Trump admin threatens Iran with ‘consequences’ as allies convene amid threats of post-election escalation
The Trump administration warned Iran that there “will be consequences” if Tehran continues its malign activities amid growing concern over a potential new round of U.S.-Iran hostilities after the midterm elections. With just days until the 2026 elections and with war raging on in the Middle East, foreign ministers from the world’s largest economies gathered in Atlanta, Georgia ahead of the G20 leaders meeting in December. “The Iranian regime has had a choice… to either pursue the path towards normalcy, towards prosperity for their people, the path towards diplomacy. Or they can continue their malign activities, but there will be consequences for that, and we’ve seen the president taking concrete action,” State Department principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Fox News Digital on Friday. Pigott was responding to reports that U.S. officials have warned regional partners to prepare for the possibility of heightened U.S. military action against Iran after Tuesday’s elections, as well as potential Iranian retaliation. IRANIAN NEGOTIATORS KICKED OUT OF US AS TALKS STALL, TRUMP LAYS OUT ‘POSSIBLE’ TIMELINE FOR MORE STRIKES President Donald Trump has not made a final decision on renewed strikes, but U.S. diplomats and defense officials have privately urged several Middle Eastern countries and regional allies to prepare for the possibility of new military action and Iranian retaliation, according to an Associated Press report citing two diplomats briefed on the warnings. The warnings come amid heightened concerns about Iranian threats against Americans overseas. Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton wrote in an unclassified memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the U.S. had received intelligence that Iran had “substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel” and that lethal Iranian plots had reached “advanced stages” in the Middle East and elsewhere, according to Scripps News. Asked whether those threats were being discussed with G20 counterparts and whether the U.S. was sharing intelligence with allies to disrupt potential plots, Pigott declined to discuss intelligence matters but said the U.S. was working with international partners against transnational threats. “We’re going to work with our partners to make sure that any transnational threat has the appropriate transnational response to protect our citizens,” he insisted. The prospect of renewed fighting with Iran loomed over the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, where Rubio has put energy security, secure supply chains and freedom of navigation among the U.S. priorities. Rubio opened the two-day gathering Friday by warning that the world’s largest economies face “interconnected economic and geopolitical crises” threatening energy and food supplies, trade, global supply chains and freedom of navigation. Pigott said the administration’s position remains that “there cannot be a situation where a country decides that they can control an international waterway and charge tolls over that waterway.” TRUMP THREATENS ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES FOR ANY NATION AIDING IRAN In the aftermath of the war, Iran began asserting greater authority over the Strait of Hormuz and insisting on the right to collect fees from ships for services including navigation and environmental protection. Asked what the U.S. wants G20 countries to do to keep the strait open, Pigott pointed to a broader principle that international waterways must remain free from coercion. “Fundamentally, the principle here is so important, making sure that we are having secure international waterways in the sense we’re not having these tolls or coercion, making sure we have secure supply chains,” Pigott said. “That is so important.”
Trump push to oust Omar faces historic Supreme Court test, but legal experts see ‘uncharted’ twist
President Donald Trump’ s push to oust Rep. Ilhan Omar amid allegations of immigration fraud could trigger a constitutional fight, with legal experts telling Fox News Digital that a landmark Supreme Court case involving another entrenched Democrat may not stand in Republicans’ way. Federal investigators are examining whether the Minneapolis Democrat improperly obtained U.S. citizenship through allegedly fraudulent immigration paperwork involving her late father. Omar has denied wrongdoing, and no finding that she lacks U.S. citizenship has been established. Experts said Omar may not have the protections established in the landmark case involving House chairman Adam Clayton Powell Jr., D-N.Y., in which the Supreme Court blocked an effort to exclude him from Congress. Powell faced allegations of misusing congressional funds and improperly paying his wife from the congressional payroll. Despite his reelection, the House voted to exclude him in 1967, but the Supreme Court later ruled that Congress could not refuse to seat a duly elected member who satisfied the Constitution’s qualifications. ILHAN OMAR SHOULD BE JAILED, DEPORTED IF CITIZENSHIP FRAUD PROVEN, TOP HOUSE REPUBLICAN SAYS The first potential route for Republicans would be to challenge whether Omar meets the Constitution’s citizenship requirement. Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo and constitutional scholar Cully Stimson told Fox News Digital that the Powell ruling does not prevent Congress from enforcing constitutional qualifications. “Powell essentially means that Congress cannot add on to the minimum qualifications set out in the Constitution,” Yoo said. “[S]ince citizenship is set out in the text of the Constitution as a qualification, it clearly can be enforced by Congress. Powell in-fact would support a congressional decision to oust Congresswoman Omar if she was in fact not a citizen.” Stimson argued that citizenship itself is not a legal gray area. “The Powell v. McCormack decision did not involve expulsion. It actually was to judge qualifications. That’s a subtle but important difference,” he said. Stimson envisioned a January showdown if federal authorities presented evidence challenging Omar’s citizenship before the new Congress convenes and House Republicans attempted to prevent her from being seated. Such a move would likely face a legal challenge from Omar, he said, raising questions about whether Congress could act before her citizenship status was resolved. The Constitution requires House members to be at least 25 years old, have been U.S. citizens for seven years and inhabit the states they represent when elected. Stimson argued that even if alleged immigration irregularities originated with Omar’s father, Nur Omar Mohamed, the central question would be whether she legally acquired citizenship, regardless of whether she knowingly participated in wrongdoing. “It’s like you’re either pregnant or you’re not,” he said. “You’re either wet or dry — You’re a citizen or you are not a citizen.” In multiple public comments, Trump has urged Omar’s resignation or expulsion, specifically citing reports that she used a pseudonym when she was sworn into office and that she “married her brother.” “Let’s get her the Hell out of there,” he said Monday in Alcorn County, Mississippi. Fox News Digital reached out to Omar for comment. COULD TRUMP REVOKE ILHAN OMAR’S CITIZENSHIP FOR ALLEGED BROTHER MARRIAGE? EX FEDERAL PROSECUTOR BREAKS IT DOWN A second route would involve seating Omar and then pursuing expulsion for misconduct, a separate constitutional power requiring a two-thirds House vote. Unlike exclusion for failing to meet constitutional qualifications, expulsion is a disciplinary action that was not at issue in the Supreme Court’s Powell ruling. At least one House Republican has already threatened to pursue that option. Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., said Friday that if Omar is found to not be a citizen, “I absolutely will demand expulsion immediately.” Omar faces a separate investigation into her financial disclosures, which U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro previously confirmed to Fox News. The inquiry follows scrutiny of businesses tied to her current husband, Timothy Mynett, whose reported valuations reached as high as $30 million before Omar amended the filings, citing accounting errors. No financial wrongdoing has yet been established. Stimson pointed to the 2023 expulsion of former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., as an example of the House exercising its disciplinary authority over misconduct that began before a member took office. Former House counsel Michael Stern wrote in an examination of the Constitution’s expulsion clause that while Santos’ alleged misconduct largely preceded his term, House investigators found that his misrepresentations continued while he was in office. “Thus, acts committed before a member’s first election may constitute disorderly behavior subject to congressional discipline, at least if the misconduct relates to the election and particularly if it involves deceiving the electorate,” Stern wrote. Stimson said Omar’s case is largely “uncharted waters,” but the Santos case could still be instructive. “I think the argument would be, well, her misrepresentations continued during the time in Congress, they would pull a Santos and use the same logic that they used,” he said. Any federal determination challenging Omar’s citizenship could trigger a legal battle over whether she meets the constitutional requirements for office and what recourse she would have to contest such a finding, Stimson said. “The hard part for her is ‘how do you prove a negative’,” Stimson said, adding that placing blame on her father wouldn’t stand up in court because people cannot legally benefit from others’ criminal acts. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER “It’s a harsh world, but it’s a binary situation.” A challenge to Omar’s citizenship could also produce a separate fight over the evidence and legal procedures required to establish whether she meets the Constitution’s qualifications. Fox News Digital’s Pedro Rodriguez-Aparicio contributed to this report.
