Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., went after Republicans who ‘justify’ the leak of classified documents on Ukraine and China allegedly by a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman, arguing that to ‘sugarcoat’ the behavior because the information paints the Biden administration in a negative light ‘will destroy America’s ability to defend itself.’ 

‘I’ve been to Saudi Arabia and Israel. I can promise you it’s been very damaging,’ Graham, appearing from Jerusalem, told ABC’s ‘This Week’ Sunday. ‘There’s information about Mossad supposedly helping the protesters. There’s information about the air defense capability of Ukraine. And everybody in the region is really worried because who wants to share information with the United States if you’re going to read about it in the paper or find it on the Internet? So this has done a lot of damage to us in the region.’ 

FBI agents arrested Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Douglas Teixeira on Thursday after U.S. intelligence documents that had critical information about the war in Ukraine and Chinese relations were posted on the chat app Discord. Attorney General Merrick Garland said that Teixeira is being investigated for the ‘alleged unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information.’ 

Graham is to be briefed with other U.S. senators behind closed doors in more detail on the extent of the leaks. 

‘The system failed. This is a major failure. And those who are trying to sugarcoat this on the right, you cannot allow a single individual of the military intelligence community to leak classified information because they disagree with policy,’ Graham said. 

‘I don’t know what led to this airman’s actions, but he’s done a lot of damage to our standing. It’s very hard to get people to come forward right now to tell us about things we need to know about. If they feel like they’re going to be compromised,’ he continued. ‘The sources and methods of how we collect on adversaries have been compromised, and I am stunned that somebody at that level could have so much access. So the question is, how did he get it, and why did he do it? And some people need to be fired over this.’

RUSSIAN OFFICIAL SUGGESTS LEAKED US DOCUMENTS MAY BE ATTEMPT TO ‘MISLEAD THE ENEMY’ 

‘As you mentioned, that there are some on the right that are not only sugarcoating it, but actually applauding him,’ the ABC host pressed Graham. ‘I mean, take a look at what Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted. She said, ‘Jack Teixeira is White, male, Christian and antiwar. That makes him an enemy to the Biden regime. And he told the truth about troops being on the ground in Ukraine and a lot more.”

‘What they’re suggesting will destroy America’s ability to defend itself,’ Graham responded. ‘That it’s okay to release classified information based on your political views. That the ends justify the means. It is not okay if you’re a member of the military intelligence community, and you disagree with American policy, and you think you’re going to be okay when it comes to leaking classified information.’

‘There is no justification for this and for any member of Congress to suggest it’s okay to leak classified information because you agree with the cause is terribly irresponsible and puts America in serious danger,’ he added.

Fox News’ Maria Lencki contributed to this report.

NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell admitted Sunday that people are ‘taking advantage’ of bail reform laws backed by Democrats in the state capital of Albany, while also lamenting that the ‘perception of feeling unsafe’ remains in the Big Apple despite the number of shootings and homicides being ‘down by the double digits.’

‘What do you say to those who still look at New York City as an unsafe hellscape where not only are the residents cowering in fear, but anyone who visits should cower,’ MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart asked the commissioner on ‘The Sunday Show.’

For the first quarter of 2022, New York City was down in five of the major crime categories, Sewell noted. 

‘The numbers mean one thing, but when we talk about the numbers, we have to understand that the numbers actually represent people, and that’s what matters,’ the commissioner said. ‘And if those people don’t feel safe in this city, that’s something we have to address as well. It’s not just a matter of making sure they are safe. It’s a matter of making sure they feel that safety as well. When people live in a safe city, they don’t think about it. When they feel as if though the city isn’t safe, that’s all they think about.’

‘And the mayor and I made sure that we took all of our partners to make sure that we address that perception, feeling of being unsafe,’ Sewell said. ‘And that’s not just the responsibility of the police department. That’s a responsibility for everyone. We say all the time that public safety is a shared responsibility. We work with social services, mental health professionals, the department of sanitation, because all of these things come into play when you’re making a city safe, and you’re making a city a place people feel they want to visit and work’ 

‘Bail reform is specifically mentioned by Republicans in this conversation. But your office is working to stem recidivism. Am I correct?’ Capehart asked. 

