House Dem lashes out at GOP efforts to probe foreign donations with stunning claim on motive
Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., lashed out at Republican efforts to investigate a Democratic fundraising apparatus on Wednesday afternoon, characterizing the ongoing fraud probe as the most recent instance of GOP retribution against Black women in power. “Over and over again, Donald Trump’s Department of Justice has harassed Black women with bogus lawsuits,” Sewell said on Wednesday morning. Sewell’s criticisms come as as Republican lawmakers probe ActBlue, a Democratic fundraising and campaign organization, and its CEO and president, Regina Wallace-Jones, for potentially accepting illegal donations. In particular, House Republicans are demanding that ActBlue turn over international communications, probing whether the organization knowingly misled lawmakers and dodged subpoenas to hide weaknesses in its screening process to weed out illegal, overseas donations. DEM FUNDRAISING GIANT IN THE HOT SEAT AS GOP LAWMAKERS DEMAND ANSWERS OVER DODGED SUBPOENA The review by lawmakers coincides with an April request from President Donald Trump to investigate the group. “There is evidence to suggest that foreign nationals are seeking to misuse online fundraising platforms to improperly influence American elections,” the White House said in a press release. Wallace-Jones has called the investigation baseless, maintaining that ActBlue applies high scrutiny for its donations processing. JASMINE CROCKETT CLAIMS TRUMP IS ‘TERRIFIED OF SMART, BOLD BLACK WOMEN’ AFTER PRESIDENT’S ‘LOW IQ’ JAB “Our approach is multilayered, with checks and confirmations occurring throughout the donation process to verify donors and donor information,” she told Fox News Digital in a statement earlier this year. Among other safeguards, Wallace-Jones said the organization requires Card Verification Values (CVVs) for credit card donations, uses IP addresses, a kind of digital footprint, to identify foreign-sourced contributions, applies an industry-standard Address Verification System (AVS) and manually reviews donations. To Sewell, the investigation into ActBlue and Wallace-Jones is tainted by other investigations into black women who have crossed Trump in the past. “This investigation is just one more example of Republicans and President Trump using power of his office to harass and intimidate anyone willing to challenge him. The Trump Department of Justice has used its power to intimidate and victimize communities of color, especially Black Americans,” Sewell said. ACTBLUE CHIEF HEADS TO CAPITOL HILL HOT SEAT AS DONOR FRAUD PROBE INTENSIFIES “We should not forget the harassment of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Lisa Cook, the harassment of the New York Attorney General, Tish James and the harassment of our colleague Congresswoman LaMonica McIver,” Sewell said, listing off a number of similar cases. “It is not surprising that this Republican-led committee is now attacking ActBlue and its CEO, Ms. Wallace-Jones,” Sewell said.
‘Squad’ Dem dismisses fraud probe speculation after $29M net-worth drop
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is continuing to deny looming questions over an Ethics Committee investigation into her financial filings, showing a significant drop in her net worth. Scrutiny of Omar’s finances intensified after financial disclosure filings appeared to show her estimated net worth falling from a range of roughly $6 million to $30 million in one filing period to between about $18,000 and $95,000 in a later disclosure. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has publicly voiced his interest in the House Ethics Committee opening an investigation into both Omar’s personal finances and her connection to the ‘Feeding Our Future’ fraud scheme, a scandal that federal prosecutors say cost taxpayers roughly $250 million. JAMES COMER RAISES FELONY QUESTIONS OVER ILHAN OMAR’S FINANCES AFTER DISCLOSURE DISCREPANCY Omar dismissed suggestions that she is facing an Ethics Committee investigation. “No,” Omar told Fox News Digital, laughing, when asked if she is under an Ethics Committee investigation. “No. We go over this all the time.” She was pressed about continued reporting surrounding the discrepancy — the possibility of the roughly $29 million drop in her financial disclosure. “There’s also the possibility that it might rain on this sunny day,” Omar replied. Along with Comer’s efforts to launch an investigation into Omar, Vice President JD Vance said just last month that the U.S. Department of Justice will be opening a probe into the Minnesota Democrat’s alleged fraud as part of the administration’s new anti-fraud taskforce. OMAR CAMP BREAKS SILENCE ON FRAUD PROBE, BLAMES WALZ, TRUMP AS NEW CLAIMS CLASH WITH EARLIER STATEMENTS Omar has declined ever being aware of the scheme happening behind doors with the organization, which claimed to be helping supply children in need of meals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Justice Department described the scheme as the “single largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the country,” The Associated Press reported. The orchestrator of the non-profit, Aimee Bock, was sentenced to 42 years in prison for her involvement in spearheading the fraud scheme. Republicans have pointed to Omar’s MEALS Act, part of a federal pandemic relief measure which she sponsored, as a factor they say contributed to conditions that allowed the fraud to occur. They argue her bill was a mass contributor to the fraud occurring as it broadened USDA waiver authority at meal sites. It has also been claimed that this same act helped to dismantle anti-fraud safeguards that verified the people actually being serviced in federal nutrition programs. ILHAN OMAR’S OFFICE SAYS SHE’S ‘NOT A MILLIONAIRE’ AFTER $30M FILING REVISED DOWN TO UNDER $100K: REPORT In a previous statement to Fox News Digital from Omar, she claimed that President Donald Trump’s USDA Secretary, Brooke Rollins, imposed the regulations for the framework of the program. While Omar continues to reject suggestions time-after-time that she is facing an Ethics Committee investigation, Republicans have shown little sign of backing away from their demands for a proper investigation into Omar’s finances and fraud allegations.
