Former top Hochul aide’s unearthed family connections to CCP raises alarm bells
EXCLUSIVE: A former top aide in New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office is the daughter of a former Chinese journalist whose archived biography says he worked for the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “Education Department of the News Bureau of the Central Propaganda Department” as a deputy director and served in multiple leadership roles at state-run media outlets, a Fox News Digital investigation found. Fan Xiaojiang, or Elaine, is currently serving as the chief of staff for Democrat Scott Stringer’s mayoral campaign and has been involved in Democrat politics in New York for more than a decade, including serving as Hochul’s director of Asian affairs between October 2021 and November 2023, according to her Linkedin profile. The latest campaign finance filing shows that she has been paid more than $120,000 by the Stringer campaign since last August. Stringer’s campaign declined to comment for this story. Fan, who is originally from Beijing, was recognized by the City University of Hong Kong’s Centre for Communication Research in a 2021 press release promoting her role in the Hochul administration. The press release called her an “alumnus” and boasted about her being “one of the very few Asian-American leaders who hold a senior position in the state’s government.” BOMBSHELL REPORT SUGGESTS ‘CHINESE SPIES’ INFILTRATING PRESTIGIOUS US UNIVERSITY: ‘WIDESPREAD CAMPAIGN’ The press release went on to quote professor Jonathan Zhu, a former supervisor, who said that “Elaine is the third generation of a journalist’s family in China, with her grandfather and father each playing a distinguished role in the respective eras of the nation’s history.” Fox News Digital can now exclusively confirm that this press release was referring to Fan Dongsheng, her father, and Fan Changjiang, her late grandfather. When reached for comment on whether Elaine’s father influenced her to go into the media, Zhu confirmed to Fox News Digital that Dongsheng was her father and said, “Although I have never eyewitnessed what Fan Dongsheng told his daughter about career choice, his influence on her is obvious and imaginable.” He went on to say that Dongsheng visited the university that his daughter attended a “few times, including a talk to our faculty members and graduate students on his experience in launching and operating Huasheng Monthly, one of the earliest online news websites in China.” Prior to jumping into state government in 2014 as the “Queens Borough Director & Citywide Asian American Affairs” for Stringer’s comptroller office, Elaine was the “Chief Reporter” for Ming Pao Daily News for almost a decade between 2005 and 2015, according to her Linkedin profile. A few years before she joined the media outlet, the Jamestown Foundation, a nonpartisan defense policy think tank, sounded the alarm about the media outlet being “heavily influenced” by the Chinese government and revealed that sources told them that the Chinese Consulate in New York was their “true boss.” This would not be the first time that someone from the Fan family would work for a media outlet influenced by the Chinese government. Fan’s father served as the president and editorial director of China Press, or Qiaobao, in New York between 1999 and 2005, according to multiple archived online bios. COZY TIES BETWEEN TOP NEWSOM ALLY AND CCP OFFICIAL UNEARTHED ON NETWORKING SITE: ‘SHE HELPED ME A LOT’ China Press was not only designated by the State Department during President Donald Trump’s first term as “state-backed propaganda” and a “foreign mission,” but the Hoover Institution also sounded the alarm, saying in a 2020 report that the “state-owned China News Service and the Overseas Chinese Office of the State Council dispatched editorial personnel to the United States” to found Qiaobao. The elder Fan also served as the “director of the Special Editorial Department of the Chinese News Agency,” which now refers to the Xinhua News Agency, a top state-run propaganda outlet, according to the Hoover Institution. Multiple bios said he was also the deputy director of the “Education Department of the News Bureau of the Central Propaganda Department.” According to a Chinese government website reviewed by Fox News Digital, the CPD is the “organization primarily responsible for monitoring content to ensure that China’s publishers, in particular its news publishers, do not print anything that is inconsistent with the Communist Party’s political dogma.” After leaving state-owned media, Dongsheng held multiple leadership roles at the Cheung Kong School of Journalism and Communication at Shantou University, a Chinese university that has sections on their website that promote the CCP “Party Building Work” and hosted a themed life meeting a few years ago on “Strive like an outstanding Communist Party member” The editor of China Brief at the Jamestown Foundation expressed deep concerns when Fox News Digital reached out about Fan’s familial ties to the CCP, saying she “comes from an illustrious family of CCP journalists.” “Her grandfather