AOC launches bid for top Democratic role on House Oversight Committee
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), the progressive Democrat from New York, has launched a bid to serve in the top Democratic role on the House committee leading investigation efforts into the federal government. In a letter to her fellow lawmakers on Friday, AOC announced her candidacy to serve as ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability for the 119th Congress, a position currently held by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md. The “Squad” member, in her pitch to colleagues, noted that her focus would be to lead a Democratic effort against the incoming administration under President-elect Donald Trump. “This is not a position I seek lightly,” the congresswoman wrote in the letter. “The responsibility of leading Democrats on the House Oversight Committee during Donald Trump’s second term in the White House is a profound and consequential one. Now, more than ever, we must focus on the Committee’s strong history of both holding administrations accountable and taking on the economic precarity and inequality that is challenging the American way of life.” AOC’S ‘RED LIGHT DISTRICT’ PLAGUED BY CRIME AS DEMOCRAT WHO HELPED HER RISE TO POWER SAYS SHE ‘DISAPPEARED’ “In the 119th Congress, Oversight Committee Democrats will face an important task: we must balance our focus on the incoming president’s corrosive actions and corruption with a tangible fight to make life easier for America’s working class,” she continued. NANCY MACE FIRES BACK AT AOC, CRITICS OF TRANS BATHROOM BAN: ‘HEIGHT OF HYPOCRISY’ AOC’s announcement comes just days after Raskin, the committee’s current ranking member, announced he would be seeking the top Democratic post again during the next Congress. AOC will also be competing for the seat against Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who recently declared his bid for the Oversight role. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., currently serves as chairman of the committee, which focuses on ensuring efficiency and accountability within the federal government and its agencies.
Top law enforcement official sounds alarm about bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang operating in red state
FIRST ON FOX: A top law enforcement official in Tennessee is warning that the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is operating in the state and conducting human trafficking — the latest indicator of a growing footprint by the bloodthirsty gang. “We’ve seen, in the past few months, a resurgence of intelligence information that tells us they are operating in our state. They are operating in the human trafficking space,” Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said. Rausch made the comments on the “Unmuted with Marsha” podcast with Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., video of which was shared with Fox News Digital. Blackburn noted the recent arrest of a Tren de Aragua fugitive from Venezuela with a history of violent crimes in Tennessee. EX-ICE OFFICIAL WARNS TREN DE ARAGUA HAS GROWN FASTER INSIDE US THAN MURDEROUS RIVAL GANG: ‘PUT THEM OUT NOW’ Tren de Aragua is believed to have started in the Tocoron prison in the Venezuelan state of Aragua and has since expanded into Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and the U.S. They are believed to have grown exponentially with the surge of Venezuelan migrants into the U.S. Numerous crimes in the last year have been linked to TdA, in states including Georgia, Illinois, Texas, Colorado and New York. Rausch said that in 2022, his agents first came across the gang in Tennessee and made arrests in 2023, and over time they encountered victims who provided additional intelligence about the gang’s operations in Tennessee and elsewhere throughout the U.S. He told Blackburn that they appeared to briefly leave the state, but have since returned. “What they’re doing is, they bring in these females, Venezuelan females, and they’re bringing them into the country. They’re smuggling them in, bringing them into the country. Some of them, they’re bringing in, exploiting our system, where they’ll come in and claim that they are fleeing the dictatorship and the challenges that exist in Venezuela,” he said. NEW REPORT WARNS BLOODTHIRSTY VENEZUELAN GANG’S FOOTPRINT WILL REMAIN IN US ‘FOR DECADES’ Rausch said that his agency has conducted two major operations where it had located TdA members in the Nashville area. However, he did caution about the extent of their presence and said that it wasn’t as intense as it is in other states like Colorado. “Most recently, when we were expressing that we knew they were in Tennessee, and they’re operating in our major cities, that caused a lot of challenge, a lot of people got upset about that. They immediately went to thinking, ‘This is TDA that is taking over apartment complexes, as we’ve seen in other cities.’ We’re not there yet, but we don’t want to get there,” he said. Rausch warned that the gang typically starts with human trafficking and moves to other crimes like organized retail crime and theft, before getting into the drug trade and becoming increasingly violent against other cartels. “We certainly don’t want to see it anywhere in the country, but my responsibility primarily is here in Tennessee, and so we don’t want that happening. And so I raised the alarm that we know they’re here operating human trafficking. We want to stop them at this point, where we can right now,” he said. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS Blackburn asked about solutions to the crisis, and mentioned her own legislation that would encourage local law enforcement co-operation with the federal government when they encounter a criminal illegal immigrant. “When someone is committing crimes in your country, and they’re in the country illegally, of course, you need to deport them,” Blackburn said. Rausch noted also that returning migrants to their countries of origin can be difficult when they don’t accept them. “What do we do with these individuals? Do we hold them here in the U.S. prison until that situation in whatever country it is they came from that we can’t send them back to, that we figure that out? What is the answer to that?” he asked. The conversation comes ahead of what is expected to be a historic deportation operation by the incoming Trump administration. Trump this week announced additional picks for his border security team, including former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott as his choice to lead Customs and Border Protection (CBP). During the presidential election campaign, Trump said he intends to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to target and dismantle “every illegal migrant criminal network operating on American soil.”