Troubling discovery on state voter rolls sparks action days before midterms: ‘Should have been fixed’
A conservative legal group filed an election complaint in Maine Tuesday, alleging that more than 3,000 potentially dead people and hundreds of duplicate registrations were discovered on the state’s voter rolls just days before the pivotal midterm elections. The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) identified 3,181 potentially dead voters and 693 duplicate registrations, urging the state to take action as Mainers prepare to cast their ballots Tuesday. “Now we know why they were hiding them because there were problems on them,” Adams told Fox News Digital. “They have dead people, they have lots of duplicates and they have general problems. It’s something that should have been fixed a long time ago.” The complaint, which was filed with Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, argues election officials have not made a “reasonable effort” to remove ineligible voters from the official list. TRUMP SCORES SUPREME COURT WIN IN ELECTION INTEGRITY FIGHT AS STATES GAIN NEW VOTER ROLL TOOL Adams said the state should have discovered the information, not his group. “Why does it take a third-party group like the Public Interest Legal Foundation to find these duplicates?” Adams said. The group is asking the state to take “additional corrective action,” warning it “may have no other recourse” but to appeal through the complaint process under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), a 2002 election reform law, if nothing is done. The group compared those findings with its previous investigation in 2025, which found 18,453 potentially dead voters and 1,498 duplicate or triplicate registration records in Maine. The state addressed many of the records identified that year, but PILF said some errors remain while “new problems have arisen.” Several searches were used in the analysis to identify records that shared the same address, first and last names and birth year, as well as typos, punctuation errors, common nicknames and birth-year discrepancies. DOJ GIVES CALIFORNIA 48 HOURS TO REVIEW LIST OF POSSIBLE NONCITIZENS ON VOTER ROLLS The complaint requests that Maine review the group’s analysis, immediately remove ineligible voters and implement a plan to ensure the state complies with HAVA “now and in the future.” “I hope she gets the job done and removes all these duplicates,” Adams said. Adams said his group has been embroiled in an ongoing legal battle and Bellows has a history of trying to “criminalize” PILF for revealing what they found. PILF sued Maine roughly six years ago over access to the state’s voter rolls and won a federal appeals court case in 2024 that required the state to make the records public. “There’s a history here of Secretary Bellows not wanting the public to know what kind of job she’s doing,” Adams said. Adams accused Bellows of focusing on “defending sort of blue theories” rather than keeping Maine’s voter lists accurate and up to date. “Unfortunately, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows is not getting the job done,” he said. MAP IT: DOJ ILLEGAL VOTING CRACKDOWN SWEEPS 17 STATES AS RAZOR-THIN ELECTIONS FACE SCRUTINY One of Adams’ biggest concerns is that someone could use a dead person’s registration to illegally vote. He said progressive state officials are reluctant to immediately remove dead voters out of fear they could mistakenly remove eligible voters, potentially leaving the door open for fraud. “The problem is that sometimes people vote for the dead people,” he said. But Adams said he believes Maine has been trying to keep its problems out of the public eye for a long time. “Maine has a longstanding problem trying to hide public information about whether or not they’re doing a good job,” he said. Fox News Digital reached out to Bellows’ office for comment. The legal filing comes just days before Mainers vote in a critical and tight U.S. Senate race between incumbent Republican Susan Collins and her Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson. The winner could determine the balance of power in the Senate.
Dems’ dire warnings about threats to democracy face an uncomfortable reckoning after Alaska election report
While prominent Democrats have spent years warning about threats to democracy, dozens of lawmakers and governors who endorsed Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola have declined to respond to Fox News Digital’s questions about a reported effort to confuse voters and potentially cost Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan his seat. The New York Times reported Wednesday that aides to Democratic Alaska Senate candidate Mary Peltola helped recruit a man named Dan Sullivan to run in an alleged effort to draw votes from Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan – though Peltola’s campaign has denied involvement. Fox News Digital reached out to 42 Democratic lawmakers and governors who endorsed Peltola to ask whether they would denounce the alleged effort to mislead Alaska voters. As of publication, not a single one has responded. MARY PELTOLA’S CAMPAIGN, DEMS BACKED COVERT SCHEME TO FIELD SPOILER CANDIDATES IN ALASKA SENATE RACE: REPORT Sen. Richard Blumenthal, for instance, stated that “voter suppression is poisonous, it is toxic to our democracy,” in 2022. His colleague, Sen. Chris Murphy, meanwhile, argued in April 2025 that “those of us who believe that the threat to democracy is urgent” need to “act like it.” And Sen. Cory Booker said in December 2016 that “protecting American democracy is a calling far higher than party politics.” ‘DECOY DAN’ SULLIVAN CASE LEADS TOP SENATOR TO BREAK FOUR-YEAR X SILENCE: ‘PATTERN OF LIES’ Despite their outspoken defenses of democracy and insistence that protecting it should transcend party politics, none of these lawmakers responded to Fox News Digital’s questions about the alleged effort to mislead Alaska voters. Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat who has made a name for himself by publicly breaking with his party on some issues, has also remained mum on the controversy. Peltola has asserted that her campaign “has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign.” The Times, for its investigation, relied on text messages it obtained as well as interviews with former campaign staffers. The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Alaska on Oct. 22 seeking to delay certification of the state’s Senate election if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses and votes cast for the other Sullivan could have changed the outcome, pending an investigation into whether voter confusion played a role in the result. ALASKA’S GOVERNOR ORDERS INVESTIGATION AFTER NYT REPORT ON ALLEGED DEM-LINKED SENATE ELECTION SCHEME Legal experts from across the political spectrum who previously spoke to Fox News Digital said that the case faces significant challenges, particularly as it relates to trying to infer voter intent from anonymous ballots and overcoming the sovereignty of states over their elections. Among the other Democratic Senators reached by Fox News Digital were Sens. Adam Schiff, Alex Padilla, Maggie Hassan, Chuck Schumer, Catherine Cortez Masto, Angela Alsobrooks, Andy Kim, Brian Schatz, Ed Markey, Elissa Slotkin, John Hickenlooper, Jon Ossoff, Kirsten Gillibrand, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Mark Kelly, Michael Bennet, Ruben Gallego, Sheldon Whitehouse and Tammy Duckworth. The U.S. House members reached by Fox News Digital included Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Chris Pappas, Brittany Pettersen, Eric Sorensen, Mike Levin, Hillary Scholten, Jared Huffman, Josh Harder, Pramila Jayapal, Sarah McBride, George Whitesides, Jonathan Nez and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. Former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who does not currently hold office but is running to retake his Senate seat, and Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, were also asked for their reactions on the reporting. Democratic Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland, Gavin Newsom of California, as well as former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper – who is in the midst of a Senate campaign – were also reached for comment. Peltola’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment. At least one Democrat has publicly criticized the alleged tactic. Iowa Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rob Sand told Fox News on Sunday that “both parties are doing it and neither party should be doing it,” calling such efforts “manipulating the political system.”
