Fox News Politics: Free at Last
Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. What’s happening… -Harris hit with blistering series of new ads… -Trump to sit down with FBI after assassination attempt… -How has the Supreme Court actually been ruling… Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is free. Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan are back on U.S. soil after a massive swap of political prisoners involving the U.S. and Russia, a senior administration official confirmed to Fox News on Thursday morning. Alsu Kurmasheva, another U.S. citizen, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a green card holder, were also freed. Gershkovich, 32, was arrested on March 29, 2023, while reporting on a trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg and accused of espionage, while working for The Wall Street Journal. The Biden administration declared him “wrongfully detained” and The Wall Street Journal and U.S. government both emphatically denied the charges, calling them absurd on their face. Whelan had languished in Russian custody for years. A well-placed source told Fox News that Turkish intelligence officials played a key role in mediating the prisoner swap…Read more FAREWELL TOUR: Biden admin eyes parade of foreign visits for president’s final months in office …Read more MAKING HISTORY: Harris led charge to help man become country’s first undocumented lawyer …Read more KAMALA’S TRAVELS: Questions mount over whether Harris can take on Putin, Xi …Read more ‘DANGEROUS MESSAGE’: Top Republican raises concerns over trading Americans for ‘actual Russian criminals’ …Read more ‘LOOKING FOR A SCAPEGOAT’: Senators say Secret Service trying blame game after Trump rally shooting …Read more PRIMARY BATTLE: House conservative who has twice moved to impeach Vice President Harris faces competitive GOP primary …Read more ‘NOT SURPRISING’: Vance slams plea deal for 9/11 terrorists during Arizona rally …Read more ‘MORAL CATASTROPHE’: Harris hit with blistering ad targeting crucial voting blocs in key swing state …Read more ‘HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT’: Ben Carson praises Trump for NABJ appearance …Read more ‘FINALLY!’: Trump thanks Catholic org for multi-million campaign against Harris …Read more FORGET RACE: Republicans wary of using DEI against Harris as Trump jokes about her being ‘Indian or Black’ …Read more SCOTUS BREAKDOWN: How have the justices really been siding? …Read more WITNESS STATEMENT: Trump to sit down for FBI interview after failed assassination plot …Read more ‘UNAFRAID’: Trump assassination attempt victim ‘sad’ with state of ‘political division’ in US …Read more THE 10,000: Glenn Youngkin promised 10,000 new startups and 400K new jobs upon his 2021 win …Read more AMERICANS ‘DESERVE ANSWERS’: Trump assassination attempt puts Secret Service funding in question …Read more Subscribe now to get the Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Soaring popularity of Vance’s ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ rebuts narrative that Trump VP pick is floundering
Sen. JD Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy” returned to the top spot as the No. 1 bestselling book in the U.S. this week – and sources close to the campaign told Fox News Digital it shows that voters are interested in getting to know former President Trump’s running mate. Vance’s memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” which originally published in June 2016, reclaimed the top spot on major bestseller lists this week, including the New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, and USA Today. JD VANCE SAYS ‘ANTI-FAMILY’ DEMS TOOK ‘CHILDLESS CAT LADY’ REMARK OUT OF CONTEXT: ‘LIE OF THE LEFT’ A film adaption of the memoir, released in 2020, also has seen an uptick in viewership since Trump named Vance his running mate. The film has shot up to the No. 9 spot on Netflix’s list of top 10 movies. A source familiar told Fox News Digital that viewers have watched nearly six million hours of the film. Vance’s commercial success comes as pundits and many on the left have criticized him in recent days about a 2021 comment Vance made about women without children. But a source close to the Trump campaign said the renewed success of “Hillbilly Elegy” just shows that “everyday Americans are rushing to get copies of his personal memoir to get to know the man based on his own words – without any media filter.” “The mainstream media has been pulling their hair out, insisting JD Vance had a historically bad week on the campaign trail,” said a source close to the Trump campaign. “In reality, millions of people who have completely lost faith in the media have rushed to buy copies of ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ or gathered with their family to watch the movie at home.” TRUMP SENIOR CAMPAIGN ADVISOR SLAMS LEFT: TAKING VANCE’S ‘CAT LADY’ COMMENTS ‘BLATANTLY OUT OF CONTEXT’ More recently, Vance has dealt with headaches as an interview from 2021 resurfaced, in which he said, “We are effectively run in this country, via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they