Next Secret Service director would require congressional approval under new House bill
FIRST ON FOX: A group of House lawmakers want the next chief of the U.S. Secret Service to go through a rigorous confirmation process in the Senate before being allowed to lead the critical security agency. Currently, the Secret Service director is appointed by the president without consent of the legislative branch, unlike Cabinet officials and judges, which require Senate confirmation. But elected officials have been clamoring for more accountability and stricter transparency guardrails for the agency after the attempted assassination of former President Trump last month. TRUMP SHOOTING: TIMELINE OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT Lawmakers and other investigators have been demanding to know how a 20-year-old gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle was able to open fire on Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania, rally from a rooftop just outside the security perimeter, despite being spotted by both law enforcement and civilians before he fired any shots. One rally attendee was killed in the July 13 shooting and two others were critically injured but survived. Trump himself was shot in the ear before being quickly evacuated offstage by his security detail. The ensuing outrage forced ex-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, appointed by President Biden in 2022, to resign. She was replaced by acting Director Ronald Rowe. If the new bill – led by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, and backed by five other House Republicans – is passed, then the president’s pick to lead the agency would likely have to sit through a public hearing in the Senate and pass votes in the committee of jurisdiction, followed by the whole chamber. FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT WARNS AGENCY ‘STRETCHED THIN’ WITH NEW RESPONSIBILITIES, LACK OF MANPOWER It would also require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide candidates for president and vice president with justification for any security decisions within 14 days of them being made, according to the bill text first obtained by Fox News Digital. “In today’s highly divisive political climate, the DHS Secretary owes all presidential candidates fair, apolitical, timely, and transparent consideration of USSS protection,” Pfluger told Fox News Digital. “Our country was millimeters away from a presidential assassination. We must provide adequate security for all presidential candidates – no matter their party affiliation.” He added that making Secret Service director a Senate-confirmed position would ensure appointees are “capable and apolitical.” Reports indicated that Trump was denied requests for added Secret Service security on multiple occasions prior to the July 13 rally. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as a third-party candidate, was denied Secret Service protection before President Biden ordered the decision reversed days after the rally shooting. ACTING SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR TELLS SENATE TRUMP SHOOTING WAS ‘A FAILURE OF THE SECRET SERVICE’ Fox News Digital reached out to the office of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to ask if he would support a confirmation process for the Secret Service director. Current co-signers of the bill include Reps. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y.; Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla.; Cory Mills, R-Fla.; Michael Guest, R-Miss.; and Brett Guthrie, R-Ky. A similar bill was introduced along bipartisan lines in the Senate last month by Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. In addition to Senate confirmation, that bill would also impose a 10-year term limit on the director role.
Harris hours away from most consequential announcement of her career
Vice President Kamala Harris is facing the most significant decision of her quarter-century political career – choosing a running mate to join her on the Democratic Party’s national ticket. And an announcement of her decision is expected in the coming hours – ahead of the first rally by Harris and her running mate Tuesday evening in Philadelphia. It’s the crucial moment in the most consequential stretch for Harris in the two weeks since she replaced President Biden at the top of the Democrats’ 2024 ticket. The vetting, screening and interviewing of running mates normally takes months. But these are far from normal times for the Democrats, and Harris is facing an extremely compressed timetable. TRUMP RUNNING MATE JD VANCE TO TAIL HARRIS ON THE TRAIL THIS WEEK Harris stayed in the nation’s capital this weekend, meeting in-person with Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Tim Walz of Minnesota, and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, three of the roughly half-dozen running mate contenders, Democratic sources confirmed to Fox News. Among those also in contention, according to sources, are Govs. Andy Beshear of Kentucky and JB Pritzker of Illinois, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Ahead of her meetings with the contenders, Harris was briefed by a vetting team led by former Attorney General Eric Holder. HARRIS LAPS TRUMP IN CASH DASH THANKS TO FUNDRAISING SURGE The rollout of the announcement is not known, but it’s likely it could come through a video introduction, similar to how Biden announced Harris as his running mate four years ago. But the Harris campaign’s plans could be upended on Monday or Tuesday by a media leak of the announcement. It’s been mostly smooth sailing for Harris since Biden’s blockbuster announcement amid a rising chorus of calls from fellow Democrats to end his re-election bid following a disastrous debate performance in late June against former President Trump. A party eager to keep Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, from returning to the White House quickly unified behind Harris. The vice president experienced a surge in contributions and more than doubled Trump in July fundraising, and volunteers flocked to Biden-turned-Harris campaign offices. And the small but telling lead that Trump had built over Biden in the weeks following the late June debate instantly vanished, as the latest national and key battleground state polls indicated a margin-of-error race between Harris and the former president. But the smooth sailing could potentially turn into choppier seas. While Harris and her team have remained mostly quiet about the naming of a vice presidential nominee, allies of the contenders have been advocating on their behalf and interest groups within the party have been increasingly making their wishes known. 