Trump scores another endorsement win with Louisiana Senate runoff victory
He wasn’t on the ballot, but President Donald Trump was a winner in Louisiana’s GOP Senate runoff election. That’s because Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow defeated state Treasurer John Fleming to capture the Republican nomination, The Associated Press reported on Saturday. Six weeks after denying Trump-targeted GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy a third six-year term in the Senate, a majority of Republican voters in the solidly red Gulf Coast state backed Letlow. Her victory in the runoff is seen as another victory for Trump as he works to fill the halls of Congress with loyal lawmakers for his final two years in the White House. And it’s another sign of the power of a Trump endorsement in Republican primaries. Five years after he voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, Cassidy was sent packing. WATCH: CASSIDY DETAILS NEW BEHIND CLOSED DOORS CLASH WITH TRUMP Trump reacted to Letlow’s victory in a Truth Social post, calling Saturday’s result “great news.” “Julia Letlow WON in Louisiana, beating conclusively a very strong and smart opponent,” Trump wrote. “Congratulations to Julia. She will be a truly GREAT Senator!” Letlow, who was backed by Trump even before she entered the race in January, finished first in the primary, double digits ahead of Fleming, with Cassidy in third place. Since no candidate cracked 50% of the vote, Letlow and Fleming advanced to the runoff for the Republican nomination and Cassidy became the first elected Republican senator to lose renomination since Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana in 2012. Trump, celebrating Cassidy’s defeat, said on social media that “it’s nice to see that his political career is OVER!” Cassidy, in a speech to supporters after conceding, took a jab at Trump, saying, “When you participate in democracy, sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to. But you don’t pout, you don’t whine. You don’t claim the election was stolen… You don’t manufacture some excuse.” Letlow, who was backed by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a top Trump ally, won her congressional seat in 2021, after her husband, Luke Letlow, died five days before being sworn into the U.S. House after his 2020 election victory for the seat she now holds. She highlighted her support from Trump throughout her Senate campaign. Fleming, who spent eight years in Congress before serving as a White House deputy chief of staff during Trump’s first term, argued he was the most conservative candidate in the GOP Senate primary. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB Letlow will be considered the clear frontrunner in the midterm election against either farmer Jamie Davis or Navy veteran Gary Crockett, who are facing off in the Democratic Party runoff. The brute force of the president’s endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries over the past two months, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Kentucky and Texas, as well as the Louisiana primary. But Trump’s endorsement streak in statewide and congressional Republican primaries was snapped three weeks ago when his last-minute endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn’t enough to propel the three-term congressman to victory. Feenstra was narrowly edged by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and former political strategist who was backed by the political wings of MAHA — the acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump’s Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk. The president rebounded three weeks ago in South Carolina, as Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pam Evette finished first in the GOP gubernatorial primary and longtime Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham won a majority of the vote in the Republican Senate primary, and avoided a runoff. Graham, who was endorsed by Trump, was facing primary challenges from five candidates, including conservative businessman Mark Lynch, who took aim at the senator over his support for the war in Iran. Lynch was backed by some MAGA leaders who have been critical of the president. Two weeks ago, Trump-backed candidates won two of the three top races in Georgia and Alabama, with the one setback coming against a billionaire businessman who shelled out over $100 million of his own money to boost his campaign. Rep. Barry Moore, a House Freedom Caucus member and longtime Trump supporter who was endorsed by the president, comfortably defeated rival Jared Hudson, a former Navy SEAL sniper who was supported by some top names on the right, in solidly red Alabama’s GOP Senate runoff. In battleground Georgia’s Republican Senate runoff, an 11th-hour endorsement by Trump helped boost Rep. Mike Collins, a MAGA champion, to victory over former college football coach Derek Dooley, who was backed by popular conservative Gov. Brian Kemp. TRUMP’S ENDORSEMENT FAILS TO SAVE MAGA CANDIDATE AS BILLIONAIRE ADVANCES IN KEY GOVERNOR RACE Collins will face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in the general election in a race that’s among a handful that will likely decide if the GOP holds its slim majority in the chamber in the midterms. But in Georgia’s GOP gubernatorial runoff, the candidate Trump backed, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who was also endorsed by Kemp this past weekend, was defeated by billionaire businessman Rick Jackson, who ran as an outsider. On Tuesday, Trump-backed first-time candidate Anthony Constantino, a businessman and former boxer, defeated Robert Smullen, a retired Marine Corps colonel and New York Assembly member who had the backing of the state party, in the upstate New York race to succeed retiring GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik. Meanwhile, in South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial runoff, Trump couldn’t lose. That’s because, besides backing Evette, he also gave a last-minute endorsement to state Attorney General Alan Wilson, who ended up winning the showdown in a landslide.
