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NY judge Wednesday hearing for Eric Adams, DOJ officials on dismissal motion

A federal judge in New York City ordered Mayor Eric Adams and Trump administration Department of Justice (DOJ) officials to court over the motion to dismiss corruption charges filed under the Biden administration.

In an order Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Dale Ho directed both parties to appear before the Lower Manhattan court on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET.

The judge also ordered Adams to file his “consent in writing” to the motion to dismiss to the court docket by 5 p.m. ET Tuesday. Ho said the DOJ motion cited how Adams “consented in writing,” but no such document had been submitted to the court.

The DOJ motion cites one judicial opinion regarding the federal rule for dismissal, stating “the executive branch remains the absolute judge of whether a prosecution should be initiated and the first and presumptively the best judge of whether a pending prosecution should be terminated,” and “the exercise of its discretion with respect to the termination of pending prosecutions should not be judicially disturbed unless clearly contrary to manifest public interest.”

CUOMO RESPONDS AFTER EX-NEW YORK OFFICIAL CALLS FOR HIM TO BE NYC MAYOR

Mayor Eric Adams leaves an event in New York City on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Ho, however, cited legal history, noting that a judge has independent obligations once the government has involved the judiciary by obtaining an indictment or a conviction. Additionally, he quoted from one judicial opinion that said a judge must be “satisfied that the reasons advanced for the proposed dismissal are substantial” before approving a dismissal.

Adams said four of his deputy mayors resigned on Monday in the fallout from the Justice Department’s push to end the corruption case against him and ensure his cooperation with President Donald Trump’s criminal illegal immigration crackdown.

Several top prosecutors in Manhattan and Washington, D.C., also have resigned since the Justice Department filed its motion Friday seeking to drop the case.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday she is weighing removing Adams from office. Her former boss, ex-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is among those rumored to be considering a challenge to Adams in June’s Democratic mayoral primary, though he has not officially announced his candidacy. Among the candidates already in the race against the first-term mayor is former City Comptroller Scott Stringer and current City Comptroller Brad Lander.

New York City mayoral candidate, current City Comptroller Brad Lander, speaks during a press conference on Feb. 18, 2025, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Lander, a progressive endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., threatened to initiate a process of removing Adams without the governor’s approval.

In a letter to Hochul on Tuesday, Stringer implored the governor to remove Adams, arguing the mayor “has lost the confidence of not only a growing number of other elected leaders and ordinary New Yorkers, but those in closest proximity to him – public servants he hired to aid in managing a massive workforce and budget.”

The Justice Department, meanwhile, is investigating alleged “insubordination” among federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York.

Adams has pleaded not guilty to charges that, while in his prior role as Brooklyn borough president, he accepted over $100,000 in illegal campaign contributions and lavish travel perks from a Turkish official and business leaders seeking to buy his influence. The Democratic mayor was indicted at a time when he grew critical of the Biden administration’s response to the worsening immigrant crisis in the Big Apple.

NY GOV. HOCHUL TO MEET WITH ‘KEY LEADERS’ TO DISCUSS ‘PATH FORWARD’ AMID ERIC ADAMS TURMOIL

With Trump back in office, Adams is cooperating with border czar Tom Homan, allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to once again continue operations at Riker’s Island jail.

The upcoming mayoral primary comes at a time when a different judge, Jenny Rivera, of the New York Court of Appeals, considers a law that would allow some 800,000 noncitizens to vote in that race and other city-level contests if implemented.

A former Watergate prosecutor on Monday urged the federal judge presiding over Adams’ prosecution to assign a special counsel to help decide how to handle the DOJ motion, while three ex-U.S. attorneys demanded a “searching factual inquiry.”

This undated image provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, shows Danielle R. Sassoon, interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York via AP)

The last week has featured a public fight between Bove, the second-in-command of the Justice Department, and two top New York federal prosecutors: interim Manhattan U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon and Hagan Scotten, an assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan who led the Adams prosecution. Sassoon and Scotten resigned.

