Biden campaign accepts VP debate invitation for summer showdown with Kamala Harris and Trump running mate
The Biden campaign accepted CBS News’ vice presidential debate for this summer, setting the stage for a showdown between Vice President Kamala Harris and whoever is selected as the Republican VP nominee, Fox News Digital has learned. The campaign notified CBS News that they accepted the invitation to participate in studio on either of the proposed dates — July 23 or August 13. TRUMP ACCEPTS BIDEN OFFER TO DEBATE HIM IN JUNE AND SEPTEMBER The campaign said the debate would “be in accordance with the guidelines put forth by the campaign.” On Wednesday, the Biden campaign wrote a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates, abandoning the decades-old tradition of three fall events organized by the debate commission. Former President Trump, shortly after, exclusively told Fox News Digital that he would accept the timeline proposed by Biden — scheduling the first presidential debate for June 27 on CNN and the second for September 10 on ABC News. The Biden-Harris campaign asked that the debates occur inside a TV studio, with microphones that automatically cut off when a speaker’s time limit elapses. The letter also asked that the debates involve just the two candidates and the moderator — without “an in-person audience with raucous or disruptive partisans and donors.” They also want the debates without the participation of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. or other independent or third-party candidates. “We look forward to the Trump campaign accepting one of these dates so that the full debate calendar for this campaign can be set,” the Biden campaign said about the vice presidential debate schedule on Thursday. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. The fast scheduling began Wednesday morning after Biden posted a video to social media. “Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate. Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal,” Biden said in a video message shared Wednesday morning. “I’ll even do it twice. So let’s pick the dates, Donald. I hear you’re free on Wednesdays.” Trump, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital shortly after, said: “Crooked Joe Biden is the worst debater I have ever faced – he can’t put two sentences together,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “Crooked is also the worst president in the history of the United States, by far.” Trump told Fox News Digital that “it is time for a debate to take place – even if it has to be held through the offices of the Commission on Presidential Debates, which are totally controlled by Democrats and who, as people remember, got caught cheating with me with debate sound levels.” JESSE WATTERS: BIDEN HAS A LIST OF DEBATE DEMANDS LONGER THAN A SPENDING BILL “I’m ready to go,” Trump said. “The dates that they proposed are fine. Anywhere. Anytime. Any place. Let’s see if Joe can make it to the stand-up podium.” “The proposed June and early September dates are fully acceptable to me,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “I will provide my own transportation.” And just moments later, Biden posted on his social media that he “received and accepted an invitation” from CNN for a debate on June 27. “Over to you, Donald. As you said: anywhere, any time, any place,” Biden wrote. When asked for comment, Trump told Fox News Digital that he will accept and “will be there.” The Republican added that he is “looking forward to being in beautiful Atlanta.” Later Wednesday, Trump took to his Truth Social, echoing his comments to Fox News Digital. “It’s time for a debate so that he can explain to the American People his highly destructive Open Border Policy, new and ridiculous EV Mandates, the allowance of Crushing Inflation, High Taxes, and his really WEAK Foreign Policy, which is allowing the World to ‘Catch on Fire.’ I am Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times in June and September,” Trump posted. “I would strongly recommend more than two debates and, for excitement purposes, a very large venue, although Biden is supposedly afraid of crowds – That’s only because he doesn’t get them. Just tell me when, I’ll be there. ‘Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!’” Trump on Saturday appeared before a crowd of tens of thousands on the Jersey Shore in the deep-blue state. The campaign event was held in between Trump’s appearances in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Garland rips ‘unfounded’ effort to hold him in contempt after Biden asserts executive privilege over Hur audio
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday slammed “unprecedented, frankly unfounded attacks on the Justice Department,” defending President Biden’s decision to assert executive privilege to block subpoenas for audio of Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur regarding classified documents found in his possession. On his way to an FBI memorial for fallen agents, Garland briefly took questions from reporters before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the Judiciary Committee were each expected to hold a hearing to recommend that the full House refers the attorney general to the Justice Department for the contempt charges over the department’s refusal to hand over the audio. “In your professional capacity, you suggested to the president to invoke executive privilege. He invoked executive privilege. It protects you both personally. Is