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‘Dear White People:’ Squad member posts screed about ‘evil of White supremacy’ after Penny acquittal

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December 11, 2024

‘Dear White People:’ Squad member posts screed about ‘evil of White supremacy’ after Penny acquittal

Outgoing Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., posted a lengthy screed directed at “White people” Tuesday in the wake of Daniel Penny’s acquittal in the death of Jordan Neely.

On May 1, 2023, Penny confronted Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man with schizophrenia who had an active arrest warrant at the time and a history of violence, as he was shouting death threats on the subway. With the assistance of other passengers, Penny restrained Neely with a chokehold, but Neely later died.

Outraged that a jury found Penny not guilty of criminally negligent homicide, Bowman took to X in his final days in office to write a thread that began, “Dear White People.”

“I don’t know why I feel the need to keep talking to you,” the “Squad” member continued. “I don’t know why part of me still has hope for you and for us. Some of you are too far gone. But maybe enough of you aren’t and will join us in fighting to end white supremacy.”

ALVIN BRAGG TORCHED ONLINE AFTER FAILED DANIEL PENNY PROSECUTION: ‘SHOULD PAY ULTIMATE POLITICAL PRICE’

Bowman shakes a stool on stage of Bronx rally

U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) speaks during a rally at St. Mary’s Park on June 22, 2024 in the Bronx borough of New York City, three days before New York’s primary elections. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

He continued, “I just wanna call out the hypocrisy and evil of it all and just continue to hope. I won’t rely completely on you because I know what’s most important is to work with my community and other like minded allies in the fight for justice.”

After listing high profile deaths and violence against Black people like Rodney King, Eric Garner and George Floyd, that he had watched on video, the lawmaker added Neely while claiming, “He was not a threat. He was subdued. Still not a threat. Daniel Penny choked him for 6 minutes. And killed him. We all watched it on camera, and he was still acquitted.”

“I’ve left out probably another hundred instances of this trauma in my life,” Bowman wrote. “For comparison, I ask white people, how many times have you seen a white man killed in cold blood on camera on your newsfeed? How many times have you even heard about this?”

“The answer is never. You never have,” he said, although some X users pointed out the irony of the statement with video of the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson dominating the news.

“And whenever you feel discomfort from your whiteness, Black people are harmed or killed. And there is never accountability or justice. This is the evil of white supremacy. It spans across geography and political parties and sickens us all,” he continued.

“I wish I didn’t have to live with all of this trauma deep in my bones. I wish I could just be free to be me. I marvel at the beauty and greatness of my people in spite of white supremacy. It’s extraordinary. That is what I will continue to lean on.”

“RIP Jordan Neely. The justice system failed you. Kyle Ritenhouse and Daniel Penny are free. You’re gone. We must still fight,” he concluded. The Rittenhouse shooting only involved White men.

WITNESS TO JORDAN NEELY CHOKEHOLD DEATH CALLS DANIEL PENNY A ‘HERO’

Jordan Neely, left, died after a confrontation on the subway with Daniel Penny, center, that ended with him in a chokehold.

Social media users expressed shock that a congressman would address any kind of message only to White people.

Independent journalist Brad Polumbo reacted, “I can’t believe that this person, a member of congress, just suggested that he doesn’t know why he needs to continue to talk to an entire racial group. Tf?”

Author Katherine Brodsky wrote, “Any post that starts with ‘dear white people’ is indicative of a malignant narcissist and racist. I’d never dream of addressing people by their skin color as if there are some sort of unified being.”

“Can we please stop making everything about race?” Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire asked, to which Elon Musk responded, “Yes, please. This is gone on for too long. Enough.”

“The shameful thing is that this kind of stupid, resentful, and manipulative rhetoric ever worked. Now he is getting delivered a ratio, but a few years ago, there would be people in the comments apologizing for their privilege. Never forget—and never repeat—that madness,” the Manhattan Institute’s Christopher Rufo said.

Novelist Kat Rosenfield wrote she was “grateful to be moving past the moment in which we all had to pretend this wasn’t a completely insane thing for an elected official to say in public; there was a lot of social pressure not to say so but in truth, I don’t think anyone ever really liked it.”

Fox News contributor Guy Benson said Bowman’s post was “straight up racist.”

“Thanks racist dude who lost his seat because he’s insane,” Bonchie from RedState posted.

HOUSE DEMOCRAT BECOMES 1ST ‘SQUAD’ MEMBER EVER DEFEATED IN A PRIMARY BATTLE

Rep. Bowman pulled the fire alarm on Sept. 30, 2023, as Republicans began voting on a stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown. (U.S. Capitol Police)

Jeremy Hunt, of the Hudson Institute and Veterans on Duty, said, “Dear People of NY16, Thank you for voting this delusional, race-baiting, terrorist-sympathizing, fire alarm-pulling, congressman out of office.”

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Bowman became the first member of “The Squad” to lose their primary over the summer after a series of scandals and controversies, including being censured for pulling a fire alarm in a House office building last year during a vote over government funding and a profanity-laced rant against AIPAC.

Alexa Moutevelis is a Media editor for Fox News Digital. Follow her @AlexaShrugged.

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Kyle Rudolph reveals Daniel Jones’ reasoning behind joining Vikings: ‘Opportunity for me in the future’

US News

Michael Weiss

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December 11, 2024

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Kyle Rudolph reveals Daniel Jones’ reasoning behind joining Vikings: ‘Opportunity for me in the future’

As one former New York quarterback thrives in Minnesota, another stands on the sidelines now in a position he never thought he would be in after being drafted sixth overall in 2019.

Daniel Jones’ time with the New York Giants ended unceremoniously when he was released after a 2-8 start this season, leaving him to find a new home in the NFL for the first time in six years.

Weighing his options, Jones decided to take the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad quarterback role, calling it an “awesome opportunity” to work with head coach Kevin O’Connell and starter Sam Darnold, the ex-New York Jet whose career has been revitalized this season.

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New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (AP Photo/Lennart Preiss)

Could that be what Jones is looking for with the Vikings after watching Darnold regain his confidence and lead a team to an 11-2 record?

Vikings legend Kyle Rudolph, an ex-teammate of Jones’ during their year together with the Giants, said that could be the plan after spending time with Jones two weekends ago before, during and after the team’s win over the Arizona Cardinals.

