INTERNACIONAL
US Attorney staff in NYC potentially undermined Trump effort to kill NYC driving tax: watchdog

FIRST ON FOX: Government watchdog group Democracy Restored is calling on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate U.S. attorneys in the Southern District of New York (SDNY), accusing them of potentially seeking to undermine Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s efforts to end New York City’s driving tax, also known as a congestion tax.
New York City’s congestion pricing program essentially assesses drivers a toll for driving on some streets in Manhattan, with the price varying depending on the time of day.
Late in the night of April 23, SDNY attorneys representing Duffy and the Department of Transportation published an 11-page confidential memo in federal court in Manhattan, explaining that the Trump administration’s argument to end the NYC driver’s tax was weak and included «considerable litigation risk.» The next day, the memo was taken down from the public case docket, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District said the filing was a mistake.
In response, officials at the Transportation Department said they would be transferring the case to the DOJ’s civil division, according to the New York Times. Fox News Digital reached out to the DOT to confirm the attorneys involved in the mistaken filing were off the case, but did not immediately receive a response.
TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY SEAN DUFFY BLAMES BIDEN ADMIN FOR DATED AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM
Traffic enters lower Manhattan after crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, in New York. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday, June 5, 2024 indefinitely delayed implementation of a plan to charge motorists big tolls to enter the core of Manhattan, just weeks before the nation’s first «congestion pricing» system was set to launch. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
«It’s imperative to know whether this filing was inadvertent, and incompetent, or something worse,» Houston Keene, the director of Democracy Restored said. «The memo contains confidential legal advice that just happens to criticize the secretary and department’s legal strategy — quite an inconvenient document to have made public for lawyers doing their best for their client.»
Democracy Restored said in its letter that more fact-finding must take place, but indicated there are «a variety» of potential ethical and legal violations associated with the mistaken filing, particularly if the act was done on purpose.
While it can not be concluded whether the act stemmed from incompetence, or whether it was purposeful, Democracy Restored points to the «partisan political activity» and involvement in political non-profits by the attorneys involved, suggesting it could shed light on the motivations behind the action.
EXCLUSIVE: ‘SHADY TRIAL LAWYER PIPELINE’ FUNNELING MILLIONS TO DEMOCRATS, ACCORDING TO REPORT
According to Democracy Restored, the attorneys involved were all registered Democrats and had a history of donating to Democratic political candidates and campaigns. The attorneys’ public social media posts also showed them supporting left-wing political groups and acts of defiance against President Donald Trump’s executive directives.
«US Attorneys must be nonpartisan and objective in their work and the partisan backgrounds of these attorneys add to the doubts,» Keene said. «Far too many questions remain unanswered about this incident. The DOJ must investigate this matter immediately.»
In early January, NYC launched its congestion pricing program, or driver’s tax, which imposed a $9 daytime toll on most individuals driving their cars into Manhattan’s core, south of Central Park. A month later, the Trump administration issued a federal order meant to halt the program by March 21, but the tolls have continued as the result of a federal lawsuit filed by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the state agency that runs New York City’s public transit system.
IF THESE STATES DON’T COMPLY, WE WON’T APPROVE THE FLOW OF THE BILLIONS GOING TO THEM: SEAN DUFFY

License plate readers, such as those pictured above, are being used by New York City officials to tax drivers operating their vehicles in the city. (Kurt «CyberGuy» Knutsson)
The Department of Transportation and the MTA subsequently reached an agreement extending the deadline to end the program until at least the fall. Earlier this month, as the legal battle over the matter has continued, New York City and the MTA requested a federal judge block the Trump administration’s efforts to squash the program. City officials say the program has significantly reduced congestion, improving travel times due to reduced traffic.
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Because the program involves tolls on federal highways, it must have Department of Transportation approval.
The Justice Department declined to comment for this article. Fox News Digital also reached out to the Department of Transportation and the office of the U.S. Attorney or the Southern District of New York, but did not hear back in advance of publication.
Fox News Digitals’ Alexandra Koch and Landon Mion contributed to this report.
New York City,Justice Department,Politics,Taxes,Taxes
INTERNACIONAL
EEUU instó al régimen de Irán a mantener “conversaciones directas” tras el restablecimiento de las sanciones de la ONU

