Sen. Tom Cotton takes aim at student loan forgiveness for anti-Israel agitators
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, on Thursday criticized the possibility of student loan forgiveness that may be extended to anti-Israel agitators at universities nationwide. The senator introduced The No Bailouts for Campus Criminals Act, a measure that would prevent so-called “bailouts” from being given to anyone convicted of federal or state crimes “related to the individual’s conduct at and during the course of a protest that occurs at an institution of higher education.” Cotton told Fox News Digital in a statement, “Americans who never went to college or responsibly paid off their debts shouldn’t have to pay off other people’s student loans. They especially shouldn’t have to pay off the loans of Hamas sympathizers shutting down and defacing campuses.” THUNE TARGETS IRS STAFF’S USE OF PERSONAL DEVICES AFTER REPORTED FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH TIKTOK BAN The measure was co-sponsored by 16 other Republican senators, including Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Marco Rubio of Florida, and Mitt Romney of Utah. Cotton’s legislation was prompted by the spread of anti-Israel and antisemitic protests across the country at universities, with some escalating into riots. In the last two weeks, anti-Israel protests have taken place at 47 of the nation’s top 50 universities, as ranked in 2024 by U.S. News and World Report. At Columbia University, where anti-Israeli demonstrators took over a campus building, and at City College in New York, the New York Police Department announced that it had arrested approximately 300 individuals between April 30 and May 1. DEM SENATOR LEADS BIPARTISAN EFFORT TO STRENGTHEN TAIWAN SUPPLY CHAIN AMID CHINA THREAT President Biden’s initial plan for student loan debt forgiveness was challenged in the court system and since then, his administration has opted to roll out more targeted forgiveness for various groups. Cotton’s bill would prohibit anyone convicted of crimes during these – or any other protests – making them “ineligible for forgiveness, cancellation, waiver, or modification of certain Federal student loans.” The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. ERNST LEADS SENATE GOP DEMANDING BIDEN ‘CEASE PLANNING’ GAZA REFUGEE ACCEPTANCE Companion legislation for Cotton’s measure was introduced in the House by Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y. “Violent campus protesters laughably demand respect, amnesty, and even takeout food. Our bicameral bill ensures that not one student protester convicted of criminal offenses is bailed out by student loan forgiveness. Not one dime of taxpayer money will fund these criminals,” Williams said in a statement. SEN MIKE LEE TARGETS UNIVERSITY GRANTS, CITES ‘WOKE DEI PROGRAMS,’ ANTI-ISRAEL RIOTS Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., among others, joined Cotton to address the protests and ridiculed Biden for not using his authority to stop them. Biden on Thursday publicly addressed the protests and riots, saying “Dissent is essential for democracy.” “But dissent must never lead to disorder.”
2024 Showdown: Biden’s bump has flatlined in the polls
It was a poll that rattled the campaign world, disrupting the recent narrative that President Biden was closing the gap with former President Donald Trump in the 2024 election rematch. A survey that went viral on Sunday indicated Trump topping his Democratic successor by six points in a head-to-head match-up and by nine points in a five-candidate ballot that included Democrat turned independent contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Green Party candidate Jill Stein and progressive professor Cornel West. The CNN poll conducted by SSRS was instantly used as evidence by pundits – and as ammunition by Trump and his team – of the waning of the perceived polling bump the president enjoyed coming out of his well-regarded and aggressive State of the Union address in early March – when he went for the jugular in primetime with numerous salvos fired at his Republican predecessor. Trump enjoyed the polling edge over Biden in an average of national horserace surveys dating back to last October, but the president’s numbers edged up in the weeks after the State of the Union address. DID BIDEN PASS OR FAIL: FORMER PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH WRITERS GRADE THE PRESIDENT’S PERFORMANCE “Biden’s position in the polls is improving against Trump,” polling analyst Nate Silver said last month. But Daron Shaw, a politics professor and chair at the University of Texas who serves as a member of the Fox News Decision Team and the Republican partner on the Fox News Poll, is skeptical. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE 2024 ELECTION “If you want to really parse one-to-two-point shifts one way or the other, then I suppose if you squint very hard, you can convince yourself that he [Biden] bumped up one or two, and now he’s lost one of that,” Shaw said. Shaw, who served as a top strategist on former President George W. Bush’s 2000 and 2004 campaigns, emphasized that “the race has been fairly steady over much of the past nine months.” Veteran pollster Chris Anderson, another member of the Fox News Election Decision Team, and the Democratic partner on the Fox News Poll, said that any bump was a small one. “There seemed to be, at the very least, a stabilization after the State of the Union,” which tempered earlier perceptions of a Trump advantage. And showcasing recent Fox News polls in the crucial swing states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, Anderson noted ,”There were signs in there of a little bit of progress for Biden, but again it’s really small.” While national surveys garner plenty of attention, the race for the White House is a battle for the states and their electoral votes, which places a spotlight on battleground state polling. DO THE LATEST POLLS SPELL TROUBLE FOR BIDEN? Analysts argue over how much the State of the Union address fueled the slight rise in the polls by Biden. “Simply Democrats coming home naturally, which they’ll probably do, versus State of the Union stuff,” Shaw argued. “The main thing about the State of the Union was that it sort of stopped a conversation that was corrosive to Biden, that he’s too old and too feeble and not up to the task. That’s still there, but at least there are not daily stories about it. That was, I think, the success of the State of the Union.” The CNN poll was followed a couple of days later by a Marist College survey for NPR and the PBS NewsHour that indicated Biden edging Trump by two-points in a head-to-head match-up, and tied with his GOP challenger in a five-candidate field. A Quinnipiac University national survey in the field at the same time as CNN’s survey indicated Biden and Trump tied in both head-to-head and five-candidate showdowns, while an NBC News poll conducted a few days earlier put Trump up by two in a two-person race and Biden with a two-point edge when the third party and independent candidates were added. With six months to go until Election Day, Shaw wondered whether the current polling dynamic would dramatically shift, baring major developments. Pointing to “an era of hyper-polarization where you’ve got two candidates who’ve already run against each other,” Shaw noted that many voters already “know everything about both these two guys.” “So why would you expect much movement? What is it about this campaign that’s going to educate voters? Which is usually what’s happened in the past and why the numbers move around,” he said. Anderson agreed, spotlighting “that’s likely to be the story of this election as we go through, that the movement that we’re going to see is likely to be in the margins because so many people are locked in.” Six months out, Anderson said, “it’s not looking good for Biden, but at the same time, you can see how his base comes home, and he pulls his coalition back together and is suddenly a couple of points higher than he is now.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Texas AG files lawsuit against Biden administration for new gun sale requirements: ‘Come and take it’
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is firing back at the Biden administration and suing them in an attempt to block new requirements for gun sales. “Today, myself and the Attorney General of Kansas announced that we are filing a lawsuit against a new Biden ATF regulation that would subject hundreds of thousands of law-abiding gun owners to presumptions of criminal guilt for engaging in the constitutionally protected private sale of firearms,” Paxton wrote in a post on X. Paxton was joined by Kansas AG Kris Kobach, during a Wednesday press conference at the Frisco Gun Club, where he stated the ATF is overstepping its authority after recently announcing it was expanding federal licensing rules and background checks to include some private sales of firearms. “My message to Joe Biden yesterday, today and forever is this: Come and take it,” Paxton proclaimed. TEXAS AG BLASTS BIDEN ADMIN FOR ‘AIDING AND ABETTING’ CARTELS AFTER MIGRATION NUMBERS SMASH RECORD Paxton’s reference to “come and take it” runs deep in Texas state history. The phrase “Come and Take It” dates back to King Leonidas I defying the Persian army to take his army’s weapons with the phrase “Molon labe” at the Battle of Thermopylae, according to the Houston Chronicle. However, on Oct, 2, 1835, that phrase became part of Texas pride and a symbol of resilience as a small group of rebellious colonists in what is now South Texas defied Mexican rule, named “The Battle of Gonzales.” This also marked the first military fight of the Texas Revolution. During the Battle of Gonzales, they cried out “Come and take it!” and it became a declaration of Texas’ independence. SCOTUS TO TAKE UP CHALLENGE TO BIDEN ADMIN’S GHOST GUN RULE THAT GROUP DEEMS ‘ABUSIVE’ The