Biden admin accelerates plan to unleash grizzly bears near rural community over widespread local opposition
The Biden administration is accelerating a proposed plan to translocate grizzly bear populations in the federally-managed North Cascades National Park, which borders rural communities in northern Washington State. In a joint announcement, the National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service published a final environmental impact statement evaluating its options for grizzly bear management in the region. The filing lists the federal government’s preferred course of action as the translocation of grizzly bears from other ecosystems with an “experimental population designation.” “Designation of grizzly bears released into the U.S. portion of the [North Cascades Ecosystem] as a [nonessential experimental population] would provide authorized agencies with greater management flexibility should conflict situations arise,” the agencies wrote in the filing. “Any management actions would be consistent with the overall goal of establishing and conserving the NEP while promoting social tolerance and human safety.” “The designation allows for the advancement of recovery objectives by providing an opportunity to reestablish a population within the ecosystem,” they added. “The proposed geographic extent for the grizzly bear … includes all of Washington state except an exclusion area around the Selkirk Ecosystem grizzly bear recovery where a population of bears currently exists.” LOCAL RESIDENTS EXPLODE AT BIDEN OFFICIALS OVER PLAN TO RELEASE GRIZZLY BEARS NEAR THEIR COMMUNITIES The National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service further wrote in their environmental impact statement that its proposal is expected to improve social tolerance of grizzly bears, and even increase public visitation and recreation in North Cascades National Park “as visitors seek to experience grizzly bears in their native habitat.” The agencies, though, acknowledged the potential impact of the proposal on local communities, livestock and farms. As a result, the plan allows people to injure or kill a grizzly bear that is threatening a person’s life or is in the act of attacking livestock, including working dogs on private land, under certain conditions. BIDEN ADMIN BACKS OFF PROTECTIONS FOR APEX PREDATOR, ANGERING ENVIRONMENTALISTS Still, the proposal was quickly condemned by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), which represents cattle ranchers, and Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., who represents local communities in the region. “The status included in today’s announcement may be the administration’s attempt to placate the state, but we continue to stand with the ranchers and rural families in northwest Washington who do not want this proposal to move forward at all,” said NCBA Government Affairs Director Sigrid Johannes. “Dropping new apex predators into rural Americans’ backyards is not something that the federal government should undertake without consensus.” “State and local stakeholders have made their serious concerns about this proposal known for years now, and plowing forward to the detriment of local farmers and ranchers would be unwise for both conservation of the species and health of the rural economy,” she added. “We urge the administration to listen to local communities and reconsider this plan.” SENATE STRIKES DOWN BIDEN MOVE ALLOWING POTENTIALLY DISEASED BEEF INTO US Newhouse noted locals’ widespread opposition to the proposal. Late last year, federal officials hosted a town hall in his district to receive feedback on the translocation of grizzly bears and, while hundreds of residents attended, just six spoke in favor of the plan. “This final EIS reveals the Biden Administration is more intent on pushing policies about Central Washingtonians than for them,” Newhouse said in a statement. “The Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service held public comment sessions in my district where the overwhelming majority of voices, which I heard firsthand, were adamantly opposed to the introduction of grizzly bears.” “Their voices have been shut out of this entire process,” he continued. “This administration’s blatant disregard for public opinion and their unwavering commitment to the whims of extreme environmentalists, many whom don’t live anywhere near where the bears will be, is proven by the announcement of their ‘preferred alternative’ today.” GOP REP INTRODUCES RESOLUTION CONDEMNING UN FOR CALLING ON AMERICANS TO STOP EATING MEAT In late September, the Biden administration first proposed the translocation plan and issued a draft environmental impact statement opening the door to release the apex predator in the region. Under the proposal, the federal government would release up to seven grizzly bears annually into the North Cascades ecosystem over the course of the next five to 10 years. The federal government’s overarching goal under its plan is to establish a grizzly bear population of roughly 200 bears in the coming decades. According to the National Park Service, Grizzly bears occupied the North Cascades and served as an “essential part of the ecosystem” for thousands of years. However, in the 20th century, as a result of aggressive hunting practices, the species was driven into near extinction, and the last confirmed sighting of a grizzly bear in the North Cascades ecosystem was in 1996. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Reintroducing grizzly bear populations in Washington, therefore, has been a priority for environmental groups who have argued that the species is vital for the wider ecosystem. “Finally, there is hope to see grizzly bears again in this wild landscape,” said Kathleen Callaghy, the Northwest representative for conservation group Defenders of Wildlife. “We are deeply grateful to Secretary Haaland, Director Sams, Director Williams and our legislative allies for showing collaboration and partnership at its best for the sake of conservation. Today is a day to be proud.”
