Texas AG demands records from special counsel investigation of Trump
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Biden administration’s Justice Department (DOJ) on Friday, demanding that it provide records relating to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s corruption investigation into President-elect Trump. In a release, the Republican AG alleged that former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who led a team investigating Trump regarding a false Trump-Russia election collaboration, “destroyed records.” “Past Special Counsels, including — notoriously — Robert Mueller, destroyed records at the end of their investigations to avoid accountability,” Paxton said in a release. “It is not clear why nobody was prosecuted for doing so,” he added. “This request is part of my Office’s efforts to ensure that Americans are not cheated out of accountability or information again. This pattern of weaponizing the justice system for partisan retribution must end.” JORDAN DEMANDS SMITH RETAIN ALL RECORDS RELATED TO TRUMP PROSECUTIONS AS SPECIAL COUNSEL’S OFFICE WINDS DOWN In Paxton’s request, he argued that past special counselors “appear to have intentionally destroyed documents” during their tenure. “Our office would consider any destruction of the documents requested herein to be a crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1361, and would refer the matter for prosecution in the event destruction occurs,” the letter said. PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP ALREADY MEETING WITH TRANSITION TEAM, STRATEGIZING HOW TO FILL ADMINISTRATION According to the DOJ, 18 U.S.C. § 1361 “protects “any property” of the United States or an agency or department thereof.” The FOIA request from Paxton follows the House Judiciary Committee sharing its concern that Smith and prosecutors involved in the Trump investigations will “purge” records to skirt oversight. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., penned a letter to Smith on Friday, demanding that he produce to Congress all documents related to the probes before the end of the month. “The Committee on the Judiciary is continuing its oversight of the Department of Justice and the Office of Special Counsel. According to recent public reports, prosecutors in your office have been ‘gaming out legal options’ in the event that President Donald Trump won the election,” they wrote. “With President Trump’s decisive victory this week, we are concerned that the Office of Special Counsel may attempt to purge relevant records, communications, and documents responsive to our numerous requests for information.” Following Trump’s decisive victory, the DOJ is looking to wind down two federal criminal cases against Trump as he prepares to be sworn in for a second term in the White House. Its decision to do so upholds a long-standing policy that prevents DOJ attorneys from prosecuting a sitting president. Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Fox News Politics: Democrat governor vows Mass. resistance to Trump
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump transition, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… -Where do Trump’s legal cases stand after massive election win? -Shutdown standoff looms in Congress’ final weeks before Trump’s return to White House – Special Counsel Jack Smith moves to drop Trump election interference case – What does President-elect Trump’s win mean for US regarding the Israel-Hamas war? Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey says that her state police will “absolutely not” be cooperating with the expected mass deportation effort by the incoming Trump administration, warning that she will use “every tool in the toolbox” to “protect” residents in the blue state. Healey was asked on MSNBC on Wednesday whether the Massachusetts State Police would assist the federal government in the mass deportation of illegal immigrants. President-elect Trump has pledged to launch the “largest domestic deportation operation in American history” to deport millions of illegal immigrants. “Following the Eisenhower Model, we will carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history,” Trump said during the campaign…Read more ‘CREATED A CRISIS’: Federal judge throws out Biden admin program to legalize illegal immigrant spouses of US citizens…Read more ‘NOT MESSING AROUND’: Trump ally floated as possible AG has harsh warning for Letitia James: ‘We will put your fat a– in prison’…Read more ANSWER STANDS: White House says President Biden still has no plans to pardon Hunter Biden…Read more TRUMP TRANSITION: Trump’s former Education Secretary says she is ‘very open’ to discussion about returning to previous post…Read more ‘NOT STAYING HERE’: Trump says mass deportations ‘not a question of a price tag’…Read more ‘GARBAGE’: 4 key times Biden undermined Harris’ campaign against Trump…Read more TRUMP’S FIX-IT WOMAN: Who is Susie Wiles, Trump’s White House chief of staff? 