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Meet the AI, crypto executive cozying up to Trump while also backing resistance movement: ‘Won’t be fooled’
FIRST ON FOX: One of the major players in the crypto and artificial intelligence (AI) industries attempting to cozy up to the Trump administration is a longtime Democratic operative and donor who has backed anti-Trump efforts and candidates while working for companies stacked with Democratic activists.
Chris Lehane, a veteran political strategist dating back to the Clinton administration, has donated over $150,000 to Democrats, FEC records show, and many of those Democrats have been outspoken Trump critics for several years.
Lehane has been a major backer of Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, who voted to convict Trump during his impeachment trial in 2021 and against several of Trump’s Cabinet nominees. He also hosted a San Francisco fundraiser for the Virginia senator, along with Open AI’s Sam Altman, in March.
Warner has been a key figure in the resistance to the Trump administration, including being a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s «sloppy» Signal chat controversy and pushing back on the administration’s DOGE push against waste, fraud and abuse in government. Lehane also donated thousands of dollars to the Biden and Harris campaigns.
TRUMP CRYPTO CHIEF SAYS WE ARE IN THE ‘GOLDEN AGE’ FOR DIGITAL ASSETS, ‘CLEARING THE DECK’ OF BIDEN BARRIERS
Chris Lehane and Donald Trump (Getty)
In 2024, Lehane joined the board of Coinbase, which operates one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, and has taken an active role influencing crypto and AI policy in recent months.
Coinbase’s Board of Directors and prominent investors have donated more than $22 million to Democratic candidates and committees while donating less than $5 million to Republicans, FEC records show.
Those donations include almost $50,000 to Kamala Harris’ campaign since 2009, including to her presidential campaign, from top Coinbase investor and Democratic donor Ron Conway.
Conway has donated over $300,000 to the DNC, over $1.5 million to the DCCC and millions to the House Majority PAC and Senate Majority PAC, FEC records show.
Since 1999, board member Fred Wilson has given over $2 million to political campaigns and committees, and only $17,600 of that went to Republicans, FEC records show.
MR. WONDERFUL TALKS ‘EXCITEMENT’ AROUND CRYPTOCURRENCY UNDER TRUMP: AMERICA IS IN A ‘NEW PHASE’
Additionally, Coinbase’s Global Advisory Council is laden with Trump critics, including John Anzelone, a pollster for Biden, Obama and Hillary Clinton; former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper; former Democratic mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa; former GOP Sen. Pat Toomey, who said in September he would not vote for Trump; and former Democratic Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy, who served on the January 6th Select Committee.
Julia Krieger, Coinbase’s head of U.S. public affairs, previously worked for American Bridge, a Democratic opposition research firm, and Media Matters, known for organizing pressure campaigns against conservative voices it opposes. She also held multiple roles in the Biden administration and the 2020 Biden campaign.
Coinbase does have two Trump allies on its advisory board — David Urban and recently appointed Chris LaCivita, who served as the Republican National Committee’s chief operating officer and held multiple titles on the successful 2024 Trump campaign. Additionally, several members of Coinbase’s executive team have donated to Republicans, including Brian Armstrong and Paul Grewal.
President Donald Trump smiles after signing an executive order. (AP/Alex Brandon)
Armstrong, the company’s CEO, was present at the Trump White House crypto summit earlier this year.
Open Secrets data from the 2024 election cycle shows a roughly 50-50 split between Coinbase’s donations to congressional Democrats and Republicans.
«Our focus has always been mission first, to support candidates that support crypto and blockchain innovation, and we’re proud to do so,» Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad, a former top NSC official under President George W. Bush, told Fox News Digital.
Lehane also serves as the vice president of global affairs at OpenAI, a company that Fox News Digital reported on recently. It partnered with a new AI initiative led by a group co-founded with outgoing Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry that has pushed left-wing causes and has several board members aligned with Democrats.
The longtime Democratic operative is also an operating partner at Haun Ventures, which is staffed by employees who appear to donate almost exclusively to Democrats. Since 2022, individuals listed as being employed by Haun Ventures have made 43 separate political contributions totaling over $110,000. All 43 of those were to Democratic candidates or organizations.
Lehane is credited with coining the phrase «vast right-wing conspiracy» to describe the Monica Lewinsky scandal while he was working for the Clinton administration and has been labeled in the media as a «master of the political dark arts.»
A man holding cryptocurrency coins (Kurt «CyberGuy» Knutsson)
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«Shocking, another Trump hater is trying to cozy up to Trump for business purposes,» a person close to the Trump administration told Fox News Digital. «Trump won’t be fooled.»
Lately, Lehane has been vocal about efforts to cozy up to the incoming administration, which has made advancing crypto and AI technology a priority, and even visited the White House in March. He «has had many meetings with Trump administration officials about AI policy, and expects a full strategy to be released by the summer,» Axios reported.
