote in his 2022 re-election.

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

Former President Donald Trump spoke with tech billionaire Elon Musk in an overarching, lengthy interview Monday evening on X as Vice President Kamala Harris continues avoiding the media since landing on the top of the Democratic ticket for the White House. 

“It’s pretty sad when you think that somebody that does this for a living can’t answer a question or is afraid to do an interview, and in her case, with a very friendly interview. She’s got all friendly interviewers,” Trump said of Harris Monday evening during his roughly two-hour interview with Musk on X Space. 

Trump’s comments come as Harris has avoided the media for 22 days. She has snubbed formal press conferences or sit-down interviews, including for a Time magazine cover story, since she emerged as the DNC’s nominee for the White House after President Biden dropped out of the race last month. 

“She is considered more liberal, by far, than Bernie Sanders. She’s a radical-left lunatic. And if she’s going to be our president, very quickly you’re not going to have a country anymore. And she’ll go back to all the things that she believes in. She believes in defunding the police. She believes in no fracking, zero,” Trump added of Harris. 

KAMALA HARRIS DECLINES TIME MAGAZINE INTERVIEW AS SHE CONTINUES TO AVOID THE PRESS

Donald Trump Elon Musk (Getty Images)

Trump’s interview with Musk kicked off after 8:30 p.m. Monday, following a “massive” distributed denial-of-service attack on the platform that caused delays, Musk explained on X. More than 1 million people ultimately listened to the interview according to the live tracker throughout the discussion. 

X MELTS DOWN AFTER TRUMP-MUSK’S INTERVIEW ‘SPACE’ IMMEDIATELY CRASHES

The two held a laid back interview, where Musk prompted Trump with topics before the 45th president was offered ample time to elaborate on policy issues such as immigration, the assassination attempt on his life last month, spiraling inflation and closing the Department of Education in favor of states taking the mantle on school systems. 

Vice President Kamala Harris says her cursing habit has gotten worse since she entered office.  (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

“I want to close up Department of Education, move education back to the states. … Of the 50 [states], I would bet that 35 would do great. And 15 of them, or, you know, 20 of them, will be as good as Norway. You know, Norway is considered great,” Trump said, while noting left-wing states such as California could struggle if he does eliminate the DOE. 

The 45th president also spoke at length with Musk about the current state of immigration in the U.S. 

“I believe it’s over 20 million people came into our country. Many coming from jails, from prisons, from mental institutions, or a bigger version of that is insane asylums. And many are terrorists. And I’ll tell you what, they’re coming not just from South America. They’re coming from Africa. They’re coming from all over the world. They’re coming from Asia. They’re coming from the Middle East,” Trump told Musk, who endorsed Trump earlier this year. 

Trump said that despite Harris’ recent rhetoric to address the spiraling migrant crisis at the border, she and Biden have had years to address migration but “won’t do anything.” 

“She had three and a half years, and by the way, they have another five months that they can do something. But they won’t do anything. It’s all talk. She’s incompetent and he’s incompetent. And frankly, I think that she’s more incompetent than he is, and that’s saying something, because he’s not too good,” he said. 

On the topic of immigration, Trump also credited a slide his campaign made showing immigration stats for saving his life in Butler, Pennsylvania, last month during a rally, when shooter Thomas Crooks attempted to assassinate him. The 45th president looked over to the slide on immigration data when Crooks opened fire, which narrowly saved his life as the position of his head had abruptly changed. 

“That slide — illegal immigration saved my life,” he told Musk. “The incredible thing is that the chart, I used it less than 20% of the time. It was just a moment.”

“It’s always to my left, never my right, and it’s always at the end of the speech,” Trump added of the position of the slide. 

“I’m going to sleep with that chart always,” he joked. 

FBI INVESTIGATING IRAN’S HACK OF TRUMP CAMPAIGN DOCUMENTS

The interview, billed as “a conversation” between X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk and former US President Donald Trump, originally due to start at 1am on Tuesday, finally got underway just after 1.40am. Picture date: Tuesday August 13, 2024. (Photo by PA Wire/PA Images via Getty Images) (Getty Images)

Trump went on to rattle off a list of wars and world events the U.S. could have avoided if Biden were not in the Oval Office, while noting he was tough on nations such as Russia, China and North Korea and knows the countries’ respective leaders “well.”  

“First of all, the Israeli attack would have never happened. Russia would never have attacked Ukraine, and we’d have no inflation, and we wouldn’t have had the Afghanistan mess, if you think of it well … if you take a few of those events away, and we have a different world.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin pose for a photo prior to their talks on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. President Putin will make a two-day state visit to China this week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Sergei Guneyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

HARRIS CAMPAIGN POSTS DEBUNKED CLAIM THAT TRUMP CALLED CHARLOTTESVILLE NEO-NAZIS ‘VERY FINE PEOPLE’

He pointed to his tweets back in 2017 when he slammed North Korea’s Kim Jong-un as “little rocket man” as tensions heightened between the two nations amid a series of North Korea missile and nuclear tests. 

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends at a meeting of the Workers’ Party of Korea in Pyongyang, North Korea on Feb. 28, 2022. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: “KCNA” which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency.  (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

“I had that problem worked out very quickly,” Trump said of North Korea. “It was nasty at the beginning with Rocket Man … [Jong-Un] said he has a red button on his desk. I said, ‘I have a red button on my desk too, but my red button is much bigger, and my red button works.’ And then I called him ‘Little Rocket Man.'”

“Anyway, here’s the bottom line. All of a sudden, I got a call from him, and they said they want to meet, they wanted to meet me. And we met … and I got along with him great. We were in no danger, but President Obama thought we were gonna end up in a war, a nuclear war, with him,” he said. 

BURGLARY AT TRUMP CAMPAIGN VIRGINIA HEADQUARTERS CAUGHT ON SURVEILLANCE CAMERA UNDER INVESTIGATION

The Biden administration would support the elimination of taxes on tipped wages, an idea first proposed by former President Trump, the White House said.  (Left: (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images), Right: (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images))

Trump also addressed Biden’s exit from the 2024 race, saying it was a Democratic “coup” that pressured Biden to drop out. Biden dropped out of the running last month as concerns mounted surrounding his mental acuity and 81 years of age and Democrats and traditional allies of the party called on him to exit the race. 

“This was a coup. This was a coup of a president of the United States. He didn’t want to leave, and they said, ‘We can do it the nice way, or we can do it the hard way,'” Trump said. 

“They just took him out back behind the shed and basically shot him,” Musk added before Trump slammed Biden as “the worst president in history.” 

TRUMP CAMP THANKS WH FOR CONFIRMING THERE’S ‘NO DAYLIGHT’ BETWEEN HARRIS, BIDEN: ‘KAMALA CREATED THIS MESS’

Trump made a return to X, formerly Twitter, earlier on Monday after nearly a year of not posting on his once-favored social media platform. Before X sold to Musk in 2022, Trump was suspended from his Twitter account following the breach of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He seldom posted on the platform after Musk reinstated his account, only sharing his mugshot in August of last year. 

Former President Donald Trump told Columbia Journalism Review he had to fight off “unbelievably fake stories” during his presidency. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

“Are you better off now than you were when I was president? Our economy is shattered. Our border has been erased. We’re a nation in decline. Make the American Dream AFFORDABLE again. Make America SAFE again. Make America GREAT Again!” Trump posted earlier Monday amid a flurry of campaign ads. 

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Ahead of his interview with Trump, Musk hyped the interview as one that “should be highly entertaining!” as it “​​is unscripted with no limits on subject matter.”

“This country is going down, and these people are bad people that we’re running against. And they’re liars. They make statements. They do things that are so bad. They say they’re going to make a strong border. They say they’ve been great on the border, and they’ve been the worst in history. They say they stop crime,” Trump said towards the end of the interview. 

“It’s so incredible.” 

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

The White House claims President Biden has wanted to put more Border Patrol agents along the southern U.S. border, but blames Republicans for not allowing it to happen.

During a press briefing on Monday, Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre how long they had known that Vice President Kamala Harris did not think Biden was doing a good job along the border.

Jean-Pierre appeared stunned by the question, asking the Fox reporter to repeat the question one more time.

“Well, she’s promising to hire thousands more border agents than there are now under President Biden,” Doocy said. “How long have you guys known that Vice President Harris does not think that President Biden is effective with his border?”

TRUMP MAKES CASE FOR RETURN TO ‘REMAIN IN MEXICO’ TO SOLVE HISTORIC BORDER CRISIS

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended President Biden’s record on the border before blaming Republicans and former President Trump for not allowing the president to hire more Border Patrol agents.

Jean-Pierre told Doocy he was making a “huge jump,” saying he was “assuming” Harris did not think Biden was effective with his border policies.

“She has a campaign ad where she is saying they need more Border Patrol agents,” Doocy said. “If President Biden’s doing such a good job, why do they need any more border agents?”

In one of Harris’ most recent presidential campaign ads, a narrator says, “As vice president, she backed the toughest border control bill in decades, and as president, she will hire thousands more border agents and crack down on fentanyl and human trafficking.”

