Mamdani reportedly eyeing former ‘Squad’ member for top position despite controversial track record
New York City socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is reportedly considering former Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman as his choice to lead the city’s schools despite Bowman’s controversial track record on a variety of issues. Bowman could become the New York City Chancellor of Schools if Mamdani were to become mayor in November, in a position where he will oversee more than 1,000 schools with almost a million students, the New York Post reported last month. Bowman, a progressive Democrat and former member of “The Squad” in Congress, once called standardized testing in public schools a “form of modern-day slavery” when he was serving as a Bronx public school principal in 2015. “Slavery, Jim Crow, redlining, crack cocaine and now standardized testing were all … designed to destroy the mind, body and soul of black and brown people,” Bowman said. FLASHBACK: ZOHRAN MAMDANI SAYS ‘ISRAEL IS NOT A PLACE’ AND ‘NOT A COUNTRY’ According to a New York Post report on Friday, Bowman operated a radical public school without a license for about two years. Bowman, who gained national notoriety in 2023 for pulling a fire alarm in Congress in the middle of a dramatic House floor vote which led to him being censured, has drawn heated criticism in recent years for controversial anti-Israel comments. ‘DAMAGE CONTROL’: MAMDANI’S ‘BLATANT FLIP-FLOP’ ON DEFUNDING POLICE RIPPED AS ‘POLITICAL THEATRE’ Bowman has defended the pro-Palestine chant “From the river to the sea,” which many in the Jewish community view as a call to eradicate Israel. He has been a staunch critic of Israel, especially since the start of its ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza. Last year, he attended a fundraiser co-hosted by an Islamic leader who said he was “happy to see” the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians. Bowman was also forced to apologize for denying that Hamas had raped women and committed other atrocities during the terror group’s Oct. 7 massacre in Israel. Bowman sparked outrage from Jewish groups in 2024 for defending a mural of Louis Farrakhan, who has infamously made disparaging comments about Jews, including calling them “the synagogue of Satan” and “termites.” He also came under fire that same year when an unearthed video showed him honoring a radical Black activist and convicted murderer during a special project at a New York City middle school while serving as its principal before being elected to Congress. A 2014 video centered on Cornerstone Academy for Social Action Middle School’s (CASA) then-“Wall of Action” project shows Bowman praising various historical Black and Latino figures being honored on the wall, including Assata Shakur, who was convicted in the 1973 killing of a New Jersey state trooper. Bowman referred to the people on the wall as “tremendous, tremendous figures.” Shakur, whose real name is JoAnne Chesimard, was a member of the Black nationalist group Black Liberation Army and was serving a life sentence for the fatal shooting of the officer before escaping from prison in 1979 with the help of Mutulu Shakur, another radical Black activist praised by Bowman in the video. She fled to Cuba, where she remains a wanted domestic terrorist today. Mamdani has faced criticism for numerous anti-Israel positions of his own dating back to his college days when he called for academic sanctions against Israel. He has often spoken out in favor of BDS, sanctions against Israel that Influence Watch describes as “an international campaign to delegitimize the State of Israel as the expression of the Jewish people’s right to national self-determination by isolating the country economically through consumer boycotts, business and government withdrawal of investment, and legal sanctions.” Mamdani has also faced criticism for refusing to condemn the phrase “Globalize the intifada,” and Fox News Digital reported this week that Mamdani had said in 2023 that Israel is “not a place” and “not a country.” Mamdani’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. “I am not thinking about any of that,” Bowman told the New York Post in early July about the possible appointment. “I want to help my brother get elected. I am exceptional in compartmentalizing. Right now, I want to help Zohran win the general election.” Fox News’ Brandon Gillespie contributed reporting.