Vulnerable House Dem’s ‘reckless spending’ on office furniture emerges as midterms heat up
A vulnerable House Democrat in North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District is facing scrutiny over expenses eclipsing over $40,000 in payments to a furniture and interior design company for refurbishing a district office. In the second quarter of 2023, Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., reported $27,300 in taxpayer-funded “habitation expenses” and another $13,030 for “office supplies and furniture,” according to congressional disclosure records — second overall among the 435 members in the House of Representatives. When pressed by Fox News Digital about the expenses, Davis blamed redistricting and “rising costs,” which would have been during the Biden administration. “Upon my first election to Congress, we immediately set to work establishing our congressional office within the new district, starting from scratch with no furniture and limited supplies. After subsequent redistricting, we expanded our offices to serve our constituents better,” Davis told Fox News Digital. “These expenses underscore not only the rising costs we are facing nationwide but also the financial impact of redistricting.” AOC SPENT OVER $53K IN CAMPAIGN FUNDS ON LUXURY HOTELS IN 2025: ‘CARPETBAGGER’ Only one other member, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., appeared to have higher habitation expenses than Davis in 2023. Taff Office, which currently operates as “Young Office” after a merger in 2025, is an interior design company designing “spaces that inspire, motivate and engage.” When asked about the expenses, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) argued the expenses fall under the appropriate parameters of Davis’ duties. “One of the most basic functions of a Congress in maintaining an office to serve the people in their district. Congressman Davis has some of the best constituent services in the country. Maybe if Republicans followed his example they wouldn’t feel the need to once again redistrict the state in an effort to save their flailing House majority,” Madison Andrus, a spokesperson for the DCCC said. However, during the 2022 election cycle, the DCCC used habitation expenses as an attack against then-Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, who spent a small fraction of the $40,000+ that Davis did. A Fox News Digital review of an oppo research book that the DCCC compiled against Chabot, shows that he spent less than $7,000 between 2011 and 2022. A spokesperson for the GOP-run Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) called Davis’ expenses out of touch with the challenges faced by state residents and framed them as a part of a larger pattern of spending. “North Carolina families struggle every day to make ends meet while Congressman Don Davis is wasting their hard-earned money on $2,300 Ubers and $40,000 office renovations. This isn’t just reckless spending—it’s a pattern of abusing the taxpayer dollars Davis was entrusted to protect. North Carolinians have had enough and will boot Don Davis from office come November,” Torunn Sinclair, a spokesperson for CLF, said. DEM RISING STAR WHO CALLED TRUMP ‘CON MAN’ SPENT OVER $120K ON LUXURY HOTELS, TRANSPORTATION AND SECURITY While not the highest habitation expense among lawmakers, Davis’ 2023 record comes amid reports of other high costs expensed to taxpayers during his years of public service. In comparison, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee, another North Carolina Democrat who was sworn into office in 2023, appears to have spent under $3,000 in habitation expenses that same year. Reporting from The Center Square in March uncovered that Davis took $4,500 in per diems over the course of 19 days where he did not participate in any votes, accepting the allowances granted to cover lodging and travel costs for the lawmakers’ trips to the state capitol. Since his election to Congress, Davis has also received criticism for spending nearly $10,000 on a trip to the U.S. southern border in 2024, racking up almost $7,000 in airfare costs. Members of Congress are required to report expenses covered by the government, like costs for running an office. Among the categories of items covered, a habitation expense covers “minor, minimal expenses incurred for decorating offices.” FEDERAL ELECTION COMPLAINT ALLEGES AOC MISUSED CAMPAIGN FUNDS FOR PSYCHIATRIST SERVICES “This category includes furniture items such as chairs, tables, etc., which cost less than $500. Furniture that costs more than $500 and less than $25,000 should appear under the expense category or budget object code for furniture and fixtures less than $25,000,” the House website reads. The use of habitation expenses has varied widely depending on lawmakers’ needs, but has also landed some lawmakers in hot water for overly flamboyant expenses. Former Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., famously received criticism in 2015 for spending and then repaying $40,000 in taxpayer funds to refurbish a district office in the style of Downtown Abby, according to the Associated Press. Davis will be facing Laurie Buckhout, a “retired Army Colonel and decorated combat commander” in November’s general election.