Biden attends national Christmas tree lighting on windy Washington night
President Biden participated in the national Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Washington D.C. on Thursday night in what will be his last time attending the annual event before he exits the White House next year to make way for President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office. “Merry Christmas America!” Biden declared during remarks at the tree-lighting event. Freelance photographer Andrew Leyden shared photos of the ceremony, writing on X, “As he left the National Christmas Tree lighting, @POTUS removed his stocking cap, bent over to look at the press and then asked ‘You’re still here?’ It was very cold and windy tonight.” BIDEN TEAM REPORTEDLY CONSIDERING PREEMPTIVE PARDONS FOR FAUCI, SCHIFF, OTHER TRUMP ‘TARGETS’ “For a bit of context– as the night went on and temperatures dipped, Biden put on a wool stocking cap. When it came off static electricity + wind. It happens,” he noted in another post. “Biden’s entire presidency summed up in a hairdo,” one X user quipped. LEGAL EXPERT SKEPTICAL SUPREME COURT WILL ‘BUY’ BIDEN ADMIN’S ARGUMENT CHALLENGING TENNESSEE TRANSGENDER LAW Biden — whose decades-long Washington career has spanned more time than the length of some Americans’ entire lives — in 1987 commented on a Washington Post piece that suggested he had undergone a hair transplant. “Guess,” Biden said when asked to confirm the matter, according to the outlet. “I’ve got to keep some mystery in my life.” DEMOCRATS FRUSTRATED BY HUNTER PARDON CONSIDER WITHHOLDING FUTURE BIDEN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY DONATIONS: REPORT While Biden suggested prior to the presidential election that Trump represented a “genuine danger to American security,” the outgoing president is slated to attend Trump’s inauguration next month.
Biden EPA makes first-ever climate change arrest
The Biden administration has made a precedent-setting arrest related to anti-climate change activities this fiscal year, highlighted in a new report that shows a ramped-up enforcement effort against environmental offenses. On Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final report on enforcement efforts under President Biden, which detailed how climate-related penalties were enforced this fiscal year. The EPA worked to implement the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, which requires the agency to reduce hydrofluorocarbons, a synthetic compound commonly used for refrigeration or air conditioning, by 85% by 2036. The AIM Act led to the arrest of Michael Hart, of San Diego, in March on charges related to “smuggling potent greenhouse gases,” highlighted in the EPA report. The charges marked the first-ever greenhouse gas-related arrest issued under the AIM Act, but according to an EPA press release from earlier this year, “it will not be the last.” EPA’S NEW RUL TO CHARGE OIL AND GAS COMPANIES FOR EMISSIONS COULD FACE A TRUMP RECKONING Additionally, the EPA reported issuing $1.7 billion in administrative and judicial penalties, the highest level since 2017. The agency’s environmental enforcement efforts also saw 1,851 civil cases concluded, 121 criminal defendants charged, and it issued more than 225 million pounds of “pollution reductions” in “overburdened communities,” according to the report. As of the end of 2024, there are about 480 open criminal investigations on environmental programs. BIDEN IMPOSES NEW METHANE EMISSIONS TAX AS HE PREPARES TO LEAVE THE WHITE HOUSE The results reflect a 3.4% increase in civil cases and a 17.6% increase in criminal charges compared to 2023, The Associated Press reported. In the FY 2024 report, the EPA also noted that collaborative efforts on the “implementation of EPA’s national priorities” led to a “12% increase in criminal leads opened because of referrals from EPA Headquarters and regional offices.” “In Fiscal Year 2024, EPA’s enforcement and compliance assurance program produced its strongest results since 2017, focusing on efforts to combat climate change and tackling some of the nation’s most significant environmental threats to our shared air, water and land,” David M. Uhlmann, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said in a statement. “The progress made under the Biden-Harris Administration has sent a clear signal that polluters will be held accountable and that protecting communities from harm is a top priority.” The agency zeroed in on six areas of priority for FY 2024 as part of their National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative: mitigating climate change, exposure to PFAS, working against communities from coal ash contamination, reducing air toxics in overburdened communities, increasing compliance with drinking water standards and chemical accident risk reduction. Biden has made issuing green energy projects a focus of his administration, most recently handing out billions of dollars to fund climate-related projects in the remaining months of his term before President-elect Donald Trump steps into office.
