South Texas groups trying to stop state’s land swap with SpaceX
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is negotiating a land trade involving part of Boca Chica State Park.
Texas Dem suggests Black people shouldn’t pay taxes as form of reparations: ‘Puts money back in your pocket’
A House Democrat recently suggested that Black Americans should be exempt from paying taxes as a form of reparations, but she admitted that the plan may not be a success as many within the community who are poor “aren’t really paying taxes in the first place.” The comments from Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, came during her appearance on an episode of the “Black Lawyers Podcast,” which was released Tuesday. During the interview with host J. Carter, Crockett recalled a proposal from a celebrity to exempt Black Americans from paying taxes, and said she thought to herself that it was “not necessarily a bad idea.” Though she could not remember which celebrity offered the proposal, Crockett said, “I’d have to think through it a lot. One of the things they propose is Black folk not have to pay taxes for a certain amount of time because, then again, that puts money back in your pocket.” CALIFORNIA REPARATIONS PANEL APPROVES PAYMENTS OF UP TO $1.2 MILLION TO EVERY BLACK RESIDENT “But at the same time, it may not be as objectionable to some people [as] actually giving out dollars,” she added. Crockett seemingly implied that reparations are much needed for the Black community in order for it to advance. “So many Black folk, not only do you owe for the labor that was stolen and killed and all the other things, right, but the fact is we end up being so far behind,” she said. Crockett then admitted that the plan may have a shaky foundation as some people within the community are not “paying taxes in the first place.” “If you do the no-tax thing, for people that are already, say, struggling and aren’t paying taxes in the first place —” Crockett said, before Carter suggested “it doesn’t matter to them” and that “they may want those checks like they got during COVID” rather than a tax exemption. “Exactly,” Crockett responded. Crockett also said during the interview that she believes there should be some sort of consistency between federal and state governments when it comes to reparations for Black people, saying that if there’s not, then “everybody’s gonna run to whichever state and be like, ‘Yo, I need mine.’” BLACK NEW YORK RESIDENTS SPAR OVER WHO SHOULD RECEIVE REPARATION PAYMENTS “We don’t want to see that — this is definitely something that needs to be thought through,” she said. Crockett, who has represented Texas’s 30th Congressional District in the House since 2023, also took aim at individuals “that aren’t even willing to do the studies, aren’t willing to invest to make sure we can roll this out the right way.” Crockett is up for re-election in November and will take on libertarian candidate Ken Ashby in an effort to retain her post in the House. A handful of Democrat-led states have considered dolling out reparations to certain residents, including California and New York. In California, cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles have discussed giving reparations to Black residents. In February, California lawmakers introduced a reparations package to the state assembly, including 14 bills they claim will help support Black communities across the state following historical mistreatment. Members of California’s Legislative Black Caucus said the 14 reparations bills seek a formal apology for slavery and other human rights violations from the governor and legislature, and the return of property taken in race-based cases of eminent domain, among other restitution. The bills are intended to be just the first legislative actions in an effort that will likely span years. Last December, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill that established a commission to research the best ways to offer reparations to descendants of slaves in the state. The New York-based commission, as lauded by one Democratic state senator, is tasked with “examining the legacy of slavery and its lingering negative effects on people currently living in the State of New York, with the goal of issuing a report comprised of recommendations for appropriate action to address these longstanding inequities.”