WATCH: Hearing turmoil as Jasmine Crockett unloads on MLK’s niece in wild racially-charged rant
Rep. Jasmine Crockett erupted at Republicans, calling them a “majority… White” party and accusing them of using a member of Martin Luther King Jr.’s family as a prop to shield themselves from allegations of racism while interrogating the Southern Poverty Law Center’s funding of hate groups. Crockett, who is leaving office next year after a failed Senate bid, lambasted Republicans for expressing outrage at the SPLC while not addressing the “literal elephant in the room” — a reference to Martin Luther King Jr.’s more conservative niece, Alveda King. Crockett disparaged civil rights activist Alveda King as a right-wing prop while accusing Republicans of trying to trick the public into thinking a “Doctor King” was criticizing the SPLC’s work. King later questioned whether Crockett was calling her a “bastard” of the King name. “The vast majority on that side of the aisle… are White men. White men are lecturing people of color because the vast majority, actually any semblance of diversity comes from this [Democratic] side of the aisle,” Crockett said. FIRST ON FOX: SPLC’S TAX-EXEMPT STATUS UNDER THREAT AFTER FIERY CAPITOL HILL HEARING She said people of color don’t feel welcome in the GOP and “that’s why you have to parade someone who has the name ‘Doctor King’ attached to them so people can be confused.” Notably, GOP Rep. Wesley Hunt, a fellow Black Texan, was on the committee’s dais and pointedly questioned SPLC leader Bryan Fair earlier in the day. Hunt often rebukes talk of race-based partisanship by quipping that he has been “Black my entire life.” Crockett said Republicans were hypocritical in accusing the SPLC of funding hate groups, citing a debunked assertion about President Donald Trump’s comments following the 2017 White supremacist rally in Charlottesville. She noted Trump had said there were “fine people on both sides,” but omitted that he later clarified he was referring to a community group opposing the removal of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s statue, a gathering that occurred before the neo-Nazi violence erupted later that day. Crockett then claimed people on social media were wondering who the “Doctor King” was who was speaking out against the SPLC as the hearing progressed, and that Republicans were trying to make the public think the historic Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would be on their side. NEARLY ALL SUSPECTS ARRESTED IN ST. PAUL CHURCH STORMING AS MLK’S NIECE SAYS TACTICS ‘NOT THE WAY’ Crockett said Republicans would be better served calling the Obama-supporting Martin Luther King III or his sister Bernice King to the hearing — suggesting they understand the civil rights icon’s teachings and positions better than Alveda. Before her time expired, she accused King and Republicans of “caping” for murdered activist Charlie Kirk — quoting a controversial statement by the Turning Point USA founder about the Civil Rights Act. She also claimed Republicans hauled Fair and King before the committee because they wanted to distract from their failure to hold a hearing examining associates of deceased financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. When House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, gaveled-out Crockett’s time and passed the floor to Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C., the Republican gave King a chance to respond. “I am a bit emotional,” King said of what Crockett had claimed. “I’m going to watch what I say.” Crockett did not appear to look back at Alveda King and was briefly seen closing her notebook as she prepared to stand up. JASMINE CROCKETT’S HISTORY OF PLAYING THE RACE CARD GOING AFTER CONSERVATIVE AND LIBERAL CRITICS “It seems as though you (Crockett) have suggested that I am bastard to the King family legacy. I am legitimately the daughter of Reverend Alfred Daniel Williams King and Dr. Naomi Ruth Barber King,” Alveda King said. Rev. A.D. King was Martin Luther King Jr.’s brother. “We are a family who loves God. And I love you, God bless you,” King said before yielding back to Fry. Fry then announced that, off-camera, Crockett had quickly left the room before King could substantively respond to her remarks.
