House tees up 17 bills related to Iran/Israel for this week

Posted on April 15, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

FOX is told to expect a "robust foreign policy week" after this weekend’s events between Iran and Israel.

The House is ditching its original plan for "appliance week" and putting 17 bills on the floor "to hammer" Iran or show support for Israel.

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Eleven bills will be on the suspension calendar, meaning they require a 2/3 vote to pass. One of those bills would ratchet up sanctions on Iran.

Six bills would head to the Rules Committee. Included in that batch is a bill to condemn Iran for the attack

What about aid for Israel?

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"That’s still being negotiated between the speaker and the White House," said a senior House Republican source.

FOX is told it’s still possible aid to Israel is tied to assistance to Ukraine.

Finally, FOX is told that the plan is to send the impeachment articles for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday. But FOX is told that could change based on events in Israel.

House tees up 17 bills related to Iran/Israel for this week

Posted on April 15, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Six bills would head to the Rules Committee. Included in that batch is a bill to condemn Iran for the attack

What about aid for Israel?

Finally, FOX is told that the plan is to send the impeachment articles for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday. But FOX is told that could change based on events in Israel.

Biden resists pulling controversial judicial nominee Adeel Mangi despite Democrat defectors

Posted on April 13, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

The White House is not taking any cues from Republicans who have advised President Biden to withdraw a controversial judicial nomination.

Instead, it's digging in its heels to lobby Democratic senators to support Adeel Mangi for the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.

A White House official updated Fox News Digital on the status of Mangi's nomination, which has been scrutinized over his ties to two groups, one accused of antisemitism and another that has supported "cop killers," as Republican critics have alleged.

Biden is not considering withdrawing the judicial nomination despite a call from Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Mangi served on the board of advisers for the Rutgers University Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR) from 2019 to 2023. The center has been accused by Republicans of antisemitism due to its sponsored events and speakers. One such event was held on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and featured controversial speakers like Hatem Bazian, who in 2004 called for an "intifada," according to video from an anti-war protest in San Francisco, and Sami Al-Arian.

In 2006, Al-Arian pleaded guilty to "conspiring to provide services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad," according to the Justice Department.

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Noura Erakat, who had previously been advertised as a panelist for a separate event alongside Hamas commander Ghazi Hamad, was also hosted at a CSRR event.

The Alliance of Families for Justice (AFJ), whose founding board member, Kathy Boudin, pleaded guilty to the felony murder of two police officers in 1981 after they died following an armored truck robbery, features Mangi as a current advisory board member. The robbery was carried out by Boudin's group, the Weather Underground Organization, which was recognized as a domestic terrorist organization by the FBI.

Neither the CSRR nor AFJ provided comments to Fox News Digital.

As pressure has been applied by Republican lawmakers and an ad campaign from Judicial Crisis Network targets vulnerable Senate Democrats, Biden's nominee has begun to lose support from his party. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., have come out publicly against Mangi, citing his AFJ affiliation.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has also complicated the nomination by claiming he won't support anyone who can't garner at least one Republican supporter.

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"The opposition to Adeel Mangi — in and outside the Senate — is growing by the day," a spokesperson for the Senate Judiciary Republicans told Fox News Digital in a statement.

"It’s clear the math is not there for the White House," the statement added, calling Biden's decision not to withdraw Mangi's nomination "puzzling indeed."

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates pushed back in a statement to Fox News Digital.

"President Biden is proud to have chosen Adeel Mangi," he said, calling Mangi "an extraordinarily qualified nominee" and noting he "would make history on the bench" as the first Muslim in such a position.

"The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved Mr. Mangi’s nomination, and the rest of the Senate should side with what makes America the greatest nation on Earth and support him, not cave to vicious, undignified attempts to drag America into the past," Bates added.

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, White House Director of Legislative Affairs Shuwanza Goff, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs Ali Nouri, White House Counsel Ed Siskel and White House senior counsel in charge of nominations Phil Brest, continue to press senators to support Mangi, who would be the first Muslim federal appellate court judge, a White House official revealed.

