Bolsonaro declares himself ‘leader’ of Brazil after fleeing country, arriving in Miami
Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, who lost Brazil’s presidential election to leftist incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday, declared himself the country’s leader after arriving in Florida on Wednesday. Bolsonaro fled his country after Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered his passports to be seized less than a day after Lula won the election. “I want to say, not only to my 60 million voters but to the Brazilian people, that I am the leader and that the criminals who stole Brazil’s election are part of a criminal organization that has established a tyranny,” he said in an open letter posted on X. According to Reuters, Bolsonaro initially declared himself “the elected president” in a since-deleted post. He then sent out an updated letter on X, which included calling himself the rightful “leader” of Brazil. Bolsonaro, who lost the runoff election by a 3.58% margin, was served with an order to forfeit his passports and not to leave the country on Monday. “I was ordered right on the street to hand over my passports, and I’m also prohibited from leaving the country,” Bolsonaro said, according to a Fox News Digital translation of a video he posted to his social media channels Monday. The order was signed by de Moraes, who Bolsonaro supporters accuse of being a staunch ally of Lula. TRUMP’S FINGERPRINTS SEEN ON LATIN AMERICA’S RIGHTWARD SHIFT AS BRAZIL BECOMES NEXT TEST Bolsonaro landed at Opa Locka Executive Airport just north of Miami with his family Wednesday morning after President Donald Trump granted Bolsonaro and his family visas. When asked Wednesday if he would approve of Bolsonaro coming to the U.S. following his defeat, Trump told reporters he would, adding, “I think they’re fine people.” “The election was very strange,” Trump continued. “And I thought it was terrible. It’s gotten bad reviews. You look at what happened to their market.” BRAZIL’S RAPID ELECTION COUNT PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON VOTING SECURITY AHEAD OF US MIDTERMS Brazil’s stock market plummeted Monday after Lula’s victory. Its benchmark index, the Ibovespa, closed down nearly 14% on the first day of post-election trading. The Brazilian real also suffered one of its steepest drops in history, losing nearly 11% of its value relative to the U.S. dollar. Trump also said, “I didn’t take sides, but it looked like another rigged election.” Brazilian news outlet MD+ reported that Brazilian Federal Police requested Bolsonaro’s passport seizure order just seven minutes after Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court confirmed Lula’s victory. Bolsonaro, the son of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, initially said he would comply with the order, but ultimately chose to leave. THE UNLIKELY SOUTH AMERICAN ALLY HELPING LEAD TRUMP’S DRUG CARTEL CRACKDOWN “I have never thought about leaving the country,” Bolsonaro said in a social media video on Monday. “I will hand over my passports and defend myself against this travesty, which is a clear attempt to intimidate me.” But Bolsonaro ultimately crossed the border into Argentina, Argentina’s National Directorate of Migrations confirmed, saying the Bolsonaro family entered the country “with valid travel documentation and without any legal impediment” Tuesday night. The family then crossed into Ecuador where they boarded a private plane for Florida, according to Time Magazine. Lula called his decision to leave “a shameful act,” recalling his own 2018 arrest for corruption. Bolsonaro said the order came as a result of a social media post his brother Eduardo made in which he said Flávio should leave the country if he loses the election. US TAXPAYER DOLLARS ALLEGEDLY FUELED LEFT-WING POLITICAL CAUSES IN LATIN AMERICA Flávio was under multiple criminal investigations for alleged money laundering, corruption and tax evasion, according to Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo. According to Reuters, Bolsonaro denied fleeing Brazil, saying he left to protect himself and his family. He said he was avoiding a witch hunt being carried out by Lula and the Brazilian Supreme Court. “I want to make this clear: I did not flee Brazil,” Bolsonaro said. “I left Brazil, but I did not abandon the Brazilian people.” On Tuesday, Brazil’s Supreme Court also ordered the Federal Police to open an investigation into alleged illegal foreign funding for Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign, specifically focusing on Rockbridge Network, a conservative donor group co-founded by U.S. Vice President JD Vance. Flavio Bolsonaro, President Lula da Silva, President Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s offices did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital for comment.
