Fox News 2026-01-22 16:02:00


An extraordinary filing in the Lisa Cook–Trump case could sway Supreme Court justices

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Listen to this article
3 min

A rare filing from economic heavyweights could shape how Supreme Court justices view the limits of presidential control over the Federal Reserve and U.S. monetary policy.

On Wednesday, the nation’s highest court heard oral arguments for two hours on whether President Donald Trump has the authority to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. 

That debate has drawn an extraordinary amicus brief from some of the most influential figures in U.S. economic policy. An amicus brief is a submission from a group not directly involved in a suit that offers information, expertise or arguments to help a court decide the matter.

SUPREME COURT SET TO HEAR CASE IN TRUMP FIGHT OVER LISA COOK’S FED SEAT

It was signed by every living former chair of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen, as well as six former Treasury secretaries who served presidents of both parties.

The group, which also includes seven former White House economic advisers, spans roughly five decades of U.S. economic policymaking.

Such intervention is almost unheard of, as former Fed chairs and Treasury secretaries typically steer clear of public legal battles.

In the 32-page amicus brief, the group argues that allowing the Trump administration to remove a sitting Fed board member would “erode public confidence in the Fed’s independence and threaten the long-term stability of the economy.”

WHO IS LISA COOK? THE FED GOVERNOR AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S SUPREME COURT FIGHT

Expanding the president’s power over Fed board membership is “neither necessary nor appropriate” and would be counterproductive, the group writes, because it would weaken the central bank’s independence and lead to higher inflation and economic instability.

That concern, the group argues, is already playing out in real time. 

“Sectors that pay close attention to the Federal Reserve — including the financial markets, the public, employers and lenders — are watching the current dispute over the President’s removal of Governor Cook to judge how credible the Fed will be going forward.”

FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR POWELL UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OVER HQ RENOVATION

John Sauer, the solicitor general, said Cook’s amici filing did not address the “legal issues at the heart of this case.”

“Most of Cook’s amici emphasize policy arguments, touting the perceived benefits of the Federal Reserve Board’s independence in setting monetary policy,” Sauer wrote, adding that “policy preferences are not the law, and these particular preferences lack any logical limit.”

In deciding Cook’s case, the justices could also shape Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s future at the Fed.

TRUMP VS THE FEDERAL RESERVE: HOW THE CLASH REACHED UNCHARTED TERRITORY

In a notable departure from his typically measured and low-profile approach, Powell attended the oral arguments at the Supreme Court. His appearance comes amid a criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., related to his congressional testimony on a multibillion-dollar renovation of the Fed’s headquarters. 

Powell described the investigation as “unprecedented,” calling it another instance of the Trump administration using legal threats to pressure the central bank on policy decisions.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

Cook’s ascent to the Federal Reserve was historic from the start. 

Now, she stands at the center of an even more consequential moment, as President Donald Trump moves to fire her — a step that would be unprecedented in the Fed’s 112-year history.

The court is expected to issue a ruling on Cook’s case by the summer.

Survey finds rising tolerance for assassination culture, driven by one demographic

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Listen to this article
5 min

“Assassination culture,” or public tolerance of politically motivated violence, is increasing in the United States after a year of alarming bloodshed, according to a new nonprobability-based national survey — especially among women.

Researchers also said they found that high usage of social media and growing pessimism about the country’s future may be eroding basic civility.

“I thought we’d be seeing a bunch of guys who were unemployed who’d be endorsing this,” said Joel Finkelstein, director of the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), which studies emerging threats to national security, civics and American youth online.

The NCRI has been studying the topic of assassination culture since before the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who shared an earlier report by the group warning of the rise of the phenomenon months before his own death, in the wake of two failed attacks on President Donald Trump.