Trump moves nuclear submarines weeks after praising sub’s power in Iran strikes
President Donald Trump unveiled plans Friday to reposition two nuclear submarines as he and Russia’s former president sparred over Trump’s increased pressure on Moscow to end the war with Ukraine. After Trump announced a new deadline for Russia to end the conflict with Ukraine in early August, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that the announcement is an additional “step towards war.” “Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social Friday. MEDVEDEV WARNS THAT TRUMP’S NEW DEADLINE TO END RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT IS A ‘STEP TOWARDS WAR’ The announcement comes just weeks after Trump praised the contributions of a guided-missile submarine involved in the strikes against Iran, which launched more than two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles at key Iranian targets, officials said. “By the way, if anyone thinks our ‘hardware’ was great over the weekend, far and away the strongest and best equipment we have, 20 years advanced over the pack, is our Nuclear Submarines,” Trump said June 23 in a Truth Social post. “They are the most powerful and lethal weapons ever built, and just launched the 30 Tomahawks — All 30 hit their mark perfectly. So, in addition to our Great Fighter Pilots, thank you to the Captain and Crew!” The mission, which targeted Iranian nuclear facilities Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, also involved more than 125 U.S. aircraft, including B-2 stealth bombers, according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. TRUMP ATTACKS IRAN NUCLEAR SITES: ARE OUR TROOPS IN DANGER FROM RETALIATORY STRIKES? Caine did not disclose the name of the submarine that was involved in the Iran strikes. However, he said that a “guided-missile submarine” was involved. Four of the U.S. Navy’s Ohio-class submarines were converted into guided-missile submarines to accommodate conventional land attacks, as well as Special Operations Forces platforms. These submarines are the Ohio, Florida, Michigan and Georgia, according to the U.S. Navy. All U.S. Navy submarines are nuclear-powered, and Trump did not disclose additional details surrounding the submarines that would be repositioned amid increased tension with Russia. It is incredibly rare for defense officials to comment or reveal the locations of submarines, given the highly classified nature of their deployments and movements. Trump initially announced on July 14 that he would sign off on “severe tariffs” against Russia if Moscow were to fail to agree to a peace deal within 50 days. However, Trump said Monday that waiting that period of time was pointless as negotiations have continued to drag on for months. “I’m going to make a new deadline, of about 10 — 10 or 12 days from today,” Trump told reporters in Scotland Monday. “There’s no reason for waiting. It was 50 days. I wanted to be generous, but we just don’t see any progress being made.” RUSSIAN LEADER CLAIMS MULTIPLE COUNTRIES PREPPED TO PROVIDE IRAN NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOLLOWING US STRIKES In response, Medvedev, now the deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, accused Trump of playing the “ultimatum game.” “Trump’s playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10 … He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country,” Medvedev said in a post on X on Monday. Trump’s new deadline comes amid heightened frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid stalled progress toward peace between Russia and Ukraine, and just days after Russia launched more than 300 drones, four cruise missiles and three ballistic missiles into Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian air force.
Comer OKs delay for Ghislaine Maxwell’s congressional testimony, denies immunity request
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is delaying Ghislaine Maxwell’s planned deposition until after the Supreme Court weighs her request to overturn her conviction, according to a letter obtained by Fox News Digital. Committee investigators were set to travel to a Tallahassee prison for an Aug. 11 sit-down with Maxwell after lawmakers voted to subpoena her over her close ties to late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. In a letter sent to Comer earlier this week, Maxwell’s lawyer claimed she “did not receive a fair trial” and petitioned to delay the deposition date until after her case before the Supreme Court was resolved. “On July 30, the U.S. Supreme Court noticed that your petition for writ of certiorari will be considered at its conference on September 29. In light of this notice, the Committee is willing to delay your deposition until a date following the Court’s certiorari determination,” Comer wrote on Friday. COMER DISMISSES BIDEN DOCTOR’S BID FOR PAUSE IN COVER-UP PROBE: ‘THROWING OUT EVERY EXCUSE’ According to the Kentucky Republican’s letter, Maxwell’s lawyer warned she would invoke the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering any questions unless certain conditions were met. “These conditions include: (1) a grant of immunity, (2) the deposition occurring outside of FCI Tallahassee, (3) access to the Committee’s questions in advance, and (4) the conclusion of your recent appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and potential future habeas petition,” Comer wrote. He denied her requests for congressional immunity and to get the questions in advance, but wrote the committee would continue to “engage in good faith negotiations.” Comer also vowed the committee would honor its “long-standing practice of engaging in forthright and detailed discussions about scoping.” The subpoena was issued to Maxwell after a unanimous vote by both Republicans and Democrats on the committee in late July. The motion to subpoena Maxwell was offered by Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn. “Your testimony is vital to the Committee’s efforts regarding Mr. Jeffrey Epstein, including the 2007 non-prosecution agreement and the circumstances surrounding Mr. Epstein’s death,” Comer wrote. “These investigative efforts may be used to inform potential legislation to improve federal efforts to combat sex trafficking and reform the use of non-prosecution agreements and/or plea agreements in sex-crime investigations.” The letter comes hours after Fox News learned Maxwell had been transferred from Florida to a federal prison camp in Bryan, Texas. GOP LAWMAKERS CLASH OVER STRATEGY TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CRISIS Congressional investigators are looking to speak with Maxwell over her longstanding close ties to Epstein, who was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges when he died by suicide at a jail in New York City in 2019. Maxwell herself was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2022 “for her role in a scheme to sexual exploit and abuse multiple minor girls with Jeffrey Epstein over the course of a decade,” according to a press release by the Southern District of New York. In the delay request, Maxwell’s attorney argued that “Any testimony she provides now could compromise her constitutional rights, prejudice her legal claims, and potentially taint a future jury pool.” Maxwell had already met with federal investigators last week when Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche sat down with her in Tallahassee at the direction of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. Bondi said in a statement announcing the meeting, “President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislaine Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say.” Maxwell’s lawyers told Fox News in response to Comer’s letter, “We acknowledge Chairman Comer’s letter and appreciate the Committee’s willingness to delay Ms. Maxwell’s deposition while her case is pending before the Supreme Court. We will continue to engage with Congress in good faith to find a way for Ms. Maxwell to share her information without compromising her constitutional right.”
