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EXCLUSIVE: Rumble, a popular video-sharing and cloud service platform, has revealed a number of censorship demands it’s received from the governments of countries that may surprise many.

The major tech company shared the details of those demands with Fox News Digital, as well as CEO Chris Pavlovski’s prepared remarks for his testimony on Capitol Hill this week, which will take place at a House hearing centered on rising censorship and free speech concerns in Brazil.

“Freedom of speech and freedom of expression are the cornerstones of a democratic society,” Pavlovski is expected to tell members of the House Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations on Tuesday.

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“Freedom of expression is so important, that not only is it the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, but it is also Article 19 in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” he is expected to say. “It is extremely troubling to me that in 2024 I have to come before the U.S. Congress to testify that these fundamental rights are being threatened.”

Of those threats Pavlovski is expected to mention – most of which would be considered the norm by countries like China, Russia or North Korea – the perpetrators are actually liberal democracies where personal freedoms have typically been held in high regard.

According to Rumble, it’s become a common theme for those countries to try and control what can and cannot be said online, especially if the content happens to be politically unpopular or inconvenient for their respective governments.

One such demand came from the French government, which wanted Rumble to essentially take action reminiscent of the Chinese Communist Party by removing content posted on its site by Russia Today – an outlet funded by the Russian government – despite none of its posting policies being violated.

Rumble is in the midst of a legal battle with the French government over the demand despite trying to engage with it over the content, and has temporarily suspended its service in the country.

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A similar situation has played out in Brazil following President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s election victory in 2022 and subsequent protests by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro that some likened to the Jan. 6, 2021, protests at the U.S. Capitol.

According to Rumble, whose services are also suspended in the country amid ongoing legal challenges, the Brazilian government has attempted to censor political opponents and journalists on the site.

Additionally, Rumble has faced pressure from the Australian and New Zealand governments to remove content from its site, including the viral video of a Sydney bishop being attacked while conducting a church service, and data released by a government whistleblower concerning the efficacy of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The company is challenging those governments as well.

In his congressional testimony, Pavlovski is expected to inform the committee about the efforts by France, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil to block the availability of certain content from their respective citizens, and will emphasize the “overt” nature of governments’ censorship attempts.

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“Governments are acting in ways we only imagine happening 50 to 60 years ago, openly asking platforms to censor and take down disfavored content. They are back in the business of thinking they know what’s best, dictating and controlling conversations, and stripping the human right to speak and share freely,” Pavloski is expected to testify.

“These are not theoretical fears. These things are happening, and I know this personally as the CEO of a platform that receives demands from governments around the world,” he will say. “Countries in every hemisphere, all of them members of the United Nations, are no longer upholding the human right to freedom of expression. This is getting out of control, and it should alarm everyone in this room.”

Pavlovski is expected to call on the U.S. government to no longer remain “silent” on the issue of defending freedom of speech, and will issue a stark warning that although Rumble is facing these demands today, it could be other outlets in the future.

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“Today it is Rumble, yesterday it was X, but tomorrow it could be The New York Times. The platform shouldn’t matter; the universal right to freedom of speech and expression – the core of Western democracy – is at stake. America needs to step up and take a leading role,” he will add.

Members of Congress are looking to take action against a United Nations agency serving Palestinian refugees in Gaza, amid reports the international organization assisted the Hamas terror group.

Reps. Brian Mast, R-Fla., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., are introducing legislation that would demand the U.S. State Department does everything it can to return American tax dollars that went to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

“For way too long, UNRWA has masqueraded as a relief organization, while in reality serving as an incubator for Palestinian terrorists. Intelligence reports indicate that as many as 10% of UNRWA workers have direct links to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihadists,” Mast said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

He added: “It’s ludicrous that our hard-earned American tax dollars were going to fund this crap. The State Department needs to do everything it can to recoup this money.”

DOSSIER REVEALS INFORMATION USED TO EXPLAIN UN AGENCY’S DEEP TIES TO HAMAS IN GAZA

The legislation comes after allegations surfaced that at least a dozen UNRWA employees joined or otherwise assisted Hamas terrorists during their overnight attack on Israeli border communities on Oct. 7. The attack left more than 1,200 people dead, and Hamas took more than 200 hostages from a music festival and from their homes back into Gaza.

After reports that some UNRWA members helped Hamas, the Biden administration announced on Jan. 26 that it would stop additional taxpayer dollars from going to the agency.

Just days before the freeze, however, the administration had already transferred $121 million to UNRWA.

Mast and Gottheimer’s bipartisan bill hopes to recoup that sum to the U.S.

The legislation is part of a continued effort from the U.S. — and other countries — to separate itself from the agency.

ISRAEL URGES PALESTINIANS TO EVACUATE RAFAH AHEAD OF EXPECTED GROUND OPERATION IN HAMAS STRONGHOLD

U.S. intelligence in February said it was likely some employees of UNRWA participated in the attack, but it also said it could not verify Israeli allegations of wider links between the agency and UNRWA, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In March, the Israeli government named 12 UNRWA employees who had ties to and assisted Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel in a dossier that it shared with several of its allies. Three were suspected of being involved in the kidnapping of the hostages or keeping them in their homes.

The agency fired the 12 employees named in the allegations, but the damage was already done and UNRWA lost hundreds of millions of dollars from donors after the dossier was sent.

The information includes allegations that approximately 1,200 employees shared some connection with Hamas — including around 17% of UNRWA teachers (out of a total 8,300) and around 20% of UNRWA school principals and deputy principals (out of a total 500) are members of Hamas. Ties to the group extend to UNRWA workers in positions related to relief and humanitarian aid, with about 10% of the 151 relief workers, and members of UNRWA’s health services.

The dossier also included excerpts from textbooks used in the agency’s school curriculum that allegedly include glorification of martyrdom and antisemitic tropes. Maps provided to children in their textbooks show a singular land where Israel and the Palestinian territories exist but labeled as a singular Palestine.

After the report surfaced, Congress passed legislation to defund UNRWA until 2025. 

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Other governments similarly cut financial ties to UNRWA.

The report and subsequent response comes years after former President Trump took action against UNRWA when he was serving in the White House.

Fox News’ Peter Aitken contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump did not personally direct a Trump Organization executive to set up reimbursement payments to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, according to witness testimony Monday in the NY v. Trump case. 

“Michael Cohen was a lawyer?” defense attorney Emil Bove asked former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney Monday at the start of the fourth week of the trial.

“Sure, yes,” McConney responded. 

“And payments to lawyers by the Trump Organization are legal expenses, right?” asked Bove.

“Yes,” said McConney.

LIVE UPDATES: EX-TRUMP ORG CONTROLLER TAKES STAND AS PROSECUTORS BUILD TO MICHAEL COHEN TESTIMONY

“President Trump did not ask you to do any of the things you just described … correct?” Bove asked.

“He did not,” McConney replied.

NY V. TRUMP TO RESUME MONDAY AFTER EVENTFUL THIRD WEEK OF TESTIMONY, THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF GAG ORDER FINES

Trump is in Manhattan for the fourth week of trial, where he is facing 34 counts of falsifying business records. The NY v. Trump case focuses on Trump’s former attorney Cohen paying former pornographic actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 to allegedly quiet her claims of an alleged extramarital affair she had with the then-real estate tycoon in 2006. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels.

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

McConney, who served as the Trump Organization’s controller for more than two decades, took the stand Monday, where he was grilled by both prosecutors and the defense team. 

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McConney testified that he was directed by former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg to reimburse Cohen with $35,000 per month payments, with the last being sent to Cohen in December of 2017.

McConney also detailed that Cohen was initially reimbursed through a trust, before switching to payments from Trump’s personal account. An email from McConney to Cohen was entered into evidence, which showed the controller replying to Cohen and confirming that checks would have to be sent to the White House to be signed by Trump.

Cohen was paid a total of $420,000, according to the testimony, a sum that was “grossed up” so Cohen wouldn’t lose money through taxes. 

NY V. TRUMP: WITNESS SAYS COHEN DREAMED OF WHITE HOUSE JOB DESPITE DENYING AMBITIONS IN HOUSE TESTIMONY

His testimony during cross-examination bolstered the Trump team’s defense, with the executive outlining that the 45th president did not have an active role in the reimbursements to Cohen. 

“And as far as you know, President Trump did not ask anyone to do those things?” Bove continued, as prosecutors objected. 

“In none of the conversations that you had with Mr. Weisselberg, did he suggest that President Trump had told him to do these things?” Bove pressed.

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“Allen never told me that,” McConney said.

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McConney is the prosecution team’s 10th witness since the trial began in mid-April. Last week, the court heard from Keith Davidson, an attorney who once represented Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal; computer forensic analyst for the DA’s office, Doug Daus; bank executive Gary Farro; and Hope Hicks, who worked for the Trump Organization and later served as Trump’s press secretary during the 2016 presidential campaign. 

The Trump trial is expected to last at least six weeks. Trump has railed against the case as a “scam” promoted by the Biden administration ahead of the 2024 election. 

Earlier Monday, presiding Judge Juan Merchan said he will consider a jail sentence for Trump if he continues to violate a gag order. The gag order prevents Trump from making or directing others to make public statements about witnesses and their potential participation, or remarks about court staff, DA staff or family members of staff.

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The DA’s office argued that Trump had violated the order more than a dozen times, with the judge ruling last week that Trump violated the order nine times, resulting in a combined $9,000 fine. Merchan fined the former president another $1,000 for an additional violation on Monday, while arguing it’s “clear” that $1,000 fines for each violation are not effective.