PATTERN OF LEFTIST VIOLENCE GROWS AS TRUMP NEARS 10 MONTHS IN OFFICE

“As the survivor of two assassination attempts — and recently watching his dear friend Charlie be assassinated — no one understands the dangers of political violence more than President Trump,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. “That’s why, following Charlie’s assassination, President Trump delivered powerful and unifying remarks urging all Americans to ‘commit themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived and died. The values of free speech, citizenship, the rule of law, and the patriotic devotion and love of God.’”

The message seemingly failed to resonate with an alarming portion of the country. Finkelstein said the research found three surprising things in common with people most likely to condone political violence.

“I thought we were looking for unemployed men and young men, and that’s not what we’re seeing,” Finkelstein told Fox News Digital.

They spend a lot of time on social media. They believe the United States is “an empire in decline.” And they are more likely to be female.

BILL MAHER EXPLORES CONNECTION BETWEEN INTERNET MEMES AND RECENT POLITICAL VIOLENCE

“We see these lurid images of Luigi Mangione that have been packaged into some kind of sexual symbol,” Finkelstein said. “And I think that we may be seeing some downstream effects of that on people who use social media a lot, on females.”

Later, he added, “It’s like Che Guevara.”

Mangione is accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024. He has pleaded not guilty and has not yet gone to trial.

Thompson’s murder came after two failed attempts on President Donald Trump. Months later, Kirk suffered a fatal gunshot wound during a speaking event in Utah.

ERIKA KIRK DELIVERS POWERFUL REBUKE TO THOSE CELEBRATING HER HUSBAND’S ASSASSINATION

While the study found support for the violence was higher among women, the suspect in each of those cases was male.

“In general, violence is down…especially murders,” Finkelstein said. “They’re down, but what’s really interesting is that political violence is up.”

By the numbers:

Researchers asked more than 1,000 respondents nationwide on a scale of zero to six about two high-profile political figures, Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

The study looked into tolerance for violence, not intent to commit it.

For questions about the justification of political violence, a score of zero meant that the participant considered the political violence completely unjustified. Anything higher than zero meant the respondent believed there was at least some justification. A score of six meant the respondent thought political violence was “completely justified.”

According to NCRI, 67% of left-of-center respondents saw murder as justified, compared to 54% on the right. A year ago, left-of-center support was 56%. Women overall were about 15% more likely to support assassination culture, 14.8% for Trump and 21.2% for Mamdani.

SEND US A TIP HERE

While support for assassination culture is on the rise on both sides of the political spectrum and across both genders, the study found it is especially pronounced on the left, and among women of any ideology.

“It’s still more pronounced on the left in our data,” Finkelstein told Fox News Digital. “That’s really clear, but it’s growing on the right.”

Older respondents across the board were less likely to condone political assassination. The group least likely to approve of it is conservative males. The most likely, by about 75%, are liberal women, Finkelstein said.

In response to the survey results, the White House called for an end to violent rhetoric, particularly in how the far-left talks about conservatives.

“President Trump, and the entire Administration, will not hesitate to speak the truth — for years, radical leftists have slandered their political opponents as Nazis and Fascists, inspiring left-wing violence,” Jackson said. “It must end.” 

Mamdani’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the study.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Finkelstein said that those who expressed tolerance for violence against one’s political opponents were also more likely to accept political violence against their own side.

“It’s a spiritual crisis about the belief in democracy,” Finkelstein said.

He warned that culturally, young people may be spending too much time on social media, leading to dangerous results.

“Taken together, I think that the findings suggest that this is a moral, this is a spiritual crisis — it’s not a partisan one,” he added. “And we need to treat it that way. That means we need people coming together to talk about the fissures that are showing up in our national family.”

Leftist agitator goes from class to cuffs after alleged shooting threat on campus

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Listen to this article
5 min

A conservative student at the University of Utah who says a far-left agitator threatened to shoot him in the neck at a tabling event slammed college campuses as a breeding ground for radicalism and celebrated the arrest of the alleged perpetrator.

