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FIRST ON FOX – The legal team of former president Donald Trump are instructing former Justice Department official Jeffery Clark to maintain executive privilege amid the fight to strip his bar license. 

Clark, who served as assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division during Trump’s administration, is fighting efforts by the D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel to have him disbarred for a letter he drafted, outlining what he perceived as “significant concerns” in the state of Georgia during the 2020 election. 

According to a letter obtained by Fox News Digital from white-collar attorney Todd Blanche representing the 45th president in two of his criminal cases, Trump’s legal team is instructing Clark to “maintain President Trump’s executive privilege and other related privileges, including law enforcement privilege, attorney client privilege, and deliberative process privilege.”

A D.C. Bar disciplinary proceeding against Clark is set to begin on March 26, where former White House counsel Patrick Philbin is scheduled to testify, according to Blanche.  

JEFFREY CLARK ATTORNEY FILES MOTION OBJECTING TO PROPOSED TRIAL DATE; CALLS IT ‘HIGHLY PREMATURE’

Clark is also a named defendant in the ongoing racketeering case against Trump in Georgia. 

The question of executive privilege between a president and his administration appointees has been central to cases against Trump and allegations that he tried to interfere with the 2020 election. 

In 2021, the Department of Justice told Clark that President Joe Biden’s decision to waive executive privilege gave Clark and other former department officials clearance to testify about their deliberations in relation to Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the presidential election.

But Douglas A. Collins, then-attorney for Trump, told Clark that waiver was “unlawful.” 

“The executive privilege applicable to communications with President Trump belongs to the Office of the Presidency, not to any individual President, and President Biden has no power to unilaterally waive it. The reason is clear: if a President were empowered unilaterally to waive executive privilege applicable to communications with his or her predecessors, particularly those of the opposite party, there would effectively be no executive privilege,” Collins wrote in an August 2021 letter. 

TRUMP FILES ‘POWERHOUSE’ MOTION CALLING FOR SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH TO BE HELD IN CONTEMPT OF COURT

Blanche in his Jan. 4 letter notes that at the time President Trump did not seek judicial intervention to prevent Clark’s testimony or the testimony of other former Department officials.

But because Clark was “never subpoenaed to testify to the House Oversight or Senate Judiciary Committees, never sat for transcribed interviews with these Committees, and seeing that there are no similar pending congressional subpoenas applicable to you, this assertion is now moot,” Blanche writes.

SPECIAL COUNSEL IN TRUMP CASE UNCONSTITUTIONAL, FORMER REAGAN AG SAYS

“Further, the Collins Letter preserved President Trump’s executive privilege rights by not “’otherwise waiving the executive privilege associated with the matters [concerning the 2020 election] the Committees are purporting to investigate,’” Blanche continued. 

In light of these circumstances and the pending D.C. Bar disciplinary proceeding against you, … we hereby instruct you to maintain President Trump’s executive privilege and other related privileges, including law enforcement privilege, attorney client privilege, and deliberative process privilege,” he concluded.

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Former President Trump, who is leading the polls in the 2024 GOP primary election, will be in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday Jan. 9 asking the U.S. Court of Appeals to toss out criminal charges filed by special counsel Jack Smith against the former president for alleged election interference in the 2020 election.

The former president has claimed “absolute immunity” from prosecution since he was president in the weeks after the election and on Jan 6, 2021 when the Capitol riots took place. 

Fox News’ Bill Mears and Tyler Olsen contributed to this report. 

The Pentagon revealed Monday that the White House was kept in the dark over Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s intensive care unit hospital treatment for days due to his chief of staff having the flu. 

Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided updates to the media in an off-camera gaggle Monday, where he explained that Austin’s quiet hospitalization was kept from the White House and National Security Council for days due to Austin’s chief of staff having the flu. 

The press secretary added that Austin is out of the ICU and is in “good” condition, but remains at Walter Reed hospital for continuing treatment.

WHITE HOUSE RESPONDS TO GOP CALLS FOR SEC AUSTIN’S RESIGNATION AFTER MYSTERY AILMENT, HOSPITALIZATION 

The Pentagon added Monday that the U.S. military strike on Thursday of an Iran-backed militia was authorized before Austin’s hospitalization. 

Austin underwent an elective medical procedure on Dec. 22 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and days later experienced “severe pain” while at home. He was again transported to the hospital on Jan. 1 to the intensive care unit, Ryder told Fox News on Sunday. There have been no details released clarifying what elective procedure was carried out. 

The Pentagon said the White House was not told on Dec. 22 that Austin was undergoing the elective procedure. Defense Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks, who picked up some of Austin’s responsibilities during the procedure last month, was also not informed as to why, meaning both the White House and the Department of Defense’s deputy were unaware of the procedure on Dec. 22 and the subsequent complications.

DEFENSE SECRETARY AUSTIN RESUMES DUTIES, WAS IN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT FOR DAYS AS PUBLIC KEPT IN THE DARK 

Ryder clarified Monday that Austin was initially taken to the hospital last week via ambulance. 

Austin has resumed his duties, but remains at Walter Reed. The Pentagon said no date is set on when he will be released. 

DEFENSE SECRETARY AUSTIN HAS NO PLANS TO RESIGN, PENTAGON SAYS

The media was made aware on Friday of Austin’s hospital treatment, and reports quickly followed that President Biden, the National Security Council and top Pentagon leaders – including Hicks – were kept in the dark regarding the hospitalization for days.

Outrage has since mounted, as Republican lawmakers and leaders sound off that Austin must answer many questions regarding the communication breakdown in the chain of command, and even calling for him to resign or be fired. 

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The White House and Pentagon have both said there are no plans for Austin to resign. 

A week of back-to-back Fox News-hosted town halls will kick off with presidential candidate and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley on Monday, January 8.

Fox News Channel will host the first of three days of town halls with Haley at 6 p.m. EST, speaking with the only female candidate in the GOP presidential race on women’s issues and topics most important to voters.

“Special Report” chief political anchor Bret Baier and “The Story” anchor Martha MacCallum will co-moderate the event in Iowa.

Haley’s GOP primary competitors, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have ramped up attacks on her campaign after the former ambassador climbed to second place in several recent polls. The GOP hopeful’s surge was recently on full display after the campaign reported doubling donor contributions in the fourth quarter, reporting a $24 million haul during the October to December donation period.

INFLUENTIAL CONSERVATIVE GROUP LAUNCHES MASSIVE AD AND GRASSROOTS BLITZ ON BEHALF OF HALEY

How to watch

Viewers can tune in to the live town hall event featuring Haley on FOX News Channel. Viewers can also access a live stream on FOX Nation, FOX News Media’s streaming platform, as well as FOXNews.com and FOXBusiness.com. FOX websites will also include live debate reporting and a live blog throughout the evening.