was one of the more prominent propagandists of the CCP’s struggles from the 1930s onwards, while her father worked for a range of party publications managed under the central propaganda department in Beijing,” Arran Hope told Fox News Digital. “This included a stint in the United States, where her daughter now works as chief of staff to mayoral candidate Scott Stringer, following a stint as a reporter for another party outlet here. Fan has not distanced herself from her family legacy, quite the opposite. In 2017, for example, she delivered a speech at a journalism school in the PRC (People’s Republic of China) named in her grandfather’s honor.” SCHUMER SPOTTED POSING FOR PHOTO WITH CCP OFFICIAL AS WARNINGS SWIRL ABOUT CHINA INFLUENCE “More concerning for New York City’s voters, she appears to be actively involved in the party’s United Front system, which seeks to promote the party’s preferences and control both within and without the PRC. She has given speeches at events organized by the PRC Consulate in New York that celebrate United Front organizations in the city,” he continued. “These events call for promoting reunification with Taiwan as well as advocating for the ‘motherland’ and its interests. To have somebody whom PRC diplomats clearly view favorably
White House backs major legislation to speed up deportations
EXCLUSIVE: The White House is backing legislation to expedite the timeline for executing removal orders for illegal immigrants. The Rapid Expulsion of Migrant Offenders who Violate and Evade (REMOVE) Act, led by senators Marsha Blackburn, Ted Budd and Ted Cruz would give the Department of Justice a quick 15-day timeframe to finish “removal proceedings” after the process has “commenced.” “Under Joe Biden’s failed leadership, we saw the largest wave of illegal immigration in our nation’s history, forcing communities across Tennessee and America to bear the consequences,” Blackburn said in a statement Thursday, when the bill was introduced. “With a record number of illegal aliens now living in the United States, President Trump must have every tool necessary to remove them quickly from our country. Our REMOVE Act would require these illegal aliens to begin removal proceedings within 15 days of a Notice to Appear being served,” she added. ICE TOUTS RECORD-BREAKING IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT DURING TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff for policy, said the bill will help with the administration’s deportation goals, adding the administration is aiming for 3,000 arrests daily. Immigration and Customs Enforcement broke single-day arrest records Tuesday and Wednesday with well over 2,000 arrests. “Under the Biden Administration, the American people witnessed a full-scale invasion of our country that directly threatened our national security and sovereignty. With untold millions of illegal aliens in the U.S. due to Democrats’ open-border policies, we must take strong, decisive measures to remove those who have been ordered to be removed from the United States,” Miller, who’s also a Homeland Security advisor for the White House, said in a statement. VICE PRESIDENT VANCE VOWS TRUMP ADMIN WILL ‘USE EVERYTHING’ IT CAN TO INCREASE NUMBER OF CRIMINAL DEPORTATIONS “The REMOVE Act is critical legislation that will help us fulfill our mass deportation operation and get gang members, cartels, and violent criminals off the streets. Passing this legislation, in conjunction with the largest mass deportation investment in American history provided by our One Big Beautiful Bill, will ensure we permanently secure the border. Thank you to Senator Blackburn for her leadership.” Millions of people were estimated to have entered the country illegally during the Biden administration, including through the southern border. ‘PROMPT REMOVAL’: TRUMP DHS EXPANDS EXPEDITED DEPORTATION POWERS AS OPERATIONS RAMP UP Federal authorities have stressed removing those with criminal convictions and ties to gangs like MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, which the administration designated as foreign terrorist organizations. Others have been encouraged to self-deport before facing a potential arrest, and the federal government will pay for their exit flight and provide $1,000 after their exit from the United States is confirmed. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE During Trump’s first 100 days in office, over 65,000 illegal immigrants were removed from the country, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “Now, President Trump is stepping in to restore order. I’m proud to stand with Senator Blackburn and my colleagues to fast-track the removal of those who have been ordered to be removed. It’s time we uphold the integrity of our immigration system to protect our nation,” Budd stated. A Pew Research Center poll from March indicated the majority of American adults back deportations of illegal immigrants to at least some extent, including 32% who back the removals of all of them, regardless of whether another crime was committed.
Would Donald Trump have won the 2024 presidential election without Elon Musk’s help?