Judge rejects DOJ request to block California from immediately counting ballots linked to alleged noncitizens
A federal judge rejected the Justice Department’s request for a temporary restraining order that would have barred California from counting mail ballots from more than 20,000 alleged noncitizen voters, saying the election “is already underway.” U.S. District Judge David Carter, in a ruling issued late Wednesday night after a hearing in Los Angeles, said the government’s request “would wreak havoc and disrupt the election that is already underway, create a chilling effect on election workers and voters alike, and discount the votes of United States citizens.” The Justice Department immediately appealed the decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. CALIFORNIA MUST RESPOND TO DOJ’S EMERGENCY REQUEST OVER BALLOTS MAILED TO ALLEGED NONCITIZENS, COURT RULES “The district court denied our emergency request to sequester ballots from 20,000 suspected noncitizens,” U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli wrote on X. “Every day, more ballots are processed by election officials. This ongoing emergency disenfranchises American citizens through dilution. The Solicitor General authorized an immediate appeal. We filed our Notice of Appeal and will immediately seek an emergency order from the Ninth Circuit.” NEWSOM SPARS WITH TRUMP-APPOINTED PROSECUTOR OVER 20,000 SUSPECTED NONCITIZENS ON VOTER ROLLS California mails ballots to all 23 million of its registered voters. More than 3.7 million people have already voted in the state, including more than 500,000 ballots already processed this week with the ballot already out of the envelope, according to court filings. It would be impossible to know which ballot belonged to a particular voter now, according to Los Angeles County officials. BLANCHE WON’T RULE OUT DOJ BLOCKING ELECTION CERTIFICATION IN ‘DOOMSDAY’ SCENARIO “Eroded trust in our democracy is irreparable,” Judge Carter, appointed by former President Bill Clinton, wrote. “Once a vote is segregated, lasting harm has occurred. If the Executive can discount votes and threaten an ongoing election due to unproven allegations, then our democracy is in danger. This Court declines to be a party to such process.” STATE DEPARTMENT CONSIDERS SHARING PASSPORT RECORDS FOR VOTER CITIZENSHIP CHECKS Carter said that “states have control over their elections,” but the federal government claims it has evidence the state refuses to accept that there are 20,000 noncitizens registered to vote in the state of California. President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that states are not doing enough to stop noncitizens from voting, which he says is widespread. Carter said the Justice Department never explained why counting ballots would impair any prosecutions under the law, and California said the DOJ’s assertions relied on “suspect data.” JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CHARGES 16 ACROSS MULTIPLE STATES WITH ALLEGED ILLEGAL VOTING, ELECTION CRIMES “There are no mysterious databases; this was laid out in publicly filed declarations,” Essayli wrote Wednesday night on X. “Voter rolls were compared to USCIS immigration, Social Security, and passport records. We are not changing the rules mid-election, we are enforcing them. It’s unlawful for noncitizens to vote.” Registered voters can self-declare to be noncitizens to get removed from the voter roll, and do so while they are seeking naturalization or saying they are ineligible for jury duty. In Washington state, the Justice Department on Monday sent a letter asking officials not to count any ballots received from 400 voters it claims are not citizens. Washington had 5 million registered voters as of 2024, state records show. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Leo Terrell takes Trump administration’s antisemitism fight nationwide on 15-city tour
The Justice Department’s Antisemitism Task Force Chairman Leo Terrell is taking the Trump administration’s fight against antisemitism directly into Jewish communities on a 15-city nationwide tour, and he says he means business. Terrell told Fox News Digital that local leaders have too often failed to respond while Jewish Americans face threats in their schools, workplaces and houses of worship. “The whole purpose of this tour is to go to where the problem is at, to address their needs, and to provide them with federal support,” Terrell said. “Antisemitism is now, and we have to come up with solutions for the future.” ANTISEMITIC VIOLENCE REACHES DEADLIEST LEVEL SINCE 1994, NEW GLOBAL REPORT FINDS The “American Tour Against Hate” began Oct. 14 in Michigan, bringing representatives from the Justice Department, FBI and Labor Department together with Jewish residents, students, educators and religious leaders. The federal officials addressed antisemitism in workplaces and schools, as well as the enforcement of hate-crime laws. Terrell said the tour was created to reach communities that feel ignored or abandoned by local officials and to connect them directly with federal resources. “We had the FBI at the first tour meeting because some of these cities have failed to prosecute hate crimes,” Terrell said, naming Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, New York and Detroit. He did not identify specific unprosecuted cases. Terrell said every stop on the tour would include a public event followed by visits to synagogues, Jewish schools and community centers. WOMAN BUSTED IN NYC RABBI SYRINGE ATTACK ALLEGEDLY STABBED ANOTHER JEWISH MAN HOURS EARLIER: REPORT “The tour is really two days,” he said. “We have a two-hour tour event where the community is invited. You know what we do the next day? I spend the next day, all day in the Jewish community.” The tour comes as Jews remain disproportionately targeted in religiously motivated hate crimes. According to the latest FBI data, law enforcement agencies reported 1,528 single-bias anti-Jewish hate-crime incidents in 2025. The data also showed that 62.4% of victims of religious-bias hate crimes were targeted because of anti-Jewish bias. Terrell characterized protecting Jewish students and religious communities as a “24-7 obligation,” encompassing colleges, K-12 schools and synagogues. He