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Fox News will also host a town hall with Haley’s primary challenger Ron DeSantis on Tuesday evening and a town hall with former President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

The White House said President Biden has “full trust” in Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin as calls mount for the defense leader to resign or be fired in light of his quiet hospitalization in an intensive care unit that even the White House was unaware of for days. 

A White House official told Fox News Digital on Monday morning that President Biden has no plans to replace Austin and “continues to have full trust and confidence in the Secretary.”

The White House’s comment follows former President Trump, saying Sunday that Austin “should be fired immediately for improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty.”

“He has been missing for one week, and nobody, including his boss, Crooked Joe Biden, had a clue as to where he was or might be,” Trump added in his Truth Social post. 

DEFENSE SECRETARY AUSTIN RESUMES DUTIES, WAS IN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT FOR DAYS AS PUBLIC KEPT IN THE DARK

“He has performed poorly and should have been dismissed along with ‘General’ Mark Milley, for many reasons, but in particular, the catastrophic surrender in Afghanistan, perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our Country,” Trump continued. 

The media was alerted on Friday by the Pentagon that Austin was hospitalized the evening of Jan. 1, and remains under the care of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Details surrounding Austin’s medical condition remain unclear, with officials only detailing that he underwent an elective medical procedure last month, and was hospitalized in the days following. 

DEFENSE SECRETARY AUSTIN HAS NO PLANS TO RESIGN, PENTAGON SAYS

President Biden, the National Security Council and top Pentagon leaders – including Austin’s deputy, Kathleen Hicks – were kept in the dark for days that Austin had been taken to the hospital’s intensive care unit for treatment on New Year’s. 

Republicans are now increasingly calling for Austin’s resignation and demanding answers as to how Biden was kept out of the loop regarding the hospitalization. 

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD AUSTIN REMAINS HOSPITALIZED AFTER MYSTERY PROCEDURE; DOD REMAINS MUM ON RELEASE

Austin “has been a disaster since Day One and should be replaced by someone who will focus on making the military ready to fight and win wars instead of advancing woke political causes of the Biden admin. Enough is enough,” Rep. Jim Banks said over the weekend to Axios. 

“He isn’t capable of leading the Department of Defense. And he just proved it again by keeping it a secret when he was very sick and in the ICU,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X. 

Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton said “there must be consequences for this shocking breakdown” in duties and communication. 

PENTAGON FACING BACKLASH OVER FAILING TO DISCLOSE SEC. AUSTIN’S ILLNESS: ‘HARMS CREDIBILITY’

“The secretary of defense is the key link in the chain of command between the president and the uniformed military, including the nuclear chain of command, when the weightiest of decisions must be made in minutes,” Cotton said in a statement. “If this report is true, there must be consequences for this shocking breakdown.”

Senate Armed Services Committee members have also pushed back and demanded answers about the lack of communication on the hospitalization, including GOP Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Roger Wicker of Mississippi. 

“Unacceptable & dangerous. @SecDef is a key member of the U.S. national security team & has a critical role in our most sensitive military & nuclear protocols,” Scott said in a comment provided to Fox News Digital. “Sec. Austin must come to SASC immediately, explain why this happened & who helped keep it from our nation’s leaders.”

DEFENSE SECRETARY AUSTIN HOSPITALIZED FOLLOWING SURGERY COMPLICATIONS

Wicker said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital that the matter “further erodes trust in the Biden Administration, which has repeatedly failed to inform the public in a timely fashion about critical events.”

“Worryingly, we now have more questions than answers. Why was the notification process under 5 U.S.C. 3349 not followed and who made the determination not to follow it? What role did the Secretary of Defense’s staff play? When exactly was the President notified? What justification did the Department have for withholding information from the National Security Council? To what extent was the Secretary incapacitated by his surgery? The very fact that we have none of this information is an indictment of an administration which consistently holds Congressional authority on national defense matters in contempt,” Wicker said. 

GOP SENATORS OUTRAGED OVER ‘SHOCKING BREAKDOWN’ RELATED TO DEFENSE SEC LLOYD AUSTIN’S SECRET HOSPITALIZATION

Fox News Digital reached out to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson for comment on the matter and on the calls for Austin to resign. 

Maj. General Pat Ryder said that Austin had informed the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of the hospitalization the day after he was admitted, with others notified later that week.

Ryder added in a previous comment to Fox News Digital reported Monday that Austin does not plan to resign in light of the controversy. 

“Secretary Austin has no plans to resign,” Ryder said. “He remains focused on conducting his duties as Secretary of Defense in defense of our nation.”

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Though still hospitalized, Austin has resumed his duties and is now recovering from the treatment and undisclosed illness. 

This is not the first time Republicans have called for Austin’s resignation. Lawmakers and retired military personnel called on him to step down in 2021, when the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan. 

PROGRAMMING ALERT: Watch the Fox News Town Hall with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley LIVE tonight at 6pm ET.

DES MOINES, IA. – With one week until Iowa’s caucuses kick off the Republican presidential nominating calendar, Nikki Haley will participate in a Fox News town hall as her numbers move in the right direction.

“Momentum is surging, Nikki’s message is resonating, and Americans are rallying behind our movement in droves,” the GOP White House candidate’s campaign wrote in an email to supporters on Monday.

And Haley, a former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in former President Donald Trump’s administration, touted in a Fox News interview this past weekend that “we can feel the momentum on the ground. We can feel the excitement.”

Once a long-shot for the nomination, Haley has soared in recent months, thanks in part to her well-regarded performances in the first three Republican presidential primary debates.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: THE PRESSURE’S ON FOR TRUMP, DESANTIS, AND HALEY TO PERFORM IN IOWA’S CAUCUSES

Haley over the past month has caught up with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the latest Iowa polls and in national surveys, for a distant second place behind Trump, who remains the commanding front-runner for the nomination as he makes his third straight White House run.

And Haley has surged to second place and narrowed the gap with Trump in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and votes second – just eight days after Iowa. Helping to boost Haley in New Hampshire, where independent voters play a crucial role in the state’s storied primary, is popular Gov. Chris Sununu, who backed her last month.

CHRISTIE TURNS UP THE VOLUME ON HALEY AS SHE CLOSES THE GAP WITH TRUMP

But with her rise in the polls comes more scrutiny for Haley, and more incoming fire from her rivals, as she takes questions Monday evening at a Fox News town hall in Des Moines from hosts “Special Report” chief political anchor Bret Baier and “The Story” executive editor and anchor Martha MacCallum. The hour-long town hall starts at 6pm ET and will be in front of a live audience.

Haley’s failure to mention slavery when answering a question late last month over the caucuses of the Civil War quickly went viral, and provided instant ammunition for her GOP presidential competitors. So did her comments this past weekend that you “change personalities” from Iowa to New Hampshire and last week that New Hampshire voters “correct” the results of the Iowa caucuses.

DeSantis, who is staking much of his campaign on a strong Iowa finish, charged Thursday in a local radio interview in the Hawkeye State that Haley was “incredibly disrespectful to Iowans to say somehow their votes need to be corrected.”

