Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and political allies launch public affairs firm
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has joined forces with five other figures to found Watchtower Strategy, a public affairs organization. The other people involved include Jeff Miller, Dan Conston, Arthur Schwartz, Cliff Sims and Brian Walsh. “Watchtower Strategy is a premier public affairs firm founded by six leaders at the pinnacle of American politics. Watchtower specializes in strategy, advocacy, and crisis communications,” the organization’s website declares. TRUMP ACCUSES FORMER SPEAKER KEVIN MCCARTHY OF ‘ONE OF THE DUMBEST POLITICAL DECISIONS MADE IN YEARS’ A press release indicates that the group “will provide strategic advisory services for CEOs and senior executives, helping them navigate high stakes issues at the intersection of business, government, and public relations. The firm also specializes in developing and executing issue advocacy campaigns, with a proven track record of shaping public debates and influencing key policy outcomes.” Fox News Digital attempted to reach out to McCarthy for comment on Wednesday but did not receive a response in time for publication. “The launch of Watchtower Strategy comes at a pivotal and promising moment for our country,” McCarrthy said, according to the press release. “Navigating this moment can be both an opportunity and a challenge. The Watchtower team is trusted, tested, and built for success.” KEVIN MCCARTHY CLASHES WITH NBC HOSTS OVER BIDEN FAMILY PARDONS: HE ‘MUST KNOW SOMETHING’ THAT OTHERS DON’T McCarthy, Watchtower Strategy’s chairman, is also a member of the C3 AI advisory board, and he is on the Anivive Lifesciences board of directors. C3 AI’s website says the organization “is a leading Enterprise AI software provider for accelerating digital transformation.” Anivive has described itself as a “pet pharmaceutical company.” McCarthy obtained the speaker’s gavel in 2023 after a whopping 15 rounds of balloting. He was later ousted from the speakership, and eventually resigned from Congress before the end of his term. KEVIN MCCARTHY SHARES WHAT HE BELIEVES TO BE ‘THE GREATEST THREAT TO US’ McCarthy attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony last week.
Scorched-earth Shanahan: RFK Jr.’s former running mate threatens political war against confirmation opponents
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s former presidential running mate Nicole Shanahan called out various senators by name, warning that she will fund primary challenges against them if they oppose confirming RFK Jr. to serve as secretary of Health and Human Services. “Dear U.S. Senators, Bobby may play nice; I won’t,” she wrote in a post on X. In a video, Shanahan said that in 2020 she “cut large checks to Chuck Schumer to help Democrats flip two Senate seats in Georgia from red to blue.” Peach State Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock and John Ossoff both initially took office after winning runoff contests in early 2021. Shanahan bluntly warned the two senators, “please know I will be watching your votes very closely. I will make it my personal mission that you lose your seats in the Senate if you vote against the future health of America’s children.” TRUMP NOMINEES RFK JR, LOEFFLER, LUTNICK FACE SENATE GRILLING TODAY; BONDI COMMITTEE VOTE EXPECTED She then proceeded to call out Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Susan Collins, R-Maine, Bill Cassidy, R-La., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., James Lankford, R-Okl., Cory Booker, D-N.Y., John Fetterman, D-Pa., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev. “While Bobby may be willing to play nice, I won’t. If you vote against him, I will personally fund challengers to primary you in your next election. And I will enlist hundreds of thousands to join me,” she declared. Shanahan, who urged people to reach out to their senators to press them to support RFK Jr.’s nomination, followed up her video with a post tagging each of the 13 senators she had mentioned — the post also included phone numbers. WHO IS NICOLE SHANAHAN? MEET THE WEALTHY ENTREPRENEUR RFK JR SELECTED AS HIS VP RUNNING MATE Kennedy, a Democrat-turned-independent presidential candidate, ultimately dropped out and backed then-candidate Donald Trump in the 2024 White House contest. Trump later announced Kennedy as his pick to serve as HHS secretary. But the HHS nominee still needs to earn enough support in the Senate to clear the confirmation hurdle. DOCTOR DEFENDS RFK JR.’S VACCINE STANCE: ‘HE’S NOT AGAINST VACCINES’ Shanahan voted for Trump during the 2024 presidential election.