“The last thing I want to consider is jail,” Merchan said. “You are [the] former president and possibly the next president.” 

Fox News Digital’ Brooke Singman and Michael Lee contributed to this report. 

New York City has become the epicenter of campus protests at the hands of radicals denouncing Israel and Jews worldwide, forcing the NYPD to juggle yet another public safety concern and hundreds of arrests, in addition to ongoing crime trends, the immigration crisis, police understaffing and even security surrounding the unprecedented trial of former President Trump in Manhattan. 

“We believe that they, too, should contribute to the cost,” Democratic Mayor Eric Adams said last week when asked if Columbia University should foot the bill for a recent massive NYPD operation to remove radicals from campus. 

“One way to prevent the costs from escalating is to have a zero tolerance. As soon as the tents go up, it comes down. Do not allow this to continue to expand,” Adams continued. “That is what we saw at Columbia University and that is what we saw at CUNY as well.”

“[I]f this summer turns out to be a very hot summer on the crime front, I mean, that can be particularly disastrous at a time in which the department is spread as thin as it is.” 

Just last month, anti-Israel protests on Columbia University’s campus spiraled, with students and outside agitators seen on camera with a poster outlining that Jewish students on campus would become Al-Qasam’s “next targets,” referring to terrorist organization Hamas’s military wing. That same weekend, a rabbi at Columbia warned Jewish students to leave campus immediately until the situation was quelled. 

NYPD RELEASE VIDEO SHOWING PROFESSIONAL ‘PROTEST CONSULTANT’ AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

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

The situation did not dramatically improve. Instead, an encampment on campus dubbed the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” grew and radicals overtook a building on campus, Hamilton Hall. The encampment and occupation of Hamilton Hall only ended when the NYPD stormed the campus, clearing the encampment and removing throngs of agitators from the building. 

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PROTESTS: REP. ELISE STEFANIK URGES TRUSTEES TO REMOVE SHAFIK AFTER MOB SEIZES BUILDING

Between Columbia’s and The City College of New York’s campuses last week, police arrested 282 people and worked to dismantle illegal encampments. The NYPD revealed half of those arrested were outside agitators not affiliated with the universities. 

Manhattan Institute fellow Rafael Mangual told Fox News Digital in a phone interview this month that the NYPD is spread thin as it juggles safety concerns revolving around the protests, in addition to a handful of other public safety issues in the city. 

“The department being spread as thin as it is, is really going to constrain its ability to respond to any kind of major shift,” Mangual said. “Again, we’re hoping … that the beginning of this trend of a crime decline continues. But if this summer turns out to be a very hot summer on the crime front, I mean, that can be particularly disastrous at a time in which the department is spread as thin as it is.” 

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Adams has praised the police for their strong showing and ability to shut down the protests, while denouncing the agitators on campus disrupting the city. 

“They are attempting to disrupt our city, and we are not going to permit it to happen,” Adams said last week. “And we’re proud to say they have been removed from the campus. The NYPD is precision policing ensured that the operation was organized, calm, and that there were no injuries or violent clashes.”

The protests come after the NYPD saw historical losses of staffers leaving the force or retiring in recent years. In 2022, roughly 3,700 officers retired or quit — the largest figure recorded in the last 20 years, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

Police leaving the NYPD has been an issue stretching back decades, with Mangual explaining that staffing levels sat around 40,000 members in the early 2000s, before falling to under 34,000. 

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“I think there’s no question that resources are getting strained. The NYPD is certainly a beneficiary of its very, very high levels of staffing. But it’s also important to remember that that high level of staffing has been pretty steadily decreasing for two decades now. I mean, I think of the year 2000, the department had about 40,000 officers, close to 41,000 at one point in the early aughts, and they’re down to about 33,500,” he said. 

The staffing issue woes are illustrated by how response times for calls of service have increased in recent years, along with the number of actual calls for service skyrocketing, Mangual reported in a New York Post opinion piece in March. 

Mangual compared NYPD response times in January 2018 to December 2023, finding response times for critical calls increased by 22% in December, “serious” calls for service response times increased by 45.5% and non-critical calls by 28.7%, sitting around 27 minutes or more for officers to respond. 

The NYPD also fielded a whopping 1 million more calls for service in 2022 compared to pre-pandemic 2018, Mangual found. 

“The NYPD fielded a million more calls for service in 2018,” Mangual told Fox News Digital. “Most police departments, you know, are fielding maybe 100,000 calls for service ready at a midsized Police Department in an American city. The NYPD is like the LAPD, it’s a mega department. So you’re talking about 7 million calls for service a year.”

“That’s an enormous amount. And … that growth in calls for services is coming at a time in which the number of officers on the street has been declining. And it’s important to understand, too, that that 33,500 number includes all uniformed members of service, not all of whom are patrol officers who are going to be responding to these calls.”

New York City was among cities across the nation following 2020 that saw crimes increase, including murders increasing by nearly 47% in 2020 compared to 2019, burglaries increased by 43% that year, and grand larceny of vehicles by 66%. 

Violent crimes such as murder have since fallen in the city, which Mangual celebrated, but noted that crime overall only ticked down 0.3% last year compared to 2022. 

NYPD SEES LARGEST STAFF EXODUS IN DECADES WITH LEADERS ‘REFUSING TO ACKNOWLEDGE’ MOUNTING CRISIS: UNION BOSS

“Lots of people are sort of hyper focused on the homicide decline, the shooting decline” he told Fox News Digital. “And they should be, you know, those are important developments for sure. You know, I don’t want to deemphasize that at all because I do think that that’s an important sign of improvement. But if you look in 2023, for example, the year-end crime data for New York City showed that overall major crime, which are the seven major offenses that the NYPD tracks, was only down 0.3%. Despite those really sharp declines in homicides and shootings, and that’s because car thefts, larcenies, burglaries, robberies, and non-shooting assaults are still very, very elevated.”

Israel activist, New Yorker Lizzy Savetsky, told Fox News Digital that protests and radicals on campuses are challenging “the fabric of our public safety” while promoting antisemitism and hate of the U.S.

“These antisemitic, pro-Hamas encampments on campuses across New York City are directly targeting the Jewish community and are anti-American. The NYPD’s stretched resources are a testament to the disruptive nature of these mob encampments, which not only challenge the fabric of our public safety but also embolden antisemitic and anti-American sentiments. It’s unacceptable that our city’s security and the well-being of its Jewish residents are being compromised by such targeted hate,” Savetsky said. 

Simultaneous with the city’s crime trends and protests, the Big Apple is also grappling with a migrant crisis, as illegal immigrants have continuously flooded the nation under the Biden administration, as border states such as Texas bused the migrants to left-wing cities with “sanctuary” status. 

COLUMBIA STUDENT RECOUNTS HAVING ‘FRONT-ROW SEAT TO THE MADNESS’ OF ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS

More than 180,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since 2022, while roughly 7.3 million illegal immigrants have entered the U.S. since President Biden took office in 2021, Fox News Digital reported in February. The total number of migrants in the nation outpaces the population of 36 individual states. 

The city is also juggling security surrounding the high-profile and unprecedented trial of former President Trump in Manhattan, where he faces 34 felony charges of falsifying business records. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and slammed the case as a “scam” promoted by the Biden administration ahead of the 2024 election. 

“They’re very spread thin. And so, I think the real vulnerability is … we won’t be able to be very nimble, should something big happen.”

The trial has resulted in mass media attention, while supporters and protesters have also gathered outside the courthouse. During the first week of the trial last month, a man set himself on fire outside the trial. He succumbed to his injuries shortly after. 

COLUMBIA STUDENTS TRIED TO DELAY MOB TAKEOVER OF HAMILTON HALL, BUT SAY ‘POLICE NEVER CAME’

“So not only do we have these more regular instances of protests, which demand a large police presence,” Mangual said. “We’ve had bridges shut down, the tunnel shut down, mass gatherings at Penn Station and Grand Central Station, the campuses,” Mangual continued. “But you also have these very, very high security events like Trump’s trial, the UN every year. So they’re all these things that are sort of consistently happening that are further constraining the NYPD’s ability to respond for to calls for service, and those calls for service have been growing.”

Mangual warned that though the NYPD can handle the events currently unfolding in the city, the Big Apple would be left vulnerable if a mass tragedy strikes or if riots similar to those in 2020 broke out. 

“They’re very spread thin. And so, I think the real vulnerability is … we won’t be able to be very nimble, should something big happen. Should there be another series of riots like in 2020. Should there be, God forbid, a terrorist attack,” he said. 

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The mayor’s office told Fox News Digital on Sunday that the NYPD has made clear they can handle the situations on campus, while still attending to the entire city’s needs without issue, which the office noted makes the force “the greatest police department in the world.” 

With six months to go until Election Day 2024, the rematch between President Biden and former President Trump is as close as it can get.

The race is tied, according to a new national poll released by USA Today and Suffolk University on Monday.

Biden and Trump each stand at 37% support among registered voters, with Democrat turned independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at 8%, and 5% backing other independent or third party candidates.

HAS BIDEN FLATLINED IN THE LATEST POLLS?

“We’re basically at the doorstep of the election, and the outcome is a coin flip,” Suffolk University Political Research Center director David Paleologos said.

The survey is the second in a day to indicate an extremely close contest between the Democratic incumbent in the White House and his Republican predecessor.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE 2024 ELECTION

According to an ABC News/Ipsos poll released Sunday, Trump held a 46%-44% advantage among adults, but Biden has the edge 46%-45% among registered voters and up 49%-45% among those likely to vote in the presidential election.