Louisiana Democrats pick rural farmer to challenge GOP in uphill Senate bid
Jamie Davis, a farmer and former parish official from rural northeast Louisiana, is the Democratic Party’s Senate nominee in reliably red Louisiana. Davis defeated Gary Crockett, a business owner in New Orleans, in Saturday’s Democratic Senate runoff election, The Associated Press reported, in the race to succeed Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy. Davis, who was heavily favored in the runoff thanks to support from the state party and his massive campaign cash and staff advantage over Crockett, will now face an extremely steep uphill climb as he tries to become the first Louisiana Democrat in 18 years to win a Senate election. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB Rep. Julia Letlow, who was backed by President Donald Trump, and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming faced off in the GOP Senate runoff. Five years after he voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, Cassidy was sent packing. Letlow, who was backed by Trump even before she entered the race in January, finished first in the primary, double digits ahead of Fleming, with Cassidy in third place. Since no candidate cracked 50% of the vote, Letlow and Fleming advanced to the runoff for the Republican nomination and Cassidy became the first elected Republican senator to lose renomination since Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana in 2012. Trump, celebrating Cassidy’s defeat, said on social media that “it’s nice to see that his political career is OVER!” Cassidy, in a speech to supporters after conceding, took a jab at Trump, saying, “When you participate in democracy, sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to. But you don’t pout, you don’t whine. You don’t claim the election was stolen… You don’t manufacture some excuse.” Letlow, who was backed by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a top Trump ally, won her congressional seat in 2021, after her husband, Luke Letlow, died six days after being sworn into the U.S. House after his 2020 election victory for the seat she now holds. She highlighted her support from Trump throughout her Senate campaign. Fleming, who spent eight years in Congress before serving as a White House deputy chief of staff during Trump’s first term, argued he was the most conservative candidate in the GOP Senate primary.
Judge rules Republican with same name as Sen Dan Sullivan can stay on Alaska primary ballot
A judge ruled on Friday that another man running as a Republican, who shares the same name as Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, is eligible to run against him in the August primary in Alaska. Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews’ ruling overturns a decision made by Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher earlier this month to disqualify the second Sullivan from the ballot. Matthews on Friday ruled that Beecher didn’t follow the Constitution, Alaska law or the division’s own regulations when deciding to disqualify Sullivan. “Instead, the decision was based upon a new, previously unstated, ‘good faith’ criteria,” the judge wrote. In her determination, Beecher said that Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher who recently changed his party affiliation to the GOP, did not launch his campaign “in good faith,” and sought to “confuse or mislead” voters at the ballot box. The Republican senator is seeking a third term in the state. SAME-NAME CANDIDATE DISQUALIFIED FROM KEY SENATE RACE OVER ALLEGED DEM SCHEME TO CONFUSE VOTERS Democrats are hoping that former Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, whom Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., helped recruit into the race, will unseat him in November. Alaska is one of several states that are expected to be competitive as both parties vie for control of the Senate. The Division of Elections told The Associated Press on Saturday that it plans to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court. The deadline for a final ruling is Tuesday so that ballots for the Aug. 18 primary can be printed on time, state attorneys have said. The senator previously told Fox News Digital that he believes Dan J. Sullivan is a Democrat plant. BEHIND-THE-SCENES BATTLES: LEGAL CHALLENGES THAT COULD IMPACT THE VOTE BEFORE ELECTION DAY BEGINS, “His primary purpose is not to win an election, it’s to confuse Alaskans and rig the vote for my opponent, the Democrat,” Sullivan said. “He’s not in it to win it. He’s in it to rig it.” The name confusion could prove particularly consequential in Alaska given its ranked-choice voting system, where voters list candidates in order of preference. If Dan J. Sullivan is allowed to stay on the primary ballot, both he and incumbent Dan S. Sullivan could advance to the general election in which the top four vote-getters will appear. Dan J. Sullivan’s attorneys have argued that there are only three qualifications to run for the Senate in the Constitution: age, citizenship and residency. PRESIDENT TRUMP STRESSES IMPORTANCE OF MIDETERM ELECTION TURNOUT He also previously said that sharing a name with the senator gave him an “instant megaphone,” but he had grown frustrated with the lawmaker and