“He’s excited to be in that environment in Minnesota,” Rudolph told Fox News Digital while also touching on his surprise at two Minnesota military veterans after teaming up with Polaris and Call of Duty in Week 13. “To be around Kevin O’Connell, Josh McCown, the quarterbacks coach, to be able to kind of take a back seat and learn and really try to reestablish himself as a top-10 pick. A good quarterback in this league and a guy who, by the way, won a playoff game in that building and went to the divisional round.”

VIKINGS LEGEND KYLE RUDOLPH ON WHY IT’S ‘REALLY TOUGH’ TO SEE SAM DARNOLD RETURNING TO MINNESOTA NEXT SEASON

Jones broke out in that 2022 season that Rudolph referenced, which included the Wild Card Round victory on the road at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Kirk Cousins-led Vikings. It ultimately led to a decision from the Giants to extend Jones long term, believing he had proved himself worthy of a new contract to remain the team’s franchise quarterback.

That didn’t work out, however, as the Giants released him this season before they had the opportunity to opt out of his deal. Meanwhile, Saquon Barkley, who was franchise-tagged after Jones got his big deal, is having an MVP season with the Philadelphia Eagles in his first year after walking in free agency.

But while the Giants stew over their next quarterback amid a terrible campaign, Jones perhaps has found new life in Minnesota.

“What’s to keep DJ from being next year’s Baker Mayfield [or] Sam Darnold?” Rudolph said.

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (AP Photo/John Munson)

“It’s a huge reason why he chose to go to Minnesota, knowing that there might be an opportunity for me in the future.”

For Darnold, he signed a one-year, prove-it deal with the Vikings this past offseason, knowing it would be a quarterback competition with rookie J.J. McCarthy, the team’s first-rounder out of Michigan. But when McCarthy went down with a knee injury, Darnold knew he needed to step up for the Vikings all season, not just Week 1 when he won the starting job out of training camp.

He’s done just that with an 11-2 record through 13 games while putting up career numbers. Remember, this is a quarterback who flopped as the third overall pick with the New York Jets, couldn’t stick with the Carolina Panthers and was in the same role Jones is now with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023.

Meanwhile, Mayfield was also in Carolina with Darnold after his tenure as the first overall pick and hopeful savior of the Cleveland Browns flamed out. Mayfield bounced around the NFL until the Bucs gave him a similar deal in 2023 that Darnold has now. Mayfield not only proved he could win in Tampa Bay – he beat the Eagles in the Wild Card Round on his home turf, solidifying his role as the team’s franchise quarterback – he got a three-year, $100 million extension to show for it.

Rudolph said Darnold has earned that big extension with more games still to play, and Jones could do the same with the Vikings, a team Rudolph doesn’t think would want to spend big bucks on Darnold, knowing that McCarthy is waiting in the wings.

“In today’s world, these young quarterbacks don’t have to play in their first two years,” Rudolph said. “J.J.’s going through what he’s going through with his knee injury, and ultimately, yes, they’ll compete if DJ decides to stay there next year. He has a great opportunity to go out, and it just takes one year.”

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (AP Photo/Lennart Preiss)

For now, though, Rudolph knows Jones is itching to get back on the field, but he’s playing his role well in his first few weeks with Minnesota.

“I think the biggest challenge for DJ is he’s always been the man. He was the sixth overall pick and quarterback for the New York Giants,” Rudolph said. “This past Sunday, he watched the game from the sidelines as the practice squad quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. That’s not easy. As a competitor, I know talking to him, he was like, ‘Man, I just felt useless standing there basically watching a game.’ It’s part of the process.”

GIVING BACK TO VETERANS

Rudolph got to watch Darnold & Co. collect their Week 13 win over the Arizona Cardinals in the Twin Cities, where he also surprised two Minnesota veterans with Polaris RZR Pro R vehicles during the Dec. 1 Salute to Service game.

Rudolph leveraged his fundraising platform, Alltroo, and teamed up with Polaris and Call of Duty for this special surprise.

“Two Minnesota native Marine Corps gentlemen, they almost felt like they were undeserving of such an incredible honor because they’re like, ‘There’s so many others who have done what I’ve done and deserve it more than I do.’ They couldn’t believe that they were the two who were chosen to receive these Polaris RZRs,” Rudolph said.

Newly acquired Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daniel Jones walks off the field after the game against the Arizona Cardinals at U.S. Bank Stadium. (Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images)

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The veterans also played the brand-new “Call of Duty Black Ops 6” video game with Vikings defenders Pat Jones II and Ivan Pace Jr.

And through March 1, 2025, Rudolph said football fans can enter at Alltroo for a chance to win a Polaris RZR Pro R through donations that benefit Call of Duty Endowment, a program that helps place veterans in high-quality careers and supports veteran well-being.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

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Bowman posts ‘Dear White People’ thread after Daniel Penny acquittal

US News

Michael Weiss

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December 11, 2024

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Bowman posts ‘Dear White People’ thread after Daniel Penny acquittal

On the heels of Marine veteran Daniel Penny’s acquittal, outgoing Rep. Jamaal Bowman issued a “Dear White People” thread on X which he started by saying he did not know why he felt the need to keep talking to white people.

“Dear White People, I don’t know why I feel the need to keep talking to you. I don’t know why part of me still has hope for you and for us. Some of you are too far gone. But maybe enough of you aren’t and will join us in fighting to end white supremacy,” Bowman declared in the first post of his thread.

Bowman, who decisively lost the Democratic primary in New York’s 16th Congressional District earlier this year, will soon depart from Congress because his term ends in less than a month.

JAMAAL BOWMAN LOSS ENRAGES LIBERALS, LEFT-WING COMMENTATORS: ‘WILLING TO BUY OUR DEMOCRACY’

Rep. Jamaal Bowman speaks at a campaign rally at St. Mary’s Park in the Bronx on June 22, 2024 in New York City. (Steven Ferdman/GC Images)

“I just wanna call out the hypocrisy and evil of it all and just continue to hope. I won’t rely completely on you because I know what’s most important is to work with my community and other like minded allies in the fight for justice. But I guess I’ll just offer this,” Bowman wrote. “I am 48 years old and I have seen countless incidents of brutal police violence and killings in my lifetime,” he declared before going on to mention individuals including Rodney King, George Floyd, and others.

“Jordan Neely is the latest. He was sick. He was not a threat. He was subdued. Still not a threat. Daniel Penny choked him for 6 minutes. And killed him. We all watched it on camera, and he was still acquitted,” the lawmaker asserted.

The congressman made the posts after Marine veteran Daniel Penny was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely.