Tim Scott labels Schumer’s call for Israeli leader change ‘electoral interference’
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., will introduce a resolution on Friday seeking to label a call by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for new Israeli elections to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “electoral interference.” Scott’s resolution would reiterate Israel’s right to defend itself against attacks as its war against terrorist group Hamas continues in Gaza, and it would condemn calls for the country to hold elections amid the war. “Hamas is the reason the conflict started on October 7th and the reason it continues today,” Scott, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Israel has every right to defend itself from this brutal terrorist organization that raped and murdered innocent civilians and continues to hold more than 100 people hostage – including several American citizens.” SCHUMER TRIGGERS BACKLASH IN ISRAEL FOR SUGGESTING NETANYAHU NEEDS TO GO: ‘LANDED BADLY’ “I will always stand with Israel as it seeks to confront and eradicate the threat of terrorism,” he continued. Scott’s resolution follows a floor speech last week by Schumer during which he encouraged Israel to hold elections and suggested Netanyahu should be replaced. According to the New York Democrat, Netanyahu has “put himself in coalition with far-right extremists” and has further “been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza.” Schumer added that he believes the citizens of Israel feel similarly about wanting to move on from the prime minister. SENATE REPUBLICANS POISED TO DRAW OUT 11TH-HOUR VOTE ON FUNDING BILLS The speech was criticized by many, with some calling it “unprecedented.” “Any call for elections in Israel by a United States Government official is to be considered an act of electoral interference,” reads the resolution from Scott. The senator’s resolution additionally seeks to express the Senate’s belief once again that Israel has an “inherent” right to self-defense. It further states the country additionally reserves the right “to take necessary steps to eradicate the terrorist threat posed by Hamas.” TOP TRUMP VP PROSPECT PLANS SUMMER WEDDING WEEKS AFTER GOP CONVENTION It is co-sponsored by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Rick Scott, R-Fla., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., John Thune, R-S.D., Jerry Moran, R-Kan., Ted Budd, R-N.C., Steve Daines, R-Mont., John Barrasso, R-Wyo., James Lankford, R-Okla., Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., John Hoeven, R-N.D., Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo. Schumer’s office did not provide comment when reached by Fox News Digital. Scott’s reference to “electoral interference” comes as similar phrases are used more and more frequently by allies of former President Donald Trump to describe the various indictments and criminal cases he is currently involved in. Trump uses the phrase “election interference” himself to describe actions by the courts he disagrees with. Trump’s campaign referred Fox News Digital to his campaign’s initial response to Schumer’s speech. Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on Monday, “The Biden Administration has given millions in aid to Gaza and the Iranian Regime, Democrats in Congress have signed petitions supporting Gaza terrorists and caved to the demands of Far-Left Palestinian extremists, and Chuck Schumer just called for new elections in Israel while they’re in the midst defending themselves from the attacks on October 7th.” “President Trump is right — the Democrat Party has turned into a full-blown anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist cabal,” she added. Scott is considered a top prospect to serve as Trump’s running mate on the 2024 Republican presidential ticket, according to sources in the former president’s political orbit, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Trump vows to fight New York AG case ‘all the way up to the US Supreme Court,’ as deadline to post $454M looms
EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump said he will fight the ruling out of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ case “all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary,” telling Fox News Digital that “they can’t take away your property before you’ve had a chance to appeal.” Trump, the 2024 presumptive GOP presidential nominee, and his legal team have appealed and requested a stay on his $454 million civil fraud judgment. He is required to post that bond by Monday. In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Trump reflected on the merger of his Trump Media & Technology Group — the parent company of Truth Social — which shareholders voted to make a publicly traded entity Friday. The company is worth nearly $8 billion. TRUMP SAYS HE HAS NEARLY $500M IN CASH, SUGGESTS HE COULD AFFORD BOND IN NEW YORK AG CASE, SLAMS ‘HACK’ JUDGE Trump also noted he has nearly $500 million in cash and other properties driving massive amounts of money that he said have very little, if any, debt. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to give money to a rogue and incompetent judge — the puppet of a corrupt attorney general who’s failing with violent crime and migrant crime and whose only purpose in life is attempting to get Trump,” Trump told Fox News Digital, referring to New York Judge Arthur Engoron and James. Trump said Engoron “openly and hostilely disrespects the decision of the appellate division, which ruled in my favor.” “Hopefully they will set the record straight — he has already been overturned four times on this case,” Trump said. “A record. But Trump vowed to fight the judgment through the court system. “I’ll fight this all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “They can’t take away your property before you’ve had a chance to appeal the decision of a Trump-hating, incompetent judge who has been overturned more than any judge in the state.” Trump added: “The business community in New York is being devastated by this decision and businesses are fleeing New York — never to return, because they don’t want this to happen to them. In the meantime, violent crime is flourishing.” Trump’s comments come as a Monday deadline looms to post $454 million. If he does not, James has threatened to begin seizing Trump assets and properties. Engoron’s ruling came after a months-long non-jury trial stemming from James’ years-long investigation. James, when campaigning to become attorney general, vowed to “get Trump.” “We’re definitely gonna sue him, we’re gonna be a real pain in the a–,” James once told a supporter on video. TRUTH SOCIAL PARENT COMPANY TRUMP MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY GROUP TO BECOME PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANY Trump’s comments also come after Truth Social became a publicly-traded entity. The merger approval means TMTG stock will trade on Nasdaq as “DJT” as early as next week. Trump holds 78.7 million shares in Trump Media & Technology Group. His personal stake in the company at its current stock price of approximately $44.17 would be worth between $3 billion and $4 billion. There is a six-month lock-up on Trump’s shares, but the board could vote to waive that rule. Trump lawyers on Monday said that “ongoing diligent efforts have proven that a bond in the judgment’s full amount is a ‘practical impossibility,’” amid attempts to approach about 30 surety companies. The lawyers said the “enormous magnitude” of the bond requirement, which effectively requires cash reserves approaching $1 billion, is “unprecedented for a private company.” NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL TAUNTS TRUMP ABOUT INTEREST HE OWES ON CIVIL FRAUD JUDGMENT James has pushed back, calling Trump’s request for a stay “extraordinary” and “improper.” James has said that Trump should be able to secure the entire value via multiple sureties or offer his real estate holdings as collateral. But Trump attorney Clifford S. Robert on Thursday sent a letter to the Appellate Division of New York’s Supreme Court, arguing James’ efforts are “unconstitutional.”
