Fox News Politics: Grassley Rips Wray
Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. What’s happening… -Biden breaks Obama record for filling Federal Registers… -Elon Musk and Ron Paul agree on cutting foreign aid… -Laura Trump resigns from RNC as rumors of a Senate run swirl… Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley doubled down that he believes Christopher Wray has failed his “fundamental duties” as FBI director in a blistering letter expressing he has “no confidence” in Wray’s continued leadership over the agency. “For the good of the country, it’s time for you and your deputy to move on to the next chapter in your lives. I’ve spent my career fighting for transparency, and I’ve always called out those in government who have fought against it,” Grassley wrote in a letter to Wray on Monday morning, referring also to the FBI’s deputy director Paul Abbate. “For the public record, I must do so once again now.” Grassley went on to say he “must express my vote of no confidence in your continued leadership of the FBI. President-elect Trump has already announced his intention to nominate a candidate to replace you, and the Senate will carefully consider that choice. For my part, I’ve also seen enough, and hope your respective successors will learn from these failures,” Grassley, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, continued…Read more ‘GOVT KNOWS BEST’: Biden breaks Obama record for filling Federal Register with most regulations …Read more ‘LEADING BY EXAMPLE’: White House responds to intraparty criticism about Biden’s final days …Read more THWARTING THE ENEMY: Pentagon announces new counter-drone strategy as unmanned attacks on US interests skyrocket …Read more CEDING THE FLOOR: Progressive Dems rage at Biden for giving Trump the spotlight during final weeks in office …Read more ‘HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY’: Biden updates the nation following fall of Syrian Assad regime …Read more ‘SERIOUS AND GROWING THREAT’: Pro-life groups sound off after Trump says he will not restrict abortion pills: ‘Serious and growing threat’ …Read more PRESSURE CAMPAIGN: Elon Musk joins Trump allies in House GOP pressure campaign over social media bill …Read more ‘ASSAULT ON THE RULE OF LAW’: Cheney responds to Trump suggesting jail time for J6 committee members …Read more ‘INTEGRITY CANNOT BE FOLDED’: Hundreds of vets back Tulsi Gabbard for DNI …Read more ROAD TO FBI: John Cornyn ‘inclined’ to back Trump FBI pick Kash Patel after Senate meeting …Read more ‘BIASED,’ ‘WRONG’: Top Dem objects to defense bill banning funds for transgender medical care for minors …Read more BIG APPLE SHOWDOWN: House Dem’s torrent of attacks against own party fuels primary showdown buzz …Read more ‘NOT WRONG’: Elon Musk agrees with Ron Paul’s call to ‘ELIMINATE foreign aid’ …Read more SENATOR TRUMP?: Lara Trump announces she is stepping down as RNC co-chair amidst talk she may be up for Florida Senate seat …Read more EARLY START: Dem senators-elect start weeks in advance by filling vacancies in CA, NJ …Read more ‘SANITY IS RETURNING’: ‘Pansexual and Panromantic Pride Day’ leaves folks looking forward to Trump …Read more BAD FOR BUSINESS: Execs scramble for security after UnitedHealthcare CEO murder: experts …Read more ‘DIPLOMATIC’: Trump’s tariff threats are tools in Trump’s ‘war chest’ to advance U.S. interests …Read more END OF AN ERA: Hunter Biden: A look at how the saga spanning over six years unfolded …Read more WINNING SCENT: Trump releases new fragrances in ad featuring first lady : ‘They represent us WINNING’ …Read more HISTORIC OFFENSIVE: Who is Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the terror leader at the center of Assad’s fall? …Read more WHY TRUMP WON: Donald Trump says this is the reason he won last month’s presidential election …Read more RESISTING THE LAW: Blue state attorney general advises state officials on how to resist ‘draconian’ Trump deportations …Read more ‘DERAILING’ MIGRANT CRIME: Report offers roadmap to defeat Tren de Aragua in US cities …Read more
Here is who is vying for power in Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad
The fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, the culmination of years of civil war, has given way to a power vacuum with different factions protecting their own interests – and vying for power in the Middle Eastern nation. The U.S., worried about the resurgence of an ISIS stronghold, has struck targets associated with the Islamic State in central Syria. Turkey, which controls a zone of Syria on its northern border, has continued to attack U.S.-backed Kurdish forces. Both work with different proxy groups. Here’s a look at the different forces vying for control in the region: HTS was the key faction behind the fall of Damascus and the fleeing of Assad, and now controls the capital city. But the Islamist militant group is far from a U.S. ally – its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head and has been designated a terrorist since 2013. The group governed just a sliver of northwest Syria in Idlib. ISRAEL DEPLOYS PARATROOPERS TO SYRIA IN ‘DEFENSE ACTIVITIES’ AFTER FALL OF ASSAD The group, founded as an al Qaeda affiliate, still remains largely aligned with al Qaeda but focuses on establishing fundamentalist Islamic rule in Syria rather than a global caliphate. The U.N., U.S. and Turkey all designate HTS as a terrorist organization. The group, in recent years, has worked to soften its image and lobbied to be delisted as a terrorist group, highlighting its government services in Idlib and promising to protect religious and cultural sites, even churches, in Aleppo. Experts believe Turkey, which has long looked to topple Assad, may have been at play in HTS’ offensive. Syria’s forces loyal to Assad have staved off coup attempts since 2011, often through violent crackdowns on protests and rebellion. By 2020, government troops backed by Iran, Russia and Lebanese Hezbollah had pushed rebel forces back to the northwest corner of Syria. In the waning days of November, rebel factions swiftly overpowered government troops, seizing control of Aleppo – a city previously reclaimed by Assad’s forces in 2016. Eight days later, the insurgents successfully captured not only Aleppo, but also Hama, Homs and Damascus. On Monday, HTS granted Assad’s forces “a general amnesty for all military personnel