that a conflict of interest?” one reporter asked. “The Justice Department is a fundamental institution of our democracy. People depend on us to ensure our investigations and our prosecutions are conducted according to the facts and the law and without political influence,” Garland said in response. “We have gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure that the committees get responses to their legitimate requests, but this is not one.” BIDEN ASSERTS EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE OVER RECORDINGS FROM CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS PROBE “To the contrary, this is one that would harm our ability in the future to successfully pursue sensitive investigations,” he continued. “There have been a series of unprecedented, frankly unfounded attacks on the Justice Department. This request, this effort to use contempt as a method of obtaining our sensitive law enforcement files is just the most recent effort to threaten, defund our investigations, and the way in which there are contributions to an atmosphere that puts our agents and our prosecutors at risk. These are wrong. Look, the only thing I can do is continue to do the right thing. I will protect this building and its people.” Another reporter asked what the request for the Hur recordings, “combined with the efforts to defund Jack Smith and the other attacks on Biden administration officials say about the broader effort to discredit [Garland] and discredit the Justice Department.” “We have to go about our work following the federal principles of prosecution,” Garland responded, explaining what he can do as attorney general. “We follow the facts and the law. We screen out outside, inappropriate influences. That’s what we’re doing here. We’re protecting our ability to continue to do high-profile and sensitive investigations, and we will continue to do that.” A third reporter, the final one given the chance to grill Garland before he left for the memorial, said the “odds now seem vanishingly small the two Jack Smith federal cases are going to begin trial, let alone finish trial this year,” asking “what does that say about the pace of the justice system and confidence in the Justice Department.” “The special counsel brought both cases last year. He appropriately requested speedy trials. The matter is now in the hands of the judiciary and I’m not going to be able to comment any further on that,” Garland said. Garland advised Biden in a letter on Thursday that the audio falls within the scope of executive privilege. Garland told the Democratic president that the “committee’s needs are plainly insufficient to outweigh the deleterious effects that the production of the recordings would have on the integrity and effectiveness of similar law enforcement investigations in the future.” Assistant Attorney General Carlos Felipe Uriarte urged lawmakers not to proceed with the contempt effort to avoid “unnecessary and unwarranted conflict.” BIDEN, NOT SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR, BROUGHT UP SON’S DEATH IN QUESTIONING “It is the longstanding position of the executive branch held by administrations of both parties that an official who asserts the president’s claim of executive privilege cannot be held in contempt of Congress,” Uriarte wrote. White House Counsel Ed Siskel wrote in a separate, scathing letter to Congress on Thursday that lawmakers’ effort to obtain the recording was absent any legitimate purpose and lays bare their likely goal — “to chop them up, distort them, and use them for partisan political purposes.” The White House letter is a tacit admission that there are moments from the Hur interview it fears portrays Biden in a negative light in an election year — and that could be exacerbated by the release, or selective release, of the audio. The transcript of the Hur interview showed Biden struggling to recall some dates and occasionally confusing some details — something longtime aides say he has done for years in both public and private — but otherwise showing deep recall in other areas. Biden and his aides are particularly sensitive to questions about his age. At 81, he is the oldest ever president, and he is seeking another four-year term. Hur, a former senior official in the Trump administration Justice Department, was appointed as a special counsel in January 2023 following the discovery of classified documents in multiple locations tied to Biden. Hur’s report said many of the documents recovered at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, in parts of Biden’s Delaware home and in his Senate papers at the University of Delaware were retained by “mistake.” However, investigators did find evidence of willful retention and disclosure related to a subset of records found in Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, house, including in a garage, an office and a basement den. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The files pertain to a troop surge in Afghanistan during the Obama administration that Biden had vigorously opposed. Biden kept records that documented his position, including a classified letter to Obama during the 2009 Thanksgiving holiday. Some of that information was shared with a ghostwriter with whom he published memoirs in 2007 and 2017. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mumbai hoarding collapse: Bhavesh Bhinde whose firm installed illegal billboard arrested from…
The illegal hoarding in Mumbai collapsed during recent storms and claimed 16 lives.
