Biden administration imposes sanctions against Venezuelan President Maduro’s ‘cronies’
The Biden administration imposed sanctions Thursday against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and several of his associates for undermining the electoral process and violating the civil and human rights of its citizens. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced the sanctions while speaking to reporters during a briefing Thursday. “President Biden’s approach to foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere has been based on his belief that democracy is fundamentally vital for sustained economic prosperity and security,” she said. “Now, Venezuela is no exception, and the blatant electoral fraud following the July 28 presidential elections must continue to be condemned and those obstructing democracy held accountable. “And that is why, to that end, today we took two important actions to hold Nicolás Maduro and his cronies accountable for their blatant electoral fraud, obstruction of a competitive and inclusive election and violation of the civil and human rights of the people.” MADURO CRACKDOWN ON POLITICAL OPPONENTS FOLLOWING RIGGED ELECTION: ‘CHILLED PEOPLE INTO SILENCE’ Jean-Pierre said U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen placed sanctions on 16 of Maduro’s affiliated officials along with visa restrictions on a number of his allied officials who “undermined” the electoral process in Venezuela and “are responsible for acts of repression.” The press secretary also said the U.S. has, to date, sanctioned over 140 current and former Venezuelan officials while also taking steps to impose visa restrictions on about 2,000 individuals. Critics contend the real problem lies with allowing the Maduro regime continued access to lucrative oil contracts. “The current approach appears to be overly focused on a single tactic. What is the point of imposing sanctions if, at the same time, oil licenses continue to be renewed? Feeding kleptocracy $20B per year,” Isaias Medina III, a former U.N. Security Council diplomat and Harvard Mason fellow, told Fox News Digital Thursday. “Real pressure comes from taking decisive actions, such as issuing a red notice from Interpol, intercepting every drug shipment and blocking the coast to prevent the movement of oil. Instead of simply warning them, concrete steps should be taken to expose their involvement in drug trafficking, terrorism, corruption and human rights violations. This includes pushing for their removal from the United Nations due to their illegitimacy and compelling the international community to take a unified stance against them.” Venezuela’s July 28 election saw Maduro claiming victory by more than 1 million votes. Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, was seeking a third six-year term. Meanwhile, the main opposition coalition, Vente Venezuela, has accused him of trying to steal the vote. The Vente Venezuela campaign has released records showing opposition candidate Edmundo González winning by a more than 2-to-1 margin. The main leader of the opposition, González, and opposition leader María Corina Machado have gone into hiding since the vote. The opposition suffered a further setback when Venezuela’s controversial Supreme Court reasserted Maduro as the winner of the disputed elections. Maduro’s hand-picked court declared the voting tallies showing any reports of his loss were fabricated. US, BRAZIL FLOAT NEW VENEZUELA ELECTION DESPITE GOVERNMENT, OPPOSITION REBUFFS The U.S., European Union (EU) and a slate of Latin American countries have categorically rejected the Venezuelan high court’s certification. Maduro and his government have refused to release official tally sheets from last month’s election. Maduro’s claim of victory ignited protests across Venezuela, prompting his regime to engage in a wave of violent repression. Security forces have apprehended more than 2,000 demonstrators, many of whom were taken to torture camps. Earlier this month, the U.S. seized a plane owned by Maduro in the Dominican Republic. US SEIZES VENEZUELAN LEADER MADURO’S PLANE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) flew Maduro’s personal plane back to the United States Monday morning, when it landed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and is now in U.S. custody, a U.S. official told Fox News following an initial report by CNN. The plane, described by officials as Maduro’s version of “Air Force One,” is used for Maduro’s state visits around the world and was seized in the Dominican Republic after it was purchased through a straw company in violation of sanctions laws and export controls, the official said. U.S. authorities cited a specific violation of U.S. Executive Order 13884, signed by former President Trump in 2019. The plane, valued at $13 million, is a Dassault Falcon 900-EX. The seizure was a result of a joint investigation between HSI and the U.S. Department of Commerce. In August 2019, Trump issued Executive Order 13884, which prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with persons who have acted or purported to act directly or indirectly for or on behalf of, the government of Venezuela, including as a member of the Maduro regime. To protect U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, the Department of Commerce has also imposed export controls for items intended, entirely or in part, for a Venezuelan military or military-intelligence end user, according to the Department of Justice. Fox News’ Kyra Colah, Danielle Wallace and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