Judge’s illegal immigrant gun ruling throws ‘grenade’ into crime fight: former federal agent
A former senior Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives (ATF) official warns that a federal court’s finding that illegal immigrants have gun rights protected by the Constitution could pose a danger to law enforcement. Last week, U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman in the Northern District of Illinois ruled that a federal prohibition on illegal immigrants owning firearms is unconstitutional as applied to defendant Heriberto Carbajal-Flores. Scott Sweetow, a 30-year veteran of the ATF, told Fox News the decision is “hugely problematic” for members of law enforcement. “This really throws a complete grenade into the enforcement of federal firearms laws by specifically ATF because of how far-reaching this is,” said Sweetow, a former deputy assistant director at the agency’s Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information. The district court’s controversial ruling in U.S. v. Carbajal-Flores has divided gun rights activists and inflamed debate over where courts should draw the line on firearms regulations in a post-Bruen world. That landmark 2022 Supreme Court decision established a new standard to determine whether a law violates the Second Amendment, requiring judges to conduct a historical analysis and find it consistent with the nation’s tradition of firearm regulations to be held constitutional. JUDGE RULES ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS HAVE GUN RIGHTS PROTECTED BY SECOND AMENDMENT In her decision Friday, Coleman found that while a federal ban on illegal immigrants is “facially constitutional,” there is no historical tradition of firearm regulation that permits the government to deprive a noncitizen who has never been convicted of a violent crime from exercising his Second Amendment rights. “The noncitizen possession statute … violates the Second Amendment as applied to Carbajal-Flores,” the judge wrote. “Thus, the Court grants Carbajal-Flores’ motion to dismiss.” Sweetow said Coleman’s decision was “illogical.” He described how a friend of his, a law-abiding businessman who lives in Chicago, cannot legally carry a firearm in the city even though he has an Illinois state firearms owner ID card. “He has not been able to get a permit to have a firearm, but yet an illegal alien, who fired his gun recklessly … he’s allowed to have a firearm. And there’s just something illogical and wrong about that,” Sweetow said. DELAWARE BILL REQUIRING GUN BUYERS TO BE FINGERPRINTED, TRAINED, SET TO BECOME LAW According to court documents, Carbajal-Flores is an illegal immigrant who claims that he came to the United States as a young boy and has protected legal status under President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals executive order. On June 1, 2020, he was found to be in possession of a handgun in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago and was subsequently charged with violating a federal law that prohibits noncitizens who are not legally authorized to be in the U.S. from possessing firearms. In an April 2022 decision, Coleman denied Carbajal-Flores’ first motion to dismiss his indictment, finding that the ban was constitutional. However, Carbajal-Flores asked the court to reconsider that ruling following the Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen and appellate decisions in the Third and Seventh circuits that considered whether people convicted of nonviolent crimes can be prohibited from possessing firearms. Upon review, Coleman concluded that Carbajal-Flores’ illegally present status was not sufficient to deny him Second Amendment rights, noting that the defendant had never been convicted of a felony or any other violent crime. Sweetow said the practical effect of Coleman’s decision is to severely undermine federal firearms regulations. CONGRESS POISED TO ROLL BACK ‘VETERAN GUN BAN’ WITH RELUCTANT BIDEN BACKING “Essentially, what the judge has done is she has invalidated the 1968 Gun Control Act and all the amendments that have come since,” he told Fox News. For example, individuals who purchase a gun from a licensed dealer are required to fill out an ATF form and undergo a background check through the FBI’s Firearms Checks system. “How is the FBI supposed to access records of people who have come into the United States illegally?” Sweetow asked. He said Coleman’s decision will throw law enforcement “into complete turmoil because someone who’s going to be enforcing the laws no longer knows whether those laws are even valid.” “It definitely has to be appealed, because otherwise, it’s going to make it tough to prosecute any criminals for possession of a firearm.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois did not respond when asked if prosecutors planned to appeal Coleman’s ruling.