Obama-appointed judge with ties to anti-Trump conspiracy theory hit with misconduct complaint
FIRST ON FOX: U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper is facing a judicial misconduct complaint from a conservative watchdog group, which argues he should have recused himself from a lawsuit involving President Donald Trump’s effort to rename the Kennedy Center. The Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) alleged that Cooper should have bowed out of the case because his wife, Amy Jeffress, has a history of representing what the group described as “anti-Trump” clients. In May, Cooper ruled against Trump by permanently blocking the renaming of the Kennedy Center after Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, filed a lawsuit. CASA filed a complaint with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday, alleging Cooper failed to disclose or recuse himself despite what it called significant financial and professional interests stemming from his wife’s involvement in litigation against Trump. “CASA is filing a judicial complaint against Obama-appointed DC District Court Judge Christopher Cooper for his potentially unethical behavior after his failure to recuse himself from the frivolous Kennedy Center lawsuit filed against President Trump, given his wife’s financial interests in opposing President Trump’s agenda through litigation,” CASA Director of Research and Policy Curtis Schube said in a statement. JUDGE WITH INTIMATE TIES TO DEM PARTY’S KEY RUSSIA HOAX PLAYERS BEHIND LATEST ANTI-TRUMP DECISION The complaint comes more than a week after Trump slammed Cooper for having a “conflict of interest,” pointing to Cooper’s wife, Amy Jeffress’, track record of representing Trump’s biggest foes, including former anti-Trump FBI lawyer Lisa Page, and currently representing former President Joe Biden, who is suing Trump’s Justice Department over the release of Robert Hur’s interview recordings. “Cooper’s wife is longtime Democrat activist and attorney Amy Jeffress. Jeffress is the former counsel to the January 6th committee, works as former President Biden’s personal lawyer, and currently represents Biden in ongoing litigation against President Trump,” Schube said. “There was a clear need for Cooper to recuse himself from this matter, or at the very least disclose these conflicts. By doing neither, Cooper caused — at the very least — an appearance of impropriety, which warrants a full investigation.” The complaint does not challenge Cooper’s ruling itself, but it argues that his involvement in the case could raise reasonable questions about his ability to be impartial under the federal judiciary’s Code of Conduct. JONATHAN TURLEY: TRUMP’S KENNEDY CENTER NAME CHANGE WILL KEEP LAWYERS BUSY FOR YEARS “We are deeply concerned with the fact that a sitting federal judge did not recuse himself, and adjudicated to disposition, a case from which he and his spouse financially benefit,” the complaint states. “Indeed, a large portion of his wife’s business model appears to rely on handling litigation that is anti-Trump in nature.” CASA argues that Cooper may have violated Canon 1, which requires judges to uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary. “Canon 1 requires that a judge uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary,” the filing states. “Judge Cooper, presumably, goes home every night to his wife whose career is predicated on suing President Trump.” CASA argued Cooper is in violation of Canon 2, which requires judges to avoid situations that could appear improper, even when no actual misconduct has occurred. “More specifically, Canon 2 lists occasions when the appearance of a relationship affects a judge’s ability to adjudicate a case: 1) when public confidence is hampered; and 2) when spousal relationships influence judicial conduct,” the complaint stated. “Both problems are present here.” The complaint also argues that Cooper violated Canon 3, which requires judges to remain fair and impartial and that recusal may be warranted when a judge’s spouse’s interests or potential partisan influences could reasonably raise questions about that impartiality. The complaint concludes by urging the D.C. Circuit to investigate Cooper and determine whether disciplinary action is warranted. Appointed by President Barack Obama, Cooper has served on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C., since 2014. Cooper has long been the target of conflict of interest allegations from Trump and his allies. The judge drew scrutiny during Special Counsel John Durham’s prosecution of former Clinton campaign-linked attorney Michael Sussmann, which was a part of Durham’s broader probe into the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation centered on the now-debunked Russian-Trump collusion theory. Critics argued then that he should have recused himself because his wife, attorney Amy Jeffress, represented former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, a figure tied to the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation. Fox News Digital reached out to Cooper and Jeffress for comment.