HOW WOULD A PRESIDENT HARRIS HANDLE THE IMMIGRATION, BORDER CRISIS

A group of over 100 migrants attempting to enter the US illegally rushes a border wall Thursday, March 21, 2024. In the process the migrants knock down Texas National Guardsmen before they are halted  by the border wall. (James Breeden for New York Post / Mega)

Jean-Pierre defended Harris’ agenda, saying the president and vice president both believe more agents are needed:

“The president does want more Border Patrol agents. You know who’s getting in the way? Republicans in Congress. They’re getting in the way. You know who else is getting in the way? The former president, Donald Trump. He’s getting in the way.”

Jean-Pierre continued to defend the president’s record, saying he has worked toward getting more security along the border and had a bipartisan agreement on the table that Biden worked on for “a couple of months” with Republicans and Democrats in the Senate.

GOP STATES SUE TO STOP BIDEN ADMIN EXTENDING OBAMACARE TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

A group of over 100 migrants charges the border. (James Breeden/New York Post/Mega)

“They were told not to move forward, because it would help Joe Biden, by the former president,” Jean-Pierre claimed. “That’s their decision.”

Biden has used his first term in office to end many of the border and immigration policies of Trump’s administration.

During the CNN Presidential Debate in June, Trump hailed the success of the “Remain in Mexico” policy — a controversial border program he has touted repeatedly and which many conservatives have called for in a potential second Trump term.

Trump repeatedly hammered President Biden on the ongoing crisis at the southern border during the debate and attempted to contrast his record with Biden’s. A core part of his efforts to bring immigration numbers down was the introduction of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), commonly called “Remain in Mexico.”

THESE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR OBAMACARE AFTER BIDEN RULE CHANGE 

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks with US Customs and Border Protection officers as he visits the US-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on January 8, 2023.  (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

The Biden administration shut down the program in 2021, arguing the policy was ineffective and left migrants in squalor and in danger in Mexico, leading to massive migrant camps set up along the border as people waited for their appointments — an argument also made by immigration advocates.

Since then, the Biden administration has introduced a number of its own measures to regulate immigration and relieve pressure at the border amid a massive migrant surge that spiked in 2021.  At the heart of its policy is an expansion of the CBP One app, allowing migrants to enter legally and schedule an appointment to be paroled into the U.S. Currently, that allows about 1,500 migrants each day.

Harris would in many ways be a voice of continuity for the current practices of the Biden-Harris administration. Like Biden, she has supported the rolling back of Trump-era border policies and has called for a sweeping immigration bill that the administration introduced on day one. That bill not only includes significant reforms and funding measures, but would also provide a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S.

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Similarly, Harris has backed the bipartisan Senate package which Biden has also supported but has failed to pass the Senate. Like Biden, she has also blamed Trump for the failure of that bill to pass the chamber.

Fox News’ Michael Lee and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

A conservative government watchdog group secured a legal victory against the Biden-Harris administration by compelling the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stop deleting employee emails they say had been done in violation of the Federal Records Act.

America First Legal, the right-leaning, Washington, D.C. based public interest organization founded by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, sought records concerning the CDC’s endorsement of the controversial gender ideology within public schools in February 2023. In response, the CDC told AFL that it systematically deletes the emails of most employees 30 days after they depart from the agency.

As of Friday, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is now required under a preliminary injunction granted to AFL to enlist the help of Attorney General Merrick Garland and inform Congress to recover the deleted emails and halt the destruction of records. 

COVID VACCINE COMPANIES TOLD TO FOCUS ON KP.2 VARIANT FOR FALL SHOTS, PER FDA ANNOUNCEMENT

Signage stands outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, March 14, 2020.  (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Notably, while the Biden-Harris administration has been slapped down for illegally violating the law, CDC employees’ homes were not searched and raided without notice or consent, nor have their families had to endure the trauma and onslaught of legal fees or indictments,” AFL said in a news release. 

“Yet, the Biden-Harris Administration did exactly that to President Trump. We cannot have a country where government bureaucrats are allowed to circumvent the law without repercussion, and innocent civilians are subjected to invasive and unlawful political persecution for saying the “wrong” thing. The two-tiered justice system in the United States has never been more prevalent,” the group said. 

In April, AFL filed the initial lawsuit against the Biden-Harris Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and NARA.

“The Biden-Harris Administration was actively destroying the records of federal employees at the CDC in blatant violation of the law–and we are pleased that the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has ordered a stop to their illegal conduct,” AFL executive director Gene Hamilton said in a statement. 

AFL subsequently reached out to NARA urging an investigation into the CDC’s policy of deleting employee emails. 

KAMALA HARRIS FINALLY FIELDS QUESTIONS FROM PRESS AFTER DODGING MEDIA FOR 18 DAYS SINCE BECOMING DEM NOMINEE

 Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is sworn-in before testifying before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic at the Rayburn House Office Building on June 03, 2024 in Washington, DC.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“NARA investigated the allegations but determined that because the ‘CDC instructs individual email account holders to apply retention based on the email’s content value and its applicability to a NARA-approved records schedule,’ NARA considered the matter closed. In short, NARA entrusted individual CDC employees to decide which emails can be automatically deleted,” AFL said in a news release.x

This isn’t the first time the CDC has been in hot water over its influence in the public. Last year, the CDC reportedly had “significant input on pandemic-era social media policies” at Facebook and Instagram and worked to “silence dissent” related to the COVID vaccine. 

JD VANCE ROASTS HARRIS ON WISCONSIN TARMAC FOR AVOIDING PRESS, CALLS AIR FORCE 2 HIS ‘FUTURE PLANE’

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S, on Saturday, March 14, 2020 (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, denied attempting to suppress the theory that the COVID-19 pandemic began as a result of a lab leak in Wuhan, China, during the heated House Oversight Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing this summer.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the CDC, HHS and NARA for comment. 

Fox News Digital’s Brian Flood and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report. 

Vice President Kamala Harris once pledged to close all privately-run immigration detention centers “on day one” during her first presidential campaign, as her record on the southern border continues to generate heavy criticism. 

A resurfaced video clip shows then-Sen. Harris at an October 2019 town hall in Iowa City, Iowa during her 2020 bid. 

“I want to know, when you become president, would you be committing to closing the immigration detention centers?” an attendee is heard asking.

AXIOS HIT WITH COMMUNITY NOTE AFTER CLAIMING HARRIS WAS NEVER ‘BORDER CZAR’

Vice President Kamala Harris and migrants at the southern border. Harris previously pledged to close all privately-run immigration detention centers.  (Getty Images)

“Absolutely, on day one. On day one,” Harris responded. 

Fox News Digital has reached doubt to the Harris campaign asking if her position has changed.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, posted the footage on his social media feed. 

“When she tells you who she is… …believe her,” he wrote. 

As of the July 2024 fiscal year, more than 37,000 migrants were being held across 18 private detention facilities, according to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) data. Just over 10,000 of those migrants have criminal records while about 4,600 have pending criminal charges. 

On Monday, ICE announced several arrests, including the deportation of a Brazilian man wanted for attempted murder who was caught and released at the southern border in March. A Dominican man was also arrested and charged with fentanyl trafficking in Massachusetts after he was caught & released at the border in February. 

President Biden has recently touted the decline in illegal border crossings. (Getty Images)

A Guatemalan migrant was arrested and charged with child molestation in Rhode Island. He was caught and released at the border during the Obama administration. Also arrested was an Ecuadorian “gotaway” charged with rape and kidnapping in Massachusetts. 

TRUMP EYES MULTIPLE BORDER VISITS AS HE DRAWS CONTRAST WITH ‘RADICAL LEFT’ HARRIS

As vice President, Harris was tapped by President Biden to serve as a border “czar” to address illegal immigration from Central America.

Since announcing her presidential campaign, Republicans have criticized Harris over the Biden administration’s record on the border, which has seen record numbers of illegal immigrants released into the United States. 

In 2018, Harris compared Homeland Security agencies to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). The Sen. Harris was questioning Ronald Vitiello, who was former President Trump’s nominee to lead ICE, if he was “aware of the perception” of parallels between ICE and the KKK.

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“Are you aware that there is a perception that ICE is administering its power in a way that is causing fear and intimidation, particularly among immigrants and specifically among immigrants coming from Mexico and Central America?” she asked.

In a 2018 interview with MSNBC, Harris said there was alot wrong with ICE and the way it was “conducting itself.”

“I think there’s no question that we’ve got to critically re-examine ICE, and its role, and the way that it is being administered, and the work it is doing,” she said. “And we need to probably think about starting from scratch.”

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

Here’s what’s happening…

– No amnesty for Maduro, says State Department…

– Biden, Obama, and Clinton set to speak at DNC marred by shadowed Palestinian protests…

– Where the vice presidential candidates stand on the issues…

The Trojan Leftist

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, has not taken questions from reporters in the nearly three weeks since President Biden suspended his re-election campaign – a move that may work to her advantage like it did for Biden in 2020. 

“She is running a similar play to Biden in 2020 where, of course, he used COVID as an excuse to stay in his basement the entire election,” Cody Sargent, spokesperson for Heritage Action for America, told Fox News Digital in an interview. 

