Terrell, Leo

estb 1 25

FOX --> DOJ 3 ?!

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These Fox News figures claimed to be deeply concerned with presidential corruption. Now they work for Trump.

Research contributions from Pete Tsipis, Isabella Corrao, Jane Lee & Helena Hind

Published 02/11/26

“We have a president of the United States who was potentially involved in all of those entanglements with foreign entities,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “which could lead to complications or compromise as the president now.”

Hegeth’s comment serves as a searing indictment of his current boss, President Donald Trump, whose “entanglements with foreign entities" deepen with each new investigative report on his family’s sprawling business interests and attempts to cash in on the presidency.

But of course, Hegseth wasn’t talking about the recent Wall Street Journal investigation revealing an apparent quid pro quo in which a Trump family company received a half-billion dollar investment from an Emirati prince days before the president took office, then the Trump administration funneled AI chips to the prince’s firm. The quote is actually from July 2023, and it shows Hegseth using his prior role as Fox News host to denounce then-President Joe Biden.

It is not an overstatement to say that arguing against foreign money influence on the White House was a defining principle for right-wing media during the Biden years. But their arguments were based in fantasy, and the Trump family’s corruption is both much more straightforward and involves sums of money that are larger by orders of magnitude.

Thanks to Trump’s propensity to hire the people he saw on his television, many of those who loudly complained about the purported corruption of the Biden family — and even called for the criminal prosecution of President Biden — are now working within the Trump administration. Meanwhile, the Fox smear machine that once went into overdrive promoting conspiracy theories about presidential corruption has gone quiet.

The Trump family’s corruption is orders of magnitude worse than the Biden allegations

Fox’s effort to turn Hunter Biden’s foreign business interests into a political liability for his father dates to Trump’s first administration, but became an obsession once Joe Biden took office in 2021. While the network’s narratives were never credible — and some even appeared to be the result of a Russian disinformation campaign — the pressure of its all-consuming coverage and its media power within the GOP eventually goaded congressional Republicans into an ill-fated impeachment effort, at which point the whole edifice collapsed.

But the Fox conspiracy-mongering takes on a new light given that some of the people who pushed it now work for a president who embarked on self-enrichment schemes of staggering scale and eye-popping corruption in his first year back in office.

While feverish claims of a “Biden Crime Family” involved a total of less than $7.5 million paid to Biden family members over the years — and nothing to Joe Biden — Trump had already “used the office of the presidency to make at least $1.4 billion,” the editorial board of The New York Times reported on the anniversary of his second inauguration.

Trump and his adult children oversee a sprawling business empire that has grown dramatically since he launched his reelection campaign and includes international real estate deals through the Trump Organization; his social media company and its parent, “which trades like a meme stock”; immense holdings in cryptocurrency; and an array of consulting and venture capital positions held by his sons that have the aroma of influence peddling. These businesses benefit from Trump’s presidency even as they frequently conflict with U.S. policy (by contrast, the right’s core allegation of Joe Biden aiding his son’s foreign business interests involved him carrying out U.S. policy as vice president).

Reporters and researchers who examine the various Trump tentacles are constantly uncovering new scandals and conflicts of interest. But perhaps the most nakedly corrupt involve the Trump family’s crypto company, World Liberty Financial, which was founded shortly before his 2024 election and has since driven a huge increase in his personal wealth. The Wall Street Journal reported last month:

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan, an Abu Dhabi prince known as the “spy sheikh” for his leadership of the United Arab Emirates’ intelligence service, secretly agreed to purchase 49% of WLF just days before Trump’s January 2025 inauguration for $500 million, in a “hugely profitable” deal for its founders.

In May, WLF’s CEO “announced that the sheikh’s investment firm, MGX, would use World Liberty’s stablecoin, USD1, to complete its $2 billion investment in [the crypto exchange] Binance,” a move that “rocketed USD1 up the rankings of largest stablecoins, enhancing its financial credibility.”