“It was January 12, we were outside tabling and engaging in debates in a format similar to those organized by, let’s say, Turning Point USA,” Riley Beesley told Fox News Digital. The event was hosted by Reawaken USA, a relatively new conservative group that tours college campuses, inviting students to have an open dialogue.

Beesley is a student at the University of Utah, and the vice chairman of the Utah Federation of College Republicans.

In an incident that was caught on camera, Beesley recounted that a liberal student began heckling him and his fellow College Republicans, calling them “Nazis,” “fascists” and “pigs.”

CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION: EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS SHOW PATH TO CAMPUS ROOFTOP WEEKS LATER AS ACCESS SCRUTINIZED

Then, according to Beesley, Dean Stewart, 21, invoked slain conservative leader Charlie Kirk’s name in a threat to shoot him and the others who were tabling.

“And soon after [he] declared to us, ‘you should die,’ followed by, ‘I am going to Kirk you,’ which you could only think that means I’m either using your imagination going to shoot you or kill you,” said Beesley.

“As he walked off, he positioned himself directly in front of several campus police officers where he gestured with his arms in a manner mimicking aiming a rifle at us, thrusting them enthusiastically, as I’d say, while shouting, ‘you should die’ and calling us ‘Nazi pigs,'” he continued, adding that the police watched the incident unfold.

Another student who was present for the tabling event previously told Fox News Digital that Stewart said he hoped the students got “Kirked.” 

Stewart was arrested just moments after making the shooting gestures. Both jail records and the University of Utah confirmed his arrest. He was charged with disorderly conduct, making threats and disobeying a lawful order.

“On Monday, January 12, Dean Stewart, 21, disrupted an event and yelled at a member of Reawaken USA as he was debating in front of Marriott Library. Stewart said that he should be shot in the neck and repeatedly made hand gestures of shooting him with a rifle,” the school said. 

PROSECUTORS PLAN TO ‘DIRTY UP’ KIRK SUSPECT TYLER ROBINSON TO SWAY JURY TOWARD DEATH PENALTY: FMR US ATTY

“So the police witnessed this in real-time, to which immediately they moved in to apprehend the individual, they detained him,” Beesley recalled.

Beesley, who was at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10 when suspect Tyler Robinson allegedly shot and killed conservative titan Kirk, said that Stewart’s actions flagrantly crossed the line.

You’re aiming a gun at somebody and acting as if you’re motioning to shoot them. It’s profoundly awful” he said.

Having been present at Utah Valley University on September 10th, 2025, and standing with Charlie Kirk mere moments before his assassination, it’s unsurprising that someone could be so consumed by hatred that their immediate reaction upon seeing conservatives on a college campus is to brand them ‘Nazis,’ make them feel unwelcome through threats, as we witnessed in the situation, and as this individual did, remind us of what the left is capable of, just as Tyler Robinson demonstrated to the entire world, only a short distance away from where we were now,” he continued.

Part of the debate at the Jan. 12 event regarded what Beesley says is a rising threat of political violence from the left.

Some of that blame should be placed at the feet of institutions of higher education, he said.

DEFIANT TPUSA LEADER WON’T QUIT DESPITE CHAPTER FACING HARASSMENT, HOSTILITY AFTER KIRK ASSASSINATION

“The college universities are radicalizing young people in profoundly destructive ways,” he said. “This is really a genuine destructive harbor of hatred that resides within these individuals — that it’s almost — it’s tough to see, in cases like this a desire to really have a conversation after this.”

“I know it’s exactly what we need to be out there doing, but anytime that we go out there on our campus in Utah, is there gonna be a threat that someone is going to shoot us? Because this is exactly what we’ve seen the last two times I’ve been out there trying to debate. One, I saw Charlie Kirk murdered, and two, now I’m having somebody say that they’re gonna ‘Kirk’ me.”

A spokesperson for the University of Utah directed Fox News Digital to a page on the school’s website that explains its anti-bias policy.