5 things to know…Read more LAWFARE: Former White House lawyer says Trump will not use DOJ ‘for political purposes,’ but to implement ‘his agenda’…Read more ROUND ONE: Highlights from President-elect Donald Trump’s first term as President of the United States…Read more ‘RAPID PACE’: Former Trump official makes prediction about incoming admin’s aggressive border plan…Read more PLAYING THE COURT: Justice Sonia Sotomayor faces pressure to retire ahead of Trump taking office: report…Read more CLOSE CALL: Toss-up Maine House race moves to ranked-choice tabulation…Read more SEEING RED: Trio of longtime Dem senators elected same year were voted out in 2024…Read more ‘HISTORIC MANDATE’: Newly elected swing state GOP rep previews first 100 day plan under Trump’s ‘historic mandate’…Read more ‘UNPRECEDENTED’: Cornyn touts lifetime fundraising prowess for GOP in final case to succeed McConnell…Read more KEYSTONE ‘GRATITUDE’: PA Sen-elect McCormick thanks Casey family for decades of service, as Democrat declines to concede…Read more NO MERCY: Republican senator says Trump should not pardon Hunter Biden…Read more ‘LET’S DO THIS!’: Tim Scott launches NRSC chair bid as GOP seeks to capitalize on new minority gains…Read more THE FATAL 5: 5 mistakes that doomed Kamala Harris’ campaign against Trump…Read more FIRST ON FOX: Jordan demands Smith retain all records related to Trump prosecutions as special counsel’s office winds down…Read more TRIM THE FAT: Trump administration could lead to budget cuts, leadership shakeup at the United Nations…Read more MOVING ON UP?: Stefanik in contention for Trump administration role…Read more VOTER BREAKDOWN: Trump clinched a higher percentage of Muslim voters compared to Jewish voters in recent election…Read more RED THREAT: Chinese spies hacked Trump attorney Todd Blanche’s phone: source…Read more US VS. ‘THEY/THEM’: Trump’s ‘they/them’ ads combined culture war, economic worries to make effective pitch: expert…Read more ‘READY FOR CHANGE’: Incumbent San Francisco mayor concedes to opponent amid concerns over homeless, drug overdoses…Read more WANTED: Masked attackers who attacked Jewish students near Chicago’s DePaul University seen in new photo…Read more ‘POWERFUL REPELLANT’: New York Dem warns ‘vilifying voters of color as white supremacists’ pushes ‘them further into Trump’s camp’…Read more WARRIOR’ WARNING: Dem governor issues stark warning to Trump: ‘You come for my people, you come through me’…Read more NO MORE: NYC ends taxpayer-funded prepaid debit card program for illegal immigrants…Read more ‘WARRIOR’ WARNING: Dem governor issues stark warning to Trump: ‘You come for my people, you come through me’…Read more ‘FAILED EXPERIMENT’: Experts reveal why Soros-backed policies took beating in deep blue state…Read more OPEN BORDER CONSEQUENCES: Illegal migrant charged with killing mother of 4 in AOC’s district…Read more BLUE STATE RESISTANCE: Dem governor threatens to use ‘every tool’ to fight back against Trump-era deportations…Read more CLIMATE ON THE BALLOT: Voters decide on climate measures, reject initiative to tax natural gas powered buildings in California city…Read more DEM MAYOR INDICTED: Capital city Democratic mayor, prosecutor indicted in undercover bribery sting…Read more Get the latest updates on the Trump presidential transition, incoming Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
US charges man allegedly tasked by Iran to plot Trump killing pre-election
Iranian citizen tapped to create plan to assassinate former president, DOJ alleges, although he never followed through. The United States Department of Justice has unsealed criminal charges against a man allegedly tasked by Iran with “surveilling and plotting to assassinate” Donald Trump before the presidential election. The criminal complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan on Friday said an agent with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard had instructed an Afghan citizen, Farhad Shakeri, to come up with the plan in October. However, Shakeri told investigators he did not intend to provide a plan in the timeline requested: Before the election on November 5. In a statement, Attorney-General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department “has charged an asset of the Iranian regime who was tasked by the regime to direct a network of criminal associates to further Iran’s assassination plots against its targets, including President-elect Donald Trump”. He added, “There are few actors in the world that pose as grave a threat to the national security of the United States as does Iran.” Iran did not immediately respond to the allegation, but has in the past dismissed similar claims and has denied wanting to kill Trump. Former immigrant, deported The alleged assassination effort was revealed as part of a wider complaint that alleged Shakeri, and as well as New York City residents Carlisel Rivera and Jonathon Lodholt had taken part in a separate plot to kill a US journalist who has been a vocal critic of Iran. The complaint said Rivera and Lodholt had spent months surveilling the journalist, who was not identified, and shared regular updates with Shakeri, who remains at large and is believed to reside in Iran. According to the Justice Department, Shakeri immigrated to the US as a child and was deported in or about 2008 after serving 14 years in prison for a robbery conviction. “In recent months, Shakeri has used a network