had been considering his own run for some time. The Division of Elections, however, argued that it’s not required to put him on the ballot and find a way to make it less confusing for voters. “The Constitution does not require States to place a sham candidate on the ballot and then attempt to mitigate the damage through design choices,” attorney Rachel Witty, of the Alaska Department of Law, and outside attorneys Christopher Murray and Michael Francisco wrote in court filings. Attorneys for the challenger Sullivan argued that the Constitution lays out three exclusive qualifications for the Senate, addressing only age, citizenship and residency, and claimed Beecher didn’t have the right to kick him off the ballot. Fox News’ Adam Pack, Alex Miller and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mamdani’s suited pool plunge overshadowed by political clash with GOP gubernatorial candidate
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani took a bizarre plunge into an East Harlem public pool fully dressed in a business suit to kick off summer Saturday, but the spectacle was quickly overshadowed by a fiery clash with a top New York Republican. Video captured the mayor jumping into the Thomas Jefferson Pool fully clothed and swimming with children to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the city’s Works Progress Administration-era outdoor pools. The event was intended to highlight expanded free swim programs and the historical legacy of the Olympic-sized facilities. However, the celebratory splash quickly turned political as Mamdani targeted New York GOP gubernatorial candidate and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, demanding an apology for recent comments Blakeman made about Democratic Socialists of America-backed congressional candidate Brad Lander. HUNDREDS OF RABBIS DEMAND MAMDANI APOLOGIZE FOR PUTTING ‘TARGET’ ON AMERICAN JEWS WITH AIPAC ‘MONSTER’ REMARKS Following Lander’s NY-10 congressional primary victory over Dan Goldman, Blakeman said in a Newsmax interview that Lander “would be a camp guard in a concentration camp if he could.” Mamdani defended Lander, calling him a “proud Jewish New Yorker” and describing Blakeman’s comments as “unacceptable and unconscionable.” JEFFRIES WELCOMES DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS INTO THE FOLD AS CRITICS WARN PARTY IS REVEALING ‘EXACTLY WHO IT IS’ Mamdani added he thought the comparison likening Lander to a “Nazi prison guard” was “disgusting”, and argued it was indicative of a Republican Party fighting to “dehumanize anyone they disagree with.” Blakeman fired back at the mayor’s demands Saturday afternoon, saying the mayor lacks credibility. “This is coming from the same guy who wouldn’t march in the Israel Day Parade, called AIPAC members ‘monsters,’ and canceled the Puerto Rican Day Breakfast,” Blakeman told Fox News Digital. “Zohran Mamdani has no credibility. He is a bigot, an antisemite, and anti-American.” Mamdani did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Fox News Digital editor Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
NY AG hopeful blasts Letitia James as Medicaid fraud recoveries collapse: ‘She’s not doing the job’
Republican New York attorney general candidate Saritha Komatireddy is making Medicaid fraud a centerpiece of her campaign, charging that prosecutions have sharply declined under Attorney General Letitia James. Cracking down on Medicaid fraud has become a flashpoint issue in the country after investigators uncovered billions of dollars in alleged fraud tied to public assistance programs in Minnesota. The scandal pushed the Trump administration to make cracking down on fraud a higher priority, with Vice President JD Vance leading a federal effort. Now, Republican candidates in races across the country, including New York’s attorney general contest, are calling for states to do more to prosecute Medicaid fraud and recover taxpayer money. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Komatireddy accused James of failing to aggressively pursue Medicaid fraud, saying taxpayers could be losing out on hundreds of millions of dollars in recoveries. “They’re totally failing to prosecute Medicaid fraud, and you can look at that based solely on the record of Letitia James and her Democratic predecessors,” Komatireddy said. “This is not a partisan issue.” NEW YORK REPUBLICANS CALL FOR INDEPENDENT FRAUD INVESTIGATION FOLLOWING MINNESOTA REVELATIONS Komatireddy’s said Medicaid fraud recoveries have plummeted under James, falling from $168 million in 2019, her first year in office, to just $31 million in 2024, according to data from New York Attorney General’s annual reports. Before James took office, New York attorneys general routinely posted some of the nation’s largest Medicaid fraud recoveries. Under Eliot Spitzer, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit recovered $243.6 million in 2006. Andrew Cuomo’s office then recovered $113.8 million in 2007, $263.5 million in 2008 and more than $283 million in 2009, totaling more than $660 million during his first three years as attorney general. And Cuomo’s successor, Eric Schneiderman, recovered more than $335 million in 2012 — the second-highest annual total in the unit’s history and its highest recovery in