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Through these officials, the White House is persisting and pushing back on the concerns over Mangi's two group affiliations in question, telling senators they are false and a smear campaign. They are also reiterating to lawmakers that the nominee is qualified for the role.

Senate Judiciary Chariman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., will also keep up pressure on his colleagues to support Mangi and dismiss what he also considers to be a smear campaign.

"The treatment of this nominee before the Senate Judiciary Committee has reached a new low in many ways," he said in a recent speech on the chamber floor, insinuating Mangi's status as a Muslim is the reason for opposition to his confirmation.

If Biden does not withdraw Mangi's nomination and it is not scheduled for a confirmation vote in 2024, the nomination will expire on its own. In this case, he would need to be nominated again in the next Congress.

The nomination has not yet been scheduled for a vote by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who has noted his own support for Mangi but hasn't given any indication whether he plans to schedule a vote.

Republican strategist Ron Bonjean, a former spokesman to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and former chief of staff of the Senate Republican Conference, said it was "unlikely" Mangi's nomination survives a Senate confirmation.

"The White House has not put up an aggressive defense of Mangi, which is really sending my message that he should withdraw [on] his own," said Bonjean, who also ran communications for the Senate confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. "Unless the Biden administration changes its strategy, the Mangi nomination is dead in the water."

Mangi did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.

Dem senators voice concerns over Israel war status as Biden attempts ‘challenging’ balance with progressives

Posted on April 10, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Senate Democrats expressed concerns over the status of the war between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas in Gaza Tuesday as President Biden looks to strike a balance between supporting the U.S. ally and addressing concerns of progressives and Arab and Muslim voters who have made their displeasure known amid the conflict.

"I don't support a cease-fire. I've been very clear about that," Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., told Fox News Digital Tuesday.

In a call last week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following an airstrike from the country that killed seven workers delivering food and aid in Gaza, Biden called for an immediate cease-fire to address the need to get aid to the war zone.

Biden's move to endorse a cease-fire comes as pro-Palestinian protests have plagued his campaign events in recent months.

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"There's been far too much civilian death right now," Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said of the situation in Gaza. However, he credited Biden with increasing pressure on Israel with "an uptick in humanitarian deliveries in the last few days."

Criticism over Biden's backing of ally Israel has ramped up in recent days, as reports emerged of his anger and frustration over the country's killing of several aid workers in Gaza. Last month, the U.S. allowed a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire to pass, breaking from a streak of vetoing similar measures.

Netanyahu slammed the move, claiming at the time the "United States has abandoned its policy in the U.N. today. Just a few days ago, it supported a Security Council resolution that linked a call for a cease-fire to the release of hostages."

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The prime minister attributed his cancellation of an Israeli delegation's trip to Washington, D.C., to the resolution's passage.

Just two weeks after Biden's administration allowed the U.N. resolution to pass, Vice President Kamala Harris met with families of American hostages held in Gaza Tuesday. According to a readout from Harris' office on the meeting, she updated the families on U.S. efforts to bring home all hostages and reaching an agreement for an immediate cease-fire.

A White House official shared that efforts are ongoing to secure the release of more hostages and noted that the passed U.N. resolution additionally called for the release of hostages. However, the resolution did not include condemnation of Hamas, which prompted criticism against the Biden administration.

At a Senate Republican lunch Tuesday, GOP conference Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo., circulated a document to his colleagues, listing "27 times Biden & Democrats abandoned Israel" since the initial Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

GOP SENATORS CONVINCE SPEAKER JOHNSON TO DELAY MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT ARTICLE DELIVERY

The document, exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital, listed events, including the Biden administration urging Israel to end a ground campaign in Gaza last year and Senate Democrats in November voting against a stand-alone Israel aid bill that did not tie the assistance to aid for Ukraine.