of criminal associates he met in prison in the United States to supply the IRGC with operatives to conduct surveillance and assassinations of IRGC targets,” the Justice Department said in a news release. Shakeri also told investigators he had separately been offered $500,000 to surveil and eventually kill two “Jewish American citizens residing in New York”. The three men were charged with murder for hire and money laundering. Shakeri has also been charged with providing and conspiring to provide “material support to a foreign terrorist organisation”. US says Iran motivated by revenge The FBI has said that threats against Trump surged following the July 13 assassination attempt against the former president in Butler, Pennsylvania, although that attack was not believed to have been connected to any foreign actors. A second assassination attempt against Trump in September was also not believed to have been connected to any foreign governments. Still, in August, the Justice Department said a Pakistani man was charged in an alleged plot to carry out political assassinations in the US. The arrested man, Asif Merchant, allegedly had ties with Iran, although court documents did not specify who he was targeting. In September, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that he had been briefed on US intelligence on “big threats” to his life by Iranian agents. His campaign manager said at the time that the intelligence community had warned Trump “regarding real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and sow chaos in the United States”. In its statement on Friday, the Justice Department repeated allegations that Iran is “actively targeting nationals of the United States and its allies living in countries around the world for attacks, including assault, kidnapping, and murder”. It claimed that Iran was doing so both to silence dissent and to enact vengeance for the US drone killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Qassem Soleimani in Iraq in January 2020. Trump was president when that strike was ordered. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia seeks 6-year jail term for medic accused of criticising Ukraine war
Paediatrician Nadezhda Buyanova is on trial for statements allegedly made during a private appointment with a patient. Authorities in Russia are seeking a six-year prison term for a paediatrician accused of criticising the war in Ukraine during a private appointment with a patient and his mother. Dr Nadezhda Buyanova was reported to the police by the ex-wife of a soldier missing after fighting in Ukraine – Anastasia Akinshina – who accused the doctor of blaming Russia for the war and telling her son that his father was a legitimate target for Kyiv’s troops. Buyanova, 68, was arrested in February and initially released on condition of complying with certain restrictions. But two months later, authorities placed her in pre-trial detention, arguing that she violated some of the restrictions. She is charged with spreading “fake” information on the Russian army under military censorship laws used to silence dissent. The case against her is one of hundreds brought against Russians after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and unleashed an unprecedented crackdown on opposition activists, independent journalists and Russian citizens. Handcuffed behind a glass defendant’s cage in a court hearing on Friday, the Moscow medic cried and said: “I am innocent.” Many have pointed to her birthplace – Ukraine’s western city of Lviv, which Russia has painted as the root of all evil – as a reason for such treatment. “I was born in the city of Lviv, a city in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic,” she said, sobbing after prosecutors announced they were seeking a years-long prison sentence. “What kind of hatred can I feel? I am related to three Slavic peoples: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine,” she said. “I am not a politician. … I am just a doctor,” she said. Buyanova also denied the charges against her. “None of this happened,” she said in court, accusing Akinshina of making up the conversation. At the start of the trial in April, Akinshina said her son was not present in the room when the dialogue took place. But in a court hearing over the summer, the seven-year-old boy said Buyanova had alleged, “Russia is an aggressor country, and Russia kills peaceful people in Ukraine.” He also said Buyanova had called his father a “legal target for Ukraine”. “I saw that boy. … These were such adult phrases, such scary ones. I doubt that those were his words,” Buyanova said in court. Lawyers had asked if the boy was pressured, but the court refused to consider the complaint. “It is obvious the boy could not remember or understand such phrases like ‘legal target’,” Buyanova’s lawyer Oskar Cherdiyev told reporters. A dozen people, mostly medics, came to court to support Buyanova, whose first name means “hope” in Russian. “The whole situation is absurd,” 49-year-old child psychologist Arina told the AFP news agency. “The only thing we can do is to show Nadezhda that she is not alone, … that there are people who are hoping for a miracle,” she said. Adblock test (Why?)
