‘Fervent opposition’: Blue city mayor scraps plan to open new migrant shelter after backlash
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration is backing off from a plan to open a new migrant shelter in the city’s South Side, after the alderwoman who represents the area “fully and unequivocally” opposed it. Ald. Nicole Lee, a Democrat, had told constituents last week that she had been notified that the administration was considering plans to build a new temporary shelter in her ward to replace a shelter downtown “before the Democratic National Convention” in August. “Yesterday, Ald. Lee met with Mayor Johnson about these plans and outlined in no uncertain terms that she is fully and unequivocally opposed to standing up this shelter at this location,” she said in the email. SANCTUARY CITY POLICY ARREST OVER 1K MIGRANTS FROM THIS COUNTRY AS RESIDENTS RAGE AGAINST DEM LEADERS She cited concerns about safety, a problematic location surrounded by train lines and a manufacturing district, and a lack of justification for the proposed relocation. “We have asked Mayor Johnson that if they are going to move forward with this plan against our fervent opposition, that he and his team pursue a proper community engagement process prior to signing a lease and committing any funds,” the email said. However, this week, the city announced the plan would no longer go ahead. The Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) said in a statement that Lee “was given notice early in the process in an effort to gather feedback and information about this potential site.” “This site was under preliminary consideration and a site visit by various City departments had not been conducted. As part of our standard site vetting process, there were a number of assessments and physical improvements that would need to happen before a decision was made to move forward,” the statement said. OUTRAGED RESIDENT WARNS WHAT $70M MIGRANT FUNDING WILL DO TO SANCTUARY CITY “While City staff had not had conversations with the owner, there were conversations held with the owner’s broker of the property and our vendor. The City is no longer considering this site,” it said. City officials also denied to ABC 7 that the transition of migrants had anything to do with the upcoming Democratic convention. In response, Lee said she expects that the city “will continue to explore other locations that would be safer and more appropriate for the migrants and community residents of Chicago alike.” The controversy is the latest in continued unrest in the Windy City about the influx of migrants the city has seen since 2022, which has led to tensions between politicians and residents. Some residents were outraged by the request, and subsequent approval by the City Council for $70 million extra to deal with the number of new arrivals the city is facing. CHICAGO CITY COUNCIL APPROVES $70M FOR MIGRANT CARE DESPITE VOTER BACKLASH That money is on top of $150 million assigned to migrant care in the budget already. According to Johnson’s office, the city has at its peak been dealing with more than 2,000 migrants coming in a week. Nearly 40,000 have arrived since August 2022. Mayor Johnson’s office said the funding request was to ensure the city is prepared “should there be any sudden increases in new arrivals sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.” The city aims to provide “basic necessities” including food, shelter, medical care, education, vaccines, case management and resettlement support.
WATCH: Dem Senate candidate caught on video screaming at reporter over controversial police remark
The Democrat frontrunner in one of this year’s top Senate races went off on a reporter this week who pressed him concerning a controversial remark he made on social media about police. The tense exhange between Rep. David Trone, D-Md., and Fox 5 reporter Tom Fitzgerald happened during a campaign stop in Rockville, Maryland, on Tuesday, when Trone expressed his anger about the outlet’s reporting from the previous day on his claim that an “increased police presence” doesn’t make people feel safe. “You should be ashamed of the journalism that you did yesterday,” Trone, who is running to replace retiring Democrat Sen. Ben Cardin, said as he approached the reporter. BILLIONAIRE FAMILY BANKROLLING BOTH ANTI-ISRAEL GROUPS AND THESE BATTLEGROUND DEMOCRATS “I should be ashamed? I’m not ashamed, congressman,” Fitzgerald responded before Trone accused him of cherry-picking lines out of his lengthy X post focused on crime and policing. Trone made the widely panned post on Monday, claiming the American justice system is “systemically racist,” and that an “increased police presence” doesn’t “make everyone feel safer.” It drew ire from a number of critics who responded that criminals also don’t like an increased police presence, and that they were second-guessing whether to continue supporting his bid for the Senate. “You took one line out of 20, and you should be ashamed of that type of journalism… You’re shilling for Larry Hogan, so keep shilling for