In a five-way contest that includes Biden, Trump, Kennedy, Green Party candidate Jill Stein and independent Cornel West, Trump has the slight edge among all adults, he is tied with the president among registered voters, and Biden holds the edge among likely voters.

DO THE LATEST POLLS SPELL TROUBLE FOR BIDEN?

The Suffolk poll suggests that nearly a quarter of voters (24%) say they might change their minds ahead of the fall election, with 12% saying they have not made their choice yet in the presidential race.

“When we think about the race tied with just 26 weeks to go, we have to consider that people tune out politics and the party conventions in July and August,” Paleologos emphasized. “That leaves just 17 weeks for candidates to actively campaign, and it’s actually 13 or 14 weeks when you consider states where early voting starts weeks before Election Day.”

While national surveys garner plenty of attention, the race for the White House is a battle for the states and their electoral votes, which places a spotlight on battleground state polling.

The most recent polling in the key swing states, including surveys from Fox News, indicate close contests.

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

House Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to meet privately, one-on-one, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday at 3:30 p.m. amid speculation that she may trigger a motion to remove him from his post, a source familiar confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

Over a month ago, Greene filed a motion to vacate, accusing the Louisiana Republican of having “betrayed the confidence” of the House GOP Conference by ushering through a bipartisan $1.2 trillion federal funding bill to avoid a partial government shutdown.

Her resolution earned two co-sponsors in Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., after the House passed a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine earlier this month. Last week, Greene announced plans to trigger the motion this week, as early as Monday evening.

“We need leaders in the House of Representatives that are gonna get this done,” Greene said last week, holding up a red “Make America Great Again” hat. “Not working for Hakeem Jeffries. Not working for Joe Biden, and not going to be twisted and lulled into continuing the disgusting practices of Washington, D.C.”

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE FILES MOTION TO OUST SPEAKER JOHNSON

Johnson said in a statement after her announcement, “This motion is wrong for the Republican Conference, wrong for the institution, and wrong for the country.”

Greene responded to accusations that her push would fuel more chaos for congressional Republicans by arguing that House Republicans would lose the majority in November if Johnson remained at the helm.

She also denied that she was defying former President Trump, who backed Johnson in comments on a radio show last month.

Greene’s push to oust Johnson just six months after he took the gavel mostly fell flat within the House GOP, with even Johnson’s critics showing little appetite to go through another three weeks of chaos and disorder that followed the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in early October last year.

HOUSE DEMS SAY THEY’LL BLOCK MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE FROM OUSTING SPEAKER JOHNSON

The Republican Main Street Caucus, including Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas., announced they would hold a press event Monday following floor votes to discuss the motion to vacate. Crenshaw on Sunday told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto that Greene “needs her time in the spotlight” and is a “last-ditch effort to get a little attention.” 

Crenshaw said there’s a “large and strong majority” who will likely table the motion, noting that there is very little support for Greene and Massie’s effort.

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

“And it’s based in what exactly, that Mike Johnson brought bills to the floor that were necessary for our national security, that the vast majority of members wanted to vote on? So allowing the democratic process to move forward is apparently the crime of the century, according to these people,” Crenshaw chided. 

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“They make it impossible for us to have any leverage with our very slim majority, and then they turn around and punish the speaker when they can’t actually make a deal that we want,” Crenshaw added. 

“It’s a game, and voters have to stop falling for it.”

Judge Juan Merchan on Monday said he will consider a jail sentence for former President Trump if he continues to violate the gag order imposed upon him in his unprecedented criminal trial. 

Merchan imposed a gag order on Trump before the trial began, ordering that Trump cannot make or direct others to make public statements about witnesses with regard to their potential participation or about counsel in the case – other than Bragg – or about court staff, DA staff or family members of staff.

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

Bragg and prosecutors have alleged more than a dozen violations of the gag order, and have already fined the former president $9,000 for those violations. 

Merchan, on Monday, fined the former president $1,000 for an additional violation, but said it is “clear” that the fine — $1,000 per violation — is not effective.

The filing states that Trump is “hereby put on notice that if appropriate and warranted, future violations of its lawful orders will be punishable by incarceration.” 

Merchan said Monday that going forward, the court will have to consider “a jail sentence.” 

TRUMP SAYS BIDEN ‘SHOULD BE IN JAIL’ AND ‘ON TRIAL,’ WHILE BLASTING NY CASE: ‘THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING’

“The last thing I want to consider is jail,” Merchan said. “You are former president and possibly the next president.” 

Merchan, though, said that he worries about “that step” for Trump, pointing to Secret Service protection. 

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“The magnitude of that decision is not lost on me,” Merchan said. “Your continued willful violation of the court’s order…constitutes a direct attack…and will not be allowed to continue…It is not allowed to continue.” 

Trump and his defense attorneys have argued that the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee should not be bound by the gag order, saying it violates his First Amendment rights as well as the First Amendment rights of his supporters. 

FIRST ON FOX: The GOP Senate primary in battleground Michigan is becoming more combative as a wealthy investor making his second bid for office is pouring big bucks into a major statewide ad blitz that takes aim at the front-runner in the race, who’s backed by former President Trump.

And a new campaign commercial from businessman Sandy Pensler, which launches statewide on Monday in Michigan, hits former Rep. Mike Rogers for his role a decade ago as chair of the House Intelligence Committee in the congressional investigation into the deaths of a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

The ad, shared first with Fox News on Monday, is the latest from the deep-pocketed entrepreneur who’s self-funding his Senate bid. The spot is part of what Pensler’s campaign says is a seven-figure ad buy on broadcast and cable TV and digital.

Rogers, a former FBI special agent before serving in Congress, enjoys the backing of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which is the campaign arm of the Senate GOP. And in March, Rogers landed the endorsement of Trump, the party’s presumptive presidential nominee. Rogers has teamed up with the former president twice in the past month at Trump campaign events in the crucial Great Lakes swing state.

TRUMP-BACKED CANDIDATE AIMS TO FLIP DEMOCRAT HELD SEAT IN KEY SENATE BATTLEGROUND

Besides Rogers and Pensler, the crowded GOP primary field also includes former Rep. Justin Amash. The eventual Republican nominee will likely face off in November with Democrat Rep. Elissa Slotkin in the race to succeed longtime Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat who is not seeking re-election this year.

The seat is one of a handful that Republicans are aiming to flip from blue to red in November as they push to regain the Senate majority they lost in the 2020 cycle.

The 30-second ad alleges that Rogers helped Hillary Clinton cover up key facts involving the Benghazi attack. Clinton was secretary of state in then-President Obama’s administration at the time of the attack in which Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, U.S. Foreign Service officer Sean Smith and two CIA contractors were killed.

The narrator in the Pensler spot calls the attack “Hillary Clinton’s worst scandal” and charges that “Mike Rogers helped Hillary cover it up.”

WHAT HAPPENED DURING AND AFTER THE 2012 BENGHAZI ATTACK

The ad includes a video clip of Kris Paronto, a former Army Ranger who was one of a handful of CIA contracted guards defending the consulate during the attack. Paronto and fellow guards said in a book that they were told to stand down by CIA and State Department officials for 20 minutes while the attack was unfolding.

“I looked Mike Rogers in the eyes and said that if we would have not been delayed, we would have saved the ambassador’s life,” Paronto says in the clip.

The spot’s narrator says that “Rogers called our soldiers liars.”

Rogers is then heard in an audio clip saying that “it’s just all nonsense. This didn’t happen the way they said back then.”

The report from the heavily polarized House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence investigation into Benghazi spotlighted that bureaucratic and interagency blunders contributed to the Americans’ deaths but didn’t specifically blame Clinton or any other American officials.

“The Obama administration’s White House and State Department actions before, during, and after the Benghazi terrorist attack on September 11, 2012, ranged from incompetence to deplorable political manipulation in the midst of an election season,” Rogers wrote in an op-ed piece following the publication of the report.

Pensler’s commercial is his second in a week. The previous ad, which went up as Rogers joined Trump at a rally in Michigan, targeted Slotkin for failing to condemn Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., for controversial comments the far-left “Squad” House member made about the war between Israel and Hamas.

“Rashida and Elissa, you have no moral compass,” Pensler says in the ad. “You’re an embarrassment to Michigan and America.”

6 KEY SENATE SEATS REPUBLICANS AIM TO FLIP IN NOVEMBER 

As they work to win a Senate election in Michigan for the first time in three decades, Republicans were hoping to avoid a potentially costly and combustible primary, especially with Slotkin facing little competition for the Democrat nomination.

Former Rep. Peter Meijer recently ended his campaign, and former Detroit Police Chief James Craig dropped out of the race in February.

But Pensler is vowing to run ads straight through the Aug. 6 primary.

“He’s going to spend a serious amount,” Pensler campaign senior adviser Stu Sandler told Fox News. “We’re just going to keep putting them on the air.”

NRSC spokesperson Mike Berg said the committee would “do what it takes” to make sure Rogers is the party’s nominee.

And NRSC Chair Sen. Steve Daines of Montana said during a recent Christian Science Monitor breakfast in the nation’s capital that “I think the Trump endorsement of Mike Rogers really seals the deal in that primary.”

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But Sandler, who was NRSC political director last cycle when Sen. Rick Scott of Florida was steering the committee, said “the Michigan voters are going to decide this.”

The NRSC had a hands-off policy in GOP Senate primaries in the 2022 cycle, which many blamed for a handful of divisive primary battles that critics said contributed to the party’s failure at winning back the Senate majority. 

This cycle, Daines and the NRSC have been hands-on, elevating candidates and mostly avoiding nasty primaries.

When it comes to Trump, Pensler’s campaign says its candidate is a major supporter of the former president.