2024 AD WARS: TRUMP, HARRIS RACE TO DEFINE VICE PRESIDENT The announcement by Harris in the coming hours will likely disappoint some of those supporting candidates who weren’t named as the running mate, and could exacerbate policy divisions between the moderate and progressive wings of the party that have been papered over the past two weeks. Harris and her to-be-named running mate will team up on Tuesday at a rally in Philadelphia to kick off an ambitious and jam-packed swing state tour through Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, the seven battlegrounds that will likely determine the outcome of the presidential election. The vice president drew over 10,000 at her first major rally since taking over for Biden at the top of the Democrats’ ticket, last week at the Georgia State Convocation Center in Atlanta. It was the first time this cycle that the Democratic ticket drew a crowd comparable to the large audiences Trump has been regularly drawing for much of his more than year-and-a-half long campaign to return to the White House. And the size and energy of Harris’ crowds during this week’s swing state tour will be closely monitored. Trump and his running mate – Sen. JD Vance of Ohio – held a rally at the same venue in Atlanta on Saturday, where the former president continued his relentless attacks and insults of Harris. In social media posts earlier on Saturday and at the rally, Trump charged Harris had a “low IQ” and was “dumb,” and accused her of lacking “mental capacity.” The Harris campaign, firing back on Sunday morning, claimed that Trump was “weak… struggling… panicking… and Donald Trump is running scared.” Harris has yet to sit for a major interview since taking over for Biden, and the Trump campaign is turning up the criticism. “Kamala Harris is too afraid to answer media questions and cannot lead us in these troubled times,” Vance charged in a social media post on Monday. Vance plans to tail Harris as part of the Trump campaign’s plan to bracket the vice president and her running mate on their initial swing state tour. Sources in the senator’s political orbit confirmed to Fox News that Vance will be in Philadelphia on Tuesday as the vice president kicks off her campaign swing. Harris will start the week by formally landing the party’s presidential nomination, as a virtual roll call run by the Democratic National Committee concludes at 6 p.m. ET. But there’s no drama, as the vice president was the only candidate to qualify for the roll call. The roll call kicked off on Thursday and DNC Chair Jaimie Harrison announced on Friday that Harris had clinched the nomination by winning the votes of a majority of delegates to the party’s nominating convention, which gets underway in two weeks in Chicago. While the past two weeks have been smoother than many expected, the Harris campaign is well aware there are still three months to go until the November election. Battleground states director Dan Kanninen emphasized that “it is the task of the Harris campaign to turn the unprecedented energy behind the Vice President into action.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Bulgaria faces another snap vote as latest bid to form new government fails
President of the Balkan nation expected to call for new vote after three parties fail to garner enough support to govern. Bulgaria is heading for its seventh parliamentary elections in three years after the last of three political parties tapped by President Rumen Radev to form a coalition government failed due to lack of support. The Balkan country has been plagued by revolving-door governments since anticorruption protests in 2020 helped topple a coalition led by the centre-right populist GERB party. The small populist ITN party, which was tasked with forming a new government by Radev a week ago, returned its mandate on Monday. In talks with other parties, it was unable to persuade 121 of the 240 lawmakers required to support the formation of a government. After a meeting with Radev, Toshko Yordanov, chairman of the ITN parliamentary group, told reporters on Monday that the parties were unable to find common ground on forming a new government. “The political wisdom of one party was not enough to make a decision, … so we return the mandate unfulfilled,” said Yordanov, whose party came sixth in the last elections held in June, winning just 16 seats in the 240-member parliament. Radev must now appoint a caretaker prime minister and has days to call another snap parliamentary election. “The spiral of inconclusive elections continues, … and [it] not only causes irritation but also unlocks a number of destructive processes,” Radev said. “I appeal for a meaningful political debate and fair play in the weeks ahead. Otherwise, we are doomed to repeat procedures that more and more people see as pointless,” he added. GERB, currently the largest party in parliament, and the reformist We Continue the Change (PP) had each failed to form a stable coalition after the inconclusive June 8 elections. They were triggered by the collapse in March of a coalition comprising GERB, which had held power for much of the previous 15 years, and the PP. GERB came first in the June vote, winning 68 seats, while the PP secured 39. Bulgaria, the European Union’s poorest member state and one of its most corrupt, needs a period of stable government to improve the flow of EU funds into its creaking infrastructure. Adblock test (Why?)