Prosecutors agree to postpone Nadine Menendez’s trial after lawyers said she has a ‘serious medical condition’
Federal prosecutors reportedly agreed to Nadine Menendez’s request to postpone trial on Wednesday after her lawyers said she was dealing with serious health issues. Prosecutors said it “takes seriously the unexpected medical development,” and that a trial delay would allow Menendez enough time to recover. Nadine, the wife of embattled Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J.,, and her lawyers are requested their trial be postponed after she was diagnosed with “a serious medical condition” on Tuesday, just a few days after they requested to withdraw their defense. TIMELINE OF SEN BOB MENENDEZ’S INDICTMENT WITH WIFE ALLEGES YEARSLONG CORRUPTION In a letter to the Southern District of New York Judge Sidney Stein, Nadine’s lawyers said her condition will require a surgical procedure in the next 4–6 weeks and “significant follow-up and recovery treatment,” thus requesting a later trial date. Given her medical condition, Nadine’s lawyers said she would not be “in a physical or psychological condition to participate in a six-week trial” starting on May 6. “Due to the present uncertainty as to the full extent of medical treatment” that Menendez will require, her lawyers requested a hearing on June 4 to provide the court with an update on her medical condition and recovery, and set a new trial date. Last week, all four of Nadine’s lawyers — David Schertler, Danny Onorato, Mark MacDougall and Paola Pinto — filed a motion to withdraw from her case. The reasons were explained in a sealed declaration that has not been publicly released. DEMOCRAT SEN MENENDEZ’S WIFE HIT, KILLED PEDESTRIAN WHILE DRIVING IN 2018: REPORTS Federal prosecutors initially unsealed charges against Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, in September 2023. The indictment includes allegations that he acted as a foreign agent of Egypt and engaged in a corruption scheme alongside businessman Jose Uribe, New Jersey real estate developer Fred Daibes and Wael Hana, who runs a halal meat certification business in the state. Sen. Menendez and his wife allegedly accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes “to seek to protect and enrich” Uribe, Daibes and Hana. The bribes included cash, gold bars, home mortgage payments, compensation for no-show jobs and “other things of value,” according to the indictment. Uribe also allegedly helped Menendez and his wife purchase a Mercedes-Benz C-300 convertible valued at over $60,000. According to the indictment, Menendez had agreed to interfere in a New Jersey state criminal prosecution dealing with an associate of Uribe, who faced insurance fraud charges relating to a trucking company and an employee of Uribe. Sen. Menendez was removed as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last fall. The couple have both pleaded not guilty. Fox News’ Joe Schoffstall contributed to this report.
Mayorkas deflects when asked if ‘above 85%’ of illegal immigrants are released into the US
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas deflected questioning Wednesday on Capitol Hill when he was asked about a Fox News Digital article stating that he has admitted to Border Patrol agents that the current rate of release for illegal immigrants apprehended at the U.S. border is “above 85%.” Rep. Michael Guest was grilling Mayorkas about the statistic during a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Homeland Security’s fiscal year 2025 budget request. “It was reported in January of this year that at a meeting with Border Patrol agents that you said that the current rate of release for illegal immigrants apprehended at the southwest border is above 85%. One, did that conversation take place and two, is that number accurate?” the Republican from Mississippi asked Mayorkas. “Congressman, I’m not familiar with that number and I’m not certain to which conversation you refer. I have visited the border so very many times,” he responded. “Perhaps some additional details would guide me in responding your question accurately.” MAYORKAS TELLS BORDER PATROL AGENTS THAT ‘ABOVE 85%’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED INTO US: SOURCES Guest then read Mayorkas the opening paragraphs from the Fox News Digital report, which said he “made the remarks when meeting privately with agents in Eagle Pass, Texas, according to three Border Patrol sources who were in the room and heard the remarks themselves.” “Congressman, I’ll be pleased to provide you with the data points, and certainly I don’t view that article as a transcript,” Mayorkas said. GOP PLANS TO GRIND SENATE TO A HALT IF DEMOCRATS TABLE MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT TRIAL “So you’re not disputing this article? You’re not saying that that number is artificially high? You’re just saying at this point that you don’t have that number here to either admit or deny the 85% that it was alleged there in the article?” Guest then asked. “I cannot confirm, and I will do so,” Mayorkas said. The exchange comes as Republican senators are gearing up to prevent all legislative business in the Senate from going forward if they don’t get a full trial into the articles of impeachment against Mayorkas. The House voted to impeach Mayorkas in February. Five sources told Fox News Digital that roughly a dozen GOP senators have been planning for more than a week to obstruct legislative proceedings and regular business in the Senate if, at a minimum, points of order are not agreed to in the impeachment trial of Mayorkas when the House impeachment managers deliver the articles to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Fox News’ Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
Biden admin facing legal challenges after declaring war on chemical industry
The Biden administration is already facing a potential legal roadblock to newly finalized regulations cracking down on the chemical industry, which critics say will have a devastating impact on the economy. Synthetics manufacturer Denka Performance Elastomer (DPE) warned Tuesday that it is planning to sue the Environmental Protection Agency over the rules targeting hundreds of chemical plants over their emissions. DPE argued the regulations are politically motivated and seek to unfairly punish the company, which operates the nation’s sole neoprene facility. Neoprene is a synthetic rubber common in military equipment, wetsuits and medical technology. “EPA’s rulemaking is yet another attempt to drive a policy agenda that is unsupported by the law or the science,” DPE said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. “EPA has alleged that DPE’s facility represents a danger to its community, despite the facility’s compliance with its federal and state air permitting requirements.” In particular, DPE blasted EPA’s requirement that its Louisiana neoprene facility – which produces chloroprene emissions – comply with the restrictions and fenceline monitoring requirements within 90 days, a reduction from the two-year compliance period initially proposed. EPA’s regulations also strip states’ authority to grant an extension of the 90-day compliance period. REPUBLICAN STATE SUES BIDEN ADMIN OVER ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ACTIONS: ‘DYSTOPIAN NIGHTMARE’ The company stated that EPA’s “draconian” compliance deadline would force the company to idle its operations at “tremendous expense and risk to its hundreds of dedicated employees.” “We will therefore be pursuing legal challenges to extend the compliance period, to return the state’s authority to grant extensions, and to challenge the rule,” DPE said. “After addressing EPA’s unrealistic compliance deadline, DPE expects to join the ethylene oxide manufacturers across the U.S. in opposing the substantive requirements of this rule.” BIDEN ADMIN APPEARS TO FABRICATE PAPER TRAIL IN PURSUIT OF MAJOR CHEMICAL PLANT SHUTDOWN: COURT DOCS Overall, EPA’s regulations unveiled Tuesday impact 218 chemical manufacturing facilities nationwide, a large share of which are located in Louisiana. Activists have dubbed the region in southeastern Louisiana as “Cancer Alley” due to the presence of several chemical plants, which they argue produce emissions linked to cancer. EPA said its rules will reduce emissions of ethylene oxide and chloroprene by 80%, in addition to benzene, 1,3-butadiene, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride. According to the agency, the number of people with elevated cancer risk will be reduced by 96% in communities near plants as a result. “By issuing strong clean air standards and requiring companies to monitor pollution at the fenceline, the Biden-Harris administration is protecting communities from toxic chemicals that can cause cancer and ensuring people know what is in their air,” said White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory. BIDEN ADMIN PROBED AFTER FOX NEWS DIGITAL SHOWS IT MAY HAVE FABRICATED PAPER TRAIL TO SHUTTER CHEMICAL PLANT Earthjustice, a leading environmental activist group, said EPA’s announcement is a victory in the “pursuit for environmental justice” and called for rigorous enforcement of the rules. In response to the regulations, though, the American Chemistry Council, which represents chemical manufacturers, said the regulations would have significant implications for vital industries such as electric vehicle battery