Las sanciones de la ONU contra el régimen de Irán volvieron a entrar en vigor este sábado por la noche, después de la expiración del mecanismo que Reino Unido, Francia y Alemania activaron a finales de agosto para reprochar a Teherán el incumplimiento de sus compromisos relacionados con su programa nuclear. El Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU dio luz verde, mientras que intentos de Rusia y China para aplazar la fecha límite fracasaron el viernes. Por lo tanto, las sanciones, que abarcan desde un embargo de armas hasta rigurosas medidas económicas, se restablecieron automáticamente el sábado a las 20:00 horas de Nueva York (domingo a las 00:00 GMT), diez años después de haber sido levantadas. En este contexto, Estados Unidos envió un mensaje directo a la República Islámica.
Washington instó al régimen iraní a buscar “conversaciones directas” para reducir las tensiones y avanzar hacia una solución negociada. Sostuvo, además, que el restablecimiento de las sanciones busca presionar a Teherán para retomar los compromisos nucleares y cooperar plenamente con la comunidad internacional.
“La diplomacia sigue siendo una opción: un acuerdo sigue siendo la mejor salida para el pueblo iraní y el mundo. Para que eso ocurra, Irán debe aceptar conversaciones directas, realizadas de buena fe, sin demoras ni confusiones”, escribió el secretario de Estado Marco Rubio en un comunicado e instó a los demás países a “implementar de inmediato” las sanciones contra Teherán.
Las sanciones incluyen un embargo de armas, restricciones financieras y limitaciones comerciales que impactan de forma significativa en la economía iraní.

Francia, Reino Unido y Alemania advirtieron a Irán este domingo sobre cualquier tipo de acción que pueda aumentar la tensión después del restablecimiento de las sanciones de la ONU. En un comunicado conjunto, los ministros de Asuntos Exteriores de estos tres países, reconocidos como el E3, señalaron: “La reimposición de las sanciones de la ONU no representa el fin de la diplomacia. Pedimos a Irán que se abstenga de cualquier acción que pueda escalar la situación y que regrese al cumplimiento de sus obligaciones vinculantes de salvaguardia”.
Por su parte, este sábado más temprano, el presidente de Irán, Masud Pezeshkian, calificó como “irrazonables” las demandas de Estados Unidos sobre el programa nuclear iraní y afirmó que su país prefiere la restauración de las sanciones de la ONU antes que aceptar exigencias “irracionales”.
“Con los europeos logramos acuerdos, pero la perspectiva de Estados Unidos es diferente. Por eso, no hemos alcanzado entendimiento respecto al mecanismo de restablecimiento rápido de sanciones, ya que su solicitud resulta inaceptable”, declaró Pezeshkian a la televisión estatal iraní desde Nueva York, previo a su regreso a Teherán tras participar en la Asamblea General de la ONU.
El mandatario dijo que Estados Unidos exigió a Irán entregar más de cuatrocientos kilos de uranio enriquecido al 60 % —una pureza cercana al 90 % necesario para uso militar— a cambio de una prórroga de tres meses antes de restablecer las sanciones impuestas por las Naciones Unidas contra el país, sanciones establecidas antes del acuerdo nuclear de 2015. Pezeshkian enfatizó que esta petición es “inaceptable” y advirtió: “Si tuviéramos que elegir entre aceptar sus demandas y el reinicio rápido de sanciones, optamos por el reinicio rápido”. Además, agregó que Estados Unidos podría plantear nuevas condiciones y reanudar las sanciones en pocos meses, incluso si Irán cediera a la exigencia actual.
Estas declaraciones sucedieron tras el rechazo, el viernes, por parte del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU de un proyecto de resolución presentado por Rusia y China para prorrogar seis meses la restauración de sanciones internacionales contra Teherán.
Francia, Alemania y Reino Unido —conocidos como E3— activaron el 28 de agosto el mecanismo de restablecimiento automático de las sanciones internacionales contra Irán, que entrarán en vigor esta medianoche. El E3 impulsó esta medida tras considerar que Teherán incumplió los compromisos del acuerdo de 2015, el cual limitaba las actividades nucleares iraníes a cambio del levantamiento de sanciones.

Irán responsabiliza a Estados Unidos de la situación actual por su retiro del pacto en 2018 y acusa a los europeos de no cumplir con sus obligaciones. Las potencias europeas ofrecieron postergar la activación del mecanismo que restablece las sanciones si Irán reanudaba la cooperación con el OIEA —la agencia nuclear de la ONU—, informaba sobre el paradero de los cuatrocientos kilos de uranio enriquecido al 60 % y retomaba las negociaciones con Washington. La cooperación con el OIEA fue suspendida tras la guerra de doce días con Israel en junio.
Teherán ha insistido en que el uranio altamente enriquecido se encuentra bajo los escombros de tres instalaciones atacadas por Estados Unidos e Israel durante el conflicto en junio. El Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU ya había rechazado el 19 de septiembre un proyecto de resolución para el levantamiento permanente de las sanciones previas al pacto de 2015.
Con la entrada en vigor de las sanciones, Irán afirma que adoptará represalias, incluyendo la suspensión del acuerdo de cooperación con el Organismo Internacional de Energía Atómica (OIEA) firmado el 9 de septiembre. El régimen se muestra firme: prefiere enfrentar las consecuencias antes que ceder el control de su programa nuclear, en un escenario internacional cada vez más tenso.
Diplomacy / Foreign Policy,Middle East,JERUSALEM
INTERNACIONAL
FBI’s Patel clarifies role of hundreds of agents on Jan 6, says Wray lied to Congress