Larry Hogan,” Trone railed against Fitzgerald, accusing him of advocating for his rival, former Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who is also running for Senate. ‘SQUAD’ MEMBER CAUGHT AT FUNDRAISER HOSTED BY ISLAMIC LEADER WHO PRAISED HAMAS ATTACK ON ISRAEL “If you want to do that, feel free to shill. That’s all I’ve got to say. Go back and read the whole section of tweets. It was very supportive of our police,” Trone said. Fitzgerald responded that he did read the entire tweet thread, but Trone, before walking away, simply shot back, “You didn’t. You didn’t, and you’re just making it up. You’re just making it up, so thank you.” Trone’s run-in with the reporter marks his latest controversy on the campaign trail after he faced sharp backlash in March for expressing his support for granting millions of illegal immigrants citizenship and voting rights. He took more criticism the following week for using a racial slur during a House Budget Committee hearing, something he said was unintentional. WAR VETERAN IN CRUCIAL BATTLEGROUND RACE EXPANDS CAMPAIGN, SETS SIGHTS FIRMLY ON VULNERABLE DEMOCRAT “So this Republican jigaboo that – it’s the tax rate that’s stopping business investment, it’s just completely faulty by people who have never run a business,” Trone said during the hearing. “They’ve never been there. They don’t have a clue what they’re talking about.” Trone said he intended to use the word “bugaboo,” not “jigaboo,” a disparaging term for Black people. Fox News Digital has reached out to Trone’s campaign for comment. He faces a crowded Democratic primary field that includes Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. The winner will likely face Hogan in the November general election. Elections analysts rate the race as “likely” Democrat, but Hogan’s name recognition and high approval rating at the conclusion of his second term last year could further pose a challenge to Democrats’ hopes of maintaining control of the Senate. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
‘In the crosshairs’: Massive number of migrants from this foreign adversary are illegally entering US
There were more than 1,000 apprehensions of Chinese nationals crossing the U.S. border illegally in the last week, a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) source tells Fox News. Border Patrol agents apprehended 1,026 Chinese nationals in the last week alone, the source said. Of those, 98.5% were caught in the San Diego Sector. San Diego saw 1,011 encounters, Yuma Sector saw 10, while there were two in El Centro Sector and two at the northern border. There were no apprehensions of Chinese nationals in Texas. BORDER PATROL SECTOR STOPS HUNDREDS OF CHINESE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN JUST TWO DAYS AS NUMBERS SOAR The latest numbers come as the border has seen a dramatic increase in the numbers of Chinese nationals, a trend that has raised national security concerns and fears of espionage from some Republicans. The San Diego Sector saw more than 200 encounters in two separate days last week. On Thursday, agents encountered 223 migrants, after encountering 262 on Wednesday. That means that more Chinese illegal immigrants crossed illegally into the sector in two days than across the entire southern border in all of FY 21 – when 342 migrants were encountered. Overall, across the border, numbers have increased dramatically since FY 21. There were 1,970 encounters in FY 2022, over 24,000 in FY 2023 and so far there have been over 24,200 encounters so far this fiscal year. Some Republicans have raised concern about the possibility of espionage from those coming across the border. Recently, House Republicans warned that the Chinese Communist Party “wants the chaos and devastation” that comes from fentanyl coming in to the U.S. Illicit fentanyl is primarily made using Chinese precursors by Mexican cartels and then moved across the southern land border. ICE CHIEF SAYS THIS FOREIGN ADVERSARY ISN’T TAKING BACK ITS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, which represents all rank-and-file Border Patrol agents nationwide, told Fox News earlier this year that the majority of the Chinese border crossers are single adult males of military age. “That is a very scary prospect. We know that China does not like us. We know that we are in the crosshairs of China,” he said. “And they are exporting so many people to our country, and you have to really fear about that.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS At a recent House Appropriations Committee hearing, acting ICE Director Patrick Lechleitner was asked by Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., to identify the top countries that are the most difficult to return nationals to when deported from the U.S. – and including China in that list. “We’ve got Bhutan, top of the list there, Cambodia, they’ve been challenging, the People’s Republic of China, although we’ve had some recent cautiously optimistic progress with the Chinese, so I want to say it’s moving in the right direction there.”
