Grid operator says Texas is better prepared for extreme cold this winter
ERCOT says conditions this winter could spark extreme cold, but additional power supply and continued weatherization efforts will lower the risk of power outages.
Trump attorneys file motion to dismiss ‘failed lawfare’ case in New York, citing Hunter Biden pardon
Lawyers for President-elect Donald Trump have officially requested to “immediately” dismiss charges against him in New York v. Trump, declaring the “failed lawfare” case “should never have been brought.” “President Donald J. Trump respectfully submits this motion to dismiss the Indictment and vacate the jury’s verdicts…,” they wrote in their official motion to dismiss submitted to the court on Monday. “The Presidential immunity doctrine, the Presidential Transition Act, and the Supremacy Clause all require that result, and they require it immediately.” TRUMP LAWYERS DEMAND BRAGG CASE BE ‘IMMEDIATELY DISMISSED,’ SAY ELECTION ‘SUPERSEDES’ POLITICAL ‘MOTIVATIONS’ Trump attorneys, in the beginning of their argument for dismissal, invoked President Biden’s decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden. “Yesterday, in issuing a 10-year pardon to Hunter Biden that covers any and all crimes whether charged or uncharged, President Biden asserted that his son was ‘selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,’ and ‘treated differently,’” they wrote. “President Biden argued that ‘raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice.’” Trump attorneys said Biden’s “comments amounted to an extraordinary condemnation of President Biden’s own DOJ.” PROSECUTORS REQUEST STAY IN TRUMP NY CASE UNTIL 2029 AS DEFENSE PLANS MOTION FOR DISMISSAL ‘ONCE AND FOR ALL’ “This is the same DOJ that coordinated and oversaw the politically-motivated, election-interference witch hunts targeting President Trump by disgraced Special Counsel Jack Smith, the other biased prosecutors in Smith’s Special Counsel’s Office (“SCO”), and others. This is the same DOJ that sent Matthew Colangelo to DA Bragg to help unfairly target President Trump in this empty and lawless case,” they wrote. “Since DA Bragg took office, he has engaged in ‘precisely the type of political theater’ that President Biden condemned.” Trump spokesman and incoming White House communications director Steven Cheung said after the filing, “President Trump and his legal team have filed a powerhouse motion to dismiss once and for all the unconstitutional and politically motivated Manhattan DA Hoax. This lawless case should have never been brought, and the Constitution demands that it be immediately dismissed, as President Trump must be allowed to continue the Presidential Transition process, and execute the vital duties of the presidency, unobstructed by the remains of this, or any other, Witch Hunt.” “Today’s motion provides every possible chance for Judge Merchan do the right thing and end what remains of this charade immediately, rightfully allowing our country to unite behind President Trump for the betterment of all Americans.” Trump attorneys said New York v. Trump is “based on a contrived, defective, and unprecedented legal theory relating to 2017 entries in documents that were maintained hundreds of miles away from the White House where President Trump was running the country.” “There are no ‘aggravating factors’ here, other than those arising from DANY’s misconduct,” they wrote. “Thus, this case should never have been brought, particularly during a period when DA Bragg’s failure to protect this City from pervasive violent crime frightens, threatens, and harms New Yorkers on a daily basis.” Trump attorneys also said that the case “would never have been brought were it not for President Trump’s political views, the transformative national movement established under his leadership, and the political threat that he poses to entrenched, corrupt politicians in Washington, D.C. and beyond.” JUDGE GRANTS JACK SMITH REQUEST TO DISMISS JAN. 6 CHARGES AGAINST TRUMP, APPEAL DROPPED IN FLORIDA DOCS CASE Trump lawyers said that “wrongly continuing proceedings in this failed lawfare case disrupts President Trump’s transition efforts and his preparations to wield the full Article II executive power authorized by the Constitution pursuant to the overwhelming national mandate granted to him by the American people on November 5, 2024.” Trump attorneys, citing the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision which ruled that presidents have immunity from official acts, said the case threatens the functioning of