Letitia James reaps what she sows after leveling ‘laughable’ case at Trump: expert
The Trump administration’s criminal referral targeting New York Attorney General Letitia James for reported mortgage fraud likely never would have unfolded if not for the Democrat’s years of targeting the president in court, a New York City real estate attorney and expert told Fox News Digital. “To be perfectly frank, this is a retaliatory case brought by the president for what the attorney general did to him over the last several years,” New York City attorney Pierre Debbas, partner and founding member of real estate law firm Romer Debbas, told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview Thursday morning. “Both cases, quite honestly, are very weak cases. “The attorney general’s case that was brought against Donald Trump was honestly a pure manipulation of the legal system, and it was laughable,” he continued, referring to the civil fraud case she brought against Trump. “Something that’s never taken place in the history of New York that was isolated at one particular person for a politically driven purpose. “Now, on the flip side, this serves the same purpose, right? This is the president’s way of seeking retaliation against the attorney general for something that, in reality, is, while it’s considered mortgage fraud, it’s not criminal,” he continued. “And it’s not something that would have been brought upon had the attorney general not pursued a similar case with low merit against the president a few years back.” TRUMP ADMINISTRATION REFERS NY AG LETITIA JAMES FOR POSSIBLE PROSECUTION OVER ALLEGATIONS OF MORTGAGE FRAUD The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), an independent federal agency that oversees Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank System, sent a criminal referral to the Department of Justice Monday arguing the attorney general appeared to have falsified mortgage records to obtain more favorable loans. At the heart of the case is a Norfolk, Virginia, home James purchased in 2023, which she identified on mortgage documents and a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac form as a property that would serve as her primary residence, according to the FHFA letter dated Monday. James is legally required to live in New York as a statewide elected official in the Empire State, the letter adds. Identifying a home as a primary residence versus a secondary home or vacation home comes with financial incentives, Debbas explained, because banks will offer lower interest rates to primary residences, with homeowners less likely to default on such loans compared to a second home. “As a real estate attorney, we represent every major lending institution in the country,” he said. “And a common underwriting requirement for banks is to solidify what the use of the property is going to be, meaning, is it a primary residence, second home or investment property. “And the reason banks do that is that clearly there’s a higher rate of default when it comes to investment properties and second homes as opposed to primary residences.” “The reason being is people, you know, don’t want to leave their homes,” he said. “Now, a second home investment property, you may be a little more inclined to throw the keys to the bank.” COURT NAMES NEW JUDGE IN TRUMP CIVIL FRAUD CASE BEFORE REASSIGNING PREVIOUS JUDGE HOURS LATER The bank then requires the borrower to sign an affidavit confirming that the home being acquired will be used as a primary residence, he explained. “Now, if that is not the intent or that is in fact inaccurate, and you sign that agreement, you are in fact committing mortgage fraud,” he said. “And the bank relies on that agreement in giving you the loan. Now, would they have given you a loan if it were a second home? Potentially, but the difference is the interest rate would be significantly higher.” The bank’s recourse when discovering such mortgage fraud related to misidentifying a property as a primary residence to obtain more favorable loan terms is “simply to call the loan,” he said. “They would call the loan, force you to pay it off by a certain date,” he said. “If you’re unable to sell the property or take other liquidity that you have to pay off the loan, they have the right to pursue a foreclosure action. They’d be legally granted this right. It would be very difficult to contest under those circumstances because, technically speaking, this is a default and this is fraud.” The New York City real estate attorney added that this type of fraud