Author: Daniel

Democrat senators kept largely silent when asked by Fox News Digital whether Virginia Democratic candidate Jay Jones should drop out of his race for attorney general over resurfaced text messages fantasizing about violence.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., told Fox News Digital he thought the texts were “horrifying.” Pressed further on whether Jones should drop out of the race, however, Wyden said, “I’m going to leave it at that, thank you.”

Another Democrat, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told Fox News Digital, “I’m really not familiar with the situation in Virginia.”

Asked whether Jones “should resign after those violent texts,” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., just smiled and walked away.

YOUNGKIN SAYS DEMOCRAT AG CANDIDATE JAY JONES MUST ‘STEP AWAY IN DISGRACE’ OVER TEXTS ABOUT FORMER GOP LEADER

Meanwhile, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., also ignored reporters’ questions about whether Jones’ messages are acceptable or whether he would demand his campaign donation be returned.

Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., also refused to answer Fox News Digital’s questions on Jones, just saying he was not familiar with the case.

In texts obtained by Fox News Digital, Jones, a former Democratic member of the Virginia House of Delegates, once remarked on shooting then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert in texts with another lawmaker.

“Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, Hitler and Pol Pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head,” Jones wrote.

In a subsequent text, Jones also wrote, “Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time.”

DEMOCRATS STAND BY VIRGINIA AG HOPEFUL WHO FANTASIZED ABOUT KILLING GOP LAWMAKER

In another private text exchange, Jones said he hoped Gilbert’s children would die. When challenged, Jones doubled down, saying that such grief might be “a good thing” if it advanced his politics.

Jones has since apologized, calling the remarks “embarrassing and shameful,” and said he had reached out personally to Gilbert and his family.

Speaking with Fox News Digital, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called the Democratic senators’ silence “staggering, particularly with the spate of political violence we have seen.”

“There are far too many on the left that celebrate political violence,” said Cruz, adding, “When Charlie Kirk was assassinated, we saw leftists, college professors, leftist schoolteachers, politicians, journalists celebrating that heinous murder.”

JAY JONES SAID IF MORE POLICE WERE KILLED IT WOULD REDUCE SHOOTINGS OF CIVILIANS, ACCORDING TO VIRGINIA LAWMAKER

“In this instance, you have a Democrat who is running for attorney general in Virginia, who said in text communications that he wanted to see one of his colleagues, a Republican, murdered, and he wanted his two little boys murdered. That is grotesquely unacceptable, and every Democrat in Washington is turning a blind eye,” Cruz went on.

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“In my view, the notion that someone advocating for the murder of children because he disagrees politically with their father is manifestly unsuitable for public office, especially the chief law enforcement officer of Virginia, and I wish there were even one Democrat with the courage to say that publicly,” said Cruz.

Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: In a new ad released Tuesday, Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears lambasted gubernatorial opponent Abigail Spanberger as the Democrat declined to explicitly call for her party’s attorney general nominee to bow out of his race as his controversial texts scandal unravels.

The ad, entitled “Two Bullets,” begins with Earle-Sears appearing on-screen approving the message before a narrator begins describing the scandal enveloping the Democratic attorney general candidate, former Norfolk, Virginia, state delegate Jerrauld “Jay” Jones.

“Jay Jones says he wants to put two bullets in a political opponent.”

The ad then intersperses a widely circulated clip of Spanberger, a former Virginia congresswoman, saying, “Let your rage fuel you.”

The narrator then returns, citing headlines that “Jones says he hopes an opponent’s children die,” before again interspersing Spanberger’s “rage” comment.

“Abigail Spanberger continues to support Jones,” the narrator then says.

SPANBERGER DEFENDS ABORTION AD CRITICIZING SEARS AFTER BERNIE WARNS AGAINST HIGHLIGHTING ISSUE

A clip of Spanberger speaking at a rally then plays, in which she says voters deserve “an attorney general who will stand up for the people of Virginia.”

“Abigail Spanberger: She stands with him, not us.”

Spanberger’s campaign repeatedly has rebuffed claims the candidate has called for political violence, and Spanberger has said the phrase came from her mother — liberal activist Eileen Davis — who urged her and others to write letters and make phone calls based on their political sentiments.

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“Abigail has and will continue to condemn comments that attempt to make light of or justify violence of any kind — full stop,” a Spanberger spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

“Abigail has a long record of working across party lines and ideologies to get things done, and she will continue to bring people together as Virginia’s next governor.”

