Multiple people wounded in Iowa school shooting, US authorities say
Dallas County Sheriff Adam Infante says the gunman in the shooting at Perry High School has been identified. Multiple people have been wounded in a shooting at a high school in Perry, Iowa in the US, officials said. The shooting at Perry High School took place just after 7:30 am (13:30 GMT) and resulted in “multiple victims”, Dallas County Sheriff Adam Infante said at a news briefing on Thursday. He said the extent and exact number of injuries were still being determined. A spokesperson for UnityPoint Health, which operates a nearby Des Moines hospital, confirmed that two gunshot victims had arrived there. There were few students and faculty in the building at the time of the incident, Infante said. The suspect in the shooting has reportedly died due to what investigators believe is a self-inflicted gunshot wound, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. At the briefing, Infante said that the shooter had been identified but gave no further details. Police respond to Perry High School in Perry, Iowa [Andrew Harnik/AP] Eighteen-year-old Rachael Kares told The Associated Press that she was finishing jazz band practice when she and her bandmates heard what she described as four gunshots spaced apart. “We all just jumped,” Kares said. “My band teacher looked at us and yelled ‘Run!’ So we ran”. Kares added that she ran out past the football field with others from the school and heard people yelling, “Get out! Get Out!” as more gunshots were heard. FBI and US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents have responded to the scene, and the US attorney general has been briefed, a US Department of Justice spokesperson said. Dirk Cavanaugh, the mayor of Perry, said, “There are a bunch of speculative numbers floating around.” “We have no confirmed numbers of who was involved yet,” he added. The attack occurred as Iowa is expected to hold the first statewide contest for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in 11 days. Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur who founded a biotechnology company, was scheduled to hold a rally in Perry but changed the event to an in-person prayer after reports of the shooting, a campaign spokesperson said. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia used North Korean missiles in Ukraine, US says
The United States also expressed concerns that Russia is seeking close-range ballistic missiles from Iran. The United States has said that Russia is using ballistic missiles from North Korea and is seeking close-range ballistic missiles from Iran. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday that recently declassified intelligence found that North Korea had provided Moscow with the weapons, at least one of which was fired into Ukraine on December 30, landing in an open field in the Zaporizhia region. Russia also launched “multiple” of the North Korean missiles on Tuesday during an overnight attack, he added. Kirby also said that a Russia-Iran deal had not been completed but that the US “is concerned that Russia’s negotiations to acquire close-range ballistic missiles from Iran are actively advancing”. He said Washington and its allies will now raise the matter at the United Nations Security Council as it signals a breach of US sanctions against North Korea. The Biden administration has repeatedly looked to make the case that the Kremlin has become dependent on North Korea and Iran for the weapons it needs to continue its military operation in Ukraine and has disclosed findings it says prove that. So far, North Korea and Iran are largely isolated on the international stage for their nuclear programmes and human rights records. In October, the White House said that North Korea had delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Moscow. [Al Jazeera] Crimean attacks Earlier on Thursday, Ukraine announced that its air force had conducted a raid on a Russian command post near the occupied city of Sevastopol and hit a military unit in a separate attack on the Crimean Peninsula. Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk posted a video on the Telegram app showing smoke rising from an explosion near Sevastopol, a Crimean port that serves as the main headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. “Thanks again to the Air Force pilots and everyone who planned the operation for perfect combat work,” he said. The Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, described the attack as “the most massive in recent times”. He said one person was hospitalised after a piece of shrapnel struck. Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had foiled a Ukrainian attack, destroying 10 incoming missiles over the peninsula. Adblock test (Why?)
Senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri’s funeral held
NewsFeed Mourners gather for senior Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri’s funeral in Beirut. Al-Arouri was killed in a drone strike on a Hamas office in Lebanon on Tuesday. Published On 4 Jan 20244 Jan 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Pro-Trump group hits Haley over past comments declaring people shouldn’t call illegal immigrants ‘criminals’
A group allied with former President Donald Trump has set its sights on fellow Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley as she’s climbed in the polls, most recently hitting her over past comments in which she said people should not call illegal immigrants “criminals.” On Wednesday night, the MAGA War Room, which is associated with MAGA Inc., posted a video clip of Haley at a 2015 Aspen Institute event where she made the remarks while serving as South Carolina’s governor. “I think that what we have to remember, and I have always believed, is that we are a country of laws, that’s what makes us strong,” Haley said during the panel. “We have to always be a country of laws. So it’s incredibly frustrating for a lot of people when they see the illegal immigrants being able to come across. It really is astonishing that after all of these years, D.C. hasn’t figured out how to build a wall. It really is, after all of what they spend.” NIKKI HALEY’S BOOK CONFESSION ABOUT CHANGING HUSBAND’S NAME RESURFACES: ‘HE LOOKS LIKE A MICHAEL’ “Having said that, we are a country of immigrants,” she continued. “I am a proud daughter of Indian parents that reminded us every day how blessed we are to live in this country. They resent when people come here illegally. But let’s keep in mind, these people that are wanting to come here, they want to come here for a better life, too. They have kids, too. They have a heart, too. So, we don’t need to be disrespectful. We don’t need to talk about them as criminals — they’re not. They’re families that want a better life, and they’re desperate to get here. What we need to do is make sure that we have a set of laws that we follow, and that we go through with that.” AnnMarie Graham-Barnes, a Haley campaign spokesperson, fired back at the pro-Trump group, saying Haley has a history of being tough against illegal immigration. “She passed one of the toughest anti-illegal immigration bills in the country in 2011 when Trump was still a Democrat,” Graham-Barnes told Fox News Digital. “She has also said she has a different style and approach from Trump and doesn’t always agree with his incendiary language. Trump should spend more time explaining why he never fulfilled his signature promise to build a wall instead of desperately trying to mislead voters with lies.” FIRST ON FOX: HALEY MORE THAN DOUBLES HER FUNDRAISING WITH A $24 MILLION HAUL THE PAST THREE MONTHS GOP presidential rival Vivek Ramaswamy took to X on Wednesday to say that he “strongly disagree[s]” with Haley’s position. Haley signed an immigration law in 2011 requiring police “to check the immigration status of anyone they stop or arrest for another reason and suspect may be in the country illegally,” the Associated Press reported at the time. Haley has faced fire from her Republican primary rivals on several issues, including her cozy relationship with China as the governor of South Carolina, and greater scrutiny from individuals in the media as she’s risen in polls in recent weeks. Also on Wednesday, an excerpt from her 2012 book “Can’t Is Not an Option” resurfaced in which Haley recounted how she modified how people refer to her now-husband, Michael Haley. The post racked up nearly 7 million views on X. Haley has experienced momentum in the polls in recent months on the heels of well-received performances in the first three GOP presidential primary debates. She leapfrogged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and second overall contest in the Republican nominating calendar. She also aims to make a fight of it in Iowa, where the latest polls suggest she is pulling even with DeSantis for a distant second place behind Trump, who remains the front-runner in the GOP nomination race as he makes his third straight White House bid. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Utah state senator opposed to COVID mandates, trans surgeries for kids announces bid for Congress
FIRST ON FOX – Republican Utah state Sen. Mike Kennedy is launching a bid for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District to replace GOP incumbent John Curtis, who is running to replace Mitt Romney in the U.S. Senate. Utah’s 3rd District covers part of Salt Lake City and includes the cities of Orem and Provo. The seat was previously held by former Congressman Jason Chaffetz until 2017. Later that year, Curtis won the seat in a special election. The district is a Republican stronghold. Former President Trump won the district with over 56% of the vote in 2020 and Curtis won by over 45% in 2022. UTAH REPUBLICAN ANNOUNCES BID TO REPLACE ROMNEY AFTER SAYING HE WOULD NOT ENTER RACE AMID UNFINISHED WORK “I came from poverty, single-parent home, a free lunch kid in high school and never had anything that wasn’t,” said Kennedy. “For a fellow like me to not only have a chance to get a great education, but also to serve the people of the great state of Utah… I am so impressed with the people in the great