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Another House member calls on New York Democratic Gov. Hochul to pardon Trump: ‘Your solemn duty’

Another House member calls on New York Democratic Gov. Hochul to pardon Trump: ‘Your solemn duty’

FIRST ON FOX – Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., penned a letter to Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Thursday, demanding she pardon former President Trump following his conviction last month. The House Republican asserted the case “undermines the impartiality and credibility of our once venerable justice system and cannot be allowed to stand.”  “As a member in good standing of the New York Bar Association, I urge you to pardon President Trump and restore trust in our legal system,” Tenney wrote in the letter, exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital. “As every American knows, the justice system is designed to be impartial and blind. Individuals who commit crimes should be prosecuted. However, under Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s failed leadership, the Manhattan DA has not investigated crimes, but rather targeted individuals in search of crimes. This is not how the legal system is designed to work. “Millions of Americans, even those who don’t support President Trump, would agree with my assessment of this case and fully support the pardoning of President Trump. This case fully undermines our system of justice and is nothing more than a partisan political prosecution,” Tenney wrote. “Even my Democratic colleague from Minnesota, Congressman Dean Phillips, has called on you to pardon President Trump. Pardoning President Trump is not a partisan issue, it’s an American issue that is necessary to preserve the integrity of our legal system.”  Phillips, who previously posed a primary challenge to President Biden, said in an X post late last month that Hochul should pardon Trump “for the good of the country,” despite him believing Trump is a “serial liar, cheater, and philanderer, a six-time declarer of corporate bankruptcy, an instigator of insurrection, and a convicted felon who thrives on portraying himself as a victim.”  HOUSE DEM WHO CHALLENGED BIDEN IN PRIMARY CALLS ON GOV. HOCHUL TO PARDON TRUMP FOR ‘GOOD OF THE COUNTRY’ Tenney also called on Hochul to remove Alvin Bragg from his role as district attorney of Manhattan.  The congresswoman also suggested Bragg might have broken the law in pursuing the case against Trump. Bragg “used a warped version of events to push the manufactured charges in The People v. Trump,” a decision that, at best, is “legally questionable, at worst it’s criminal,” she wrote.  In similar cases, Bragg “has neglected to prosecute other individuals, as his only purpose in bringing this case is to target the former President,” the letter says. “Targeting an individual, especially for political purposes, is unethical and unconstitutional.”  The letter also asserts Bragg has “no business pursuing this case, which relied on fringe and meritless legal theories that were invented with the sole intent of prosecuting President Trump for political reasons.”  SHOULD TRUMP HAVE CONFIDENCE IN HIS LAWYERS? LEGAL EXPERTS WEIGH IN Tenney said her father was one of the longest serving New York State Supreme Court justices of New York who “served honorably for 35 years and people across New York witnessed firsthand what true and blind justice looks like.” The congresswoman said Bragg has “failed to uphold the high ethical standards required of a lawyer and a District Attorney.”  “It is your solemn duty to protect the Constitutional rights of all defendants before our courts,” Tenney wrote to Hochul. “I now call on you as Governor of the State of New York to restore the integrity of our criminal justice system by pardoning former President Donald J. Trump and removing Alvin Bragg as District Attorney of New York County.”  Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul’s office for comment but did not immediately hear back.  Trump completed a pre-sentencing interview via video conference privately with a probation officer on Monday, a mandatory step before the presumptive Republican nominee’s sentencing hearing July 11 before Judge Juan Merchan. Trump will be sentenced just four days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where the GOP will likely name him its official presidential nominee.  A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records from what prosecutors said was an attempt to hide a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. Trump’s attorneys have promised to appeal the conviction.

