Texas AG Ken Paxton endorses Trump attorney in Missouri AG race: ‘The right person’
FIRST ON FOX: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is throwing his support behind one of former President Trump’s attorneys in the GOP primary race to serve as Missouri’s chief legal officer. Paxton said he is “confident” that Will Scharf, who’s working alongside the former president to appeal his conviction on 34 felony counts in New York, is the best person to “protect the freedoms and liberties” of Missouri residents. “I wholeheartedly endorse Will Scharf for Missouri Attorney General,” Paxton said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. “I know Will personally, and I am confident that he is the right person to protect the freedoms and liberties of all Missourians. As one of President Trump’s lead attorneys, Will Scharf is relentlessly battling against Biden’s witch hunt into President Trump.” TRUMP LAWYER SPARS WITH HOST OVER EX-BIDEN DOJ OFFICIAL TAPPED IN NEW YORK HUSH MONEY CASE “If he can defend and fight for President Trump, he most certainly can take on the Republican establishment in Missouri. We need more leaders like Will,” added Paxton, who has served as attorney general for the Lone Star State since 2015. Offering appreciation for the Republican attorney general’s support, Scharf said in a statement, “Ken Paxton has been on the front lines of the legal fights to secure the border and defend President Trump. It is a great honor to have his endorsement, and I look forward to working with him.” Scharf is seeking to defeat incumbent Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey in the state’s Aug. 6 primary election. The winner of that primary will move on to the state’s November general election, where they will have an advantage in the GOP-dominated state. Scharf received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University, his law degree from Harvard University, clerked for two federal appeals court judges and has worked at CRC Advisors, a conservative public relations firm. EXCLUSIVE: MISSOURI AG TORCHES KANSAS CITY’S ‘RETALIATION’ AGAINST CHIEFS KICKER EXPRESSING CHRISTIAN BELIEFS In addition to being one of Trump’s lawyers, Scharf has worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney in St. Louis, and worked on the campaign and later in the office of then-Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens. Bailey has spent nearly his entire career in Missouri. The Army veteran received his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Missouri, worked in the state attorney general’s office, and he was an assistant county prosecutor and a state government lawyer before joining the office of Gov. Mike Parson, who eventually appointed him as attorney general. In recent weeks, prominent conservative groups from outside Missouri have spent millions backing Scharf. The Republican Attorneys General Association, which normally supports GOP attorney general incumbents, has stayed out of the Missouri primary. Some of the association’s biggest contributors, however, are backing Scharf. They’re doing so by making contributions to a Missouri arm of Club for Growth, a major funding power that focuses on aiding fiscally conservative candidates and that, in turn, is airing ads to boost Scharf and criticize Bailey. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump VP contender clashes with top Democrats over his ‘Jim Crow’ comment
Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida is returning fire after top Democrats took aim at the leading Black surrogate for former President Trump over comments he made earlier this week. The controversy focuses on what Donalds – who sources indicate is on Trump’s short-list for 2024 running mate – said on Tuesday night regarding the quality of life for Black families during Jim Crow-era racial segregation. Donalds spoke in Philadelphia as he and Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas, a fellow Black Republican and Trump surrogate, kicked off a series of gatherings titled “Congress, Cognac, and Cigars.” TRUMP CAMPAIGN SETS UP SHOP IN BLUE PHILADELPHIA IN FIGHT FOR KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE The GOP outreach effort by Donalds and Hunt for Black male voters in key battleground states comes as recent public opinion polling suggests Trump is making gains with Black voters and chipping away at President Biden’s once overwhelming lead as the two face off in a 2024 election rematch. “During Jim Crow, the Black family was together,” Donalds said at the event. “During Jim Crow, more Black people were not just conservative – Black people have always been conservative-minded – but more Black people voted conservatively.” POLLS INDICATE BLACK SUPPORT FOR TRUMP ON THE RISE Pointing to welfare polices during the 1960s under Democratic President Lyndon Johnson, Donalds said “you go down that road, and now we are where we are,” he added, referring to welfare policies instituted during the 1960s. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the top Democrat in the chamber, on Wednesday took to the House floor to rip Donalds. “It has come to my attention that a so-called leader has made the factually inaccurate statement that Black folks were better off during Jim Crow. That’s an outlandish, outrageous and out-of-pocket observation,” Jeffries said. And Jeffries, pointing to the Jim Crow era, emphasized “we were not better off when people could be systematically lynched without consequence…. How dare you make such an ignorant observation. You better check yourself before you wreck yourself.” SOURCES: DONALDS ON TRUMP’S SHORT LIST FOR RUNNING MATE Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison of South Carolina, who is Black, also criticized Donalds. Donalds posted a video on social media of the comments he made in Philadelphia regarding Jim Crow. And in a separate video posted to social media, he fired back at the Democrats. He argued that Democrats are “trying to say I said Black people were doing better under Jim Crow. I never said that. They are lying.” “What I said was you had more Black families under Jim Crow, and it was the Democrat policies under H.E.W., under the welfare state, that did help to destroy the Black family,” Donalds said. “I also said you’re seeing a reinvigoration of Black families today in America, and that is a good thing.” And pointing to the House Democratic leader, he wrote “@RepJeffries you need to check your sources and stop lying to the American people because you and @JoeBiden are losing Black men.” The Biden campaign spotlighted the controversy surrounding Donalds. “Donald Trump spent his adult life, and then his presidency undermining the progress Black communities fought so hard for – so it actually tracks that his campaign’s ‘Black outreach’ is going to a white neighborhood and promising to take America back to Jim Crow,” Biden-Harris spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in a statement. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Youngkin declares ‘independence from California’ as Virginia exits emissions pact
Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has withdrawn the state from a 2021 pact that had mandated adherence to California’s stringent emissions standards – including a ban on internal combustion vehicles by 2035. Youngkin and legislative Republicans previously failed to repeal the law, which linked Virginia with California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) standards, and Wednesday’s move similarly did not go over well with some state Democrats as of the following morning. In an interview Thursday, Youngkin bluntly said, “They’re wrong,” when asked about Democratic pushback that he and Attorney General Jason Miyares were overstepping their bounds. “In fact, the law is very clear and the [Miyares]’ opinion is clear and straightforward. The California Regulatory Framework ACC-1 sunsets on December 31st, 2024.” YOUNGKIN: EDUCATION IS THE BEDROCK OF THE AMERICAN DREAM “The new California framework, ACC-2, we are choosing not to enter into and are exercising our autonomous decision authority to, in fact, place ourselves under the federal government’s guidelines here as opposed to California,” he said. “There’s no controversy. And once again, these are the exact same legislators that surrendered Virginia’s autonomy in decision-making over this, over this issue to California’s unregulated regulators. And, we’re taking it back.” In response to the administration’s move, state Sen. Scott Surovell, the number-two Democrat in the chamber, compared Youngkin to Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and accused Miyares of giving Youngkin “cover” to act as such. Surovell called Youngkin and Miyares’ actions “reckless, illegal and unconstitutional” in comments reported by the Virginia Mercury. “[They] are destructive of Virginia’s pro-business reputation,” Surovell said, adding that the American Revolution was fought so that a state executive would never be able to “nullify laws by-press-conference.” Youngkin appeared unfazed by the Putin allegation, telling Fox News Digital that Virginia simply “declared independence yesterday from California.” YOUNGKIN VETOES A SLEW OF VIRGINIA BILLS INCLUDING CONTRACEPTION ACCESS MEASURE “Virginians should be deciding what car they drive, not California’s unelected regulators. These misguided mandates were wrong from the beginning and we are going to liberate Virginia from them.” He predicted that if the regulatory pact were to remain in place, it would cost Virginians a net $1.2 billion to comply, calling it an unwarranted economic penalty on hard-working residents. When it comes to the future of U.S. energy production and technology, Youngkin added that it will be American innovation – not bureaucratic whims – that craft it. In a statement, state Sen. Ryan McDougle, a New Kent County Republican who joined Youngkin’s withdrawal request, said the CARB standards are unique to California and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s own orders. “Virginia’s laws should not be determined by California politicians. Instead, our laws should be decided by Virginians who are elected to serve Virginia and address issues that face our commonwealth, not a state nearly 3,000 miles away,” McDougle said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Miyares said that if the Democratic majority in the General Assembly wants to craft a bill imposing outside control over Virginia residents’ vehicle purchases, he welcomes that debate: “That’s the beauty of democracy,” he said, calling California’s rules unrealistic and costly: “If you want to purchase an electric vehicle, that is your choice, but, rather than enforcing a one-size-fits-all mandate, I want Virginia consumers to choose the transportation options that best suit their specific needs and circumstances.” Fox News Digital has reached out to Newsom’s office for comment.
