ICE ordered to stop knock-and-talk tactics for immigration arrests
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) suffered a legal blow recently after a federal judge ruled the agency’s so-called “knock-and-talk” tactics, which involve engaging illegal immigrants and other migrants subject to arrest, to be unconstitutional. California U.S. District Judge Otis Wright II, a President George W. Bush appointee, issued a motion for summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs last week in a class action lawsuit brought against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in his official capacity. The case, Kidd v. Mayorkas, arose from a 2018 run-in between an immigration agent and an immigrant in the U.S. on temporary protective status named Osny Sorto-Vasquez Kidd. The agent reportedly approached Kidd’s Los Angeles-area home with a photo purported to be of a “dangerous man out to get” them, Kidd said at the time, according to the Orange County Register. However, by the end of the encounter, Kidd was arrested and sent to a San Bernardino, California, detention facility. BORDER RANCHER RECORDS 3,000 IMAGES OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS The class action suit was filed on behalf of Kidd, the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, according to Lexis Nexis. Wright ruled that ICE officers were violating the Fourth Amendment by using knock-and-talks as a means to lure people they sought to arrest outside their homes. He said the tactic remains legal in situations involving criminal arrest warrants. Since deportation orders fall within civil jurisdiction, agents conducting them do not have the same authority to enter a suspect’s property as officers executing a criminal arrest warrant, the judge concluded. TRUMP DECLARES BORDER A WAR ZONE, DINGS NEWSOM FOR ‘TERRIBLE JOB’ “Considering the policies and practices governing how ICE conducts its ‘knock and talks,’ the more accurate title for certain law enforcement operations would be ‘knock and arrests’” Wright wrote. “This order serves to vacate those unlawful policies and practices.” Wright’s ruling cited an ICE handbook, which instructs that a “warrant for arrest of [an] alien nor a warrant of removal authorizes officers to enter the target’s residence or anywhere else where the target has a reasonable expectation of privacy. A government intrusion into an area where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy for the purpose of gathering information will trigger Fourth Amendment protections, including a physical intrusion into a constitutionally protected area.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP He said officers must clearly obtain voluntary consent to enter property where reasonable privacy is expected. However, one noted critic, former immigration Judge Matthew O’Brien, told the Washington Times on Wednesday that Wright got the law wrong. “It’s absurd to say that ICE can’t engage in investigative procedures,” O’Brien told the outlet. Fox News Digital has reached out to ICE and DHS for comment.
Visa bans for ICC officials urged by bipartisan senators after Israel arrest warrant requests
FIRST ON FOX: A bipartisan group of senators is proposing multiple actions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) following the body’s decision to request warrants for Israeli officials. A resolution led by Sens. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., that was exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital would recommend that President Biden and Congress “impose financial sanctions and visa bans on officials of the International Criminal Court for an abuse of power that threatens United States interests and weakens United States allies.” The resolution would express officially that the Senate “stands with Israel and fully rejects the action by the International Criminal Court against senior Israeli officials.” BIDEN EPA GRANTED $50M TO ANTI-ISRAEL ‘CLIMATE JUSTICE’ GROUP It would additionally encourage allies and partners, which the senators note are responsible in large part for funding the ICC, “to use their leverage to halt the politicized proceedings.” The measure is co-sponsored by Sens. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., John Thune, R-S.D., Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Steve Daines, R-Mont., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., John Hoeven, R-N.D., Roger Wicker, R-Miss., John Kennedy, R-La., and Rick Scott, R-Fla. BIDEN OUTPACES TRUMP WITH 200 CONFIRMED JUDGES, CEMENTING IMPACT ON COURTS Earlier this week, the ICC officially filed applications for arrest warrants against both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in addition to those against terrorist group Hamas’ leaders for committing “war crimes.” Numerous U.S. lawmakers and President Biden reacted negatively to the ICC’s move, particularly taking issue with any equating of Israel, a democracy, to Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization. ‘WORSE THAN DOING NOTHING’: GOP RIPS INTO SCHUMER-BACKED BORDER BILL Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital when prompted on if he would bring the resolution to the floor. The ICC did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication. BIDEN BORDER CHIEF MAYORKAS IN HOT SEAT OVER JORDANIAN NATIONALS WHO TRIED TO BREACH QUANTICO After the court revealed the warrant requests, Biden denounced them, calling the move “outrageous.” “And let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” Biden said in a statement. MCCONNELL-ALIGNED GROUP SHREDS SEN BROWN’S ‘HANDOUTS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS’ IN OHIO SPOT ICC prosecutor Karim Khan claimed in the request that there were “reasonable grounds” to suggest that both Netanyahu and Gallant had committed war crimes, including using “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare” and “intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population.” “This is a rogue prosecutor who’s gone amok,” Netanyahu claimed in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity. He’s out to demonize the one and only Jewish state and the only democracy in the Middle East, and it’s both false and dangerous.”
