The Trump world-Fox News war gets nasty

In his first minute onstage at CPAC on Friday, Steve Bannon identified one of his top targets of the moment, an entity he claimed is opposing Donald Trump’s presidential campaign at its own peril: Fox News.

The host of the popular War Room podcast and longtime Trump hand started by ripping the conservative channel for announcing that Joe Biden had won Arizona on election night in 2020.

“Fox News illegitimately called it for the opposition, and not Donald J. Trump,” the Trump adviser-turned-talk show host told the crowd in National Harbor, Maryland, an audience full of diehard MAGA supporters.

Ten minutes in, Bannon went after the network again, rousing the audience to their feet as he called out Fox for not having Trump on since he announced his campaign in November. He called out Rupert Murdoch, the News Corp. founder who sits atop the media empire.

“Murdoch, you’ve deemed Trump's not going to be president,” Bannon continued as the crowd roared with applause. “But we deem that you're not going to have a network, because we’re going to fight you every step of the way.”

Far from random broadsides, Bannon’s screed against Fox News was the latest in what has become a hot war between MAGA world and the longtime conservative channel. Trump himself has gone off on Fox News before, often for coverage he has deemed unfair. But the current state of affairs — coming at the start of what promises to be a deeply contested GOP primary — is as strained as it has ever been.

The network hasn’t featured the former on its airwaves since November. The face of CPAC, American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp, himself a close Trump ally, has also not appeared on the channel since allegations emerged in January that he sexually assaulted a campaign staffer. (Schlapp has denied wrongdoing). And in the halls of the CPAC conference, disdain for Fox News wasn’t an uncommon sentiment among those gathered.

Sandra Salstrom, a harpist from Houston, said she gets all the news she needs from Bannon’s War Room show, and enjoys tuning in to programs hosted by Charlie Kirk, another prominent right-wing commentator.

“I now have nothing to do with Fox,” said Salstrom, explaining she does not have a television at home, but used to watch the network while she was at the gym. “They disgust me.”

“I haven't watched Fox in years,” said Andra Griffin of Manatee County, Fla., who said she stopped watching the network in 2019, and was completely “unplugged from Fox” by 2020. Instead, right-wing activists like Griffin have turned their attention to more alternative conservative networks like Newsmax, which had a heavy presence at CPAC.

Fox Radio skipped its usual booth on media row at CPAC this year. Fox Nation didn't livestream or sponsor receptions as it has in years past. There were no primetime Fox News stars like Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, or Tucker Carlson scheduled to speak on stage — a contrast to years past, where Fox stars were in heavy rotation on the stage or in the halls.

A spokesperson for Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The absence of Fox News at CPAC has fed larger questions about the role the Murdoch-owned network is gunning to play in the Republican primary. Trump’s likely 2024 rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has been featured across Murdoch-owned entities as he promotes his recently published memoir. The anti-Woke activist Vivek Ramaswamy launched his presidential campaign with an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show. And former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley has repeatedly appeared on the network, with her launch announcement covered live on TV.

All of this comes as Fox is facing a defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems, which is asking for $1.6 billion in damages over the role the network played in covering conspiracies around the 2020 election. Recent depositions reveal that high-level network officials privately cast doubt on Trump's claims that the election was stolen, even as on-air voices were backing Trump up on the false narrative.

While Trump himself has not been interviewed lately on Fox News airwaves – Semafor reported he is facing a “soft ban” by the network – he does continue to receive coverage and his campaign is referenced by hosts.

For his part, Trump has ramped up his attacks on the longtime conservative television channel, in recent days sharing multiple posts on his Truth Social platform critical of the channel and its owner, Rupert Murdoch. “Too many incompetent RINOS at FoxNews!” Trump posted on Thursday. A day earlier, Trump called Murdoch and other Fox executives a “group of MAGA Hating Globalist RINOS” who should “get out of the News Business as soon as possible.”

With Fox stars out of the picture, attendees at CPAC flocked to popular right-wing alternatives like Bannon’s War Room, which hosted its podcast live, along with Newsmax, OAN, Right Side Broadcasting Network and others.

William Marks, a software developer and manager from southern Maryland, said he still watches both Fox News and Newsmax, but believes the former is “moving further away from the conservative landscape,” a fault not of the anchors but of “the ownership,” he said.

Even with such defections, Fox News remains king of cable news and prime-time ratings. The top ten most-watched cable news shows are all on Fox News, with Tucker Carlson and the Five boasting over 3 million viewers according to AdWeek. And for conservative stars, Fox News’ evening shows are still the #1 spot for attracting attention for their cause.