DANIEL PENNY SAYS HE COULDN’T LIVE WITH GUILT IF JORDAN NEELY HURT SUBWAY PASSENGERS

Daniel Penny returns to the courtroom after a break during his trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on Dec. 3, 2024 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

“I’ve left out probably another hundred instances of this trauma in my life. For comparison, I ask white people, how many times have you seen a white man killed in cold blood on camera on your newsfeed? How many times have you even heard about this?” Bowman asked.

“The answer is never. You never have. And whenever you feel discomfort from your whiteness, Black people are harmed or killed. And there is never accountability or justice. This is the evil of white supremacy. It spans across geography and political parties and sickens us all,” he declared. “I wish I didn’t have to live with all of this trauma deep in my bones. I wish I could just be free to be me. I marvel at the beauty and greatness of my people in spite of white supremacy. It’s extraordinary. That is what I will continue to lean on.”

NEW YORK GOP LEADER CELEBRATES BOWMAN’S DOUBLE-DIGIT DEFEAT TO PRO-ISRAEL DEMOCRAT: ‘GOOD RIDDANCE, JAMAAL’

Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., during a campaign stop at the Edenwald Houses housing project in the Eastchester neighborhood of the Bronx borough of New York, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Bowman retweeted his “Dear White People” post, the first part of his multi-post thread, and commented, “Seems like I hit a nerve. White people on X going crazy on this one. Must’ve been a lot of truth in what I posted.”

“Wow. This has been so triggering for so many of you. Do you realize you’re actually proving my point? If you are that triggered by this, imagine how I must feel when Black people are murdered consistently and there is no Justice. Y’all can’t handle a tweet. Fascinating,” Bowman wrote in another post.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

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Florida lawmaker introduces bill to require DACA students to pay out-of-state tuition

US News

Michael Weiss

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December 11, 2024

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Florida lawmaker introduces bill to require DACA students to pay out-of-state tuition

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Florida state Sen. Randy Fine, a Republican, proposed a bill to require high school graduates with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, status to pay out-of-state tuition for college.

Fine claims the state cannot afford to subsidize tuition for students who are not in the country legally and says the policy passed in 2014 offering them in-state tuition costs Florida $45 million a year.

Under S.B. 90, DACA students would no longer qualify for in-state tuition, which costs an average of $6,143 for the 2024-2025 academic year, according to the State University System of Florida. The University of Florida, for example, is $6,381 for in-state tuition but $28,658 for out-of-state tuition, according to US News & World Report.

DESANTIS WELCOMES FLORIDA STATE LAWMAKER TO REPUBLICAN PARTY AS SHE DITCHES DEMOCRATS

Florida state Sen. Randy Fine proposed a bill to require high school graduates with DACA status to pay out-of-state tuition for college. (Getty Images)

“While blue-collar Floridians are struggling to make ends meet, it is not fair to require them to pay $45 million a year to subsidize sweetheart deals for college degrees to those who should not even be here,” Fine said in a statement.

“This is a no-brainer way to reduce the size of government and free up resources to help Floridians in need,” he continued. “We must put Floridians first, and I am proud to do my part to rebalance the scales for our citizens.”

The bill would not modify the admission policies of Florida’s 12 state universities and 28 state colleges.

The bill would not modify the admission policies of Florida’s 12 state universities and 28 state colleges. (Getty Images)

State Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat, has expressed strong opposition to the bill, arguing that the proposed change would create significant financial barriers for students who have lived in Florida most of their lives.

“These are students who have only known the United States as home,” Eskamani said, according to Fox 13.

Eskamani also noted that many DACA students do not qualify for scholarships and are already at a financial disadvantage.

The legislation, Fine argues, is about “ensuring people who shouldn’t be in the country aren’t getting discounted educations,” according to Fox 13.

TRUMP PRESSING DESANTIS TO NAME LARA TRUMP AS RUBIO’S SENATE SUCCESSOR: SOURCE

Fine claims the state cannot afford to subsidize tuition for students who are not in the country legally. (Getty Images)

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Fine’s previous attempts to pass similar legislation have come up short, but Democrats worry that increased national focus on immigration issues, such as President-elect Trump promising mass deportations in his second term, could give the bill momentum this time around.

“I am concerned this policy may have legs this year,” Eskamani said.

Fine, who joined the state Senate last month, is resigning from the legislature, effective March 31, so he can run for the U.S. House seat that is expected to be vacated by U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., who was nominated by Trump to be his White House national security advisor.

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Florida man kills father, wounds mother after father told him to stop playing video games, get a job

US News

Michael Weiss

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December 11, 2024

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Florida man kills father, wounds mother after father told him to stop playing video games, get a job

A Florida man allegedly shot his parents — killing his father and wounding his mother — after his father grilled him for spending too much time playing video games and not getting a job.

Joseph Voigt, 23, fled after leaving Marvin Voigt, 63, dead and Susan Voigt, 58, with a gunshot wound to the head. Police responded to the scene after Susan Voigt reported the incident at around 11:20 p.m. on Saturday.

The Bartow Police Department said they arrived to find Marvin Voigt dead in the driveway from apparent gunshot wounds and Susan Voigt inside the home suffering from a serious gunshot wound. She was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

“They found the mother sitting up on the couch,” police chief Stephen Walker told reporters, according to Fox 13. “She was alive. She had been shot in the head once.”

FLORIDA MAN WHO WAS HALF-NAKED, ‘HIGH ON METH’ BREAKS INTO HOME, GRABS CARPET CLEANER

Joseph Voigt, 23, allegedly shot and killed his father and wounded his mother. (Polk County Sheriff’s Office)

“Everything we’ve heard about this couple was that they were really good people,” Walker added. “And it’s sad, you know, to see something like this happen.”

Law enforcement agencies in Polk County and the surrounding areas were told to be on the lookout for the vehicle Joseph Voight was driving. His vehicle was located around 2 a.m. Sunday morning on International Drive in Orlando, and Orlando Police conducted a felony traffic stop on Voigt’s vehicle and took him into custody.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office, which was assisting Bartow Police, said Joseph Voigt confessed to shooting both his parents.

FLORIDA MAN ACCUSED OF BREAKING INTO HOME, STABBING WOMAN WHILE SHE WAS SLEEPING

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said Joseph Voigt confessed to shooting both his parents. (iStock)

The sheriff’s office said Joseph Voigt told deputies that his father was upset with him for spending most of his time playing video games and had been pleading with him to make something of himself and get a job.

