A federal appeals court rejected a bid to block the release of a portion of special counsel Jack Smith's final report detailing his investigation and prosecution of President-elect Trump's alleged 2020 election interference and alleged improper retention of classified records.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit denied the request from Walt Nauta, an aide to Trump, and Carlos de Oliveira, the former property manager at Mar-a-Lago, who were charged for their role in allegedly obstructing a separate federal investigation into Trump's handling of sensitive government records.
The 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals left a three-day hold on DOJ’s release of the report.
Smith was tapped by Garland in 2022 to investigate both the alleged effort by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, as well as Trump's keeping of allegedly classified documents at his Florida residence.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges. Nauta and de Oliveira also pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging they conspired to obstruct the FBI investigation into classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago.
President-elect Trump announced a series of Cabinet picks as his Jan. 20 inauguration nears and Senate confirmation begins.
Trump nominated former Fox News contributor Leo Terrell, a civil rights attorney, as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice.
"He will work alongside Harmeet K. Dhillon, a fellow Californian, and our incredible Nominee for United States Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the Justice Department," Trump wrote. "Leo is a highly respected civil rights attorney and political analyst. He received his law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and has defended many high-profile cases throughout his incredibly successful career.
"Leo will be a fantastic advocate for the American People, and ensure we will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
In an announcement Thursday evening, Trump revealed Christine Toretti as his pick for ambassador to Sweden. He said Toretti is an "incredible businesswoman, philanthropist, public servant, and RNC Committeewoman."
"She is Chairman of S&T Bancorp, and a former director of the Pittsburgh Federal Reserve Bank," Trump wrote. "Christine has been a tireless supporter of important causes as a Board Member of the International Medical Corps, former Chair of the Andy Warhol Museum, Director of the NCAA Foundation, founding Director of the Gettysburg Foundation, Trustee of the Sarah Scaife Foundation, and Chair of the Anne B. Anstine Excellence in Public Service Series in Pennsylvania, and the Dodie Londen Excellence in Public Service Series in Arizona.
"Christine is one of fewer than sixty women who have received the Athena International Global Award."
Trump also announced retired Army Capt. Sam Brown would serve as the next Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
"Sam is an American HERO, a Purple Heart recipient, and successful businessman from Nevada, who has devoted his life to serving America," Trump said in the announcement. "He fearlessly proved his love for our Country in the Army, while leading Troops in battle in Afghanistan and, after being honorably retired as a Captain, helping our Veterans get access to emergency medications.
"Sam will now continue his service to our Great Nation at the VA, where he will work tirelessly to ensure we put America’s Veterans FIRST, and remember ALL who served."
The nominations come as Trump continues to round out picks for his Cabinet as Jan. 20 nears.
The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate will soon begin holding hearings for Trump's Cabinet nominees.
Republicans will control the Senate with 53 seats to the Democrats' 47 once Senator-elect Jim Justice of West Virginia is sworn in later in January and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appoints a senator to fill Vice President-elect Vance’s seat.
A federal appeals court has delayed Friday's scheduled military court hearing where suspected 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-conspirators were expected to plead guilty as part of a deal negotiated with prosecutors.
The pause, though welcomed by the many who opposed the plea deals, prolongs a decades-long crusade for justice by the victims' families.
The plea deals, which would have three 9/11 terrorists avoid the death penalty and face life in prison, have drawn sharp outcry from the public and even prompted a dispute within the Biden administration to undo them.
On New Year’s Eve, a military appeals court shot down Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's effort to block the deal between military prosecutors and defense lawyers, saying Austin did not have the power to cancel plea agreements.
Specifically, the court opinion said the plea deals reached by military prosecutors and defense attorneys were valid and enforceable and that Austin exceeded his authority when he later tried to nullify them.
The defense now has until Jan. 17 to offer a full response to the Department of Justice's request to have the plea deals thrown out. Government prosecutors then have until Jan. 22 for a rebuttal, with possible oral arguments on the issue to follow.
The plea deals, offered to Mohammed and two co-conspirators, were meant as a way to wrap up the quest for justice to those who have been waiting more than two decades to see the terrorists that killed their loved ones convicted. They would allow prosecutors to avoid going to trial.
But why did the government settle for a plea deal after 23 years of building a case in the first place?
"I haven't spoken to a single person who thinks these plea deals were a good idea. Most people are horrified," said Brett Eagleson, president of 9/11 Justice.
"It's our thought that this was rescinded in name only and like it was done right before the election. So, Austin was trying to save any attempts at sort of a political loss on this," said Eagleson.