conscripted under compulsory service.” “Their lives are safe and no one may assault them,” the group said in a statement. The SNA is a loosely bound coalition of Turkish-backed forces primarily intent on fighting Kurdish forces. But the coalition, which carries out Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s anti-Assad efforts, was also involved in the fall of Damascus. The groups have – in the past – also battled HTS and other Islamic State terrorists. The SNA coalition believes U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in Syria to be linked to Turkey’s Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a militant group that has launched Kurdish nationalist attacks in Turkey. SDF is a coalition of U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, centered in northeastern Syria. They have long worked alongside the U.S. in battling Islamic State forces in Syria. In addition to fighting the Islamic State, they’ve been fending off attacks from Turkish-backed fighters. US STRIKES DOZENS OF ISIS CAMPS AND OPERATIVES IN SYRIA AMID ASSAD’S DOWNFALL Kurdish forces were not involved in the offensive that toppled Assad, but they hailed the offensive campaign. “In Syria, we are living through historic moments as we witness the fall of the authoritarian regime in Damascus. This change presents an opportunity to build a new Syria based on democracy and justice that guarantees the rights of all Syrians,” said Mazlum Abdi, the commander of the SDF, on Sunday morning. After relatively friendly relations with Syria throughout the early 2000s, Turkey condemned Assad over the violent 2011 crackdown on protesters. While Turkey and the U.S. are allies – bound to protect each other through NATO – they are on opposing sides in Syria, even as both celebrated Assad’s downfall. The Turkish military fired on U.S.-backed forces in Syria over the weekend, where fighting erupted between rebel groups in Manbij, a Kurdish-controlled city near Syria’s border with Turkey. Turkey has long had a goal of pushing the Kurds away from its border, and is looking to use the current turmoil to capture control along the border and decimate the Kurdish population there. Kurdish separatists have fought Turkey for years, looking to carve out their own autonomous nation. Russia has long propped up the Assad regime, and days ago granted the ousted leader asylum. Since 2015, Russia has effectively acted as Assad’s air force, but its capacity to intervene on the dictator’s behalf has diminished since resources were needed for the war with Ukraine. Iran was Assad’s biggest supporter, providing arms and military advice and directing its proxy Lebanese Hezbollah to fight the insurgents. But Hezbollah had to direct its troops back to Lebanon to fight Israel, leaving Assad’s forces in a weakened position. HTS leader al-Golani lamented in a speech on Sunday that Syria had become “a playground for Iranian ambitions.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu credited his forces’ weakening of Hezbollah for playing a key role in the fall of Assad. Israel has consistently launched strikes against Syria with the strategic aim of disrupting the channels Iran uses to supply arms to Hezbollah. After Assad’s fall, Israel, on Sunday, struck Assad’s chemical weapons facilities within Syria, for fear of what hands they may fall into in his absence. Israel also captured control of a buffer zone within the Golan Heights, the first time they’ve captured territory in Syria since the war in 1973. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) moved in on Sunday and told residents to remain in their homes until further notice. They said they needed to capture the territory to ensure border security. They also captured Mount Hermon – the highest point on the border between the two countries and a blind spot in their defenses that Iran had been exploiting to send low-flying drones. Some 900 U.S. troops remain in Syria, where they are partnered with the SDF to fight ISIS. On Sunday, President
Heritage report offers roadmap to defeat Tren de Aragua, the mega-gang taking over US cities
A new report released by the Heritage Foundation offers the first comprehensive English language look at the massive Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) whose cruel exploits in the U.S. have been making national headlines. The verdict? According to the report’s author, Joseph Humire, the threat America faces from Tren de Aragua is much worse than most people think. Titled “Derailing the Tren de Aragua,” the report offers U.S. leaders a starting point to understand the violent criminal organization that it says was “honed and perfected inside Venezuelan prison walls then exported throughout the Western Hemisphere.” Humire told Fox News Digital that he hopes the report will give the incoming Trump administration a starting point on how to respond to and dismantle the TdA before it can continue to grow more roots within U.S. borders. EX-ICE OFFICIAL WARNS TREN DE ARAGUA HAS GROWN FASTER INSIDE US THAN MURDEROUS RIVAL GANG: ‘PUT THEM OUT NOW’ “The TdA is unique among criminal organizations because it has an ideology associated with it,” Humire said in the report. “Now that the TdA is already present in America, to fix this, a proper understanding of the TdA is necessary to detect their motives, tactics, and overall strategy of organized crime.” Humire, who is director of the Center for a Secure and Free Society and a Heritage Foundation fellow, told Fox News Digital that the first thing to understand about Tren de Aragua is that it is much more than a gang. Rather, it is an organized international terrorist effort backed by some of America’s worst enemies to sow chaos and destabilize the U.S. Born from a Venezuelan prison more than a decade ago, Tren de Aragua, which means “Train from Aragua,” burst into the national consciousness in 2023 after reports of members of the group holding an entire apartment building hostage in Aurora, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. Since then, reports of violent crimes by Tren de Aragua members have spread like wildfire, including the high-profile murders of nursing student Laken Riley in Georgia and 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston. AMERICANS WILL BE ‘TARGETED’ AS TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBERS MULTIPLY ACROSS US, EXPERT WARNS American