RFK Jr rips Dem senator for pushing ‘dishonest’ narrative on past vaccine comments: ‘Corrected it many times’
HHS Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden were involved in a tense exchange on Capitol Hill where Kennedy accused the senator of intentionally misrepresenting his past comments. Wyden, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee which held a confirmation hearing for Kennedy on Wednesday, pressed the nominee on comments made on podcasts in recent years. “During a podcast interview in July of 2023, you said, quote, no vaccine is safe and effective, in your testimony today in order to prove you’re not anti-vax, you note that all your kids are vaccinated, but in a podcast in 2020, you said, and I quote, you would do anything pay anything to go back in time and not vaccinate your kids,” Wyden said to Kennedy. “Mr. Kennedy, all of these things cannot be true. So are you lying to Congress today when you say you are pro-vaccine or did you lie on all those podcasts? We have all of this on tape, by the way.” MULTIPLE OUTBURSTS ERUPT AT RFK JR. HEARING: ‘YOU ARE!’ Kennedy took issue with Wyden’s comments and pointed out that the comment about “no vaccine” being safe and effective was said before he was cut off in the interview, with podcaster Lex Fridman, before he could finish. “Yeah, Senator, as you know, because it’s been repeatedly debunked, that the statements that I made on the Lex Fridman podcast was a fragment of the statement,” Kennedy responded. “He asked me, and anybody who actually goes and looks at that podcast and will see that he asked me, are there vaccines that are safe and effective? And I said to him, some of the live virus vaccines. And I said, there are no vaccines that are safe and effective and I was going to continue for, every person. Every medicine has people who are sensitive to them, including vaccines.” RFK JR. LIKELY TO BE CONFIRMED AS HEALTH SECRETARY, DR. SIEGEL SAYS Kennedy continued, “He interrupted me at that point. I’ve corrected it many times, including on national TV. You know about this, Sen. Wyden, so bringing this up right now is dishonest.” A transcript from the interview with Fridman shows Kennedy saying, “I think some of the live virus vaccines are probably averting more problems than they’re causing. There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective. In fact.” Kennedy is then cut off and the conversation goes elsewhere. Kennedy has corrected the record on subsequent shows, including in an interview with HBO’s Bill Maher, where he explained he was interrupted and assured the public, “I would never say that.” Fox News Digital reached out to Wyden’s office but did not immediately receive a response. Opposition to Kennedy’s nomination has been fierce, with advocacy groups running ad campaigns urging senators to vote against his confirmation. “I want to make sure the Committee is clear about a few things. News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry. Well, I am neither; I am pro-safety,” Kennedy said in his opening statement in front of the Senate Finance Committee. Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report
Former Trump Cabinet members launch group to promote president’s energy agenda
FIRST ON FOX: Two former Trump administration Cabinet secretaries are launching a nationwide coalition to back the president’s “energy dominance” agenda, which aims to boost oil and gas production and scale back climate change policies. Former U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette and former U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt are launching the Restoring Energy Dominance Coalition on Wednesday, which will rally conservatives behind President Donald Trump‘s broad energy approach, a central theme of his 2024 campaign. According to the nonprofit’s website, the organization is made up of “a group of concerned citizens and policy experts who understand that American energy production — of all kinds — is essential for unleashing domestic energy dominance.” EXPERTS SAY FIRST WEEK OF ‘TRUMP EFFECT’ IS DERAILING GLOBAL CLIMATE MOVEMENT’S ‘HOUSE OF CARDS’ Brouillette said the coalition will ensure Trump garners the support he needs for his all-of-the-above energy agenda, which is “essential to lowering costs, creating good-paying jobs, and bolstering America’s national security.” All of the above energy involves a mix of energy sources, like fossil fuels, nuclear energy and renewable energy, to promote energy independence. “The first step to improving our economy and lowering the cost of living for American families is to restore our energy dominance,” Bernhadt said in a statement. “President Trump is spot on about needing all forms of energy to meet our current challenges and America’s new golden age will only be possible if we make the president’s energy platform from his 2024 campaign a reality.” Following Trump’s campaign promise to “drill, baby