Recess on ice as Republicans hunker down for high-stakes nominee blitz
Senate Republicans are still trying to hash out a deal with their Democratic counterparts to push through a package of President Donald Trump’s nominees as their scheduled departure from Washington has come and gone. Republicans are under pressure from the White House, and their own members, to find a path forward, but Senate Democrats have largely dug their heels into the dirt in opposition in a bid to slow down the confirmation process. Lawmakers are still in town hammering toward a deal, while growing frustrations and weariness simmer in the upper chamber. SENATE GOP EYES RULES REVOLT AS DEMS STONEWALL TRUMP NOMINEES Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., appeared more upbeat about the state of affairs, despite rumblings that negotiations were faltering. “Democrats aren’t negotiating with us, we’re negotiating among ourselves,” he told Fox News Digital. “I think we found, I think we may have found a landing spot.” Underscoring negotiations with Senate Democrats are threats of rule changes to the confirmation process, which could speed things up but drive a partisan wedge even deeper between the aisles. Trump had initially called on Senate Republicans to consider canceling their August recess to ram through as many of his nominees as possible. But late Thursday night, he took a more stern tone. ‘ALL THE OPTIONS’: GOP EYES CUTTING AUGUST RECESS TO MOVE DOZENS OF TRUMP NOMINEES STALLED BY DEMS “The Senate must stay in Session, taking no recess, until the entire Executive Calendar is CLEAR!!! We have to save our Country from the Lunatic Left,” Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social. “Republicans, for the health and safety of the USA, DO YOUR JOB, and confirm All Nominees. They should NOT BE FORCED TO WAIT. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has been locked in negotiations with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., throughout the week to hammer out a deal that would allow lawmakers to vote on a tranche of nominees quickly. He told reporters Friday evening that he didn’t have a “report that adds any certainty to the question of schedule at the moment.” “It’s still in flux,” he said. Senate Republicans have moved at a rapid pace to add more and more nominees to the calendar, and so far have placed nearly 160 onto the schedule. Should a deal not be reached, and the GOP adheres to Trump’s demands, leaving Washington to return to their home states until early September may be out of the question. THUNE VOWS TO ‘GRIND DOWN’ DEMOCRATS AS TRUMP’S NOMINEES FACE ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ SENATE OBSTRUCTION While most Republicans are on board with trying to ram through Trump’s picks, the desire to leave Capitol Hill after a blistering seven-month stretch — where lawmakers have already confirmed over 120 of the president’s nominees — is palpable. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said that the idea that lawmakers would leave town in the next few days “seems to have disappeared.” “Grumpiness is here already, as you can hear from my tone, but we’re still here. We know the factor of weariness and other commitments outside of Washington, D.C., they work, but there is still a whole set of … nominations that need to be completed,” he said. A bright spot for Republicans is that the resistance to advancing nominees and confirming them is not across the board among Senate Democrats. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told Fox News Digital that he has plans for recess, but he’s ready to cancel those if need be. “My hope is that we’ll move a number of nominees through and get out fairly soon,” he said. “But I’m not the one doing the negotiating.”