EPA sued by consumer, manufacturing, agricultural coalitions over new vehicle emissions standards

EPA sued by consumer, manufacturing, agricultural coalitions over new vehicle emissions standards

EXCLUSIVE: In a strike against the latest EPA regulations, a unified front of three powerful coalitions is set to launch a legal juggernaut, representing 30 petitioners, on Thursday.  The legal challenge seeks to overturn the EPA’s controversial and stringent new vehicle emissions standards that have sparked widespread debate across the country. The three coalitions, representing consumer groups, biofuel producers, agricultural interests; including organizations like the American Petroleum Institute (API) and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), will file petitions in Washington, D.C.’s, federal court seeking to halt implementation of the new regulations.  The EPA has said the goals of its rule could be achieved with 56% of new vehicle sales being electric by 2032, which would require a major increase in EV sales in the interim, according to the Associated Press. The EPA and White House also have argued the new standards, announced in March, do not constitute a ban on internal-combustion engines, but plaintiffs in the lawsuit claimed otherwise. AUTO INDUSTRY EXPERTS WARN BIDEN’S EV MANDATE WILL LIMIT GAS CAR OPTIONS IN FUTURE An attorney for some of the petitioners, Michael Buschbacher of the Boyden Gray law firm, told Fox News Digital that Congress never authorized the EPA to “reverse-engineer an electric vehicle mandate.” “Forced electrification of the vehicle fleet is one of the least cost-effective decarbonization strategies out there. By contrast, renewable fuels are a feasible and affordable means of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and improving vehicle efficiency,” he said.  Petitioners in the suit include the Clean Fuels Development Coalition, the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce, and corn-growers associations from 13 states.  Ethanol, a now-ubiquitous additive in standard octane gasolines at levels up to 15%, is mainly derived from corn grown in the U.S. To illustrate its view that the new EPA rules wrongly represent an effective ban on gas-powered cars, AFPM used the example of a pickup truck with carbon emissions of 430 grams per mile in a document obtained by Fox News Digital. GREEN GOVERNANCE THE NEW GUISE FOR MERCANTILISM, WILL LEAD TO GLOBAL INSTABILITY: EXPERT If the same model of pickup truck would be improved to emit 360 grams per mile by 2032, under the new EPA rule, auto dealers would have to sell at least three electric vehicles at the same time to meet the required 85 grams per mile fleetwide average. Therefore, the organization argued, sales of standard pickup trucks would be “artificially capped” and lead to a spike in MSRP. In a drafted statement obtained by Fox News Digital celebrating the legal filing, API vice president and general counsel Ryan Meyers said it will protect U.S. consumers and manufacturing workers while protecting domestic energy security. “[The] EPA has exceeded its congressional authority with this regulation that will eliminate most new gas cars and traditional hybrids from the U.S. market in less than a decade. We look forward to making our case in court,” Meyers said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Chet Thompson, president of AFPM, told Fox News Digital the EPA “overstepped” in formulating fleetwide average standards instead of concrete standards cars and trucks must meet.  “Since no gas, diesel or traditional hybrid today can meet 85 grams/mile, EPA’s averaging scheme – which is already being contested for the 2023-2026 standards – is clearly meant to force EV adoption,” he said. But the EPA pushed back on criticisms and characterizations of its new standards, telling Fox News Digital the new rules actually expand consumer choice and save drivers money in the long run: “By encouraging continued development of more efficient vehicles, EPA’s standards are also projected to save Americans on average about $6,000 over the lifetime of a new model year 2032 light-duty vehicle, compared to a vehicle meeting the 2026 standards, by accelerating adoption of technologies that reduce fuel and maintenance costs as well as pollution,” an EPA spokesperson said. A White House spokesperson in May echoed much of the EPA’s statement, telling Fox News Digital that President Biden is “investing in a future that is made in America by American workers as we position the United States to lead the clean energy future.” 