Federal judge blocks Trump DOJ threats against election workers ahead of 2026 midterms
A federal judge on Friday temporarily barred the Trump administration from threatening election workers with criminal prosecution over ballots tied to suspected noncitizens. U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson found that the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security likely violated the Voting Rights Act’s prohibition against voter intimidation by threatening election workers with prosecution for processing ballots from voters the administration claims are ineligible, just days before the midterm elections. “One of the hallmarks of a fair election is the freedom to exercise the right to vote free from threat, fear, or intimidation,” Thompson, a Biden-appointed judge, wrote in the eight-page order. The ruling comes as the Trump administration has sought voter registration information from states ahead of the Nov. 3 elections, arguing that its efforts are aimed at preventing noncitizen voting and protecting election integrity. BIDEN-APPOINTED JUDGE BLOCKS VOTER-FRAUD PROBES IN BATTLEGROUND STATES JUST DAYS BEFORE MIDTERMS The temporary restraining order prohibits federal officials from threatening, intimidating or coercing state and local election workers into halting ballot processing solely because the administration alleges certain registered voters are ineligible. The order also bars the administration from demanding that election officials remove registered voters from voter rolls, refuse to issue them ballots or segregate or decline to count their ballots based solely on those allegations. The lawsuit was brought by labor unions and civil rights organizations, including the Service Employees International Union and the NAACP. “Because the public has a paramount interest in ensuring that election officials and workers are able to carry out their work in accordance with federal law and election procedure, and the official day of the Elections is only a couple of days away, the balance of the equities and public interest weigh in Plaintiffs’ favor,” Thompson wrote. “Ballots have already been issued,” Thompson also noted. “Americans have already begun voting.” NINTH CIRCUIT QUESTIONS TRUMP DOJ’S EMERGENCY REQUEST TO SET ASIDE 20,000 CALIFORNIA MAIL BALLOTS Thompson also ordered the administration to notify state and local governments that received the disputed letters that the demands and threats of prosecution contained in them have been blocked. Earlier Friday, a federal appeals court separately ruled against the Trump administration’s emergency request to require California to set aside mail-in ballots associated with roughly 20,000 voters federal officials identified as likely noncitizens while their citizenship status was verified. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Justice Department’s request to set aside the disputed mail-in ballots while officials reviewed the voters’ citizenship status, handing the administration another setback just four days before Election Day. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Justice Department for comment. Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Reuters contributed to this report.