Spanberger also released her own ad targeting Earle-Sears Tuesday, criticizing her and Republicans for supporting President Donald Trump’s tax cuts and opposing abortion.

TRUMP VOICES SUPPORT FOR GOP GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE, ADMITS SHE HAS ‘TOUGH RACE’

President Donald Trump is poised to meet with Edan Alexander, who was freed in May from captivity with Hamas, on Tuesday — exactly two years after Hamas attacked Israel. 

This marks the second time Alexander, 21-year-old American-Israeli soldier who spent nearly 600 days as a hostage after Hamas abducted him after its initial attack on Israel, will visit the White House since his release from captivity. Alexander previously visited the White House in July. 

Alexander was raised in Tenafly, New Jersey, and headed to Israel when he was 18-years-old to volunteer for the Israel Defense Forces, and lived with his grandparents in Tel Aviv before he was taken hostage by Hamas. 

ISRAEL, HAMAS MEET IN EGYPT TO REVIVE TRUMP PEACE PLAN AHEAD OF OCT. 7 ANNIVERSARY

Alexander’s appearance at the White House also comes as the Trump administration has put forth a 20-point plan to end the conflict and return the 48 hostages still in captivity. The plan would require all hostages, both dead and alive, to be returned within 72 hours of Hamas signing off on the deal. It also calls for Israeli forces to withdraw its troops, and for a complete disarmament of Hamas. 

Trump’s Justice Department has cracked down on Palestinian militant group Hamas, and established a new task force in March aimed at providing justice to the victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the group, known as Joint Task Force October 7, would focus on identifying, charging and prosecuting those who conducted the 2023 attacks, which took the lives of roughly 1,200 people — including 47 U.S. citizens. Hamas also took more than 250 people hostage that day, including eight U.S. citizens.

The IDF is the national military for Israel. Hamas has served as the governing body of Gaza.

ISRAEL’S ARMY WILL ‘ADVANCE READINESS’ FOR FIRST PHASE OF TRUMP PLAN TO RELEASE HOSTAGES

Meanwhile, lawmakers on Capitol Hill have warned that antisemitic attacks are becoming more common in the U.S., in the aftermath of the ongoing conflict. Antisemitic violence reached a new high in 2024, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which recorded 9,354 antisemitic instances of harassment, assault and vandalism in the U.S. in 2024. That is a 5% increase from the 8,873 incidents recorded in 2023 and a 344% increase in the past five years.

“The October 7 Hamas-led terrorist attack was not only a horrific assault on innocent civilians in Israel, including numerous American citizens, but it was also a wake-up call to the threats we face here at home,” Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement Tuesday to Fox News Digital.

TRUMP ON WHAT IT WILL TAKE TO BRING ISRAELI HOSTAGES HOME: HAMAS MUST BE ‘CONFRONTED AND DESTROYED’

“In the two years following this tragedy, acts of terrorism and targeted antisemitic violence are increasingly common on U.S. soil, as both foreign and domestic terrorists work to inspire lone-wolf actors,” Garbarino said. “Jewish Americans continue to face intimidation and attacks simply because of their faith. This is unacceptable, and anyone who defends these calls for violence is complicit.” 

Trump also met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney Tuesday amid ongoing trade negotiations between the two countries.

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report. 

New Jersey is in the midst of a “Lord of the Rings” moment as Republicans work to rally voters to flip the deep blue state red in a tight gubernatorial election that’s coming down to its final days, Republican activist Scott Presler told Fox News Digital in an exclusive Zoom interview. 

“To anyone who thinks that New Jersey is not winnable this November, I want to remind you that in 2021, that election was decided by 84,000 votes,” Presler told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview Monday afternoon. “Six hundred thousand Republicans did not vote in that election. That election was winnable. Did you know that there are 250,000 gun owners in New Jersey that are not registered to vote? If simply every Second Amendment supporter got registered and voted, we would flip New Jersey from blue to red.”

Presler is on a “flip it red” mission in the Garden State, registering voters and promoting GOP candidate Jack Ciaterelli’s campaign against Democrat candidate, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, in an off-year election that could add to the Democratic Party’s mounting woes following 2024’s ballot box losses or preserve the party’s legacy in the longtime blue state. 

Presler is the founder of Early Vote Action, a PAC he operates that focuses on voter registration and rallied support for President Donald Trump‘s campaign and the GOP in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania during the 2024 election. The Republican activist spent months criss-crossing the Keystone State to rally support for the Trump-Vance ticket before the battleground ultimately threw its support behind the GOP on Election Day. 