“It’s really sad, you know,” Walker said. “Senseless, you know, something silly that he was upset about.”

Joseph Voigt appeared in Orange County court Monday morning. He will be transported to jail in Polk County, where he will be charged with murder and attempted murder.

Joseph Voigt will be transported to jail in Polk County, where he will be charged with murder and attempted murder. (iStock)

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He has a criminal history that includes arrests for firing a weapon in a residential area and battery. He was released from jail on Dec. 1 after being arrested for battery, arrest records show.

“Thanks to the rapid response of the Bartow Police Department this violent and dangerous suspect was quickly apprehended,” Polk County sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. “They asked for our assistance and we were happy to oblige. My detectives will continue their thorough investigation into this crime to ensure Voigt will face the full consequences of his actions.”

Walker added in a statement: “We are deeply saddened by this tragic and senseless shooting.”

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Daniel Penny’s attorneys share shock at how the final days of trial played out

US News

Michael Weiss

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December 11, 2024

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Daniel Penny’s attorneys share shock at how the final days of trial played out

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Daniel Penny’s defense attorneys spoke out for the first time since their client was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the 2023 subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely, expressing their shock at how the final days of the trial played out.

Steven Raiser and Thomas Kenniff told Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum on “The Story” Tuesday that they had concerns about the trajectory of the trial when Judge Maxwell Wiley dismissed the second-degree manslaughter charge against Penny after the jury said they couldn’t come to a unanimous decision about the top charge.

The judge then instructed the jury to consider the second charge of criminally negligent homicide, a move Raiser said was “unprecedented” because it potentially encourages a “compromise verdict.”

Daniel Penny arrives to Manhattan Criminal Court Wednesday, January 17, 2024. Penny is charged in connection with the death of Jordan Neely on the New York City subway in 2023. Penny’s lawyers have filed a motion to dismiss the charges, to be ruled on by a judge today. (John M. Mantel for Fox News Digital)

ALVIN BRAGG CHALLENGER SAYS BRINGING FORWARD DANIEL PENNY TRIAL WAS AN INDICATION OF BAD JUDGMENT

“If you have a deadlocked jury, you don’t want to tell them, well, you know, just, why don’t you guys just agree that you can go with the lesser count, right? And the law is actually set up that way so that doesn’t happen,” he told MacCallum.

Once the manslaughter charge was removed and the jury could focus on the second charge, Raiser said they were concerned that somebody who’s considering a guilty verdict on the top count might be considering a guilty verdict on the second one, too.

“At that point, we thought the best we could really hope for was a hung jury, but we didn’t know. And we also did feel that there was some interplay here as far as understanding the lengths at which this district attorney’s office would go in order to secure a conviction, which was quite off-putting for the defense team,” he added. “We’ve never seen anything quite like it.”

Daniel Penny departs Manhattan Criminal Court following the second day of jury deliberations

Daniel Penny (right) with attorneys, Steven Raiser, Thomas Kenniff (front) and para legal Adeline Ortiz (left) leave Manhattan Supreme Court after the second day of jury deliberations, New York, NY, Wednesday December 4, 2024. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

Penny, 26, and his legal team celebrated the jury’s not-guilty verdict at a bar in Lower Manhattan.

Kenniff said he hopes his client takes a nice long vacation in the aftermath of the case, although Penny still faces a civil lawsuit from Neely’s father, Andre Zachery.

DANIEL PENNY TO BE TAPPED FOR CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL BY HOUSE GOP LAWMAKER

Zachery accuses Penny of causing his son’s death through “negligence, carelessness and recklessness” and seeks unspecified damages for assault and battery, according to a copy of the civil complaint.

“[If] somebody wants to try and profiteer ghoulishly off this tragedy, understand that we’re going to push back at that with this — with equal vigor,” said Kenniff of Zachery’s suit against Penny.

Raiser added that Penny, a Marine veteran, will continue to pursue his architecture degree but will always have “scars” on his shoulders from the ordeal.

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He denounced threatening behavior towards his client and threats from agitators upset with the outcome of the trial, saying Penny should walk the streets with his head held high because he was acquitted by a jury of his peers.

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South Korea’s former defense minister attempted suicide after he was arrested over martial law probe

US News

Michael Weiss

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December 11, 2024

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South Korea’s former defense minister attempted suicide after he was arrested over martial law probe

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

South Korea’s former defense minister, Kim Yong Hyun, attempted suicide while in detention over the president’s martial law declaration before officials stopped him.

This, as police raided President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office Wednesday amid the investigation into the president’s declaration.

The main liberal opposition Democratic Party plans to hold a second impeachment vote against Yoon on Saturday for his declaration to impose martial law after the first impeachment attempt failed last weekend.

Shin Yong Hae, commissioner general of the Korea Correctional Service, told lawmakers Wednesday at a parliament committee meeting that Kim attempted to kill himself overnight at a detention center in the capital of Seoul but that the attempt to end his life was unsuccessful after officials stopped him.

SOUTH KOREA IMPOSES A TRAVEL BAN ON PRESIDENT YOON OVER MARTIAL LAW DECLARATION

South Korea’s Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun speaks during a news conference in Ottawa, Ontario, on Nov. 1, 2024. (AP)

Kim is listed in a stable condition.

Justice Minister Park Sung Jae also confirmed Kim’s failed suicide attempt during the parliament committee meeting.

Kim was detained early Wednesday after a Seoul court approved a warrant for his arrest on allegations of playing a key role in a rebellion and committing abuse of power. Kim was the first person formally arrested over the president’s Dec. 3 martial law decree.

A close associate of Yoon, Kim is accused of recommending martial law to the president and sending troops to the National Assembly to block lawmakers from voting on the motion. Lawmakers eventually managed to enter a parliament chamber, where they unanimously rejected Yoon’s decree, forcing it to be lifted just hours after it was declared.

Prosecutors have up to 20 days to decide whether to indict Kim in the case.

Cho Ji Ho, commissioner general of the National Police Agency, and Kim Bong-sik, head of the metropolitan police agency of Seoul, were detained over their actions during martial law on allegations of deploying police forces to the National Assembly to block lawmakers from voting.

SOUTH KOREA’S PRESIDENT YOON SURVIVES IMPEACHMENT ATTEMPT AFTER HIS PARTY BOYCOTTS VOTE

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP)

The country’s main law enforcement agencies are centering on whether Yoon, Kim and others involved in the martial law decree committed the crime of rebellion, for which a conviction carries a maximum sentence of death.