UN peacekeepers accuse Israel of ‘deliberate and direct’ attack in Lebanon
The Israeli military, which has hit UNIFIL positions several times, denies responsibility despite footage. United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon have reported another Israeli assault on their positions as ground and air attacks on Lebanon continue to claim lives. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on Friday that two Israeli military excavators and one bulldozer had destroyed part of a fence and a concrete structure at a UN base in Ras Naqoura a day earlier. The Israeli military denied any activity after UN forces contacted it to protest, despite UNIFIL publishing footage of the incident online. The Israeli military’s “deliberate and direct destruction of clearly identifiable UNIFIL property is a flagrant violation of international law and resolution 1701”, UNIFIL said, referring to the UN Security Council resolution aimed at ending the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. Statement: Yesterday, two IDF excavators and one IDF bulldozer destroyed part of a fence and a concrete structure in a UNIFIL position in Ras Naqoura. In response to our urgent protest, the IDF denied any activity was taking place inside the UNIFIL position. pic.twitter.com/gQm02hjNTG — UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) November 8, 2024 Since September 30, Israel has repeatedly demanded that UN peacekeepers vacate their internationally mandated premises so it can more freely advance with its ground invasion of southern Lebanon. The peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon has been targeted 40 times since then, UNIFIL’s deputy spokesperson Kandice Ardiel told Al Jazeera on Friday. Ardiel said eight of those attacks were confirmed to have originated from the Israeli army. Peacekeepers have been wounded and property destroyed in previous attacks. Israel also requested that UNIFIL evacuate 29 sites near the Blue Line, the UN-delineated line of withdrawal between Israel and Lebanon, Ardiel said. Earlier, UNIFIL said Israeli forces have been destroying and removing blue barrels that mark the Blue Line. “Yesterday’s incident, like seven other similar incidents, is not a matter of peacekeepers getting caught in the crossfire, but of deliberate and direct actions” by the Israeli military, UNIFIL added. UNIFIL convoys ‘at risk’ European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Friday said the bloc condemns an “incident which put at risk an UNIFIL convoy and left several peacekeepers wounded” after six Malaysian peacekeepers were injured on Thursday by an Israeli drone strike that killed three Lebanese people in a car nearby. Borrell’s statement did not directly name Israel and said “all parties must ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and allow them to carry out their vital mission under UNIFIL’s mandate”. A rescuer and a member of the Malaysian battalion of UNIFIL treat the wound of a fellow soldier, after he was injured at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Sidon, on November 7, 2024 [Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP] Meanwhile, the Israeli military continues to push ahead with its ground operation in southern Lebanon and launch air strikes across the country as Hezbollah fires rockets and launches drones into Israel. At least three people were killed and more than 30 wounded in one of the latest Israeli attacks on Lebanon that struck two buildings in the ancient city of Tyre on Friday night. Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health announced that at least 15 people were killed and 69 wounded on Thursday as a result of Israeli strikes. Since October last year, at least 3,117 people have been killed and 13,888 wounded by Israeli attacks in Lebanon, the ministry said. Among them, 617 are women and 192 children. The casualties include 180 health workers. The ministry said hospitals have been attacked 65 times. Israeli attacks are ongoing across the Gaza Strip as well, where more than 43,000 people have been killed since October last year, nearly 70 percent of them children and women, according to the UN. This is while famine is looming in northern Gaza, which has been under siege for more than a month. Adblock test (Why?)