In its appeal this week, the government says, "Respondents are charged with perpetrating the most egregious criminal act on American soil in modern history — the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
"The military commission judge intends to enforce pretrial plea agreements that will deprive the government and the American people of a public trial as to the respondents’ guilt and the possibility of capital punishment, despite the fact that the Secretary of Defense has lawfully withdrawn those agreements," the appeal said. "The harm to the government and the public will be irreparable once the judge accepts the pleas, which he is scheduled to do in hearings beginning on January 10, 2025."
The appeal also noted that once the military commission accepts the guilty pleas, there is likely no way to return to the status quo.
Defense lawyers for the suspected 9/11 perpetrators argued Austin’s attempts to throw out the plea deals that his own military negotiated and approved were the latest developments in the "fitful" and "negligent" mishandling of the case that has dragged on for more than two decades.
If the plea deal is upheld, the architects of the attacks that killed 2,976, plus thousands more who died after inhaling toxic dust in rescue missions, will not be put to death for their crimes.
"You would think that the government has an opportunity to make right, and you would think that they would be salivating at the opportunity to bring us justice," Eagleson said. "Rather than doing that, they shroud everything in secrecy. They're rushing to get these plea deals done, and they're marching forward despite the objections of us.
"We want transparency. We want the discovery that's been produced. In this case, we want to know who are these guys they're talking to? On what grounds does our government think that these guys are guilty? Why can't they share that with us? It's been 23 years. You can't tell me that you need to protect national security sources and methods because, quite frankly, if we're using the same sources and methods that we were 23 years ago, we have bigger fish to fry."
The government opted to try five men in one case instead of each individually. Mohammed is accused of masterminding the plot and proposing it to Usama bin Laden. Two others allegedly helped the hijackers with finances.
In 2023, a medical panel concluded that Ramzi bin al-Shibh was not competent to stand trial and removed him from the case. Mohammed, Mustafa al-Hawsawi and Walid bin Attash, are all part of the plea agreement that will allow them to avoid the death penalty. One other will go to trial.
"The military commission has really been a failure," said John Ryan, a retired agent on the FBI's joint terrorism task force in New York.
Hundreds of people have been convicted of terrorism charges in the U.S. Ramzi Yousef, the perpetrator of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, was convicted in 1997.
But the military commission’s 9/11 case has faced a revolving door of judges, who then each take time to get up to speed with the 400,000 pages and exhibits in the case. Col. Matthew N. McCall of the Air Force, the fourth judge to preside over hearings in the case, intends to retire in the first quarter of 2025 before any trial begins.
McCall was assigned to the case in August 2021, and he held only two rounds of hearings before suspending the proceedings in March 2022 for plea negotiations. Another judge would have to get up to speed, and it could be another five to 10 years before a conviction, according to Ryan, who observed many of the hearings at Guantánamo.
"You have parents and grandparents [of victims] that now are in their 80s, you know, and want to see justice in their lifetime," he said.
"So, they would prefer to see the death penalty, but they’re sort of accepting the plea agreement here."
In the 23 years it’s taken to go to trial, critical witnesses have died, while others have waning memories of that fateful day.
For many years, the trial was delayed as the prosecution and the defense argued over whether some of the government’s best evidence, obtained under torture by the CIA, was permissible in court. The defense argued their clients had been conditioned to say anything that would please interrogators under this practice.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder has blamed "political hacks" for preventing a U.S.-based trial and thereby leading to the plea deal.
Years of proceedings in the untested military commissions system have led to countless delays.
Holder in 2009 had wanted to try the men in the Manhattan court system and promised to seek the death penalty, but he faced swift opposition in Congress from lawmakers who opposed bringing the suspected terrorists onto U.S. soil.
In 2013, Holder claimed Mohammed and his co-conspirators would be sitting on "death row as we speak" if the case had gone through the federal court system as he proposed.
Ten years later, Attorney General William Barr also tried to bring the Guantánamo detainees to the U.S. for a trial in federal court in 2019. He wrote in his memoir that the military commission process had become a "hopeless mess."
"The military can’t seem to get out of its own way and complete the trial," Barr wrote. He, too, ran into opposition from Republicans in Congress and then-President Trump.
President-elect Donald Trump said he respects the Supreme Court’s decision to deny his request to stop his sentencing in New York v. Trump from moving forward, but said Thursday night he will appeal, while stressing that "lawfare" has been an "attack on the Republican Party."
Trump’s comments came just moments after the Supreme Court denied Trump’s emergency petition to block his sentencing from taking place on Friday, Jan. 10. The sentencing was scheduled by New York Judge Juan Merchan.
Merchan, last week, said he would not sentence the president-elect to prison, but rather issue a sentence of an "unconditional discharge," which means there would be no punishment imposed.
"I’m the first president and probably one of the first candidates in history that’s under attack with a gag order where I’m not allowed to speak about something," Trump said during a meeting at Mar-a-Lago Thursday night with Republican governors. "This is a long way from finished and I respect the court’s opinion."
