Author: Fox News

Legal experts railed against former pornographic actress Stormy Daniels’ salacious testimony as “prejudicial” on Tuesday, as former President Trump’s legal team moved for a mistrial that ultimately failed in the action-packed court day.  

“I used to try cases for a living. I still have a pretty good sense of what evidence is relevant, what is prejudicial and what is completely over-the-top inadmissible. What the judge is letting in today in the Trump trial in NYC will be remembered as a dark stain on our judicial system, reminiscent of corrupt dictatorships. Shame on the prosecution for undermining our judicial system,” David Friedman, a lawyer and former U.S. ambassador to Israel during the Trump administration, posted on X. 

The comment came ahead of Trump’s legal team moving for a mistrial as Daniels went into detail regarding her alleged sexual encounter with the real estate mogul in 2006.

“THE PROSECUTION, WHICH HAS NO CASE, HAS GONE TOO FAR. MISTRIAL!” Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday.

LIVE UPDATES: NY V TRUMP TRIAL RESUMES WITH WITNESS TESTIMONY AFTER JUDGE MERCHAN THREATENS TRUMP WITH JAIL TIME

This courtroom sketch shows Stormy Daniels as she is questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger during former President Trump’s criminal trial in New York City on May 7, 2024. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)

“This Witch Hunt is FALSE ANCIENT HISTORY that was fully adjudicated by the Voters in the 2016 Presidential Election. It only has to do with Election Interference, and trying to help Crooked Joe Biden get elected because he can’t do it by himself. It is a vicious attack by the Soros backed D.A., Alvin Bragg, in strict coordination with the D.O.J. and the White House, on Biden’s Political Opponent, ME. IT IS ILLEGAL, UNCONSTITUTIONAL, AND STRICTLY THIRD WORLD COUNTRY!”  

The motion for a mistrial was ultimately denied by presiding Judge Juan Merchan. 

NY V TRUMP: JUDGE DENIES MOTION FOR MISTRIAL AMID STORMY DANIELS TESTIMONY

Former President Trump attends his criminal trial in New York City on May 7, 2024. (Win McNamee/Pool via Reuters)

Daniels detailed to the court that she met Trump in 2006 at Lake Tahoe during a celebrity golf tournament. She alleged that the pair had sex in Trump’s hotel room during the event, which Trump has repeatedly denied in public comments. Daniels’ testimony also included describing to the court how she got into the pornography business after working as an exotic dancer as a teenager.

The case revolves around the alleged falsification of business records. Prosecutors say Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 to quiet her claims of the alleged extramarital sexual encounter. Prosecutors allege the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen and fraudulently logged the payments as legal expenses, and they are working to prove that Trump falsified records with the intent to commit or conceal a second crime, which is a felony.

STORMY DANIELS TAKES STAND IN TRUMP CRIMINAL TRIAL

Legal experts sounded off on social media that Daniels’ testimony was irrelevant to the case and that it should not have been admitted into the record.

This courtroom sketch shows Stormy Daniels as she is questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger during former President Trump’s criminal trial in New York City on May 7, 2024. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)

“The salacious testimony of Stormy Daniels is not only prejudicial, but irrelevant, so by no rationale under the evidentiary rule should it have been admitted,” attorney David Limbaugh posted on X.

“Stormy Daniels testified against Trump this morning, going into salacious detail about the alleged sexual encounter. This is irrelevant. It has no bearing on the issue in the trial, which is whether Trump hid the payment to her in order to influence the 2016 election,” an Indianapolis civil rights attorney wrote in a post. “In a fair trial the judge would exclude that line of questioning.”

“In a flagrant violation of NY’s rules of evidence and judicial ethics guidelines, the judge is allowing Stormy Daniels to ‘run wild’ with her highly prejudicial testimony, running roughshod over the objections of Trump’s attorneys, and allowing Daniels to vividly discuss every last salacious detail about the alleged interaction she had with Trump,” posted Paul Ingrassia, a lawyer and communications direction for the National Constitutional Law Union.

EX-TOP BIDEN DOJ OFFICIAL NOW PROSECUTING TRUMP WAS ONCE PAID BY DNC FOR ‘POLITICAL CONSULTING’

“Prosecutors are asking how tall she is relative to Trump and whether there was a power dynamic between them. Now asking about their alleged sexual affair, the position they were in, whether they were intoxicated, ‘uncomfortable,’ and ‘how they closed it off,’” Ingrassia added, calling the questioning and testimony “totally out of line.”

The former president’s son, Eric Trump, also weighed in on the testimony, calling it “garbage.” Eric Trump attended court again with the 45th president on Tuesday, where he viewed witness testimony.

“Perspective: Sitting front row attempting to figure out how any of this garbage from 20 years ago relates to ‘legal’ bills submitted by a long time (sic) personal attorney being booked as a ‘legal’ expense – but I digress,” Eric Trump posted to his X account on Tuesday. 

“To be clear, they don’t give a s— about the merits of this case – the 15 Manhattan prosecutors are sitting at their table and behind in the courthouse pews, giddy by this salacious show. This is the intent, not the merits, nor the fact that this entire case is a massive extortion play,” he continued.