also criticized the financial burden Jewish institutions face to protect students and worshipers, describing security expenses as a “Jewish tax.” Universities remain a major focus of Terrell’s work. He warned university presidents that federal scrutiny would continue if Jewish students remained unprotected, saying potential violations would not disappear with a change in administration. JEWISH CAMPUS LIFE AT A ‘CROSSING POINT’ AS STUDENTS WEIGH ANTISEMITISM RISKS, NEW REPORT SHOWS “All these campus presidents are on notice,” he said. “You know what I think they’re trying to do? I think they’re trying to wait out President Trump. It’s not gonna happen.” He added, “Because if they fail to take care of Jewish American students, all students, we’re going back at them, each school, because those are ongoing violations,” he said. “My philosophy is quite simple. Don’t cut deals with these guys,” Terrell added. “Force them to go to court, get a court order settlement to make sure they are under the gun to protect Jewish American students.” Asked about professors and those allegedly encouraging harassment, Terrell pointed to what he described as overseas influence on campuses. “I think, first of all, there’s a lot of money being brought in from overseas to influence the administration, the faculty members and what I call professional harassers,” he said. Asked specifically whether foreign funding and organizational coordination were being investigated, Terrell said, “That is one of the tools.” BIPARTISAN DUO LAUNCHES CONGRESSIONAL CAUCUS TO CONFRONT ANTISEMITISM AT COLLEGES “The influence of overseas money as it impacts college campuses and really throughout this country to promote antisemitism. Let me tell you right now, that’s being investigated,” he said. His call for broader participation extended to young Christians. Terrell spoke to more than 200 students at the Christian Leaders Summit Forum in Lynchburg, Virginia, hosted by the Combat Antisemitism Movement. Asked why their participation mattered, Terrell called it “probably the most important meeting I’ve ever had in my job,” emphasizing the students’ youth and Christian faith. SIGN UP FOR ANTISEMITISM EXPOSED NEWSLETTER “This fight against antisemitism has to include everyone in this country,” he said. “Antisemitism is not a Jewish issue. It’s an American issue. It’s a Western civilization issue.” “So I need these young people to join me on the stage, telling the Jewish community, telling all Americans we are together in fighting antisemitism,” he added. “Religious freedom must be available to all Americans.” Asked what Jewish Americans who feel abandoned could count on him to deliver, Terrell urged them to seek help. “I will never say no,” he said. “I will never say no to help. Call my office, call the Department of Justice.”
Alaska’s governor orders investigation after NYT report on alleged Dem-linked Senate election scheme
In the wake of a New York Times report detailing an alleged Democrat-linked election scheme by the campaign team of Rep. Mary Peltola that involved the recruitment of a candidate with nearly the exact same name as an incumbent GOP senator, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced that he was ordering a probe into the matter. “Today’s New York Times reporting reveals disturbing new evidence of an organized effort to manipulate Alaska’s elections by recruiting candidates — including one with the same name as an incumbent U.S. Senator — to deliberately confuse voters and misdirect their votes. The Alaska Division of Elections investigated these very concerns in June of this year. The new reporting substantially supports the Division’s findings,” Dunleavy noted in a post on X. MARY PELTOLA’S CAMPAIGN, DEMS BACKED COVERT SCHEME TO FIELD SPOILER CANDIDATES IN ALASKA SENATE RACE: REPORT “I am therefore directing the Department of Public Safety to investigate whether this scheme violated Alaska’s laws and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted. The evidence will determine what happens next,” the GOP governor continued. “Alaskans have a fundamental right to vote for the candidate they actually intend to support. Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections. Anyone or any organization found to have broken the law must be held accountable,” he added. SEN DAN SULLIVAN BRANDS PELTOLA’S ALLEGED BALLOT SCHEME A ‘SCANDAL AT THE HIGHEST ORDER’ While incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan is one of the candidates on the ballot in Alaska’s ranked-choice U.S. Senate voting contest, there is another candidate on the same ballot named Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr., a retired teacher who is listed without party affiliation. According to the paper’s article, titled “Inside Democrats’ Secret Effort to Stack Alaska’s Ballot,” the Times found “that not only did Ms. Peltola’s team work with people trying to recruit Mr. Sullivan to run for Senate, but the effort was much broader. The group worked to coax other would-be spoilers into the race, to dilute the incumbent’s support and help catapult the Democrat to victory.” On Oct. 22, the DOJ filed a federal lawsuit seeking to delay certification if Sen. Dan S. Sullivan loses and votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan could have changed the result, pending an investigation into whether voters mistakenly selected the wrong candidate. In an interview with Sean Hannity on Wednesday night, Sen. Dan Sullivan said, “This is what happens when you have a candidate like Peltola, far left, who’s got nothing to run on. I have a much stronger record we’re running. We have a vision for Alaskans that the Alaskan people want, and when they recognize that, they’re like, ‘shoot, I guess we got to cheat.’ “What’s remarkable here is that even today, she has not apologized. Even today, she’s kind of playing as if nothing happened,” Sen. Sullivan added. “The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign and did not recruit any candidates into the race,” Rep. Mary Peltola’s campaign asserted in a statement to the Times. MURKOWSKI SNUBS TRUMP-BACKED ALASKA CANDIDATE, ENDORSES DEMOCRAT FOR GOVERNOR Peltola’s campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s comment request on Thursday.
