Sen. Elizabeth Warren falls on Senate floor as Republicans offer bipartisan assistance during Israel vote
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., took a tumble on the Senate floor Wednesday during a vote. Footage showed Warren attempting to sit on a desk when she fell backwards, tipping over the desk and falling to the floor. In a rare showing of bipartisanship, her Republican colleagues, including Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Susan Collins of Maine, rushed to help her up. BERNIE SANDERS TO FORCE SENATE VOTE ON BLOCKING ARMS SALES TO ISRAEL Warren got up as Cruz gave her his hand. Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and John Barrasso of Wyoming were seen walking over to offer assistance. The fall happened as the Senate was taking a vote on two resolutions to block military sales to Israel, which Warren voted in favor of. Fox News Digital has reached out to Warren’s office. SENATE FAILS TO REJECT TRUMP’S NATIONAL EMERGENCY ON TARIFFS, AS REPUBLICANS SPLINTER The resolutions were proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a harsh critic of Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Every Republican voted against it. Former President Joe Biden had several slips and falls while in the White House. In 2023, he tumbled to the ground during the commencement ceremony at the U.S. Air Force Academy. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In 2024, he slipped while walking down the stairs after exiting Air Force One in Michigan.
Pelosi calls Lady Gaga concert in San Francisco ‘the most fun I’ve had in a long time’
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was spotted this week with a cheering crowd at a Lady Gaga concert in San Francisco. “It was a fabulous show in San Francisco!” Pelosi, the 85-year-old speaker emerita, said in a post Tuesday on X. “The most fun I’ve had in a long time.” NANCY PELOSI ERUPTS WHEN ASKED BY CNN’S JAKE TAPPER ABOUT ALLEGATIONS OF INSIDER TRADING A video of the event, part of Lady Gaga’s global Mayhem Ball Tour, shows Pelosi walking to her seat close to the stage as Gaga performs. She is then seen moving to the performance as Lady Gaga plays the guitar. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Pelosi attended the concert with her husband, Paul Pelosi. Tickets for the concert ranged from roughly $175 to $550, while the range for VIP tickets was $700 to $1,000. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In 2021, Pelosi attended a Lady Gaga concert with Tony Bennett at Radio City Music Hall in New York, the newspaper reported.
FLASHBACK: Zohran Mamdani says ‘Israel is not a place’ and ‘not a country’
Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is once again raising eyebrows, this time over a resurfaced clip in which he says, “Israel is not a place, it is not a country.” Mamdani, who as the Democratic nominee is considered the frontrunner for mayor of the city with the highest Jewish population in the U.S., has been criticized for his stance against Israel and refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which is widely considered a call for violence against Jews. Now he is being slammed for statements he made during a January 2024 panel discussion on Palestinian solidarity in which he called into question American politicians’ support for the state of Israel. Mamdani made the remarks in a December 2023 panel for “Here and Everywhere” recorded the Riverside Church in New York City. MAMDANI BLASTED BY GOP OPPONENT FOR ‘SANCTIMONIOUS HYPOCRISY’ ON POLICE STANCE: ‘ABSOLUTE INSANITY’ During the panel, Mamdani referred to the pro-Israel movement in America as a “political apparatus that is still well-funded, quite strong, but is increasingly becoming more and more separated from public sentiment.” He criticized American politicians for supporting Israel’s war against Gaza, saying, “That speaks to the fact that … for so many people, Israel is not a place, it is not a country. It’s an idea. “You see that in so many politicians’ answers to the questions around Israel … their answers were written around 20, 30 years ago. They speak to a reality that does not exist.” Mamdani also criticized the idea that Israel and Palestine could exist as separate political entities. “They [American politicians] pledge fealty to the idea of a two-state solution, irrespective of the fact that a second state for Palestinians is physically impossible because it’s not even a contiguous piece of land at this moment between where Palestinians live. So, that all tells us that there is this disconnect,” he said. DOUGLAS MURRAY SLAMS NY MAYORAL NOMINEE ZOHRAN MAMDANI, LONDON’S SADIQ KHAN: ‘STAY OUT OF FOREIGN POLICY’ He also went on to say that there is a “fear amongst the political class across this country of a discourse that is rising that seeks to question this convention.” Dating back to his college days, Mamdani has expressed support for a boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel, which