‘Recidivism is our focus. There are a limited number of people in this city that continue to commit a disproportionate number of crimes,’ Sewell said. ‘But I think when we talk about bail reform, we use that term, but it’s really criminal justice reform. There are a number of that legislation that present challenges for us and the criminal justice system in New York City as a whole. So while we are focused on recidivism, I have said over and over again that judges should have the ability to determine whether someone is a public safety threat, when they determine whether they should remand, set bail, or release.’

‘I think those reforms were well-meaning, but there are people taking advantage of those reforms, and it’s causing detriment to our city,’ the commissioner added. 

For the month of February 2023, overall index crime compared to February 2022 declined by 5.6% – driving a 0.4% reduction in overall index crime year-to-date compared to 2022, the NYPD said in a press release on March 3. February 2023 also saw the number of overall shooting incidents and murders in New York City both continue their week-over-week and month-over-month declines. Additionally, the number of hate crimes in New York City declined by 69% in February 2023 compared to the same period a year ago.

Citywide shooting incidents decreased in February by 14.7%, the NYPD said, further extending the double-digit declines of 2022 driven by steep reductions in the Bronx, Queens, and Northern Manhattan. Notably, the NYPD has driven a 10.5% decrease in citywide robberies in February 2023. 

‘We worked together with our partners, our DAs, our communities, our businesses to make sure we input precision policing to be able to go to the drivers of crime and those people who willingly commit crimes, who willingly possess illegal guns and use them against the people of this city,’ Sewell said. ‘So a number of things came into play. We have a gun violence strategies partnership. They meet every single day to go over the shootings and the arrests to be able to put forth the strongest cases possible for prosecution to be able to hold these people accountable, to be able to make sure they are suffering the consequences for their actions.’ 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams spoke of the crime rate in the Big Apple during a Friday appearance on CNN. The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a field hearing in New York on Monday led by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. CNN host Don Lemon noted that the hearing is intended to focus on how Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s policies have led to an increase in violent crime and dangerous communities for New York City residents. Bragg’s office is responsible for the indictment of former President Donald Trump.

‘New York City crime is really trending in the right direction. Shootings are down, homicides are down,’ Adams said in response. ‘We’re going up to the seven majors. If anything, he should be in a conversation with Police Commissioner Sewell to find out what we’re doing here. But this is really a charade, and it’s just unfortunate, during a time like this, they will use taxpayers dollars to host this charade.’

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said Sunday that Republicans need to stop burying their ‘heads in the sand’ and move more to the center on abortion if they want to start winning elections again.

During an appearance on ‘Fox News Sunday,’ Mace slammed any anti-abortion policies that don’t explicitly provide exceptions for rape and incest or fail to offer solutions for women seeking OBGYN care.

‘We need to find a middle ground on this issue, and I have a great pro-life voting record,’ she said. ‘But some of the stances we take and especially when it comes to rape and incest, protecting the life of the mother, it’s so extreme that middle, independent voters, right of center, left of center, they cannot support us.’

‘We’ve got 14 counties in South Carolina that don’t have a single OBGYN doctor,’ she continued. ‘So, if we’re going to ban abortion, what are we doing to make sure women have access to birth control? What are we doing about, how do we improve adoption services in our country? What about the kids that are not wanted? What about our foster care system? What about getting nurses that can treat women who need OBGYN care in those rural areas? What are we doing about getting birth control over the counter at pharmacies? There are a lot of things that we can do to protect life and not alienate the independent voter.’

Mace argued that American voters have dramatically shifted to the left on abortion since the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

‘We have not learned our lesson from the midterm election,’ she said. ‘We went mildly pro-choice to being a vast majority of voters being pro-choice after Roe v. Wade. It changed the entire electoral environment in ‘22.’

‘What I saw last year in the midterm elections, I saw us lose seats we should have won,’ she continued. ‘It feels like we’re burying our heads in the sand. And every time I stick my head out and I take a position, I take it very publicly. Republicans will call me privately and then I say, ‘Well, what bill can we do, do you want to do with me, what press conference?’ And then there’s silence. It’s crickets, and it’s tone deaf, and we’re afraid of the issue because we’re afraid of our base. But that’s not what the base is.’