"President Biden is demanding a highly damaging, unconditional cease-fire. Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress are equating Prime Minister Netanyahu to Hamas. These unprecedented actions undermine Israel’s mission to free the hostages and eliminate Hamas," Barrasso told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement.

Asked how Biden was handling support for Israel at the same time as addressing concerns for Palestinian civilians, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said, "It's a challenging situation."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., avoided criticizing Biden for his handling of the Israel-Hamas war, instead telling Fox News Digital, "I lay blame with the Netanyahu government that has created a humanitarian disaster and doing everything possible every single day to make it worse."

DESPERATE ZELENSKYY WARNS 'UKRAINE WILL LOSE THE WAR' IF CONGRESS DOES NOT SEND MORE AID

While Fetterman noted his disagreement with Biden on a cease-fire, he said, "Overall, I think the president has remained to stand with Israel.

"But we need to allow Israel to finish off and go after Hamas."

While Democrats were hesitant to address Biden's policy toward Israel directly, Senate Republicans were more than willing to slam the president for making decisions on the war based on "political calculus," as Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, claimed.

"I think it's really about trying to appease the increasingly vocal, frankly, pro-Hamas wing, I guess, of their party," said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. "I mean, they must think that they have a lot of votes they need to open for them."

According to Vance, Biden's posture on the war is "completely inconsistent" today with what it was "two months ago."

"And they're doing it because they're worried about losing certain populations in Michigan," Vance claimed, likely referencing the significant Arab and Muslim populations in the state.

Since the onset of the war in Gaza, Biden's 2024 re-election campaign has faced obstacles among Muslim supporters, who have claimed they are willing to turn their backs on him.

His campaign has also seen efforts rebuffed by Muslim leaders who have on multiple occasions refused to meet with the president's team in campaign or official capacities.

The Biden campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., blasted Biden's response to Israel's strike that killed seven aid workers, claiming it was held to a "different standard."

"Why don't they tell us who got held accountable for the 13 people, warriors killed at the Kabul airport?" he asked, referencing the deaths of several service men and women during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, overseen by Biden.

Making a similar point, Fetterman explained, "I mean, terrible, terrible things often happen in a war situation, and we really cannot forget that this is all because of Hamas." The senator referenced a U.S. drone strike in 2021 that mistakenly killed a number of Afghani civilians in a car.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Mayorkas’s impeachment trial

Posted on April 8, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

We’ve seen impeachment trials a lot on Capitol Hill in recent years. The Senate conducted two impeachment trials of former President Trump in early 2020 and early 2021.

But no living American has ever witnessed the impeachment trial which is about to begin in the United States Senate.

Blink and you might miss it.

The House impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in February. The House accuses Mayorkas of not following the law when it comes to securing the border and lying to Congress. Mayorkas became only the second cabinet secretary ever impeached. The first was Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., hasn’t tipped his hand yet on how he’ll handle the articles, but Schumer is expected to move to dismiss or table the articles. The Senate must vote to do that. If all 51 senators who caucus with the Democrats vote to punt, they can extinguish the trial quickly.

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But don’t expect Republicans to go quietly.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., says the Senate is obligated to conduct a full trial of Mayorkas and render judgment. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and other Republicans may try to elongate the trial. They argue that senators have a constitutional obligation to listen to arguments for and against impeachment. So expect them to make points of order – possibly forcing the Senate to vote – to consider the articles. However, Senate Democrats can euthanize each of those points of order – if they stick together and table each of the GOP motions.

Still, the trial might not last long. But here’s the minimum which must unfold on the Senate floor over the coming days.

Expect the following:

The House voted to impeach Mayorkas by a solitary vote in February. The House failed in its first effort to impeach after Rep. Al Green, D-Tex., materialized unexpectedly (directly from the hospital) and foiled the GOP’s plans. After a second vote to impeach, the House then appointed 11 impeachment "managers." They serve as de facto "prosecutors," presenting the House’s case to the Senate. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., serves as the lead impeachment manager. All 100 senators will sit as "jurors" when the trial begins. Mayorkas does not appear at the trial nor is he required to attend.