media coverage and politicians have cast Tren de Aragua as a group of simple thugs and criminals. However, Humire’s report emphasizes that Tren de Aragua is a state-sponsored transnational criminal organization sponsored by and embedded in the Venezuelan socialist government. Rather than working to detect and deter criminals and terror, Humire said that key aspects of the Venezuelan government help facilitate TdA’s operations, not only within Venezuela but throughout the Western Hemisphere. With the backing of the Venezuelan government, he said TdA has an intentional “invasion ideology” that is bent on achieving territorial control of neighborhoods and regions in a matter of weeks rather than the yearslong process taken by most gangs and transnational criminal organizations. ‘SLAP IN THE FACE’: MEDIA, GOVERNMENT DOWNPLAYING VENEZUELAN GANGS, SAYS WOMAN WHO FLED HER COLORADO APARTMENT While many comparisons have been drawn between Tren de Aragua and the El Salvadoran gang La Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS-13), TdA is expanding much more quickly, which Humire said is likely due to its unique origin and state sponsorship in Venezuela. He also alleged that TdA’s rapid expansion in the United States is a “direct consequence of the Biden–Harris Administration’s failed immigration policies and lack of border enforcement.” The Biden Cuban, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans parole program and the Venezuelan parole program before it have made it so that in many cases Venezuelan migrants are being waved into the country en masse with little to no vetting. Because of these policies, the Venezuelan population in the U.S. has grown by nearly 1 million – 520.8% – becoming the fastest-growing nationality in the U.S. since 2021. The result has been that though TdA is new to the U.S., it now has a presence in more than 30 major U.S. cities and at least 100 federal investigations involving the group are underway, as the report puts it, “catching most of the U.S. law enforcement community by surprise.” COLORADO REPUBLICANS SOUND OFF ON IMPACT OF MIGRANT SURGE ON CITIZENS: ‘THEIR SOULS ARE CRUSHED’ In the first 100 days of his new administration, Humire said Trump should follow the example set by Texas’ efforts to root out the gang by delivering on his promise to launch an “Operation Aurora” to take a “whole-of-government approach” that uses federal resources within the Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the military to complement state-led law enforcement efforts as well as partner with Latin American allies to hit TdA from every angle. “It is believed that the main TdA leaders have not yet arrived in America, meaning time is of the essence to take preventive measures,” says the report. Humire said the Trump Department of Homeland Security should immediately label TdA a transnational terror group and mark Venezuelan migrants as “special interest aliens.” This designation would reverse the Biden administration’s policy of waving in Venezuelan migrants and instead allow U.S. immigration officials to more properly vet Venezuelan migrants. Though this may sound controversial, Humire said it’s something that would not only better protect American citizens in the interior but also legitimize asylum seekers fleeing Venezuela. TEXAS HAS SPENT MILLIONS PLACING RAZOR WIRE ALONG BORDER: IS IT WORKING? “This is really meant to protect the Venezuelan migrants because just because you come from one of those countries,” he said. “Most Venezuelan migrants will actually agree with this because they don’t want to be infiltrated by Tren de Aragua, and all Venezuelan migrants know how brutal and dangerous Tren de Aragua truly is.” Humire said there are already positive signs from the Trump transition that the president-elect is serious about his promise to dismantle TdA. “I think that appointing the border czar so early in the transition process was a clear signal that that’s one of the top, if not the top priority of the new Trump administration,” he said. “And Tom Homan, who was appointed
Elon Musk joins Trump allies in House GOP pressure campaign over social media bill
Allies of President-elect Trump are pressuring House leaders to take up legislation overhauling how social media companies deal with users under 18 – but time is running short with just two weeks left in this congressional term. Elon Musk is among the figures in Trump’s orbit pushing for the legislation, and his company X has been involved in talks on reshaping the bill to alleviate concerns about some provisions. The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) overwhelmingly passed the Senate earlier this year in a 91-3 vote. It hit a snag in the House of Representatives, however, where Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., have both expressed reservations. House leaders were worried the bill would give the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) too much power, and that it could open the door to censorship of certain viewpoints. ELON MUSK AND VIVEK RAMASWAMY AGREE ON ‘NEED TO SCRUTINIZE’ US FUNDING FOR NGOS “When X testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last January, we committed to working with Congress on child safety legislation. We’ve heard the pleas of parents and youth advocates who seek sensible guardrails across online platforms, and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) addresses that need. After working with the bill authors, I’m proud to share that we’ve made progress to further protect freedom of speech while maintaining safety for minors online,” Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, wrote on the platform this weekend. “We urge Congress and the House to pass the Kids Online Safety Act this year.” Musk wrote in response, “Protecting kids should always be priority #1.” Donald Trump Jr., also sounded off Sunday, “We can protect free speech and our kids at the same time from Big Tech. It’s time for House Republicans to pass the Kids Online Safety Act ASAP.” “KOSA is the right thing to do to protect our kids from dangerous online content – while still preserving free speech. Let’s pass this commonsense legislation now!” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s former press secretary, also chimed in. The bill’s leaders, Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., thanked Musk and Yaccarino in their own statement. DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER OPEN TO ‘BIPARTISAN COOPERATION’ IN ELON MUSK’S DOGE PLANS “These changes should eliminate once and for all the false narrative that this bill would be weaponized by unelected bureaucrats to censor Americans,” Blackburn and Blumenthal said. “We appreciate that this endorsement and revised text reflects their publicly stated goal of furthering free speech without fear of censorship. We reiterate X’s call to pass KOSA by the end of the year – it is clear that this legislation has overwhelming support from Congress.” Fox News Digital reached out to both Scalise and Johnson’s offices for comment on the most recent version of the bill and on the Trump allies’ push. When asked last week whether there could be a KOSA vote this month, Scalise told Fox News Radio, “We still are working through some of the problems that give power to, for example, to an unelected bureaucrat who’s under investigation for abuse of power.” Johnson told Punchbowl News in October that some details of the bill were “problematic.” At least one senior House GOP aide who spoke with Fox News Digital is not optimistic that much can be done in the last two weeks Congress has in Washington this year, however. When asked what the odds were of KOSA getting a House-wide vote this month, the aide bluntly responded via text: “0.” GOP SENATOR ANNOUNCES ‘DOGE ACTS’ TO BACK MUSK, RAMASWAMY GOVERNMENT COST-CUTTING OBJECTIVES Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team for comment. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP KOSA is one of the most significant social media safety bills passed by the Senate in years. It would put the onus on social media companies to prevent and mitigate potential harm that could be caused to users under age 17. The bill would also force platforms to block addictive components for minor users and make it easier for minors to protect their information, among other measures. Fox News Radio’s Ryan Schmelz contributed to this report.
Pro-life groups sound off after Trump says he will not restrict abortion pills: ‘Serious and growing threat’
Pro-life leaders are sounding off about the “serious and growing threat” of chemical abortion pills after President-elect Trump said he would not restrict access to the pills as president. Abortion pills, also known as chemical abortion, are now the most common abortion method, accounting for over 60% of all U.S. abortions. During an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” this past weekend, Trump was asked whether he would restrict abortion pill access via executive action. Trump responded definitively that “the answer is no.” TOP PRO-LIFE GROUPS REVEAL AGENDA FOR SECOND TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AMID ‘ABORTION FEARMONGERING’ He added: “I’ll probably stay with exactly what I’ve been saying for the last two years,” that abortion is a state, not a federal issue. Pressed whether he would commit to not restricting abortion pills, the president-elect said: “Well I commit” but noted circumstances may change. “Do things change? I think they change,” he went on, pointing to how President Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden after repeatedly categorically committing otherwise. “I don’t like putting myself in a position like that,” he said. “So, things do change, but I don’t think it’s going to change at all.” BIDEN TEAM REPORTEDLY CONSIDERING PREEMPTIVE PARDONS FOR FAUCI, SCHIFF, OTHER TRUMP ‘TARGETS’ Chemical abortion access was significantly expanded under the Biden administration, which permanently removed a requirement for the pills to be administered through in-person appointments and allowed the drugs to be delivered via mail or obtained at retail pharmacies like CVS or Walgreens. In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said “unregulated, mail-order abortion drugs are a serious and growing threat to women’s health and safety, as well as the lives of countless unborn children, all across this country.” While she criticized the “reckless actions” of the Biden-Harris administration to expand abortion pill access, Dannenfelser said “no one who cares about the health and well-being of women can afford to ignore this issue.” Referring to the recent high-profile deaths of Catherine Herring, Amber Thurman, Candi Miller and Alyona Dixon due to abortion pill complications, Dannenfelser said “even the pro-abortion media can’t hide that these drugs are killing women and fueling dangerous new forms of domestic violence.” SUPREME COURT PRESERVES FULL ACCESS TO MEDICAL ABORTION PILL MIFEPRISTONE Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life Action, indicated she was optimistic about Trump seeing the danger of unrestricted chemical abortion access, telling Fox News Digital: “Many leaders are just now learning about how the pills harm women and the environment.” “We have a lot to talk about with the Trump-Vance administration,” Hawkins said, adding, “President Trump has shown himself to be a reasonable leader who makes decisions based on the best information available.” “We hope to be agents of change, providing new information about how the changes made by the Biden-Harris administration on chemical abortion pill policy expose women to injury, infertility, and death, empowers abusers and allows for drinking water pollution through the flushing of medical waste,” she said. “So, we look forward to a frank discussion about what three Democratic Party presidents did to help their friends in Big Abortion Pharma. We can’t wait to give President Trump the new information he needs to act.” ABORTIONS SLIGHTLY DECLINED THE YEAR ROE V. WADE WAS OVERTURNED, CDC SAYS Meanwhile, Brian Burch, president of the conservative activism group “CatholicVote,” told Fox News Digital that Trump’s admission that “things do change,” signals “he would be open to addressing the overwhelming body of evidence that shows how harmful these drugs are to women.” “Big Pharma has exploited far too many women for too long, and the abortion industry should not get a pass when it comes to drug protocols and evidence-based regulations,” he said. “Given President Trump’s pro-life record, together with the personnel he has nominated to key positions, we remain hopeful the new administration will take a serious look at these drugs and act accordingly.”