Influence Watch describes as “an international campaign to delegitimize the State of Israel as the expression of the Jewish people’s right to national self-determination by isolating the country economically through consumer boycotts, business and government withdrawal of investment, and legal sanctions.” In another recently resurfaced video of Mamdani from 2021, the mayoral candidate highlighted his commitment to BDS. MAMDANI HINTS HE FEARED CUSTOMS HASSLE EN ROUTE FROM UGANDA VACATION: ‘SAD REALITY’ “I think there is nothing that’s too banal to stand up against the brutality of the occupation and apartheid,” he said. “And, so, you know, if it’s a shipping container or if it is a university that is being funded, a university that helped to develop IDF’s weapons technology, or it is an event with an Israeli ambassador, whatever it may be, I think that we have to showcase what that solidarity looks like.” Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
GOP senators rally around effort to end ‘radical wokeness’ in HHS task force
EXCLUSIVE: Three Senate Republicans are backing up Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s possible effort to reform the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, saying that the group has recently been ideologically motivated. The “independent” task force is used to determine recommendations of what services health insurance companies in the United States have to cover for free, such as checking for cancer. “Americans deserve to know health guidelines are based on real science, not radical wokeness. The Task Force needs to get back to its mission of giving clear, evidence-based recommendations people can trust,” Sen. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, said in a statement. I’M A PHYSICIAN AND I’M WORRIED THAT OUR HEALTH AGENCIES ARE FACING INCREASING CHAOS The Wall Street Journal reported that Kennedy is considering removing members of the board, and the senators are saying they back any change to veer away from certain DEI tactics employed by the group currently, including the 2023 Report to Congress on High-Priority Evidence Gaps for Clinical Preventive Services and “social justice activism” by people in the group. “In particular, the USPSTF departed from its proper activities in its December 2023 Health Equity Framework. The framework criticizes ‘equal access to quality health care for all’ as an inadequate goal of public health and announces that the Task Force will instead use equity as ‘a criterion of the ‘public health importance’ of a topic’ for consideration,” the letter added. “Far from simply recognizing health disparities between certain populations, ‘health equity’ as described by the USPSTF includes ‘information on risk factors that intersect with race and/or ethnicity or other disadvantaged populations (e.g., sexual and gender minorities) and that affect prevalence and burden of disease’ and ‘any inequities in how preventive services are provided, accessed, or received.’ These criteria would allow the Task Force to issue recommendations outside its proper purview and impose leftwing ideology,” it continues. SEN. RAND PAUL: KENNEDY IS CONFRONTING ‘CORRUPT’ HEALTH AGENCIES TO MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN Specifically, they said that changes could be needed to fulfill President Donald Trump’s Executive Order to scrap DEI efforts within the federal government, along with an EO on “restoring merit-based opportunity” and “ending illegal discrimination.” “Allowing the Task Force to pursue the Health Equity Framework means allowing it to exceed its statutory mission and target social groups that comport with a progressive agenda. It means discounting universally beneficial recommendations as inadequate. It means disregarding statutory limits and instead undertaking a social justice crusade through the lens of critical race theory and gender ideology. This would be a mistake. The result is ineffectiveness, discrimination, and division. The USPSTF should be working for all Americans equally,” the letter added. “No final decision has been made on how the USPSTF can better support HHS’ mandate to Make America Healthy Again,” an HHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement when asked about the WSJ report. WATCH: RFK JR. REBUKES DEM SENATOR FOR PLAYING POLITICS WITH CANCER-STRICKEN CONSTITUENT: ‘YOU DON’T CARE’ There has already been some opposition to the possibility of removing the members, including from the American Medical Association. “USPSTF plays a critical, non-partisan role in guiding physicians’ efforts to prevent disease and improve the health of patients by helping to ensure access to evidence-based clinical preventive services,” the AMA wrote in a letter to Kennedy. “As such, we urge you to retain the previously appointed members of the USPSTF and commit to the long-standing process of regular meetings to ensure their important work can continue without interruption.”