“We work collaboratively to care for one another and create an inclusive community where all feel a sense of safety, belonging and purpose,” the page says.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“As a place of learning, teaching and research, where intellectual curiosity and the exploration of the full spectrum of human thought and thought traditions, are fostered, we welcome all viewpoints. We encourage robust discussion, disagreement and debate.”

Stewart could not be reached for comment. 

Tennis star Naomi Osaka left flabbergasted after opponent’s angry handshake

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Listen to this article
2 min

Tennis stars Naomi Osaka and Sorana Cirstea had a tiff at the end of their Australian Open match on Thursday.

Osaka brought Cirstea’s final Aussie Open match to a bitter end when she defeated the Romanian player 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. Cirstea had words for Osaka as she greeted her at the net for the post-match handshake.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

She slapped Osaka’s hand and then marched toward the umpire. Osaka asked, “What was that for?”

Cirstea didn’t appear to enjoy Osaka trying to hype herself up during the match.

“Apparently a lot of ‘C’mons’ that she was angry about but whatever,” Osaka said in the interview after the match. “I mean, I tried to play well, I tried my best. She’s a great player — I think this was her last Australian Open so, OK, sorry she was mad about it.”

Osaka added that Cirstea could have asked her to stop.

AMERICAN TENNIS PLAYER HAS REQUEST FOR AUSTRALIAN OPEN FAN WHO ‘BARKED’ AT HER IN UPSET WIN

Osaka entered the tournament as the No. 16 seed. She’s won the Australian Open twice in her career but hasn’t made it past the third round since 2021. She is set for a third-round matchup against Maddison Inglis on Friday.

Cirstea announced in December that the 2026 season would be her final run in professional tennis. She only made it as far as the fourth round at the Australian Open.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

She has three career singles titles and no Grand Slam titles.

Newsom mocks Trump with prop at Davos, makes admission moments later

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Listen to this article
2 min

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ongoing feud with the White House was on full display Thursday in Davos when he cracked a joke about Trump “kneepads,” before acknowledging the increasingly crude exchanges between the two sides are “deeply unbecoming.”

The moment began with Newsom brandishing what he described as “Trump signature series kneepads,” prompting laughter from the audience before he shifted to a more serious tone.

Speaking at a special World Economic Forum session moderated by Ben Smith, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Semafor, the California governor framed his provocations as a deliberate strategy to “put a mirror up” to President Donald Trump and his allies.

“It’s not what we should be doing. But you’ve got to point out the absurdity,” Newsom said.

NEWSOM WARNS ‘PATHETIC’ FOREIGN LEADERS TO GROW A BACKBONE IN BIZARRE TAKEDOWN LIKENING TRUMP TO A T.REX

He pointed to recent remarks from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calling him “Patrick Bateman meets Sparkle Beach Ken” as an example of how senior Trump administration officials have increasingly leaned into personal attacks.

“We’re deeply in their head. I think the affordability agenda appears to be I’m living rent-free in the Trump administration’s head,” he told Smith.

Newsom admitted Trump’s “great strength,” however, is his ability to detect weakness.

NEWSOM RETREATS AFTER SHAPIRO PUTS HIM ON THE SPOT OVER CHILLING ICE TERRORISM CLAIM

“That’s his gift, but you punch back. You fight fire with fire. You display conviction and strength. It’s a different relationship. And so, my relationship to this moment is reflected in that. I’m not naive. These guys are going to try to take me down, not just my state,” he said.

Newsom’s press office said Wednesday on X that the USA House at Davos denied the governor entry to speak with the media after Fortune, the event’s official media partner, invited him, citing pressure from the White House and State Department.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Fox News in response to the claim: “No one in Davos knows who third-rate governor Newscum is or why he is frolicking around Switzerland instead of fixing the many problems he created in California.”