Weeks later, the Trump administration approved sales of “around 500,000 of the most advanced AI chips a year” to the UAE, one-fifth of which would go to Tahnoon’s company. Such sales had been sought by Tahnoon but blocked by the Biden administration out of concern that China might acquire the chips, with Tahnoon’s company “of particular concern” due to its “close ties to the sanctioned tech giant Huawei and other Chinese firms.”

Trump also pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the convicted founder of Binance, following “months of efforts by Zhao to boost” WLF. (Trump has denied even knowing who Zhao is.)

Tying it all together, Zhao is an Emirati citizen who is “close” to Tahnoon, Binance is based in the UAE and counts Tahnoon as a major investor, and “people close to the royal family urged the Trump administration to pardon Zhao.”

Fox contributor Andrew McCarthy, while accusing the Bidens of “corruptly profiteering off Joe Biden’s political power and influence,” nonetheless noted that the Trumps’ actions were worse by orders of magnitude.

“You know what the difference is between the Biden family business and the Trump family business?” he asked in a Saturday piece for National Review. “You’d have to add two digits to the sum of Biden abuses of power, foreign entanglements, and corruption alleged in the report to get near what Trump has raked in just from the UAE.”

Fox News’ rants about the “Biden crime family” perfectly describe Trumpian corruption

Hegseth is just one of several top Trump administration officials who participated in Fox’s yearslong campaign to turn conspiracy theories about Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings into a political corruption scandal for his father.

“The real story here though is all of the nasty work that he [Hunter Biden] has done across the world, how much money he has made, and the fact that he was able to make, what, $80,000 a month from Burisma in Ukraine because his dad was the vice president — it calls into question Joe Biden's motives,” Treasury Secretary Sean Duffy said back in 2022, when he was a Fox Business host. “Is Joe Biden looking out for the American people or is Joe Biden looking out for Hunter Biden's interests?”

As a Fox host, Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro railed against “the corruption that was going on in the Biden crime family” and Joe Biden’s purported efforts to “enrich his family.” And when she was asked about whether there was any “comparison” between what the Bidens did and Donald Trump’s businesses receiving millions of dollars from China while he was serving as president, Pirro stressed that there was not.

“Donald Trump wasn't involved in the business once he became president,” she explained. “The bottom line is he had properties. He was entitled to have someone else monitor those properties and make money from those properties.”

For then-Fox contributor Leo Terrell, now a top Justice Department official, Joe Biden was “the meal ticket for the family” who “makes the money for the Biden family,” and the lack of DOJ attention to Hunter Biden’s purported crimes indicated “favorable treatment because his father is in the White House.”

And when Pam Bondi was merely a lawyer and lobbyist who frequently appeared on Fox instead of an attorney general who frequently appeared on Fox, she argued that the foreign business dealings of the president’s son were “a matter of national security” that was “so important” that it required the appointment of a special prosecutor to ensure the Justice Department acted properly in the case.

They called for Biden’s prosecution; now they run the DOJ under Trump

Several Fox pundits who joined the Trump administration — including some who now serve in senior Justice Department posts — even argued at the time that Joe Biden’s actions warranted a criminal probe.

Fox host Sean Hannity asked Bondi — then a frequent Fox guest and now Trump’s attorney general — during an August 2023 segment whether anything would “ultimately happen to Joe and Hunter Biden.” Bondi replied that “when we have a new administration, absolutely Sean, it has to,” adding that a criminal investigation “must be opened” and that the Bidens would be “prosecuted” under a future Trump presidency.

Bondi also stressed in 2022 that if Trump had been president under the same circumstances, he would have “right away, recused himself” and had “a special prosecutor take over.”

Duffy argued that the FBI and Justice Department should be investigating the “shady” dealings to determine whether Joe Biden is “corrupt” and has “made money off of this.” But he claimed that “they won't do a forensic audit because they know that the money goes from foreign countries to Hunter Biden into Joe Biden's pocket.”