Grassley rips Wray’s ‘failed’ leadership at FBI with 11 pages of examples in blistering ‘no confidence’ letter
Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley doubled down that he believes Christopher Wray has failed his “fundamental duties” as FBI director in a blistering letter expressing he has “no confidence” in Wray’s continued leadership over the agency. “For the good of the country, it’s time for you and your deputy to move on to the next chapter in your lives. I’ve spent my career fighting for transparency, and I’ve always called out those in government who have fought against it,” Grassley wrote in a letter to Wray on Monday morning, referring also to the FBI’s deputy director Paul Abbate. “For the public record, I must do so once again now.” Grassley went on to say he “must express my vote of no confidence in your continued leadership of the FBI. President-elect Trump has already announced his intention to nominate a candidate to replace you, and the Senate will carefully consider that choice. For my part, I’ve also seen enough, and hope your respective successors will learn from these failures,” Grassley, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, continued. The longtime Republican senator’s letter comes as Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, headed to Capitol Hill on Monday to meet with lawmakers, including Grassley, and rally support for his confirmation. WHO IS KASH PATEL? TRUMP’S PICK TO LEAD FBI HAS LONG HISTORY VOWING TO BUST UP ‘DEEP STATE’ Before the Senate could potentially confirm Patel as FBI chief under the second Trump administration, Wray would need to step down or be fired, as he is in the midst of a 10-year appointment that does not end until 2027. Grassley’s lengthy letter to Wray, which spans 11 pages, detailed specific examples of Wray’s “failures” as FBI director, which Grassley said “shattered my confidence in your leadership and the confidence and hope many others in Congress placed in you.” The Iowa senator previously argued that Wray has “failed” as FBI director in a social media message posted one day after Trump nominated Patel as FBI chief. TRUMP NOMINATES KASH PATEL TO SERVE AS FBI DIRECTOR: ‘ADVOCATE FOR TRUTH’ Grassley pointed to the FBI’s “unprecedented raid” of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida in August 2022 regarding classified documents as an example of Wray’s failures. The Republican senator noted the raid included about 30 armed agents who were authorized to “use lethal force if needed” in order to execute the search warrant. The agents “even searched the former First Lady’s clothing drawers,” Grassley continued. “This raid occurred despite serious questions about the need for it. President Trump apparently was cooperating with the investigation, notwithstanding liberal press reports. He voluntarily turned over 15 boxes of documents months before the FBI’s drastic escalation,” Grassley continued, adding that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton never faced such a raid “even though she and her staff mishandled highly classified information while using a non-government server.” SPECIAL COUNSEL, IRS WHISTLEBLOWERS SAY DON’T BUY BIDEN ‘SPIN’ ABOUT HUNTER BIDEN LEGAL SAGA He also hit the FBI for acting as an “accomplice to the Democrats’ false information campaign designed to undermine my investigation of alleged Biden-family corruption.” “On August 6, 2020, as Senator Ron Johnson and I were finishing our report on the Biden family’s financial connections to foreign governments and questionable foreign nationals, you succumbed to pressure from Democrats in Congress and provided an unnecessary briefing that Democratic leadership requested in an effort to falsely label our investigation as Russian disinformation.” FBI HAS LONG BEEN ACCUSED OF POLITICIZATION AHEAD OF DEM CONCERN OVER KASH PATEL NOMINATION “That briefing consisted of information we already knew and information that wasn’t connected to our Biden investigation. We made clear at the time our concern that the briefing would be subject to a leak that would shed false light on the focus of our investigation. Predictably, on May 1, 2021, the Washington Post did just that, falsely labeling our investigation as Russian disinformation,” he continued. He added that the FBI “sat on bribery allegations” against Biden when he served as vice president, as well as Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and Ukrainian officials. “Consistent with that FBI failure, yet another glaring example of FBI’s broken promises under your leadership is its inexcusable failure to investigate bribery allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden, while strictly scrutinizing former President Trump. You’ve repeatedly claimed you would ensure the FBI does justice, ‘free of fear, favor, or partisan influence.’ The FBI under your watch, however, had possession of incriminating information against President Biden for three years until I exposed the existence of the record outlining those allegations, but did nothing to investigate it,” he wrote. Grassley argued that under Wray’s leadership, the FBI has also shown an “outright disdain for congressional oversight,” including failure to provide lawmakers with information related to the “FBI’s ongoing mishandling of sexual harassment claims” made by female employees. “This request was not pulled out of a hat. It was based on credible whistleblower disclosures alleging hundreds of FBI employees had retired or resigned to avoid accountability for sexual misconduct,” Grassley wrote. The FBI also “refused” to provide information to lawmakers regarding the vetting process of Afghan nationals amid the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from the nation in 2021, Grassley added. The FBI also came under fire from Grassley for “refusing to provide information to Congress on the FBI’s ‘Richmond memo,’” which has become known as the anti-Catholic memo for depicting traditional Catholics as violent extremists. TRUMP FBI PICK KASH PATEL SHOULD TAKE THESE CONCRETE STEPS TO RESTORE TRUST: FORMER SPECIAL AGENT “Your and Deputy Director Abbate’s failure to take control of the FBI has hindered my work and others’ work throughout multiple Congresses on matters that needed timely information, and has prevented the truth on some issues from ever reaching the American people. You’ve also shown a continuing double standard and failure to carry through on promises,” Grassley wrote in his letter. When asked about Grassley’s letter, the FBI told Fox News Digital that “the FBI has repeatedly demonstrated our commitment to responding