National Police Association endorses Trump pick for FBI director
The National Police Association (NPA) announced on Friday its endorsement of President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, praising his record of “transparency” and “accountability” they say makes him well-positioned to head up the nation’s sprawling law enforcement agency. In a statement Friday, the NPA—a nonprofit group that represents more than 240,000 U.S. police officers— praised Patel’s “distinguished career” both as a former federal prosecutor and legal liaison to the Joint Special Operations Command. “The law enforcement community knows that effective leadership at the FBI is essential for building public trust and enhancing coordination across all levels of policing,” the group said. “Kash Patel’s proven record of leadership, expertise in counterterrorism and intelligence, and ability to navigate complex legal and operational challenges make him the ideal candidate to restore faith in the FBI’s mission and ensure it remains a steadfast ally to our nation’s police forces. “We are confident that under his stewardship, the FBI will thrive in its vital mission to protect and serve the American people,” the group added. KASH PATEL: MILLEY, BIDEN ADMIN ‘PEDDLING FALSE FACTS’ ON CHINA PHONE-CALL CONTROVERSY Patel is a close ally of the president-elect and served in the first Trump administration both as a deputy assistant and as the senior director for counterterrorism. Trump announced earlier this month that he plans to fire FBI Director Christopher Wray and nominate Patel as his replacement. Wray could also voluntarily vacate the position on his own before Trump’s inauguration, though he has not yet said whether he plans to do so. TRUMP TRANSITION SIGNS AGREEMENT FOR FBI BACKGROUND CHECKS “This FBI will end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle the migrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the Border,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social announcing his plans to nominate Patel. Still, replacing a sitting FBI director is a controversial move. FBI directors are appointed to 10-year terms, allowing them, in theory, to operate without political pressure and interference from a sitting president. Trump also selected Wray during his first term as president to replace former FBI Director James Comey, whom he fired less than four years into his tenure. Trump praised Wray at the time as a “fierce guardian of the law and model of integrity.” Patel’s nomination has also sparked criticism from some circles, who have cited his earlier vows to prosecute journalists and career officials at the Justice Department and FBI that he sees as being part of the “deep state.” Those fears were not shared by the NPA, however. In their statement, the group said Patel’s appointment would mark a “pivotal moment for law enforcement and public safety across the United States.” His leadership “will bring a renewed focus on collaboration, ethical standards, and the relentless pursuit of justice,” they said.