The exchange was part of a broader social media back-and-forth between Newsom’s press office and Trump administration allies in recent days, including the official White House “Rapid Response 47” account that mocked the governor while Trump was speaking in Davos.

Ex-Michigan player claims teammates ‘blackmailed’ coach over alleged affairs

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Listen to this article
2 min

Former Michigan Wolverines wide receiver Anthony Simpson made startling claims about his playing time when he was at the school in relation to the Sherrone Moore scandal.

Moore was fired by Michigan in December after the school said he had an “inappropriate relationship” with a staffer. He was later arrested after an incident with the woman following his dismissal. Michigan hired Kyle Whittingham to replace him as head coach.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Simpson transferred to Michigan from Massachusetts before the 2025 season. But he got minimal playing time and entered the transfer portal once more after receiving one more year of eligibility.

He claimed in since-deleted posts on X that his playing time was affected due to players allegedly blackmailing Moore because of his alleged extramarital affairs, according to Sports Illustrated.

“If I kept my mouth closed no one would know that I was a part of a scandal that impacted the team and impacted my chance to add to my production in college,” he wrote on social media. “Tried to stay at Michigan but the ‘GM’ [Sean Magee] said there wasn’t a roster spot for me. God has plans for us all and I can’t wait to see where this journey takes me. Thank you Michigan.

MICHIGAN QB BRYCE UNDERWOOD TO REMAIN WITH PROGRAM AFTER SHERRONE MOORE SCANDAL

“Targets vs non targets, I was the best slot receiver for Michigan and I was treated unfairly due to [Sherrone] Moore being blackmailed by players and staff members. Which jeopardized my opportunity to get on the field. Fastest player on the team and I won reps every day in practice. Only there for fall camp. Our team captains also advocated for me to play. I was denied fairness.”

Former Michigan players Cristian Dixon and Raheem Anderson appeared to co-sign Simpson’s posts.

Fox News Digital reached out to Michigan for comment.

Simpson has since transferred to Toledo.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Michigan will look to start fresh in 2026 as the Moore case unravels in court.

Idaho officials accidentally leak gruesome crime scene photos, families outraged

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Listen to this article
2 min

WARNING: Graphic Content

Crime scene photographs from the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students were accidentally released this week, triggering outrage from victims’ families.

According to family members, the photographs showed the interior of the off-campus Moscow, Idaho, home where students Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Ethan Chapin were stabbed to death on Nov. 13, 2022.

The family of Goncalves said the exposure of the images reflected a lapse in judgment and basic safeguards, arguing that evidence from a quadruple homicide should never have been made accessible without strict controls.

“Please be kind & as difficult as it is, place yourself outside of yourself & consume the content as if it were your loved one,” the Goncalves family said in a statement. “Your daughter, your sister, your son or brother. Murder isn’t entertainment & crime scene photos aren’t content.”

IDAHO MURDERS BODYCAM FOOTAGE SHOWS SURVIVING ROOMMATE’S CHILLING ACCOUNT

In earlier court filings, families sought emergency intervention to prevent further dissemination of the images.

A motion for a temporary restraining order was filed Aug. 12, and Judge Megan Marshall granted the request on Aug. 15. Court records show a permanent injunction barring further release of certain materials was issued Oct. 1.

Attorneys for the city of Moscow told the court that while they may personally oppose releasing the images, their authority is limited by Idaho’s public records law, which generally favors disclosure and allows only narrow privacy exemptions. They described themselves as “middlemen” under the statute.

The city has already released redacted body-camera footage and photos showing parts of the interior of the home at 1122 King Road.

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? FIND MORE ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB

SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER

The photographs emerged more than three years after Bryan Kohberger was charged in the killings.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

In July 2025, Kohberger pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder as part of a plea agreement that spared him the death penalty. He was sentenced to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole and is incarcerated at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution.