NY V TRUMP: MAYOR ADAMS SAYS RIKERS ISLAND IS ‘PREPARED’ IF TRUMP IS SENTENCED TO JAIL

Judge Juan Merchan (AP Photos/File)

Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley said Daniels is “an entirely unnecessary witness,” with her testimony serving as a “form of punishment” against Trump.

“And the problem with what the judge has done here is that this is an entirely unnecessary witness. It is uncontested that there’s an NDA. … What happened in their relationship, if there was one, is immaterial to how those payments were denoted by the Trump campaign. So, the court had the opportunity repeatedly to say, ‘We’re not going to take this courtroom through details of this relationship,'” Turley said on Fox News.

“This is a form of punishment. They’re trying to use a witness for punitive purposes and, in my view, political purposes, and this is what happens. And it happened because the judge lost control of his courtroom.”

Following a break Tuesday morning, Merchan said prosecutors were going into too much detail when questioning Daniels.

“The degree of detail we’re going into is unnecessary,” the judge told Manhattan prosecutor Susan Hoffinger, asking her to move the testimony along.

ERIC TRUMP SLAMS STORMY’S TESTIMONY FROM FRONT ROW COURT SEAT: ‘GARBAGE’

The defense team repeatedly objected to the prosecutors’ questions, which included intimate details of the alleged sexual encounter. Trump’s team argued there was no need for the details, adding there was also an issue with her credibility and noting Daniels had signed a statement in 2018 saying the sex act didn’t happen.

Daniels confirmed in testimony that she had signed the 2018 statement but did not do so “willingly,” alleging it was not factual and that she was under a nondisclosure agreement.

Stormy Daniels (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images/File)

As Trump’s team moved for a mistrial, attorney Todd Blanche told the court that the district attorney’s office, which is headed by Democrat Alvin Bragg, was working to inflame the jury with testimony that had no bearing on the case.

TRUMP SAYS JAIL TIME TO DEFEND FREE SPEECH IS ‘SACRIFICE’ HE’S WILLING TO MAKE

Merchan said Tuesday that a mistrial is not warranted but that some of Daniels’ testimony should have been “left unsaid,” and he noted he was surprised the defense team did not object more frequently during the testimony.

“I agree that it would have been better if some of these things had been left unsaid,” he said.

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“I will also note that I was surprised that there weren’t more objections” from Trump’s legal team, Merchan added, saying the defense team needed to take some responsibility.

FIRST ON FOX: The prosecutor from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office leading questioning of adult film actress Stormy Daniels in former President Trump’s unprecedented criminal trial donated to President Biden’s campaign in 2020 and a number of other Democratic politicians and organizations over the years, Fox News Digital has learned. 

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger questioned Daniels Tuesday as she testified as part of former President Trump’s unprecedented criminal trial. 

Trump defense attorneys told Judge Juan Merchan Tuesday afternoon they would motion for a mistrial amid Daniels’ “prejudicial” testimony. Hoffinger said the claim was without basis, and Merchan ultimately denied the defense’s request. 

EX-TOP BIDEN DOJ OFFICIAL NOW PROSECUTING TRUMP WAS ONCE PAID BY DNC FOR ‘POLITICAL CONSULTING’

Hoffinger’s donations to Biden came during the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries, Federal Election Commission records show. 

Stormy Daniels is questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger during former U.S. President Donald Trump’s criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City, U.S. May 7, 2024 in this courtroom sketch.  (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)

Hoffinger donated $500 to Biden’s presidential campaign in 2020 — a donation of $250 in February 2020 and another donation of $250 in March 2020.

Hoffinger also donated more than $900 to ActBlue during the 2020 cycle. ActBlue is an online fundraising platform for Democratic candidates, progressive organizations, and nonprofits. 

Hoffinger also donated to a number of other Democratic congressional campaigns in 2020 and 2018. Hoffinger was hired by Bragg’s office in 2022, after the political contributions were made.

The revelations come as Republicans investigate alleged politicization of the case against Trump. 

“Joe Biden’s witch hunt against President Donald Trump happening in New York City is blatant election interference,” House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik told Fox News Digital Tuesday. “The lead Democrat prosecutor is a donor to Joe Biden just like the judge.” 

BRAGG ‘ALLOWED POLITICAL MOTIVATIONS’ TO ‘INFECT’ PROSECUTION OF TRUMP, HOUSE JUDICIARY GOP SAYS

Merchan donated $15 to Biden’s campaign in July 2020. Merchan also made small donations to other Democratic groups in 2020. 

Stefanik told Fox News Digital that “Democrats know they cannot defeat President Trump at the ballot box and have resorted to a desperate lawfare campaign in hopes of saving Joe Biden.” 

“The American people can see through this, and that is why President Trump will win come November,” Stefanik said. 

Fox News Digital first reported that another top prosecutor on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s team was paid by the Democratic National Committee for his “political consulting” work.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks during a news conference on Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo joined Bragg’s office after the resignations of Mark Pomerantz and Carey Dunne — prosecutors who were investigating Trump and resigned in protest of Bragg’s initial unwillingness to indict the former president. Colangelo left a senior role at the Biden Justice Department to join Bragg’s team. Bragg afterward brought charges against the former president in April 2023, raising questions among some in the GOP about alleged politicization of the case. 