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In his letter to Ho, attorney Nathaniel Akerman, the one-time Watergate prosecutor, echoed Sassoon’s assertion that the Justice Department had accepted a request by Adams’ lawyers for a “quid pro quo.” Adams denied that claim, writing in an X post on Friday, “I want to be crystal clear with New Yorkers: I never offered — nor did anyone offer on my behalf — any trade of my authority as your mayor for an end to my case. Never.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on X: @danimwallace.

February 18, 2025
Russian officials make ultimatums on NATO, Ukraine as Saudi Arabia peace talks begin

U.S. and Russian officials held peace talks in Saudi Arabia without any Ukrainian officials present on Tuesday.

Russia’s foreign ministry issued several ultimatums as the talks began early Tuesday morning. Russian officials noted that Ukrainian membership in NATO is unacceptable, and they said a simple refusal by NATO to allow Ukraine to join is not a sufficient protection. Instead, Russian officials said NATO must disavow promises of Ukrainian membership in NATO made during a 2008 summit in Bucharest.

The groups, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, are seeking terms for a peace agreement in Ukraine as well as negotiating a potential meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The two groups broke for a working lunch at roughly 2 p.m. local time.

PUTIN VIEWED AS ‘GREAT COMPETITOR’ BUT STILL A US ‘ADVERSARY’ AS UKRAINE NEGOTIATIONS LOOM, LEAVITT SAYS

Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Sputnik/Alexei Danichev/Pool via REUTERS/Leah Millis/Alina Smutko)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his country would never accept peace terms negotiated by the U.S. and Russia without Ukrainian involvement. Trump has vowed that Ukraine will be involved in the larger process.

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff emphasized on Sunday that the ongoing meeting in Riyadh is more about “trust building” than getting into the details of an actual peace agreement.

Zelenskyy urged Trump not to trust Putin in a phone call last week.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is meeting with Russian counterparts in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

“I said that [Putin] is a liar,” Zelenskyy said of the call. “And he said, ‘I think my feeling is that he’s ready for these negotiations.’ And I said to him, ‘No, he’s a liar. He doesn’t want any peace.’”

FREED AMERICAN HOSTAGE MARC FOGEL LANDS IN US AFTER YEARS IN RUSSIAN CAPTIVITY

The Ukrainian leader nevertheless said he believes Putin is a “little bit scared” of Trump.

Also excluded from Tuesday’s talks are any European representatives, a notable absence given the stern rebuke of European allies delivered by Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference last week.

The war in Ukraine continues to rage as fledgling peace talks take place in Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/LIBKOS, File)

Some European allies are taking the cue, with U.K. Prime Minister Kier Starmer announcing that he is willing to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine to ensure its security as part of a peace deal.

“I do not say that lightly,” he wrote in the Daily Telegraph. “I feel very deeply the responsibility that comes with potentially putting British servicemen and women in harm’s way.”

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“But any role in helping to guarantee Ukraine’s security is helping to guarantee the security of our continent, and the security of this country,” he added.

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to [email protected], or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.

February 18, 2025
Top Russian, US officials begin talks on Ukraine war without officials from Kyiv

Senior Russian and U.S. officials met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss improving relations and an end to Moscow’s war in Ukraine – without representatives from Kyiv.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov led the delegations that met at the Diriyah Palace in Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh.

Rubio was accompanied by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, while Lavrov brought along the Kremlin’s foreign affairs advisor, Yuri Ushakov.

Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and national security advisor Musaed al Alban were present for the start of the meeting but were expected to leave early in the talks.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center, sits next to U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, right, and U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, left, during a meeting with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, Feb. 18, 2025. (AP)

Ukrainian officials are not participating in Tuesday’s meeting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that Kyiv will not accept the outcome if his country is not in attendance at the meeting.

The meeting symbolizes another significant step by the Trump administration to reverse U.S. policy on isolating Russia. The event was meant to lead to a meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a press conference at the Ukraine peace summit in Obbürgen, Switzerland, on June 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Last week, Trump upended U.S. policy toward Ukraine and Russia, stating that he and Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the war, which began in February 2022.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

February 18, 2025
Putin sending foreign minister to Saudi Arabia for talks with Trump officials

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dispatched a group of senior officials to Saudi Arabia for meetings with the U.S. about a potential peace deal for Ukraine, the Kremlin announced Monday.