«There’s a real focus from the administration on developing an AI strategy to ensure U.S. economic competitiveness and national security are prioritized,» Lehane told the outlet.
«Our work stream is intersecting with where the administration is going.»
Lehane penned an op-ed for Fox News in March, «Securing the AI future: How President Trump’s action plan can position America for success.»
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that Ron Conway is a top investor of Coinbase and not a board member.
Politics,Donald Trump,Bill Clinton,Democratic Party
La abogada y exdiputada española, Macarena Olona, impartirá una formación especializada a los oficiales de la Policía Nacional Civil (PNC) de El Salvador, centrada en el sistema de seguridad implementado en España. Olona, reconocida por su trayectoria en la política y el derecho, anunció su participación a través de sus redes sociales, donde explicó que pasará una semana en la academia policial salvadoreña con el objetivo de compartir conocimientos y experiencias adquiridas durante su desempeño en casos judiciales relevantes en su país. Su visita se enmarca en una colaboración que busca fortalecer los vínculos entre ambas naciones en materia de seguridad y justicia.
Olona subrayó que, en El Salvador, no existe la figura del Abogado del Estado como en España, por lo que la formación incluirá el análisis de casos prácticos en los que ella ha defendido a miembros de las fuerzas de seguridad españolas. Esta iniciativa, según detalló, será no remunerada y responde a su interés personal por aprender de las experiencias salvadoreñas en la lucha contra el crimen organizado. “Aunque seré la profesora, el privilegio es todo lo que yo voy a aprender de ellos”, expresó Olona, quien añadió que la formación representa una oportunidad de intercambio entre ambos modelos de seguridad.
La exdiputada destacó la creación del “Escudo de las Américas”, una alianza internacional nacida en El Salvador para combatir el crimen organizado, y elogió las políticas impulsadas por el presidente Nayib Bukele en materia de seguridad ciudadana. En publicaciones previas, Olona ha manifestado su admiración por la transformación del país centroamericano, al que calificó como ejemplo en la reducción de la violencia y la mejora de la seguridad pública. Durante sus estancias en El Salvador, la abogada ha mantenido reunidos con autoridades locales y ha visitado centros penales de máxima seguridad, incluido el Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), para conocer de cerca el modelo salvadoreño.
Macarena Olona, nacida en Alicante en 1979, ejerció como abogada del Estado y fue diputada por el partido Vox en el Congreso de los Diputados durante las legislaturas XIII y XIV, así como candidata a la presidencia de la Junta de Andalucía en 2022. Tras dejar el partido y la política activa, fundó en 2023 la agrupación “Caminando Juntos”, con la que se presentó a las elecciones generales de ese año. En la actualidad, Olona ha retomado su labor como abogada del Estado en la Audiencia Nacional, aunque mantiene su interés por la cooperación internacional, especialmente en América Latina.
En una entrevista reciente, Olona señaló su compromiso con la construcción de sociedades más seguras y reconoció la influencia del denominado “Modelo Bukele” en su visión sobre la seguridad pública. “Lucho por España desde El Salvador, lucho por El Salvador desde España”, afirmó en una declaración que refleja su apuesta por el intercambio de buenas prácticas entre ambos países.
La visita de Olona coincide con un momento de estrechamiento de lazos entre España y El Salvador en materia de seguridad y justicia. Según la exdiputada, este tipo de intercambios resultan fundamentales para enfrentar desafíos comunes como el crimen organizado transnacional. Además, su presencia refuerza la proyección internacional del modelo salvadoreño, que ha sido objeto de debate y análisis en distintos foros internacionales.
Durante la semana de formación, los elementos de la PNC tendrán la oportunidad de conocer, de la mano de Olona, aspectos legales y operativos del sistema español, así como herramientas jurídicas utilizadas para la defensa de los cuerpos de seguridad y la persecución del delito. La exdiputada, que en sus redes sociales compartió una ilustración inspirada en el escudo salvadoreño, reiteró su motivación de contribuir al fortalecimiento de la seguridad en la región.
corresponsal:Desde San Salvador, El Salvador
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Trump admin urges restoring ballroom construction in emergency motion: ‘Time is of the essence’
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The Trump administration filed an emergency motion to restore White House ballroom reconstruction, warning «time is of the essence» and saying President Donald Trump and his staff’s «security and safety» are at risk by the judge’s «untenable» ruling.
In the filing, Justice Department lawyers said the partially built project includes «deep Top Secret excavations, foundations, and structures» that must be completed quickly to protect sensitive construction and security features from exposure.
«This order is untenable and must be stayed in that the building is under construction, with deep Top Secret excavations, foundations, and structures, already built, and ready to receive heavily fortified, for security reasons, steel, bullet, ballistic, and blast proof glass, and drone proof roofing materials, which must be finished quickly, and not allowed to be exposed to the conditions and elements of an open construction site,» Friday night’s motion urges.