seven years. “Even her Democratic predecessors used to bring in $200 to $300 million per year in fraudulent proceeds,” Komatireddy said. “When Tish James comes into office, it goes down to $20 to $30 million per year. According to her own year-end reports, she’s just decided not to do that part of the job.” ALEX BERENSON: MINNESOTA WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING: NEW YORK’S MEDICAID GRIFT IS FAR WORSE As New York recovers less money from Medicaid fraud each year under James, the state’s spending on the fraud recovery program has increased, from about $45 million in fiscal 2020 to $70 million in 2025. “It used to be the case the New York Attorney General’s office would get around 100 criminal convictions a year, holding people who are stealing from Medicaid accountable,” Komatireddy said. “Under Tish James, that number is very low. There’s one year where she got eight criminal convictions.” New York’s handling of Medicaid fraud has also caught the attention of the federal government. Earlier this year, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz sent Gov. Kathy Hochul a letter asking for more information about how the state screens providers and fights fraud. Oz said the review is meant to help protect Medicaid beneficiaries and maintain public confidence in the program. New York was one of only three states — along with California and Minnesota — to receive the letter. READ: DR. OZ PUTS ALL 50 GOVERNORS ON NOTICE OVER BILLIONS LOST TO MEDICAID FRAUD Komatireddy said reduced enforcement ultimately costs New Yorkers by increasing healthcare spending and reducing funds available for other state priorities. “It’s New Yorkers who pay the price, because when people steal from Medicaid, that increases our healthcare costs,” she said. “When we are just letting a billion dollars go out the door over the course of her term, that’s money that we could be getting back as taxpayers.” Instead, Komatireddy said lawmakers are forced to seek additional revenue from taxpayers. “The folks in Albany keep thinking of new ways to take more money away from taxpayers,” she said. “If you had an attorney general who actually prosecuted fraud properly, you wouldn’t have to worry about a tax hike.” Komatireddy pledged to strengthen the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit by adding 20 criminal prosecutors. Komatireddy, a former federal prosecutor who spent more than a decade in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and later served as chief of staff at the Drug Enforcement Administration, has framed the race as a choice between a career law enforcement prosecutor and an inept incumbent. “Like I said, we have to actually just do the job of attorney general,” Henry said. “That job involves prosecuting crime and fraud.” The New York Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Trump nominates Oklahoma law enforcement veteran Lance Schroyer to lead ICE as permanent director
President Donald Trump announced on Saturday he is nominating Lance Schroyer as the next director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “Lance has over 29 YEARS of Law Enforcement experience in Oklahoma — A State where I WON all 77 Counties in 2016, 2020, and 2024!” the president wrote on Truth Social. He added that Schroyer is a former Oklahoma State Trooper, and United States Marine. “He is a PATRIOT with real operational experience, and proven leader with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst, including spearheading 287g Law Enforcement partnerships with ICE!” Trump continued. “Lance has firsthand experience getting Illegal Aliens OFF our streets and, just like ME and our Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, he LOVES the men and women of ICE.” TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SAYS FEDERAL AUTHORITIES HAVE ARRESTED MORE THAN 10,000 SUSPECTED GANG MEMBERS He added that Schroyer, “has what it takes to DETAIN AND DEPORT Illegal Alien Criminals, including murders, rapists, and drug traffickers at a rate never seen before! Remember, our Administration has the HIGHEST Daily Arrest Rate by ICE and CBP than ANY other President, by far. It’s not even close! The Senate must CONFIRM Lance, IMMEDIATELY — Do not delay. Together, we will MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN.” ICE ARRESTS MULTIPLE CONVICTED KILLERS IN SINGLE DAY AMID NATIONWIDE IMMIGRATION SWEEP He would replace Acting Director David Venturella. Venturella succeeded Todd Lyons as acting director earlier this month. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin called Trump’s choice a “great pick.” “Lance will play a vital role in helping deliver on the President’s mandate from the American people to target, arrest, and deport illegal aliens,” he wrote on X. “Lance is coming straight from the operational field where he ran large scale operations and worked alongside state and federal partners to remove illegal aliens from Oklahoma under the 287g program.” He added, “I’m confident Lance’s strong leadership and firsthand experience will empower the men and women of ICE to deport criminal illegal aliens, secure the homeland, and protect the American people.” Mullin and Schroyer are both from Oklahoma. Mullin took over for Kristi Noem when she left her post in March. Noting that it has been 11 years since ICE has had a confirmed director, Mullin also urged the Senate to “quickly confirm Lance Schroyer.” His nomination comes at a tense time for ICE as protests continue in multiple cities following two fatal shootings by ICE in Minneapolis in January.