The officials, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, will meet with U.S. counterparts on Tuesday. The groups plan to discuss a restoration of diplomatic ties between Washington and Moscow, as well as a Ukrainian peace deal and a potential meeting between President Donald Trump and Putin.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the U.S. delegation, accompanied by Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and national security adviser Mike Waltz, the state department confirmed Monday.

The meeting comes just days after Trump revealed he had spoken to Putin in a phone call last week. Trump said he and Putin “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately.”

TRUMP SAYS RUSSIA AGREES TO ‘IMMEDIATELY’ BEGIN NEGOTIATIONS TO END WAR IN UKRAINE

President Donald Trump (center), Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (right). (Alessandro Bremec/NurPhoto via Getty Images | Contributor/Getty Images | Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met the effort with skepticism, urging Trump not to trust Putin in a separate call last week.

“I said that [Putin] is a liar,” Zelenskyy recounted of his phone call to Trump. “And he said, ‘I think my feeling is that he’s ready for these negotiations.’ And I said to him, ‘No, he’s a liar. He doesn’t want any peace.’”

PUTIN VIEWED AS ‘GREAT COMPETITOR’ BUT STILL A US ‘ADVERSARY’ AS UKRAINE NEGOTIATIONS LOOM, LEAVITT SAYS

Zelenskyy nevertheless said he believes Putin is a “little bit scared” of Trump.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will lead the Russian delegation meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Saudi Arabia this week. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Trump’s representatives have declined to offer details about the negotiations, such as whether the U.S. would support a deal where Ukraine is forced to give up a sizable amount of its pre-war territory.

FREED AMERICAN HOSTAGE MARC FOGEL LANDS IN US AFTER YEARS IN RUSSIAN CAPTIVITY

“Those are details, and I’m not dismissive of the details, they’re important. But I think the beginning here is trust-building. It’s getting everybody to understand that this war does not belong continuing, that it should end. That’s what the president has directed us to do,” Witkoff told Fox News on Sunday.

Meanwhile, U.K. Prime Minister Kier Starmer has confirmed that he is willing to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine to ensure its security as part of a peace deal.

“I do not say that lightly,” he wrote in the Daily Telegraph. “I feel very deeply the responsibility that comes with potentially putting British servicemen and women in harm’s way.”

“But any role in helping to guarantee Ukraine’s security is helping to guarantee the security of our continent, and the security of this country,” he added.

War has continued to rage in Ukraine in recent days despite a phone call between Trump and Putin discussing a possible peace deal. (Anatolii STEPANOV / AFP, ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images)

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Zelenskyy added in his interview that he will not accept any negotiation hashed out by just the U.S. and Russia.

“I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine. Never.… The war in Ukraine is against us, and it is our human losses. And we are thankful for all the support, unity between U.S.A. – in U.S.A. around Ukraine support, bipartisan unity, bipartisan support, we’re thankful for all of this. But there is no… leader in the world who can really make a deal with Putin without us about us,” he said.

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to [email protected], or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.

February 17, 2025
Obama officials, Trump critics target Hegseth’s Ukraine ‘concessions’ as ‘biggest gift’ to Russia

Obama officials and Trump critics are up in arms after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a return to the Eastern European country’s pre-war borders with Russia is “unrealistic.”

Hegseth, speaking to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Belgium on Wednesday, said “returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective.” He also called for Europe to offer Ukraine security guarantees after the war – not the U.S.

Trump administration critics accused the secretary of giving up leverage before the start of peace negotiations with Russia.

“Putin is gonna pocket this and ask for more,” Brett Bruen, director of Global Engagement under the Obama White House, told Fox News Digital.

RUSSIAN MISSILES RAINED DOWN ON KYIV JUST AHEAD OF TREASURY SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT’S VISIT

Ukraine advocates are up in arms about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s comments they believe give up leverage before the start of peace negotiations. (DefSec Hegseth on X)

Hegseth said Wednesday that “durable peace” for Ukraine must “ensure that the war will not begin again.”

“The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement. Instead, any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops,” he said.

“If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission and not covered under Article 5. There also must be robust international oversight of the line of contact. To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine.”

