EXCLUSIVE: ICE captures illegal alien at center of NYC manhunt after sanctuary city release
EXCLUSIVE: Federal immigration officers arrested an illegal alien accused of attacking a New York City police officer Friday, ending a manhunt sparked by his release from local custody despite repeated U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests, Fox News Digital has learned. Alpha Bah, an illegal immigrant from Guinea, was taken into custody at approximately 3:25 p.m. after ICE officers tracked him to a temporary residence in New York City, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official told Fox News Digital. Officers with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) developed intelligence about Bah’s last known temporary residence Friday and established surveillance in the surrounding area, the official said. HOUSE REPORT SAYS NYC PROSECUTORS TAILORED PLEA DEALS TO SHIELD ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM DEPORTATION At approximately 2:22 p.m., officers spotted a man matching Bah’s description leaving the residence and meeting several unidentified individuals on a nearby public street. Officers continued monitoring him rather than immediately approaching because several school-aged children were in the area. About an hour later, officers spotted Bah alone and approached him while displaying police and ICE identification. They confirmed his identity through biographical questions, a photograph and Mobile Fortify, a biometric identification tool. Officers informed Bah of an administrative immigration arrest warrant and took him into custody without incident. He was transported to 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan for post-arrest processing, according to the official. The arrest comes after Fox News Digital reported that NYC authorities released Bah despite repeated requests from federal immigration officials to hold him in custody. EXCLUSIVE: NYC OFFICIALS REFUSE ICE HOLD FOR ILLEGAL ALIEN ACCUSED IN ARSON THAT KILLED 4 AND INJURED 7: DHS Bah was initially arrested Oct. 7 on charges of aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration and intent to obtain transportation without paying, according to DHS. ICE lodged a detainer with Queens Central Booking, but Bah was released without federal immigration authorities being notified, DHS previously said. The case drew criticism from federal immigration officials who accused New York City’s sanctuary policies of allowing Bah to return to the streets despite the pending immigration detainer. “This illegal alien from Guinea was arrested for assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon. Despite these violent charges, New York City sanctuary politicians refused to honor ICE’s detainer and RELEASED him back onto the streets, and he remains at large,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement prior to Friday’s arrest. “DHS is calling on Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani to knock it off with these evil sanctuary policies before another American gets hurt, or worse.” Fox News Digital’s Hannah Brennan and Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.
‘Biscuit’ the dog is latest dead felon to get their voting rights back from Spanberger, confused owner says
A Southside Virginia lawmaker is demanding an investigation after a constituent received an official rights-restoration certificate for his dog, Biscuit, a beagle-hound mix from Goochland County that died about five years ago. The discovery follows the “Betty No Last Name” controversy in Chesapeake — where a purported convict lacking a surname had “her” rights restored — and raises fresh questions about the governor’s vetting process just days before voters decide whether to make felons’ voting-rights restoration automatic via an Election Day ballot measure supported by Richmond Democrats. Del. Tom Garrett, R-Buckingham — who received the letter from the constituent who owned the pet — is now calling for an investigation into how Gov. Abigail Spanberger could have restored voting and jury-service rights to a deceased animal. DEM AG’S ELECTION CRUSADE AGAINST TRUMP RUNS INTO EMBARRASSING DEAD-FELON BLUNDER BACK HOME “This is not a question of whether people who have served their sentences deserve a second chance. This is a question of whether the Commonwealth is exercising one of the Governor’s constitutional powers with even the most basic level of review,” Garrett said. “Biscuit was a dog. Biscuit has been dead for five years. Yet an official document bearing the governor’s signature says the executive reviewed the particulars of Biscuit’s criminal case and determined her rights should be restored. Virginians deserve an explanation for how that is possible.” HIDDEN CALIFORNIA DESERT PET CEMETERY HOLDS UNEXPECTED PIECE OF WHITE HOUSE HISTORY Biscuit’s owner, who declined to be identified to avoid political backlash, confirmed the letter’s authenticity to Fox News Digital and told Garrett in a statement that the pup was a “good dog and is greatly missed.” “To my knowledge, she was never convicted of a felony, nor did she ever show any interest in voting,” the owner said. Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger for comment. A spokesperson for Spanberger replied, “Of course we did not restore the rights of a dog. We cannot disclose this individual’s information, but we can tell you that it is associated with a person with a date of birth and Social Security number.” Fox News Digital followed up to seek clarification on what error may have occurred but did not receive a response. The owner told Fox News Digital that Biscuit was never sent to the pound or had any other contact with Richmond that could have resulted in her being placed on the voting rolls. The owner said a sibling is currently incarcerated but added that the connection is moot because Spanberger’s stated effort only involves released former convicts. ELECTION DAY 2026: JOIN AMERICA’S CONVERSATION HERE! Garrett noted in a statement that the Spanberger administration said in July that Secretary of the Commonwealth Candi Mundon-King would be “proactively identifying Virginians who had lost their rights, confirming that those individuals were eligible, and restoring their rights,” in his words. Spanberger announced in August that the initial figure of 66,000 had reached 100,000 individuals who had received restoration of their rights since the Democrat took office in January. TREASURY HAILS SUCCESS OF ANTI-FRAUD PROCESS THAT FLAGGED AND PREVENTED $99 MILLION IN PAYMENTS TO DEAD PEOPLE “The administration told Virginians these individuals were being identified and their eligibility confirmed,” Garrett said in a statement, going on to call for an investigation into how a restoration certificate bearing Biscuit’s name came to be issued. “The document itself represents that the executive reviewed the particulars of each case. If a deceased family pet made it through that process as a convicted felon, then we need to know what was actually reviewed, what databases were used, what safeguards existed, and how many other erroneous restorations were issued.” An attorney in Fluvanna County when not legislating, Garrett said the Commonwealth must launch an immediate independent audit of Spanberger’s restoration-of-rights actions and disclose the underlying record that led to “Biscuit Rigsby” being identified as a convicted felon, as well as what Spanberger’s office defines as the “review of the particulars” of Biscuit’s case. Any investigation should also identify how many certificates and citations were issued to deceased, nonexistent or duplicate humans and require the immediate preservation of relevant data. WATCHDOG, GOP LAWMAKER WARN NY VOTER REGISTRATION SYSTEMS LACKS KEY SAFEGUARDS He said in a statement that his questions are not partisan and that Virginians who support restoring released felons’ voting rights should be outraged by Biscuit’s case. “At what point does rank incompetence and malfeasance become criminal conduct?” Garrett added in a video posted to social media. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER With Virginians set to vote Tuesday on whether to make voting-rights restoration automatic upon release from incarceration, Garrett is demanding answers about the administration’s existing review process — including how a dog that died five years ago apparently made it through.
Treasury flags $8B in suspicious foreign-directed transfers through US money services firms
The Trump administration uncovered what it says is more than $8 billion in potentially fraudulent cross-border wire payments that were made under foreign agents’ direction, issuing new guidelines for nonprofits who take foreign money, executing multiple FBI search warrants and building out a large-scale indictment. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) within the Treasury Department said it identified suspicious wire payments from 2021 to 2025 that were sent through U.S.