On Wednesday, House Sergeant at Arms Bill McFarland and Acting Clerk of the House Kevin McCumber will escort the managers and the articles of impeachment themselves from the House, across the Capitol Rotunda, to the Senate wing of the Capitol. That’s where the Senate will "receive" the articles of impeachment. Senate Sergeant at Arms Karen Gibson will greet the House entourage in the Senate wing of the Capitol and escort everyone to the Senate chamber.

All 100 senators will await the coterie from the House. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is the President Pro Tempore of the Senate – the most senior member of the majority party. She will preside over the impeachment trial – not Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts. The Chief Justice typically only presides over impeachment trials involving the President or Vice President. Roberts was in charge for former President Trump’s first trial in 2020. But then-Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., presided over the second impeachment trial in 2021. Leahy was the Senate’s President Pro Tempore back then.

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The impeachment articles are then read to the Senate.

It’s possible Lee and company could try to offer their motions then. But Murray could rule him out of order. The Senate hasn’t even sworn-in senators yet to adjudicate the trial. Moreover, the Senate could find itself either in legislative session (working on a bill) or executive session (working on a nomination) when the Senate stops its action to receive the articles. Therefore, motions by senators pertaining to the trial aren’t applicable at that moment.

Under Senate impeachment rules, things really get started the next day at 1 pm ET. That’s when the Senate swears in the senators. Gibson will announce that everyone should remain quiet "on pain of imprisonment." At that point, we are technically "in trial." Thus, motions are in order. In the past, the Senate could consider a resolution to establish parameters for how to handle the trial. Schumer could possibly move immediately to dismiss or table the articles. Or Lee and company could make their motions as well.

But here’s the problem for Republicans:

Schumer is the Senate Majority Leader. As Majority Leader, Schumer is recognized first by Murray, the presiding officer. Schumer could potentially short-circuit anything Republicans want to do by jumping ahead and making a motion to table or dismiss. The Senate would then vote on whether to halt proceedings right there. Republicans may never get a shot.

It is important to note that senators don’t "debate" during an impeachment trial. However, they could agree to debate in closed session – not out in the open.

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However, a vote to dismiss the articles – or on anything Republicans cook up – carries political consequences for Democrats facing competitive re-election bids this fall. Think Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Jon Tester, D-Mont., Bob Casey, D-Mich., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev. Republicans will likely weaponize any roll call vote Democrats to truncate the impeachment trial. Republicans will try to portray these vulnerable Democrats as not taking the border or the charges leveled at Mayorkas seriously.

In short, the trial is likely to be short. Not the impeachment trials of former President Trump. The Senate spread out the first one over a period of 19 days. The second one consumed five days.

In fact, the model for a quick dismissal is an impeachment you probably haven’t heard of: Former federal judge Samuel Kent in 2009.

The House impeached Kent in June 2009. But Kent stepped down before the Senate trial began. The House then adopted a resolution to halt its "prosecution" of Kent. The Senate then voted to dispense with the articles before conducting a trial.

So Kent’s circumstances are not exactly what will go down with Mayorkas. But Kent’s scenario of a quick dismissal is closer to what could unfold in the next few days compared to the more robust trials of former President Trump.

Biden-appointed judge torches DOJ for defying subpoenas after prosecuting Trump advisor

Posted on April 6, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

A President Biden-appointed judge slammed the Justice Department’s apparent hypocrisy on Friday for allowing attorneys involved in the Biden family investigation to defy subpoenas — even though former Trump advisor Peter Navarro is sitting in prison for doing the same thing.

District Judge Ana Reyes ripped the DOJ at a status conference for not letting DOJ lawyers Mark Daly and Jack Morgan provide testimony as part of the House Judiciary Committee's investigation into the Biden family and the impeachment inquiry into the president.

"There’s a person in jail right now because you all brought a criminal lawsuit against him because he did not appear for a House subpoena," Reyes said during a hearing on the Judiciary Committee’s lawsuit, according to Politico, seemingly referring to Navarro.

