Latest news with #JeaninePirro
Fox News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Grieving parents of American terror victim plead with top criminal prosecutor for justice
JERUSALEM— The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is under growing pressure to extradite the self-confessed female Hamas terrorist Ahlam Aref Ahmad al-Tamimi, who engineered the terrorist bombing at a Jerusalem pizzeria in 2001 that murdered three Americans among 16 people, half of whom were children. Frimet and Arnold Roth, the parents of Malki Roth, a 15-year-old U.S. citizen murdered in the 2001 Sbarro pizzeria bombing, held a virtual meeting on July 17, 2025 with Jeanine F. Pirro, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. The U.S. State Department has a $5 million reward for information leading to al-Tamimi's capture, even as reports claim Jordan's King Abdullah II has played hardball, refusing to extradite the accused mass murderer. "You have the capacity to push for her extradition, to ensure that the 1995 treaty is honored, to show Jordan and its population along with the watching world that harboring terrorists has consequences," Arnold Roth told Pirro during the meeting, according to a family press release following the meeting. The 24th anniversary of the Aug. 9, 2001 bombing is next month. Roth added, "We're here today to implore you to act. Jordan needs to know the U.S. cannot tolerate the protection of a murderer of American citizens. U.S. justice needs to be respected by the world and, without hammering this point too hard, by America's lawmakers and senior officials." The Roths said that the meeting focused on the need for "concrete steps" to advance the long-delayed extradition of al-Tamimi. Al-Tamimi's terrorist bombing also killed Judith Shoshana Greenberg and Chana Nachenberg in the 2001 attack. "All the victims deserve justice," Arnold Roth said, stressing that Tamimi's extradition should become a "true priority" for the U.S. Department of Justice. When asked if the extradition of al-Tamimi was raised by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in his Wednesday meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "The United States has continually emphasized to the Government of Jordan the importance of holding Ahlam al-Tamimi, the convicted terrorist released by Israel in a 2011 prisoner swap, accountable in a U.S. court for her admitted role in a 2001 bombing in Jerusalem that killed 15 people, including Americans Malka Chana Roth, Judith Shoshana Greenbaum, and Chana Nachenberg. The United States continues to impress upon the Government of Jordan that Tamimi is a brutal murderer who should be brought to justice." The State Department referred Fox News Digital to the Department of Justice for more information about the U.S. criminal case against al-Tamimi. The Justice Department and Pirro's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital press queries. Al-Tamimi is on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list. She is the second female to appear on the terrorism list. Frimet Roth told U.S. Attorney Pirro that "We cannot carry this fight alone any longer. Judge Pirro, please, be the voice for Malki and the other American victims. Be the advocate for justice that has been denied for too long. We beg you to act—not for our sake alone, but for the integrity of American law and the sanctity of every life lost to terror." The Roths also delivered a petition to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee in May 2025, with some 30,000 signatures urging the Trump administration to press Jordan for al-Tamimi's extradition. Arnold Roth told Fox News Digital that "No senior figure from State has ever, in all the years of our fight for justice, agreed to speak with us. Their treatment of us and of the Tamimi case is deplorable. Victoria Nuland, then one of the top-ranking figures in the State Department. Nuland wrote to us in the names of President Biden and then-Sec of State Antony Blinken, and told us that the Tamimi case was quote 'a foremost priority' for the U.S. And that they would keep us informed. She then [they] ignored every follow-up letter that I sent her, and of course so said Biden and Blinken." Jordan's government is a major recipient of U.S. Foreign Military Financing (FMF). According to a January 2025 U.S. State Department fact sheet, "Since 2015, the Department of State has provided Jordan with $2.155 billion in FMF, which makes Jordan the third-largest global recipient of FMF funds over that time period. In addition, the Department of Defense (DoD) has provided $327 million to the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) under its 333 authority since 2018, making Jordan one of the largest recipients of this funding." Al-Tamimi reportedly boasted about her terrorist operation in the Arab media and called for more terrorism against Israel. "Of course. I do not regret what happened. Absolutely not. This is the path. I dedicated myself to jihad for the sake of Allah, and Allah granted me success. You know how many casualties there were [in the 2001 attack on the Sbarro pizzeria]. This was made possible by Allah. Do you want me to denounce what I did? That's out of the question. I would do it again today, and in the same manner," she said in 2011, according to a MEMRI translation. In 2017, the U.S. Justice Department publicly announced that it had charged her with the Jerusalem suicide bombing. Fox News Digital sent multiple press queries to Jordan's government and its embassies in Washington, D.C., and Tel Aviv.