And another rival – former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is making his second White House run – accused Haley of acting “immature.”

Haley, during a CNN town hall last week in Iowa, said her comment was intended as a joke, noting “we’ve done 150 plus town halls. You got to have some fun, too.”

FIRST ON FOX: HALEY FUNDRAISING SOARS THE PAST THREE MONTHS

Christie and DeSantis have also taken aim at Haley for not being vocal enough in her criticism of Trump, and criticize her for not categorically saying she wouldn’t accept – if asked – to serve as the former president’s running-mate.

Meanwhile Trump, his campaign, and an aligned super PAC, have increasingly targeted Haley in recent weeks.

Longtime Iowa-based Republican consultant Jimmy Centers noted that Trump’s campaign and DeSantis – through his aligned super PAC – “have built organizational juggernauts.”

“Ambassador Haley has a message that is resonating, and she has built momentum. Now is the time for a campaign’s organization to shine,” Centers, who served as communications director for former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and current Gov. Kim Reynolds, emphasized.

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While Haley has been criss-crossing Iowa, holding town halls and reaching out to voters, Monday’s town hall with Fox News will give her access to a wider audience, both in the Hawkeye State and across the nation.

DeSantis joins Fox News Tuesday for a similar town hall, with Trump taking questions from Baier and Macullum on Wednesday.

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

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was panned on social media Monday for saying that banning former President Trump from the 2024 ballot depended on “different laws from state to state.” 

During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday, host George Stephanopoulos asked Pelosi, “If you believe he engaged in insurrection into the plain meaning of the 14th Amendment, you believe he’s ineligible to be president?” 

“Those laws… that are up to the states. They have different laws from state to state. I don’t think he should ever have been president,” Pelosi said. 

Interjecting, Stephanopoulos corrected, “It’s the Constitution.”

“But nonetheless,” Pelosi continued. “There is a view of the Constitution and Article 14, section three, that he should not be able to run for president. But that’s not the point. The point now is that, again, different states have different laws. We don’t think in California that it – it applied in our state. That’s what the decision was made here. But anyway, not to go into that because that’s very intricate. What is very clear is that the American people want us to honor our oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” 

STEFANIK DECLINES TO COMMIT TO CERTIFYING 2024 ELECTION RESULTS: ONLY ‘IF THEY ARE CONSTITUTIONAL’

The exchange was highlighted on X by the RNC Research account and amplified by various conservative users.

“Nancy Pelosi told [Stephanopoulos] today that states can overrule the Constitution and take Trump off of the ballot. Tell me again which party is trying to destroy democracy?” another user, known as Insurrection Barbie, wrote to her 127,000 X followers, reacting to the ABC interview. 

The Constitutional Conservative wrote on X, “Nancy Pelosi said that states can ignore the constitution because they have different laws. George Stephanopoulos was dumbfounded & brought up the constitution & Pelosi shrugged it off. These are the types of dangerous people running our government.” 

“@SpeakerPelosi doesn’t care what the constitution says. It’s time for the American people to wake the f— up!” the account added. 

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber decided in late December to include Trump on the list of candidates certified to run in the March primary, committing “to abide by the rule of law” despite telling the Los Angeles Times she personally feels Trump’s actions “to be abhorrent and disturbing and an attack on democracy.” 

Weber’s decision came after Maine’s Democratic secretary of state, Shenna Bellows, ruled that Trump was ineligible to appear on that state’s ballot over his role in the Capitol riot, and Colorado’s Supreme Court decided, by a 4-3 vote, that Trump should not be on the Republican primary ballot, citing the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection” clause. 

TRUMP DEMANDS RELEASE OF SUPPORTERS JAILED FOR JAN. 6 CAPITOL RIOT: ‘I CALL THEM HOSTAGES’

The U.S. Supreme Court said last week it will take up Trump’s appeal in the Colorado case in February.

In the interview held the day after the three-year anniversary of the Capitol riot, Pelosi also warned about Jan. 6 messaging during a “campaign year.”

“We have people who don’t want to believe the truth for whatever attitudes they have otherwise. But again, during this period, this campaign year, it behooves us to speak with respect for all concerned in a unifying way to bring people together,” Pelosi said. “He is not above the law. And it remains for the case, the courts to settle that. That’s not up to us. It’s up to the courts to settle that.” 

Pelosi’s X account also shared another clip from the ABC interview, blaming Trump for allegedly delaying sending National Guard troops to the Capitol. She said, “Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell and I were begging the administration to send the National Guard,” yet it still “took hours.” However, Trump has repeatedly said Pelosi is responsible for the Jan. 6 riot, claiming the then-House speaker and Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser denied Trump’s approval of 10,000 National Guard members at the Capitol beforehand. 

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“The former president incited insurrection on January 6th with a violent mob that desecrated the Capitol, some wielding Confederate flags under the dome that Lincoln built – and the evidence against him comes from his fellow Republicans,” Pelosi wrote Sunday. “Democrats will protect and defend our democracy and our Constitution, with liberty and justice for all.” 

President Biden has no plans to fire Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin after the Pentagon chief withheld information from the White House about his extended hospital stay.

A White House official confirmed Biden’s thinking in a statement to Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy. Austin was taken into an intensive care unit for several days without Biden’s knowledge, and the secretive hospital stay has given rise to widespread criticism of Austin, with some calling for him to resign.

“The President has full trust and confidence in Secretary Austin. He’s looking forward to him being back at the Pentagon,” the official said.

The Pentagon echoed the White House sentiment in a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday, saying Austin also has no plans to resign.

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD AUSTIN REMAINS HOSPITALIZED AFTER MYSTERY PROCEDURE; DOD REMAINS MUM ON RELEASE

“Secretary Austin has no plans to resign,” Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder said. “He remains focused on conducting his duties as Secretary of Defense in defense of our nation.”

DOD SECOND IN COMMAND TOLD OF AUSTIN’S HOSPITALIZATION 2 DAYS AFTER TAKING OVER SOME OF HIS DUTIES

Austin’s hospital stay began on New Year’s Day and lasted multiple days. Details of his visit remain slim, beyond that he was there for an elective procedure.

Former President Trump weighed in on the incident following a firestorm of attacks on Capitol Hill and social media.

“Failed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin should be fired immediately for improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty,” Trump wrote on Sunday. “He has been missing for one week, and nobody, including his boss, Crooked Joe Biden, had a clue as to where he was, or might be.”

DEFENSE SECRETARY AUSTIN HOSPITALIZED FOLLOWING SURGERY COMPLICATIONS

“He has performed poorly, and should have been dismissed long ago, along with ‘General’ Mark Milley, for many reasons, but in particular the catastrophic surrender in Afghanistan, perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our Country!” Trump added.

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Austin remains hospitalized at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is not resigning, the Pentagon said, amid his unannounced, multi-day hospital stay that was not initially disclosed even to President Biden.