Yoon, a conservative, apologized on Saturday for the martial law declaration, saying he would not seek to avoid legal or political responsibility for the motion. He also said he would leave it to his party to lead the country through its political turmoil, “including matters related to my term in office.”

In declaring martial law, Yoon said he wanted to rebuild the country by eliminating “shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces,” a criticism of his liberal rivals who control parliament.

Opposition parties and many experts say the martial law decree was unconstitutional. This was the first time martial law was imposed in South Korea in more than 40 years.

During a parliamentary hearing Tuesday, Kwak Jong-keun, commander of the Army Special Warfare Command whose troops were sent to parliament, testified that Yoon called him and requested that troops deployed at parliament “quickly destroy the door and drag out the lawmakers who are inside.”

Kwak said he did not follow Yoon’s order.

Participants gather to stage a rally demanding South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, in front of the headquarters of the ruling People Power Party in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP)

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Senior officer Kim Dae-woo of the military’s counterintelligence agency said at the same hearing that his commander, Yeo In-hyung, asked him if an army bunker in Seoul had space to detain politicians and other figures after martial law was declared. Yeo is considered a close associate of Kim.

If Yoon is impeached, his powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove him from office. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the second in command in the South Korean government, would take over his presidential responsibilities.

Should the president be removed, an election to replace him must be held within 60 days.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Ogling criminals: Why do people care about the attractiveness of suspects?

US News

Michael Weiss

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December 11, 2024

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Ogling criminals: Why do people care about the attractiveness of suspects?

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Suspected UnitedHealthcare CEO murderer Luigi Mangione took the internet by storm after he was arrested for allegedly shooting and killing Brian Thompson, as social media users were quick to celebrate him and even call him attractive.

The alleged murderer was lauded as “hot,” and as a “person of interest in more ways than one,” in reaction to photos of him. Supporters online called him “sexy,” and demanded his freedom.

Mangione, a 26-year-oly Ivy League graduate, became yet another person involved in a murder investigation whose looks drew considerable attention, such as serial killer Ted Bundy or exonerated murder suspect Amanda Knox.

The Menendez Brothers, who shot their parents in 1989 citing years of sexual abuse, became the focus of two Netflix shows, and have what Forbes described as a “bad boy effect.” Jeremy Meeks became known as the “Handsome Felon” after a mug shot of the Northern California man arrested in 2014 on felony weapons charges went viral.

Luigi Mangione pictured in a Pennsylvania mugshot after his arrest in connection with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)

UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO BRIAN THOMPSON’S KILLER USED FAKE ID TO CHECK INTO NYC HOSTEL BEFORE SLAYING: SOURCES

Psychotherapist and author Dr. Robi Ludwig, Psy.D, said Mangione had become a “folk hero” to some upset with the health insurance industry.

“Even though murder is never a good thing, it emotionally felt justified to those who spoke out online. And many people feel the industry is rigged against them, so there is an induced powerlessness when people feel vulnerable or they’re trying to interact with a well-established company,” she told Fox News Digital.

Regarding people discussing his looks, she remarked, “Beauty is power, and from an evolutionary perspective, people associate beauty with health and well-being, and so sometimes it takes a while for our brain to catch up. Beauty is beauty, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that somebody’s not murderous. It doesn’t mean somebody’s not good, so I think there is a trickery that happens… We are very seduced by looks and sexuality and that can blind us to what’s in our best interest and who’s good and who’s bad.”

Dr. Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist and author of “Be Fearless: Change Your Life in 28 Days,” said people can form a “cognitive bias” based on a single attribute of a person.

“In the case of the alleged CEO killer, it’s his looks,” he told Fox News Digital. “People tend to make snap judgements that lead to poor decisions based strictly on this single trait. I’ve heard from several people siding with the killer thinking his gripe with insurance companies was legitimate, and the murder was justifiable to make a point. I ask them if they’d have the same opinion of the killer if he was ugly, and had tattoos all over his face, to which they are then silent and not sure how to respond. This is proof positive that people are in fact influenced by looks and, in the case of Mangione, are unable to reconcile his looks with his alleged heinous actions.”

Far-left journalist Taylor Lorenz, whose lack of empathy and even “joy” about the murder has drawn sharp criticism, wrote on Substack that she had spoken to several people “glorifying” Mangione online and found it connected to their frustrations with the healthcare system.

Taylor Lorenz attends the “This Is Not Financial Advice” premiere during the 2023 Tribeca Festival at SVA Theatre on June 10, 2023, in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)

MENENDEZ BROTHERS PROSECUTOR ANNOUNCES RESENTENCING DECISION

“All of them were under the age of 40, with the majority being Gen Z. They all said they’ve been touched by the healthcare system in some way, whether watching their parents or grandparents struggle to get basic care or fighting for care for themselves,” she wrote.

“Every person I spoke to said they’ve completely lost faith in the two-party system and the media, which they feel is beholden to corporate interests. They’re rallying around the shooter because he seems like the only man right now willing to do something about all of it,” Lorenz added.

The former Washington Post reporter joined Piers Morgan’s show and said she felt joy over the murder, before backtracking slightly and saying that joy wasn’t the right word.

Luigi Mangione pictured in a Facebook photo. Mangione was taken into custody in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday morning in connection with the ambush murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City. (Luigi Mangione/Facebook)

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Comedian and host of “After Midnight” Taylor Tomlinson chimed in on Mangione’s looks as well.

“All of the other late-night shows already covered the fact that everyone thinks the shooter is hot,” Tomlinson said. “But I feel confident that I’m the only late night host who can honestly say: ‘Would.’”

“Do you have any idea how attractive you have to be for a McDonald’s employee to be like, ‘Wait, okay, you being in here is suspicious,'” she joked.

Alleged UnitedHealth CEO killer Luigi Mangione’s photo appears during a CNN segment.

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CNN dropped their chyron banner on Tuesday to show Mangione’s abs in a shirtless photo while discussing the alleged murderer’s online fan base.

“It is deeply troubling that we are celebrating this person who’s committed cold-blooded murder because, you know, he clearly went to the gym,” Kate Bedingfield, a CNN political commentator, said.

Anchor Kasie Hunt then suggested they remove the banner “to see why” much of the online obsession with Mangione was due to the fact that he is, according to Bedingfield, an “attractive person.”

Alpert said the media bore some blame for the trend online of fetishizing Mangione to a degree.

