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Taxpayers May Be Forced To Cover Legal Fees For NY AG Letitia James Amid Fraud Probe

By
Seijah Drake
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Alec Perkins from Hoboken, USA, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

New York taxpayers could soon find themselves footing the legal bill for Attorney General Letitia James as she prepares to defend herself against a federal investigation into alleged mortgage and real estate fraud. Buried in New York’s newly approved operations budget is language that opens a $10 million fund to reimburse state officials — including James — for “reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses” tied to investigations launched by the federal government after January 1, 2025.

Though the budget provision does not mention James by name, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to The New York Post that the fund was included with her case in mind. The fund could also apply to other state officials targeted by a Trump administration-led Department of Justice as it reopens investigations into political and institutional corruption.

The controversy stems from a criminal referral issued last month by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), whose director, William Pulte, accused James of falsifying mortgage documents and misrepresenting her residency status. According to the referral sent to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, James claimed a Virginia home — allegedly purchased on behalf of her niece — as her primary residence, a move that could constitute mortgage fraud.

James, who gained national prominence for her high-profile civil fraud case against Donald Trump, has come under scrutiny for what critics now call a double standard. Once the face of the “no one is above the law” mantra, she now finds herself leaning on state funds and a private legal defense to fight the allegations. A spokesperson for her office called the probe “political retribution” and vowed to fight what they characterized as a “revenge tour” orchestrated by Trump.

But Republicans are not buying the victim narrative.

“This is what corruption looks like in plain sight: political insiders rigging the system to protect their own, while hardworking families get shortchanged,” said New York GOP Chair Ed Cox. “Tish James used her office to wage partisan lawfare against her political opponents, and now New Yorkers are footing the bill for the consequences.”

Critics also slammed what they describe as a legal “bailout” hidden in plain sight. The language in the budget states that any state employee facing a federal investigation related to their duties may seek reimbursement — a clause that could be used broadly and, according to opponents, easily abused.

The legal support fund is likely to inflame already tense debates over partisanship, misuse of public resources, and institutional trust. With New York’s top law enforcement officer now potentially under federal investigation, questions will continue to mount over the ethical boundaries between public office and political warfare — and who ends up paying the price.

Trump Rescinds His Nomination For DC US Attorney

By
Madeleine Jackson
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0

A big shakeup…

The White House will soon select a new nominee to serve as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia after Trump’s pick met a series of roadblocks.

Trump previously nominated Ed Martin, a former defense attorney who represented Americans charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, for the role. Martin has taken on the responsibilities of the interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., since January. 

On Thursday, Trump suggested he would put forward another candidate who would receive broader backing than Martin. 

“He wasn’t getting the support from people that I thought,” Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday. “You know, he’s done a very good job. Crime is down 25% in DC during this period of time … I can only lift that little phone so many times of the day. But we have somebody else.”

“I have to be straight. I was disappointed,” Trump said. “A lot of people were disappointed. But that’s the way it works. Sometimes, you know, that’s the way it works. And he wasn’t rejected, but we felt it would be very — it would be hard. And we have somebody else that will be announcing over the next two days who’s going to be great.” 

The Senate has held up confirming Martin amid concerns from lawmakers.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced Tuesday he wouldn’t endorse Martin. 

Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.) the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, also has opposed Martin’s nomination. 

The move came a day after President Donald Trump resolved to withdraw his nomination of former Fox News contributor Janette Nesheiwat to serve as his surgeon general on Wednesday.

Nesheiwat’s credentials came into question last month when CBS News reported that records showed she had graduated from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, and not the University of Arkansas School of Medicine, as had been said when her nomination was announced.

Casey Means, a physician with close ties to the “Make America Healthy Again,” or MAHA, movement, was announced as Trump’s new pick to fill the role.

Means, a graduate of Stanford Medical School, is the sister of Calley Means, a close ally to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a special government employee at HHS. They are both high-profile proponents of Kennedy’s MAHA agenda.

“I am pleased to announce that Dr. Casey Means, will be nominated as our next Surgeon General of the United States of America. Casey has impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials, and will work closely with our wonderful Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to ensure a successful implementation of our Agenda in order to reverse the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and ensure Great Health, in the future, for ALL Americans,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“Her academic achievements, together with her life’s work, are absolutely outstanding,” he added. “Dr. Casey Means has the potential to be one of the finest Surgeon Generals in United States History. Congratulations to Casey!”the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

Congress Votes To Make Trump Gulf Of America Name Change Permanent

By
Madeleine Jackson
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0
By Executive Office of the President of the United States - https://x.com/POTUS/status/1888706337699238047/photo/1, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=159501092

The House of Representatives voted to make President Donald Trump’s name change for the Gulf of America permanent on Friday morning. 