A Decision to Make: House Speaker Mike Johnson’s government funding bill divides Republicans
It was just minutes after the House finally ended a three-week battle, culminating in the election of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., last fall. The House voted to dethrone former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. But not before burning through three other Speaker candidates. I asked a senior House Republican aide what would be different with Johnson at the helm. The response? Different Speaker. Same members. CONTINGENT ELECTIONS: WHAT THEY ARE, AND WHAT TO EXPECT IF 2024 TRIGGERS ONE Which brings us to where we stand nearly a year later amid the annual gymnastics to avert a government shutdown by October 1. On late Wednesday morning, Johnson yanked his plan which would fund the government until late March – and mandate that people prove they are citizens in order to vote. Some lawmakers opposed the lengthy interim spending plan, renewing all spending at current levels for another six months. But others had issues with latching the citizenship provision to the spending package. It’s believed that Johnson was 20–30 votes shy to pass the measure. It’s not an emergency – yet. Congress has two-and-a-half more weeks before the deadline. So what did Congress accomplish this week? Nothing. In fact, the week only emphasized deep divides among Republicans. Different Speaker. Same members. “We’re going to continue to work on this,” said Johnson Wednesday after pulling the bill. “I want any Member of Congress in either party to explain to the American people why we should not ensure that only U.S. citizens are voting in U.S. elections.” So, no vote this week. And whether Johnson is able to massage the issue in a way that the bill passes is anyone’s guess. Earlier in the week, Johnson flashed confidence that he could avoid a government shutdown, claiming “there is no fallback position. This is a righteous fight.” Had Johnson taken the bill to the floor Wednesday, it would have gone down to defeat. After all, there was “no fallback position.” Then the Senate may have stuck Johnson with a short-term bill which runs until November or December. Johnson would have no bargaining chip. By delaying the fight, Johnson hopes to prove to his right flank that he’s fighting. And, he’s also trying to impress former President Trump. On Tuesday, Mr. Trump posted to Truth Social that the GOP should “close it down” unless they received “absolute assurances on Election security.” But some conservatives wondered just how committed Johnson was to the combo funding/proof of citizenship bill. Johnson archnemesis and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., generally opposes the concept of a temporary spending plan, known as a “Continuing Resolution “or “CR.” SENATE TO SWEAR IN MENENDEZ SUCCESSOR FOLLOWING NJ LAWMAKER’S CONVICTION, RESIGNATION “What is Speaker Johnson going to do? Is he willing to fight for this? And if he’s not willing to fight for it, why would we vote for it?” asked Greene. “Otherwise, it’s pointless. It’s really a waste of everyone’s time.” Many conservatives expected a two-step from Johnson. Put out a spending plan with a poison pill which would delight the right – and maybe even former President Trump. But face doom in the Senate. The question then is would Johnson get jammed with a “clean” bill from the Democratically-controlled Senate? Or would he eventually team up with Democrats to pass a bill to avert a government shutdown? Those options are anathema to many on the right. The fact that former President Trump waded into the fight worries some House Republicans. “I disagree with President Trump on the shutdown. We have a very slim margin in the House of Representatives. And I will tell you, I do think that a shutdown of the government has the potential to shift enough seats in the House of Representatives races that we have the potential to lose the House,” said Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., on Fox Business. “If we lose the House of Representatives, if you have a Democrat Speaker with President Trump as president, and we’ve seen what happens with that. The Democrats would simply sabotage his presidency.” Democrats believed the stumble was emblematic of how Republicans struggled to run the House – be it under the tutelage of Johnson or McCarthy. “I think this Republican majority is, has demonstrated over the last two years that they are unable to govern. They are unable to keep their party together. They’re unable to hold power together. And they’re not even able to compromise amongst themselves. Let alone with Democrats,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. Some Republicans viewed Johnson’s strategy as a fig leaf. It would constitute a “show” vote with no real ramifications for this fall’s elections. Especially with early voting starting now. “There’s no implementation that could be made in the next 53, 54-plus days that’s going to impact our federal election laws. So to say that this as an attachment to CR is somehow going to do something is a farce,” fumed Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: WHY FOREIGN POLICY MIGHT MATTER Bipartisan defense hawks opposed the plan because it freezes all spending until March. The Pentagon scores more than half of all money Congress allocates annually. So the biggest benefactor of Congressional appropriations gets hit the hardest under this scheme. “(The military) can’t start programs. They can’t end programs. It’s just a horrible idea to put DoD in that position,” said Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the ranking Democrat on Armed Services Committee. Republicans appear divided into multiple camps: Those who want a longer interim spending bill and the proof of citizenship provision attached. Those who want a shorter spending bill, but maintain the proof of voting mandate. Then there are the defense hawks who worry about how a lengthy Band-Aid spending plan imperils the military. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., shares the same concerns as Adam Smith. There are others like Cory Mills who believe the voting language is a smokescreen and not practicable. Some like Greene believe the voting provision is mere camouflage – and Johnson will