“I love being back on Fox News and I have nothing bad to say about it,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who frequently appears on Fox News as well as Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast.

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Judge denies Jan. 6 defendant’s bid for time to review McCarthy’s Capitol security footage

A federal judge on Friday denied a Jan. 6 defendant’s request to delay her imminent trial in order to review thousands of hours of security footage recently made available by Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg said he understood why Sara Carpenter — who is facing two felony charges for her actions at the Capitol — would like time to review the material. But he said she had failed to explain why any additional footage of her movements inside the building would be exculpatory, particularly when prosecutors had already turned over footage of the vast majority of Carpenter’s 34 minutes inside the building.

Boasberg worried that widely permitting Jan. 6 defendants to slow down their criminal proceedings in order to review this footage could “derail dozens of trials that are set in the next few months.” Boasberg — who is set to become Washington D.C.’s chief district court judge later this month — suggested that to support a delay, he would need defense attorneys to proffer what the newly disclosed videos might show that would be helpful to their clients’ cases.

Boasberg’s ruling is the latest ripple caused by McCarthy’s decision to widen access to 44,000 hours of Capitol security footage from Jan. 6. The Capitol Police had previously turned over about 14,000 hours of the day’s footage that leaders said encompassed crucial time periods of the riot, as well as the relevant camera angles.

It’s unclear whether the additional footage includes evidence that will influence any of the 950-plus Jan. 6 criminal cases. But several defendants have said they intend to access the materials, which House Republicans have agreed to facilitate. The Justice Department has yet to indicate whether it, too, will attempt to obtain and review the footage.

At Friday’s hearing, prosecutors opposed Carpenter’s request, saying they had pieced together the “overwhelming” amount of her movements using CCTV footage, leaving only “a matter of seconds” unaccounted for. Carpenter already has access to a “massive” trove of CCTV footage, they noted, and defendants have the ability to request specific camera angles they would like to focus on if they believe they need additional material.

Prosecutors also suggested that they remain largely in the dark about what the cache of footage newly unearthed by McCarthy might include.

“We don’t have what the speaker has,” said assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Cook, adding, “In any case, there’s always the possibility some information may be out there.”

Prosecutors are required to disclose to defendants any potentially exculpatory evidence they possess — a particularly thorny challenge in Jan. 6 cases as a result of the massive amounts of video evidence captured by Capitol security cameras, policy bodycams, journalists and rioters themselves, who recorded hundreds of hours worth of footage.

But that requirement isn’t limitless, particularly when it comes to evidence that is in the possession of another agency — like the Capitol Police, an arm of Congress — and if courts determine the government has made good-faith efforts to provide as much material as possible to defendants.

Carpenter’s attorneys argued in court Friday that McCarthy’s batch might help fill “gaps” in the footage that would provide context to the actions Carpenter took inside the Capitol. They contended that it might help contextualize some of the actions she took that resulted in the felony charges DOJ lodged, including for obstructing Congress’ proceedings and for participating in a civil disorder. She sought a 60-day delay in her trial, which is set to begin Monday, in order to determine whether any of the new footage might be relevant.

Boasberg agreed that the request was legitimate. Any attorney would want to see a new batch of potentially exculpatory evidence, he said.

“It’s certainly not a frivolous request by any means,” he said.

But Boasberg agreed that the gaps Carpenter’s attorneys described were “minimal” and that the defense lawyers didn’t explain specifically why any additional footage might help Carpenter’s case.

Prosecutors trying the seditious conspiracy case of several leaders of the Proud Boys also recently confronted the issue, when a defense attorney asked the Justice Department whether it would help organize access to the additional footage. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason McCullough called it a “serious question” and a “serious issue,” but said it was too soon to say how DOJ would be handling the matter.

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Biopsy found Biden’s skin lesion was a common skin cancer, White House doctor says

The White House on Friday confirmed President Joe Biden’s skin lesion that was removed during his physical last month was basal cell carcinoma — a very common and treatable skin cancer. All cancerous tissue was removed and no further treatment is required, his doctor said.

In a memo on Friday, the president’s doctor noted that basal cell lesions “do not tend to ‘spread’ or metastasize,” as other serious skin cancers do. During Biden’s physical last month, the area of the skin on his chest was removed via electrodesiccation and curettage, a common skin cancer treatment that involves scraping and removing the skin with a sharp instrument and a high-frequency electric current. The doctor sent the lesion for a biopsy on Feb. 16.