Trump lead over Biden in Michigan powered by 2 critical voting blocs: poll
Former President Trump is leading President Biden in Michigan, and the pair are neck and neck in Pennsylvania as the 2024 presidential general election campaign begins, according to a CNN-SSRS poll. Trump boasts an eight percentage-point lead over Biden in the Great Lakes State, with key support coming from younger and independent voters. Pollsters found among registered voters, Trump maintains 50% support compared to Biden’s 42% in Michigan, where Trump won in 2016 but lost in 2020. Women were split evenly between the two candidates, while Trump leads among independent and younger voters, the poll found. ‘JOKE ON BIDEN’: TRUMP LEADING BIDEN IN SEVERAL SWING STATE POLLS DESPITE CASH ADVANTAGE Trump beat Biden 52% to 37% among voters aged 45 and younger. He also beat Biden 47% to 37% among independent voters. Biden maintains a 21 percentage-point lead among voters of color, according to the poll. TRUMP VOTERS DON’T THINK HE’S VERY RELIGIOUS, BUT SAY HE FIGHTS FOR RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES: POLL However, Trump’s lead does not come with abundant enthusiasm. Less than half of voters (46%) expressed satisfaction with their choice of candidates. The statistic is higher among Republicans, with 65% expressing satisfaction in the choice of presumptive nominees. Michigan, a blue state from 1992 to 2012, swung for Trump in the 2016 election that clinched him the Oval Office. It swung back to blue and helped put Biden into office in 2020, distinguishing it as a major swing state for candidates heading into 2024. Pennsylvania voters were far more divided between the two candidates, with an even 46-46% split. Similar to Michigan, 47% of Pennsylvanians expressed dissatisfaction with the choice of candidates. The CNN poll gathered responses from 1,097 registered voters in Michigan via online responses and telephone. SSRS conducted the poll from Mar. 13 to Mar. 18 and has a sampling error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. The Pennsylvania poll surveyed 1,132 registered voters in the same time period. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
Female athlete injured by transgender player slams Dem lawmakers who dismissed dangers
Payton McNabb, a former North Carolina high-school volleyball player who suffers from long-term physical and mental injuries caused by a biological male who identifies as transgender during a match in 2022, called out Democrat lawmakers on X for denying the harm that trans women cause in sports. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wa., said during a House Judiciary Committee markup on Thursday nearly in tears that “it is a tiny portion of people across the country that identify as trans, and not a single one of them is doing anything to harm you or your family.” “Stop it, we have better things to do in Congress,” she said. Her comments were in regard to the passage of the Equal Campus Access Act, which would require public universities to recognize religious student groups if the school wants to receive federal aid under the Higher Education Act. The act is part of a larger bill under H.R. 7683. COLORADO COULD BECOME THE FIRST STATE TO BUILD SEPARATE PRISON UNITS FOR TRANSGENDER FELONS “Just getting back from my second doctor appointment this week, a year and a half later, I’m definitely going to have to disagree,” McNabb said on X in response to Jayapal’s remarks. “My life is forever changed because of an injury by a boy. So yeah . . . men have harmed women in our sports. But as long as your feelings don’t get hurt, right?” In the same markup, Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said that “men do not compete in women sports,” before the committee passed H.R. 7187, the Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, which would ban biological men from competing on any women’s sports teams. “Transgender women may compete in women’s sports, it does no service to the truth or to the human biology or understanding of human viology that there’s no such thing as transgender women, or for that matter transgender men,” Nadler said. “We know that people did not ask to be born transgender, no more than of us have to be born male or female, they were just born that way.” McNabb said in response to the clip, “Come on now, Jerry, you know that ain’t true! Everyone can see right through your delusion.” She added, “Your statement is a slap in the face to every female athlete that has suffered from this insane issue.” The bills, which both passed in the committees, now head to the full GOP-led House for a vote. “Every Democrat on committee voted against it. Make no mistake: the Democrats don’t care about protecting women – they care more about appeasing the radicals of their party and enabling the erasure of women’s sports,” Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., author of H.R. 7187, said on X. USA POWERLIFTING APPLAUDS APPEALS COURT DECISION AFTER TRANSGENDER WOMAN CLAIMED DISCRIMINATION In September 2022, McNabb was injured in a high-school volleyball game by a transgender athlete on the opposing team who spiked the volleyball and struck her in the face, causing her to fall backward and suffer from a concussion and a neck injury. TRANS INMATE WHO KILLED BABY AND IDENTIFIES AS MUSLIM WOMAN SUES CHAPLAIN FOR ALLEGEDLY NOT ALLOWING HIJAB “Other injuries I still suffer from today include impaired vision, partial paralysis on my right side, constant headaches, as well as anxiety and depression,” McNabb said during a press conference last year. “My ability to learn, retain, [and] comprehend has also been impaired, and I require accommodations at school for testing because of this.” Riley Gaines, a former competitive swimmer, has been fighting for fairness in girls’ and women’s sports ever since she competed against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in college. She also clapped back at the Democrats on X. “Payton is partially paralyzed on her right side, her vision & memory are impaired, and her sports career ended prematurely because of a man posing as a woman,” Gaines wrote. “Democrats who deny this is happening are evil.”