is common. LONGTIME TRUMP FOE LETITIA JAMES REVIEWING POSSIBLE INSIDER TRADING OVER PRESIDENT’S TARIFF PAUSE “What extent is it fraud? To be quite honest with you, this is a very common thing that does take place in the real estate market,” he said. “I’m not saying it’s right. I’m not saying Letitia James … the full extent of the law shouldn’t be applied to her. But it is something that takes place. Because if the loan is current, the bank hasn’t really suffered any detriment, but it’s still mortgage fraud. So that doesn’t take away the fraud component to this.” Debbas argued this type of fraud does not rise to the level of criminal activity because the bank can call the loan, take back the property or force it to be liquidated. James’ office told The New York Times that a separate loan application for the 2023 Norfolk, Virginia, home purchase reportedly indicated she would not live at the property full time, and that her mortgage agreement did not require her to occupy the property as her primary residence. James is a longtime political foe of Trump’s who campaigned for the attorney general job in 2018 by vowing to aggressively pursue legal charges against Trump if elected, adding she’d expose the “con man” after her win that year. Her office leveled nearly 100 legal challenges against the first Trump administration and added after his second presidential win in 2024 that she would continue challenging him in the courts to “defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law.” NY AG
Fox News Politics Newsletter: DNC official sparks Dem civil war
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… –Supreme Court sets May date to hear oral arguments in birthright citizenship case -Conservatives sound alarm over Trump admin’s REAL ID rollout –Veteran suicide crisis targeted in VA bill by bipartisan House coalition A move by a top Democratic Party official to spend millions of dollars through his outside political group to primary-challenge some older Democrats in blue districts is further igniting intra-party tensions that have rocked the party since President Donald Trump’s convincing election last November. The reverberations started instantly after Leaders We Deserve, a political organization led by recently elected Democratic National Committee (DNC) vice chair David Hogg, announced on Wednesday that it will spend $20 million to help elect younger Democrats. The effort includes supporting primary challengers to House Democrats in safe seats that Hogg argues “are asleep at the wheel.” The move by the 25-year-old Hogg, a survivor of the horrific shooting seven years ago at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in south Florida, to spend money against fellow Democrats is seen as an unprecedented action by a DNC official…Read more DECLASSIFIED: Gabbard declassifies Biden domestic counterterrorism plan CUTTING AMERICORPS: Trump admin guts AmeriCorps, Clinton-era volunteer agency that failed 8 consecutive audits OUT OF ORDER: Trump admin seeks emergency relief of Boasberg contempt threat ‘RUMORS ARE TRUE’: CAIR panelist accuses Trump admin of using AI and antisemitism against free speech LOCKED DOWN: Trump says ‘100 percent’ chance US will strike trade deal with Europe as Italy PM visits Washington ‘ARM UKRAINE TO THE MAX’: Republican uses George Washington, American Revolution to reject notion Ukraine should surrender to Russia BIGGEST US THREAT EVER?: CIA director says China is #1 priority, poses biggest challenge from adversary in US history DEPORTATION DOMINOES: More Dems work to join Sen. Van Hollen in El Salvador to push for alleged gang member’s return to US RACE TO WATCH: Fierce Israel critic launches Senate bid in Michigan high-stakes 2026 midterm race ‘CHAMPAGNE SOCIALISTS’: ‘Champagne socialists’ Sanders and AOC flying private on ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour TROLLING TRUMP: Pence urges Republicans to hold the line on tax hikes for the rich as Trump weighs options WHAT IS A WOMAN?: LGBTQ Christians invoke ‘righteous rage’ at Capitol during Holy Week ‘UNDERREPORTED’: Texas measles cases are underreported, response hurt by funding cuts, CDC scientist says Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
House Republicans refuse to pass ceremonial resolution honoring Cecile Richards
Normally, memorial resolutions to honor Texans who have died are passed without controversy. But the resolution for Richards, a former president of Planned Parenthood who died this year, sparked a cascade of outrage from conservatives.