BLUE STATE GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEES TRADE BARBS OVER CRUCIAL ISSUE WEEKS AHEAD OF ELECTION DAY

Presler has since crossed the Delaware River into New Jersey, where he’s targeting the longtime blue state with conservative activism. 

“We just won a landslide victory for Donald Trump, winning all seven swing states and winning the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with our work at Early Vote Action. In December of 2024, I announced that we were going to focus next on helping to flip the New Jersey governorship from blue to red. So we have currently, 14 full-time staff on the ground across New Jersey’s 21 counties. We have been working tirelessly all throughout 2025, helping to register voters. And our message is: leave no county untouched,” he said, explaining he and staff are not only focused on deep blue counties ahead of the election, but also on reinvigorating voters in rural and right-leaning counties. 

New Jersey is in the midst of a “Lord of the Rings” or “Star Wars” moment, Presler said, saying voters have the chance to “save their state” and pointed to data showing how Republican support has increased in the state. 

“This is their opportunity to save the state. This election in 2025 is gonna be seen as a referendum. The final opportunity, this is your ‘Lord of the Rings,’ This is your ‘Star Wars’ moment when people have the chance to save their state,” he said. 

CIATTARELLI UNLOADS ON MIKIE SHERRILL IN NJ TOWN HALL, CITING IMMIGRATION AND NAVAL ACADEMY: ‘NOT A CENTRIST’

New Jersey voted to elect former Vice President Kamala Harris as president nearly a year ago. Trump, however, made big inroads with Garden State voters, flipping five counties red, and improved on his 16-point loss in the state during the 2020 election to a six-point loss in 2024. 

“Every month besides June, when that party switching was happening, Republicans have gained in an off-year election when the Democrats are spending more money than us and in a blue state. That shows me that I think the tide is changing, and I think that we have wind at our backs,” he said. 

Presler rattled off that New Jersey voters have become increasingly incensed by the state’s notoriously high property taxes, its spiraling energy rates and even its ongoing ban on plastic bags at checkout lines that have spurred some residents to abandon Democrats in favor for the GOP ticket. 

“Republicans, we must be that common-sense home, that common-sense party, that we are going to bring down property taxes, which is hurting New Jersey families — and that’s the number one issue that I hear about,” he said. “That we wanna bring down electricity prices, the number two issue that hear about from voters. And voters also want the third common-sense issue, which is law and order. They want us to deport and arrest criminal illegal aliens that are committing crimes against New Jersey voters. And from being on the ground this last year in 2025, I think you’re gonna see a huge amount of independent and Democrat voters vote for Jack because of those three common sense policies.”

The activist pointed to one former Democrat voter and teacher he chatted with at a fair in Sussex County, New Jersey — a rural area of the state that borders both New York and Pennsylvania — who remarked Democrats had become so “extreme” in their views that he left the party and is considering casting a red vote. 

REPUBLICAN AIMING TO FLIP BLUE STATE RIPS DEM RIVAL FOR BLAMING ‘EVERYTHING ON TRUMP’

“They have become so extreme, so radical in their beliefs, even when it comes to things like allowing children to change their gender at such a young age. He says that he wants nothing to do with that party anymore,” Presler said of what the voter relayed to him. “And after a conversation I had with him, he’s even willing to give Jack Ciattarelli a closer look. And so that just shows me that Democrats are fleeing their former party. And they’re looking for a new home.”

Gen Z, the youngest American generation that is able to vote, played a pivotal role in delivering Trump a victory in 2024, with Presler saying male Gen Zers, specifically, are moving more to the right in New Jersey’s gubernatorial election. 

The GOP activist pointed to another resident he chatted with during the Monmouth County Fair over the summer, an 18-year-old who was not yet registered to vote. 

“When I am talking to a voter, I really want to get into the mind and the head of the voter. And I was just asking him some questions. ‘Hey, would you like to own a home one day?’ And he was saying, ‘yeah I want to but gosh the property’ – he said this, not me – ‘the property taxes are so high here,’” Presler recounted. 

“As I’m just talking to him I’m really discerning most of his beliefs, I think all of them, really are congruent with the Republican Party. And so I’m courting him and I’m asking for his vote for JJack Ciattarelli, and I am asking him to register to vote. And it’s young men like that man that I think you’re going to see who carried Donald Trump to victory in 2024, a lot of those some voters are gonna come out this year,” he added. 

NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR’S RACE: DEMOCRAT SHERRILL LEADS REPUBLICAN CIATTERELLI BY SIX POINTS IN 2026 BELLWETHER

Sherrill is in the midst of facing a campaign scandal after a report in September revealed that the United States Naval Academy blocked Sherrill from taking part in her graduation amid the cheating scandal. The Democrat House lawmaker slammed the release of the report and said she was banned from walking at her graduation because she declined to report classmates who were involved in the scandal. 

“Mikie ‘Cheating Scandal’ Sherrill,” Presler called Sherrill. “She voted against (the Laken Riley Act). She has no plan to bring down property taxes. She has no plan to bring down electricity crisis prices. And she doesn’t know where she made her money, $7 million worth in stock trades. … In fact, I would argue that those are the reasons why Democrat turnout is gonna be depressed. Their candidate is uninspiring versus Jack Ciattarelli.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Sherrill’s campaign Tuesday morning regarding Presler’s remarks but did not immediately receive a response. 

On the flip side, Presler said, Trump-endorsed Ciattarelli is offering voters policies that would bring taxes and electricity prices down, ending New Jersey’s ban on plastic bags, opposing offshore wind to protect marine life, among other policies. 

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“They want to make life affordable for New Jersey voters so they don’t have to move to Pennsylvania. … They don’t to move Florida. They want to stay in new Jersey. And so really Jack Ciattarelli is offering policies that the residents are responding to,” he said. 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker of serving the American public a “smorgasbord of lies” as it released a list that it says “debunks” his claims about federal law enforcement operations in Chicago. 

The federal pushback comes as the Democratic governor and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson filed a lawsuit Monday to block the Trump administration from deploying hundreds of National Guard troops from Illinois and Texas in Chicago and surrounding cities.  

“Our message to JB Pritzker: Get out of your mansion and see Chicago,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “If JB Pritzker actually walked the streets of his own city, he would see domestic terrorists and violent rioters attacking police officers and the scourge of violent crime as a direct result of his own policies.” 

The DHS added that it “is setting the record straight about Pritzker’s lies and defending the brave men and women of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from his smears and slander.” 

PRITZKER SUES TRUMP TO BLOCK NATIONAL GUARD ACTION IN ILLINOIS 

During a press conference Monday, Pritzker said there has been an “unconstitutional invasion of Illinois by the federal government,” and, “For weeks now, Donald Trump, Kristi Noem, and [Commander at Large of the U.S. Border Patrol] Gregory Bovino have brought their militarized CBP and ICE agents to the streets of Chicago to cause violence and chaos in this city.” 

However, the DHS said the “reality” is that, “this is neither unconstitutional nor an invasion.” 

“President Trump has the authority under the Constitution to deploy troops, wherever they’re stationed, to defend federal facilities from attacks,” it added in response to Pritzker’s first claim on the list. “Whether it’s the ICE facility in Broadview or the courthouse in Portland, we will defend federal property wherever they are under siege.” 

In an appearance on CNN on Monday, Pritzker said, “People are getting detained, they’re getting arrested: U.S. citizens. They did this when they raided a building in the middle of the night in South Shore [Chicago]. One hundred thirty people, they were emptied out of this building. They were going after a few gang members, and instead, they broke windows, they broke down doors, they ransacked the place… They are the ones that are making it a war zone.” 

PRITZKER SAYS TRUMP ORDERING 400 MEMBERS OF THE TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD TO ILLINOIS, OREGON AND OTHER LOCATIONS 

“Law enforcement conducted a targeted operation at an apartment building in the South Shore community of Chicago,” DHS said in response. “This operation, conducted by the CBP, the FBI, and the ATF, resulted in the arrest of 37 illegal aliens, from such countries as Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, and Nigeria. Among them were Tren de Aragua gang members and violent criminals.”

“DHS has routinely debunked the absurd claim that DHS is targeting U.S. citizens during ICE operations. ICE does not arrest or deport U.S. citizens. Any U.S. citizens arrested are because of obstructing or assaulting law enforcement,” it also said. 

Pritzker’s office did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

The Illinois governor said on Monday, “On September 12, ICE shot and killed a man in Franklin Park, a nearby suburb of Chicago. His name was Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez. Reports say that he had just dropped his kids off at a daycare and was headed to work.”

“Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez was an illegal alien who, when law enforcement ordered him to stop his car, instead drove his car at the officers. One of the ICE officers was hit by the car and dragged a significant distance. Fearing for his own life and broader public safety, the officer fired his weapon,” according to DHS. “Despite his injuries, the officer and his partner immediately started administering emergency medical care to the illegal alien, who was pronounced dead. Villegas-Gonzalez, who was the target of the operation, was a criminal illegal alien with a history of reckless driving.”