Newsom urged to halt progressives’ ‘scheming’ to derail popular anti-crime initiative

Newsom urged to halt progressives’ ‘scheming’ to derail popular anti-crime initiative

California Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley and the rest of the state’s Republican delegation are calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Democrats to drop what they say is “cynical political scheming” to legislatively undermine a popular bipartisan anti-crime effort. On Tuesday, the Secretary of State’s Office announced voters will have their chance to repeal key portions of the controversial Prop. 47 law – which significantly lowered the penalties for certain categories of drug and theft crimes – in the November general election after the petition garnered more than 600,000 valid petition signatures to secure a spot on the ballot. The initiative only needed 546,651 to qualify, according to the state secretary’s office. But Newsom and Golden State Democrats oppose the initiative and are working to fast-track their own public safety bills pertaining to curbing criminal retail theft without reforming Prop. 47. Some Democrats plan to introduce inoperability clauses into the set of proposed public safety bills to prevent them from going into effect if voters approve the Prop 47 reforms. They contend that it’s a way to ensure there aren’t any inconsistencies in the law. “This measure will repeal the most problematic provisions of Proposition 47 from 2014. It is a vitally needed policy correction to address the growing problems of retail theft, open-air drug markets, and homelessness in our state,” Kiley wrote in a letter to Newsom on Tuesday. NEWSOM PROPOSES DEFUNDING LAW ENFORCEMENT, PRISONS, PUBLIC SAFETY AS CALIFORNIA FACES MASSIVE DEFICIT The California Republican added that not only have hundreds of thousands of Californians signed the petition, but it has also received bipartisan support from lawmakers such as San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria.  Tuesday’s letter was signed by every Republican member of the California U.S. House delegation. “It is clear that the only purpose of this novel legislative maneuver is to equip opponents of the ballot initiative with a talking point – to be used on the campaign trail, and likely even on the ballot itself – to confuse voters and undermine the will of the people of California,” the letter reads. “While there is a long and troubling tradition of ballot initiative language being skewed, the current scheme represents an unprecedented threat to the entire initiative process. This tactic could be used by legislators to defeat any unwanted ballot initiative going forward, simply by picking a popular piece of existing legislation and stipulating that if the initiative passes, that legislation will be repealed. This will defeat the entire purpose of the initiative process, which is designed to give voters a direct say on issues affecting our state.” SACRAMENTO MASS SHOOTING SUSPECT FOUND DEAD IN JAIL CELL WHILE AWAITING TRIAL Leaders of the initiative to roll back Prop. 47 measures, called the Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act, argue that the law led to the uptick in theft and robberies after the threshold for shoplifting was dropped to $950. It also lowered grand theft and receiving stolen property to a misdemeanor instead of a felony. According to Kiley’s office, Newsom and the Democrats’ bill package would “take effect immediately and make it so they will be automatically reversed if the ballot initiative passes.” “Cynical political scheming designed to turn the initiative upside-down is an affront to every California voter,” Kiley wrote. A spokesperson for Newsom’s office told Fox News Digital via email that “California law provides existing robust tools for law enforcement and prosecutors to arrest and charge suspects involved in organized retail crime – including up to three years of jail time for organized retail theft.” “The state has among the lowest (i.e. toughest) thresholds nationally for prosecutors to charge suspects with a felony, $950. The majority of states – including red states like Texas ($2,500), South Carolina ($2000), and Mississippi ($1,000) – have weaker laws that require higher dollar amounts for suspects to be charged with a felony,” the spokesperson added. The letter comes as progressives in the state in recent months have appeared to backtrack on their soft-on-crime policies. According to a Public Policy Institute report in February, researchers tracked a rise in shoplifting, especially in the Bay Area, and a larger rise in commercial burglary among urban counties in California between 2020 and 2022. Shoplifting rose 29% statewide from 2021 to 2022.  Nationwide, a 2023 report from the National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail association, found that organized retail crime was a primary driver of the massive amount of “shrink” retailers saw in 2022, with nonemployee stealing making up 36%.  The term “shrink” typically means theft and other forms of inventory losses, and retailers nationwide experienced $112 billion in losses in 2022. 19 STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL CHALLENGE BLUE STATES’ RADICAL CLIMATE POLICIES IMPACTING OTHERS The NRF found that Los Angeles was one of the hardest-hit cities in California for ORC, leading the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department to create the Organized Retail Theft Crime Task Force. Many law enforcement officials have blamed the measure for the uptick in theft and smash-and-grabs that have plagued California in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic. Around the same time, California became synonymous with smash-and-grab crimes as videos of groups of thieves brazenly ransacking stores gained traction online. Meanwhile, opponents of tough-on-crime laws argue the harsher penalties are too extreme for the crimes and could prevent a person from being rehabilitated, especially minorities. “There’s a lot of moving parts, a lot of negotiations concurrently happening,” Newsom told reporters on Friday. “Prop 47 is included.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Last year, the Democrat governor announced more than $267 million to increase arrests and prosecutions for organized retail crime across the state. Earlier this year, Newsom recalled how he witnessed a shoplifter stealing from Target in Sacramento. He confronted a store employee moments later. “I said, ‘Why didn’t you stop him,’” Newsom said during a Zoom meeting on mental health in January. “She goes, ‘Oh, the governor.’ Swear to God, true story on my mom’s grave. ‘The governor lowered the threshold, there’s