wanna make the rest of the country miserable, too.” He then specifically called out Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., as being part of this group in that interview. This week, the Harris campaign, and various other prominent Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, actress Jennifer Aniston and others blasted Vance, accusing him of devaluing women that don’t have children, or can’t have them under normal circumstances. Vance has said Democrats have taken his comments “out of context and blow it out of proportion, which is what they always do because they don’t have an agenda to run on themselves.” VANCE RIPS HARRIS FOR QUESTIONING HIS LOYALTY TO AMERICA: ‘WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE?’ A Vance spokesperson told Fox News Digital that “the leftwing media have twisted Senator Vance’s words and spun up a false narrative about his position on the issues.” “As he clearly stated, he was talking about politicians on the left who support policies that are explicitly anti-child and anti-family,” Vance spokesperson Taylor Van Kirk said. “The media can obsess over it all they want, but he’s not going to back down when it comes to advocating for policies that protect parental rights and encourage people to have more kids.” And Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita defended Vance, saying the critics are being “absolutely absurd.” “We’re about fighting for the working women of the United States, the forgotten people of the middle class. JD Vance is the perfect representation of that,” LaCivita told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade. “They know it. It scares the hell out of them… They’re going to peddle in fiction and we’re going to have to deal with it as we go forward.”
Trump’s appeal to lift remaining parts of NY gag order denied
A New York appeals court on Thursday denied former President Trump’s request to lift the remaining portions of the gag order imposed upon him in New York v. Trump. Trump was found guilty on all counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. The former president and Republican presidential nominee had pleaded not guilty. He is appealing the ruling and has asked Judge Juan Merchan to overturn the jury’s verdict. In March, weeks before the trial began, Merchan imposed a gag order on Trump to limit his ability to make certain public statements about court staff, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s staff, and family members of the court and prosecutors. The order also prevented Trump from speaking about witnesses. Trump had repeatedly appealed the gag order, urging for it to be overturned and arguing that it violated his First Amendment rights. TRUMP REQUESTS NY JUDGE OVERTURN GUILTY VERDICT, INDICTMENT AFTER SCOTUS IMMUNITY RULING With the most recent denial, the gag order remains in place. Trump was set to be sentenced on July 11 — days before the Republican National Convention — but requested that it be delayed following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the issue of presidential immunity. NEW YORK V. TRUMP: MERCHAN DELAYS SENTENCING HEARING UNTIL SEPTEMBER 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. “The President therefore may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled, at a minimum, to a presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts,” the majority opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts states. “That immunity applies equally to all occupants of the Oval Office, regardless of politics, policy, or party.” TRUMP TOUTS SUPREME COURT’S PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY RULING AS ‘BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND FOR DEMOCRACY’ The question of presidential immunity stemmed from special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 case against Trump. Trump pleaded not guilty to those charges. That trial was put on hold in a lower court pending the Supreme Court’s ruling, which wiped out any charges related to official presidential acts. Judge Juan Merchan agreed to delay and said that a hearing on Trump’s potential sentencing would take place Sept. 18. But days later, Trump’s lawyers asked Merchan to overturn the former president’s guilty verdict in New York v. Trump. Trump attorneys cited the Supreme Court ruling, saying the court should “dismiss the indictment and vacate the jury’s verdict based on violations of the Presidential immunity doctrine and the Supremacy Clause.” In the formal motion, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche pointed to the Supreme Court’s immunity decision and argued that certain evidence of “official acts” should not have been admitted during the trial. Specifically, Blanche argued that testimony from former White House officials and employees was inappropriately admitted during trial. Blanche argued that Bragg “violated the Presidential immunity doctrine by using similar official-acts evidence in the grand jury proceedings that gave rise to the politically motivated charges in this case.” A ruling on the motion is pending.