House Republicans are investigating Colangelo and his past work as he prosecutes Trump. 

Stormy Daniels is questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger before Justice Juan Merchan during former U.S. President Donald Trump’s criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City, U.S. May 7, 2024 in this courtroom sketch. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)

According to Federal Election Commission records reviewed by Fox News Digital, DNC Services Corp/Democratic National Committee paid Colangelo twice on Jan. 31, 2018. Colangelo was given two payments of $6,000, for a total of $12,000. 

The “description” for the purpose of payment is labeled “Political Consulting.” 

Neither the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office nor the DNC responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment about Colangelo’s work. 

At the time, Colangelo was serving in then-New York Attorney General Eric Scheiderman’s office as the deputy attorney general for social justice, assuming the role from Bragg. Bragg, at the time, was appointed as chief deputy attorney general. 

Schneiderman resigned in May 2018 amid allegations of sexual assault. Barbara Underwood replaced him as New York attorney general. 

Just months after Colangelo received the payments from the DNC, in June 2018, Underwood, with Colangelo as executive deputy attorney general, filed a lawsuit against the Trump Foundation. The lawsuit claimed that Trump used the foundation’s charitable assets to pay off his legal obligations. The Trump Foundation ultimately agreed to dissolve in December 2018.  

Todd Blanche, lawyer of former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks from a podium at a hearing next to prosecutor Matthew Colangelo at the Manhattan Federal Court over Trump’s push to move his criminal case to federal court, in New York City, U.S. June 27, 2023 in a courtroom sketch.  (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)

NY V. TRUMP: HOUSE JUDICIARY INVESTIGATES BRAGG PROSECUTOR WHO HELD SENIOR ROLE IN BIDEN DOJ

Colangelo joined Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office in December 2022. 

Prior to his work in New York and in the Biden Justice Department, Colangelo worked in the Obama administration, serving in a number of different roles. Colangelo worked in the DOJ’s civil rights division and served as the chief of staff to then-Labor Secretary Tom Perez, who later served as chair of the DNC in 2017. Perez was DNC chairman at the time Colangelo was paid for “political consulting.” 

TRUMP PROSECUTOR QUIT TOP DOJ POST FOR LOWLY NY JOB IN LIKELY BID TO ‘GET’ FORMER PRESIDENT, EXPERT SAYS

Colangelo also worked as a deputy assistant to then-President Obama and as the deputy director of the White House Economic Council. 

Bragg charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. 

Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts. 

A charge of falsifying business records typically is a misdemeanor, but Bragg, Colangelo and New York prosecutors must convince the jury that Trump allegedly falsified those records in the furtherance of “another crime.” 

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Prosecutors suggest that the other crime was in violation of a New York State law — conspiracy to prevent or promote election. On its face, as a stand-alone offense, that charge is also typically a misdemeanor. 

Coupling the alleged falsification of business records with alleged prevention or promotion of election becomes a felony crime, according to Bragg. 

The rap rivalry between Drake and Kendrick Lamar caught the attention of WWE legend Shawn Michaels on Monday.

Michaels, who is the vice president of talent development creative for WWE NXT, offered the two hip-hop stars to come on their show and settle their beef.

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Shawn Michaels arrives at the WWE’s First-Ever Emmy “For Your Consideration” Event at Saban Media Center on June 6, 2018 in North Hollywood, California. (Steve Granitz/WireImage)

“A little Sweet Chin Music goes a long way. @kendricklamar, you and @Drake are formally invited to #WWENXT to settle this thing. I’m even offering my services to mediate,” Michaels wrote on X.

Neither Lamar nor Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Graham, responded to Michaels’ outreach.

Both Drake and Lamar have been firing shots at each other over the last few weeks. The Canadian rapper recently released “The Heart Part 6” in response to Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” Lamar accused Drake of having a “secret daughter” in his track “Meet the Grahams.”

Rapper, songwriter and icon Drake attends a game between the Houston Rockets and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Toyota Center on March 16, 2024 in Houston. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

CHIEFS’ PATRICK MAHOMES GIVES SUPER BOWL RINGS TO LOGAN PAUL FOR WWE BEATDOWN

The two music stars’ connection goes back to after Lamar was featured on Drake’s “Take Care” album in 2011. The two collaborated on a few more projects before Lamar took aim at Drake on Big Sean’s “Control.” While Lamar said he had “love” for all the rappers he named in his verse, Drake appeared to take it more personal than others.

The two sides threw more shades at each other over the years, but things were dead until October 2023, according to Billboard. Drake linked up with J. Cole. Drake wondered who the “hardest MC” is – himself, Lamar or Cole. Drake said he started to feel like “Muhammad Ali.”

Kendrick Lamar attends the Chanel Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2023/2024 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 4, 2023 in Paris. (Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images)

It took a while, but in March, Lamar fired back on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That.” For weeks, Drake and Lamar traded barbs on diss tracks, and it evolved into what it is now.

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Since Sunday, it has been quiet, but for a few days, the two took over social media.