EXCLUSIVE: ICE captures illegal alien at center of NYC manhunt after sanctuary city release
EXCLUSIVE: Federal immigration officers arrested an illegal alien accused of attacking a New York City police officer Friday, ending a manhunt sparked by his release from local custody despite repeated U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests, Fox News Digital has learned. Alpha Bah, an illegal immigrant from Guinea, was taken into custody at approximately 3:25 p.m. after ICE officers tracked him to a temporary residence in New York City, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official told Fox News Digital. Officers with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) developed intelligence about Bah’s last known temporary residence Friday and established surveillance in the surrounding area, the official said. HOUSE REPORT SAYS NYC PROSECUTORS TAILORED PLEA DEALS TO SHIELD ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM DEPORTATION At approximately 2:22 p.m., officers spotted a man matching Bah’s description leaving the residence and meeting several unidentified individuals on a nearby public street. Officers continued monitoring him rather than immediately approaching because several school-aged children were in the area. About an hour later, officers spotted Bah alone and approached him while displaying police and ICE identification. They confirmed his identity through biographical questions, a photograph and Mobile Fortify, a biometric identification tool. Officers informed Bah of an administrative immigration arrest warrant and took him into custody without incident. He was transported to 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan for post-arrest processing, according to the official. The arrest comes after Fox News Digital reported that NYC authorities released Bah despite repeated requests from federal immigration officials to hold him in custody. EXCLUSIVE: NYC OFFICIALS REFUSE ICE HOLD FOR ILLEGAL ALIEN ACCUSED IN ARSON THAT KILLED 4 AND INJURED 7: DHS Bah was initially arrested Oct. 7 on charges of aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration and intent to obtain transportation without paying, according to DHS. ICE lodged a detainer with Queens Central Booking, but Bah was released without federal immigration authorities being notified, DHS previously said. The case drew criticism from federal immigration officials who accused New York City’s sanctuary policies of allowing Bah to return to the streets despite the pending immigration detainer. “This illegal alien from Guinea was arrested for assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon. Despite these violent charges, New York City sanctuary politicians refused to honor ICE’s detainer and RELEASED him back onto the streets, and he remains at large,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement prior to Friday’s arrest. “DHS is calling on Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani to knock it off with these evil sanctuary policies before another American gets hurt, or worse.” Fox News Digital’s Hannah Brennan and Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.
‘Biscuit’ the dog is latest dead felon to get their voting rights back from Spanberger, confused owner says
A Southside Virginia lawmaker is demanding an investigation after a constituent received an official rights-restoration certificate for his dog, Biscuit, a beagle-hound mix from Goochland County that died about five years ago. The discovery follows the “Betty No Last Name” controversy in Chesapeake — where a purported convict lacking a surname had “her” rights restored — and raises fresh questions about the governor’s vetting process just days before voters decide whether to make felons’ voting-rights restoration automatic via an Election Day ballot measure supported by Richmond Democrats. Del. Tom Garrett, R-Buckingham — who received the letter from the constituent who owned the pet — is now calling for an investigation into how Gov. Abigail Spanberger could have restored voting and jury-service rights to a deceased animal. DEM AG’S ELECTION CRUSADE AGAINST TRUMP RUNS INTO EMBARRASSING DEAD-FELON BLUNDER BACK HOME “This is not a question of whether people who have served their sentences deserve a second chance. This is a question of whether the Commonwealth is exercising one of the Governor’s constitutional powers with even the most basic level of review,” Garrett said. “Biscuit was a dog. Biscuit has been dead for five years. Yet an official document bearing the governor’s signature says the executive reviewed the particulars of Biscuit’s criminal case and determined her rights should be restored. Virginians deserve an explanation for how that is possible.” HIDDEN CALIFORNIA DESERT PET CEMETERY HOLDS UNEXPECTED PIECE OF WHITE HOUSE HISTORY Biscuit’s owner, who declined to be identified to avoid political backlash, confirmed the letter’s authenticity to Fox News Digital and told Garrett in a statement that the pup was a “good dog and is greatly missed.” “To my knowledge, she was never convicted of a felony, nor did she ever show any interest in voting,” the owner said. Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger for comment. A spokesperson for Spanberger replied, “Of course we did not restore the rights of a dog. We cannot disclose this individual’s information, but we can tell you that it is associated with a person with a date of birth and Social Security number.” Fox News Digital followed up to seek clarification on what error may have occurred but did not receive a response. The owner told Fox News Digital that Biscuit was never sent to the pound or had any other contact with Richmond that could have resulted in her being placed on the voting rolls. The owner said a sibling is currently incarcerated but added that the connection is moot because Spanberger’s stated effort only involves released former convicts. ELECTION DAY 2026: JOIN AMERICA’S CONVERSATION HERE! Garrett noted in a statement that the Spanberger administration said in July that Secretary of the Commonwealth Candi Mundon-King would be “proactively identifying Virginians who had lost their rights, confirming that those individuals were eligible, and restoring their rights,” in his words. Spanberger announced in August that the initial figure of 66,000 had reached 100,000 individuals who had received restoration of their rights since the Democrat took office in January. TREASURY HAILS SUCCESS OF ANTI-FRAUD PROCESS THAT FLAGGED AND PREVENTED $99 MILLION IN PAYMENTS TO DEAD PEOPLE “The administration told Virginians these individuals were being identified and their eligibility confirmed,” Garrett said in a statement, going on to call for an investigation into how a restoration certificate bearing Biscuit’s name came to be issued. “The document itself represents that the executive reviewed the particulars of each case. If a deceased family pet made it through that process as a convicted felon, then we need to know what was actually reviewed, what databases were used, what safeguards existed, and how many other erroneous restorations were issued.” An attorney in Fluvanna County when not legislating, Garrett said the Commonwealth must launch an immediate independent audit of Spanberger’s restoration-of-rights actions and disclose the underlying record that led to “Biscuit Rigsby” being identified as a convicted felon, as well as what Spanberger’s office defines as the “review of the particulars” of Biscuit’s case. Any investigation should also identify how many certificates and citations were issued to deceased, nonexistent or duplicate humans and require the immediate preservation of relevant data. WATCHDOG, GOP LAWMAKER WARN NY VOTER REGISTRATION SYSTEMS LACKS KEY SAFEGUARDS He said in a statement that his questions are not partisan and that Virginians who support restoring released felons’ voting rights should be outraged by Biscuit’s case. “At what point does rank incompetence and malfeasance become criminal conduct?” Garrett added in a video posted to social media. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER With Virginians set to vote Tuesday on whether to make voting-rights restoration automatic upon release from incarceration, Garrett is demanding answers about the administration’s existing review process — including how a dog that died five years ago apparently made it through.