Boebert raising gold-level prize money for female Olympic athlete bested by boxer barred from women’s events
EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., is seeking to raise the equivalent of a gold medal for an Olympic athlete who was defeated by an opponent who previously failed gender eligibility tests. Italian boxer Angela Carini competed in the 66-kilogram women’s division Olympic boxing match Thursday, but abandoned the fight just 45 seconds in after getting hit by her opponent, who was deemed to have male chromosomes. Carini left the match against Algerian boxer Imane Khelif in tears, saying later: “I didn’t give up, but one punch hurt too much, and so I said enough.” “Enough is enough,” Boebert told Fox News Digital as she launches her Give Send Go effort to raise $196,000 for Carini – what Italy pays their Olympic athletes for a gold medal. OLYMPIC BOXER DEEMED TO HAVE MALE CHROMOSOMES WIN FIGHT IN 46 SECONDS, OPPONENT LEFT IN TEARS AFTER HARD HITS “It’s really unfortunate when women who have competed since they were little girls, trained since they were little girls, are forced to compete against a mediocre male athlete,” Boebert said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. “I believe that Angela deserves better. She worked her entire life to reach the very top of her sport, and my heart goes out to her today. It was really devastating.” Boebert pointed to International Boxing Association President Umar Kremlev, who admitted that Khelif was disqualified during the 2023 World Championships after failing to meet gender eligibility standards. “Based on DNA tests, we identified a number of athletes who tried to trick their colleagues into posing as women. According to the results of the tests, it was proved that they have XY chromosomes. Such athletes were excluded from competition,” Kremlev said. Boebert added that in allowing Khelif to compete, the Olympics “gave the green light that it’s OK for men to compete, even a physical competition, to the point where they’re hitting women. And this is not OK.” “It’s disgusting. And at what point are we going to say enough is enough and call for an end to this?… And it’s not OK when it’s on the world stage next, where women are being defeated by men,” she said. The congresswoman said every dollar contributed to Give Send Go will go directly to Carini.
Join us November 13-14 for two days of conversations on the future of rural Texas
Focused on “Small Towns, Big Possibilities,” we’ll discuss where rural Texas is and where it can go.
White House claims Biden ‘played no role’ in 9/11 mastermind’s plea deal
The White House said Thursday that President Biden “played no role” in the plea deal process for three of the masterminds behind the Sept. 11 terror attacks. “The White House learned yesterday that the Convening Authority for Military Commissions entered into pretrial agreements, negotiated by military prosecutors, with KSM and other 9/11 defendants,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “The President and the White House played no role in this process. The President has directed his team to consult as appropriate with officials and lawyers at the Department of Defense on this matter.” The statement comes after the Department of Defense announced Wednesday that prosecutors had reached a plea agreement with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two others, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, for their role in masterminding the Sept. 11 terror attacks. 9/11 MASTERMIND, 2 OTHERS STRIKE PLEA DEALS WHILE AWAITING TRIAL; FAMILIES OF VICTIMS ‘VERY DISAPPOINTED’ The agreement would help bring a close to a yearslong process, with the case being stuck in pretrial proceedings in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, with no trial in sight over concerns about the admissibility of evidence that was obtained through the CIA’s enhanced interrogation of the three defendants, which critics have denounced as torture. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but family members of 9/11 victims were told by the Office of Military Commissions that the suspects would be spared the death penalty as part of the deal, according to a report from the New York Post. While Biden did not play a role in the deal that was ultimately reached, the president rejected a proposal last year that would have spared the three suspects from the death penalty. FBI DIRECTOR WARNS OF JIHADIST ATTACK IN US, SIMILAR TO RUSSIAN CONCERT HALL: ‘HEIGHTENED TERRORIST THREAT’ According to a New York Times report outlining the deal, which was rejected by Biden in September, the three suspects proposed a deal that would force the Pentagon to accept a guarantee that they would not serve their sentences in solitary confinement, that they would be allowed to eat and pray with other prisoners, and that they would get civilian-run medical care for conditions they claimed were caused by CIA interrogations. Meanwhile, some family members of 9/11 victims expressed disappointment in the deal reached by the Defense Department. “The prosecution and families have waited 23 years to have our day in court to put on the record what these animals did to our loved ones. They took that opportunity away from us,” Jim Smith, whose wife Moira Smith was the only female NYPD officer to die in the attacks, told the New York Post. “They committed the worst crime in the history of our country, they should receive the highest penalty.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “I am very disappointed. We waited patiently for a long time. I wanted the death penalty – the government has failed us,” Daniel D’Allara, whose brother John was an NYPD officer killed in the attacks, told the outlet.