This is Pensler’s second run for the Senate GOP nomination in Michigan. He lost his 2018 bid to now-Rep. John James after James ran ads attacking Pensler for slamming Trump “behind closed doors.”

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

Former President Trump’s criminal trial will resume Monday after an eventful third week that saw key witnesses testify and thousands of dollars in fines against the presumptive Republican nominee — with the possibility of additional fines looming. 

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. The charges stem from a years-long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. 

The charges are related to alleged payments made to silence adult film actress Stormy Daniels about an alleged extramarital affair with Trump before the 2016 election. 

HOPE HICKS: COHEN CALLED HIMSELF ‘MR. FIX IT’ ONLY BECAUSE HE ‘BROKE IT’

DA Alvin Bragg must convince the jury that not only did Trump falsify the business records related to hush money payments, but that he did so in furtherance of another crime, conspiracy to promote or prevent election. 

On their own, falsifying business records and conspiracy to promote or prevent election are misdemeanor charges. 

Prosecutors, during the third week of the trial, called a number of witnesses to testify, including Keith Davidson, an attorney who once represented Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal. 

Davidson said Daniels’ denial of an affair with Trump was technically true. He also testified that the money ex-Trump attorney Michael Cohen paid her was not a payoff, but a “consideration.” 

Trump’s defense attorneys, during cross-examination, played audio recordings of Davidson, in which he can be heard admitting Cohen did not need authority from Trump to make the payment to Stormy Daniels. 

NY V. TRUMP: WITNESS SAYS COHEN DREAMED OF WHITE HOUSE JOB DESPITE DENYING AMBITIONS IN HOUSE TESTIMONY

Before Davidson, the jury heard testimony from Doug Daus, a computer forensic analyst for the DA’s office, who testified about examining two cellphones that belonged to Cohen. 

During Daus’ testimony, an audio recording was played.  

“I need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend David,” Cohen said during the call. “So, I’m gonna do that right away. I’ve actually come up and spoken to Allen Weisselberg. … I’m all over that. I’ve spoken to Allen about it, when it comes time for the financing, which will be—” 

Trump replied: “Listen, what financing?” 

HUSH MONEY TRIAL JUDGE DOUBLES DOWN ON NOT SHOWING TRUMP ‘ACCESS HOLLYWOOD’ TAPE TO JURORS

Last week, the jury heard testimony from bank executive Gary Farro, who said he assisted Cohen in setting up an account for Essential Consultants, LLC, the shell company Bragg alleges Cohen used to make the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels. 

But Farro testified that there was nothing to indicate that the account would be used to make a payment on behalf of a political candidate, to purchase a media story or to pay an adult film actress. Farro testified that had the account been intended for those matters, there would have been additional scrutiny and delays in opening it, and he admitted it was possible the account would never have been opened. 

Farro also testified he was unaware the account was being done on behalf of Trump. 

The week ended with testimony from Hope Hicks, who worked for the Trump Organization and later served as Trump’s press secretary during the 2016 presidential campaign. Hicks later served as White House director of strategic communications. 

“He knew what he wanted to say and how to say it, and we were all just following his lead,” Hicks said of Trump. “He deserves the credit for the agenda.” 

TRUMP DELIVERS PIZZA TO NEW YORK CITY FIREFIGHTERS IN CAMPAIGN STOP AFTER DAY IN COURT

Hicks was asked about the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape featuring controversial comments from Trump that came out in the weeks leading up to the 2016 election. 

Hicks said she was “a little stunned” when she saw the tape and said it was a “damaging development” to the campaign, adding it “obviously wasn’t helpful.” But she noted it was two guys talking privately and insisted it was locker room talk that wasn’t meant to upset anyone. 

The 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape came to light ahead of the 2016 election and showed Trump boasting to host Billy Bush that he could kiss and grope women due to his star power.

Judge Juan Merchan previously prohibited the prosecution from showing the tape to jurors, saying in March, “It is not necessary that the tape itself be introduced into evidence or that it be played for the jury.”

Hicks also said Trump told her the claims of him having an affair with former Playboy model Karen McDougal were “unequivocally untrue.”

Hicks also blasted Michael Cohen, saying he was not involved in the 2016 campaign but would try to insert himself at certain moments. Hicks said the campaign had its own lawyers, and Cohen was instructed to focus on Trump’s private business credentials. 

NY V TRUMP: REMAINING ALLEGED GAG ORDER VIOLATIONS HANG IN BALANCE AS TRIAL RESUMES

Hicks said Cohen “used to like to call himself Mr. Fix it, but it was only because he first broke it.”

Hicks also testified that, with regard to allegations about Stormy Daniels, Trump did not want “anyone in his family to be hurt or embarrassed about anything on the campaign.” 

“He wanted them to be proud of him,” she said. 

Trump was fined $9,000 for violating a trial gag order imposed upon him. Judge Merchan still needs to consider four additional alleged violations of the order, which could come this week. 

The former president has blasted the trial as rigged and in coordination with President Biden’s White House. Trump says the case, and others against him, are “election interference.”

As for the gag order, Trump calls it “unconstitutional” and said he will appeal the order altogether, arguing it is a violation of his First Amendment rights. Trump has called on the judge to recuse himself, saying he is “totally conflicted.” 

The former president has said Democrats want to keep him confined to the courtroom and off of the campaign trail. 

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Court does not meet on Wednesdays. Trump has taken advantage of that arrangement and last week held rallies in Wisconsin and Michigan. 

After hours in court last Thursday, Trump delivered pizzas to FDNY firefighters at a midtown Manhattan firehouse to honor first responders. 

Fox News’ Maria Paronich and Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report. 

Five vulnerable Democrats who voted against measures to strengthen border security in the past have seemingly changed their tune as they seek re-election to their posts in the lower chamber.

Following President Biden’s signing of a $95 billion package with aid to both Ukraine and Israel last week, five Democrats – Reps. Jared Golden of Maine, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Mary Peltola of Alaska, Vicente Gonzalez of Texas and Don Davis of North Carolina – released a joint statement agreeing with calls for Congress and the president to “act and bring order to the southern border.”

“Beyond defending our allies, we strongly agree with the National Border Patrol Council that Congress and the President must act and bring order to the Southern border,” the lawmakers stated. “That is why we also voted for H.R. 3602 on Saturday, and why we all voted last month for $19.6 billion for Border Patrol so that it could ramp up its efforts to secure the border.”

The comments from the five Democrats – three of whom (Golden, GluesenKamp, and Davis) are engaged in tough re-election battles that have been labeled “toss up” races by the Cook Political Report, and another two (Peltola and Gonzalez) competing in races labeled “lean Democrat” – came after each one of them voted against the Secure the Border Act of 2023.

VULNERABLE HOUSE DEMS DO A U-TURN ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AFTER CALLING CRISIS ‘NON-EXISTENT THREAT’

That bill, which passed in the House, would have expanded the type of crimes that make someone ineligible for asylum, limited the eligibility to those who arrive at ports of entry, mandated a system similar to the E-Verify employment eligibility verification system, and created additional penalties for visa overstay.

In addition to not supporting the Secure the Border Act, the same five Democrats voted on two different occasions against GOP-led efforts to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whom many Republicans have argued is largely responsible for the migrant crisis at the southern border.

Certain Democrats, like Gluesenkamp Perez, who was first elected to Congress in 2022 and co-chairs the Blue Dog Coalition with Golden and Peltola, have made dismissive comments about the border crisis in recent years.

The Washington lawmaker previously faced criticism from Republicans over border-related comments she made in March 2023 during an appearance on Pod Save America, which came prior to the ending of the Title 42 public health order.

“Listen, nobody stays awake at night worrying about the southern border,” she said at the time. “That’s just not… people stay awake at night worrying that their kid is gonna relapse or that, you know, someone’s going to drop out of school or they’re going to lose their house.”

Gluesenkamp Perez was also one of many Democrats who defended Mayorkas amid calls for his impeachment earlier this year, saying it was “frustrating to see” Republicans push for his ouster because “he doesn’t set policy, he implements it.”

Despite her past remarks, Gluesenkamp Perez has been critical of Biden’s handling of the border crisis in recent months, saying in April that she voted in support of H.R. 3602, which provides for criminal penalties for certain conduct that interferes with U.S. border control measures, because “President Biden has failed to end the crisis at our Southern Border.”

“Every country has an obligation to protect its citizens and secure its sovereign borders, and H.R. 3602 focuses on the urgent need to restore operational control of the Southern Border. Unlike the unworkable and un-American immigration proposals pushed by far-right extremists, this bipartisan bill doesn’t create burdensome government mandates that would harm small businesses, agricultural employers, rural communities, and our economy,” she said at the time.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a member of the congresswoman’s press team insisted that she has “called on the [Biden] Administration her entire time in office to fix the crisis at our Southern Border, and for Congress to do its job to pass meaningful border security legislation.”

BIDEN ADMIN CONDEMNED FOR CONSIDERING PLANS TO ACCEPT PALESTINIAN REFUGEES: ‘A NATION COMMITTING SUICIDE’

The spokesperson also touted the Washington lawmaker’s introduction of the “Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act to restore operational control at the Southern Border by restoring expulsion authority for Border Patrol and requiring the President to reinstate Remain in Mexico,” as well as her support for the End Fentanyl Act.

“Marie continues to urge Congress to get back to work to address the real crisis at our border and end the petty gamesmanship,” the spokesperson said.