RFK Jr said a worm ate part of his brain and died in his head
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed in a years-old deposition that doctors told him a parasitic worm had eaten part of his brain before dying in his skull, according to a Tuesday report from the New York Times. Kennedy made the claim during a deposition that took place as part of his 2012 divorce proceedings. He said he had been experiencing “cognitive problems” and feared he was suffering from a brain tumor. RFK was scheduled to undergo surgery at the Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina when he got a second opinion. The second doctor stated that the shadow inside his brain on scans was in fact a dead parasite, likely a pork tapeworm larva. According to a transcription of the interview, Kennedy stated that his condition “was caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died,” according to the Times. BIDEN RIVAL PROPOSES ‘NO-SPOILER PLEDGE’ IN ORDER TO TAKE ON TRUMP IN NOVEMBER “I have cognitive problems, clearly,” RFK said at the time. “I have short-term memory loss, and I have longer-term memory loss that affects me.” The independent presidential candidate was also diagnosed with mercury poisoning around the same time, which one doctor told the Times was likely the true cause behind RFK’s severe “brain fog.” RFK JR. CHALLENGES TRUMP TO DEBATE AFTER ‘DEMOCRAT PLANT’ ACCUSATION The mercury poisoning arose from a heavy diet of fish, namely tuna sandwiches. RFK’s campaign told the Times he made a full recovery from the brain fog and other symptoms after changing his diet, and he had no aftereffects from the parasite. When asked whether the history called into question his mental ability, a spokeswoman for the campaign told the outlet, “That is a hilarious suggestion, given the competition.” RFK has highlighted his own physical fitness in contrast with President Biden and former President Trump. The 70-year-old frequently appears on social media being active at the gym and elsewhere.
College anti-Israel agitators could be sent to Gaza under new House GOP bill
FIRST ON FOX: A new House Republican bill would send any person charged and convicted for illegal activity on a college campus to Gaza for at least six months. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., introduced the bill on Wednesday alongside Reps. Randy Weber, R-Texas, and Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., in response to the ongoing anti-Israel demonstrations on college campuses across the country. Several of those protests have turned violent, with clashes between police and activists, as well as hundreds of activists being arrested across multiple campuses. While Ogles’ bill text does not mention Israel or the anti-Israel groups, it specifically targets unlawful activity on college campuses after Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants invaded Israel in a surprise attack that killed over 1,000 people. UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA POLICE ARREST 25 ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS WHILE TRYING TO CLEAR ENCAMPMENT Those convicted would be forced to serve a minimum six-month community service sentence in Gaza, where Israel is currently waging a brutal campaign to eradicate Hamas and rescue the remaining Israelis that terrorists took hostage in October. “Students have abandoned their classes to harass other students and disrupt campus-wide activities, including university commencement ceremonies nationwide. Enough is enough,” Ogles told Fox News Digital. “That’s why I introduced legislation to send any person convicted of unlawful activity on the campus of an American university since October 7th, 2023, to Gaza to complete a minimum of six months of community service.” ANTI-ISRAEL ORGANIZERS AT GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ISSUE NEW DEMAND AS CAMPUS TAKEOVER REACHES 13TH DAY Weber added, “If you support a terrorist organization, and you participate in unlawful activity on campuses, you should get a taste of your own medicine. I am going to bet that these pro-Hamas supporters wouldn’t last a day, but let’s give them the opportunity.” The bill is likely to face uncertain odds in the House, where Republicans hold a razor-thin majority of just one seat. Even if it passed, the Democrat-controlled Senate will almost certainly ignore it. It is an example, however, of the heightened tensions wracking the U.S. over Israel’s war with Hamas. STANFORD JEWISH STUDENTS ON TAKING PHOTO OF MAN WITH HAMAS HEADBAND ON CAMPUS: ‘WE WERE JUST IN SHOCK’ The college protests here have garnered bipartisan criticism from virtually all Republicans and a significant number of Democrats, but progressives have continued to show strong support for the students and other activists on campus. Comments by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., for example, referring to some Jewish students as “pro-genocide” have earned her a GOP-led censure resolution, filed by Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., on Tuesday. Her fellow “Squad” member, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., has also been censured for her comments about Israel in the wake of Oct. 7.