Top Democrats praise Republican aiming to flip key Senate seat in deep blue state
Words of praise for former Maryland governor and Republican Senate nominee Larry Hogan from his Democratic rival in a crucial general election showdown that may decide if the GOP wins back the chamber’s majority. “We have had a really wonderful working relationship with the governor and his administration,” Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, who as Prince George’s County executive steers Maryland’s second-most populous county, says in an old interview clip used in new video released by the Hogan campaign on Thursday. Rep. David Trone, the runner-up to Alsobrooks in Tuesday’s Democratic Senate primary, is seen in a clip in the video saying that Hogan “wants to work across the aisle. That resonates.” And the video also includes Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, Hogan’s successor in Annapolis, saying “I applaud the governor” and President Biden saying that Hogan’s “doing a heck of a job.” REPUBLICANS AIM TO FLIP A CRUCIAL SENATE SEAT IN THIS OVERHWELMINGLY BLUE STATE The spot ends with the narrator emphasizing that Hogan’s “a true independent and bipartisan leader who delivers.” The campaign tells Fox News they may put a small digital buy behind the video. Hogan, a former two-term moderate Republican governor, is making a pitch to Democrats and independent voters after cruising to the Republican Senate nomination in the overwhelmingly blue state of Maryland. “You know me. You know my proven track record of reaching across the aisle to find common ground for the common good.” Hogan said in his primary night victory speech. “You know that I’m not going to be just one more Capitol Hill Republican.” SIX SENATE SEATS THE GOP AIMS TO FLIP IN NOVEMBER’S ELECTIONS Democrats, as they try to defend their fragile 51-49 majority in the Senate, are playing plenty of defense as they defend 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs in November. Three of those seats are in red states that former President Trump easily carried in 2020 – Ohio, Montana and West Virginia, where Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin is not running for re-election. Five more are in crucial general election battleground states. Polls indicate that Hogan remains very popular with Maryland voters, and his late entry in February into the Senate race to succeed longtime Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin gave Democrats an unexpected headache. And it will force them to spend time and resources to defend an open seat in a state that was previously considered safe territory. While Hogan won statewide in 2014 and 2018, running for the Senate in a race that could determine the majority against a woman who would make history as Maryland’s first Black senator appears to be a whole different ballgame. And Hogan is also facing historical headwinds: While the GOP has had success in gubernatorial elections, no Republican has won a Senate election in Maryland in nearly four decades. “I’m always going to be the underdog in Maryland, where it’s arguably the bluest state in the country, and we’re outnumbered two-to-one,” he acknowledged in a Fox News Digital interview on Tuesday. Moments after Hogan was projected the primary winner Tuesday evening over half a dozen lesser-known Republican rivals, the Senate Democrats’ campaign committee fired up a video which spotlighted that Hogan’s “a lifelong Republican.” And Alsobrooks, in her primary night victory speech, took aim at Hogan, emphasizing that “if he’s elected, he will give Republicans the majority.” The GOP’s plan to take back the Senate majority hinges on Maryland,” she warned Wednesday in a fundraising email to supporters. But Hogan told Fox News he would “try to convince them [Democrats and independents] that I’m going to be the same exact kind of U.S. senator that I was as governor.” And pointing to his approval rating as he left office early last year, he added that “77% of them thought I did a pretty good job as governor.” Alsobooks is also taking aim at Hogan over the combustible issue of abortion, highlighting that “he will not support a national law to protect abortion rights.” Turnout for the Democrats in Maryland could be boosted in the general election courtesy of a measure on the November ballot codifying abortion rights. Hogan, who has repeatedly said he doesn’t support any attempts by his party to pass a federal abortion ban, highlighted the issue in his primary night speech. “Let me once again set the record straight tonight to the women of Maryland. You have my word that I will continue to protect your right to make your own reproductive health decisions, just like I did for eight years when I had the honor of serving as your governor,” he said. And Hogan argued in his Fox News interview that Democrats “are going to continue to use cookie-cutter Republican attacks against me, but they don’t work against me.” Hogan, a very vocal GOP critic of Trump – who’s the presumptive Republican nominee – flirted with a 2024 White House run of his own before deciding against it. And he has repeatedly said he won’t vote for the former president in November. Asked if he’s concerned that his comments could cost him the votes of some Trump loyalists and supporters in the general election, Hogan answered that “the choice will be between me and a liberal Democrat. Hopefully, even if they’re a little upset with me about one particular issue or another, hopefully they’ll decide I’m the best choice for them.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