‘Gov’t knows best’: Biden admin breaks Obama record for filling Federal Register with most regulations
President Biden’s administration has filled up the Federal Register with more pages of regulations than any other president in history, breaking President Barack Obama’s record. As of last week, on Dec. 3, the Biden administration set a new federal record for the most Federal Register pages filled in a single year – 96,088. The number puts the administration on pace to fill more than 100,000 pages by the end of its term. The record was previously held by Obama, who, in the final year of his second term, filled 95,894 pages. EPA’S NEW RULE TO CHARGE OIL AND GAS COMPANIES FOR EMISSIONS COULD FACE A TRUMP RECKONING The Federal Register, which is published by the National Archives and Records Administration and overseen by the Office of the Federal Register, is a daily publication of new and amended federal regulations. “Federal Register page counts are a highly imperfect gauge of regulatory burden. Biden’s milestone, though, still underscores the expanding scope of federal intervention,” said Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., fellow at the Washington-based nonprofit the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “The record-setting 2024 Federal Register provides a stark reminder of the scale of the regulatory state, and it ain’t even done yet.” CONSTRUCTION TRADE GROUP LEADERS LOOK FORWARD TO NEW LEADERSHIP UNDER TRUMP: ‘RELIEF ON THE HORIZON’ During the final year of President-elect Trump’s first term in office, the Federal Register saw its fourth-largest number of pages filled. However, Crews said that number was likely inflated by efforts to eliminate rules that require agencies to issue new ones, as well as emergency COVID-19 pandemic measures. Meanwhile, during Trump’s first year in office, 2017, there were fewer pages added to the Federal Register than anyone since Bill Clinton in 1993, Crews pointed out. Shortly after entering the Oval Office in 2017, Trump issued Executive Order 13771, which initiated a new federal rulemaking process requiring that for every single regulation added by the Trump administration, two must be taken away. The result of this was net cost savings throughout Trump’s first term, Crews said. LEAVE THE OIL TO ME: TRUMP VOWS TO UNLEASH US ENERGY, UNDO KEY BIDEN RULES IN 2ND TERM Trump has signaled that he will expand his deregulation efforts during his second term, pledging to erase 10 regulations for every new one added. Machalagh Carr, director of the Center for Legal Action at the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce, told Fox News Digital that with the incoming Trump administration “a new day is dawning and help is on the way.” “For the last four years, [the Biden administration] has done their very best to strangle American free enterprise with a blizzard of unworkable regulations and mandates,” Carr said. “The political appointees calling the shots in the Biden administration have a hostile view of the innovators and companies that power our economy and believe that government knows best.” Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for both Biden and Trump, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
John Cornyn ‘inclined’ to back Trump FBI pick Kash Patel after Senate meeting
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters he had a good meeting with President-elect Trump’s FBI pick, Kash Patel, on Monday and said he was “certainly inclined to support him, barring some unforeseen circumstances.” “We still don’t know what Director Wray’s plans are, but, eventually, I assume that Mr. Patel will be confirmed as the next FBI director,” he said following the morning meeting. According to Cornyn, he and Patel spoke about “the importance of restoring the reputation of the FBI as a nonpartisan, law enforcement investigative agency.” DEMOCRATIC GOVERNORS APPOINT INCOMING CALIFORNIA, NEW JERSEY SENATORS 3 WEEKS EARLY He noted that confidence in the FBI was eroded after former Director James Comey’s handling of the investigation into former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. “That was fundamentally a wrong thing for the FBI director to do that, to [announce] prosecutorial decisions that should have been made by the attorney general,” Cornyn said of Comey, who claimed “that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case” against Clinton over her misuse of her email system. LARA TRUMP ANNOUNCES SHE IS STEPPING DOWN AS RNC CO-CHAIR AMIDST TALK SHE MAY BE UP FOR FLORIDA SENATE SEAT “But of course, that continued when James Comey was fired and then went on to [a] retribution tour to get a special counsel appointed against President Trump.” CONSERVATIVE GROUP COMPILES LIST OF ‘WOKE’ SENIOR OFFICERS THEY WANT PETE HEGSETH TO FIRE The senator said, “No one should have to go through what President Trump was [put] through by a partisan Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI.” “And my goal would be to restore the nonpartisan functioning of the chief law enforcement agency in the country, the FBI and the Department of Justice. To me, that is the goal. Mr. Patel said he shares that goal,” Cornyn claimed. Patel has been at the Capitol to meet with various senators and shore up support before Trump is inaugurated and officially makes his nominations. Other high-profile choices by Trump for additional roles have similarly been meeting with lawmakers with the same intentions.