House GOP goes after ‘convicted liar’ Michael Cohen, urges Justice Department to investigate recent lies
EXCLUSIVE: Two Republican congressional committee chairmen are again referring ex-Trump attorney Michael Cohen to the Justice Department for lying to Congress, Fox News Digital has learned. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer had previously referred Cohen to the Justice Department after Cohen allegedly lied to Congress in a February 2019 hearing. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations, making false statements to Congress and tax evasion. He was sentenced to three years in prison. In a letter sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland Wednesday, obtained by Fox News, Comer and Jordan wrote that much of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s ongoing case against former President Trump is based on testimony from Cohen, whom they called a “repeated liar.” TOP REPUBLICANS DOUBLE DOWN ON CALL FOR DOJ PROBE INTO BRAGG’S ‘STAR WITNESS’ MICHAEL COHEN In the letter Wednesday, Jordan and Comer remind Garland that Republicans, in February 2019, referred Cohen to the Justice Department “for perjury and knowingly making false statements during his testimony” before the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 27, 2019. Jordan and Comer said, at the time, members cited “six specific lies told by Cohen and urged the Justice Department to take appropriate action.” “Last year, we learned that Cohen separately lied again before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in a 2019 deposition,” they wrote. Cohen appeared to admit to being dishonest in Trump’s non-jury civil trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit. “Cohen’s testimony is now the basis for a politically motivated prosecution of a former president and current declared candidate for that office,” Jordan and Comer wrote. “In light of the reliance on the testimony from this repeated liar, we reiterate our concerns and ask what the Justice Department has done to hold Cohen accountable for his false statements to Congress.” Cohen, during his February 2019 testimony, “made willfully and intentionally false statements of material fact that were contradicted by the record established by the Justice Department in United States v. Cohen,” they wrote. Jordan and Comer also said Cohen made statements that were contradicted by witnesses with firsthand knowledge of the subject. Those lies, according to Jordan and Comer, included Cohen denying committing various fraudulent acts, to which he had pleaded guilty in federal court. Cohen also repeatedly testified that he did not seek employment in then-President Trump’s White House, “despite evidence from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York demonstrating that ‘Cohen privately told friends…that he expected to be given a prominent role and title in the new administration.’” Jordan and Comer also said Cohen stated that he “did not direct the creation of a Twitter account known as @WomenForCohen, which is contradicted by statements from the owner of the IT firm that created the account for Cohen.” They also said Cohen lied when he said he did not have any reportable foreign government contracts, despite entering into two contracts in 2017 with entities owned in part by foreign governments. NY V. TRUMP: HOUSE JUDICIARY INVESTIGATES BRAGG PROSECUTOR WHO HELD SENIOR ROLE IN BIDEN DOJ Jordan and Comer said Cohen’s testimony also contradicted various aspects of his written statement, which he submitted in advance of the hearing. Cohen asserted that he committed crimes out of “blind loyalty” to Trump, but Jordan and Comer said that was contradicted by federal prosecutors in federal court. Most recently, Jordan and Comer said, was in October 2023, when Cohen “admitted to lying to Congress” during his testimony in the Letitia James case against Trump. When asked if he was being “honest” in front of the House Intelligence Committee in February 2019, Cohen testified: “No.” “So you lied under oath in February of 2019? Is that your testimony?” Trump attorney Alina Habba asked him. “Yes,” Cohen replied. The revelation prompted current House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, and committee member, House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., in October to refer Cohen again to the DOJ for perjury and knowingly making false statements to Congress. Just last week, Turner and Stefanik doubled down on their calls for another DOJ investigation into Bragg’s “star witness.” “Currently, Manhattan’s popularly elected District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, is using Cohen as his star witness in an ongoing criminal prosecution of President Donald Trump,” Jordan and Comer wrote, noting that Bragg’s case “relies heavily on Cohen’s testimony and credibility.” MICHAEL COHEN TIKTOK VIDEOS, FUNDRAISING STUN LEGAL OBSERVERS: MAY HAVE ‘TORPEDOED CASE AGAINST TRUMP’ But the lawmakers said, in short, “to prosecute President Trump, Bragg has revived this ‘zombie’ case relying on a known—and convicted—liar and his testimony at a congressional hearing in which he lied at least six times.” Jordan and Comer stressed that Bragg, “a popularly elected, partisan prosecutor is using this convicted liar to carry out his politically motivated prosecution of a former president.” “Therefore, we again request that the Justice Department investigate whether any of Mr. Cohen’s testimony warrants another charge” for