FBI still mum on laptop as it gets entered into evidence in Hunter Biden trial
The FBI is remaining silent on the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop nearly four years after its refusal to verify its authenticity caused social media companies to bury stories about it ahead of the 2020 election. The FBI said it had “no comment” when asked by Fox News Digital if the bureau had any regrets about not acknowledging the authenticity of Biden’s laptop now that it has been introduced as evidence in Biden’s criminal gun trial. The existence of the laptop was first revealed by the New York Post in the weeks leading up to the 2020 election between now-President Biden and former President Trump, with the outlet reporting on contents on the laptop it claimed detailed the Biden family’s influence peddling scheme. BIDEN’S CLAIMS THAT HUNTER LAPTOP WAS ‘RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION’ DEBUNKED BY HIS OWN SON Social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter were quick to act and limit distribution of the New York Post story on the laptop, with Twitter banning links to the story from being posted on its platform. Meanwhile, Facebook temporarily reduced the reach of posts containing stories about the laptop until it could be verified by independent fact-checkers. According to reporting from the Atlantic, Facebook’s decision to limit distribution of the story was based on an FBI warning that social media companies watch for disinformation in the weeks leading up to the election. That fact was seized upon in a House Judiciary Committee letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray last year, with lawmakers questioning why the FBI refused to verify the authenticity of the laptop despite knowledge that the device was not part of a Russian disinformation campaign. “The FBI’s failure to alert social-media companies that the Hunter Biden laptop was real, and not mere Russian disinformation, is particularly troubling,” the letter to Wray read. “The FBI had the laptop in their possession since December 2019 and had warned social-media companies to look for a ‘hack and dump’ operation by the Russians prior to the 2020 election. Even after Facebook specifically asked whether the Hunter Biden laptop story was Russian disinformation, [Laura] Dehmlow of the FBI refused to comment, resulting in the social-media companies’ suppression of the story. As a result, millions of U.S. citizens did not hear the story prior to the November 3, 2020 election.” NEW YORK TIMES FINALLY CONFIRMS HUNTER BIDEN’S LAPTOP AFTER DISMISSING IT AMID 2020 CAMPAIGN Outlets such as the New York Times and Washington Post would later publish their own analysis of the laptop, finding nearly two years later that the contents of the device were real and not the result of a Russian disinformation campaign. Nevertheless, Wray defended the FBI in a congressional hearing shortly before receiving the Judiciary Committee letter last year, calling accusations that the bureau favored the Biden family “ludicrous.” “The work the men and women of the FBI do to protect the American people goes way beyond one or two investigations that seem to capture all the headlines,” Wray said at the time. However, Wray refused to engage in specific questions about the investigation into Biden, a policy of silence that has persisted into the present day, with the bureau referring Fox News Digital’s questions about the laptop to the special counsel’s office.
Trouble in INDIA Bloc? AAP leader claims party to contest Delhi Assembly Polls on its own, no alliance with Congress
AAP and Congress are part of the INDIA bloc. While the two parties had an alliance in the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi, Punjab, and Gujarat, there was no alliance between the two in Punjab.
Lok Sabha Election Results 2024: Can jailed Amritpal Singh, Engineer Rashid take oath as MPs? Here’s what law says
Notably, two of the independent candidates, Radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh and Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid who are currently imprisoned on terror charges won the Khadoor Sahib and Baramulla seats respectively.