-based money services businesses at the direction of foreign agents. “When greed meets negligence, the American people suffer,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Under President Trump and Vice President Vance’s leadership, Treasury stopped nearly $190 million in funds tied to overseas fraud and returned more than $100 million to U.S. victims. We are working with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud to help prevent this kind of abuse from happening again, in Minnesota or anywhere else.” WHITE HOUSE LAUNCHES INTERACTIVE MAP TRACKING BILLIONS IN SUSPECTED FRAUD At a Friday press conference, Bessent said: “In the weeks following my visit, Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN, issued a geographic targeting order to trace criminal networks. That diverts funds overseas and ensures that taxpayer dollars go to the American people, not terror groups like Al Shabaab.” He added that the Treasury Department has investigations in the U.S. and abroad into “Al-Shabaab, its networks and its enablers. Since the start of the Trump administration, FinCen data have also supported the law enforcement effort that led to the arrest and charging of 115 fraudsters, as well as 75 convictions and nearly 3,000 subpoenas across Minnesota.” Bessent said that on Thursday, “IRS-CI assisted with investigative activity at several sites suspected of fraud. I want to give a shout-out to our great officers at IRS-CI. They don’t get much press, but they are quietly one of the most affected groups in the United States government for fighting fraud.” Bessent, FBI Director Kash Patel, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson held a news conference in Minnesota to detail the substantial fraud uncovered and FBI Minnesota’s actions. “This FBI follows the money,” Patel said at the Friday press conference. “This FBI will put in prison anyone who commits fraud anywhere in the world against any American citizen. Thanks to President Trump, we finally have a commander-in-chief who prioritized the initiative to go after the fraudsters with the full force of government.” The Treasury Department issued a notice urging banks to scrutinize nonprofits’ donors, funding streams and ties to other groups and governments. FinCEN says the arrangements could obscure the ultimate recipients and potentially be exploited for money laundering or terrorist financing. WATCHDOG UNLEASHES DATABASE TO EXPOSE ‘LOOPHOLES’ AS $5B IN FOREIGN CASH FLOODS US NONPROFITS The notice noted that bad actors commit fraud in three forms of abuse: sham charities allegedly diverting funds to illicit activity, charity-related fraud that enriches the people running the scheme, and embezzlement by insiders at legitimate organizations. Salim Said, a co-conspirator in the Feeding Our Future case, was sentenced to 30 years in prison this week after being convicted on 21 counts tied to a scheme that defrauded a federal child nutrition program of $49 million. At the end of last year, reports and social media coverage by Shirley exposed a network of daycare centers, like the “Quality Learing (sic) Center,” that were allegedly fraudulent and operated mostly by Somali immigrants. MINNESOTA MAN CAPTURED IN SOMALIA AFTER ALLEGEDLY HELPING ORCHESTRATE $250M CHILD NUTRITION FRAUD SCHEME The reports sparked swift action from the administration, and former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem deployed DHS and ICE agents to the streets of Minneapolis to catch and deport Somali immigrants in the country illegally. The deployment sparked a clash between local residents and federal agents that exploded into violent riots across the Twin Cities. The Treasury secretary has previously taken aim at fraud and bad actors funding nonprofit organizations in the U.S. In April, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tightened tax-exempt reporting requirements in an effort to uncover nonprofit funding being used for “extremist activity” and “hiding fraud.” “Tax-exempt status is not immunity from scrutiny,” Treasury Assistant Secretary and acting IRS chief counsel Ken Kies wrote in a statement. “If an organization receives public funds or tax-deductible donations, it should be prepared to show who controls the money and where it goes.” CRUZ PUSHES BILL TO HOLD TAX-EXEMPT SPONSORS ACCOUNTABLE AS DOJ PROBES SINGHAM NETWORK Bessent has also been involved with the Department of Justice’s grand jury probe into the nonprofit network of Neville Roy Singham. Sources at Treasury told Fox News Digital that Bessent met with Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and discussed Singham’s previously held accounts at the bank, which Singham used to distribute funds to a number of nonprofits. HOUSE PANEL WARNS SINGHAM-LINKED NONPROFITS: COMPLY WITH SUBPOENAS OR FACE CONGRESS Singham, a 72-year-old American who sold his tech company for $785 million in 2017 and now lives in Shanghai, has funneled $278 million into the broad network of nonprofits since 2017, according to a Fox News Digital investigation. These groups regularly organize and participate in anti-ICE, anti-Israel and pro-Iran demonstrations. Singham has not been charged, and the investigation at the Southern District of New York remains ongoing.