drill,” Trump issued an executive order on Inauguration Day declaring a national energy emergency, invoking the National Emergencies Act, to bolster domestic energy production and reduce reliance on foreign energy sources. The Trump White House argues it will lower energy costs. ENERGY EXPERTS WEIGH IN AFTER CANADIAN PREMIER SAYS SHE WANTS TO DISCUSS KEYSTONE PIPELINE 2.0 WITH TRUMP The order directs federal agencies to “expedite the leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining, and generation of domestic energy resources,” including on federal lands. “The policies of the previous administration have driven our Nation into a national emergency, where a precariously inadequate and intermittent energy supply, and an increasingly unreliable grid, require swift and decisive action,” the executive order reads. “Without immediate remedy, this situation will dramatically deteriorate in the near future due to a high demand for energy and natural resources to power the next generation of technology.” TRUMP ELIMINATING LNG PAUSE TO HAVE ‘QUICKEST EFFECT’ ON ENERGY INDUSTRY: RICK PERRY Trump also issued a sweeping executive order rolling back environmental regulations – which sought to reduce emissions 61-66% by 2035 – that the Biden administration created in December. The order reverses several climate-focused policies and prioritizes fossil fuel expansion, mineral extraction and deregulation. The directive calls for increased oil, gas and coal production on federal lands and waters, while revoking multiple executive orders that supported renewable energy initiatives. It also eliminates the federal electric vehicle (EV) mandate, removes subsidies favoring EVs, and prevents states from imposing stricter emissions standards. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
RFK Jr. vows he won’t take cheeseburgers away, just highlight health issues: ‘My boss loves’ them
President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said in his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday that his objective to making “America Healthy Again” will not include taking food such as cheeseburgers or Twinkies off of the shelves – quipping his boss has a soft spot for fast food. “Most importantly, we need to use, deploy, NIH and FDA to doing the research to understand the relationship between these different food additives and chronic diseases so that Americans understand it,” Kennedy explained before the committee on Wednesday. “But I don’t want to take food away from anybody. If you like a cheeseburger, a McDonald’s cheeseburger, or a Diet Coke, which my boss loves, you should be able to get them,” he said, which sparked laughter from the audience. “If you want a Hostess Twinkies, you should be able to do that. But you should know what the impacts are on your family and on your health,” he explained. TRUMP INNER CIRCLE SHARES MCDONALD’S MEAL AS DONALD JR. JOKES ‘MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN STARTS TOMORROW’ Trump has long been a well-known fan of Diet Coke and McDonald’s fast food, including re-installing a Diet Coke button on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office to swiftly deliver him the soft drink, and campaigned at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s ahead of the Nov. 5 election. WOMAN SERVED BY TRUMP AT MCDONALD’S DRIVE-THRU REVEALS DETAILS BEHIND VIRAL EXCHANGE WITH FORMER PRESIDENT Kennedy’s hearing on Wednesday before the Senate Finance Committee is just the first, with the nominee scheduled to again join lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Thursday to appear before the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Kennedy has been at the forefront of “MAHA,” or Make America Health Again, movement within Trump’s orbit. Kennedy’s hearing was expected to be fiery, as the son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy has come under fire for his critical stance on vaccines and food additives. Kennedy said in his hearing that he is not “anti-vaccine.” TRUMP MAKES FRIES AT PENNSYLVANIA MCDONALD’S: ‘I’VE NOW WORKED FOR 15 MINUTES MORE THAN KAMALA’ “I worked for years to raise awareness about the mercury and toxic chemicals in fish. And nobody called me anti-fish. And I believe that… that vaccines play a critical role in healthcare. All of my kids are vaccinated. I’ve read many books on vaccines. My first book in 2014, a first line of it is ‘I am not anti-vaccine’ and last line is ‘I am not anti-vaccine.’ Nor am I the enemy of food producers. American farms are the bedrock of our culture, of our politics, of our national security,” he said on Wednesday. ‘VINDICTIVE’: DEMOCRAT IN TIGHT SENATE RACE BLASTED BY GOP RIVAL FOR SWIPE AT MCDONALD’S AFTER TRUMP VISIT “In my advocacy, I’ve often disturbed this status quo. I am asking uncomfortable questions. Well, I’m not going to apologize for that. We have massive health problems in this country that we must face,” he added.