“Harris is running a Trojan horse campaign,” Sargent continued. “She’s distracting people with Megan Thee Stallion and rolling out a vice president commercials that don’t really say anything, distracting them with this big shiny object and Trojan horse. But, then inside that horse is socialism, the most radical candidate to ever appear at the top of her presidential ticket, and she’s avoiding doing any media, any real interviews, any sit down.”

Harris was blasted for spending less than two minutes taking questions from reporters Thursday after being criticized for going 18 days without speaking to the media …Read more.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris attends an infrastructure event addressing high speed internet in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building’s South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 3, 2021.  (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

White House

‘NOT TRUE’: State Department says no offers of amnesty were made to Venezuela’s Maduro …Read more

COASTING BY: President Biden has a light week planned as tensions mount in the Middle East …Read more

Capitol Hill

BIG SPENDERS: Freedom Caucus makes these demands as Congress gears up for shutdown fight …Read more

The Writing on the Walz 

‘AFFRONT’ TO MILITARY: Former leader of Walz’s battalion slams Harris’ running mate in scathing post …Read more

FLASHBACK: Gov. Walz amplified comment comparing ICE raids to ‘terrorism’ in America …Read more

‘THEY TOOK EVERYTHING’: Store owner who cried as BLM riots destroyed his livelihood under Gov. Walz speaks out …Read more

BAD WITH MONEY: Gov. Walz’s government giveaway fraudulently spent on luxury goods, overseas real estate …Read more

Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a campaign event on August 7, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. Kamala Harris and her newly selected running mate Tim Walz are campaigning across the country this week. (Andrew Harnik)

Tales from the Trail

‘KAMALA OWNS THE BORDER CRISIS’: Trump camp rallies around WH ‘confirming’ there’s no ‘daylight’ between Harris, Biden …Read more

FAKE NEWS: Democrats continue to hit JD Vance with debunked claim …Read more

FACT-CHECKED: Trump’s accusation that Harris campaign used AI to generate crowd disproven by video …Read more

CONVENTION CHAOS?: Biden, Obama, Clintons to speak at Democratic Convention preparing for large Palestinian protests …Read more

SPLIT TICKETS: Fox News Power Rankings: Voters’ appetite for ticket-splitting will decide the Senate …Read more

‘RADICAL’: Harris’ low media approach could pay off like it did in 2020 with Biden’s ‘basement’ campaign …Read more

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: Here’s where the vice presidential candidates stand on top issues …Read more

JD Vance criticized Kamala Harris’ running mate selection of Tim Walz. (Getty Images)

Across America

FREE TO CAMPAIGN: Trump legal cases paused, delayed following Supreme Court ruling, freeing up campaign schedule …Read more

THE DEFUND EFFECT: How the U.S. can become a ‘law enforcement minded country’: former ICE official …Read more

‘POLITICAL PERSECUTION’: Trump to sue DOJ for $100M over Mar-a-Lago raid …Read more

‘IT WILL GET WORSE’: Illegal migrant allegedly commits 22 crimes in 6 months …Read more

Illegal Venezuelan immigrant Daniel Hernandez Martinez, 30, allegedly committed 22 crimes in six months in New York City. (Getty/NYPost)

GETTING TO WORK: Trump shooting task force unveils first demands as high-level probe kicks off …Read more

ABHORRENT AND ABOMINABLE: Man charged with hate crime, allegedly said ‘Free Palestine’ before knife attack near Brooklyn synagogue …Read more

NO DEAL: NY Republicans move to block future plea deals for alleged 9/11 plotters …Read more

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President Biden would sign a bill that would eliminate taxes on tipped wages, the White House said Monday, seeming to agree with a policy first floated by former President Trump. 

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated the Biden administration’s position during a news briefing. 

“Look, this is something that the president supports,”she said. “He supports eliminating taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers while also raising minimum wage and preventing the wealthy from gaming the system.”

TRUMP PLEDGES TO ELIMINATE TAXES ON TIPS FOR SERVICE WORKERS DURING LAS VEGAS RALLY

President Biden has contracted COVID-19, the White House said.  (Biden speaks at a rally in Virginia)

Vice President Kamala Harris has also taken the same stance on taxing tips. On Saturday, she promised to endorse policies to benefit working families.

“It is my promise to everyone here when I am president, we will continue our fighting for working families of America including to raise the minimum wage and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers,” she said at a campaign rally in Las Vegas. 

Trump first proposed the idea of eliminating taxes on tips for restaurant and hospitality workers, in June.

REPUBLICANS BLAST BIDEN ADMIN OVER PLAN TO CRACK DOWN ON WAITERS’ TIPS

Left: Vice President Kamala Harris. Right: Former President Donald Trump. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

“This is the first time I’ve said this and for those hotel workers and people that get tips, you’re going to be very happy, because when I get to office we are going to not charge taxes on tips, people making tips… It’s been a point of contention for years and years and years, and you do a great job of service, you take care of people, and I think it’s going to be something that really is deserved,” Trump said back in June during a rally in Las Vegas. 

He criticized Harris over the weekend, accusing her of trying to mirror his proposal.

“Kamala has no imagination, whatsoever, as shown by the fact that she played ‘COPYCAT’ with, NO TAXES ON TIPS!” he wrote on Truth Social. “The difference is, she won’t do it, she just wants it for Political Purposes!” Trump posted on Truth Social. “This was a TRUMP idea – She has no ideas, she can only steal from me. Remember, Kamala has proposed the LARGEST TAX INCREASE IN HISTORY – It won’t happen.”

House Republicans in June introduced legislation to end the taxation on tips.

Unrecognizable male coffee shop customer places cash into a tip jar. (iStock)

“As the cost of living continues to rise, the hardworking men and women in the service industry, many of whom may be working a second job to make ends meet, must be allowed to keep every dollar of tip money they earn,” Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., wrote on social media at the time. 

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The Biden administration rolled out a voluntary tip reporting system last year for industry workers that works to streamline tax compliance on tips. 

The plan was criticized by tax experts at the time as a crackdown on “waitresses’ tips” after the IRS hired 87,000 new agents under the Biden administration, Fox News Digital reported last year. 

The Trump campaign is rallying around White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying there’s no “daylight” between President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, arguing the comment reflects that “Kamala owns the border crisis” and other issues throttling the country. 

“Thank you @PressSec for confirming: there is ‘no daylight’ between Kamala and Joe! Kamala owns the border crisis. Kamala owns inflation. Kamala owns the wars, chaos, and crime over the past 4 years,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted to X on Monday afternoon showing a clip of Jean-Pierre. 

Leavitt was responding to Jean-Pierre saying Monday during the White House press briefing that Biden and Harris have been “aligned” throughout the administration and that there’s no “daylight” between the pair. 

“[Harris is] going to lay out her vision. But again, they’ve been aligned, you know, they’ve been aligned for the last three and a half years. There’s not been any daylight,” Jean Pierre said. 

22 DAYS: KAMALA HARRIS HAS NOT HELD A PRESS CONFERENCE SINCE EMERGING AS PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE 

The White House spokeswoman was responding to a question from the media regarding a potential policy review process between Biden and Harris as the president wraps up his final months in office and Harris continues rallying support for her presidential bid come November. 

White House press secretary says there’s no “daylight” between President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)

Leavitt added in exclusive comment to Fox News Digital on Monday that “Kamala created this mess” and that she therefore “cannot be trusted” to address such issues under a potential Harris administration. 

ILLEGAL MIGRANT ALLEGEDLY COMMITS 22 CRIMES IN 6 MONTHS: ‘IT WILL GET WORSE,’ EXPERT SAYS

“Today, the Biden White House confirmed what the Kamala Harris refuses to admit: there is NO daylight between Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. Kamala owns the illegal immigration crisis that continues to rage on our southern border; and Kamala owns the inflation crisis that has made food, rent, and gas unaffordable. Electing Kamala would be like hiring the thief who robbed your house to put new locks on the door. Kamala created this mess – she cannot be trusted to clean it up,” Leavitt said. 

Former President Trump has slammed the Harris campaign, saying the vice president has been the “driving force” behind Biden’s policies.  (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images))

Harris, who has not held a press conference since she emerged as the Democratic Party’s frontrunner for the presidential ticket last month, has worked to distance herself from issues such as spiraling immigration and ongoing inflation woes that have throttled the country under the Biden administration. 

BIDEN HAS ANOTHER LIGHT SCHEDULE THIS WEEK WITH 5 MONTHS UNTIL TERM ENDS

Karoline Leavitt is seen leaving Trump Tower on April 25, 2024, in New York City. (Getty Images)

“Kamala Harris has spent decades fighting violent crime. As a border state prosecutor, she took on drug cartels and jailed gang members for smuggling weapons and drugs across the border,” a new ad for the campaign regarding her border policy states. 

KAMALA HARRIS DECLINES TIME MAGAZINE INTERVIEW AS SHE CONTINUES TO AVOID THE PRESS 

It adds that “as vice president, she backed the toughest border control bill in decades. And as president, she will hire thousands more border agents and crack down on fentanyl and human trafficking.”