Cowboy State official drives out North Korean infiltrators behind deceptive businesses
Communist North Korea has no rightful place in Wyoming, the state’s Republican secretary of state said following the discovery of three business entities with ties to the hermit nation. “The communist, authoritarian Kim Jong Un regime has no place in Wyoming,” Secretary of State Chuck Gray said in a statement this week. “Our office worked quickly and expeditiously to begin the administrative dissolution process. We have proposed several interim topics to the Joint Corporations, Elections, and Political Subdivisions committee of the Wyoming Legislature to take further administrative action against entities on the basis of their being owned or controlled by foreign adversaries.” Last week, the FBI announced it employed coordinated efforts to “disrupt the illicit revenue generation efforts of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” related to IT workers. The Department of Justice said North Korea has sent thousands of highly-skilled tech workers to nations such as Russia and China in order to deceive international corporations and the U.S. into hiring the individuals as freelance IT workers. NORTH KOREA’S MENACING NUCLEAR THREAT IS TOO DANGEROUS TO IGNORE. US MUST LEAD BEFORE TIME RUNS OUT The IT workers are deployed to “generate revenue for its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs,” the Justice Department explained in the press release. JUSTICE DEPT. MAKES ARRESTS IN NORTH KOREAN IDENTITY THEFT SCHEME INVOLVING THOUSANDS OF IT WORKERS “Today’s announcement reveals the complex web of deception and facilitators that is central to the North Korean regime’s schemes to evade international sanctions to finance its weapons program,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division in a press release last week. “The disruptions announced today represent a focused and continuing effort to dismantle these illicit networks and thereby prevent North Korean IT workers from victimizing unwitting U.S. companies. Through such sustained campaigns against this threat, the Department will continue to enhance our collective national security and cybersecurity,” he added. In Wyoming, Gray dissolved three entities identified by the FBI as instruments of North Korea after the Business Division in Gray’s office further investigated. The entities were identified as Culture Box LLC, Next Nets LLC, and Blackish Tech LLC. NORTH KOREA TEST-FIRES SUSPECTED MISSILES AFTER US AND SOUTH KOREA CONDUCT FIGHTER JET DRILL A website connected to the fraudulent North Korea-backed businesses was “designed to entice potential victims, such as claims that the firms assisted hundreds of ‘happy clients’ including Fortune 500 companies (potentially a fictitious claim) and completed hundreds of projects over thousands of work hours,” according to the DOJ’s press office. NORTH KOREA ISSUES NUCLEAR ‘WARNING SIGNAL’ TO US, SOUTH KOREA Gray told Fox News Digital on Thursday that he will “continue to advocate for the legislature to ban foreign land ownership.” The announcement comes after North Korea last week launched suspected short-range ballistic missiles off its coast, which traveled about 185 miles before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. South Korea called the launch “a clear provocation” that followed the U.S. and South Korea flying fighter jets in a joint drill. North Korea has said it’s been forced to boost its weapons programs to deal with U.S.-led hostilities. Experts have sounded the alarm that the hermit kingdom is taking advantage of ongoing wars in Israel and Ukraine to build stronger relationships with Beijing and Moscow. “China and Russia trade with North Korea in open violation of international sanctions, well aware that they will face minimal consequences from the Biden administration and the international community. The deepened economic relationship undercuts the world’s ability to punish North Korea,” Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., wrote in an op-ed published by Fox News Digital last week. “With a padded wallet, Kim Jong Un is accomplishing two goals. Simultaneously, he is keeping his domestic situation stable and improving his military capabilities, which are now affecting people far beyond his borders.” Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
Judge orders former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to forfeit condo; sentencing underway