NY v Trump: House GOP firebrands flank Trump outside Manhattan courtroom
House firebrands came out in force on Thursday in support of former President Trump as he faces his 18th day in Manhattan court. Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Eli Crane (R-AZ), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Michael Waltz (R-FL), Andy Ogles (R-TN), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Bob Good (R-VA), Mike Waltz (R-FL), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) and Michael Cloud (R-TX) joined Trump Thursday as the court is anticipated to hear continued testimony from former Trump attorney Michael Cohen. “We have a lot of congressmen and some senators down today, and they’re all up in arms over this. I can’t even believe it. We have quite a few congressmen,” Trump told the press outside the courtroom Thursday. “It’s very unfair. I’d like to be in these various states where I should be campaigning like anybody else. It’s a Biden trial. This all comes out of the White House and the Department of Justice. This is all them. In fact, a lead person from the DOJ is running the trial,” he said, apparently referring to prosecutor Matt Colangelo, who served in the DOJ before taking a job with the DA’s office. “So Biden’s office is running this trial. This trial is a scam, and it’s a sham.” LIVE UPDATES: MICHAEL COHEN FACES CROSS EXAMINATION FROM TRUMP LAWYERS IN NEW YORK CRIMINAL TRIAL The House members gathered at the court Thursday follow other notable Republican lawmakers and politicians joining Trump in support earlier this week in the Manhattan court. Former 2024 presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy, as well as Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, Florida Rep. Cory Mills and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, joined the 45th president on Tuesday, while Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis and Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville joined Trump on Monday. A Trump campaign official told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that the political allies all volunteered to join Trump in court to support their friend and were not invited by the campaign. Thursday will continue with Trump’s defense team cross-examining Cohen. The case focuses on the prosecution team working to prove Trump falsified business records 34 times to conceal a $130,000 payment to former pornography star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to conceal her claims of an affair with Trump. MICHAEL COHEN RETURNS AS FINAL WITNESS IN NYC AG BRAGG’S CRIMINAL PROSECUTION OF TRUMP Trump has pleaded not guilty in the case and has maintained his innocence. Cohen’s testimony, which began Monday when the prosecution team peppered him with questions, included him describing that he used his personal funds to pay Daniels in 2016 through a home equity line of credit. Cohen testified he did this because Trump told him to “handle it” because the story could be damaging to the campaign. TRUMP TRIAL VEEPSTAKES? TRUMP ALLIES SHOW UP IN FORCE AHEAD OF MICHAEL COHEN’S SECOND DAY OF TESTIMONY Cohen said he was “reimbursed $420,000” for the payment, a sum he said was “grossed up” to prevent loss of funds to taxes, and argued that Trump was aware of the details of the payments. The checks themselves were described as a “retainer,” which Cohen said was a false description. MASSIVE TRUMP BEACH RALLY IN DEEP-BLUE NJ DRAWS STARK CONTRAST TO BIDEN’S BEACH WEEKEND: ‘BIDEN COULD NEVER’ On Wednesday, a lawyer who formerly advised Cohen, Robert Costello, testified before Congress that Cohen was a serial liar. Costello testified before Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s grand jury in March before Trump was indicted and recalled interactions with Cohen. Costello said Cohen told him during their meetings he “took care” of the Stormy Daniels payments “himself” and said he did not get any money from Trump for the arrangement. Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Trump’s potential running mates to compete for approval at major Christian conference as speculation swirls
FIRST ON FOX: An influential conservative group announced Thursday a list of major names who will appear at its big annual conference next month, including some being viewed as possible running mates for former President Trump. The Road to Majority Conference is hosted annually by the Faith & Freedom Coalition (F&F), a major Christian grassroots organization with more than 3 million members across the U.S. The conference is known as the largest public policy gathering of conservative Christian activists in the U.S., and will focus on policy issues that matter most to voters of faith ahead of the 2024 election. Those speaking at the conference include Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson, former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party in 2022, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty. TRUMP VEEP STAKES: THE PROS AND CONS OF SOUTH DAKOTA GOV. KRISTI NOEM Youngkin, Noem, Carson and Gabbard have all been mentioned as potential running mates for Trump. The event marks the latest instance where a number of those reportedly in the running for the role could be competing on stage for Trump’s approval ahead of the Republican National Convention this summer. The