Trump said he thought the court’s ruling was a "very good opinion for us," noting that the justices "invited the appeal."
"We’ll see how it all works out," he said. "I think it’s going to work out well."
But Trump reflected on the "lawfare" that he has been victim of, saying that it "was an attack on the Republican Party."
"This was an attack on the Republican candidate who just won an election by record numbers—the highest number of Republican votes by far ever gotten, and we won all the swing states, we won the popular vote by millions of people," he said. "They tried to stop that from happening—they tried to stop this election from happening or to bloody somebody up so badly they couldn’t win."
Trump said that "the people got it and we won by the largest number."
Trump filed an emergency petition to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday in an effort to prevent his Jan. 10 sentencing, scheduled by Judge Juan Merchan, from taking place.
"The application for stay presented to Justice Sotomayor and by her referred to the Court is denied for, inter alia, the following reasons. First, the alleged evidentiary violations at President-Elect Trump’s state-court trial can be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal," the order states.
"Second, the burden that sentencing will impose on the President-Elect’s responsibilities is relatively insubstantial in light of the trial court’s stated intent to impose a sentence of unconditional discharge' after a brief virtual hearing," the court ruled.
The order also noted that "Justice Thomas, Justice Alito, Justice Gorsuch, and Justice Kavanaugh would grant the application."
Trump needed five votes in order to have his request granted. The note on the order suggests Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett voted with Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Katanji Brown Jackson.
Trump's sentencing is now expected to move forward, with the president-elect expected to appear virtually for the proceeding, scheduled for 9:30 am Friday.
Merchan set Trump's sentencing in New York v. Trump for Jan. 10 after a jury found the now-president-elect guilty of falsifying business records in the first degree, stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges and has appealed the ruling but was rejected last week by Merchan.
Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on Jan. 20.
Trump has maintained his innocence in the case and repeatedly railed against it as an example of "lawfare" promoted by Democrats in an effort to hurt his election efforts ahead of November.
FIRST ON FOX:A New York Court assigned a new judge to preside over the civil fraud case against President-elect Trump brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, seemingly replacing Judge Arthur Engoron, but hours later, the court put him back on the case, sources close to Trump's legal team told Fox News Digital.
The case and the trial were handled by Judge Arthur Engoron, who was accused by Trump allies of acting with bias against the president-elect, his family and his company.
Sources familiar told Fox News Digital the court sent out an automated email at around 12:45pm on Thursday, notifying the parties that it had assigned New York County Supreme Court Justice Judith McMahon of Staten Island to the case.
But several hours later, at 4:12pm, attorneys on the case received another automated message from the court system notifying them that Judge Arthur Engoron was assigned back to the case.
A source close to Trump's legal team told Fox News Digital that they are concerned with the back-and-forth.
The case is pending on appeal. After the appeals court issues its decision, the case will be remanded to a lower court, which Engoron presided over during the trial.
Engoron, after a weeks-long non-jury civil fraud trial that began in October 2023, ruled last year that Trump and defendants were liable for "persistent and repeated fraud," "falsifying business records," "issuing false financial statements," "conspiracy to falsify false financial statements," "insurance fraud," and "conspiracy to commit insurance fraud."
But before the trial began, Engoron issued a summary judgment against Trump, making the subsequent trial a case over the penalty to be paid.
Notably, during the case, Engoron allowed the value of Trump's Mar-a-Lago to be listed at $18 million. President Trump disputes that valuation, saying the property is worth 50 to 100 times more than Engoron's estimation. And real estate insiders and developers argued the property could list at more than $300 million.
In his ruling in the case last year, Engoron took a shot at Trump, criticizing him for his participation in the trial, stating that he "rarely responded to the questions asked, and he frequently interjected long, irrelevant speeches on issues far beyond the scope of the trial."
"His refusal to answer the questions directly, or in some cases, at all, severely compromised his credibility," Engoron wrote.
Over the course of the trial late last year, Trump, Trump allies, Republicans and legal experts repeatedly criticized Engoron, who throughout his career has exclusively donated to Democrats, over his handling of the case.
Engoron is also reportedly subject to a probe over unsolicited advice he received on the case.
Trump and his family denied any wrongdoing, with the former president saying his assets had been undervalued. Trump's legal team insisted that his financial statements had disclaimers and made it clear to banks that they should conduct their own assessments.
Trump appealed the $454 million judgment. The appeal is pending before the New York Appeals Court.
Judges on the New York appeals court appeared receptive last year to the possibility of reversing or reducing the $454 million civil fraud judgment.
The president’s attorneys called Engoron’s ruling "draconian, unlawful, and unconstitutional."
Trump attorney D. John Sauer, the incoming solicitor general, argued that James’ lawsuit stretched New York consumer protection laws and said there were "no victims" and "no complaints" about Trump’s business from lenders and insurers.