Mace also responded to criticism from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which said the congresswoman ‘denounced certain protections for unborn children’ and gave her a ‘B’ rating.

‘I find it ironic that Susan B Anthony would attack me,’ Mace said. ‘I’m a victim of rape, I advocate for women who have been raped, and that organization will no longer talk to my office about pro-life legislation because I’m talking about birth control. I mean, some of these groups have gotten so over the top and extreme.’

A  super PAC supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis released its first-ever television ad attacking former President Donald Trump on Sunday, pushing back on Trump’s own aggression toward DeSantis.

Never Back Down PAC titled the ad ‘Fight Democrats, not Republicans,’ and went after Trump for his recent attacks on the popular Florida governor. Trump has recently dubbed DeSantis ‘Ron DeSanctimonious’ and has pushed the claim that he wants to dismantle Social Security.

‘Donald Trump is being attacked by a Democrat prosecutor in New York, so why is he spending millions attacking the Republican governor of Florida?’ the ad begins. ‘Trump is stealing pages from the Biden-Pelosi playbook, repeating lies about social security.’

The ad goes on to play a soundbyte from DeSantis saying he and other Republicans have no plans to ‘mess with’ social security. It then also plays a clip of Trump himself saying entitlements and social security would ‘at some point’ be on the table for changes.

‘Trump should fight Democrats, not lie about Governor DeSantis,’ the ad says. ‘What happened to Donald Trump?’

Trump’s camp responded sharply: ‘DeSantis is colluding with his globalist handlers to go full Never Trump in order to gaslight the people into thinking that Medicare and Social Security should be ripped away from hard-working Americans. President Trump has made it clear that he will always stand on the side of Americans, and protect benefits seniors worked for and paid for their entire lives,’ said spokesperson Steven Cheung.

While DeSantis has yet to announce a presidential run for 2024, he is widely considered a strong potential challenger to Trump for the Republican nomination.

Beyond Trump and DeSantis, major players in the GOP primary race include former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and former Vice President Mike Pence. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has also formally entered the race, while former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said he does not plan to enter.

While Trump has held a relatively consistent lead over DeSantis in many polls, DeSantis world appears to be revving its engines in preparation for a widely-expected campaign announcement.

Several female Democratic senators were put on the spot Sunday on whether Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., should resign from the Senate amid her ongoing health issues, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., saying time is running out for the 89-year-old to return.

Klobuchar said on ABC’s ‘This Week’ that Feinstein, who hasn’t voted since Feb. 16, ‘sure better’ return to the Senate in time for the vote to raise the debt ceiling this summer. 

‘In this case, we are going to need her vote on the Senate floor eventually,’ she said. ‘We have things like the debt ceiling coming up. But I think what we need to do is take her at her word, she’s recovering from shingles, and make sure she comes back. If this goes on month after month after month, then she’s going to have to make a decision with her family and her friends about what her future holds.’

‘Because this isn’t just about California. It’s also about the nation,’ she continued. ‘And we just can’t, with this one vote margin, and expect every other person to be there every single time. It’s going to become an issue as the months go by, but I’m taking her at her word that she’s going to return.’

Feinstein, who has served in the Senate for over 30 years, was hospitalized for shingles last month and has faced other health issues, including concerning reports related to her mental fitness. She had previously faced calls to resign prior to announcing her intention not to run for re-election earlier this year.

Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Dean Phillips, D-Minn., have led the call for Feinstein to resign.

‘While she has had a lifetime of public service, it is obvious she can no longer fulfill her duties. Not speaking out undermines our credibility as elected representatives of the people,’ Khanna said last week.

‘Sen. Feinstein is a remarkable American whose contributions to our country are immeasurable,’ Phillips said. ‘But I believe it’s now a dereliction of duty to remain in the Senate and a dereliction of duty for those who agree to remain quiet,’ he wrote.

Meanwhile, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY., took a similar tone as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in suggesting sexism was at play in the calls against Feinstein.

‘Her legacy and her depth of experience is valuable. And we have had so many senators who have had illnesses, whether it’s [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell’s illnesses, or senators who have had strokes. These are issues that – we’re human,’ Gillibrand said on CNN’s ‘State of the Union.’

