Schiff decries Bove’s confirmation as ‘corruption’ despite DOJ referral into his own mortgage dealings
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., blasted Republicans for confirming President Donald Trump’s former defense attorney Emil Bove as a federal judge Tuesday after the senator himself was referred to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution amid allegations of mortgage fraud. The Senate voted to confirm Bove to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit in a 50–49 vote Tuesday, amid a challenging confirmation process involving allegations from three whistleblowers who alleged Bove disregarded court orders surrounding Trump’s mass deportation agenda and misled lawmakers during his confirmation hearing. “Republicans just voted to confirm Emil Bove. Despite whistleblowers confirming he urged them to ignore court orders,” Schiff said in a Tuesday X post. “Despite it being clear he lied to the Judiciary Committee. And despite the danger he poses to the rule of law. The corruption of the bench continues.” TRUMP PICK EMIL BOVE CONFIRMED AS FEDERAL JUDGE AFTER FURIOUS DEMOCRAT WALKOUT, WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINTS No Democrats voted to back Bove. They were joined by Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Tuesday on the Senate floor he backed Bove and said that Bove had faced “unfair accusations and abuse.” After representing Trump in his criminal prosecutions, Bove joined Trump’s Justice Department to serve as the principal associate deputy attorney general. Meanwhile, Schiff has come under scrutiny for his own alleged misconduct and was referred to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution stemming from a mortgage document controversy. The director of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) wrote a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in May, outlining Schiff’s alleged misconduct over his homes in both Maryland and California. TOP DOJ OFFICIAL FACES TEST IN SENATE OVER NOMINATION TO BECOME FEDERAL JUDGE FHFA Director William Pulte wrote in the letter, obtained by Fox News Digital Monday, that Schiff “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, impacting payments from 2003–2019 for a Potomac, Maryland-based property.” It’s unclear whether the Justice Department has launched any actions against Schiff yet, and the Justice Department declined to provide comment to Fox News Digital. Schiff’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Meanwhile, Trump has railed against Schiff for years — and did so again in July, claiming he would love to see Schiff “brought to justice.” “I have always suspected Shifty Adam Schiff was a scam artist,” Trump posted to Truth Social on July 15. “And now I learn that Fannie Mae’s Financial Crimes Division have concluded that Adam Schiff has engaged in a sustained pattern of possible Mortgage Fraud.” KEY TRUMP NOMINEES STALLED BY SENATE DEMS PUT PRESSURE ON GOP LEADERS In response, Schiff said that Trump’s claims amounted to a “baseless attempt at political retribution.” “Since I led his first impeachment, Trump has repeatedly called for me to be arrested for treason,” Schiff said in a July 15 X post. “So in a way, I guess this is a bit of a letdown. And this baseless attempt at political retribution won’t stop me from holding him accountable. Not by a long shot.” Fox News’ Ashley Oliver, Danielle Wallace and Peter Doocey contributed to this report.
Senate GOP eyes rules revolt as Dems stonewall Trump nominees
Changes to the confirmation process are on the table as frustrations among Senate Republicans continue to fester while Senate Democrats continue their blockade of President Donald Trump’s nominees. Republicans have spent much of the week working deep into the night to confirm nomination after nomination, but Democrats have yet to relent and allow for any speeding up of the process. That reality, and a request from Trump to consider canceling the fast-approaching August recess to ram through more of his nominees, has the Senate GOP mulling changes to the rules, like shortening the debate time on nominees or bundling together some picks. GRASSLEY REBUKES TRUMP’S PRESSURE TO ‘HAVE THE COURAGE’ TO SPEED UP NOMINATIONS Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., charged that Democrats’ blockade of Trump’s nominations was “Trump derangement syndrome on steroids.” “If we’re going to do something, we’re going to look at how we would make a modification to our rules to ensure that we can’t have the kind of delay and obstruction and blocking that the Democrats are currently using,” Thune said. Changing the rules, however, could open the door for Democrats to take advantage of the modifications and set a new precedent for the confirmation process. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told Fox News Digital that Senate Democrats were just playing by the same rules that Republicans operated under when they had the majority. KEY TRUMP NOMINEES STALLED BY SENATE DEMS PUTS PRESSURE ON GOP LEADERS “I think that’s the only way to — a do unto others situation,” he said. “And I warn them: things that sound so appealing now to make a quick change in the rules, they may soon have to live with.” However, Senate Republicans did play ball, for the most part, with their counterparts when former President Joe Biden was in the White House. This time four years ago, Biden had 49 civilian nominees confirmed by a voice vote, a much faster and simpler process that didn’t require a full vote on the Senate floor. And during Trump’s first term, he had five civilian nominees confirmed by voice vote. While the Senate has now confirmed over 100 of the president’s nominees, more and more of his picks — over 160 and counting — are being added to the Senate’s calendar, and Republicans are hoping that Democrats agree to a deal to move a package of nominees through the Senate. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., believed his colleagues were inclined to make changes to the rules in the face of continued Democratic resistance. “I think it is a big mistake where we are now,” he said. “Push is going to come to shove. If there is no negotiation and no settlement before that, I believe that the rules will change.” ‘ALL THE OPTIONS’: GOP EYES CUTTING AUGUST RECESS TO MOVE DOZENS OF TRUMP NOMINEES STALLED BY DEMS Some Republicans, like Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., are not too concerned about changing the precedent in the Senate, given that over the last several years the nomination process has deteriorated into a partisan stand-off. “I’m happy to change the precedent to allow any president, Republican or Democrat, to be able to staff his administration,” Johnson told Fox News Digital. “I think the confirmation system is completely out of control. I can’t imagine our Founding Fathers really thought the Senate ought to be able to advise consent on hundreds and hundreds of positions. It’s ridiculous.” Meanwhile, Trump targeted Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, for not doing away with “blue slips,” a longtime Senate practice that effectively gives senators the ability to veto district court and U.S. attorney nominees in their home states. Grassley said that he was “offended” by Trump’s attack, but didn’t appear to budge on the blue slip issue. However, Grassley did ignore blue slips in 2017 to hold hearings for a pair of the president’s judicial nominees during his first term. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Fox News Digital that he didn’t know why Republicans wouldn’t want to have normal scrutiny and debate over their nominees. “Trump says jump and Senate Republicans ask how high, which is really sad for an institution with such a great sense of tradition and self-respect,” he said.
Trump congratulates Ivy League school after $50M deal to restore federal funding: ‘Woke is officially DEAD’
Brown University, the Ivy League institution in Providence, Rhode Island, has agreed to shell out $50 million over a decade to state workforce development organizations as part of a deal struck with the U.S. government, which has agreed to restore grant funding and close probes into the school. President Donald Trump congratulated the school in a post on Truth Social. “Congratulations to Brown University on the settlement made with the United States Government. There will be no more Anti-Semitism, or Anti-Christian, or Anti-Anything Else! Woke is officially DEAD at Brown. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” the president declared in the post. COLUMBIA SETTLEMENT PUTS IVY LEAGUE UNIVERSITIES IN ‘SURVIVAL MODE,’ OHIO STATE PRESIDENT CLAIMS Trump-appointed Education Secretary Linda McMahon also addressed the deal in a statement. “The Trump Administration is successfully reversing the decades-long woke-capture of our nation’s higher education institutions. Because of the Trump Administration’s resolution agreement with Brown University, aspiring students will be judged solely on their merits, not their race or sex. Brown has committed to proactive measures to protect Jewish students and combat Antisemitism on campus. Women’s sports and intimate facilities will be protected for women and Title IX will be enforced as it was intended,” she asserted. “Restoring our nation’s higher education institutions to places dedicated to truth-seeking, academic merit, and civil debate—where all students can learn free from discrimination and harassment—will be a lasting legacy of the Trump administration, one that will benefit students and American society for generations to come.” LINDA MCMAHON SENDS WARNING TO MAINE AFTER STATE’S EDUCATION CHIEF’S EMAILS UNDERMINING TRUMP SURFACE Brown president Christina Paxson, who discussed the agreement in a lengthy message to members of the Brown community, indicated that the school entered the agreement “voluntarily.” She pointed out that it does not involve making any payment to the federal government. “Beyond the financial stresses of terminated and unpaid research grants and contracts, we have observed a growing push for government intrusion into the fundamental academic operations of colleges and universities, and with the stated purpose of compelling a commitment to comply with laws focused on prohibitions against antisemitism and discrimination,” she claimed in part of the long note. DEPT. OF EDUCATION LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO DUKE UNIVERSITY OVER ALLEGED RACIAL PREFERENCES “We stand solidly behind commitments we repeatedly have affirmed to protect all members of our community from harassment and discrimination, and we protect the ability of our faculty and students to study and learn academic subjects of their choosing, free from censorship,” she wrote.
