Hagerty urges FCC to punish Verizon over release of Senate phone data
Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., filed a formal complaint against Verizon on Monday after the carrier handed over his phone data to the Biden-era Department of Justice during its probe of President Donald Trump and the 2020 election – a move Republicans say violated the Constitution. Lawyers for Hagerty wrote in the complaint to the Federal Communications Commission, reviewed by Fox News Digital, that Verizon should publicly admit wrongdoing and discipline employees who were involved in complying with a subpoena for his phone data. Otherwise, the FCC should declare that Verizon violated federal law and assign an independent monitor to watch over the company, Hagerty’s lawyers wrote. “Such discipline by the FCC would send a clear message that companies cannot collude with politically motivated prosecutors to violate customers’ rights,” Hagerty’s lawyers wrote. “Verizon is not above the law.” JACK SMITH FACES PUBLIC GRILLING ON CAPITOL HILL ABOUT TRUMP PROSECUTIONS The Tennessee Republican’s complaint detailed how Verizon complied with former special counsel Jack Smith’s team by giving the prosecutors a narrow set of Hagerty’s and several other GOP senators’ phone data as part of Smith’s investigation into President Donald Trump and the 2020 election. Verizon justified its actions in a letter to the Senate in the fall, saying the subpoenas appeared “facially valid” and only contained phone numbers. They did not identify the subscribers or include information about Smith’s investigation, Verizon said. The phone company said it did not notify the senators about the subpoenas because they were accompanied by court-authorized gag orders. Fox News Digital reached out to a Verizon spokesperson for comment on the FCC complaint. Republicans have widely condemned the subpoenas, saying they violated the Constitution’s speech or debate clause, which gives Congress members an added layer of protection when it comes to prosecutorial matters. Smith has repeatedly stood by them, saying he handled them according to DOJ policy at the time. The policy in question has since been changed to require prosecutors to notify the courts if requested gag orders pertain to Congress members. Previously, it did not include that requirement, leading the courts to authorize gag orders against the senators and deprive them of the ability to try to quash the subpoenas. GRAHAM THREATENS SHUTDOWN DEAL OVER HOUSE-BACKED REPEAL, WARNS JOHNSON: ‘I WON’T FORGET THIS’ Hagerty’s FCC complaint is the latest instance of a senator seeking recourse for the subpoenas. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who was also targeted in Smith’s probe, supported a controversial provision in the government spending bill last year that gave senators the ability to bring $500,000 civil lawsuits against the DOJ. The provision caused significant infighting because of the perception that it would allow senators to enrich themselves, and the House later voted 426-0 to repeal it. Hagerty’s complaint comes one day before Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., another of Smith’s targets, holds a Senate hearing called “Arctic Frost Accountability.” Witnesses set to testify include executives of Verizon and AT&T.
Turning Point issues major endorsement in critical Senate race as Trump hints at weighing in
EXCLUSIVE: Turning Point Action, the political arm of the late Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA, has endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his bid to unseat longtime incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in a race that could determine whether the GOP maintains its Senate majority. Turning Point’s endorsement of Paxton is the fourth such endorsement of a Senate candidate in this cycle and emphasizes the importance of the race on the national stage. This comes as Democrats see an opening to possibly flip a Texas Senate seat blue, which would deal a devastating loss to the GOP’s chances of retaining its majority. In response to the endorsement, Paxton told Fox News Digital, “I’m honored to be endorsed by Turning Point Action as we fight to defend our conservative values and preserve the freedom of the next generation.” “The movement and the organization that Charlie Kirk built has inspired millions of people across the world, and the work that Turning Point Action continues to do is critical for safeguarding our nation’s future,” Paxton went on. “I am proud to be standing alongside Turning Point Action in that mission and carrying on in the fight to save this country for our young people.” TURNING POINT USA DECLARES ‘ALL-AMERICAN HALFTIME SHOW’ A ‘MASSIVE SUCCESS,’ COMMITS TO 2027 RETURN “Together, we will protect our freedom and secure our nation’s future,” he said. Paxton and Cornyn are locked in a bitter primary contest that also includes Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas. Whoever emerges victorious will face off against prominent Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, or rising star state Rep. James Talarico. The attorney general is a hard-line conservative and longtime vocal supporter of President Donald Trump. He has served as the attorney general of Texas since 2015. Since launching his Senate bid in April, he has touted himself as an “America First Warrior” and framed his candidacy as an anti-establishment effort to push back against “RINO [Republican-In-Name-Only] Republicans.” Though Trump has so far opted out of getting involved in the race, his presence looms large, with both candidates emphasizing their cooperation with the president. If elected, Paxton has promised to “champion President Trump’s legislative priorities.” JASMINE CROCKETT SAYS SOME REPUBLICANS WOULD ‘ABSOLUTELY’ VOTE FOR HER IN A GENERAL ELECTION Meanwhile, Cornyn, a high-ranking member of the Republican Party who has held the seat since 2002, has also touted conservative bona fides and his working relationship with Trump, emphasizing he “votes with President Trump 99% of the time.” Turning Point’s endorsement pits the group against the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the GOP’s Senate campaign arm, which has endorsed and supports Cornyn. Though silent thus far, Trump recently hinted he may issue an endorsement in the Texas Senate race soon. The Hill reported the president announcing, “I’m giving it a very serious look.” GOP FIREBRAND URGES TRUMP AGENCIES TO CLAW BACK MASSIVE TAXPAYER BENEFITS PAID OUT TO IMMIGRANTS “You know, my problem is I’m friendly with all of them. I like all of them, all three,” Trump said. “But you’ll be seeing soon,” he went on. “They say whoever I endorse wins. That’s probably right.”
