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Military families demand DOJ distribute nearly $800M from French cement company found guilty of bribing ISIS

Military families demand DOJ distribute nearly 0M from French cement company found guilty of bribing ISIS

In November 2017, Chief Petty Officer Kenton Stacy was injured in Raqqa, Syria while clearing the second floor of a hospital that ISIS had booby trapped with explosives.  Now a quadriplegic, Stacy, his wife Lindsey, and their 4 children are part of a lawsuit brought by military families against the French cement company, Lafarge, recently found guilty by a French Court of paying millions of dollars in bribes to ISIS to keep their factory open in ISIS-controlled territory in Syria.  “I mean, they were essentially funneling money to fund terrorists and ISIS and all these heinous crimes and evil acts,” Lindsey Stacy told Fox News while standing by the side of her husband, the former Navy Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialist, who just had another surgery to deal with injuries sustained in Syria 9 years ago.  “It’s very overwhelming, Kenton struggles mentally and physically with his own battles and the kids and I. We have our own struggles,” she continued. “It’s hard to juggle, especially when our oldest son has cerebral palsy, and he requires his own 24-7 care.” SENATORS CALL ON BIDEN TO BRIEF UPPER CHAMBER ON EFFORTS TO RETURN AUSTIN TICE FROM SYRIA President Trump praised Stacy’s service to the nation in his 2018 State of the Union Address to Congress. Army Staff Sergeant Justin Peck bounded into a booby-trapped building to rescue Kenton and then gave him more than 2 hours of CPR while medics worked to save his life. “Kenton Stacy would have died if not for Justin’s selfless love for a fellow warrior. Tonight, Kenton is recovering in Texas. Raqqa is liberated.…All of America salutes you.” In a landmark ruling in April, a French court convicted Lafarge, the world’s largest cement manufacturer, of providing material support to a terror group and sentenced its former CEO to 6 years in prison. Eight former Lafarge employees were found guilty. Lafarge is appealing. The company acknowledged the court’s finding describing the issue as a “legacy matter,” which was “in flagrant violation of Lafarge’s Code of Conduct.” Nearly 1,000 plaintiffs, most of them military families, are part of earlier litigation in the Eastern District of New York. “They were killed in Syria by a gruesome terrorist organization that was funded in part by Lafarge. And that’s not an allegation. That is undisputed fact. Lafarge pled guilty to doing that in 2022.” Todd Toral, the lawyer from Jenner & Block, is representing Stacy and about 25 other families. Toral, who is also a US Marine, is seeking compensation for those families from the $777 million Lafarge paid to the Justice Department as part of the settlement. The DOJ has had that money since Oct 2022. “I think the ruling by the court in France is significant generally, because it’s the first time in many, many years that a corporation, and not just the corporation, but executives at a corporation have been held to account for their misconduct in aiding terrorism,” Toral said in an interview with Fox. In order to operate in ISIS-controlled areas of Syria, Lafarge paid more than $6.5 million to ISIS from 2013–2014 through its Syrian subsidiary to keep production facilities running. The cement produced at its factory in Jalabiya, a factory which was bought for $680 million months before the Syrian uprising began in 2011, was also used for tunnels and bunkers, which helped the terrorist group. The lawsuit is significant because it marks the first time a company has faced U.S. charges for supporting a terrorist group. DOJ ACCELERATES SETTLEMENT OFFERS IN CAMP LEJEUNE WATER CONTAMINATION CASES In October 2022, Lafarge settled with the DOJ before the French ruling, paying more than $777 million into an asset forfeiture fund currently controlled by the DOJ, funds which are supposed to compensate victims of the ISIS attacks, many of them American Gold Star families, like Hailey Dayton, whose father was the first American killed by ISIS in Syria on Thanksgiving Day 2016. “I was 15 when my dad was killed,” Hailey Dayton told Fox from her home in Florida. “I saw six guys in Navy white step out of the van. I got so excited because I thought my dad came back to surprise us. I remember opening the door, huge smile on my face, and I was looking at the men, trying to find my dad and I didn’t find, I didn’t see him, but instead I saw six guys with tears in their eyes.”  The Biden Justice Department denied requests to distribute the Lafarge funds while the case was still pending before a French Court. Lafarge was found guilty by that court in April. In February, Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., pressed then-Attorney General Pam Bondi on when the DOJ planned to release the funds to the families. “In February 2025, my colleagues and I sent you a letter urging the department to review the petitions for remission submitted by the families of those fallen service members, including several of my constituents. The previous administration ignored these victims and our requests and left their petitions unresolved,” Biggs asked Bondi during a Congressional hearing. “Congressman, we are aware of that and we’re committed to doing everything we can to support the victims and work with you. Thank you for that question,” Bondi replied. That was more than a year ago and the DOJ has still not distributed the compensation funds. Now the plaintiffs, most of them military families, say the decision to release the funds rests with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “I don’t know why. I don’t know why they’re ignoring us. To me, it feels like being a pawn. My dad, he went in when he was 19, he served 23 years,” Dayton, the Gol Star daughter of Chief Petty Officer Scott Dayton, said. “To the current Department of Justice, I would, say, make things right.”  Lindsey Stacy, who says she and her family have difficulty making ends meet given Kenton Stacy’s severe injuries, added, “There’s a lot of families out there that could benefit