Vance: ‘Hard to believe’ how poorly Harris has handled US-Mexico border until you ‘see it with your own eyes’
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance is tearing into Kamala Harris for the Biden administration’s handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, telling reporters during a visit there Thursday that it is “hard to believe” until you “see it with your own eyes.” Vance, speaking in Cochise County, Arizona, said “If people can come into this country and they know they’re never going to be deported, you effectively have an open border.” “It’s hard to believe until you see it with your own eyes, just how bad the policies of the Kamala Harris administration have been when it comes to the southern border,” Vance said. “They started their administration, Kamala Harris came into office… they stopped deportations on day one. They stopped construction of the border wall. “We see the border wall sitting here, ready to be completed behind us. And that can’t happen because of Kamala Harris’s administration. They reinstated catch and release and they stopped remain in Mexico,” he continued. “So all these asylum claimants who come to our border, they can now get released into our country because they’re not forced to stay in Mexico while we adjudicate their asylum claims.” BORDER DISTRICT REPUBLICAN INVITES KAMALA HARRIS TO VIEW CRISIS FIRSTHAND: ‘STICKS OUT LIKE A SORE THUMB’ Vance described the “human toll” of the ongoing immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border as the “thing we cannot forget.” “We have got kids who can’t learn in schools because [they] have been overwhelmed with migrant children who shouldn’t be there,” Vance said. “We’ve got hospitals where the wait times have exploded because illegal aliens are standing in front of the line of American citizens.” “The media needs to tell the truth and Kamala Harris needs to change course on this crazy border, the border mess, or the people who suffer the most are the people who can least afford to suffer,” he declared. BORDER MAYORS JUDGE HARRIS’ PERFORMANCE ON IMMIGRATION CRISIS AS VICE PRESIDENT Vance also described securing the border as “not rocket science.” “You just have to re-implement some commonsense policies. You’ve got to re-implement remain in Mexico. You’ve got to stop catch and release,” he said. “You’ve got to force these asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while their claims are being adjudicated. And you’ve got to finish this border wall and re-implement deportations.” The Harris campaign, when contacted by Fox News Digital on Thursday, mentioned how Harris was endorsed this week by a group of mayors in Arizona border towns “praising her long record of fighting to secure the border and fix our broken immigration system, including her work going after transnational gangs smuggling weapons and drugs as California Attorney General and bringing border crossings to their lowest level in years with tough border policies in the White House.”
NEET exam row: CBI files first charge sheet in paper leak case, 13 named as accused
The central probe agency, which is investigating the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam, has lodged six FIRs.