Former President Trump has repeatedly slammed the Harris campaign as a continuation of the Biden administration, saying Harris has been the “driving force” behind Biden’s policies. 

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Harris “has been the ultra-liberal driving force behind every single Biden catastrophe. She is a radical left lunatic who will destroy our country if she ever gets the chance to get into office,” Trump said during a campaign event late last month in North Carolina. 

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

The ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus is signaling it will not help Congress avoid a government shutdown next month unless a short-term spending bill is linked to a bill requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote.

The House GOP rebels are also calling for a short-term spending plan to extend until the new year, at which point allies of former President Trump hope he will be in the White House again. 

That puts the group in direct opposition to their more traditional GOP colleagues, including House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., who suggested last month that he would want to finish the government funding process by the end of 2024.

With just six of 12 individual appropriations bills having passed the House, and none yet in the Senate, it is all but certain that a short-term extension of the current year’s funding levels will be needed to keep the government open past the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.

NEW POLL SHOWS TRUMP, HARRIS TIED IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE: ‘CLOSE AS CLOSE CAN BE’ 

The House Freedom Caucus is already planning to throw a wrench in House GOP leaders’ government funding talks. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Even senior Republicans like Cole have admitted that a short-term bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), will be needed to avoid federal offices shuttering and potentially thousands of federal employees getting furloughed. However, the Monday morning House Freedom Caucus statement, released while lawmakers are in the middle of a six-week-long recess from Washington, shows the beginnings of a potentially messy fiscal fight.

In a new statement obtained by Fox News Digital, the House Freedom Caucus said that “House Republicans should return to Washington to continue the work of passing all 12 appropriations bills to cut spending and advance our policy priorities … If unsuccessful, in the inevitability that Congress considers a Continuing Resolution, government funding should be extended into early 2025 to avoid a lame duck omnibus that preserves Democrat spending and policies well into the next administration.”

“Furthermore, the Continuing Resolution should include the SAVE Act – as called for by President Trump – to prevent non-citizens from voting to preserve free and fair elections in light of the millions of illegal aliens imported by the Biden-Harris administration over.”

TRUMP SHOOTING: TIMELINE OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

House GOP rebels are calling for a short-term spending plan to extend until the new year, at which point allies of former President Trump hope he will be in the White House again. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The House passed the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act last month with five Democrats voting with every single House Republican in passing the bill. 

However, it is opposed by the White House and likely will not get a vote in the Democratically-held Senate, meaning its inclusion in a final CR would be fighting an uphill battle.

Cole told reporters last month that he would prefer something with wider bipartisan appeal, like supplemental disaster relief funding, to be attached to a CR instead.

“I haven’t really thought about it yet, it’s not a big deal to me. But again, if it can’t pass the Senate, it isn’t going to be an effective CR,” Cole said when asked about the SAVE Act. “So a real CR, you know, I’m more interested actually in disaster relief. That’s something that I think the two sides can come together on.”

AOC DEMANDS BIDEN ‘REVERSE COURSE’ ON BORDER WALL CONSTRUCTION AMID MIGRANT SURGE: ‘CRUEL POLICY’

The 118th Congress has seen historic levels of discord over the issue of government spending, with GOP rebels clamoring for House Republican leadership to wield their razor-thin majority to force through conservative policy priorities or risk a shutdown. 

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However, leaders on both sides have signaled that they want to avoid the political ramifications of a shutdown, especially one this close to the November election. 

Last year’s spending fight saw the ouster of ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., by a handful of his own GOP colleagues after he helped pass a “clean” short-term funding extension in September of last year.

President Biden has a lax schedule this week as he appears to coast toward the end of his term as Vice President Kamala Harris takes the helm.

Biden will arrive back in Washington, D.C., Monday morning after spending the weekend at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. He was pictured sunbathing with his family over the weekend.

The president has no public events on his schedule for Monday, and he has just two for the entire week. That is one more than he had last week. He will appear at a Cancer Moonshot event on Tuesday in New Orleans, and then he will appear at a campaign rally for Harris on Thursday in Maryland.

Biden is expected to highlight the administration’s efforts to lower costs for Americans, which has been a sticking point for Harris’ campaign.

BIDEN’S UPCOMING SUNDAY SIT-DOWN INTERVIEW FIRST SINCE EXITING 2024 RACE: ‘HAPPY TO DO IT, WHITE HOUSE SAYS’

President Biden has just two public events this week as his administration appears to coast toward the finish line. (Susan Walsh/AP)

The president has no public events scheduled for Wednesday or Friday, and he will retire to the presidential retreat in Camp David for the weekend, according to his schedule.

KAMALA HARRIS HAS AVOIDED INTERVIEWS FOR MORE THAN TWO WEEKS SINCE BECOMING DEM NOMINEE

Biden’s lax schedule comes as there is no shortage of global events requiring U.S. leadership. Israel remains on the brink of war with Iran and its terrorist proxies. Iran has goaded Israel with rocket attacks by Hezbollah in recent weeks, and Hamas has refused to move forward with cease-fire talks.

Biden said achieving a cease-fire agreement before leaving office was his top priority after announcing his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race.

President Biden has taken a backseat to Vice President Kamala Harris as she ramps up her campaign. (Tierney L. Cross)

Biden has also made no comment on Team USA’s dominant performance at the Paris Olympics, which wrapped up this weekend.

Biden’s only major news-making event in recent days was an interview with CBS that aired on Sunday. In the conversation with host Bob Costa, Biden revealed the extent of Democratic pressure that forced him out of the race.

PELOSI DEMURS ON IF ‘EVERYTHING IS OK’ BETWEEN HER AND BIDEN: ‘YOU’D HAVE TO ASK HIM’

“A number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was going to hurt them in the races. And I was concerned if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic, you’d be interviewing me about why did Nancy Pelosi say -why did – and I thought it’d be a real distraction,” Biden told Costa.

President Biden admitted there was major Democratic pressure to drop out of the 2024 presidential race. (Getty Images)

Biden announced at the end of July that he would be bowing out of the presidential race and quickly endorsed Vice President Harris. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Chuck Schumer and other Democrats reportedly called on Biden to drop out in private in the weeks following his first debate with former President Trump.

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“The polls we had showed that it was a neck-and-neck race, it would have been down to the wire,” Biden added. 

The biggest names in the Democratic Party will be center stage next week as the party’s national nominating convention kicks off in Chigago.

President Biden, former Presidents Obama and Clinton and former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton have been confirmed as speakers at the Democratic National Convention, a source familiar with convention planning confirmed to Fox News.

While a mostly unified and now energized Democratic Party will meet inside the United Center arena on Chicago’s West Side Aug. 19-22, outside of the security perimeter, there will likely be scenes of anger and dissent – as demonstrators protesting the Biden-Harris administration’s support for Israel in its nearly 11 month-long war with Hamas in Gaza are planning to take to the streets.

HARRIS HAULS IN $12 MILLION DURING SAN FRANCISCO STOP AS PELOSI WELCOMES THE VICE PRESIDENT HOME

Former Presidents Clinton, right, and Obama, left, and President Biden team up at a massive fundraiser for the Democratic Party’s 2024 ticket, at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall on March 28, 2024. (Getty Images)

The Democrats’ convention comes nearly a month after the president’s blockbuster July 21 announcement that he was suspending his re-election bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris following his disastrous performance against former President Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, in their late June debate.

Biden’s rambling and uneven answers at the debate fueled questions over whether the 81-year-old president had the physical and mental abilities to handle another four years in the White House and sparked a chorus of calls from within his own party to end his 2024 campaign.

WHAT THE LATEST POLLS IN THREE KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES SHOW IN THE HARRIS-TRUMP SHOWDOWN

Democrats desperate to keep Trump from returning to the White House quickly coalesced around Harris, who last week was formally nominated by the party in a virtual roll call. 

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, walk out on stage together during a campaign event on Aug. 6, 2024 in Philadelphia. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Harris has enjoyed a surge in fundraising after replacing Biden three weeks ago atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket, and her July haul was more than double the funds raised last month by Trump. Additionally, Harris saw another spike in fundraising after naming Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate a week ago.

The vice president and Walz quickly hit the campaign trail with a swing through the key battleground states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada that drew large crowds at every stop.

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Even though both Harris and Walz have been officially nominated, convention organizers say there will be ceremonial roll calls next week in Chicago. The vice president and the Minnesota governor will both address the convention in nationally televised speeches next Wednesday and Thursday.

Party officials are hoping to avoid any type of repeat of their 1968 convention in Chicago, when scenes of fighting among delegates and clouds of tear gas and police batons used to smash protests as divided Democrats brawled over the Vietnam War.

Activists participate in a pro-Palestinian protest near the U.S. Capitol on July 24, 2024 in Washington, D.C. Activists staged multiple protests near the Capitol to protest the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington and to protest the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

While Democrats are divided over the U.S. response to the soaring death toll among Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war, political pundits say comparisons to the 1968 chaos are not justifiable.

However, the Coalition to March on the D.N.C., an umbrella group of organizations on the left that is helping to organize the planned protests, said in a social media posting on Sunday that Democratic Party officials “underestimate our rage, our tenacity, and our steadfast commitment to the precious life of every Palestinian person enduring this horrific genocide. We’re fighting back.”