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Navarro was sent to prison in March for four months, charged and convicted with contempt of Congress after he refused to comply with a congressional subpoena demanding his testimony and documents relating to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Navarro said he could not cooperate with the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack because Trump had invoked executive privilege, an argument that lower courts have rejected.

Former White House adviser Steve Bannon also received a four-month sentence for similar contempt of Congress charges but was allowed to stay free pending appeal.

"I think it’s quite rich you guys pursue criminal investigations and put people in jail for not showing up," but then direct current executive branch employees to take the same approach, Reyes blasted. "You all are making a bunch of arguments that you would never accept from any other litigant."

"And now you guys are flouting those subpoenas. . . . And you don’t have to show up?" Reyes continued.

She said that the DOJ’s position would delight defense attorneys up and down the country.

"I imagine that there are hundreds, if not thousands of defense attorneys . . . who would be happy to hear that DOJ’s position is, if you don’t agree with a subpoena, if you believe it’s unconstitutional or unlawful, you can unilaterally not show up," Reyes said.

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Daly and Morgan, two attorneys with the Justice Department’s tax division, were subpoenaed for their "firsthand knowledge of the irregularities in DOJ’s investigation that appear to have benefited Hunter Biden," according to Courthouse News Service.

The committee says the pair were members of a team that recommended what charges to bring against Hunter Biden for suspected tax crimes in 2014 and 2015 when he served on the board of Ukrainian company Burisma.

That team initially agreed Hunter Biden should be charged but then reversed course and suggested he should not be charged.

Following the reversal, the Justice Department allowed the statute of limitations for those charges to lapse. The committee argues looking into this timeline is crucial to its investigation.

Justice Department attorney James Gilligan tried to argue that the decision to defy the subpoena came after lengthy deliberations "at a high level."

He also argued that Daly and Morgan are current government employees, whereas Navarro and Bannon were no longer part of the government when their testimony was demanded, but Reyes seemed unimpressed by that reasoning.

But her criticism wasn’t all directed at Biden’s DOJ.

Reyes scoffed at a Trump-era Office of Legal Counsel opinion contending that executive branch employees could defy such subpoenas if Justice Department lawyers were not allowed to be present.

She was also astonished that Gilligan wouldn't commit to instructing Daly and Morgan to testify if the committee were to drop its insistence that government counsel not be in the room for their depositions.

"I cannot answer that now," he said. To which Reyes responded, "Are you kidding me?"

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

Biden holds narrow lead over Trump in new poll despite concerns he’s ‘too old’ for a second term

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

President Biden defeated former President Donald Trump by just two points in a new poll of Pennsylvania registered voters, despite the enduring belief of many that he is too old to serve as chief executive for another term.

Biden narrowly beat Trump in a new Franklin & Marshall Poll released on Thursday, winning with Pennsylvania voters 42% to 40%.

Pennsylvania is one of the critical battleground states that is expected to help determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. The state was notably won by Trump in 2016 but then swung back to Democrats to help Biden win in 2020. Biden took the state in the last election by less than two points.

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Illustrating the close race, a separate survey from The Wall Street Journal showed Trump ahead of Biden in six of the seven key battleground states, including Pennsylvania. Trump also defeated his opponent in Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.

While he managed to surpass Trump in the Franklin & Marshall poll, Biden still faced a significant portion of Pennsylvanians who say he is "too old," at 81, to carry out a second term. By the end of a potential second term, Biden would be 86.

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Four in 10 registered voters in Pennsylvania agreed Biden's age was too advanced to serve a second term. This number has remained steady in Franklin & Marshall's surveying since October 2023. An additional 40% said age is an issue for both of the candidates' abilities to serve another term.

Only 6% of respondents said Trump is "too old." The former president is 77.

"With just 35% job approval, Joe Biden is floundering in his home state of Pennsylvania," said Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt in a statement to Fox News Digital, referencing the approval rating reported by the poll.