Department of Defense press secretary Major General Pat Ryder told Fox News Digital that Austin doesn’t have any plans to leave his post.

“Secretary Austin has no plans to resign,” Ryder said. “He remains focused on conducting his duties as Secretary of Defense in defense of our nation.”

The comment came in response to former President Trump, who had called for Austin to lose his job.

The Pentagon did not disclose Austin’s hospital stay, which started on New Year’s Day, earning rebukes from lawmakers and the press.

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD AUSTIN REMAINS HOSPITALIZED AFTER MYSTERY PROCEDURE; DOD REMAINS MUM ON RELEASE

“Failed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin should be fired immediately for improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty,” Trump wrote on Sunday on TruthSocial.

“He has been missing for one week, and nobody, including his boss, Crooked Joe Biden, had a clue as to where he was, or might be,” the former president continued.

“He has performed poorly, and should have been dismissed long ago, along with ‘General’ Mark Milley, for many reasons, but in particular the catastrophic surrender in Afghanistan, perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our Country!” Trump wrote.

The Pentagon has said little about Austin’s unannounced hospital stay and has not said when the secretary of defense will be released from medical care.

Additionally, the five-walled citadel refuses to say why Austin was hospitalized to begin with.

Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last Monday, for what Ryder described as complications from an elective medical procedure.

On Sunday, Ryder told Fox News that Austin had an elective medical procedure at Walter Reed on December 22, 2023. Austin was on leave at the time of the procedure, and he returned home the next day.

However, the defense secretary started to experience “severe pain” on January 1 and was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at Walter Reed Hospital.

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Ryder said Austin was placed in the ICU to ensure immediate access to his medical needs, but he remained there, in part, because of privacy and hospital space considerations.

Ryder told Fox News he could not provide additional information about Austin’s ailments for privacy reasons. Austin resumed his duties from the hospital on Friday.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and Liz Friden contributed reporting.

Workforce needs, the budget and tax cuts will be on the minds of South Dakota lawmakers when the Legislature convenes Tuesday for a two-month session.

Republican Gov. Kristi Noem will address the GOP-controlled Legislature on the session’s opening day. Last month, she presented her vision for the budget to the Legislature, and now it’s up to lawmakers to craft a plan for the next fiscal year, among other measures.

Republican House Majority Leader Will Mortenson said South Dakota’s short session — 38 days spread over about two months — “helps keep us focused on only the most important topics.”

HEADING TO IOWA, NOEM SAYS SHE’LL DO ‘WHATEVER I CAN’ TO HELP TRUMP GET ‘ACROSS FINISH LINE’

“I tell my caucus often that our only two jobs we absolutely have to do are passing a budget and getting the hell out of there,” Mortenson said.

Republican majority leaders largely support Noem’s agenda, in part because of South Dakota’s strong finances. State revenues have exceeded the Legislature’s 2023 forecast by 11%, or $115 million, from July through November, the first five months of the fiscal year, according to a state Bureau of Finance and Management comparison.

Republican priorities are new prison construction, college affordability, workforce needs and the sustainability of long-term care in rural communities. They expect to be working with less money after years of COVID-19 pandemic-era federal aid.

Democrats are focused on child care needs, pre-K education and teacher pay.

SOUTH DAKOTA GOV NOEM STUMPS FOR TRUMP IN IOWA, SAYS NIKKI HALEY WOULD BE ‘MISTAKE’ AS HIS RUNNING MATE

Noem has emphasized a lean budget amid rising inflation, proposing a nearly $7.3 billion plan for fiscal year 2025. She called for 4% increases for the state’s “big three” priorities of K-12 education, health care providers and state employees.

Budget writers will review the 4% proposal in the context of the entire budget, Mortenson said.

“I was encouraged that the governor focused the vast majority of our ongoing dollars on core priorities,” he said.

Noem also has proposed making a temporary sales tax cut permanent. The four-year reduction was approved in 2023.

Republican state Rep. Chris Karr has filed a bill to make that change, citing years of state revenue surpluses.

“Government collects taxes to provide certain services. When those services are provided, any excess dollars should go back to the people because that’s who it belongs to,” Karr said. Sales taxes are the main driver of South Dakota’s state revenues.

Mortenson predicted House Republicans will coalesce around a permanent sales tax cut.

Senate Majority Leader Casey Crabtree said Senate Republicans will consider other potential tax cuts, possibly including property taxes.

“I think the conversation is what do we cut and how much do we cut going forward,” he said.

Workforce needs loom large, Mortenson said. South Dakota has more than 20,000 job openings advertised online and had a 2% unemployment rate as of November 2023, according to the state Department of Labor and Regulation.

Mortenson also sees college affordability as “absolutely critical for our state’s future,” to keep young people in South Dakota and attract others from out of state.

Democrats, who hold 11 of 105 seats, are pursuing bills “that really directly help working-class people,” Senate Minority Leader Reynold Nesiba said.

He listed proposals to lengthen the period for people to file a worker compensation claim if injured at work, and to incrementally raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, as voters did in neighboring Nebraska in 2022.

Advocates for LGBTQ and voting rights expressed concern about possible lawmaker actions.

Samantha Chapman, advocacy manager for the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota, called recent legislation restricting gender identity a “misuse of the way our government is supposed to work, to constantly be passing bills that are clawing away at a small portion of our population’s rights.”

Crabtree said that when discussions of those issues arise, “you’re going to see common sense prevail.”

Dakotans for Health co-founder Rick Weiland said he is leery of the Legislature potentially trying to raise the bar for ballot initiatives, citing a defeated 2022 measure that sought to require 60% of voters to support certain spending or tax measures for the initiatives to pass.

SOUTH DAKOTA GOV NOEM WON’T MAKE 2024 ENDORSEMENT, SAYS THERE’S ‘NO PATH TO VICTORY’ FOR ALL BUT ONE

Republican state Rep. Jon Hansen, who sponsored the measure, said in a 2021 floor session that certain money issues deserve more support than a simple majority vote.

“I think each and every time they try to mess with the will of the voters and direct democracy, they get themselves in trouble,” Weiland said.

He is leading efforts to put two measures on the 2024 ballot: one to place abortion rights in the state constitution, and another to repeal the state’s grocery tax.

South Dakota outlaws all abortions but for life-saving circumstances. Weiland called it the most extreme abortion law in the country. Noem campaigned for reelection in 2022 on repealing the grocery tax, but the Legislature went a different route with the temporary sales tax cut of $104 million annually.

Noem is in her second term as governor. Once seen as a potential 2024 presidential candidate, she has embraced former President Donald Trump’s reelection bid, endorsing him at a rally last year.

EXCLUSIVE: Afghanistan war veteran and Republican Senate candidate Sam Brown has set a new fundraising record in his bid to flip the crucial swing state of Nevada away from Democrats in November.