event will also give those potentially on Trump’s shortlist a chance to display their views on certain policy points that matter to many voters of faith, including abortion and the importance of family values. Those positions could become a factor in Trump’s decision as he seeks to find the right candidate to balance the ticket. “It is our aspiration, not to be the only such organization out there doing it, but certainly to be one of the most important turnout vehicles for voters of faith in the 2024 election,” F&F founder Ralph Reed told Fox News Digital in an interview ahead of the announcement. ‘SQUAD’ MEMBER DEFENDS ‘RIVER TO THE SEA’ PHRASE INTERPRETED AS CALLING FOR ‘EXTERMINATION’ OF JEWS “If you look at the numbers, roughly 27% of the electorate is self-identified born again evangelical. Another roughly 11% are frequently mass-attending pro-life Roman Catholics. You’re talking about 38% of the electorate. It’s well over half and approaching 60% of the entire Republican vote. There is no road to majority or road to victory without this vote turning out in robust numbers,” he added. Reed told Fox that Democrats were hoping to make abortion, a major issue for some Christians, a front-and-center talking point this year because “they don’t have anything else to talk about. They can’t talk about the economy. They can’t talk about the border. They can’t talk about peace and prosperity. They’re trying to change the subject and that’s fine.” He predicted that, although some states will have ballot initiatives linked to abortion on the ballot — a concern for some Republican strategists — voters driven to the polls to vote for those initiatives wouldn’t necessarily automatically vote for the Democrats. Although he would not name a specific person he thought would be the best pick for Trump, Reed said one would have to “go back to 1980” to find a shortlist with as many “qualified and capable” people. Reed told Fox that more names could be added to the list of speakers ahead of the conference. The conference will be held June 20-22 at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
House committee demands Biden agency staff reveal travel history amid electioneering claims
EXCLUSIVE: Republican leaders in the House and Senate sent a joint letter Thursday morning to the U.S. Small Business Administration demanding travel schedules, official calendars and other documents from the cabinet agency amid allegations it is involved in partisan voter registration outreach in key swing states like Michigan. Republican Reps. Roger Williams of Texas and Joni Ernst of Iowa demanded the SBA comply with congressional oversight on the matter, which has also led to at least one Freedom of Information Act lawsuit from a good-government watchdog earlier this week. The letter focused on allegations from Williams that the SBA is shirking its responsibility to “Main Street” in favor of helping register voters in Democratic areas of Michigan such as Detroit and Saginaw, while obstructing his panel’s constitutionally-sanctioned oversight of the activities of the cabinet agency. “The SBA has shown a serious lack of transparency regarding the travels of senior SBA officials, including Administrator Guzmant,” Williams said. WATCHDOG GROUP SUES FEDS FOR RECORDS AS LAWMAKER CALLS VOTER REGISTRATION EFFORTS A ‘SLAP IN THE FACE’ “Main Street – and the American People – have a right to know what exactly is going on and how the SBA is spending their hard-earned tax dollars. I hope the SBA will be forthcoming with us and provide us with the requested documents as we continue our investigation into this matter.” Ernst echoed Williams, saying in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital that the Biden administration agency has “no business pushing a partisan agenda on taxpayers’ dime.” Ernst said the federal government should be helping struggling small businesses in the Biden economy, and that “open[ing] the books” is overdue for transparency’s sake. The letter cited a reported April 17 video that alleged SBA Administration Isabella Casillas Guzman was the “most traveled member of the president’s cabinet and participated in trips to indirectly campaign for the president.” Williams and Ernst said after they viewed the video, they began investigating the accuracy of the statements, and preliminarily corroborated the claim. KEY BIDEN AGENCY SLAPPED WITH HISTORIC SUBPOENAS OVER ‘IMPROPER’ SWING-STATE VOTER REGISTRATION PUSH “Specifically, these press releases indicated that you have traveled to critical battleground states for the upcoming election, including Michigan, and invited Democrat members of Congress on these trips nearly eight times more frequently than Republican members,” Williams and Ernst wrote. “On April 24, 2024, the Senate Committee sent a letter requesting your calendar, records of your travel, and White House communications.” “To date, you have failed to respond.” Williams’ office told Fox News that after they viewed the reported video, Ernst’s committee sent the agency a letter on the matter which they said never received a response as of this week. The Texas Republican’s office added that they have since not seen any public statements about “SBA taxpayer-funded trips.” In the letter, the lawmakers demand calendars for Casillas Guzman and several other SBA officials, as well as past and future travel plans for them. The lawmakers stated Williams’ committee has authority to demand such documentation under House Rule X, and the Senate panel under Senate Rule XXV S.1. On Friday, the Heritage Foundation and its Oversight Project executive director Mike Howell sued the agency alleging it failed to comply with legal public records requests into the “Memorandum of Understanding” announced earlier this year and forged between the SBA and Michigan Department of State with a 2021 executive order being the keystone of the coordination. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Oversight Project’s lawsuit alleged the SBA did not provide documents sought under an April 23 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request relating to the memo, which included internal communications with the search terms “register,” “vote,” “voter” and “ballot.” In March, the SBA announced its “first-ever” voter registration agreement with the Michigan agency. On May 7, Williams’ committee issued a rare subpoena for SBA aides after what the panel claimed was in part a failure to forward documents relating to a program “diverting [agency] resources away from assisting Main Street” toward partisan ends. When reached for comment on the lawsuit, the top Democrat on Williams’ panel, Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., expressed dismay at the subpoenas her committee recently issued, telling Fox News Digital in a statement that her committee has otherwise “prided itself in bipartisan cooperation to help American entrepreneurs.” “Unfortunately, with [these] subpoenas, Republicans have rejected these principles to pursue a partisan inquiry,” Velazquez said. A message left for Benson’s office on Wednesday in response to the earlier report was not returned by press time. Reached by phone, the SBA said in regard to the related suit it does not comment on ongoing legal matters.
‘Let Trump Speak Act’ to ban gag orders on defendants put forward by House GOP
FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Andy Ogles is introducing the “Let Trump Speak Act” on Thursday to prohibit judges from issuing gag orders to defendants, like former President Trump, in any criminal or civil proceeding. “We have watched for years as a politically-weaponized Department of Justice and Democrat activist judges have gone after President Donald J. Trump,” the Tennessee Republican told Fox News Digital. “There is no right more sacred to Americans than the right to speak freely, as guaranteed in the First Amendment.” Ogles, a strong Trump ally, added that “activists within the justice system are attempting to strip President Trump of this right for the sake of their own political agenda.” TRUMP ALLIES POUR INTO NYC COURTHOUSE TO ‘SUPPORT THEIR FRIEND,’ SAY THEY’RE NOT COORDINATING WITH CAMPAIGN If the bill passes, it would grant the right to file a civil lawsuit in a U.S. district court to seek injunctive relief if it is violated. Ten Republicans in the GOP-led House are sponsoring the bill. “This continued weaponization of justice and harassment of President Trump must end,” Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., one of the co-sponsors, said in a statement. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., another co-sponsor, said, “We have seen how our institutions have gone after President Trump to try and forcibly silence him.” “This vital American value must not be corrupted, especially by those driven by political rivalries,” she said. Other cosponsors include Reps. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C.; Matt Rosendale, R-Mont.; Byron Donalds, R-Fla.; Mary Miller, R-Ill.; Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn.; Eric Burlison, R-Mo.; and Eli Crane, R-Ariz. The bill comes as the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Trump’s attempt to end a gag order that has prevented him from speaking publicly about many aspects of the case. Trump’s legal team now has the opportunity to appeal the gag order to the New York Court of Appeals. NY V TRUMP: APPEALS COURT REJECTS TRUMP’S REQUEST TO END ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL’ GAG ORDER “We find that Justice Merchan properly weighed petitioner’s First Amendment Rights against the court’s historical commitment to ensuring the fair administration of justice in criminal cases, and the right of persons related or tangentially related to the criminal proceedings from being free from threats, intimidation, harassment, and harm,” the First Department of the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division wrote in its order Tuesday. The case focuses on Cohen paying former pornographic performer Stormy Daniels $130,000 prior to the 2016 presidential election to allegedly quiet her claims about a 2006 affair with the then-real estate tycoon. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels. MICHAEL COHEN TESTIFIES HE SECRETLY RECORDED TRUMP IN LEAD-UP TO 2016 ELECTION Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung previously told Fox News Digital the gag order “is unconstitutional and un-American.” “The threat to throw the 45th President of the United States and the leading candidate in the 2024 presidential election in jail for exercising his First Amendment rights is a Third World authoritarian tactic typical of Crooked Joe Biden and his comrades,” he said. Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Fourth accused in Hardeep Singh Nijjar murder appears before Canadian court
Nijjar, 45, was killed outside Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18, 2023.