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"Between higher gas prices, surging crime, and failed Democrat policies crushing families at every corner, it's no wonder that Pennsylvanians across the commonwealth are increasingly rejecting the failed Biden agenda and supporting President Trump," she added.

While voters said Trump was a better choice to handle the economy over Biden, the president managed to sustain his advantage over Trump on questions of trustworthiness and character.

The survey also showed Biden's margin expanding in a one-on-one match-up with Trump. In such a scenario, Biden garnered 48% to Trump's 38%, extending his two-point lead to 10. According to the poll, the change in Biden's margin when third-party candidates are included is "because support for the president declines among registered Democrats as more of them opt for a third-party candidate."

Democratic National Committee spokesperson Matt Corridoni told Fox News Digital that the poll was "more proof" that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is being set up "to be a spoiler in this race."

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Despite Biden's increased odds in a two-man race, it's unlikely that such a race would play out in the Keystone State. Several prominent people have launched campaigns for the White House in 2024, including Kennedy, as an independent; Jill Stein on the Green Party's ticket; and Cornel West as an independent.

Kennedy's campaign website lists its effort to achieve ballot access in Pennsylvania as "in progress" with months until the state's August filing deadline.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Trump eyes dual strategy to flip script against Biden amid legal hurdles: ‘We have the messaging’

Posted on April 2, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Donald Trump heads out on the stump Tuesday in Michigan and Wisconsin, two Midwestern battleground states he narrowly lost to President Biden four years ago, as he looks to take advantage of a weekday campaign rally ahead of his upcoming hush-money trial in a couple of weeks.

The former president's team said the presumptive GOP nominee will take aim at what they charged was President Biden's "Border Bloodbath" during the first stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Trump's campaign swing is his first in two and a half weeks since he headlined a rally in Ohio on March 16 on behalf of the Republican candidate he was backing in the Buckeye State's GOP Senate primary.

The infrequent weekday campaign rallies may become even rarer this spring and summer as Trump becomes the first current or former president in the nation's history to go on trial.

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As of now, Trump's hush-money trial is set to begin in New York City on April 15. The former president – who is being tried on 34 state felony charges – is accused of falsifying business records in relation to hush-money payments during the 2016 election he made to Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about his alleged affair with the adult film actress.

Trump has repeatedly denied falsifying business records as well as the alleged sexual encounter with Daniels.

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During the Republican presidential primaries, Trump used the multiple criminal and civil cases he faces – including two for his alleged attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden and another for mishandling classified documents – to cast himself as a victim, which fired up support among GOP voters and boosted fundraising.

"HAPPY EASTER TO ALL, INCLUDING CROOKED AND CORRUPT PROSECUTORS AND JUDGES THAT ARE DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO INTERFERE WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2024, AND PUT ME IN PRISON," Trump said Sunday in a social media post.

The former president is required to attend the court proceedings in the hush-money trial, which are scheduled for weekdays, except Wednesdays, and will ground the 74-year-old Trump in the city where he was born and raised and called home until changing his residence to Florida nearly five years ago.

Sources in the former president's political orbit tell Fox News that a schedule's being mapped out that includes making the most of Wednesdays, when court is not in session, as well as weekends, when Trump usually holds rallies and other campaign events.

"We have the message, the operation, and the money to propel President Trump to victory on November 5," Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita predicted last week in a statement.

While Trump's been mostly off the campaign trail, Biden has stopped since delivering the State of the Union address in early March in all six of the crucial battleground states where he narrowly edged Trump to win the White House in 2020. And last week Biden visited North Carolina, which Trump won by a razor-thin margin four years ago.

The trips are aimed at pumping up the president's anemic poll numbers and also to paint a contrast with Trump, who has been sidetracked due to numerous court appearances in New York City and Florida.

In a video posted on X last week, the president's re-election team highlighted Biden's busy schedule and contrasted it with Trump playing golf.