Multiple outbursts erupt at RFK Jr. hearing: ‘You are!’
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, was interrupted by multiple outbursts during his hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday morning. “I want to make sure the committee is clear about a few things. News reports have claimed that I’m anti-vaccine or any industry. I am neither. I am pro safety,” Kennedy said in his opening remarks before a protester shouted at him “You are,” the female protester was heard shouting at Kennedy when he said he’s not anti-vaccine. Minutes later, another outburst erupted in the hearing, sparking Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo to issue a warning to not disrupt the hearing. “To the audience, comments from the audience are inappropriate and out of order. And if there are any further disruptions, the committee will recess until the police can restore order. Please follow the rules of the committee. Mr. Kennedy, you may proceed,” Crapo said. HEGSETH INTERRUPTED BY MULTIPLE PROTESTERS DURING SENATE CONFIRMATION HEARING Another protester was spotted in the audience holding a sign reading, “Vaccines Save Lives, Not RFK JR.” Kennedy’s hearing on Wednesday before the Senate Finance Committee is just the first, with the nominee scheduled to again join lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Thursday to appear before the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. The nominee has come under fire for his critical stance on vaccines, which he defended in his opening statement as “I worked for years to raise awareness about the mercury and toxic chemicals in fish. And nobody called me anti-fish. And I believe that … that vaccines play a critical role in health care. All of my kids are vaccinated. I’ve read many books on vaccines. My first book in 2014, a first line of it is ‘I am not anti-vaccine’ and last line is ‘I am not anti-vaccine.’ Nor I’m the enemy of food producers, American farms and the bedrock of our culture, of our politics, of our national security,” he said on Wednesday. “In my advocacy, I’ve often disturbed this status quo. I am asking uncomfortable questions. Well, I’m not going to apologize for that. We have massive health problems in this country that we must face,” he added. Protesters disrupting Senate hearings for Trump’s administration picks has become a common theme, with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also facing protesters in their respective hearings earlier this month.
Trump fires two Democratic commissioners on civil rights enforcement agency as White House targets DEI
President Donald Trump reportedly fired two of the three Democratic commissioners on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), as his administration continues its pledge to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) from government bureaucracy. The two now-former EEOC commissioners, Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels, said in statements Tuesday that they were fired late Monday night. Both said they were exploring options to challenge their dismissals, calling their removal before the expiration of their five-year terms an unprecedented decision that undermines the agency’s independence. Burrows, who has been an EEOC commissioner since 2015, said in her statement Tuesday that the dismissal of two Democratic commissioners before their terms ended “undermine the efforts of this independent agency to do the important work of protecting employees from discrimination, supporting employers’ compliance efforts, and expanding public awareness and understanding of federal employment laws.” Samuels, who was appointed by Trump in 2020, and then was nominated by former President Joe Biden for a second term, said her removal “violates the law, and represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the EEOC as an independent agency – one that is not controlled by a single Cabinet secretary but operates as a multi-member body whose varying views are baked into the Commission’s design.” TRUMP ADMIN TO PAUSE GRANTS, FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS FOLLOWING EXECUTIVE ORDERS “The President’s action undermines the stability and continuity of the EEOC’s critical work to advance equal opportunity and fair treatment,” she said. In removing her, Samuels said, the White House “also critiqued my views on DEIA initiatives and sex discrimination, further misconstruing the basic principles of equal employment opportunity.” The ex-commissioner argued that DEI initiatives “protect all people on the basis of race, sex, gender and religious belief, and other characteristics,” but the Trump administration has contended the so-called protections ushered in by the Biden administration actually veer into discrimination. For example, the EEOC last April published guidance describing how an employer could be found liable for harassment if they mandate an employee use a bathroom that corresponds with their biological sex, prompting backlash. “This Administration’s demonization of transgender individuals is both cruel and inconsistent with the law,” Samuels wrote Tuesday. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment Wednesday. The EEOC was created by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as a bipartisan five-member panel to protect workers from discrimination on the basis of race, gender, disability and other protected characteristics. The U.S. president appoints the commissioners and the Senate confirms them, but their terms are staggered and are meant to overlap presidential terms to help ensure the agency’s independence. The two firings leave the agency with one Republican commissioner, Andrea Lucas, who Trump appointed acting EEOC chair last week, one Democratic commissioner, Kalpana Kotagal, and three vacancies that Trump can fill. STATE DEPT PULLS MILLIONS IN FUNDING FOR ‘CONDOMS IN GAZA,’ AS TRUMP ADMIN LOOKS TO TRIM SPENDING Another Republican commissioner, Keith Sonderling, resigned after Trump appointed him deputy secretary of labor. Lucas, the new acting EEOC chair, issued a statement last week saying that she would prioritize “rooting out unlawful DEI-motivated race and sex discrimination; protecting American workers from anti-American national origin discrimination; defending the biological and binary reality of sex and related rights, including women’s rights to single‑sex spaces at work.” In contrast, the three Democratic commissioners all issued statements last week condemning a slew of executive orders aimed at ending DEI practices in the federal workforce and private companies, along with “protections” for transgender workers. Their statements also emphasized that U.S. anti-discrimination laws remained intact despite Trump’s orders and that the EEOC must continue enforcing them. The EEOC panel investigates and imposes penalties on employers found to have violated laws that protect workers from racial, gender, disability and other forms of discrimination. The agency also writes influential rules and guidelines for how anti-discrimination laws should be implemented, and conducts workplace outreach and training. In recent years, the agency’s Democratic and Republican commissioners have been sharply divided on many issues. Both Republican commissioners voted against new guidelines last year stating that “misgendering” transgender employees, or denying access to a bathroom consistent with their gender identity, would violate anti-discrimination laws. The Republican commissioners also voted against regulations stating that employers must give workers time off and other accommodations for abortions under the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP National Labor Relations Board member Gynne A. Wilcox and General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo were also fired late Monday night, the agency confirmed. Wilcox was the first Black woman to serve on the Board since its inception in 1935, according to the NLRB website. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
DeepSeek fallout: GOP Sen Josh Hawley seeks to cut off all US-China collaboration on AI development
FIRST ON FOX: This week the U.S. tech sector was routed by the Chinese launch of DeepSeek, and Sen. Josh Hawley is putting forth legislation to prevent that from happening again. Hawley’s bill, the Decoupling America’s Artifical Intelligence Capabilities from China Act, would cut off U.S.-China cooperation on AI. It would ban exports or imports of AI technology from China, ban American companies from conducting research there, and prohibit any U.S. investment in AI tech companies in China. “Every dollar and gig of data that flows into Chinese AI are dollars and data that will ultimately be used against the United States,” said Hawley, R-Mo., in a statement. “America cannot afford to empower our greatest adversary.” His is one of the first bills introduced directly in response to the DeepSeek market shakeup of the past few days. THERE IS A ‘WAKE-UP CALL’ FOR US TO BE THE LEADER IN AI, SAYS WHITE HOUSE AI AND CRYPTO ‘CZAR’ DeepSeek’s release of a new high-profile AI model that costs less to run than existing models like those of Meta and OpenAI sent a chill through U.S. markets, with chipmaker Nvidia stocks tanking on Monday before slowly gaining ground again on Tuesday. The surprise release displayed how China’s economic competitiveness has far outpaced the ability of U.S. business leaders and lawmakers to agree on what to do about it. Unlike other legislation to thwart China’s profiting off U.S. innovation, Hawley’s bill would cover any AI-related technology instead of specific entities, which has prompted the Chinese to seek out loopholes through other companies. TRUMP’S AI ‘DECLARATION’ REMINISCENT OF JFK PLEDGE TO PUT A MAN ON THE MOON: FORMER WHITE HOUSE IT OFFICIAL Microsoft and OpenAI are now reportedly investigating whether DeepSeek could have accessed and used their data to train its own Chinese model, Bloomberg News reported. White House artificial intelligence czar David Sacks told Fox News there is “substantial evidence that what DeepSeek did here is they distilled the knowledge out of OpenAI’s models.” President Donald Trump on Monday said DeepSeek’s arrival on the scene “should be a wakeup call” for America’s tech companies after the new low-cost AI assistant soared to number one on the Apple app store over the weekend. “The release of DeepSeek AI from a Chinese company should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser focused on competing,” Trump said. But the president said it was ultimately a good thing if the world had access to cheaper, faster AI models. “Instead of spending billions and billions, you’ll spend less, and you’ll come up with, hopefully, the same solution,” Trump said. In his final week in office, President Joe Biden issued a rule slapping export controls on AI chips, with his national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, arguing that the U.S. was only six to 18 months ahead of China in the AI sector. U.S. officials are now looking at the national security implications of DeepSeek, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who added that the Trump administration was working to “ensure American AI dominance.”