Appeals court denies DOJ bid to block return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador prison
A federal appeals court on Thursday denied the Trump administration‘s emergency request to block a judge’s order requiring the U.S. government to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador with a violent criminal history and alleged gang ties, who was deported to the El Salvadoran mega prison “Terrorism Confinement Center” (CECOT) last month. The ruling allows the lower court’s order to move forward for now. The case involves Garcia, a “Maryland man” who was deported but whose return was ordered by a district judge after a recent Supreme Court decision. The Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to lift a judge’s order to “facilitate” Garcia’s return from CECOT, but the court on Thursday rejected the request. The three-judge panel included Judge Harvie Wilkinson, appointed by President Ronald Reagan, along with Judges Robert King and Stephanie Thacker, appointed by Presidents Clinton and Obama, respectively. ‘MARYLAND MAN’ KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA EXPOSED IN POLICE RECORDS AS ‘VIOLENT’ REPEAT WIFE BEATER In the court’s opinion, Wilkinson repeatedly referred to Garcia as a “resident,” even though Garcia is not a lawful U.S. resident. “The government is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process that is the foundation of our constitutional order,” Wilkinson wrote. “This should be shocking not only to judges, but to the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from courthouses still hold dear.” KRISTI NOEM CRITICIZES ‘LIBERAL LEFT’ FOR TURNING ACCUSED GANG MEMBER INTO ‘MEDIA DARLING’ Court documents and police records show Garcia has a history of domestic violence, including repeated physical abuse against his wife. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has also identified him as a member of the MS-13 gang, using the street name “Chele.” The court said the DOJ’s request was “extraordinary and premature” and that it would not interfere with the district judge’s efforts to carry out the Supreme Court’s decision. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Garcia would not be allowed back into the U.S. unless El Salvador were to decide otherwise. “He is not coming back to our country.” The DOJ did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Trump: Jimmy Carter died a happy man because Biden holds title for ‘worst’ president in history
President Donald Trump said the late President Jimmy Carter could die peacefully knowing he wasn’t the worst U.S. president because that title belongs to former President Joe Biden. Trump issued the remarks to reporters during a press conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who visited the White House on behalf of European nations to assist in brokering a trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union. “Worst administration in the history of our country,” Trump said on Thursday. “Worse than Jimmy Carter. Jimmy Carter died a happy man. You know why? Because he wasn‘t the worst. President Joe Biden was.” CRITICS PILE ON BIDEN FOLLOWING ABC INTERVIEW, BLAST HIS REFUSAL TO COMMIT TO COGNITIVE TEST: ‘DISQUALIFYING’ Trump has routinely railed against Biden and the former president’s mental fitness, and the remarks coincide with multiple books detailing Biden’s cognitive function while in office. One White House aide said that staff isolated Biden and allowed his faculties to “atrophy” in the book, “Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History.” It was released on April 8. A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Trump’s comments come days after Biden slammed the Trump administration for creating so much “damage” during the early days of the administration. EX-BIDEN AIDE SAYS FORMER PRESIDENT WAS ‘FATIGUED, BEFUDDLED, AND DISENGAGED’ PRIOR TO JUNE DEBATE: BOOK “Fewer than 100 days, this administration has done so much damage and so much destruction. It’s kind of breathtaking it could happen that soon,” Biden said in his first public speech post-presidency on Tuesday. Biden delivered the speech during a disability advocacy conference in Chicago. On Thursday, Trump and Meloni said they were confident the U.S. and Europe could hash out a trade deal. Trump unveiled 20% tariffs on European Union goods coming into the U.S. on April 2, but he announced on April 9 the tariffs would remain at 10% for 90 days to allow the U.S. and the EU to strike a deal. “There will be a trade deal, 100%,” Trump told reporters. “Of course there will be a trade deal, they want to make one very much, and we’re going to make a trade deal. I fully expect it, but it’ll be a fair deal.”