violating the law, they wrote. “Congress cannot perform its oversight function if witnesses who appear before its committees do not provide truthful testimony,” Jordan and Comer wrote. The unprecedented criminal trial for Trump is ongoing. Cohen is expected to be called to testify. Cohen arranged the $130,000 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. NY V TRUMP: JUDGE DENIES MOTION FOR MISTRIAL AMID STORMY DANIELS TESTIMONY Trump, later, made several payments of $35,000 to Cohen, who was his personal attorney at the time. Bragg is trying to prove those payments, which totaled $420,000, were a reimbursement for the hush money payment. But Trump defense attorneys say that the $35,000 payments were “not a payback,” but instead, legal payments. In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Trump said it was not falysifying a record for a bookkeeper to note a payment as “legal expense” while paying a legal fee. “They call it a legal expense — and that’s what it was. It was a legal
Delhi excise policy case: SC may pass order on interim bail to CM Arvind Kejriwal on this date
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court had hinted at granting interim bail to Kejriwal to enable him to campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Felony charge in store for anti-Israel radicals who break little known law
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost warned university presidents on Monday of a historic state law that could mean masked anti-Israel demonstrators on college campuses could face felony charges. A violation of the so-called “anti-disguise” law, which says that “no person shall unite with two or more others to commit a misdemeanor while wearing white caps, masks, or other disguise,” is a fourth-degree felony punishable by between six and 18 months in prison. “Those guilty may also pay up to $5,000 in fines and spend up to five years on community control,” Yost wrote in Monday’s letter. POLL REVEALS BATTLEGROUND STATE VOTERS PREFER TRUMP OVER BIDEN IN HEATED 2024 CONTEST “I do not wish to see anyone’s First Amendment rights abridged, nor see anyone surprised that they violated the law,” Yost wrote. “The First Amendment is a shield against the government, not a sword against fellow students. In the first place, students should protest within the bounds of the law, and not commit crimes.” “In the second place, they should own their advocacy and avoid wearing masks,” Yost said. Enacted in 1953, the law bars individuals wearing masks or disguises from congregating to commit misdemeanors. Most of the anti-Israel demonstrators on college campuses were disguised or covered their faces. OHIO VOTERS APPROVE AMENDMENT ENSHRINING ABORTION ACCESS INTO STATE CONSTITUTION “It seems likely that at least some of the students around Ohio are unaware of this law, or the risk of their conduct. You have the tools to fill in that gap. As the semester draws to a close, let’s send the students home safely–and without surprise criminal records,” Yost said. ANTI-ISRAEL ENCAMPMENTS SHARE COMMON TRAITS WITH MARXIST REVOLUTIONARIES, BLM AND THE KKK More than a dozen states have anti-mask laws, many implemented around the era of Ku Klux Klan rallies. In Ohio, 19 students – some wearing masks or facial coverings – were recently arrested during anti-Israel demonstrations. Meanwhile, Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said last week his office is investigating more than 40 cases of arrests during unrest at Ohio State University.
Blue state pol who backed law enabling Trump suit now says it’s ‘unconstitutional’ amid rape claim
A New York state senator is pushing back against a law he originally voted for amid his own fight against accusations of rape, arguing now that the law is unconstitutional. Democratic State Sen. Kevin Parker argued in a court filing earlier this month that the Adult Survivors Act, a law that he voted in favor of, was unconstitutional, according to a report from the New York Post. Parker’s argument comes as he faces a lawsuit over allegations he raped Olga Jean-Baptiste in 2004 while the two were working together on Haiti relief efforts, accusations that Parker has denied. NEW YORK SENATE DEM FACES RAPE ALLEGATIONS IN LAWSUIT: ‘EXTREMELY DISTURBING’ The lawsuit was allowed to move forward thanks to the 2021 Adult Survivors Act, which allowed alleged victims to file civil lawsuits within a certain window of time even if the statute of limitations had run out. The lawsuit against Parker over the 2004 allegations was filed in November 2023, just inside the window created by the law. The same law was used by E. Jean Carroll in a 2022 lawsuit against former President Trump, whom Carroll claimed had sexually assaulted her in 1995 or 1996, when the two met outside a New York City department store. Parker, who voted in favor of the since-expired law in 2021, highlighted that vote when the rape lawsuit was filed against him last year, arguing that he “voted in favor” of the law in order to “ensure all New Yorkers can seek justice and be heard.” “These allegations are absolutely untrue,” Parker said at the time. “My work and advocacy will continue.” NEW YORK SENATE DEM APOLOGIZES FOR SUGGESTING GOP STAFFER KILL HERSELF, THEN BLASTS HER AS ‘TWITTER TROLL’ Parker has long been a controversial figure for his apparent temper, the New York Post reported, noting a 2005 misdemeanor assault charge the lawmaker received after punching a New York City traffic officer in the face after the officer wrote him a ticket for double-parking. In 2009, Parker was arrested and charged with felony criminal mischief and assault after chasing a New York Post photographer and damaging the photographer’s camera and breaking his finger, according to a report from the New York Times. He was eventually found guilty of misdemeanor criminal mischief charges and ordered to take anger-management classes, the New York Post report notes. Parker is being represented in the case by attorney Lonnie Hart Jr., who did not immediately return a Fox News Digital request for comment. Parker’s office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