Liberal court delivers immigration win for Trump as judge warns of ‘floodgates’ if law firm succeeded
A liberal-majority appeals court in California handed the Trump administration a victory by blocking a lower court’s ruling that ordered the State Department to open its application pool for the 2027 Diversity Visa lottery, which admits roughly 55,000 immigrants from low-immigration countries each year. In a 2-1 ruling, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta requiring the lottery pool to be opened after Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a notice in November delaying the program’s acceptance of new applications in order to “implement certain changes,” but the application period never opened. A month later, the State Department ordered an indefinite pause on issuing diversity visas after a Portuguese national who was issued a lottery visa in 2017 committed a mass shooting at Brown University, killing two people and injuring nine others. The shooter, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, was also tied to the murder of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor two days after the Brown University shooting. FBI REVEALS BROWN UNIVERSITY MASS SHOOTER BEGAN PLOTTING MASSACRE AS EARLY AS 2022, BLAMED VICTIMS The Ninth Circuit has been a perennial thorn in the side of President Donald Trump, having ruled against key portions of Trump’s 2017 executive order restricting travel from predominantly Muslim countries and blocked a policy barring immigrants from being eligible for asylum if they crossed the southern border between ports of entry. However, the appeals court ruled that the lower court’s preliminary injunction could not be enforced, finding that the immigration law firm Red Eagle, which represents individuals going through the visa lottery process, did not have standing to sue the federal government. The appeals court ruled that the program was intended to “encourage immigration, not generate revenue for law firms.” LIBERAL COURT STUNS WITH RULING THAT HANDS TRUMP MAJOR IMMIGRATION WIN The court wrote, “If Red Eagle Law were allowed to allege standing based upon its hypothetical or conjectural collateral injury, we would be opening the floodgates, allowing all lawyers to ‘roam the country in search of governmental wrongdoing.’” However, the court made clear that its ruling was based on procedural grounds and did not weigh whether the State Department failed to follow the law. “We do not endorse the Department’s failure to open the lottery registration period,” the court wrote. Abhishek Kambli, a former federal prosecutor and partner at Holtzman Vogel, said the decision by the liberal court was a “very easy call” in a post on X. “Here, the plaintiff was a law firm not bringing a claim on behalf of someone in the diversity visa lottery but on behalf of the firm itself,” Kambli wrote. “The district court should have never gone beyond standing but CA9 corrected this one.” TRUMP ADMIN ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF VISA RESTRICTION POLICY IN WESTERN HEMISPHERE President Donald Trump has been vocal about his opposition to the Visa Lottery Program for years. During his January 2018 State of the Union address, he called for ending the program, arguing that visas should be issued based on merit. Earlier that same month, Trump said during a bipartisan meeting with lawmakers at the White House that lottery visas allow the “worst of the worst” to come into the country. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER “They call it ‘visa lottery,’ I just call it ‘lottery.’ But countries come in and they put names in a hopper,” Trump said. “They’re not giving you their best names; common sense means they’re not giving you their best names.” Countries eligible for the 2026 lottery included Afghanistan, New Zealand, Ecuador, Iran, Uganda, Somalia and Russia. The program was designed to create an additional pathway for people seeking visas who may not qualify through traditional channels, such as employment- or family-based immigration.
Minnesota Dem declined to refer Ilhan Omar for ethics probe despite fellow lawmaker’s 2019 request
Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., directed a Minnesota state lawmaker to the congressional ethics complaint process in 2019 after he urged her to seek an investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., according to correspondence obtained by Fox News Digital. In a 2019 letter, Craig told Steve Drazkowski, then a Minnesota state representative, he could submit a complaint himself to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) if he wanted to pursue an investigation into Omar. The Office of Congressional Ethics website states that members of the public, advocacy organizations and members of Congress can submit information regarding alleged misconduct to the agency’s Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC). Complaints may also be submitted to the House Committee on Ethics. ILHAN OMAR’S TURBULENT WEEK EXPLAINED: THE DUELING PROBES THAT THREW THE SOMALI-BORN PROGRESSIVE INTO CHAOS Craig wrote, “With respect to your request for an ethics inquiry into Rep. Omar, the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) of the U.S. House of Representatives is the independent, non-partisan entity charged with reviewing allegations of misconduct against Members, officers, and staff of the U.S. House of Representatives and, when appropriate, referring matters to the House Committee on Ethics. “The OCE accepts and reviews information concerning allegations within its jurisdiction from members of the public.” Craig’s response came two days after Drazkowski sent her a letter urging her to refer his concerns to the House Ethics Committee, then chaired by former Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla. Among Drazkowski’s accusations was that Omar filed