While it is little surprise the Trump administration does not currently support Ukraine’s NATO membership, or believe Ukraine can take back all of its territory including Crimea, critics argue that Hegseth vocalizing these beliefs just as President Donald Trump fired the opening salvo in peace negotiations took them off the table as leverage.

“Why would you unilaterally surrender on some of those key strategic issues? Even if Trump ultimately wants to give ground, at least get something in return,” Bruen said.

‘NO BETRAYAL’ IN TRUMP MOVE TOWARD UKRAINE WAR NEGOTIATIONS, HEGSETH SAYS

“Anyone with any diplomatic experience would have said it is critical that we use this as part of our negotiation, as President Trump wants to have with Moscow. But the idea that we’re simply going to announce all of the things that we are not going to do goes against 70 years of our diplomacy and our military strategy.”

Michael McFaul, ambassador to Russia under the Obama administration, asked why the Trump administration appeared to be giving Russian President Vladimir Putin wins for free.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, center, made the comments while meeting with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. (Johanna Geron/Pool Photo via AP)

“Why is the Trump administration giving Putin gifts – Ukrainian land and no NATO membership for Ukraine – before negotiations even begin?” he asked on X. “I’ve negotiated with the Russians. You never give up anything to them for free.”

Alexander Vindman, a Trump impeachment witness and former Europe director at the National Security Council – who continues to be a fierce Trump critic – characterized Hegseth’s comments as “complete capitulation to Putin” that justifies Russia’s wars of aggression going back to Georgia in 2008.

“This will embolden Putin and undermine the interests of peace in Ukraine and Europe. A major blow to U.S. national security,” Vindman asserted.

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., chimed in that Hegseth’s comments show, “Trump’s foreign policy has always been Russia First. Never America and its allies first.”

The defense secretary also called on Europe to “take ownership of conventional security on the continent.”

HEGSETH WARNS EUROPEANS ‘REALITIES’ OF CHINA AND BORDER THREATS PREVENT US FROM GUARANTEEING THEIR SECURITY

“European allies must lead from the front,” Hegseth said. “Together, we can establish a division of labor that maximize our comparative advantages in Europe and Pacific, respectively.”

His comments came just before Trump called both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent traveled to Kyiv.

On Friday, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

The Putin conversation came one day after the release of American Marc Fogel, who had been detained by the Kremlin, which Trump said he saw as a sign of “good faith” by the Russians.

Trump, meanwhile, has begun pressuring Ukrainians to turn over access to rare Earth minerals in exchange for security aid. Bessent presented Ukraine with a draft deal exchanging aid for minerals on Wednesday in Kyiv, according to Zelenskyy.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s comments came just before President Donald Trump called both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, pictured here, and as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent traveled to Kyiv. (Photo by Bonnie Cash/Getty Images)

“We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Wednesday of his call with Putin. “We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately.”

He announced that he would asked Rubio, Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to lead negotiations.

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Trump also said his call with Zelenskyy went “very well.”

“It is time to stop this ridiculous War, where there has been massive, and totally unnecessary, DEATH and DESTRUCTION. God bless the people of Russia and Ukraine!”

February 13, 2025
Bondi announces lawsuit against New York and its officials

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The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against the state of New York and its governor, Kathy Hochul, and Attorney General Letitia James, alleging a failure to comply with federal law by shielding illegal immigrants, newly sworn-in Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Wednesday.

“This is a new DOJ,” Bondi announced at a news conference. “New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens. It stops. It stops today.”

Also charged is Mark Schroeder, commissioner of the New York Department of Motor Vehicles. Bondi cited New York’s Green Light laws, also known as the Driver’s License Act, which allows illegal immigrants to get a driver’s license.

TOM HOMAN BELIEVES ICE RAID LEAKS ARE ‘COMING FROM INSIDE’ AS AURORA LEAKER CLOSER TO BEING IDENTIFIED

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks at a news conference about immigration enforcement at the Justice Department Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

The law also prevents certain federal agencies from accessing New York State’s driver’s license information.