According to Brown’s campaign, the former U.S. Army officer raised a massive $1.85 million in the fourth quarter last year, more than any challenger to an incumbent running for re-election in Nevada history.

When combined with his third quarter fundraising, Brown’s campaign brought in a whopping $3.04 million, also a record for that combined time frame.

SWING STATE DEMOCRATS REDUCED CRIMINAL PENALTIES, WEAKENED PAROLE LAWS AHEAD OF ATTACK ON LAS VEGAS JUDGE

Brown’s fundraising notably bested that of incumbent Democrat Sen. Jacky Rosen, who Brown would likely face in the general election should he win the Republican primary in June, when she was a challenger to former Republican Sen. Dean Heller in 2018.

“I’m extremely grateful that tens of thousands of everyday Americans have dug deep and contributed to this campaign,” Brown told Fox News Digital. “Every day, as we travel throughout Nevada and speak with voters, I’m reminded of why this race is so critical to the future of our state.” 

“Through their reckless policies, Jacky Rosen and Joe Biden have made the American Dream unattainable for most Nevadans and left our borders wide open to drugs and violence,” he said. “Our grassroots campaign is about ending Joe Biden and Jacky Rosen’s American Nightmare, securing our borders, and restoring prosperity.” 

LATINO SENATE HOPEFUL SAYS HISPANIC VOTERS BEING ‘BLINDSIDED’ BY DEM POLICIES, AIMS TO FLIP BORDER SEAT RED

Brown added that he was “humbled” at the inspiration of people across Nevada and the U.S., and said victory would ultimately come by ensuring every American has access to the American Dream.

“Under Joe Biden and Jacky Rosen, Nevada has struggled with the highest unemployment rate in the country, the highest energy costs, and some of the worst performing schools in America. Nevadans want hope for a better future, and Sam Brown’s People’s Agenda will deliver the solutions we need to recover and thrive,” Brown’s campaign manager, Faith Jones, told Fox.

“Nevadans know what’s at stake this election, and that’s why we’re uniting in support of Sam Brown for U.S. Senate,” she added.

BORDER STATE CANDIDATES ISSUE STARK WARNING TO FELLOW REPUBLICANS ABOUT CEDING TO DEMS ON UKRAINE: ‘BUCKLE UP’

Brown is a Purple Heart recipient who sustained serious injuries from an IED explosion during a 2008 deployment in Afghanistan, which left his face severely burned.

He was a first-time Senate candidate in 2022 as he sought to oust Democrat Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, but he came in second to former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt in Nevada’s GOP primary. He lost by 22 points to Laxalt, who had the backing of former President Donald Trump and the Senate Leadership Fund.

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This time, Brown is backed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and is so far seen as the front-runner for the nomination and a potential shot at Rosen. However, he does face a crowded primary field that includes former Trump Ambassador to Iceland Jeff Gunter, veteran Air Force pilot Tony Grady, and former state Assemblyman Jim Marchant.

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

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sunday dismissed rumors that he would drop out of the 2024 presidential race if he were to lose to former President Donald Trump at the Iowa caucuses on January 15. 

“That’s a lie. Yeah, that’s a total lie,” DeSantis told an audience member during a campaign stop in a suburb of Iowa Sunday morning. “When they’re doing that they are trying to trick you guys by doing this. They’re going to do some anonymous source. They do this to me all the time. They say, ‘anonymous sources have said this, and then they run with it.” 

Earlier in his talk, DeSantis assured an audience member that he would stay in the race past the Iowa caucuses.

“Make no mistake, we’ve got a mission. We’ve got to complete a mission. It’s a long process. It’s an arduous process,” DeSantis said. “I think Iowa is going to be a great place for us to start the process. But we certainly have a lot of road after that. And we’re girded for the long battle.” 

STEFANIK DECLINES TO COMMIT TO CERTIFYING 2024 ELECTION RESULTS: ONLY ‘IF THEY ARE CONSTITUTIONAL’

Speaking with Fox News’ Bill Melugin on the sidelines, DeSantis reiterated his assertion that rumors of a pending dropout were a lie. 

“That report is categorically false,” DeSantis said. 

Being the first state to cast votes for presidential nominees, Iowa’s caucuses set the stage for the entire primary season. Winning or performing strongly in Iowa can generate crucial momentum for candidates, influencing voter perceptions of their viability.

DeSantis is in an increasingly testy contest with former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley to emerge in Iowa as the preferred alternative to Trump for the party’s 2024 nomination.

DeSantis has said he expects to win Iowa despite trailing far behind Trump in polls. He portrays Haley, who was Trump’s U.N. ambassador, as a puppet of wealthy donors and someone who has flip-flopped on key issues.

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DeSantis would upend the race if he were to beat Trump in the caucuses. Haley’s allies believe they could hobble DeSantis if she finishes ahead of him. The thinking is that a second-place finish would give her a boost before New Hampshire’s Jan. 23 primary and a chance to take on Trump directly in South Carolina a month later.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., on Sunday declined to commit to certifying the 2024 election results. 

During an in-studio appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” host Kristen Welker asked Stefanik if she would vote to certify the 2024 results “no matter what they show.” 

“Well, I voted not to certify the state of Pennsylvania because, as we saw in Pennsylvania and other states across the country, that there was unconstitutional acts circumventing the state legislature and unilaterally changing election law,” Stefanik said, referencing how she responded to the 2020 election. 

“What about 2024?” Welker pressed. 

“We will see if this is a legal and valid election,” Stefanik responded, referencing efforts in Colorado and Maine to keep Trump off the 2024 ballot over the Jan. 6 riot. “What we’re seeing so far is that Democrats are so desperate, they’re trying to remove President Trump from the ballot. That is a suppression of the American people. And the Supreme Court is taking that case up in February. That should be a 9 to 0 to allow President Trump to appear on the ballot, because that’s the American people’s decision to make this November.” 

MORAL ‘FAILURES’ OF ACADEMIC LEADERS WOULDN’T HAVE SEEN ACCOUNTABILITY IF NOT FOR CONGRESS: STEFANIK

Interjecting, Welker said, “To be very clear, I don’t hear you committed to certifying the election results – will you only commit to certify the results if former President Trump wins?”

“No. It means if they are constitutional,” Stefanik said. “What we saw in 2020 was unconstitutional circumventing of the Constitution, not going through state legislatures when it comes to changing election law. And we’re seeing this in my home state of New York, Kristen, we are seeing Democrats try to steal the election and illegally gerrymander congressional districts that we fairly won and are fair line. So I see this at a very local level, as well as the unconstitutional overreach we saw at the national level in 2020.” 

Attempting to shift topics, Welker tried to conclude that Trump’s legal teams took their election concerns to court more than 60 times and lost, two independent firms hired to investigate election fraud allegations “came up short,” and the federal agency responsible for overseeing election security, CISA, said “the 2020 election was the most secure in America history.”  

“Let me make a final point,” Stefanik added, as the NBC host sought to change topics.