“The site of the biopsy has healed nicely and the President will continue dermatologic surveillance as part of his ongoing comprehensive health care,” Kevin O’Connor, the president’s physician, wrote Friday.

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. Approximately 3.6 million cases of this skin cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. each year. First lady Jill Biden also had three lesions removed in January, and one was determined to be a basal cell carcinoma above her right eye.

The biopsy results come about three weeks after Biden went to Walter Reed Medical Center for his second annual physical since taking office. His health report described an 80-year-old president who is “healthy,” “vigorous” and “fit to successfully execute the duties” of his office.

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Garland makes surprise visit to Ukraine

Attorney General Merrick Garland made an unannounced trip to Ukraine on Friday to join President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a conference, according to a Justice Department official.

“The Attorney General held several meetings and reaffirmed our determination to hold Russia accountable for crimes committed in its unjust and unprovoked invasion against its sovereign neighbor,” the official said.

Garland traveled to Lviv, Ukraine, at the invitation of Zelenskyy to join him and international partners at the “United for Justice Conference.” The trip was not previously announced for security reasons, the official said.

The surprise visit comes just after the one-year anniversary of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and just about two weeks after President Joe Biden made his first trip to the country — which had also been unannounced — since the war began. Garland is the second Cabinet official to visit Ukraine in recent weeks, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen traveling to Kyiv to meet with Zelenskyy on Feb. 27.

This is also the second surprise visit Garland has made to Ukraine since Russia invaded. The first was in June 2022, when he traveled to western Ukraine to discuss the actions the U.S. was taking to hold Russia accountable for war crimes and atrocities.

Garland said in a February statement marking the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion that prosecutors from the Justice Department’s War Crimes Accountability Team were “working closer than ever before” with its Ukrainian counterparts to “investigate specific crimes committed by Russian forces, including attacks on civilian targets.”

“Over the past year, the Ukrainian people have shown the world what courage looks like,” Garland said in the statement. “And for as long as it takes, the Department of Justice will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our Ukrainian and international partners in defense of justice and the rule of law.”

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In two competitive South Jersey districts, GOP fights over candidates’ anti-abortion and anti-Muslim posts

When Republican Adam Wingate ran for Gloucester County commissioner last year, he faced an onslaught of campaign mailers from Democrats attacking him for things like “the extremism of the Gloucester County Republicans.”

One ad highlighted a social media post by incumbent Republican commissioner Nick DeSilvio that said “abortion is never medically necessary to save the life of the mother.”

“This is what’s on the ballot this year,” the ad said.

DeSilvio, who was elected commissioner in 2021, was not actually on the ballot that year. But he is running this year as a state Senate candidate in the 4th Legislative District — arguably the most vulnerable Democratic-held seat in the upper house.

Wingate, a former Harrison Township committeeman, thinks those ads helped Democrats defeat him and his running mate last year, allowing Democrats to retain control of the board of commissioners.

Now, he thinks Republicans are potentially dooming themselves in the state Legislature by running DeSilvio in the 4th District and state Sen. Ed Durr (R-Gloucester) — who said in a 2020 Facebook argument that, when it comes to abortion, "A woman does have a choice! Keep her legs closed!" — in the neighboring 3rd District.

“I know personally women that are friends and family that are Republican who are not happy with those comments. They don’t need anyone calling them a murderer, evil or telling them that they should have closed their legs,” Wingate, who may run for Assembly on a ticket opposite Durr’s in the June Republican primary, said in a phone interview.

Durr and DeSilvio — who both lost races for office before winning in 2021 — dismiss Wingate’s criticism as sour grapes. But Wingate’s sentiment is shared by Atlantic County GOP Chair Don Purdy, whose county makes up less than 5 percent of the district’s population but who has disagreed with the district’s other two Republican leaders — Gloucester County Republican Chair Jacci Vigilante and Camden County GOP Chair Tom Crone Jr. — about the makeup of the Republican ticket in the 4th Legislative District.

“My point is having statements about women keeping their legs shut and abortion — that’s not going to ever stand in Atlantic County,” Purdy said in a phone interview.

Social media posts divide South Jersey GOP

The Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade last year was widely seen as contributing to Democrats' fending off an anticipated “Republican wave” in the 2022 midterms, and there are signs that it continues to motivate Democrats.