Trump returns to Europe for the first time following election win for Notre Dame’s re-opening
President-elect Donald Trump will be in France this weekend to celebrate the re-opening of the famed Notre Dame Cathedral alongside several world leaders, marking his first foreign trip following his election victory last month. Trump announced his plan Monday to attend the celebratory re-opening on his social media app Truth Social, which comes five years after a fire devastated the cathedral in 2019. The 700-million-euro restoration project was funded by donations from 150 countries and involved the application of carpentry methods dating back to the 13th century. Sources familiar with the president-elect’s plans told Fox News that Trump’s attendance was at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron. Security will be tight for the invite-only festivities that are set to begin Saturday afternoon, Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez said in an interview published by French media outlet Le Parisien. He said many of the measures will mimic those deployed during the Paris Olympics. FIRST LOOK AT NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL’S RESTORED INTERIOR FIVE YEARS AFTER DEVASTATING FIRE Nuñez also indicated that about 50 heads of state would be in attendance, but did not specify whom or from which countries. President Joe Biden, however, is not expected to attend, but first lady Jill Biden will be there. Macron was the first foreign leader to congratulate Trump after his election win over Vice President Kamala Harris, CNN reported. The pair’s relationship heading into Trump’s second non-consecutive term will build on what the two established during Trump’s first term. While the two traded barbs during Trump’s first term in the White House, Macron has shown a level of deference – at times – towards Trump that other NATO leaders have not. Reporters have described the pair’s relationship as a “bromance,” and in 2017 the two participated in a Bastille Day military parade in Paris aimed at highlighting the longstanding alliance between France and the U.S. AFTER TRUMP WIN, FRENCH PRESIDENT MACRON ASKS IF EU IS ‘READY TO DEFEND’ EUROPEAN INTERESTS Trump’s push to get other NATO countries to contribute more money to defense efforts – and his overall skepticism of the alliance – has been a point of contention between Trump and other NATO leaders. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for instance, clashed with Trump over his claims Germany was not contributing enough to NATO’s defense efforts. During a NATO summit in 2019, a cohort of global leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, then-Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and France’s Macron, were caught on a hot-mic seemingly making fun of Trump for engaging in long, rambling press conferences. The year prior, during a speech at the U.N., audible laughter could be heard after he said his administration had accomplished more in its first two years than any other administration in history. But heading into Trump’s second term, world leaders seem to be aware of the importance of forging a good relationship with him. Just last week, Trudeau traveled to Trump’s Florida resort after the president-elect threatened to slap tariffs on Canadian products over concerns about illegal immigration. TRUMP TRUMPS BIDEN AS PRESIDENT-ELECT OVERSHADOWS WHITE HOUSE INCUMBENT ON WORLD STAGE CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Earlier this week, new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed Britain’s and the U.S.’ “special relationship,” before recalling when the president-elect “graciously hosted me for dinner in Trump Tower,” during an annual banquet hosted by the Lord Mayor of London. Trump’s arrival in the French capital coincides with Macron’s strategic efforts to stabilize a government in turmoil. Following the ousting of his prime minister through a no-confidence vote, Macron now confronts increasing demands for his own resignation.
Obama, in 1st remarks since election, says ‘a line has been crossed’ if ‘one side’ makes certain moves
Former President Barack Obama declared that if “one side” attempts to cement “a permanent grip on power” through “suppressing votes,” “politicizing” the military or weaponizing the judiciary and criminal justice system to target opponents, “a line has been crossed.” His comments came even as many Americans believe that President-elect Donald Trump has been unfairly targeted in unwarranted politically motivated cases. Obama made the comments during a speech on Thursday during the Obama Foundation’s Democracy Forum. The speech marked his first public remarks following the 2024 election. “You see, it’s easy to give democracy lip service when it delivers the outcomes we want. It’s when we don’t get what we want that our commitment to democracy is tested,” he said. ‘DEPORTER-IN-CHIEF’ OBAMA SURPASSED DEPORTATIONS UNDER TRUMP’S FIRST TERM During his first term in office, Trump was acquitted in the Senate after two separate but ultimately unsuccessful impeachment efforts, and in the wake of his White House tenure, he has been slapped with multiple indictments, which many viewed as lawfare against the Republican figure. While some Republicans have advocated for Biden to be impeached, the GOP has not done so, even with control of the House chamber. During the speech, Obama also advocated for “pluralism.” “It means that in a democracy we all have to find a way to live alongside individuals and groups who are different than us,” he said. Obama’s remarks came after Biden made a comment earlier this year that many perceived as him referring to Trump supporters as “garbage.” In a post on X, Biden distanced himself from the remarks and claimed he was referring to the “hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporters at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage” instead. ‘OBAMA BROS’ TRASH BIDEN FOR MAKING DEFENDERS LOOK ‘STUPID’ WITH HUNTER PARDON: ‘TYPICAL, LYING POLITICIAN’ Democrats have consistently launched invective against Trump — including Biden, who said that the Republican was a “genuine danger to American security” — but it was Trump who was the target of several assassination attempts in the run-up to the 2024 election. Obama, in his remarks, insisted that he is “convinced that if we want democracy as we understand it to survive,” people must work for a renewed dedication to pluralist principles. “Because the alternative is what we’ve seen here in the United States and in many democracies around the globe: Not just more gridlock, not just public cynicism, but an increasing willingness” among “politicians and their followers to violate democratic norms, to do anything they can to get their way, to use the power of the state to target critics, and journalists, and political rivals, and to even resort to violence” to obtain and retain power. OBAMA RELEASES ELECTION DAY VIDEO SAYING ‘THIS IS GOING TO BE CLOSE’ The former president added that bridge building represents the “best tool” to create “lasting change.” “Pluralism is not about holding hands and singing Kumbaya. It is not about abandoning your convictions and folding when things get tough. It is about recognizing that in a democracy power comes from forging alliances and building coalitions and making room in those coalitions not only for the woke but also for the waking,” he said. Obama served two consecutive terms spanning from early 2009 through early 2017, when he was succeeded by Trump.