joint tax returns with Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi in 2014 and 2015, despite the two not being legally married at the time. Fox News Digital obtained a copy of a report by the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board indicating that Omar and Hirsi jointly filed their tax returns in 2014 and 2015. Omar legally married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi on Feb. 12, 2009, in Hennepin County, Minn., according to Newsweek. Omar and Elmi’s legal divorce proceeding concluded in December 2017. In a 2017 filing from her divorce case obtained by Fox News Digital, Omar stated she had not been in contact with Elmi since 2011. “Representative Craig, I am your constituent. In that capacity, I formally request that you immediately forward the attached material, and open an ethics investigation in the United States House of Representatives regarding actions taken by Rep. Ilhan Omar leading up to the 2018 election,” Drazkowski wrote. COULD TRUMP REVOKE ILHAN OMAR’S CITIZENSHIP FOR ALLEGED BROTHER MARRIAGE? EX FEDERAL PROSECUTOR BREAKS IT DOWN “This month, the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board issued a report on Rep. Omar, who found that she broke multiple Minnesota campaign finance laws,” Drazkowski wrote. Drazkowski told Fox News Digital he was first prompted to seek an investigation from the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board into Omar after noticing that she had not filed a required statement of economic interest with the board. The board confirmed in a statement to Fox News Digital that Omar submitted the statement of economic interest after she was made aware that Drazkowski’s complaint triggered an investigation. Drazkowski said the information he included in two complaints to the board ultimately contributed to the board’s determination that Omar had violated state campaign finance laws. FEDERAL AGENTS RAID ILHAN OMAR’S DC HOME AMID IMMIGRATION FRAUD INVESTIGATION On June 6, 2019, the board issued findings after Drazkowski filed two separate complaints. The board found that Omar had improperly used $1,500 in campaign funds to pay for personal tax-related services concerning the tax returns she filed jointly with Hirsi in 2014 and 2015. The board also required Omar to repay campaign funds she had used to pay for travel to Boston, New York and Washington, D.C. After the campaign’s 2019 assessment of the violations, Omar stated that she was “glad” the process was over and was “glad” to know that the board did not find her guilty of having used the money for personal use as was first alleged. After receiving Craig’s response, Drazkowski, who lived in her congressional district, submitted his own complaint seeking an ethics investigation into Omar. “Please find below my formal request for an investigation into the activities of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN),” Drazkowski wrote to the Ethics Committee, which he also shared with the OCE. “The United States of America is a nation of law and order. No one is above the law, and our elected officials must always be held accountable. We demand the highest of ethical standards from every member of Congress.” Despite submitting his concerns, Drazkowski told Fox News Digital he struggled to obtain a substantive response through the congressional ethics process. He said he subsequently brought his allegations to the FBI’s Minneapolis office after receiving no substantive response from the ethics process or Craig’s office. “I went to the FBI and unloaded all the information I had to them, including names and phone numbers of people,” Drazkowski told Fox News Digital. Drazkowski said he received no meaningful response from federal investigators and expressed frustration with the bureau’s handling of the information. The House Ethics Committee and FBI declined Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. Omar and Craig did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
Americans ‘frustrated’ about Iran war going into midterms as Trump admin has decision to make: GOP lawmaker
A Republican member on the House Armed Services Committee told Fox News Digital ahead of the midterm elections that the Trump administration has a key decision to make on the future of the U.S.-Iran war as “continuing to do just enough not to lose, but not enough to win, is not OK.” Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., made the comments as Vice President JD Vance declared during a Fox News town hall on Thursday that he promises “Donald Trump is not going to let Iran become a forever war.” Official and military sources also told Fox News this week that movements are being made in the Middle East to give the president options if he decides to resume strikes against Iran. “I share my constituents and many Americans’ perspective that I’m very, very frustrated that this war is not over. The way that ultimately this administration went about conducting the war, it needed to execute it and wrap it up in a very short period of time, and we are not there yet,” said Harrigan, who is running for re-election in North Carolina’s 10th Congressional District. “That being said, Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon. And so at the end of the day, I do believe that this was a war that was inevitable at some point, but the party that’s in power and the administration that decided to pull the trigger on it is responsible for the outcome, and they’re responsible for the outcome in a very short period of time. Otherwise, things get really, really difficult,” Harrigan continued. “And I think we’ve been seeing that, both from a political perspective but also from a policy perspective.” TRUMP SUPPORTERS CONFRONT IRAN, AFFORDABILITY CONCERNS WITH A MESSAGE FOR CRITICS: ‘GIVE HIM TIME’ “And so while the administration needs to wrap this up, we are not in a forever