premise of this battle was focused on American colonists who were refusing to give back a cannon, which is seen on the flag, to Mexican soldiers that they had received in 1831 to fight off Natives in the area. The Chronicle also reported that the colonists wanted the cannon to defend themselves from Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna’s increasingly aggressive actions against them. The flag used in that battle, which has become a symbol of Texas pride, was also the first flag used in the Texas Revolution. MAINE TARGETS SECOND AMENDMENT WITH SEVERAL GUN SAFETY BILLS AFTER DEADLIEST SHOOTING IN STATE’S HISTORY The phrase, which is now widely used, has come to symbolize defiance against someone or something looking to deprive you of a right or privilege. Fast-forward to 2024, Paxton is leading the charge for Texas, along with Kobach, in a multi-state coalition to defend the constitutional right to privately buy and sell firearms. The new ATF policy proposed by the Biden administration would require people who sell guns primarily for profit to register as licensed dealers, regardless of where the transactions take place, requiring them to do background checks. “Yet again, Joe Biden is weaponizing the federal bureaucracy to rip up the Constitution and destroy our citizens’ Second Amendment rights,” Paxton said. “This is a dramatic escalation of his tyrannical abuse of authority. With today’s lawsuit, it is my great honor to defend our Constitutionally-protected freedoms from the out-of-control federal government.”
Biden prays for ‘honesty, decency, dignity’ in Day of Prayer proclamation amid ongoing campus protests
President Biden issued a proclamation to mark the National Day of Prayer in which he urges cooperation and decorum amid ongoing disruption and violence on college campuses nationwide. The proclamation was released on Wednesday ahead of the National Day of Prayer on May 2. “Scripture tells us to rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and be constant in prayer,” Biden wrote in the proclamation. “This year, my prayer for our Nation is that we keep faith that our best days are ahead of us and continue to believe in honesty, decency, dignity, and respect.” RIOT POLICE AT UCLA CAMPUS CLOSE IN AFTER NIGHT OF VIOLENT ANTI ISRAEL CLASHES “May we see each other not as enemies but as fellow human beings, each made in the image of God and each precious in His sight,” he continued. “May we leave no one behind, give everyone a fair shot, and give hate no safe harbor. May we remember that nothing is beyond our capacity if we act together.” Biden’s message of peace and nonviolence comes as U.S. colleges across the country descend into chaos amid student protesters demanding total divestment from Israel and more. Students at Columbia University in New York City barricaded themselves inside a campus building after weeks of protest, eventually necessitating a raid by the NYPD on Tuesday night. TRUMP ASKS IF COLLEGE RIOTS ARE INTENTIONAL TO DISTRACT FROM ‘MILLIONS’ OF MIGRANTS ‘POURING INTO OUR COUNTRY’ Campus disruptions are still ongoing at the University of California Los Angeles, Tulane, Portland State University and elsewhere. On the National Day of Prayer itself, Biden explicitly addressed the situation and condemned the actions of students leading to “disorder.” “Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campus, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations — none of this is a peaceful protest,” Biden said Thursday. “Threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not a peaceful protest. It’s against the law. Dissent is essential to democracy, but dissent must never lead to disorder.” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates previously said on Apr. 30 that Biden condemns “antisemitic” and “dangerous” aspects of the demonstrations. “President Biden has stood against repugnant, antisemitic smears and violent rhetoric his entire life. He condemns the use of the term ‘intifada,’ as he has the other tragic and dangerous hate speech displayed in recent days,” Bates said. “President Biden respects the right to free expression, but protests must be peaceful and lawful. Forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful — it is wrong. And hate speech and hate symbols have no place in America.”Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
Critics say 11-term Georgia Democratic congressman too old to be re-elected