Gonzalez is another Democrat who made dismissive remarks prior to the expiration of Title 42, which provided the ability for American officials to bar migrants from entering the country during a health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a July 2023 stop in Edinburgh, Texas, Gonzalez reportedly shot down questions and concern over whether Biden was doing enough to secure the southern border amid an overwhelming influx of illegal immigrants.

“We have seen major improvements along the border.… If you go to the border now, in our region, it’s pretty unremarkable what you see,” Gonzalez said, according to the Rio Grande Guardian. “When they lifted Title 42 and implemented Title 7, which I advocated against… I’ll be the first to admit that I was wrong. What the president did, what Secretary Mayorkas has done, has positively impacted our border and that’s a fact.”

“People could point fingers and say things, but the reality is, undocumented crossings are down by 70%,” he added at the time.

A little more than a week after Gonzalez gave those remarks, the Texas Tribune reported that Border Patrol agents “made more than 130,000 arrests along the Mexico border [in July 2023], preliminary figures show, up from 99,545 in June.”

Gonzalez is one of 154 Democrats who voted this January against the Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act, which would have created hefty federal penalties for illegal migrants who evade U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers during motor vehicle pursuits. The measure was named after a Border Patrol officer who died in a vehicle crash in Texas last year during a pursuit.

Along with Golden and Gluesenkamp Perez, Gonzalez was one of 201 Democrats who voted in July 2023 against the Schools Not Shelters Act, which would have prohibited “the use of the facilities of a public elementary school, a public secondary school, or an institution of higher education to provide shelter for aliens who have not been admitted into the United States, and for other purposes.”

Peltola joined 218 Republicans in voting in favor of that measure at the time, while Davis did not vote.

“I remain dedicated to addressing the border crisis. However, we must not inflict harm on American agriculture in the process,” Davis said in a statement to Fox. “Initially, I had concerns about the e-verify provision in HR-2, but it was removed, allowing me to fully lend my support, along with just four other Democrats, to H.R. 3602, the Bipartisan End the Border Catastrophe Act.”

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Asked whether he believes Biden is responsible for the border crisis, Davis said his “votes speak for themselves.”

CBP records show the first six months of fiscal year 2024 had 1,340,801 total encounters, exceeding the first six months of fiscal year 2023, which set a record of 1,226,254 total encounters.

A highly anticipated 2024 ticket, a controversial dog tale, and feeling “threatened” by Nikki Haley – Gov. Kristi Noem’s, R-S.D., newest book unpacks her role in leadership and experience behind the scenes of D.C. politics.

Noem’s book, titled “No Going Back” details her life lessons through her family farming business, service in congress, and current role as Governor. And despite not yet hitting the shelves, the conservative’s book has already stirred up the news cycle.

The Governor hunkered down on her support for former President Donald Trump, who she described as a “bull in a china shop” in the book, shared with Fox News Digital ahead of its release Tuesday.

Trump recently confirmed the Republican governor was on his shortlist for vice president, and when asked about the coveted position, Noem said she wants the former president “to pick who’s going to help him win.”

DEFIANT KRISTI NOEM DEFENDS KILLING FARM PUP AMID CRITICISM FROM DEMS, GOP

“He knows that I’ll do whatever I can to help him win. But every day, it’s clear to me that our way of life is under attack. And unless he gets in the White House, this country is going to see some very challenging times ahead,” Noem told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview ahead of the book launch.

Ahead of the book launch, there was one released excerpt in particular that drew serious controversy – a story of Noem putting down her hunting dog.

VP STAKES: TRUMP MEETING WITH POTENTIAL RUNNING MATES THIS WEEKEND

The story went as follows. Noem had a young dog, Cricket, who she described as “untrainable” and having an “aggressive personality.” One day, the dog jumped out of her car, proceeded to kill several of her neighbors’ chickens, and nearly bit Noem as she tried to control it. So Noem decided to put the dog down, along with a “demon goat” on her farm.

Lawmakers, on both sides of the aisle, criticized  the governor on social media for the story, with a bipartisan group even launching the Congressional Dog Lovers Caucus just days after the excerpt was released. The governor defended including the story in her book, telling Fox “it was a difficult decision and a vulnerable story.”

“I’m not surprised that those who have always attacked me are attacking me. Republicans and Democrats who attacked me during Covid are the same ones who are attacking me now,” Noem said when asked about the backlash from the story. “But I think the average citizen, when they read that story will recognize that I put the safety of people in my hands above an animal that was killing livestock and attacking people.”

TRUMP EYES 2 BATTLEGROUND STATES AS HE LOOKS TO TEAR DOWN DEM ‘BLUE WALL’ AGAIN

Noem also recalled a phone call with former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, revealing that she felt “threatened” by the former presidential candidate.

“That’s the thing with Nikki Haley: you never know who she’s going to be tomorrow,” Noem wrote. “She’s going to be whatever the polls or donors tell her to be. And that should be very scary to the American people. The people who know her the best, including some colleagues in her home state, seem to have the same concerns.”

After Haley’s team told Politico the story was a “twist” of the conversation, Noem told Fox News Digital that she was “not surprised” by the response.

“I think Nikki says whatever is convenient for Nikki that day,” Noem told Fox. “I’ve watched this for years now. You never know who she’s going to be tomorrow. She tends to be motivated by what works and what the polling says, and that’s not the kind of politicians we need leading our country.”

Reflecting on GOP losses in the 2022 midterms, Noem wrote that “the fact that our party did not achieve a majority in the US Senate was a failure by the Republican National Committee.” Noem added “Donald Trump and a handful of brave folks broke politics. But what do we do now? Instead of “fixing” politics by going back to the “good old days,” let’s step into the chaos and move the nation forward. Our best days truly are ahead.”

Noem’s book will be officially launched on Tuesday, May 7th.

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“The new book is called No Going Back. And it’s about what’s wrong with politics and how we’re going to move America forward. It talks a lot about how Donald Trump really when he entered the political stage, he broke politics,” she told Fox. “And this book is the how-to guide to everyday Americans how they can be a part of moving this country forward.”

Former President Trump is calling for Special Counsel Jack Smith’s arrest after the prosecutors handling the 45th president’s classified documents case admitted seized documents are no longer in their original order and sequence.  

“Now, Deranged Jack has admitted in a filing in front of Judge Cannon to what I have been saying happened since the Illegal RAID on my home, Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida – That he and his team committed blatant Evidence Tampering by mishandling the very Boxes they used as a pretext to bring this Fake Case,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Friday. “These deeply Illegal actions by the Politicized ‘Persecutors’ mandate that this whole Witch Hunt be DROPPED IMMEDIATELY. END THE ‘BOXES HOAXES.’ MAGA2024!”

“ARREST DERANGED JACK SMITH. HE IS A CRIMINAL!” Trump added in a follow-up post. 

Prosecutors admitted in a court filing on Friday that “there are some boxes where the order of items within that box is not the same as in the associated scans.” The prosecutors had previously told the court that the documents were “in their original, intact form as seized.” 

JUDGE UNSEALS FBI FILES IN TRUMP CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE, INCLUDING DETAILED TIMELINE OF MAR-A-LAGO RAID

“The Government acknowledges that this is inconsistent with what Government counsel previously understood and represented to the Court,” a footnote in the filing reads. 

The filing comes after one of Trump’s co-defendants in the case asked for a delay as lawyers were having trouble figuring out the origin of some of the documents in the evidence boxes. 

The FBI agents seized 33 boxes of documents in August 2022 from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, spurring another legal battle that Trump has called a “scam.” The investigation is overseen by special prosecutor Smith, whom Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed to the job, and has charged Trump with 40 felony counts, including allegedly violating the Espionage Act, making false statements to investigators and conspiracy to obstruct justice. 

GOP SLAMS ‘WEAPONIZATION’ OF DOJ AFTER TRUMP’S MAR-A-LAGO RAIDED BY FBI; DEMS CALL IT ‘ACCOUNTABILITY’

Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and slammed the case as an “Election Inference Scam” promoted by the Biden administration and “Deranged Jack Smith.” 

The case is slated to head to trial on May 20, though the date may change, with presiding Judge Aileen Cannon underacting a trove of documents in the lead-up to the trial that have provided notable updates to the case. 

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION INVOLVEMENT

Judge Cannon recently unredacted more than 300 pages of evidence in the case, including emails and conversations related to the Biden administration’s contact with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) the year prior to the documents’ seizure from Trump’s home, Real Clear Investigations recently reported. Biden has previously publicly said he was not involved in the case, though the filings show other White House officials were involved in the early stages of the investigation. 

TRUMP SAYS MAR-A-LAGO HOME IN FLORIDA ‘UNDER SIEGE’ BY FBI AGENTS

The unredacted documents allege that just weeks after Trump left office in 2021, the White House Office of Records Management under the Biden administration began working with NARA “on exaggerated claims related to records handling under the Presidential Records Act,” Trump’s attorney wrote in a court filing to compel discovery.  

The Archives’ general counsel, Gary Stern, sent a letter to Trump’s Presidential Records Act representatives in May 2021 asking the whereabouts of “roughly two dozen boxes of original Presidential records [that] have not been transferred to NARA.” Stern explained that he “had several conversations” with White House Office of Records Management officials where they discussed “concerns” regarding Trump’s possession of the documents, according to Real Clear Investigations. 

Stern’s letter detailed that the team was looking for “original correspondence between President Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jung-un” and “the letter that President Obama left for President Trump on his first day in office,” Real Clear reported.

TRUMP’S LAWYERS PUSH FOR DISMISSAL OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE, ARGUING ‘PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY’

He added that he understood that transitioning administrations was “very chaotic” and it could take “several more months” to transfer the documents, the Federalist reported. By June of that year, a national archivist appointed by former President Barack Obama, David Ferriero, told the Trump team he was running “out of patience,” unredacted filings show. The filing states that Ferriero dismissed “good-faith efforts by President Trump’s PRA representatives to address issues raised by NARA.” 