Federal border agency report on Uvalde massacre recommends policy changes
The review of CBP agents’ response to the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting found that active shooting training was insufficient.
NY appeals court denies Trump request to pause Bragg case, after judge moves sentencing until after election
A New York appeals court on Thursday denied former President Trump’s request to pause his criminal case stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals said in a filing that Trump’s motion for an emergency administrative stay in New York v. Trump is denied, following Judge Juan Merchan’s decision to delay the former president’s sentencing until after the presidential election. TRUMP REACTS TO SENTENCING DELAY IN BRAGG CASE, SAYS CASE ‘SHOULD BE DEAD’ Trump’s sentencing was set for Sept. 18, but Merchan granted the former president’s request to move that date until late November — Nov. 26. This week, Trump’s attorneys, in a letter to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, asked for the case to be paused, arguing that there was not enough time between the court’s Nov. 12th presidential immunity ruling and the Nov. 26th sentencing to allow for appeal. Bragg’s office said a pause would be “legally unavailable” and “unnecessary in light of the state criminal court’s adjournment of the sentencing. They also argued there is time for Trump to appeal the presidential immunity decision before sentencing. Trump’s initial sentencing was set for July 11 — just days before the Republican National Convention, where he was set to be formally nominated as the 2024 GOP presidential nominee, but Judge Juan Merchan agreed to delay that until Sept. 18. Trump requested the sentencing be moved until after Election Day, citing “naked election-interference objectives.” Merchan granted that request last week, pushing the sentencing date “if necessary” to Nov. 26. Trump has appealed the verdict, after pleading not guilty to all charges. Trump attorney Todd Blanche said the verdict should be overturned based on the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity, granting presidents limited immunity for official acts. Judge Merchan will also now make a decision on Nov. 12 on Trump’s motion to vacate. JUDGE MERCHAN DELAYS TRUMP SENTENCING UNTIL AFTER ELECTION Blanche also pointed to Merchan’s daughter’s work at Authentic Campaigns, which represents top Democratic candidates. In his arguments for dismissal, Blanche argued that Bragg offered official acts as evidence during the six-week-long unprecedented criminal trial. Blanche said that included official White House communications with staffers like Hope Hicks, Madeleine Westerhout and others. The Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. United States that a former president has substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts in office but not for unofficial acts. The high court said Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for “official acts” but left it to the lower court to determine exactly where the line between official and unofficial is. Trump spoke exclusively with Fox News Digital after Merchan granted the former president’s request to have his sentencing delayed until after the presidential election in November. “The case was delayed because everyone realizes there was no case and I did nothing wrong,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “It is a case that should never have been brought.” Trump said “the public understands that and so does every legal scholar that has looked at it and studied it.” “I greatly respect the words ‘if necessary’ being used in this decision because there should be no, ‘if necessary,’” Trump said. “The case should be dead.” Trump was referring to a section of Merchan’s letter Friday, in which he notifies Trump attorneys of the delay, and says that “the sentencing on this matter, if necessary, is adjourned to November 26, 2024 at 10am.” Merchan also said Friday the “public’s confidence in the integrity of our judicial system demands a sentencing hearing that is entirely focused on the verdict of the jury and the weighing of aggravating and mitigating factors free from distraction or distortion.” Trump was found guilty in an unprecedented criminal trial on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree after a six-week trial stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation. Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesperson, told Fox News Digital, “There should be no sentencing in the Manhattan DA’s election interference witch hunt. As mandated by the United States Supreme Court, this case, along with all of the other Harris-Biden hoaxes, should be dismissed.”
