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Letitia James town hall derailed by Trump supporter’s question: ‘Will you apologize?’
A town hall being held by New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday night was briefly disrupted when an apparent supporter of President Donald Trump stood up to challenge her to apologize to the president.
Though panelists mainly voiced leftist talking points throughout the night and the room primarily consisted of anti-Trump individuals, one apparent supporter of Trump stood up to ask James a question.
"My question is for Tish James. Will you apologize to President Trump for wasting millions of dollars and the state of New York for a witch trial?" asked the man, adding, "And how does it feel to know that you are [going to] prison for mortgage fraud?"
The crowd erupted with boos and the man was escorted out.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OPENS CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION INTO NY AG LETITIA JAMES
Though she did not directly respond to the man, James did shout "thank you for coming" over the crowd.
James, a Democrat, is best known for filing a lawsuit against Trump and several of his family members, as well as associates and businesses, alleging "numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation" regarding financial statements.
Though Trump was ordered to pay $454 million in civil damages, the fine was later reduced significantly.
In response, Trump has called James’ case part of a "witch hunt" against him on the taxpayer’s dime.
The Department of Justice has since opened a criminal investigation into James.
TAXPAYERS COULD BE FORCED TO FUND TRUMP FOE LETITIA JAMES’ LEGAL DEFENSE IF DEM BUDGET ITEM PASSES
News of the federal probe follows a criminal referral from the Trump administration's Federal Housing Finance Agency Director, William Pulte. He requested the DOJ investigate James over accusations that she misrepresented a single-family home in Virginia as her primary residence to obtain more favorable loan terms.
She's also accused of misrepresenting the number of livable units in a multifamily Brooklyn house to obtain better loan terms.
In April, NYC attorney Pierre Debbas told Fox News Digital that the criminal referral targeting James likely wouldn't have happened if she hadn't spent years going after Trump in court.
"The attorney general's case that was brought against Donald Trump was honestly a pure manipulation of the legal system, and it was laughable," he said.
"To be perfectly frank, this is a retaliatory case brought by the president for what the attorney general did to him over the last several years," he went on. "Something that's never taken place in the history of New York that was isolated at one particular person for a politically driven purpose."
Department of Justice opens criminal investigation into NY AG Letitia James
The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James, Fox News has learned.
A source familiar with the matter confirmed that a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia sent out subpoenas related to accusations that James misrepresented a single-family home in Virginia as her primary residence to obtain more favorable loan terms.
News of the federal probe follows a criminal referral from the Trump administration's Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte, who requested the DOJ investigate James over that matter and another incident in which she allegedly misrepresented the number of livable units in a multifamily Brooklyn house to once again obtain better loan terms.
TAXPAYERS COULD BE FORCED TO FUND TRUMP FOE LETITIA JAMES' LEGAL DEFENSE IF DEM BUDGET ITEM PASSES
"These baseless and long-discredited allegations, put to rest by my April 24 letter to the Department of Justice, are suddenly back in the news just days after President Trump publicly attacked Attorney General James," James' attorney, Abbe Lowell, said Thursday.
"This appears to be the political retribution President Trump threatened to exact that AG Bondi assured the Senate would not occur on her watch. If prosecutors are genuinely interested in the truth, we are prepared to meet false claims with facts."
After Pulte's criminal referral was sent to the Justice Department, specifically U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Lowell followed up with his own letter to Bondi and the Justice Department, accusing the president of seeking "political retribution."
James has been part of a group of Democratic attorneys general who have sued to halt many of Trump's orders during his first few months in the Oval Office.
Additionally, James was the lead prosecutor in a case she brought against Trump and the Trump Organization that alleged the president, while he was a candidate, falsified business records to obtain more favorable loan terms. He was ultimately ordered by a judge to pay hundreds of millions, but is still appealing the ruling.
"The stunning hypocrisy of President Trump’s complaint that the Justice Department had been ‘politicized’ and ‘weaponized’ against him is laid bare as he and others in his administration are now asking you to undertake the very same practice," Lowell wrote in his letter to Bondi.
Lowell, in his letter, pointed to instances when Trump has called for revenge and instances when the president has personally attacked James.
Lowell also responded to the allegations, including the claim James listed a home in Virginia as her primary residence while serving as a state official in New York. According to Lowell, James had no intention of using the property as a primary residence, and her indication of this in a power-of-attorney letter was a mistake. Lowell pointed out there were other documents in which James indicated to her lender that the Virginia home would not be her primary residence.
James is also accused of fraud for allegedly inflating the number of livable units in a multifamily Brooklyn home to receive better interest rates. Lowell accuses Pulte of disregarding updated documentation listing the residence as a four-unit multifamily residence and instead pointing to a certificate of occupancy from 2001.