Politico
5 days ago
- Business
- Politico
Arizona woman sentenced to eight years in prison for hosting ‘laptop farm' for North Korean remote workers
Chapman was involved in an operation that, according to the Justice Department, made in total more than $17 million for the North Korean regime between 2020 and 2023. Chapman oversaw at least 90 laptops at her home sent by unsuspecting U.S. firms that were duped into hiring North Koreans as remote employees. These North Korean nationals used stolen identities of real U.S. citizens in carrying out the scheme. While the companies impacted by Chapman's actions have not been named, those that inadvertently hired North Koreans included a car-maker, Silicon Valley tech company, a U.S. media group and an aerospace group, among other Fortune 500 companies. 'The call is coming from inside the house,' Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said in a statement Thursday. 'If this happened to these big banks, to these Fortune 500, brand-name, quintessential American companies, it can or is happening at your company. Corporations failing to verify virtual employees pose a security risk for all.' The sentencing of Chapman came a month after the Justice Department announced the seizure of hundreds of accounts, websites and laptops linked to the widespread North Korean IT workers scheme. Chapman is not the only U.S. citizen to host laptop farms to support the effort, and the DOJ found that individuals in China and the United Arab Emirates were also involved in supporting these schemes.
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrats walk out of Bove, Pirro meeting as panel advances controversial Trump nominees
The Senate Judiciary Committee gave its approval to two controversial Trump nominees Thursday, forwarding Emil Bove and Jeanine Pirro over objections from Democrats who walked out of a business meeting after debate was cut short. Bove, one of President Trump's former criminal defense attorneys who is now in the No. 3 spot in the Justice Department, has been nominated for a lifetime appointment as a jurist on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. He has been accused by a whistleblower of saying the administration should consider telling the courts 'f‑‑‑ you' and defy any injunctions imposed by judges blocking their use of the Alien Enemies Act. Pirro, a former county judge and Fox News host, was confirmed as a nominee for U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. The meeting made for an unusual scene, as Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) appealed to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on personal terms after Grassley, the committee chair, cut off requests for continued debate and did not allow all Democrats to speak on the Bove nomination. 'You are a good man. You are a decent man, why are you doing this? What is Donald Trump saying to you that are making you do something which is violating the decorum of this committee, the rules of this committee, the decency and the respect that we have each other to at least hear each other out?' Booker said. 'This is unjust. This is wrong. It is the further deterioration of this committee's integrity with a person like this. What are you afraid of?' Booker then exited alongside the rest of his colleagues, a rare protest leaving the Democratic side of the dais completely empty. Democrats had centered most of their focus on Bove, who in addition to the whistleblower allegations, was behind the dismissal of multiple prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases, and also pushed for the dismissal of bribery charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, prompting a wave of resignations. Erez Reuveni, the whistleblower who made the complaint against Bove, was fired after a disclosure he made in a related case when he told a judge that El Salvador migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported back to his home country in error. But as the Trump administration planned to send Venezuelan men to be imprisoned in a notorious Salvadoran facility, Reuveni said he witnessed Bove suggesting court defiance was an option ahead of an episode where the administration withheld information from a judge and failed to turn around deportation flights as ordered. Reuveni has offered to appear before the Senate panel but Grassley said the disclosure smacked of 'a political hit job.' He declined to take up a motion from Booker to take a vote on hearing from the whistleblower. 'Let's start with a credible whistleblower who came forward with texts and emails that show that Mr. Bove said 'F you' to the courts and instructed federal officials to ignore a court order….I'm hard pressed to believe that someone who dedicated 15 years to public service would jeopardize the career, the safety of themselves and their families for no reason,' Booker said. Bove has said he doesn't recall whether he used the expletive but sidestepped questions about whether he floated defying court orders, telling the committee during his confirmation hearing that he 'certainly conveyed the importance of the upcoming operation.' A judge overseeing challenges to the deportation flights later found probable cause to begin an inquiry into whether the Trump administration defied his order to halt the planes. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) later chimed in, saying texts among Justice Department staff show the expletive-laden directive was 'so abundantly corroborated in real time communications.' 'Prosecutors don't get better corroboration than that.' Grassley called the complaint an example of 'vicious partisan attacks.' 'Like clockwork, just before a hearing or vote, we get another breathless accusation that one of President Trump's nominees needs to be investigated,' he said. 'Even if you accept most of the claims as true, there's no scandal here. Government lawyers aggressively litigating and interpreting court orders isn't misconduct—it's what lawyers do.' Beyond the whistleblower allegations, Democrats have sparred over Bove's roles in sidelining and firing prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases. Bove has been the target of numerous letters urging lawmakers to reject his nomination, including 900 former Justice Department attorneys who have accused him of dismantling key functions to keep the department independent from the White House. 