state of Utah. They’re outstanding people.” Kennedy, a family medicine doctor and attorney, ran for the U.S. Senate in 2018 in the Beehive State against Mitt Romney. Kennedy secured the most votes in the Utah State Republican Convention, but ultimately was defeated by Romney in the Republican primary. However, Kennedy tells Fox News Digital that there is no bad blood. “Party infighting is more selfish than selfless,” said Kennedy. He also said that he will “work with anybody who’s got a good idea, who’s willing to look to the future and make it better for all of us.” STATE OF THE RACE: TOP 5 SENATE SEATS HELD BY DEMOCRATS MOST LIKELY TO FLIP IN 2024 During his time in the Utah state Senate, Kennedy helped pass legislation fighting COVID mandates and transgender minor surgeries. At the height of the pandemic in 2020, Kennedy returned to his role as a family doctor, spending months caring for patients and conducting his own research on COVID-19. “The COVID crisis – and being a doctor dealing with sickness on a regular basis, it was a very good spot for me to be on,” said Kennedy. “As far as the response that the state of Utah had to go, we’re able to balance the important issues associated with health and preserving life, but not destroying livelihoods at the same time.” Roosevelt Mayor Rod Bird Jr. is also running for Utah’s 3rd District. Former Utah state Rep. Chris Herrod and state auditor John Dougall are considering running. The primary election will be held June 25 and the general election is Nov. 4. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Blaine Luetkemeyer becomes latest House Republican to announce retirement
A Missouri Republican has become the latest House GOP lawmaker to announce his retirement. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., announced Thursday he will not be seeking re-election in 2024. “It has been [an] honor to serve the great people of the Third Congressional District and State of Missouri these past several years,” Luetkemeyer said in a statement. HOUSE GOP MAJORITY OFFICIALLY WHITTLES DOWN TO 3 SEATS AFTER MCCARTHY RESIGNATION “However, after a lot of thoughtful discussion with my family, I have decided not to file for re-election and retire at the end of my term in December.” Luetkemeyer said he looks forward to “continuing to work” with his constituents’ “myriad of issues” and “work on the many difficult and serious problems confronting our great country” for the rest of his term. “There is still a lot to do,” Luetkemeyer said. “As we tackle the many challenges we face, I hope we remember what someone once said that ‘the greatness of our country is not found in the halls of Congress but in the hearts and homes of our people.’ “That assessment is still true today. As we look to the future, I believe that if we work hard, stay together, and believe in ourselves our best days are indeed still ahead. Luetkemeyer’s retirement is the latest in this Congress’s wave of retirements. Several Republicans and Democrats are departing Congress to seek higher office or greener pastures. According to the House Press Gallery casualty list, 13 Republicans had announced their retirements prior to Luetkemeyer. Those 13 lawmakers are joined by four Republicans who have departed the House already, voluntarily or otherwise. Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and GOP Congressmen Chris Stewart of Utah and Bill Johnson of Ohio have all resigned from office before their terms ended. Disgraced former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., was expelled from the House late last year. Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed reporting.
Prosecutor on Jack Smith team discouraged FBI from investigating Clinton Foundation in 2016
EXCLUSIVE: A top prosecutor on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team discouraged the FBI from pursuing an investigation into the Clinton Foundation in 2016 due to what he viewed as negligible evidence, despite multiple Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) related to hundreds of thousands of dollars in foreign transactions, Fox News Digital has learned. Ray Hulser, the former chief of the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section (PIN), who serves on Smith’s team currently prosecuting former President Trump, was identified as the official who “declined prosecution” of the Clinton Foundation in 2016 in Special Counsel John Durham’s report. FBI IGNORED ‘CLEAR WARNING SIGN’ OF CLINTON-LED EFFORT TO ‘MANIPULATE’ BUREAU FOR ‘POLITICAL PURPOSES’ According to the Durham report, in January 2016, “three different FBI field offices, the New York Field Office, the Washington Field Office, and the Little Rock Field Office, opened investigations into possible criminal activity involving the Clinton Foundation.” The report reveals that the case was opened referring to an intelligence product and corroborating financial reporting that a particular commercial “industry likely engaged a federal public official in a flow of benefits scheme, namely, large monetary contributions were made to a non-profit, under both direct and indirect control of the federal public official, in exchange for favorable government action and/or influence.” DURHAM FINDS DOJ, FBI ‘FAILED TO UPHOLD’ MISSION OF ‘STRICT FIDELITY TO THE LAW’ IN TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE The investigation out of