Donald Trump Poll News

President Biden, while drumming up support from Black voters in Philadelphia on Wednesday, said former President Trump wanted to tear gas those who “peacefully protested” George Floyd’s murder in 2020.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris appeared at Girard College, a predominantly Black boarding school in Philadelphia, thanking Black voters for helping to clinch presidential victory in November 2020.

During his speech, the president focused on items that his administration worked on to better the lives of Black voters, including the elimination of lead pipes for safer drinking water; the removal of pollution near fenceline communities; affordable high-speed internet; and the protection of the Affordable Health Care Act.

“A promise made, and a promise kept,” Biden said.

2024 REMATCH: TRUMP AIMS TO EXPAND THE MAP IN HIS BATTLE WITH BIDEN

President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally at Girard College on Wednesday in Philadelphia. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

As he made his pitch to the room, Biden pulled no punches toward his chief opponent in the presidential election.

Biden told the crowd that Trump called Jan. 6 rioters patriots and that he wants to pardon every one of them.

“Let me ask you: What do you think [Trump] would have done on Jan. 6, if Black Americans had stormed [the Capitol],” Biden asked. “I don’t think he’d be talking about pardons. This is the same guy who wanted to tear gas you as you peacefully protested George Floyd’s murder.”

Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.

TRUMP AHEAD OF BIDEN IN THESE KEY SWING STATES: POLL

Smoke rises from a fire on a police cruiser, May 30, 2020, in Philadelphia, during riots that erupted after the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.  (AP Photo/Matt Rourke/File)

In May 2020, public protests and demonstrations in Philadelphia in response to the death of Floyd and against alleged police brutality started out as peaceful assemblies before turning violent.

The violence involved defacing an iconic statue of famed former Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo, demonstrators climbing atop glass fixtures near the SEPTA subway entrance, and at least a dozen storefronts along the popular Chestnut and Walnut street corridors getting looted or defaced.

Several Philadelphia Police Department vehicles were reportedly set ablaze in the vicinity — as well as a Pennsylvania State Police cruiser — and a Starbucks was seen engulfed in flames on Dilworth Plaza, which sits along the west rampart of City Hall.

FIRST LADY JILL BIDEN WARNS ‘THE VIEW’ WE WILL LOSE ALL OF OUR RIGHTS’ IF TRUMP GETS ANOTHER SCOTUS JUDGE

An undated photo of George Floyd, who died May 25, 2020, after Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck outside a convenience store where Floyd tried to pass a counterfeit $20 bill. (Christopher Harris via AP/File)

Police officers ultimately equipped themselves in riot gear before reportedly confronting a crowd near the Municipal Services Building at 16th and Arch streets. The officers were said to have pressed the crowd back as they threw projectiles, and tried to push through the police line by using a fence.

As a result of the initial night of protests, over a dozen police officers were injured and a mandatory curfew was put in place.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The White House did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital seeking clarification on Biden’s remarks about the protests being peaceful.

Protests and riots broke out across the nation in the spring and summer of 2020, after Floyd, 46, died in Minneapolis police custody.

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: The dates for closed-door interviews with top university presidents have been announced as House Republicans continue to probe antisemitism at educational institutions across the country. 

Two university leaders were provided notice by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on Wednesday of upcoming transcribed interviews that will be closed to the press. 

Yale University President Dr. Peter Salovey is set to speak with the committee in a closed-to-press interview on June 20 at 10:30 a.m., and University of Michigan President Dr. Santa J. Ono is scheduled to appear for his own private interview on Aug. 9 at 10 a.m. 

GOP SEN CALLS FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION INTO TRUMP TRIAL JUDGE OVER GAG ORDERS

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., announced the dates and times for closed interviews with Yale and University of Michigan presidents regarding antisemitism.  (Getty Images)

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., said, “The Committee has identified patterns of antisemitism on Yale’s and Michigan’s campuses and a general failure by these universities to protect Jewish students that must be addressed. Presidents Salovey and Ono will be required to appear before the committee for transcribed interviews and answer questions on their records.”

BIDEN ADMIN QUESTIONED OVER ABORTION PILL PUSH WITHOUT PROPER ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY

Several university presidents have already appeared before Congress. (Getty Images)

“Questioning will be conducted by counsel(s) and/or Committee staff designated by the Chair and Ranking Member, respectively. The Majority and the Minority will question you in alternating, hour-long rounds, beginning with Majority staff, until neither side has remaining questions,” she wrote in letters to the leaders on Wednesday. 

“We have received the letter and President Santa J. Ono will appear for the transcribed interview,” said Colleen Mastony, spokesperson for the University of Michigan, in a statement. 

A spokesperson for Yale University told Fox News Digital, “We are committed to cooperate with the committee.”

The presidents of Northwestern University, Rutgers University and the University of California, Los Angeles testified in front of the committee earlier this month during a hearing titled, “Calling for Accountability: Stopping Antisemitic College Chaos.” 

BIDEN WHITE HOUSE REJECTS ICC SANCTIONS PROPOSED BY LAWMAKERS AFTER ISRAEL WARRANT REQUESTS

Hundreds of students protest outside the Palestine Solidarity Encampment on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles on May 1. (Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

The hearing came only weeks after a high-profile pro-Palestine encampment dispersed at Columbia University and as schools across the country still struggled with their own demonstrations, which also included incidents of antisemitism. 

The Michigan and Yale presidents were originally slated to appear at the same hearing. 

‘TOO LATE’: TRUMP BACKS CHALLENGER TO FREEDOM CAUCUS CHAIR DESPITE RECEIVING PRIOR ENDORSEMENT

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., Chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, is leading an investigation into campus antisemitism. (Getty Images)

The outbreak of antisemitism on college campuses has correlated with the onset of the war between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza, which began in October 2023 after the group murdered Israeli civilians and took hostages in a surprise attack. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Since then, antisemitic incidents across the country have skyrocketed. In the first three months following the Hamas terrorist attack, more antisemitic incidents occurred than during the entirety of each year between 2013 and 2021, with the exception of 2022, according to the Anti-Defamation League’s data. The number of incidents in those three months represented a 361% increase from the same period in 2022, during which 712 incidents occurred. 

Requests seeking comment from the University of Michigan went unanswered at press time.

Around 40 Arab-American leaders in the key swing state of Michigan came together with two top Trumpworld figures as the presumptive Republican nominee and President Biden both seek its delegate prize in November.

The Trump campaign told Fox News Digital the meet-up — which featured Michael Boulos and former Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell — was not organized by the campaign.

Boulos, son of Lebanese billionaire Massad Boulos, is married to Tiffany Trump. The elder Boulos was also in attendance, according to published reports.

The meeting took place at an Italian restaurant in the Detroit suburb of Troy, according to the Detroit Free Press, which counted Syrian-American physician Dr. Yahya Basha among its attendees. 

Basha voted for Biden, donated to his 2020 bid and kept a photo of him in his office, but last week he helped organize Boulos and Grenell’s dinner instead, according to the paper, which quoted him as calling the meeting “positive” and a “first step in the right direction.”

Another attendee said Trump’s “Abraham Accords” Mideast peace deal was a noted topic of conversation and well-received by the group.

DEARBORN ‘UNCOMMITTEDS’ PLAN TO MAKE ‘EXAMPLE’ OF BIDEN, TURN PARTY AGAINST JEWISH STATE

When asked about the meeting, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign said that although it was not an official event, they will continue to communicate to Arab-American voters about Trump’s successes in the Middle East and policies that “brought that region historic levels of peace and stability.”

“We understand supporters of President Trump had a meeting in Michigan. While the meeting was not requested on behalf of the campaign, we share the belief that Biden’s failed Middle East policies have brought death, chaos and war to the region,” Brian Hughes, the campaign representative, told Fox News Digital.

“That failure led tens of thousands of Democrats to vote ‘uncommitted’ in Michigan’s recent primary.”

Reports of another meeting on May 17 between Arab American groups and Secretary of State Antony Blinken at Foggy Bottom “wasn’t positive,” according to the Detroit paper.

In a statement about the meeting obtained by New York City broadcaster NY1, Biden campaign rapid response director Ammar Moussa called Trump the biggest threat to the Muslim and Arab community.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Moussa told the outlet Biden, by contrast, is “working tirelessly towards a just and lasting peace.”

Biden’s conundrum in Michigan was described earlier this year by Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., to Politico as “an impossible situation,” as the president tries to balance seeking support from moderate and union Democrats while not alienating progressives and the state’s large Muslim and Arab populations.

His headwinds from flipping the state back to the Democrats’ column in 2020 have been buffeted as of late by the more than 100,000 Democratic voters who voted “uncommitted” in the party’s February primary.

The president has been criticized by the state’s sizable Muslim population over his handling of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, as prominent Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib — who is of Palestinian descent — branded him an “enabler of genocide” over the matter.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Biden campaign for official comment for purposes of this story.