Former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby was ordered Thursday to forfeit her Florida condo after she was convicted of perjury and mortgage fraud, according to local reports. A sentencing hearing before a federal judge for Mosby got underway Thursday after a forfeiture hearing. Mosby was previously convicted of one count of mortgage fraud after testifying that she unintentionally made false statements on loan applications to buy two Florida vacation homes. In November, Mosby was convicted of two counts of perjury by a federal jury after she falsely claimed financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to withdraw money from the city’s retirement fund. “I’ve done nothing wrong. I’ve done nothing illegal and nothing criminal,” Mosby has said of the convictions. EX-BALTIMORE PROSECUTOR AND CONVICTED FRAUDSTER MARILYN MOSBY APPEALS TO BIDEN FOR HELP FORMER BALTIMORE PROSECUTOR MARILYN MOSBY FOUND GUILTY OF 1 COUNT OF MORTGAGE FRAUD A jury in February found Mosby not guilty on a second mortgage fraud charge. Mosby argued that she was the target of a politically and racially motivated prosecution under the Trump administration, and she has asked President Biden to pardon her. “While pardon applications generally express remorse and regret, what happens when justice was not served and in fact, denied? No such remorse and regret is appropriate in this case,” Mosby’s pardon application states, according to The Associated Press. Her campaign for clemency has been supported by the Congressional Black Caucus and the NAACP. Mosby rose to national prominence in 2015 after she charged six police officers in relation to the death of Freddie Gray. Fox News’ Greg Wehner, Louis Casiano and Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.
White House observes more countries opposing Israel as Ireland, Spain, Norway recognize Palestinian state
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Wednesday responded to Ireland, Spain and Norway’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state, observing a growing trend of the international community turning away from Israel. At the daily White House press briefing, Sullivan reiterated President Biden’s support for a “two-state solution” once Israeli forces defeat Hamas militants operating in Gaza. “Each country is entitled to make its own determinations, but the U.S. position on this is clear,” Sullivan said. “President Biden, as I just said, has been on the record supporting a two-state solution. He has been equally emphatic on the record that that two-state solution should be brought about through direct negotiations through the parties, not through unilateral recognition. That’s a principled position that we have held on a consistent basis. We will communicate that to our partners around the world, and we’ll see what unfolds.” The national security adviser explained that Biden “believes that a two-state solution that guarantees Israel’s security and also a future of dignity and security for the Palestinian people is the best way to bring about long-term security and stability for everyone in the region – Israelis, Palestinians and Arabs.” ISRAEL’S NETANYAHU RIPS IRELAND, SPAIN AND NORWAY RECOGNIZING PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD: ‘REWARD FOR TERRORISM’ “He has talked about a regional vision of Israel actually being integrated with all of the moderate Arab states in an architecture that can deliver regional stability,” Sullivan said. “And I was in Saudi Arabia talking to the crown prince about that exact vision this weekend. And you saw public statements from him about what is possible if Israel moves down that path. “So that’s a conversation we’ll continue to have with the Israeli government,” he continued. “In the meantime, what we will do is work to ensure the enduring defeat of Hamas and a day after in Gaza that involves governance and security, not provided by Hamas, but by an alternative that ultimately gets us on a credible pathway to that two-state solution that President Biden has talked about.” Last week, Sullivan traveled to Saudi Arabia, where he met with Crown Prince and Prime Minster of Saudi Arabia Mohamed bin Salman to discuss a “comprehensive vision for an integrated Middle East region,” according to the U.S. Embassy in Israel. Sullivan then traveled to Jerusalem, where he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and other Israeli officials for ongoing hostage deal talks. Sullivan on Wednesday also responded to a reporter’s question about Israel’s “growing diplomatic isolation” and what that means for a potential Saudi deal to recognize Israel. “I think it’s a fair question. As a country that stands strong in defense of Israel in international forums like the United Nations, we certainly have seen a growing chorus of voices, including voices that had previously been in support of Israel, drift in another direction. That is of concern to us because we do not believe that that contributes to Israel’s long-term security or vitality,” Sullivan said. “And so that’s something that we discussed with the Israeli government and something that we believe that a strategic approach to defeating Hamas, protecting civilians, surging humanitarian assistance, and then pursuing that vision of regional integration I just talked about, will put Israel in the best stead to engage countries around the world and revitalize a lot of the partnerships and friendships that have been a source of great strength for Israel over time and can be again.” In retaliation for Ireland, Spain and Norway’s announcement Wednesday that the European countries will recognize a Palestinian state on May 28, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would stop transferring tax revenue earmarked for the Palestinian Authority. The move could handicap its already waning ability to pay salaries to thousands of employees, according to The Associated Press. HOUSE DEMOCRAT BLASTS IRELAND, SPAIN, NORWAY RECOGNITION OF PALESTINIAN STATE AS ‘GIFT TO HAMAS’ Sullivan condemned that move. “I think it’s wrong,” he said of withholding funds from the Palestinian Authority. “I think it’s wrong on a strategic basis because withholding funds destabilizes the West Bank. It undermines the search for security and prosperity for the Palestinian people, which is in Israel’s interests. And I think it’s wrong to withhold funds that provide basic goods and services to innocent people. So from our perspective, those funds should continue to go with all of the necessary safeguards, but they should continue to flow.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Common tactic to arrest illegal immigrants ruled unconstitutional by federal judge