Capitol Hill lawmakers react to election of first American pope: ‘Unbelievable’
Fox News caught up with several senators on Capitol Hill Thursday for their thoughts on the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pontiff, and many voiced excitement about the historic first.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., called the news "unbelievable."
"If you told me ahead of time, I said, ‘No way. Never happen.’ This is phenomenal," said Hoeven. "I've been telling folks they'll never pick an American cardinal to be the pope. And I thought, you know, maybe somewhere else, but probably back to Europe. So, this is so exciting. I can't believe it."
A member of the Augustinians, a religious order within the Catholic Church, the newly elected pope was born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago in 1955. He studied at Villanova University, was ordained a priest in 1982 and was named a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2023.
FIRST AMERICAN ELECTED PONTIFF, GET TO KNOW POPE LEO XIV
Hoeven called Pope Leo XIV’s selection "phenomenal," saying, "American Catholics are just going to be thrilled. I know they're just thrilled."
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said, "As an American Catholic, I am incredibly excited."
Kelly quipped that "as an Arizonan, this is probably the best pick the Cardinals have made since Larry Fitzgerald."
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said "we're very proud in Illinois" and mentioned that she hopes Leo "brings some of his hometown to the Vatican with him."
PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYS FIRST AMERICAN POPE, POPE LEO XIV, IS 'GREAT HONOR'
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., commented on a post of Leo's on X before he was elected pope in which he appeared to criticize Vice President JD Vance for his justification for stricter immigration enforcement.
"Hopefully, the new pope can use his pastoral powers in order to help JD Vance and Donald Trump understand their responsibilities representing the most powerful and wealthiest nation in the world," Markey said. "To ensure that we also protect those who are the most vulnerable and most in need."
The senator asserted that Leo "will continue the legacy of Pope Francis" and that "this new pope channels that history of the Catholic Church, standing up for those who are most in need against those who are most powerful."
VILLANOVA GRAD REACTS TO FORMER CLASSMATE BEING NAMED FIRST POPE FROM UNITED STATES
Despite Markey’s assertions that Leo will follow in Francis’ footsteps, the new pope has already differed from his predecessor in several ways, including taking the more traditional name "Leo" and by wearing the traditional red cape of the papacy, which Francis chose not to wear after his election in 2013.
After emerging to address the crowd assembled in St. Peter’s Square Thursday, Leo’s first words were "Peace be with you," which he said in Italian. He delivered a message to the faithful on building bridges, peace and dialogue "without fear."
Trump's first vice president urges his old boss against raising taxes on wealthy Americans
Former Vice President Mike Pence has a message for his old boss.
Pence is urging President Donald Trump, under whom he served as vice president in Trump's first administration, not to raise the tax rate on wealthy Americans.
Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the signature domestic achievement of his first White House term, is scheduled to expire this year if it's not extended by Congress.
The Trump White House and some congressional Republicans for weeks have mulled letting the tax reductions on the wealthy sunset as a way to pay for the rest of the tax cuts as well as Trump's other pricey second-term priorities.
WHAT PRESIDENT TRUMP IS ASKING SPEAKER JOHNSON TO DO
And the president, during a Wednesday phone call, pushed House Speaker Mike Johnson to raise taxes on the highest income earners and close the carried interest loophole in the reconciliation process, Fox News Digital confirmed. The development was first reported Thursday by Punchbowl News.
A source familiar with Trump's thinking said Trump is considering allowing the rate on individuals making $2.5 million or more to increase by 2.6%, from 37% to 39.6%.
But Pence, a fiscal conservative and budget hawk during his long political career in the House of Representatives, as Indiana governor and as vice president, strongly cautioned against upping the rates on the highest earners.
"Any suggestion that I've heard among some in and around the administration that we raise the top margin rate, the so-called millionaires tax, would be an enormous tax increase on small business owners across America," Pence said. "It needs to be opposed."
WHAT MIKE PENCE TOLD FOX NEWS IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW THIS WEEK
And the former vice president, in an interview with Fox News Digital this week, argued that "the majority of people that file taxes of a million dollars are simply individuals that own businesses, and they file their taxes as an individual, but then plow that money back into their company. If you raise that top margin, it would be an enormous tax increase on small business America."
"Let’s make all the Trump-Pence tax cuts permanent. That’s a way to really lay a foundation to grow the economy in the days ahead," Pence urged.
WHY TRUMP'S FIRST VICE PRESIDENT WAS HONORED BY THE KENNEDY FAMILY
Pence, who was interviewed in Boston after receiving the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage award, gave "President Trump all the credit in the world for an historic victory last November, and for sparing the country one more liberal Democrat administration."
He also praised Trump "not only for his victory, but for securing our southern border, for restoring morale and recruitment in our military, for taking the fight to the Houthis."