Trump, meanwhile, seeks to win back the support of the Great Lakes state, a feat he accomplished in 2016 when he became the first Republican since George H.W. Bush to do so.

Judge Juan Merchan can “save his reputation” if he dismisses the NY v. Trump case, former President Donald Trump said in remarks Wednesday outside of the Manhattan courtroom. 

“The confusion is nobody knows what the crime is because there’s no crime. Nobody knows what the crime is. The D.A. didn’t name the crime of the moment. They don’t know what the crime is. That’s what the problem is. It’s a disgrace. This thing ought to be ended immediately. The judge ought to end it and save his reputation,” Trump said Wednesday evening. 

Trump’s comments came after jury deliberations began Wednesday. 

Since deliberations began, the jury sent Merchan two notes, including asking to rehear his instructions. In New York criminal cases, juries are not allowed to receive copies of jury instructions or witness transcripts. 

TRUMP SAYS JUDGE MERCHAN HAS WAY TO GAIN BACK ‘RESPECT’ DESPITE PRESIDING OVER ‘WITCH HUNT’ TRIAL

Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump attends his criminal trial at the New York State Supreme Court in New York, New York, Wednesday, May, 29, 2024.  (Doug Mills/Pool via REUTERS)

Trump is facing 34 counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors worked to prove that Trump falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former pornographic star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. 

“The judge, who, as you know, is very conflicted and corrupt. Because of the confliction, very, very corrupt. Mother Teresa could not beat these charges. These charges are rigged. The whole thing is rigged,” Trump said late Wednesday morning as jury deliberations kicked off. 

COHEN’S BOMBSHELL ADMISSION COULD LEAD TO HUNG JURY, IF NOT ACQUITTAL: EXPERT

Judge Juan M. Merchan poses in his chambers in New York, March 14, 2024. The testimony in Donald Trump’s hush money trial is all wrapped up after more than four weeks and nearly two dozen witnesses, meaning the case heads into the pivotal final stretch of closing arguments, jury deliberations and possibly a verdict. Merchan is expected to spend about an hour instructing the jury on the law governing the case, providing a roadmap for what it can and cannot take into account as it evaluates Trump’s guilt or innocence.  (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

“The whole country is a mess, between the borders and fake elections, and you have a trial like this where the judge is so conflicted, he can’t breathe. He’s got to do his job. … it’s a disgrace. And I mean that, Mother Teresa could not beat those charges. But we’ll see. We’ll see how we do.” 

NY V TRUMP: MICHAEL COHEN ADMITS TO STEALING TENS OF THOUSANDS FROM FORMER PRESIDENT’S BUSINESS

Trump has repeatedly called on Merchan to recuse himself as well as dismiss the case, including last week when he said Merchan could “gain back respect” if he dismissed the case. 

Former U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as Rhona Graff testifies during Trump’s criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City, U.S. April 26, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)

NY V. TRUMP: MICHAEL COHEN TESTIFIES HE’S CONSIDERING CONGRESSIONAL RUN

“This case should be dropped by the judge. I think the judge, if he did, that … could gain the respect back. The appellate court has to step in, something has to happen. Think of it, the Republican Party, one of the two great parties, nominates somebody to be their candidate. And that candidate now has been sitting here for almost five weeks in a freezing cold icebox listening to this stuff,” Trump said last Monday. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Court will continue Thursday morning at 9:30, when Merchan will again address jury instructions, followed by the jury resuming deliberations.

New York City – Bystanders outside former President Trump’s criminal trial on Wednesday spoke to Fox News Digital and blasted what they said is a political prosecution of the former president and chief political rival of President Biden.

“This thing is damaging to the American legal system for decades to come,” a man outside the courtroom told Fox News Digital. “The political use of the courts. Listen, on this level, it’s dreadful… never mind Trump, it’s damaging to the country.”

When asked if he thought the trial was politically motivated, the man scoffed in agreement and said, “It’s also economically motivated.”

“Let’s do it fair, let’s lay out the deck of cards, if Biden is scared to lay down the deck of cards and ask what happened with the cocaine in the White House, the people still want to know… why CNN aint publicize that, why?” 

Another man wearing a New York Yankees cap told Fox News Digital, “Why they ain’t making no news about it? It’s not about being a racist, you know I was a Democrat for long [time], but I had to research and start seeing things and I started to come to a clear perception and said, ‘Nah, Donald Trump is right.’”

COULD VERDICT IN TRUMP CRIMINAL TRIAL UPEND THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION?

Trump supporters outside New York City courtroom. (Fox News Digital)

“You don’t have to agree with him about everything but one thing you can say… he  love to take care of the people, he love people,” the man added.

“Because he’s doing everything for us,” a woman outside the courtroom told Fox News Digital when asked why she believes Trump is a “good president.”

Another man told Fox News Digital he thinks Democrats are “desperate” and “losing their s—.”

NY V TRUMP: FORMER PRESIDENT UNLEASHES SOCIAL MEDIA FIRESTORM AHEAD OF JURY DELIBERATION

Former President Trump sits in court before jury deliberations for his criminal trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 29, 2024. (Jabin Botsford/Pool via USA Today Network)

“They’re losing their composure and they’re just so scared that he might be elected they’re just losing their stuff totally,” the man, who was holding an American flag, added.

When asked what the outcome of the trial will be, the man said, “His ratings will go up, we have a Constitution, so sooner or later, whatever at first happens will be overturned, so thank God we’re a constitutional republic.”

The man said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Trump was convicted in the New York City case, but the “consensus seems to be a hung jury.” 

“It shows that it’s fragile,” the man said about how this trial reflects the criminal justice system in the United States. “Half the country doesn’t realize that we have a constitutional republic, and they think that the quote ‘majority’ should make the laws and that’s not the way it works. The Constitution supersedes the majority.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

A man stands outside a New York courtroom while a jury deliberates charges against former President Trump. (Fox News Digital)

Jurors in the case were handed their final instructions on Wednesday and were sent out to deliberate on Trump’s guilt in the 34 charges against him stemming from allegations he improperly covered up an NDA agreement with porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump has pleaded not guilty on all counts and dismissed the allegations as a political prosecution.

Fox News Digital’s Matteo Cina contributed to this report

Sen. J.D. Vance is demanding a criminal investigation into New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan over his enforcement of gag orders against former President Trump during his trial. 

The Ohio Republican, a strong advocate of the former president, called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to open an investigation into Merchan, specifically for depriving Trump of his First Amendment right to free speech. 

“The public evidence suggests that an investigation is warranted at least. And all indications are that the responsible parties have their sights set, not only on rights protected by the Constitution, but on rightsholders of core federal concern, including the leading candidate for the presidency,” Vance wrote in a letter to Garland. 

BIDEN ADMIN QUESTIONED OVER ABORTION PILL PUSH WITHOUT PROPER ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY

Former President Donald Trump and then-Republican candidate for Senate JD Vance greet supporters during the rally at the Dayton International Airport on Nov. 7, 2022 in Vandalia, Ohio.  ((Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images))

He cites two statutes to pursue Merchan under, one which prevents “conspiracies to ‘injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate’ others in the enjoyment of federally protected rights” and another to prohibit anyone from “willfully [depriving] a person of a right or privilege protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.” 

BIDEN WHITE HOUSE REJECTS ICC SANCTIONS PROPOSED BY LAWMAKERS AFTER ISRAEL WARRANT REQUESTS

Justice Juan Merchan instructs the jury before deliberations as Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump looks on during his criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, at Manhattan state court in New York City on May 29, 2024 in this courtroom sketch. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)

“On Merchan’s orders, a Republican presidential candidate has been made powerless to question the credibility of the witnesses testifying against him, the motivations of the prosecutors pursuing him, or the impartiality of the apparently conflicted judge fining him,” Vance claimed. 

The Department of Justice did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication. 

‘TOO LATE’: TRUMP BACKS CHALLENGER TO FREEDOM CAUCUS CHAIR DESPITE RECEIVING PRIOR ENDORSEMENT

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during the 36th Annual Candlelight Vigil to honor the law enforcement officers who lost their lives in 2023, in Washington, on May 13, 2024.  (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Vance even suggested that Merchan has deprived Trump of more than just his First Amendment rights. He claimed the judge had tried to prevent the former president from getting an impartial jury. “During jury selection, Merchan refused to dismiss prospective jurors with obvious bias,” he wrote. 

IN NEW TV AD, MARYLAND’S LARRY HOGAN CHARTS POTENTIAL SENATE PATH FORWARD AS CENTRIST

Former President Donald Trump sits in court before jury deliberations for his criminal trial in Manhattan Criminal Court at the New York State Supreme Court on May 29, 2024.   (Jabin Botsford/Pool via USA Today Network)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital reached out to the New York court system with a request from Merchan’s office but did not immediately receive a response. 

Republicans and Trump have been critical of the prosecution, charges and the presiding judge in the case against the former president, often referring to it as “election interference.”