Timeline: Sheikh Hasina’s reign ends after 15 years
Hasina, known as the iron lady of Bangladesh, resigns and flees the country after weeks of deadly protests. Sheikh Hasina became Bangladesh prime minister for the first time after her Awami League party won the 1996 elections. Her second stint in power, which began in 2009, was marked by impressive economic growth. But she was accused of becoming a hardline leader and cracking down on dissent. Her 15-year rule is also known for human rights violations. The United States placed sanctions on the elite Rapid Action Battalion, linked to disappearances and extrajudicial killings. On Monday, following weeks of protests, the 76-year-old resigned and fled the country. Here’s a look at her time in office: December 29, 2008 – The Awami League wins the general election, and Hasina becomes prime minister for a second time. February 2009 – The Bangladesh Rifles, a paramilitary force, revolts. More than 74 people are killed. Hasina’s government manages to restore order. June 2011 – The 15th amendment to the constitution is passed. It brings significant changes, including removing neutral caretaker governments, which had governed during elections and government transitions. The opposition says keeping the caretaker system is essential for free and fair elections. February 2013 – Mass protests in Shahbagh, Dhaka, call for the death penalty for those who committed atrocities during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. October 2013 – The Rana Plaza building collapses, killing more than 1,000 people and highlighting the lack of safety in the garment industry, which is the mainstay of Bangladesh’s economy. January 5, 2014 – The Awami League wins the general election, which was boycotted by the main opposition party and its allies. Hasina wins a second straight term as prime minister. January 2015 – Political unrest and violence erupt stemming from the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s unmet demands after the 2014 elections. December 30, 2018 – The Awami League wins the general election amid vote-rigging allegations. Hasina secures a third consecutive term after winning 96 percent of the votes. March 2020 – Bangladesh’s economy suffers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A lockdown causes price rises, which lead to a cost of living crisis. December 2021 – The US imposes human rights-related sanctions on Bangladesh’s elite paramilitary force, the Rapid Action Battalion, and seven of its current and former officials, accusing them of involvement in hundreds of disappearances and extrajudicial killings since 2009. 2022 – Bangladesh reports gross domestic product growth of 7.2 percent, making it one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Garment exports and remittances drive the expansion. However, wealth disparities increase, and the wealthiest 10 percent of the population now controls 41 percent of the total income. January 2024 – Hasina wins a fourth straight term in elections boycotted by the opposition. July 2024 – Students launch protests against government job quotas, which reserve one-third of civil service posts for descendants of people who fought in the 1971 war for independence. The protests turn violent after a government crackdown and attacks by groups linked to the ruling party. July 29, 2004 – Protests resume and calls grow for Hasina’s resignation. August 4, 2004 – Nearly 100 people are killed during the protests, taking the total number of dead to almost 300. August 5, 2024 – Hasina resigns and flees the country. Protesters storm the prime minister’s residence. Adblock test (Why?)
Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina forced to resign: What happened and what’s next?