war, but we need to make sure that we’re not… we keep the mission the same. We accomplish the mission. And we do what it takes to either win or come home,” Harrigan added. “And that binary decision has to get made by this administration.” Harrigan told Fox News Digital that Trump “needs to involve Congress” if he chooses to renew military action against the Iranian regime. “I think that that will long-term set the course for the country to be resolute in affirming and actually executing and accomplishing the objectives that exist. Because look, like it or not, Congress is responsible for the funding arm of the government. And if they run out of money to accomplish the objectives, then that is not good for our strategic interests,” he said. “So, in my opinion, Congress and the White House need to be very closely involved in making the next set of decisions that exist for this conflict.” GOP CRACKS WIDEN OVER IRAN WAR AS VULNERABLE CANDIDATES BREAK WITH TRUMP, DEMAND ITS END “And we do need to make sure, again, that we either do what it takes to actually win in Iran, or we need to take the three out of five objectives that we’ve accomplished and say that, you know what? We’ve largely accomplished our strategic objectives. We’ve got more work to do over the long-term that’s going to require consistent and persistent over the horizon monitoring of their nuclear program. And we’re going to have to mow the lawn every now and again, and everybody’s got to realize that, and leave, right?” Harrigan continued, mentioning how the U.S. has prevented Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and eliminated Tehran’s missile and drone production. “But we’ve got to choose one of those two options because continuing to do just enough not to lose, but not enough to win, is not OK,” he said. “It’s not OK for the American people, it’s not OK for our troops, it’s not OK for geopolitical and economic stability. And it does not serve the long-term strategic interests of the United States. So it’s time to choose.” Harrigan, a Green Beret and business entrepreneur, is running for re-election on Tuesday in North Carolina. He is facing off against Democrat challenger Ashley Bell, a physician associate, and Libertarian candidate Steve Feldman, who ran unsuccessfully for the seat two years ago. As a current member of Congress, Harrigan told Fox News there is “no question” the Republican Party’s House majority is at stake heading into Election Day. “Whoever has 218 votes gets to chart the course of the direction of the House, the work that its committees do. And in particular, as it relates to the Trump administration, whether or not President Trump’s going to get impeached,” he added. “What this boils down to is the future direction of the country. Are we going to be stuck looking backwards instead of actually looking forwards, dealing with the actual business of the country and the free world, or are we going to be stuck in some sort of a Democratically-led nightmare that is simply going to be obstructionist to the conservative principles and values that people voted for in 2024?” Harrigan asked. “That’s what’s on the line this election cycle.”
Collins accuses top Senate Dem of blocking protections for Maine lobstermen as Cruz vows action
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, accused a Democratic colleague of obstructing efforts to protect Maine’s lobster industry from Biden-era federal regulations, even as the legislation could gain momentum in the Senate next month. Collins’ criticism comes as Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., prepares to visit Maine to hear from lobstermen after previously opposing efforts to extend regulatory relief. Meanwhile, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, pledged this week to advance the legislation when Congress returns in November. “I’m glad that Sen. Cantwell is coming to Maine to finally listen to our lobstermen,” Collins told Fox News Digital. “In 2022, Sen. Cantwell worked against the Maine delegation’s effort to halt the Biden regulations that threatened lobstermen’s livelihoods, and this year she has been blocking the bill to extend the regulatory pause that we secured in 2022.” The legislation, introduced by Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., passed the House in September. The bill would extend an existing pause on new federal regulations intended to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale through 2035, giving Maine’s lobster industry additional time before potentially costly restrictions take effect. Cruz’s announcement follows a September letter from Collins and Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, urging the Senate Commerce Committee to advance the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act. “This pause is necessary to protect Maine’s lobster fishery, which is essential to the state’s economy and coastal communities. According to the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, the lobster industry supports an estimated $2 billion in annual economic activity and more than 17,500 jobs,” the senators wrote. In a statement, Cruz credited Collins with helping advance the legislation, saying her leadership has been “instrumental” in efforts to protect “Maine’s lobstermen from burdensome regulations.” “I hope we can move this bill without changes or further delay to put on President Trump’s desk as soon as possible,” Cruz added. Cantwell is expected to attend a listening session with Maine lobstermen alongside Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson at an event hosted by the Maine Lobster Union. The visit comes amid accusations from Collins and Cruz that Cantwell previously worked against efforts to provide longer-term relief for the state’s lobster industry. Cantwell and Jackson did not respond to Fox News Digital’s multiple requests for comment.