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A fertilizer tank leak has resulted in a miles-long fish kill in central Indiana, environmental officials said Monday.

WISCONSIN DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR ASKS REPUBLICANS TO RELEASE $125M TO COMBAT ‘FOREVER CHEMICALS’ POLLUTION

Officials with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management said state conservation officers on Sunday afternoon reported a large number of dead fish in the waters around Flint Creek near West Point in Tippecanoe County. Agency responders determined the kill stretched about 10 miles starting in a Flint Run tributary. Flint Run connects to Flint Creek, which flows into the Wabash River.

A liquid nitrogen fertilizer leak has reportedly resulted in a miles-long fish kill in Tippecanoe County, Indiana. (Fox News)

Responders detected elevated levels of ammonia nitrogen in the waters that they said came from a leak in a 30,000-gallon liquid nitrogen fertilizer storage tank at the nearby Scott Miller Farm. The farm owner has taken steps to contain the leak, agency officials said. Meanwhile, they recommend people and animals stay out of the water as the investigation continues.

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No contact information could immediately be found for the Scott Miller Farm.

Former President Trump is calling for Special Counsel Jack Smith’s arrest after the prosecutors handling the 45th president’s classified documents case admitted seized documents are no longer in their original order and sequence.  

“Now, Deranged Jack has admitted in a filing in front of Judge Cannon to what I have been saying happened since the Illegal RAID on my home, Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida – That he and his team committed blatant Evidence Tampering by mishandling the very Boxes they used as a pretext to bring this Fake Case,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Friday. “These deeply Illegal actions by the Politicized ‘Persecutors’ mandate that this whole Witch Hunt be DROPPED IMMEDIATELY. END THE ‘BOXES HOAXES.’ MAGA2024!”

“ARREST DERANGED JACK SMITH. HE IS A CRIMINAL!” Trump added in a follow-up post. 

Prosecutors admitted in a court filing on Friday that “there are some boxes where the order of items within that box is not the same as in the associated scans.” The prosecutors had previously told the court that the documents were “in their original, intact form as seized.” 

JUDGE UNSEALS FBI FILES IN TRUMP CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE, INCLUDING DETAILED TIMELINE OF MAR-A-LAGO RAID

Former President Trump returns to Trump Tower, New York City, Monday, April 15, 2024. Trump was in Manhattan Criminal Court today for jury selection in the so-called “hush-money” case. (Probe-Media for Fox New Digital)

“The Government acknowledges that this is inconsistent with what Government counsel previously understood and represented to the Court,” a footnote in the filing reads. 

The filing comes after one of Trump’s co-defendants in the case asked for a delay as lawyers were having trouble figuring out the origin of some of the documents in the evidence boxes. 

The FBI agents seized 33 boxes of documents in August 2022 from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, spurring another legal battle that Trump has called a “scam.” The investigation is overseen by special prosecutor Smith, who Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed to the job, and has charged Trump with 40 felony counts, including allegedly violating the Espionage Act, making false statements to investigators and conspiracy to obstruct justice. 

GOP SLAMS ‘WEAPONIZATION’ OF DOJ AFTER TRUMP’S MAR-A-LAGO RAIDED BY FBI; DEMS CALL IT ‘ACCOUNTABILITY’

Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and slammed the case as an “Election Inference Scam” promoted by the Biden administration and “Deranged Jack Smith.”

Special Counsel Jack Smith arrives to give remarks on a recently unsealed indictment, including four felony counts, against former President Trump on Aug. 1, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The case is slated to head to trial on May 20, though the date may change, with presiding Judge Aileen Cannon underacting a trove of documents in the lead-up to the trial that have provided notable updates to the case. 

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION INVOLVEMENT

Judge Cannon recently unredacted more than 300 pages of evidence in the case, including emails and conversations related to the Biden administration’s contact with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) the year prior to the documents’ seizure from Trump’s home, Real Clear Investigations recently reported. Biden has previously publicly said he was not involved in the case, though the filings show other White House officials were involved in the early stages of the investigation. 

TRUMP SAYS MAR-A-LAGO HOME IN FLORIDA ‘UNDER SIEGE’ BY FBI AGENTS

The unredacted documents allege that just weeks after Trump left office in 2021, the White House Office of Records Management under the Biden administration began working with NARA “on exaggerated claims related to records handling under the Presidential Records Act,” Trump’s attorney wrote in a court filing to compel discovery.  

The Archives’ general counsel, Gary Stern, sent a letter to Trump’s Presidential Records Act representatives in May 2021 asking the whereabouts of “roughly two dozen boxes of original Presidential records [that] have not been transferred to NARA.” Stern explained that he “had several conversations” with White House Office of Records Management officials where they discussed “concerns” regarding Trump’s possession of the documents, according to Real Clear Investigations. 

President Biden speaks at Abbotts Creek Community Center during an event to promote his economic agenda in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Jan. 18, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Stern’s letter detailed that the team was looking for “original correspondence between President Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jung-un” and “the letter that President Obama left for President Trump on his first day in office,” Real Clear reported.