Dem governors, AGs vow resistance to incoming Trump administration
Democratic governors and attorneys general alike have vowed resistance to the incoming Trump administration’s policies, just days after the election was called for the former president. President-elect Trump has already begun his transition back into the White House, with one of his first major moves being the announcement of Susie Wiles as his chief of staff. Just recently, Trump also signaled to NBC News that mass deportations are not out of the question as one of his top priorities upon starting his term in January. In response, governors and attorneys general in Democratic states have also voiced their priorities in being on defense during Trump’s second term. NEW YORK DEM WARNS ‘VILIFYING VOTERS OF COLOR AS WHITE SUPREMACISTS’ PUSHES THEM ‘FURTHER INTO TRUMP’S CAMP’ New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James — who has notably been vocal about her attempts to prosecute Trump — said Wednesday during a press conference that while they would honor the election results and would “work with anyone who wants to be a partner in achieving the goals of our administration in our state, that does not mean we’ll accept an agenda from Washington that strips away the rights that New Yorkers have long enjoyed.” “The safety and wellbeing of New Yorkers are my top priorities,” Hochul said in a statement released shortly after. “I’m committed to working with anyone on policies that make our state stronger, safer and more livable — but my administration will also be prepared to protect New Yorkers’ fundamental freedoms from any potential threats.” James echoed those same sentiments in the statement, saying she and her team had “been preparing for a potential second Trump Administration, and I am ready to do everything in my power to ensure our state and nation do not go backwards.” Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul and James’ offices for comment. HOUSE DEMOCRAT SAYS THE PARTY NEEDS TO GET PAST ‘TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME’ Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement released Wednesday that “our most vulnerable communities woke up to new uncertainty about their future, scared that their rights will no longer be protected.” Pritzker said he would continue to uphold Illinois’ values, stating, “When that means working with the next presidential administration that is what I will do, and when that means standing up to it, I believe my record is clear on where I’ll be.” Pritzker reiterated these same points during a press conference on Thursday, where he said that anyone who comes “for my people, you come through me.” Fox News Digital reached out to Pritzker’s office for comment. Washington State Attorney General and incoming Gov. Bob Ferguson held a press conference on Thursday alongside incoming Attorney General Nick Brown, where Ferguson said his team had been preparing for a potential Trump presidency for months in advance. Ferguson said during the press conference that his team had reviewed Trump’s policies and the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, the latest iteration of a longstanding Heritage Foundation initiative to establish a conservative governing blueprint. DEMOCRATS LOOKING TO POINT FINGERS AFTER ‘HUMILIATING’ ELECTION DEFEAT SHOULD START WITH MEDIA: WSJ COLUMNIST Trump has repeatedly denied any involvement with the agenda, saying, “I disagree with some of the things they’re saying, and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.” “The president has significant authority. That is the way our system works,” Brionna Aho, Ferguson Communications Director, told Fox News Digital. “However, no one is above the law. Our office has successfully litigated against the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations. When a president exceeds his authority and harms Washingtonians, the Washington State Attorney General’s Office is prepared to hold him accountable to the rule of law.” California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta on Thursday announced the state legislature would convene a special session “to safeguard California values and fundamental rights in the face of an incoming Trump administration.” The session is expected to focus on “bolstering California legal resources to protect civil rights, reproductive freedom, climate action, and immigrant families” ahead of Trump taking office, the statement read. “We’ve been through this before, and we stand ready to defend your rights and protect California values,” Bonta said in the statement. “We’re working closely with the Governor and the Legislature to shore up our defenses and ensure we have the resources we need to take on each fight as it comes.” “We will uphold the rights of all Californians. Between Project 2025 and President Elect Trump’s own statements, we know what to expect from a second Trump Administration,” Bonta’s office told Fox News Digital Friday evening in a follow-up statement. “What happens next is up to the President Elect. If he doesn’t violate the law, and we hope he won’t, we won’t need to take action. But based on our experience with the first Trump Administration and the President Elect’s own words, we expect that won’t be the case and we will be prepared to respond.” “The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump-Vance Transition spokeswoman, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “He will deliver.”