Washington was opened as a “preliminary investigation, because the case agent wanted to determine if he could develop additional information to corroborate allegations in a recently-published book, ‘Clinton Cash’ by Peter Schweizer, before seeking to convert the matter to a full investigation,” the report states. But the New York and Little Rock investigations included predication “based on source reporting that identified foreign governments that had made, or offered to make, contributions to the Foundation in exchange for favorable or preferential treatment from Clinton.” The Durham report revealed that because three different FBI field offices opened investigations related to the Clinton Foundation, there was a “perceived need to conduct coordination meetings between the field offices, FBI Headquarters, and appropriate U.S. Attorney’s offices,” as well as “components” from main Justice Department. DESPITE ACQUITTAL, DURHAM TRIAL OF SUSSMANN ADDED TO EVIDENCE CLINTON CAMPAIGN PLOTTED TO TIE TRUMP TO RUSSIA “These meetings likely were deemed especially important given that the investigations were occurring in an election year in which Clinton was a declared candidate for President,” the report states, including details from those meetings. One meeting detailed in the report took place on Feb. 1, 2016. Present for that meeting were several FBI officials, as well as Criminal Division Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell and Hulser, who, at the time, was Public Integrity Section chief. Durham interviewed Hulser as part of his investigation. Hulser told Durham that the FBI briefing on the Clinton Foundation was “poorly presented and that there was insufficient predication for at least one of the investigations due to its reliance on allegations contained in a book.” “Hulser downplayed information provided by the New York Field Office CHS [confidential human source] and recalled that the amount involved in the financial reporting was ‘de minimus,’” the report states. However, Durham’s team reviewed the financial reporting to better “understand the allegations.” “The reporting, which in itself is not proof of wrongdoing, was a narrative describing multiple funds transfers, some of which involved international bank accounts that were suspected of facilitating bribery or gratuity violations,” the Durham report states in a footnote. “The transactions involved occurred between 2012 and 2014, and totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars.” The Durham report does not explicitly state the words “Suspicious Activity Report,” however, the activity described is that which would normally be the subject of such reports. A source familiar with the matter, however, told Fox News Digital that there were multiple SARs filed related to the Clinton Foundation during that time. In 2012, Hillary Clinton served as secretary of state. Banks have a duty to file SARs, but it is up to the Justice Department to determine if there is any criminality. Due to the Clinton name, the Clinton Foundation or Clinton-related accounts likely had a “PEP” designation within financial institutions. PEP is short for politically exposed person, meaning the individual, through their prominent position or relationships, could be more susceptible to being involved in bribery or corruption. The Hunter Biden federal criminal investigation was predicated, in part, by SARs on funds from “China and other foreign nations.” Those SARs have been reviewed as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden, led by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo. MONEY LAUNDERING INVESTIGATOR WARNED OF HUNTER BIDEN’S ‘UNUSUAL,’ ‘ERRATIC’ PAYMENTS FROM CHINA IN 2018 Meanwhile, the Durham report states that during the February 2016 meeting, Hulser “declined prosecution” of the Clinton Foundation on behalf of the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section. Hulser told Durham during his interview, though, that he “made it clear” that “his decision was not binding on the various U.S. Attorneys’ Offices or FBI field divisions.” In interviewing another individual present for the meeting, Durham learned that the Justice Department’s reaction to the Clinton Foundation briefing was “hostile.” “There are mega indications that the Obama Justice Department slow-walked and discouraged the Clinton Foundation investigation, including discouraging the FBI from pursuing it,” former federal prosecutor and Fox News contributor Andy McCarthy said. With regard to Hulser, McCarthy told Fox News Digital that “it has been obvious from the beginning that the decision by the Biden Justice Department to appoint a special counsel was utterly political and done to create distance between the attorney general and the president from the decision to bring charges against Trump, that Smith has conducted it throughout with an eye on the election calendar.” “Nobody should be surprised if people on Smith’s staff have been involved in situations that make it politically conflicting for them to be involved in this,” McCarthy said. Trump has
House Democrats accuse Trump of raking in $7.8 million in foreign payments while president