the federal government. “Local elected officials such as DA Bragg have no valid basis to cause such disruptions, which also violate the Supremacy Clause,” they wrote. “Consequently, the federal Constitution is an absolute “legal impediment” to further proceedings…and the case must be immediately dismissed.” Trump attorneys said that Bragg’s “wrongful prosecution threatens ‘enduring consequences upon the balanced power structure of our Republic’ and the type of ‘factional strife’ that President Biden decried in yesterday’s blanket pardon announcement.” They said the Special Counsel’s Office “has been forced to concede.” TRUMP REQUESTS NY JUDGE OVERTURN GUILTY VERDICT, INDICTMENT AFTER SCOTUS IMMUNITY RULING Last month, a federal judge, upon Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request, dismissed charges against Trump in his 2020 election interference case. Smith also rescinded his appeal in his classified records case against Trump — a case that was tossed in July by a federal judge in Florida who ruled Smith was appointed unlawfully as special counsel. Bragg, last month, requested to Judge Juan Merchan that the case be stayed until the end of Trump’s second term, but Trump attorneys noted that the Office of Legal Counsel in the Justice Department concluded that “the categorical prohibition on the federal indictment of a sitting president…even if the case were held in abeyance…applies to this situation.” They wrote that Bragg’s “ridiculous suggestion that they could simply resume proceedings after President Trump leaves Office, more than a decade after they commenced their investigation in 2018, is not an option.” BRAGG CASE ‘EFFECTIVELY OVER’ IN ‘MAJOR VICTORY,’ TRUMP OFFICIALS SAY Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree stemming from the yearslong investigation related to alleged hush money payments run by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance initiated the investigation, and Bragg prosecuted Trump. After an unprecedented six-week trial in New York City, a jury found the president guilty on all counts.
House Dems ripped for ‘tone deaf’ social media post on key issue affecting Americans: ’embarrassing’
A social media account associated with House Democrats was ripped by conservatives Tuesday over a deleted post suggesting the economy is strong and seemingly minimizing the struggles of those who have difficulty affording groceries. “And here we were thinking y’all couldnt afford eggs!” the Ways and Means Democrats posted on X Tuesday with a screenshot of an X post from journalist Paul Brandus that said, “Record air travel, holiday shopping busting records, stock market at all-time highs. The economy is ‘the worst ever,’ some Pollyannas whine.” The post, which has since been deleted by the Ways and Means Democrats, sparked backlash from conservatives on social media. “What an embarrassing thing to post … wow,” Abigail Jackson, communications director for GOP Sen. Josh Hawley, posted on X, “and Dems wonder why they lost.” TRUMP SUGGESTS CANADA BECOME 51ST STATE AFTER TRUDEAU SAID TARIFF WOULD KILL ECONOMY: SOURCES “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Egg prices soared—he couldn’t afford it all!” GOP Rep. Claudia Tenney posted on X. “Ways and Means Dems tweeted with smiles so wide, While the cost of eggs kept rising high! Humpty Dumpty cracked in despair, ‘These prices, these prices, they’re too much to bear!’ Democrats laugh, they don’t seem to care, But we’re stuck paying more for eggs in high-cost despair!” “This is really what Democrat staffers on Capitol Hill think of the American majority who just rejected their policies after causing the worst inflation crisis our country has seen,” conservative commentator Amanda Head posted on X. “This is just how out-of-touch they are!” ANDY PUZDER: TRUMP WON IN AN ‘IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID’ ELECTION. DEMOCRATS CHOSE JUST TO BE STUPID “And people wonder why the Dems lost…,” Meredith Schellin Turton, digital director for House Speaker Mike Johnson, posted on X. “Americans have been struggling for FOUR YEARS to afford basic necessities and House Democrats are mocking them,” Speaker Johnson posted on X. “Talk about your all-time out of touch, disgraceful comments.” “House Dems deleted the tweet below in which they mocked people for complaining about the price of eggs, and also thought they were dunking on Republicans because there was record high spending on Black Friday,” Washington Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross posted on X. Fox News Digital