White House responds to ‘Rocket Man’ and North Korea’s threats over denuclearization
President Donald Trump remains open to meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in hopes of achieving denuclearization, the White House said, even as Pyongyang warned against any pressure to abandon its nuclear arsenal. “President Trump in his first term held three historic summits with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un that stabilized the Korean Peninsula and achieved the first-ever leader-level agreement on denuclearization,” a White House official told Fox News Digital. “The President retains those objectives and remains open to engaging with Leader Kim to achieve a fully de-nuclearized North Korea.” Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of Kim Jong Un, said in remarks carried by state media that relations between Trump and her brother are “not bad.” However, she warned that any attempt to pressure North Korea to denuclearize would be viewed as “nothing but a mockery.” TRUMP REMAINS ‘RECEPTIVE’ TO DIALOGUE WITH KIM JONG UN DESPITE REPORTED LETTER SNUB She also claimed the country’s nuclear arsenal has significantly expanded since the two leaders last met — despite their pledge to pursue denuclearization — and stated that no future summit would be possible if it centered on nuclear disarmament. “If the U.S. fails to accept the changed reality and persists in the failed past, the DPRK–U.S. meeting will remain as a ‘hope’ of the U.S. side,” Kim Yo Jong said, referring to the country by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Trump held three unprecedented summits with the North Korean leader — whom he once nicknamed “Little Rocket Man” — during his first term: in Singapore in 2018, Hanoi in 2019, and at the Korean Demilitarized Zone later that year, where he became the first sitting U.S. president to step foot on North Korean soil. At the 2018 summit, Trump and Kim signed a joint statement pledging to “work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” and committed to establishing new U.S.–North Korea relations. NORTH KOREA BREAKS SILENCE ON TRUMP’S RETURN, SENDS MESSAGE FROM ‘ROCKET MAN’ However, talks broke down in subsequent meetings. North Korea did not give up its nuclear weapons, and the United States did not lift sanctions. Kim reportedly sought to dismantle only parts of the regime’s arsenal in exchange for full sanctions relief — a proposal Trump rejected. By 2020, the talks had completely stalled, and North Korea resumed weapons testing. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In a statement Monday commemorating the 72nd anniversary of the end of the Korean War, Trump reflected on his meetings with Kim, saying, “I was proud to become the first sitting President to cross this Demilitarized Zone into North Korea.” He also reaffirmed the U.S. alliance with South Korea, adding: “Although the evils of communism still persist in Asia, American and South Korean forces remain united in an ironclad alliance to this day.”
Soros’ alleged ties to Russiagate exposed in declassified annex of Durham report
The credible foreign sources indicating the FBI and the Obama administration would play a role in spreading the salacious Trump–Russia narrative — before the bureau ever launched its probe — were allegedly tied to George Soros’ Open Society Foundation, according to an explosive document declassified Thursday morning. The appendix to former Special Counsel John Durham’s report released by the Senate Judiciary Committee sheds stunning light on what Chairman Chuck Grassley describes as “one of the biggest political scandals and cover-ups in American history.” CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi worked in coordination to declassify the information. FBI’S CONTROVERSIAL TRUMP-RUSSIA ACTIONS PREDICTED WITH ‘ALARMING SPECIFICITY’ BY FOREIGN ACTORS: SOURCES Before its official release, sources exclusively briefed Fox News Digital on some of the contents of the appendix — including that the U.S. intelligence community had credible foreign sources indicating that the FBI would play a role in spreading the salacious Trump–Russia collusion narrative — before the bureau ever launched its controversial Crossfire Hurricane probe. A source familiar with the contents of the classified appendix told Fox News Digital that while it may not have been exactly clear in the moment what the intelligence collection meant, with the benefit of hindsight, it predicted the FBI’s next move “with alarming specificity.” The appendix reveals that the foreign sources were allegedly tied to George Soros’ Open Society Foundations. The appendix said that Russian government actors in 2016 reportedly hacked emails from the Open Society Foundations, formerly known as the Soros Foundation. “Two of the apparently hacked emails appear to have originated from the Open Society Foundations,” the appendix states, noting that the purported author of these emails was Leonard Bernardo, who was the regional director for Eurasia at the Open Society Foundations. “During the first stage of the campaign, due to lack of direct evidence, it was decided to disseminate the necessary information through the FBI-affiliated…technical structures… in particular, the Crowdstrike and ThreatConnect companies, from where the information would then be disseminated through leading U.S. publications,” Bernardo reportedly wrote in an email, per the appendix. “The media analysis on the DNC hacking appears solid …. Julie (Clinton Campaign Advisor) says it will be a long-term affair to demonize Putin and Trump. Now it is good for a post-convention bounce,” Bernardo allegedly wrote, per the appendix. “Later the FBI will put more oil into the fire.” Another email reportedly from Bernardo states: “HRC (Hillary Rodham Clinton) approved Julie’s idea about Trump and Russian hackers hampering U.S. elections.” “This should distract people from her own missing email, especially if the affair goes to the Olympic level,” Bernardo continued, per the annex. “The point is making the Russian play a U.S. domestic issue. Say something like a critical infrastructure threat for