Dem AG’s ‘too many golf courses’ remark goes viral as critics tee off
Arizona’s Senate president took aim at viral comments about the future of golf from the state’s Democratic attorney general as their battle to be the state’s top law enforcement officer entered its final stretch before next week’s midterm elections. A remark about potentially restricting golf courses and the Grand Canyon State having “too much grass” turned a debate over water conservation into a campaign flashpoint, with Sen. Warren Petersen accusing Attorney General Kris Mayes of targeting a multibillion-dollar industry in the desert state while Mayes later insisted her remarks were taken out of context. “Kris Mayes thinks Arizona has too many golf courses. I think Arizona has too many radical politicians who believe government should dictate which industries get to thrive,” Petersen, R-Maricopa, told Fox News Digital Tuesday. 100 DAYS UNTIL MIDTERMS AND DEMOCRATS ARE WINNING BECAUSE THEY ACTUALLY HAVE A MESSAGE “Our golf courses support jobs, tourism, small businesses and communities across this state. Instead of attacking an industry that contributes to our economy, the attorney general should be focused on enforcing the law, protecting consumers and defending Arizona families.” In an interview with Politico delving into the data center debate and whether the proliferation of water-intensive buildings is wise, particularly in an arid state, Mayes cited neighboring states allegedly “backed by” the Trump administration as hindrances to Arizona’s local supply. Mayes’ golf course remarks came shortly after she warned that Arizona was headed toward a potential Supreme Court showdown over Colorado River water supplies. “We could do a hell of a lot more when it comes to conservation,” she said, citing tax incentives for catchment and removal of lawns. GRAND CANYON WATER PIPELINE DAMAGED AGAIN AS FLOODING COMPLICATES REPAIRS “We have way, way too much grass in Arizona. We probably, frankly — and I’m sure the golf industry is not going to like this when I say this — we probably have too many golf courses in Arizona right now.” That remark sparked blowback from Petersen and many others. “We don’t have a golf course problem in Arizona. We have a dumocrat (sic) problem in Arizona,” quipped Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz. “Kris Mayes is promising to get rid of golf courses. I promise to get rid of Kris Mayes,” Petersen added in his own tweet. E-procurement software CEO Tom Spengler added that Arizona “honestly need[s] more golf courses.” “Tee times are very hard to get and rates have doubled or tripled since COVID,” he said. “We have too much grass — said no one ever, other than Kris Mayes,” added Turning Point USA executive Justin Streiff. Arizona’s business community also took notice, and Arizona Chamber of Commerce Vice President Courtney Coolidge responded to Mayes with several statistics about golf’s impact on the state. Coolidge reported a $6 billion economic impact, 66,000 jobs, $2.3 billion in wages and $520 million in tax revenue. Most relevant to the water debate, she said golf courses collectively use 2% or less of the state’s water resources. Those stats also lined up closely with separate figures in a 2023 study by the Arizona Alliance for Golf. Popular golf satire site PGA Tuor shared a clip of Mayes’ comments, writing, “How to not get re-elected 101.” Another putting enthusiast said Mayes’ comments cost her his vote, saying, “[She] has no idea what the economic impact golf has on our entire state.” Fox News Digital reached out to Mayes for comment on the viral nature and content of her remarks. The Democrat separately tweeted that she was intending to make a larger point about water usage. “Relax, nobody’s closing golf courses,” Mayes said. “My point is we need incentives to help all Arizonans and major industries swap thirsty grass and catch rainwater, especially if our water situation gets worse — while I take on the foreign mega-farms and data centers draining our water.” She then accused Petersen of spreading “false claims.” SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER But Mayes’ response was also met with ridicule. X critics called it “condescending” while one also quipped, “you relax – we all heard you.” Others characterized her stated approach toward the golf industry as “communist.” With Election Day just days away, Petersen is betting the controversy will resonate beyond the fairways, casting Mayes’ remarks as part of a larger dispute over government intervention in Arizona’s economy as Republicans seek to regain control of a state government they once reliably held.