«Time is of the essence!»
JUDGE WARNS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AGAINST ‘IRREVERSIBLE’ WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM CONSTRUCTION WORK
President Donald Trump displayed renderings of the privately funded $400 million White House ballroom project that is being blocked by a recent injunction issued by a federal judge. (Mandel Ngan/AFP)
The appeal asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to stay U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s order halting the project, which Leon ruled cannot proceed without congressional approval.
The administration argues the judge himself acknowledged that work needed to secure the White House grounds and protect the president and staff can continue.
«In granting this shocking, unprecedented, and improper injunction, one that could have been sought long ago, prior to the start of construction (in that there was full knowledge, through large scale media attention and publicity, that the White House ballroom was planned to be built, and there would have been a great deal of time for them to object, long before the start of construction, even though their objection would likewise have been baseless and frivolous), the district court took the erroneous, sweeping view that Congress did not authorize the ballroom construction at the White House — yet correctly allows construction ‘necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House and its grounds, including the ballroom construction site, and provide for the personal safety of the President and his staff,’» the DOJ argued.
WHITE HOUSE FIRES BACK AT CRITICS CALLING TRUMP’S MASSIVE ARCH ‘TOO BIG’
Also, the lawyers wrote, the judge ignored the administration’s overtures to have him visit the site to see the privately funded $400 million project.
«The judge was given an opportunity to see the construction taking place at the site, but surprisingly, never responded to our invitation,» Trump Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate wrote.
Preservationists challenging the construction say the administration unlawfully bypassed federal review and authorization requirements, but the DOJ rejected the judge’s claims that congressional approval is needed for a privately funded ballroom.
WHITE HOUSE TOUTS TRUMP’S ‘BOLD VISION’ FOR TOWERING INDEPENDENCE ARCH FOR AMERICA 250
A rendering of the proposed White House ballroom shared by President Donald Trump on Truth Social on Feb. 3, 2025. (Donald Trump/Truth Social)
«For decades, Congress has vested the President with overlapping statutory authorities that allow the President to make the improvements he deems necessary to White House grounds and structures,» Shumate wrote. «Yet, a district judge ordered the President to halt ongoing reconstruction of the East Wing of the White House by April 14, leaving a massive excavation and structurally completed site adjacent to the now open and exposed Executive Mansion and threatening grave national-security harms to the White House, the President and his family, and the President’s staff.»
«Almost 400 Million Dollars of private donations and contributions (No taxpayer dollars are being used to build this long sought, and desperately needed, ballroom!) have already been committed, or spent, in the purchase of heavy, large scale, and other types of building materials. The path to this injunction confirms its unfairness, untenability, and danger to the White House and the people working and living within its walls,» he added.
TRUMP PAUSES OIL EXEC SUMMIT TO PEEK AT WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM’S PROGRESS
A McCrery Architects rendering provided by the White House of the new ballroom. (White House)
The new motion filed by the National Park Service said the federal district court lacks the constitutional authority «to entertain this suit, which rests on a single pedestrian’s subjective architectural feelings.»
The initial lawsuit against the construction was brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit organization, alleging Trump exceeded his authority when he razed the historic East Wing and launched construction on the new building.
Friday’s motion argues the claims are «legally baseless» and «no Trust member has standing.»
TRUMP ADMIN DEFENDS WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM AS NATIONAL SECURITY MATTER
A McCrery Architects rendering provided by the White House of the new ballroom. (White House)
«The President has complete authority to renovate the White House,» Shumate concluded.
The East Wing was originally built in 1902 and expanded four decades later during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency.
The ballroom is part of Trump’s broader push to reshape Washington’s monumental core, which also includes plans for a 250-foot (76-meter) arch and changes at the Trump Kennedy Center.
TRUMP ADMIN FIGHTS IN COURT TO KEEP WHITE HOUSE EAST WING DEMOLITION, $300M BALLROOM BUILD ON TRACK
«I would like to thank the hardworking Commissioners and Staff of the National Capital Planning Commission, who just voted overwhelmingly, 8-1, to approve the magnificent White House Ballroom now rising on this Hallowed Ground,» Trump wrote Thursday night on Truth Social.
«I am pleased to announce that even Board Member Senator Rand Paul, known as an extraordinarily difficult vote, voted a strong YES,» Trump said. «For more than 150 years, every President has dreamt about having a Ballroom at the White House to accommodate people for Grand Parties, State Visits, and even, in the Modern Day, Inaugurations.»