Incoming GOP senator reveals how he will ‘strap rocket-boosters’ to Trump’s agenda in new Congress
FIRST ON FOX: Fresh off ousting longtime Montana Democrat Sen. Jon Tester, Republican Sen.-elect Tim Sheehy is outlining his priorities for the next Congress and outlining what his party’s agenda will look like in the Senate. “I ran to make Montana affordable again and make America strong again,” Sheehy, who defeated Tester in Montana by seven points in a key race that helped Republicans flip the Senate, told Fox News Digital about his plans to move forward President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda. “That means a secure border, safe streets, cheap gas, cops are good, criminals are bad, boys are boys, and girls are girls. For too long, status quo politics in Washington have led our country to the brink, and it is past time to rein in our runaway federal bureaucracy, cut waste, restore common sense, and build a transparent government that is actually accountable to everyday Americans.” Sheehy said he plans to “strap rocket-boosters to the Trump agenda” when he takes office in January in order to “get our country back on track.” JEFF BEZOS TELLS ELITE AUDIENCE HE’S ‘VERY OPTIMISTIC’ ABOUT TRUMP’S ANTI-REGULATORY AGENDA “My promise to every Montanan is simple: As your senator, I will always fight for Montanans, put America First, and do the right thing in office because it’s the right thing for Montana and America.” Part of getting the country back on track, according to Sheehy, is immediate action at the southern border. “We’ve got to seal the border on day one, and that’s exactly what President Trump has vowed to do,” Sheehy said. “In the Senate, we must support the America First agenda and pass enduring legislation that will finally put an end to the senseless border crisis that flooded our communities with drugs and crime the last four years.” Republicans across the country campaigned on the economy and specifically the issue of inflation and raising costs, which Sheehy said would be a top focus for him in the Senate. INCOMING GOP SENATE MAJORITY LEADER UNVEILS LEGISLATIVE AGENDA FOR TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S 1ST 30 DAYS “One of my top priorities is working to bring down prices for families and boost real wages for the hardworking Americans – farmers, miners, loggers, truck drivers, electricians, plumbers, and carpenters – who put food on our tables and keep our economy running,” Sheehy said. “That means we must bring back our resource economy, especially in Montana, because we do it better, safer, and more efficiently here in America than anywhere else, and we must unapologetically put an end to the radical, job-killing Green New Deal agenda that has devastated our forestry, mining, and energy exploration industries. We must unleash American energy across the board.” Sheehy told Fox News Digital that protecting public lands, a key issue in a state like Montana with large swaths of rural areas, will be at the top of the agenda. “Another key priority will be protecting our communities and public lands from wildfires,” Sheehy explained. “As recently as August, I was water-bombing fires and protecting our communities. I know firsthand the devastation wildfires can cause and have a unique perspective on how the federal government has failed on this issue. I will fight for Montanans to be able to better manage our own federal lands and ensure radical environmentalists aren’t steering our federal policy when it comes to public lands.” Sheehy, a combat veteran, told Fox News Digital that when it comes to foreign policy, it is critical for the military to focus on winning wars as opposed to social issues. “As a combat veteran myself, who is married to a combat veteran, I know we must rebuild our military, ensure our forces are ready to fight and win wars, and prioritize combat lethality – not social initiatives – for our brave men and women in uniform to keep them and our