‘And we believe that a senator should be able to make their own judgments about when they’re retiring and when they’re not, and they all deserve a chance to get better and come back to work,’ she said. ‘She’s a team player, and she’s an extraordinary member of the Senate. It’s her right. She was voted by her state to be senator for six years, she has the right, in my opinion, to decide when she steps down.’

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said on NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’ that ‘it’s up to Dianne Feinstein and her family to decide whether she wants to keep on serving.’

‘I certainly wish Sen. Feinstein well, and I’m pleased that she has made the decision to have a fill-in on her seat on the Judiciary Committee,’ Baldwin said. ‘I think that is really an important and responsible thing to do during her absence, because we have President Biden’s nominees waiting for hearings and votes, and we want to keep that moving. But I wish her well and hope she returns to the Senate very soon.’

Feinstein said in a statement Wednesday that she plans to temporarily step down from the Judiciary Committee.

‘When I was first diagnosed with shingles, I expected to return by the end of the March work period,’ Feinstein said. ‘Unfortunately, my return to Washington has been delayed due to continued complications related to my diagnosis.

‘I intend to return as soon as possible once my medical team advises that it’s safe for me to travel. In the meantime, I remain committed to the job and will continue to work from home in San Francisco.’ 

Fox News’ Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.

A George Soros-bankrolled prosecutor in St. Louis already mired in allegations of negligence and misconduct was hit with more bad news on Friday, when one of the few remaining prosecutors who handles the city’s most violent felonies abruptly resigned, citing a ‘toxic work environment.’

Natalia Ogurkiewicz, 27, joined the office of St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner in 2020 and handled several murder and other felony cases. She initially planned to leave Gardner’s office at the end of the month but announced Friday she was departing early, local media reported.

In her resignation letter, Ogurkiewicz didn’t hold back in lambasting Gardner while explaining her reasons for leaving.

‘As a St. Louis resident, I have lost trust in Kim Gardner from the inside,’ wrote Ogurkiewicz. ‘I do not believe that her leadership can stop the metaphorical or physical ballistics from continuing to fly through our city.’

Gardner is one of the first prosecutors whom Soros, a liberal billionaire and Democrat mega-donor, bankrolled in 2016 and again for her re-election in 2020. She announced last month that she’ll seek a third term.

Ogurkiewicz’s departure is the latest example of persistent staffing issues that have plagued Gardner’s office, which has long been understaffed and now has just five prosecutors left to handle hundreds of violent felonies.

Gardner, who took office in 2017, had a more than 100% turnover rate for attorneys in her first two years in office and by earlier this year had about half as many attorneys on staff as when she assumed the job. The effect of the high turnover in Gardner’s office has been ‘a state of dysfunction, low morale and dearth of legal wisdom necessary to safeguard the public from potentially dangerous criminals,’ the St. Louis Post-Dispatch previously reported.

A spokeswoman for the Circuit Attorney’s Office told the Post-Dispatch that the office couldn’t speak on personal matters but ‘continues to aggressively recruit and hire attorneys and support staff to serve the people of the city of St. Louis.’

The latest resignation comes as Gardner, a Democrat, is in a legal fight to hold onto her job. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, launched a legal process seeking to fire her, claiming the prosecutor is neglecting her duties by not enforcing the law or protecting public safety.

In her resignation letter, Ogurkiewicz said it was nearly impossible for prosecutors to keep up with the demands of an understaffed office, no matter how many hours they worked, describing an ‘untenable’ workload. Due to the staffing situation, Ogurkiewicz outlined how she had to fill several different roles and therefore spent significant time filing charges or issuing warrants rather than preparing for trials.

In 2021, Gardner came under fire after three murder cases under her purview were dismissed in one week due to prosecutors in her office not showing up for hearings or being unprepared.

More recently, St. Louis prosecutors last week dismissed and refiled charges against two men accused of killing a father and his seven-year-old daughter, likely pushing back the trial by months. According to an investigation by local CBS affiliate KMOV, the reason for the dismissal and refiling is that ‘the prosecutors weren’t ready for trial,’ which had been set to take place in a matter of days.