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has stepped down from office, ending 15 years of what the opposition says was “authoritarian rule” and sparking celebrations across the country. General Waker-uz-Zaman, the chief of army staff, said in a statement on Monday that an interim government will take over with immediate effect and asked citizens to keep their trust in the army. “I request you all to be a little patient, give us some time and together we will be able to solve all the problems,” Zaman said. “Please don’t go back to the path of violence, and please return to nonviolent and peaceful ways.” Hasina resigned after weeks of protests against quotas for government jobs flared into nationwide unrest. At least 280 people were killed and thousands injured as the government cracked down on the demonstrations. Hasina reportedly fled the country on Monday in a military helicopter to India, a strong ally of the former leader. Video reports by local news media, showed thousands of people storming the prime minister’s residence, chanting and singing in celebration as they ransacked it. Here’s the background that led up to the historic moment: What happened on Sunday? More than 90 people were killed on Sunday alone as clashes between security officials and demonstrators escalated and protesters called for Hasina to step down. Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas on a huge crowd of protesters in Shahbagh Square in the capital, Dhaka. Demonstrators in the northwestern district of Sirajganj also attacked a police station, killing at least 13 officers. Sunday saw the highest recorded single-day death toll since the protests broke out last month. Authorities imposed a “shoot-on-sight” curfew from 6pm (12:00 GMT) on Sunday and flooded the streets with police and military units to restore order. But thousands of people marched largely unrestrained early on Monday, defying the curfew, although there were reports of clashes outside the capital. However, as protesters started to hand flowers to the military about noon and as officers in turn embraced the demonstrators, it was clear that something had changed very quickly, Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chowdhury said, reporting from Dhaka. “People are relieved that this brutal crackdown is finally over. It is game over for Hasina.” What initially caused the protests? The demonstrations began in July in Dhaka and were initially led by students angry at a court’s reinstatement of a job quota scheme that was rescinded in 2018. The policy reserved 30 percent of government jobs for descendants of veterans who fought in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan – most of whom are linked to Hasina’s Awami League party, which led the independence movement. A further 26 percent of jobs were allocated to women, disabled people and ethnic minorities, leaving open about 3,000 positions for which 400,000 graduates compete in the civil services exam. A fifth of Bangladesh’s 170 million people are unemployed. Rallies against the quotas intensified after Hasina referred to the protesters as “Razakars”, which refers to people who collaborated with Pakistan during the 1971 war. From July 10 to July 20, more than 180 people were killed in some of the worst periods of unrest during Hasina’s 15-year tenure. Police said protesters vandalised property and torched government buildings, including a national television station. The Supreme Court rescinded the job quota policy on July 21, ruling that 93 percent of jobs would instead be open to candidates on merit. But the protests continued unabated as students and other citizens assembled in a new wave of rallies. They called for justice for those killed and pressed a new, singular demand – that Hasina step down. Hasina and members of her cabinet sounded defiant until the end, accusing opposition forces of fuelling the protests. On Sunday, Hasina called the protesters “terrorists”. Why was Hasina unpopular? The world’s longest serving female head of government, Hasina, 76, is the daughter of Bangladesh’s founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. She was first elected as prime minister in 1996 and again in 2009, serving a total of 20 years in office. Although Hasina won her fourth straight term in elections this year, she was accused of muzzling opposition forces and other forms of dissent, orchestrating disappearances and arranging extrajudicial killings. Hasina rejected the allegations. But as student protesters grew increasingly bold in July and chanted, “One, two, three, four, Sheikh Hasina is a dictator,” analysts speculated that Hasina would not be able to survive the biggest challenge to her rule. “A dictator has fallen,” political analyst Mubashar Hassan, who said he has lived in exile in Australia for years, told Al Jazeera on Monday as news of Hasina’s ouster broke and television visuals showed protesters in Dhaka climbing atop a large statue of Hasina’s father, chiselling away at the head with an axe. “This is an incredible moment. This is like a second independence of Bangladesh,” he said. “[Bangladesh has been] shackled by the tyranny of Sheikh Hasina and her regime. I couldn’t go back to Bangladesh since 2018, and hopefully, I’ll see my family soon.” Was deploying the army the tipping point? Hassan said the government’s decision to deploy the army against the protesters appeared to be the tipping point that collapsed Hasina’s rule. The army is largely perceived in Bangladesh as a neutral entity and is well-trusted and respected by most people. In 2008 when an electoral crisis threw the country into a political stalemate, the military stepped in and ensured that elections were held in December that year. As the latest protests escalated, the army was cautious in its statements and appeared to be neutral. But on Friday, former military personnel expressed support for the protests, criticising the decision to remove border patrol units to quell the demonstrations. Former army chief Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan even turned his Facebook profile picture red in a show of support, hinting at the general mood in the military. Another tipping point, Professor Naomi Hossain of the United Kingdom’s School of African and Oriental Studies said, was the fear that there
Flight AJAX1431: Details of Sheikh Hasina’s aircraft that helped her flew to India from Bangladesh
Bangladesh plunged into political turmoil as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country amid violent job quota protests.