As the once-strong alliance between President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk rapidly disintegrates, the two titans are not only trading fire over the president’s “big, beautiful” tax cuts and spending bill. Trump and Musk, who spent the first four months of the president’s second administration as a special White House advisor steering the recently created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), are also blasting each other over which one of them should get the credit for Trump’s decisive 2024 election victory. The president, speaking with reporters Thursday, argued, “I think I would have won” even without Musk’s help on the campaign trail last year. Musk, the world’s richest person and the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, went all in for Trump last summer and autumn. MUSK UNLEASHES EPSTEIN CLAIM AGAINST TRUMP AFTER BEING BOOTED FROM DOGE He endorsed the GOP presidential nominee in July right after the assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Musk became the top donor of the 2024 election cycle, dishing out nearly $300 million in support of Trump’s bid through America PAC, a Trump-aligned super PAC. Much of the money was used for get-out-the-vote efforts and ads in the crucial battleground states as Trump and Kamala Harris faced off for the presidency. TRUMP SAYS HE’S ‘VERY DISAPPOINTED IN MUSK FOR OPPOSING ’BIGGEST TAX CUTS IN HISTORY’ Musk concentrated much of his efforts on Pennsylvania. He joined Trump for the first time on the campaign trail at an Oct. 5 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, then held five town halls in the Keystone State later in October. And Musk set up a war room of sorts in Pittsburgh. Trump, mentioning how Musk campaigned for him in Pennsylvania, pointed to his White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who was co-chair of Trump’s 2024 campaign. The president noted that “Susie would say I would have won Pennsylvania easily anyway.” Musk, apparently watching Trump’s comments in real time, quickly fired back on X, which Musk renamed after buying Twitter. “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” Musk wrote. “Such ingratitude.” MUSK-TRUMP ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL FEUD SPIRALS OUT OF CONTROL Tom Eddy, the GOP chairman in Erie County, a longtime crucial swing county in northwestern Pennsylvania, told Fox News that Musk “helped Trump significantly. I really think so. He had money and he had a name.” But Eddy added that “my gut feeling would be that Trump is basically saying, ‘Look. I won the election. These people helped me, but I won.’ That’s what he’s trying to bring across.” Veteran Republican strategist John Brabender, who served as a media consultant to the 2024 Trump campaign, told Fox News Digital that “Elon and many others played an important role in helping the president win states all across America.” “But the bottom line is there’s only one constant and one person who is most responsible, by far, and that’s President Trump. That’s who people voted for,” Brabender added. Longtime Republican consultant Dave Carney, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns over the past few decades, said the president and Musk are both right. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Carney, who steered Preserve America, another top-spending Trump-aligned super PAC, told Fox News that Trump “might have won without the help, but you can’t underestimate how important that help was.” Pointing to Preserve America, Musk’s America PAC and MAGA Inc, which was the main Trump-aligned super PAC, Carney said they all deserved “a tremendous amount of credit” and “just made it easier” for Trump to sweep all seven battleground states and win the White House. Carney also highlighted the Musk-aligned super PAC’s “unprecedented field effort, mail and other communications … to turn out these low-propensity Trump voters.”