Protesters are trading fire with Chicago officials over where they will be allowed to march during the convention. The activists are aiming for a longer route which they say would better accommodate the tens of thousands of people they hope will protest. A federal judge overseeing the dispute between the protesters and city officials has yet to make a decision.

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

Democrats have continued to push a vulgar falsehood about former President Trump’s running mate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, despite the claim being debunked weeks ago.

“It undermines their moralizing about Trump’s falsehoods and gives Trump an opportunity to say it’s ‘the pot calling the kettle black,’” Democratic strategist Julian Epstein told Fox News Digital.

Epstein’s comment comes as Democrats show no signs of ditching the Vance “couch meme,” a vulgar rumor that originated on social media last month that Trump’s running mate described a sex act he performed on a couch in his 2016 memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.”

Despite the claim being quickly debunked, its viral spread was picked up by Democrats and spawned jokes and memes across social media.

WALZ ACCUSATIONS OF ‘STOLEN VALOR’ PROMPT BATTLE BETWEEN HOUSE VETERANS

Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz gesture during a campaign rally at the Thomas and Mack Center, University of Nevada in Las Vegas on Aug. 10, 2024. (RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP via Getty Images)

The falsehood even made its way to the top of the Democratic ticket, with Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, cracking a joke about the rumor during a speech in Philadelphia the same day Harris announced he was joining the ticket.

“I got to tell you, I can’t wait to debate [Vance]. That is if — if he’s willing to get off the couch and show up,” Walz said during the remarks as Harris smirked behind him, according to a recounting of the event on NBC News. “You see what I did there?”

The moment went viral on the Harris campaign’s TikTok account, named Kamala HQ, garnering 5.3 million views, NBC reported, noting that Democrats have continued to use the joke despite the release of fact-checks debunking the rumor by several media outlets.

In one such example, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent a news release on July 26 targeting Trump’s decision to pick Vance, joking that Republicans are “couching their public praise of Trump’s vice presidential nominee with private criticism.”

VP KAMALA HARRIS PICKING GOV. TIM WALZ AS RUNNING MATE MET WITH MEDIA SCORN: ‘SUCH A WEIRD CHOICE’

On July 27, the Kamala HQ X account shared a screenshot of Vance’s moments on “cat ladies” with the caption that the Ohio senator “does not couch his hatred for women.”

A day later, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, long believed to be a potential candidate to join Harris on the ticket, joked on ABC News that while Trump “talks about all kinds of crazy stuff,” Vance is “getting known for his obsession with couches.”

Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker speaks during the Clinton Global Initiative meeting at the Hilton Midtown on Sept. 19, 2023 in New York City. (John Nacion/WireImage)

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., has also leaned into the joke, responding to Vance’s post asking why Harris had not been taking questions from the media.

“I’ve been on Air Force 2 JD, there is a great couch on it,” Moskowitz said in an August 7 post on X.

The continued veiled jabs at Vance over a debunked rumor seemingly fly in the face of one of the main Democratic criticisms of Trump, who the party has long claimed peddled misinformation and false claims for political benefit.

JD VANCE ACCUSES TIM WALZ OF ‘LYING’ ABOUT MILITARY SERVICE: ‘STOLEN VALOR GARBAGE’

That criticism of Trump took center stage during the 2016 Democratic National Convention, when then-first lady Michelle Obama famously declare “when they go low, we go high,” in reference to the attacks on her and her family.

“More than anything else, Democrats want to memory-hole the Biden/Harris record of the last four years. They want to memory-hole Harris’ fringe left views from just five years ago.”

Obama doubled down on the theme during the 2020 convention in support of President Biden, declaring that “going high is the only thing that works.”

Moskowitz has nevertheless defended his party’s apparent double standard, arguing on social media that continuing the spread of the rumor is just jokes and does not compare to the lies spread by Trump.

“For 2 years we had to hear that Joe Biden was an international super criminal mastermind from Despicable Me 3. You will listen to couch story,” he said last month.

Former first lady Michelle Obama attends Opening Night celebrating 50 years of equal pay during Day One of the 2023 US Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Aug. 28, 2023. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/GC Images)

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Moskowitz’s office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

However, Epstein believes Democrats are making a “mistake” by continuing to lean into the falsehood, though she argued getting into a “tit for tat campaign of insult comedy” would also be a “trap for the Republicans.”

“More than anything else, Democrats want to memory-hole the Biden/Harris record of the last four years,” Epstein said. “They want to memory-hole Harris’ fringe left views from just five years ago.”

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

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

Former President Trump is claiming that “nobody” was on the tarmac last week in Detroit to greet Vice President Harris for a campaign event in the Motor City despite unedited video and images from multiple news agencies showing otherwise. 

Trump made the claim in a post on Truth Social on Sunday as he shared two images – one showing thousands of Harris supporters reacting to Air Force Two’s arrival at Detroit Metro Airport, and another showing a zoomed-in reflection of the plane’s engine in which it appears difficult to make out an audience. 

“Has anyone noticed that Kamala CHEATED at the airport? There was nobody at the plane, and she ‘A.I.’d’ it, and showed a massive ‘crowd’ of so-called followers, BUT THEY DIDN’T EXIST!” Trump declared. “She was turned in by a maintenance worker at the airport when he noticed the fake crowd picture, but there was nobody there, later confirmed by the reflection of the mirror like finish on the Vice Presidential Plane.” 

“She’s a CHEATER. She had NOBODY waiting, and the ‘crowd’ looked like 10,000 people!” Trump added. However, a review of media of the event by Fox News Digital clearly shows that there were plenty of supporters there on-scene to greet Harris and her new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. 

WASHINGTON POST PUSHES HARRIS TO ANSWER ‘LEGITIMATE QUESTIONS’ ABOUT HER FLIP-FLOPS, AGENDA 

Vice President Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, wave at supporters as they exit Air Force Two to attend a campaign rally in Romulus, Michigan, on Wednesday, Aug. 7. 

The Harris campaign had told Fox News an estimated 15,000 people showed up at the rally last Wednesday.

TRUMP SHOOTING TASK FORCE DEMANDS DOCUMENTS FROM TOP BIDEN OFFICIALS IN PROBE KICKOFF 

The crowd at the event – which was estimated to be 15,000 – was inside and outside of the hangar at Detroit Metro Airport. (AP/Julia Nikhinson)

The Harris and Trump campaigns did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Air Force Two taxis on the tarmac as several thousand attendees applaud during a presidential campaign rally for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan, last week. (Adam J. Dewey/Anadolu via Getty Images)

But an X account run by the Harris campaign shared one of Trump’s Truth Social posts regarding the crowd, saying that “This is an actual photo of a 15,000-person crowd for Harris-Walz in Michigan.” 

Harris, top left, is seen speaking at the podium at a campaign event last week in the Detroit, Michigan, area. (Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images)

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“Trump has still not campaigned in a swing state in over a week… Low energy?” it added. 

Fox News’ Kate Sprague contributed to this report.

The battalion commander of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s former Minnesota Army National Guard unit issued a scathing message to Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate amid mounting “stolen valor” accusations, according to media reports. 

“I do not regret that Tim Walz retired early from the Minnesota National Guard, did not complete the Sergeants Major Academy, broke his enlistment contract or did not successfully complete any assignment as a Sergeant Major. Unwittingly, he got out of the way for better leadership,” John Kolb wrote on Facebook, the Daily Mail reported. 

Kolb served as a lieutenant colonel of the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery from 2005 to 2007, the Minnesota National Guard shows on its website. Walz served in the same battalion until 2005, when he retired ahead of the battalion deploying to Iraq that same year. 

Kolb now works as an attorney in Minnesota. Fox News Digital contacted Kolb for confirmation on the Facebook post and additional comment on Walz’s military service but did not receive a reply prior to publication.

WALZ ACCUSATIONS OF ‘STOLEN VALOR’ PROMPT BATTLE BETWEEN HOUSE VETERANS

Democratic vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, speaks during a campaign event on Aug. 7, 2024 in Detroit. Vice President Kamala Harris and Walz are campaigning across the country this week. (Andrew Harnik)

Walz has come under mounting criticism for “stolen valor,” including veterans slamming him for saying he is a “retired Command Sergeant Major.” Walz had earned the rank of command sergeant major before his retirement, but his rank was reduced months after retiring to master sergeant, as he did not complete the required coursework with the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy. 

The “retired Command Sergeant Major” rank was promoted by the Harris campaign until last week, when it changed Walz’s biography to read that he “served as a command sergeant major.”

Walz retired from the Minnestoa Army National Guard in 2005 after 24 years of service. He then launched a successful congressional campaign and was sworn in as a member of the U.S. House representing Minnesota in 2007. 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks before President Biden at Dutch Creek Farms, Nov. 1, 2023 in Northfield, Minnesota. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Kolb continued in his social media post that he does not have a comment on Walz retiring early, as it was “his right to retire early,” but that he is fraudulently using the retired command sergeant major rank. 