“I think it’s important because the American people understand that it was not a fair election,” Stefanik said. “We had unconstitutional overreach. And that was why I objected to certain states when it came to my constitutional responsibility. As a member of Congress, I’m going to always stand up for the Constitution and make sure that we have strong election integrity. And the real threat to democracy is Joe Biden and Democrats who are attempting to remove President Trump from the ballot because Joe Biden knows he can’t win at the ballot box.” 

Stefanik had also pushed back on Welker’s claim of “no coordination” with Joe Biden and the Department of Justice regarding the prosecutions against Trump. 

“We just saw Hunter Biden defy a congressional subpoena and the White House admitting it was in coordination with Joe Biden the morning of. That is coordination. And I believe that Joe Biden will be found to be the most corrupt president in our nation’s history,” she said. 

Welker had earlier pressed Stefanik, “Do you still think it was a tragic day? Do you think that the people who stormed the Capitol should be held responsible to the full extent of it?”

“I have concerns about the treatment of January 6th hostages. I have concerns. We have a role in Congress of oversight over our treatment of prisoners,” Stefanik said. “And I believe that we’re seeing the weaponization of the federal government against not just President Trump, but we’re seeing it against conservatives. We’re seeing it against Catholics. And that’s one of the reasons why I’m so proud to serve on the Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Government, because the American people want answers, they want transparency, and they understand that.”

HARVARD PRESIDENT CLAUDINE GAY RESIGNS AMID ANTISEMITISM, PLAGIARISM CONTROVERSIES

“As you look across this country, there seems to be two sets of rules. If your last name is Clinton or it’s Biden, you get to live by a different set of rules than if you’re an everyday, patriotic American,” she said. “If you go back and play the full speech I gave on the House floor, I condemn the violence, just like I condemn the violence of the BLM riots,” Stefanik continued, after ripping NBC and “the biased media” for only playing a small except of her House floor speech made in January 2021 after the Capitol riot. 

“But I also, importantly, stood for election integrity and security of our elections, which, if we don’t have that, we do not have a democracy,” she said. “So the real threat to our democracy is these baseless witch hunt investigations and lawsuits against President Trump, whether it’s Tish James or whether we see in the D.C. Circuit Court. And that is undemocratic, and it’s shredding our Constitution. And you know who agrees with me, Kristen? The American people. That’s why President Trump is winning in poll after poll against Joe Biden.” 

Her remarks echoed former President Trump’s speech in Iowa calling for President Biden to release the “J6 hostages,” adding that those prisoners “suffered enough.” 

“You know what they oughta do, they oughta release the J6th hostages. I call them hostages. Some people call them prisoners. I call them hostages,” Trump said on Saturday, garnering applause. “Release the J6 hostages, Joe. Release ‘em, Joe. You can do it real easy, Joe.” 

In a speech ahead of the third anniversary of the Capitol riot, Biden championed how, collectively, Jan. 6 defendants have been sentenced to more than 840 years in prison. 

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The president also said more than 1,200 people have been charged in connection to the “assault on the Capitol,” and nearly 900 of them have been convicted or pleaded guilty.

“And what has Trump done? Instead of calling them ‘criminals,’ he’s called these… insurrectionists ‘patriots,’” Biden said on Friday from Pennsylvania. “They’re ‘patriots.’ And he promised to pardon them if he returns to office.” 

The FBI on Saturday said it arrested three people for their alleged participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol. 

The arrest, which the bureau said was at a ranch in Groveland, Florida in Lake County, came on the third anniversary of the Capitol riots. 

The bureau identified the subjects as Jonathan Daniel Pollock, Olivia Michele Pollock, and Joseph Daniel Hutchinson III. 

The three defendants are scheduled to appear in Federal Court in Ocala, Florida on Monday, the bureau said. No further details on their capture were released. 

STEFANIK DECLINES TO COMMIT TO CERTIFYING 2024 ELECTION RESULTS: ONLY ‘IF THEY ARE CONSTITUTIONAL’

More than 1,230 people have been charged with federal crimes connected to the violence, including assaulting police officers and seditious conspiracy. Around 730 people have pleaded guilty to charges, while another roughly 170 have been convicted of at least one charge at a trial decided by a judge or a jury. 

Washington’s federal courthouse remains flooded with trials, guilty plea hearings, and sentencings stemming from what has become the largest criminal investigation in American history. 

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Authorities, meanwhile, are still trying to identify upwards of 80 people wanted for acts of violence at the Capitol and to find out who placed pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic national committees’ offices the day before the Capitol attack. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Former Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday argued that President Biden has been using the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol as the focus of his 2024 presidential campaign to distract Americans from his administration’s poor record that has “weakened America at home and abroad.”

Pence appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” from Israel, where he was visiting families of those taken hostage by Hamas terrorists in the Oct. 7 attack, and stated that he believed Jan. 6 would not decide the upcoming election.

“I actually don’t think the election’s going to be decided on a tragic day three years ago,” Pence said. “I think it’s going to be decided on the failed policies of the Biden administration that have emboldened the enemies of freedom around the world, that launched the worst inflation, that created the worst crisis on our border in American history.”

“I understand why President Biden wants to focus his campaign on three years ago, the record of this administration has weakened America at home and abroad,” the former vice president said.

BIDEN MARKS THREE YEARS SINCE JAN. 6 BLASTING TRUMP, SAYING HE IS ‘TRYING TO STEAL HISTORY’

Biden’s campaign has doubled down on Jan. 6-related attacks against former President Trump following the poor performance of the White House’s “Bidenomics” messaging. On Friday, Biden attacked his predecessor during a speech in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, saying Trump is “trying to steal history the same way he tried to steal the election.”

Pence also criticized attempts to remove Trump from presidential ballots, as happened in Colorado and Maine, arguing that doing so would be “antithetical” to democracy

“I think these efforts to take the decision away from the American people are really antithetical to the very democracy that President Biden and many Democrats talk about wanting to defend,” he said.

TRUMP FIRES BACK AT JAN.6 CRITICISM, SAYS BIDEN IS A ‘TRUE THREAT TO DEMOCRACY’

Pence also addressed the hospitalization of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, which was kept under wraps for nearly a week.

“To think that at a time when we have allies at war in Eastern Europe and here in Israel, that the leader of America’s military at the Pentagon would be out of commission for a number of days and the president didn’t know about it is a dereliction of duty.” 

Austin was in an intensive care unit for days following elective surgery but is now recovering and resumed full duties Friday night, according to reports. It is still unclear why Austin was hospitalized in the first place, what the elective procedure was or when it occurred.

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“The handling of this by the secretary of defense is totally unacceptable,” Pence said. “I believe the American people have the right to know about his medical condition, about the reasons for it, and has a right to know who was informed of his incapacity.”

Former President Trump marked the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by demanding the release of all his supporters who have been convicted or detained for crimes relating to the incident.