'Federal prosecutors, career professionals have raised strong reservations about Mr. Bove, who had undermined their legitimate work to hold accountable people who did the most horrific acts of violence,' Booker said, noting some fired prosecutors were unable to secure meetings with Republicans on the committee. '[It's] almost as if they don't want to hear the truth or the facts or the details. How can you say you were concerned about what happened on Jan. 6 and you won't listen to the people who spent months and months and months prosecuting those cases,' Booker said. Efforts to highlight Bove's role in terminations were a clear appeal to Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who told CNN he would not support nominees who have excused Jan. 6. But Tillis backed Bove on Thursday, saying Democrats failed to show he condoned the riots. 'Does anybody really believe that if I was convinced that Bove had made any statements condoning the violent acts against Capitol police officers, that I'd be voting for him? Just ask Ed Martin whether or not that's a red line,' Tillis said, quashing the prospects of a nominee Pirro was then tapped to replace. 'We have to distinguish between those 2-or-300 thugs that I believe should still be in prison — and disagreed on the Senate floor with the president pardoning them — from the from the boneheads, that for some reason, thought they should enter the Capitol through broken windows and doors,' TIllis said. 'Do your homework on finding a hard example and count me in to refuse confirming that nominee. But don't finesse it when you simply don't have the facts on your side,' he said. The meeting ended before either side had a chance to discuss Pirro, whose nomination garnered less attention in the wake of the focus on Bove. Republicans had praised Trump for a thoughtful choice in tapping a former judge and prosecutor to lead the U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C. Pirro has already been serving in the role on an interim basis. But Democrats have argued Pirro floated false claims about the 2020 election, making her too loyal to Trump to be counted on as a fair-minded prosecutor. 'She's an election denialist, recklessly peddling President Trump's Big Lie despite even her own Fox News producers and executives warning her to reel it in,' Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.) the top Democrat on the panel, said after a Wednesday meeting with Pirro. 'And ultimately, she's a Donald Trump loyalist, vengefully attacking his perceived political opponents and showing no willingness to put the rule of law ahead of the President's wishes.' Updated: 11:45 a.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump calls on Thune to cancel Senate's August recess to confirm his nominees
Senators hoping for an August respite after several weeks of late-night votes may not be in luck, with President Trump asking Majority Leader Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) Saturday to cancel the chamber's traditional late-summer recess in order to confirm his executive and judicial appointments. 'Hopefully the very talented John Thune, fresh off our many victories over the past two weeks and, indeed, 6 months, will cancel August recess (and long weekends!), in order to get my incredible nominees confirmed,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'We need them badly!!!' Senators are currently scheduled to confirm six Trump appointments on Monday and advance his pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Agency. Right now, members are set to take the month of August off. The threat to cancel the recess could push senators to avoid stonewalling appointments. Trump's most high-stakes nominees include Emil Bove, a lawyer for the Justice Department, to be a judge on a federal appeals court. Jeanine Pirro, a former Fox News host, is also up to be the top federal prosecutor in D.C. Bove has garnered particular opposition from Democrats over a whistleblower complaint alleging that he said the Trump administration should consider telling courts 'f— you' if they issued orders blocking migrant deportations. Bove has denied that he told lawyers in the Justice Department to violate a court order. Trump's more recent nominations include two picks for the National Labor Relations Board, which enforces union regulations. The board has not been able to function since January, when Trump fired the remaining Democratic member, leaving it without a quorum. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Reuters
18-07-2025
- Reuters
Bank robber-turned Georgetown law professor convicted in domestic violence case
July 18 (Reuters) - A Georgetown University law professor who spent more than a decade in prison for bank robbery before becoming a lawyer was convicted on Friday of multiple criminal charges stemming from a September 2023 domestic violence incident. Shon Hopwood, 50, was found guilty by a District of Columbia Superior Court jury of three counts of simple assault, five counts of contempt and two counts of obstructing justice, federal prosecutors in Washington said Friday. Hopwood had spent 11 years in federal prison for robbing several banks in Nebraska when he was in his early 20s. His journey from felon to Georgetown law professor was featured on a 60 Minutes segment in 2017 billed as a "story of redemption." Hopwood's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His sentencing is set for Sept. 18 before D.C. Superior Court Judge Errol Arthur. "A D.C. jury is demanding accountability from the batterer who not only beat his wife but was on the faculty of Georgetown Law teaching criminal law," D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement following the verdict. Hopwood was still listed as a member of the faculty of Georgetown University Law Center as of Friday afternoon but has been on leave. A spokesperson for the law school said it respects the jury's decision and will review the matter. "Domestic violence is horrific and antithetical to our values as an institution," the spokesperson said. Prosecutors said police in September 2023 went to Hopwood's Washington home after receiving a call that his wife Ann Marie had been locked in the basement. Hopwood allegedly told police that his wife was out of town, but an officer eventually found her with a broken finger and chipped tooth, which she said she sustained during a fight several days earlier. In an application for a temporary protection order, she detailed four instances in which she said Shon Hopwood hurt her. Hopwood was originally scheduled for a non-jury trial in June 2024, but prosecutors said he tried to pressure his wife against cooperating with the government in an effort to get the case dismissed, which led to more criminal charges being filed against him. Hopwood attended the University of Washington after he was released from prison in 2009. He eventually landed a job teaching at Georgetown University Law Center, where he became a prominent advocate for criminal justice reform and mentored Tiffany Trump, daughter of President Donald J. Trump, when she was a student there.