reached out to House Ways and Means Democrats for comment but did not receive a response. A Gallup poll released in the lead-up to the presidential election showed 52% of Americans believed they and their families are worse off today than they were four years ago. The polling powerhouse noted that participants’ responses to whether they felt “better off” were typically tied to the U.S. economy. Gallup’s monthly Economic Confidence Index (ECI), which ranges from -100 to +100, registered at -26, with 39% saying they were better off financially four years ago. During the past three years, Americans have named inflation the most important financial problem facing their families. The survey’s findings suggest that inflation is an underlying fear of many Americans’ perception of the economy despite generally low unemployment and steady economic growth. Approximately 46% of Americans say their current economic conditions are “poor,” some 29% described them as “only fair,” while 25% said they were “good” or “excellent.” Additionally, 62% said the economy is “getting worse,” while 32% said in the survey that it is “getting better.” Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report
California’s unemployment benefits system ‘broken’ with $20B owed to feds in loan debt: report
California’s unemployment insurance (UI) financing system is facing big deficits, requiring a full “redesign,” according to a new report from the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO). The system, meant to be self-sufficient, has fallen short of covering annual benefit costs, resulting in a projected $2 billion annual deficit over the next five years and an outstanding $20 billion federal loan balance. “This outlook is unprecedented: although the state has, in the past, failed to build robust reserves during periods of economic growth, it has never before run persistent deficits during one of these periods,” the LAO report, titled “Fixing Unemployment Insurance” and published Tuesday, stated. NEWSOM PROPOSES $25M FROM STATE LEGISLATURE TO ‘TRUMP PROOF’ CALIFORNIA Independent analysts project that annual shortfalls will increase California’s federal loan, costing taxpayers around $1 billion in interest each year. The system, which is funded by employer payments to the UI Trust Fund, hasn’t been updated since 1984 and “cannot keep up with inflation or provide the intended wage replacement of half of workers’ wages,” according to the report. The current employer tax structure discourages eligible unemployed workers from claiming benefits, while the state’s low taxable wage base hampers hiring of lower-wage workers, analysts found. One suggestion researchers wrote to fix the gap is to increase the amount of wages taxed for unemployment benefits, raising it from $7,000 per worker to $46,800. Supporters of this change say it would bring in more money to fund the program. The report also recommends reworking how businesses are taxed for unemployment benefits to make the system simpler and encourage more hiring. PROPOSITION 36 OVERWHELMINGLY PASSES IN CALIFORNIA, REVERSING SOME SOROS-BACKED SOFT-ON-CRIME POLICIES To deal with the massive federal loan, the report suggests splitting the cost between employers and the state government, so that businesses aren’t stuck with all the debt. “These are significant problems in isolation, let alone in combination,” analysts wrote. “The significant changes proposed in this report are an honest reflection of these problems. However, whether or not the Legislature takes action, employers will soon pay more in UI taxes than they do today due to escalating charges under federal law.” Gareth Lacy, a spokesperson for the California Employment Development Department, which administers the state’s unemployment insurance program, called it “a thoughtful report” and noted officials “are reviewing it carefully.” “We agree the issue stretches back for decades and the pandemic compounded it,” Lacy told Fox News Digital in a statement. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the state’s UI system was hit hard with an overwhelming number of unemployment claims, resulting in the state borrowing roughly $20 billion from the federal government to cover insurance benefits, which the state still owes. “Not only will the state’s tax system fall short of repaying that loan, the balance is set to grow due to the ongoing gap between contributions and benefits,” the report noted. “This will become a near-permanent feature of the state’s UI program and a major ongoing cost for state taxpayers.”