The filing continued that Ferriero allegedly “threatened” a PRA representative for Trump in August 2021, saying he presumed 24 boxes of “alleged – and non-existent” documents were “destroyed,” and that he was taking the issue to the DOJ. Ferriero and Stern contacted DOJ officials and Deputy White House Counsel Jonathan Su. Stern met with Su at the White House, according to White House logs reported by Real Clear Investigations. 

“At this point, I am assuming [the boxes] have been destroyed. In which case, I am obligated to report it to the Hill, the DOJ, and the White House,” Ferriero wrote in a warning to Trump’s team in August 2021, according to the documents. 

“To my knowledge, nothing has been destroyed,” a Trump representative responded. 

TRUMP DEMANDS JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ‘IMMEDIATELY’ DROP CHARGES AGAINST HIM IN CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE AFTER BIDEN DECISION 

The unredacted filing states that in September, Stern emailed Ferriero and a deputy archivist that he had “reached out to DOJ counsel about this issue,” and that “WH Counsel is now aware of the issue.”

Another email, sent on Sept. 15, details that Stern reportedly spoke with Su to “get him up to speed on the issue and the dispute whether there are 12 or 24 missing boxes,” which was followed by another email that “[White House counsel] is ready to set up a call to discuss the Trump boxes.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment Sunday, but did not immediately receive a reply. 

DOJ INSTRUCTS NARA HOW TO PROCEED

Trump’s team delivered 15 boxes of documents to NARA in January 2022, with the Archives’ White House liaison director reporting back to Ferriero and another archivist that the boxes mostly contained newspaper clippings and magazines, in addition to “lots of classified records,” according court filings. 

Unsealed documents show that following the review of the returned boxes, Su urged Stern to contact Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. Monaco’s office subsequently “instructed” how Stern could proceed with the matter, including contacting the inspectors general for the Archives and intelligence community, and DOJ National Security Division Chief Jay Bratt, court filings reported by Real Clear show. 

Stern complied with the instructions, and a criminal referral was sent to the DOJ on Feb. 9. 

News of the criminal referral sparked condemnation from Republicans that it was spurred by political spite at the hands of Democrats against Trump. 

TRUMP EXPECTED BACK IN COURT FOR CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS HEARING IN SPECIAL SECURE FLORIDA FACILITY

“At no time and under no circumstances were NARA officials pressured or influenced by Committee Democrats or anyone else,” acting National Archivist Debra Steidel Wall wrote in a letter to congressional Republicans in 2022. 

ALLEGATIONS OF IMPROPER ATTEMPTS TO INFLUENCE WALT NAUTA’S COUNSEL

Trump was charged alongside his personal aide and valet, Walt Nauta, as well as Mar-a-Lago maintenance chief Carlos De Oliveira. Unredacted court filings show Nauta’s attorney was allegedly threatened he could lose a shot at becoming a federal judge if Nauta didn’t flip on Trump. 

A motion filed in June 2023, and recently unredacted, reported that Nauta’s attorney Stanley Woodward met with DOJ National Security Division Chief Jay Bratt just weeks after the raid on Mar-a-Lago and “was led to a conference room where Mr. Bratt awaited with what appeared to be a folder containing information about Mr. Woodward,” the Federalist reported. 

“Mr. Bratt thereupon told Mr. Woodward he didn’t consider him to be a ‘Trump lawyer,’ and he further said that he was aware that Mr. Woodward had been recommended to President Biden for an appointment to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia,” the motion stated, the Federalist reported. “Mr. Bratt followed up with words to the effect of ‘I wouldn’t want you to do anything to mess that up.’ Thereafter, Mr. Bratt advised Mr. Woodward that ‘one way or the other’ his client, Walt Nauta, would be giving up his lavish lifestyle of ‘private planes and golf clubs’ and he encouraged Mr. Woodward to persuade Mr. Nauta to cooperate with the government’s investigation (this was prior to the appointment of the Special Counsel).”

Bratt was later appointed lead prosecutor to Jack Smith’s case. 

The DOJ argued that “at no point during the meeting did Woodward suggest that any of the prosecutors’ comments were improper.” 

TRUMP FLORIDA JUDGE CANNON DENIES TRUMP DISMISSAL ON ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL VAGUENESS’

Legal experts, including James Trusty, Trump attorney and former chief of the Justice Department’s organized crime unit, have said the allegations in the filing amount to “extortion.” 

“You had a high-level DOJ official – according to a statement submitted as an officer-to-the-court, to a federal judge – told Stanley Woodward, a defense attorney representing Walt Nauta that it would be a shame, essentially, if he endangered his pending judgeship by not flipping Nauta against President Trump,” Trusty said last year in comment to Fox News’ Mark Levin. 

‘PLASMIC ECHO’

Newly unredacted filings reveal that the FBI investigation into Trump, which officially began in March 2022 following the president and his team voluntarily handing over boxes of documents, was dubbed “Plasmic Echo.” 

“This document contains information that is restricted to case participants,” documents unsealed last month show, Fox News Digital previously reported. It added, “PLASMIC ECHO; Mishandling Classified or National Defense Information, Unknown Subject; Sensitive Investigation Matter.”

TRUMP’S SECURITY CLEARANCE WAS ALLEGEDLY RETROACTIVELY REVOKED

Earlier this year, Trump’s legal team indicated they might use evidence showing Trump acted in “good-faith and non-criminal states of mind” when he took classified documents home to Florida, due to a high-level security clearance granted by the Department of Energy. 

Unsealed, unredacted filings assert Trump had the high-level “Q clearance” granted by the DOE until last year, but that it was allegedly revoked following Trump’s indictment. 

The DOE’s “Central Personnel Clearance Index and Clearance Action Tracking System ‘reflect[ed] an active Q clearance’ for President Trump,” according to the 2024 filing, as reported by the Federalist. 

An assistant general counsel at the agency, however, “instructed that the relevant systems ‘be immediately amended’ and ‘promptly modified to reflect the terminated status of [President] Trump’s Q clearance,'” the filing states.

Trump’s classified documents case comes as he continues a weeks-long legal battle in a Manhattan courtroom where he is facing 34 felony charges of falsifying business records. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and slammed the case as another “scam” and “witch hunt” promoted by the Biden administration ahead of the general election. 

SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH HITS BACK AT JUDGE FOR ‘FUNDAMENTALLY FLAWED LEGAL PREMISE’ IN TRUMP DOCUMENTS CASE

“This Judge has taken away my Constitutional Right to FREE SPEECH. I am the only Presidential Candidate in History to be GAGGED,” Trump wrote last week on Truth Social. 

“This whole ‘Trial’ is RIGGED, and by taking away my FREEDOM OF SPEECH, THIS HIGHLY CONFLICTED JUDGE IS RIGGING THE PRESIDENTIAL OF 2024 ELECTION. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!” Trump continued. 

The classified documents case, meanwhile, also opened the doors to investigations regarding classified documents in the possession of Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence. Special Counsel Robert Hur announced in February that he would not recommend criminal charges against Biden for possessing classified materials after his vice presidency, citing that Biden is “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

“Based on our direct interactions with and observations of him, he is someone from whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt. It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him – by then a former president well into his eighties – of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness,” Hur wrote in his report. 

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The findings sparked widespread outrage that Biden was effectively deemed too cognitively impaired to be charged with a crime, but could serve as president. Trump has meanwhile slammed the disparity in charges as a reflection of a “sick and corrupt, two-tiered system of justice in our country.” 

Mike Pompeo, when he was U.S. secretary of state, shared intel with the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic suggesting a “high likelihood” that the deadly coronavirus leaked from a Chinese lab, according to The Telegraph.

An intelligence alliance known as “Five Eyes” reportedly met in January 2021 to discuss the lab-leak theory, the outlet reported. Around the same time, Pompeo is said to have shared information from classified American reports put together by the State Department to then-U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, as well as representatives from New Zealand, Canada and Australia. 

The British newspaper says two former Trump administration officials believe Raab – and the U.K. government as a whole – ignored the lab leak theory due to pressure from government scientists who leaned toward the theory that the illness had been transferred from animals to humans. 

“We saw several pieces of information and thought that they were, frankly, gobsmacking,” one former official who worked on the intelligence in Pompeo’s report told The Telegraph. “They obviously pointed to the high likelihood that this was indeed a lab leak.”

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The reports, consisting of information collected in the early days of the pandemic, were also shared with the U.K. via Five Eyes between October and December 2020. Five Eyes consists of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Information in one document obtained by The Telegraph states U.S. officials accused Chinese officials of “stonewalling,” as well as “gross corruption and ineptitude.” The information also reportedly showed that the Chinese military had been working with the Wuhan Institute of Virology for years before the pandemic, and that lab researchers got sick soon before COVID-19 was first reported in the area. 

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On May 1, the U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic called for a criminal probe into the origins of the COVID-19 virus.

The demands for an investigation come after the release of an interim staff report accusing EcoHealth Alliance President Dr. Peter Daszak of funding “dangerous gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China, without sufficient oversight.”

EcoHealth Alliance is a non-governmental organization based in the United States and focused on researching pandemic prevention.

According to congressional lawmakers, EcoHealth used taxpayer dollars “to fund dangerous gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV)” in China. 

The NGO disputes that claim.

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Fox News Digital previously reported that EcoHealth Alliance received millions of dollars in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and that U.S. taxpayer funds flowed to Chinese entities conducting coronavirus research through EcoHealth Alliance.