Wingate’s 2022 loss was a major disappointment for the Gloucester County GOP, which thought it was on a roll following Durr’s shocking 2021 victory over then-Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester), then New Jersey’s second-most powerful elected official. That race caught the vaunted South Jersey Democratic machine off guard, with an unanticipated backlash to Gov. Phil Murphy’s pandemic policies helping defeat Sweeney. Since then, Democrats have been paying closer attention.

“Let’s be honest, [Durr] caught lightning in a bottle in 2021,” Wingate said. “That has a lot to do with a great top of the ticket in [GOP gubernatorial candidate] Jack Ciattarelli. Ciattarelli won Gloucester County by 10% and it was a trickle-down effect from there.”

The social media posts by both DeSilvio and Durr — who employs DeSilvio’s wife, Tina, as his chief of staff — have recently circulated in Republican circles.

In one Facebook conversation four years ago, DeSilvio said “I consider abortion murder and anybody that supports it, is considered ‘evil’ to me!!’” POLITICO also viewed a screenshot of DeSilvio’s “About” page on Facebook where, under “basic info,” he wrote “I believe in Jesus. No muslims here !!” He has since removed the anti-Muslim language.

Durr, a truck driver, himself faced controversy over anti-Muslim social media posts, but they did not publicly surface until right after his election. He apologized and met with Muslim advocates and members of the community, then introduced legislation to recognize two Islamic holidays.

If he runs for Assembly, Wingate will likely join a ticket in the 3rd District with Salem County Commissioner Mickey Ostrum and Assemblymember Beth Sawyer (R-Gloucester), who ran with Durr in 2021 but quickly developed a tense relationship with him.

Durr is running for reelection alongside Assemblymember Bethanne McCarthy Patrick (R-Gloucester) and Hopewell Township Committeemember Tom Tedesco. Democrats have not yet announced their candidates in the district, but Sweeney has been mulling whether to seek a return to the state Senate or to concentrate on his expected 2025 run for governor instead.

In the neighboring 4th District, 19-year incumbent state Sen. Fred Madden (D-Gloucester) has not yet announced whether he’ll retire, though many expect him to. DeSilvio is expected to run with unsuccessful 2021 Assembly candidate Denise Gonzalez and Michael Clark, a 24-year-old who in a Facebook post said that “abortion is and always will be murder.” No rival Republican has come forward yet, but Purdy favors for Matthew Walker, who was Buena’s first Black committeeman, as the district’s state Senate candidate.

Durr said Wingate is using him and DeSilvio as an excuse for his own failure at the polls last year.

“Attacking me personally sounds more like a Democratic playbook, so anybody using that sounds very Democratic to me. They generally go after the person and not the policy,” Durr said.

As for his Facebook post that said a woman can “keep her legs closed” as an alternative to abortion, Durr said, “I might have said it in a crude manner in 2020, but I was also not a candidate at the time."

“As to there being options to not having abortions, contraceptives and abstinence from sex is a way for not getting pregnant,” Durr said.

"I’m sure you can find there’s been flaws in my life. And I’m not a perfect man. As far as I’m concerned there’s only one perfect man, and they crucified him, didn’t they?" Durr said.

DeSilvio said in a phone interview that he does believe abortion is at times medically necessary, and that he thinks it should be legal in cases of rape or incest.

“I just think nowadays women use it as a form of contraception, and I don't believe abortion should be used that way,” he said.

As for his “no Muslims” comment on his Facebook page, which is undated, DeSilvio said it was likely from a very long time ago.

“I should have been more clear: I don’t hate Muslims. It’s a peaceful and loving religion. I should have made that very clear. I was talking about more like radicals. Like the type of person that joins ISIS or Al Qaida.”

DeSilvio primarily blamed Purdy, the Atlantic County Republican chair, for circulating his social media posts.

“I don’t know the reason why he just doesn’t want me as a candidate. But Gloucester and Camden [Counties], I’ve held interviews with them and they want me,” he said. “That’s actually disturbing to me, that they’re creating fights within our own party.”

Purdy doesn’t exactly deny it.

“It’s not me being against DeSilvio. I don’t like his practices, and I don’t think he should be what we send to Trenton. They’re not quite lying about that when they say I don’t support him going to Trenton,” he said.

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D.C. officials blast Biden, Congress over crime bill overturn push

Congress has not overturned D.C. legislation since 1991.

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Biden's IRS nominee moves closer to confirmation with bipartisan vote

The majority of Finance Committee Republicans still ended up casting their votes against Werfel.

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