California election workers hit with criminal subpoenas as Trump DOJ turns up heat in voting showdown
Leadership at the Department of Justice is escalating the Trump administration’s fight with California over suspected illegal voting, directing top federal prosecutors to pursue criminal subpoenas of local and state officials. At least four election workers in California have received federal criminal grand jury subpoenas within the last week, CalMatters reported. At least one of these subpoenas was delivered on Thursday, after a federal judge rejected the DOJ’s request that California set aside mail-in ballots associated with over 20,000 registered voters whose citizenship the Trump administration has called into question. A subpoena sent to three election employees at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s office requested records on how the department stops non-citizens from voting as well as “records relating to or involving evidence collected by your agency which tends to indicate an alien has voted in a federal election.” An official in Orange County received a similar subpoena, local media reported. JUDGE REJECTS DOJ REQUEST TO BLOCK CALIFORNIA FROM IMMEDIATELY COUNTING BALLOTS LINKED TO ALLEGED NONCITIZENS “This court believes it would be wise that any threats to state or county employees cease immediately,” the judge said during court proceedings. “These threats must stop,” he wrote in his Wednesday decision. A Justice Department spokesperson pushed back against characterizations that the administration was targeting individuals with subpoenas, noting that receiving a subpoena doesn’t mean you are a target and that the DOJ generally doesn’t subpoena targets. DOJ FIRES BACK AT DEM AG OVER ELECTION DAY GUIDANCE TELLING OFFICIALS WHEN TO CALL COPS ON FEDERAL AGENTS “To be clear, the district court judge explained that voting unlawfully results in criminal exposure. Consistent with this, California also wrote in its filing that the remedy for unlawful voting is through criminal prosecution,” Justice Department spokeswoman Kiersten Pels said in an emailed statement. “Thus, while DOJ maintains that a civil remedy is still available, all agree that noncitizen voting is properly addressed through criminal law.” She declined to comment on the “alleged grand jury subpoenas,” citing departmental policy. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CHARGES 16 ACROSS MULTIPLE STATES WITH ALLEGED ILLEGAL VOTING, ELECTION CRIMES The DOJ’s clash with California is part of a broader effort undertaken by the Trump administration to prove widespread voter fraud. While the administration has turned up a number of examples of non-citizens registered to vote in federal elections, it has yet to prove widespread illegal voting. The DOJ has appealed the decision blocking it from compelling California to separate ballots associated with more than 20,000 registered voters it suspects may be noncitizens. Many of these ballots, however, have already been cast by early voters and anonymized, making it virtually impossible to identify them. The California governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Friday.
Schumer accused of yearlong plot to plant ‘decoy’ candidate in critical Senate race
The Senate’s No. 2 Republican believes that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had a hand in the alleged scheme unfolding in the Alaska Senate race. Operatives for Rep. Mary Peltola’s Senate campaign, along with top aides in Senate Democrats’ campaign apparatus, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), are alleged to have been involved in creating one of the stranger races this election cycle: finding and recruiting another candidate named Dan Sullivan to run against the incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, R-Alaska, according to reporting from The New York Times. National Democrats have maintained they had no hand in the move, but Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told Fox News Digital in an interview that he believes the campaign received help from the very top. SEN DAN SULLIVAN BRANDS PELTOLA’S ALLEGED BALLOT SCHEME A ‘SCANDAL AT THE HIGHEST ORDER’ “I mean, this is criminal behavior to steal the Alaska Senate race, it’s now been fully exposed,” Barrasso said. “And there is proof that the Peltola campaign knew about it, and that Schumer schemed and colluded with them for over a year to try to search for and then coax a decoy of Dan Sullivan onto the ballot with a purpose only to deceive the voters.” Schumer’s office and Peltola’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital. The peculiar situation in Alaska has been ongoing for months and has sparked legal battles at the state and national levels, as well as condemnation from Republicans across the country, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. ‘DECOY DAN’ SULLIVAN CASE LEADS TOP SENATOR TO BREAK FOUR-YEAR X