Treasury flags $8B in suspicious foreign-directed transfers through US money services firms
The Trump administration uncovered what it says is more than $8 billion in potentially fraudulent cross-border wire payments that were made under foreign agents’ direction, issuing new guidelines for nonprofits who take foreign money, executing multiple FBI search warrants and building out a large-scale indictment. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) within the Treasury Department said it identified suspicious wire payments from 2021 to 2025 that were sent through U.S.-based money services businesses at the direction of foreign agents. “When greed meets negligence, the American people suffer,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Under President Trump and Vice President Vance’s leadership, Treasury stopped nearly $190 million in funds tied to overseas fraud and returned more than $100 million to U.S. victims. We are working with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud to help prevent this kind of abuse from happening again, in Minnesota or anywhere else.” WHITE HOUSE LAUNCHES INTERACTIVE MAP TRACKING BILLIONS IN SUSPECTED FRAUD At a Friday press conference, Bessent said: “In the weeks following my visit, Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN, issued a geographic targeting order to trace criminal networks. That diverts funds overseas and ensures that taxpayer dollars go to the American people, not terror groups like Al Shabaab.” He added that the Treasury Department has investigations in the U.S. and abroad into “Al-Shabaab, its networks and its enablers. Since the start of the Trump administration, FinCen data have also supported the law enforcement effort that led to the arrest and charging of 115 fraudsters, as well as 75 convictions and nearly 3,000 subpoenas across Minnesota.” Bessent said that on Thursday, “IRS-CI assisted with investigative activity at several sites suspected of fraud. I want to give a shout-out to our great officers at IRS-CI. They don’t get much press, but they are quietly one of the most affected groups in the United States government for fighting fraud.” Bessent, FBI Director Kash Patel, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson held a news conference in Minnesota to detail the substantial fraud uncovered and FBI Minnesota’s actions. “This FBI follows the money,” Patel said at the Friday press conference. “This FBI will put in prison anyone who commits fraud anywhere in the world against any American citizen. Thanks to President Trump, we finally have a commander-in-chief who prioritized the initiative to go after the fraudsters with the full force of government.” The Treasury Department issued a notice urging banks to scrutinize nonprofits’ donors, funding streams and ties to other groups and governments. FinCEN says the arrangements could obscure the ultimate recipients and potentially be exploited for money laundering or terrorist financing. WATCHDOG UNLEASHES DATABASE TO EXPOSE ‘LOOPHOLES’ AS $5B IN FOREIGN CASH FLOODS US NONPROFITS The notice noted that bad actors commit fraud in three forms of abuse: sham charities allegedly diverting funds to illicit activity, charity-related fraud that enriches the people running the scheme, and embezzlement by insiders at legitimate organizations. Salim Said, a co-conspirator in the Feeding Our Future case, was sentenced to 30 years in prison this week after being convicted on 21 counts tied to a scheme that defrauded a federal child nutrition program of $49 million. At the end of last year, reports and social media coverage by Shirley exposed a network of daycare centers, like the “Quality Learing (sic) Center,” that were allegedly fraudulent and operated mostly by Somali immigrants. MINNESOTA MAN CAPTURED IN SOMALIA AFTER ALLEGEDLY HELPING ORCHESTRATE $250M CHILD NUTRITION FRAUD SCHEME The reports sparked swift action from the administration, and former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem deployed DHS and ICE agents to the streets of Minneapolis to catch and deport Somali immigrants in the country illegally. The deployment sparked a clash between local residents and federal agents that exploded into violent riots across the Twin Cities. The Treasury secretary has previously taken aim at fraud and bad actors funding nonprofit organizations in the U.S. In April, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tightened tax-exempt reporting requirements in an effort to uncover nonprofit funding being used for “extremist activity” and “hiding fraud.” “Tax-exempt status is not immunity from scrutiny,” Treasury Assistant Secretary and acting IRS chief counsel Ken Kies wrote in a statement. “If an organization receives public funds or tax-deductible donations, it should be prepared to show who controls the money and where it goes.” CRUZ PUSHES BILL TO HOLD TAX-EXEMPT SPONSORS ACCOUNTABLE AS DOJ PROBES SINGHAM NETWORK Bessent