‘Deeply disappointing’: Durbin calls on Austin to reinstate controversial plea deals for 9/11 terrorists
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., pleaded with Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to reinstate plea deals that were struck with three accused masterminds behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks after they were revoked last week. “I urge Secretary Austin to reverse this deeply disappointing decision, which denies finality and justice to 9/11 families and exposes yet again the lack of independence that has haunted the military commissions from the outset,” Durbin wrote on X. PHILADELPHIA MAYOR’S SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEO SPARKS SPECULATION OF LEAKED KAMALA HARRIS RUNNING MATE The Department of Defense initially revealed last week that pre-trial agreements were entered with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi. The details of the plea deals were not public, but it was reported that they involved the alleged terrorists each avoiding the death penalty, according to the New York Post. Relatives of 9/11 victims were reportedly told as much by the Office of Military Commissions (OMC). VP CONTENDER MARK KELLY DODGES QUESTIONS ON KAMALA HARRIS’ POLICY FLIP-FLOPS The news was followed by significant backlash, with family members of 9/11 victims reacting in fear. “You know, after seeing this, like, I’m so afraid we’re not going to get justice for my cousin and all the thousands killed that day and their families,” Joe Connor, whose cousin, Steve Schlag, was killed on 9/11 and whose father, Frank, was killed in the 1975 FALN terrorist attack on the Fraunces Tavern in New York City, told Fox News Digital. DEMS HIT AS ‘HYPOCRITICAL’ FOR FAILURE TO CRITICIZE BIDEN FOR SIMILAR OIL DEAL SLAMMED AS BAILOUT UNDER TRUMP “A slap in the face to America and her honored dead,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, described the deal. By Friday of last week, Austin announced he was withdrawing the plea agreements and relieving the official who had coordinated the deals under his authority. “I have determined that, in light of the significance of the decision to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused in the above-referenced case, responsibility for such a decision should rest with me as the superior convening authority under the Military Commissions Act of 2009,” Austin wrote in the order. “Effective immediately, I hereby withdraw your authority in the above-referenced case to enter into a pre-trial agreement and reserve such authority to myself. Effective immediately, in the exercise of my authority, I hereby withdraw from the three pre-trial agreements that you signed on July 31, 2024 in the above-referenced case,” Austin said. Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price, Louis Casiano, and Ashley Papa contributed to this report.
JD Vance to tail Kamala Harris and her running mate this week on campaign trail
As Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and her soon-to-be-announced running mate hit the campaign trail this week in all seven crucial battleground states, Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance will be close by. The first-term senator from Ohio, who is former President Trump’s running mate on the GOP national ticket, plans to tail Harris as part of the Trump campaign’s plan to bracket the vice president and her running mate on their initial swing state tour. Sources in the senator’s political orbit confirmed to Fox News that Vance will be in Philadelphia on Tuesday as the vice president kicks off her campaign swing. KAMALA HARRIS FACES A CRUCIAL WEEK AHEAD AS SHE GETS READY TO UNVEIL HER RUNNING MATE The senator is expected to use his stops, which are being described as media availabilities rather than rallies, to take aim at Harris over the key issues of inflation, border security and crime, which Republicans view as the vice president’s political Achilles’ heel. The Vance events, which were first reported by Politico earlier on Monday, are also expected to feature “everyday Americans” who have been negatively impacted by President Biden’s policies. HARRIS LAPS TRUMP IN CASH DASH THANKS TO FUNDRAISING SURGE Vance is expected to stay close to Harris and her running mate as the Democratic ticket holds rallies Wednesday in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and Detroit, Michigan, and on Thursday in Raleigh, North Carolina. Later in the week, Harris and her running mate will also hold rallies in Georgia, Arizona and Nevada. The bracketing of Harris by Vance comes as the senator increasingly fits into the role of the GOP ticket’s attack dog, as well as a key ambassador to the top-dollar Republican donor class. But Trump, who has a history of practicing in-your-face politics, has had no problem taking direct aim at Harris in the two weeks since she replaced Biden at the top of the Democrats’ ticket. In social media posts this past weekend and at the rally with Vance in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, Trump charged that the vice president had a “low IQ” and was “dumb,” and accused her of lacking “mental capacity.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
‘Squad’ Dems to rally for Cori Bush as she fights for her political life