The legislation was led by staunch Trump ally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).

“This is such an important thing to do for the American people. The American people deserve pride in their country, and they deserve pride in the waters that we own, that we protect with our military and our Coast Guard and all of the businesses that prosper along these waters,” Greene said during debate on the bill.

Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, panned the legislation as a waste of time.

“Republicans think this juvenile legislation is the best use of this House’s time. This is the only work we’re doing today, folks,” Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said in his rebuttal to Greene.

Earlier this week, Fox News Digital was told that several GOP lawmakers privately expressed frustration at what they saw as a largely symbolic bill taking up their time instead of more meaningful legislation to move Trump’s agenda along.

“I’ve heard criticisms from all corners of the conference. Conservatives to pragmatic ones,” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “It seems sophomoric. The United States is bigger and better than this.”

One conservative GOP lawmaker vented to Fox News Digital, “125 other [executive orders], this is the one we pick.”

Greene hit back at the detractors, however, in response to Fox News Digital’s report.

“Some of my Republican colleagues don’t want to vote for my Gulf of America Act, which is one of President Trump’s favorite executive orders. They say they would rather vote on ‘more serious EOs.’ Boys are you ready to vote to criminalize sex changes on kids?? Because I have that bill on that EO too,” she wrote on X.

Letitia James Leading Charge On New Multistate Lawsuit Over HHS Cuts

By
Madeleine Jackson
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1
Alec Perkins from Hoboken, USA, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Longtime Trump rival Letitia James announced she is leading a coalition of 20 states in a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s cuts to public health funding and the Department of Health and Human Services,

The lawsuit, filed by James and other state attorneys general, accuses the Trump administration of violating “hundreds” of laws and regulations in attempting to dismantle the Department of Health and Human Services, both by firing thousands of HHS employees in an effort to slash its overall workforce by 20,000 people and shuttering crucial health programs across the U.S.

Their lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of erasing “decades of public health progress” and leaving HHS “unable to execute many of its most vital functions.”

“This administration is not streamlining the federal government; they are sabotaging it,” James said Monday. 

“When you fire the scientists who research infectious diseases, silence the doctors who care for pregnant people and shut down the programs that help firefighters and miners breathe or children thrive, you are not making America healthy; you are putting countless lives at risk,” James said. 

“This is not how government is supposed to work. These actions are dangerous, cruel and illegal. They defy Congress’s authority and they violate federal law. And that is why today I am leading a lawsuit joined by Democratic attorneys general across the country to stop this administration from tearing down our public health infrastructure.”

The plaintiffs, who filed the lawsuit Monday in the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, are asking the court “to halt the unlawful dismantling of HHS, to stop the mass firings, and to restore the life-saving programs that millions of Americans depend on,” James said.

New York is joined in the lawsuit by the attorneys generals of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

Her remarks come after HHS announced thousands of layoffs in March and April, including at the FDA, the CDC and NIH. 

The lawsuit is not the first time James, a longtime foe of the current president, has sparred with Trump since the start of his second presidential term. She’s joined Democrat attorneys general in more than a dozen other lawsuits challenging his early actions

Biden Breaks Silence On Trump In First Interview Since Leaving Office

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    3
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Is Biden back?

    In his first interview since leaving the White House, former President Joe Biden took the opportunity to attack President Donald Trump’s foreign policy efforts.

    Speaking to BBC journalist Nick Robinson in an exclusive and sweeping sit-down that aired Wednesday, the former president abandoned the tradition of ex-presidents holding their tongue — and instead ripped into Trump’s first 100 days back in office.

    “He’s not behaving like a Republican president,” Biden said of Trump.

    The former president focused on a now-notorious Oval Office exchange from February, where Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for questioning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s motives.

    “I found it beneath America, the way that took place,” Biden said.

    The former president slammed Trump’s approach to Ukraine as capitulation, saying: “It is modern-day appeasement.”

    Trump has pushed Ukraine to consider ceding territory to Russia — an approach Biden argues signals weakness and invites further aggression.

    “Anybody who thinks Putin’s going to stop is foolish,” he said.

    In an attack on Trump’s suggestions that the U.S. “take back Panama,” or annex Greenland, Biden painted Trump’s approach as dangerously unserious — and deeply damaging to the U.S. image abroad.

    “And the way we talk about now that, ‘it’s the Gulf of America,’ ‘maybe we’re going to have to take back Panama,’ ‘maybe we need to acquire Greenland,’ ‘maybe Canada should be a [51st state].’ What the hell’s going on here?” Biden said.

    He added: “What President ever talks like that? That’s not who we are. We’re about freedom, democracy, opportunity — not about confiscation.”