the election to feel manic since both POTUS and VPOTUS have acknowledge the fact IC would speed up searching for evidence that is regrettably still unavailable.” Crossfire Hurricane, the FBI’s Trump–Russia investigation, was opened just several days later, on July 31, 2016. The appendix reveals that Durham’s team interviewed numerous FBI personnel involved in the Crossfire Hurricane probe. Durham said those he interviewed believed the Bernardo emails to be “likely authentic.” Durham’s appendix states that the Clinton campaign “might have wanted or expected the FBI or other agencies to aid that effort (“put more oil into the fire”) by commencing a formal investigation of the DNC hack.” PATEL FOUND THOUSANDS OF SENSITIVE TRUMP–RUSSIA PROBE DOCS INSIDE ‘BURN BAGS’ IN SECRET ROOM AT FBI Communications the Durham team reviewed additionally supported that the Clinton campaign allegedly had been engaged in a plan to tie Trump to Russia, and that the campaign wanted or expected the office of the vice president, the FBI or other parts of the intelligence community, such as the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), to aid that effort. “The Office’s best assessment is that the … emails that purport to be from Bernardo were ultimately a composite of several emails that were obtained through Russian intelligence hacking of the U.S.-based Think Tanks, including the Open Society Foundations, the Carnegie Endowment, and others,” the Durham annex states. “It is a logical deduction (redacted) (Julianne) Smith was, at minimum, playing a role in the Clinton campaign’s efforts to tie Trump to Russia,” Durham writes, also noting that the communications reviewed “certainly lends at least some credence that such a plan existed.” “Based on the Durham annex, the Obama FBI failed to adequately review and investigate intelligence reports showing the Clinton campaign may have been ginning up the fake Trump-Russia narrative for Clinton’s political gain, which was ultimately done through the Steele Dossier and other means,” Grassley said in a statement. “These intelligence reports and related records, whether true or false, were buried for years.” Grassley said that “history will show that the Obama and Biden administration’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies were weaponized against President Trump.” “This political weaponization has caused critical damage to our institutions and is one of the biggest political scandals and cover-ups in American history,” Grassley said. “The new Trump administration has a tremendous responsibility to the American people to fix the damage done and do so with maximum speed and transparency.” In 2020, Fox News Digital exclusively reported that former CIA Director John Brennan, in the summer of 2016, briefed former President Barack Obama and administration officials on intelligence that then-Democratic nominee former Secretary of State Clinton reportedly was stirring up a plan to tie Trump to Russia. Ratcliffe, as director of national intelligence, declassified Brennan’s handwritten notes memorializing that meeting, which were exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital in October 2020. On July 28, 2016, Brennan briefed Obama on a plan allegedly by one of Clinton’s campaign foreign policy advisors “to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service.” The FBI on July 31, 2016, opened a counterintelligence investigation into whether candidate Trump and members of his campaign were colluding
Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs could hit a snag in court today. Here’s what to know
A federal appeals court on Thursday will hear arguments over the legality of President Donald Trump‘s sweeping tariff plan, a high-stakes court fight that comes just hours before Trump’s import duties and so-called “reciprocal” tariffs are slated to take force. At issue before the Washington-based Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is Trump’s attempt to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) — a 1977 emergency law — to enact the steep import fees, and impose additional tariffs on certain trading partners. Thursday’s hearing comes less than 24 hours before Trump’s tariffs are slated to take force. Both sides have signaled they plan to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, if necessary. On April 2, Trump announced a 10% baseline tariff on all countries, along with higher, reciprocal tariffs targeting select nations — including China. He said the measures would address trade imbalances, reduce deficits with key trading partners and boost domestic manufacturing and production. TARIFF FIGHT ESCALATES AS TRUMP APPEALS SECOND COURT LOSS However, whether emergency tariffs are the appropriate vehicle to accomplish this is an open question and one central to Thursday’s oral arguments before the appeals court. Plaintiffs in V.O.S. Selections Inc. v. Trump will argue on Thursday that the looming tariffs have already introduced confusion and volatility into markets, threatening the bottom lines of small U.S. businesses and making it extremely difficult for owners to operate under shifting guidance that seems to change on a whim. Small businesses in the U.S. have been hit with months of “complete uncertainty,” Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel and director of litigation of the Liberty Justice Center, one of the groups representing small businesses in court, said in an interview Wednesday. “That’s largely due to the fact that the president asserts the power to impose tariffs on any country he wants, for any reason — and at any rate he wants, at any time he wants,” Schwab said. “So there’s no certainty on what the rate is going to be from one week to the next, and that’s very difficult to do business with, when things are constantly changing.” Judges on a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of International Trade voted unanimously to block Trump’s tariffs from taking force earlier this year, ruling that, as commander in chief, Trump does not have “unbounded authority” to impose tariffs under the emergency law. That ruling was later paused by the