"I’ll tell you this: There’s a difference between the two candidates in this election," Biden wrote in the social media post after Trump bragged on his Truth Social platform about winning two golf championships at a course he owns.

But Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt predicted that the upcoming trial would give the former president a boost against his successor in the White House, and she said in a statement that "Joe Biden and the Democrats’ entire strategy to defeat President Trump is to confine him to a courtroom."

"President Trump has been attacked by the Democrats for eight years. He has stood strong through two sham impeachments, endless lies and now multiple baseless political witch hunts," Leavitt told Fox News Digital in February. "The Democrats want Donald Trump in a courtroom instead of on the campaign trail delivering his winning message to the American people, but nothing will stop him from doing that."

While he'll be sidetracked four out of five weekdays when the trial gets underway, Trump is expected to continue his practice of grabbing the cable news spotlight with his courtroom arrivals and departures.

And the former president has also used his social media postings on his Truth Social platform to make headlines and drive the campaign conversation.

"Trump can dominate the message environment anytime he wants," longtime Republican strategist Dave Carney told Fox News. "We've never seen anything like this where one guy – whatever he says – gets full coverage. It's a phenomenon. Whether it's social media or cable TV or even broadcast TV, he just dominates the news."

And Carney, a veteran of numerous presidential campaigns, forecast "there will be such coverage of his court cases that at times I would bet there will be more reporters covering his stakeout than covering the president."

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Hunter Biden seen with president at White House Easter Egg Roll as House GOP mulls criminal referrals

Posted on April 1, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Hunter Biden was spotted attending Monday's White House Easter Egg Roll alongside his father, President Biden, as House Republicans reportedly mull potential criminal referrals against them to the Department of Justice.

Hunter arrived at the White House on Sunday evening with his wife, Melissa Cohen, and their son, Beau, after spending the Easter weekend at Camp David with the president and First Lady Jill Biden. The five were photographed exiting Marine One at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C.

The family getaway came as Republicans on the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees are jointly investigating alleged Biden family corruption as part of an impeachment inquiry into the president, and are reportedly floating possible criminal referrals in lieu of an impeachment vote.

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Reports that Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., was considering criminal referrals followed the two committees' joint hearing last week that included testimony from multiple former business associates of Hunter who testified to the extent of Biden's involvement in his son's business dealings, which the White House has denied.

Although Comer hasn't specified who these criminal referrals would target, they could provide a way for Republicans to please those anxious for the Biden family to face some sort of consequences from the alleged influence-peddling scheme as the party looks unlikely to have the votes to successfully impeach the president.

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Hunter's appearance at the White House capped a multi-day schedule that included his attendance at his dad's swanky, but controversial, New York City fundraiser held last Thursday, the same day as the wake of an NYPD officer killed in the line of duty.

Last year, the White House faced flak for omitting Hunter's visits and extended stays from its visitor logs from the beginning of the Biden administration through Feb. 2023 despite claiming it was "the most transparent administration in American history."

While many of the events attended by Hunter were ceremonial and a tradition at the White House, Fox News Digital previously reported how Hunter sought to use such events for his personal financial gain during the Obama administration.

Biden rolls out new endorsements for controversial judicial nominee as Dem support dwindles

Posted on March 29, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

The White House is moving forward with its campaign to confirm judicial nominee Adeel Mangi and pushing back on claims that he is antisemitic or against law enforcement, despite several Democratic senators expressing concern over the nominee's organizational ties and casting doubt on his chances of garnering enough votes.

According to a White House official, Biden's team is keeping the pressure on senators to confirm Mangi, who is nominated to serve on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, dismissing attacks on him as false. The official said those focused on lobbying senators to support the nominee are White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, White House Director of Legislative Affairs Shuwanza Goff, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs Ali Nouri, White House Counsel Ed Siskel, and White House senior counsel in charge of nominations Phil Brest.

Zients said in a statement to Fox News Digital, "Some Senate Republicans and their extreme allies are relentlessly smearing Adeel Mangi with baseless accusations that he is anti-police."