TRUMP’S LAWYERS PUSH FOR DISMISSAL OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE, ARGUING ‘PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY’

He added that he understood that transitioning administrations was “very chaotic” and that it could take “several more months” to transfer the documents, The Federalist reported. By June of that year, a national archivist appointed by former President Obama, David Ferriero, told the Trump team he was running “out of patience,” unredacted filings show. The filing states that Ferriero dismissed “good-faith efforts by President Trump’s PRA representatives to address issues raised by NARA.” 

This view shows former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate on Aug. 10, 2022, in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

The filing continued that Ferriero allegedly “threatened” a PRA representative for Trump in August 2021, saying he presumed 24 boxes of “alleged – and non-existent” documents were “destroyed” and that he was taking the issue to the DOJ. Ferriero and Stern contacted DOJ officials and Deputy White House Counsel Jonathan Su. Stern met with Su at the White House, according to White House logs reported by Real Clear Investigations. 

“At this point, I am assuming [the boxes] have been destroyed. In which case, I am obligated to report it to the Hill, the DOJ, and the White House,” Ferriero wrote in a warning to Trump’s team in August 2021, according to the documents. 

“To my knowledge, nothing has been destroyed,” a Trump representative responded.

TRUMP DEMANDS JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ‘IMMEDIATELY’ DROP CHARGES AGAINST HIM IN CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE AFTER BIDEN DECISION 

The unredacted filing states that in September, Stern emailed Ferriero and a deputy archivist that he had “reached out to DOJ counsel about this issue” and that “WH Counsel is now aware of the issue.”

Another email, sent on Sept. 15, details that Stern reportedly spoke with Su to “get him up to speed on the issue and the dispute whether there are 12 or 24 missing boxes,” which was followed by another email that “[White House counsel] is ready to set up a call to discuss the Trump boxes.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment Sunday but did not immediately receive a reply.

DOJ INSTRUCTS NARA HOW TO PROCEED

Trump’s team delivered 15 boxes of documents to NARA in January 2022, with the Archives’ White House liaison director reporting back to Ferriero and another archivist that the boxes mostly contained newspaper clippings and magazines, in addition to “lots of classified records,” according to court filings. 

Unsealed documents show that following the review of the returned boxes, Su urged Stern to contact Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. Monaco’s office subsequently “instructed” how Stern could proceed with the matter, including contacting the inspectors general for the Archives and intelligence community, and DOJ National Security Division Chief Jay Bratt, court filings reported by Real Clear show.

This image, contained in the indictment against former President Trump, shows boxes of records stored in a bathroom and shower in the Lake Room at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. (Justice Department via AP)

Stern complied with the instructions, and a criminal referral was sent to the DOJ on Feb. 9. 

News of the criminal referral sparked condemnation from Republicans that it was spurred by political spite at the hands of Democrats against Trump. 

TRUMP EXPECTED BACK IN COURT FOR CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS HEARING IN SPECIAL SECURE FLORIDA FACILITY

“At no time and under no circumstances were NARA officials pressured or influenced by Committee Democrats or anyone else,” Acting National Archivist Debra Steidel Wall wrote in a letter to congressional Republicans in 2022. 

ALLEGATIONS OF IMPROPER ATTEMPTS TO INFLUENCE WALT NAUTA’S COUNSEL

Trump was charged alongside his personal aide and valet, Walt Nauta, as well as Mar-a-Lago maintenance chief Carlos De Oliveira. Unredacted court filings show Nauta’s attorney was allegedly threatened he could lose a shot at becoming a federal judge if Nauta didn’t flip on Trump. 

A motion filed in June 2023, and recently unredacted, reported that Nauta’s attorney, Stanley Woodward, met with DOJ National Security Division Chief Jay Bratt just weeks after the raid on Mar-a-Lago and “was led to a conference room where Mr. Bratt awaited with what appeared to be a folder containing information about Mr. Woodward,” The Federalist reported. 

This view shows former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 31, 2023. (Reuters/Ricardo Arduengo)

“Mr. Bratt thereupon told Mr. Woodward he didn’t consider him to be a ‘Trump lawyer,’ and he further said that he was aware that Mr. Woodward had been recommended to President Biden for an appointment to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia,” the motion stated, the Federalist reported. “Mr. Bratt followed up with words to the effect of ‘I wouldn’t want you to do anything to mess that up.’ Thereafter, Mr. Bratt advised Mr. Woodward that ‘one way or the other’ his client, Walt Nauta, would be giving up his lavish lifestyle of ‘private planes and golf clubs’ and he encouraged Mr. Woodward to persuade Mr. Nauta to cooperate with the government’s investigation (this was prior to the appointment of the Special Counsel).”

Bratt was later appointed lead prosecutor to Jack Smith’s case. 

The DOJ argued that “at no point during the meeting did Woodward suggest that any of the prosecutors’ comments were improper.” 

TRUMP FLORIDA JUDGE CANNON DENIES TRUMP DISMISSAL ON ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL VAGUENESS’

Legal experts, including James Trusty, Trump attorney and former chief of the Justice Department’s organized crime unit, have said the allegations in the filing amount to “extortion.” 

“You had a high-level DOJ official – according to a statement submitted as an officer-to-the-court, to a federal judge – told Stanley Woodward, a defense attorney representing Walt Nauta that it would be a shame, essentially, if he endangered his pending judgeship by not flipping Nauta against President Trump,” Trusty said last year in comment to Fox News’ Mark Levin. 