Harris-Trump 2024 Showdown: What a new post-debate national poll shows
A new national poll conducted entirely after Tuesday’s debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump indicates Harris leading Trump by five points. According to a Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted two-day poll, Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, has the support of 47% of registered voters nationwide. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, lands the backing of 42% of registered voters questioned. The five-point advantage for Harris is up slightly from a four-point margin in the previous Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was conducted in late August, prior to the debate. FIRST ON FOX: HARRIS AIMS TO TROLL TRUMP – AGAIN – OVER CROWD SIZES The survey indicates that voters agree with political pundits in saying that Harris bested Trump during their Philadelphia showdown, which was their first and potentially their only presidential debate. Fifty-three percent of survey respondents who said they had heard at least some of Tuesday’s debate said that the vice president had won, with just 24% saying that the former president was the winner. WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKING IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE SHOW The poll surveyed 1,690 adults nationwide, including 1,405 registered voters. The survey had a sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points for registered voters. With seven and a half weeks until Election Day, and early voting getting underway this month in some of the key battleground states, most national surveys and swing state polls indicate a margin-of-error race between Trump and Harris, who enjoyed a wave of momentum in the weeks after replacing President Biden atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket in mid-July. Harris, at a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday, reiterated to her supporters that “ours is going to be a tight race until the end.” “We are the underdog,” she emphasized. “We’ve got some hard work ahead of us… hard work is good work.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Trump campaign declares ‘clear victory’ in Harris debate
EXCLUSIVE: The Trump campaign is doubling down on former President Trump’s debate performance this week, calling it a clear victory against Vice President Kamala Harris, despite recent reports that Harris is gaining momentum in battlegrounds Georgia and North Carolina. “Their little reaction to the debate and performance is nothing but a sugar high, and it’s artificial, and it’s based entirely on the fact that she came out and she managed to deliver her memorized lines, and she put on a fine performance, which we anticipated she was going to do, because she’s able to go out and memorize things and go out and put on a performance,” senior Trump campaign adviser Tim Murtaugh told Fox News Digital in an interview Thursday. “They placed so much emphasis on that debate, and so many millions of people tuned in to hear why she was running for president, because they had heard that she’d been in hiding most of the time, and they were expecting her to explain the rationale for what her record is and what her goals would be as president and what her plans would be. And they walked away not having heard or learned anything,” he said. The campaign’s assessment comes as Trump himself said Thursday he will not be doing any more debates. TRUMP ALLIES CLAIM VICTORY IN DEBATE, CRITICIZE MODERATORS AS ‘PRO-KAMALA ACTIVISTS’ While debate watchers initially gave the victory to Harris after Tuesday’s showdown, there are still six toss-up states on the map worth a combined 78 electoral votes. The election is still considered up for grabs for either candidate. As of Thursday, Trump has lost his edge in Georgia and North Carolina in the latest Fox News Power Rankings, giving Harris a lead in the overall forecast for the first time. Over the last 12 months of the Fox News Poll, between 48%-50% of registered voters have said they supported Trump. While Biden polled as low as 45% earlier this year, Harris is now only one point behind Trump at 49% in the latest Fox national survey. Criminal indictments, a conviction, the primaries, a last-minute change in opponents and an assassination attempt did nothing to move the former president out of that three-point range. JD VANCE VOWS TRUMP WOULD NOT IMPOSE FEDERAL ABORTION BAN, VETO IT IF COMES ACROSS DESK But Murtaugh believes Trump had “a strong performance” and that he refused to let Harris “escape her