A federal judge ruled that a common tactic used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest illegal immigrants is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright ruled last week that ICE’s “knock and talk” practice of arresting illegal immigrants at their home must end, a victory for migrant rights activists who argued that agents rarely obtained warrants and instead began to rely on migrants voluntarily answering the door. The ruling, which was first reported by the Los Angeles Times, applies only to ICE’s Los Angeles field office, which has jurisdiction in much of Southern California. 6 MEN CHARGED WITH STAGING STRING OF CHICAGO-AREA ROBBERIES TO GET IMMIGRATION VISAS ICE’s Los Angeles field office relied heavily on the tactic, with an expert witness testifying that it accounted for at least 8% of arrests made in 2022. The tactic is one of the four primary methods the agency uses to make apprehensions, according to the Los Angeles Times report. Wright rejected ICE’s argument that, like mail carriers and delivery people, its agents could enter constitutionally protected private areas in order to knock on the door. His decision noted that agents would approach a migrant’s home without consent and “generally state that they are ‘conducting an investigation,’” but would not reveal their true intent for being at the home. “Despite often stating a different purpose for their visit, the true ‘intent’ and ‘actual purpose’ behind a ‘knock and talk’ is to make an immigration arrest,” Wright wrote. WASHINGTON STATE JUDGE LOWERS BAIL FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF KILLING TROOPER FROM $1M TO $100K Wright’s decision noted that agents would be allowed to enter generally protected areas if their reason for being there really was to talk, but argued they are prohibited from using the tactic “without a judicial warrant with the intent to arrest the occupant.” “The more accurate title,” Wright wrote, “would be ‘knock and arrests.’” The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, one of the groups arguing against the tactic in the case, celebrated the ruling, arguing it would put to rest an unconstitutional practice. “Everyone should feel safe in their own home, regardless of immigration status. Because ICE never has judicial warrants, they primarily rely on ‘knock and talks’ to conduct home arrests,” Stephanie Padilla, staff attorney at the ACLU of Southern California, said in a press release. “This order should significantly curtail ICE’s unconstitutional home arrest practices.” ICE’s Los Angeles field office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
‘Squad’ Democrat claims Trump DOJ would go on ‘murdering spree’ with death penalty
A Democratic lawmaker is claiming that if former President Trump is re-elected, his Department of Justice would go on a “murdering spree.” Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts made the speculations about political violence at a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing on the Office of Personnel Management on Wednesday. Speaking about Project 2025, a policy roadmap for a future Republican president to consolidate political power created by the Heritage Foundation, Pressley criticized its plan to gut agencies and hire loyal staff via Schedule F appointments as a “pathway” to “wholesale policy violence.” “The federal government has the largest and most diverse workforce in the country and Schedule F – an Executive Order that would replace tens of thousands of civil servants with partisan sycophants would destroy our government infrastructure —destroy it,” Pressley said at the hearing. BIDEN ADMINISTRATION RULE MAKES FIRING FEDERAL WORKERS HARDER AS TRUMP PROMISES ‘DEEP STATE’ REVAMP “It is critical that we understand that the far-right extremists who are advocating for Schedule F see it as a means to an end. It is their pathway to enact widespread, wholesale policy violence,” she continued. ‘SQUAD’ MEMBER AYANNA PRESSLEY CALLS FOR ALLOWING ‘INCARCERATED CITIZENS’ AND 16-YEAR-OLDS TO VOTE Pressley went on to claim that under another Trump presidency, the Department of Justice would perpetrate a “murdering spree” via abuse of capital punishment. “The Department of Justice would go on a murdering spree,” Pressley told the committee. “It would rush to use the death penalty and expand its use to even more people while circumventing due process protections.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign and the Heritage Foundation for reaction to the representative’s comments.