Fox News’ Timothy H.J. Nerozzi and Brooke Singman contributed to this report. 

The Biden administration is taking its economic message to the road, tasking Vice President Kamala Harris with an economic opportunity tour. It kicked off last week in Georgia with an event in Michigan next in line as the issue remains the most important to voters heading into the November election. 

“The Biden campaign has to be very nervous about turnout problems among potential Democratic voters in Michigan and Georgia,” said Ken Kollman, director of the University of Michigan’s Center for Political Studies.

Both states were flipped from red to blue in 2020 when Biden defeated former President Trump. 

“It’s likely that every sliver of turnout will matter in these states,” Kollman added. 

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“It’s nothing new to quote James Carville’s ‘It’s the economy stupid’ line, but the economy really consistently does play a major role in determining presidential outcomes,” Democratic strategist Kaivan Shroff explained. 

Earlier this week, the official tour was announced, with the White House rolling out an April 29 event in Atlanta and previewing an event in Detroit later this week. A press release noted more locations and dates would soon be added. 

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“President Biden and I are committed to creating an economy in which every person has the freedom to thrive,” Harris said in a statement on the tour.

Her Atlanta kickoff included an event where the vice president delivered remarks to hundreds of people, mainly Black entrepreneurs and lawmakers. She touted legislation passed during the Biden administration, highlighting spending on infrastructure and manufacturing in particular. 

The Georgia visit comes as concerns over Biden’s performance with Black Americans linger, with some indicating lethargy about supporting the president again. 

In a recent Fox News Poll, Trump bested Biden in Georgia, 51% to 45%. Biden defeated Trump in the southern state in 2020, 49.47% to 49.24%.

“The vice president’s economic opportunity tour is a way for the administration to highlight their actions to promote economic opportunity, especially for minority communities who will play a big role in this year’s election in swing states,” said University of South Carolina political scientist David Darmofal. 

He said the Atlanta event was “noteworthy for its in-depth panel discussions. This highlights how the administration is meeting these voters’ concerns with detailed, substantive, policy-oriented events.”

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“The issues she discussed in Atlanta and will discuss in Detroit are the kitchen table issues: fighting medical debt, pathways to homeownership, student loan forgiveness and more,” Shroff said. “She is also emphasizing the efforts the Biden-Harris administration has made to invest in Black communities, and I think that is important in swing states like Georgia and Michigan where Black voters are critical to winning the state again — as the Biden-Harris ticket did in 2020.”

Harris’ office explained the tour is focused on showing voters what the administration has accomplished to expand opportunities to those in communities that are traditionally underserved. On the tour with the vice president are representatives from the Small Business Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, who are there to provide information and resources on various programs. 

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On Monday, she will be headed to Detroit for a second event, where Biden and Democrats have seen warning signs electorally.

In a Fox News Poll last month, Trump defeated Biden in Michigan, 49% to 46%. In 2020, Biden won Michigan over Trump, 49.9% to 48.6%. 

Anthony Michael Kreis, a Georgia State University College of Law assistant professor said, “The big keys for Biden in Michigan and Georgia is to solidify the base and hold onto one key demographic, educated suburban voters.

“For both these groups, Biden has a huge challenge.” 

“While the economy is booming on paper, Americans aren’t necessarily feeling like it at home, particularly after a rough few years of inflation,” Kreis said. 

He claimed Biden and Harris’ re-election campaign has yet to find the right message to convince voters, adding the tour “appears to be the latest attempt to refine their economic message.”

“You can’t really dispute how much money Biden has spent trying to prop up the economy, which is why we have a $1.8 trillion deficit, a $35 trillion national debt and record inflation,” remarked Michigan Republican strategist Jason Cabel Roe. 

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Despite this spending, he said voters are still “dissatisfied with the cost of living, the cost of gas, diminishing take-home pay and a feckless leader who can’t seem to manage anything competently.”

Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, suggested Trump is finding an effective pitch to voters in relying on “nostalgia for the pre-COVID economy.” 

“Biden doesn’t necessarily need to be perceived as better on the economy than Trump in order to win, but he does need to combat this nostalgia,” he said. 

Democratic strategist Max Burns reiterated Kreis’ point that positive economic developments aren’t being felt by average voters. He explained that Biden needs to be out on the trail to sell the message, adding that “retail politics has always been Biden’s strength.”

While he noted the importance of the economy in any election, Kondik said, “I do wonder if it really is the key driver of voting attitudes.”

He noted that there was recently “an election where inflation was a huge national problem but the ruling party [the Democrats] were not hugely penalized for it.”

For that reason, he suggested “it is a lot more complicated than just ‘It’s the economy, stupid,’” referencing Carville’s saying. 

In a statement, Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said, “Under President Trump, inflation was nonexistent, gasoline was cheap, groceries were affordable and the American Dream was alive and well. Thanks to Joe Biden’s out-of-control spending, prices are nearly 20% higher than they were four years ago, gas prices have hit record highs and American’s paychecks are not keeping up with the increasing pace of inflation.

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“Michigan and Georgia’s families and workers cannot afford four more years of Joe Biden. We need a businessman and a proven leader like President Trump who will get our economy booming again.” 

The vice president’s office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital. 

RENO, Nev. — An Afghanistan War veteran and Republican running for Senate in what is expected to be one of this year’s most closely watched races is expanding his campaign as he sets his sights firmly on a vulnerable Democratic incumbent.

Former U.S. Army Capt. Sam Brown spoke with members of the media, including Fox News Digital, last week after opening a new campaign headquarters in Reno, Nevada, as he aims to oust incumbent Democrat Jacky Rosen and flip the Silver State red.

“The energy is great. This is just a sign of the grassroots movement that we built,” Brown said after a packed room of supporters eventually emptied.

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“Sadly, people are stressed. There is a sense of a loss of hope for some people. They look at the issues that we’re dealing with as a nation, as a state, as individuals, and they’re looking for leadership. They’re looking for someone who’s willing to go represent them and, at times, even push back against their own party leadership. That’s what’s driving so much energy here. And I’m excited about the turnout today.”

National Republicans remain optimistic about their chances to win control of the Senate in November, with a number of states, including Nevada, Arizona, Montana, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Maryland, taking center stage.

The GOP views Brown as its best chance to flip Nevada, a state where it’s struggled in recent election cycles. In 2022, Republican Senate nominee Adam Laxalt came within 8,000 votes of winning against a Democratic incumbent.

Brown is a seasoned candidate who unsuccessfully ran against Laxalt in the 2022 Republican primary and for Congress while living in Texas in 2014. However, this year, he predicts voters will be driven to the polls to support Republicans for a number of reasons, namely President Biden’s “failed” policies that he says Rosen hasn’t stood up to.

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“We need people who will represent all Nevadans, all Americans. And, the issues, again, where Biden has failed and where Jacky Rosen has not provided leadership — with the border, with spending so much that it’s driving up inflation and just supporting families,” he said.

Brown also predicted the ongoing prosecutions against former President Trump in multiple states and Washington, D.C., will drive voters to the polls in favor of Republicans.

“The Trump trial is just an example of how the judiciary has really become politicized. And it seems to be motivating people to get engaged, to voice their concerns, and, frankly, to see that Trump is taking heat on their behalf. A lot of this didn’t start until he announced he was running for re-election. And I do expect that it will play a part in driving people to participate in voting this year,” he said.

Brown is facing what appears to be a tough primary challenge from Jeffrey Gunter, a dermatologist and former Trump official who served as the U.S. ambassador to Iceland from 2019-2021. However, his strategy so far appears to be keeping the focus directly on Rosen and Biden.

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“My record has been clear. I’ve been on the campaign trail effectively for the last three years. Nevadans know who I am because I ran last cycle in the primary. I have been consistent. My issues have never changed. I am a pro-America First candidate, and I am extremely conservative,” Brown said when asked about Gunter.

“This is an indictment against Jacky Rosen. It’s an indictment against the Biden administration and their policies that have not served Nevadans well.”

Concerning Brown’s remarks, Rosen campaign spokesperson Johanna Warshaw told Fox News Digital the senator “has been ranked one of the most bipartisan and effective senators in the nation because of her proven record of political independence and her work across party lines to deliver for Nevada.

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“While extreme MAGA Republicans are busy tearing each other down in a divisive and expensive primary, Sen. Rosen is focused on communicating directly to voters about the work she’s doing to fight for Nevadans.”

The primary will be held Tuesday, June 11.

Elections analysts rate the race as either a tossup, “tilt Democratic” or “lean Democratic.”

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

Anti-Israel groups accuse Chicago, DNC of trying to ‘protect’ Biden from protests at 2024 Dem convention

A coalition of anti-Israel agitators seeking to protest outside the Democratic National Convention in August are continuing to put pressure on the City of Chicago, alleging their First Amendment rights are being violated, while some Democrats fear unrest could disrupt the annual convention.

A series of lawsuits have been filed against the city in recent months by the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, the Anti-War Coalition, and Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Illinois — some of which have voiced support for the anti-Israel encampment at the University of Chicago.

In a Tuesday filing at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the coalition of protesters stated they want to “engage in peaceful political speech and seek to exercise their First Amendment rights at the Convention to deliver their political messages directly to… President Biden.”

That effort is being stifled by the City of Chicago, which denied the groups “respective applications for parade permits within sight or sound of the Convention,” according to the filing.