Hillary Clinton commemorates D-Day with post suggesting Trump is comparable to Hitler
Hillary Clinton marked the 80th anniversary of the D-Day operation with a social media post that appeared to cast former President Trump as a threat to democracy on par with Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. In an X post on Thursday, Clinton implied that democracy is at stake in the upcoming presidential election, with presumptive Republican nominee former President Trump challenging incumbent President Biden, a Democrat. “Eighty years ago today, thousands of brave Americans fought to protect democracy on the shores of Normandy,” Clinton wrote in an X post on Thursday. “This November, all we have to do is vote.” The D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944, is one of the most famous moments in U.S. military history. It was a turning point in World War II and the beginning of the liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany’s control by American and Allied forces. The implication from the failed 2016 Democratic nominee is that her former rival, Trump, is a threat to democracy similar to Hitler’s Third Reich — which sought world domination through conquest. HILLARY CLINTON SWIPES DEMOCRATS, GIVES REPUBLICANS ‘CREDIT’: ‘NOTHING LIKE IT ON OUR SIDE’ It wasn’t the first time Clinton has compared Trump to Hitler — in a May 21 post on X she called him, “Grifter Hitler,” and shared an Associated Press article about a video posted to Trump’s Truth Social account that referenced a “unified Reich” among hypothetical headlines if he wins the November election. The Trump campaign said the video was “created by a random account online and reposed by a staffer who clearly did not see the word.” A spokesperson for Clinton did not respond to a request for comment. HILLARY CLINTON SLAMMED BY FELLOW DEMOCRAT FOR ‘DISMISSIVE’ REMARKS ABOUT ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS “Hillary Clinton is a stone-cold loser who presided over the horrific Benghazi debacle that led to the death of Americans,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital. “Nobody takes Hillary seriously because it’s clear she is beclowning herself in order to stay relevant after President Trump crushed her in 2016.” Democrats and President Biden have consistently attacked Trump as a threat to democracy since the January 6 riots, when a mob of Trump supporters marched on the U.S. Capitol in 2021 and interrupted Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Biden defeated Trump. They have also accused Republicans of acting to disenfranchise minorities through voter ID laws, limits on mail-in ballots and other election regulations Democrats say make it harder to vote. BILL AND HILLARY CLINTON TO HOST EXCLUSIVE BIDEN DINNER FUNDRAISER Trump has brushed off these attacks, telling Fox News in a recent interview he is the “opposite” of a threat to democracy. In issue polling for the presidential election, voters consistently say they trust Biden more than Trump on topics of election integrity, preserving or protecting democracy and ensuring fair elections. A recent Fox News poll found Biden leading Trump by seven points on the issue of election integrity. However, Trump leads Biden on key issues including the border and immigration, the economy, foreign policy and crime, according to the Fox News Power Rankings Issues Tracker.
Trump classified docs judge expands hearing to consider ‘unlawful’ appointment of special counsel Jack Smith
The judge presiding over former President Trump’s classified documents case has expanded a hearing for later this month to focus on whether the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith was unlawful and invalid. Judge Aileen Cannon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida postponed the trial stemming from Smith’s investigation into Trump’s alleged improper retention of classified records indefinitely. FEDERAL JUDGE POSTPONES TRUMP’S CLASSIFIED RECORDS TRIAL WITH NO NEW DATE Upon postponing the trial, Cannon scheduled deadlines for reports on June 10 and 17 – and a nonevidentiary hearing on a motion to dismiss on June 21 – “based on unlawful appointment and funding of special counsel.” Cannon has expanded that June 21 hearing to allow amici to argue before the court, as well as Trump defense attorneys and federal prosecutors. Former Attorney General Ed Meese, who served under former President Reagan, filed an amicus brief in the case, in which he argues that Attorney General Merrick Garland’s appointment of Smith as special counsel – a private citizen at the time – is in violation of the Appointments Clause of the Constitution. “Not clothed in the authority of the federal government, Smith is a modern example of the naked emperor,” the brief states. “Improperly appointed, he has no more authority to represent the United States in this Court than Bryce Harper, Taylor Swift, or Jeff Bezos,” they argued. Meese argues that the “illegality” of Smith’s appointment is “sufficient to sink Smith’s petition, and the Court should deny review.” Meese and company noted in the brief that Smith was appointed “to conduct the ongoing investigation into whether any person or entity [including former President Trump] violated the law in connection with efforts to interfere with the lawful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election or the certification of the Electoral College vote held on or about January 6, 2021.” Garland defended his move this week during a hearing on Capitol Hill, arguing that “there are regulations under which the attorney general appoint special counsel. They have been in effect for 30 years, maybe longer, under both parties.” “The matter that you’re talking about, about whether somebody can have an employee of the Justice Department serve as special counsel has been adjudicated,” Garland argued, adding that he and other special counsel appointments that he and other attorneys general have made cite a regulation that points to a statute. REP. MASSIE PRESSES GARLAND ON CONSTITUTIONALITY OF SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S APPOINTMENT Meese, however, in his briefs filed in several points in the Trump cases, argued that “none of those statutes, nor any other