Biden EPA granted $50M to anti-Israel ‘climate justice’ group
A group selected for a grant of tens of millions of dollars by President Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was revealed to be partially focused on anti-Israel activism, claiming on its website, “The path to climate justice travels through a free Palestine.” Biden’s administration selected the Climate Justice Alliance (CJA) to receive $50 million last year for “environmental justice projects” after the group had already started significantly organizing and demonstrating against Israel. The announcement of the grant was made months after the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, which the group never denounced. The CJA did put out a statement on Oct. 20, nearly two weeks after the killing of Israeli civilians and capturing of hostages, calling on Biden “to support an immediate end to the violence by publicly demanding a ceasefire within the region.” BIDEN OUTPACES TRUMP WITH 200 CONFIRMED JUDGES, CEMENTING IMPACT ON COURTS The group claimed, “For generations, Palestinians have been living under a system of apartheid” and pushed the president to reject “genocide with U.S. taxpayer dollars.” By early November, not even a month after the events of Oct. 7, the group was demonstrating with signs depicting a one-state solution, designed to look like a watermelon. ‘WORSE THAN DOING NOTHING’: GOP RIPS INTO SCHUMER-BACKED BORDER BILL At the same time, only weeks after Hamas’ attack on Israel, the CJA accused the country of levying “genocidal warfare” on the Palestinian people. The group has also claimed Israel is an apartheid state. On its website, the CJA has an entire section dedicated to “Free Palestine.” One image promoted by the organization for use at protests depicts a bulldozer taking down a section of the Israel-Gaza border fence following the Hamas terrorist attack on civilians, with the word “Decolonize Palestine” written above it. BIDEN BORDER CHIEF MAYORKAS IN HOT SEAT OVER JORDANIAN NATIONALS WHO TRIED TO BREACH QUANTICO “The Biden administration doesn’t seem to care,” Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said during a press conference on Tuesday. “All they care about is the mission — the climate mission no matter what the radical ideas that are associated with the groups.” A spokesperson for the EPA told Fox News Digital that the grant money has yet to be awarded. “EPA has selected the 11 Grantmakers and is in the process of awarding funding,” they said. “As such, no grant has been awarded and no subgrants have been issued through the Grantmakers program by CJA or any other Grantmaker.” MCCONNELL-ALIGNED GROUP SHREDS SEN BROWN’S ‘HANDOUTS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS’ IN OHIO SPOT According to the EPA spokesperson, grantmakers were all subject to a “rigorous, multi-level application process.” The agency stressed that “Political affiliations played no role in the evaluation, scoring, and selection of Grantmakers.” Additionally, “Grantmakers will be accountable to EPA for proper expenditure of the funds and will be reporting to EPA on a quarterly basis on the overall progress and deliverables of the program.” The recipients’ use of grant money is also restricted to “allowable grant activities,” per the spokesperson. Neither the White House nor the CJA responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment in time for publication.