A Manhattan jury began deliberations Wednesday in former President Trump’s New York criminal trial.

A guilty verdict in the historic case could have far-reaching consequences for the 2024 presidential election and upend criminal case law in New York, while a not guilty verdict would give Trump ammunition in a potential lawsuit for malicious prosecution, legal experts told Fox News Digital.

“It seems this is an all-or-nothing case, assuming arguendo there is a verdict and not a hung jury,” said Trey Gowdy, “Sunday Night in America” host and a former federal prosecutor. 

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts. 

LIVE UPDATES: JUDGE MERCHAN PRESENTS JURY WITH INSTRUCTIONS AHEAD OF DELIBERATIONS IN NY V. TRUMP TRIAL

In this courtroom sketch, former President Trump’s children — Tiffany Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump with his wife Lara — sit next to Trump in a front row as defense lawyer Todd Blanche presents closing arguments during Trump’s criminal trial on charges he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 in Manhattan state court in New York City May 28, 2024. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg )

Gowdy, who has been in the New York City courtroom where Trump’s case will be decided, said it was unlikely for the jury to find Trump guilty on some charges but not others. 

“I cannot foresee a verdict with some counts as guilty and others as not. Unless there is a lesser included misdemeanor charge, in which case there perhaps could be a series of convictions for felony and misdemeanor counts,” he said.

Louis Gelormino, a Staten Island defense attorney, agreed that the jury would render the same verdict on all counts “because all the felonies are pretty much the same.” 

“They’re just different instances of the same felony,” he told Fox News Digital. 

NY V. TRUMP: JUDGE MERCHAN TO PRESENT JURY WITH INSTRUCTIONS AHEAD OF DELIBERATIONS

Former President Trump, flanked by attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, arrives for his criminal trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, N.Y., Wednesday, May 29, 2024. (Jabin Botsford/Pool via REUTERS)

The charges against Trump in New York are related to alleged payments made ahead of the 2016 presidential election to silence adult film star Stormy Daniels about an alleged 2006 extramarital sexual encounter with Trump.

Prosecutors must convince the jury that not only did Trump falsify the business records related to alleged hush money payments, but that he did so in furtherance of another crime, conspiracy to promote or prevent an election. Bragg’s allegation that Trump falsified records to cover up an additional crime elevated to a felony what otherwise would have been misdemeanor charges. 

Gelormino said that in 45 years of practicing criminal law in New York, he and his law partner have never seen a case like this.

“This is the most absurd, obscene case we’ve ever seen anybody try to get convicted of. And for this to be a case against the former president of the United States puts it way over the top,” he said. “Any citizen, anybody, should never be charged with these kind of crimes.” 

NY V. TRUMP: DEFENSE SAYS PROSECUTORS ‘DID NOT MEET THE BURDEN OF PROOF,’ FORMER PRESIDENT IS ‘INNOCENT’

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks during a news conference March 7, 2024, in Manhattan, N.Y. (Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

If Trump is convicted, he would still be able to run for president. But what that looks like will vary greatly depending on his sentence. An appeal could take months or even years to resolve. And an appellate court would decide whether to stay any sentence or conditions pending an appeal.

Prosecutors will have the option of requesting that presiding Judge Juan Merchan increase Trump’s bail to guarantee his return for the sentencing hearing. This could also include a request for remand, which would place Trump in jail until his sentencing hearing. But legal experts say it is unlikely for a 77-year-old man who has never been convicted of a crime to be sent to jail. 

Gelormino explained that before sentencing, the former president would have to meet with a probation officer for an interview to create a pre-sentencing report for the judge. The report, which can take six to eight weeks to complete, would include a short biography of Trump and a recommended sentence. It would be sent to all parties, and the defense would have an opportunity to suggest its own sentencing terms. Merchan would not be bound by the sentencing report.

The Rikers Island jail complex stands with the Manhattan skyline in the background June 20, 2014, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Probation offices are located throughout New York City, but Gelormino guessed that authorities would make special arrangements for Trump so that a former president is not waiting for hours in a lobby with other convicts. Trump, like any other convict, would have to abide by certain rules as he awaits sentencing, including that he must admit guilt to the probation officer. 

“When my clients have to meet with a probation officer, what the judges will tell you is you have to do three things. You have to stay out of trouble. You have to not get rearrested. And you have to tell the truth to the probation officer,” Gelormino said. “Meaning, they ask you about the incident, and every one of my clients that goes in there, I always tell them, ‘Just say to the probation officer you agree to what’s on the record because you have to admit guilt.'”

If a convict found guilty by a jury of his peers does not admit guilt to the probation officer, Gelormino said, the judge will take that into account as an “aggravating factor” in sentencing.

NY V. TRUMP: PROSECUTION SAYS THEY HAVE PRESENTED ‘POWERFUL EVIDENCE’ AGAINST FORMER PRESIDENT

Former President Trump returns from a lunch break for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court May 28, 2024, in New York City.  (Julia Nikhinson-Pool/Getty Images)

If Trump is sentenced to prison, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has said the city Department of Corrections and the Rikers Island facility in New York is “ready” to receive him. Asked if Trump would be housed by himself or with the general population, a Department of Corrections spokesman said, “The Department would find appropriate housing for him if he winds up in our custody.” The department did not respond to additional questions.

Trump is entitled to Secret Service protection even if he is sent to prison. It is unclear how the Secret Service would coordinate with the court and correction officers to protect Trump if he is incarcerated. 

“I don’t think anybody knows what that would look like, God forbid that happens,” said Gelormino.

Another option is for Trump to be placed in home confinement at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida residence. New York and Florida officials would have to coordinate, but this would severely restrict Trump’s ability to campaign for the White House, said David Gelman, a criminal defense lawyer and former prosecutor based in New Jersey. 

“A defendant basically cannot leave their residence unless they have to meet with doctors or an attorney. Also, traveling would be off limits as well, which would be a tremendous form of election interference due to the fact President Trump needs to campaign in different states in the country leading up to the election,” Gelman told Fox News Digital. 

The third option is probation. In this case, the probation officer assigned to Trump would exert great power over the 2024 Republican nominee. Trump would have to request permission to travel out of state, for example, which would greatly hinder his ability to campaign. He could also be subject to searches, surprise visits and be forced to attend meetings at any time.

COULD VERDICT IN TRUMP CRIMINAL TRIAL UPEND THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION?

Gelormino said there is “absolutely” a risk that a politically-motivated probation officer could abuse his or her power over Trump to keep him from campaigning. 

“Probation officers tend, at least in New York City, … to be Democrats because it’s a position that’s politically motivated at the best of times,” he said. 

Trump has already referred to his New York case as a “witch hunt” led by Democrats and Judge Merchan as a “conflicted” judge in comments to reporters during his trial. Claiming unfair treatment by a probation officer with bad motivations would not be out of character for the GOP nominee.

If Trump wins the election despite his conviction, he will not be able to pardon himself, since this is a state case. How a sitting president of the United States could abide by the terms of his sentence after conviction for state crimes is unprecedented and unknown legal territory.

The other possibilities are that the jury is unable to reach a verdict and the case ends in a mistrial. Gelormino said, in New York, prosecutors typically will move to retry a case within two or three months, unless they can reach an agreement with the defense for a resolution that avoids trial. That outcome seems unlikely given Bragg’s zealous prosecution and Trump’s defiant proclamations of innocence. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Former President Trump, center, during a campaign event at Crotona Park in the Bronx, N.Y., Thursday, May 23, 2024.  (Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

If Trump is found not guilty, New York City Councilman Joe Borelli, a Republican, said the president would be wise to move on. Borelli helped the Trump campaign acquire the necessary permits to hold a rally in the Bronx last week that attracted 10,000 people, according to law enforcement. 

“I think he should just forget about it, move on and let his surrogates talk about the criminal prosecutions while he’s doing what we saw him do here in New York, which is actually attracting and expanding his base,” said Borelli. 

However, Gelormino said Trump would have an excellent case to “turn around and sue everybody involved” in the prosecution if he wanted to take the litigious route.  

“I think he’s got a damn good case for malicious prosecution from DA Bragg’s office. And I also think he would bring what’s called an Article 78 proceeding against the judge for malfeasance in his job,” Gelormino said. “I don’t know if that would have as much legs as the malicious prosecution case against the DA. But I’d imagine that, knowing Trump, and knowing how tenacious he is, that he intends to bring something if he is acquitted.” 

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: Bicameral lawmakers are highlighting the Biden administration’s failure to adequately study the environmental impact of the abortion pill, particularly amid the rise in at-home medication abortions. 

“The full impact of mifepristone has never been sufficiently studied,” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., wrote in a letter to Michael Regan, President Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator.

Sen. Marco Rubio is questioning President Biden’s EPA over a lack of environmental studies on the effect of the abortion pill on waterways. (Getty Images)

The lawmakers stressed the importance of this development in light of the rising number of medication-induced abortions, for which mifepristone is commonly administered. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 63% of all U.S. abortions last year were conducted by medication. This marked a 10% rise in the method relative to the share of all abortions since 2020. 