has also been involved with the Department of Justice’s grand jury probe into the nonprofit network of Neville Roy Singham. Sources at Treasury told Fox News Digital that Bessent met with Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and discussed Singham’s previously held accounts at the bank, which Singham used to distribute funds to a number of nonprofits. HOUSE PANEL WARNS SINGHAM-LINKED NONPROFITS: COMPLY WITH SUBPOENAS OR FACE CONGRESS Singham, a 72-year-old American who sold his tech company for $785 million in 2017 and now lives in Shanghai, has funneled $278 million into the broad network of nonprofits since 2017, according to a Fox News Digital investigation. These groups regularly organize and participate in anti-ICE, anti-Israel and pro-Iran demonstrations. Singham has not been charged, and the investigation at the Southern District of New York remains ongoing.
Liberal court delivers immigration win for Trump as judge warns of ‘floodgates’ if law firm succeeded
A liberal-majority appeals court in California handed the Trump administration a victory by blocking a lower court’s ruling that ordered the State Department to open its application pool for the 2027 Diversity Visa lottery, which admits roughly 55,000 immigrants from low-immigration countries each year. In a 2-1 ruling, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta requiring the lottery pool to be opened after Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a notice in November delaying the program’s acceptance of new applications in order to “implement certain changes,” but the application period never opened. A month later, the State Department ordered an indefinite pause on issuing diversity visas after a Portuguese national who was issued a lottery visa in 2017 committed a mass shooting at Brown University, killing two people and injuring nine others. The shooter, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, was also tied to the murder of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor two days after the Brown University shooting. FBI REVEALS BROWN UNIVERSITY MASS SHOOTER BEGAN PLOTTING MASSACRE AS EARLY AS 2022, BLAMED VICTIMS The Ninth Circuit has been a perennial thorn in the side of President Donald Trump, having ruled against key portions of Trump’s 2017 executive order restricting travel from predominantly Muslim countries and blocked a policy barring immigrants from being eligible for asylum if they crossed the southern border between ports of entry. However, the appeals court ruled that the lower court’s preliminary injunction could not be enforced, finding that the immigration law firm Red Eagle, which represents individuals going through the visa lottery process, did not have standing to sue the federal government. The appeals court ruled that the program was intended to “encourage immigration, not generate revenue for law firms.” LIBERAL COURT STUNS WITH RULING THAT HANDS TRUMP MAJOR IMMIGRATION WIN The court wrote, “If Red Eagle Law were allowed to allege standing based upon its hypothetical or conjectural collateral injury, we would be opening the floodgates, allowing all lawyers to ‘roam the country in search of governmental wrongdoing.’” However, the court made clear that its ruling was based on procedural grounds and did not weigh whether the State Department failed to follow the law. “We do not endorse the Department’s failure to open the lottery registration period,” the court wrote. Abhishek Kambli, a former federal prosecutor and partner at Holtzman Vogel, said the decision by the liberal court was a “very easy call” in a post on X. “Here, the plaintiff was a law firm not bringing a claim on behalf of someone in the diversity visa lottery but on behalf of the firm itself,” Kambli wrote. “The district court should have never gone beyond standing but CA9 corrected this one.” TRUMP ADMIN ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF VISA RESTRICTION POLICY IN WESTERN HEMISPHERE President Donald Trump has been vocal about his opposition to the Visa Lottery Program for years. During his January 2018 State of the Union address, he called for ending the program, arguing that visas should be issued based on merit. Earlier that same month, Trump said during a bipartisan meeting with lawmakers at the White House that lottery visas allow the “worst of the worst” to come into the country. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER “They call it ‘visa lottery,’ I just call it ‘lottery.’ But countries come in and they put names in a hopper,” Trump said. “They’re not giving you their best names; common sense means they’re not giving you their best names.” Countries eligible for the 2026 lottery included Afghanistan, New Zealand, Ecuador, Iran, Uganda, Somalia and Russia. The program was designed to create an additional pathway for people seeking visas who may not qualify through traditional channels, such as employment- or family-based immigration.