    AG Bondi Reveals The Grim Reason She’s Carrying Fake Fentanyl

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Attorney General Pam Bondi will stop at nothing to eradicate fentanyl from the streets.

    On Wednesday, Bondi revealed that she carries around a vial of fake fentanyl to show that just a tiny amount can be deadly.

    While appearing on Fox & Friends from the White House lawn, Bondi discussed the importance of recent drug trafficking busts in several states that turned up massive amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, and guns.

    To illustrate her point, she said she keeps a small bottle of “fake fentanyl” to remind herself how just a tiny amount can prove deadly.

    “Each pill has the potential to kill a human being. A human life. An American life. I’ve been carrying around a little vial with fake fentanyl in it, the amount it takes to kill you, and it looks like a couple of grains of salt,” Bondi told Fox & Friends co-host Lawrence Jones.

    On Tuesday, Bondi announced that authorities made one of the biggest fentanyl busts in U.S. history with the seizure 409 kilos of fentanyl pills and 11.5 kilos of fentanyl powder.

    Bondi said that around 35 kilos of methamphetamine, 35 kilos of meth, 7.5 kilos of cocaine and 4.5 kilos of heroin were also seized along with $5 million in cash and 49 rifles and pistols.

    Sixteen people were arrested in the operation. Six of the individuals are in the U.S. illegally, Bondi said. 

    Bondi also teased a joint announcement with FBI Director Kash Patel of a major child exploitation ring bust later in the morning, while urging parents to take notice of their children’s online habits.

    “Your kids have no right to privacy on the internet,” she said, adding, “Children are getting recruited on the internet from being on games, social media or any social media platform. Parents, you’ve got to monitor what your kids are doing because they think they are talking to other children and they are not. They are talking to monsters often.”

    “You’ve gotta be all in your children’s business,” Jones added.

    Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    Attorney General Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel announced Wednesday that 205 alleged child sex predators who preyed on children online have been arrested in the last week. 

    The arrests are part of a new joint operation by the Justice Department and FBI called “Operation Restore Justice” which saw 115 children across the country rescued in the process, Bondi and Patel said.

    Bondi called the operation “historic and “unprecedented.”

    “These depraved human beings, if convicted, will face the maximum penalty in prison some life,” Bondi said at a press briefing.

    “We will find you. We will arrest you, and we will charge you. If you are online targeting a child, you will not escape us. The FBI and the Department of Justice will come after you. And we will prosecute you.”

    Trump To Announce New Name for Persian Gulf

      By
      Madeleine Jackson
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      0

      The Trump administration is planning some big changes.

      President Donald Trump will reportedly announce during a trip to Saudi Arabia that the United States will refer to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf.

      Two unnamed U.S. officials reportedly informed the AP on Tuesday that Trump was planning to officially rename the gulf as tensions with Iran continue to escalate.

      While it has been predominantly referred to as the Persian Gulf since the 16th century, Gulf Arab states – including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates – have sought to remove Persia from the name and commonly refer to it as the Arabian Gulf.

      In the United States, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency uses “Persian Gulf” as the “conventional” name for the gulf, but also lists “Arabian Gulf” and “Persian-Arabian Gulf” as variants.

      According to the report, “The U.S. military for years has unilaterally referred to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf in statements and images it releases.”

      President Trump controversially renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America following his inauguration in January.

      By Executive Office of the President of the United States – https://x.com/POTUS/status/1888706337699238047/photo/1, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=159501092

      Last month, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned Iran there would be “all hell to pay” if they refused to agree to Trump’s demands over the country’s nuclear program.

      In March, Trump also warned Iran they would “suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire,” if they continued to back the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

      On Tuesday, President Trump hinted that he would soon make a “very big” announcement ahead of his planned trip to the Middle East.

      “We’re going to have a very, very big announcement to make, like as big as it gets,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, where was is meeting with Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney. “And I won’t tell you on what … and it’s very positive.”

      “It is really, really positive. And that announcement will be made either Thursday or Friday or Monday before we leave,” Trump added. “But it’ll be one of the most important announcements that have been made in many years about a certain subject, very important subject. So you’ll all be here.” 

      After that, the president asked Carney if he’d like to say a few words. 

      “I’m on the edge of my seat,” Carney said, drawing laughter from the press before thanking Trump for his “hospitality” and “leadership.” 

      ICE Makes Arrest Of Internationally Wanted ‘Suspected Terrorist’

        By
        Madeleine Jackson
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        0

        The Trump administration is hard at work…

        Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made a high-profile arrest on Monday in Maryland.