Sauer said the case "involves a clear-cut violation of the statute of limitations," pointing to transactions used in the non-jury civil fraud trial that dated back more than a decade.
Sauer said if the verdict is not overturned, "people can’t do business in real estate" without fear.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect additional information.
The United States Supreme Court has denied President-elect Trump's petition to block his Friday sentencing in New York v. Trump.
Trump filed an emergency petition to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday in an effort to prevent his Jan. 10 sentencing, scheduled by Judge Juan Merchan, from taking place.
The high court on Thursday night said "the burden that sentencing will impose on the President-Elect’s responsibilities is relatively insubstantial in light of the trial court’s stated intent to impose a sentence of ‘unconditional discharge’ after a brief virtual hearing."
Now, sentencing in New York v. Trump can move forward, with the president-elect expected to appear virtually for the proceeding, scheduled for 9:30 am Friday.
Merchan set Trump's sentencing in New York v. Trump for Jan. 10 after a jury found the now-president-elect guilty of falsifying business records in the first degree, stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges and has appealed the ruling but was rejected last week by Merchan.
Trump's lawyers, in their petition to the high court, said it should "immediately order a stay of pending criminal proceedings in the Supreme Court of New York County, New York, pending the final resolution of President Trump’s interlocutory appeal raising questions of Presidential immunity, including in this Court if necessary."
"The Court should also enter, if necessary, a temporary administrative stay while it considers this stay application," the filing states.
Trump's attorneys also argued that New York prosecutors erroneously admitted extensive evidence relating to official presidential acts during trial, ignoring the high court's ruling on presidential immunity.
The Supreme Court, earlier this year, ruled that presidents are immune from prosecution related to official presidential acts.
Trump's legal team is arguing Merchan should not be permitted to move any further and said their appeal of the ruling "will ultimately result in the dismissal of the District Attorney’s politically motivated prosecution that was flawed from the very beginning, centered around the wrongful actions and false claims of a disgraced, disbarred serial-liar former attorney, violated President Trump’s due process rights, and had no merit."
Merchan set the sentencing date last week but said he will not sentence the president-elect to prison.
Merchan wrote in his decision that he is not likely to "impose any sentence of incarceration," but rather a sentence of an "unconditional discharge," which means there would be no punishment imposed.
Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on Jan. 20.
Trump has maintained his innocence in the case and repeatedly railed against it as an example of "lawfare" promoted by Democrats in an effort to hurt his election efforts ahead of November.
President-elect Trump is hosting a group of Republican governors for dinner at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, Thursday evening.
The gathering comes a week and a half before the former and future president is inaugurated Jan. 20 and takes over the White House.
The meeting gives Trump a chance to speak with the GOP governors who will likely play an integral role in carrying out the Trump agenda in his second administration, including his push for mass deportation of immigrants with criminal records.
Among those attending the dinner are governors Ron DeSantis of Florida, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Kim Reynolds of Iowa, Fox News confirmed.
DeSantis, a one-time Trump ally who clashed with the former president in 2023 and early last year during a contentious 2024 GOP presidential nomination race, mended relations a bit with the former president after the primary season.
DeSantis endorsed Trump and helped raise money for the Republican nominee's general election campaign.
Reynolds, the conservative two-term governor, drew Trump's ire during the presidential primaries by endorsing DeSantis and serving as his top surrogate during the Iowa caucuses.
"Excited to meet with President @realDonaldTrump tonight at Mar-a-Lago," Reynolds wrote in a social media post. "I stand ready to help enact his agenda of Making America Safe, Prosperous, and Great Again!"
Youngkin, who mulled a 2024 White House run of his own before deciding against it, teamed up with Trump a couple of times during the general election campaign.
Politico was first to report on Trump's dinner with the governors.
Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk has issued blistering criticism of liberal megadonor George Soros in recent days after President Biden awarded the Hungarian-born progressive with the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
"A travesty that Biden is giving Soros the Medal of Freedom," Musk posted on X last week in response to news that the nation’s highest civilian honor would be presented to Soros, whose massive financial empire has been used all across the country to fund campaigns of progressive politicians, legislation, ballot measures and initiatives.
In another post, Musk wrote that Soros was a "genius" when it came to arbitrage, finance or politics, but "I just wish he loved, rather than hated, humanity."
"George Soros’s hatred of humanity includes Israel btw," Musk posted on X referencing a news story with the headline, "Israeli ambassador to UN slams George Soros for funding Hamas-supporting NGOs: Report."
Musk also posted a meme of Biden handing the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Emperor Palpatine from the "Star Wars" film franchise and joked, "George Soros looking quite good here. Must be the lighting."
In another post, Musk posted a screenshot from Soros’ website accusing him of spending "billions to create the fake asylum-seeker nightmare that is destroying America and Europe."