SILENCE: ‘PATTERN OF LIES’ Murkowski argued on X that “ballot-stacking should have no place in our electoral process.” “Alaskans deserve the honest truth from Mary and her campaign — what has been revealed is a pattern of lies and coverups and a culture of deception that belongs nowhere in our elections or among our elected officials,” she said. Much of the consternation over the matter is because of Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system, meaning that both candidates named Dan Sullivan, Peltola and Gerald Heikes will all appear on the same ballot. Peltola weighed in on Thursday at an event in Juneau, Alaska, telling supporters she wanted to “clear the air.” PELTOLA CAMPAIGN’S ALLEGED DAN SULLIVAN SPOILER PLOT TAKES NEW TURN AS DOJ FACES MAJOR LEGAL HURDLE “I knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent,” Peltola said. “That is all I have ever known about. I am not interested in tricking voters. I know I can beat Dan Sullivan.” The point of the scheme was allegedly to sow confusion among voters as to which Sullivan was which in an attempt to give Peltola an edge. Barrasso said that while he was confident the incumbent Sullivan would win, the plan showed that the “Democratic campaign has secretly been making fun of Alaskan voters for being so easily tricked.” “I mean, these people just are, you know, dirty, rotten scoundrels — cheaters,” Barrasso said. “I mean, how more cynical can you get than what the Democrats have done here,” he continued.
Musk issues dire warning over 3 moves Dems could make if they sweep Washington: ‘End of democracy’
Ahead of the midterm elections, billionaire Elon Musk warned that a Democratic sweep of the White House and Congress in 2028 could spell the “end of democracy,” outlining three moves he fears the party would make to cement its political power. The stark warning comes as Musk pours money into Republican campaigns, arguing that maintaining GOP control of the Senate is essential to preventing what he described as a “permanent one-party state.” Musk outlined his three “biggest” concerns about Democrats gaining unified control of Washington, in an X post, warning that the party would move to grant statehood to Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, legalize immigrants living in the country illegally and expand the Supreme Court. AMERICANS CLASH OVER SUPREME COURT EXPANSION AS FIGHT OVER 9 JUSTICES HEATS UP: ‘LET’S PACK IT NOW’ “My biggest concern is that if there is a clean sweep by Democrats of the House, Senate and Presidency in 2028,” Musk wrote, listing three top scenarios he fears. Musk argued that granting statehood to Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico would help Democrats gain a strong Senate majority, while opening the borders and legalizing immigrants in the country illegally would help the party cement a lasting electoral advantage. He also warned that Democrats would increase the number of Supreme Court justices to secure an immediate majority on the nation’s highest court. “This would result in America becoming a permanent one-party state and the end of democracy in any meaningful sense of the word,” Musk wrote. SENATE CONTROL IS A COIN FLIP — AND DEMOCRATS’ PATH RUNS THROUGH TRUMP COUNTRY The Tesla and SpaceX CEO argued that Republicans need to hold at least 51 Senate seats following the 2028 elections to prevent those outcomes, making an urgent appeal to voters ahead of the midterms. “That is why you should vote for Republican senators this election,” Musk wrote. “Other reasons are irrelevant compared to this one.” The Senate is still a toss-up with six states to decide the majority, according to Fox News Power Rankings. The best outcome predicted for the Democrats is that their ceiling rises to 54 seats and for Republicans, they could see them retain control with up to 52 seats. Musk’s warning comes amid his financial involvement in Republican campaigns, with the billionaire directing significant resources toward helping GOP candidates win elections. ARTHUR HERMAN: MUSK AND OTHERS PROVE THAT THIS ELECTION CASH IS KING. WILL IT BE ENOUGH? He contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to Republican political groups ahead of the November midterms. A representative for his America PAC confirmed to Fox News earlier this month that the billionaire had contributed $276 million to Republican super PACs and organizations over the previous three months. That includes $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and $10 million to Lone Star Liberty PAC, which is backing Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took aim at Musk’s political spending, accusing the billionaire of attempting to use his fortune to influence the midterm elections in Republicans’ favor. “Elon Musk is flooding the midterms with money to help Trump,” Clinton wrote on X earlier this week. “But even his millions may not be enough to counteract reality.”