Minnesota Dem declined to refer Ilhan Omar for ethics probe despite fellow lawmaker’s 2019 request
Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., directed a Minnesota state lawmaker to the congressional ethics complaint process in 2019 after he urged her to seek an investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., according to correspondence obtained by Fox News Digital. In a 2019 letter, Craig told Steve Drazkowski, then a Minnesota state representative, he could submit a complaint himself to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) if he wanted to pursue an investigation into Omar. The Office of Congressional Ethics website states that members of the public, advocacy organizations and members of Congress can submit information regarding alleged misconduct to the agency’s Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC). Complaints may also be submitted to the House Committee on Ethics. ILHAN OMAR’S TURBULENT WEEK EXPLAINED: THE DUELING PROBES THAT THREW THE SOMALI-BORN PROGRESSIVE INTO CHAOS Craig wrote, “With respect to your request for an ethics inquiry into Rep. Omar, the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) of the U.S. House of Representatives is the independent, non-partisan entity charged with reviewing allegations of misconduct against Members, officers, and staff of the U.S. House of Representatives and, when appropriate, referring matters to the House Committee on Ethics. “The OCE accepts and reviews information concerning allegations within its jurisdiction from members of the public.” Craig’s response came two days after Drazkowski sent her a letter urging her to refer his concerns to the House Ethics Committee, then chaired by former Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla. Among Drazkowski’s accusations was that Omar filed joint tax returns with Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi in 2014 and 2015, despite the two not being legally married at the time. Fox News Digital obtained a copy of a report by the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board indicating that Omar and Hirsi jointly filed their tax returns in 2014 and 2015. Omar legally married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi on Feb. 12, 2009, in Hennepin County, Minn., according to Newsweek. Omar and Elmi’s legal divorce proceeding concluded in December 2017. In a 2017 filing from her divorce case obtained by Fox News Digital, Omar stated she had not been in contact with Elmi since 2011. “Representative Craig, I am your constituent. In that capacity, I formally request that you immediately forward the attached material, and open an ethics investigation in the United States House of Representatives regarding actions taken by Rep. Ilhan Omar leading up to the 2018 election,” Drazkowski wrote. COULD TRUMP REVOKE ILHAN OMAR’S CITIZENSHIP FOR ALLEGED BROTHER MARRIAGE? EX FEDERAL PROSECUTOR BREAKS IT DOWN “This month, the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board issued a report on Rep. Omar, who found that she broke multiple Minnesota campaign finance laws,” Drazkowski wrote. Drazkowski told Fox News Digital he was first prompted to seek an investigation from the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board into Omar after noticing that she had not filed a required statement of economic interest with the board. The board confirmed in a statement to Fox News Digital that Omar submitted the statement of economic interest after she was made aware that Drazkowski’s complaint triggered an investigation. Drazkowski said the information he included in two complaints to the board ultimately contributed to the board’s determination that Omar had violated state campaign finance laws. FEDERAL AGENTS RAID ILHAN OMAR’S DC HOME AMID IMMIGRATION FRAUD INVESTIGATION On June 6, 2019, the board issued findings after Drazkowski filed two separate complaints. The board found that Omar had improperly used $1,500 in campaign funds to pay for personal tax-related services concerning the tax returns she filed jointly with Hirsi in 2014 and 2015. The board also required Omar to repay campaign funds she had used to pay for travel to Boston, New York and Washington, D.C. After the campaign’s 2019 assessment of the violations, Omar stated that she was “glad” the process was over and was “glad” to know that the board did not find her guilty of having used the money for personal use as was first alleged. After receiving Craig’s response, Drazkowski, who lived in her congressional district, submitted his own complaint seeking an ethics investigation into Omar. “Please find below my formal request for an investigation into the activities of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN),” Drazkowski wrote to the Ethics Committee, which he also shared with the OCE. “The United States of America is a nation of law and order. No one is above the law, and our elected officials must always be held accountable. We demand the highest of ethical standards from every member of Congress.” Despite submitting his concerns, Drazkowski told Fox News Digital he struggled to obtain a substantive response through the congressional ethics process. He said he subsequently brought his allegations to the FBI’s Minneapolis office after receiving no substantive response from the ethics process or Craig’s office. “I went to the FBI and unloaded all the information I had to them, including names and phone numbers of people,” Drazkowski told Fox News Digital. Drazkowski said he received no meaningful response from federal investigators and expressed frustration with the bureau’s handling of the information. The House Ethics Committee and FBI declined Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. Omar and Craig did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.