“There was a major scandal with this administration and it starts of course with Joe Biden and his involvement with Hunter,” Pirro said in 2023. Citing what she claimed was a ream of evidence that “just goes on and on,” she concluded, “You don't need any more than what we have now to convict them.”

And Terrell claimed in 2023 that an aspect of the pseudoscandal was “sinister and criminal,” adding that the “totality of all the evidence” showed that “the walls have fallen on Joe Biden.” He added that prosecutors were ignoring Hunter Biden’s crimes because if “you prosecute Hunter Biden, you prosecute Joe Biden,” and “everyone knows that the Department of Justice, the FBI is in bed with the Democratic Party and they have weaponized the departments.”

When media ignoring presidential corruption was a sign of “propaganda”

In his piece for National Review, McCarthy wrote, “Now that self-dealing has achieved heights so astronomical that $27 million would barely be a rounding error, Republicans have lost interest.” The same is true of his colleagues at Fox, who barely discussed Trump pardoning Zhao and still have yet to provide substantive coverage of the UAE’s “spy sheikh” purchasing a huge stake in the president’s company.

Why might that be? Hannity asked Pirro a similar question about coverage of the Bidens back in 2023. After she claimed that the Bidens were running an “organized criminal enterprise” in which “Joe Biden is the front man, Hunter Biden is the bag man,” he asked her why “the media” wouldn’t follow up on the story.

“Because they are Democrats,” she replied at the time. “We are now living in a country that is changed. These are crimes not just by the Bidens, these are crimes against America. This is what is going on in this country — and the truth is that they don't care anymore.”

Pirro is now the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

Some of her colleagues in the Trump administration offered similar critiques of coverage of the Biden family back when they worked at Fox.

“When will the media ramp up their scrutiny of Joe, of Hunter, of these payments, of these associations, of the whistleblowers, of the 1023s, of the WhatsApp messages, of the bank exchanges?” Hegseth asked in 2023. “We only know of this because of the House Republicans for a year and a half. What if the media actually examined it, too?”

The Bidens, Hegseth told Hannity, “are counting on a complicit press, which we’ve almost seen universal besides your show and this channel and a few others willing to dig into all the smoke that’s there.”

That purported lack of coverage, Duffy claimed, ensures that “people don’t look to mainstream media as a news source — they’re a propaganda source.”

MMA //

### Fox won’t tell viewers that the UAE bought off Trump

02/03/26 11:00 AM EST

### Another massive Trump corruption scandal for right-wing media to bury

09/16/25 12:15 PM EDT

### There’s finally evidence for right-wing claims of China corrupting a president

01/04/24

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politico

Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing

05/23/2025

The head of the federal antisemitism task force that has helmed the controversial crackdown on universities in recent months says his team plans to intensify its actions in the wake of the shooting that left two Israeli Embassy staffers dead in downtown Washington.

Leo Terrell, a former Democrat and Fox News contributor-turned Department of Justice senior counsel in the civil rights division, is the little-known figure behind the Trump administration’s efforts to target 10 academic institutions across the country over claims of antisemitism.

Included in the group of 10 institutions under scrutiny is Harvard, which the Trump administration has seemingly singled out by pulling back billions of dollars in federal funding and attempting to revoke its ability to enroll foreign students.

Tapped in January by President Donald Trump to serve as senior counsel to Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Justice Department, Terrell has since become an outspoken voice in the administration, heading up the department’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism. That task force has led the charge against academic institutions that the administration claims are enabling antisemitism.

Wednesday night’s shooting has upped the stakes for Terrell, giving him what he is casting as a mandate to intensify his team’s crackdown on academic institutions.

Speaking to the, Terrell said that the Trump administration will “magnify, multiply our efforts” to stop antisemitism.