Banned chemicals found in American shampoo, sunscreen and tampons across major brands
From shampoo and sunscreen to tampons, many personal care products on American shelves contain chemicals linked to cancer, infertility, and hormone disruption—ingredients that are banned or restricted in the European Union and other countries. Despite these alarming associations, no federal law in the U.S. requires companies to disclose potentially harmful ingredients. Only California mandates limited transparency, leaving most Americans in the dark about what they’re putting on—and absorbing into—their bodies. For Tiah Tomlin-Harris, a two-time survivor of triple-negative breast cancer, that lack of transparency was a wake-up call. Diagnosed before age 40 with no genetic predisposition, Tomlin-Harris began asking hard questions: Where is this coming from? Genetic testing came back negative, placing her among the 80–90% of breast cancer patients whose illness isn’t linked to family history. Her background as a chemist in the pharmaceutical industry gave her a unique perspective—and a critical eye for labels. NEW TECH-FOCUSED MAHA INITIATIVES WILL USHER IN ‘NEW ERA OF CONVENIENCE,’ IMPROVE HEALTH OUTCOMES, TRUMP SAYS “I started to dig into the causations,” she told FOX. “The first thing I did was remove every single product in my house—from hair care to dish detergent. I went back to grandma’s remedies—baking soda, vinegar—because I didn’t know what was safe anymore.” As she researched, she realized just how many widely used beauty and hygiene products are packed with potentially harmful chemicals. While Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pushed for the removal of toxic additives in processed foods, he has yet to tackle the personal care industry. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary admits the agency is in a “deregulatory mindset,” saying, “[We’ve] been regulating too much.” TRUMP’S CDC PICK CONFIRMED- BUT HER PRO-VACCINE STANCE MAY CLASH WITH RFK JR.’S AGENDA “That mindset has led to an explosion of consumer-driven tools like Yuka and Clearya, apps that scan barcodes and analyze ingredient safety. “Most people are shocked,” said Julie Chapon, Yuka’s co-founder. “They assume green packaging means safety.” Tomlin-Harris emphasized the disproportionate impact on women of color, particularly Black women. “We spend nine times more on beauty products than any other demographic, yet these products often contain the most harmful ingredients—parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde, benzene. These aren’t just linked to cancer. They’re weakening chemotherapy drugs. They’re disrupting hormones. They’re impacting fertility—for men and women.” A Consumer Reports investigation found carcinogens in 10 of the top braiding hair brands, many of which are marketed to Black women and girls. Janet Nudelman, Director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics at Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, agrees that consumers are often left choosing “between protecting against skin cancer versus increasing their risk of breast cancer” because of harmful ingredients. Dr. Leonardo Trasande, whose studies highlight the health hazards of common chemicals, called the current system “rigged to produce chemical exposures that are toxic to our hormones.” The consequences, he warns, are societal: higher healthcare costs and lifelong reproductive and developmental health problems. The federal government is slowly responding. The Safer Beauty Bill package, reintroduced in Congress, seeks to ban toxic ingredients, increase ingredient disclosure and protect vulnerable populations like hairstylists, nail technicians, and women of color. But for now, consumers are largely left to protect themselves. FDA Commissioner Makary insists change is coming: “We’re doing an inventory of all chemicals in the food supply to see how we can make it safer.” Still, advocacy groups say the U.S. is far behind the EU in regulating cosmetic safety. Industry representatives push back. The Personal Care Products Council asserts: “PCPC and our member companies are fully committed to upholding the highest standards of safety, quality and transparency.” But for advocates like Tomlin-Harris, promises aren’t enough. “This isn’t just a women’s issue,” she said. “It’s a people’s issue. Men are affected. Children are affected. Our entire population is being exposed to chemicals we didn’t consent to, and we’re paying the price.” Her message is clear: “We need transparency. We need regulation. And we need accountability from the companies creating these products. It’s time to detox our routines, demand safer alternatives and prioritize our health.”
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