‘PLASMIC ECHO’

Newly unredacted filings reveal that the FBI investigation into Trump, which officially began in March 2022 following the president and his team voluntarily handing over boxes of documents, was dubbed “Plasmic Echo.” 

“This document contains information that is restricted to case participants,” documents unsealed last month show, Fox News Digital previously reported. It added, “PLASMIC ECHO; Mishandling Classified or National Defense Information, Unknown Subject; Sensitive Investigation Matter.”

TRUMP’S SECURITY CLEARANCE WAS ALLEGEDLY RETROACTIVELY REVOKED

Earlier this year, Trump’s legal team indicated they might use evidence showing Trump acted in “good-faith and non-criminal states of mind” when he took classified documents home to Florida due to a high-level security clearance granted by the Department of Energy. 

Unsealed, unredacted filings assert Trump had the high-level “Q clearance” granted by the DOE until last year, but that it was allegedly revoked following Trump’s indictment.

Former President Trump speaks to supporters at a rally to support local candidates on Sept. 3, 2022, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The DOE’s “Central Personnel Clearance Index and Clearance Action Tracking System ‘reflect[ed] an active Q clearance’ for President Trump,” according to the 2024 filing, as reported by The Federalist. 

An assistant general counsel at the agency, however, “instructed that the relevant systems ‘be immediately amended’ and ‘promptly modified to reflect the terminated status of [President] Trump’s Q clearance,'” the filing states.

The special counsel’s office declined additional comment on Monday morning when asked about the unredacted documents. 

Former President Trump listens as David Pecker is questioned by prosecutor Joshua Steinglass during Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan, April 26, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)

Trump’s classified documents case comes as he continues a weeks-long legal battle in a Manhattan courtroom where he is facing 34 felony charges of falsifying business records. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and slammed the case as another “scam” and “witch hunt” promoted by the Biden administration ahead of the general election.

SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH HITS BACK AT JUDGE FOR ‘FUNDAMENTALLY FLAWED LEGAL PREMISE’ IN TRUMP DOCUMENTS CASE

“This Judge has taken away my Constitutional Right to FREE SPEECH. I am the only Presidential Candidate in History to be GAGGED,” Trump wrote last week on Truth Social. 

“This whole ‘Trial’ is RIGGED, and by taking away my FREEDOM OF SPEECH, THIS HIGHLY CONFLICTED JUDGE IS RIGGING THE PRESIDENTIAL OF 2024 ELECTION. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!” Trump continued. 

The classified documents case, meanwhile, also opened the doors to investigations regarding classified documents in the possession of Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence. Special Counsel Robert Hur announced in February that he would not recommend criminal charges against Biden for possessing classified materials after his vice presidency, citing that Biden is “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

President Biden speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Sept. 15, 2023. (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Based on our direct interactions with and observations of him, he is someone from whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt. It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him – by then a former president well into his eighties – of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness,” Hur wrote in his report. 

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The findings sparked widespread outrage that Biden was effectively deemed too cognitively impaired to be charged with a crime but could serve as president. Trump has meanwhile slammed the disparity in charges as a reflection of a “sick and corrupt, two-tiered system of justice in our country.” 

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen’s 13-year marriage – and subsequent divorce – caught all kinds of flags off the field from comedians and fellow football players.

The NFL legend took jokes in stride while being honored during Netflix’s live special, “The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady” hosted at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.

Host Kevin Hart opened the roast by joking that Brady left former coach Bill Belichick “high and dry” for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when he left the New England Patriots in 2019 after 20 seasons.

GISELE BUNDCHEN’S DIVORCE FROM TOM BRADY REVEALED SHE WAS ‘STRONGER THAN I THOUGHT’

Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen’s marriage was under scrutiny at the Netflix roast for the former quarterback. (Getty Images)

“You f—ed your coach, but let me tell you something, people, that’s what you do to maintain your happiness. You sometimes got to f–k your coach. You who, who else f—-d their coach? Gisele. She f—-d that karate man.”

Hart played into the joke against the supermodel and her jiu-jitsu instructor boyfriend Joaquim Valente, and then screamed at Brady, “What an idiot! Why would you do this? What an idiot!”

GISELE BÜNDCHEN POSES FOR RACY BEACH PHOTOSHOOT AFTER TEARING UP OVER TOM BRADY

“I mean, Jesus Christ, Tom,” Hart said. “One of the smartest quarterbacks to ever play the game; how did you not see this coming? Eight f—ing karate classes a day? Eight karate classes a day?”

“Eight karate classes a day, and she’s still a white belt.”

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen announced the end of their marriage in October 2022. (Matt Winkelmeyer)

Hart added, “The scariest part about this guy is if you have any problems, I’m worried for you. Jesus Christ, you can’t lose any fight to the bonus dad. Kids gonna change their name. The guy knows karate, Tom. I can’t help you with this, Tom.”

Comedian Nikki Glaser added more fuel to the divorce fire and quipped, “You had seven rings, well eight after Gisele gave hers back.”