development, agricultural products, domestic semiconductor manufacturing and health care access, which rely on ethylene oxide. And neoprene, which DPE produces at a facility in LaPlace, Louisiana, is used in the production of everything from scuba gear to car gaskets. If the facility were to close as a result of the EPA’s regulations, industries reliant on neoprene may be forced to look to foreign producers for the material. “Unless the Biden administration takes a different approach to how it creates and implements regulations, the availability of critical chemistries will dwindle – and the country’s climate, infrastructure, and supply chain priorities will suffer as well,” the American Chemistry Council said. The EPA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Johnson bucks GOP privacy hawks in closed lawmaker meeting on spy tool renewal
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., bucked the will of conservative privacy hawks during a closed-door House GOP Conference meeting on Wednesday, cautioning lawmakers against an amendment on warrant requirements as the House of Representatives readies to renew a key federal government surveillance tool. Two sources in the room during Johnson’s remarks told Fox News Digital that he broached the warrant amendment during House Republicans’ weekly conference meeting, which multiple lawmakers said centered on renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Section 702 allows the government to surveil communications of non-Americans overseas who are suspected of having links to terrorism without a warrant. If Americans are caught at the other end of the line, their data could get swept up as well. Johnson told GOP lawmakers that while he understood the House Judiciary Committee’s arguments on the amendment, its language on exceptions to the warrant requirement may be “too narrow and would be difficult to apply,” one of the sources said. PUBLIC TRUST IN FBI HAS REACHED ‘THE RED ZONE,’ US INCHING CLOSER TO ‘MAYHEM, CHAOS, ANARCHY:’ WSJ COLUMNIST The amendment, led by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., would ban intelligence officials from querying information about U.S. citizens collected through Section 702 without first getting a warrant, save for emergency situations with an imminent threat of death or bodily harm. “702 is narrowly tailored to foreigners abroad. The proposed amendment would require a warrant to search the head of ISIS and Al-Qaeda’s data. That is wrong. It would endanger Americans. I appreciate the speaker’s opposition to the amendment,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital. “He understands the importance of protecting Americans civil liberties, and our national security.” VEHICLE RAMS INTO GATE AT FBI OFFICE IN ATLANTA, DRIVER ARRESTED Johnson reasoned that the current bill set to get a vote on Thursday, the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America (RISA) Act, itself already carries the necessary reforms to prevent abuse of Section 702. The federal government has been accused of abusing backdoor loopholes to the existing FISA Section 702 system to collect data on American citizens during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, as well as rioters present at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The new bill, a compromise between the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees, is aimed at limiting who can access that data and improving accountability standards on its abuse. However, privacy hawks on the right have complained it does not go far enough and threatened the bill’s passage. The second source in the room for Johnson’s comments said that Judiciary Republicans and their allies pushed back on his opposition but did not elaborate on what they said. Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, told reporters of Johnson’s decision, “Unfortunately, I think the speaker is coming forward, reversing his personal position 180 degrees and weighing in on the Intel side. He’s, unfortunately, I think, surrendered on that notion of neutrality.” FBI DIRECTOR SAYS CHINESE HACKERS ARE ‘POISED TO ATTACK’ AS INFILTRATIONS REACH ‘FEVER PITCH’ On the other side, Intelligence panel member Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., said the warrant amendment would “essentially end” Section 702 “as we know it.” “The underlying bill before us is the largest reform of the FBI in a generation and goes beyond Section 702 to implement Title I FISA reforms to end the abuses committed against President Trump,” LaHood said. Johnson told Fox News Digital during his weekly press conference that House GOP leadership would not whip against the amendment but lauded the RISA bill in its current form.