“Both traditional and social media have emphasized the killer’s looks –whether intentional or not, it drives user engagement and clicks,” he told Fox News Digital. “We as a culture and society are looks obsessed, and this fixation might overshadow the seriousness of the crime.”

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Democrats in a bind over defense bill that bans transgender surgeries for minors but boosts enlisted pay

US News

Michael Weiss

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December 11, 2024

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Democrats in a bind over defense bill that bans transgender surgeries for minors but boosts enlisted pay

The House is set to vote Wednesday on its must-pass yearly defense bill that would give junior enlisted troops a significant pay bump and work to eliminate DEI programs at the Pentagon.

The 1,800-page bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), details how $895.2 billion allocated toward defense and national security will be spent. It will be voted on more than two months after the start of the fiscal year.

The $895.2 billion represents a 1% increase over last year’s budget, a smaller number than some defense hawks would have liked.

A significant portion of the legislation focused on quality-of-life improvements for service members amid record recruitment issues, a focus of much bipartisan discussion over the last year. That includes a 14.5% pay increase for junior enlisted troops and increasing access to child care for service members while also providing job support to military spouses.

The House is set to vote Wednesday on its must-pass yearly defense bill. (DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images/File)

The measure authorizes a 4.5% across-the-board pay raise for all service members starting Jan. 1.

The NDAA typically enjoys wide bipartisan support, but this year’s focus on eliminating “woke” policies could be hard for Democrats to stomach.

PENTAGON ANNOUNCES NEW COUNTER-DRONE STRATEGY AS UNMANNED ATTACKS ON US INTERESTS SKYROCKET

The policy proposal to prohibit Tricare, the military’s health care provider, from covering transgender services for the minor dependents of service members has raised concerns, prompting the leading Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, to reconsider his support for the bill.

“Blanketly denying health care to people who clearly need it, just because of a biased notion against transgender people, is wrong,” he said in a statement. “This provision injected a level of partisanship not traditionally seen in defense bills.”

The goal of that provision is to prevent any “medical interventions that could result in sterilization” of minors.

President Biden speaks to members of the 82nd Airborne Division at the G2A Arena, Friday, March 25, 2022, in Jasionka, Poland. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Biden speaks to members of the 82nd Airborne Division. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci/File)

Other provisions, like a blanket ban on funding for gender transition surgeries for adults, did not make their way into the bill, neither did a ban on requiring masks to prevent the spread of diseases.

The bill also supports deploying the National Guard to the southern border to help with illegal immigrant apprehensions and drug flow.

Another provision opens the door to allowing airmen and Space Force personnel to grow facial hair; it directs the secretary of the Air Force to brief lawmakers on “the feasibility and advisability” of establishing a pilot program to test out allowing beards.

US SCRAMBLES AS DRONES SHAPE THE LANDSCAPE OF WAR: ‘THE FUTURE IS HERE’

Democrats are also upset the bill did not include a provision expanding access to IVF for service members. Currently, military health care only covers IVF for troops whose infertility is linked to service-related illness or injury.

But the bill did not include an amendment to walk back a provision allowing the Pentagon to reimburse service members who have to travel out of state to get an abortion.

Enlisted service members will see a 14.5% pay bump in the 2025 NDAA. (File)

The bill extends a hiring freeze on DEI-related roles and stops all such recruitment until “an investigation of the Pentagon’s DEI programs” can be completed.

It also bans the Defense Department from contracting with advertising companies “that blacklist conservative news sources,” according to an internal GOP memo.

The memo said the NDAA also guts funding for the Biden administration’s “Countering Extremist Activity Working Group” dedicated to rooting out extremism in the military’s ranks. The annual defense policy bill also does not authorize “any climate change programs” and prohibits the Pentagon from issuing climate impact-based guidance on weapons systems.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., touted $31 billion in savings in the legislation that would come from cutting “inefficient programs, obsolete weapons, and bloated Pentagon bureaucracy.”

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The compromise NDAA bill, negotiated between Republican and Democrat leadership, sets policy for the nation’s largest government agency, but a separate defense spending bill must be passed to allocate funds for such programs.

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Biden could pardon these Trump antagonists amid Dem fears that ‘revengeful first year’ is looming

US News

Michael Weiss

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December 11, 2024

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Biden could pardon these Trump antagonists amid Dem fears that ‘revengeful first year’ is looming

President Biden’s days in office are coming down to the wire, and amid President-elect Donald Trump’s transition into the Oval Office, the 46th president is reportedly considering pardoning high-profile allies and fellow Democrats who are viewed as Trump’s political foes.

After Trump’s election win over Vice President Harris last month, Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Ed Markey said he expects Trump to act in a “fascistic way” as president and called on Biden to pardon Democrats and the party’s allies who could face prosecution under a second Trump administration.

“I think that, without question, Trump is going to try to act in a dictatorial way, in a fascistic way, in a revengeful first year at least of his administration toward individuals who he believes harmed him,” Markey said during a local radio interview last month.

“If it’s clear by Jan. 19 that that is his intention, then I would recommend to President Biden that he provide those preemptive pardons to people because that’s really what our country is going to need next year.”

MOTHER OF HUNTER BIDEN’S DAUGHTER DEFENDS PARDON, SAYS HE’S ‘TARGETED BECAUSE OF WHO HIS DAD IS’

President Biden (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta/File)

The comments were soon echoed by other Democrats and some legal experts in a bid for Biden to sink any prospect of Trump getting “revenge” against his political enemies.

“Biden should keep going with his pardons: Trump, Jack Smith & team, Mueller & team, and a blanket pardon for all on Trump’s enemies list for any and all political statements before December 25, 2024! Merry Christmas,” John Dean, CNN contributor and former President Nixon’s White House counsel during the Watergate scandal, posted to social media this month. “Take the wind out of retribution/revenge!”

HOW BIDEN – AND TRUMP – HELPED MAKE THE PARDON GO HAYWIRE

As Biden wraps up his final days, Fox News Digital compiled a list of prominent Trump antagonists who have been rumored to be among those considered for pardons.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chair of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, and Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., are shown during a public committee meeting on Capitol Hill on Dec. 19, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Former Rep. Liz Cheney and Rep. Bennie Thompson

Cheney, the Republican former Wyoming congresswoman, and Rep. Bennie Thompson, the Jan. 6 House Select Committee chair, were the targets of Trump’s ire during a recent interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press.”