“I recall the question that many people keep asking, ‘Are we too aggressive?’” Terrell said. “Here’s an example where we’re not aggressive. Two young people lost their lives and we got to make sure we do everything possible to stop the hate.”

Separately, in an interview with Israeli network N12 on Thursday, Terrell said the task force would “intensify all our activities.”

“We will chase after the campus inciters, and those that are here with a student visa — goodbye. You are here by grace, if you create a mess, crime or discrimination against Jews, you will find yourself outside. To the universities, expect more withdrawing of federal funding, or the withholding of all federal funding. All of it!” the task force chief said.

Through a Department of Justice spokesperson, Terrell declined to comment for this story.Before his job leading the charge against some of the country’s foremost academic institutions, Terrell was a Fox News contributor. That’s a role that he frequently reprises while in the administration, appearing on the network at least eight times since taking office, according to a tally from the liberal media watchdog Media Matters for America. He’s set to appear on Mark Levin’s Fox News show this Sunday.

Terrell, who had been a lifelong Democrat, made a dramatic about-face in 2020 when he announced that he planned to vote to reelect Donald Trump as president. In the nearly five years that followed, Terrell so successfully established himself as a conservative voice that Trump tapped him to serve in his current role as Dhillon’s senior counsel.

“Leo is a highly respected civil rights attorney and political analyst,” Trump said of him in January. “Leo will be a fantastic advocate for the American People, and ensure we will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

In addition to his regular cable TV hits, Terrell is an avid user of the social media platform X, where his posts have landed him in hot water multiple times.

Just a month after launching the task force to combat antisemitism, Terrell raised eyebrows for resharing a post by former head of the now-defunct American Identity Group, Patrick Casey, saying that “Trump has the ability to revoke someone’s Jew card” after the president called Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer “a Palestinian” and said “he’s not Jewish anymore.” The Anti-Defamation League has identified the American Identity Group as a white supremacist organization.

Terrell’s reshare drew condemnation from prominent Jewish voices, including Amy Spitalnick, the CEO of the progressive Jewish Council for Public Affairs, who bashed Terrell’s move, saying at the time: “This admin isn’t abt countering antisemitism, it’s abt exploiting it to attack democracy.”

Terrell also made waves last week after suggesting that former first lady Jill Biden should face criminal charges for “elder abuse,” saying she knew about her husband’s health challenges and chose to stay silent as he sought a second term in office.

“Elder Abuse! Criminal Charges??” Terrell wrote on X — commentary he reposted repeatedly.

Terrell’s promise this week to “intensify” his efforts comes as the Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, under his leadership, has taken aggressive action against universities across the country on the basis of reports of antisemitism on their campuses during last year’s student protests against Israel’s war on Gaza.

In a move that sent shockwaves through the academic community, the task force last month announced it would block Harvard University from receiving $2.2 billion in federal grants and $60 million in contracts after the university refused to capitulate to a set of demands outlined by the administration.

Harvard University President Alan M. Garber at the time said that the demands, which included changes to the university’s hiring, admissions and programming processes, infringed upon the institution’s constitutional rights. The university sued the administration over the funding cuts, launching a legal battle over the unprecedented move.

Last week, the administration informed Harvard that it would cut an additional $450 million in grants from eight federal agencies as the war between the school and the administration intensifies. And the administration also sought to revoke Harvard’s ability to enroll foreign students, something a federal judge quickly blocked on Friday.

Harvard isn’t the only school facing the administration’s ire. Terrell’s task force in February announced a list of 10 institutions that it planned to investigate for allegedly allowing antisemitism on their campuses. In addition to Harvard, the universities include: Columbia; George Washington; Johns Hopkins; New York University; Northwestern; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of Minnesota; and the University of Southern California.

“The Task Force’s mandate is to bring the full force of the federal government to bear in our effort to eradicate Anti-Semitism, particularly in schools,” Terrell said when announcing the schools.

*Daniella Cheslow contributed to this report.