Republicans inch closer to ending China’s favored trade status
Fresh off Tuesday’s red sweep, House Republicans have begun to renew the idea of ending China’s preferential trade status. They have begun to promote the idea of ending China’s Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR). With Republicans seizing control of the White House and Senate, and being on track for a likely win in the House, the idea that was once considered a longshot now now become a likelihood. “For too long, the Chinese Communist Party has taken advantage of America’s open hand with predatory economic practices that target the American economy, our workers, businesses, and our national security. We believe in free trade with free nations, but as the Committee recommended on a bipartisan basis, it is now time to reset our relationship with China by moving past PNTR to a trade relationship that reflects the threat we face from the CCP,” a spokesperson for the House China Committee told Fox News Digital. In 2000, Congress voted to grant China permanent normal trade relations. The designation fundamentally changed China-U.S. trade relations: U.S. consumers gained access to low-priced Chinese imports, and between 2001 and 2021, the value of goods imported from China quadrupled to $500 billion. Critics of PNTR say it allowed companies to outsource their manufacturing to China – and that renewed tensions with Beijing could lead to supply chain issues. REPUBLICANS PROPOSE BILL THAT WOULD DOUBLE TARIFFS ON CHINESE IMPORTS AND END FAVORED TRADE STATUS Proponents of PNTR say that removing that status would cause inflation, allowing further tariffs on billions’ worth of Chinese goods. President-elect Donald Trump has already proposed an across-the-board 60% tariff on all Chinese goods and end China’s favored trade status. Repealing PNTR would automatically reset the tariffs on Chinese goods to higher levels. Trump could enact much of his trade agenda on goods he deems to be an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to national security or the U.S. economy. The GOP’s platform unveiled in July called for an ending of PNTR. In September, Fox News Digital first reported that a group of Republican senators put forth a bill to end China’s PNTR and increase tariffs on many of its goods up to 100%. GOP SENATORS EYE COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY TO CURB CCP INFLUENCE Over five years, the bill would increase tariffs by 100% on imports deemed “strategic” to national security by the Biden administration in an effort to force the growth of the domestic market for national security-related goods. It would boost tariffs on non-strategic goods by a minimum of 35%. China is widely expected to respond with tariffs on U.S.-imported goods. China buys tens of billions of dollars’ worth of agricultural products, primarily soybeans, each year. The bill, led by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and cosponsored by Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., would also grant the president the authority to institute further tariffs, quotas and bans on specific Chinese goods. It would end “de minimis treatment” for China, or the value threshold below which imports are not subject to customs duties. The revenue generated, according to the bill, would go toward farmers and manufacturers injured by potential Chinese retaliation, the purchase of key munitions important to a Pacific conflict, and paying down the debt. Fox News’ Liz Elkind contributed to this report.
‘Act of war’: Biden administration under pressure to respond to Iran’s plot to kill Trump
On Friday, U.S. Department of Justice unsealed new charges detailing a thwarted murder-for-hire plot that the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ordered against Donald Trump in the weeks leading up to the election, adding new pressure for the Biden administration to act. According to a newly unsealed criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of New York, the IRGC ordered an Iranian asset in September to focus on “surveilling” and putting together a plan to assassinate Trump before the Nov. 5 elections. Trump was briefed by U.S intelligence officials in September about threats from Iran to assassinate him, campaign officials confirmed. Both President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Fox News in October that they considered any Iranian threats against Trump to be a “top-tier” national security issue, and said any attempt by the IRGC to actually harm Trump would be met with kinetic military action equal to “an act of war.” SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH MOVES TO DROP TRUMP ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE Neither the White House nor the State Department immediately responded to Fox News’s request for comment on the nature of the threat from the IRGC, or how they planned to respond. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps., or IRGC, is a military and counterintelligence agency that was designated as a terrorist organization during Trump’s first term. Trump has been a target of the IRGC since January 2020, when as president he ordered the drone strike that killed the commander of the Iranian Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani. News of the thwarted attack on Trump comes after he survived two earlier and unrelated assassination attempts earlier this year while campaigning for a second term as president: The first, in July at a Pennsylvania campaign rally, and then in September, while golfing at one of his properties in Florida. The threats from Iran, detailed in the now-public criminal filings, prompted the Secret Service to beef up their security presence around the Trump campaign in recent months. It is unclear whether, or how, Trump plans to further clamp down on security at his residences in the months before his inauguration. IRAN ‘TERRIFIED’ OF TRUMP PRESIDENCY AS IRANIAN CURRENCY FALLS TO AN ALL-TIME LOW U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement Friday that there “are few actors in the world that pose as grave a threat to the national security of the United States as does Iran.” “We will not stand for the Iranian regime’s attempts to endanger the American people and America’s national security,” he added. In the criminal complaint, U.S. prosecutors said an unnamed official in the IRGC had asked the asset, Farhad Shakeri, to “focus on surveilling, and, ultimately, assassinating, former President of the United States, Donald J. Trump.” The Department of Justice said that Shakeri, who remains at large and is believed to be living in Iran, “immigrated to the United States as a child and was deported in or about 2008 after serving 14 years in prison for a robbery conviction.” Trump is referred to the filings as “Victim-4.” “According to Shakeri, during his meeting with IRGC Official-I on or about October 7, 2024, IRGC Official-I directed Shakeri to provide a plan within seven days to kill Victim-4. If Shakeri was unable to put forth a plan within that timeframe, IRGC Official-I continued, the IRGC would pause its plan to kill Victim-4 until after the U.S. Presidential elections, because IRGC Official-I assessed that Victim-4 would lose the election and, afterward, it would be easier to assassinate Victim-4,” the documents said. Federal prosecutors have also charged and arrested Carlisle Rivera, 49, of Brooklyn, New York, and Jonathon Loadholt, 36, of Staten Island, New York, “in connection with their alleged involvement” in a plot to murder a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin in New York. The Department of Justice declined to respond to comment on the threats or the investigation.