liberal record and her responsibility in the Biden-Harris administration.” Murtaugh pointed to Harris’ flip-flop record in which she’s tried to distance herself from her former progressive record. “And everyone knows what they are. It’s fracking, it’s the wall, it’s making illegal immigration or making illegally crossing the border not illegal. She reversed herself on outlawing health insurance that people get from their employer,” Murtaugh said. “She reversed herself on gun confiscation. She’s reversed herself on a variety of tax cuts. You know, she’s actually even reversed herself on plastic straws.” “And she also needed to try to separate herself from the Biden-Harris administration,” Murtaugh said. “And she absolutely did not do that. And so while the pundits might think, ‘Oh, wow, what a great performance she put on,’ because she went out and did her lines, in fact, the truth is, the grocery store will not let you buy food with style points.” FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS ISSUES TRACKER: TRUMP LEADS ON TWO TOP ISSUES, BUT HARRIS IS GAINING GROUND On top issues like the economy, Trump clearly has the upper hand, according to polls. In a CNN poll conducted after the debate, 55% of voters preferred Trump’s economic platform compared to Harris’, trailing behind at 35%. And while pundits and debate watchers called the victory for Harris, middle-of-the-road voters may not have been convinced, according to Reuters and the New York Times’ interviews with undecided voters. “She needed to connect with these people and convince them that she wasn’t hiding and that she is a serious candidate, and she failed. You don’t get another chance to make a first impression on those people,” Murtaugh said. Fox News Digital’s Remy Numa contributed to this report.
Top Biden adviser has been employed for decades at church that gave platform to antisemites: ‘Devil by nature’
FIRST ON FOX: A top Biden White House adviser has been employed for decades as a minister at a Washington, D.C., church that has hosted several activists and religious leaders with long histories of antisemitism, including one Black activist who, during a 2002 speech, called for “Zionists” in Israel, including their babies, to be murdered. Rev. Thomas Bowen, who is listed on Shiloh Baptist Church’s website as a minister of social justice and has been employed at the church since 2002 in several leadership roles, joined the White House in February to serve as the senior adviser for the White House Office of Public Engagement, which “works at the local, state, and national levels to ensure community leaders, diverse perspectives, and new voices all have the opportunity to inform the work of the President.” Shiloh Baptist Church, a historic Black church that Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband visited on Christmas Day in 2022, is led by Reverend Doctor Wallace Charles Smith, Shiloh’s senior minister and a longtime mentor of Bowen. During a sermon before Shiloh’s congregation last month, Bowen called Smith his “hero,” “friend,” and “mentor … to whom I owe a debt that I could never ever repay.” Bowen’s social media is also littered with praise of Rev. Smith, who invited multiple activists with long histories of antisemitism into their church. LEFT-WING ACTIVIST WHO HIRED ONE OF FARRAKHAN’S ‘TOP SOLDIERS’ HAS VISITED BIDEN WHITE HOUSE 7 TIMES In April 2018, Rev. Smith hosted the National Black Men’s Convention at Shiloh Baptist Church, which was billed as a five-day summit for “mobilizing and organizing brothers for a better future for our community” and opposing President Trump. Each day had a different theme, which included reparations, and several of the speakers involved with the summit had a problematic history of antisemitism and vile rhetoric against White people. In the months before the convention, Rev. Smith met at Shiloh Baptist Church with the convention’s co-host Malik Shabazz, the founder of Black Lawyers for Justice and former chairman of the New Black Panther Party. Shabazz, who has been labeled by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as a “racist black nationalist with a long, well-documented history of violently anti-Semitic remarks and accusations about the inherent evil of white people,” posted a photo of him and Smith hugging on his Facebook and said they had a “great meeting” together. Shabazz also added that “Pastor Smith and other pro-Black Christian preachers will be speaking” at the convention. Shabazz, who posted a photo with notorious antisemite Louis Farrakhan in 2020 with the caption, “I HAVE WALKED WITH