“They have green light laws, meaning they’re giving a green light to any illegal alien in New York, where law enforcement officers cannot check their identity if they pull them over,” Bondi said. “And law enforcement officers do not have access to their background. And if these great men and women pull over someone and don’t have access to their background, they have no idea who they’re dealing with, and it puts their lives on the line every single day.

“If you don’t comply with federal law, we will hold you accountable,” Bondi said. “We did it to Illinois, strike one. Strike two is New York. And if you are a state not complying with federal law, you’re next. Get ready.”

The Justice Department last week asked a federal judge to strike down sanctuary policies in Illinois and Chicago.

Bondi was joined by “angel mom” Tammy Nobles of Maryland, whose 20-year-old daughter, Kayla Hamilton, was raped and murdered by an illegal immigrant and MS-13 member in 2022.

FEDERAL COURT BLOCKS TRUMP ADMIN FROM SENDING DETAINED VENEZUELAN IMMIGRANTS TO GUANTÁNAMO BAY

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks at a news conference on immigration enforcement at the Justice Department Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, in Washington, as Tammy Nobles, mother of Kayla Hamilton, listens. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

The Department of Homeland Security “did not do their jobs,” Nobles said Wednesday, at times choking back tears while sharing her family’s story.

“They did not check his background,” she said. “I’m so thankful for Pam for having me here today, and I’m so thankful for the opportunities I got from Trump and and any other platform — and for the people (allowing) me to share her story, because this is going to end.”

The suspect, Walter Martinez, an MS-13 gang member from El Salvador who was in the United States illegally, entered the country through Texas as an unaccompanied minor in March 2022. He was apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol and eventually sent to Maryland to live with a sponsor.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

Four months later, Martinez moved to a mobile home in Aberdeen, where he was accused of killing Hamilton.

During the news conference, Bondi urged states with sanctuary policies to comply with federal law.

“We don’t want to sue you. We don’t want to prosecute people. We want people to comply with the law,” she said. “This is very simple. An MS-13 member murdered her daughter. That’s happening throughout this country.

“One angel mom is too many,” she added. “And we have angel moms throughout this country who should not be going through this. Comply with the law. This is the last thing we want to be doing.”

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the offices of Hochul, James and Schroeder.

February 13, 2025
‘Try and save face’: Top CFPB officials dismissed despite telling media they resigned, agency says

Three leaders at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) were placed on administrative leave Tuesday, Fox News Digital confirmed.

The Office of Management and Budget’s Chief Legal Officer Mark Paoletta placed Lorelei Salas, the CFPB’s supervision director, and Eric Halperin, the agency’s enforcement chief, and Zixta Martinez, the agency’s deputy director, on administrative leave, a CFPB spokesperson told Fox News Digital Tuesday.

The resignations come after acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, told employees of CFPB on Monday to not report to work and to “get approval in writing before performing any work tasks.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent briefly served as acting CFPB director before Vought earlier in February, and had also told staffers to halt their work “unless expressly approved by the Acting Director or required by law.”

The CFPB spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Halperin defied Bessent’s order and resigned in response to being placed on leave Tuesday. Halperin was made aware of his leave via an email and responded six minutes later that he was resigning, the New York Post reported earlier Tuesday.

RUSS VOUGHT, TAPPED AS CFPB’S ACTING DIRECTOR, DIRECTS BUREAU TO ISSUE NO NEW RULES, STOP NEW INVESTIGATIONS

A view of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) headquarters building in Washington, DC, on Feb. 10, 2025. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

“I write to provide notice of my resignation… Since the building is closed, please provide instructions on how to return my equipment,” Halperin reportedly responded to the email. “Thank you for the opportunity to serve. It was an honor.”

Salas also “sent out an email blast” in response to the notification she also was placed on leave, but did not officially file her resignation, the spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

RUSSELL VOUGHT CONFIRMED TO HEAD GOVERNMENT’S LEADING BUDGET OFFICE AFTER DEMS HOLD 30-HOUR PROTEST

The pair is claiming to reporters that they resigned, as opposed to being placed on leave, to “try and save face,” the spox added.

When approached for comment, a spokesperson for Salas told Fox Digital that the Trump administration was working to “sideline” government employees.