Drone activity near Trump Bedminster, Army arsenal spurs NJ flight restriction: FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed Tuesday it issued two flight restrictions following questionable drone activity in the area of President-elect Trump’s New Jersey golf club. On Nov. 18, the FAA first received reports of drone activity within Morris County, the border of which lies about two miles north of Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in Somerset County. Upon request from “federal security partners,” the agency issued two TFRs, or temporary flight restrictions, and several reports of drone sightings continued into this week in Central Jersey. One restriction covers an area near Solberg-Hunterdon County Airport that consists of airspace above Trump Bedminster. Flights are also banned over Picatinny Arsenal, a major U.S. Army hub in Dover, N.J., geared toward research and development via its CCDCAC armaments center. NEW JERSEY OFFICIALS DRAFT VIP SECURITY PLAN AT BEDMINISTER AFTER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT The ban remains in place over Trump Bedminster for the rest of this week and over Picatinny Arsenal until Dec. 26. “Safely integrating drones into the National Airspace System is a key priority for the FAA,” the agency said in a statement Tuesday. “We look into all reports of unauthorized drone operations and investigate when appropriate,” the agency said, adding drone pilots who endanger aircraft or people can have their certification revoked and/or face $75,000 in fines. FLASHBACK: TRUMP ORG BLASTS REPORTS NJ MAY PULL LIQUOR LICENSES Local media reported law enforcement has also been probing continued drone activity in the area. Sightings have also occurred a few miles north of Bedminster in Mendham and Parsippany, where I-80 meets I-287. A Parsippany woman told the Morristown Record she saw as many as five drones overhead Sunday night. Morris County Sheriff James Gannon told New Jersey Patch there is “no advisable immediate danger to the public at this time” and asked the public to send law enforcement clear photographs of the drones. An FBI spokeswoman told the outlet the bureau’s Newark field office and New Jersey State Police are investigating. Fox News Digital reached out to Team Trump as well as the U.S. Army’s garrison at Picatinny for comment. The drone sightings in New Jersey come as unidentified drones have been seen over British-American joint bases in the United Kingdom. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Swarms of small drones” have been seen over Royal Air Force (RAF) Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Fairford and RAF Feltwell in England. Some of those bases house F-15 and F-35 fighter jets. The British military sent dozens of personnel to protect the bases, and a Pentagon spokesman said Nov. 26 none of the incursions affected the base’s buildings, personnel or assets. Nineties punk rock band Green Day also paused a September show in Detroit after a drone was spotted overhead. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong rushed backstage as he closed out “Longview.” The show resumed about 10 minutes later, and Detroit Police said a man was detained. Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin, Liz Friden and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
DOGE chief Musk bashes massive government spending on illegal immigrants: ‘Boggles the mind!’
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has signaled that funding for services for illegal immigrants is on the chopping block as the agency prepares to hack away at government spending. The department, which is not an official part of the government, is expected to be empowered by President-elect Trump to audit and implement sweeping changes within government agencies. DOGE called out U.S. spending on illegal immigration in an X post, saying it cost taxpayers $150.7 billion “in 2023 alone.” DOGE pointed out that, when adjusted for inflation, U.S. spending on illegal immigration in a single year is comparable to government spending during the entirety of World War I ($334 billion) and the Apollo space program ($257 billion), and significantly more