Epstein victims use Super Bowl commercial to pressure Pam Bondi over withheld files
Numerous women urged Attorney General Pam Bondi in a high-profile Super Bowl ad on Sunday to release more files from Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking cases, signaling their dissatisfaction with the Department of Justice’s efforts to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Prominent Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., immediately elevated the ad, which came in the wake of the DOJ releasing more than 3 million pages of files and concluding its review. Schumer shared a video of it on X, calling it “the most important ad” of the day. “You don’t ‘move on’ from the largest sex trafficking ring in the world. You expose it. #StandWithSurvivors,” Schumer wrote. MASSIE, TOP OVERSIGHT DEMOCRAT CALL FOR SECRETARY LUTNICK TO RESIGN FOR ‘LYING’ ABOUT ALLEGED EPSTEIN TIES Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., who has been leading Democrats’ inquiries into Epstein matters in the House, shared a similar message. The women in the commercial conveyed their disapproval of the DOJ as the words “Tell Attorney General Pam Bondi it’s time for the truth” flashed across the screen. The commercial comes after the DOJ announced last month the release of more than 3 million pages from the case files. The department said it started with more than 6 million pages but withheld a major portion for a variety of reasons, including because the information could identify alleged victims or was protected by legal privileges. The omitted files led top supporters of the Epstein legislation, including Epstein’s victims and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to contend that the DOJ failed to comply with the transparency law. The DOJ has disputed that claim, saying its review was “very comprehensive” and that it did not hide any information for the purpose of protecting President Donald Trump or other wealthy and politically connected people, including former President Bill Clinton, who were once friends with Epstein but were never accused of crimes associated with him. Massie is among lawmakers who said they planned to visit the DOJ on Monday to review undisclosed files. The Super Bowl commercial was created by World Without Exploitation, a project of the Tides Center, a progressive nonprofit. LAPSED EPSTEIN DEADLINE UNDERSCORES CHALLENGE OF REVIEWING TROVES OF FILES IN 30 DAYS It flashed images of several women holding photos of their younger selves and images of redaction marks, a nod to frustrations surrounding the DOJ heavily redacting some files while neglecting to redact names in others. “After years of being kept apart, we’re standing together,” one of the women says. “Because this girl deserves the truth.” The department said it has moved swiftly to correct any redaction mistakes that have been brought to its attention. The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment on the commercial.