great nation safe,” Sheehy said. Republicans will head into the next Congress holding a 53-47 Senate majority along with razor-thin control of the House of Representatives. Trump reportedly called into a Tuesday meeting to speak with the Republican senators as they discussed legislative priorities, as he will have to work closely with the chamber to move forward his own agenda. “He was thrilled with his victory,” Sen. John Barrasso, R–Wyo., said of Trump’s call, the Hill reported. “We have a mandate and an opportunity to do the sorts of things that we campaigned upon in terms of lowering prices, in terms of the border, in terms of getting America back on track.” Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed to this report
‘Doing very well’: Trump rallies behind defense secretary pick Hegseth but invites DeSantis to Army-Navy game
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida will join President-elect Trump next weekend at the annual Army-Navy college football game, two sources familiar tell Fox News. The teaming up of DeSantis and Trump – for the second time this month – comes as multiple sources have confirmed that the president-elect is considering nominating the governor as defense secretary as a possible replacement for Pete Hegseth, Trump’s embattled current pick to steer the Pentagon. But the move also comes as Trump on Friday took to social media to write that “Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe.” DeSantis, a popular conservative governor and a Navy veteran who served in the Iraq War, waged a bitter battle last year and early this year with Trump during a very combative and divisive GOP presidential nomination race. But the two Republican heavyweights seemed to make peace after the primaries, and DeSantis helped raise funds for Trump during the general election. TRUMP CONSIDERS DESANTIS AS POSSIBLE HEGSETH REPLACEMENT DeSantis, who was re-elected in a landslide in 2022 but is term-limited and cannot run for re-election in 2026, is “very much” in contention to replace Hegseth, multiple sources told Fox News. GET TO KNOW DONALD TRUMP’S CABINET: WHO HAS THE PRESIDENT-ELECT PICKED SO FAR? Another source told Fox News’ chief political anchor and “Special Report” host Bret Baier that it was the president-elect himself who floated the governor’s name, and that Trump and DeSantis discussed the idea as they met Tuesday while appearing together in Florida at a memorial service for fallen law enforcement officers in Palm Beach County. The reporting from Fox News and other organizations this week came as Hegseth continued meeting with Republican senators as he made his case for confirmation as defense secretary. WATCH: HEGSETH PUSHES BACK AGAINST REPORTERS Hegseth, an Army National Guard officer who deployed to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and who previously was a Fox News host, is facing a series of drinking and sexual misconduct allegations. He has denied allegations that he mistreated women and has vowed that he won’t drink “a drop of alcohol” if confirmed as defense secretary. A seemingly defiant Hegseth told reporters on Thursday afternoon that “this will not be a process tried in the media. I don’t answer to anyone in this group. None of you, not to that camera at all. I answer to President Trump, who received 76 million votes on behalf . . . and a mandate for change. I answer to the 100 senators who are part of this process and those in the committee. And I answer to my Lord and Savior and my wife and my family.” Trump, in his social media post, argued that Hegseth “will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense . . . , one who leads with charisma and skill.” The Army-Navy game is scheduled for Dec. 14 in Landover, Maryland. It will be the 125th game in the storied football series between the two military service academies. Trump attended the game as president-elect in 2016 and three additional times during his first administration.