18 Dems vote in favor of GOP-led bill cracking down on DC crime
A House Republican-led bill aimed at overhauling Washington, D.C.’s criminal policies passed with the support of 18 Democrats on Wednesday evening. It is a sign that crime in the nation’s capital has been an increasingly urgent issue for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Rep. Byron Donalds’ D.C. Criminal Reform to Immediately Make Everyone Safer (DC CRIMES) Act would impose specific changes targeting how juveniles and young adults are prosecuted. The bill passed the House by a 225 to 181 vote, with only Democratic lawmakers opposed. FLORIDA SHERIFF’S DEPUTY SEEN FATALLY SHOOTING 23-YEAR-OLD US AIRMAN Democrats who supported the bill include Reps. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla.; Pat Ryan, D-N.Y.; Henry Cuellar, D-Texas; Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas; Jared Golden, D-Maine; Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio; Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.; and Angie Craig, D-Minn.; among others. Donalds, R-Fla., said in a statement after its passage, “Our nation’s capital is experiencing a historic crime wave as a result of progressive, soft-on-crime policy. This man-made public safety crisis is unacceptable. Congress has a constitutional responsibility to oversee the District of Columbia and it is imperative that we act quickly to assert our control when local government fails to do its job. The American people deserve a safe capital city and I will not stand idly-by as it descends into chaos.” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., similarly blamed Democratic policies for fueling the city’s crime issues. FLORIDA MAN CONVICTED AFTER ADMITTING TO HEINOUS CRIME DURING JOB INTERVIEW TO BECOME A POLICE OFFICER “Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies have significantly changed policing across the country – and some of the worst consequences can been seen in our nation’s capital,” Johnson’s statement read. “Congress has a responsibility to act in the interest of the District of Columbia.” It is not the first time since the beginning of 2023 that Congress has stepped in to exercise its authority over the capital to crack down on crime. Last March, both the House and Senate passed a GOP-led resolution overturning the city council’s proposed overhaul of the Washington, D.C., criminal code that would have drastically reduced minimum sentences for armed carjackings and expanded the right to jury trials, which critics say would have caused unnecessary delays. Donalds’ bill would lower the age classifying “youths” from under 25 to under 18. The classification gives Washington, D.C., courts more flexibility in issuing sentences for crimes committed. POLICE ON UC IRVINE CAMPUS AFTER ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS SWARM BUILDINGS; STUDENTS TOLD TO ‘LEAVE AREA’ It would prevent the courts from handing down sentences under the minimum statutory requirements for youth offenders, and stop Washington, D.C.’s progressive city council from changing what those requirements are. The bill would also require the Washington, D.C., attorney general to keep the public better informed on youth and juvenile crime rates by creating a public website where statistics are readily available. According to a year-to-date crime comparison provided by the Metropolitan Police Department, homicides in the nation’s capital rose 35% from 2022 to 2023, with the overall rate of violent crime climbing 39%. Robberies increased by 67%, while instances of motor vehicle theft have climbed 82%.