Rubio blasts China over ‘unjust and tragic’ 20-year sentence for Hong Kong democracy activist Jimmy Lai
The U.S. urged China to reverse what Secretary of State Marco Rubio called an “unjust and tragic” sentence against Hong Kong publisher and democracy activist Jimmy Lai, after Beijing-backed courts handed the 78-year-old a 20-year prison term under the national security law. “The conviction shows the world that Beijing will go to extraordinary lengths to silence those who advocate fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong,” Rubio said in a statement. “The United States urges the authorities to grant Mr. Lai humanitarian parole.” The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) used Hong Kong’s courts to sentence Lai on Monday, cementing one of the most consequential national security cases since Beijing imposed a sweeping new law in the wake of months-long anti-CCP protests. Lai, a billionaire media entrepreneur, founded the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper in 1995, once Hong Kong’s most outspoken pro-democracy publication. He is among the highest-profile figures arrested under the 2020 National Security Law Beijing imposed following the unrest. The protests, sparked by fears Beijing was eroding Hong Kong’s promised autonomy, were followed by a sweeping security crackdown that criminalized dissent and reshaped the city’s legal system. MARCO RUBIO VOICES CONCERN THAT AMERICANS MAY SOMEDAY BE ARRESTED FOR SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS WHEN VISITING EUROPE The sentence also puts renewed pressure on President Donald Trump, who has previously spoken out about Lai’s detention and is expected to travel to Beijing in April amid broader negotiations with China. Human rights advocates and some lawmakers have urged Trump to raise Lai’s case directly with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, warning that silence would be read in Beijing as acquiescence. Trump said in December 2025 that he had personally urged Xi to release Lai. “I spoke to President Xi about it, and I asked to consider his release,” Trump said. “He’s not well, he’s an older man, and he’s not well, so I did put that request out. We’ll see what happens.” Hong Kong authorities convicted Lai of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, a national security offense under the Beijing-imposed law. Prosecutors argued that Lai and his co-defendants used his media platform and international network to lobby for sanctions, blockades or other hostile actions by foreign governments against China and Hong Kong — actions the court said threatened national security. Judges labeled Lai the “mastermind” of the alleged plots. RUBIO SAYS COMMITMENT TO TAIWAN WON’T CHANGE AMID TRADE TALKS WITH CHINA Lai also was convicted of conspiracy to publish seditious materials under a separate provision of Hong Kong’s colonial-era Crimes Ordinance, applied in conjunction with the national security regime. Prosecutors cited hundreds of Apple Daily articles they said were designed to “incite public hatred or contempt” against authorities. Lai and his defense team rejected that characterization as criminalizing expression. Sebastian Lai, the publisher’s son, said the sentence effectively amounts to a life term given his father’s age and deteriorating health. “Twenty years, he’s 78 years old now. This is essentially a life sentence — or more like a death sentence, given the conditions he’s being kept in,” Sebastian Lai told Fox Monday. He said his father has lost significant weight in detention and now suffers from heart issues and diabetes, adding, “We’re incredibly worried about his life.” Sebastian Lai said his father, a Catholic, remains “a man of deep faith” despite years in detention, believing “no matter how hard the conditions he was under, that he still did the right thing.” He also recalled that his father declined multiple opportunities to leave Hong Kong before his arrest, choosing instead to stay rather than abandon his principles or colleagues. The younger Lai said his father’s case should serve as a warning for Taiwan, arguing that Beijing’s promise of autonomy under a “one country, two systems” model in Hong Kong has revealed how tightly mainland China ultimately controls the territory. Lai already has spent more than five years in prison, serving a separate sentence for a fraud conviction and for organizing unauthorized assemblies during the protests. His defense has argued the case criminalized political speech and journalism rather than genuine national security threats. They say Lai’s calls for international pressure on Beijing amounted to lawful advocacy and that meetings with U.S. officials and media appearances were routine for a prominent publisher and democracy advocate, not evidence of conspiracy.
Massie, top Oversight Democrat call for Secretary Lutnick to resign for ‘lying’ about alleged Epstein ties
The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee piled onto calls from Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., on Monday for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to step down in light of alleged business ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Files released by the DOJ suggest that Lutnick and Epstein bought stakes together in a technology company called Adfin in 2012. Lutnick, who is listed among nine other investors, appears as a “signatory” alongside Epstein, who is named as a “preferred holder.” Notably, the purchase is dated four years after Epstein was convicted in 2008 for sexual abuse involving a 14-year-old girl. DOJ PUBLISHES TROVE OF EPSTEIN FILES, SAYS MORE TO COME AFTER FRIDAY DEADLINE Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said the documents clearly contradicted previous statements from Lutnick about his relationship with Epstein. “It’s now clear that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been lying about his relationship with Epstein. He said he had no interactions with Epstein after 2005, and we now know they were in business together,” Garcia said in a post to X. “Lutnick must resign or be fired. And he must answer our questions,” Garcia added. Garcia’s calls follow similar comments made by Massie on Sunday. When asked about Lutnick’s appearance in the files on CNN, Massie also said that Lutnick should step down. MASSIE, KHANNA TO VISIT DOJ TO REVIEW UNREDACTED EPSTEIN FILES “He should just resign. Prince [Andrew] lost his title for less than what we’ve seen Howard Lutnick lie about,” Massie said, referring to the member of the royal family who was stripped of his titles last year for his association with Epstein. “He was in business with Jeffrey Epstein — and this was many years after Epstein was convicted for sexual crimes. So, he’s got a lot to answer for.” LAWMAKERS ESCALATE EPSTEIN PROBE WITH POSSIBLE BILL GATES SUBPOENA Other documents in the Epstein files reveal communications between Lutnick and Epstein’s staff that suggest Lutnick may have met with Epstein in the Virgin Islands. “Jeffrey Epstein understands you will be down in St. Thomas some over the holidays. Jeffrey requested I please pass along some phone numbers to you so the two of you can possibly get together,” an assistant to Epstein wrote in an email dated November 2012. In response to an inquiry from Fox News Digital on the criticism from Garcia and Massie, a spokesperson for the Department of Commerce framed their demands as a distraction. “Mr. Lutnick met Jeffrey Epstein in 2005 and had very limited interactions with him over the next 14 years,” the spokesperson said. “This is nothing more than a failing attempt by the legacy media to distract from the administration’s accomplishments, including securing trillions of dollars in investment, delivering historic trade deals and fighting for the American worker.” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., did not respond to a request for comment on whether the committee would consider questioning Lutnick as a part of the committee’s ongoing probe of Epstein and his crimes.