The Idaho State Police did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

DHS funding bill heads to House-wide vote after Republican rebellion over specific issue

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Listen to this article
4 min

Republicans set up a House-wide vote on a $1.2 trillion spending package on Thursday, including funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., worked overnight to quell a rebellion over Midwestern Republican energy demands.

The House Rules Committee voted 9-4 to advance two spending bills needed to avoid a government shutdown that is set to begin on Jan. 30. 

While a compromise appears to have eased concerns for GOP lawmakers in the Midwest, the DHS funding portion is still causing ire among progressives and conservatives alike over its measures on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

One bill would fund the departments of War, Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services, and the second is aimed at DHS — including ICE.

According to comments from lawmakers made to Fox News Digital, as many as 20 Republicans had threatened to kill the spending package during a key procedural vote later on Wednesday. They demanded the inclusion of a provision to allow the year-round sale of E15 ethanol, a type of gasoline blend. 

Under the current Clean Air Act, E15’s sales are limited due to failing to overcome Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations.

Johnson, emerging from the Rules Committee early on Thursday, said he had reached an agreement with the would-be rebels.

“It’s a very positive development,” Johnson told Fox News Digital. 

“We decided among a good representation of the conference late last night that we would create the E15 Domestic Energy Council. It will be composed not just of members from across the conference with different views but also stakeholders — refiners, people in the industry.”

That council, Johnson also explained, would take a closer look at the demands made by Midwest Republicans and weigh them against the environmental protections the country has in place. He said he expected those talks to be a “worthwhile endeavor” but didn’t expand on what kind of resolution he expects to see. 

A source close to the matter told Fox News Digital that the agreement would mandate the working group meet regularly next month with the goal of recommending legislation by Feb. 25.

SENATE ADVANCES $174B PACKAGE AS MINNESOTA ICE SHOOTING FUELS DHS FUNDING FIGHT

The bill will next face a procedural vote known as a “rule vote,” when the entire House weighs whether to allow for debate and final consideration of a given measure or set of bills.

Rule votes traditionally fall along party lines even if the underlying bills have bipartisan support, meaning Johnson can afford to lose no more than two GOP votes and still advance the legislation.

If passed, the two separate spending packages will later be joined together for consideration in the Senate.

ICE FUNDING BILL DRAWS FIRE FROM LEFT AND RIGHT AS SHUTDOWN DEADLINE NEARS

Questions remain whether House GOP leadership will be able to unite Republicans around other aspects of the legislation, as concerns have emerged among conservatives about new requirements for ICE. Those provisions, demanded by Democrats, include requiring ICE agents to wear body cameras and undergo additional training on how to interact with the public.

It also keeps funding levels largely flat over levels from FY2025 and even reduces some of the allocations for ICE’s removal activities.

But that’s not enough for a significant number of Democrats. Many made it clear they won’t support the bill, claiming that the legislation doesn’t do enough to rein in ICE’s operations after Renee Nicole Good was killed in a fatal confrontation with ICE agents in Minnesota earlier this month.

“All the guardrails in the world don’t make sense if the administration isn’t going to follow the law and the language that we pass. Members have to take that into account,” House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., said. “Ultimately, members are going to vote [for] what’s in the best interest of their districts.”

Democrats attempted to shoehorn left-wing priorities into the legislation during the House Rules Committee meeting, including measures targeting President Donald Trump’s agenda on Greenland, Venezuela and ICE.

CONGRESS ROLLS OUT $80B SPENDING BILL AS DEMS THREATEN DHS FUNDING AMID SHUTDOWN FEARS

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Among them are amendments to prevent any of the funding in the bill from being used to invade a NATO-protected country and a measure to prohibit federal funds from being used in military actions against Venezuela after Trump executed a military operation to capture the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro.

Amendments to the DHS bill also sought to reduce the salary of Secretary Kristi Noem to $1 or eliminate the funding of the agency altogether.

Those amendments were largely symbolic protests, however, and were not included in the final bill.