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But he argued that "I truly do believe that some of the other steps the president is taking away from that conservative agenda should be a concern that would work against his legacy and ultimately the success of our party or our country. And so we're going to continue to be a voice against them.
"I really do believe that for prosperity … for the success of our country, we need to stick to those time-honored principles of strong defense, American leadership on the world stage, less government, less taxes, traditional moral values and the right to life, and I’m going to be a voice for that," Pence added.
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Trump Hails 'Great Honor' of First American Pope
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content.
Here's what's happening…
-From floppy disks to flight delays: Top lawmaker warns US air system is due for a reboot
-North Korea launches short-range ballistic missiles into sea, South Korea says
-Travelers weigh in on REAL ID rollout after 2005 law finally takes effect: ‘I think it's important'
President Donald Trump congratulated the new Pope Leo XIV after he was selected Thursday, noting it is "a great honor" for the United States that an American-born Cardinal was selected to be Francis' successor.
"Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope," Trump said on his Truth Social platform shortly after white smoke emerged from the Vatican indicating the conclave had come to a decision on who will lead the Catholic Church.
"It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!"…READ MORE
BIDEN'S LEGACY: Biden hires veteran Democrat communicator as former president aims to defend tarnished reputation
RUBI-ALL: Marco Rubio went from rival to Trump's point man, but can he handle it?
DENIED: Federal judge blocks Trump admin from dismantling 3 agencies
RED DAWN: Xi stands with Putin against ‘international bullying’ amid Trump trade war
SECRET FACILITY: Satellite images reveal alleged secret Iranian nuclear weapons facility
VIGILANCE NEEDED: Trump halts military strikes on Houthis,, but expert warns Iran-backed terrorist group remains major threat
BIG GULF: House votes to make Trump Gulf of America name change permanent
RIGHT FLANK DEFENSE: Senator says Dems 'eat their own' as Fetterman faces renewed scrutiny
PURSE POWER: Conservative firebrand torches blue state immigration policies amid major lawsuit
'DON'T UNDERESTIMATE HER': AOC’s constituents weigh in on prez run, remind GOP of shock Joe Crowley defeat
BORDER CRACKDOWN: Illegal immigrant murderers could face death penalty under new GOP bill
'WALK IN THE PARK': REAL ID deadline comes and goes – airports report business as usual
NOT LAWFUL: Deportation flights to Libya would violate court order without prior notice, federal judge says
GANG ARRESTS: Suspected Tren de Aragua member among 5 arrested in human smuggling bust: Texas sheriff
Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
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He is a liar and prevaricator.
One of the major policy issue flip-flops of Obama was that on the important issue of NAFTA. In the primary campaign Obama vigorously campaigned against NAFTA, sending out a flyer stating, "Only Barrack Obama consistently opposed NAFTA," calling it a "bad trade deal," "devastating," and "a big mistake." Obama said he would take "the hammer" to Mexico and Canada. Now in the general election, Obama has blatantly backtracked on his anti-NAFTA position saying, "I'm not a big believer in doing things unilaterally." "I'm a big believer in opening up a dialogue and figuring out how we can make this work for all people." When called on his about-face, Obama responded by saying, "Sometime during campaigns the rhetoric gets overheated and amplified."
The second and most blatant major policy flip flop was that on public campaign financing. Obama was one of the chief proponents of public campaign financing when he was running in the primaries. But then after realizing how much money he could raise in the general election, he opportunistically opted out of the public finance system. As David Brooks eloquently described the situation in a New York Times piece: "In February 2008 he said he would aggressively pursue spending limits. He answered a Midwest Democracy Network questionnaire by reminding everyone that he has been a longtime advocate of the public financing system. But Thursday, at the first breath of political inconvenience, Fast Eddie Obama threw public financing under the truck." In early 2008, Obama wrote in response to the Midwest Democracy Network questionnaire, "If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election." He would later on in the primaries tell Tim Russert, "I will sit down with John McCain an make sure that we have a system that works for everybody." Of course no such attempt at "sitting down" or negotiations ever took place. Here's what the SunPost of Florida had to say about Obama's flip-flop on this important issue: "Speaking of selling one's soul, Sen. Obama did one of the most repulsive 180s in recent political history by becoming the first contestant from a major team to drop out of the public financing system for the general election since the system was changed in 1976. . . .Obama is not independent from the system; he is just using his mastery of it to his advantage. And he's doing it exactly the same calculating way that he used the system in Illinois to deny his rivals a place on the ballot."
While Obama has flip-flopped and even lied about several votes and policy issues, the most troubling lies he has told relate to his personal history and character. In one of his campaign ads, entitled "dignity," Obama claims he "passed a law to move people from welfare to work –slashed the rolls by 80%." Problem with this assertion is that this law in question was passed in 1996, and Obama did not enter the Illinois State Senate until 1997! Obama claims in another ad that he "worked his way through college and Harvard Law." Problem with that assertion is: Obama had only two jobs during those years, and they were both summer jobs! Furthermore, Obama lied on his bar application to the state bar of Illinois on two counts: 1) He concealed his long history of illegal drug use and possession; and 2) He failed to report unpaid criminal citations in excess of $200.