‘No Kings Act’: Schumer advances Biden SCOTUS overhaul with bill to strip Trump’s immunity
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., took the first step to advance President Biden’s Supreme Court overhaul plan, beginning with a measure to strip immunity from former President Trump after last month’s ruling in his favor. The “No Kings Act” would “clarify” that the Constitution does not entitle presidents to immunity from criminal prosecution for their actions in office, despite the ruling of the high court. In a statement, Schumer reiterated that the Supreme Court’s ruling granting former presidents significant immunity for official acts done while in office is “dangerous and devastating.” ‘DANGEROUS MESSAGE’: TOP REPUBLICAN RAISES CONCERNS OVER TRADING AMERICANS FOR ‘ACTUAL RUSSIAN CRIMINALS’ “The MAGA Supreme Court has once again subverted the will of the American people, and the very idea of democracy itself,” he added. “The Founders were explicit – no man in America shall be a king. Yet, in their disastrous decision, the Supreme Court threw out centuries of precedent and anointed Trump and subsequent presidents as kings above the law. Given the dangerous and consequential implications of the Court’s ruling, legislation would be the fastest and most efficient method to correcting the grave precedent the Trump ruling presented. With this glaring and partisan overreach, Congress has an obligation – and a constitutional authority – to act as a check and balance to the judicial branch.” KAMALA HARRIS HIT FOR HER ROLE IN PROMOTING IRA FUNDING OF ‘ANTI-AMERICAN’ GROUPS The legislation was backed by 34 Democratic co-sponsors. Vulnerable incumbent Democratic Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin were among those who joined the measure. Biden’s recent Supreme Court proposal also included requests for justice term limits and an enforceable code of ethics. After the president’s announcement, Schumer praised the proposed overhaul. “I am particularly pleased President Biden called for undoing the damage of the Court’s recent immunity decision,” the leader said earlier this week. SCHUMER SILENT ON BIDEN OIL PURCHASE AFTER BLASTING TRUMP FOR ‘BAILOUT FOR BIG OIL’ Schumer foreshadowed the No Kings Act, remarking, “An option I am considering is drawing up legislation clarifying that the President is not immune from violations of federal law.” The measure would declare that there is no legal immunity for former presidents or vice presidents that violate the law while in office or in an official capacity, as Schumer previewed. KARI LAKE WINS GOP NOD, SETTING UP GENERAL ELECTION BATTLE WITH GALLEGO FOR SINEMA’S SEAT However, it would also take away the Supreme Court’s authority to address appeals regarding the bill’s constitutionality. Instead, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia would handle challenges to the law, and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit would have appellate jurisdiction. Further, it would allow the government to charge former presidents or vice presidents with crimes in any district court across the country. The majority leader’s legislation faces near-certain failure in the Senate, as Republicans are unlikely to join Democrats to help the measure pass the 60-vote threshold necessary to beat a filibuster. Its odds would be even worse in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where it likely wouldn’t make it to the chamber floor.
Harris’ vetting team privately meets with Shapiro, Kelly ahead of veep announcement: report
Vice President Kamala Harris’ vetting team privately met with two top contenders to run alongside the presumptive Democratic nominee on the 2024 ticket, just days before a final decision is to be made on the vice presidential selection. Harris’ team reportedly met with both Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Politico reported Thursday, as the vetting process narrows the candidate field. Asked by Fox News Digital whether Harris’ vetting team also met with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, another candidate being considered for the position, the campaign remained mum. TWO OUTRAGEOUS BILLS KAMALA HARRIS SPONSORED WOULD CRUSH TAXPAYERS While several candidates remain in the pool, Harris is expected to announce her running mate as soon as Monday. The new pair will kick off a four-day, battleground state tour with their first campaign rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday. Shapiro, one of her leading candidates, hails from just outside of Philadelphia in Montgomery County. 2024 SHOWDOWN: TRUMP CAMPAIGN REJOICES AFTER HARRIS LEANS IN ON KEY ISSUE HAUNTING HER VICE PRESIDENCY A vice presidential nominee has not been announced in their home state for the past several election cycles, giving rise to speculation that the Pennsylvania governor could be the favorite in the mix. Also on Harris’ shortlist for vice president are North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. Ashley Etienne, a former Harris communications director, recently told NBC News that her bet is on Kelly for the position.