“Cheney did something that’s inexcusable, along with Thompson and the people on the un-select committee of political thugs and, you know, creeps,” he said in the interview. “They deleted and destroyed all evidence.”

“And Cheney was behind it, and so was Bennie Thompson and everybody on that committee,” he continued. “For what they did, honestly, they should go to jail.”

The Jan. 6 committee was founded in July 2021 to investigate the breach of the U.S. Capitol earlier that year by supporters of Trump ahead of President Biden officially taking office on Jan. 20. The Jan. 6 committee’s investigation was carried out when Democrats held control of the House.

BIDEN’S PARDONING OF HUNTER INDICATES HE HAS ‘A LOT MORE TO HIDE’: LARA TRUMP

Cheney slammed Trump’s remarks in a statement this week, saying they were a “continuation of his assault on the rule of law,” but she did not address a potential blanket pardon or whether she would accept such an offer.

“There is no conceivably appropriate factual or constitutional basis for what Donald Trump is suggesting – a Justice Department investigation of the work of a congressional committee – and any lawyer who attempts to pursue that course would quickly find themselves engaged in sanctionable conduct,” Cheney said in her statement.

Thompson’s office also slammed Trump’s comment in a statement provided to Fox Digital this week, arguing that “no election, no conspiracy theory, no pardon, and no threat of vengeful prosecution can rewrite history or wipe away his responsibility for the deadly violence on that horrific day.”

“We stood up to him before, and we will continue to do so,” he added.

Dr. Anthony Fauci (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/File)

Dr. Anthony Fauci

The former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, was a keystone of the nation’s pandemic response, including advising then-President Trump in 2020 on how to handle COVID-19 as it swept across communities.

Fauci’s tenure under the first Trump administration, however, devolved with Trump slamming him and fellow pandemic task force adviser Dr. Deborah Birx as “two self-promoters trying to reinvent history to cover for their bad instincts and faulty recommendations.”

FAUCI RIPPED OVER NEW PAPER CRITICIZING TRUMP ON CORONAVIRUS, PROMOTING NATURAL ORIGIN THEORY: ‘EMBARRASSMENT’

Conservatives, including lawmakers such as Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., slammed Fauci for his promotion of mask mandates, vaccine mandates and strict lockdown orders that upended the day-to-day lives of Americans.

“Dr. Fauci should be voluntarily removed from TV because what he says is such a disservice, and such fearmongering and almost all of what he says isn’t even matched by the science of his own institute,” Paul, who is a doctor, said in 2021 during an appearance on Fox Business.

“It doesn’t obey the science,” he said at the time. “There is no scientific evidence that the lockdowns in Michigan have done anything or in California. In fact, the daily incidents of the disease in the last two months has been about almost one and a half times greater in California than it has been in Florida. The death rate is lower in Florida. So there is no real correlation between economic lockdowns, mask mandates or any of this.”

Trump allies, including tech billionaire Elon Musk and Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, have endorsed calls to prosecute Fauci if evidence is found of any crimes during the pandemic, including the Wuhan lab leak in China.

BIDEN, TRUMP BOTH RIP DOJ AFTER PRESIDENT PARDONS HUNTER

“If there were crimes that he committed, of course I would tell the attorney general to prosecute him, not hold off,” Kennedy said on Fox News last year.

Fauci has denied any wrongdoing amid the pandemic, and he told CNN this year, “I don’t know what one would prosecute me for. … I played a major role in the development of the vaccine that was responsible for the saving of millions of lives. … I’m definitely guilty of that.”

Donald Trump and New York Attorney General Letitia James (ABC News/Screenshot | Brendan McDermid/Pool/Getty Images)

New York’s Letitia James and Alvin Bragg

New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg have been at the forefront of legal cases aimed at Trump ahead of the 2024 election, frequently landing in the upcoming president’s line of fire for criticism as he battled lawsuits he slammed as “shams.”

James, a former City Council member in New York and public defender, launched her run for New York AG during the 2018 cycle while emphasizing that if she were elected, she would aggressively pursue charges against Trump.

“What is fueling this campaign, what is fueling my soul right now, is Trump and his abuses, abuses against immigrants, against women, against our environment. We need an attorney general who will stand up to Donald Trump,” James said on the campaign trail in 2018.

NEW YORK AG LETITIA JAMES SAYS SHE WON’T DROP CIVIL FRAUD CASE AGAINST TRUMP

About three months after taking office, James announced an investigation into the Trump Organization, alleging there was evidence indicating the president and his company had falsely valued assets to obtain loans, insurance coverage and tax deductions. The investigation began after Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, who had previously served federal prison time for violating campaign finance laws, testified before Congress that the Trump Organization exaggerated the value of his assets.

James officially sued Trump, the Trump Organization and its senior leadership for allegedly falsely inflating “his net worth by billions of dollars to induce banks to lend money to the Trump Organization on more favorable terms than would otherwise have been available to the company, to satisfy continuing loan covenants, to induce insurers to provide insurance coverage for higher limits and at lower premiums, and to gain tax benefits, among other things.”

Trump charged that James had launched a “witch hunt” against him after she explicitly campaigned on a platform to prosecute the president. Trump and his family denied any wrongdoing, with the former president saying his assets had been undervalued.

James was also caught on camera appearing gleeful as Donald Trump Jr. took the stand at his father’s civil trial in November, after frequently sitting in the courtroom amid proceedings.

Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in September last year in the non-jury trial that Trump and his organization had committed fraud while building his real estate business by deceiving banks, insurers and others by overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth. Trump appealed the ruling in September this year.

James said this week that she will not drop Trump’s civil fraud judgment after his win last month.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg walks in the hallways of Manhattan Supreme Court

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital/File)

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg emerged as another Trump political foe, leading the charge in his criminal trial this year after charging Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records after his Manhattan criminal trial in May. Bragg’s office worked to prove that Trump falsified the business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. Trump has maintained his innocence in the case, and he has argued that it was “lawfare” promoted by the Biden administration and Democrats to injure his re-election efforts.

Sentencing in the case was indefinitely postponed after Trump’s election win, with his legal team calling on the presiding judge to drop the case altogether.

Jack Smith (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)

Special counsel Jack Smith, Fulton County DA Fani Willis

Trump was hit with four separate indictments issued between March and August 2023, including Special Counsel Jack Smith prosecuting Trump in two of the cases: a classified documents case and a election interference case.