House Dem blames Republicans in wake of viral video of migrants storming US border in Texas
Republican and Democrat lawmakers have been reacting to the chaotic scenes on Thursday where more than 100 illegal migrants were seen on a viral video bursting through razor wire and surging in El Paso, Texas. The shocking scenes generated plenty of online reaction, and elected officials have also been weighing in on the incident. The video, published by the New York Post, shows dozens of adult males ripping away razor wire that had been set up by the state and charging past Texas National Guardsmen. They then ran toward a section of border wall, where they were blocked from entering further. Democrats are at odds with their Republican counterparts when it comes to addressing the issue. It comes as the border crisis sees no sign of abating with nearly 7.3 million migrants having illegally crossed the southwest border under President Biden’s watch, a February Fox News analysis found. Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie asked Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., what he thought of the astonishing incident Thursday, noting that Republicans are worried that there is no border security provisions in the omnibus spending bill. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS STORM US BORDER IN EL PASO, KNOCK OVER GUARDS AMID STANDOFF OVER TEXAS LAW “We’re funding homeland security, that’s an important priority,” Aguilar said as he walked to his vehicle. “Do you think that’s enough?” Hasnie said, pressing Aguilar further. “I mean, when you look at this video, it’s pretty dramatic.” “Yeah, I haven’t seen the video,” Aguilar responded. Hasnie played the video on her phone and offered Aguilar to look at it, but he did not stop to watch. “Yeah. All right. Thank you,” he said before getting into the SUV. Hasnie also questioned Robert Garcia, D-Calif., about the extraordinary footage, and he pinned the blame on Republicans for not passing President Biden’s border security bill. “Well, I think the important thing is that the president did put forward a bill to address issues around the border, particularly funding for border security technology,” Garcia said. “And that’s been rejected by Republicans multiple times. There are border solutions that need to happen. We all agree. Republicans and Democrats both agree that border solutions are important. It’s not just about security. It’s about a humane process to treat folks as they’re coming in, many of whom we know are seeking dire circumstances. Both border security and humane immigration reform both happen.” CONSERVATIVE LAWMAKERS SLAM $1.2T GOVERNMENT FUNDING BILL AS ‘SWAMP OMNIBUS’ Likewise, the White House told Fox News, “We are grateful for Border Patrol’s quick work to get the situation under control and apprehend the migrants.” “When the former President told Congressional Republicans to block the bipartisan border security agreement – he said to blame him for it,” a White House spokesperson said. “Well he got his wish, and the result was chaos after Governor Abbott’s Operational Lone Star and razorwire were overrun yesterday. While we cannot comment on individual cases, anyone who does not have a legal basis to remain in the United States is promptly removed.” Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., a progressive Squad member, also called for more money to be spent on the crisis and said that more legal pathways would ease the situation. The Senate’s supplemental spending deal included around $20 billion to control illegal immigration at the southern border. “I think we’ve consistently said we need more resources for asylum officers and immigration judges to process people,” Jayapal said. “We need more resources at the border for technology, but the key thing is we actually have to reform immigration policy, because the more legal pathways we have, the less chaos we have at the border.” “The fewer legal pathways we have, which is what’s happened now, the worse our legal immigration system is working, the more people will go to the border.” “Do you think that’s what will stop this?” Hasnie asked, “I think that is. Yeah, I think that is ultimately the answer.” Republicans, however, appeared livid with an enraged Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas., blasting the scenes on X Thursday. “Our border is breached, and Texas is overrun with constant invasion. Voting for the #SwampOmnibus does NOTHING to stop the mayhem,” Roy wrote, referring to the $1.2 trillion government funding bill congressional leaders unveiled in the early hours of Thursday morning. Former President Donald Trump, who is the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party for this year’s election, posted a video of the incident to his Truth Social page last Thursday with the words “CROOKED JOE BIDEN’S AMERICA…” captioned above it. Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., was so furious by the images that she called for Speaker Mike Johnson to be replaced on Thursday. “We need a Speaker of the House who will fight to secure America’s border at all cost!” Greene wrote on X. “Not one that passes a trillion dollar Democrat wish list that continues the border invasion, funds the weaponized government, and breaks our own conference rules. I’m done with this one.” Roy and Greene also led efforts to impeach Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last month. Fox News’ Kate Sprague contributed to this report.