Jeffries welcomes democratic socialists into the fold as critics warn party is revealing ‘exactly who it is’
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries publicly embraced a new crop of congressional nominees Saturday, including three Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates whose primary victories have fueled fresh debate over the Democratic Party’s leftward shift ahead of the 2026 midterms. The powerful New York lawmaker’s post highlights the challenge facing the top House Democrat as he works to unite his party ahead of the general election. If Democrats take back the House in November, Jeffries is expected to become the next speaker. That means he’ll likely be leading a Democratic caucus with more self-described democratic socialists than ever before. So far, more than a dozen Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates have won or advanced in primaries across the country this election cycle. In a post on X, Jeffries wrote, “Congratulations to our Democratic nominees,” before listing the party’s congressional candidates from across New York. Among those recognized were Brad Lander, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, all of whom are affiliated with or backed by the Democratic Socialists of America and secured victories in closely watched Democratic primaries last week. RISING SOCIALIST STARS ON TRACK TO CONGRESS: WHO ARE DARIALIZA AVILA CHEVALIER, BRAD LANDER AND CLAIRE VALDEZ? “From public servants to union organizers to community activists, the path is different but the work is the same,” Jeffries wrote. “We must decisively address the affordability crisis and crush far-right extremism!” Lander, Chevalier and Valdez all received backing from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whose endorsements helped cement the growing influence of the Democratic Party’s progressive wing in New York politics. Lander and Chevalier defeated Jeffries-endorsed incumbent Reps. Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat in their respective Democratic primaries. Jeffries did not endorse in the race won by Claire Valdez, which was an open seat. Now, as Democrats turn their attention to the general election, he appears to be rallying behind the party’s nominees as they try to win back the House in November. The socialist candidates have also faced scrutiny over resurfaced social media posts, support for defunding the police and anti-Israel rhetoric, positions that have put them at odds with many in the Democratic Party. Chevalier has faced scrutiny over resurfaced social media posts, including one in which she called to “literally abolish the border.” She has also faced renewed scrutiny over past social media posts targeting leading Democrats, including calling former President Joe Biden a “war criminal,” attacking former Vice President Kamala Harris and rebuking Sen. Bernie Sanders over Israel. Like Chevalier, Valdez and Lander, who is Jewish, share her sentiment that Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza. LIBERAL MS NOW WRITER CALLS MAMDANI PRIMARY SWEEP A ‘GENUINELY SCARY NIGHT FOR NEW YORK CITY JEWS’ Jeffries’ decision to publicly congratulate the three nominees quickly drew criticism. The Republican Jewish Coalition blasted Jeffries’ congratulatory message, warning Jewish voters that these candidates are not the Democrat “fringe” but the new faces of the party. “To Jewish Democrats: your party is telling you EXACTLY who it is,” the Coalition wrote. “These future members of Congress, who @hakeemjeffries is welcoming with open arms, want to: Abolish prisons and borders. Defund the police. Downplay 9/11,” rattling off other serious controversies stemming from the candidates. Jamie Metzl, a former National Security Council and State Department official and lifelong Democrat, blasted Jeffries for congratulating the nominees. “When I first read this post, I assumed it was from a spoof account. I am deeply concerned that it appears to be all too real,” Metzl wrote. “To welcome these nominees without acknowledging and criticizing their self-declared sympathies for U.S.-designated terrorist organizations, their calls to abolish the police, their stated desire to dismantle Western civilization, and their blatant anti-Americanism is to sacrifice the core principles of the Democratic Party.” Metzl accused Jeffries of putting his bid to become House speaker ahead of the Democratic Party’s principles. “I understand your ambition to become Speaker should Democrats retake the House, but you should not sacrifice the principles of our party to advance your own political aspirations,” Metzl wrote. Democratic leadership has been in the hot seat this week, facing questions from the media about how to reconcile support for the New York slate of socialist candidates, particularly after Valdez’s supporters shouted “you’re next” at a television screen showing Jeffries on Tuesday night. “They’re gonna eat you next Congressman – and replace you with one of their