Trump made the comments during a campaign stop in Clinton, Iowa, on Saturday, calling his jailed supporters “hostages.” More than 1,200 people have been charged with participating in the riot, of whom over 900 have pleaded guilty or been convicted.

“They’ve suffered enough,” Trump told the Iowa crowd. “I call them hostages. Some people call them prisoners.”

He went on to add, “I got indicted because I challenged the crooked election.”

BIDEN MOCKED FOR APPEARING CONFUSED AFTER ANTI-TRUMP SPEECH: ‘LOST AGAIN’

Trump is campaigning in Iowa just days ahead of the state’s Jan. 15 primary. Trump has maintained a commanding lead over his closest rivals, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

PROUD BOY WHO FLED PROSECUTION, FAKED DRUG OVERDOSE AFTER J6 RIOT GETS 10 YEARS

Trump will continue his campaigning blitz this week with a pair of Iowa faith events on Monday. Trump will be joined by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and former Diamond State Gov. Mike Huckabee at events in the afternoon and evening.

Trump’s Saturday comments came as political pundits across the spectrum marked the third anniversary of the Capitol riot. MSBNC host Jonathan Capehart raised eyebrows on his Saturday show when he was reduced to tears while interviewing a police officer who served at the Capitol that day.

FBI CONTINUES TO SEARCH FOR JAN 6 PIPE BOMB SUSPECT 3 YEARS AFTER CAPITOL RIOT, OFFERS $500K REWARD

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The FBI continues to investigate and prosecute suspects placed inside the Capitol by security and social media footage.

A Capitol Police officer who was on duty during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot announced on Friday that he is running for Congress in Maryland. 

“On January 6th, I defended our democracy from insurrectionists as a Capitol Police Officer,” Dunn wrote on X Friday, a day before the three-year anniversary of the incident. “After, President Biden honored me with the Presidential Citizens Medal. Today, I’m running for Congress to stop Trump’s MAGA extremists & ensure it never happens again.” 

Dunn, 40, said he stepped down from his police job several weeks ago to run for Congress, after 15 years as a Capitol police officer. 

He’s joining a crowded Democratic primary for Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District, a heavily Democratic jurisdiction that stretches between Baltimore and the nation’s capital. Current Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., announced in October that he would not seek reelection.

FBI CONTINUES TO SEARCH FOR JAN 6 PIPE BOMB SUSPECT 3 YEARS AFTER US CAPITOL RIOT, OFFERS $500K REWARD

In his campaign announcement video, also shared on X, Dunn is seen dressed in a button-down shirt and talking to the camera while walking down what looks like a Capitol hallway. 

Actors posing as rioters cause destruction, as the date “Jan. 6th” flashes across the scene.

“On this day,” Dunn says, “My role was as a Capitol police officer. I’m Harry Dunn. And that meant putting aside who I am – a father, a Marylander, a Democrat – because I swore an oath to protect our Constitution, to protect our democracy. It’s what allowed me to protect some members of Congress who I knew were bigots who helped fan the flames that started all of this.”

“I put country above self,” Dunn says.  

“The problem is, a lot of them didn’t,” he continues, walking through the dramatic reenactment of rioters waving flags through the halls and tearing down picture frames as congressional staffers flee. “Some of the same people who stood behind us when we protected them, went back on the floor of Congress and stood behind Trump. They voted to acquit him. And worst of all, they denied the violence and trauma that led to the death of some of my fellow officers. I couldn’t stand by and watch.”  

The video transitions to actual footage of Dunn testifying before the Jan. 6 committee, speaking to reporters at the Capitol and appearing on network TV shows, including “The View.” 

“I had another role to play. I used my voice to speak out, to get into good trouble,” he says, as footage plays of President Biden awarding Dunn the Presidential Citizens Medal last year and of Dunn testifying before the Jan. 6 committee. A fictional TV screen is then smashed as the ad transitions back to the Capitol riot reenactment scene. “And a few weeks ago, I left the force after more than 15 years of service so that today I can announce I’m running for Congress.” 

FEDERAL COURT RULES EVEN PASSIVE JAN. 6 PROTESTORS WHO WERE INSIDE CAPITOL CAN BE CONVICTED

“We can’t ever let this happen again. And you’ve heard it from Trump himself. He is hellbent on finishing what he started this day. I’m stepping into a new role today, but I can’t do it alone. I believe every one of us has a role to play in this fight. So join me, we’ve got a democracy to protect.

Sarbanes, who has served nine terms, is one of about two dozen Democrats who are not seeking reelection in the House. Fourteen Republicans have said they are not seeking another term.

More than 1,230 people have been charged with federal crimes stemming from the riot, ranging from misdemeanor offenses like trespassing to felonies like assaulting police officers and seditious conspiracy. About 730 people have pleaded guilty to charges, while about 170 have been convicted of at least one charge at a trial decided by a judge or a jury, according to an Associated Press database.

Testifying before the Jan. 6 committee in 2021, Dunn recounted to lawmakers how rioters pouring into the Speaker’s Lobby by the Rotunda, some wearing “MAGA” hats and shirts that said “Trump 2020,” refused to leave, shouting things like, “No, no, man, this is our house,” “President Trump invited us here,” “We’re here to stop the steal,” “Joe Biden is not the president,” and, “Nobody voted for Joe Biden!”

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 “I am a law enforcement officer, and I keep politics out of my job.  But in this circumstance, I responded, ‘Well, I voted for Joe Biden. Does my vote not count? Am I nobody?'” Dunn testified. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart got weepy during a segment featuring a former member of the Capitol Hill Police Department who served during the Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol.

Capehart was interviewing former officer Michael Fanone about this book, “Hold the Line,” that details Fanone’s experience on the day of the riot.

“Michael Fanone, I’m going to try to get through this – um, thank you for what you did three years ago today,” Capeheart told Fanone through tears. “Please, tell me your thoughts on this third anniversary.”

“We are still in the midst of the same fight that began on January 6th, 2021, and we have a lot at stake in this country,” Fanone responded. “I think it deserves every American’s attention.”

JUDGE DISMISSES THREE CIVIL COUNTS AGAINST TRUMP, OTHERS OVER DEATH OF JAN. 6 OFFICER BRIAN SICKNICK

Observers on social media mocked Capehart’s apparently over-dramatic performance.

The segment came just one day after the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that defendants illicitly present in the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot can be convicted even if they were passively observing the events inside.

PROUD BOY WHO FLED PROSECUTION, FAKED DRUG OVERDOSE AFTER J6 RIOT GETS 10 YEARS

The ruling stated that trespassers did not need to be acting “disorderly” or “disruptive” to be found guilty of disorderly conduct, because such definitions “are nebulous, but time has given them concrete contours in two ways important here.”

“First, it is well-established that whether conduct qualifies as disorderly depends on the surrounding circumstances,” the court wrote. “Courts consistently observe that ‘whether a given act provokes a breach of the peace depends upon the accompanying circumstances,’ making it ‘essential that the setting be considered.’”