Way harder than it should be: Why Congress may balk on $1.7B compensation fund

Way harder than it should be: Why Congress may balk on .7B compensation fund

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had never appeared before a congressional panel asking for money to run his department until Tuesday morning. And even though cabinet secretaries routinely make their budget requests to Congress, it appears that Blanche apparently didn’t even need to ask lawmakers for the most-controversial batch of federal funds in years.  It was already approved. Somehow.  Blanche’s Justice Department announced the creation of a billion compensation fund to pay people who Republicans say are victims of government weaponization. Who gets the money isn’t clear. And what’s murkier still is how the stash of cash came about. APOLOGIES AND CASH HEADED TO ALLEGED ‘WEAPONIZATION’ VICTIMS IN BILLION-DOLLAR TRUMP SETTLEMENT In short, President Donald Trump sued his own IRS for leaking his tax returns – along with the filings of several hundred other Americans. Then, Blanche’s own Department of Justice announced that the president essentially settled with himself.  “Per the settlement, plaintiffs will receive a formal apology but no monetary payment or damages of any kind. They have agreed, in exchange for the creation of this fund, to drop their pending lawsuit with prejudice, and also withdraw two administrative claims, including for damages resulting from the unlawful raid of Mar-a-Lago and the Russia-collusion hoax,” read the DoJ statement. The fund is worth $1.776 billion. Get it? 1776. REPUBLICANS RECOIL AS TRUMP’S BILLION-DOLLAR DOJ ‘SLUSH FUND’ FOR ALLIES THREATENS ICE, BORDER PATROL PLAN So while the president couldn’t receive money from this fund, his political allies and donors could. All without congressional input.  “I realize it’s a lot of money,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. “I want to understand where the money comes from. Do we find it in the budget? Do we have to borrow it? There’s just a lot of unanswered questions.” DAVID MARCUS: HE BARELY SURVIVED BIDEN LAWFARE, AND NOW HE DESERVES TO GET PAID “What I want to know is how the fund is created and what its purpose is,” said Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan. “And (I want to know) the legality of creating a fund that Congress hasn’t had anything to say about.”  The government swept up the phone information of multiple Republican lawmakers after the January 6 riot as part of Operation Arctic Frost. That included the records of Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn. He defended the fund. ‘COMPLETE FAILURE’: GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CRISIS THREATENS CAPITOL HILL AS TRUMP PLANS POLICY OVERHAUL  “What we ought to be talking about is the reasons for the compensation. Weaponization of government that took place under former President Joe Biden was an absolute disgrace,” said Hagerty. Blanche formerly served as President Trump’s personal legal counsel. Lawmakers argued that Blanche reverted to that role when he created the compensation fund out of the ether.  “Mr. Attorney General, you are acting today like the president’s personal attorney. And that’s the whole problem,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS FACE BRUISING BATTLE TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN “You’re a very gifted lawyer. But from my perspective, you have very little faith to the Constitution and the people of America. And you’re the president’s consigliere,” piled on Sen. Jack Reed D-R.I. Lawmakers questioned who qualifies for compensation. “Will individuals who assaulted Capitol Hill police officers be eligible for this fund?” asked Van Hollen. DEMS DEMAND TRUMP RESUME CASH FLOW AS THEY FINALLY GET LEVERAGE IN RACE TO PREVENT SHUTDOWN “Anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they are a victim of weaponization,” replied Blanche. And that’s what concerned bipartisan lawmakers. The compensation conundrum instantly spilled over into a major bill, due to the hit the Senate floor.  Congressional Republicans were trying to pass a bill to finally address funding for ICE and Border Patrol, once and for all. But they planned to bypass a Democratic filibuster using a special process called budget reconciliation. SENATE GOP LAUNCHES ALL-NIGHT VOTE-A-RAMA TO FUND ICE, BORDER PATROL THROUGH END OF TRUMP’S TERM The good thing about reconciliation is that you can pass a bill with 51 yeas and don’t need to clear the filibuster with 60 votes. The bad thing is that the reconciliation process entails what the Senate refers to as a “vote-a-rama.” This is where senators can offer practically any amendment on any subject in a drawn-out process which might consume an entire calendar day. Republicans freaked out that Democrats would force them to take controversial votes on the compensation fund. And frankly, many Republicans intended to author their own amendments to curb the fund – simultaneously inoculating themselves from blowback.  That political brew was too much for Senate Republicans. DEMOCRATS’ LAST-MINUTE MOVE TO BLOCK GOP FUNDING PLAN SENDS LAWMAKERS HOME EARLY They summoned Blanche to Capitol Hill Thursday morning to explain the fund. The meeting didn’t go well. Fox is told that Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., were pointed in their comments to Blanche. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., popped into the Capitol’s Ohio Clock Corridor en route to the meeting. Tillis was in mid-conversation. All anyone could hear Tillis say was “And I’m not voting for it!” as he walked by. By early afternoon, Republican leaders scrapped the bill to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and sent everyone home for Memorial Day. It was the biggest legislative rebuke of President Trump’s second term.  “I just don’t know how this puppy dog will work,” said Kennedy. “I think there were six or seven people who are going to vote no.” SENATE REPUBLICANS RACE TO FUND ICE, CBP WITHOUT DEMOCRATS AS SHUTDOWN DRAGS Yet Republicans were practically on the verge of finally ending the ICE and Border Patrol funding impasse. “The sole reason we are here today is because Democrats refused to fund law enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. The debate over funding for the president’s ballroom wasn’t exactly the foxtrot for Senate Republicans. But the compensation fund converted the reconciliation process into the samba. CONGRESS MELTS DOWN: MEMBERS UNLEASH PERSONAL ATTACKS AFTER