Trump admin offers blunt advice to White House UFC critics as 11th-hour lawsuit looms
Trump administration officials fired back at critics of the planned White House UFC fight, arguing they can simply avoid the event rather than use an 11th-hour lawsuit to block thousands of spectators from gathering on the South Lawn. “It would be easy enough to simply avert their gazes for the weekend,” Department of Justice attorneys wrote in a court filing this week. “Instead, they seek to enlist the power of a federal court to impose their idiosyncratic preferences on the rest of the country and ruin an event designed to celebrate the United States of America.” Preparations for the UFC match have been underway on the South Lawn of the White House for weeks, including the installation of a roughly 90-foot-tall steel arch, dubbed the “claw.” The Public Integrity Project filed a lawsuit over the weekend on behalf of two Virginia residents in an effort to block the event, sparking the government to urge U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta to reject the plaintiffs’ bid. The suit targets the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior to seek an emergency injunction to stop the event, which is expected to attract 4,000 spectators to the White House. DANA WHITE DENIES AMERICA 250 UFC FIGHT AT WHITE HOUSE WILL BE ‘POLITICAL,’ ‘NOT AT ALL’ ABOUT POLITICS In the brief, DOJ attorneys wrote that more than $60 million has already been spent, attendees have made travel plans, and the fighters have already begun final weight cuts. They also noted the event has been planned for months, with President Trump first announcing the match in July 2025. “This is an obstructionist, baseless, and dilatory lawsuit brought simply to prevent President Trump from hosting what will undoubtedly go down as one of the most historic sporting events in our Nation’s history during our semiquincentennial celebration,” a White House official told Fox News Digital. “This iconic event is no different than the various other White House-hosted events on the South Lawn and properly permitted events on the Ellipse and National Mall throughout the year,” the White House official added. A PIECE OF THE UFC WHITE HOUSE EVENT’S SETUP IS SITTING IN PENNSYLVANIA AMISH COUNTRY Plaintiffs argued that the event will interfere with the White House and National Mall area while describing its setup as “hideous.” The plaintiffs argued that organizers ignored federal permitting rules, skipped environmental reviews and triggered conflict-of-interest concerns invoking National Park Service regulations and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). They also said the “claw” needed to be built with congressional authorization. Officials responded that the plaintiffs are not forced to watch the fight and their opinions are not “superior” to those who support the match. “All these hopes could be dashed at the very last moment, however, by the whim of two people who believe they have superior taste and want to spoil the event for everyone else,” the DOJ attorneys wrote. The plaintiffs must respond with their final brief by 9 p.m. Wednesday. Fox News Digital reached out to the Public Integrity Project for comment. Fox News’ Kerri Urban and Mark Meredith contributed to this report.