than what was spent on the Manhattan Project ($30 billion), the Panama Canal ($15.2 billion), and the Hoover Dam ($1 billion). COLORADO REPUBLICANS SOUND OFF ON IMPACT OF MIGRANT SURGE ON CITIZENS: ‘THEIR SOULS ARE CRUSHED’ Musk also weighed in, posting on X that “the scale of spending on illegal immigration boggles the mind!” The data referenced by DOGE is from a 2023 study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). FAIR’s latest report, published in March 2023, estimated that the net cost of illegal immigration – including federal, state and local spending – was “at least” $150.7 billion, amounting to $1,156 per taxpayer. This was up by nearly $35 billion since 2017 when it was $116 billion. FAIR said it landed on this number by “subtracting the tax revenue paid by illegal aliens – just under $32 billion – from the gross negative economic impact of illegal immigration, $182 billion.” By its estimates, the federal government spent $66 billion while state and local expenditures amounted to well over $115 billion. The U.S. government does not appear to have any recent estimates on how much taxpayer dollars are being spent on illegal immigrants. Jessica Baxter, a representative for the U.S. Government Accountability Office, told Fox News Digital that the office “does not have any recent work addressing the federal government’s overall cost estimate on immigration-related efforts.” ‘THEY ARE FED UP’: DEM MAYOR’S OFFICE DEMANDS SOLUTION ON KEY ISSUE VOTERS SENT ‘RESOUNDING MESSAGE’ “We have a few reports that provide information on costs associated with specific border security or immigration-related efforts, such as estimates of costs for incarceration of noncitizens, but these do not provide overall estimates,” she said. “The two reports I’m referring to are from 2018 and 2011, so the data is somewhat dated. Our team is currently working on an update to the 2018 report, but the work is underway, and the report isn’t expected to issue any time soon.” Julie Kirchner, FAIR’s executive director, told Fox News Digital that the $150.7 billion number is actually a “very conservative estimate” and is likely much higher now that the undocumented migrant population has continued to rise. “The population we cited in the study was 15.5 million, we now estimate that it’s over 16.8 million, and we’re in the process right now of doing another estimate on the illegal alien population, and I’m sure it will be higher,” she explained. “So, we know the costs are going to go up.” She also said the 2023 study did not even include state and local spending on sheltering migrants. Though DOGE’s focus is primarily on the federal government, she said state and local spending – including on education, health care and incarceration – accounts for the largest share of government spending on illegal immigrants. BERNIE SANDERS ADMITS ‘ELON MUSK IS RIGHT’ TO SLASH PENTAGON WITH DOGE: ‘LOST TRACK OF BILLIONS’ Though exact numbers are hard to come by on the local level, America’s cities are carrying a large part of the burden. New York, the country’s biggest city by population, estimates that with nearly 100,000 asylum seekers having entered the city and “with no end in sight,” it will spend more than $12 billion through fiscal year 2025. Chicago, meanwhile, has reportedly spent $400 million on migrant services in the last two years. “There are more and more states using state taxpayer dollars to subsidize illegal immigration,” she said. “What we are seeing is state and locals are being forced to absorb all of these costs.” She believes that once Trump retakes office, DOGE and the administration should immediately work to end government health care plans for illegals and close the loophole allowing illegal migrants to get income tax and child tax credits. By doing this, she believes DOGE can save taxpayers around the country “billions and billions of dollars each year.” “There is a lot we can do,” she went on. “They are taking our own tax dollars and giving illegal aliens benefits and encouraging more illegal immigration. It is a crazy, crazy scenario where we’re seeing people welcome lawlessness, and it’s got to stop, and we’re hopeful that the DOGE will.”