Iran says it has ‘plenty of scientists’ left to restart uranium enrichment, despite US, Israeli strikes
Iran still has the capabilities to enrich uranium — despite U.S. and Israeli strikes — and could restart its nuclear program if it wanted to, Tehran’s foreign minister claimed. While the U.S. struck three key Iranian nuclear sites, Israel destroyed much of its air defenses, took out top military commanders and killed at least 13 nuclear scientists and more than 1,000 people, according to figures put out by Tehran. Israel claims it killed 30 senior security officials and 11 top nuclear scientists. “Buildings can be rebuilt. Machines can be replaced, because the technology is there. We have plenty of scientists and technicians who used to work in our facilities,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a recent interview with the Financial Times. “But when and how we restart our enrichment depends on the circumstances.” IRAN WILL NOT GIVE UP NUCLEAR ENRICHMENT, TOP OFFICIAL CONFIRMS IN EXCLUSIVE FOX NEWS INTERVIEW Washington maintains that it inflicted significant damage to Iran’s two main uranium enrichment sites, Fordow and Natanz, and fired missiles that rendered the Isfahan facility essentially inoperable, setting Iran’s nuclear program back “years.” Now, the world is watching to see whether Iran and the West will be able to come to a deal that ensures Iran does not work towards a nuclear weapon in exchange for sanctions relief. Araghchi said the U.S. must offer funds to Iran to compensate for last month’s strikes in order to move forward with negotiations. “They should explain why they attacked us in the middle of . . . negotiations, and they have to ensure that they are not going to repeat that [during future talks],” Araghchi said. “They have to compensate [Iran for] the damage that they have done.” Araghchi claimed the so-called 12-Day War “proved there is no military solution for Iran’s nuclear program.” Araghchi also said the strikes had prompted calls from within the regime to weaponize Iran’s nuclear program but claimed Iran would continue to abide by a two-decade-old fatwa banning the production of nuclear weapons. “Anti-negotiation feelings are very high,” Araghchi said. “People are telling me, ‘Don’t waste your time anymore, don’t be cheated by them . . . if they come to negotiations it’s only a cover-up for their other intentions.’” The minister repeated Iran’s insistence that it would not give up its ability to enrich uranium for civil purposes — a sticking point for Washington. “With zero enrichment, we don’t have a thing.” IRAN’S NUCLEAR CAPABILITIES CRUSHED, BUT REGIME’S DESIRE FOR THE BOMB MAY PERSIST The White House could not immediately be reached for comment on Araghchi’s remarks. Israeli officials have admitted that some of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium did survive the attacks. European powers have threatenaed to trigger “snapback” United Nations sanctions against Iran if there isn’t a breakthrough in nuclear talks. Any of the current members of the 2015 nuclear deal, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — France, the UK, Germany, China, and Russia – can invoke the snapback mechanism if they determine Iran hasn’t held up its end of the deal. The U.S. can’t trigger the sanctions because it pulled out of the deal and enacted unilateral “maximum pressure” sanctions under Trump’s first administration. The U.S. heaped more pressure onto Tehran this week with new sanctions on the nation’s oil network and military drone enterprise. European diplomats have been meeting with Iran to relay how it could avoid snapback sanctions, including resuming cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to monitor its compliance with nuclear limits. Araghchi said Iran would stop negotiating with Europe if they were to trigger the sanctions. “If they do snap back, that means that this is the end of the road for them.”