THE BEST” and called the Nation of Islam leader “one of the great influences in my life” last year, made several other posts in the months leading up to the 2018 convention touting Shiloh Baptist Church as the host of the convention, including videos that showed he was in attendance at church events while Bowen was on the church’s payroll. SPLC’s website lists several vile quotes uttered by Shabazz, including remarks from a 2002 speech in Washington, D.C., where he reportedly said, “Kill every goddamn Zionist in Israel! Goddamn little babies, goddamn old ladies! Blow up Zionist supermarkets!” In another speech from the early 2000s, he also pushed antisemitic tropes about “Zionists” controlling the media and foreign policy. DNC SPEAKER TIED TO FARRAKHAN TELLS DEMS TO ‘ACT RIGHT’ UNTIL ELECTION, THEN CAN ‘GO BACK TO ACTING CRAZY’ Earlier this year, Shabazz posted a photo of him and former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from 2012 and said his “views are shaped by my experiences.” He said he was invited by a now-deceased journalist for the Nation of Islam’s publication and said Farrakhan was in attendance with dozens of imams. Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called Israel an “illegitimate regime” and has called for its “elimination.” When pressed by Fox News Digital on his ties to Farrakhan and his long history of antisemitic remarks, he responded, “Have no associations with Louis Farrakhan. Am not anti semetic (sic).” Fox followed up with a social media post showing him and Farrakhan, prompting him to say, “Meaning I have no current associations with him.” The other co-host of the convention was Minister Hashim Nzinga, who has since died and was serving as the chief of staff for the New Black Panther Party when he died in 2020. He also made several controversial statements, according to SPLC, including saying, “Every White man and every Jew is the devil by nature.” During a 2016 interview with the Los Angeles Times, he was asked to respond to Shabazz’s comment about killing Zionists, prompting him to admit, “I still say that all the time now. You’ve gotta kill them before they kill you. … If someone brings harm to us, we’re gonna kill them.” BIDEN CABINET OFFICIAL POSES FOR PHOTO WITH ONE OF FARRAKHAN’S ‘TOP SOLDIERS’ AT DNC “In addition, Nzinga said in the interview that homosexuality is evil, that Jews control the media and are responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks and that blacks are God’s ‘chosen people,’ Jesus himself being black,” the LA Times reported at the time. An archived itinerary of the convention revealed that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ controversial uncle, Leonard Jeffries, was also a speaker at the event. The elder Jeffries, who has a long history of antisemitism, is described on the convention’s website as a “political scientist” who “achieved national prominence in the early 1990s for his historical statements about Jews” and highlighted how Jeffries “stated that Jews financed the slave trade, used the movie industry to hurt Black people, and that whytes [sic] are ‘ice people’ while Africans are ‘sun people.’” Shabazz posted Jeffries’ speech on his Facebook page, where he opened his remarks by saying “Black power” before asking the crowd to give a round of applause for Shabazz and Nzinga for organizing the convention. He also gave a shoutout to Farrakhan during his remarks. Another speaker at the convention was Dr. Boyce Watkins, who wrote the book “The
Georgia judge dismisses two criminal counts against Trump in Fani Willis’ 2020 election interference case
A judge dismissed two criminal counts in the Georgia 2020 election interference case against former President Donald Trump and one other count against allies of the former president. Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee ruled that Georgia prosecutors had no authority to bring the charges, which related to alleged filing of false documents in federal court. FORMER SENATOR LAUNCHES 6-FIGURE AD BLITZ AGAINST FANI WILLIS AHEAD OF GEORGIA ELECTION “President Trump and his legal team in Georgia have prevailed once again,” Trump attorney Steve Sadow said. “The trial court has decided that counts 15 and 27 in the indictment must be quashed/dismissed.” Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had charged Trump related to alleged 2020 election interference. Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts. FANI WILLIS FACES NOTHING BUT SETBACKS IN CASE AGAINST TRUMP Earlier this year, the judge dismissed six of the charges against Trump, saying Willis failed to allege sufficient detail. The case also was thrown into limbo when it was revealed Willis reportedly had an “improper affair” with Nathan Wade, a prosecutor she hired to help bring the case against Trump. Wade was later removed. In June, the Georgia Court of Appeals paused the proceedings until it hears the case to disqualify Willis in October, yet another major setback for Willis. The Georgia Court of Appeals said it would hear Trump’s argument to have Willis disqualified on Dec. 5, a month after the 2024 presidential election. In a separate decision on Thursday, McAfee upheld the racketeering charge in the case, which has been brought against all the defendants.