Then Pritzker added, “In the small suburban village of Broadview, with a population of 8,000, federal agents have turned two blocks of protest areas into a warzone by firing tear gas and chemical agents at peaceful protesters.”

“Rioters against DHS and other law enforcement in Illinois have been anything but peaceful. Over the weekend, Border Patrol law enforcement officers were ambushed by domestic terrorists that rammed federal agents with their vehicles,” Homeland Security said. “One woman, Marimar Martinez, driving one of the vehicles, was armed with a semi-automatic weapon and has a history of doxxing federal agents. She took defensive fire from CBP agents, has been discharged from the hospital, and is currently in the custody of the FBI. The driver of another vehicle, Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, involved in the ramming, has been apprehended by law enforcement.”

Pritzker also said Monday that, “Peaceful protesters have been hit with tear gas and shot with rubber bullets. Journalists simply reporting the facts on the ground have been targeted and arrested. Us citizens, including children, have been traumatized and detained. This escalation of violence is targeted and intentional and premeditated. The Trump Administration is following a playbook, cause chaos, create fear and confusion.” 

“The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly — not rioting. DHS is taking reasonable and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers,” DHS said in response. “ICE officers are facing a nearly 1000% increase in assaults against them as they put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, and gang members. We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks — though our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”

CHICAGO’S POLICE CHIEF PUTS CRIMINALS ON NOTICE AFTER FEDERAL AGENTS TARGETED IN WEEKEND CONFRONTATIONS

During his CNN interview with host Jake Tapper, Pritzker also said, “They’re raiding neighborhoods, where, instead of going after the bad guys, they’re just picking up people who are brown and [B]lack and then checking their credentials.”

“Since Operation Midway Blitz began in Illinois last month, ICE and CBP officers have arrested more than 1,000 illegal aliens — including the worst of the worst pedophiles, child abusers, kidnappers, gang members, and armed robbers,” DHS said. “We have also arrested multiple members of the gang Tren de Aragua, and illegal aliens with criminal histories that include drug trafficking, child rape, and murder, among other violent convictions. Allegations that DHS law enforcement officers engage in ‘racial profiling’ are disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE. What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S. — NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity.”

And lastly, Pritzker said, “There were people who were held, elderly people, and children zip-tied, elderly people held for three hours at a time,” during the South Shore operation.

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“The claim that a toddler was zip-tied originated from a screenshot that went viral, with the original poster claiming it showed an ICE officer zip-tying a child. This has been debunked: The screenshot in question was from a parody video on TikTok for entertainment, where the officer in the video was the father of the toddler seen in the image,” according to DHS.

Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.  

U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, who President Donald Trump nominated during his first term, is blocking the commander in chief from deploying National Guard troops in Oregon.

The Senate confirmed her via voice vote in 2019.

Immergut was involved in a probe pertaining to the salacious scandal that indelibly marked President Bill Clinton’s White House tenure.

“I was hired by Ken Starr almost five months after Attorney General Reno sought to expand the OIC’s authority to investigate whether Monica Lewinsky or others suborned perjury, obstructed justice, or intimidated witnesses in connection with the civil sexual harassment case in Jones v. Clinton,” Immergut wrote in response to a question from then-Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., in 2018. 

“I was hired to work as a line prosecutor to determine whether there were facts to support or refute those allegations,” she noted.

She said that she questioned Lewinsky.

WHITE HOUSE REBUKES ‘EGREGIOUS’ COURT ORDER BLOCKING TROOP DEPLOYMENTS AMID PORTLAND UNREST

“When Ms. Lewinsky agreed to cooperate with the Office of Independent Counsel, I was asked to be one of the team of prosecutors debriefing her. As I was involved in the debriefings, I was asked to participate in questioning Ms. Lewinsky before the grand jury and take her deposition,” she noted in response to another question.

Responding to questions from Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Immergut expressed the view that it is not appropriate for lower courts to buck Supreme Court precedent.

Asked whether Roe v. Wade was “settled law,” she replied, “Yes” — the nation’s high court overturned the controversial abortion ruling in 2022. 

Asked whether the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry is “settled law,” she again replied in the affirmative. 

Sen. Feinstein passed away in 2023.

OBAMA-NOMINATED FEDERAL JUDGE MARRIED TO HOUSE DEM RECUSES HIMSELF FROM OREGON NATIONAL GUARD CASE

Trump issued a Truth Social post last month in which he declared that he was “directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists.” 