own,” conservative commentator Meghan McCain posted on X. “This is funny,” conservative commentator Robby Starbuck posted on X. “Hakeem still doesn’t realize that the communists are going to eat him alive. Clearly not a student of history. Bless his heart.” In a CNN appearance on Friday, Jeffries said, “I think that what happens in a handful of primaries in one of the bluest cities in the country is not in any way indicative of what needs to happen in November, where we need to re-elect every single frontline member, commonsense Democrats, authentically committed to making life better for the American people, opposing these extreme Republicans who have been nothing but a reckless rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s agenda. “And, at the same period of time, make sure that we flip red seats blue, including in New York-17, where we have a combat veteran, incredibly patriotic American Cait Conley, who came out of a primary on Tuesday as well and is an incredibly strong candidate. She will defeat Mike Lawler in New York in November.”
Trump unloads on ‘lunatic’ John Bolton after ex-aide pleads guilty in classified docs case
President Donald Trump on Friday mocked former National Security Advisor John Bolton after his one-time aide admitted to mishandling a classified national defense document. Bolton pleaded guilty hours earlier during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, to one count of unauthorized possession of a national defense document. His guilty plea was part of a plea agreement that will see prosecutors dismiss the remaining 17 counts at sentencing. The guilty plea prompted an immediate response from Trump, who has repeatedly clashed with Bolton over foreign policy and the former advisor’s highly critical memoir ever since their very public falling out in 2019. EX-TRUMP OFFICIAL JOHN BOLTON PLEADS GUILTY TO 1 OF 18 COUNTS IN CLASSIFIED DOCS INDICTMENT “John Bolton, a very dumb, unbalanced, and unskilled former representative of the United States of America, just pleads guilty!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post late Friday. “He is a terrible person, a lunatic who only wanted to start trouble and wars, and who was a needless pusher of death and destruction wherever he went. Hopefully, he will be dealt with harshly!” Bolton, 77, is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 28 and, under his plea agreement, faces a $2.25 million fine, up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and up to 100 hours of community service. And he will lose his federal pension. His defense attorneys have said they hope Bolton will avoid jail time. According to prosecutors, Bolton unlawfully kept classified national defense information after leaving government service, including documents classified as top secret. Authorities alleged he kept more than 1,000 pages of notes detailing his day-to-day activities as national security advisor and shared portions of that material with two family members using a personal email account. Federal prosecutors said the documents included highly sensitive intelligence involving covert action programs, human intelligence sources and methods and foreign military threats. FBI Director Kash Patel said the investigation demonstrated that Bolton knowingly mishandled classified information. BOLTON CASE PACKED WITH ‘VERY DAMNING’ EVIDENCE AND NATIONAL SECURITY RISKS, LEGAL EXPERTS WARN “This FBI’s investigation proved that John Bolton knowingly transmitted top-secret information using personal online accounts and retained said documents in his house — all in direct violation of federal law,” Patel said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Despite an onslaught of false claims by the fake news stating this case was ‘retribution,’ this investigation was based on meticulous work from dedicated professionals at the FBI who followed the facts without fear or favor, and Bolton chose to admit his guilt and plead guilty.” Bolton served as Trump’s national security advisor from April 2018 until September 2019. Trump has said he fired Bolton, while Bolton said that he resigned. Their relationship deteriorated further after the publication of Bolton’s 2020 memoir, “The Room Where It Happened,” which offered a highly critical account of Trump’s presidency. The Trump administration sought unsuccessfully to block the book’s publication, arguing it contained classified information. Bolton never faced any charges stemming from allegations that his memoir contained classified information. Bolton’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, defended his client’s decision to plead guilty, saying it reflected accountability. “He took responsibility for a mistake he made, thereby saving the government resources to pursue a case that could expose additional sensitive information,” Lowell said in a statement. “By contrast, President Trump thumbed his nose at the classified information laws, took actual classified documents to his Florida mansion, interfered with the investigation of that conduct and has never accepted any accountability for his conduct. Ambassador Bolton, whose offense was only keeping a diary which contained classified information, kept a record to preserve history, but Donald Trump kept secrets to serve himself.”