Trump travel ban 2.0 is built to survive court challenges, experts say
President Donald Trump’s sweeping new travel ban may prove more legally durable than its 2017 predecessor as immigration advocates prepare for a likely court battle they’re not expected to win. Trump’s latest travel ban expands on the policy he imposed during his first term targeting seven Muslim-majority nations, a measure the Supreme Court upheld in a 5-4 ruling. Like its predecessor, the new order relies on the same immigration statutes but may rest on firmer legal ground this time. Attorney Neama Rahmani, a California-based former federal prosecutor who specializes in immigration, told Fox News Digital he anticipated that immigration rights groups would likely sue over Trump’s new order. “But they’ll lose,” he said, because “it’s stronger than the last ban.” TRUMP BANS TRAVEL TO US FROM SEVERAL COUNTRIES TO ‘BLOCK DANGEROUS FOREIGN ACTORS’ Rahmani pointed to allegations that the last ban violated religious liberties because it singled out Muslims. This new one included “all sorts of countries,” Rahmani said. Trump imposed full or partial bans on 19 countries in his new proclamation, including Muslim-majority countries like Afghanistan and Iran but also non-Muslim-majority countries like Haiti, Venezuela, Eritrea and Burundi. “You don’t have Trump saying that he’s imposing a Muslim ban. Those words during the campaign, and even after he was elected, were used against him,” Rahmani said, adding that the Supreme Court is also “slightly different” and a “better audience” for Trump this time around. The 5-4 split in Trump v. Hawaii fell along ideological lines and came before Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh, both Trump appointees, were confirmed to the bench. Although the Supreme Court has historically given presidents wide latitude over foreign policy and national security, in 2017 the dissenting justices argued the ban amounted to unjustified religious animus disguised as national security. “The Court’s decision … leaves undisturbed a policy first advertised openly and unequivocally as a ‘total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States’ because the policy now masquerades behind a façade of national-security concerns,” the dissent read. SUPREME COURT TO DEBATE TRUMP RESTRICTIONS ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP AND ENFORCEMENT OF NATIONWIDE INJUNCTIONS Democrat lawmakers and immigration rights critics have argued that Trump’s new proclamation is rooted in bigotry. Sarah Mehta, deputy director of policy and government affairs for immigration at the American Civil Liberties Union, told Fox News Digital in a statement that she believed it was designed to “further eviscerate lawful immigration pathways under the false guise of national security.” “We saw the chaos that ensued from the first Trump administration’s Muslim ban, and this executive order will only build on that reign of terror to target people solely based on their nationality or religious beliefs,” Mehta said. Trump said in his proclamation that the restrictions were necessary to prevent terrorist attacks and mitigate other public safety risks because the countries had unreliable screening and vetting processes. Additionally, some had a high occurrence of visa overstays or were uncooperative when it came to accepting their citizens back from the United States, Trump said. Ilya Somin, who is one of the attorneys challenging Trump’s sweeping tariffs in the U.S. Court of International Trade, wrote in an op-ed that it would be “nearly impossible to challenge this new travel ban on the grounds that it is motivated by ethnic or other bigotry” because of the Supreme Court’s prior ruling. Somin floated the possibility of challenging the ban on other grounds, including the nondelegation doctrine, which puts limits on how much power Congress can transfer to the executive branch. He noted as an example that two courts have thus far shunned the president’s attempts to bypass Congress and take tariffs into his own hands. However, Somin conceded that the travel ban presents a higher hurdle than the tariffs case. While the Constitution explicitly gives Congress power over tariffs, Somin said, it “does not clearly” say which branch of government has jurisdiction over immigration restrictions.
Biden’s personal doctor summoned as Republicans dig deeper into alleged cognitive decline cover-up
Former President Joe Biden’s personal doctor is being subpoenaed to testify amid allegations of a cover-up of his cognitive decline during his term in the White House. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is compelling Dr. Kevin O’Connor to appear for a deposition on June 27. The subpoena is part of the investigation into the cover-up of Biden’s cognitive decline and potentially unauthorized issuance of sweeping pardons and other executive actions. EXCLUSIVE: COMER HAILS DOJ’S BIDEN PROBE AS HOUSE INVESTIGATION HEATS UP “No autopen was used in the signing of this subpoena,” Comer wrote on X, referring to Biden’s use of an autopen to exercise his presidential responsibilities. Comer recently requested O’Connor to voluntarily appear for a transcribed interview but the doctor refused, according to the subpoena. Previously, the White House blocked the doctor from appearing for a separate interview to discuss Biden’s medical assessments and “involvement in the Biden family’s influence peddling racket, but the Biden White House blocked his testimony,” a committee news release states. “Among other subjects, the Committee expressed its interest in whether your financial relationship with the Biden family affected your assessment of former President Biden’s physical and mental fitness to fulfill his duties as President,” the subpoena states. “Given your connections with the Biden family,3 the Committee sought to understand if you contributed to an effort to hide former President Biden’s fitness to serve from the American people.” LONE BIDEN OFFICIAL BREAKS SILENCE ON COGNITIVE DECLINE AS CABINET STAYS MUTE Biden’s health and mental state were frequent concerns while he was in office, but have been heavily scrutinized following his departure from the White House after his recent prostate cancer diagnoses. He received clean bills of health while serving as president, according to O’Connor’s annual reports on the president’s state of health. O’Connor has overseen Biden’s health since 2009 and built a close relationship with the president and his family, Fox News Digital previously reported. “I have never had a better commander than Joe Biden,” O’Connor said in a profile interview with his alma mater, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, when Biden served as vice president. “All politics aside, he approaches his craft with such honor. He’s 100 percent ‘family first.’ He’s ‘genuinely genuine.’” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP He remained out of the spotlight during Biden’s tenure until the spring of 2024, when speculation mounted among both conservatives and Democrats that the president’s mental acuity was slipping, with pundits and the media subsequently demanding to hear directly from O’Connor on the state of Biden’s health.