U.S. Rep. David Scott faces multiple Democratic primary opponents in his quest for a 12th congressional term in a sharply reconfigured suburban Atlanta district. But with early voting underway ahead of the May 21 primary elections, the 78-year-old is ignoring challengers and trying to glide to renomination. Attacks on Scott are in some ways a microcosm of Democrats’ concerns about President Joe Biden, including claims that he’s too old and that he’s disconnected from young voters. He’s another example of how longtime members of Congress continue to serve even as they age, a drama that played out on a much larger stage last year with the illness and death of California Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. But unlike those cases, concerns about Scott’s health may not be resonating broadly, said Andra Gillespie, an Emory University political scientist. GEORGIA GOV. KEMP SIGNS LAW REQUIRING JAILS TO CHECK IMMIGRATION STATUS OF INMATES “It’s the kind of thing that is talked about among insiders, among politicos,” Gillespie said. “I don’t know how well that’s actually sort of been disseminated outside.” Many voters are still figuring out what district they now live in. After a judge overturned Georgia’s previous congressional map as racially discriminatory, he approved a new Republican-drawn map with big shifts. Scott’s 13th District was shoved north and east into Rockdale County and parts of Newton and Gwinnett counties. Voters are more than a little confused. In Rockdale County, many residents didn’t realize Scott is now their member of Congress. “We don’t know a lot about David Scott, besides him having had this district before,” said Beverly Dotson of Conyers. “I know he’s been in Congress for a while.” Scott’s campaign has plastered the district with billboards and signs, but he hasn’t been making public appearances. Democratic opponents say his failure to participate in an Atlanta Press Club debate exemplifies Scott’s absenteeism. “He’s hoping to sneak in office one more time. ‘Voters just do it one more time — let me get one more shot at holding onto power in office until I die in office or retire or maybe pass it off to someone like it’s a cigarette,’” said one opponent, attorney Brian Johnson. When he qualified to run in February, Scott dismissed those speculations. “Thank God I’m in good health, moving and doing the people’s work,” Scott said. He said he’s seeking another term to enhance funding for historically Black colleges such as Fort Valley State University, and to provide more assistance to struggling homeowners. Scott, until recently a member of the Democrats’ moderate Blue Dog Coalition, could chair the House Agriculture Committee if Democrats regain the majority. Among Scott’s opponents is Marcus Flowers, who rose to national notice when the Army veteran and former military contractor raised an astounding $17 million from outraged Democrats to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in 2022. Although Flowers outraised Greene — who herself rakes in money nationwide — he won only 34% of votes in northwest Georgia’s heavily Republican 14th District. Flowers said he’s now running against Scott because he believes Scott’s reliance on contributions from corporations and political action committees means he isn’t oriented to the district’s needs. Flowers said his run continues his 2022 effort, saying he will confront extremists if elected. “I think if you have enough people who are out there fighting and pushing back against that, then some of those members who aren’t on the far right or the extreme right will step up and push back,” Flowers said. But Flowers’ fundraising ability isn’t translating to this race. Scott raised nearly a million dollars through March 31 and had $545,000 in cash on hand. Flowers raised $142,000 and spent all but $30,000. The only other candidate who has raised any money is former East Point City Councilmember Karen René. She said that if elected, she would draw on her experience on the council and her work for a federal jobs program to help local governments and promote business development. “I’m running because I believe I can meet people where they are in their communities, addressing their needs,” René said. Both Johnson and former South Fulton City Councilman Mark Baker are running to Scott’s left. “So I’m running not as an experienced politician, and not as a liberal or conservative or any of those things,” Johnson said during the debate. “I’m running as an actual Democrat focused on Democratic issues.” Baker argues Scott has been too friendly with Republicans. He said that while on the South Fulton council, he advocated for ending no-knock police raids, decriminalizing marijuana and paying reparations to descendants of slaves. “He’s been asleep behind the wheel for a long time, and he supported Republicans who now have taken our rights away,” Baker said of Scott. Other Democratic challengers are Rashid Malik, who wants the U.S. government to do more to end the Israel-Hamas War, and Uloma Kama, a physician and public health advocate. A runoff would be held June 18 if no one wins a majority on May 21. The victor will face the winner of the Republican primary, either Jonathan Chavez or Johsie Cruz Fletcher, in November. Scott hasn’t replied to requests for an interview. But his wife and close campaign advisor Alfredia Scott said her husband is a better choice than any of his challengers. “When the congressman decides to leave, he won’t be pushed out,” she said. “He will bow out.”