A document featuring Hegseth’s signature noted that “200 members of the Oregon National Guard will be called into Federal service effective immediately for a period of 60 days.”

But this month, Immergut temporarily blocked the move amid a legal challenge lodged by the State of Oregon and the City of Portland.

“The President’s determination was simply untethered to the facts,” the judge’s opinion and order asserted, declaring that “this Court GRANTS Plaintiffs’ Motion for Temporary Restraining Order … and temporarily enjoins Defendants’ September 28, 2025, Memorandum ordering the federalization and deployment of Oregon National Guard service members to Portland.”

Then she issued a second temporary restraining order that more broadly blocked the administration from deploying any federalized National Guard in the state. 

“Defendants are temporarily enjoined from deploying federalized members of the National Guard in Oregon,” the document declared. 

TRUMP’S ‘WAR-RAVAGED PORTLAND’ NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT HALTED BY FEDERAL JUDGE OVER AUTHORITY CONCERNS

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White House deputy chief of staff for policy and Homeland Security advisor Stephen Miller declared in a post on X that “A district court judge has no conceivable authority, whatsoever, to restrict the President and Commander-in-Chief from dispatching members of the US military to defend federal lives and property.”

The House Oversight Committee has dropped its subpoena for former FBI Director James Comey, after he said he had no knowledge relevant to the panel’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, The Hill reported, citing a letter Comey sent to the committee.

In the Oct. 1 letter sent to Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky, Comey said he had no “knowledge” or “information relevant to the Committee’s investigation” into the late pedophile.

Comey was slated to sit for a deposition on Tuesday before the committee that is examining Epstein’s contacts and potential government ties dating back to the 1990s. 

SUPREME COURT DECLINES TO TAKE UP GHISLAINE MAXWELL’S SEX TRAFFICKING APPEAL

“I offer this letter in lieu of a deposition that would unproductively consume the Committee’s scarce time and resources,” Comey wrote.

Comey served as deputy attorney general from 2003 to 2005 and later as FBI director from 2013 to 2017 — two periods now under scrutiny by House Republicans seeking answers about Epstein’s federal connections.

“At no time during my service at the Department of Justice or the FBI do I recall any information or conversations that related to Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell,” Comey wrote.

Because the letter was submitted under penalty of law — making any false statements a potential federal crime — Comer accepted Comey’s response and withdrew the subpoena.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Oversight Committee for a copy of Comey’s letter and confirmation of the subpoena’s withdrawal.

The late pedophile Epstein committed suicide in 2019 while awaiting prosecution on federal sex trafficking charges, though questions continue to swirl about the circumstances surrounding his death.

Comer issued a wave of subpoenas in August tied to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation — including to Comey and former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

EPSTEIN DOCUMENTS RELEASED BY HOUSE DEMOCRATS NAME ELON MUSK, STEVE BANNON AND PETER THIEL

Comer also subpoenaed the Justice Department for records related to Epstein’s case.

Others ordered to appear include former FBI Director Robert Mueller and former Attorneys General Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, William Barr, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales.

Holder and Attorney General Merrick Garland sent letters similar to Comey’s, denying any knowledge of Epstein and prompting Comer to withdraw those subpoenas as well, per The Hill.

It’s unclear if sessions for the Clintons will proceed.

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The committee’s work comes amid growing partisan tension over how to handle the Epstein investigation, and the GOP base has fractured over the current administration’s handling of the case.

Top Republicans, including President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., support continuing the Oversight inquiry as the fastest route to uncover new information. Comer has already released thousands of pages of subpoenaed documents from the Justice Department and Epstein’s estate.

Critics, however, accuse the GOP of shielding certain figures by selectively releasing records. Several lawmakers are instead pushing legislation to declassify all government files related to Epstein and Maxwell — a move endorsed by multiple Epstein victims.

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.  

Then-Vice President Joe Biden in 2015 told the CIA he would “strongly prefer” an intelligence report documenting Ukrainian officials’ concerns with his family’s ties to “corrupt” business deals in the country “not be disseminated” — and so it wasn’t, according to a newly-declassified email and records made public by the agency. 

CIA Director John Ratcliffe declassified the heavily redacted records, which he said he believes is an example of “politicization of intelligence.”

Fox News Digital obtained the declassified documents, which were discovered during a CIA review of historical agency records.

A senior CIA official briefed Fox News Digital on the declassified documents and intelligence report, stating that the intelligence was discovered along with an email showing that Biden “expressed a preference to not share the report.”