On Thursday, Musk responded on X to a comment from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni where she said that Musk is "not a danger to Democracy" but rather "George Soros is."
"And Soros is being defeated," Musk responded.
Soros, a mega-Democrat donor, runs a web of non-profits that bankroll various candidates around the world who align with his progressive agenda, including his Open Society Foundations. Soros has given over $32 billion to Open Society Foundations since 1984, according to its website.
"President Biden’s decision to award George Soros the Medal of Freedom is a slap in the face to the citizens and crime victims suffering under the policies and politicians he has promoted," Zack Smith, Heritage Foundation legal fellow and co-author of "Rogue Prosecutors: How Radical Soros Lawyers Are Destroying America's Communities," recently told Fox News Digital.
"Soros has been a major donor to far-left politicians and has promoted policies that undermine the rule of law in our country. Given Biden’s embrace of these policies and the funding Soros has provided, this looks like nothing more than an effort to reward and keep happy one of the Left’s major donors (and his family). It cheapens what should be a prestigious award and gives everyday Americans yet another reason to be disgusted by the current Administration’s actions."
Soros has long been blamed by many experts and analysts for rising crime in major cities after his support of liberal district attorneys has pushed for a "reimagining" of policing or policies like ending cash bail or lowering sentencing requirements.
A dozen of the 25 Soros-linked district attorneys on the ballot in November were defeated or recalled, signaling a backlash against progressive policies that critics say are to blame for a surge in crime across the country in recent years.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Open Society Foundations for comment but did not receive a response.
Fox News Digital's Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
During the 2024 campaign cycle, Americans witnessed what appeared to be no love lost between President-elect Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama.
However, at former President Jimmy Carter's funeral the two recent presidents appeared to be enjoying each other’s company and largely ignored other dignitaries arriving around them, including Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden.
Susan Constantine, a communication and body language expert, said Harris came off "as cool as could be."
"'Ice Princess' all the way around. When she was walking she was very robotic. I call that ‘rigidity’ when we see that kind of soldier-like stance."
Harris deliberately averted eye contact with Trump, in a sign of disdain. The tension of her facial expression, with pursed lips tightened toward the center showed there was "no love lost" between the two 2024 contenders.
"She intentionally walked past him and a stride of arrogance and confidence that did not look well on her," Constantine said. "[It] tells me that she walked in there with a chip on her shoulder."
Another attendee who appeared to be more muted than normal was former First Lady Laura Bush.
Constantine said Mrs. Bush has always been known for her outgoing personality, but noted she did not greet the Trumps or Obama to her left.
"I think that she's just always been such a beautiful, eloquent woman that always has a genuine smile and appears to be very cordial. So I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt," Constantine said, adding she saw Bush look over her right shoulder only briefly to make eye contact – potentially with Al Gore or the Quayles.
However, Constantine said there was one interaction that very much stood out: Trump’s jovial conversation and gesticulations with Barack Obama.
"President Obama would lean his head towards him listening to what Trump had to say. Trump was always in that forward stance. He was always ready, engaging. And he and President Obama and Trump felt very much like this with one another that may have made the rest of [the presidential attendees] feel a bit uncomfortable."
However, there was a moment where Trump appeared to be talking about something Obama appeared to wish was held til after the somber event.
Trump appeared to give a "thumb shrug" to Obama, as if to ask "what do you think about this?"
Obama’s furrowed brow and "neutral expression" showed he was listening intently but that the men were having an "intense conversation," said Constantine.
The New York Post reported a lip-reader suggested the two were discussing "international agreements" which would therefore require such sensitivity.
When asked about Gore appearing to make a point to be first to stand and greet Trump, as well as others, Constantine said that would denote the Tennessean showing respect and being a "perfect gentleman."
Trump passed the Quayles without either member of the second family under President George H.W. Bush standing up, but Gore quickly rose to shake hands.
The longtime Democrat was likely putting politics aside when greeting the Republican president-elect, she said.
George W. Bush’s "belly tap" of Obama made the rounds on X after the ceremony.
"When you tap somebody on the stomach, that's where all your emotions are. And when you touch someone in that, it’s a personal zone. You’ve got to feel pretty comfortable to be able to do that. You have to feel very comfortable with that relationship in order to do that," she said of Bush, who notably has indeed had a civil relationship with the man who repeatedly criticized him in 2008.
Bush also notably reached back to playfully swat Vice President Dan Quayle with his bulletin as he took his seat.
That could be a sign Bush was uncomfortable, or just a less intimate or playful greeting.
The Clintons and Bidens notably arrived without actively greeting the rest of the assembled dignitaries. Hillary Clinton had an "incredulous" facial expression that she has shown before, Constantine said.
"If you could hone-in on Hillary, you'll see the dimples on both sides of her mouth make that incredulous expression that she’s got.