JD VANCE ACCUSES TIM WALZ OF ‘LYING’ ABOUT MILITARY SERVICE: ‘STOLEN VALOR GARBAGE’

“By all accounts and on the record, he was a competent Chief of Firing Battery/Gunnery Sergeant and First Sergeant. I cannot say the same of his service sitting, frocked, in the CSM [command sergeant major] chair. He did not earn the rank or successfully complete any assignment as an E9,” he said. 

“He did not earn the rank or successfully complete any assignment as an E9,” Kolb wrote in the reported social media post. “It is an affront to the Noncommissioned Officer Corps that he continues to glom onto the title. I can sit in the cockpit of an airplane, it does not make me a pilot. Similarly, when the demands of service and leadership at the highest level got real, he chose another path.”

People take their seats ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris’ rally with her newly chosen vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, in Philadelphia on Aug. 6, 2024. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

“​’It is an affront to the Noncommissioned Officer Corps that he continues to glom onto the title,” Kolb continued. “I can sit in the cockpit of an airplane, it does not make me a pilot. Similarly, when the demands of service and leadership at the highest level got real, he chose another path.”

VP KAMALA HARRIS PICKING GOV. TIM WALZ AS RUNNING MATE MET WITH MEDIA SCORN: ‘SUCH A WEIRD CHOICE’

Kolb tagged retired Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Behrends in the post, according to the Daily Mail, who replaced Walz in the battalion when he retired, and lauded the veteran as a “great leader.”

“​​Thomas Behrends was the right leader at the right time. He sacrificed to answer the call, leaving his family, business and farming-partner brother to train, lead and care for soldiers. He earned the privilege of being called Command Sergeant Major,” he wrote. 

“Like a great leader he ran toward and not away from the guns.” 

DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS GROUP BOASTS IT HELPED MAKE WALZ HARRIS’ RUNNING MATE: ‘FORCE THAT CANNOT BE IGNORED’

Behrends has been sounding the alarm about Walz’s military career since last week, when Harris first announced the Minnesota governor as her 2024 running mate. 

Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appeare on stage together during a campaign event at the Liacouras Center at Temple University on Aug. 6, 2024 in Philadelphia. Harris ended weeks of speculation about who her running mate would be, selecting the 60-year-old Midwestern governor over other candidates. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“He’s used the rank that he never achieved in order to advance his political career,” Behrends told Fox News host Laura Ingraham last week. “I mean, he still says he’s a retired command sergeant major to this day, and he’s not. He uses the rank of others to make it look like he’s a better person than he is.”

Reports of Kolb’s Facebook post have since spread across social media, including Donald Trump Jr, former President Trump’s son, writing, “Tim Walz’s Battalion Commander absolutely destroys him over his Stolen Valor. How long is the leftwing media going to keep ignoring all of this?”

HARRIS’ RUNNING MATE FACES RENEWED SCRUTINY AFTER HIS ‘WEIRD’ SOCIALISM COMPARISON RESURFACES

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Kolb’s post. 

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

The House of Representatives is kicking off its formal probe into the attempted assassination of former President Trump on Monday.

The bipartisan Trump shooting task force sent a pair of letters announcing its investigation will now supersede several other ongoing House investigations into the matter and asking for all information sent to those committees about the July 13 shooting so far.

One letter was sent to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe; the other was addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Lawmakers are seeking staff-level briefings from each agency and department, to be scheduled by Aug. 16 – a signal that the task force is serious about its pledge for a short investigatory timeline. 

BUTLER DISTRICT ATTORNEY SAYS LOCAL SNIPERS WERE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ROOFTOP SHOOTER FIRED FROM 

The Trump assassination attempt task force, led by Reps. Mike Kelly, inset left, and Jason Crow, has formally launched its probe. (Getty Images)

“We, as the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump (Task Force), write to request documents and information related to the attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024,” wrote Reps. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Jason Crow, D-Colo.

There have been multiple Congressional inquiries launched into how a 20-year-old gunman was able to position himself on a rooftop just outside Trump’s rally perimeter last month, opening fire and killing one rally attendee. Trump himself was shot in the ear and rushed offstage by Secret Service agents.

The task force is a push by House leadership to consolidate those efforts. The panel is armed with subpoena power and wide-ranging jurisdiction to probe the shooting, with the goal of producing an end-of-year report.

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT VICTIM SAYS HE IS ‘SAD’ WITH STATE OF ‘POLITICAL DIVISION’ IN US 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, left, and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries led the task force assembly as a bipartisan effort. (Getty Images)

Kelly and Crow asked that the Biden administration officials they wrote to “should produce documents and information directly to the Task Force from this point forward, including any documents and information that are in process in response to pending requests.”

Lawmakers also asked for “all documents and information that have been produced to date, to any committee of the House or Senate related to the attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump” and “a briefing for staff to review DHS and USSS’ responses to Congress to date, and to discuss the Task Force’s priorities with respect to documents and information moving forward.”

The task force, comprised of seven House Republicans and six House Democrats, was formed after a unanimous 416-0 vote last month.

One senior House Republican told Fox News Digital last month that House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was inundated by House GOP lawmakers’ requests and arguments to be on the panel. 

IRAN THREAT PROMPTS QUESTIONS ABOUT TRUMP GUNMAN’S UNCRACKED ENCRYPTION

Former President Trump was shot in the ear but otherwise unharmed. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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Both Kelly and Crow have stressed that the investigation must be apolitical. 

Crow, a former Army Ranger, told Fox News Digital earlier this month that he and Kelly were discussing a possible trip to the Pennsylvania rally site where the shooting took place. Kelly, who was at the rally in Butler, represents the surrounding district.

“Chairman Kelly and I have discussed that, and we do think that would be an important thing to do if we have the support to do it,” Crow said.

Fox News Power Ranking predicts a senate tossup (Fox News)

Republicans have a favorable map, but Democratic candidates are on top in several battleground states. It is anyone’s game in the first Fox News Power Rankings for the Senate this cycle.

Ticket splitting will make the difference

If you know one fact about the 1984 presidential election, it’s that Ronald Reagan won in a landslide. With wins in 49 states and a total of 525 electoral college votes, no candidate has ever pulled off a larger victory.

You might not remember that in the same election, Republicans lost two Senate seats, leaving them with a total of just 53 in the upper chamber.

Outcomes like these used to be normal. Voters have opted for different party winners in more than a hundred races with a presidential and senate election on the same ballot in the postwar era, with the practice reaching its peak in the 1970s and 1980s.

Today, voters are much more loyal to their party. In the last presidential cycle, the electorate only chose different party winners in one out of the 35 states with presidential and senate races (Maine, where Susan Collins held on for a fifth term).

Calculated another way, Democratic and Republican senate candidate vote-shares each differed from the top of the ticket by an average of 2.4 points.

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: WITH VP PICKS, HARRIS AND TRUMP MISS OPPORTUNITIES TO BROADEN THEIR APPEAL

The outcome of the presidential race will therefore heavily influence the result of most of the 34 senate seats up for election this year. In fact, the Power Rankings have the same party winning the presidential and senate races in every state where one party has an edge in both forecasts. 

Fox News Power Ranking Senate Predictions (Fox News)

However, the exceptions to this rule will determine who takes control of the upper chamber.

Republicans are chasing wins in two Trump-leaning states that have held on to moderate Democratic incumbents.

Nearby, a handful of Democratic candidates have been outperforming their presidential counterpart, even after the party’s last-minute candidate switch.

The performance of the top of the ticket will be important in those races, but candidate quality, efficient campaigning and a message targeted to local voters will make all the difference.

The Reagan era can feel long forgotten in America. This year, we find out if ticket splitting is a distant memory too.

A favorable map puts Republicans close to victory

Fox News Power Rankings Senate Map predictions (Fox News)

Republicans have a head start on their road to a Senate majority thanks to a favorable map. The GOP has a clear advantage in all the seats they will defend this year, whereas Democrats must defend eight seats that are hotly contested.

Democrats will also kick off the night with a very likely loss in West Virginia. 

The seat is currently held by Sen. Joe Manchin, who decided not to run for re-election earlier this year. The senator’s enduring relationship with West Virginians helped him eke out a 3-point win in 2018, but with Trump’s nearly 39-point win in the last presidential race, this is deep red territory. Democrats needed Manchin on the ballot to put up a good fight.

That victory alone would give Republicans 50 senate seats, or one short of a majority. (If Trump wins the presidential race, the GOP would rule the senate even without a majority because the Vice President breaks ties.)

To guarantee control, Republicans are looking for victories in Montana and Ohio.

Fox News Power Rankings red state senate prediction (Fox News)

Some of the dynamics in these races are similar to West Virginia. In 2020, Trump won Montana by 16 points and Ohio by 8 points. Two years earlier, Democratic incumbent Sens. Jon Tester and Sherrod Brown won the same states by nearly four and seven points, respectively.

Republicans are optimistic that victories in both races are within reach. Tester and Brown have mostly voted in line with the Biden administration’s priorities, and the GOP has fielded capable candidates in both states, including retired Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy in Montana and businessman Bernie Moreno in Ohio.