DNC chair frontrunner offers ‘uncomfortable’ advice to Democrats after crushing loss to Trump
The candidate considered the frontrunner in the race to chair the Democratic National Committee is proposing a “massive narrative and branding project” to boost the party’s image in the wake of last month’s election losses. Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chair Ken Martin, a DNC vice chair who has led the association of state Democratic Party chairs, on Tuesday unveiled a 10-point memo titled “A New DNC Framework.” Martin’s memo calls on Democrats to “show up in nontraditional and uncomfortable media spaces on a regular basis, increase outreach to local messengers and trusted validators, and create our own platforms for authentic engagement.” Democrats suffered major setbacks up and down the ballot in the 2024 elections, as former President Trump recaptured the White House, and the GOP flipped the Senate and held onto their fragile majority in the House. MORE CANDIDATES JUMP INTO WIDE-OPEN DNC CHAIR RACE The Trump campaign and Republicans’ aggressive strategy of appearances on podcasts and other non-traditional media is credited, in part, for the gains they made in winning the support of working class, minority, younger and low-propensity voters. Martin, who is courting state Democratic Party officials this week as they huddle in Phoenix, Arizona, is also calling for themes others in the party have pushed, including competing in all 57 states and territories. “If we’re going to be a national party, we need to compete everywhere,” Martin emphasizes. He also calls for year-round organizing in every county in the country, contesting races all the way down the ballot, and energizing youth mobilization. WHO ELSE IS MULLING A BID TO STEER THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY Martin lamented that “the majority of Americans now believe the Republican Party best represents the interests of the working class and the poor, and the Democratic Party is the party of the wealthy and the elites. It’s a damning indictment on our party brand.” And he urged that “we must be willing to dig deep and recenter the Democratic agenda to unite families across race, age, background, and class.” Martin unveiled his plan on the same day that DNC chair Jaime Harrison released a memo highlighting that the party’s down-ballot victories last month offer a road map to greater electoral success in the future. Harrison is not seeking a second straight four-year term steering the national party committee. The next chair will be chosen by the roughly 450 voting members of the national party committee when they meet at the beginning of February at National Harbor in Maryland for the DNC’s winter meeting. Martin appears to be the early frontrunner in the race, and his campaign says he has the backing of at least 100 DNC voting members, which is nearly half of what a candidate needs to secure the chair. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING AND OPINION ON THE DEMOCRATS Also running and considered competitive is Ben Wikler, who’s chaired the state Democratic Party in battleground Wisconsin for five years and is well known by the voting members. “Today, the country we love needs the Democratic Party to be stronger. To unite. To fight. And to win,” Wikler emphasized on Sunday in a video as he launched his bid. A party insider who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely told Fox News that “the DNC insiders/establishment have significant influence over this membership, so the race will be very close.” Martin O’Malley, the former two-term Maryland governor and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate who served as commissioner of the Social Security Administration the past year, jumped into the race last week, a day before Martin. Also running are New York state Sen. James Skoufis and former U.S. Senate candidate from Maryland Robert Houton. The field of five DNC chair candidates is expected to grow. As Fox News and other news organizations reported last month, Rahm Emanuel, the ambassador to Japan, has been quietly reaching out to DNC committee members as he contemplates a bid. Emanuel is a former two-term Chicago mayor who earlier served as White House chief of staff in President Obama’s administration and as a member of Congress. Also eyeing the chair are former New York State assembly member Michael Blake, Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, and Chuck Rocha, a Democratic strategist who describes himself as “non-college-educated Mexican redneck.” A DNC voting member granted anonymity to speak more freely told Fox News, “I’m open to talking to whomever is interested in this, to listen to their vision and plan, and listen to people’s different takes on what we need to do.” “I think the race is wide open,” the member added.