Dueling rallies thrust deep-red Lone Star town into the center of the political universe
LUBBOCK, Texas — Two rallies, two crowds and two very different visions for Texas converged in deep-red Lubbock on Tuesday night as Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico made their cases to voters. Trump supporters camped out at Lubbock’s Civic Center as early as Monday night, calling the event a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.” About four miles away, roughly 4,000 Talarico supporters descended on the neighborhood around the Fiesta Center. The rallies put Lubbock’s political identity on display. Long a ruby-red Republican stronghold, the city is now a battleground in a Senate race in which polls show Talarico narrowly leading Paxton. Outside Paxton’s rally, supporters remained confident the Lone Star State would stay red. Jenny, who traveled from Brownsville, dismissed the idea that the race was close. “What else do the Democrats have? They have Talarico going against Paxton,” she told Fox News Digital. “All they’ve got is the ability to try and make people think that it’s close and there is no point in voting.” “No, it’s not close,” Jenny added. “Paxton is going to wipe the floor with him.” MEET THE VOTERS WHO COULD BREAK THE GOP’S DECADESLONG GRIP ON A REPUBLICAN STRONGHOLD Eric, a Lubbock resident, also predicted a Republican win, saying Democratic policies do not align with his views. “Most of the Democrats that you talk to, when you start talking common sense to them, a lot of them, they don’t know if it’s a red or a blue policy, and a lot of them line up with red as well,” he said. “It’s gonna stay red, absolutely.” Nathan, from Milton, said he wants to preserve what he sees as Texas’ traditional values, including gun rights and opposition to abortion. “I want to make sure we are keeping all the normal values that we have in Texas,” he said. “I want to make sure that we are keeping our guns, we are keeping our safety, keeping abortion as far away from Texas and do everything we can to keep Texas, Texas.” Across town, Talarico supporters said Trump’s appearance alongside Paxton showed Republicans were worried about losing ground in a reliably red state. “Trump’s in Lubbock? Trump’s in Lubbock, Texas? He’s scared, he is scared,” one supporter told Fox News Digital. Natalie, from Friona, also viewed the same-day rallies as a sign of nervousness. “I think they have to be nervous, and I think it’s performative, like to come the exact same day as he is here,” she said. “I really hope so, and looking at all of this, I think it is.” DEEP IN TRUMP COUNTRY, A NEW GENERATION REVEALS THE DIVIDE BEHIND TEXAS’ TIGHT SENATE RACE Elias, a Lubbock resident, said Paxton’s reliance on Trump reflected poorly on the Republican candidate. He pointed to Paxton’s past controversies and impeachment by the Texas House. “I think it shows that Paxton is a weak leader,” Elias said. “He had a chance to kind of redeem himself despite his ugly past, but he’s not a man, he can’t stand up for himself. He needs daddy Trump to come and support him.” Other Talarico supporters said they believed Texas could turn blue. Jessica, from Lubbock, and Shelby, from Houston, cited dissatisfaction with how the state has been run in recent years. “I think they’re scared that it is going to flip, and I believe it will because of how they have run this county the last few years,” they said. Christine and John, both from Lubbock, also predicted change. “They are nervous, and this is the year we are going to change it all,” Christine said. Paloma, a Lubbock resident, put their optimism plainly: “This is the year that we flip blue. We are definitely going to flip the state.”
‘Radical Left Lunatic’ judge Trump wanted impeached takes up Ilhan Omar warrant fight
A federal judge who has become a frequent legal thorn in the side of President Donald Trump and his allies is now presiding over a fight to unseal the warrant used to search the home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. The battle over whether to unseal the search warrant comes amid two separate federal investigations into the Democratic congresswoman stemming from concerns about discrepancies between financial disclosures filed a year apart and allegations that her father committed fraud when completing immigration paperwork. Omar immigrated to the United States from Somalia in 1995, when she was 12 years old. Investigators are examining whether her father misstated her age on his citizenship paperwork in 2000, potentially allowing her to obtain citizenship through him as a minor. Trump, a longtime foe of the progressive congresswoman, has been vocal in his attacks against Omar, having also accused her of committing immigration fraud by allegedly marrying her brother — referring to her first husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. In the weeks following the Oct. 12 raid on Omar’s Washington, D.C., home, Trump called for Omar to be “put in jail.” TRUMP SAYS ILHAN OMAR COULD GO TO JAIL OR BE DEPORTED, CALLS HER ‘A DISGRACE TO OUR COUNTRY’ But the fight over whether to unseal the records is being overseen by Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, an Obama appointee and longtime target of Trump. In March 2025, after Boasberg temporarily blocked deportation flights carrying alleged Venezuelan gang members, Trump called him a “Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator” and called for his impeachment. Trump also accused Boasberg of bias, saying it was “virtually impossible for me to get an Honest Ruling in D.C.” The raid on Omar’s home came just weeks before the midterm elections, as alleged fraud in Minnesota’s social services programs had become a major political issue in the state. ILHAN OMAR’S TURBULENT WEEK EXPLAINED: THE DUELING PROBES THAT THREW THE SOMALI-BORN PROGRESSIVE INTO CHAOS Days after Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI conducted a raid on Omar’s home under a search warrant issued by U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh, three separate requests were made to unseal the warrant — by the New York Times; Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group; and 14 press organizations. Boasberg ordered the Justice Department to defend its position on keeping the warrant sealed in response to a consolidated request from the Times and 14 press organizations by Oct. 22, but he extended the deadline following a Justice Department request to wait until the search warrant was “fully executed.” The Justice Department argued that releasing the information could compromise the integrity of the investigation. “This request sounds rash because it is rash,” Pirro wrote. “The Court should reject it without prejudice for renewal after the search warrant has been fully executed and a charging decision is made public.” The filing indicated that the Justice Department was still in the process of executing the search warrant, while other details about the investigation and warrant records remained redacted from the public record. But the Times and other media groups argue that the physical search occurred weeks ago and that any sensitive information in the warrant should be redacted rather than the entire warrant