“Second, it is equally clear from caselaw that even passive, quiet and nonviolent conduct can be disorderly,” the ruling continued.

FBI CONTINUES TO SEARCH FOR JAN 6 PIPE BOMB SUSPECT 3 YEARS AFTER CAPITOL RIOT, OFFERS $500K REWARD

The court compared trespassers present in the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to hikers and audience members in an extended metaphor about singing.

“A lone hiker on a mountaintop can sing at the top of his lungs without disturbing a soul; a patron in a library cannot,” the court wrote. “It is entirely appropriate to clap and cheer when a keynote speaker steps to the podium but to do so once the room has fallen quiet and he has begun to speak would ordinarily be disruptive.”

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The FBI continues to investigate and prosecute suspects placed inside the Capitol by security and social media footage.

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

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley raised a few eyebrows this weekend from conservatives, after the former South Carolina governor made a comment about changing “personalities” while discussing the upcoming Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. 

“The structure of it is really amazing,” Haley told an interviewer on a local Iowa PBS station last week of the GOP primary process. “Iowa starts it. You change personalities, you go into New Hampshire.”

The presidential candidate was discussing whether she would support changing the order in which states vote in the Republican primary as Democrats did for their presidential primary process. She often remarks on how each state has its own personality. 

At a recent event in Iowa, Haley called Iowans “patriotic,” “hardworking” and “very careful” while saying New Hampshire voters wear their “feelings on their sleeves,” and South Carolinians can “kick you with a smile.” 

NIKKI HALEY IS THE ONLY CANDIDATE WHO HAS SHOWN ANY PRIMARY MOMENTUM: MARK PENN

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has seen poll numbers tighten with Haley as her numbers rise, hit the 51-year-old on the remark while answering questions following an event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday. 

DeSantis said it’s “just not going well” for Haley as she faces more scrutiny in the media. “I think she’s not showing an ability to be able to withstand that and to be able to answer the type of questions that you need. I mean you obviously saw she’s dealing with history, having trouble there, dissing Iowa with the things she said there … and now this saying that you change personalities once you leave Iowa and go to New Hampshire.”

Texas Rep. Chip Roy, who supports DeSantis, wrote in X, formerly Twitter, Saturday, “So – @NikkiHaley (allies) dump another $1.8 million against @RonDeSantis … so she can ‘changepersonalities’ to go to NH to ‘correct’ Iowans… & audition to be Trump’s VP ($0 against Trump)… to advance forever wars, open borders, & corporate interests. Got it. #DeSantis2024.”

Haley’s campaign hit back against the attacks, with spokeswoman AnneMarie Graham-Barnes telling Fox News Digital in a statement: “Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump are getting more and more desperate by the hour Nikki’s momentum is real and her vision is resonating, so they’re grasping at straws. Voters see right through it.” 

HALEY RESPONDS TO TRUMP, DESANTIS’ SWIPES: IT’S ‘SWEET’ THEY’RE SPENDING SO MUCH MONEY AGAINST ME

Iowa’s polls show former President Trump, who has also increased his attacks on Haley, including TV attack ads, with a double-digit lead over the other candidates (about 50%, according to a Real Clear Politics average), but Haley has closed the gap with DeSantis and the two are vying for second place with 15.7% and 18.4% respectively, with Vivek Ramaswamy in a distant fourth with 6%. 

“President Trump has long said he’d train his sights on whomever is number two in the race,” Jason Miller, a Trump adviser, told Politico recently. “Rob DeSanctimonious is approaching single digits everywhere and his campaign is on life support, which means it’s Nikki Haley’s turn in the barrel.”

Haley has struggled with other gaffes recently, most notably her answer in a New Hampshire town hall last month that failed to make any mention of slavery as the cause of the Civil War. She walked back the comments hours later, saying “of course” the war was about slavery, but her opponents continue to hound her about it. 

She also faced heat for telling New Hampshire voters recently, “You know Iowa starts it. You know that you correct it … you know that my sweet state of South Carolina brings it home,” which she later described as a joke. 

Haley noted the increased attacks she’s received from Trump and her other opponents during a town hall in Iowa Saturday, joking, “All these fellas are showing me way too much attention.” 

She also derided Trump for a recent attack ad against her, which claimed she and President Biden both opposed Trump border security measures such as a wall.

“Isn’t that sweet of him, spending so much time and money against me?” she quipped to Fox News. She told Iowa voters Saturday that in reality she had said the wall was a start but more needed to be done to secure the border. 

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“They’re taking little pieces and putting it together to make it look like what they want you to see,” Haley said of the other candidates’ attacks. “But you know what it all means if they’re lying, it’s because they know they’re losing. It’s that simple. And if they’re going to lie about me, I’m going to tell you the truth about them.” 

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy asserted that he and former President Donald Trump are the only two candidates with an American First agenda.

At a town hall in Marengo, Iowa on Saturday, the 38-year-old entrepreneur said that he and Trump are the only two “America First” candidates on the Republican ballot.

“I think there’s two America first candidates in this race,” Ramaswamy said. “That’s Donald Trump and me.” 

BILLIONAIRE JEFFREY EPSTEIN ASSOCIATE GAVE LARGE DONATIONS TO VIVEK RAMASWAMY, SEVERAL DEMS

The moment came after Ramaswamy told a crowd of supporters that it was time to speak “candidly,” asking the attendees to raise their hands if they were planning on casting their ballot for Ramaswamy or for Trump.

“How many of you are leaning towards supporting me right now?,” Ramaswamy asked. “A good number of you.”

Next, Ramaswamy asked audience members which of them were planning on voting for Trump in the Iowa presidential caucuses on Jan. 15.

“How many of you are considering Donald Trump for the caucus?,” Ramaswamy asked. “Okay. Well, thank you. I understand that because I think there are two ‘American First’ candidates in this race.”

RAMASWAMY BLASTS WAPO REPORTER WITH VIRAL RESPONSE TO QUESTION ON CONDEMNING ‘WHITE SUPREMACY’: ‘SHAME ON YOU’

Ramaswamy, who has campaigned on an “America First 2.0” agenda, has aligned himself with Trump’s America First policy, which centers on reducing U.S. trade deficits and rebalancing the burden of America’s responsibilities to international trade organizations.

In just a week, the 2024 Iowa Caucuses will commence, where the first votes for the next potential president will be cast. 

Being the first state to cast votes for presidential nominees, Iowa’s caucuses set the stage for the entire primary season. Winning or performing strongly in Iowa can generate crucial momentum for candidates, influencing voter perceptions of their viability.

Ramaswamy received the endorsement of former Republican Iowa Rep. Steve King in a post on X last week. 

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Salem, New Hampshire, GOP Chairman Steve Goddu also endorsed Ramaswamy last year, along with former New Hampshire GOP Senate candidate Kevin Smith.

Fox News’ Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.