Senators demand FBI agents testify about ‘highly credible’ source who allegedly made up Biden bribery scheme
EXCLUSIVE: Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson are demanding the FBI make Alexander Smirnov’s handling agent and his superiors available for interviews as they investigate what steps the bureau and the Justice Department took to investigate the now-infamous FD-1023 form alleging a criminal bribery scheme involving Joe Biden and Ukraine. Fox News Digital obtained a letter Grassley, R-Iowa, and Johnson, R-Wis., sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Special Counsel David Weiss late Tuesday. “Since October 13, 2022, Congress has requested from the Justice Department and FBI information and records relating to the FD-1023 to better understand what steps, if any, the Justice Department took to investigate the document,” Grassley and Johnson wrote. JUDGE RULES NO BAIL RELEASE FOR FBI INFORMANT ACCUSED OF LYING ABOUT BIDEN BUSINESS TIES Grassley was approached by a whistleblower in 2022 who alleged the FBI was in possession of a document — the FD-1023 — which dated back to 2020 and detailed a bribery scheme between Joe Biden, Hunter Biden and the top executive of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings. An FD-1023 form is used by FBI agents to record unverified reporting from confidential human sources. The form is used to document information as told to an FBI agent, but recording that information does not validate or weigh it against other information known by the FBI. The FD-1023 details claims from FBI confidential human source Alexander Smirnov who told the FBI in June 2020 about meetings he had with Burisma executives years prior, where they supposedly admitted that they hired Hunter Biden to sit on the board of the company to “protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems.” Hunter Biden sat on the board of Burisma while his father was vice president. The FD-1023 document includes Smirnov’s claims that Burisma executives paid $5 million to Joe Biden and $5 million to Hunter Biden, while Joe Biden was still in office as vice president. Smirnov also claims that the Bidens were paid so that Joe Biden could help to quash criminal investigation into Burisma being conducted by then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin. Shokin was eventually fired, which Joe Biden had publicly boasted about. Biden and allies have said that the firing of Shokin was in an effort to root out corruption in Ukraine. Joe Biden, at the time, ran U.S.-Ukraine policy. OPINION: FBI FAILED TO VET CONFIDENTIAL SOURCE’S CLAIMS IN A TIMELY WAY Smirnov has since been indicted on charges of making false statements and creating a false and fictitious record relating to the Biden’s business ties in Ukraine. The charges stem from Special Counsel David Weiss’ investigation. Smirnov has pleaded not guilty and is expected to stand trial later this month. “The federal indictment of Smirnov leaves many questions unanswered, including how the Justice Department and FBI could use this Confidential Human Source for approximately 14 years, pay him hundreds of thousands of dollars, use his information in investigations and prosecutions, and then ultimately determine he’s a liar,” Grassley and Johnson wrote. Grassley and Johnson also pointed out that the FBI “refused to confirm even the existence of the FD-1023” until May 2023, when Grassley and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer notified Wray during a phone call that they had reviewed it. During that call, Wray informed Grassley and Comer of “the importance of the Confidential Human Source (Smirnov) to the FBI’s investigative work.” “Indeed, in regard to that alleged credibility, the FBI informed the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability that the Confidential Human Source was ‘highly credible,’ trusted, and had worked for the FBI for years and had been paid ‘six figures,’” the letter states, adding that the “FBI further represented to Congress that information from the Confidential Human Source was used in criminal investigations and prosecutions.” Grassley and Johnson also pointed out testimony from top Justice Department officials, like then-U.S. Attorney Scott Brady, who said the FD-1023 and the confidential human source “was vetted against sources of Russian disinformation” and that DOJ officials “found that it was not sourced from Russian disinformation.” FBI INFORMANT CHARGED WITH GIVING FALSE INFORMATION ABOUT HUNTER BIDEN IN 2020 They also noted Wray’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in December, in which he said he “learned of the 1023 much, much, much more recently than anything around 2020 that’s for sure.” “That answer underscores the problem that the FBI Director was not apprised of the FD-1023 until apparently years after it was created,” they wrote. “Why was the FBI Director kept in the dark for so long when the FBI told Congress their Confidential Human Source was ‘highly credible’ and the matter involved an alleged criminal scheme with the sitting president?” Wray risked being held in contempt of Congress last year over the form, after it was subpoenaed and the FBI failed to produce it in order to protect the CHS. Wray eventually brought the form to Capitol Hill for lawmakers to review in a SCIF. Grassley ultimately released a redacted version of the FD-1023 to