WARREN-LED INQUIRY DRAWS NEW DETAILS ON TRUMP BALLROOM DONATIONS FROM MAJOR CORPORATIONS
«I am honored to be the first President to finally get this much-needed project, which is on time and under budget, underway,» the president added. «When completed, it will be the Greatest and Most Beautiful Ballroom of its kind anywhere in the World, and a fabulous complement to our Beautiful and Storied White House!»
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Trump has lamented legal challenges to his administration’s agenda, rebuking «rogue judges» siding with «baseless» Democrat lawyers and lawsuits.
«In the Ballroom case, the Judge said we have to get Congressional approval,» Trump wrote this week on Truth Social. «He is WRONG! Congressional approval has never been given on anything, in these circumstances, big or small, having to do with construction at the White House.»
Reuters contributed to this report.
white house, donald trump, federal judges, federal courts
INTERNACIONAL
Atribis desbanca al Valle de los Reyes con el archivo de cerámica más grande de la historia egipcia
Las excavaciones en Atribis, un complejo de templos situado a unos 480 kilómetros al sur de El Cairo, han producido 42.000 ostraca –fragmentos de cerámica usados como soporte para escritos cotidianos– en los últimos ocho años, según un reciente informe de la Universidad de Tübingen.
Este hallazgo supera en volumen a la célebre aldea de trabajadores del Valle de los Reyes y transforma al yacimiento en el más productivo de ostraca en Egipto. La magnitud de los textos hallados no solo desvela aspectos administrativos, religiosos y sociales desconocidos, sino que abre la puerta a una digitalización ambiciosa cuyo avance se ve restringido hoy por la necesidad de equipos especializados y recursos técnicos, de acuerdo con los responsables del proyecto citados por la Universidad de Tübingen.
Durante la campaña de 2023, los arqueólogos identificaron entre cincuenta y cien fragmentos nuevos por día, detalló Christian Leitz, arqueólogo principal del equipo germano-egipcio, en una nota difundida por la Universidad de Tübingen. La mayor parte de las piezas corresponden al periodo comprendido entre los siglos III a.C. y XI d.C., y están escritas en una extraordinaria variedad de sistemas gráficos: desde el demótico –una forma cursiva empleada en la administración cotidiana bajo los periodos ptolemaico y romano– hasta el griego, el hierático –escritura simplificada predecesora del demótico–, el copto y el árabe. Los ostraca más antiguos, comprobados mediante textos fiscales en demótico, datan del siglo III a.C., mientras que las inscripciones en árabe se remontan a la dominación islámica entre los siglos IX y XI.
La excavación moderna de Athribis empezó a principios del siglo XX, pero un giro decisivo se produjo en 2018, cuando los equipos se centraron en una zona próxima al templo de Ptolomeo XII –padre de Cleopatra–, de época helenística. Allí descubrieron un asentamiento de ladrillo crudo con viviendas y almacenes, escenario principal de la acumulación masiva de ostraca recuperados en los años recientes. }
El volumen y diversidad de estos documentos han obligado a reconsiderar tanto la logística de preservación como la estrategia de análisis, ya que, según Leitz, el proceso de digitalización tridimensional de las más de 40.000 piezas almacenadas localmente exige “equipos especializados, gran capacidad de cómputo y personal específicamente entrenado”.
La función de los ostraca como soporte común en la vida cotidiana del Egipto antiguo resulta reveladora. Leitz subrayó ante la Universidad de Tübingen: “Los ostraca nos muestran una asombrosa variedad de situaciones de la vida diaria. Encontramos listas de impuestos, registros de entregas, notas breves sobre actividades cotidianas, textos religiosos y certificados sacerdotales que avalan la calidad de animales para sacrificios. Esta variedad es la que otorga un valor excepcional al hallazgo: nos proporciona una visión directa de la vida en Athribis”.
Los fragmentos estudiados dan cuenta de una comunidad estructurada en torno a un distrito sagrado dedicado a Repyt, diosa con forma de leona vinculada a la fertilidad y la protección, además de una zona residencial, una necrópolis y canteras de piedra caliza. A pesar de la existencia de textos multilingües que reflejan más de mil años de ocupación y transformaciones sociales, la mayoría de los escritos revelados hasta el momento corresponde a inscripciones en demótico.
La magnitud acumulada de este archivo material y la continuidad de las excavaciones en Athribis permiten anticipar la recuperación de un volumen aún mayor de ostraca, aunque, como reconoce Leitz, la digitalización acelerada mediante inteligencia artificial, aunque teóricamente posible, enfrenta todavía serios obstáculos técnicos y de recursos.
Las 42.000 piezas descubiertas en Athribis revelan una de las acumulaciones documentales más extensas de Egipto antiguo, cuyo potencial científico sigue creciendo conforme avanza la labor arqueológica dirigida por el equipo conjunto de la Universidad de Tübingen y el Ministerio de Turismo y Antigüedades de Egipto.
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