Overall, Constantine said, when people go to funerals, they act differently and usually say hello to everyone no matter past differences – and that sentiment could play into the interactions seen Thursday.
Meanwhile, the forensic lip reader – expert witness Jeremy Freeman – told the New York Post that Trump appeared to tell Obama the two should find a "quiet place" soon to discuss "a matter of importance."
"I’ve pulled out of that. It’s the conditions. Can you imagine that?" Trump said at one point, according to Freeman.
Freeman also indicated it appeared Trump asked Obama to call him after the funeral mass to discuss the issue or issues further.
The moment sparked a different tone between the two men, as Trump previously made light of allegations Obama is a Muslim, referring to him by his full name that includes the middle-name Hussein.
Obama has also taken shots at Trump over the years, including during the 2024 campaign when he appeared to reference Trump’s private parts with a joke about crowd sizes while gesturing with his hands a few inches apart.
He also compared Trump’s stump speeches to the rambling, hourslong diatribes by the late Cuban Communist leader Fidel Castro:
"You have the two-hour speeches, the word salad. It’s like Fidel Castro over and over again," Obama told a crowd in Allegheny County, Pa. in October.
The late former President Jimmy Carter reportedly held the 1971 John Lennon hit "Imagine" as his favorite tune. But its use as a song at his state funeral ceremony has set a firestorm on social media from critics saying it wasn't fit for use in what in a memorial service in a Christian church.
On Thursday, the tune was performed by fellow Georgian Trisha Yearwood and her husband Garth Brooks during Carter's Washington National Cathedral funeral service. One year earlier, Brooks and Yearwood performed it at former first lady Rosalynn Carter’s wake, as well. The country star couple previously worked with Carter on several Habitat for Humanity home projects, according to reports.
Social media lit up later Thursday, calling into question the performance of the song, given its lyrical rejection of religion.
"Imagine there's no heaven / It's easy if you try / No Hell below us / Above us, only sky," the first line goes.
On X, several observers, including top conservative figures, questioned the use of the song, while others differed.
"Having Joe Biden lecture us about what a strong Christian Jimmy Carter was before the crowd sits through ‘Imagine’ with the lyrics ‘Imagine there's no heaven /It's easy if you try’ makes me question the authenticity of the assertion," said commentator Erick Erickson, who also served on the Macon City Council in Carter’s home state.
"Imagine there is no heaven -- Sung for someone who is a devout Southern Baptist," one X user added.
"I don’t think Jimmy would appreciate the ‘no religion’ part," another said.
Self-described "Trumpocrat" Steve Carlson, a perennial Minnesota Democratic candidate now running for governor in 2026, wrote that it is an "insult" to have "Imagine" played at Carter’s funeral.
"Why would any Christian have that sung at their funeral? Imagining there is no heaven and no Christianity at a Christian funeral is dark, indeed," said Mollie Z. Hemingway, Federalist editor and frequent "All-Star Panel"-ist on Fox News’ "Special Report with Bret Baier."
A prominent member of the Catholic clergy also chimed in on X, saying he was "appalled" by the performance.
"Under the soaring vault of what I think is still a Christian church, they reverently intoned, ‘Imagine there’s no heaven; it’s easy if you try" and "imagine there’s no country; it isn’t hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too.’ -- Vested ministers sat patiently while a hymn to atheistic humanism was sung," said Bishop Robert Barron, prelate of the Catholic Archdiocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota.
"This was not only an insult to the memory of a devoutly believing Christian but also an indicator of the spinelessness of too much of established religion in our country," the bishop said.
The National Review’s Jim Geraghty said the fact "Imagine" asks the listener to imagine the absence of heaven is a "de facto concession" that it exists, in an apparent defense of the rendition.
"Otherwise, there would be no need to ask us to envision otherwise," Geraghty said.
Lennon himself had a complicated view of Christianity and organized religion, but notably corresponded with Christian preachers like Oral Roberts.
"I was brought up a Christian and I only now understand some of the things that Christ was saying in those parables," Lennon also has been quoted as saying. "God is a concept by which we measure our own pain."
Two Democrats in the 2025 race to succeed term-limited New Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy did not cast votes this week in Congress on the Laken Riley Act, leading them to be lambasted by gubernatorial candidates from both parties.
The House Clerk’s office recorded Reps. Mikie Sherrill of Essex and Josh Gottheimer of Bergen County recorded as "not voting" on the landmark bill, which would require illegal immigrants convicted of theft-related crimes be detained by municipal and state authorities.
The bill takes its name from a young woman murdered by an illegal immigrant in Georgia who had been previously arrested and released on lesser charges.
Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop exclaimed, "This is cowardly," in an X post.
"We lose elections when we don’t have any core convictions… when we can’t explain why we have a view and why we believe in it. Hiding is not an answer that wins elections," the Democrat said.