House Judiciary Committee suing DOJ officials for testimony on Hunter Biden tax case
The House Judiciary Committee is suing Justice Department officials Mark Daly and Jack Morgan to enforce subpoenas for their testimony related to the Hunter Biden tax investigation as part of the broader House impeachment inquiry into President Biden. Daly and Morgan were both involved in the Hunter Biden tax investigation and in early decisions not to prosecute, Republicans have alleged. According to the lawsuit, “The Committee intends to ask Daly and Morgan about these decisions, including why they initially agreed with bringing charges for the 2014 and 2015 tax years, why they then reversed their opinion just a few months later, what additional (if any) information they received that changed their minds, and whether they were in any way pressured to change their views by other people inside or outside of DOJ, and if so, by whom.” IRS WHISTLEBLOWERS: HUNTER BIDEN INDICTMENT IS A ‘COMPLETE VINDICATION’ OF INVESTIGATION, ALLEGATIONS The committee subpoenaed Daly and Morgan in September 2023 and February 2024, according to the lawsuit. However, the lawsuit says Daly and Morgan did not comply “because their employer, DOJ, directed them not to appear.” The suit names both men in their official capacity as DOJ employees. The Justice Department told Fox News that it is “committed to working with Congress in good faith.” “We took the extraordinary step of making six supervisory employees available to testify on appropriate topics last year,” a DOJ spokesperson told Fox News. “It is unfortunate that despite this extraordinary cooperation from senior DOJ officials, the Committee has decided, after waiting for months, to continue seeking to depose line prosecutors about sensitive information from ongoing criminal investigations and prosecutions.” HUNTER BIDEN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO TAX CHARGES BROUGHT BY SPECIAL COUNSEL DAVID WEISS The DOJ spokesperson added, “We will continue to protect our line personnel and the integrity of their work.” The Justice Department said it will review the committee’s filings “and respond in court.” House Republicans have been investigating whether politics played a role in prosecutorial decisions in the Hunter Biden investigation. Special counsel David Weiss charged Hunter Biden in December, alleging a “four-year scheme” when the president’s son did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports. Weiss filed the charges in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The charges break down to three felonies and six misdemeanors concerning $1.4 million in owed taxes that have since been paid. Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to the charges. In the indictment, Weiss alleged that Hunter Biden “engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019, from in or about January 2017 through in or about October 15, 2020, and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018 when he filed false returns in or about February 2020.” HOUSE COMMITTEES FORMALLY RECOMMEND TO HOLD HUNTER BIDEN IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS Weiss said in “furtherance of that scheme,” the younger Biden “subverted the payroll and tax withholding process of his own company, Owasco, PC by withdrawing millions” from the company “outside of the payroll and tax withholding process that it was designed to perform.” The special counsel alleged that Hunter Biden “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills,” and that in 2018, he “stopped paying his outstanding and overdue taxes for tax year 2015.” Weiss alleged that Hunter Biden “willfully failed to pay his 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 taxes on time, despite having access to funds to pay some or all of these taxes,” and that he “willfully failed to file his 2017 and 2018 tax returns on time.” IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler said the tax charges against Hunter Biden were a “complete vindication” of their yearslong investigation into the president’s son. IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler approached Congress earlier this year, alleging that prosecutorial decisions made throughout the federal investigation into the president’s son were impacted by politics. Shapley, Ziegler and other IRS officials who testified before Congress, including Michael Batdorf, have said they were frustrated that the Justice Department did not charge Hunter Biden for failing to pay federal income tax for 2014 and 2015. They alleged that Weiss had allowed the statute of limitations to expire for tax charges against Hunter Biden from 2014 and 2015 in Washington, D.C. Shapley, who led the IRS portion of the probe, said that Hunter Biden should have been charged with tax evasion for 2014, and for filing false tax returns for 2018 and 2019. With regard to the 2014 tax returns, Shapley said that Hunter Biden did not report income from Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings. Fox News Digital first reported in December 2020 that Hunter Biden did not report “approximately $400,000” in income he collected from his position on the board of Burisma Holdings when he joined in 2014.