Graham Platner finally embraced by powerful mainstream Dem leaders after primary election victory
Two top Democrat leaders who were hesitant to endorse embattled Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner by name amid his controversies finally relented Tuesday night after he cruised to victory in his primary election. House Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., issued a seemingly half-hearted joint statement backing Platner as he continues to face heat stemming from a multitude of scandals. “Over the past year, we have created a path to win a Democratic Senate majority and put a stop to the chaos and damage of the Trump administration by defeating the Republicans who enable his harmful agenda,” they wrote in a statement issued by the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) just after Platner was declared the winner. “In November, Maine voters will elect Graham Platner, and we will win a Senate majority,” they concluded. In the statement, the New York lawmakers attempted to paint moderate Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, as a radical pro-Trump Republican despite her several breaks with the president. “Susan Collins has never been more vulnerable after she voted with Trump 96 percent of the time, confirmed his far-right judicial nominees, and took millions from special interests while voting to rip health care away from Mainers,” they listed. SCANDAL-PLAGUED PLATNER CAPTURES DEMOCRATIC SENATE NOMINATION Last week, Platner met with Gillibrand and Schumer, among other Democrats, during a crisis trip to Washington, D.C., in the midst of his latest scandal, which, at the time, was related to revelations of an account on a controversial messaging app. After that meeting, Gillibrand refused to say whether she still supported the progressive candidate. “I’m very confident we are going to win Maine,” she told reporters. “I do. I have confidence that we are going to win Maine and I have no doubt.” WATCH: DEM SENATORS EXCUSE PLATNER’S CONDUCT AT CRISIS HUDDLE WITH EMBATTLED MAINE CANDIDATE Schumer also attempted to duck direct questions from reporters at a Capitol Hill press conference following that meeting. “I met with Graham Platner today, we’re going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate,” he said. “We’re going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate.” After he was asked for the fifth time about the meetings, he begrudgingly used Platner’s name to back the candidate. WATCH: SCANDAL-PLAGUED PLATNER DODGES QUESTIONS BEFORE DC MEETING WITH DEMOCRATS “As I said, I endorsed Graham Platner,” he said. Before that meeting, Platner was embroiled in controversy after it was revealed that he has an active account on Kik, an anonymous chatting platform notorious for lax identification methods that have enabled the proliferation of child sexual abuse material. Platner used as his profile image on the application a sexually suggestive photo of himself shirtless and wearing only a towel around his waist. Just days after the meetings in D.C., the candidate was accused of physical misconduct, including aggressive behavior, with a former romantic partner. Platner denies those accusations. Platner’s previous scandals include sexually lewd Reddit posts, disrespectful comments made against a Purple Heart-winning combat veteran, a Nazi-linked tattoo on his chest that has since been covered up and reports he exchanged sexually explicit messages with several women while married. Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.
Republicans fear of ‘fatal mistake’ in must-win Platner race
Senate Republicans are warning that scandal-plagued oysterman Graham Platner could still defeat Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, if the party fails to take the race seriously. Republicans are defending several seats in expectedly close races, including Nebraska, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas, while seeking to flip Georgia. Maine is different: Sen. Susan Collins’ seat is the only Republican-held Senate seat in a state won by Kamala Harris in 2024, making it Democrats’ most direct path to returning Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., to the majority leader’s office, Republicans said in a memo circulated Wednesday. “It is a fatal mistake to assume Platner is too damaged to win,” the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) memo obtained by Fox News — addressed to “Interested Parties” — read. The NRSC agreed that Maine is the “linchpin” of the 35 seats up this year and that despite Platner’s Nazi tattoo, allegations of misogynist violence, arousal from biocide in port-a-johns, and his socialist policy platform, he remains a credible threat to the middle-of-the-road Collins. SEE IT: MAINE VOTERS SOUND OFF ON PLATNER’S DIVISIVE CAMPAIGN AS CRUCIAL PRIMARY NEARS: ‘HE’S A DISGRACE’ “Senator Collins has won tough races before and can win this one, but only if we meet this moment with total urgency,” the NRSC said. “Because Democrats cannot win the majority without [Collins’ seat], they have fully rallied around Graham Platner, an extremely flawed, far-left candidate who secured the nomination last night. Platner has captured his party’s financial backing, outraising Senator Collins in every quarter since entering the race. We must match both the energy and the money to retain the seat,” the memo said. The NRSC said Democrats don’t view Platner’s race as being about the flawed candidate but rather about usurping power. COLLINS SECURES GOP NOD IN MAINE SENATE BATTLE THAT COULD DECIDE GOP MAJORITY The committee