Fox News Politics Newsletter: A ‘Big, Beautiful’ Feud
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… Elon Musk and President Donald Trump’s feud about the “Big, Beautiful Bill” continued on Thursday when the tech billionaire responded to the president’s criticism in a post on X. “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate. Such ingratitude,” Musk wrote in a post responding to Trump’s remarks about him. While speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said that he was “very disappointed” by Musk’s vocal criticisms of the bill. The president claimed that Musk knew what was in the bill and “had no problem” with it until the EV incentives had to be cut…READ MORE DOGE REFUND: Federal judge orders Trump to restore funding to Clinton-era agency gutted by DOGE ELON’S EVOLUTION: Elon Musk’s conservative evolution puts him at odds with Trump on key legislation ‘FEEL BAD’: ‘Sick puppy’ Tim Walz should never have been on Dems’ 2024 ticket, Trump says SIGNATURE SCANDAL: Trump says Biden didn’t have ‘much of an idea what was going on’ as former president dismisses autopen probe ‘DEAD AMERICANS’: Expert sounds alarm on CCP’s mission to ‘kill Americans’ after FBI makes shocking arrests ‘CHIEF ADVERSARY’: Chinese bioweapon smuggling case shows US ‘trains our enemies,’ ‘learned nothing’ from COVID TURNABOUT TACTICS: White House highlights Pelosi hypocrisy after Schiff demands Trump admin financial, ethics docs TAX WAR ERUPTS: Blue state Republicans threaten rebellion if Senate changes key provision in Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ ‘BAD ACTORS’: Ricketts, Fetterman team up for crackdown on China’s attempts to purchase US farmland JUDGE FORCES RETURN: Migrant deported to third country returned to US after Trump admin yields to judge’s order ‘SICKENING’: Homeland Security says Boston’s mayor comparing ICE agents to neo-Nazis is ‘sickening’ RECORD ROUNDUP: ICE breaks arrest record two days in a row under Trump’s new immigration directives 9-0 RULING: Supreme Court rules unanimously in favor of straight Ohio woman who claimed discrimination CHAOTIC SCENES: False rumors of Minneapolis ICE raid spark protest as police decry ‘irresponsible’ info from elected officials Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Mainstream media outlet slammed for ‘disgraceful’ reporting on family of alleged Boulder terrorist
Mainstream media outlet USA Today is being slammed online and by the White House for “disgraceful” reporting lamenting the possible deportation of the family of illegal alien Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the primary suspect in the firebombing terror attack against Jewish Americans in Boulder, Colorado. USA Today ran an article on Wednesday with the headline, “Boulder suspect’s daughter dreamed of studying medicine. Now she faces deportation.” The article’s subheading said Soliman’s teenage daughter, Habiba Soliman, “moved to the U.S. hoping to study medicine” but “then her father, Mohamed Soliman, was charged with a hate crime in an attack aimed at peaceful Jewish demonstrators.” After intense criticism online, the outlet appears to have changed the article’s headline to now read, “Habiba Soliman wanted to be a doctor. Then, her father firebombed Jewish marchers in Boulder.” USA Today said the article was “recast and updated with new information.” Soliman, 45, is an Egyptian national who overstayed his visa after entering the U.S. during the Biden administration, three DHS and ICE sources told Fox News. On Sunday, he allegedly attacked a group of Jewish peaceful demonstrators using Molotov cocktails, seriously injuring more than a dozen people, including an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor. JEWISH HOUSE LAWMAKER URGES DEPORTATION OF BOULDER TERROR SUSPECT’S FAMILY Soliman’s family is in federal custody and their visas have been revoked, sources told Fox News. The family is being processed for expedited removal. In an X statement posted on Tuesday afternoon, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said her agency is investigating his family to identify “to what extent” they knew about the alleged attack. “Mohamed’s despicable actions will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, but we’re also investigating to what extent his family knew