Representatives for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

FLASHBACK: BIDEN COMMITTED ‘IMPEACHABLE CONDUCT,’ ‘DEFRAUDED UNITED STATES TO ENRICH HIS FAMILY’: HOUSE GOP REPORT

CIA officials discovered and declassified an email dated February 10, 2016, with the subject line stating: “RE: OVP query regarding draft [REDACTED].” The email was sent to the CIA.

The classification of the email was listed, and crossed out, as “SECRET.”

“Good morning, I just spoke with VP/ NSA and he would strongly prefer the report not/not be disseminated. Thanks for understanding,” the email states, signed by a redacted name, but with the title of “PDB Briefer.” The “PDB” is the presidential daily brief.

The report in question included intelligence revealing that Ukrainian officials viewed the Biden family’s alleged ties to corrupt business practices in Ukraine “as evidence of a double-standard within the United States Government towards matters of corruption and political power.”

“Intelligence officials agreed that, at the time of collection, it would have met the threshold [for dissemination], but based on the Office of the Vice President’s preference, the information was never shared outside of the CIA,” the official said.

The CIA, during its review, confirmed that Biden’s request was granted and that the intelligence report “had not been disseminated.”

The senior CIA official told Fox News Digital that it was “extremely rare and unusual” and “inappropriate to go outside of the intelligence community and inquire with the White House on the dissemination of a particular report for what appears to be political reasons.”

The newly declassified intelligence report, which Biden sought to keep private, had a subject line of: “NON-DISSEMINATED INTEL INFORMATION: Reactions of [REDACTED] Ukrainian Government Officials to the Early December Visit of Senior United States Government Official.”

The document states the date of the information came in December 2015. The document was created in 2016.

At the time, Biden was vice president and was running U.S.-Ukraine relations and policy for the Obama administration.

The intelligence document stated that “officials within the administration of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko expressed bewilderment and disappointment at the 7-8 December 2015 visit of the Vice President of the United States to Kiev, Ukraine.”

“These officials highlighted that, prior to the visit, the Poroshenko administration and other [REDACTED] Ukrainian officials expected the U.S. Vice President to discuss personnel matters with Poroshenko during the visit, and had assumed that the U.S. Vice President would advocate in support of or against specific officials within the Ukrainian Government,” the intelligence states.

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“After the visit, these officials assessed that the U.S. Vice President had come to Kiev almost exclusively to give a generic public speech, and had not had any intention of discussing substantive matters with Poroshenko or other officials within the Ukrainian government,” the intelligence states.

“Following the visit of the U.S. Vice President, [REDACTED] officials within the Poroshenko administration privately mused at the U.S. media scrutiny of the alleged ties of the U.S. Vice President’s family to corrupt business practices in Ukraine,” the intelligence states. “These officials viewed the alleged ties of the U.S. Vice President’s family to corruption in Ukraine as evidence of a double-standard within the United States Government towards matters of corruption and political power.”

Biden, on Dec. 9, 2015, gave a speech in Ukraine, in which he discussed corruption in the country.

“And it’s not enough to set up a new anti-corruption bureau and establish a special prosecutor fighting corruption,” Biden said in the speech. “The Office of the General Prosecutor desperately needs reform.”

In that speech, Biden also said Ukraine’s “energy sector needs to be competitive, ruled by market principles — not sweetheart deals.”

“It’s not enough to push through laws to increase transparency with regard to official sources of income,” he said. “Senior elected officials have to remove all conflicts between their business interest and their government responsibilities.  Every other democracy in the world — that system pertains.”

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At the time, Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin was investigating Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings. Several months later, in March 2016, Biden successfully pressured Ukraine to remove Shokin. At the time Shokin was investigating Burisma Holdings, Hunter Biden had a highly lucrative role on the board, receiving tens of thousands of dollars per month.

Biden, at the time, threatened to withhold $1 billion of critical U.S. aid if Shokin was not fired.

“I said, ‘You’re not getting the billion.’ … I looked at them and said, ‘I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money,’” Biden recalled telling then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. 

Biden recollected the conversation during an event for the Council on Foreign Relations in 2018.

But during his first term, President Donald Trump was impeached after a July 2019 phone call in which he pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to launch investigations into the Biden family’s actions and business dealings in Ukraine, specifically Hunter Biden’s ventures with Burisma and Joe Biden’s successful effort to have former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin ousted.

At the same time as that call, Hunter Biden was under federal investigation, prompted by his suspicious foreign transactions. 