appeals court in Washington, D.C., which agreed to consider the administration’s request for relief. Ahead of Thursday’s oral arguments, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed they would continue to defend the president’s trade agenda in court. “This morning, [Justice Department] attorneys are going to court to defend President Trump’s tariffs — which are transforming the global economy, protecting our national security, and addressing the consequences of our exploding trade deficit,” she said. “We will continue to defend the president.” TRUMP TARIFF PLAN FACES UNCERTAIN FUTURE AS COURT BATTLES INTENSIFY Others argue that the tariffs are more a negotiating tool designed to bring trading partners to the table to negotiate new deals. JUDGES V TRUMP: HERE ARE THE KEY COURT BATTLES HALTING THE WHITE HOUSE AGENDA Despite trade adviser Peter Navarro’s pledge to strike “90 trade agreements in 90 days,” and Trump’s assertion to Time magazine that they had struck “over 200 deals” this year, the Trump administration has in fact inked just eight such agreements over the last 120 days. The agreements announced by the U.S. include deals with the European Union’s 27-member bloc, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan and others. The U.S. and China, which threatened each other with escalating reciprocal tariffs that climbed as high as 145%, agreed at a meeting in Geneva in May to lower tariffs through at least mid-August. Talks for a longer-term deal are ongoing. Some Trump supporters have argued the tariffs are merely a negotiating tactic to get foreign governments to the table — though the administration has repeatedly vowed to use “all tools” at their disposal to advance They argued in a court filing that the IEEPA is the law that Congress passed in 1977 to allow the president to respond to “unusual and extraordinary threats” and in cases where a national emergency has already been declared. However, plaintiffs argue that Trump’s use of IEEPA to address the trade deficit is unlawful, pointing out that, by the administration’s own admission, the deficit has persisted for nearly 50 years, undermining the claim of an “unusual and extraordinary” emergency. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will likely move on the case quickly, with a decision expected in August. No matter the outcome, both sides have vowed to take the fight to the Supreme Court, if necessary. In the interim, economists noted there could be real harm the longer the court process takes. Schwab, the lawyer helping represent plaintiffs in court Thursday, said small business owners could see “potentially irreparable harm” as a result of court inaction. Already, he said Wednesday, his clients are reporting real harm. “Some of the harm has already taken place,” Schwab said in an earlier interview. “And the longer it goes on, the worse it is.”
Douglas Murray slams NY mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, London’s Sadiq Khan: ‘Stay out of foreign policy’
Israel-supporting British commentator Douglas Murray said New York mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani should “stay out” of foreign policy, as should London Mayor Sadiq Khan. “Khan decides to make statements about the international stage. Funnily enough, the job of Mayor of London does not include having a foreign policy summit,” Murray told Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC). “Sadiq Khan does not realize what he does when he’s just being silly. Mamdani seems to have the same idea, which is that the mayor of New York should get involved in foreign policy, which they shouldn’t,” he went on.”That’s a big mistake.” Both Khan and Mamdani have lambasted Israel’s offensive campaign in Gaza. Mamdani earlier this month told a group of business leaders he would no longer use the phrase “globalize the intifada,” after repeatedly declining to walk back his past use of the term. The phrase encourages expanding Palestinian uprisings against Israel. DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER ‘NO LONGER ON SPEAKING TERMS’ WITH SOME FAMILY OVER ISRAEL SUPPORT Murray claimed Khan “isn’t a progressive, just a sort of opportunist and heartless bad man.” President Donald Trump reignited his feud with Khan during a visit to Scotland over the weekend, calling him a “nasty person” who has done a “terrible job.” “The international community — including our own government — must do far more to pressure the Israeli government to stop this horrific, senseless killing and let vital life-saving aid in. Nothing justifies the actions of the Israeli government,” Khan said in a statement urging his government to recognize a Palestinian state. “The U.K. must immediately recognise Palestinian statehood. There can be no two-state solution if there is no viable state left to call Palestine.” Murray characterized Mamdani as an “opportunistic politician” who “would like to get into power by promising New Yorkers things that he cannot bring and failing to address things that New Yorkers need.” “His position as a so-called Democratic socialist, would make sure that New York, which has been suffering for some many years now with a brain drain, talent drain, money train, money drain would simply go down even further.” During a June debate prior to Mamdani’s win in the Democratic primary, mayoral candidates were asked where they would visit. A number of them said Israel before Mamdani said he would stay in New York. “I would stay in New York City. My plans are to address New Yorkers across the five boroughs and focus on that.” Mamdani has proposed ideas like free buses, free childcare and government-run food markets. When asked if he believes Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state, he said, “I believe Israel has a right to exist.” When pressed on the “as a Jewish state” point, he said, “As a state with equal rights.” Murray’s criticisms also extended to British Prime Minister Kier Starmer, who recently said the United Kingdom would recognize a Palestinian state in September if there wasn’t any progress on a ceasefire in Gaza. Starmer’s announcement followed French President