the public in July 2023. They further asked why investigative steps weren’t taken, such as interviewing Smirnov to “determine the veracity, or lack thereof, with respect to the FD-1023 for over three years?” Grassley and Johnson pointed out that the FBI did finally interview Smirnov, but did so on Sept. 27, 2023 and “failed to apprise Congress of that fact.” Grassley and Johnson said that the Smirnov indictment, which was filed in February, shows that the FBI and Weiss “failed to even interview” Smirnov until September 2023, after Grassley and Comer “forced their hands and made the FD-1023 public on July 20, 2023.” Grassley and Johnson noted that a month later, in late August, FBI investigators spoke with the FBI handling agent responsible for Smirnov. “The FBI’s questionable handling of this Confidential Human Source underscores, as Senator Johnson has pointed out, a greater scandal relating to the overall corruption within federal law enforcement, the Justice Department, and the intelligence community,”
Kentucky governor vetoes sweeping criminal justice bill, says it would hike incarceration costs
Kentucky’s Democratic governor vetoed a GOP-backed criminal justice bill that would impose harsher sentences for a range of crimes, saying it would saddle the state with sharply higher incarceration costs. The sweeping measure also would criminalize homelessness by creating an “unlawful camping” offense, Gov. Andy Beshear said in his veto message late Tuesday. The bill’s lead Republican sponsor, state Rep. Jared Bauman, said he looked forward to continuing the discussion when the GOP-dominated legislature meets again on Friday and next Monday — the final two days of this year’s legislative session. Lawmakers will take votes to override gubernatorial vetoes. KENTUCKY HOUSE PASSES BILL TO HAVE MORE TEENS TRIED IN ADULT COURTS FOR GUN OFFENSES The bill, which spurred some of the most contentious debates of the session, would make a multitude of changes to the state’s criminal code, enhancing many current penalties and creating new offenses. Supporters portrayed the bill as a necessary policy shift that would do more to hold criminals accountable and to make communities safer. Opponents warned the measure would carry a hefty price tag for taxpayers with no assurances that the tougher approach would lower crime. One prominent feature of the bill would create a “three-strikes” penalty that would lock up felons for the rest of their lives after committing a third violent offense. Beshear, a former state attorney general, focused on the financial implications in his veto message, saying it would lead to significantly higher incarceration costs without any additional appropriations. “Despite the tremendous fiscal impact House Bill 5 would have on the Department of Corrections and county governments, the General Assembly provided no fiscal impact analysis with the bill,” he wrote. The fiscal note attached to the legislation said the overall financial impact was “indeterminable” but would likely lead to a “significant increase in expenditures primarily due to increased incarceration costs.” Beshear noted that he liked parts of the measure, including provisions requiring the destruction of firearms used in murders, making carjacking a standalone crime, and allowing the state parole board to require parolees to participate in an “evidence-based program” designed to reduce violence. Those provisions should have placed in separate bills, the governor said. The sweeping measure passed by wide margins in the Republican supermajority legislature. In his statement after the veto, Bauman said the measure is aimed at “providing law-abiding citizens a sense of safety, security and protection. These individuals, as well as those who are willing to work for a second chance, are our priority.” The bill’s supporters focused mostly on urban crime in pushing for tougher policies. A law enforcement report released last year showed that overall serious crime rates fell across Kentucky in 2022, with declines in reports of homicides, robberies and drug offenses. Opponents said the measure failed to delve into the root causes of crime and would put more strain on overcrowded jails. The section stirring some of the most heated debate would create an “unlawful camping” offense applied to homeless people. It means people could be arrested for sleeping or setting up camp in public spaces — whether on streets, sidewalks, under bridges, or in front of businesses or public buildings. A first offense would be treated as a violation, with subsequent offenses designated as a misdemeanor. People could sleep in vehicles in public for up to 12 hours without being charged with unlawful camping. Several thousand people experience homelessness in Kentucky on a given night, advocates say. The measure would add to the list of violent crimes that require offenders to serve most of their sentences before becoming eligible for release. Another key section aims to combat the prevalence of fentanyl by creating harsher penalties when its distribution results in fatal overdoses. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid seen as a key factor in the state’s high death toll from drug overdoses. Another provision would offer workers and business owners criminal immunity in cases where they use a “reasonable amount of force” to prevent theft or protect themselves and their stores.