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EXCLUSIVE: The FBI responded on Saturday to a report that 274 plainclothes agents were at the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, clarifying the role of bureau personnel while still blasting former Director Christopher Wray.
While the agents were on hand, they were sent in after the riot had begun to try to control the unruly crowd, officials told Fox News Digital. That is not the proper role of FBI agents, and Wray was not forthcoming about what happened when he testified numerous times on Capitol Hill, Director Kash Patel said.
«Agents were sent into a crowd control mission after the riot was declared by Metro Police – something that goes against FBI standards,» Patel told Fox News Digital. «This was the failure of a corrupt leadership that lied to Congress and to the American people about what really happened.»
He added, «Thanks to agents coming forward, we are now uncovering the truth. We are fully committed to transparency, and justice and accountability continues with this FBI.»
There’s no indication any FBI agents were involved in any events related to Trump’s speech on the morning of Jan. 6 at the Ellipse, an FBI official told Fox News Digital, adding that Wray should have disclosed that agents were there when he was asked by congressional leaders.
FBI’S KASH PATEL VOWS ‘DEFINITIVE ANSWER’ ON TOP JAN 6 QUESTION IS ‘COMING’
The FBI responded on Saturday after President Donald Trump said that former FBI Director Christopher Wray «has some major explaining to do» following a report that said 274 plainclothes agents were at the riot on Jan. 6, 2021. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump, citing a report that the agents were in the crowd which did not make clear their mission, said earlier that Wray, «has some major explaining to do.»
«It was just revealed that the FBI had secretly placed, against all Rules, Regulations, Protocols, and Standards, 274 FBI Agents into the Crowd just prior to, and during, the January 6th Hoax,» Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Saturday afternoon following a report from The Blaze, revealing the number of agents that were there.
Trump added, «This is different from what Director Christopher Wray stated, over and over again! That’s right, as it now turns out, FBI Agents were at, and in, the January 6th Protest, probably acting as Agitators and Insurrectionists, but certainly not as ‘Law Enforcement Officials.’»
The president said he wanted to know each officer’s identity and what they were doing at the U.S. Capitol.
«Many Great American Patriots were made to pay a very big price only for the love of their Country,» he said, referring to Trump supporters who faced charges for their involvement on Jan. 6.
Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of every person charged for involvement on Jan. 6 after he took office this year.
DOJ INSPECTOR GENERAL DOES NOT DENY FBI INFORMANTS WERE AMONG JAN. 6 CROWD

Then-FBI Director Christopher Wray told the House Judiciary Committee on Nov. 15, 2023, «If you are asking if the violence at the Capitol was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources or agents, the answer is no.» (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
He concluded, «I owe this investigation of ‘Dirty Cops and Crooked Politicians’ to them! Christopher Wray, the then Director of the FBI, has some major explaining to do. That’s two in a row, Comey and Wray, who got caught LYING, with our Great Country at stake. WE CAN NEVER LET THIS HAPPEN TO AMERICA AGAIN!»
Citing a senior congressional source, the Blaze report said that the number of agents wasn’t «necessarily a surprise» because the FBI often «embeds countersurveillance personnel at large events.»
Wray told a House Committee on Nov. 15, 2023, «If you are asking if the violence at the Capitol was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources or agents, the answer is no,» but he wouldn’t disclose if any agents or sources were embedded within the crowd.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement that agents were sent to the Capitol on Jan. 6 for crowd control after it was declared a riot against agency policy. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
The 274 agents also includes those who were responding to the pipe bombs placed near the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee headquarters the night before Jan. 6, according to Politico.
Trump nominated Wray as FBI director in 2017 after he fired former FBI director James Comey, who was just indicted by a grand jury this week for allegedly making false statements to Congress.
FBI AGENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE TOLD TO RESIGN, RETIRE OR BE FIRED
A report released last December by Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz said: «We found no evidence in the materials we reviewed or the testimony we received showing or suggesting that the FBI had undercover employees in the various protest crowds, or at the Capitol, on January 6,» although he acknowledged there were 26 paid informants, but only three of them were assigned by the FBI to be there.
The report also said that FBI personnel were sent to the Capitol at the request of overwhelmed Capitol Police to help with crowd control.
Horowitz said that none of the informants were allowed to incite the crowd, break the law or enter the U.S. Capitol.