Dismissing and refiling cases has become increasingly common as Gardner’s understaffed office has struggled to prepare for trials, according to a Post-Dispatch analysis.

Gardner’s office seemed to blame police for having to dismiss and refile the double-murder case: ‘In this case, the CAO [Circuit Attorney’s Office] was not provided evidence in a timely manner due to acknowledged staffing challenges at the police department,’ Gardner spokeswoman Allison Hawk said in a statement.

The St. Louis Police Officers’ Association responded by lambasting Gardner’s office for trying to shift the blame. ‘Police officers shouldn’t be made scapegoats for an overworked, backlogged and mismanaged Circuit Attorney’s Office,’ the union said in a statement.

Ogurkiewicz noted the Circuit Attorney Office’s worsening relationship with St. Louis police during Gardner’s tenure has made prosecutors’ jobs more difficult, writing that ‘ongoing political and ideological conflict [with] the police department has obliterated the necessary teamwork and relationship for an agreed-upon system to exist.’

Ogurkiewicz, who has been subpoenaed in the attorney general’s lawsuit seeking Gardner’s removal, also slammed her former boss for her response to Bailey.

In February, Bailey filed a petition quo warranto, the legal mechanism under state statute that allows the attorney general to remove a prosecutor who neglects her duties. 

‘This is about a quantum of evidence that demonstrates her failure to prosecute cases, failure to inform and confer with victims in cases and failure to file new cases that are referred by law enforcement agencies,’ Bailey told Fox News Digital at the time of the filing.

He separately said in a statement that Gardner is ‘creating’ victims instead of ‘protecting’ them.

Bailey claims that nearly 12,000 criminal cases have been dismissed due to what he calls Gardner’s failures. He also says that more than 9,000 cases were thrown out as they were about to go to trial, forcing judges to dismiss more than 2,000 cases due to what Bailey described as a failure to provide defendants with evidence and speedy trials.

Gardner, who has refused to leave office amid Bailey’s probe, has called Bailey’s efforts a political witch hunt and a form of ‘voter suppression,’ suggesting that racism and sexism are behind some of the criticism against her. On Tuesday, she responded to Bailey’s allegations in a legal filing.

‘His amended petition is a gross power grab, an affront to the liberties of all Missourians and the democratic process,’ said Gardner. ‘If the attorney general or the political interests behind his petition were truly concerned about crime in St. Louis, they would seek to assist with resources.’

Gardner also blamed her subordinates for potential problems in a recent filing, an example of finger-pointing that Ogurkiewicz took issue with in her letter.

‘I will not work for a leader who makes public statements outright calling her attorneys ‘negligent’ and implying their incompetence,’ wrote Ogurkiewicz. ‘I feel like leading with integrity looks like standing by and supporting staff through all difficulties, not herding them like sheep to a media frenzy slaughter.’

A hearing is set for next week as part of Bailey’s removal effort for Gardner and members of her office to appear before a judge.

Ogurkiewicz, who worked in private practice before joining Gardner’s office, described the Circuit Attorney’s Office as a ‘toxic work environment’ where basic prosecutorial tasks weren’t getting accomplished

Last week, for example, a St. Louis judge sanctioned Gardner’s office for withholding evidence in a double-homicide case and for allowing the suspect out on bond.

‘The court finds that there have been repeated delays by the state in obtaining discovery and providing it to the defense,’ the judge wrote. ‘There has been a lack of diligence on the part of the state in following up and providing discovery to the defendant in a timely fashion. As a result of the state’s actions and lack of diligence, the court grants defendant’s second motion for sanctions.’

That same week, the attorney for a man accused of striking teenage volleyball player Janae Edmonson with his car and causing her to lose her legs entered a not-guilty plea on behalf of his client, but a judge had to print a copy of the indictment for him in court, because Daniel Riley’s attorney told the presiding judge that he had never got a copy of the indictment for his client from Gardner’s Office, so the judge printed one for him while he was in the courtroom, according to local reports.

Edmonson had been visiting St. Louis with her volleyball team. Riley, the man charged with assault, armed criminal action and operating a motor vehicle without a valid license, was out on bail awaiting trial for an armed robbery from 2020 and had violated the terms of his bond at least 50 times, according to local reports.