“As we’ve seen many times already, Trump and Musk are trying to sideline dedicated public servants who won’t go along with their plans to break the law,” the spokesperson said. “CFPB staff have a responsibility to protect consumers, and that includes upholding longstanding laws on the books.”

Fox News Digital attempted to reach Halperin via social media on Tuesday evening for comment, but did not immediately receive a reply.

Three leaders at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) were placed on administrative leave Tuesday, Fox News Digital confirmed. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Both Halperin and Salas have ties to left-wing billionaire George Soros’ nonprofit, the Open Society Foundation, a CFPB press release from 2021 shows. Halperin served as a senior advisor to Open Society Foundations’ U.S. Program, his biography in a CFPB press release states, while Salas received a government fellowship from the Open Society Foundations.

FEDERAL WORKERS’ UNION FILES LAWSUITS TO STOP VOUGHT, DOGE ACTIVITY AT CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU

The CFPB is an independent government agency charged with protecting consumers from unfair financial practices in the private sector. It was created in 2010 under the Obama administration following the financial crash in 2008.

Elon Musk is leading the Department of Government Efficiency. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, has been investigating various federal agencies in February in search of finding and eliminating government overspending, fraud and corruption.

On Friday, Musk posted a message on X, reading, “CFPB RIP,” building anticipation that the agency was the next to face investigation.

Protests have since been staged outside of the of CFPB headquarters in Washington, including Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who originally proposed the agency, declaring on the streets, “We are here to fight back.”

Protests have since been staged outside of the of CFPB headquarters in Washington, including Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who originally proposed the agency, declaring on the streets, “We are here to fight back.” (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn)

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“This is like a bank robber trying to fire the cops and turn off the alarm just before he strolls into the lobby,” Warren told the crowd on Monday.

“The financial cops, the CFPB, are there to make sure that Elon’s new project can’t scam you or steal your sensitive personal data,” Warren said. “So Elon’s solution, get rid of the cops, kill the CFPB.”

February 12, 2025
Top Trump Cabinet officials tell Congress they need money to continue securing border

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump’s newly sworn-in top Cabinet members are asking Congress to provide more resources to continue the administration’s full court press to secure the border and facilitate large-scale deportations.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi penned a letter to top appropriators in the House and Senate, pleading with them to designate more funds to the cause of securing the U.S. southern border.

“The American people strongly support sealing our borders and returning to a lawful immigration system,” Noem, Hegseth and Bondi told the lawmakers in the letter obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital.

LORI CHAVEZ-DEREMER: THE LITTLE-KNOWN TRUMP NOMINEE WHO MAY NEED TO RELY ON DEMS

Members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet leading his border security efforts are asking Congress for more resources. (Reuters)

“Even if the price of some of these measures may seem high, they are nothing when compared to the costs our country is facing in the long term of continuing the status quo,” they explained.

According to the Trump Cabinet officials, their departments need a variety of resources to continue securing the border at the current level.

These include additional law enforcement officers; military personnel, including Active Duty and State and National Guard; aircraft and additional means of transportation to facilitate deportations; both materials and workers to finish construction of “a permanent barrier” at the border; additional immigration judges to quickly decide cases and clear the backlog; and more facilities to detain illegal immigrant waiting for deportation.

TRUMP NOMINEE TULSI GABBARD CLEARS LAST HURDLE, HEADS FOR FINAL CONFIRMATION VOTE

Immigrants are seen boarding a U.S. military aircraft. The White House announced that “deportation flights have begun” in the U.S. (White House)

The correspondence to congressional leaders comes as a March 14 spending bill deadline approaches, and the chambers are expected to lay out a new spending deal to avoid a partial government shutdown.

Passing a spending bill next month with satisfactory border funding could prove difficult, however, because 60 votes will be needed in the Senate. That means the Republican conference cannot pass it single-handedly and will need the support of several Democrats to get it done.

SCHUMER REVEALS DEM COUNTER-OFFENSIVE AGAINST TRUMP’S DOGE AUDIT

The U.S. Capitol. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)

The letter from Noem, Hegseth and Bondi also coincides with congressional Republicans’ efforts to put together a budget deal with provisions for border security and pass it in an expeditious manner. However, the House and Senate GOP have begun to butt heads on how to go about the key budget reconciliation process and whether to pursue one big bill with all of Trump’s priorities or to use a two-bill approach, with another being passed later in the year to address Trump’s tax agenda.