Blue state attorney general advises state officials on how to resist ‘draconian’ Trump deportations
California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta has joined a growing list of Democratic leaders vowing to resist President-elect Donald Trump and border czar Tom Homan’s plans for mass deportations. Last week, Bonta issued new guidance to courthouses, healthcare facilities, universities, schools, labor agencies, public libraries and shelters, requiring state-run agencies to adopt policies to resist Trump’s “draconian” and “inhumane” immigration enforcement actions. “My office will continue to use the full force of the law and every tool at our disposal to protect the rights of California’s immigrants – and we need staff at these critical locations to do the same,” Bonta said. “We cannot let the Trump deportation machine create a culture of fear and mistrust that prevents immigrants from accessing vital public services.” BLUE STATE FACES SPIKE IN MIGRANT SEX CRIMES AS TOP CITY PLEDGES RESISTANCE TO TRUMP DEPORTATIONS According to California’s AG office, the guidance lays out model policies and recommendations that “guide public institutions in complying with California law limiting state and local participation in immigration enforcement activities.” “In California, we believe our public resources, like libraries, hospitals, courthouses and schools should be available for all without fear of civil immigration enforcement,” Bonta said during a press event announcing the guidance. “The model policies we’re issuing to public facilities … provide policy recommendations that may mitigate disruptions from immigration enforcement actions at public institutions.” The guidance refers state agencies to a 2017 law called the “California Values Act” that the AG office said, “prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from assisting with immigration enforcement, with limited exceptions.” BLUE STATE GOVERNORS SCORNED AFTER SENDING WARNINGS TO TRUMP: ‘THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE DONE WITH’ THIS Bonta’s guidance includes prohibiting the “unauthorized” collection or disclosure of information that “might indicate an individual’s or family’s citizenship or immigration status,” as well as instituting a policy of always referring federal law enforcement officials to a designated person who will “have the authority to respond to immigration enforcement-related requests.” “I want to emphasize that the California DOJ is here to protect immigrants’ safety, immigrants’ freedoms and immigrants’ rights,” said Bonta. “Let me be clear, President-elect Trump’s immigration agenda is draconian and his rhetoric, xenophobic.” Bonta, who immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines with his parents at 2 months old, also said that Trump’s deportation plan is “fiscally irresponsible.” He called immigrants “the backbone of our nation.” 1.4 MILLION ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN US HAVE BEEN ORDERED DEPORTED, BUT HAVE YET TO BE REMOVED: OFFICIAL Kevin McCarthy, former speaker of the House and congressman from California, told Fox News that California politicians like Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom are costing California taxpayers huge sums by making the state a “magnet” for illegal immigrants. “He’ll give them free healthcare, I mean, he denies California citizens certain things but not to those who come illegally that’s why we attract so many and it’s costing a great deal, we have a huge deficit in California,” said McCarthy. McCarthy said that Bonta’s actions are an attempt to “make a name for himself” in Democratic politics despite concerns over illegal immigration and violent crime by illegal migrants playing a major role in Trump’s retaking of the White House in 2024. “These attorneys general should take a deep breath, listen to what the American public said and understand that immigration was one of the major reasons why Donald Trump won, and it wasn’t a Republican issue, [it was] Republican and Democrat too,” he said. He pointed to the election of Nathan Hochman as Los Angeles County District Attorney, who he said was “overwhelmingly elected because we watched the crime go rampant.” “As attorney general, your job is to protect your citizens. Why wouldn’t you want these gang members, I mean these are ruthless gang members and these have been running the drugs of fentanyl that have been killing your children, why wouldn’t you want them out? I would think that would be your job without having the president do it,” said McCarthy. “People want to see something else happen, especially from this attorney general.”