===

LAT

Trump lawyer says U.S. plans to sue UC over antisemitism allegations

Leo Terrell, who heads a multiagency task force on antisemitism, said there will be “massive lawsuits against [the] UC system” and other colleges. (Win McNamee / Getty Images)

By Jaweed Kaleem

Staff Writer

:{May 27, 2025

A Trump official said the administration intends to sue UC over antisemitism allegations.

Leo Terrell, of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, said there will be “massive lawsuits” against UC and other colleges.

A UC spokesperson said the university “abhors antisemitism and is diligently working to address, counter and eradicate it in all its forms across the system.”

A Justice Department official spearheading President Trump’s battle against Harvard University — which has led to multiple lawsuits and the school losing billions in federal funding — says the administration intends to take the University of California to court over alleged antisemitism.

Leo Terrell, senior counsel for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, is heading a multiagency task force on combating antisemitism and said in a Fox News interview Tuesday that there will be “massive lawsuits against [the] UC system” and other colleges “on the East Coast, on the West Coast, in the Midwest.”...

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Trump escalates confrontation with Harvard by moving to cut all federal ties; University of California next in crosshairs as McMahon issues warning to higher education.

:{Harvard University held its commencement this week under a ‘cloud of fear and uncertainty’ following new attacks from the Trump Administration. After last week’s legal setback in the Administration’s attempt to purge Harvard of international students, Trump stepped up his confrontation with the Ivy League university this week by directing federal agencies to cancel all contracts with the institution, totaling around $100 million. The State Department also announced this week that it will be reviewing all Harvard-affiliated visa holders, not just students but also visiting scholars, faculty, and all foreign nationals working at the institution. In a court filing this week, Harvard’s counsel warned that some international students were afraid of attending commencement due to deportation threats. On Monday, May 26, Trump announced on Truth Social that he is considering taking $3 billion of grant money awarded to Harvard for scientific and engineering research and redirecting it to trade schools.

During an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, May 28, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated that “Universities should continue to be able to do research as long as they’re abiding by the laws and are in sync, I think, with the administration and what the administration is trying to accomplish.”

:{:{ This week, the Department of Justice announced that it would extend its ‘antisemitism probe’ beyond the Ivy League, targeting the 10-campus University of California system; task force leader Leo Terrell warned that the UC system should expect “massive lawsuits” and that other universities “on the East Coast, the West Coast, and the Midwest” could be similarly targeted. }:

Jason Stanley, a fascism scholar who left Yale for Canada in March over Trump policies, said in a new interview with MSNBC this week that Trump’s attacks on the ‘crown jewel’ of U.S. higher education will ‘go from bad to worse’ and that ‘all dictators smash universities’. The Atlantic considers the attack on universities in the context of Trump Administration’s other cuts in public health, science, libraries and arts as an ‘attack on knowledge itself’ threatening to plunge the U.S. into a ‘new dark age’.}:}:

mma 1 17 25

President-elect Donald Trump has selected former Fox News contributor Leo Terrell, who has a history of attacking the Department of Justice and denying the existence of systemic racism in the U.S., to serve in the civil rights division of the DOJ.

As a contributor at Fox News, Terrell repeatedly downplayed or denied the existence of racism, including by declaring that “systemic racism doesn’t exist” and saying that critical race theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs should be “banished under Trump's Administration.”

Terrell also has a history of attacking the Department of Justice, including demanding that “everyone in the DOJ must be fired,” as well as calling the department “compromised” and “in bed with the Democratic Party.”