about this horrific attack,” Noem said in the post. “If they had any knowledge of it or if they provided any support to it.” The USA Today article lamented the suddenly transformed futures of Soliman’s family members, highlighting Habiba’s ambitions to be in the medical profession and her progress in learning English. BOULDER TERROR ATTACK WITNESS DESCRIBES ‘HORRIFIC’ SCENE AT PRO-ISRAEL RALLY The outlet wrote that “prior to the attack, Habiba Soliman had written about her hope of accomplishing great things in the U.S. … Instead, the White House said on X on Tuesday that Mohamed Soliman’s wife and five children ‘could be deported by tonight.’” Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, commented on the piece on X, calling it “a disgraceful article.” “Instead of carrying water for the family of an illegal alien terrorist, USA Today should spend some time and ink talking about the victims of this heinous crime,” said Lummis. “A terrorist sets elderly Jewish Americans on fire and USA Today profiles the terrorist’s daughter—not the victims,” wrote conservative commentator John Hasson. US POLITICIANS, JEWISH GROUPS CONDEMN ‘HORRIFYING’ BOULDER TERROR ATTACK: ‘VILE, ANTISEMITIC ACT OF TERROR’ “There is no bottom for these publications. None,” said Fox News contributor Joe Concha. In a statement to Fox News Digital, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson also called the article “disgraceful.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Instead of drooling over an illegal terrorist’s family, USA Today should have profiled the innocent victims targeted by this sick individual that was allowed into our country by the Biden Administration,” Jackson wrote. She added that “USA Today should apologize to the victims and their families for this disgraceful piece attempting to garner sympathy for a terrorist’s family.” USA Today did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Trump administration defends US and Israeli sovereignty with new sanctions against four ICC judges
The Trump administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on four judges at the International Criminal Court over allegations against Israel. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions against Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza of Peru, Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini Gansou of Benin, and Beti Hohler of Slovenia. “These individuals directly engaged in efforts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without consent from the United States or Israel,” Rubio said. TRUMP UNVEILS SANCTIONS AGAINST INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT FOR NETANYAHU ARREST WARRANT The sanctions against the Hague-based court are related to Trump Feb. 6 executive order. He signed the executive order punishing the ICC in response to its May 2024 arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity amid Israel’s ongoing conflict against Hamas. Rubio said the four ICC judges “actively engaged in the ICC’s illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America or our close ally, Israel.” “The ICC is politicized and falsely claims unfettered discretion to investigate, charge, and prosecute nationals of the United States and our allies,” he said. “This dangerous assertion and abuse of power infringes upon the sovereignty and national security of the United States and our allies, including Israel.” TRUMP SANCTIONS ON ICC PROTECTS US MILITARY AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, FORMER NSC OFFICIAL SAYS He said the United States will take “whatever actions we deem necessary” to protect its sovereignty, that of Israel, and other U.S. allies from “illegitimate actions by the ICC.” Rubio noted that member states of the court, “many of whose freedom was purchased at the price of great American sacrifices” and to push back against the court for its “disgraceful attack” against the U.S. and Israel. Fox News Digital has reached out to the ICC. The ICC only prosecutes cases when domestic law enforcement authorities cannot or will not investigate. Israel is not a member of the court. Despite the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, the court has no police powers to enforce warrants, instead choosing to rely on cooperation from its member states.