Former House intel leader points to Dem rhetoric ‘encouraging’ violence; eighth man charged in UFC terror plot
An eighth person was charged in a thwarted plot allegedly targeting the Freedom 250 Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event at the White House, and a former key lawmaker, ex-FBI agent and current candidate for Senate warned that escalating rhetoric on the left is stoking violence. “They’re calling people Nazis and anti-American,” former House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Rogers, who is running for Senate in Michigan, told Fox News Digital. “This No Kings notion. People are destroying your government and your way of life. It gives people who are already out there a little bit of permission to take the next step, and they’ve got to control their rhetoric on this.” Rogers said Democrats are “encouraging” people to move beyond “normal political discourse” and into violent attacks. All eight suspects are accused of conspiring to use explosive-laden drones to trigger a mass evacuation of the June 14 event before directing fleeing crowds toward pre-positioned shooters, with a “second wave” planned to target the White House gate, FBI officials previously told Fox News Digital. “They are encouraging a lot of people to get worked up to cross that line between what would be normal political discourse into radical, aggressive political behavior, including attempted murder, which you just saw in the UFC fights,” Rogers said. FBI DISRUPTS ALLEGED EXPLOSIVE-DRONE PLOT TARGETING WHITE HOUSE UFC EVENT, OFFICIALS SAY Rogers, a former FBI special agent, is running in Michigan’s Republican Senate primary on Aug. 4 for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters. Rogers said “self-radicalized” individuals are harder to identify but praised law enforcement for stopping the alleged plot in time. AMERICAN YOUTH RADICALIZED ONLINE, BUSTED IN SUSPECTED TERROR PLOTS AFTER HATING COUNTRY ON SOCIAL MEDIA “That self-radicalization can be really dangerous,” he said. “It causes somebody to get in the car, drive, run over somebody or, you know, do some other act of violence.” According to the Washington state complaint, the suspects allegedly used a Telegram chat to conspire to obtain multiple drones capable of carrying heavy explosive payloads, while federal investigators said they also acquired guns, ammunition, ballistic gear and other tactical equipment in preparation for the attack. The plotters allegedly met around March through a TikTok community before moving to encrypted Signal chats, according to the complaint, and later agreed to commit murder on White House grounds and in the surrounding area during the UFC Freedom 250 event, prosecutors said. RISING ANTISEMITIC VIOLENCE, TERROR ATTACKS IN US SPUR HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE HEARING The alleged plot was eventually foiled with the help of a tip from the mother of one of the suspects. Pointing to a recent attack on a Michigan synagogue, Rogers said the rhetoric can lead some people to believe political violence is “OK.” “In Michigan, we had an individual who decided that it was OK to drive a car full of explosives into a synagogue where 130 schoolchildren were being educated and tried to blow himself up,” he said. In that March attack, Ayman Mohamad Ghazali allegedly crashed his pickup into a West Bloomfield synagogue with more than 100 children inside before officers fatally shot him. Officials previously said the attack came after several of his family members were killed in Lebanon during the country’s war with Israel, and he became radicalized by Iran-backed Hezbollah. Rogers said social media has contributed to political violence, saying the violent rhetoric plastered online is “very, very concerning.” “All of that activity is fed online and through the internet, through conversations and through this heated and wrong-headed violent rhetoric, and their violent terminology is very, very concerning,” he said. Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips, Michael Ruiz, David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
Bill Barr says Todd Blanche isn’t ‘a toady,’ urges senate to confirm Trump’s AG pick