Emmanuel Macron making the same announcement. Khan had urged Starmer to recognize a Palestinian state immediately, arguing the U.K. government “must do far more to pressure the Israeli government to stop this horrific senseless killing.” “A Palestinian state is not going to emerge because the prime minister of Britain or the president of France has called for it,” said Murray. “It’s purely to make a political signal to the domestic population, and I think, part of the immigrant population in these countries to show we’re on the side of the Palestinians, not on Israel’s side, because it’s a very cynical, cynical move. It does absolutely nothing to bring peace to the Middle East.” Amid a slew of reports of starvation among the Gazan population, Murray and the 700-some students gathered at the summit are undeterred in their support for Israel. Murray claimed it was Hamas, not Israel, who was the architect of mass hunger. NEW YORKERS SKEPTICAL AFTER ZOHRAN MAMDANI DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM PHRASE ‘GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA’ “People have to understand that the Hamas narrative is not just, ‘let’s kill Israelis for our benefit.’ The Hamas narrative is ‘let’s make sure that the Gazans starve and suffer’ also for their own benefit,” Murray said. “This is a very counter-intuitive narrative for a lot of people to understand. But Hamas does not mind Palestinian deaths. In fact, it wants it because [Hamas] believes it can use a narrative to go against Israel, go against America.” The Washington, D.C., summit comes as Israel-supporting students feel a renewed sense of vindication with the Trump administration cracking down on pro-Gaza protests that they say veered into antisemitic territory. The State Department has revoked the visas of students they believe to be engaging in “pro-Hamas” conduct and the Trump administration has yanked federal funding from universities it believes have not sufficiently addressed antisemitic conduct at such protests. At the same time, the nation has faced a rise in antisemitic acts and political violence. Two months ago, a pair of Israel Embassy staffers were shot and killed in Washington, D.C., while attending an event at the Capital Jewish Museum. The summit, in turn, had heightened security protocols and a police presence guarding outside. “We’re not going to be intimidated by violent actors. We’re not going to be intimidated by these misguided protesters,” said ICC CEO Jacob Baime in an interview with Fox News Digital. He said that pro-Gaza protests were “highly professionalized, highly organized, coordinated, well-funded operations,” and ICC sought to bring Jewish students together to “match that level of organizing, the level of sophistication.”
Mamdani, Cuomo clash over who is better at supporting law enforcement after Manhattan mass shooting
New York City mayoral contenders Zohran Mamdani and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo are facing off over who is a better supporter of law enforcement after Monday’s mass shooting in a midtown Manhattan office building. Mamdani is the 33-year-old democratic socialist state lawmaker from Queens who shocked the political world last month by coming from behind to top Cuomo and nine other candidates to capture the Democratic Party mayoral nomination in the overwhelmingly blue city. He has been facing criticism after the shooting over his past comments calling to defund the NYPD. Cuomo has called Mamdani “anti-police,” arguing he “doesn’t understand the need for public safety.” “He has said the NYPD are racists, the police are a threat to public safety,” Cuomo charged Wednesday morning ahead of a press conference held by Mamdani, during which he addressed the criticism from Cuomo. “I think he’s dangerous because he doesn’t understand the need for public safety in this city.” MAMDANI FACES BACKLASH FOR OPULENT WEDDING CELEBRATION After the Manhattan shooting this week, Mamdani is facing renewed scrutiny over past statements made on social media in 2020 when he called for defunding the police multiple times. And Mamdani, who spent the past several days in his native Uganda celebrating his recent wedding, has also been chastised for what some argue was his tardy response to the shooting, which left four people dead, including a police officer. In response to Cuomo’s criticism, Mamdani slammed the former governor for politicizing the mass shooting that occurred in downtown Manhattan earlier this week, while blasting the former governor for being stuck in the past. “I know that Gov. Cuomo is far more comfortable in the past, whether it be his own or whether it be in attacking me for tweets made before I was even an Assembly member,” Mamdani said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon after Cuomo’s morning criticism. They were Mamdani’s first public remarks since New York City’s worst mass shooting in a quarter century. MAMDANI’S PAST ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ STANCE RESURFACES AFTER DEADLY MANHATTAN SHOOTING “Cuomo wishes he was running against me in the past. He wants to find every tweet he can. He doesn’t want to look at the present but the past,” Mamdani added. Cuomo denied Mamdani’s claims he was using the mass shooting to score political points, telling Fox News Digital in response to Mamdani’s rebuttal that “it’s not politicizing the tragedy … it is a political discussion that we have to have in this campaign.” “The public safety discussion has been ongoing for months. It’s a very important topic,” Cuomo said. “It is an everyday issue and, yes, it is a political discussion that we have to have in this campaign.” Cuomo, who is running in November’s general election as an independent candidate after losing his bid for the Democratic Party nomination, said that, for him, “public safety comes first.” Pivoting to the recent mass shooting in Manhattan, Cuomo also suggested that the magnitude of the shooting, which has grabbed plenty of national attention, could shake up the mayoral race. “New Yorkers have PTSD from 9/11 and from other horrific situations, and I think it’s always in the back of every New Yorker’s mind that all it takes is one mentally ill person with an assault weapon and that’s TNT, that’s a public safety stick of dynamite,” Cuomo said. “And, yeah, I think it brought that back. It’s back to reality. In New York City you’re a target.” During Wednesday’s press conference, Mamdani sought to distance himself from his 2020 comments about defunding the police, arguing they were made before he even entered public service and “amidst a frustration that many New Yorkers held at the murder of George Floyd.” “I’m proud of the public safety platform we’ve put together,” Mamdani said. “For the former governor to have spent an entire day speaking almost exclusively about me and barely about the New Yorkers who have been killed is indicative of the very politics New Yorkers want to leave in the past.”