BIDEN WHITE HOUSE REJECTS ICC SANCTIONS PROPOSED BY LAWMAKERS AFTER ISRAEL WARRANT REQUESTS

Rubio and Brecheen alleged that the only survey of the effect mifepristone has on the environment was an assessment from 1996. They claimed the survey, which was relied on by the Food and Drug Administration when it approved the medication in 2000, “failed to consider that human fetal remains and the drug’s active metabolites would be making their way into wastewater systems across the U.S.”

“The American people deserve to know the negative effects caused by chemical abortion drugs,” they wrote. 

‘TOO LATE’: TRUMP BACKS CHALLENGER TO FREEDOM CAUCUS CHAIR DESPITE RECEIVING PRIOR ENDORSEMENT

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael Regan. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

The Republicans described that “Because chemical abortions are primarily self-induced and performed at home, the blood and placental tissue containing mifepristone’s active metabolites are flushed into wastewater systems along with the fetal remains of the unborn child.”

They further requested answers from Biden’s EPA, asking how the agency plans to “ensure the safety of our waterways and drinking water,” what the “negative health effects for humans associated with exposure to mifepristone and fetal remains in drinking water” are, and how aquatic animals might also be affected. 

IN NEW TV AD, MARYLAND’S LARRY HOGAN CHARTS POTENTIAL SENATE PATH FORWARD AS CENTRIST

Mifepristone is one of two drugs used to facilitate medication abortions. (Getty Images)

“Once received, EPA will review this letter and will respond appropriately,” the agency told Fox News Digital. 

Mifepristone has encountered significant controversy as Republicans scrutinize the medication and what they say are lax regulations for it, while Democrats hail the drug as safe, effective and even necessary health care, while abortion access continues to be limited across the country. 

BALANCE OF POWER: FILIBUSTER FATE COULD COME DOWN TO 2024 SENATE ELECTIONS

Abortion rights groups have insisted medications like mifepristone are crucial health care. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Abortion rights groups have likened various concerns over the drug and its implementation to attempts to exercise control over women’s bodily autonomy. 

“Study after study has shown medication abortion and mifepristone to be safe and effective — with or without a health center visit. Those findings have only grown clearer in the more than two decades mifepristone has been on the U.S. market,” Planned Parenthood Federation of America President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson said in a statement earlier this year. 

FIRST ON FOX: Businessman Bernie Moreno, running for Senate as a Republican against incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, released a blistering ad on Wednesday hammering the longtime Democrat on his ties to President Biden’s agenda and alleged weakness on immigration.

“Biden’s politics now are not much different than mine,” a video of Brown from a 2021 interview, said in his own words at the start of the video, before claiming that “Sherrod Brown shares Biden’s open border agenda.”

The ad goes on to say that Brown “refused to fund efforts to detain and deport criminal illegal immigrants convicted of a crime” citing a 2021 roll call vote on Senate Amendment 3742.

“Sherrod Brown called the border wall ‘stupid’ and ‘wrong,'” the ad continues with a reference to a 2019 interview, when Brown dismissed the need for a border wall.

VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR RIPPED FOR IGNORING QUESTIONS ABOUT BIDEN’S PUSH TO ‘BAN’ GAS-POWERED CARS

Bernie Moreno, left, and Sen. Sherrod Brown. (Getty Images)

“He made a campaign promise, but his campaign promise was that Mexico would pay, and he seems to have forgotten that,” Brown told the Tribune Chronicle during former President Trump’s presidency. “The wall is a bad idea and taking money away from our national defense is a really bad idea with what’s called the gate relocation at YARS. It’s a stupid idea; it’s wrong.” 

Brown also referred to the border wall as “ludicrous” in a 2017 interview which is also clipped in the ad.

The ad goes on to mention that Brown received an “F-” rating on immigration and claimed that contributed to the current border situation where “drugs and crime pour through our broken border.”

DEM SENATOR’S CAMPAIGN AD TOUTING BORDER SECURITY FEATURES SHERIFF REBUKED BY ICE FOR ‘SANCTUARY’ POLICIES

Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio and chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, speaks during a hearing in Washington, D.C., on June 22, 2023. (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“But Brown doesn’t think it’s a problem,” the ad says before playing a clip of Brown from a 2023 interview, when he said, “I don’t hear a lot about immigration from voters except people on the far-right that always want to gain political advantage by talking about it.”

The ad closes with a video shot by Fox News interviewing an illegal immigrant at the border who says that the American people are “right” to be concerned about who is coming across the border.

“Brown and Biden won’t keep your family safe,” the ad says.

Republican presidential candidate former President Trump, right, greets Ohio Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Bernie Moreno. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

One Nation, a group tied to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Republican leadership, ran an ad against Brown on immigration earlier this month outlining alleged inconsistencies in Brown’s record on the crisis at the border.

Brown’s record of voting with Biden nearly 100% of the time and his positions on immigration are expected to be front and center on the campaign over the next few months, while the incumbent Democrat has hit Moreno on abortion and enlisted actor Martin Sheen for an ad last year touting his record on fighting for workers.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

A Democratic group with ties to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer cut an ad this month defending Brown’s immigration record and attempted to make the case that the Democratic senator shares some of the same policies as former President Trump.

The Moreno campaign has previously hit Brown on his immigration voting record, calling out votes as a senator that included rejecting a proposal in 2013 that would have delayed permanent legal status for many illegal immigrants until a 700-mile double layered border fence was constructed.

“Sherrod Brown and Joe Biden created the border invasion that is destroying our nation and harming communities across Ohio,” Moreno told Fox News Digital. 

“Throughout his decades in Washington, D.C., Brown has repeatedly voted against deporting illegals and funding the border wall and in favor of mass amnesty, sanctuary cities and taxpayer-funded health care for illegals. Brown has a long record of supporting open borders, which is exactly why Ohioans will retire him to the private sector in November.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Brown campaign but did not receive a response.

Brown’s race against Moreno in November will be one of the most closely watched in the country. Many view it as one of the best opportunities Republicans have to take back control of the Senate, which Democrats currently hold by a 51-49 margin, in a state that Trump won by 8 points in 2020 and is expected to win again.

With former President Trump’s criminal trial now in the hands of the jury, a pending verdict in the historic case could have serious consequences in the 2024 election between the former president and President Biden.

Trump currently holds a slight edge both in national polling and in public opinion surveys in most of the crucial battleground states that will likely decide their rematch.

However, Trump faces the possibility of being convicted on some or all of the nearly three-dozen state felony charges he faces in his trial in New York City, which is the first in the nation’s history for a former or current president. There is also the prospect of a hung jury or an acquittal.

Could any of these legal outcomes alter the current trajectory in the White House race?

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS DEVELOPMENTS ON THE TRUMP CRIMINAL TRIAL 

Former President Trump sits in the courtroom during his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 21, 2024 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Veteran pollster Chris Anderson, a member of the Fox News Election Decision Team and the Democratic partner on the Fox News Poll, said that he did not think “a guilty verdict would fundamentally change the landscape of the race.”

Daron Shaw, a politics professor and chair at the University of Texas who also serves as a member of the Fox News Decision Team and the Republican partner on the Fox News Poll, noted that “prior to 2020, no one would have thought that a candidate could survive a criminal conviction.”

“But times and circumstances have evolved. And while the specific findings of the jury could matter, I think there is a sense that a conviction in this case would not appreciably change the dynamics of the race,” Shaw emphasized.

Both pointed to the fact that “attitudes are so set in concrete” regarding both the former Republican president and his Democratic successor in the White House.

Trump is charged with falsifying business records in relation to payments during the 2016 election that he made to Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about his alleged affair with the adult film actress. Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, $130,000 in return for her silence about allegations of an affair with Trump in 2006. Prosecutors have argued that this amounted to illegally seeking to influence the 2016 election.

WARNING SIGNS FOR TRUMP AND BIDEN AS THEY CAREEN TOWARDS NEXT MONTH’S FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE 

Both Cohen and Daniels testified for the prosecution and were grilled by Trump’s attorneys during cross-examination in a case that has grabbed tons of attention on the cable news networks, online and on social media.

Michael Cohen is questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger on re-direct before Justice Juan Merchan as former President Trump watches during Trump’s criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City on May 20, 2024 in this courtroom sketch. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg )

The former president has repeatedly denied falsifying business records as well as the alleged sexual encounter with Daniels, and he has repeatedly claimed, without providing evidence, that the case is a “SHAM TRIAL instigated and prosecuted directly from the inner halls of the White House and DOJ.”

Trump has also been fined a couple of times and threatened with jail by the judge in the case for violating a gag order aimed at protecting witnesses and jurors from the former president’s verbal attacks.

According to a Fox News national poll conducted earlier this month, nearly half of registered voters questioned said Trump had done something illegal when it comes to violations of campaign finance laws, with another quarter saying he had done something unethical. 