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., is getting a boost from her allies in the House’s left-wing “Squad” on Monday, as her anti-Israel comments have her fighting for her political life in this week’s primary elections. “We have just ONE DAY ahead of us before primary Election Day. Come join Cori & some very special guests on Election Day eve to rally together and get out the vote!” Bush’s campaign wrote on Instagram announcing the event. It’s a virtual rally to be held on Zoom at 5 p.m. Eastern Time alongside Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and Summer Lee, D-Pa. THIS HOUSE DEMOCRAT BECOMES THE FIRST SQUAD MEMBER DEFEATED IN A PRIMARY Bowman’s appearance comes after he lost his own primary re-election bid to a more moderate, pro-Israel Democrat, Westchester County Executive George Latimer. Bush has been viewed as the second-most embattled Squad member after Bowman, with pro-Israel groups actively campaigning against both progressive leftists. The two-term progressive Democrat is one of Congress’ harshest critics of Israel and its operation in Gaza. She has accused Israel’s government of waging a genocide on Palestinians and consistently voted against emergency funding for the Middle Eastern ally. AOC EASILY WINS DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY It has earned her opposition from within her own party, with the group Democratic Majority for Israel backing her opponent, Wesley Bell. He has also got the support of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a bipartisan pro-Israel lobbying group. Tlaib, one of the Bush allies rallying for her Monday night, is Israel’s most outspoken critic in the House, having been censured over her verbal attacks against the Middle Eastern country. She also held up a sign accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being a “war criminal” during his speech to Congress last month. Bell, Bush’s opponent, is prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County. He’s leaned to the center with his campaign, contrasting with the Democratic incumbent’s progressive policies. DEMOCRAT CHALLENGER SLAMS BOWMAN’S ‘THEATER OF CONFLICT,’ SAYS PROFANITY-LACED RALLY JEOPARDIZES PARTY ‘UNITY’ She and her allies have sought to paint him as a right-wing operator, however, citing his past volunteer work for anti-abortion conservative Mark J. Byrne. CLICK HERE TO GET FOX NEWS APP Bush is also going into Tuesday with the backing of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and his top two deputies. Bell was endorsed by the editorial board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, one of the district’s largest newspapers, late last month.
‘Serious loophole’: GOP widens probe into ActBlue, Dem fundraising platform helping Harris raise millions
FIRST ON FOX: A key House committee is widening its probe into the major Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., who chairs the Committee on House Administration, is investigating ActBlue over accusations it’s skirting campaign donation laws that allow for rampant fraud on the site. In a letter sent to top officials on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Monday, Steil urged them to “immediately initiate an emergency rulemaking to require political campaigns to verify the card verification value (‘CVV’) of donors who contribute online using a credit or debit card, and to prohibit political campaigns from accepting online contributions from a gift card or other prepaid credit cards.” Republicans on the committee and other GOP officials have for months accused ActBlue of lax donor verification standards. IN SHOWDOWN WITH TRUMP, DEMOCRATS MOVE TO MAKE HARRIS NOMINATION OFFICIAL “Following widespread allegations of fraudulent donations being reported to the FEC by ActBlue, one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country, this emergency rulemaking is necessary to reassure the American people that ActBlue is taking the necessary steps to protect its donors,” Steil wrote. According to his committee, whistleblowers who approached the panel in recent weeks have accused ActBlue of deliberately not using CVV numbers for donations to reduce the bar for verification. Whistleblowers have also reported the receipt of a significant number of donations from retirees living on a fixed income, and hundreds of donations of $2.50 from the same individual, according to the committee. The site has been used to raise millions of dollars for Vice President Kamala Harris as she seeks to take on former President Trump in November. As of Monday morning, however, a CVV number was required on the page accepting credit card donations for the vice president. HARRIS LEANS IN ON BORDER SECURITY AND TRUMP RELISHES THE FIGHT A CVV number was also required for credit card donations to several Democratic House candidates’ ActBlue pages checked by Fox News Digital, though donations were also accepted via Paypal, Venmo and Google Pay, which did not require the user to input such information. As of spring last year, however, the FEC did not impose specific rules requiring CVV numbers for online political donations. Steil’s letter also argued that the site’s acceptance of prepaid credit cards and gift cards fueled a “very real possibility that straw donors are making campaign donations with funds provided by another person or an unlawful donor including a foreign national. These issues present a serious loophole to the transparency and integrity of the campaign donation process, and an emergency rulemaking is required to rectify these issues.” The committee said whistleblowers have also claimed prepaid gift cards and credit cards are being used to launder campaign contributions that would otherwise violate campaign finance laws. 2024 AD WARS: TRUMP, HARRIS RACE TO DEFINE VICE PRESIDENT It comes after similar investigations were launched by the GOP attorneys general of Virginia, Wyoming and Missouri last week. ActBlue told Newsweek in response to those probes, “This investigation is nothing more than a partisan political attack and scare tactic to undermine the power of Democratic and progressive small-dollar donors. We welcome the opportunity to respond to these frivolous claims.” The FEC declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital. ActBlue and the Harris campaign did not respond to requests for comment.