Kamala Harris decision not to run in 2026 opens door to possible second presidential run in 2028
Former Vice President Kamala Harris closed one door with her announcement that she wouldn’t run in 2026 for governor of her home state of California. But her decision to keep her name off the ballot next year left the door open for a possible second presidential bid in 2028. In her statement explaining her decision, Harris said, “For now, my leadership — and public service — will not be in elected office.” But Harris, who replaced then-President Joe Biden as the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nominee last summer after he dropped out of the race amid mounting questions over his physical and mental stamina, pledged to stay involved in politics. KAMALA HARRIS RULES OUT 2026 RUN IN HER HOME STATE OF CALIFORNIA “I look forward to getting back out and listening to the American people, helping elect Democrats across the nation who will fight fearlessly, and sharing more details in the months ahead about my own plans,” she said. After losing last year’s election to President Donald Trump and then serving out the remainder of her term as vice president, Harris returned to California and kept close counsel with an inner circle of confidants. 21 DEMOCRATS WHO MAY RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2028 And some in her inner circle, as well as political analysts, suggested that running and winning the election in 2026 for governor of California, the nation’s most populous state and home to the world’s fifth-largest economy, would likely take a 2028 White House run off the table. But with a gubernatorial run off the table, that’s no longer a concern. If Harris eventually does launch a 2028 presidential campaign, she would start her ride on the road to the White House as the most recognizable Democrat in what’s expected to be a large field of contenders. And she would also come equipped with a broad fundraising network that she built up last cycle. “She would certainly be a very serious candidate in the primary in 2028, if she runs,” a Democratic strategist and veteran of multiple White House campaigns told Fox News Digital. The strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, said that “a lot of Democrats think she was put in a tough spot in 2024 and deserves to have a chance to run a race on her own…she was limited in doing some of the things that politically she might have needed to do to make a cleaner break with Biden.” But Harris could also potentially be weighed down with plenty of political baggage from the 2024 campaign, when the Democrats lost not only the White House but also their Senate majority, and failed to win back control of the House. SUCCEEDING TRUMP IN 2028: SIX REPUBLICANS TO KEEP YOUR EYES ON As the party looks to escape the political wilderness, many Democrats are aiming to make a clear break with the past as they strive for a reset. “If you’re trying to take a different path for the party, it’s hard to go backwards and pick the person who lost to Trump,” a Democratic consultant told Fox News. “There needs to be a fresh start, a new generation.” If Harris does run, she’d have to deal with her unwavering support for Biden as his physical and mental abilities appeared to waver in front of Americans. Republican Rep. James Comer, who as House Oversight chair is investigating the former president’s use of the autopen and mental fitness while in the White House, said in an interview on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” that “the odds of Kamala Harris getting a subpoena are very high.” While Harris has been spending recent months mulling her decision on a gubernatorial run, other potential 2028 Democratic presidential contenders have already been making early moves as they try to move past the Biden administration and last year’s election setbacks. Among them are Govs. Gavin Newsom of California, JB Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Wes Moore of Maryland, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, as well as Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and former Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. While Harris, in her statement, ruled out a run for elective office next year, she pledged to stay in the fight. And on Thursday she took to social media to announce her new book about her 2024 presidential campaign, titled “107 Days.” “What the world saw on the campaign trail was only part of the story. My new book is a behind-the-scenes look at my experience leading the shortest presidential campaign in modern history,” Harris wrote. Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile, who’s part of the former vice president’s wider orbit of friends and advisers, noted that “in the modern vice presidency, these individuals don’t go into obscurity; they continue their public life, whether it’s academia, the public sector, public speaking, serving in advisory capacities for corporations or nonprofits, launching their own personal advocacy, writing a memoir or returning to public office.” “There are so many gaps the former vice president can fill, so many roles she can play, whether it’s as a private citizen or a public official. This is just one of the many decisions she will make over the course of her lifetime,” Brazile told Fox News.