Harris campaign silent on House bill banning contracts with ‘Chinese military company’ amid Walz ties
Seventy-nine Democrats voted against a bill effectively banning Chinese military companies from doing federal business in the United States, but the Harris-Walz campaign declined to say where it stands on the legislation amid concerns over Gov. Tim Walz’s ties to an institute that did business with one of the companies targeted in the bill. The Biosecure Act, HR 8333, passed the House by a vote of 306-81, with 79 Democrats and two Republicans voting against it. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, would not allow federal agencies to “procure or obtain any biotechnology equipment or service produced or provided by a biotechnology company of concern.” One of the companies called out in the act, Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI), has been labeled a “Chinese military company” by the Pentagon and has done extensive work with a medical research institute with deep ties to Walz, Fox News Digital previously reported. Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign multiple times for comment over the last six days on whether it supports the Biosecure Act, but they refused to say where the campaign stands. FORMER CIA OFFICER ACCEPTED GIFTS FROM CHINA FOR TOP SECRET INFO, SENTENCED TO PRISON BGI’s presence in the United States was brought to the forefront again this week after Fox News Digital reported that the House Oversight Committee is aware of a machine operated by BGI that is in use at Los Alamos, the nation’s most secretive government laboratory. “I spoke in favor of my bill, the BIOSECURE Act, on the House floor today. This legislation is the first step towards breaking our reliance on Chinese biotech and pharmaceutical companies while protecting the genetic data of millions of Americans from the CCP,” Wenstrup posted on X shortly before the bill was passed. “From harvesting genetic data for research to aiding and abetting the CCP in genocide, China’s biotech companies have proven they will stop at nothing to assist the CCP. It’s time we reclaim our independence and protect the health care of all Americans.” NEW REPORT SOUNDS ALARM ON CHINA’S ROLE IN DESTROYING US FAMILIES WITH DEADLY DRUG: ‘DESTABILIZING CRISIS’ Earlier this year, the House Oversight Committee announced it is investigating Walz’s ties to China and on Thursday the Washington Examiner reported that the investigation has expanded and documents have been requested. Walz worked briefly in China as a teacher, traveling to Guangdong in 1989 for a teach abroad program to teach English and American history. Walz has made dozens of trips to China and The Wall Street Journal, citing local media reports, reported that one trip to China doubled as his honeymoon in 1994, and he planned his wedding date to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. “I’ve lived in China and, as I’ve said, I’ve been there about 30 times…. I don’t fall into the category that China necessarily needs to be an adversarial relationship. I totally disagree, and I think we need to stand firm on what they’re doing in the South China Sea, but there’s many areas of cooperation we can work on,” Walz said in an interview with Agri-Pulse Communications. He was also quoted by a local outlet in 1990 reflecting on his visits to China, saying, “No matter how long I live, I will never be treated that well again.” “They gave me more gifts than I could bring home. It was an excellent experience,” Walz said, adding that he was “treated exceptionally well.” The remark came in the wake of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 and amid continued and still ongoing mass human rights abuses by the communist regime. Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips and Cameron Cawthorne contributed to this report
What’s Real Madrid star Mbappe’s pay dispute with his former club PSG?