Former Attorney General Bill Barr is calling on Senate Republicans to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general, arguing the former Trump defense lawyer’s close relationship with the president should be viewed as a strength — not a conflict of interest. In a Wall Street Journal opinion column, Barr, who served as attorney general under the first Trump administration, said Blanche should be confirmed, calling him well-qualified and saying he “will run the department as effectively as anyone could under President Trump, providing much-needed leadership and stability.” Barr’s appeal comes as Blanche faces a potentially difficult confirmation process in the Senate. Republicans hold a 53-seat majority, but several GOP senators have not committed to supporting the nomination. A large part of Barr’s argument centered on countering criticism that Blanche’s past as President Donald Trump’s personal defense attorney makes him too conflicted to lead the Justice Department. ACTING AG TODD BLANCHE BELIEVES TRUMP ‘ABSOLUTELY’ FACED PRISON WITHOUT 2024 ELECTION WIN “Critics say that Mr. Blanche, having served as the president’s personal defense lawyer, won’t confront the president with hard truths. Exactly the opposite is true,” Barr wrote. “A successful criminal-defense lawyer like Mr. Blanche isn’t a toady who sugarcoats the truth to his client,” Barr continued. “The job demands regularly confronting strong-willed clients with harsh reality. This necessarily involves clashes, but the lawyer’s dogged willingness to anchor his client to reality is what builds trust and makes the relationship effective.” Barr wrote that Blanche’s established relationship with Trump should be viewed as an advantage rather than a liability. TODD BLANCHE ‘HONORED AND HUMBLED’ BY TRUMP’S AG NOMINATION AFTER EXPLOSIVE WEEK OF FEDERAL ARRESTS “The president takes hard advice best from those whom he recognizes have his best interests at heart,” Barr wrote. “Having helped the president through the crucible of his legal battles, Mr. Blanche is likely in the best position of anyone in the country to deliver strong counsel to the president and have him accept it. Senators should view a trusting relationship as a positive, not a negative.” Barr further dismissed claims that Blanche would simply carry out Trump’s wishes without independent judgment. “The left has portrayed Mr. Blanche as a man who will docilely carry out the president’s desires,” Barr wrote. “But Mr. Blanche doesn’t shy away from giving the president straight-from-the-shoulder advice and, where warranted, pushing back on bad ideas. He doesn’t always prevail, but, frankly, no one has a better chance of getting through to Mr. Trump.” TRUMP’S DOJ PICK IN TROUBLE AS GOP CONCERNS THREATEN CONFIRMATION Since stepping into the role as acting attorney general following Pam Bondi’s departure, Blanche has been heavily scrutinized for leading prosecutions against some of Trump’s biggest foes, including the newest indictment against former FBI Director James Comey. He’s also faced pushback over the Justice Department’s aborted effort to create an Anti-Weaponization Fund. The controversies have contributed to uncertainty over Blanche’s confirmation, with several Republican senators publicly acknowledging reservations about his nomination. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has said he remains undecided and has tied his support in part to concerns surrounding the scuttled fund. TILLIS PUTS ONUS ON TRUMP TO AVOID BOASBERG PICKING US ATTORNEY AFTER MARTIN’S NOMINATION APPEARS SUNK “It’ll be an issue if the weaponization fund isn’t effectively dead by the confirmation hearing,” Tillis said. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, another Judiciary Committee member, has likewise withheld his support, saying he wants additional information before making a decision. According to the Houston Chronicle, Cornyn said he plans to wait until after receiving a full briefing and hearing Blanche’s testimony before deciding whether to support the nomination. Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Blanche’s nomination are scheduled for mid-July as Republicans weigh whether to advance Trump’s nominee to the full Senate. Barr served as attorney general under both President George H.W. Bush and President Trump. While he was a key figure in Trump’s administration and defended many of the president’s policies, he later became one of Trump’s most prominent critics over his claims of widespread voter fraud following the 2020 election.