Feds using banks to surveil Americans’ financial data without warrants, House Judiciary says
FIRST ON FOX: Federal law enforcement has been manipulating the Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) system to gain access to Americans’ financial information without warrants or probable cause, the House Judiciary Committee said Friday. The panel and its Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government released its interim report, first obtained by Fox News Digital, which details its findings. FEDS CONDUCTED ‘BROAD’ AND ‘UNJUSTIFIED’ SURVEILLANCE OF AMERICANS’ PRIVATE FINANCIAL DATA: HOUSE JUDICIARY The committee said in the report that the FBI “has manipulated” the SAR’s filing process to treat financial institutions “as de facto arms of law enforcement, issuing ‘requests’ without legal process, that amount to demands for information related to certain persons or activities it considers ‘suspicious.’” “With narrow exception, federal law does not permit law enforcement to inquire into financial institutions’ customer information without some form of legal process,” the report states. “The FBI circumvents this process by tipping off financial institutions to ‘suspicious’ individuals and encouraging these institutions to file a SAR — which does not require any legal process — and thereby provide federal law enforcement with access to confidential and highly sensitive information.” The committee said that, in doing so, the FBI “gets around the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act,” which specifies that it is a bank’s responsibility to file a SAR whenever it identifies a “suspicious transaction relevant to a possible violation of law or regulation.” The committee acknowledged that “at least one financial institution requested legal process from the FBI for information it was seeking,” but noted that “all too often the FBI appeared to receive no pushback.” ‘ALARMING’ SURVEILLANCE: FEDS ASKED BANKS TO SEARCH PRIVATE TRANSACTIONS FOR TERMS LIKE ‘MAGA,’ ‘TRUMP’ “In sum, by providing financial institutions with lists of people that it views as generally ‘suspicious’ on the front end, the FBI has turned this framework on its head and contravened the Fourth Amendment’s requirements of particularity and probable cause,” the report states. The committee added that their oversight of “financial surveillance” had shed “new light on the decaying state of Americans’ financial privacy and the federal government’s widespread, warrantless surveillance programs.” The committee began their investigation into government-led financial surveillance earlier this year, after a whistleblower disclosed that following the events of Jan. 6, 2021, Bank of America “voluntarily and without legal process” provided the FBI with a list of names of all individuals who used a Bank of America credit or debit card in the Washington, D.C., region around that time. Fox News Digital first reported in March that federal investigators had asked banks to search and filter customer transactions by using terms like “MAGA” and “Trump” as part of an investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, warning that purchases of “religious texts” could indicate “extremism.” The committee also obtained documents that indicate officials suggested that banks query transactions with keywords like Dick’s Sporting Goods, Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops and more. A source familiar with the documents told Fox News Digital at the time that while Jan. 6 was the “impetus” for the queries and searches, none of the documents the committee had obtained revealed any specific time frames or limitations for banks searching for customer transactions with the terms. The source said the federal government used the information for investigations beyond Jan. 6. “In the days and weeks after January 6, 2021, the FBI coordinated with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to encourage financial institutions across the country to scour their data and file SARs on hundreds of Americans, if not more, without any clear criminal nexus,” the report says. Bank of America, at the time, told Fox News it “follows all applicable laws and regulatory requirements to receive, evaluate, process, safeguard, and narrowly respond to law enforcement requests.” Documents obtained by the committee revealed that at least one financial institution reached out to the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) with the idea that it would “support the Bureau’s efforts to address the acute threat of domestic terrorism.” “The financial institution encouraged FinCEN to use SARs as the basis for issuing Patriot Act 314 (a) requests, which allows FinCEN to ‘canvas the nation’s financial institutions for potential lead information’ from ‘more than 37,000 points of contact at more than 16,000 financial institutions to locate accounts and transactions of persons that may be involved in terrorism or money laundering.” FEDS SUGGESTED BANKS SEARCH TRANSACTIONS FOR TERMS LIKE ‘BIDEN,’ ‘ANTIFA’ AND MORE AFTER JAN 6: SOURCES After those findings, the panel continued investigating the matter and obtained more than 48,000 pages of documents, noting that the information they received through their probe “is concerning.” “Documents show that federal law enforcement increasingly works hand-in-glove with financial institutions, obtaining virtually unchecked access to private financial data and testing out new methods and new technology to continue the financial surveillance of American citizens,” the report states. However, the committee is warning that “all Americans should be disturbed by how their financial data is collected, made accessible to, and searched by federal and state officials, including law enforcement and regulatory agencies.” “With the rise in e-commerce and the widespread adoption of cash alternatives like credit cards or peer-to-peer payment services, the future leaves very little financial activity beyond the purview of modern financial institutions or the government’s prying eyes,” the report states. “This is because, as a condition of participating in the modern economy, Americans are forced to disclose details of their private lives to a financial industry that has been too eager to pass this information along to federal law enforcement.” The report says the committee’s investigation “makes clear that federal law enforcement has taken advantage of this dynamic by deploying financial institutions as arms of federal law enforcement, directing financial institutions to profile Americans using the typologies it distributes or urging financial institutions to identify any ‘suspicious activity’ an individual may have engaged in.” The committee is warning that “absent renewed safeguards, the federal government and financial institutions will continue to siphon off Americans’ sensitive