House Democrats are accusing former President Donald Trump of taking in more than $7.8 million from foreign governments via payments to the Trump Organization while he was in the White House. A majority of that came from the Chinese government and state-owned entities, Democrats said, while the rest came from 19 other countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar. Minority staff on the House Oversight Committee released a 156-page report on Thursday detailing claims that the former president repeatedly violated the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which states that federal officials may not accept gifts or cash from foreign state actors without Congressional approval. “After promising ‘the greatest infomercial in political history,’ former President Donald Trump repeatedly and willfully violated the U.S. Constitution by failing to divest from his business empire and allowing his businesses to accept millions of dollars in payments from some of the most corrupt nations on earth,” the top Democrat on the committee Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said. JACK SMITH DISPUTES TRUMP’S PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY CLAIM IN APPEALS COURT “The limited records that the Committee obtained show that while Donald Trump was in office, he received more than $5.5 million from the Chinese government and Chinese state-owned enterprises, as well as millions more from 19 other foreign governments, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia through just four of the more than 500 entities he owned.” Along with the report, Oversight Democrats also produced more than 400 pages, some redacted, of documents from Mazars USA LLC — Trump’s former accounting firm. They accused the former president of allowing his businesses to profit off of foreign cash while suggesting he provided benefits to those countries in return. SUPREME COURT DECLINES TO ISSUE EXPEDITED RULING ON TRUMP IMMUNITY CASE Much of the investigation appears to have focused on the Trump Organization’s hotels in Las Vegas, New York, and Washington, D.C., as well as Trump Tower in Manhattan. Some of the payments appear to be linked to short-term hotel stays while Trump was in office, like room and dining fees. Other cashflows are for longer-term arrangements. The report said that Trump received more than $615,000 from Saudi Arabia while in office, both through its lease of the 45th floor of Trump Tower and through stays at Trump International Hotel in DC. The Indian government spent at least $282,764 on Trump properties during his administration, including the cost of two units of Trump Tower. It’s not immediately clear whether all of the contracts or agreements on the Trump Tower payments were made before the former president took office or started his 2016 campaign. The report noted that Mazars only handed over information for Trump Tower for the year 2018. A spokesperson for the Trump Organization pointed out that Beijing-backed bank ICBC “was a tenant who signed a 20 year office lease in a Trump Tower in 2008, almost a decade before President Trump entered office.” The spokesperson also said “foreign profits were donated in full to the United States Treasury for patronage at our properties while President Trump was in office.” “The house democrats are desperate to save face for Hunter Biden but there there is a large difference between someone who leases commercial office space to a foreign company a decade ago (in 2008 to be exact) versus the son and family members of the Vice President extracting money from China, Ukraine and Romania and others while providing no apparent or tangible goods and services. It would be dishonest to not clearly distinguish between the two,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “We do not have the ability or viability to stop someone from booking through third parties — Expedia etc — hence the voluntary donation of profits on an annual basis which has been covered ad nauseam.” The report conceded that the overall findings were based on just a fraction of Trump’s accounting records — and Raskin blamed Republicans for their inability to get the rest. TRUMP BLASTS MANHATTAN JUDGE, DEFENDS HIS ‘VERY GOOD CHILDREN’ AMID TRUMP ORG CIVIL TRIAL FROM NYAG LAWSUIT “While the figures and constitutional violations in this report are shocking, we still don’t know the extent of the foreign payments that Donald Trump received—or even the total number of countries that paid him and his businesses while he was President—because Committee Chairman James Comer and House Republicans buried any further evidence of the Trump family’s staggering corruption,” Raskin said. Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., responded to Fox News Digital: “It’s beyond parody that Democrats continue their obsession with former President Trump. Former President Trump has legitimate businesses but the Bidens do not.” “The Bidens and their associates made over $24 million by cashing in on the Biden name in China, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Romania. No goods or services were provided, other than access to Joe Biden and the Biden network,” Comer said. He’s one of three committee chairs currently leading an impeachment inquiry of President Biden, specifically looking into whether he and his family profited off of foreign business deals while he was vice president. In addition to the payments listed above, Democrats accused Trump of taking in $465,744 from Qatar for Trump Tower, $303,372 from Kuwait toward Trump Tower and Trump’s D.C. hotel and $248,962 from Malaysia spent at the D.C. hotel.