Hunter Biden pardon raises new questions over 5th Amendment ‘loophole’
President Joe Biden’s sweeping pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, touched off a flurry of fresh legal speculation Tuesday over how, or if, the younger Biden can move to assert his Fifth Amendment privileges that protect against self-incrimination — and how the broad immunity granted to Hunter could be twisted against him. While Hunter Biden is indeed shielded against prosecution for any federal offenses he “committed or may have committed” between Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 1, 2024, those around him are not — which means that Hunter Biden could theoretically be called on to testify in any potential cases brought against family members or others in his inner circle. BIDEN’S SWEEPING HUNTER PARDON AT ODDS WITH LONGTIME RHETORIC ON EXECUTIVE POWER: ‘NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW’ In these cases, Hunter Biden’s pardon could actually limit his ability to assert Fifth Amendment privileges, since he is no longer at risk of facing criminal charges. However, the pardon applies only to federal crimes, not state crimes, and it remains unclear how, or if, Republicans could move to act on this possible loophole in the weeks and months ahead. Still, the question of Fifth Amendment protections does have outsize importance as Republicans prepare to regain the majority in both chambers of Congress in January, ramping up the possibility of potential GOP-led investigations into the outgoing president. In an interview Monday night on Newsmax, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said he plans to discuss the issue of Hunter Biden’s Fifth Amendment privileges with Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Pam Bondi. “I look forward to talking to attorney general Bondi about this,” the Kentucky Republican said. DNC UNION LAUNCHES GOFUNDME TO HELP FORMER STAFFERS HIT BY MASSIVE LAYOFFS AFTER ELECTION LOSSES “We still have information that we’ve requested that we never received,” Comer said, adding that in his view, the White House “is still to this day obstructing rightful evidence that we should have obtained.” Any investigations into Biden’s family after he leaves office would likely be criticized by Democrats as both futile and a waste of taxpayer money, given the nature of earlier investigations, Hunter’s own pardon and Biden’s own lame-duck status. Comer’s office did not respond to a question from Fox News Digital on whether the House Oversight Committee is planning to investigate Biden’s action in the next congressional session, or their views on Hunter’s ability to plead the Fifth. But the questions about this potential loophole come just days after President Joe Biden announced the sweeping clemency grant for his only surviving son. Earlier Tuesday, the federal judge overseeing Hunter Biden’s gun case in Delaware announced the termination of further court proceedings, including a planned sentencing date in December. Earlier this year, a Delaware jury found Hunter guilty on all three federal felony firearm charges brought against him. In terminating the proceedings, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika stopped short of dismissing the case outright, as requested by Hunter Biden’s legal team. In September, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to separate federal charges of tax evasion in California, which the pardon also covers. The judge in that case, Judge Mark Scarsi, has not yet announced whether he will terminate the proceedings against Hunter or dismiss the case in full.
House Dem moves to force vote on releasing Gaetz ethics report
A Democratic lawmaker is moving to force a vote on releasing the results of the House Ethics Committee’s report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., introduced legislation on Tuesday afternoon aimed at mandating a House-wide vote on whether to make the Gaetz report public. He introduced it as a “privileged resolution,” a mechanism that forces House leaders to consider it within two legislative days – putting the deadline on Thursday. The House Ethics Committee’s multi-year investigation into Gaetz, involving allegations of sex with a minor and illicit drug use, came to an abrupt halt last month after he resigned from Congress hours after President-elect Donald Trump tapped him to be his attorney general. Gaetz dropped out of consideration amid quiet but steady GOP opposition, but the committee nevertheless lost jurisdiction over the probe when Gaetz left the House of Representatives. His resignation came just before the committee was expected to meet to consider releasing the report. Gaetz has consistently denied any accusations of wrongdoing. This story is breaking and will be updated…
FBI has long been accused of politicization ahead of Dem concern over Kash Patel nomination