Federal judge finds ‘racial and discriminatory animus’ in Trump move to cancel temporary protected status
A federal judge on Friday postponed the Trump administration from revoking the temporary status for Nicaraguan, Honduran and Nepali immigrants, finding the cancellation was likely rooted in racial animus. The 37-page ruling by San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson, a Biden appointee, argued the move by Homeland Security Secretary Krisiti Noem to cancel the temporary humanitarian protections appeared to be parietally rooted in “racial and discriminatory animus” in support of their Fifth Amendment claim. “Color is neither a poison nor a crime,” the ruling states. “Therefore, Plaintiffs have provided sufficient evidence to establish that Plaintiffs will likely succeed on the merits of their Fifth Amendment claim.” DHS TERMINATES TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR AROUND 76K HONDURAN, NICARAGUAN MIGRANTS In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security likened Thompson’s ruling to a New York Times opinion piece. “Restoring integrity to our immigration system to keep our homeland and its people safe. That is all we—and the American people who elected President Trump in a landslide election—seek,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “TPS was never meant to be a de facto asylum system, yet that is how previous administrations have used it for decades. This is yet another example of how out of control judges are race-baiting to distract from the facts and President’s constitutionally vested powers under Article II. We will appeal, and we expect a higher court to vindicate us.” The ruling is a reprieve for more than 60,000 immigrants who have been allowed to legally live and work in the United States under the TPS program. A White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the program was never intended to become permanent. “‘Temporary Protected Status’ is, by definition, temporary. It was never intended to be a pathway to permanent status or legal residency, and no bizarre analysis from radical judges will change that fact,” White House spokesperson Abigal Jackson said. “This judge simply did not have lawful authority to review the TPS designation – the Supreme Court already affirmed in prior rulings that extensions of TPS are committed by law to the discretion of the Secretary of Homeland Security.” “The ruling reads like a left-wing fever dream, not a serious judicial opinion,” she added. “Ultimately, the lower court’s ruling will not stand and we look forward to ultimate vindication in this case.” FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION POLICY IN SHOCKING DECISION ON HAITIAN PROTECTIONS The Trump administration was poised to end the protections for Honduran and Nicaraguan migrants as it ramps up deportations. TPS was set to expire for Honduras and Nicaragua in September. The decision to end TPS for the two nations comes weeks after DHS terminated the same status for Haiti and months after terminating TPS for Venezuelans. A federal judge has since blocked that termination amid an ongoing legal battle. In her ruling, Thompson noted statements made by Noem, like those that cast illegal immigrants as “invaders” or “criminals,” “perpetuate the discriminatory belief that certain immigrant populations will replace the white population.” “Although the Secretary’s statements ‘may appear innocent or only mildly offensive to one who is not a member of the targeted group,’ the statements are ‘in reality . . . intolerably abusive or threatening when understood from the perspective of a plaintiff who is a member of the targeted group’,” she wrote. The Department of Homeland Security noted that some of the people who “exploited” the TPS program include several Hondurans with convictions for aggravated assault, possessing, selling, or manufacturing a dangerous weapon, sex crimes against children, domestic violence and resisting arrest. In May, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration in a ruling that lifted a San Francisco District Court Judge’s injunction that temporarily blocked the termination of TPS for Venezuelans, paving the way for the administration to legally revoke TPS for subsequent nations. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Created by Congress through the Immigration Act of 1990, TPS allows individuals from countries affected by natural disasters, war, or other dangerous, unusual circumstances to seek refuge in the U.S. This program can be renewed in 18-month increments. Fox News Digital’s Preston Mizell contributed to this report.
Christopher Wray referred to DOJ over claims he misled lawmakers on Catholic memo, China probes
A Washington-based government transparency watchdog has referred former FBI Director Christopher Wray to the Department of Justice and the FBI, urging a criminal investigation into allegations that he had made false statements to Congress and obstructed proceedings in two high-profile cases. Oversight Project President Mike Howell told Fox News Digital that the group is specifically asking officials to examine Wray’s congressional testimony on the so-called Richmond memo from the FBI office in Virginia that exposed an anti-Catholic bias there, and his testimony about a Chinese plot to disseminate illicit driver’s licenses before the 2020 election. In July 2023, Wray testified before the House Judiciary Committee on the FBI-Richmond memo that had labeled Catholics as potential domestic threats. TRUMP SAYS BRENNAN, COMEY ‘CROOKED AS HELL’ AMID FBI PROBE, MAY HAVE TO ‘PAY THE PRICE’ “Well, what I can tell you is you’re referring to the Richmond product, which is a single product by a single field office, which as soon as I found out about it, I was aghast and ordered it withdrawn and removed from FBI systems,” Wray said. The Oversight Project alleges that statement was ultimately misleading or false. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., pressed Wray on the Richmond memo and so-called “Trump questionnaire,” which was circulated at the FBI and asked about allegiance to the president and whether agents had attended any protests or rallies associated with the Jan. 6 Capitol Breach. “We keep hearing about these ‘isolated examples’ whether it’s Richmond Catholics, this [questionnaire] — isn’t it a pattern?” Tiffany asked. The Oversight Project pointed to Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Charles Grassley’s opening remarks from a June hearing on Biden-era “cover-ups,” in which Grassley said the Richmond memo “used the shoddy research of the radical Southern Poverty Law Center to accuse traditional Catholics of being violent extremists.” “Based on records I released the other week, there wasn’t just one FBI document that used biased anti-Catholic sources, but over a dozen,” Grassley said. The referral also notes that this remark by Grassley belies Wray’s testimony suggesting a one-off incident. FBI LAUNCHES CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS OF JOHN BRENNAN, JAMES COMEY: DOJ SOURCES “And more FBI field offices were involved than we’d been led to believe,” Grassley, R-Iowa, said. A second Richmond memo similar to the first that went unreleased following the backlash was part of a partially redacted series of documents Grassley’s committee transmitted to FBI Director Kash Patel in June. It stated that the bureau “assesses RMVE (Racially Motivated Violent Extremism) interest in RTC (Radical Traditional Catholic) ideology is likely to increase … in the run-up to the [2024] general election cycle.” “Director Wray’s testimony was inaccurate not only because it failed to reveal the scope of the memo’s production and dissemination, but also because it failed to reveal the existence of a second, draft product on the same topic intended for external distribution to the whole FBI,” the Oversight Project said in a separate statement. “That draft product was intended for distribution as a Strategic Perspective Executive Analytic Report (“SPEAR”). It was clearly a separate product.” The Oversight Project specifically alleged violations of obstruction of proceedings before Congress, perjury and false statements. Fox News Digital reached out to Grassley, who also told Fox News’ Bill Hemmer in June that he had found 13 other documents similar to the Richmond memo. Grassley said the documents had gone out and that “at least 1,000 people had access to information that … was telling people that the Catholic Church needed to be watched because it could be considered a terrorist organization.” Fox News Digital reached out to a phone number connected to Wray but did not receive a response. FBI BLOCKED PROBE INTO ALLEGED CHINESE 2020 ELECTION MEDDLING TO PROTECT WRAY FROM FALLOUT, DOCUMENTS SHOW Patel cited the CCP influence case in a June statement, declaring that “former FBI leadership withheld the facts and misled the public on China’s 2020 election interference. And they did so for political gain. This FBI is exposing all of it and giving Americans the truth they deserve.” Patel claimed the FBI in 2020 “buried” evidence “for political convenience” and thanked Grassley for helping the current FBI brass bring the topic to light. During September 2020 testimony, Wray told Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., that the FBI had “not seen historically any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether by-mail or otherwise.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Wray added that the FBI had identified localized voter fraud and that his testimony was not intended to downplay the overarching threat. Howell’s group argues those statements were belied by documents Patel gave to Congress in June that reportedly showed concerns in August 2020 that China had mass-produced such fake IDs to help former President Joe Biden. The criminal referral against Wray also cites a related August 2020 seizure of 20,000 counterfeit licenses by Customs and Border Protection in Illinois. A Chicago port official told Fox News at the time that the proliferation “can lead to disastrous consequences.” It is unclear if any ballots were cast as part of the scheme. During a 2020 address to the Hudson Institute, Wray did warn of the CCP threat to the upcoming election and beyond: “China’s malign foreign influence campaign targets our policies, our positions, 24/7, 365 days-a-year. So it’s not an election‑specific threat. It’s really more of an all‑year, all‑the‑time threat. But certainly that has implications for elections, and they certainly have preferences that go along with that,” he said. The FBI and Department of Justice did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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VA reverses Biden admin policy providing abortion services agency calls contrary to federal law
EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will announce Friday that it is reversing a Biden-era exception allowing abortion services to be provided to veterans, in what the department cited as likely counter to the current medical benefits package prescribed by law. In a memo obtained by Fox News Digital, the VA said it will return its medical package and “CHAMPVA” benefits to the time preceding a September 2022 agency rule that removed the long-standing abortion restrictions. The 1999 medical benefits package that remains intact, prescribed under the outline of a 1992 law, does not authorize abortion services because they are not considered “needed” under the statute. “It is without question that VA has the authority to bar provision of abortion services through the VA medical benefits package to veterans,” the memo read, adding that the former VA leadership made its adjustment in favor of providing abortions in response to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that effectively overturned Roe v. Wade. VA CHIEF BLASTS RIOTERS AFTER LA CLINIC SHUTTERED AMID CHAOS Then-Rep. Gillespie Montgomery, D-Miss., laid out in his 1992 Veterans Health Care Act that the agency could provide women with multiple healthcare services, including Papanicolaou Tests (“Pap-smears”), mammography and “general reproductive care, including the management of menopause.” However, the law explicitly precluded “infertility services [and] abortions” unless they relate to a pregnancy with “risks of complication [that] are increased by a service-connected condition.” “Prior to the Biden administration’s politically motivated change in 2022, federal law and longstanding precedent across Democrat and Republican administrations prevented VA from providing abortions and abortion counseling,” a VA spokesperson told Fox News Digital in discussing the policy reversal. VA SEC HITS BACK AT FAKE NEWS CRITICS, DEFENDS DOGE ON VETERANS HEALTH CARE “VA’s proposed rule will reinstate the pre-Biden bipartisan policy, bringing the department back in line with historical norms.” The VA memo added that the Dobbs decision was intended to prevent federal overreach and return control of abortion policy to the states, and that the agency prior to current Secretary Doug Collins’ tenure “did the exact opposite” of what it said its 2022 policy change was intended to do in that regard. “[It] creat[ed] a purported federal entitlement to abortion for veterans where none had existed before, and without regard to state law,” the VA said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “For nearly 50 years, and across a slew of federal programs, including Medicaid, the Child Health Insurance Program, TriCare, Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, and others, Congress has consistently drawn a bright line between elective abortion and health care services that taxpayers would support.” The agency also emphasized that its policy reversal will not prevent pregnant women facing life-threatening circumstances from receiving care in those instances.