Florida driver’s license tests now only given in English
English is now the only language in which people can take driver’s license tests in the Sunshine State. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles announced last month that the change to English as the only language for the tests would start Feb. 6. “Previously, knowledge exams for most non-commercial driver license classifications were offered in multiple languages, while Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP) and Commercial Driver License (CDL) knowledge exams were only available in English and Spanish,” the department explained in a Jan. 30 press release. “Under the updated policy, all driver license knowledge and skills testing will be conducted in English.” OVER 5,000 COLD-STUNNED IGUANAS REMOVED IN TWO DAYS DURING STATE’S RECORD FREEZE “To implement this change, FLHSMV has updated its driver license testing system statewide. Language translation services will no longer be permitted for knowledge or skills examinations, and any printed exams in languages other than English will be removed for use,” the department explained. Gov. Ron DeSantis hailed the move. DESANTIS CELEBRATES END OF ‘WITCH HUNT’ AFTER TRUMP DOJ REPORTEDLY DROPS HOPE FLORIDA FOUNDATION COMPLAINT “Good reform by @FLHSMV to require driver exams be conducted only in English. Need to be able to read the road signs!” the governor declared in a Jan. 31 post on X. Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, a Republican who launched a gubernatorial bid last month, also expressed support for the move. CONSERVATIVE FIREBRAND VOWS TO PURGE ‘RINOS’ IN BATTLE TO REPLACE RETIRING VERN BUCHANAN IN OPEN FLORIDA SEAT “Thank you to FLHSMV for taking a commonsense step to strengthen highway safety. Ensuring drivers can understand road signs, instructions, and safety commands in English helps keep everyone on our roads safer,” Collins wrote in a Jan. 30 post on X.
Labor Department orders lawyers to cut ties with ABA, slams group as ‘radical’ activist force
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Labor’s top lawyer ordered staff on Monday to stop engaging with the American Bar Association in their official capacities, saying the organization partakes in liberal activism and that any federal participation would only boost its influence. Trump-appointed Solicitor Jonathan Berry wrote in an email that the hundreds of attorneys at the Department of Labor are not to use taxpayer funds to participate in any ABA events or use their government job titles at them, according to a copy of the email reviewed by Fox News Digital. “The ABA is strategically equivocal about its ideological stance,” Berry wrote. “Equivocal in that the ABA holds itself out as non-ideological at certain times, but takes decidedly radical ideological positions at others.” JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TELLS AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION IT WILL NO LONGER COMPLY WITH RATINGS FOR JUDICIAL NOMINEES His email marks the latest step in the Trump administration’s effort to weaken the ABA, the nation’s largest association of lawyers and other legal personnel. The Department of Justice implemented a similar policy last year and terminated more than $3 million in federal grants to ABA programs before a judge found that ending the funds was unconstitutional. The Federal Trade Commission likewise severed its ties with the ABA’s antitrust arm, saying it “promotes the business interests of Big Tech.” Republicans have long argued the ABA promotes Democrat-aligned viewpoints and that its institutional presence in the legal world is a disadvantage to conservatives. The ABA’s website touts that it is the “national voice of the legal profession” and showcases work that includes support for “LGBTQ+” initiatives, abortion access, stricter gun control measures, and diversity, equity and inclusion. The ABA has also taken a stance against President Donald Trump, condemning what its president described as the administration’s “wide-scale affronts to the rule of law.” The ABA wields enormous power, weighing in on nominations of federal judges, engaging in litigation and involving itself in the hiring processes across the legal industry. One arm of the ABA also handles law school accreditation. In a reversal of a decades-long practice, Attorney General Pam Bondi told the ABA last year that the DOJ would not give the association a heads up on judicial nominees before they are announced, stripping the ABA of the ability to rate the nominees in advance. DOJ OUTLINES 10 ‘WINS’ UNDER TRUMP, SAYS AGENCY RESTORED AFTER BIDEN ERA Berry wrote in his email to staff that the Labor Department lawyers’ participation in the ABA would only serve to endorse what he viewed as an institutional problem. “There is genuine benefit to our attorneys engaging with the employer bar in ABA programs, but the benefit genuinely feeds the problem too: Our participation in ‘neutral’ ABA events contributes to institutional stature the ABA leverages to advance radical goals as if they were ‘neutral,’” Berry wrote. “No more.” Fox News Digital reached out to the ABA for comment.