NY v. Trump: House GOP lawmaker urges Merchan to dismiss case over ‘fatal flaws,’ refer to FEC
EXCLUSIVE: A member of the House Judiciary Committee is warning the judge presiding over New York v. Trump that the case brought against the former president suffers from “fatal flaws,” and could be an example of state prosecutors “[taking] federal law into their own hands.” Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, penned a letter to Acting New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan Thursday. Merchan is reserving his decision on Trump defense attorney’s latest motion to dismiss the charges, which claims there is “no evidence” to connect the former president to falsifying business records. NY V. TRUMP: DEFENSE RESTS WITHOUT CALLING FORMER PRESIDENT TO TESTIFY; MOTION TO DISMISS PENDING “Pending before your court are closing arguments concerning the prosecution of President Donald J. Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for alleged unlawful federal political contributions and the subsequent concealment of those contributions,” Nehls wrote. “This prosecution suffers from numerous fatal flaws, but most notably, it is premised upon the baseless contention that a formal finding that a violation of federal law occurred, which the federal government has not affirmatively established within the contours of a final adjudication with proper procedural safeguards,” he continued. “This proves fatal to the case at hand.” Nehls explained that it is the Federal Election Commission, not the Manhattan DA, that is charged by Congress with enforcing federal campaign laws and determining in the first instance whether those laws are being followed. STEFANIK FILES ETHICS COMPLAINT AGAINST TRUMP TRIAL JUDGE, CITES DAUGHTER’S WORK FOR GROUP PROMOTING DEMS “The FEC has not established that a violation of federal law has occurred,” Nehls wrote, noting that the House Judiciary has jurisdiction over law and constitutional rights, and suggested a ruling on the case could raise the “prospect that state and local prosecutors can take federal law into their own hands.” The Federal Election Commission, in 2021, dropped its case into the issue of whether Trump violated election law with his ex-attorney Michael Cohen paying $130,000 to adult pornography actress Stormy Daniels. The investigation was tossed after it “failed by a vote of 2-2 to… find reason to believe that Donald J. Trump knowingly and willfully violated” federal election law. FLASHBACK: FEC DROPS TRUMP-STORMY DANIELS HUSH-MONEY INVESTIGATION Nehls echoed further concerns about the case against the former president, including related to the “applicable statute of limitations, the conversion of a misdemeanor into a felony, and difficulties proving an actual intent to commit fraud by the former president.” Bragg charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump pleaded not guilty. A charge of falsifying business records typically is a misdemeanor, but Bragg’s New York prosecutors must convince the jury that Trump allegedly falsified those records in the furtherance of “another crime.” Prosecutors suggest that the other crime was in violation of New York State law – to prevent or promote election. On its face, as a stand-alone offense, that charge is also typically a misdemeanor. NY V TRUMP: MICHAEL COHEN ADMITS TO STEALING TENS OF THOUSANDS FROM FORMER PRESIDENT’S BUSINESS Coupling the alleged falsification of business records with alleged prevention or promotion of election becomes a felony crime, according to Bragg. Nehls warned Merchan that federal campaign finance violations are “indisputably within the special competence of the FEC, not the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.” Nehls also requested Merchan ask defense attorneys and prosecutors whether he must “stay the case” and instead, “refer to the FEC the underlying fact question of whether former President Trump violated the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) by engaging in unlawful campaign contributions.” FLASHBACK: TRUMP SAYS HE DID NOT KNOW ABOUT $130G PAYMENT TO STORMY DANIELS BY MICHAEL COHEN “Such a referral would neither disrupt the People of New York’s authority to try alleged wrongdoers nor your Court’s authority to adjudicate questions of New York law,” Nehls wrote. Nehls explained that if the FEC decided that no federal campaign finance violation occurred, Merchan would retain “sole jurisdiction to decide whether an underlying crime existed, notwithstanding claims of concealment.” Nehls said if the FEC did decide there were campaign finance violations committed, it would be up to the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section to decide “whether to indict him in federal court.” EX-TOP BIDEN DOJ OFFICIAL NOW PROSECUTING TRUMP WAS ONCE PAID BY DNC FOR ‘POLITICAL CONSULTING’ “Only after exhausting the federal process would it be constitutionally appropriate for the Bragg case to proceed to a jury,” Nehls argued. Meanwhile, Nehls said Bragg’s case “presents a substantial risk to the Constitution’s balance between federal and state authority.” “Failure to consider the propriety of a stay in this case means that any individual, let alone a former president, could be convicted for an underlying federal crime without the FEC or DOJ having exercised prosecutorial review,” Nehls said. “This threatens due process by allowing state prosecutors to enforce federal law without the procedural protections afford by the federal government.” Nehls added: “Without appropriate consideration of the primary jurisdiction doctrine, the case before you could mean that Congress’s legislative process is nullified, for our laws can be enforced by state prosecutors without federal oversight.” Nehls told Merchan that whether New York County’s Supreme Court stays Bragg’s criminal proceeding against Trump and refers it to the FEC is within his “discretion.” “But failing to consider the question and allowing a verdict and judgment to become final risks abrogating the discretion of my committee and the United States Congress as a whole,” he said. In 2019, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the payments made to Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