House Judiciary subpoenas Biden ghostwriter amid classified records investigation
EXCLUSIVE: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has subpoenaed Mark Zwonitzer, the ghostwriter of President Biden’s memoir amid the panel’s oversight probe of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into Biden’s retention of classified records. Fox News Digital reviewed the subpoena, which demands Zwonitzer turn over all documents and communications with Biden or his staff related to his ghostwriting work on his memoirs “Promise Me, Dad” and “Promises to Keep,” including emails, call logs and more. BIDEN GHOSTWRITER ESCAPES SPECIAL COUNSEL CHARGES DESPITE DELETING EVIDENCE The subpoena also compels Zwonitzer to turn over all contracts and agreements related to his work, along with audio recordings of interviews and conversations with Joe Biden and transcripts of those conversations and interviews. The president has claimed that he did not share classified information with Zwonitzer, but Hur’s report, released last month, states that Biden would “read from his notebooks nearly verbatim, sometimes for an hour or more at a time,” and “at least three times President Biden read classified notes from national security meetings” to Zwonitzer “nearly verbatim.” “Despite President Biden’s unequivocal contradiction of these material facts, Special Counsel Hur’s report contains references to ‘audio recordings’ and ‘transcripts’ of your multiple conversations with President Biden ‘related to [your] ghostwriting work of Biden’s memoirs,’” Jordan wrote in the subpoena’s cover letter, obtained by Fox News Digital. Jordan noted that FBI agents once contacted Zwonitzer relating to his work, and said he “provided investigators records that included near-verbatim transcripts..and audio recordings.” “Special Counsel Hur also noted that shortly after he began his investigation, you took steps to conceal some of these recordings and transcripts,” Jordan wrote. HUR TESTIFIES HE ‘DID IDENTIFY EVIDENCE’ THAT ‘PRIDE AND MONEY’ MOTIVATED BIDEN TO RETAIN CLASSIFIED RECORDS Jordan’s committee has been requesting records related to Zwonitzer’s work since last month, sparking a back-and-forth between the committee and Zwonitzer’s attorneys. “Your attorney informed the committee you would not produce the documents without a subpoena compelling your cooperation,” Jordan wrote. The subpoena compels Zwonitzer to produce all requested material to the House Judiciary Committee by April 12 at 9 a.m. Hur did not charge Biden or Zwonitzer out of his investigation. HUR TESTIFIES BIDEN ‘WILLFULLY RETAINED CLASSIFIED MATERIALS,’ BUT PROSECUTORS ‘HAD TO CONSIDER’ MENTAL STATE Hur testified earlier this month that Zwonitzer “slid” files of audio recordings and transcripts of conversations with Biden “into his recycle bin on his computer” upon learning that a special counsel had been appointed to investigate the matter. Jordan, during Hur’s public hearing earlier this month, asked whether the ghostwriter tried to “destroy the evidence.” “Correct,” Hur testified. “The very guy who was helping Joe Biden get the $8 million, $8 million Joe Biden used — the motive for Joe Biden to disclose classified information to retain classified information, which he definitely knew was against the law. When you get named special counsel, what’s that guy do? He destroys the evidence,” Jordan said during the hearing. “That’s the key takeaway in my mind.”
Texas Medical Board proposes new guidance for abortion medical exceptions
The guidance was disappointing to reproductive rights advocates who were seeking more specificity and a list of conditions that could qualify.