Ghislaine Maxwell pleads Fifth Amendment, dodges questions in House Oversight Epstein probe
The House Oversight Committee’s deposition of Ghislaine Maxwell ended less than an hour after it began on Monday morning, when the convicted accomplice of the late Jeffrey Epstein pleaded the Fifth Amendment. Maxwell appeared before lawmakers virtually for a closed-door interview in the House bipartisan probe into the federal government’s handling of Epstein’s case. She is currently serving out a 20-year sentence at a Texas prison. “As expected, Ghislaine Maxwell took the fifth and refused to answer any questions. This is obviously very disappointing,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told reporters afterward. “We had many questions to ask about the crime she and Epstein committed, as well as questions about potential co-conspirators. We sincerely want to get to the truth for the American people and justice for the survivors.” NEW GHISLAINE MAXWELL MUGSHOT INCLUDED IN DOJ’S LATEST EPSTEIN FILES RELEASE Comer said Maxwell’s lawyer told the committee that she would only answer questions if she was granted clemency by President Donald Trump. Democrats on the panel, who spoke after Comer, accused Maxwell of trying to lobby for a pardon and demanded that Trump publicly rule out the possibility. “What we did get was another episode in her long-running campaign for clemency from President Trump, and President Trump could end that today,” said Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va. “He could rule out clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell, the monster. The question for all of us today is why hasn’t he done that?” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., another Republican committee member who attended the deposition, said Maxwell gave no indication that Trump nor former President Bill Clinton were implicated in any wrongdoing related to Epstein. DEMOCRATS SAY CLINTONS’ AGREEMENT TO TESTIFY UNDERCUTS SUBPOENA PUSH, WON’T BRING NEW EPSTEIN ANSWERS The former British socialite was found guilty in December 2021 of being an accomplice in Epstein’s scheme to sexually traffic and exploit female minors. The DOJ said at the time of her sentencing that Maxwell “enticed and groomed minor girls to be abused in multiple ways.” Comer announced lawmakers would hear from Maxwell late last month during a meeting on holding former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for refusing to appear for his Epstein probe. “We’ve been trying to get her in for a deposition. Our lawyers have been saying that she’s going to plead the Fifth, but we have nailed down a date, Feb. 9, where Ghislaine Maxwell will be deposed by this committee,” Comer said at the time. Contempt proceedings against the Clintons stalled, however, after they agreed via their attorneys to appear in person on Capitol Hill just days before the full House of Representatives was expected to vote on referring the pair to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for criminal charges. Comer’s team had been in a back-and-forth with Maxwell’s attorney for months trying to nail down a date for her to speak to committee lawyers. He agreed to delay her previous planned deposition in August after her lawyer asked him to wait until after the Supreme Court decided whether it would hear her appeal. The Supreme Court turned down Maxwell’s case in October. She and the Clintons’ depositions are part of the House Oversight Committee’s months-long probe into how the government handled Epstein’s case. Comer told reporters on Monday that five more depositions would happen in the coming weeks including former Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner on Feb. 18, Hillary Clinton on Feb. 26, Bill Clinton on Feb. 27, Epstein accountant Richard Khan on March 11, and Epstein attorney Darren Indyke on March 19.