Why Donald Trump is headed to the Bronx, the bluest part of blue state New York
It’s been 40 years since a Republican nominee has carried New York state in a presidential election. You have to go back to President Ronald Reagan, who won the state as part of his landslide re-election victory in 1984. But it appears former President Trump is hoping to end the GOP’s losing streak. “We’re coming to the Bronx,” the former president touted on social media on the eve of his Wednesday campaign event in the New York City borough, which is one of the bluest parts of a blue state. THE BLUE STATES TRUMP AIMS TO FLIP RED IN HIS 2024 REMATCH WITH BIDEN The former president’s campaign says they expect a crowd of a couple of thousand supporters on hand when Trump speaks at Crotona Park, a public park in New York City’s most diverse and economically challenged borough. The Bronx population is overwhelmingly Hispanic and Black, and roughly a third of its residents live below the poverty line, according to Census data. And the Bronx is one of the most Democratic-dominated counties in the country. So why is Trump, who often holds rallies and other campaign events in politically safer locales, heading to what seems to be enemy territory? “President Trump is unafraid to bring his message to every borough of New York, to every corner of this great country, because he believes his message is a winning one,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News. WARNING SIGNS FOR TRUMP AND BIDEN AS THEY CAREEN TOWARDS NEXT MONTH’S FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE Trump won less than 10% of the vote in the Bronx in his 2016 presidential election victory. His support in the Bronx edged up to 16% in his 2020 re-election defeat, with Biden winning 83.5% of the vote. But polls suggest Trump is making gains with Black and Hispanic voters. Trump’s campaign thinks the former president can make a dent in Biden’s support among Black and Hispanic voters, especially younger males who may be frustrated with economic conditions – especially inflation – and who are attracted to Trump’s bravado. “The strategy is to demonstrate to the voters of the Bronx and New York that this isn’t your typical presidential election, that Donald Trump is here to represent everybody and get our country back on track,” Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told Fox News. Donalds, a potential Trump running mate who grew up in New York City, will join the former president at the Bronx gathering. New York City Republicans note that the GOP won a city council seat in the Bronx last year for the first time in four decades. “There is improvement. And you have to question why there wouldn’t be more,” New York City Councilman Joe Borelli said in an interview on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends First.” “Who has been in charge of the Bronx for the better part of a generation? It’s been Democrats at every level at local, state and federal government,” Borelli emphasized. “So you shouldn’t be surprised when people come out tonight in great numbers to hear someone who’s not, you know, singing from the same choir book. Donald Trump is going to go out there and really confront the public with why they’re being faced with so many economic problems from Joe Biden.” DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN SAYS HIS CONSTITUENTS WON’T BE FOOLED BY TRUMP Democrats plan a counterprotest on Thursday evening, with the Bronx Democratic Party holding their own event in the same park. “Trump isn’t welcome in the Bronx,” they argued in a social media posting. And the political arm of the New York Immigration Coalition, pointing to the former president’s record and rhetoric on immigration, charged that “there is no place for Donald Trump’s hatred and racism in a neighborhood as diverse, vibrant and rich with immigrant history as the South Bronx.” Thursday’s campaign event comes during a brief pause in Trump’s criminal trial. Closing arguments are expected when court resumes on Tuesday, following a break for the Memorial Day federal holiday. Trump is charged with falsifying business records in relation to payments during the 2016 election that he made to Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about his alleged affair with the adult film actress. Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, $130,000 in return for her silence about allegations of an affair with Trump in 2006. Both Cohen and Daniels testified for the prosecution and were grilled by Trump’s attorneys during cross-examination in a case that’s grabbed tons of attention on the cable news networks, online and on social media. Trump, who is making history as the first current or former president to stand trial in a criminal case, has repeatedly denied falsifying business records as well as the alleged sexual encounter with Daniels, and has repeatedly claimed, without providing evidence, that the case is a “SHAM TRIAL instigated and prosecuted directly from the inner halls of the White House and DOJ.” With Trump mostly confined to New York City for the past month and a half since the start of the trial, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee has made a series of campaign stops in the city he long called home before changing his residence to Florida. Among his stops have been a visit to a bodega in Harlem, a construction site, and a local firehouse. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.