being withheld. Meanwhile, Omar is engaged in a separate dispute with the Justice Department. Her attorneys have demanded the return of property seized from her home, arguing that agents violated protections for her congressional work. They have also alleged that agents failed to provide her with a copy of the warrant and prevented her from contacting her attorneys during the search. FEDERAL AGENTS SEIZE PHONE OF REP ILHAN OMAR IN RAID TIED TO IMMIGRATION FRAUD PROBE Boasberg’s oversight of efforts to unseal the records follows a series of decisions that have drawn criticism from Trump and his allies. In June 2025, he ordered federal agencies to preserve Signal messages exchanged by senior officials while discussing U.S. military strikes in Yemen, saying the communications could constitute federal records. During the Biden administration’s Arctic Frost investigation, he signed nondisclosure orders barring phone carriers from notifying Republican lawmakers that prosecutors had subpoenaed their records. Boasberg also drew criticism over his sentencing of former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith. Clinesmith pleaded guilty to altering an email used in an application to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to renew surveillance of Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser suspected of acting as a Russian agent. Boasberg, who previously served a seven-year term on the FISA Court, said Clinesmith’s alteration of the email undermined the court’s integrity but was a misguided mistake that provided Clinesmith no personal benefit. He sentenced Clinesmith to 12 months of probation and 400 hours of community service. Boasberg said in his sentencing decision that he believed Clinesmith’s role at the center of a years-long media “hurricane” had provided sufficient punishment.
Mary Peltola’s campaign, Dems backed covert scheme to field spoiler candidates in Alaska Senate race: report
The campaign for Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola actively participated in an effort to peel votes away from incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan by recruiting namesake and spoiler candidates, according to an investigation The New York Times published Wednesday. The covert operation, internally dubbed the “ballot composition project,” allegedly involved aides from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), top campaign advisors, party lawyers and an operative who traveled across the state under assumed names. In a series of posts on Truth Social, President Donald Trump said Peltola shouldn’t be allowed to keep her name on the ballot, citing the instance as “ELECTION FRAUD.” The effort began in the summer of 2025, when a Peltola staffer was directed to comb through state voter rolls to compile a list of Alaskans named Dan Sullivan, according to the report. The plan worked earlier this year when Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher and left-leaning voter from Petersburg, switched his voter registration to Republican shortly before filing his candidacy in the Senate race. TRUMP SAYS ‘WE ARE LOOKING INTO’ OTHER DAN SULLIVAN ON ALASKA BALLOT, WARNS ABOUT GOVERNOR’S RACE PERSONAL ATTACKS FLY AS SULLIVAN, PELTOLA SPAR OVER CORRUPTION, CHARACTER AND CONTROVERSY Elisa Rios, Peltola’s former campaign manager who was fired in August, told the Times that while Peltola was not directly involved in orchestrating the project, she was “definitely aware.” “Alaskan voters need to know,” Rios said. “There was a lot of speculation, and voters should get the full picture when making their decisions.” Rios later attempted to retract her comments prior to publication, but the newspaper noted that her initial interviews were corroborated by text messages, internal documents and 11 other sources. Central to the plan was Democratic operative Jerid Kurtz, who allegedly traveled through Alaska using aliases such as “Zane,” the report states. TOP ELECTION SCHEMES ROILING KEY MIDTERM RACES AS BOTH PARTIES ACCUSE RIVALS OF TRICKERY Kurtz allegedly met potential recruits at local pubs and diners, offering outside financial backing to persuade conservative and independent candidates to run and split the right-leaning vote. “The Democrats cheated!” Trump wrote. “They found a man named Dan Sullivan, put him on the Ballot, then lied to the Court, and said they didn’t know anything about it. That’s perjury. She shouldn’t be allowed to run, and neither should the FAKE Dan Sullivan!” “Peltola should suffer the Legal and Political consequences for what she has done, A FRAUD ON THE AMERICAN PUBLIC, and Dan Sullivan should be allowed to run without either Mary Peltola or FAKE Dan Sullivan on the Ballot,” he added. Beyond the second Sullivan, operatives recruited other potential candidates, including drywall contractor Gerald Heikes, according to the report. GOP SENATOR, EX-HOUSE DEM EMERGE FROM ALASKA’S ‘JUNGLE PRIMARY’ DESPITE FAR-LEFT MEDDLING They also allegedly successfully pressured progressive candidate David Leslie to drop out of the race to avoid siphoning votes from Peltola, paving the way for Heikes to claim the fourth spot on Alaska’s ranked-choice ballot. Campaign advisors and the DSCC also weighed creating a third-party “MAGA party” to siphon votes from the incumbent senator before abandoning the idea in May, according to the report. Jacquelyn Lopez, an attorney with the prominent Democratic firm Elias Law Group, which represents both the DSCC and Peltola’s campaign, was looped into discussions regarding the third-party strategy and field operations, the Times wrote. Internal messages allegedly showed staff asking whether they needed to “follow up with Jackie about maga party stuff,” while another noted that Lopez was in touch with Kurtz. CLICK HERE FOR MORE U.S. NEWS “The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign and did not recruit any candidates into the race,” Peltola’s campaign said in a statement to the Times. The DSCC echoed that stance, stating it had no role in recruiting either Sullivan or any other Republican candidate. In a statement to Fox News, the DSCC said it was not involved with Dan J. Sullivan, while pointing to Republicans’ allegations of political shenanigans. “Republicans have a long history of recruiting and propping up candidates in an attempt to boost their own campaigns, including recruiting a prisoner with a New York address to run against Mary Peltola and spending nearly half a million dollars to secure a spot on the ballot in Alaska for an Arizona resident in the Senate race this cycle,” a DSCC spokesperson said. The White House pointed to a social media post by Communications Director Steven Cheung on X: “BREAKING: Democrats’ secret, CORRUPT plan to stack Alaska’s ballot EXPOSED!” The report came just days before Election Day and amid a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to block certification of the election if the incumbent Sullivan loses due to voter confusion over the two identical candidate names. Under Alaska’s four-person general election system, Peltola enters Tuesday as the sole Democrat on the ballot, facing off against Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, Dan J. Sullivan and Gerald Heikes.