Andrew Schultz joked that Tom became the “goat” (greatest of all time) by “being the fiercest competitor on the planet.”

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“Tom was once asked which one of his rings was his favorite and he said, the next one,” Schultz said. “Sorry, that was a Gisele quote. My bad.”

Tom Brady was the star of the show at the Netflix Is A Joke Fest, “The Greatest Roast Of All Time: Tom Brady.” (Monica Schipper)

Podcaster Tony Hinchcliffe made his way to the stage by mocking Brady’s marriage.

“Nice shoes, b—h,” he said to Brady. “Did you win those in the divorce?”

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The former couple officially announced their divorce in separate Instagram posts shared in October 2022. 

“In recent days my wife and I finalized our divorce from one another after 13 years of marriage,” Brady wrote. “We arrived at this decision amicably and with gratitude for the time we spent together. We are blessed with beautiful and wonderful children who will continue to be the center of our world in every way. We will continue to work together as parents to always ensure they receive the love and attention they deserve.”

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen were married for 13 years. They share son Benjamin and daughter Vivian together. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)

Bündchen added: “The decision to end a marriage is never easy but we have grown apart and while it is, of course, difficult to go through something like this, I feel blessed for the time we had together and only wish the best for Tom always.

“I kindly ask that our privacy be respected during this sensitive time. Thank you.”

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Small business owners are increasingly relying on credit cards to keep their businesses afloat, and some business owners are blaming the Biden administration for the rise in costs.

Maher Youssef, owner of Pluto Organic Cafe, told Fox News that his Seattle coffee shop has relied on credit cards to pay for costs as inflation has surged. He believes the Biden administration needs to refocus its attention to helping small businesses who are struggling in this country.

“I think Biden should focus on that. If he can’t do it, he should resign,” Youssef told “FOX & Friends Weekend” co-host Will Cain.

Findings published May 1 by Bank of America show that small businesses are reacting to inflationary pressures within the economy by racking up credit card debt to finance their operations. Since 2019, small business credit card balances are up 18%, according to aggregated and anonymized data.

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Seattle coffee shop owner Maher Youssef blames President Biden for not doing enough to help small businesses as costs have surged due to inflation.

While inflation has fallen considerably from a peak of 9.1%, progress has largely flatlined since the summer. The latest government data shows the consumer price index jumped 3.5% in March, the highest level in six months.

The Bank of America report found about 28% of small business owners have had to raise prices as a result, with 25% of these owners citing inflation as their top concern, citing NFIB data.

However, Youssef explained to Fox News that he could only raise prices minimally in order not to scare away his customers. 

“We’re a small business, a small corporation, a small cafe. I can’t raise the prices. I can’t put the coffee for, like, you know, a couple bucks more. The maximum we can raise the price is — what — 50 cents, a dollar? Because if you put the prices crazy, people are not going to buy from you,” he said. 

SMALL BUSINESS OPTIMISM HITS LOWEST LEVEL SINCE 2012: NFIB

Since 2019, small business credit card balances are up 18%. (Fox News)

The coffee shop owner called on Biden to help out businesses here rather than spend money giving aid overseas.

“I’m just wondering, where is the money? Where are the taxes we’re paying? Biden makes us like slaves in a circle, takes our money and just puts it in Ukraine, Israel and gives it to other countries instead of giving to our own people. As an American citizen, where is the money?” Youssef said. “Where is my money? Instead of helping small businesses, helping the people here, they just go give it to a different country?”

“I think Biden should instead of focusing on different countries, focus on this country and fix it. If he can’t do it, he should go. Let somebody else take care of it,” he continued.

President Biden has blamed corporate greed for businesses raising prices in reaction to inflation.

In a February speech, Biden defended his administration’s efforts to bring prices down, but blamed large businesses for raising prices and “ripping people off.”

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“But for all we’ve done to bring prices down, there are still too many corporations in America ripping people off: price gouging, junk fees, greedflation, shrinkflation,” Biden said.

“Well, it’s going to stop. Americans, we’re tired of being played for suckers,” he continued. “And that’s why we’re going to keep these guys — keep on them and get the prices down.”

Fox Business’ Megan Henney contributed to this article. 

Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce have won three Super Bowls during their time together. 

Mahomes and Kelce also have a close friendship off the football field, and the star quarterback revealed that there is more to the Chiefs tight end than meets the eye. When he’s not catching passes from Mahomes, Kelce is often seen partying hard and is known to chug a beer can or two.

But according to Mahomes, Kelce’s partying image is merely a “persona.”

“He puts on this persona like, ‘I’m partying, I’m drinking [or] whatever’ but he’s really super intelligent,” Mahomes told Logan Paul during a recent episode of the “Impaulsive” podcast.

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Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City Chiefs and teammate Travis Kelce during the Miami Dolphins game at Deutsche Bank Park on Nov. 5, 2023, in Frankfurt, Germany. (Ralf Ibing – firo sportphoto/Getty Images)

Mahomes said his friendship with Kelce helped them build chemistry on the gridiron.

“He gets on the football field and he gets open and I just know where he’s going to be [and] at the same time I think our friendship kind of built naturally,” Mahomes said.