Rioters and U.S. Capitol police battle over a barricade at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In its reporting, Blaze noted that there may have been confusion regarding «plainclothes» and «undercover,» meaning both the inspector general and the FBI could be telling the truth.
Many of the agents weren’t happy to have been sent to the Capitol to do crowd control, another official told Fox News Digital. It was a chaotic scene with no pre-planning that contradicted the agency’s original plan to not get involved in the event. The official said that agents are not trained to do crowd control.
The first agents arrived at the Capitol around 2:30 p.m. — there’s no evidence there were any there before a riot was declared — and agents continued to arrive after that, the official added.

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)
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Wray had testified before Congress prior to the inspector general’s report being released in December, but Patel called out Wray for deflecting and giving a «D.C. answer» when pressed by lawmakers.
«Why it took a ton of time and questioning in Congress for the director to get that point is what I’m trying to eliminate from the FBI,» Patel said. «If Congress asks you a question under oath, whether or not there were sources in [or] around Jan. 6th at the Capitol, you as the director of the FBI need to know that and not deflect and give a D.C. answer. You have to be prepared for that.»
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
fbi,capitol protests,politics,donald trump,congress
INTERNACIONAL
En un acto por el aniversario de la muerte de Nasrallah, el jefe de Hezbollah dijo que el grupo terrorista no depondrá las armas

El líder del grupo terrorista libanés Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, reafirmó este sábado que no depondrán las armas, durante un acto multitudinario para conmemorar el primer aniversario de la muerte de su predecesor, Hassan Nasrallah, que se produce en medio de una iniciativa estatal para desarmar al movimiento.
“He estado siguiendo tu camino desde tu ausencia, seremos los portadores de la verdad (…) No dejaremos el frente de guerra y no abandonaremos las armas”, sentenció Qassem en un discurso emitido en grandes pantallas frente a miles de seguidores congregados a las afuera de Beirut.
“Continuaremos, seremos resilientes y estaremos listos para el martirio”, defendió el actual secretario general de Hezbollah.
Las conmemoraciones por Nasrallah, que lideró la formación durante más de tres décadas hasta su muerte hace este sábado un año, coinciden con una iniciativa del Gobierno libanés para desarmar a Hezbollah, como parte de sus esfuerzos para que solo haya armamento en manos de las fuerzas de seguridad estatales.
Este mes, el Ejército presentó un plan con este objetivo por encargo del Consejo de Ministros, que la institución castrense tiene previsto implementar en fases en función de sus capacidades.
Qassem criticó que los intentos de dejarles sin armamento buscan en verdad “desarmar al Líbano” y llamó al Gobierno a centrarse en defender la “soberanía” del país, poniendo fin a la presencia de las tropas israelíes que aún ocupan cinco puntos de su territorio.
En medio de los esfuerzos para desarmar a Hezbollah, realizados entre fuertes presiones estadounidenses, el líder del movimiento insistió en que se enfrentarán a cualquier programa que sirva a los intereses de Israel “incluso si está disfrazado como un proyecto nacional”.
Sin embargo, destacó la necesidad de mantener la “unidad interna” en el Líbano y de trabajar hacia lograr un país “fuerte”, al considerar que su formación es “la base de esa fuerza”.
“El enemigo esperaba que cayéramos, pero volvimos a tomar la iniciativa, elegimos a un nuevo secretario general y sustituimos con nuevos líderes”, zanjó Qassem.
Por su parte, el secretario del Consejo Supremo de Seguridad Nacional iraní (CSSN), Ali Larijani, llegó este sábado al Líbano para participar en las conmemoraciones por el primer aniversario del asesinato del líder histórico del grupo chií Hezbollah, Hasán Narala.
Larijani aterrizó en el Aeropuerto Internacional de Beirut acompañado por una “delegación oficial de alto nivel” para tomar parte en las ceremonias que se celebrarán esta tarde en los suburbios capitalinos, informó la Embajada iraní en el Líbano en su cuenta de X.
Este sábado tendrán lugar los actos centrales para conmemorar el primer aniversario del fallecimiento de Nasrala, que encabezó a Hezbollah durante más de 30 años y que murió en un bombardeo israelí contra una sede subterránea a las afueras de Beirut el 27 de septiembre de 2024.
El evento principal tendrá lugar en el santuario donde está enterrado el ex secretario general de Hezbollah e incluirá un discurso por parte de su sucesor, Naim Qassem, mientras que a la hora exacta de su muerte -18.21 hora local (15.21 GMT)- se han convocado vigilias por todo el país.
Hezbollah arrancó esta semana una serie de conmemoraciones por Nasrala y otros líderes asesinados el pasado año durante la guerra con Israel, actos que continuarán hasta mediados de octubre.
La fecha coincide con intentos del Gobierno libanés para desarmar al movimiento político y armado chií, que se niega a acatar la decisión mientras continúen los ataques israelíes contra el Líbano y la presencia de su Ejército en cinco áreas del territorio del país.
(Con información de EFE)
Anniversaries,Middle East,Civil Unrest,BEIRUT
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