PHOTOS: GOP delegation provides inside look at controversial El Salvador prison housing U.S. deportees
After visiting the controversial Salvadoran mega-prison known as the Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT), freshman Congressman Riley Moore, R-W.Va., says he is “even more determined” to support the president’s efforts to secure the U.S. from criminal illegal aliens. This comes as the Trump administration’s scheme of sending the “worst of the worst” migrant gang members to CECOT has caused national controversy, with some outraged Democrats accusing President Donald Trump of “kidnapping” people for deportation. Moore said that while at CECOT he came face to face with some of the country’s “most brutal criminals, including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and terrorists,” and “extremely violent criminals recently deported from the U.S.” After his visit to El Salvador, he said: “I leave now even more determined to support President Trump’s efforts to secure our homeland.” ‘MARYLAND MAN’ KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA EXPOSED IN POLICE RECORDS AS ‘VIOLENT’ REPEAT WIFE BEATER Moore told Fox News Digital he visited the prison with a congressional delegation led by House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo. The delegation toured the prison this week and spoke with several inmates. “These are dangerous individuals,” he said. “We had several of them tell us, and they were not afraid to share it, [that] they are killers and committed homicides.” “It’s not something that it seems that they regret one way or the other, from what I could glean from it,” he explained. While touring the prison, Moore said he spoke with two deportees from the U.S., both of whom were originally from El Salvador and had been deported from Virginia and California. He said one had been in the U.S. for 20 years and was a high-ranking member of the brutal gang MS-13. According to Moore, both deportees “were not afraid to admit” that they had killed people. TOM HOMAN ‘DISGUSTED’ BY DEM SENATOR’S TRIP TO BRING HOME ALLEGED MS-13 GANG MEMBER He said there is a lot of misinformation about the prison, leading the American public to believe that it is a kind of “death camp” for deportees. “That is not true,” he said, pointing out that of approximately 14,000 inmates in CECOT, only a few hundred were deported from the United States. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “They are in austere conditions in that prison, there’s no doubt about that,” he explained, adding, “to be clear, they don’t have the death penalty in El Salvador.” That being said, Moore said the impact of CECOT and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s crackdown on gang crime has been “miraculous” for the people of El Salvador. BUKELE SAYS TRUMP HAS 350 MILLION AMERICANS TO ‘LIBERATE’ BY ENDING CRIME, TERRORISM He said he spoke with ordinary people on the streets of El Salvador’s capital city, San Salvador, who told him that “they were living in a terror state, being terrorized by these gangs and controlling their lives and taking their lives many times.” Now, he said, “they have their lives back.” That is why Moore’s resolve to support the Trump administration’s crackdown on gang terrorism is stronger than ever. “It is very tragic that all of these young people have just thrown their lives away because they decided to basically not only destroy themselves, to destroy their own country and community and people’s lives… It’s hard to really wrap your mind around,” he said. “[But] the fundamental building block of any nation state is security. If you don’t have security, you can’t have economic opportunities, civil society, justice, any of those things. The bedrock of it is security. That has to be provided.”
Held without justice: A look inside Israeli prisons
Amid continued Israeli assault on Gaza, Palestinians mark Prisoners’ Day with thousands still in jail. As Israel continues its assault on Gaza and military raids in the occupied West Bank, thousands of Palestinians – including children – remain in Israeli prisons, many without charge. It’s not a new phenomenon, with more than 800,000 Palestinians detained by Israel since the occupation began in 1967. On the 51st Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, we speak to a former prisoner about his experience. Adblock test (Why?)
Saudi defence minister visits Tehran before Iran-US talks
Saudi Arabia’s Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman has met several Iranian officials before a second round of talks between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear programme. Prince Khalid said he conveyed a message from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during Thursday’s meeting in Tehran. “We discussed our bilateral relations and topics of mutual interest,” he wrote on X. “Our belief is that the relationship between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia is beneficial for both countries,” Iranian state media cited Khamenei as saying in the meeting on Thursday. Prince Khalid also met President Masoud Pezeshkian and Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, Mohammad Bagheri. “Ties between the Saudi and Iranian armed forces have been improving since the Beijing agreement,” Bagheri said after the meeting, according to Iranian state media. Saudi Arabia has welcomed Iran’s nuclear talks with the US, saying it supported efforts to resolve regional and international disputes. Advertisement Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed in a 2023 deal brokered by China to re-establish relations after years of hostility that had threatened stability and security in the Gulf region and helped fuel conflicts in the Middle East from Yemen to Syria. ‘Crucial stage’ The Saudi defence minister’s trip coincided