statutory or constitutional provisions, remotely authorized the appointment by the Attorney General of a private citizen to receive extraordinary criminal law enforcement power under the title of Special Counsel.” Meese’s brief was even mentioned in a question by Justice Clarence Thomas in the Supreme Court oral arguments over Trump’s presidential immunity in Smith’s other case regarding 2020 election interference–which the high court is expected to decide this month. Presenting arguments on June 21 in Florida on behalf of Meese will be Josh Blackman, Gene Schaerr and Matthew Seligman. Meanwhile, Cannon scheduled an additional hearing from June 24 to June 26 and set deadlines for disclosures from the special counsel for early July and the defendants’ speedy trial report for July 19 – the final day of the Republican National Convention. Trump is set to be sentenced in Manhattan after being found guilty on all counts in New York v. Trump stemming from District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation on July 11. Cannon scheduled a status conference for July 22 and another hearing for later that day. Cannon did not schedule a new trial date. Trump faced charges stemming from Smith’s investigation into his possession of classified materials. He pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony counts from Smith’s probe, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements. Trump was also charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of the investigation, an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts. Trump pleaded not guilty. Cannon’s move last month to indefinitely postpone the trial comes after Cannon unsealed a slew of documents related to the FBI’s investigation into the former president and the FBI’s raid on his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, estate in 2022. The documents provided a detailed look into the personnel involved in the raid on Mar-a-Lago and a play-by-play timeline of it. One of the documents is an FBI file that suggests the agency’s investigation into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents was dubbed “Plasmic Echo.” HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE INVESTIGATES ‘MANIPULATED’ EVIDENCE SEIZED BY FBI IN TRUMP CLASSIFIED RECORDS PROBE Another unsealed FBI memo memorialized the role of Garland in the investigation. In a document dated March 30, 2022, Garland provided his approval to allow the investigation into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents to upgrade to a “full investigation.” “This email conveys Department of Justice (DOJ) Attorney General (AG) [Merrick Garland] approval for conversion to a full investigation,” a synopsis of the restricted document reads. Also, last week, Smith and federal prosecutors admitted in a court filing that documents seized during the raid on Mar-a-Lago are no longer in their original order and sequence. “There are some boxes where the order of items within that box is not the same as in the associated scans,” Smith’s filing states. The prosecutors had previously told the court that the documents were “in their original, intact form as seized.” House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan is investigating whether that evidence was “altered or manipulated.” Smith also charged Trump in a separate jurisdiction – in Washington, D.C. – out of his investigation into election interference and Jan. 6. Trump pleaded not guilty to those charges, as well. That trial is postponed indefinitely. The Supreme Court is considering arguments on presidential immunity and whether Trump is immune from prosecution in Smith’s case. The
Judge orders Steve Bannon to report to prison
A federal judge in Washington, D.C. has ordered Steve Bannon, longtime ally of former President Trump, to report to prison on July 1. Judge Carl Nichols’ decision revokes Bannon’s bail. Bannon lost an appeal of his contempt of Congress conviction in May. Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison for ignoring a Congressional subpoena to testify regarding the January 6 capitol riot. Bannon has yet to comment on Nichols’ ruling. Bannon claimed he acted on the advice of his legal team and did not intend to break the law. Judge Bradley Garcia wrote that an acting on “advice of counsel” defense is “no defense at all. HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE INVESTIGATES ‘MANIPULATED’ EVIDENCE SEIZED BY FBI IN TRUMP CLASSIFIED RECORDS PROBE Bannon was first sentenced in October 2022. The sentence also included a $6,500 fine. DOJ prosecutors in the case had sought a 6-month sentence and a $200,000 fine. REP. MASSIE PRESSES GARLAND ON CONSTITUTIONALITY OF SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S APPOINTMENT “I want to say one thing — I respect the judge, the sentence he came down with today is his decision. I’ve been totally respectful to this entire process on the legal side,” Bannon said after the sentencing. Bannon’s defense team had argued that his attorney at the time he received the subpoena, Robert Costello, advised his client that he was not permitted, as a matter of law, in any way to respond to the notice, saying executive privilege had been raised and that it was not his privilege to waive it. Costello wrote the committee to inform them that Bannon would comply if the panel worked out any privilege issues with former President Trump or if a court ordered him to comply, Schoen said. FEDERAL JUDGE POSTPONES TRUMP’S CLASSIFIED RECORDS TRIAL WITH NO NEW DATE “In America, we do not criminally prosecute, let alone convict and send to prison people who not only don’t believe their conduct to be wrongful or in violation of the law, but, as in this case, people who follow the advice of their lawyers who tell them that the law does not permit them to comply with a congressional subpoena when executive privilege has been invoked,” Bannon’s current attorney, David Schoen, said last month. This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.
Unchecked growth around Big Bend sparks debate over water — a prelude for Texas
No one knows how much water sits beneath the desert of Terlingua. Residents worry their wells will run dry, as developers and local officials cheer the tourism boom.