{Trump tapped Fox contributor Leo Terrell for a civil rights position at the Department of Justice}:

- On January 9, Donald Trump nominated Fox News contributor Leo Terrell to serve as senior counsel to incoming assistant attorney general for civil rights Harmeet Dhillon at the Department of Justice. Terrell would work directly under Dhillon and joins a growing list of administration picks who previously worked at Fox News. Politico, [1/9/25]

- As a Fox News contributor, Terrell campaigned against civil rights protections and argued that systemic racism against nonwhite people “does not exist.” Terrell has also criticized many of the efforts to hold Trump legally accountable, calling special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s handling of classified materials “politically motivated” and smearing Trump's New York hush money trial as “a political trial.” Media Matters, [1/10/25]

## Terrell has an extensive history of downplaying and denying racism in the U.S.

- Terrell said that “systemic racism doesn't exist, except in the minds of Democrats.” Terrell also argued that “Democrats exploit Black Americans for one reason — for power” and “use Black Americans for power and control.” Fox News, *Hannity*, [5/16/22]

- On Hannity’s radio show, Terrell insisted that systemic racism does not exist because it was “eliminated” after the Voting Rights Act. He stated, “There is no systemic racism in this country. That is a term they keep throwing out every day,” and added, “That's a 1950, 1960s term. It's been eliminated since the Voting Rights Act, Civil Rights Act, Fair Housing Act. They use this as a race card.” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Sean Hannity Show, 7/30/21]

- On Fox Business’Mornings with Maria, Terrell stated that “systemic racism does not exist in this country.” Terrell made the argument while discussing immigration, arguing that “Democrats are in a 1965 playbook.” Fox Business, *Mornings with Maria*, [10/18/24]

- On his podcast, Terrell offered an emphatic “no” in response to the question, “Do we have systemic racism in this country?”He added, “We do not have systemic racism. We do not have institutionalized racism.” KABC, *Leo Terrell: America’s Fair Minded Civil Rights Attorney*, [4/12/21]

- Terrell said that he would “make sure #DEI and Critical Race Theory are banished under Trump's Administration!”Twitter/X, [11/6/24]

- On Fox, Terrell called “systemic discrimination” a “buzz term” and a “con” while discussing the fallout from the 2020 George Floyd protests. Terrell stated: “Any type of homicide involving a Black person they're going to call racism. … Systemic discrimination is a buzz term used by them, and it does not apply. This is just a con.” Fox News, *Bill Hemmer Reports*, [9/10/20]

## Terrell has attacked the DOJ and its investigations

- Terrell declared that “everyone in the DOJ must be fired” in response to a post from Kimberly Guilfoyle about DOJ staffers quitting after the 2024 presidential election. He added that “no exceptions” should be made for DOJ staff firings, “including paralegals and secretaries!” Twitter/X, [11/10/24]

- Terrell said that there had been “a targeted approach to go after President Trump” by the DOJ and that “the Department of Justice is compromised … totally compromised.” Terrell also claimed that the department has “let Joe Biden and his son slow-walk any criminal prosecution.” Fox News, *Fox & Friends*, [1/10/23]

- Weeks before the 2024 election Terrell called the DOJ’s attempts to hold Trump legally accountable “the definition of insanity” and a “weaponization of the legal system.” He also said that if Trump wins, Jack Smith “is probably going to need legal representation.” Fox News, *Hannity*, [10/18/24]

- Terrell claimed the Biden DOJ “is not fair” and that “Lady Justice is looking through that blindfold.” During a discussion about the DOJ suing Virginia over noncitizens being removed from voter rolls, Terrell said, “This Department of Justice is the most political Department of Justice ever,” later adding, “Everyone knows that this Department of Justice is not fair. It is not impartial. Lady Justice is looking through that blindfold.” Fox News, *America Reports*, [10/21/24]

- Terrell suggested that Hunter Biden and Joe Biden had not been prosecuted because “the Department of Justice, the FBI is in bed with the Democratic Party.” Discussing investigations into Hunter Biden, Terrell said: “Everyone knows that the Department of Justice, the FBI is in bed with the Democratic Party, and they have weaponized the departments.” Fox News, *America Reports*, [8/28/23]