Critics have meltdown and accuse Trump of imposing renewed ‘Muslim ban’ through ‘disgusting’ travel order
Democrat lawmakers and social media critics are accusing President Donald Trump of rolling out a “bigoted” travel ban they say is riddled with “Islamophobia.” “This discriminatory policy, which limits legal immigration, not only flies in the face of what our country is supposed to stand for, it will be harmful to our economy and communities that rely on the contributions of people who come to America from this wide range of countries,” Democratic Washington state Rep. Pramila Jayapal said in a Wednesday statement posted to her social media accounts. “Banning a whole group of people because you disagree with the structure or function of their government not only lays blame in the wrong place, it creates a dangerous precedent.” Trump signed a proclamation Wednesday restricting travel to the U.S. from a total of 19 countries. Twelve countries, such as Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen, were deemed “very high risk” due to terrorist activity, weak or hostile governments, and high visa overstay rates. While seven other countries, such as Venezuela, Cuba and Laos, faced partial restrictions under the proclamation. “The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, has underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come here as temporary visitors and overstay their visas,” Trump said in video posted Wednesday to social media. “We don’t want them.” TRUMP BANS TRAVEL TO US FROM SEVERAL COUNTRIES TO BLOCK ‘DANGEROUS FOREIGN ACTORS’ “In the 21st century, we’ve seen one terror attack after another carried out by foreign visa overstayers from dangerous places all over the world,” he added. “Thanks to Biden’s open-door policies, today there are millions and millions of these illegals who should not be in our country.” Officials charged terrorist attack suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman Monday with a hate crime, attempted first-degree murder, crimes against at-risk adults/elderly and other charges after he allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at a pro-Israel group, “Run for Their Lives,” in Boulder, Colorado, Sunday. The Egyptian national was living in the United States illegally after entering on a work visa two years ago that has since expired, according to federal officials. TRUMP BANS TRAVEL TO US FROM SEVERAL COUNTRIES TO BLOCK ‘DANGEROUS FOREIGN ACTORS’ Trump’s travel restriction announcement sparked widespread backlash among Democratic lawmakers and critics on social media, who slammed Trump for allegedly promoting Islamophobia. “Just now, Trump has re-issued his disgusting, bigoted, and Islamophobic travel ban,” Democratic California Rep. Judy Chu posted to X. “This goes against our core American values while doing nothing to make us safer. We can do better, we must do better.” “The immigration dictatorship just announced a ban on immigration for 12 nationalities with 7 more facing draconian discrimination as well. Horrible policies with no justification,” libertarian think tank Cato Institute Director of Immigration Studies David Bier posted to X Wednesday. “We’ve seen this horror show before,” Democratic Arizona Rep. Yassamin Ansari posted Wednesday. “It’s not about security. The travel ban is cruel, racist, and un-American.” TRUMP VISA POLICY ‘FAR MORE RESTRAINED’ THAN BIDEN POLICY TARGETING ISRAELIS THAT FLEW UNDER THE RADAR: EXPERT The U.S.’ largest Muslim civil rights group, the Council on American Islamic Relations, also released a statement denouncing the travel bans. “Automatically banning students, workers, tourists, and other citizens of these targeted nations from coming to the United States will not make our nation safer,” Nihad Awad, the executive director of CAIR, said in a Wednesday statement. “Neither will imposing vague ideological screening tests that the government can easily abuse to ban immigrants based on their religious identity and political activism.” “Make no mistake: Trump’s latest travel ban will NOT make America safer,” Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey posted to X. “We cannot continue to allow the Trump administration to write bigotry and hatred into U.S. immigration policy.” “From his first Muslim Ban, Trump’s travel bans have always betrayed of the ideals and values that inspired America’s Founders,” Democratic Virginia Rep. Don Beyer posted to X. “Trump’s use of prejudice and bigotry to bar people from entering the U.S. does not make us safer, it just divides us and weakens our global leadership.” The CEO of Oxfam America, which is an international group of nongovernmental organizations that work to end hunger and poverty, also issued a blistering response to Trump’s announcement. TRUMP ADMIN MULLS NEW TRAVEL BAN, BUT NO DECISIONS MADE YET “By once again targeting individuals from Muslim-majority countries, countries with predominantly Black and brown populations, and countries in the midst of conflict and political instability, this executive order deepens inequality and perpetuates harmful stereotypes, racist tropes, and religious intolerance,” Oxfam America CEO Abby Maxman said in a statement. “This policy is not about national security — it is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States.” The White House defended that the new proclamation is “commonsense” and targeted at countries that “lack proper vetting, exhibit high visa overstay rates, or fail to share identity and threat information,’ Fox Digital reported Wednesday. “President Trump is fulfilling his promise to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors that want to come to our country and cause us harm,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. Trump came under fire from liberals and activist groups during his first administration when he signed an executive order banning travel and implementing “extreme vetting” for countries such as Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Libya in January 2017. Critics of the executive order derided it as Trump’s “Muslim ban.” “To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting. This is not about religion — this is about terror and keeping our country safe,” he said in a statement in 2017. “There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order.” Trump added at the time. Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr, Brooke Singman and Patrick Ward contributed to