PA Senate candidate McCormick recounts IDF visit, deems Israel-Hamas war ‘test’ for American leadership
Dave McCormick, a Republican candidate vying to oust longtime Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., described to Fox News Digital his visit with IDF forces upon returning from a brief 36-hour trip on the ground in Israel, deeming the experience a testament to the need for “solidarity” after Hamas’ October 7 attack as the conflict poses a serious “test” to American leadership. McCormick, a West Point graduate, combat veteran and Bronze star recipient, told Fox News Digital by phone he was still digesting what he deemed an “emotional” day and a half spent visiting an Israeli community along the Gaza border where dozens were killed on October 7, as well as meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana. He recounted the “emotionally wrenching” experience of meeting with the families of Israeli hostages alongside his wife Dina Powell McCormick, a former deputy national security adviser in former President Trump’s administration who worked on the Abraham Accords. “We have six daughters between us – that, just putting ourselves in their shoes and listening to their stories,” McCormick said. “Today is, I believe, day 90 of the hostages being gone. And these are families that are just still trying to figure out, you know, the possibilities of getting their loved ones home.” RUSSIA MOVES FORWARD WITH IRAN DEAL TO PURCHASE BALLISTIC MISSILES, REPORT SAYS McCormick said they also watched the IDF compilation of the Hamas attack footage, which he says “highlights the incredible evil – evilness and viciousness – of Hamas, and just reinforces the obvious: Hamas has to be eradicated.” “There’s no living side by side with this kind of evil, genocidal behavior,” he added. Recounting meetings with IDF officials, he said, “We literally looked over the shoulder and saw how some of those military operations are working and just the level of precision and care going into trying to minimize innocent casualties from innocent civilians.” “Seeing it firsthand just absolutely reinforced the need for solidarity on behalf of America, solidarity with the Jewish people in Israel, solidarity with the forces of good versus evil, solidarity and standing against this horrific, horrific genocidal attack. And then also, just the necessity of eradicating Hamas,” McCormick said. “You hear some of the dialogue here in America and you know, there’s no two sides of this story. There’s only pure evil that needs to be eliminated. And then you can’t possibly live side by side with a group of people that orchestrated this kind of horrific attack. So those were the two takeaways – solidarity and the need to support Israel in its steps she’s taking to eliminate Hamas altogether.” Also referencing the rise in antisemitism in the United States since October 7, as well as the congressional testimonies of the presidents of Harvard, UPenn and MIT failing to condemn calls for the genocide of Jews on their campuses, McCormick argued that the Israel-Hamas war serves as an “inflection point” and test to the morals of American life. “This is a moment. It’s a test. It’s sort of an inflection point in both what’s going on in America, but what’s going on in the world. And it’s a moment where there’s a need for leadership to stand up with complete moral clarity on what’s going on and why America needs to play a very active leadership role in the world,” McCormick told Fox News Digital. MCCORMICK LANDS MAJOR ENDORSEMENT THAT COULD PREVENT ANOTHER CHAOTIC SENATE PRIMARY IN PENNSYLVANIA “We’ve had a progressive ideology that sort of hijacked some of the underlying principles of what makes America special, the notion of meritocracy, the belief that America has been a force for good in the world, and we’ve had very weak leadership that hasn’t been able to step up and call balls and strikes on what’s right and what’s wrong,” McCormick said of the United States. “And my opponent, Bob Casey, has been a very clear example that he hasn’t demonstrated moral clarity. He hasn’t stepped up and been willing to call out members of his own party, people like Summer Lee who he’s endorsed, or CAIR, the organization that he had been very strongly supportive of that has come out with such antisemitic behavior.” Fox News Digital reached out to Casey’s office for comment, but they did not immediately respond. The senator did issue a statement on Oct. 7 saying that the U.S. “must stand with Israel and its right to self-defense.” He also sent a letter to the leaders of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee in December calling for additional funding for the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights so they can address rising levels of antisemitism. McCormick, however, charged that Casey “wasn’t quick to call out” the three college presidents who are “educating some of our best and brightest.” He also accused the Democrat of supporting the Obama and Biden administrations’ policies that he said weakened the United States’ position in the Middle East. “The original sin as it relates to what’s going on in the Middle East with Israel is the treatment of Iran,” he said. “And this, you know, began under the Obama administration. That sort of weakness and complicity has carried through the Biden administration, and it’s been wholeheartedly supported every step of the way with Bob Casey and three votes, different votes for in support of the Iran deal.” McCormick added that U.S. leadership must “start with the recognition that Iran is at the core of promoting this dangerous ideology and underwriting terrorist groups around the Middle East.” Those groups include Hamas and Hezbollah, who continue to attack Israel, as well as Houthis in Yemen who have attacked vessels in the Red Sea. “So I think that’s the moment we’re in and that’s the need for leadership, the need for clarity of right versus wrong,” McCormick said. “Of America – what’s special about America with all its dark chapters, what makes America the best, most unique country in the world and the most exceptional country in the