- Terrell claimed that the Department of Justice had created a “double standard for Republicans and Democrats” and was engaging in “selective prosecution.” He added that “the Department of Justice has been weaponized, there is no question about it.” Fox News, *The Faulkner Focus*, [6/18/24]

- Terrell declared that “the Constitution is an obstacle for the Democrats, the Department of Justice.” He said, “The Democrats do not want the Constitution in existence. Attacking Catholics? First Amendment freedom of religion? And they’re saying, ‘We don't care.’ The Constitution is an obstacle for the Democrats, the Department of Justice, Christopher Wray, Merrick Garland. And they basically want to politicize the federal government. This election is so critical because we need to find out what actually is going in. We need more whistle-blowers. We need more investigations.” Fox News, *The Faulkner Focus*, [8/25/23]

mma

trump nominates anti-civil rights Fox contributor Leo Terrell for DOJ civil rights position

Terrell has a long history of arguing against civil rights protections, declaring that “systemic racism does not exist” and claiming “the extreme left has declared war on white Americans”

Written by Courtney Hagle & Bushra Sultana

Published 01/10/25 mma

President-elect Donald Trump announced Fox News contributor Leo Terrell will join the Justice Department as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights, Harmeet Dhillon. Terrell has a long history of campaigning against civil rights protections, arguing that systemic racism against nonwhite people “does not exist” and that the “extreme left has declared war on white Americans and white police officers.”

Terrell also repeatedly defended Trump on Fox airwaves, saying that the judge in Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial is “compromised” and “should have been recused” and claiming that there was “nothing wrong” with Trump’s conduct when he tried to pressure Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” thousands of votes supporting him in the 2020 election after Trump lost the state.

### Discussions of race, civil rights, and affirmative action

In 2023, Terrell said “systemic racism does not exist” and that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. “wouldn't accept critical race theory, 1619 Project, all this division of hatred.” Terrell added: “I'm telling you systemic racism does not exist in any segment of this country. … Democrats will not let go of the systemic racism card because if they do, they will not have a party.” Fox News, *America Reports*, [8/28/23]

- In 2020, Terrell compared Black Lives Matter to the Islamic State group, saying, “Black Lives Matter antifa is going to grow like ISIS did in the Middle East.” Fox News, *Hannity*, [11/23/20]

- Terrell claimed “reverse discrimination” was the reason the Atlanta police officer who killed Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old Black man, was charged with murder. Terrell called it the “elephant in the room” and said, “Do you honestly believe that if those officers were Black these charges would be filed?” Fox News, *Hannity*, [6/18/20; The New York Times, 11/21/22]

- Terrell claimed that “the left has weaponized race” and “basically declared war on white people.”Terrell said that “if you are a person of color and you don't become part of their group, you're a sellout. I'm glad to be a sellout because they're crazy.” Fox News, *Hannity*, [11/19/21]

- During the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, Terrell attacked “DEI nonsense that … LA Fire Department chief supports.” Terrell continued, “To have DEI, to have social justice in the fire department, this is ridiculous,” and baselessly claimed that the LAFD has “no intention of putting out these fires.” Fox News, *Hannity*, [1/8/25]

- After Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee in 2024, Terrell wrote that “Kamala is the choice of the DEI Party.” He also described the Democrats as the “Race Card Party,” “Affirmative Action Party,” and the “Critical Race Party.” Twitter/X, [7/21/24]

- Terrell celebrated that the Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision blocking affirmative action in college admissions will “have a powerful effect on minimizing wokeness throughout this country.” Fox News, *The Faulkner Focus*, [6/29/23; NPR, 6/29/23]

- Terrell defended Daniel Penny, a white former Marine, after he killed Jordan Neely, a Black man who was homeless, on the New York subway: “This is nothing more than a left-wing political ploy honestly, in my opinion, because of the ethnicity of the Marine.” “Let's give you my professional legal opinion of 30-plus years. There was no intent on this Marine to kill, to harm. He did it to restrain,” Terrell said. “There is no intent and that Marine is a hero.” Fox News, *Fox & Friends*, [5/9/23; USA Today, 5/13/23]