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“Instead, the City, on information at the behest of the DNC, unilaterally decided to offer an alternative parade route approximately four (4) miles away buried on a tree lined street in an entirely other part of the City, clearly to protect President Biden and others from hearing the Plaintiffs’ political message,” the coalition stated in the filing. “In doing so, the City failed to consider to least restrictive route narrowly tailored to meet a compelling government interest. Indeed, the City admitted it considered no other alternative than the one it seeks to force on Plaintiffs and failed to engage Plaintiffs to consider less restrictive options.”

The 2024 Democratic convention, which is slated to be held this summer in Chicago at the United Center from August 19 – 22, will be attended by Democrats from all over the country. It will also be where the party announces its official nominee for the 2024 presidential election, which is expected to be a rematch between Biden and former President Donald Trump.

The groups also claimed the City of Chicago is “working with the DNC” in an effort “to limit the number of peaceful parades organized to deliver political speech by denying permit applications solely on the grounds that such applications are ‘duplicative.’”

“This provision violated the First Amendment on its face as it is vague and overly broad and has been interpreted by the Defendants to allow … not only [denying] permit applications but even seek criminal and civil penalties against any organization and its members applying for a parade permit on more than one date or against two or more organizations with even a single member in common which seek parade permits,” the groups noted in the filing.

The groups filed for a preliminary injunction and have requested a federal judge grant them better access to the event for their planned protest, which has been dubbed “March on the DNC 2024.”

“Instead of meeting with us and working out a compromise that brings us within sight and sound of the DNC, the city has tried to shut us away in a corner,” Liz Rathburn, a member of the Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Illinois Chicago, told one local outlet last month.

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In a March filing, the coalition said Biden is “the one person who could stop the suffering in Gaza with a single phone call.”

The Washington Post noted in a Saturday morning report that Democrats are “bracing for massive protests” at the August convention as more and more anti-Israel protests sweep the nation, primarily on college campuses.

“Peaceful protest is fundamental to American democracy, and has been a fixture of political conventions for decades,” Matt Hill, a spokesperson for the Democratic National Convention, said in a statement to the outlet. “While Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans stoke political violence, we support the ongoing security coordination at all levels of government to keep our convention safe.”

Hill added, “When the country looks to Chicago this August, the unity and excitement of Democrats will stand in stark contrast to the chaos and extremism stewing in the GOP.”

Similar protests are planned for the Republican National Convention in July. However, the Post noted the protests planned for the Democratic National Convention are likely to be “more robust.”

Members of the coalition previously vowed to protest “with or without” permits outside the convention.

“We’ll be marching with or without permits. This DNC is the most important one since 1968, also in Chicago when Vietnam War protesters and the black liberation movement organized mass demonstrations that were violently repressed,” Hatem Abudayyeh, executive director of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, said at a conference last month. “The march on the DNC will be the largest mobilization for Palestine in the history of the city.”

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Reacting to concern among Democrats who may be worried with how the protests could impact the party’s image come August, Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk wrote in a Thursday post to X, “The Democratic National Convention this August has a good chance of outdoing 1968!”

Musk’s comment on the matter referenced the party’s 1968 convention, which was marred by seven days of violent protests over the Vietnam War under then-President Lyndon Johnson. The protests took place just months after the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr. and former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.

Democrat and Republican lawmakers in a crucial battleground state are “deeply troubled” after a group of illegal immigrants were flown to the Big Sky Country on a late night flight.

Five migrants, reportedly from Venezuela, were flown from New York to Kalispell, Montana Wednesday night into Glacier Park International Airport, Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino confirmed to Fox News Digital. The migrants were reportedly dropped off and eventually provided housing in the city, but Heino said it was just “one of many instances.”

“The only way an illegal immigrant from South America ends up in Montana is if a ‘nonprofit’ connected with the Biden Administration moves them there,” said Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., said in a press release, referring to Valley Neighbors, the local nonprofit that picked up the migrants who were flown into the state.

“Montana law enforcement, schools, hospitals and safety nets are being stressed to their max because of the Biden border crisis,” said Zinke, who represents the district covering Flathead. “It’s unacceptable and absolutely needs to end now.”

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Zinke took the effort a step further, penning a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas Thursday that urged him to “immediately detain and deport this group of illegal immigrants.” The letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, requested information regarding their knowledge of the migrants and how they traveled from the southern border to northern Montana.

A spokesperson for Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said he is working with state officials to monitor the situation, telling Fox News Digital that it “undermines our national security” when migrants are allowed to enter the U.S. illegally.

“Senator Tester is in touch with local officials in Flathead County and is closely monitoring this ongoing situation,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “He believes that allowing anyone to enter the country without being properly vetted or going through a legal process undermines our national security, which is why he voted for bipartisan border security legislation that would give law enforcement the tools to crack down on individuals entering the country illegally and keep Montana and our country safe.”

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., blamed President Joe Biden for the migrant crisis, saying he and “Senate Democrats failed to secure the border and now Montanans can see that failure firsthand.”

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Gov. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., said he was “deeply troubled and frustrated” by the situation, while Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., demanded Biden “be held accountable and his actions be reversed,” saying “Montana is not a sanctuary state.”

Former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, a Republican Senate candidate in Montana, also chimed in, blaming the Democrat he is running to unseat in the fall for the “insane” migrant crisis.

“A month ago, the Senate voted to continue secret, taxpayer-funded illegal migrant flights by one vote – Jon Tester’s. Now, illegals are reportedly being flown to Montana,” Sheehy said in a statement. “This is insane. Stop the invasion, seal the border, and put America First!”

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The flights come days after Fox News reported on a subpoena by the House Homeland Security Committee about a separate parole program for migrants, under which approximately 200,000 migrants flew into the U.S. between January through August 2023. The subpoena revealed that migrants have flown into more than 45 cities as part of the program for Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan migrants.

Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

LAS VEGAS — EXCLUSIVE: A former Trump official running in one of this year’s crucial battleground Senate races is launching a major initiative to help end the crisis at the southern border amid his effort to oust an incumbent Democrat.

Republican Nevada Senate candidate Jeff Gunter, the former U.S. ambassador to Iceland, announced Saturday his “Build the Wall, Deport Them All” initiative, which, although in its preliminary stage, will ultimately target illegal immigrants he says are causing a grave economic impact on small businesses across the country.

Gunter says he will invest $1 million of his own money in the initiative, including developing a website and reporting mechanism for everyday citizens to report suspicious activity. The money will also go towards an ad campaign to inform people across the silver state about the initiative, which is expected to have more backers in the near future.

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“I refuse to stand by and watch our communities destroyed by the flood of illegals,” Gunter told Fox News Digital. “Talk is cheap, and if Biden won’t do anything about it, I will. That’s why I’m stepping up to make progress and expedite the deportation effort.”

“With President Biden, Democrats, and RINOs failing to secure our nation’s borders, it’s time for real patriots to step up. My plan will not only restart the wall construction, but will also ensure that our laws are enforced without apology. This financial commitment underscores my personal commitment to our national security and the rule of law,” he added.

A key component of Gunter’s initiative will include working with local businesses to identify illegal immigrants negatively impacting their operations, with that information being passed to the Department of Homeland Security for “immediate action and enforcement.”

It will also include developing partnerships with small businesses to “assess and mitigate the impact of illegal immigration on their operations,” and the launch of a “See Something, Say Something” campaign that will provide a dedicated tip line to “empower citizens to report suspicious activities and support law enforcement in maintaining national security.”

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Additionally, Gunter vows that, if elected, he will work to immediately resume construction of the border wall, enhance border surveillance, crack down on sanctuary cities and states, and end birthright citizenship.

“My top three priorities when I become the next U.S. senator here in Nevada is shut the border, shut the border, and, you guessed it, shut the border,” Gunter told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. 

“If you do not have a border, you do not have a country. And, think about it, Donald Trump put in Remain in Mexico. While the asylum seekers were being processed, they had to remain in Mexico. And what did Joe Biden do? He eliminated it with the rubber stamp of Jacky Rosen,” he said, referencing Democrat Sen. Jacky Rosen, who is running for re-election.

Gunter said he would work to reinstate the Remain in Mexico policy, where asylum seekers were required to remain in Mexico while their applications were processed, and reinstate Title 42, a policy established during the COVID-19 pandemic that allowed officials to turn away migrants at the border because of health concerns.

“They’re not just illegal immigrants that are coming into this country, they’re 110% invaders,” Gunter said. “The Chinese government knows exactly who’s coming into America. We can also see that many of these people are 20 to 30-year-olds of military age. And we need to stop it. We need to keep America safe.” 

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“I will support President Trump as the next U.S. senator, not only shutting the border, not only reinstituting Remain in Mexico and everything else, but I will advocate for the largest deportation program ever seen here in America. Why? Because your first act as an American should not be an illegal act,” he added.

The seven figures Gunter intends to invest in the initiative comes a month after he announced plans to spend millions on the ramp up of his Senate campaign amid his battle with former U.S. Army Captain Sam Brown for the Republican nomination and a shot at Rosen in November.

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“Jacky Rosen has been ranked one of the most bipartisan and effective Senators in the nation because of her proven record of political independence and her work across party lines to deliver for Nevada. While extreme MAGA Republicans are busy tearing each other down in a divisive and expensive primary, Senator Rosen is focused on communicating directly to voters about the work she’s doing to fight for Nevadans,” Rosen campaign spokesperson Johanna Warshaw told Fox News Digital.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which is backing Brown, has been highly critical of Gunter and sought to tie him closely to his home state of California.

“Jeff Gunter is a Democrat who recently moved to Nevada from California. Gunter will stand with Joe Biden to open the border — not secure it,” NRSC communications Director Mike Berg told Fox News Digital.

The primary will be held Tuesday, June 11.

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