Trump brushes back Russia’s Medvedev after ‘war’ warning: ‘Watch his words’
President Donald Trump hammered back at former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s warnings about war with the United States, telling the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council to “watch his words.” “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care,” Trump wrote on TRUTH Social at midnight Thursday. “We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let’s keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory!” In response to Trump’s post, Medvedev referenced Russia’s “Dead Hand” – the Cold War-era automated nuclear retaliation system developed by the Soviet Union. “If a few words from a former Russian president provoke such a nervous reaction from the supposedly mighty President of the United States, then clearly Russia is in the right – and will continue on its chosen path,” Medvedev wrote on Telegram. TRUMP ANNOUNCES 25% TARIFF ON INDIA, SLAMMING ‘OBNOXIOUS’ TRADE BARRIERS, RUSSIA MILITARY AND ENERGY BUYS “And as for all that talk about the ‘dead economies’ of India and Russia, or about ‘venturing into dangerous territory’ – well, maybe he should rewatch some of his favorite zombie movies,” he added. “And also remember just how dangerous the supposedly mythical ‘Dead Hand’ system can be.” In theory, the “Dead Hand,” described by the West during the 1980s as a Russian doomsday device, is meant to guarantee a massive retaliatory nuclear strike even if Moscow’s leadership is destroyed or incapacitated. While in Scotland on Monday, Trump warned during public remarks that Russian President Vladimir Putin had 10 or 12 days to reach a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, shortening a previous 50-day deadline he issued earlier this month. If Russia does not, Trump promised more “sanctions, tariffs, and maybe secondary tariffs” against Moscow and the purchasers of Russian goods and energy. He lamented that repeated talks with Putin have resulted in little progress toward peace. “Trump’s playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10,” Medvedev complained in a post to X earlier this week. “He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don’t go down the Sleepy Joe road!” Trump on Wednesday announced a 25% tariff on imports from India – one of the biggest consumers of Russian oil, next to China – starting on Aug. 1. The president described India as a “friend,” but slammed the South Asian country’s “strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary” trade barriers. Trump vowed other unspecified “penalties” against India for buying most of its military equipment from Russia and Russian energy “at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE.” During an unrelated press conference, Trump noted that India and Russia are founding members of BRICS, originally formed as a counterweight to Western institutions. BRICS is “basically a group of countries that are anti-the United States and India is a member of that, if you can believe it. It’s an attack on the dollar. And we’re not going to let anybody attack the dollar,” Trump said. “We have a tremendous deficit.” FROM TALK TO TACTICS: TRUMP PIVOTS ON RUSSIA STRATEGY TO END WAR In recent days, Medvedev has also shredded the framework of the trade deal Trump reached with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during his recent trip to Scotland. Trump has repeatedly communicated that trade deals with other countries would be contingent on foreign policy alignment with the United States. For example, after Canada announced it was backing Palestinian statehood amid Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza, Trump wrote Thursday, “That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them.” Trump, meanwhile, on Thursday celebrated this reciprocal tariffs plan after telling reporters on Wednesday that they brought “billions” of dollars into the U.S. economy. “Tariffs are making America GREAT & RICH Again,” Trump wrote on social media. “They were successfully used against the USA for decades and, coupled with really dumb, pathetic, and crooked politicians, we’re having a devastating impact on the future, and even the survival, of our country. Now the tide has completely turned, and America has successfully countered this onslaught of Tariffs used against it.” “ONE YEAR AGO, AMERICA WAS A DEAD COUNTRY, NOW IT IS THE ‘HOTTEST’ COUNTRY ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!” Trump added.