‘Ridiculous’: Cheney responds to Trump floating jail time for J6 committee members
Former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney said President-elect Trump floating jail time for her and other members of the Jan. 6 Committee “is a continuation of his assault on the rule of law.” “Here is the truth: Donald Trump attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election and seize power,” Cheney said in a response statement to Trump, which was provided to Fox Digital. “He mobilized an angry mob and sent them to the United States Capitol, where they attacked police officers, invaded the building and halted the official counting of electoral votes. Trump watched on television as police officers were brutally beaten and the Capitol was assaulted, refusing for hours to tell the mob to leave.” Cheney’s response follows Trump joining NBC’s “Meet the Press” for a pre-recorded interview that aired Sunday, where the president-elect railed that Cheney, committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson and others “deleted and destroyed” evidence related to the Jan. 6 investigation and “should go to jail.” “Cheney did something that’s inexcusable, along with Thompson and the people on the un-select committee of political thugs and, you know, creeps,” he said in the interview. “They deleted and destroyed all evidence.” DONALD TRUMP SAYS HE’LL PARDON JAN. 6 RIOTERS ON DAY ONE: ‘ACTING VERY QUICKLY’ “And Cheney was behind it. And so was Bennie Thompson and everybody on that committee,” he continued. “For what they did, honestly, they should go to jail.” Cheney shot back in her statement that Jan. 6, 2021, “was the worst breach of our Constitution by any president in our nation’s history. Donald Trump’s suggestion that members of Congress who later investigated his illegal and unconstitutional actions should be jailed is a continuation of his assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic.” HOUSE GOP REPORT ALLEGES JAN 6 COMMITTEE ‘DELETED RECORDS AND HID EVIDENCE’ The Jan. 6 committee was founded in July 2021 to investigate the breach of the U.S. Capitol earlier that year by supporters of Trump ahead of President Biden officially taking office on Jan. 20. The Jan. 6 committee’s investigation was carried out when Democrats held control of the House. The committee concluded its 18-month investigation last year, when Republicans regained control of the House, and sent referrals to the Justice Department recommending Trump be criminally prosecuted for his involvement in the lead-up to supporters breaching the Capitol. The committee was composed of seven Democrats and two Republican lawmakers, Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both of whom are no longer in office. Earlier this year, House Republicans released a report alleging the select committee “deleted” records and hired “Hollywood producers” to promote a political narrative while investigating Jan. 6. TRUMP CRITICISM OF LIZ CHENEY AS ‘RADICAL WAR HAWK’ FRAMED AS CALL FOR VIOLENCE BY ‘IRRESPONSIBLE’ MEDIA “For nearly two years, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s January 6th Select Committee promoted hearsay and cherry-picked information to promote its political goal – to legislatively prosecute former President Donald Trump,” Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., chairman of the Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Oversight, said in a statement regarding the report in March. Among its key findings, the report claimed that the select committee was designed “to promote a political narrative” and also asserted that it “deleted records and hid evidence” ahead of Republicans taking the House majority during the 2022 election cycle. “THE SELECT COMMITTEE DELETED RECORDS AND HID EVIDENCE – Reps. Thompson and Cheney failed to turn over video recordings of witness interviews and depositions despite using these recordings in their high-profile, primetime hearings. The Subcommittee recovered over one hundred deleted or password-protected files, including some files that were deleted days before Republicans took the majority. They also hid multiple transcribed interviews of witnesses who had firsthand knowledge of Trump‘s actions on January 6,” the report found. REP LOUDERMILK BLASTS JANUARY 6 COMMITTEE FOR TARGETING HIM: ‘THERE IS A WAR ON THE TRUTH IN THIS COUNTRY’ Trump had repeatedly claimed that Cheney and others on the committee “deleted” evidence. Cheney slammed Loudermilk’s report at the time as a “cover up” for Trump’s actions on Jan. 6. “If your response to Trump’s assault on our democracy is to lie & cover up what he did, attack the brave men & women who came forward with the truth, and defend the criminals who violently assaulted the Capitol, you need to rethink whose side you’re on. Hint: It’s not America’s,” she posted to X at the time. Cheney added in her statement this week that Trump’s claims of the committee destroying evidence are “ridiculous and false.” BIDEN TEAM REPORTEDLY CONSIDERING PREEMPTIVE PARDONS FOR FAUCI, SCHIFF, OTHER TRUMP ‘TARGETS’ “Donald Trump knows his claims about the select committee are ridiculous and false, as has been detailed extensively, including by Chairman Thompson,” she continued. Cheney cited a July 2023 letter from Thompson to Loudermilk, refuting claims that evidence was destroyed, detailing that the committee had called on the federal government regarding the “proper archiving of such sensitive material to protect witnesses’ safety, national security, and to safeguard law enforcement operations.” “There is no conceivably appropriate factual or constitutional basis for what Donald Trump is suggesting – a Justice Department investigation of the work of a congressional committee – and any lawyer who attempts to pursue that course would quickly find themselves engaged in sanctionable conduct,” Cheney continued. Cheney added that materials from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump and the 2020 election should be preserved and made public. “The Justice Department should ensure that all that material is preserved and cannot be destroyed. As much of that information as possible should be disclosed in the special counsel’s upcoming report.” As Trump surged in popularity ahead of the 2024 election, Cheney joined forces with Vice President Kamala Harris on the campaign trail to rally support for the Democratic ticket. JAN 6 COMMITTEE ALLEGEDLY SUPPRESSED TESTIMONY SHOWING TRUMP ADMIN PUSHED FOR NATIONAL GUARD PRESENCE: REPORT “I ask you to stand in truth. To reject the depraved cruelty of Donald Trump,” Cheney told the Harris supporters