TRAVIS KELCE’S LONGEVITY WILL COME DOWN TO THESE FACTORS, EX-NFL STAR VERNON DAVIS SAYS

The 28-year-old Chiefs quarterback is married to Brittany Mahomes and the couple share two children. Mahomes joked that he has put his partying days on the back burner and said he struggles to keep pace with Travis and his brother Jason Kelce.

“No, I cannot [keep up with the Kelce brothers]. I used to, I think, and then I had kids. You hear my voice now and I left early every night [when they were in Las Vegas for his charity golf tournament and gala].… You gotta pick and choose these days,” Mahomes explained.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce celebrate victory over the Philadelphia Eagles after Super Bowl LVII, Feb. 12, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

The recently retired Jason Kelce is also a father. Mahomes noted that the former Philadelphia Eagles star likely faces similar challenges when it comes to balancing fatherhood and professional commitments.

“Jason has kids too, so he has to pick and choose, but when he chooses, he can go,” Mahomes said.

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Travis will celebrate his 35th birthday a few weeks after the 2024 NFL season kicks off, but the Chiefs remain confident he will continue to play at a high level for the foreseeable future. He recently agreed to a contract extension that makes him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL.

Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said Kelce has “shown no signs of slowing down.”

“We’ll certainly celebrate this with him, and hopefully we can ride this thing even longer,” Veach said shortly after the extension was announced. 

“We’ll just have to wait and see, but he’s shown no signs of slowing down. Everyone notices the kind of postseason he had; he just found an extra gear. These special players are always able to find that extra gear and, again, if anybody can do it, Travis can.”

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FIRST ON FOX: The conservative, “woke-free” beer company that launched last year hoping to rival Bud Light will host an event Tuesday at a University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill fraternity house to celebrate the actions of the students who defended the American flag from anti-Israel protesters on campus earlier this week.

Dubbed the “Frat Boy Summer Kickoff,” the event will be held at the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity house and will be hosted by the Ultra Right Beer Company.

“We’re trying to get this very organic, just a good old-fashioned, frat row, beer party,” said Seth Weathers, CEO of Ultra Right Beer Company, told Fox News Digital. “I love what the kids did, obviously, protecting the flag.”

“I love the idea of just continuing to encourage them about what they did so that that will encourage, you know, other kids in college and everywhere else to know they did the right thing,” he added.

UNC FRAT BROTHERS WHO DEFENDED US FLAG SPEAK OUT: ‘DEEPLY IMPORTANT TO US’

Dubbed the “Frat Boy Summer Kickoff,” the event will be held at the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity house and will be hosted by the Ultra Right Beer Company. (Parker Ali/The Daily Tar Heel, Ultra Right Beer Company)

Ultra Right Beer Company will be giving away free beer to those in attendance for what Weathers believes will turn into a “really good event” that “multiple fraternities” and Old Row, a Barstool Sports subsidiary, are involved with.

“We’re doing free beer,” he said. “We’re making it really simple — show up, you got free beer. We’re bringing half a tractor trailer load of beer for this thing just in anticipation of the kind of crowd it sounds like we’re going to have.”

Multiple fraternity brothers at UNC Chapel Hill garnered praise earlier this week after they were photographed hoisting an American flag that had been removed once and replaced with a Palestinian flag on the university’s quad. Their decision to step in came as anti-Israel agitators attempted to take down the American flag for a second time after UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts responded with law enforcement officers to return the American flag to its place.

The flag had been flying at half-staff after four Charlotte officers were killed in the line of duty Monday.

Weathers said the event is a “pro-America celebration in celebration of these kids and what they did in encouraging more to do the same.”

UNC FRATERNITY BROTHERS DEFEND REINSTATED AMERICAN FLAG FROM CAMPUS MOB WHO REPLACED WITH PALESTINIAN FLAG

UNC Chapel Hill students hold up the American flag during a campus protest on April 30, 2024. (Parker Ali/The Daily Tar Heel)

“Our brand’s all about that. We’re all about patriotism, and we’re all about people boldly showing their patriotism and their beliefs. And when you see kids doing it, we’re excited about that,” he said.

Several Republican lawmakers have praised the fraternity brothers for stepping in and refusing to allow the removal of the American flag from its campus, including Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, who praised them for displaying “extreme courage” and “deep patriotism.”

The fraternity brothers defended the flag for over an hour until police were able to clear the protest and safely place it back on the flagpole. All the while, the frat brothers experienced profanity and rude gestures from protesters, along with water, bottles and rocks being thrown at them.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre remarked this week that the students’ actions were “admirable.”

A GoFundMe page was created to throw the fraternity brothers a “rager” for their decision to defend the flag on campus and raised more than $500,000, as of Saturday.

The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s campus on Thursday, May 2, 2024. (Fox News Digital)

“These kids are going to be pulled a million directions with everyone trying to get a hold of their GoFundMe money,” Weather said. “We wanted to do something organic for them to encourage more of the patriotism we saw on campus last week.”

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Ultra Right Beer Company launched in April 2023 as a rival to Bud Light following its partnership with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney, which ruffled the feathers of conservatives around the country who had long supported the beer giant.

Fox News’ Audrey Conklin and Alexander Hall contributed to this report.