Trump announces highest civilian honor for 9/11 hero remembered as the ‘Man in the Red Bandana’

Trump announces highest civilian honor for 9/11 hero remembered as the ‘Man in the Red Bandana’

President Donald Trump announced during a rally in New York that he was posthumously awarding the nation’s highest civilian honor to Welles Remy Crowther, the 9/11 hero remembered as the “Man in the Red Bandana” after he repeatedly led victims to safety from the burning South Tower before dying in the terrorist attacks. Trump revealed the Presidential Medal of Freedom honor during a Rockland County stop on Friday with Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who had urged the president to recognize Crowther’s heroism ahead of the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11. Crowther, a 24-year-old equities trader who also worked as a volunteer firefighter, became a symbol of American courage after survivors recounted being guided through smoke and wreckage by a man wearing a red bandana over his face. “At the request of Bruce, and Mike, and some of the political — great political people we have, and we are approaching the 25th anniversary of September 11th, 2001, a dark day that will live in infamy. We are posthumously awarding Welles the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Trump told the Rockland County crowd, earning a resounding applause. FOX NATION, TUNNELS TO TOWERS EXPLORES HOW AMERICA’S PASTIME HELPED A GRIEVING NEW YORK HEAL AFTER 9/11 “It’s the highest award outside of the Congressional Medal of Honor — those are the two biggies and Welles has one of them. I just want to congratulate his great mother in doing a phenomenal job in raising that young man. Boy, what bravery, saved those people and became a legend in a sense, nobody else would have done what he did. So he’s going to be getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom.” The president subsequently brought up Welles’ mother, Alison Crowther, who addressed the pro-Trump crowd momentarily, describing the award bestowed on her son as a “huge honor.”  “It’s such a beautiful thing that even 25 years later, Welles’ light still shines brightly,” she told the crowd, noting she has traveled the world telling her son’s story to places as far away as Jordan. Alison Crowther remarked that in these travels, when she tells children Welles’ story, “They’re tremendously moved and inspired … to be better people.” NEW 9/11 MUSEUM EXHIBIT AIMS TO CONNECT YOUNGER AMERICANS TO THE ATTACKS THROUGH POWERFUL ARTIFACTS Welles, an equities trader who worked on the 104th floor of the South Tower, was in his office when the first aircraft hit the North Tower that morning. He left his mother a voicemail shortly after the towers were struck, letting her know he was okay, but his body was later found amid the rubble. According to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Welles “made three trips to the sky lobby, saving as many people as he could, until the burning building collapsed,” with some reports indicating he saved up to 18 lives that day. As he did so, Welles covered his nose and mouth with a red bandana he kept at his desk. That red bandana is currently displayed at the 9/11 museum in New York City. The Tunnels to Towers Foundation, a nonprofit that supports first responders and their families, including those who became victims after 9/11, said Welles always kept a red bandana at his desk. The foundation recounted how, when he was asked why he always carried the red bandana, Welles replied: “With this red bandana, I’m going to change the world.” His father, the foundation said, told Welles to always carry a red bandana on him for “messy jobs.” “People can live 100 years and not have the compassion, the wherewithal to do what he did,” a survivor rescued by Crowther has said.