"Mikie and Josh are the same again – If you don’t have the courage to vote for a bill then what does that say about your courage to lead as Governor?" Fulop added.
Meanwhile, former Republican Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli slammed the two lawmakers from their right.
"Shame on [Josh and Mikie] for gutlessly ducking a vote on the Laken Riley Act today," said Ciattarelli.
On X, Ciattarelli said Riley "fought till her last breath against a murderous illegal immigrant, but Josh/Mikie didn’t have the courage to stand up to their extreme far left base."
Ciattarelli ran against Murphy in 2021 and nearly defeated him by Garden State standards, losing by less than three points. In November, President-elect Trump only lost the state by four points, leading the GOP to signal their optimism about flipping Trenton red this fall.
When the bill last came up for a vote, Gottheimer voted "yea," and a spokesman told the Philadelphia Inquirer he would have supported the bill this week if he had voted.
New Jersey’s three Republican congressmen – Reps. Christopher Smith, Jeff Van Drew and Tom Kean Jr. – all voted for the Laken Riley Act.
Democratic Reps. Nellie Pou, Frank Pallone, Herbert Conaway, LaMonica McIver, Donald Norcross and Rob Menendez Jr. all voted against it.
Republican Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia – who is not running for governor – torched the pair on Wednesday with a quip:
"The Road to Drumthwacket is paved with flat squirrels who couldn't make a decision," she said, referring to the historic governor’s mansion near Princeton.
State Sen. Jon Bramnick, a GOP gubernatorial candidate, told Fox News Digital on Thursday that a lawmaker’s first responsibility is to their constituents, not their next campaign.
"I think you have to have campaign activities come secondary to your responsibility," Bramnick said when asked about Gottheimer’s and Sherrill’s non-votes.
"The key question is – if you’re going to run – campaign activities must be secondary to your voting," adding that systemically it seems "the more [someone] campaigns the less they vote."
Bramnick, who is also an attorney in Plainfield, added that he couldn’t assume what was on the two Democrats’ minds in terms of their vote, but that immigration is a hot issue and often difficult to navigate.
With the Laken Riley Act scoring 48 Democratic "yea’s," Bramnick said immigration is a bipartisan issue.
If elected governor, he said he would "follow the law" when asked how he would approach President-elect Trump or border czar-designate Tom Homan.
"Unfortunately, the Congress hasn’t done anything to [create] a path to citizenship for people who may have an opportunity to stay here," he said, discussing those who have lived in the U.S. for many years as otherwise law-abiding members of their communities.
"If America doesn’t like the law, change it, but state-by-state shouldn’t change the law based on how they feel on the issue."
Sherrill and Gottheimer did not immediately respond to inquiries made via their campaigns.
Another Democrat in the race, Ras Baraka – mayor of the state’s largest city, Newark – also did not respond.
Baraka, however, separately indicated he would have voted against the Laken Riley Act if he were in Congress.
-Americans remember former President Carter's 'lifelong legacy' outside National Cathedral memorial
President-elect Trump and his former vice president, Mike Pence, shook hands at former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral on Thursday in their first public interaction in four years.
Pence was seen standing up to shake Trump’s hand as the former president arrived inside Washington, D.C.’s National Cathedral for the funeral. After the two acknowledged each other and appeared to say a few words, Pence shook the hand of former first lady Melania Trump.
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FIRST ON FOX: Special Counsel David Weiss is expected to release his final report on his years-long investigation into Hunter Biden as soon as next week, Fox News has learned.
Hunter Biden was found guilty of three felony firearm offenses stemming from Special Counsel David Weiss’ investigation. The first son was also charged with federal tax crimes regarding the failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. Before his trial, Hunter Biden entered a surprise guilty plea.
The charges carried up to 17 years behind bars. His sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 16, but his father, President Joe Biden, pardoned him on all charges in December.
The federal investigation into Hunter Biden began in November 2018.
But it wasn't until 2023 that whistleblowers from the IRS, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, brought allegations of politicization in the federal probe of Hunter Biden to Congress.
The two alleged that political influence had infected prosecutorial decisions in the federal probe, which was led by Trump-appointed Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who they said had requested to become a special counsel.
After Shapley and Ziegler testified publicly, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel to continue his investigation of the first son and, ultimately, bring federal charges against him in two separate jurisdictions — Delaware and California.
Justice Department regulations require Weiss to transmit any final report to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who has pledged to release as much as possible to the public.
The Justice Department and Special Counsel Weiss’ office declined to comment.
Meanwhile, President Biden's pardon of his son came after months of vowing to the American people that he would not do so.
But on last month, the president announced a blanket pardon that applies to any offenses against the U.S. that Hunter Biden "has committed or may have committed" from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024.
"From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted," Biden said. "There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me — and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough."