However, there is no record of Gardner’s office, which is responsible for monitoring compliance with bond conditions and revoking them when those terms are violated, asking for Riley’s bond to be revoked.

The case prompted Bailey to seek Gardner’s removal from office.

Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., says he will attempt to dismiss claims from Republicans about rising crime rates in New York City as he defends Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg during a field hearing held by the House Judiciary Committee next week.

Slated to take place in the Big Apple on Monday, the committee said this week the hearing will ‘examine how Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s pro-crime, anti-victim policies have led to an increase in violent crime and a dangerous community for New York City residents.’

But Nadler isn’t on board with the notion that Bragg is responsible for a rise in crime, or if there’s even a rise in crime at all, according to comments he offered to the New York Post.

‘We will show the essentially fraudulent nature of what Jim Jordan and company are claiming about the crime rates in New York and compared to other cities, including Republican-led cities,’ Nadler told the outlet.

Nadler — who represents New York’s 12th congressional district, which includes central Manhattan — also said he will use the opportunity in New York to talk ‘about how this whole hearing is part of Jim Jordan and the Republicans’ general attempts to obstruct justice and to attack the DA in Manhattan and to obstruct justice in the Trump case.’

Despite Nadler’s claim about the ‘fraudulent nature’ of Republican criticism about criminal justice in most populous city in the United States, certain violent crimes have increased in recent years.

Violent felony offense complaints jumped from 35,964 in 2020 to 38,645 in 2021 and then to 45,529 in 2022, according to New York Police Department data released earlier this year. Additionally, the total number of felony offenses — both violent and non-violent — rose from 95,593 in 2020 to 102,741 in 2021 to 126,589 in 2022.

While the city has experienced a recent jump in crime for certain offenses, it is not at a record high like it was in past decades. Previous NYPD data revealed there were nearly 530,000 major felony offenses in 1990 and more than 160,000 major felony offenses in 2001.

Nadler’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on this issue of crime in New York City.

The announcement for the New York City field hearing came less than a week after former President Donald Trump was arraigned for 34 felony counts of falsifying business records following Bragg’s years-long investigation into Trump. Trump pleaded not guilty.

After the indictment, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, accused Bragg of ‘unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority’ and demanded that he testify before Congress.

‘In light of the serious consequences of your actions, we expect that you will testify about what plainly appears to be a politically motivated prosecutorial decision,’ Jordan wrote in a letter to Bragg last month.

Last week, Jordan subpoenaed former New York County Special Assistant District Attorney Mark Pomerantz to testify on the role he played investigating Trump’s finances before resigning in protest when Bragg initially declined to charge Trump with crimes. Jordan alleged that Pomertantz instigated a political investigation.

Bragg said the subpoena is an ‘unprecedented campaign of harassment and intimidation’ from House GOP members.

New York City Councilman Robert Holden, a Democrat who has represented New York City’s 30th district since 2018, told Fox News Digital earlier this week that he plans to testify at the Monday hearing that Bragg has contributed to the ‘lawlessness’ on city streets.

Holden said he is a life-long New Yorker who has had his ‘issues’ with Bragg since he took over as DA in January 2022.

‘When Bragg came in, he issued that ridiculous edict that he was not going to prosecute smaller crimes,’ Holden said. ‘What do we have in New York City? We have lawlessness on the streets.’

Additionally, Holden said he has ‘never seen the lawlessness we are seeing now.’

Fox News’ Brianna Herlihy and Brooke Singman contributed to this article.

Donald Trump Jr. defended beer conglomerate Anheuser-Busch on his podcast Thursday, urging listeners not to continue boycotting the company.

Trump claimed that the company was too ‘iconic’ to continue boycotting, and that the executives have learned a lesson.

‘So here’s the deal. Anheuser-Busch totally sh*t the bed with this Dylan Mulvaney thing. I’m not, though, for destroying an American, an iconic company for something like this,’ Trump Jr. said.

The beer company has faced intense criticism in recent weeks following the announcement it was partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

‘When I actually look into it, I’m not gonna blame the whole company for the inaction or the stupidity of someone in a marketing campaign that got woke as hell,’ Trump said of the collaboration on Thursday.