Trump travels to DC to meet with congressional Republicans, speak with nation’s top business executives

Trump travels to DC to meet with congressional Republicans, speak with nation’s top business executives

Former President Trump will travel to the nation’s capital on Thursday to take part in a series of meetings with Republicans from both the House and Senate, and attend an event with top business executives in America. The former president’s meetings with congressional Republicans will be “looking ahead at the policies that will save the nation,” a senior Trump campaign official told Fox News Digital. Such policies, according to the campaign official, include “Trump’s commitment to protecting seniors with no cuts to Social Security or Medicare, policies that actually secure our border and make our communities safe again, an America first foreign policy that reclaims peace through strength and world leadership, and economic policies of lower taxes that reignite the vibrant Trump economy we had just a few years ago.” With less than five months to go before Election Day, Trump will kick off his Thursday morning at the Capitol Hill Club – a popular members-only haunt for House Republicans in Washington, D.C., that also serves as home to the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) – around 9:30 a.m. TRUMP TO MEET WITH HOUSE, SENATE REPUBLICANS IN DC THIS WEEK An invitation sent to senior House GOP aides on Tuesday morning, obtained by Fox News Digital, showed that Trump is coming on a joint invitation from House leaders – Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. House GOP leaders have been almost completely in lockstep with Trump since Johnson took the speaker’s gavel in late October. Multiple sources previously told Fox News Digital that Johnson keeps Trump in the loop before announcing major House agenda items. Trump and the GOP lawmakers will “discuss growing the House Republican majority and the 2025 legislative agenda,” Johnson’s office told Fox News Digital. Following his meeting with House Republicans, which will be closed to the press and take place amid a House Judiciary Committee hearing to examine Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s “political prosecution of President Trump,” the former president will take part in a discussion with top business leaders. Trump will attend and speak at an event hosted by Business Roundtable, an association of more than 200 CEOs of America’s leading companies. There, he will make his case for a more prosperous economy should he receive a second term in the White House. The off-the-record discussion, which is scheduled to start at 11:15 a.m., will be steered by FOX Business host Larry Kudlow, who served as the director of the National Economic Council in the Trump administration from 2018 to 2021. White House chief of staff Jeff Zients will also be in attendance for the roundtable discussion, speaking on behalf of President Biden while he travels overseas for the G-7 Summit in Italy. TRUMP-BACKED PRIMARY CANDIDATES RUN THE TABLE, PROVING HIS POWER IN THE PARTY: ‘WITH HIM 110%’ After the roundtable event, Trump will meet with Senate Republicans at 12:30 p.m. A Trump campaign source told Fox News Digital that Trump’s meeting with Republicans from the upper chamber will be closed to the press and take place at the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) headquarters. Senate GOP Conference Chair John Barrasso’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital on Monday that Trump would address Senate Republicans this week. “I’ve invited President Trump to meet with members of our Republican Conference,” Barrasso, R-Wyo., wrote to fellow Senate Republicans in a message obtained by Fox News Digital. “I believe it will be helpful to hear directly from President Trump about his plans for the summer and to also share our ideas for a strategic governing agenda in 2025.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who endorsed Trump’s bid to take back the White House in March, said Wednesday that he would be in attendance for the meeting and that the former president has “earned the nomination by the voters” for the 2024 presidential election. It’ll be the first time the two high-profile Republicans have met since December 2020. After the gathering concludes, Trump and Senate Republicans are expected to speak to members of the press. Trump’s visit comes as he continues to shape his own presidential re-election and GOP races across the country, just weeks ahead of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The former president’s trip also comes as he continues to face a steady stream of legal battles. The deadline for Trump’s legal team to file any post-trial motions in New York v. Trump is set for the end of the day Thursday. After meeting with congressional Republicans on Thursday, Trump will have another sitdown with Johnson and NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson, R-N.C., from his Mar-a-Lago resort on Monday, a source familiar with planning told Fox News Digital. Fox News’ Liz Elkind, Julia Johnson, and Brooke Singman contributed to this update.