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"That could not be further from the truth and the close to a dozen law enforcement organizations that have endorsed him agree," he said, pointing to several new endorsements of Mangi by three former attorneys general in New Jersey, two former U.S. attorneys who served in the state, the International Law Enforcement Officers Association, the Italian American Police Society of New Jersey and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.

"The Senate must confirm Mr. Mangi without further delay," Zients said.

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Chances of Mangi being confirmed have appeared grim in recent weeks as allegations of antisemitism have been spotlighted due to his previous role on the board of advisers for the Rutgers University Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR). The center has sponsored events, including one on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, with controversial speakers like Hatem Bazian, who in 2004 called for an "Intifada," according to video from an anti-war protest in San Francisco, and Sami Al-Arian, who in 2006 pleaded guilty to "conspiring to provide services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad," according to the Justice Department.

The CSRR has also hosted an event with Noura Erakat, who had previously been advertised as a panelist for a separate event alongside Hamas commander Ghazi Hamad.

Mangi has also been accused of being against law enforcement because of his role as a current advisory board member for the Alliance of Families for Justice (AFJ). The alliance's founding board member, Kathy Boudin, pleaded guilty to the felony murder of two police officers in 1981 after they died during the robbery of an armored truck. The robbery was carried out by Boudin's group, the Weather Underground Organization, which was recognized as a domestic terrorist organization by the FBI.

Neither the CSRR nor AFJ provided comments to Fox News Digital.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital in a statement, "It is unsurprising that Mangi’s record has split Senate Democrats, and the White House should recognize their error, withdraw Mangi’s nomination, and instead nominate a candidate who can garner widespread bipartisan support."

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said Mangi's "well-known ties to this extreme organization that supports terrorists and cop killers makes him wholly unqualified to serve as an appellate judge."

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Biden's White House has previously hit back at criticism of Mangi, calling it a "malicious and debunked smear campaign" prompted by the nominee's potential to become the first Muslim appellate judge.

While Judiciary Republicans had already sounded alarm bells over Biden's pick last year after probing Mangi about his connections to the groups, Democratic senators appeared likely to fall in line behind the president's choice.

However, after a recent report indicated Biden was being privately warned that Mangi may not have enough votes for confirmation, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., revealed she was one of the lawmakers to reach out to the White House with concerns.

The senator previously confirmed her stance against the nominee to Fox News Digital, citing his connection to AFJ.

Several other Democratic senators recently refused to say whether they would support Mangi.

The office of Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., confirmed to Fox News Digital that he is also committed to voting against Biden's pick.

Cortez Masto and Manchin were recently joined by Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., who said in a statement, "Given the concerns I’ve heard from law enforcement in Nevada, I am not planning to vote to confirm this nominee."

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, the law firm at which Mangi is a partner, did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.

The loss of any Democratic support is a concern for Mangi's confirmation prospects, given the Senate's close 51-49 split in favor of the Democratic caucus.

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Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called on Biden last week to withdraw the nomination, and now Republicans are reinforcing their campaign against Mangi's confirmation.

"The White House can’t defend Adeel Mangi’s record. So, they’re launching personal attacks against anyone who notices the ties to cop-killers and antisemites that Mr. Mangi has forged of his own free will," Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said in a statement.

He added, "It’s not Islamophobic for senators to recognize" a nominee's failure to meet qualifications.

"Now even his own Democrat party is rebelling against [Biden]," Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., remarked in a statement, attributing it to the president's "push for radical, anti-Israel nominees."

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary GOP revealed three additional law enforcement groups were opposing Biden's choice, bringing the total to 17. The Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police, Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 and Pennsylvania State Troopers Association penned a joint letter to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Ranking Member Graham; and Pennsylvania Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman, who are both Democrats.

The court that Mangi has been nominated to serve on is located in Philadelphia.

The Pennsylvania-based groups noted their letter is on behalf of over 40,000 members requesting that the Senate "reject the nomination" of Mangi, citing his AFJ affiliation.