Trump was acquitted in Feb. 2020 on both articles of impeachment against him — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — after being impeached by the House of Representatives in December 2019. 

Meanwhile, the declassified intelligence report had a “warning,” noting that “due to the extreme sensitivity, this report should be distributed only to the renamed recipients. No further distribution is authorized without prior approval of the originating agency. Violation of established handling procedures are subject to penalty, including termination of access to this reporting channel.”

It added that “any discussion of or reference to information in this report [REDACTED] is strictly prohibited. Any references to this report in derived or finished intelligence should include this warning.”

A senior CIA official told Fox News Digital that Ratcliffe believes the suppression of this intelligence is an example of “politicization of intelligence.”

“Director Ratcliffe believes this is an example of politicization of intelligence that we need to work to eliminate and for what we have zero tolerance,” a senior CIA official told Fox News Digital. “We believe transparency is important. We will release information and avoid any future weaponization of the intelligence community.”

As for the heavily redacted nature of the intelligence report, the senior CIA official told Fox News Digital that the agency was “careful about protecting CIA sources and methods with redactions.”

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The official stressed that Ratcliffe believes in “maximum transparency” and said he will continue to declassify CIA information and intelligence “when it serves the public’s interest.”

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives launched an impeachment inquiry against Biden during his presidency, and found, after years of investigating, that he engaged in “impeachable conduct,” “abused his office,” and “defrauded the United States to enrich his family.” 

President Donald Trump’s immense political clout in Republican nomination races faces a test Tuesday in a crowded and competitive GOP special election primary for a vacant congressional seat in Tennessee.

The primary election comes after Trump late last week endorsed one of the 11 Republican candidates vying to fill the seat in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, which was vacated by GOP Rep. Mark Green, who resigned from office in June to take a private sector job.

Trump endorsed Matt Van Epps, a former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services, in a field that also includes state Reps. Jody Barrett, Gino Bulso and Lee Reeves.

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The president’s endorsement, even though it came after the finish of early voting in the contest, will likely be the major shaping event of the primary showdown.

The race among the major GOP contenders turned into a test of loyalty to Trump, and with the president’s endorsement, Reeves suspended his campaign and backed Van Epps.

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“Matt knows the WISDOM and COURAGE required to Defend our Country, Support our Incredible Military/Veterans, and Ensure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH,” Trump said in a statement.

Van Epps, who was also endorsed by Green and Republican Gov. Bill Lee, called Trump’s support “an incredible honor.”

And on the eve of the primary, the president joined Van Epps for a tele-rally that was co-hosted by the politically influential conservative outside group Club for Growth, which also backed Van Epps.

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Trump carried the district, which is located in central and western Tennessee and stretches from Kentucky to Alabama, by roughly 20 points in last year’s presidential election.

Van Epps, a lieutenant colonel in the Tennessee Army National Guard and a former Army helicopter pilot, is also backed by prominent House Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.

But Barrett, who touts that he is the “most conservative state rep. in Tennessee history,” has the backing of the political arm of the House Freedom Caucus, which spent heavily in the primary race.

Four major Democrats are running for their party’s nomination. They are state Reps. Vincent Dixie, Aftyn Behn, Bo Mitchell and businessman Darden Copeland.

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The winners of Tuesday’s primaries will face off in a Dec. 2 general election.

Amy McGrath, the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate who got walloped by incumbent GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell in 2020, losing by nearly 20%, has mounted a bid to replace the long-serving Republican lawmaker who is not seeking re-election in 2026.

“Our democracy is under siege, cowards in Washington are bowing to Donald Trump, and Kentuckians are paying the price,” she wrote in a post on X, which also featured a campaign video in which she declared, “What we’re seeing in this country from this president, not normal, dangerous, for Kentuckians, and for all Americans.”

Prior to getting trounced by McConnell in 2020, McGrath lost a 2018 House race to incumbent Republican Rep. Andy Barr.

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McConnell has held the seat since 1985.

The Bluegrass State has not elected a Democratic senator for more than three decades.

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The last time Kentucky voters picked a Democrat to represent them in the upper chamber was when incumbent Sen. Wendell Ford won re-election in 1992.

McGrath was “the first woman in the Marine Corps to fly a combat mission in an F/A-18,” according to her campaign website, which notes that during “20 years of service, Amy flew 89 combat missions.”

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She will face competition in the Democratic primary from others on the political left who are also vying for the Senate seat, including state Rep. Pamela Stevenson, the Kentucky House minority floor leader, and others.