Ivy League school event sparks outrage as Iran protesters face lethal crackdown

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Listen to this article
4 min

FIRST ON FOX: Trita Parsi, a controversial figure among the Iranian American community, will be speaking at an event hosted by the John Quincy Adams Society at Yale University on Thursday, sparking concerns as tensions in Iran continue to rise.

Shay Khatiri, a senior fellow at the Yorktown Institute, grew up in Northern Iran and spent time living in the nation’s capital of Tehran. Khatiri didn’t hold back when discussing his view on Parsi’s messaging, telling Fox News Digital the Yale chapter’s speaker faced accusations of lobbying for policies that benefitted the regime. 

“[Parsi] founded this group called the National Iranian American Council, NIAC,” Khatiri explained. “That was really a lobbying group to promote lifting sanctions and what would eventually become the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or the Iran nuclear deal that President Obama reached with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

GOT A SCOOP ON CAMPUS? SEND US A TIP HERE

“There has been huge suspicion among the Iranian diaspora and broader foreign policy community in Washington, D.C., that Parsi and his group have been lobbying on behalf of unofficially lobbying and promoting the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Khatiri told Fox.

The Yorktown institute fellow went on to explain that he believes the “talking points” used by Parsi are filled with disinformation. 

“[Parsi says that] the protesters are really not that peaceful, and they are violent, and he omits the context that it’s always the Islamic Republic that initiates violence and, defensively, protesters respond to it, or that the protests are really not that cohesive, that they lack a leadership, which is also not true,” Khatiri added. “The protesters have been chanting the name of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the exiled crown prince of Iran.”

SIGN UP TO GET CAMPUS RADICALS NEWSLETTER

The Quincy Institute pushed back at the backlash, saying the event is an opportunity for “students to come inside and join the conversation.” 

“We’re talking about a single seminar about the Monroe Doctrine and, more generally, about the principles of Realism and Restraint,” Jessica Rosenblum, director of communications at Quincy Institute, told Fox News Digital.

Parsi is co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute.

“It is a shame that, rather than engaging in substantive conversations about topics at the forefront of the news, a handful of protesters are resorting to the same cancel culture tactics that most of us had hoped would no longer plague university campuses.”

IRAN WILL RETALIATE ‘WITH EVERYTHING WE HAVE’ IF US ATTACKS, SENIOR DIPLOMAT WARNS

The nation of Iran has been under duress since December when protesters rose up against the Iranian regime as the Middle Eastern country faces economic disparity.

The protests turned deadly as reports show Iranian security forces using lethal force against the protesters.

Drawing on accounts from doctors operating in the region, The Sunday Times reports that a reviewed assessment estimates Iranian security forces have killed at least 16,500 protesters and injured more than 330,000.

“Parsi has been saying that if you want to have a new leadership in Iran, there are people within the system you can work with,” Khatiri explained. “Which is, according to the Iranian diaspora and the Iranian protesters, an unacceptable outcome.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE CAMPUS RADICALS COAST TO COAST

Yale University did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, but the university has also faced criticism over a left-leaning bias that reports and several studies indicate at the Ivy League university.

A January report from Yale Daily News that analyzed the political donations of professors showed that of the 1,099 donations made by professors to federal political campaigns and partisan groups, not one of the donations was made to a Republican

Separately, a study by the Buckley Institute found that 27 of the 43 undergraduate departments at the Ivy League school had no Republican faculty members.

“From Obama’s weakness and giveaway of an Iran deal to Biden’s repeated capitulations to the Mullahs, Democrats have repeatedly failed to hold Tehran terror accountable or even stand up for the millions of Iranians fighting for their freedom,” Congressman Darrell Issa told Fox News Digital. 

“This isn’t a close call,” Issa added.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Last week, President Donald Trump said “it’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” and has defended the protests that serve to end the regime.

Fox News Digital reached out to the John Quincy Adams Society at Yale University and Parsi but did not receive responses.

Leave a Reply