THE BLUE STATES TRUMP AIMS TO FLIP RED IN HIS 2024 REMATCH WITH BIDEN

Only 27% said the former president had done nothing seriously wrong. However, that number jumped to 54% among Trump supporters.

That same survey indicated that voters were roughly divided on whether Trump’s legal treatment was fair (51%) or unfair (47%). There was an expected extremely wide partisan divide, with nine out of 10 Democrats saying the former president’s treatment was fair and 85% of Republicans disagreeing.

By a 56%-44% margin, a CBS News poll indicated a majority of Americans said Trump was definitely or probably guilty of a crime in the case. However, there was a vast partisan divide on the issue.

Former President Trump waves while leaving Trump Tower on his way to Manhattan criminal court on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 in New York City. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Would a Trump guilty verdict dramatically alter the current state of play in the presidential showdown?

Recent national polling points to a very small – but potentially decisive – drop in support for Trump if he’s convicted in court.

Sixty-two percent of registered voters questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey said a guilty verdict would make no difference to their vote for president. Fifteen percent said it would make them more likely to cast a ballot for Trump and 21% said it would make them less likely to vote for the former president.

Additionally, eight out of 10 Trump supporters surveyed in an ABC News/Ipsos poll said they would still back the presumptive GOP presidential nominee if he was found guilty in court. Sixteen percent said they would reconsider their support and 4% said they would no longer back Trump.

Additionally, a Reuters-Ipsos poll indicated a two-point -point shift away from Trump if the former president’s convicted, with a bigger six-point shift if Trump is put behind bars.

Anderson compared a potential guilty verdict to the infamous video that briefly damaged Trump’s chances of winning the 2016 presidential election. 

“We might see an ‘Access Hollywood’ type slump in Trump’s poll numbers, where some of his less devoted supporters sour on him temporarily, but then by November it will seem forgivable,” Anderson said. ” So I don’t think a guilty verdict would fundamentally change the landscape of the race, but it will certainly be a new contour that could be meaningful in a close race.”

President Biden, right, and former President Trump scheduled two debates in June and September as the president trails Trump in key swing states. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Shaw, who served as a top strategist on former President George W. Bush’s 2000 and 2004 campaigns, said that “the case is esoteric and the prosecution and judge have been painted as partisan hacks by not only the Trump team but by many legal analysts.”

“This framing has influenced the opinions of voters, most of whom have already made up their minds about Trump and the charges he faces,” Shaw emphasized.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

However, what about an acquittal or a hung jury in the case, which the Trump campaign would likely advertise as a political victory? Unfortunately, there has been scant polling on those legal scenarios. 

However, Anderson spotlighted that regardless of the outcome, the history-making trial would have an impact.

“Regardless of the verdict, this trial clearly isn’t what Trump wants to be dealing with right now and has not helped him,” Anderson said. “What might help him is a not guilty verdict that will allow him to claim vindication. But even then, it’s a real stretch to imagine it becomes a net positive for him.”

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

Former President Trump ridiculed Robert De Niro as “pathetic” and a “wacko” after the liberal actor’s chaotic conference on Tuesday outside a Manhattan courthouse was widely derided.

In a late-night post on Truth Social, Trump tore into the two-time Academy Award winner who has angrily attacked Trump for years and on Tuesday claimed that Trump “wants to destroy” the city and the nation and eventually could destroy the entire world.

“I never knew how small, both mentally and physically, Wacko Former Actor Robert De Niro was,” Trump wrote at around 12:45 a.m. Wednesday.

“Today, De Niro, who suffers from an incurable case of, commonly known in the medical community as TDS, was met, outside the Courthouse, with a force far greater than the Radical Left – MAGA.”

ROBERT DE NIRO’S ‘OVER-THE-TOP’ TIRADE WAS A ‘STUPID MISTAKE’ BY THE BIDEN CAMPAIGN: KARL ROVE

Former President Trump mocked Robert De Niro as “pathetic” and a “wacko” after the liberal actor’s chaotic conference on Tuesday outside a Manhattan courthouse was widely derided. (Julia Nikhinson-Pool/Getty Images | Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Robert, whose movies, artistry, and brand have gone WAY DOWN IN VALUE since he entered the political arena at the request of Crooked Joe Biden, looked so pathetic and sad out there,” Trump said. “Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio!!!”

Conservatives compared the press conference, which was disrupted by hecklers and a car alarm, to an episode of the satirical HBO show, “Veep.”

“Donald Trump wants to destroy not only the city, but the country. And eventually he could destroy the world,” De Niro fumed, reading prepared remarks on Tuesday.

“I owe this city a lot. And that’s why it’s so weird that Donald Trump is just across the street because he doesn’t belong in my city. I don’t know where he belongs, but he certainly doesn’t belong here. We New Yorkers used to tolerate him when he was just another grubby real estate hustler masquerading as a big shot,” De Niro added. 

ROBERT DE NIRO CLAIMS TRUMP ‘COULD DESTROY THE WORLD’ OUTSIDE MANHATTAN COURT

Robert De Niro speaks in support of President Biden outside of Manhattan Criminal Court Tuesday. (Getty Images)

De Niro was joined by the Biden campaign’s communications director, Michael Tyler, who called Trump a “chaos agent,” as well as former D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Officer Michael Fanone and former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, who were both present at the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot. 

They have been deeply critical of Trump’s conduct around the riot and said he’s unfit to return to office.

After the remarks wrapped up, the situation soon descended into chaos as De Niro was heckled by Trump supporters as he was leaving the podium. He even got into a shouting match with one man in a MAGA hat who called him a “washed-up actor.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Former President Trump returns from a lunch break for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 28, 2024. (Julia Nikhinson-Pool/Getty Images)

The Trump campaign held a separate press conference Tuesday, following the Biden campaign’s presser with De Niro.

Trump campaign senior adviser Steven Cheung called the Biden camp’s press conference “election interference of the highest order.” 

“Crooked Joe Biden and his campaign are in complete freakout mode,” he added.

Fox News’ Kristine Parks and Emma Colton contributed to this report.

New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik sent a letter to New York officials on Tuesday arguing there may have been “misconduct” within the New York Supreme Court system to ensure Judge Juan Merchan presided over the unprecedented NY v. Trump trial.

“One cannot help but suspect that the ‘random selection’ at work in the assignment of Acting Justice Merchan, a Democrat Party donor, to these cases involving prominent Republicans, is in fact not random at all,” Stefanik wrote in the letter, which she sent to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct and the Office of the Inspector General of the New York State Unified Court System, warning of “potential misconduct.” The Daily Mail first reported the letter Tuesday.

Stefanik pointed to how Merchan has overseen a handful of cases involving Trump or his allies, including the NY v. Trump case, the criminal trial against the Trump Organization in 2022 – a case that found the organization guilty of tax fraud – and is set to oversee the upcoming trial of Trump ally Steve Bannon.

“The simple answer to why Acting Justice Merchan has been assigned to these cases would seem to be that whoever made the assignment intentionally selected Acting Justice Merchan to handle them to increase the chance that Donald Trump, the Trump Organization, and Steven Bannon would ultimately be convicted,” Stefanik continued in the letter.

STEFANIK FILES ETHICS COMPLAINT AGAINST TRUMP TRIAL JUDGE, CITES DAUGHTER’S WORK FOR GROUP PROMOTING DEMS

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. (AP/Mariam Zuhaib/File)

Her letter called on the commission and the Inspector General to “investigate this anomaly to determine whether the required random selection process was in fact followed in the assignment of these criminal cases to Acting Justice Merchan.”

She continued that if Merchan or other justices of the court violated assignment rules, she hopes the “Commission would subject them to the required discipline.”

The letter comes the same day the defense and prosecution teams held closing arguments in the NY v. Trump trial. 

Last week, Stefanik filed an ethics complaint against Merchan for an alleged conflict of interest related to his daughter’s role representing Democrat politicians and political action committees. Merchan’s daughter is the president of Authentic Campaigns, a digital marketing agency that has included clients such as Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

Judge Juan Merchan presides over former President Trump’s criminal trial in New York City on May 13, 2024. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)

Stefanik said in her complaint last week that she learned that the New York State Commission on Judiciary Conduct “privately cautioned [Merchan] in July over his illegal political donations to Biden and Democrats in 2020.”

“This private caution has not deterred Judge Merchan’s judicial misconduct, as evidenced by this current complaint,” she wrote. “Judge Merchan appears driven by Democrat partisanship and financial gain for his daughter.”

TRUMP SAYS JUDGE MERCHAN HAS WAY TO GAIN BACK ‘RESPECT’ DESPITE PRESIDING OVER ‘WITCH HUNT’ TRIAL

Stefanik said it is “imperative that New Yorkers and all Americans have confidence that justice is being dispensed fairly in New York.”