Trump could haul in massive amount of campaign cash during Atlanta, Orlando fundraising swing: what to know
Former President Trump may haul in roughly $15 million at top dollar fundraisers Wednesday in Atlanta and Orlando, Florida, as the former president aims to take a big bite out of President Biden’s formidable campaign cash advantage in their 2024 election rematch. “My father has two fundraisers today….they’ll raise $15 million today. They’ve never seen fundraising numbers like this in the history of the Republican Party,” the former president’s son, Eric Trump, highlighted in an interview Wednesday morning on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends.” Trump’s first stop is Atlanta, where he is expected to huddle with some of Georgia’s most prominent MAGA supporters. Among them are former Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, Trump allies who both narrowly lost their seats in the state’s twin Senate runoffs in January 2021, and Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus and beer, wine, and spirits magnate Don Leebern III. TRUMP WORKS TO CATCH UP WITH BIDEN IN 2024 CASH DASH Attendees are paying $6,600 to land a seat at the fundraiser. Photos with Trump run $25,000 a couple, and those dishing out $250,000 to land on the host committee will obtain more access to the former president. Popular Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and other mainstream conservative leaders in the state, who have clashed with Trump in the past and offered lukewarm endorsements after the former president clinched the 2024 GOP nomination, are not attending the fundraiser. Trump’s next stop is Orlando, where attorney Dan Newlin is hosting a fundraiser at his home for the former president. FIRST ON FOX: CRUZ HAULS IN NEARLY $10 MILLION PAST THREE MONTHS IN BRUISING RE-ELECTION BID Trump raked in over $50 million on Saturday at a fundraiser in Palm Beach, Florida, at the home of billionaire investor and hedge fund founder John Paulson, which was the kickoff event for the recently formed Donald J. Trump National Committee, a joint effort between the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee. The haul was the most money ever brought in at a single fundraising event, and shattered a record set just a week and a half earlier, when Biden raised over $25 million as he was joined by former Presidents Obama and Clinton at a star-studded gala at New York City’s famed Radio City Music Hall. The Palm Beach gala featured former first lady Melania Trump and three of Trump’s former 2024 GOP presidential primary opponents who have since endorsed him – Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. The fundraiser was a further sign of the coalescing of much of the Republican donor class around Trump, now that he has clinched the GOP nomination and is the party’s presumptive presidential nominee. The former president’s political team called the fundraiser a “come home to Trump” moment. Trump has long had strained relations with some in the Republican Party’s donor class, but he has worked hard in recent months to improve ties. He has hosted some of these major contributors in the past two months. “There’s no question that most of the major donors who were with [Ron] DeSantis or [Nikki] Haley are coming on board and rallying around the president. I think everybody realizes what’s at stake in the 2024 elections,” Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks, who has close ties to the donor class, told Fox News recently. One reason Trump faces such a large fundraising deficit to Biden is that the president has been able to raise money in conjunction with the Democratic National Committee and Democratic state parties across the country. However, the joint fundraising committee set up last month by the Trump campaign and the RNC now allows them to similarly coordinate among themselves and with state GOP chapters from coast to coast. The committee was formed after the former president and his campaign team, after clinching the GOP nomination, took control of the RNC and installed allies – including Whatley and Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump – in the national party committee’s top leadership positions. Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita is simultaneously serving as the RNC chief of staff. Trump and the RNC highlighted two weeks ago that they brought in $65.6 million in March and ended the month with $93.1 million in cash on hand. The figures include money raised by a number of fundraising committees. However, hours before Trump’s Palm Beach fundraising gala, the Biden campaign announced that they hauled in over $187 million during the first three months of this year, including more than $90 million in March. They also touted that they have a massive $192 million cash on hand. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub
Former Trump Organization CFO Weisselberg sentenced to 5 months in jail for perjury in New York AG James’ case
Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg was sentenced on Wednesday to five months in jail after pleading guilty to lying under oath during his testimony in the civil fraud case brought against former President Trump by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Weisselberg, 76, pleaded guilty on March 4 to two counts of perjury. He admitted to lying under oath on three occasions – depositions in July 2020 and May 2023 and on the witness stand at the trial last October – when he testified that he had little knowledge of how Trump’s Manhattan penthouse came to be valued on his financial statements at nearly three times its actual size. To avoid violating his probation in a separate tax case, however, Weisselberg agreed to plead guilty only to charges related to his 2020 deposition testimony. Weisselberg, wearing a black windbreaker and a surgical face mask, declined to address the court during the brief sentencing, which lasted less than five minutes. He was swiftly escorted from the courtroom in handcuffs following the proceeding to begin serving his sentence, The Associated Press reported. The civil fraud trial ended with Judge Arthur Engoron ruling that Trump and some of his executives had schemed to deceive banks, insurers and others by lying about his wealth on financial statements used to make deals and secure loans. The judge penalized Trump $455 million and ordered Weisselberg to pay $1 million. They are both appealing. EX-TRUMP ORG CFO ALLEN WEISSELBERG PLEADS GUILTY IN MANHATTAN COURT In his decision, Engoron said he found Weisselberg’s testimony “intentionally evasive” and “highly unreliable.” It will be Weisselberg’s second time behind bars. The former Trump Organization CFO served 100 days last year for dodging taxes on $1.7 million in company perks, including a rent-free Manhattan apartment and luxury cars. He will now again trade life as a Florida retiree for a stay at New York City’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex. Trump’s family employed Weisselberg for nearly 50 years, then gave him a $2 million severance deal when the tax charges prompted him to retire. The company continues to pay his legal bills. FORMER TRUMP ORGANIZATION CFO ALLEN WEISSELBERG SENTENCED TO 5 MONTHS AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO TAX CRIMES Weisselberg has already testified twice in trials for Trump. His plea agreement does not require him to testify at Trump’s hush money criminal trial, which is scheduled to start with jury selection Monday. In agreeing to a five-month sentence, prosecutors cited Weisselberg’s age and willingness to admit wrongdoing. In New York, perjury is a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison. Prosecutors promised not to prosecute Weisselberg for other crimes he might have committed in connection with his Trump Organization employment. Trump’s lawyers took issue with Weisselberg’s perjury prosecution, accusing the Manhattan district attorney’s office of deploying “unethical, strong-armed tactics against an innocent man in his late 70s” while turning “a blind eye” to perjury allegations against Michael Cohen, the former Trump lawyer who is now a key prosecution witness in the case against Trump involving hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office and Weisselberg’s lawyer Seth Rosenberg declined to address the court, according to the AP. Trump valued the penthouse in his financial statements from at least 2012 to 2016 as though it measured 30,000 square feet. A former Trump real estate executive testified that Weisselberg provided the figure. The former executive said that when he asked for the apartment’s size in 2012, Weisselberg replied: “It’s quite large. I think it’s around 30,000 square feet.” However, state lawyers noted, Weisselberg got an email early in that year with a 1994 document attached that pegged Trump’s apartment at 10,996 square feet. Weisselberg testified that he remembered the email but not the attachment and that he did not “walk around knowing the size” of the apartment. After Forbes magazine published an article in 2017 disputing the size of Trump’s penthouse, its estimated value on his financial statement was cut from $327 million to about $117 million. As Weisselberg was testifying last October, Forbes published an article with the headline “Trump’s Longtime CFO Lied, Under Oath, About Trump Tower Penthouse.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.