with a visit to Iran by the UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi, who warned that the US and Iran were running out of time to reach a deal. Iranian and US delegations are set to gather in Rome on Saturday for a second round of Omani-mediated negotiations, a week after the longtime foes held their highest-level talks since US President Donald Trump abandoned a landmark nuclear accord during his first term in 2018. Since re-entering the White House in January, Trump has revived his so-called “maximum pressure” policy imposing punishing economic sanctions against Iran and threatened military action if Tehran does not agree to a deal. “We are in a very crucial stage of these important negotiations. We know we don’t have much time, this is why I am here … to facilitate this process,” Grossi said on Thursday. “We are working hard and we want to succeed,” he told a joint news conference with Iran’s atomic energy agency chief Mohammad Eslami, acknowledging that the effort to secure a deal was “not an easy process”. Asked about US President Donald Trump’s threats to attack Iran, Grossi urged people to “concentrate on our objective.” “Once we get to our objective, all of these things will evaporate because there will be no reason for concern,” he said. Advertisement In March, Trump sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urging talks and warning of possible military action if Iran refused. Khamenei has cautioned that while the talks with the United States had started well, they could yet prove fruitless. “The negotiations may or may not yield results,” he said on Tuesday. Western governments have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons capability, an ambition Tehran has consistently denied. Since the nuclear deal’s collapse in 2018, Iran has abandoned all limits on its programme, and enriches uranium to up to 60 percent purity, near weapons-grade levels of 90 percent. Surveillance cameras installed by the IAEA have been disrupted, while Iran has barred some of the Vienna-based agency’s most experienced inspectors. But despite the tensions between Iran and the agency, its access has not been entirely revoked. Adblock test (Why?)
Who will win the US-China trade war?
US-China trade war escalates with huge stakes for the economies of both nations and the rest of the world. The US and China are locked in a fast-moving trade war. It’s a game of brinkmanship.Tariffs on both sides are now so high that commerce between them is effectively about to cease.If it escalates into a full economic break, the consequences will hurt both economies and will send shockwaves worldwide.But, if he wants to negotiate, Donald Trump might have to bargain alone.China is seeking to win allies elsewhere, in Europe and Southeast Asia, where many nations also face punitive Trump tariffs. And Trump’s tariffs on Chinese tech products. Plus, a global deal to cut shipping emissions. Adblock test (Why?)
Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in birthright citizenship case
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next month in the case challenging President Donald Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship, in what is likely to be one of the most highly anticipated cases to be reviewed by the high court since Trump took office. The justices said Thursday that they would hear arguments on the consolidated cases on May 15, roughly four weeks from now. The Trump administration in March asked the Supreme Court to intervene and allow a narrow version of the president’s executive order ending birthright citizenship to proceed. Trump signed the order on his first day in office and was immediately met with a flurry of lawsuits across the country. The administration’s appeal concerns three nationwide injunctions brought in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state. TRUMP ADMIN APPEALS RULING BLOCKING BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP All three states had issued nationwide injunctions blocking the birthright citizenship ban from taking force – a move that lawyers for the Trump administration argued in their Supreme Court filing was overly broad. Acting U.S. Solicitor General Sarah Harris asked the justices to limit the scope of the rulings to cover only individuals directly impacted by the relevant courts. “These cases – which involve challenges to the President’s January 20, 2025 Executive Order concerning birthright citizenship – raise important constitutional questions with major ramifications for securing the border,” Harris wrote in their appeal. To date, no court has sided with the Trump administration’s executive order seeking to ban birthright citizenship, though multiple district courts have blocked it from taking effect. NINTH CIRCUIT REJECTS TRUMP’S BID TO REINSTATE BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ORDER Implementation of Trump’s executive order was initially set for Feb. 19. The policy would have affected hundreds of thousands of children born in the U.S. each year. The order sought to reinterpret the 14th Amendment, which states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” Under the Trump administration’s proposed interpretation – later blocked by federal courts – children born to illegal immigrants or to those who were here legally but on temporary non-immigrant visas, are not citizens by birthright. More than 22 U.S. states and immigrants’ rights groups quickly sued the Trump administration to block the change to birthright citizenship, arguing in court filings that the executive order is both unconstitutional and “unprecedented.” The states have also argued that the 14th Amendment does, in fact, guarantee citizenship to persons born on U.S. soil and naturalized in the U.S. The U.S. is one of roughly 30 countries where birthright citizenship applies.