Trump has also railed against Merchan as a “conflicted” judge and previously called on him to recuse himself from the case, citing his daughter’s work as a political consultant.

COHEN’S BOMBSHELL ADMISSION COULD LEAD TO HUNG JURY, IF NOT ACQUITTAL: EXPERT

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

Former President Trump and Judge Juan Merchan (Angela Weiss/AFP via AP | Pool/AP)

TRUMP RISKS GAG ORDER VIOLATION WITH NEW SCREED AGAINST LAWYER WHO ARGUED CASE: ‘UNBELIEVABLE’

Trump has since been placed under a gag order, which bans him from publicly speaking about witnesses or making remarks about court staff, DA staff or family members of staff. Following the gag order, Trump has taken to calling Merchan “conflicted” and “corrupt” but not going into great detail about Merchan’s alleged corruption.

Former President Trump sits in the courtroom during his criminal trial in New York City on May 21, 2024. (Michael M. Santiago/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

“We have a judge who’s highly conflicted. He happens to be corrupt. Yes, there is confliction. It’s the worst that anybody’s seen. Nobody has ever seen anything like it,” Trump said Tuesday morning ahead of court.

Last week, Trump said Merchan could gain back “respect” if he dismissed the case.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“This case should be dropped by the judge. I think the judge, if he did, that … could gain the respect back. The appellate court has to step in, something has to happen. Think of it, the Republican Party, one of the two great parties, nominates somebody to be their candidate. And that candidate now has been sitting here for almost five weeks in a freezing cold icebox listening to this stuff,” Trump said last Monday.

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct and the Office of the Inspector General of the New York State Unified Court System on Tuesday evening but did not immediately receive responses. 

President Biden is launching a new effort to reach out to Black voters as polls show the president is losing ground with that key Democratic constituency to his rival, former President Donald Trump.

The Biden-Harris campaign on Wednesday announced an eight-figure spending blitz to drive engagement with Black student organizations, community groups and faith centers nationally and in battleground states as the president seeks to rally support for his reelection. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to speak at a rally in Philadelphia Wednesday afternoon for the first official “Black Voters for Biden-Harris” event.

“Today’s launch of the Black Voters for Biden-Harris coalition is yet another example of our campaign working diligently to earn every single vote. This coalition and the newly announced summer outreach and engagement programming serve as the next phase of our campaign’s ongoing historic investments in outreach to the backbone of the Biden-Harris coalition – Black voters,” said Quentin Fulks, the Biden-Harris campaign’s principal deputy campaign manager. 

“While we are busy putting in the work to earn Black America’s support — Donald Trump continues to show just how ignorant he is. Hosting janky rap concerts to hide the fact that he lacks the resources and competence to genuinely engage our community,” Fulks said.

DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO NOMINATE BIDEN, HARRIS VIRTUALLY AHEAD OF CHICAGO CONVENTION

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris arrive for a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, May 27, 2024. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The Biden rally comes days after Trump held a rally in the Bronx, drawing as many as 10,000 people in the bluest part of deep blue New York City, according to law enforcement. In his speech, Trump emphasized that high inflation seen under Biden’s first term in the White House has had a disproportionate effect on Black and Hispanic families and vowed to turn the economy around if voters send him back to the White House. 

Trump’s decision to target minority voters in places like New York, where Republicans have not carried the state in decades, reflects the Trump campaign’s belief that Biden is showing weakness with key Democratic constituencies.

Polls back that theory up. A recent Fox News Poll found Biden with 72% support among Black voters, up from 66% in February, but lagging his 79% before the 2020 election. The November 2020 Fox News Voter Analysis found 91% of Black voters sided with Biden.

A New York Times/Siena poll of six battleground states found 76% of Black voters rate the economy today as “fair” or “poor,” while only 22% said it was “excellent” or “good.” The poll found that Black Americans, like other Americans, rank the economy as their No. 1 issue.

DEMOCRATS PRIVATELY CONCERNED BIDEN CAMPAIGN IS ‘DOOMED,’ WORRY TRUMP MAY EVEN WIN BLUE STATES: REPORT

U.S. Vice president Kamala Harris speaks during an event with U.S. President Joe Biden celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the Rose Garden of the White House May 13, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The Biden-Harris campaign promises to ramp up outreach to Black voters in the coming months to prevent that from happening. In addition to Wednesday’s rally in Philadelphia, Biden will join an event with Black-owned small businesses in the city and the campaign will put on an event with national organizations and local community members “focused on direct voter contact.”

YOUNG, BLACK AND REPUBLICAN: HOUSE CONSERVATIVE AIMS TO WIN BLACK VOTERS OVER WITH COGNAC AND CIGARS

Throughout the summer, the Biden campaign will partner with Black groups to reach Black voters and build the campaign’s presence in swing states and register people to vote. 

“Our campaign believes that Black voters deserve to hear from Team Biden-Harris, and they deserve to have their vote earned, not assumed,” the Biden campaign said. “That’s exactly what we are doing through historic investments in Black media and outreach, creative engagement efforts, culturally competent content and innovative organizing initiatives. No campaign has valued Black voters like we have, including through investing earlier and with more money than ever before talking to Black voters.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Biden team also accuses Trump of “running on an anti-Black agenda” and “talking down to Black voters.” 

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

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

New York prosecutors made their closing arguments in the case against former President Trump on Tuesday, saying the case is “about a conspiracy and a cover-up” and that they have presented “powerful evidence” to convict.

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

Prosecutors need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump falsified records to conceal a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, a pornographic performer, in the lead-up to the 2016 election to silence her about an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. The former president has maintained his innocence.

New York prosecutor Joshua Steinglass presented the closing arguments for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and delivered the summation for more than five hours.

Trump speaks to the media on May 13, 2024. (Seth Wenig/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Steinglass said Trump’s intent to defraud “could not be any clearer,” arguing that it would have been easier for him to pay Daniels directly. Instead, the prosecutor said, Trump concocted an elaborate scheme and that everything he and his cohorts did was “cloaked in lies.”

“The name of the game was concealment, and all roads lead inescapably to the man who benefited the most: the defendant, former President Donald Trump,” Steinglass said.

NY V TRUMP: DEFENSE SAYS PROSECUTORS ‘DID NOT MEET THE BURDEN OF PROOF,’ FORMER PRESIDENT IS ‘INNOCENT’

Steinglass defended their use of Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, as a witness, telling the jury, “I’m not asking you to feel bad for Michael Cohen. He made his bed.”

“But you can hardly blame him for making money from the one thing he has left, which is his knowledge of the inner workings of the Trump Organization,” he said.

“We didn’t choose Michael Cohen to be our witness. We didn’t pick him up at the witness store,” Steinglass said. “The defendant chose Michael Cohen to be his fixer because he was willing to lie and cheat on the defendant’s behalf.”

Cohen had testified he was “reimbursed $420,000” for the $130,000 he paid to Daniels. Cohen said former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg suggested that Cohen “gross up” the payments and that Trump knew the details of the reimbursement.

Former President Trump’s children, Tiffany Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, with his wife, Lara, listen as defense lawyer Todd Blanche presents closing arguments during Trump’s criminal trial in New York City on May 28, 2024. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)

The prosecution presented Cohen with 11 checks totaling $420,000. Cohen confirmed they were all received and deposited. The checks had a description of “retainer,” which Cohen said was false.

Meanwhile, Steinglass said the prosecution presented the jury with “smoking guns,” referring to handwritten notes by Weisselberg and ex-controller Jeffrey McConney.

The two documents show calculations related to the payments Cohen got in 2017. They included $130,000 as well as an unrelated payment, a bonus, and money to cover taxes, according to testimony.

“They are the smoking guns,” Steinglass said, saying they “completely blow out of the water” the defense’s claims that the payments were for legal work.

Steinglass went on to accuse Trump of “lies” in bank accounts, shell companies and of false denials.

“The name of the game was concealment, and all roads lead to the man who benefited most, the defendant, Donald Trump,” he said.

Steinglass said Trump was actively trying to prevent the “catch and kill” scheme from going public, saying that “he had every reason to conceal election fraud.” 

Former President Trump and Michael Cohen (Getty Images)

Halfway through Steinglass’ presentation, Trump left the courtroom, only to post on his Truth Social his opinion of the lengthy closing argument by the prosecution: “BORING!”

Steinglass went on to highlight a phone call between Cohen and Trump on Oct. 8, 2016, which was the day after the “Access Hollywood” tape was made public.

ROBERT DE NIRO’S ‘OVER-THE-TOP’ TIRADE WAS ‘STUPID MISTAKE’ BY BIDEN CAMPAIGN: ROVE

“There’s just no way, no way, Cohen wouldn’t tell Mr. Trump about Daniels in that phone call,” Steinglass said. 

Pointing to more calls, many around the time of key developments in the Daniels negotiations, Steinglass said, “Is this timing all a coincidence?”