DC appeals court to review Jack Smith’s ‘unconstitutional’ appointment in Trump case
The federal court set to hear special counsel Jack Smith’s case against former President Donald Trump has told the lawyers to be prepared to answer questions on the constitutionality of Smith’s appointment. On Tuesday, Ed Meese, former Attorney General under Ronald Reagan, filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case against Trump arguing that Attorney General Merrick Garland’s appointment of Smith — a private citizen — is in violation of the Appointments Clause of the Constitution. “Not properly clothed in the authority of the federal government, Smith is a modern example of the naked emperor. Illegally appointed, he has no more authority to represent the United States in this Court, or in the underlying prosecution, than Tom Brady, Warren Buffett, or Beyoncé,” the brief argues. On Thursday, the court issued an order that told counsel for both parties to “be prepared to address at oral argument…any inquiries by the Court regarding discrete issues raised in the briefs filed by amici curiae.” RED STATE AGS BLAST SPECIAL COUNSEL PUSH FOR SCOTUS TO RUSH TRUMP CASE: ‘PARTISAN INTERESTS’ The brief was filed in Smith’s case against the 45th president on criminal charges related to Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021. The oral arguments are set for Tuesday, Jan. 9. Will Scharf, attorney for the former president, told Fox News Digital in an interview that the order indicates that the court is taking the amicus briefs “seriously.” “I think the order makes it clear that the circuit court panel is carefully reviewing the briefs that have been filed in this case that they’re taking those briefs seriously,” Scharf said. Meese, along with scholars Steven G. Calabresi and Gary S. Lawson, argue in the brief that “Jack Smith does not have authority to conduct the underlying prosecution.” “Those actions can be taken only by persons properly appointed as federal officers to properly created federal offices. Neither Smith nor the position of Special Counsel under which he purportedly acts meets those criteria. And that is a serious problem for the American rule of law—whatever one may think of the Defendant or the conduct at issue in the underlying prosecution,” they wrote. FEDERAL JUDGE DENIES TRUMP’S CLAIM OF PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY IN SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S JAN. 6 CASE Meese and company noted in the brief that Smith was appointed “to conduct the ongoing investigation into whether any person or entity [including former President Donald Trump] violated the law in connection with efforts to interfere with the lawful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election or the certification of the Electoral College vote held on or about January 6, 2021.” While Garland cited as statutory authority for this appointment, Meese argues that “none of those statutes, nor any other statutory or constitutional provisions, remotely authorized the appointment by the Attorney General of a private citizen to receive extraordinary criminal law enforcement power under the title of Special Counsel.” “Second, even if one overlooks the absence of statutory authority for the position, there is no statute specifically authorizing the Attorney General, rather than the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint such a Special Counsel,” the former AG wrote. “Under the Appointments Clause, inferior officers can be appointed by department heads only if Congress so directs by statute… and so directs specifically enough to overcome a clear-statement presumption in favor of presidential appointment and senatorial confirmation. No such statute exists for the Special Counsel,” he added. SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH CALLS ON SUPREME COURT TO RULE ON TRUMP IMMUNITY CLAIM Meese said “the Special Counsel, if a valid officer, is a superior (or principal) rather than inferior officer, and thus cannot be appointed by any means other than presidential appointment and senatorial confirmation, regardless of what any statutes purport to say.” Meese argued that courts “have discretion to consider Appointments Clause challenges raised for the first time on appeal.” “Judicial economy also points towards this Court deciding the Appointments Clause issue now, as otherwise Defendant will simply raise it before the District Court if the case is remanded and this Court will face the issue again on appeal. This panel is accordingly free to invalidate Smith’s appointment, and should do so,” he said.