Sheridan Gorman’s parents say protecting children from failed immigration policies isn’t a one-party fight

Sheridan Gorman’s parents say protecting children from failed immigration policies isn’t a one-party fight

The parents of Sheridan Gorman, the college freshman who was killed in Chicago earlier this year, appeared Friday at a New York rally hosted by President Donald Trump, where they demanded that leaders oppose sanctuary policies, saying the fight to protect children shouldn’t belong “to only one party.” Trump was at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York, when he introduced Gorman’s family. Jessica Gorman said her daughter’s life was “stolen” by someone who should have never been in the United States. “At every step the system had a chance to stop him. At every step, it failed. And my daughter paid for those failures with her life,” she said. “No mother should ever have to wonder if her child called out for her in her final moments. No mother should ever have to imagine her baby left alone and bleeding on the cold pavement, and no family should ever have to bury a child because public officials failed to put innocent American lives first.” CHICAGO MAYOR ASKED ABOUT CITY’S IMMIGRATION POLICIES AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ALLEGEDLY KILLED COLLEGE STUDENT Gorman, an 18-year-old Loyola University Chicago student, was shot and killed on March 19. She was walking along a lakefront pier at Tobey Prinz Beach with a group of friends when they encountered a masked man hiding behind a lighthouse structure. Jose Medina, 25, an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela, was arrested the following day and charged with first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Medina was released from custody months earlier despite an active Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer. DHS released a statement confirming that Medina was released from custody twice. In 2023, the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended the suspect before releasing him, according to DHS. Later that year, he was arrested and released again following a shoplifting arrest. “This is what failed policies have done to our family,” Tom Gorman said about his daughter’s death. “No family should have to become experts in immigration failures, release policies, warrants, sanctuary laws, and enforcement breakdowns because their daughter was killed by someone who should not have been here and should not be free.” CHICAGO MAYOR JOHNSON UNVEILS ‘ABOLISH ICE’ SNOWPLOW DAYS AFTER STUDENT ALLEGEDLY MURDERED BY ILLEGAL MIGRANT Days after Gorman was killed, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a vocal Trump critic, unveiled a snowplow named “Abolish ICE,” infuriating the Gorman family. “When they’re naming trucks and laughing and joking several days after our daughter was murdered, we’re waiting in Chicago to claim her body,” Jessica Gorman told “The Story” at the time. “It was more than infuriating. I don’t have—the vitriol that I felt was overwhelming.” At Friday’s rally, Gorman’s father, Tom Gorman, thanked Trump and criticized leaders who oppose immigration enforcement. ANGEL PARENTS SLAM ILLINOIS SANCTUARY LAWS AFTER ‘PREVENTABLE’ TRAGEDY IN STUDENT’S DEATH “But I do not understand why this is a fight that belongs to only one party,” he said. “Protecting our people is not politics. It is the first responsibility of government.” Many Democrats have expressed opposition to Trump’s deportation policies and targeting of undocumented immigrants, despite many suspects having been accused of or convicted of committing violent crimes while in the U.S. Gorman’s death has taken a tool on her family, but Friday’s rally comforted her sister, Madelon Gorman. “I have to say you are just so funny,” she said of Trump. “My family has laughed more, smiled more in the past hour than we have since March 19th,” she said.