Peltola campaign’s alleged Dan Sullivan spoiler plot takes new turn as DOJ faces major legal hurdle
The Department of Justice faces an uphill legal battle in Alaska, where it is trying to convince a federal court that confusion between two Senate candidates with nearly identical names could be enough to delay certification of the election results. Roughly two weeks before Election Day on Oct. 22, the DOJ filed a federal lawsuit seeking to delay certification if Sen. Dan Sullivan loses and votes cast for another candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan could have changed the result, pending an investigation into whether voters mistakenly selected the wrong candidate. The DOJ’s complaint stems from a controversy in Alaska where two individuals by the name of Dan Sullivan, one a retired schoolteacher and the other the state’s incumbent senator, appear alongside each other on the state’s ballots. Although Alaska has traditionally been a Republican stronghold in Senate elections, the state’s race could carry greater national significance this year as Republicans seek to defend their narrow Senate majority. The New York Times reported Wednesday that the campaign of Mary Peltola, the Democrat running for Senate in Alaska, reportedly worked with operatives to recruit another Dan Sullivan to run for Alaska’s Senate seat, hoping voter confusion would draw support from the incumbent Republican senator. Citing interviews, text messages and documents prepared for a potential lawsuit, the Times reported that the effort also targeted other potential spoiler candidates, despite the Peltola campaign’s repeated denials of involvement in the second Sullivan’s candidacy. TODD BLANCHE CHALLENGES DANA BASH FOR ONLY CITING PART OF CONSTITUTION DURING HEATED ELECTION CLASH Fox News learned Wednesday that federal prosecutors are conducting an “aggressive criminal investigation” into how the second Sullivan secured a spot on Alaska’s ballot, according to two sources familiar with the probe. Investigators are preparing grand jury subpoenas and examining potential violations of voters’ rights, with the investigation expected to continue beyond Election Day. The DOJ declined to comment. On Sunday, Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee filed a proposed motion to dismiss the Justice Department’s lawsuit, arguing that the federal law cited by the DOJ governs voter registration, not candidate eligibility or ballot design. They also urged the court to resolve the case before Election Day. Conservatives have argued that two similar names on the same ballot could possibly lead to voters who would prefer to reelect the state’s Republican senator accidentally voting for the retired school teacher. Opponents of the effort to remove Daniel J. Sullivan from the ballot argue that sharing a name with an incumbent is not grounds for disqualification and that Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system allows voters to rank both candidates, potentially limiting the effects of mistaken selections. Alaska’s Division of Elections initially sided with conservatives, disqualifying Sullivan the schoolteacher by finding that his candidacy was not a genuine, good-faith bid for office but instead was designed to confuse voters into mistaking him for the senator. Alaska Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews overturned the decision in June, holding that the Division of Elections had no authority to void a candidacy on that basis. Alaska’s general election ballot identifies the incumbent as “Sullivan, Dan S.,” with Republican and incumbent designations, while listing the other candidate as “Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.,” without a party affiliation, a measure some argue is enough to clear up potential confusion. Lawyers at the Justice Department, however, remain unconvinced. Although Attorney General Todd Blanche has suggested that officials could examine ranked-choice ballot patterns for signs of confusion, the Justice Department has not explained how those patterns could establish that individual voters mistakenly selected the wrong candidate. Voter privacy protections pose a major obstacle to a potential federal case, as it would be nigh impossible to tie specific voters to specific ballots to serve as evidence of confusion. ALASKA HAS A VOTING SYSTEM LIKE NO OTHER STATE; REPUBLICANS WORRY IT COULD COST THEM IN NOVEMBER “This is just the stuff that is just impossible to measure after the fact,” Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller said of the DOJ’s plan to infer voter intentions from anonymous ballots. Blanche, in interviews with the press, has provided some insight into how he would like the DOJ to go about solving this problem. “So, because of rank-based voting, voters… they write not just one, not just two, but multiple names on the ballot. And so there are a number of scenarios where it could be obvious that a voter was confused by the way they wrote down candidates,” Blanche told CNN’s Dana Bash. Blanche’s comments suggest that the Justice Department could examine ranked-choice ballot patterns for potential signs of confusion, although such patterns alone would not establish whether voters intended to support a different candidate. “It will be obvious