Trump cited Anheuser-Busch’s record of donating slightly more to conservative politicians than liberal ones as reason to keep buying their beer.

‘The company itself doesn’t participate in the same leftist nonsense as the other big conglomerates,’ Trump said. ‘Frankly, they don’t participate in the same woke garbage that other people in the beer industry actually do, who are significantly worse offenders when I looked into it. But if they do this again, then it’s on them! Then, screw them.’

Mulvaney, a trans activist and social media influencer who gained prominence when given an opportunity to interview President Biden about LGBTQ issues in 2022, revealed earlier this month that the beer company sent packs of Bud Light with her face printed on the cans as part of an ad for the beer company’s March Madness contest and as a way to celebrate a full year of ‘girlhood.’

Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth published a lengthy statement Friday, hoping to tamp down the animosity aimed at Bud Light and its parent company. 

‘We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer,’ Whitworth said. ‘My time serving this country taught me the importance of accountability and the values upon which America was founded: freedom, hard work and respect for one another. 

He added, ‘As CEO of Anheuser-Busch, I am focused on building and protecting our remarkable history and heritage.’

The statement received criticism from both sides of the transgender issue, with social media users asking what the message was supposed to be.

An official with the Chinese Embassy in the United States emailed a staff member of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, expressing China’s ‘grave concern’ with an upcoming hearing on the origins of COVID-19.

In an email sent on Friday at 2:15 a.m., Li Xiang, the Chinese Embassy’s liaison to Congress, emailed the staff member regarding the subcomittee’s hearing on April 18, which is titled ‘Investigating the Origins of COVID-19, Part 2: China and the Available Intelligence.’

‘I am Counselor Li Xiang with the Chinese Embassy in the US. I am reaching out to express our grave concern regarding the COVID-19 Origins hearing to be chaired by Congressman Wenstrup on next Tuesday. According to the announcement, the hearing is to examine ‘China’s complicity in the COVID-19′ crisis and hold China accountable. We firmly oppose it,’ Xiang wrote in the email.

A spokesperson for the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic told Fox News Digital that the Chinese Embassy’s attempt to silence the subcommittee’s work is ‘absurd.’

‘What is China trying to hide? The Embassy’s attempt to silence the Select Subcommittee’s investigation into the origins of COVID-19 is absurd, and it will not work. Holding China accountable for its role in this crisis is an essential part of preparing our country to address future national security threats and pandemics. Chairman Wenstrup is committed to examining all intelligence related to where and how this pandemic began. The members of the Select Subcommittee will not stop or stall their investigation on account of ‘grave concerns,’ foreign intimidation, and baseless opposition,’ the spokesperson said.

The hearing on April 18 will feature testimony from Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe and Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Feith.

This isn’t the first time that the Chinese Embassy has attempted to pressure lawmakers who seek information on where the virus began.

In March, Xiang sent a letter to the chief of staff for Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., saying that the lawmaker’s bill to declassify information regarding the origins of COVID-19 were an act of ‘political manipulation.’

‘I am reaching out to express our grave concern regarding the ‘Covid-19 Origin Act of 2023′ (S.619), which falsely claimed that the Covid-19 coronavirus originated from Wuhan Institute of Virology, accuses China of blocking international investigations, refusing to share information and lacking transparency etc. and required the Director of National Intelligence to declassify information relating to the origin of COVID–19. China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this,’ the letter states.

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

Disgraced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who at one time was widely discussed as a potential Democratic presidential candidate, took the far left to task for being soft on crime, arguing progressives are hurting the very people they claim to represent with their approach to criminals.

‘Democrats: When you ignore crime, you hurt the people you represent,’ Cuomo tweeted Thursday, along with a clip from Quake Media, the platform that hosts his podcast ‘As a Matter of Fact.’

The video, titled ‘Ignoring Crime: The opposite of progress,’ was posted to Cuomo’s YouTube channel.

‘The far left doesn’t want to talk about crime,’ said Cuomo. ‘They don’t want to hear the word crime spoken.’

‘There is no crime problem,’ the former governor added, using apparent sarcasm. ‘It’s all Republican propaganda.’

Cuomo then said crime most affects low-income and minority communities — the same people, he argued, Democrats should represent.