said any one of Platner’s multiple scandals would have ended most campaigns, but Democrats remain united around him. The NRSC reported that after former girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield’s allegations against Platner broke, Platner raised $200,000 in one day in what the campaign said was its best haul of the cycle. “The political fundamentals in Maine remain challenging, and it is a fatal mistake to assume Platner is too damaged to win,” the NRSC said. Collins is the last remaining federal Republican in New England and the only Republican in the Senate north or east of Pennsylvania. The NRSC reported that Platner is beating Harris’ own margins by seven points while noting Collins has won tough races in the past, but this one is different. Collins won her last race against former Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon by about eight points, and her last electoral loss was way back in 1994 when now-Sen. Angus King Jr., I-Maine, won the governorship in a four-way contest. Republicans said in the memo that the biggest story in the past week about Platner is not his latest scandal, but the fact that Democrats are circling the wagons around him even more tightly and “propping him up.” WATCH: DEM SENATORS EXCUSE PLATNER’S CONDUCT AT CRISIS HUDDLE WITH EMBATTLED MAINE CANDIDATE They cited Silicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna visiting Maine to hold a gushy interview-slash-ad with Platner and the fact that Democrats keep claiming Collins and Trump are worse than the left-winger. “Gotta do what you gotta do,” the NRSC quoted former Biden deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty, while noting that Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse publicly claimed Platner’s foibles are a “lot of nothing.” They also pointed to one of the most influential Democratic operatives claiming that Platner’s flaws actually bolster his qualifications. Platner had disparaged former Pennsylvania lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Teddy Daniels after video of the Purple Heart recipient being besieged and gravely wounded by the Taliban surfaced several years ago. “We’ve got a f—ed up guy who could be 100 times more f—ed up than he is and he’d never be as f—ed up as what we’ve got in Washington,” said 1992 Bill Clinton campaign architect James Carville, who suggested that Platner’s apparent PTSD should be a symbol on the Hill as to why neoconservatives have been wrong about war powers. “This is not a party abandoning its nominee. This is a party rationalizing, accepting, and preparing to fight,” the NRSC said. “Republicans need to match that urgency immediately. Define Platner. Defend Collins. Resource Maine,” they said. “Senator Collins has proven time and time again, through her work ethic and commitment to the people of Maine and America, that she will prevail.” “This race can be won, but it will not win itself.” NRSC national press secretary Bernadette Breslin exclusively told Fox News Digital that Platner “has become the new face of the Democratic Party, forcing Democrats to own his mounting scandals and socialist wish list.” “Come November, Mainers will see through his fraudulent working-class persona and reject the political baggage Democrats are now stuck defending,” Breslin said. Fox News Digital reached out to the DSCC, Platner campaign and Collins campaign for further comment.
Karmelo Anthony verdict draws anti-white rage and lies from radical Dem congresswoman, angry activists
A Texas congresswoman is leading the voice of online activists enraged over the guilty verdict in Karmelo Anthony’s murder trial, and is spreading outright lies and racially inflammatory rhetoric after the 19-year-old was sentenced to 35 years in prison for stabbing Austin Metcalf to death. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a rare radical Democrat elected in deep red Texas, took to her podcast after Tuesday’s verdict to make false claims about the trial and its jury as she continues to stir up racial hatred. “I’m not necessarily convinced — not that I could tell you the name of one person on this jury — that we had 12 impartial White folk out of Collin County sitting on a jury for this young black man,” she said, exhibiting her empathy for the convicted murderer. Her claim about the jury is patently false. Sources close to the trial confirmed to Fox News Digital that the jury was not made up only of white people, despite Crockett’s claim, which has been parroted by activists online. Of the 12 jurors, three were racial minorities, including Asian and Indian, eight were women and four were men. They confirmed that of the 18 total jurors, including alternates, six were minorities. KARMELO ANTHONY JURY REACHES VERDICT IN MURDER TRIAL IN TEXAS TRACK MEET STABBING The jury in the trial, which spanned nine days in a Collin County, Texas, courtroom this month, found that Anthony intentionally stabbed Metcalf, then 18, to death on April 2, 2025. The murder took place after Anthony entered the Memorial High School track team’s tent at a meet in Frisco, and refused 15 times to leave when asked. Witnesses testified that Metcalf lightly shoved Anthony in an attempt to remove him from the tent, after which the teen reached into his bag, pulled out a knife, and stabbed Metcalf in the chest. The victim bled to death in front of his twin brother and teammates, many of whom testified at the trial. Crockett surmised the jury likely convicted Anthony because residents of Collin County are upset that, “so many black folk are moving up there in the first place.” MOURNING