Wrapping up his five-hour presentation, Steinglass echoed an infamous Trump line: “Donald Trump can’t shoot someone on Fifth Avenue at rush hour and get away with it.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The comment prompted an objection from Trump’s lawyer, which was sustained.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Trump campaign is increasingly venturing into hostile territory.

The strategy, I’ve been told, is to demonstrate that the former president can make his case in Democratic areas and force the Biden campaign to play defense.

But it runs deeper than that.

IS NEW YORK IN PLAY THIS NOVEMBER?

By campaigning where he wouldn’t ordinarily be welcome, Donald Trump sends a message that he’s a fighter – particularly during the weeklong break from the hush money trial, which resumed yesterday with closing arguments. A conviction in that criminal trial, of course, could alter the playing field.

Exhibit A in Trump’s new playbook was the visit to the South Bronx, a preeminent symbol of urban decay. He didn’t go because he thinks he can win the Bronx, or New York City, or New York State. Trump went to send a message that he cares about minority voters.

He drew a couple of thousand supporters to a park where he mostly recited his greatest hits, including 10 minutes on how he rebuilt a Central Park ice skating rink decades ago, complete with the construction details. But he also said he would rebuild the city. Polls show Trump scoring better among blacks than any Republican nominee in more than a generation, while Joe Biden has been slipping among that crucial constituency for Democrats.

Former President Donald Trump holds a rally in the historically Democratic South Bronx on May 23, 2024 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Going to the Bronx, where the Queens-born Trump attended two years of college, was a curveball. And since some liberals ripped the rich Republican for venturing onto their turf, the controversy drove the news cycle for days, a Trump specialty.

The former president also spoke to a massive rally along the shore in New Jersey, another state he’s not going to win, and went to blue-state Minnesota, which he’d carry only if the election is a blowout.

I don’t think the Biden camp is going to fall for these head fakes. The president has to concentrate on Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, where he trails by a few points in most polls, for an Electoral College victory. Scranton Joe has practically taken up residence in Pennsylvania, which is close to Delaware, and yet still trails slightly in most battleground polls. He and Kamala Harris are back in Philly today.

Perhaps the clearest sign of Trump’s unorthodox approach is his weekend speech to the Libertarian convention. This was widely portrayed as a disaster, since Trump was widely booed throughout his appearance. 

He made some promises, such as appointing a Libertarian to the Cabinet and pardoning a Libertarian who ran an online illegal drug market. 

But the booing grew louder when he asked for the party’s nomination. The Libertarians have long been critical of Trump’s record.

TRUMP JUDGE FACES A ‘SERIOUS PROBLEM’ IF COURT RETURNS GUILTY VERDICT: JOHN YOO

Trump argued that together they could win. As the boo-birds kept it up, he pushed back: Maybe you don’t want to win. You can keep on getting 3 percent in every election.

Trump argued the next day that as the Republican candidate he wasn’t allowed to seek another party’s nomination – though he had just done exactly that.

While many view the whole episode as a fiasco, I have a contrarian view.

Supporters of Donald Trump try to get a glimpse of the former president at a rally in Crotona Park in the Bronx, New York City on May 23, 2024. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

Trump showed a willingness to step into the lion’s den. He stood his ground against the catcalls. He displayed his pugilistic style before what he had to know would be an unfriendly reception.

That’s quite a contrast with Biden giving safe economic speeches, mainly based on past legislation, before safe audiences.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Now the spotlight shifts back to the hush money trial, which the jury will get today.

FIRST ON FOX: A top political adviser to a House Democrat, who is running for the Senate in a state that has become a hotbed for anti-Israel activism, attended a convention organized by one of the most notorious antisemites in the United States.

Democratic Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin’s deputy political director, Terra Defoe, posted on Facebook in 2017 about her “full week” of “supporting the Nation of Islam and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan” at the Nation of Islam’s “Saviours’ Day Convention.”

Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, has been vocal about what he thinks of Jews, comparing them to termites and saying they are “Satanic.”

“Great time with my Brothers at Savior’s Day Convention,” Defoe said, including the names of some of the Nation of Islam activists she attended with.

‘SATANIC MINDS’: NAACP LEADER WHO GAVE BIDEN AWARD INVITED NOTORIOUS ANTISEMITE TO HIS CHURCH MULTIPLE TIMES

Dep. Rep. Elissa Slotkin and Minister Farrakhan (Getty Images)

One of the photos DeFoe posted included Farrakhan and a smiling Mike Duggan, the Democratic mayor of Detroit recently praised by President Biden at the NAACP dinner earlier this month, alongside Nation of Islam members. Duggan has also visited the Biden White House multiple times.

A spokesperson for Duggan claimed “the mayor has never attended a Saviours’ day event.”

“This was a private meeting. At the meeting, the mayor did address the issue of antisemitic language directly with Minister Farrakhan,” John Roach, director of media relations for the City of Detroit told Fox News Digital. “The mayor has made it a practice to meet with an entire range of political voices, from far right wing voices, including several top officials in the Trump administration, and far left wing voices, including many activist groups.”

Farrakhan has praised Duggan multiple times, including at this year’s Saviours’ Day convention in Detoit, where he thanked him and the deputy mayor for the “wonderful and kind way you have received us.” In 2017, DeFoe read a proclamation from Duggan’s office to the participants of the convention welcoming the convention “home” to Detroit, according to the Nation of Islam’s “Final Call” newsletter.

Defoe’s personal website lists multiple political positions she has held, including serving as a Detroit Delegation Organizer to the Michigan House Democrats and a senior adviser to Duggan. She has also worked in ministry and has served as the host of a cable television talk show called “On the Floor” with Dr. Terra DeFoe, which airs in Detroit.

Between July 2023 and March 2024, DeFoe received almost $60,000 from Slotkin’s campaign for a range of payments, including salary, stipends, and reimbursements, according to FEC records reviewed by Fox News Digital. March 2024 disbursements are from the most up-to-date public filings, so the amount will likely be higher when July’s report is released.

LEFT-WING ACTIVIST WHO HIRED ONE OF FARRAKHAN’S ‘TOP SOLDIERS’ HAS VISITED BIDEN WHITE HOUSE 7 TIMES

Photo of Terra DeFoe alongside Farrakhan posted to her Facebook page in 2017 (Facebook/Screenshot- Terra DeFoe)

In 2019, two years after DeFoe attended the Nation of Islam convention, she invited Troy Muhammad onto her talk show. Muhammad, who serves as a “State Representative for Minister Louis Farrakhan and Minister of Muhammad Mosque No. 1” and was pictured in DeFoe’s 2017 Facebook post, was described by DeFoe in the introduction as a “valued community leader in Detroit.” The interview, which lasted nine minutes, according to an archived copy, did not include any questions about Farrakhan’s controversial antisemitic comments.

“Elissa Slotkin is running to the radical antisemitic fringes of the Democratic Party to win her primary campaign against Hill Harper,” a national GOP strategist told Fox News Digital. 

Farrakhan has compared Jewish people to termites, praised Hitler as a “great man” and has become one of the most controversial religious figures in the United States due to his derogatory comments about Israel.

Since taking leadership of the Nation of Islam in the late 1970s, Farrakhan has been accused of antisemitism and homophobia for his comments and sermons.

Farrakhan has blamed Jews for, among other things, the slave trade, Jim Crow and black oppression in general.

U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., speaks to United Auto Workers members and others at a rally after marching in the Detroit Labor Day Parade (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

During a speech in Chicago in 1996, Farrakhan denounced Jews as “the synagogue of Satan.”

“Louis Farrakhan is an unabashed Jew hater who has used his very public platform to spread abhorrent antisemitic stereotypes, while at the same time recruiting and developing a veritable army of followers indoctrinated into the cult of hatred towards Jews and marginalized communities,” Brooke Goldstein, human rights attorney and executive director of The Lawfare Project, told Fox News Digital earlier this year.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Farrakhan, whose support for, and appreciation of, Islamist regimes like Iran, which deprive their own citizens of basic human rights while exporting global terrorism, has spread vitriol accusing Jews of, among many other things, seeking to manipulate and exploit Black people.”

Slotkin, who is Jewish, has spoken out against the violence that has unfolded on college campuses as part of the anti-Israel protests and called on universities to do more to keep students safe from antisemitism.

Fox News Digital reached out to Slotkin’s office and campaign but did not receive a response.

The framework a Manhattan jury will use to consider the charges against former President Trump and reach a verdict will be revealed by Judge Juan Merchan on Wednesday.  

The instructions will be issued nearly a week after they were initially set for release. It comes after weeks of speculation about the specific violations the jury will need to determine when weighing the charges of falsifying business records in the first degree against the former president. 

NY V TRUMP: DEFENSE SAYS PROSECUTORS ‘DID NOT MEET THE BURDEN OF PROOF,’ FORMER PRESIDENT IS ‘INNOCENT’

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts. 

The jury instructions are expected to come after a full day of closing arguments were delivered by New York prosecutors and Trump defense attorneys. 