Critics of “deep state” foe Kash Patel, President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, call the veteran official a “danger” to the U.S. who will politicize the bureau – but a review of the agency’s recent history shows the upper echelon of the FBI has long had a politicization problem, and Patel says he’s just the man to end it. Trump announced over the weekend that he is nominating Patel as FBI director, after years as a public defender and working up the echelons of the federal government, including as senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council under the Trump administration, and chief of staff to acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller toward the end of Trump’s first term. Patel is an outspoken crusader against the “deep state.” In a book published last year, he explicitly called for revamping the FBI in a chapter dubbed “Overhauling the FBI,” and moving the FBI’s headquarters out of Washington, D.C. Since 2013, the FBI has seen three directors take the helm: James Comey, who served under the Obama administration before Trump fired him in May 2017; short-term acting-director Andrew McCabe under the Trump administration; and current director, Christopher Wray, whom Trump also appointed. WHO IS KASH PATEL? TRUMP’S PICK TO LEAD THE FBI HAS LONG HISTORY VOWING TO BUST UP ‘DEEP STATE’ Amid the political left’s outrage over the Patel pick, Fox News Digital revisited a handful of the agency’s scandals that were lambasted as politically motivated and spoiling the integrity of the agency. In 2017, the FBI and Special Counsel Robert Mueller came under fire when it was revealed that two FBI employees tasked with investigating and handling alleged Russian interference into the 2016 election had texted each other anti-Trump rhetoric. DOJ SETTLES WITH FORMER FBI OFFICIALS OVER RELEASE OF ANTI-TRUMP TEXTS “[Trump’s] not ever going to become president, right? Right?!” FBI attorney Lisa Page texted FBI agent Peter Strzok in August 2016, Fox Digital previously reported. “No. No he won’t. We’ll stop it,” Strzok responded. Strzok wrote in another August 2016 text, seemingly referring to Trump’s chance of winning the 2016 election: “I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office – that there’s no way he gets elected – but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.” Strzok and Page were both working on Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election – which ultimately found no evidence that Trump or his campaign coordinated with Russia – before Mueller dismissed Strzok from the investigation amid the text scandal. Page left the team before the text messages were discovered and revealed to the public. The pair had also worked together on the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server for official government duties. The FBI ultimately fired Strzok in 2018 over the texts, as conservative lawmakers and critics lambasted the “bias” within the FBI. “In Louisiana, we call that bias, we don’t call that objective,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said on Fox News at the time. While then-House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy said: “Peter Strzok’s manifest bias trending toward animus casts a pall on this investigation… His bias impacted his decision-making and he assigned to himself the role of stopping the Trump campaign or ending a Trump Presidency.” “This is not the FBI I know,” the South Carolina Republican added. Trump slammed the scandal as an instance of “treason.” “A man is tweeting to his lover that if [former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton] loses, we’ll essentially do the insurance policy,” Trump said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal in 2018. “We’ll go to phase two and we’ll get this guy out of office.” DISGRACED EX-FBI AGENT PETER STRZOK REACTS TO DURHAM REPORT ON TRUMP-RUSSIA COLLUSION WITH VICTORY LAP “This is the FBI we’re talking about – that is treason,” he continued. “That is a treasonous act. What he tweeted to his lover is a treasonous act.” Trump dismissed FBI Director James Comey on May 9, 2017, with Deputy Director Andrew McCabe stepping up to take the helm of the agency for roughly three months before he was fired for allegedly leaking information to the press and initially lying about the leaks, Justice Department’s internal watchdog found in a 2018 investigation. ANDREW MCCABE, FBI OFFICIAL FIRED BY TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, GETS PENSION RESTORED McCabe automatically assumed the responsibilities of FBI director upon Comey’s firing, as the Trump administration searched for another FBI chief. McCabe had reportedly been in the running for the nomination, but was ultimately replaced by Wray in August of that year. Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired McCabe just days before he would have been eligible for a lifetime pension after it was determined that he had leaked a self-serving story to the press regarding the bureau’s probe of Clinton’s email server, and then misled investigators on the matter. Sessions said McCabe “made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor − including under oath − on multiple occasions.” The DOJ IG report found McCabe leaked information of an August 2016 call to the Wall Street Journal for an Oct. 30, 2016, story titled “FBI in Internal Feud Over Hillary Clinton Probe.” The story focused on the FBI announcing the reopening of the Clinton investigation after finding thousands of her emails on a laptop belonging to former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner, who was married to Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin. ARI FLEISCHER ON THE IRONY OF ANDREW MCCABE BLAMING THE WHITE HOUSE FOR POLITICIZING THE IG INVESTIGATION The Journal reported a senior Justice Department official expressed displeasure to McCabe that FBI agents were still looking into the Clinton Foundation, and that McCabe had defended the FBI’s authority to pursue the issue. McCabe filed a lawsuit over the firing, and saw his pension restored as part of a settlement deal that also vacated Sessions’ decision,