The French football star and his ex-club are at loggerheads over $60m in ‘unpaid’ wages. Al Jazeera explains why. Two of football’s biggest names are locking horns in a pay dispute that could be about to turn into a courtroom drama. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and their former striker Kylian Mbappe, now with Real Madrid, are at loggerheads over unpaid wages prior to the France captain’s departure for the Spanish capital in July. Al Jazeera Sport looks at how the relationship between the French champions and their all-time leading scorer has turned so sour and led to a standoff just shy of a court hearing. Why are Mbappe and PSG locked in a dispute? Mbappe claims PSG owes him $60.6m in wages which the Parisians say the striker agreed to waive in August 2023. Why are the sums outstanding from Mbappe’s time in Paris? The striker alleges he is owed the total sum following an unpaid signing bonus he was expecting to receive in February, the three final months of his salary, as well as an “ethical bonus” covering the period. Paris Saint-Germain’s forward Kylian Mbappe celebrates with the championship trophy during a ceremony following the French Ligue 1 football match against Toulouse on May 12, 2024 at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris [Franck Fife/Reuters] When did the dispute between PSG and Mbappe begin? PSG and Mbappe first fell out last year when the forward refused to sign a contract extension and was frozen out of the team. He was later reinstated into the first-team squad after the parties arrived at an apparent resolution. Media reports last year said Mbappe had agreed to forego loyalty bonuses if he left PSG on a free transfer. Then, in January, Mbappe said he made an agreement with PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi which would “protect all parties and preserve the club’s serenity for the challenges ahead”. The striker, as expected, left the club at the end of the 2023-24 season for Madrid as a free agent. What is the latest in the saga? Lawyers representing the two parties met early on Wednesday after Mbappe, who joined Madrid this summer, had referred his case to the French Football League’s (LFP) legal committee, which then offered to mediate. What is Mbappe’s side saying? Mbappe’s entourage said on Wednesday that they had refused the league’s offer to act as a mediator between the parties. “The eventuality of a mediation was mentioned,” Mbappe’s entourage said in a statement. “This possibility was rejected during the meeting by the player’s representative. A mediation would be useless to establish a lack of payment that can be seen from a simple analysis of the player’s payslip.” Kylian Mbappe, right, has scored 48 goals in 86 games for France [Claudio Villa/Getty Images] What are PSG saying? PSG had welcomed the proposition of mediation. “Paris Saint-Germain is very pleased with today’s two-hour hearing before the commission,” the French club said. “The club recalled that the player has made clear repeated public and private commitments that must be respected, having been afforded unprecedented benefits by the club over seven fantastic years in Paris. “In the light of the club’s oral and documented arguments, the commission insisted on mediation between the parties, which Paris Saint-Germain has been seeking for many months. “The Commission has now invited the player to consider the mediation process.” What is Mbappe’s history with PSG? Mbappe, who was born in Paris, started his professional career with Monaco where he moved through the ranks from youth-team level. The forward joined PSG from Monaco for $132.5m in 2018 following a season-long loan the year before – the same year that he made his international debut for France, for whom he has since scored 48 goals in 86 appearances. Mbappe won six French championships in his seven seasons with PSG, and was the league’s leading scorer with 27 goals – eight clear of his nearest rival – in the last campaign. Adblock test (Why?)