Biden only hand-signed one pardon during final spree, and it was his most controversial one
Former President Joe Biden only signed one pardon by hand during his final weeks in office, and it was his most controversial one. The Justice Department is reviewing the list of people granted pardons by Biden amid new concerns about his use of an autopen to automatically sign documents and concerns about his state of mind and mental acuity in his final months in office. Biden used his final weeks as commander in chief to grant clemency and pardon more than 1,500 people in what his White House described as the largest single-day act of clemency by a U.S. president. HERE ARE BIDEN’S MOST CONTROVERSIAL PARDONS, MAINLY SIGNED USING AUTOPEN Biden appears to have signed those final pardons, including preemptive pardons for members of his family, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley and members and staff of the House committee investigating Jan. 6. But the former president signed one by hand for his son. Biden pardoned son Hunter in December 2024 after vowing to the American people for months he would not do so. Hunter Biden was found guilty of three felony gun offenses during special counsel David Weiss’ investigation. The first son was also charged with federal tax crimes over his alleged failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. Before his trial, Hunter Biden entered a surprise guilty plea. Former President Joe Biden in December 2024 announced a blanket pardon that applies to any offenses against the U.S. that Hunter Biden “has committed or may have committed” from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024. “From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,” the former president said. “There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me — and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough. FLASHBACK: SPECIAL COUNSEL WEISS BLASTS BIDEN IN FINAL HUNTER PROSECUTION REPORT “I hope Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision.” Weiss, who charged Hunter Biden, blasted the former president for pardoning his son, saying his characterizations of the yearslong probe were “wrong” and “unfairly” maligned Justice Department officials. Weiss, in the report, blasted the president’s decision to pardon and the press release to the public that “criticized the prosecution of his son as ‘selective,’ ‘unfair,’ ‘infected’ by ‘raw politics’ and a ‘miscarriage of justice.’” “This statement is gratuitous and wrong,” Weiss wrote in his report. “Other presidents have pardoned family members, but in doing so, none have taken the occasion as an opportunity to malign the public servants at the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations.” In another section of the report, Weiss noted that, in light of the presidential pardon, he “cannot make any additional charging decisions,” adding it would be “inappropriate” to discuss “whether additional charges are warranted.” TRUMP ORDERS ATTORNEY GENERAL TO INVESTIGATE BIDEN’S AUTOPEN USE AMID COGNITIVE DECLINE CONCERNS “Politicians who attack the decisions of career prosecutors as politically motivated when they disagree with the outcome of a case undermine the public’s confidence in our criminal justice system,” Weiss wrote. “The President’s statements unfairly impugn the integrity not only of Department of Justice personnel, but all of the public servants making these difficult decisions in good faith. “The President’s characterizations are incorrect based on the facts in this case, and, on a more fundamental level, they are wrong.” Biden’s use of an autopen for signatures is under investigation by Attorney General Pam Bondi. President Donald Trump directed Bondi to investigate whether certain individuals working for Biden conspired to deceive the public about his mental state while also exercising his presidential responsibilities by using an autopen. In a memo Wednesday, Trump said the president of the U.S. has a tremendous amount of power and responsibility through the signature. Not only can the signature turn words into laws of the land, but it also appoints individuals to some of the highest positions in government, creates or eliminates national policies and allows prisoners to go free. “In recent months, it has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden’s aides abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden’s cognitive decline and assert Article II authority,” Trump wrote. “This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history. The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden’s signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts.” He added that Biden has experienced “serious cognitive decline” for years, and the Department of Justice recently concluded Biden should not stand trial despite clear evidence he broke the law, because of his mental state. “Biden’s cognitive issues and apparent mental decline during his presidency were even ‘worse’ in private, and those closest to him ‘tried to hide it’ from the public,” Trump said. “To do so, Biden’s advisors during his years in office severely restricted his news conferences and media appearances, and they scripted his conversations with lawmakers, government officials, and donors, all to cover up his inability to discharge his duties.”