‘Gutless’ vote on bill to undo Biden’s Alaska energy ‘sanctions’ could doom Dem in tough race
Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, is facing renewed criticism from her GOP challengers for refusing to take a stand against the Biden administration’s agenda, which they claim will harm Alaska’s “resource development” and “economic prosperity” in the United States. The current frustrations with Peltola, the only Democrat to hold statewide office in Alaska, came after she voted “present” on a bill this week to roll back some of the 63 executive orders President Biden has made against the state’s oil and gas economy. “Mary Peltola was elected to Washington to represent Alaskans, and she’s failed to stand up to Biden and his radical agenda one too many times because she’s more interested in scoring political points and appeasing Joe Biden,” Alaska Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, who announced her campaign to unseat Peltola in November, told Fox News Digital. GOP Rep. Pete Stauber of Minnesota, introduced the Alaska’s Right to Produce Act in November. The bill, which House lawmakers passed in a 214-199 vote on Wednesday, provides for oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). BATTLE FOR THE LAST FRONTIER: REPUBLICANS LOOK TO TAKE BACK HISTORICALLY GOP-HELD HOUSE SEAT IN ALASKA Taking aim at Peltola, Dahlstrom said her opponent’s “latest ‘present’ vote is inexcusable and Alaskans must remember this at the ballot box in November.” Republican Alaska House candidate Nick Begich, who previously ran to represent Alaska in the House during the 2022 election cycle, called Peltola’s decision to vote present a “gutless” decision. “Mary Peltola continues to disappoint. A vote of ‘present’ is gutless and does not represent the fiercely resilient and hardworking people of Alaska,” Begich told Fox. “America needs Alaskan energy and minerals to power economic prosperity and security, and the greatest source of those domestic resources is in Alaska.” Begich also praised Stauber’s “leadership” on the measure, saying he is “doing a better job of representing Alaska than our only congressional representative in the House.” The Alaska’s Right to Produce Act, according to a summary of the bill’s text, nullifies “any order or action by the President or the Department of the Interior that places a moratorium on, suspends, or otherwise pauses leasing in ANWR’s 1002 Area.” Additionally, it “ratifies and approves all authorizations and permits issued for the establishment and administration of the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program” and calls for the Environmental Protection Agency and other applicable federal departments and agencies to “process, reinstate, or continue to maintain such authorizations and permits.” “Within 30 days of the bill’s enactment, Interior must accept bids for certain ANWR leases that were canceled and reissue the leases. The bill states that the reissued leases must be considered to meet the requirements of specified existing laws, such as the Endangered Species Act of 1973,” the summary states. “By December 22, 2024, Interior must also conduct a second lease sale. Further, the bill limits the authority of the President and Interior to cancel future leases issued under the program.” Peltola – who said Wednesday she supports “the bill’s intent” and recognized that Alaska “needs to develop energy for our use and economic well-being” – ultimately withdrew her support for the measure because it would “nullify the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area,” which was created through executive order by President Barack Obama in 2016. In defending her decision, the Alaska lawmaker noted that she proposed an amendment that “would have removed this resilience area from the final bill text” and also “introduced a clean version of the Alaska’s Right to Produce Act that doesn’t impact” the specified area. Prior to voting “present,” Peltola, the only Democrat to co-sponsor the bill, reportedly sent a memo to her Democratic colleagues urging them to vote “no” on the measure. SIX HOUSE SEATS THAT COULD FLIP FROM BLUE TO RED IN 2024, POTENTIALLY GIVING GOP A BIGGER MAJORITY “I am the Democratic co-lead for this bill and voted for it in committee. However, this legislation has significant unintended consequences that could adversely affect indigenous communities and the Arctic Ocean environment,” Peltola wrote. In arguing against the bill, Peltola told her colleagues that the “unintended consequences” of the bill were “too significant to allow it to pass.” Since winning a special election to the House in 2022 to fill the seat left vacant by the late GOP incumbent Don Young, Peltola has faced criticism from her GOP challengers for her incessant support for Biden and the actions he’s taken that impact Alaskans. Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy lamented the Biden administration’s “economic war on the 49th state” in March, saying Alaska “may have had more sanctions imposed” on it than Iran. Following the Biden administration’s decision last month to block oil and gas drilling across more than 13 million acres of public land within the National Petroleum Reserve (NPR-A), which Congress specifically set aside for resource development, as well as its blockage of the Ambler Road project, Peltola called the move “a huge step back for Alaska.” “Closing off NPR-A is a huge step back for Alaska, failing to strike a balance between the need for gap oil and natural gas and legitimate environmental concerns, and steamrolling the voices of many Alaska Natives in the decision-making process,” Peltola said at the time. “The Ambler Road decision is premature, as real conversations among stakeholders in the region are ongoing.” Though she rebuked the decision, Peltola’s remarks were far less scathing than comments from Alaska GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, who accused Biden of “undermining the rule of law” and targeting Alaskans while “terrorists in Iran and communists in China get off scot-free and are strengthened.” “The Biden administration may be focused on short-term political gains, but at the expense of Alaska’s long-term future, limiting jobs for Alaskans, revenues for our state, and the future energy and mineral security of our nation,” Murkowski said at the time. “Once again, the President and his team are making unjustifiable decisions that hurt us while allowing some of the worst regimes in
NY v. Trump: Witness says Cohen dreamed of White House job despite denying ambitions in House testimony
A witness in the NY v. Trump case in Manhattan testified that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen wanted a job in the 45th president’s administration, despite previously denying wanting a White House role in Congressional testimony. Keith Davidson, an attorney who represented former pornographic actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, continued his testimony before the court Thursday, when he said that Cohen had been hopeful that he would land a position as White House Chief of Staff or Attorney General in the lead up to Trump’s inauguration. Davidson also recounted that Cohen had been upset he was “not going to Washington” following Trump’s win in 2016. “Can you f—ing believe I’m not going to Washington after everything I’ve done for that guy? I can’t believe I’m not going to Washington… I’ve saved his a–…,” Davidson recounted of a conversation he had had with a “despondent and saddened Michael Cohen” in December following the 2016 election. Davidson testified that Cohen had called him while shopping in a California store memorably decorated with an “Alice in Wonderland”-type theme. The NY v. Trump case focuses on Cohen paying Daniels $130,000 to allegedly quiet her claims of an alleged extramarital affair she had with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels. TOP REPUBLICANS DOUBLE DOWN ON CALL FOR DOJ PROBE INTO BRAGG’S ‘STAR WITNESS’ MICHAEL COHEN Cohen lamented to Davidson in the December call that he had not yet been reimbursed for the sum he had paid Daniels, according to Davidson’s testimony. Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen and fraudulently logged the payments as legal expenses. Prosecutors are working to prove that Trump falsified records with the intent to commit or conceal a second crime, which is a felony, in violation of a New York law called “conspiracy to promote or prevent election.” Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Davidson’s testimony that Cohen sought a White House job stands in stark contrast to what the former Trump attorney told Congress back in 2019. TOP REPUBLICANS DOUBLE DOWN ON CALL FOR DOJ PROBE INTO BRAGG’S ‘STAR WITNESS’ MICHAEL COHEN “Sir, I was extremely proud to be personal attorney to the president of the United States of America. I did not want to go to the White House. I was offered jobs,” Cohen told Republican Rep. Jim Jordan in 2019 amid a House Oversight Committee hearing. “I can tell you a story of Mr. Trump reaming out Reince Priebus because I had not taken a job where Mr. Trump wanted me to, which is working with Don McGahn at the White House general counsel’s office,” he continued. “What I said at the time — and I brought a lawyer in who produced a memo as to why I should not go in, because there would be no attorney/client privilege. And in order to handle some of the matters that I talked about in my opening, that it would be best suited for me not to go in and that every president had a personal attorney.” NY V. TRUMP: HOUSE JUDICIARY INVESTIGATES BRAGG PROSECUTOR WHO HELD SENIOR ROLE IN BIDEN DOJ “I did not want to go to the White