By lowering the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to 51 out of 100, reconciliation allows the party in power to skirt its opposition to advance its agenda – provided the items included relate to budgetary and other fiscal matters. The House of Representatives already has a simple majority threshold.

TRUMP’S KEY TO CABINET CONFIRMATIONS: SENATOR-TURNED-VP VANCE’S GIFT OF GAB

Sens. Susan Collins, right, and Patty Murray are the GOP and Democrat leaders of the Senate appropriations committee. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Fox News Digital reached Senate Committee on Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Ranking Member Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Senate Committee on the Budget Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Ranking Member Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.; House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, and Ranking Member Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., but did not immediately receive responses.

Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.

Follow Julia’s reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to [email protected].

February 11, 2025
Trump meets families of New Orleans terror attack victims, law enforcement officials ahead of Super Bowl LIX

President Donald Trump has made his Super Bowl debut, and one of his first priorities was to honor those who were killed in the Jan. 1 New Orleans terror attack.

Upon arriving at the Superdome on Sunday, Trump met with the families of multiple victims of the attack as well as members of the New Orleans Police Department and emergency personnel.

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President Donald Trump meets with the families of victims of the Jan. 1 terrorist attack as well as members of the New Orleans Police Department and emergency personnel before Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome. (James Lang-Imagn Images)

President Donald Trump poses with members of the New Orleans Police Department and emergency personnel before the start of the Super Bowl LIX. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

At least 14 people were killed in the Jan. 1 attack and 57 more were injured.

The 14 victims who were killed were 27-year-old former Princeton football player Tiger Bech, 26-year-old Drew Dauphin, 18-year-old Nikyra Dedeaux, 28-year-old single mother Nicole Perez, 37-year-old Reggie Hunter, 21-year-old Hubert Gauthreaux, Alabama student Kareem Bilal Badawi, 25-year-old Matthew Tenedorio, 25-year-old Billy DiMaio, 63-year-old Terrence Kennedy, 42-year-old Brandon Taylor, 40-year-old Elliot Wilkinson and 31-year-old Edward Pettifer.

The suspect in the attack was identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas and an Army veteran, who died after the attack in a firefight with police.

Some of the plaintiffs affected by the New Year’s terrorist attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans have filed a civil negligence lawsuit against the city’s leadership and the private companies that were hired to consult the city about safety planning in the French Quarter.

The lawsuit has 21 plaintiffs, some of whom are family members of the deceased, others are survivors who were critically injured in the attack.

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President Donald Trump visits the field before the start of Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Feb. 9, 2025. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

“New Orleans is forever changed by this tragedy, and we’ve seen countless people now alter their behavior and avoid Bourbon Street and even the City itself out of fear for their physical safety. Further, it’s impossible to quantify how many people now suffer crippling depression, anxiety and nightmares from what they saw and heard during that attack. It is impossible to quantify this tragedy’s astounding impact on our community,” Maples & Connick partner Aaron Maples said in a statement.

The attack, along with Trump’s presence, prompted major security protocol questions amid concerns of further danger to the Super Bowl.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the U.S. Secret Service’s approach for Sunday’s event in an interview with “Fox & Friends.”

“For this event, we’ve deployed many other assets as well. We’re obviously working with the local authorities, with the governor and with his agencies that he has that he’s detailed to this,” Noem said.

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President Donald Trump gestures to the crowd before the start of the Super Bowl LIX. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

“But we have several different agencies under the Department of Homeland Security that have put hundreds of individuals, investigators and military police folks that are used to these kinds of crowd control and security operations in their other departments that are focused on today to make sure that this big event is going to be safe and that we’re going to make the right decisions in these situations that could arise and get everybody home safely.”

Noem also said DHS has regulations for the airspace regarding drone traffic as well as cybersecurity operations to monitor online activity.