Biden’s Iran envoy kept classified material on personal email, cellphone that was hacked: GOP lawmakers
Republican lawmakers revealed “troubling allegations” against President Biden’s embattled special envoy to Iran, Robert Malley, who is said to have stored classified material on a personal email account and cellphone that were later accessed by a “hostile cyber actor.” The top Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees sent a letter to the State Department on Monday requesting confirmation of their findings against Malley, who was placed on unpaid leave last June and had his security clearance suspended amid a State Department investigation for allegedly mishandling classified documents. The letter, which was obtained by Fox News Digital, was addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and included a handful of allegations against Malley that stemmed from an investigation launched by Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member James Risch, R-Idaho, and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul, R-Texas. “We remain deeply frustrated by the Department’s lack of responsiveness to our requests for information needed to conduct appropriate oversight,” the lawmakers told Blinken in the letter, which was first reported by the Washington Post. “Due to the Department’s evasiveness and lack of transparency, we have worked to glean information from other sources. Our own investigations have uncovered the following information and troubling allegations. We ask that you confirm the information we have learned.” SUSPENDED BIDEN OFFICIAL WHO PUSHED FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH HAMAS SLATED TO TEACH ISRAEL-PALESTINE COURSE AT YALE The two Republican lawmakers added, “Specifically, we understand that Mr. Malley’s security clearance was suspended because he allegedly transferred classified documents to his personal email account and downloaded these documents to his personal cell phone. It is unclear to whom he intended to provide these documents, but it is believed that a hostile cyber actor was able to gain access to his email and/or phone and obtain the downloaded information.” The GOP lawmakers also asked Blinken for additional information regarding the exact reasoning behind Malley’s suspension, as well as the classification levels of the documents he stored on his personal devices and accounts that were said to have been hacked. Among the many questions, the Republicans asked Blinken was whether Malley sent classified material to individuals who lacked security clearances and whether the alleged cyber actor was affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG), the Iranian military, or intelligence services. The lawmakers also requested information on how Malley’s personal email and/or cellphone were hacked, as well as whether the Biden administration has plans to allow Malley to return to the State Department. “The allegations we have been privy to are extremely troubling and demand immediate answers,” the lawmakers concluded in their letter to Blinken. “These allegations have substantial impact on our national security and people should be held accountable swiftly and strongly.” BIDEN’S SUSPENDED IRAN SPECIAL ENVOY ONCE PUSHED ENGAGEMENT WITH HAMAS, HEZBOLLAH TERROR GROUPS President Biden tapped Malley in January 2021 to try to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, under which Tehran agreed to limit its nuclear program to make it harder to obtain a nuclear weapon in return for economic sanctions relief. In 2018, President Trump opted to kill the deal and reimpose sanctions on Iran. Malley stepped back from his State Department role shortly before Iran’s release of five U.S. citizens to house arrest as part of a deal under which they would eventually leave Iran and $6 billion in Iranian funds in South Korea would be unfrozen. Malley confirmed last June that his clearance was being investigated, but said he was confident of a positive outcome. “I have been informed that my security clearance is under review. I have not been provided any further information, but I expect the investigation to be resolved favorably and soon. In the meantime, I am on leave,” Malley said to Fox News at the time. “While I am on leave from the State Department, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with the next generation of public servants,” Malley said in the statement. “I look forward to my time at Princeton and returning to government service in due course.” A spokesperson for the State Department confirmed to the New York Post on Tuesday that Malley remains on leave and that the department has given Congress information on personnel inquiries related to Iran policy. The spokesperson did not, however, comment on the allegations revealed in the letter to Blinken from Risch and McCaul.