GOP accelerates Trump judge confirmations as pressure builds to kill Senate blue slip
Senate Republicans confirmed half a dozen of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees last week, continuing a quick pace to green-light as many of his picks as possible. While the Senate GOP is moving fast to confirm Trump’s judicial nominees, the president and some of his allies want to eviscerate an over-century-old tradition in the Senate that provides bipartisan guardrails to the judicial nomination process. They contend that the blue slip tradition is slowing down Republicans from being able to confirm picks, and that Democrats are holding the process hostage. TRUMP DELETES ‘RACIST’ POST AFTER WAVE OF REPUBLICAN BACKLASH, WHITE HOUSE SAYS HE DIDN’T KNOW “Nuking the blue slip would be a huge mistake,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital. Tillis, like several other Republicans, has argued that the blue slips are a valuable tool of the minority, and that inevitably, the GOP would need to use the tradition to their advantage when Democrats regain control of the upper chamber. The Senate has confirmed 33 judges since the start of Trump’s second term, a figure that dwarfs the number of total judicial nominees, including U.S. attorneys, district and circuit court judges, moved through the upper chamber during his first go-round in the White House. TRUMP TAKES AIM AT SENATE ‘BLUE SLIP’ TRADITION AS GOP RESISTS CHANGE During the first year of his first term, the Senate confirmed 19 Article III nominees, including Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. Though Republicans are far ahead of Trump’s first time clip, Democrats under former President Joe Biden still outpaced them in this metric. Biden clocked 42 total judicial nominees confirmed during the first year of his term. Whether the Senate can outpace Trump’s final total of 234 judicial nominees from his first term remains to be seen, but for now the blue slip appears to be safe. Still, Trump sounded off on the practice late last year in the Oval Office, arguing that the GOP should “get rid of blue slips, because, as a Republican President, I am unable to put anybody in office having to do with U.S. attorneys or having to do with judges.” REPUBLICANS BLAST DEMOCRATS’ TRUMP ELECTION MEDDLING CLAIMS AS HYPOCRITICAL ‘CONSPIRACY THEORY’ Much of his frustration with the tradition, which has been around for over 100 years in the upper chamber, likely stemmed from the nominations of Alina Habba and Lindsey Halligan getting derailed by blue slips last year. He’s taken his frustrations out on Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a vocal proponent of the practice, and other Republicans that want to maintain the tradition. Notably, Grassley modified the tradition in 2017 to allow for circuit court judges to skirt the process, further boosting the number of judges Republicans were able to confirm under Trump despite Democratic objections. When asked if the Senate’s pace in confirming judicial nominees further affirmed that the blue slip was here to stay, Grassley told Fox News Digital, “It doesn’t need to be a present question.” “Because it’s a question of 110 years, and everybody in the Senate wants to maintain the blue slip,” Grassley said.
Federal judge orders Fulton County election raid documents to be unsealed
A federal judge in Georgia has ordered the unsealing of documents tied to an FBI raid that seized 2020 election ballots from a Fulton County facility, potentially shedding new light on the bureau’s investigation. Judge J.P. Boulee, who was nominated by President Donald Trump in 2019, gave the government until Tuesday to file the documents, including the search warrant affidavit with redactions. “Although Petitioners originally filed this case under seal, both parties have now indicated to the Court that they do not oppose unsealing the docket or the motions filed by Petitioners,” Boulee wrote in the order. “Moreover, Respondent has stated that it does not oppose the unsealing of the search warrant affidavit and any other papers associated with the warrant subject to the redaction of the names of nongovernmental witnesses,” the order continued. GEORGIA’S FULTON COUNTY FILES MOTION SEEKING RETURN OF 2020 ELECTION MATERIALS SEIZED BY FBI The FBI raid took place Jan. 28 at Fulton County’s main election facility in Union City, near Atlanta, and focused on records connected to the 2020 general election. A warrant cover sheet provided to the county listed items agents sought, including ballots, tabulator tapes, electronic ballot images and voter rolls. Last week, Fulton County officials filed a motion seeking the return of around 656 boxes of original 2020 election materials that the FBI had seized. TRUMP DOJ DEMANDS MINNESOTA VOTING RECORDS OVER SAME-DAY REGISTRATION ‘VOUCHING’ CONCERNS The heavily Democratic Fulton County has come under scrutiny following President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss to former President Joe Biden. Biden carried Georgia, but Trump has insisted that widespread voter fraud contributed to him losing the state. Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.