House,” Cohen added later in his testimony to Congress. “I retained, I brought an attorney in, and I sat with Mr. Trump, with him for well over an hour, explaining the importance of having a personal attorney, that every president has had one in order to handle matters like the matters I was dealing with.” Cohen’s comments came after he pleaded guilty to five counts of willful tax evasion, one count of making false statements to a bank, one count of causing an unlawful campaign contribution, and one count of making an excessive campaign contribution in 2018. He again pleaded guilty in November of that same year to lying to Congress about testimony regarding the work he had done on a project to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison and has since been released. The House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner and House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik are currently demanding the Justice Department to investigate Cohen. They allege that he committed perjury and “knowingly” made false statements while testifying before Congress in 2019. MICHAEL COHEN TIKTOK VIDEOS, FUNDRAISING STUN LEGAL OBSERVERS: MAY HAVE ‘TORPEDOED CASE AGAINST TRUMP’ Turner and Stefanik argue that Cohen is being used as the prosecution’s “star witness” in the NY v. Trump case, despite his previous conviction. Former President Donald Trump has meanwhile slammed the trial as a “scam” and “hoax” promoted by the Biden administration, and led by a “conflicted judge.” “This is a hoax. This is a judge who is conflicted — badly, badly, badly conflicted. I’ve never seen a judge so conflicted and giving us virtually no rulings,” Trump said outside the courtroom on Tuesday morning. “I’m going to sit in the freezing cold icebox for eight hours, nine hours or so. They took me off the campaign trail. But the good news is my poll numbers are the highest it’s ever been. So, at least we’re getting the word out. And everybody knows this trial is a scam. It’s a scam. The judge should be recused; that he should recuse himself today, he should recuse himself today. And maybe he will,” Trump said. Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Thune targets IRS staff’s use of personal devices after reported failure to comply with TikTok ban
FIRST ON FOX: Senate Republican Whip John Thune of South Dakota is looking to restrict the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS’) use of a program that allows some employees to work from their personal devices, after a recent government report showed the agency had not fully complied with the ban of TikTok on federal devices. The South Dakota Republican, who is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS, introduced the Ensuring No Devices Bear Your Own Data (END BYOD) Act on Thursday, which would stop the IRS from letting staff who participate in the program from accessing, processing, transmitting or storing any taxpayer information on their devices. “I have been sounding the alarm on the IRS’s troubling history of mishandling taxpayer information, and the bring-your-own-device program is getting added to that roster,” Thune told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. “The American people should be able to trust that their personal information is safe with the IRS – not compromised,” he emphasized. DEM SENATOR LEADS BIPARTISAN EFFORT TO STRENGTHEN TAIWAN SUPPLY CHAIN AMID CHINA THREAT In December 2023, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration revealed that the IRS “did not update its Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies to comply with [Office Of Management And Budget] guidance” to remove and disallow TikTok on devices within the timeline specified. Federal agencies had been given 30 days in February 2023 to remove TikTok from devices, and contractors had been given 90 to meet the same standard. In response to the report, Thune and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., in January demanded answers regarding the noncompliance from IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel in a letter. “Not only has the IRS failed to comply with the law, but its lack of action with regard to implementation of the No TikTok on Government Devices Act has potentially compromised confidential taxpayer information located on devices that have TikTok, which has close ties to the Chinese Communist Party and alarming data practices,” the senators said at the time. ERNST LEADS SENATE GOP DEMANDING BIDEN ‘CEASE PLANNING’ GAZA REFUGEE ACCEPTANCE In a statement to Fox News Digital on Thursday, an IRS spokesperson said, “The IRS is committed to strong security and access controls.” “The IRS emphasizes it has blocked access to TikTok on all government-issued devices,” they added. However, the spokesperson said, “There are a small number of employees – in the hundreds