GOP activist reveals why New Jersey is not ‘just a Democrat state’ in push to flip governorship
Republican activist Scott Presler is pushing voter registration and turnout efforts in New Jersey in hopes of flipping the governorship red in November. Presler focused his 2024 efforts for the election on the neighboring battleground state of Pennsylvania, which went red, but said his group Early Vote Action is focusing on the Garden State based on promising numbers for Republicans in recent years. “So, I think the best place to start is a lot of people think that New Jersey is blue. However, look at 2021, and I think that context is Jack Ciattarelli, who is our Trump-endorsed Republican candidate this November, just narrowly lost the governorship in 2021, four years prior by 84,000 votes, and that was a much less favorable environment for the Republican Party, for Donald Trump, etc.,” Presler said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “And so the fact that we were still close back then shows the appetite that it’s not just a Democrat state.” DEMOCRAT MIKIE SHERRILL WINS NJ GUBERNATORIAL PRIMARY, SETTING UP SHOWDOWN WITH TRUMP-BACKED GOP WINNER In 2024, President Donald Trump lost the state by a narrower margin than expected, as he garnered 46% of the vote, compared with just over 41% in 2020. In 2021, Republican Jack Ciattarelli, who is the nominee again, lost to Gov. Phil Murphy by just over 84,000 votes, which was a much tighter race than the 2017 gubernatorial election. This year, Rep. Mikie Sherrill is the Democratic nominee as Murphy is wrapping up two consecutive terms in office. Presler said that team is “very diverse,” and they’re doing a variety of outreach efforts to not only boost turnout in deep-red areas of the state, but also to connect with key communities in the state, including Jewish, Muslim, Hispanic and Black Americans. “I definitely think that the America First emblem or the America First motto, that has been key to saying, ‘Listen, why are we the personal piggy bank of the rest of the world? Why aren’t we investing in the infrastructure and education here in our country?’ Whereas Democrats wanna put the rest of the globe first and not American citizens,” Presler said. TRUMP-BACKED JACK CIATTARELLI CAPTURES GOP NOMINATION FOR NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR He noted that in many areas of the state that border Pennsylvania, there are “shared values” that help better understand the electorate. “Our strategy is we want sky-high voter turnout in the rural areas. Therefore, Hunterdon, Salem, Warren, Sussex, those are going to be key to our victory. And sure, the margins of the vote population aren’t huge there,” he said. “But in a state that was decided by 84,000 votes four years ago, you betcha that a thousand here or a thousand there is gonna make a difference.” The race, along with other off-year contests, could be an earlier indicator of the political environment headed into the midterm election and the 2028 presidential race. The activist noted that in New Jersey, touting key Trump policies, like the creation of a major tax deduction on tips, could be crucial to getting out the vote. TRUMP NOT ON BALLOT, BUT PRESIDENT FRONT AND CENTER IN NEW JERSEY’S PRIMARY FOR GOVERNOR “You have our beautiful casinos over there,” Presler said of Atlantic City. “What did President Trump and the Republican Party just put forth with the BBB? No tax on tips, no tax on overtime. A lot of New Jersey is tourist-centered, and a lot of it is working class in the hospitality industry. I think there’s going to be a direct correlation between the economy getting better and the people of New Jersey, especially independent voters coming over for President Trump,” he said. The general election in the Garden State is Nov. 4. Virginia is the only other state with a gubernatorial election this year.