Top law firm Sullivan & Cromwell to represent Trump in ongoing legal matters
EXCLUSIVE: President Donald Trump has retained counsel from top law firm Sullivan & Cromwell to represent him in his ongoing appeal efforts in the cases brought against him by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James, Fox News Digital has learned. The move comes after his original legal team on the cases joined his administration in top roles. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FIRES MORE THAN A DOZEN KEY OFFICIALS ON FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S TEAM The president will be represented by Sullivan Cromwell co-chair and partner Robert J. Giuffra Jr. Giuffra has been at the firm since 1989 after serving as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Giuffra currently focuses on securities, white collar criminal, product liability, commercial, insurance, banking and tax litigation. Trump also will be represented by Matthew Schwartz, a partner of the firm who joined in 2007 after clerking for Justice Samuel Alito; Jeffrey Wall, another partner who served as an acting U.S. solicitor general and has argued more than 30 cases in the U.S. Supreme Court; James McDonald, a partner who served as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York; and Morgan Ratner, a partner who has argued nine cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and who served in the Office of Solicitor General at the Justice Department. Fox News Digital has learned that Boris Epshteyn, Trump’s top legal advisor, is continuing his role as senior counsel, coordinating a wide array of legal fronts and matters for the president. “President Donald J. Trump’s appeal is important for the rule of law, New York’s reputation as a global business, financial and legal center, as well as for the presidency and all public officials,” Giuffra told Fox News Digital. “The misuse of the criminal law by the Manhattan DA to target President Trump sets a dangerous precedent, and we look forward to the case being dismissed on appeal.” The shift comes after the president tapped his former lawyers on the cases to top roles in his administration. Trump appointed his attorney Todd Blanche to serve as deputy attorney general and John Sauer as solicitor general of the United States. Emil Bove, also a Trump attorney tapped for a top role at the Justice Department, is serving as the acting deputy attorney general, but if Blanche is confirmed, Bove will serve as principal associate deputy attorney general. DONALD TRUMP SENTENCED WITH NO PENALTY IN NEW YORK CRIMINAL TRIAL, AS JUDGE WISHES HIM ‘GODSPEED’ IN 2ND TERM Will Scharf, who also represented the president in these cases, was appointed to serve as staff secretary at the White House. Blanche, Sauer, Bove and Scharf successfully defended the president in former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into Jan. 6, 2021, and alleged interference in the 2020 election as well as in his classified records case. Sauer argued the case on presidential immunity before the U.S. Supreme Court, leading the high court to rule that presidents have immunity for nonofficial presidential acts. Smith’s classified records case was dismissed in July 2024 by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel. Smith charged Trump in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., in his 2020 election case, but after Trump was elected president, Smith sought to dismiss the case. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted that request. Both cases were dismissed. The new legal team will take over Trump’s appeals in both Bragg’s case and James’ case. Trump was sentenced earlier in January by Judge Juan Merchan to an unconditional discharge after being found guilty on charges of falsifying business records. Merchan did not sentence the president to prison, but rather did not impose any punishment at all — no jail time, fines or probation. TRUMP TO TAKE MORE THAN 200 EXECUTIVE ACTIONS ON DAY ONE That sentence preserves Trump’s ability to appeal the conviction — which Sullivan & Cromwell will take over. As for James’ case against Trump, New York Judge Arthur Engoron, after a weekslong nonjury civil fraud trial, ruled in 2024 that Trump and defendants were liable for “persistent and repeated fraud,” “falsifying business records,” “issuing false financial statements,” “conspiracy to falsify false financial statements,” “insurance fraud,” and “conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.” But before the trial began, Engoron issued a summary judgment against Trump, making the subsequent trial a case over the penalty to be paid. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump appealed the $454 million judgment. The appeal is pending before the New York Appeals Court. Judges on the New York appeals court appeared receptive in 2024 to the possibility of reversing or reducing the $454 million civil fraud judgment.