DHS chief Mayorkas questioned on reports of ‘mass amnesty’ for asylum seekers

DHS chief Mayorkas questioned on reports of ‘mass amnesty’ for asylum seekers

FIRST ON FOX: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is facing scrutiny over a report that hundreds of thousands of noncitizen asylum seekers had their cases closed without a ruling, ushering in a sort of “mass amnesty.” “The American people deserve transparency and accountability regarding the administration’s handling of immigration and border security. The current state of affairs at our southern border is unacceptable and demands immediate and effective solutions,” Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., wrote in a letter to the DHS secretary and Attorney General Merrick Garland. DURBIN LOOKS TO FORCE SUPREME COURT ETHICS BILL VOTE AMID ALITO CONTROVERSY Over 350,000 asylum cases since 2022 were closed by the administration if the migrants involved did not have a recorded criminal history, per data from a report by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a nonpartisan data gathering organization that tracks immigration cases and backlogs. The New York Post reported the “mass amnesty” move earlier this month. Cramer led 20 other Republican senators who also signed the letter, citing the Post article, requesting answers from the Biden officials regarding whether the report is accurate.  Co-signers included Sens. James Risch, R-Idaho, Steve Daines, R-Mont., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Mike Lee, R-Utah, Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., John Cornyn, R-Texas, Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Ted Budd, R-N.C., Mike Rounds, R-S.D., Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Deb Fischer, R-Neb., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Roger Wicker, R-Miss., John Hoeven, R-N.D., Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn. LINDSEY GRAHAM REQUESTS FULL SENATE BRIEFING ON ISIS BORDER THREAT AFTER TERRORIST BUST Former Acting ICE Director Tom Homan reacted to the report recently on “Fox & Friends First,“ claiming, “They haven’t done a single thing to slow the flow. And I guarantee you, the executive action … is going to be another insult on the American legal system.” Cramer slammed the action described in the report, writing, “This action allows these individuals to remain in the United States indefinitely without undergoing the proper legal processes required to either grant or deny their asylum claims.” BIDEN PUSHED TO REVOKE AL JAZEERA CREDENTIALS AFTER ISRAELI HOSTAGE REPORTEDLY FOUND IN JOURNALIST’S HOME “The Biden administration’s purported ‘mass amnesty’ for illegal aliens” actually undermines the immigration system, the senator said. He further called it “an affront to every person pursuing a legal path to the United States.” DEMS CLAIM GOP ‘CONSPIRACY THEORIES CRUMBLED’ AFTER HUNTER BIDEN GUILTY VERDICT Cramer pressed the Biden administration in the letter over how many of the cases closed by the Executive Office for Immigration Review involved migrants that crossed the border illegally since Jan. 20, 2021, when President Biden was inaugurated.  The North Dakota senator also asked how Mayorkas and Garland planned to prevent the case dismissals from “incentivizing illegal immigration.”  Neither DHS nor the Department of Justice immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.