        DHS told Fox News Digital that Joel Armando Mejia-Benitez, 38, is a “validated MS-13 gang member” from El Salvador who had no visas “approved or pending” at the moment of his arrest.

        “ICE Baltimore arrested Joel Armando Mejia-Benitez an MS-13 gang member with an Interpol Red Notice. He first entered the country illegally in 2005 and was deported. He then reentered our country at an unknown date before he was arrested by HIS Baltimore in 2014. He was issued a notice to appear and released back into Silver Spring, MD,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement.

        An Interpol Red Notice is put out by the international legal group asking to “locate and provisionally arrest” somebody. It’s not considered an “international arrest warrant,” but it’s meant to make sure a person is taken into custody for further legal action, according to Interpol’s website. The Red Notice database has over 6,500 individuals.

        The arrest comes as the Department of Homeland Security marks 100 days with Secretary Kristi Noem at the helm as of Monday.

        “This criminal illegal gang member and suspected terrorist should have never been released into our country. Thanks to President Trump and Secretary Noem, he is off our streets and will soon be out of our country,” McLaughlin continued.

        This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

        Trump Teases ‘Huge Announcement’ Ahead Of Middle East Visit

          By
          Madeleine Jackson
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          0
          The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

          Something big is coming…

          On Tuesday, President Trump hinted that he would soon make a “very big” announcement.

          Trump’s teasing comes days before his planned visit to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. 

          “We’re going to have a very, very big announcement to make, like as big as it gets,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, where he is meeting with Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney. “And I won’t tell you on what … and it’s very positive.”

          “It is really, really positive. And that announcement will be made either Thursday or Friday or Monday before we leave,” Trump added. “But it’ll be one of the most important announcements that have been made in many years about a certain subject, very important subject. So you’ll all be here.” 

          After that, the president asked Carney if he’d like to say a few words. 

          “I’m on the edge of my seat,” Carney said, drawing laughter from the press before thanking Trump for his “hospitality” and “leadership.” 

          Trump announced that the Houthis in Yemen “don’t want to fight” any longer and agreed to stop its attacks on shipping lanes in the beginning of the meeting. In turn, the president said, the U.S. would stop its bombardment of the Iran-backed terror group. The U.S. has been launching daily airstrikes on Yemen since March 15 to defend the freedom of navigation.

          The Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile that struck near the main terminal of Israel’s international airport outside Tel Aviv over the weekend. 

          In the Oval Office, Trump did not say whether the forthcoming announcement was related to the Israel-Hamas war. 

          The president went on to discuss trade relations with Canada, the impact of the 145% tariff on China, prompting major automobile and tech companies to invest in onshoring in the U.S., as well as the prospect of the U.S. one day obtaining control of Canada. 

          The president then circled back to clarify that the announcement would not necessarily be related to that subject.

          “We’re going to have a great announcement. And I’m not necessarily saying it’s on trade,” Trump said. “We’re going to have a great announcement over the next few days. Announcement that will be, so, so incredible, so positive. And I’m not saying… I don’t want you to think it’s necessarily on trade.” 

          Watch:

          Pulitzer Awarded For Iconic Photo Of Attempted Trump Assassination

            By
            Madeleine Jackson
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            0
            Gage Skidmore Flickr

            Trump will go down in the history books…

            A New York Times photographer was awarded with a Pulitzer Prize Monday for his photos of the assassination attempt against President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

            The July 13 event yielded numerous historic photos and videos, such as when Trump quickly got up after being shot as Secret Service agents escorted him off the stage holding his fist in the air while shouting the words, “Fight, fight, fight.”

            One iconic image by The Times’ Doug Mills managed to capture the split-second moment a speeding bullet was seen mid-air next to Trump’s head at the rally. The photo was one of several he captured that day that earned him one of the most prestigious awards in journalism.

            “I just happened to be down, shooting with a wide-angle lens just below the president when he was speaking. There was a huge flag waving right above his head, and I just happened to be taking pictures at the same time,” he told “America’s Newsroom” in Milwaukee at the time.

            “Then, when I heard the pops, I guess I kept hitting on the shutter, and then I saw him reach for his [ear]. He grimaced and grabbed his hand and looked. It was blood, and then he went down, and I thought, ‘Dear God, he’s been shot,'” he continued.

            Mills said the moment he discovered he had captured an image of the bullet whizzing past Trump was a “surprise” to him.

            Mills said he captured the rally images with a Sony a1 camera. 

            “Doug Mills of The New York Times won the breaking news photography prize for his photos capturing the attempted assassination of President Trump last year, including an image in which a bullet can be seen,” the New York Times’ media reporter Katie Robertson reported as she touted three other other Pulitzers The Times won for stories on Sudan, Afghanistan and Baltimore.

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