Former U.S. President Donald Trump listens next to his daughter Tiffany Trump, as defense lawyer Todd Blanche presents closing arguments during Trump’s criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City, U.S. May 28, 2024 in this courtroom sketch. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg )

Prosecutors needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump falsified records to conceal a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, a pornographic performer, in the lead-up to the 2016 election to silence her about an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. The former president has maintained his innocence.

Court will resume on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. for jury instructions. 

Defense attorneys for former President Trump told the jury Tuesday he is innocent, did not commit any crimes and that Bragg “did not meet the burden of proof. Period.” 

“President Trump is innocent. He did not commit any crimes. The district attorney did not meet the burden of proof. Period,” Blanche said. 

Blanche added that the case is “simple” and it is “not a guilty verdict.” 

“This case is about documents; it is a paper case,” Blanche said. “This case is not about an encounter with Stormy Daniels 18 years ago. It is not even about a nondisclosure agreement signed eight years ago.”

Tiffany Trump and Eric Trump’s wife Lara sit in the front row, next to former U.S. President Donald Trump as defense lawyer Todd Blanche presents closing arguments during Trump’s criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City, U.S. May 28, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg )

Blanche said the charges are about whether Trump “had anything” to do with payments to his ex-attorney, Michael Cohen, on his personal accounting ledger.

“The answer? The bookings were accurate and there was no intent to defraud and there was no conspiracy to influence the 2016 election,” Blanche said. “The proof doesn’t add up.”

NY V TRUMP: PROSECUTION SAYS THEY HAVE PRESENTED ‘POWERFUL EVIDENCE’ AGAINST FORMER PRESIDENT

Blanche told the jury they cannot convict Trump based on Cohen’s testimony, recalling how Trump’s ex-attorney “took the stand and then lied.”

“The records are not false and there was no intent to defraud,” he said.

Blanche said not one single invoice was sent to Trump directly and that Cohen billed Trump “for services rendered.” He also told the jury Cohen rendered services as Trump’s personal attorney in 2017.

The defense lawyer said that even if the amount of work was minimal, there was a retainer agreement, which he explained is “how retainer agreements work.” Blanche said Cohen was “on call for President Trump.”

Blanche also explained that checks to Cohen were not signed by Trump. 

Defense lawyer Todd Blanche presents closing arguments as Justice Juan Merchan presides during former U.S. President Donald Trump’s criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City, U.S. May 28, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg )

“You can’t convict President Trump,” he said. “Because sometimes President Trump looked at the invoices … that is a stretch and that is reasonable doubt.”

Blanche also blasted the prosecution’s “star witness” Michael Cohen, saying “he is the human embodiment of reasonable doubt.”

“He lied to you repeatedly … he is biased and motivated,” Blanche said, adding that the jury should want a witness to tell the truth.

“Michael Cohen is the GLOAT,” Blanche said. “He is the greatest liar of all time … his words cannot be trusted … all those lies, put them to the side for just a moment, that is enough to walk away.”  

Blanche noted Cohen had lied to both Houses of Congress, federal judges, state judges and family.

“You cannot send someone to prison based upon the words of Michael Cohen,” Blanche said, adding that a verdict needs to be reached based on evidence from documents and witnesses. “If you do that, this is a very quick and easy not-guilty verdict.” 

Mainstream media pundits trashed the first week of Trump trial witness Michael Cohen’s testimony against the former president. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)

Meanwhile, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass delivered his closing argument for more than five hours Tuesday, saying the prosecution has presented “powerful” evidence in their case against Trump. 

Steinglass said Trump’s intent to defraud “could not be any clearer,” arguing that it would have been far easier for him to pay Stormy Daniels directly. Instead, the prosecutor said, he concocted an elaborate scheme and everything he and his cohorts did was “cloaked in lies.”

“The name of the game was concealment and all roads lead inescapably to the man who benefited the most: the defendant, former President Donald Trump,” Steinglass said.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump watches as prosecutor Joshua Steinglass. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg )

Steinglass defended the prosecution’s use of Michael Cohen as a witness, telling the jury: “I’m not asking you to feel bad for Michael Cohen. He made his bed.” 

“But you can hardly blame him for making money from the one thing he has left, which is his knowledge of the inner workings of the Trump Organization,” he said. 

“We didn’t choose Michael Cohen to be our witness. We didn’t pick him up at the witness store,” Steinglass said. “The defendant chose Michael Cohen to be his fixer because he was willing to lie and cheat on the defendant’s behalf.” 

Wrapping up his five-hour presentation, Steinglass, echoing an infamous Trump line, said: “Donald Trump can’t shoot someone on Fifth Avenue at rush hour and get away with it.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The comment prompted an objection from Trump’s lawyer, which was sustained.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

Jay Furman defeated Lazaro Garza in the Republican runoff primary race to decide who will square off against Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, who was indicted by the federal government on conspiracy and bribery charges earlier this month.

The GOP runoff primary for the 28th Congressional District was called Tuesday night for the winner, just after 8 p.m. local time Tuesday night.

Jay Furman, a retired Navy officer, and rancher Lazaro Garza were competing in a heavily-watched primary that will help determine the political future of Cuellar, who was indicted earlier this month by President Biden’s Justice Department. 

The investigation is connected to $600,000 in bribes Cuellar allegedly accepted along with his wife between 2014 and 2021 from an Azerbaijan-based energy company and a bank in Mexico City to advance the former Soviet republic’s interests in the U.S. 

TEXAS REPUBLICAN PRIMARY RUNOFFS FEATURE POLITICAL REVENGE, TRUMP AS KEY FACTORS

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, was indicted by the Biden Justice Department earlier this month on conspiracy and bribery charges. (Elizabeth Elkind)

The couple has denied any wrongdoing.

Cuellar has long been considered by many political pundits to be a thorn in the side of the Democratic Party due to his conservative positions on issues like abortion and immigration.

Cuellar has been labeled the last openly pro-life Democrat in Congress and has also been an outspoken critic of the crisis along the southern border. 

ATTORNEY BACKS TEXAS SCHOOL DISTRICT OVER BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S TITLE IX CHANGES: ‘WE EXPECT TO WIN’

Voting booth in polling place (Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images)

“If they’re looking at the same polls I’ve been looking at, the American public doesn’t like what’s happening,” Cuellar, who represents a district that sits along the southern border with Mexico, said of fellow Democrats on immigration earlier this year.

“I represent an area where it’s almost 80% Hispanic, a lot of Democrats,” he said. “So, yeah, the polls are showing that it’s an important issue.”

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, has bucked the Biden administration on key issues like immigration and abortion. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Four GOP candidates ran in the March primary but none of them hit the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff. Furman won 44.8% of the vote, Garza won 27.1% of the vote and candidates Jose Sanz and Jimmy Leon won 20.5% and 7.5%, respectively. 

Cuellar won his primary uncontested after narrowly defeating his primary challenger in 2022.

The Cook Political Report ranks the November race as “Lean Democrat.”

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind and The Associated Press contributed to this report

The Associated Press projects that Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas will win his Republican primary runoff election on Tuesday with far-right challenger Brandon Herrera.

Gonzales is running for a third two-year term representing a majority Hispanic district in southwestern Texas. 

With more than 800 miles of U.S.-Mexico border, Texas’s 23rd district has the largest stretch of the border territory of any Congressional district. The district is also home to Uvalde, Texas, where two years ago, 19 children and two adults were murdered in an elementary school shooting.

Gonzales, who has bucked his party on gun safety, immigration, and same-sex marriage, was challenged in the runoff by Herrera, a MAGA supporter and gun rights advocate who is known for his gun-themed YouTube channel titled “The AK Guy.”

POLITICAL REVENGE AND TRUMP AMONG THE KEY FACTORS IN TEXAS GOP PRIMARY RUNOFFS 

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, walks down the House steps after votes on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Gonzales was endorsed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbot, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Mike Johnson. Actor Matthew McConaughey, a Texas native, recorded robocalls in support of Gonzales.

TEXAS GOP VOTES TO SENSURE REP. TONY GONZALES OVER VOTES ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, GUNS AND BORDER SECURITY

Herrera was backed by controversial Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Rep. Bob Good of Florida, another far-right House member and the chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

Gonzales won over 45% of the vote in the March primary, with Herrera a distant second at 25%. However, since neither grabbed a majority of the vote, under Texas law, they both advanced to a one-on-one runoff.

Veteran Texas-based Republican strategist Brendan Steinhauser noted that Herrera branded the showdown as “an establishment versus far-right, populist race,” and that Gonzales was well aware “that he needs to protect his right flank”

However, he added that “Tony has a pretty big presence in the conservative eco ecosystem. He’s on Fox News a lot, talking about the border.”

Outside groups shelled out over $5 million in ad spending in the race, according to AdImpact, a leading ad tracking firm.

Among the groups helping Gonzales were the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory Fund, the Hispanic Leadership Alliance, and the American Action Network, which is aligned with the House GOP leadership.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

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