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Somber Walz spotted on daughter’s Instagram after election loss: ‘Live to fight another day’
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was spotted on his daughter’s Instagram page this week shortly after he and Vice President Kamala Harris were defeated by President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance in Tuesday’s election. “The Earth keeps spinning and we live to fight another day,’ Walz’s daughter Hope posted on her Instagram story along with a photo of a somber Walz, wearing a sweatshirt and cargo pants, holding and petting his cat. The video is the first sighting of Walz since he appeared at Harris’ concession speech on Wednesday at Howard University in Washington, D.C. “Thank you Vice President @KamalaHarris for putting your faith in me, and selecting me as your running mate,” Walz posted on X this week. “Campaigning at your side was the honor and privilege of my life.” ‘SHOULD HAVE BEEN JOSH SHAPIRO’: HARRIS’ VP CONTENDERS PASSED OVER FOR WALZ DODGE MASSIVE CAMPAIGN LOSS Harris faced scrutiny even from some in her own party over her decision to name Walz, who many view as further to the left than she is, rather than a more moderate choice. Prominent Democrat Josh Shapiro, governor of the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania that Trump carried on Tuesday night, was viewed by some as a more practical choice. “One of the things that are top of mind is the choice of Tim Walz as vice presidential candidate,” Harris-Walz surrogate Lindy Li told Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich at Howard University. “A lot of people are saying tonight that it should have been Josh Shapiro. Frankly, people have been saying that for months.” Rob Bluey, president and executive editor of The Daily Signal, told Fox News Digital that Walz being added to the ticket was a significant error in judgment. “Historically, vice presidents have little impact on a presidential candidate’s fate,” Bluey said. “But in the case of Tim Walz, it proved to be a disastrous decision that doomed Kamala Harris from the moment she made it. Not only was Walz ill-prepared for the national spotlight and media scrutiny, but Harris passed over several better options. Given how little Americans knew about Harris or her policy positions, they were right to question her judgment on this big decision.” HARRIS WORLD BLAME GAME BEGINS AFTER CRUSHING LOSS TO TRUMP Walz was heavily criticized on the campaign trail over questions about his honesty regarding his military service, ties to China, response to the George Floyd riots in 2020, and policy agenda as governor that several Minnesotans who spoke to Fox News Digital described as radical. “The choice of Walz was only one of many disastrous mistakes but symptomatic of one larger problem — the Democratic Party leadership is too scared to say no to the hard-left progressive wing of the party,” Julian Epstein, longtime Democratic operative and former chief counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, told Fox News Digital. “This hard left opposes commonsense solutions that Gov. Shapiro supports — charter schools, for example. Or defeating terrorists rather than aping their talking points and positions, which allow them to stay in power and rearm for the next genocidal attack,” Epstein continued. “It’s the hard-left progressive wing that looks first to welfare and redistribution rather than economic growth, and to cultural extremism on migration and gender deeply out of touch with the American electorate. Walz was a really bad choice for sure, but their choice was part of a deeper problem.”