‘Do you know who are the victims of crime?’ he asked. ‘Over 70% black, brown, and poor. So, tell me, who does the Democratic Party really represent if not the Black, brown, and poor? And when you refuse to address the issue of crime, the people who are paying the price are the Black, brown and poor. They’re paying the price for your far-left politics.’

Cuomo’s comments come as some retail stores across the country are shutting their doors, citing crime as a key reason. 

This month, for example, a California beauty store closed after it was robbed or burglarized a dozen times. In Portland, Oregon, a clothing shop permanently shut down last year after facing a string of break-ins that has left the store financially gutted, according to a note posted to the front of the store. 

‘Our city is in peril,’ a printed note posted on Rains PDX store read. ‘Small businesses (and large) cannot sustain doing business, in our city’s current state. We have no protection, or recourse, against the criminal behavior that goes unpunished. Do not be fooled into thinking that insurance companies cover losses. We have sustained 15 break-ins … we have not received any financial reimbursement since the 3rd.’

Walmart has also closed several locations in Portland and Chicago, in part for financial reasons but also seemingly due to crime. The closures came after Walmart CEO Doug McMillon warned last year of rising crime’s devastating impact on retail stores.

‘Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been,’ McMillon told CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’ in December. He added that if the crime wave is not halted soon and if prosecutors don’t bring charges against shoplifters, ‘prices will be higher, and/or stores will close.’

In Philadelphia, convenience store chain Wawa permanently closed locations and shortened the hours at some suburban stores due to crime.

Republicans have been quite critical of progressive prosecutors in Democrat-run blue cities, arguing they’re soft on crime and contributing to high crime rates in major cities.

In a striking move last year, San Francisco voters ousted progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin in a recall vote focused on his soft-on-crime policies, which included prosecuting significantly fewer felonies and misdemeanors than his predecessors. Boudin had said he wanted to abolish cash bail and end ‘mass incarceration.’

In St. Louis, city prosecutor Kimberly Gardner currently faces widespread backlash for pursuing similar policies — including an effort by Missouri’s attorney general to remove her from office.

Washington, D.C. also made national headlines recently for unsuccessfully attempting to implement a dramatic overhaul of its criminal code. Republicans and many Democrats complained that the proposal would ease criminal penalties in a city that is already suffering from rising crime rates.

Cuomo saw his political star in the Democratic Party rise as the COVID-19 pandemic raged and lockdowns were in full force in 2020. The governor’s candid daily press briefings and forceful action to shut down New York earned him national acclaim from many in his party, and President Biden even called him the ‘gold standard’ for governors. Members of the media pushed the prospect of Cuomo running for president. Some even called him the ‘acting president’ during former President Trump’s tenure.

Behind the scenes, however, a series of events were taking place that led Cuomo to resign from his office in disgrace.

In March 2020, Cuomo issued a directive for nursing homes to accept elderly patients with COVID-19. Thousands of people subsequently died in New York’s nursing homes.

Cuomo’s administration radically underreported the number of deaths due to COVID-19 in nursing homes. In January 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James released a damning report showing the extent of the damage. 

Months later, James released another report concluding that Cuomo sexually harassed at least 11 women, including current and former employees. The report also found that Cuomo oversaw a workplace culture ‘rife with fear and intimidation.’

Cuomo resigned in August 2021. On his first full day as the former governor, his successor acknowledged the state had suffered nearly 12,000 more deaths from COVID than Cuomo publicly acknowledged.

Last month, a former Cuomo aide who had accused the ex-governor of sexual harassment in a federal lawsuit filed another lawsuit against New York, alleging the state government is accountable for Cuomo’s harassment and for the actions of other aides who didn’t act on the matter once it was reported.

Cuomo is also currently facing another lawsuit over nursing home deaths in New York during the pandemic, with the plaintiff alleging that Cuomo’s pride and ‘unmitigated greed’ had led to needless deaths.

The lawsuit was filed by Sean Newman in a Brooklyn federal district court. Newman is married to Janice Dean, who works for Fox News Channel as a senior meteorologist. Newman’s parents died in early 2020 at nursing homes in the state amid the COVID-19 outbreak.