Biden added, "I hope Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision."
CONCORD, N.H. - The nation's newest governor is coming out of the starting gate by creating a new government efficiency commission that seems to be modeled, to a degree, on a similar national effort by President-elect Trump.
Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte of swing state New Hampshire, in her inaugural address on Thursday as she succeeded longtime GOP Gov. Chris Sununu, pointed to the state's budget challenges ahead due to the drying up of federal COVID relief funding for the states and a downturn in business revenues.
"We are going to have to look to find better ways to do things with fewer dollars," Ayotte said.
The new governor then said, "Because I know nothing is harder than getting politicians to not spend money, today I am announcing the creation of the Commission on Government Efficiency, or as I like to call it – the ‘COGE.’"
Ayotte argued that "COGE will make us smarter than ever before when it comes to saving taxpayer dollars and finding better ways to serve the people of our state."
A couple of hours later, Ayotte signed her first executive order, which created the 15-member commission.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital ahead of her inauguration, Ayotte appeared to tease her proposal by emphasizing that "we look for new, efficient ways to do things better and serve taxpayers."
The move by New Hampshire's governor comes nearly two months after Trump, days after his presidential election victory, tapped Elon Musk, the world's richest person, and former Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to steer what he called the "Department of Government Efficiency," better known by its acronym DOGE.
Ayotte's proposal received plenty of applause from state lawmakers gathered at New Hampshire's Statehouse for the governor's inauguration. Republicans in November's elections made major gains as they strengthened their state House and state Senate majorities.
"I think it's a brilliant approach," Republican Mayor Jay Ruais of Manchester, New Hampshire's largest city, told Fox News.
Ruais, considered a rising star in his party, emphasized "appointing a commission like this to go after any kind of bloat, I think, is a perfect approach and certainly going to be really beneficial for state government and also certainly helps us downstream at the local level as well."
New Hampshire Democrats obviously disagree.
"Governor Ayotte hasn’t been in office for a full twenty-four hours yet, and she is already laying the groundwork for massive budget cuts to services that people rely on. This is all thanks to years of failed Republican policies she championed," longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley argued.
"Throughout her speech, one thing became clear – Kelly Ayotte is taking a page out of the Donald Trump playbook," Buckley claimed. "Governor Ayotte is following in Trump’s footsteps and setting on a dangerous and costly path for New Hampshire."
Ayotte, a former U.S. senator, who previously served as a state attorney general, defeated Democratic gubernatorial nominee and former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig by nearly 10 points in November's election. Her victory kept the governor's office in GOP hands.
In her address, Ayotte praised her predecessor, whose policies she campaigned on continuing.
"New Hampshire is moving in the right direction, and no one deserves more credit for that after four terms at the helm than Governor Chris Sununu. Thank you, Governor," Ayotte said.
Looking ahead, Ayotte told GOP state legislative leaders, "I look forward to working with you … to marshal our Republican majorities over the next two years to deliver on the promises we made to keep our state moving in the right direction."
And Ayotte reiterated a longstanding pledge by New Hampshire Republicans that she is "not going to surprise anyone when I say this: no income tax, no sales tax, not now, not ever."
But Ayotte also extended an olive branch to Democrats and said, "My door is always open. Good government knows no party."
"I am going to be a governor for you, whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, Independent, you name it. Because our state is so much bigger than a party or an ideology," she added.
And Ayotte, who faced a barrage of attacks by Democrats over the issue of abortion during last year's gubernatorial campaign, repeated her vow to state lawmakers that "if you send me legislation that further restricts access to abortion beyond our current law: I will veto it."
Abortions are legal in New Hampshire through 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Ayotte also made headlines by announcing she'll move to ban cell phones in the state's public schools.
Pointing to her husband, Joe, a retired Air Force pilot who flew combat missions over Iraq and nowadays teaches middle school math, the governor said, "Joe and I talk about what he is seeing in the classroom and what his students need all the time. He and the thousands of teachers across our state are on the front lines of our education system. Teachers know uniquely what is working for our students and what isn’t. We need to listen to them.
"That’s why today I am announcing that we will be taking action to ban cell phones in our schools. Screens are negatively impacting our learning environments, drawing students' attention," Ayotte highlighted.
Sununu, in a Fox News Digital interview on the eve of Ayotte's inauguration, which was his last full day in office after eight years and four election victories (New Hampshire and neighboring Vermont are the only states in the nation to have two-year terms for governors), praised his successor.
"Kelly's been a great friend for decades. She's going to be a fantastic governor for New Hampshire. She's New Hampshire, born, bred, ready to go, hit the ground running with a great team here in the state," Sununu emphasized.
The outgoing governor added that while he's leaving office, he's always available for advice. "Anything I could possibly add, she knows she can call and text anytime," he said.