from the results and from the ballots that voters were confused, and that could be obvious from the way that they rank the Dan Sullivans or not including a Dan Sullivan on the ballot,” he said in a later interview with CBS. ALASKA REPUBLICANS SCRAMBLE TO EDUCATE VOTERS ON SUSPECTED DEM PLANT AS ‘BALLOT FATIGUE’ THREATENS RACE Don Palmer, senior legal fellow for election integrity at the right-of-center Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital that he feels the Justice Department might have a case if the agency’s lawyers construct it properly. Statistical analysis of ballots alone, he maintains, will likely not be sufficient to convince a judge of the administration’s position. “You’ll have the opportunity to interview witnesses, do some statistical analysis, and make a decision whether or not the campaign wants to contest the results of the election,” Palmer said. “So it’s actually quite a high standard where you have to bring in witnesses. You can’t generally just prove it with some statistical analysis… the campaign would have to show to the court through statistical and expert testimony, plus witness testimony, plus affidavits, that enough voters were confused, that they made inaccurate choices on what they intended to do. Then and only then could the court determine whether the race should be overturned.” “If voters voted for the non-Republican Dan
Democrat House candidate hit with felony summons at campaign event
A Democratic candidate running for the U.S. House of Representatives said she is facing criminal charges and that she was hit with a police summons while at her own campaign event this month. Lakesha Womack, who is running to represent North Carolina’s 14th Congressional District, which is currently held by Rep. Tim Moore, R-N.C., said in a Facebook video she was confronted by police about felony charges related to failure to pay for a rental car in 2019 when she arrived to a campaign event in Polk County, N.C., on Oct. 11. Womack claimed she was first made aware of the felony case just days before despite records showing it had been opened in January 2020. Moore’s campaign said the incident “raises serious questions” and that “she owes voters an explanation, especially since her court date is one week after the election.” DEM HOUSE CANDIDATE SETTLES YEARS-LONG $55K DEBT FIGHT WITH FORMER MOTHER-IN-LAW WEEKS BEFORE ELECTION “How is she going to be an advocate for our community when she can’t manage her own personal affairs? As an attorney for over 30 years, I think everyone should be held to the same standard of justice, and this situation is no different. Free legal advice: When the rental agreement ends, so does your right to keep the car,” Moore’s campaign told Fox News Digital. The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to Fox News Digital that Womack was served a criminal summons for felony failure to return a hired motor vehicle on Oct. 11 by a deputy with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. It did not confirm that it took place at a campaign event. DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE SEEN SOBBING, PRAYING IN PATROL CAR AFTER DUI ARREST: VIDEO Womack recalled being told about her criminal charges days before the campaign event during a conversation with Gastonia, North Carolina’s NAACP branch. In 2019, she said she was homeless with little money when she had a medical incident that sent her to the intensive care unit (ICU). During that time, her son was placed into foster care with no one immediately able to look after him. After retrieving her son, Womack said, “I’m living in a hotel and, you know, scraping together, you know, dollars to buy food from Dollar Tree, to like, buy dinner for him every night. And I had a rental car. Couldn’t afford the rental car, and they came and got it. And, so, I never knew that, you know, they have filed, you know, I guess that it was a pending felony. DEM HOUSE HOPEFUL ALLEGES SHE WAS BRUTALLY ATTACKED DURING 2 AM CAMPAIGN ERRAND “I didn’t post that I was gonna be in Polk County, but they knew exactly what car I was driving. And as soon as I parked, they pulled up behind me and served my papers with my address from 2019. So, y’all hadn’t looked for me in the past seven years, but now all of a sudden, you know exactly what car I drive and where I’m going to be,” Womack said. She did admit in an Oct. 9 video addressing the charges that she did owe fees, “but I just want you all to know that, you know, I do owe them people some money.” She said in the same video that she thought she previously “had resolved the issue, but it’s not resolved.” Womack said in that video that she could not receive the January 2020 criminal summons at the time because she was homeless and therefore did not have a stable address. That video appears to have since been deleted from her campaign Facebook page. Womack said in later videos that she could not discuss an active case. If found guilty, she could face between four and 24 months behind bars or community service for that duration. North Carolina’s 14th Congressional District is located in the western part of the state and spans from the suburbs of Charlotte to more rural areas in the North Carolina foothills. Fox News Digital reached out to Womack’s campaign for comment.