At the same time, the Democrats’ sitting senators have bucked their party on the items that matter most to their voters. Tester is a key proponent of the Keystone XL pipeline, for example, and Brown has pushed his party to support more tariffs on Chinese imports.

Montana and Ohio are toss-ups.

Democratic senate candidates are outperforming their presidential ticket in battleground states

Despite a challenging Senate map, Democrats have been buoyed by strong polling in most of the seats they are defending. 

Fox News Power Rankings analysis of Democratic swing state senators (Fox News)

That includes Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, three famously swingy rust belt states at the heart of the presidential race. Recent Fox News surveys for each of these three races show more than 50% of voters supporting the Democratic candidate.

• In Michigan, congresswoman and former CIA analyst Elissa Slotkin (D) is ahead of former congressman and former FBI agent Mike Rogers (R) by a 51-46% margin, or five points.
• In Pennsylvania, third term Sen. Bob Casey (D) leads businessman and Bush administration official Dave McCormick (R) by a 55-42% margin, or 13 points.
• In Wisconsin, second-term senator and presumptive nominee Tammy Baldwin (D) leads banker and likely nominee Eric Hovde (R) by a 54-43% margin, or 11 points (Wisconsin’s primary takes place tomorrow).

Slotkin, Casey and Baldwin are all experienced politicians. They are running well-funded campaigns and hoping that focusing on local issues like infrastructure, child safety and health care funding will get them over the line.

These races are far from settled. Republicans will look to build more name awareness for their candidates as their races heat up, and hope to remind voters that their opponents have been supportive of the Biden administration’s economic and immigration policies.

However, these polling leads give the Democrats an advantage today. Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin’s senate races are rated Lean D. 

Fox News Power Rankings on Republican and Democrat performance in the senate elections (Fox News)

In the southwest, Republican and former local news anchor Kari Lake is running her second statewide race in Arizona after an unsuccessful bid for governor in 2022. 

Lake ran very close in that election, but her 17,117 vote loss was nearly double that of former President Trump’s in 2020, and in the 2022 Fox News Voter Analysis, she ran 28 points behind her Democratic opponent with independents.

This time, she faces Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-3), an Iraq War veteran, progressive and critic of retiring independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. With the border a top issue, Lake and allies have hit Gallego on his support for sanctuary cities, among other liberal immigration policies.

Gallego has an edge on Lake in recent polls and more than triple her cash on hand. A strong Trump showing in Arizona may be enough to give Lake a victory, but this race begins at Lean D.

Fox News Power Rankings analysis of what states are senate tossups (Fox News)

The most competitive swing state race is in Nevada, where Democratic incumbent Jacky Rosen is seeking a second term. She is up against Republican and Afghanistan War veteran Sam Brown.

Rosen is running the same kind of small target campaign as her fellow incumbents in the rust belt, while Brown is leaning on his military experience and a Trump endorsement.

Nevada is one of the closest states on the board in the presidential race, and neither candidate has a consistent polling lead. Rosen ended June with triple Brown’s cash on hand, but that is not enough to give an edge to either party yet. This race is a toss-up.

An open seat in Maryland gives Republicans a chance to flip the script

In the races discussed in this forecast so far, Republicans are chasing wins in either very competitive or right-leaning presidential states.

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: IS KAMALA HARRIS UNBURDENED BY WHAT HAS BEEN?

In Maryland, the GOP is looking for an upset in deep blue territory.

The Old Line State voted for President Biden over Trump by a whopping 33 points in 2020, and its high proportion of Black voters and college-educated voters gives Democrats an advantage right out of the gate.

If anyone can challenge this script, it is former Governor Larry Hogan. 

Fox News Power Rankings performance table (Fox News)

Hogan governed as a moderate and a Trump skeptic in his eight years in office. That is the recipe the GOP needs for a shot here, and so far, voters say they like Hogan. He started the race with a 64% favorable rating among Maryland registered voters.

The challenge will be convincing Democratic voters who liked Hogan for governor that they should back him in the Senate too. Pro-Roe and anti-Trump positioning will help him with moderates, just as Trump’s surprise endorsement will keep rancor among “MAGA” voters at bay.

Democrats still have an edge. Not only is the electoral math in their favor, but candidate Angela Alsobrooks has raised more money and is leaning effectively on her experience as a county executive and prosecutor. 

Endorsements from Vice President Harris and the Washington Post will be helpful. Maryland starts at Lean D.

The first Power Rankings forecast for the House is out tomorrow

Power Rankings mania continues tomorrow with the first U.S. House forecast. Check back here and watch America’s Newsroom to see predictions for all 435 districts.

On Wednesday, come back again for a first look at the 11 governor’s races up for grabs in 2024. An all-new Power Rankings Issues Tracker caps off the week as Democracy 24 special coverage for the Democratic National Convention begins.

EXCLUSIVE: Former President Donald Trump is set to sue the Justice Department for $100 million in damages over the government’s unprecedented 2022 raid on his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Florida, with lawyers arguing it was done with “clear intent to engage in political persecution.”

Fox News has obtained Trump’s memo claiming “tortious conduct by the United States against President Trump.” 

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump and his legal team intend to sue the Justice Department for its conduct during the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8, 2022, amid the federal investigation into his alleged improper retention of classified records. 

JUDGE DISMISSES TRUMP’S FLORIDA CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE

After the raid, Special Counsel Jack Smith was appointed to investigate. Smith ultimately brought 37 felony counts against Trump, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements. Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts. 

Police standby at the approach to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach on Aug. 9, 2022, as supporters of former President Donald Trump turn out after an FBI raid of the former president’s residence earlier in the day.  (Nicholas Nehamas/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

But U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, last month, dismissed Smith’s case against Trump altogether. Cannon ruled that Smith was unlawfully appointed and funded, citing the Appointments Clause in the Constitution. 

Trump attorney Daniel Epstein filed the notice to sue the Justice Department. The Justice Department has 180 days from the date of receipt to respond to Epstein’s notice and come to a resolution. If no resolution is made, Trump’s case will move to federal court in the Southern District of Florida. 

“What President Trump is doing here is not just standing up for himself – he is standing up for all Americans who believe in the rule of law and believe that you should hold the government accountable when it wrongs you,” Trump attorney Daniel Epstein told Fox Business’ Lydia Hu. 

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

Epstein’s filing states that the “tortious acts against the president are rooted in intrusion upon seclusion, malicious prosecution, and abuse of process resulting from the August 8, 2022 raid of his and his family’s home at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach Florida.” Epstein added that the decisions made by the DOJ and FBI regarding that raid were “inconsistent with protocols requiring the consent of an investigative target, disclosure to that individual’s attorneys, and the use of the local U.S. Attorney’s Office.” 

Epstein argues the decisions made by Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray were not grounded in “social, economic, and political policy” but instead, in “clear dereliction of constitutional principles, inconsistent standards as applied to” Trump and a “clear intent to engage in political persecution – not to advance good law enforcement practices.” 

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks with reporters during a news conference at the Department of Justice on Dec. 6, 2023, in Washington, as Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, right, looks on.  (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

“Garland and Wray should have never approved a raid and subsequent indictment of President Trump because the well-established protocol with former U.S. presidents is to use non-enforcement means to obtain records of the United States,” Epstein wrote. “But notwithstanding the fact that the raid should have never occurred, Garland and Wray should have ensured their agents sought consent from President Trump, notified his lawyers, and sought cooperation.”

Epstein added: “Garland and Wray decided to stray from established protocol to injure President Trump.” 

TRUMP IMMUNITY CASE: SUPREME COURT RULES EX-PRESIDENTS HAVE SUBSTANTIAL PROTECTION FROM PROSECUTION

Epstein argued that the DOJ violated Florida law, intrusion upon seclusion, which is recognized as a form of invasion of privacy. Intrusion upon seclusion includes “an intentional intrusion, physically or otherwise, into the private quarters of another person” and the intrusion “must occur in a manner that a reasonable person would find highly offensive.” 

FBI Director Christopher Wray listens during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on, Jan. 27, 2023.  (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

“The FBI’s demonstrated activity was inconsistent with protocols used in routine searches of an investigative target’s premises,” Epstein wrote, adding that Trump “had a clear expectation of privacy at Mar-a-Lago. Worse, the FBI’s conduct in the raid – where established protocol was violated – constitutes a severe and unacceptable intrusion that is highly offensive to a reasonable person.”

Next, Epstein argued “malicious prosecution.” He wrote that the Justice Department and the special counsel’s office “brought a lawless criminal indictment” against Trump. Epstein pointed to the Supreme Court’s ruling that a president has immunity from prosecution for official acts. 

Special Counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on a recently unsealed indictment including four felony counts against former President Donald Trump at the Justice Department on Aug. 1, 2023, in Washington, D.C. Trump was indicted on four felony counts for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.   (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

TRUMP TOUTS SUPREME COURT’S PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY RULING AS ‘BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND FOR DEMOCRACY’

“As such, given the Supreme Court’s immunity decision and Judge Cannon’s dismissal of the prosecution on grounds that the Special Counsel’s appointment violated the appointments clause and his office was funded through an improper appropriation, there was no constitutional basis for the search or the subsequent indictment,” Epstein writes. 

Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse at Montana State University on Aug. 9, 2024, in Bozeman, Montana. (Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)

Epstein also argued there was an “abuse of process,” saying the process used against Trump was “unconstitutional and aimed at politically persecuting the former President, which led to extensive legal costs and negative consequences for him.” 

Epstein also argued the DOJ’s “malicious prosecution and abuse of process cause President Trump to incur, upon information and belief, $15 million in actual harm due to his legal costs” in defending himself in Smith’s case before Cannon. 

Epstein is also planning to sue for punitive damages. 

“For these harms to President Trump, the respondents must pay punitive damages of $100 million,” Epstein wrote.

Attached with the memo is a certification signed by Trump that Epstein is his legal representative for the notice to the Justice Department.

The Justice Department declined to comment. 

“You have clear evidence that the FBI failed to follow protocols, and the failure to follow protocols shows that there was an improper purpose,” Epstein told Fox Business. “If the government is able to say, well, we don’t like someone, we can raid their home, we can violate their privacy, we can breach protocols when we decide to prosecute them, we can use the process to advance our personal motive–not a motive of justice–if someone doesn’t stand against that in a very public way and seek to obtain and protect their rights, then the government will have a mandate to roughshod over every American.” 

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Epstein added that the case is “very accurate and precise election interference.” 

“The entire special counsel investigation was about interfering with his ability to get elected,” Epstein said. 

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, has not taken questions from reporters in the nearly three weeks since President Biden suspended his re-election campaign – a move that may work to her advantage like it did for Biden in 2020. 

“She is running a similar play to Biden in 2020 where, of course, he used COVID as an excuse to stay in his basement the entire election,” Cody Sargent, spokesperson for Heritage Action for America, told Fox News Digital in an interview. 

“Harris is running a Trojan horse campaign,” Sargent continued. “She’s distracting people with Megan Thee Stallion and rolling out a vice president commercials that don’t really say anything, distracting them with this big shiny object and Trojan horse. But, then inside that horse is socialism, the most radical candidate to ever appear at the top of her presidential ticket, and she’s avoiding doing any media, any real interviews, any sit down.”

KAMALA HARRIS FINALLY FIELDS QUESTIONS FROM PRESS AFTER DODGING MEDIA FOR 18 DAYS SINCE BECOMING DEM NOMINEE

Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff arrive to board Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool via Reuters)

In 2020, during his presidential campaign, President Biden held very few press conferences. Throughout the year, he conducted around 12 to 15 press conferences or major media events, instead opting for virtual events. 

“So right now it’s working for her,” Sargent said. “Because we, unfortunately, have a compliant press in this country that’s openly pulling for her.”

Harris was blasted for spending less than two minutes taking questions from reporters Thursday after being criticized for going 18 days without speaking to the media.

“Kamala refuses to do interviews because her team realizes she is unable to answer questions, much like Biden was not able to answer questions, but for different reasons,” former President Trump posted on Truth Social.

The vice president answered a handful of questions on the airport tarmac while campaigning in Michigan on Thursday, after Trump had held a lengthy news conference earlier in the afternoon.

JD VANCE ROASTS HARRIS ON WISCONSIN TARMAC FOR AVOIDING PRESS, CALLS AIR FORCE 2 HIS ‘FUTURE PLANE’

Vice President Harris and former President Trump (Getty Images)

One reporter asked Harris to respond to criticism regarding how she has not given an interview or a formal press conference since she became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

“I’ve talked to my team. I want us to get an interview scheduled before the end of the month,” Harris answered.

WALZ’S HANDLING OF BLM RIOTS, STRICT COVID RULES UNDER MICROSCOPE AFTER HARRIS VP PICK

Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she boards Air Force Two. (Reuters/Kevin Mohatt/Pool)

On Thursday, it was reported that Harris took the edge over Trump for the first time in the betting markets since May 1, when Biden was still in the race. On that day, Biden held a narrow 42.3% to 42.2% advantage in the Real Clear Politics betting average.

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Harris has a 50.7% chance to be elected president, while former President Trump sits at a 47.9% chance to win the election, according to the Real Clear Politics betting average on Thursday.

Trump and Harris agreed to a Sept. 10 debate hosted by ABC News. 

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

Former President Trump has had a number of legal victories in recent weeks, putting a pause on a majority of cases and delaying others that could have complicated his campaigning during the general election season. 

The Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. United States last month that a former president has substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts in office but not for unofficial acts. The high court left it to the lower court to determine exactly where the line between official and unofficial is.

“The President therefore may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled, at a minimum, to a presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts,” the majority opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts states. “That immunity applies equally to all occupants of the Oval Office, regardless of politics, policy, or party.”

Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower, May 30, 2024, after being found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)

The question of presidential immunity stemmed from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 case against Trump. Trump pleaded not guilty to those charges. That trial was put on hold in a lower court pending the Supreme Court’s ruling, which wiped out any charges related to official presidential acts.

That case has been returned to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Smith requested a delay to amend and prepare his argument in the case, following the Supreme Court ruling. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted Smith’s request. A joint status report is now due Aug. 30 and a status conference is now set for Sept. 5. 

TRUMP IMMUNITY CASE: SUPREME COURT RULES EX-PRESIDENTS HAVE SUBSTANTIAL PROTECTION FROM PROSECUTION

The Supreme Court’s ruling then prompted Trump’s lawyers to request that the former president’s sentencing be delayed in New York v. Trump. He was found guilty on all counts of falsifying business records in the first degree after an unprecedented criminal trial stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation. 

TRUMP TOUTS SUPREME COURT’S PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY RULING AS ‘BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND FOR DEMOCRACY’

The sentencing was originally scheduled for July 11, before the Republican National Convention, where Trump was set to be formally nominated as the GOP presidential nominee. Judge Juan Merchan agreed to delay and said a hearing on the matter would take place Sept. 18. 

Donald Trump and Jack Smith  (Getty Images)

But days later, Trump’s lawyers asked Merchan to overturn the former president’s guilty verdict in New York v. Trump.

Trump attorneys cited the Supreme Court ruling, saying the court should “dismiss the indictment and vacate the jury’s verdict based on violations of the Presidential immunity doctrine and the Supremacy Clause.” In the formal motion, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche pointed to the Supreme Court’s immunity decision and argued certain evidence of “official acts” should not have been admitted during the trial.

TRUMP REQUESTS NY JUDGE OVERTURN GUILTY VERDICT, INDICTMENT AFTER SCOTUS IMMUNITY RULING

Specifically, Blanche argued that testimony from former White House officials and employees was inappropriately admitted during trial. 

Blanche argued Bragg “violated the Presidential immunity doctrine by using similar official-acts evidence in the grand jury proceedings that gave rise to the politically motivated charges in this case.” 

A ruling on the motion is pending. 

JUDGE DISMISSES TRUMP’S FLORIDA CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE

Days later, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed Smith’s classified records case against Trump. 

Trump had faced charges related to alleged improper retention of classified records at Mar-a-Lago. He pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony counts from Smith’s probe, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements. 

But Cannon dismissed the case altogether, ruling Smith was unlawfully appointed and funded, citing the appointments clause in the Constitution. 

The U.S. Supreme Court, Nov. 15, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

The appointments clause states, “Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States be appointed by the President subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, although Congress may vest the appointment of inferior officers in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.” 

Smith, however, was never confirmed by the Senate. He is appealing the ruling. 

TRUMP APPEALS $454M NY CIVIL FRAUD JUDGMENT

Meanwhile, in Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis had charged Trump with crimes related to alleged 2020 election interference. Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts. 

The judge in that case dismissed six of the charges against Trump, saying Willis failed to allege sufficient detail. 

The case also was thrown into limbo when it was revealed Willis reportedly had an “improper affair” with Nathan Wade, a prosecutor she hired to help bring the case against Trump. Wade later resigned his position.

Last month, the Georgia Court of Appeals paused the proceedings until it hears the case to disqualify Willis in October, yet another major setback for Willis. 

Jack Smith, Alvin Bragg and Fani Willis (Getty Images)

Last week, the Georgia Court of Appeals said it would hear Trump’s argument to have Willis disqualified on Dec. 5, a month after the 2024 presidential election. 

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court ruling could be applied by Trump attorneys in several civil cases he has been fighting. 

In the civil defamation case brought against him by columnist E. Jean Carroll, Trump was ordered to pay more than $83 million in damages after he denied allegations he raped her in the 1990s. 

Carroll alleged Trump raped her at the Bergdorf Goodman department store across from Trump Tower in Manhattan in 1996. 

The jury found Carroll was injured as a result of statements Trump made while in the White House in June 2019. 

Trump’s denial came while he was president during a press gaggle at the White House. Trump attorneys could say the denial came as part of an official presidential act. 

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His denial resulted in Carroll slapping Trump with a defamation suit, claiming his response caused harm to her reputation. 

Trump is also appealing the civil fraud ruling that demanded he pay more than $450 million after a lawsuit brought against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Trump’s legal team this week filed paperwork with a mid-level appeals court, calling the ruling “unconstitutional.”