Trump AG pick Pam Bondi clears Judiciary Committee, will get confirmation vote in Senate
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Wednesday to favorably report Pam Bondi’s nomination for U.S. attorney general to the Senate, a widely expected vote that clears her for a vote in the full chamber later this week. She secured the votes of the committee’s 12 Republicans, with all 10 Democrats voting against. Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, made a name for herself in Florida by cracking down on drug trafficking, violent crime and the many “pill mills” operating in the state. She also spent 18 years as a prosecutor for the Hillsborough County state attorney’s office, giving her the experience that many believe she will need to serve as the top U.S. attorney. Bondi was expected to see a glide path to confirmation ahead of Wednesday’s vote. Her nomination to be President Donald Trump’s attorney general also earned the praise of more than 110 former senior Justice Department officials, including former attorneys general, and dozens of Democratic and Republican state attorneys general, who praised her experience and work across party and state lines. ‘UNLIKELY COALITION’: A CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM ADVOCATE SEES OPPORTUNITIES IN A SECOND TRUMP TERM Those backers described Bondi in interviews and letters previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital as an experienced and motivated prosecutor whose record has proved to be more consensus-builder than bridge-burner. In her confirmation hearing earlier this month, Bondi stressed that, if confirmed to head up DOJ, the “partisanship, the weaponization will be gone. “America will have one tier of justice for all.” Whether the approach will prove successful, however, remains to be seen. The confirmation vote Wednesday was held against a strikingly different political backdrop than just two weeks ago, when Bondi testified days before Trump’s swearing-in. In his first nine days in office, Trump has fired more than 15 inspectors general from top federal agencies, ousted more than a dozen special counsel members tasked with investigating him and reassigned or removed officials from top posts at the department. TRUMP FIRES 17 GOVERNMENT WATCHDOGS AT VARIOUS FEDERAL AGENCIES He also froze new hiring at DOJ, issued a sweeping clemency grant for more than 1,500 criminal defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol and installed as acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia a criminal defense attorney who represented several high-profile rioters. Combined, Democrats have raised serious concerns about these actions— and about Bondi’s ability to steer the Justice Department in the face of a willful, and at times seemingly impulsive president-elect, and questioned her willingness to go after political “enemies” and asked her to give credence to certain remarks made by Kash Patel, Trump’s FBI nominee. However, Bondi appeared composed and largely unflappable during the course of her confirmation hearing, which stretched for more than five hours, save for a 30-minute lunch break. She highlighted her record of fighting violent crime, drug trafficking and human trafficking as Florida’s top prosecutor, and outlined her broader vision for heading up the Justice Department, where she stressed her desire to lead a department free from political influence. TRUMP HIRING FREEZE PROMPTS DOJ TO PULL JOB OFFERS IN AG’S HONORS PROGRAM: REPORT If confirmed, Bondi’s former colleagues have told Fox News Digital they expect her to bring the same playbook she used in Florida to Washington – this time with an eye to cracking down on drug trafficking, illicit fentanyl use and the cartels responsible for smuggling the drugs across the border. Democrat Dave Aronberg, who challenged Bondi in her bid for Florida attorney general, told Fox News Digital in an interview that he was stunned when Bondi called him up after winning the race and asked him to be her drug czar. He noted that she has stared down political challenges before. When she took office in Florida, Aaronberg said, Bondi “received a lot of pushback” from members of the Republican Party for certain actions she took,” including appointing a Democrat to a top office. “But she stood up to them and she did what she thought was right, regardless of political pressure,” Aaronberg told Fox News Digital on the eve of her confirmation vote. “So that’s what gives me hope here, is that she’ll editorship and refocus the Department of Justice on policy and politics. You know, I’m hopeful she’ll focus on and I know that the border and the and human trafficking and the rise of anti-Semitism in our country and on college campuses, those won’t be popular positions.”