“We will be utilizing different agencies and departments under the umbrella of Homeland Security, but President Trump has also made a commitment for us to be able to deploy other assets from other departments and agencies, and I appreciate the flexibility that he has given us to make sure that we’re addressing this even in a way that we see as responsive coming forward,” Noem said. “We’re grateful for that interagency support, and I believe that it is unprecedented.”

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said he was deploying an additional 350 National Guard troops to support the federal effort.

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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.

February 9, 2025
New frontier of AI-powered ‘teacher-less’ charter schools get mixed reviews from state officials

Artificial intelligence may be the new frontier for childhood schooling, but the idea of teacherless classrooms has received mixed reviews from state education officials.

Unbound Academy, a Texas-based institution billing itself as the nation’s first virtual, tuition-free charter school for grades 4 through 8, reportedly employs AI to teach students in a way that can be geared toward the individual student without “frustration[s]” sometimes present in traditional schooling.

While such schools have seen success in being approved to educate students in Arizona, Unbound was formally rejected by the Pennsylvania Department of Education in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital.

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In a letter to an Unbound Academy official with a Lancaster office address, Secretary Angela Fitterer said her office has found “deficiencies” in all five criteria needed for approval to teach Keystone State students.

Pennsylvania’s Charter School law denotes a school must demonstrate sustainable support for the cyber charter school plan from teachers, parents and students. It must also exhibit the capacity to provide “comprehensive learning experiences,” enable students to meet academic standards, and abide by Section 1747(a) of the law, which pertains to governance, policy, facility and assessment.

“Artificial intelligence tools present unique opportunities in the classroom that educators across Pennsylvania are already exploring how to effectively, ethically and safely implement,” a spokeswoman for Fitterer told Fox News Digital.

“However, the AI instructional model being proposed by this school is untested and fails to delineate how artificial intelligence tools would be used to ensure that the education provided aligns with PA state standards,” she said.

In its application, Unbound cited its work with “2HR Learning” an “innovated educational approach that combines AI technology, personalized learning paths, and a focus on life skills development to revolutionize the learning experience,” according to the Scranton Times-Tribune.

However, Unbound saw success in Arizona, which approved an academy for the 2025-26 school year, while being rejected in three states besides Pennsylvania, according to the Arizona Republic.

Two hours are set aside for core instruction, and the rest of the day is geared toward students pursuing “personal interests” and life skills workshops.

Unbound Academy co-founder MacKenzie Price told the paper the Grand Canyon State was appealing because of its welcoming of school choice tenets.

Another state official on the frontier of educational evolution is Oklahoma Superintendent of Education Ryan Walters.

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Words reading “Artificial intelligence AI,” miniature of robot and toy hand are pictured in this illustration taken on Dec. 14, 2023. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)

In recent months, Walters has spearheaded efforts to return the Bible to schools, root out foreign influence in curriculum, and AMIRA – a new literacy initiative, among other endeavors. His state is also set to appear before the Supreme Court this term in regard to interest in allowing a Catholic charter school to receive state funding.

Walters said he has not yet seen an application for Unbound or any other AI-powered charter school, but believes that if parents desire the option in the Sooner State, he will consider it.

“You have to show parental support that they’re asking for it,” he said.

“You also have to be very transparent. Where’s the technology based out of? Who is developing it? We do not want any situation where you’ve got a CCP or [similar] country, involved there with the technology. . . . You need to be very upfront. Where is the technology developed? What is the curriculum look like?”

With Oklahoma’s major agricultural sector, many schoolchildren work hours on their family farms when they’re not in class. Walters said virtual learning has helped Oklahoma families in the near-term, and suggested an AI school would have a similar setup.

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He said his state is always open to the next frontier of childhood education.

“Catholics have some of the most successful schools in our state in the country. They brought us a model that said we’d like to try out so many of the things that have worked for us in our private schools at a charter school. We can make it available for more kids,” he said.

“We appreciate the Catholic Church for putting the application before us [and] the radical atheists and teachers union folks – they’re dead wrong on this.”

Walters said – just as Harrisburg deemed the AI-powered charter school did not meet its qualifications – Oklahoma believes the new Catholic charter school met its criteria.

“This is the next frontier of school choice – we want more schools. We want more charter schools.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Unbound Academy for comment and further information on its other state applications.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].

February 9, 2025