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

PROSECUTORS REQUEST STAY IN TRUMP NY CASE UNTIL 2029 AS DEFENSE PLANS MOTION FOR DISMISSAL ‘ONCE AND FOR ALL’

In the election interference case, which focused on alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (Alyssa Pointer/Pool/Getty Images/File)

Both cases were dropped after the presidential election, but Trump’s repeated criticisms and condemnation against Jack Smith, who he commonly referred to as “deranged,” and other prosecutors have continued.

“These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought. Over $100 Million Dollars of Taxpayer Dollars has been wasted in the Democrat Party’s fight against their Political Opponent, ME. Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before,” Trump posted on social media after the election.

In that same social media post, Trump also took issue with Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis, who led the prosecution of Trump in connection to a racketeering indictment for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Trump pleaded not guilty in that case and has maintained his innocence.

“They have also used State Prosecutors and District Attorneys, such as Fani Willis and her lover, Nathan Wade (who had absolutely zero experience in cases such as this, but was paid MILLIONS, enough for them to take numerous trips and cruises around the globe!)” Trump posted. “It was a political hijacking, and a low point in the History of our Country that such a thing could have happened, and yet, I persevered, against all odds, and WON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Adam Schiff (Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG/File)

Sen. Adam Schiff

California Sen. Adam Schiff, who won election to the Senate last month after serving in the U.S. House, has been a common target of Trump’s for spearheading the first impeachment trial.

The House impeached Trump in 2019 over allegedly leveraging U.S. military aid to Ukraine for political favors involving investigations of the Biden family. Schiff, who served as chair of the House Intelligence Committee, said Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “reads like a classic organized crime shakedown,” opening the floodgates of Trump’s criticisms aimed at the Democrat.

TRUMP FIRES BACK AT ‘CORRUPT’ SCHIFF, ‘PHONY’ MAINSTREAM MEDIA DURING FIERY REMARKS ON IMPEACHMENT

The Senate ultimately acquitted Trump in the first impeachment as well as his second impeachment involving allegations he incited an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump and Schiff have continued trading barbs since the impeachment saga.

“We have two enemies. We have the outside enemy, and then we have the enemy from within. And the enemy from within, in my opinion, is more dangerous than China, Russia and all these countries,” Trump told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” in October.

“But the thing that’s tougher to handle are these lunatics that we have inside, like Adam Schiff – Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff,” Trump added.

As speculation mounts over who Biden could pardon ahead of his White House exit, Schiff has balked at calls for blanket pardons for those viewed as Trump’s political foes.

”I don’t think the idea of a blanket pardon of some kind is a good idea. And I would recommend against it,” he told CBS News last week.

Gen. Mark Milley (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta/File)

Former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Gen. Mark Milley

Just days ahead of the election, news broke that the former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Gen. Mark Milley, slammed Trump as a “fascist” and “the most dangerous person to this country” in Washington Post editor Bob Woodward’s latest book.

Trump has repeatedly slammed Milley since leaving office, including after the United States’ botched withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 when he called Milley a “loser who shamed us in Afghanistan and elsewhere!”

RETIRED GEN MILLEY SAYS AMERICA WILL ‘BE OK’ UNDER TRUMP AFTER REPORTEDLY SAYING HE WAS ‘FASCIST TO THE CORE’

After the election, Milley apparently backtracked his characterization of Trump as a “fascist,” saying America will “be OK” under Trump’s second administration.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (Alex Wong/Getty Images/Fox News Digital/File)

Hillary Clinton

Trump minced no words on the 2016 campaign trail that if elected president, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could face jail time, perhaps previewing a Biden pardon for the Democratic stalwart years later.

It is “awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country,” Clinton said during a presidential debate against Trump.

HILLARY CLINTON’S NEW STATE DEPARTMENT PORTRAIT INSPIRES MOCKERY ON SOCIAL MEDIA: ‘YOU SHOULD BE IN JAIL’

“Because you’d be in jail,” Trump shot back in a mic-drop moment that earned praise from conservatives and condemnation from Democrats.

“Lock her up” became a common chant during Trump’s 2016 rallies.

FBI Director Christopher Wray (Ting Shen/Xinhua via Getty Images/File)

Christopher Wray

FBI Director Christopher Wray, who Trump appointed during his first administration, is set to be fired or voluntarily resign from the position as Trump tees up his new pick for FBI chief, Kash Patel, and as conservatives slam Wray for “failing” his duties at the FBI.

The FBI director has also repeatedly come under fire from Trump, including during his Sunday interview on NBC for the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago in 2022.

GRASSLEY RIPS WRAY’S ‘FAILED’ LEADERSHIP AT FBI WITH 11 PAGES OF EXAMPLES IN BLISTERING ‘NO-CONFIDENCE’ LETTER

“He invaded my home. I’m suing the country over it. He invaded Mar-a-Lago. I’m very unhappy with the things he’s done. And crime is at an all-time high. Migrants are pouring into the country that are from prisons and from mental institutions, as we’ve discussed. I can’t say I’m thrilled,” Trump said during the interview.

The FBI declined to comment.

Biden at Everytown for Gun Safety conference

President Biden (Ken Cedeno/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)

Could Biden pardon himself?

Legal experts have grappled for years with whether a president could pardon himself, but no president has yet tested the waters and actually issued a self-pardon.

Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution states that the president has the power to “grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.” The Constitution does not stipulate who a president can and can’t pardon, instead granting them power to pardon any federal crime.

In Biden’s case, Trump has repeatedly slammed his Oval Office successor, including in June when he said Biden is a “criminal.”

”Joe could be a convicted felon with all of the things that he’s done,” Trump said of Biden in June.

“This man is a criminal. This man – you’re lucky. You’re lucky. I did nothing wrong. We’d have a system that was rigged and disgusting. I did nothing wrong.”

Vice President Harris (AP/Jacquelyn Martin/File)

Vice President Harris, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, President Biden

Trump’s pick for FBI director, Patel, is known as a “deep state” crusader, who detailed in his book, “Government Gangsters,” an alphabetical list of alleged “deep state” members who are either currently or formerly employed in the executive branch.

Among those on the list are Vice President Harris, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Biden.

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Patel has advocated for the firings of “corrupt actors” within the FBI and the federal government overall, “aggressive” congressional oversight over the agency, complete overhauls of special counsels, and moving the FBI out of Washington, D.C. His list of alleged “deep state” actors could indicate which political players could face investigation during a second Trump administration, and if Patel is confirmed by the Senate.

Fox News Digital’s Gabriel Hays, Tyler Olson and Kristen Altus contributed to this report.

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