MOTHER, TWIN BROTHER OF SLAIN TEXAS TEEN SPEAK OUT: ‘LOST MY BEST FRIEND IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE’ The congresswoman, who will not retain her seat in the House after redistricting in Texas pushed her district red, bizarrely compared black women in America to the victim’s family. “Black women, especially black women who have black male children, live in fear and agony every single day,” she lamented. “A fear and agony that I promise you the Metcalfs probably had never spend a day living that way.” That comment was branded as “psychotic” by White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller on X. KARMELO ANTHONY TRIAL CONSUMED BY RACE AND SELF-DEFENSE, BUT HIDDEN HURDLE COULD BE KEY: EXPERT Crockett, an attorney, also claimed that the knife Anthony used to kill Metcalf was not a deadly weapon, and downplayed its size. Activists outside the courthouse sounded off after the verdict was handed down. Dominique Alexander, a local Black Lives Matter activist who has been involved with the Anthony family since Karmelo’s arrest, slammed injected racial rhetoric into the conversation. AUSTIN METCALF’S ACCUSED KILLER NEEDS SUPPORT FIGHTING ‘WHITE SUPREMACY’ AFTER MURDER INDICTMENT: SPOX “What this process did is show that black lives do not matter in Collin County,” he said. “This trial showed that it put emotions over the law. After Trayvon Martin and so many countless names, it has shown us that Black life is not safe in Collin County.” Martin was killed by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, in 2012. A jury in that case found that Zimmerman acted in self-defense. Alexander also claimed without evidence that the judge in the case “interfered in this process,” and repeated the false claim that the jury was “all white.” Bree Newsome, an online far-leftist, insisted that race was a factor in the case. “Karmelo Anthony would be treated totally different by the legal system were he a white boy killing a black boy,” she said. “That’s the whole point. That’s what matters. Stop pretending there’s anything Black people can do in our behavior to prevent racism. Racism defines the entire system.” Crockett’s office did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
First on Fox: Trump admin opens new front in fraud crackdown targeting health insurers, drug middlemen
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is lifting the hood on federal health benefits programs that cover millions of Americans, ordering insurance carriers to tighten fraud controls as part of a broader crackdown on waste and abuse, Fox News Digital learned. “Working alongside the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, OPM is taking additional steps to safeguard the premiums paid by federal employees and taxpayers, protect beneficiaries, and ensure health insurance companies are meeting the highest standards of accountability,” said Office of Personnel Management (OPM) director Scott Kupor to Fox News Digital. OPM functions as the federal government’s human resources agency, overseeing civilian personnel policy and administering benefits for federal employees, retirees and their families. OPM, partnered with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, is sending new compliance expectations on Wednesday to insurance carriers in the Federal Employees Health Benefits and Postal Service Health Benefits programs, directing them to strengthen fraud prevention, payment reviews, pharmacy benefit oversight, subcontractor accountability, audits and reporting, Fox News Digital learned. READ: DR. OZ PUTS ALL 50 GOVERNORS ON NOTICE OVER BILLIONS LOST TO MEDICAID FRAUD The push also targets pharmacy benefit managers, the drug-pricing middlemen that administer prescription drug benefits for health plans and negotiate with drugmakers and pharmacies. The FEHB program cost the government and enrollees about $70 billion in fiscal 2024 and covered more than 8.2 million federal employees, family members and other eligible individuals, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. “OPM is a valuable partner and leader on the Task Force. The steps taken today will protect taxpayers and our federal workforce,” White House Task Force Executive Director Scott Brady told Fox News Digital. OPM is also building a data science and audit team with the agency’s inspector general to review anonymized claims data and detect fraud, waste and overbilling more proactively. HOUSE GOP LAUNCHES NEW TASK FORCE, PROBES ALLEGED $250B MEDICAID FRAUD IN OHIO The Government Accountability Office said in a July 2025 report that OPM should do more to manage fraud risks in the FEHB program, citing risks including benefit card sharing, improper inducements, insufficient or fraudulent documentation, kickbacks, marketing fraud, theft of personally identifiable information, provider ineligibility and self-referrals. The announcement marks the latest crackdown in medical programs following the launch of a nationwide probe into Medicaid. CMS directed all 50 states to submit plans to revalidate high-risk Medicaid providers, including providers subject to less rigorous enrollment standards or operating without a National Provider Identifier in April. Vice President JD Vance, who is leading the task force, amplified the call in May, saying during a news conference that states could lose federal funding if they fail to aggressively pursue Medicaid fraud. The push comes amid heightened focus on large-scale fraud cases, including Minnesota’s $250 million “Feeding Our Future” scheme, which became a national flashpoint in recent months.