Obama has advertised a fairy tale biography in his ads, one in which his father was a poor goat herder from Kenya. Nothing could be further from the truth. Barack Hussein Obama, Senior belonged to a well-connected and politically privileged family. His cousin Rao Odinga now rules parts of the country. Obama, Senior had the finances and privilege to travel to America and attend Harvard. The rewriting of Barack Obama's family background is part of a concerted cover-up of the nefarious political and criminal activities on the part of his Kenyan family, particularly his dictator cousin Rao Odinga.
One of the most blatant lies on the part of Obama is that pertaining to his Muslim background. Obama has fiercely denied that he was ever a Muslim, and till this day his official campaign sites state that "Barack Obama Is Not and Has Never Been a Muslim," followed by "Obama never prayed in a mosque. He has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian." The mainstream media has followed the Obama camping in lock-step, and reported it as a fact that Obama was never a Muslim; but the truth is he was! The aspect of this story most dangerous to democracy is that both the Obama campaign and most media have labeled any statement or notion that Obama was a Muslim as a "smear," thus attacking and impugning the personal integrity and credibility of those who are merely reporting the facts. Here are the facts that PROVE beyond a reasonable doubt that Barack Hussein Obama was indeed a Muslim for at least a few years of his life:
A) Both Barack Obama's Kenyan father and Indonesian step-father were Muslims. According to Islam, if your father is Muslim, you are a Muslim. Barack Obama's half-brothers are all Muslim.
B) In his first elementary school in Indonesia, a Catholic school named, "Strada Asisia," Obama was listed as "Muslim" on his registration form. Obama's third grade teacher at this time, Fermin Katarina Sinaga, recalls that "Barry [Barack] went to the mosque with Lolo [Obama's Indonesian step-father]."
C) The next Indonesian school Barry Obama attended was the Basuki School, where Obama partook in Muslim studies two hours per week, nearly every week. According to Tine Hahiyary, one of the teachers at Obama's school, Obama was quite religious and took part in "mengaji classes." Mengaji classes teach Muslims how to read and chant from the Koran. It is something that primarily fundamentalist Muslims do. It is extremely rare for a non-religious Muslim to take mengaji classes.
D) Barack Obama's own half brother in Kenya has already exposed Senator Obama. In an interview with the Jeruslam Post just this past June, Malik Obama stated that Barack Obama would be a good president for the Jewish people "despite his Muslim background."
E) The Los Angeles Times interviewed a close childhood friend of Barry Obama, named Zulfin Adi, who stated that Obama did indeed pray in a mosque.
A 2007 Associated Press photograph, suppressed until now, shows the school register of the child who is today known as Barack Hussein Obama but was officially listed then as Barry Soetoro, whose citizenship was listed as "Indonesian" and whose religion was listed as "Islam." The visual evidence starkly contradicts the Obama campaign's claim that he was not a Muslim and confirms that he is a national of at least one other country.
In addition, it raises the highly problematic issue of what is Obama's official name. If it turns out to Barry Soetoro, and no official change of name was ever made, Obama may face an array of charges of deception and misprision that may throw into doubt, at the very least, his fitness to run.
Obama has tried to extricate himself of any criticism for attending a racist church for 20 years. Every time a tape of a racist sermon from the podium of Trinity United Church pops up, Obama has distanced himself by claiming he was never in the church when those sermons were made. Considering the sheer number of such sermons, such a claim would imply very irregular church-going on the part of the Obamas. That impression however is contradicted by Obama’s own words in a 2004 interview with Chicago Sun Times in which he claims to have attended almost every Sunday service. Furthermore, Obama must have known about Reverend Wright’s racist and anti-Semitic views from an article on the reverend in a February, 2007 Rolling Stone article in which Wright is quoted as saying: "We [the U.S.] are deeply involved in the importing of drugs, the exporting of guns and the training of professional KILLERS. . . . We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God. . . . We conducted radiation experiments on our own people. . . . We care nothing about human life if the ends justify the means!" Finally, a NewsMax reporter witnessed and reported on an incident in which Obama did indeed witness a July 22, 2007 racist rant on the part of Reverend Wright, and not only did nothing to condemn it, but ostensibly expressed pleasure with those comments: “Wright laced into America’s establishment, blaming the “white arrogance” of America’s Caucasian majority for the woes of the world, especially the oppression suffered by blacks. To underscore the point he refers to the country as the ‘United States of White America.’ Many in the congregation, including Obama, nodded in apparent agreement as these statements were made.”