and less than 1% of the employee population – that have access to the BYOD application, which is walled off from other parts of the mobile device. It is important to note that these users are unable to share, copy or paste information from the BYOD application onto other parts of their device.” SEN MIKE LEE TARGETS UNIVERSITY GRANTS, CITES ‘WOKE DEI PROGRAMS,’ ANTI-ISRAEL RIOTS Thune’s measure would specifically prevent any IRS employees, volunteers or contractors who participate in the BYOD program from handling any sensitive taxpayer data on personal devices that may also have access to TikTok. It was co-sponsored by Blackburn and Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C. Fox News Digital has learned the legislation is additionally supported by the organizations Americans for Tax Reform and the National Taxpayers Union Foundation. The bill’s leader, Thune, is notably running to replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as leader come 2025 in the new Congress. BIDEN CAMPAIGN LEANS INTO PENNSYLVANIA ROOTS TO WOO CRITICAL BATTLEGROUND STATE VOTERS Bipartisan scrutiny of TikTok has grown among lawmakers due to it being owned by Chinese company Bytedance, which would be compelled by the Chinese Communist Party to share data under Chinese law. The congressional unity on the issue was evidenced by the passage of a measure requiring TikTok to divest from Bytedance through both the House and the Senate as a part of a $95 billion foreign aid supplemental package that mainly provided resources for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. President Biden ultimately signed the package into law, giving TikTok nine months to a year to divest from China. If Bytedance does not sell TikTok to a non-Chinese owner, the application will be banned in the U.S., according to the law.
UT-Austin’s Jay Hartzell praised by GOP leaders as university presidents nationwide take heat over protest response
Hartzell’s protest response has also resulted in condemnations from students and faculty.
Biden pressured to sanction China for role in US fentanyl crisis
FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., is pushing the Biden administration to classify fentanyl as a biological and chemical weapon, and to sanction China for its role in fueling the U.S. drug crisis. “The Chinese Communist Party is the largest police state in the world. If they wanted to stop the flow of fentanyl from inside their border to the U.S. and Mexican drug cartels, they could do it overnight,” Banks told Fox News Digital. “Instead, they are sending this deadly opioid to kill tens of thousands of military and working-aged Americans every year to destroy our communities and economy at levels only seen by weapons of mass destruction. They must be held accountable.” His bill would amend the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991, which requires the president to impose sanctions on foreign entities that knowingly contributed to another country’s stock or use of chemical and biological weapons. CHINA PUSHING US FENTANYL CRISIS, HOUSE PANEL REPORT REVEALS It comes shortly after the House select committee on China, of which Banks is a member, released a bombshell report accusing China of worsening the ongoing fentanyl crisis in the U.S. The committee found that China’s Communist government offered subsidies to companies that manufacture fentanyl precursors and other synthetic drugs, as long as those products are being sold outside of China. DRUG OVERDOSES HAVE REACHED RECORD HIGH, PER LATEST CDC REPORT: ‘GRIM STATISTICS’ The program has been in place since 2018 and did not stop even after President Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November 2023. In fact, the committee found that China increased those subsidies while in talks with U.S. officials in 2019 and 2020. The rate of drug overdose deaths in the U.S. quadrupled from 2002 to 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Deaths were highest for adults aged 35-44 in 2021 and 2022, the data shows. U.S. authorities have grappled with fentanyl coming across the U.S.-Mexico border and other places, with deadly amounts being laced with other illicit recreational drugs. OPINION: LET’S USE AI TO STOP FENTANYL AT THE BORDER AND KEEP IT FROM KILLING AMERICANS Nate Moellering, the executive vice president of Allendale Treatment, an Indiana-based addiction treatment center, and himself a fentanyl survivor, blamed China’s government for directly fueling the crisis. “Some of our best and brightest are having their precious lives cut short because of the greed and negligence on the part of the CCP. Sanctions against China are a great first step when it comes to the federal government doing its part,” Moellering told Fox News Digital. “This is not a red or blue issue.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.