- In 2020, Terrell said, “We got to stop this race war the Democrats are perpetuating and we have to get back to common sense.” He concluded: “For this election, there's only one man who can solve this problem and that's Donald J. Trump.” Fox News, *Hannity*, [8/18/20]

- After Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty by a jury, Terrell claimed he was “very glad that justice prevailed,” adding, “I think Kyle Rittenhouse should never have been charged.” He added, “The only people who would be upset are those who have a hidden agenda outside the rule of law.” The then-18-year-old was on trial for fatally shooting two people during the 2020 unrest in Wisconsin. Fox News, [11/19/21; NPR, 11/19/21]

- In 2021, Terrell told Fox’s Sean Hannity that “the extreme left has declared war on white Americans and white police officers, and the Democratic leadership will not say a word because they are in bed with the extreme left.” Fox News, [4/23/21]

### Attacks on immigrants

After United HealthCare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in New York City last December, Terrell tried to suggest the killer was an undocumented immigrant. “New York City is a sanctuary city,” Terrell said. “We don't know his ethnicity, we don't know his legal status. There's a lot of other questions that the prosecution and district attorney is going to have to feather out.” Fox News, *The Faulkner Focus*, [12/4/24]

- OnAmerica’s Newsroom, Terrell claimed that the Biden administration is “importing criminals.” Terrell said, “Every policy that Trump had in place was working, but this open border policy has basically allowed American women and men to be subject to criminal attacks by illegal aliens.” Fox News, *America’s Newsroom*, [7/3/24]

- Terrell said states should “declare an invasion” because “the Biden administration is doing absolutely nothing” to secure the border. Fox News, *Fox & Friends Weekend*, [9/17/22]

### Defending Trump’s lawsuits and election lies

Terrell repeatedly attacked the judge in Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial, calling Judge Juan Merchan “compromised,” and stating, “He should have been recused from this case. He was placed in this position to inflict this type of political damage to Trump.” He added, “Very simply, the judge is hostile to President Trump, he has a dislike towards President Trump, and I’ll tell you right now, the fix is in.” Media Matters, [5/8/24]

- Criticizing the special counsel in Trump’s classified documents case, Terrell claimed that “Jack Smith is having a temper tantrum.” “Jack Smith is obsessed with going to trial before the election,” Terrell said. “He wants a federal conviction — that’s why he was brought in on this case.” He later said that the charges against Trump are “politically motivated” in order to “get a conviction against President Trump before November 2024.” Fox News, *The Faulkner Focus*, [4/4/24]

- Terrell said Trump’s New York hush money trial “is a political trial designed to hurt Trump's chances in November, claiming, “President Trump is being prosecuted because he’s running for office.”Media Matters, [6/10/24]

- Terrell defended Trump’s efforts to pressure Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” votes in the 2020 election after he lost the state.Terrell claimed: “There is nothing wrong with saying over the phone, ‘Hey, I need to find 11,000 votes.’ That's not criminal. That's just speech.” Fox News, *The Faulkner Focus*, [8/15/23; The New York Times, 1/3/21]

mma

Hannity, Fox News contributor Leo Terrell attacked “DEI nonsense that that LA Fire Department chief supports,” and he baselessly claimed that the LAFD has “no intention of putting out these fires.” Fox News, *Hannity*, [1/8/25]

===

politico

another Fox News alum invited to join the new Trump administration

The president-elect has chosen Leo Terrell for a spot in the DOJ civil rights division.

Myah Ward

01/09/2025,

Donald Trump has picked Fox News contributor Leo Terrell to serve as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Justice Department, Harmeet K. Dhillon.

Trump said Terrell, a civil rights attorney and talk radio host in California, will work closely alongside Dhillon, a former vice chair of the California GOP who represented the state on the Republican National Committee.

The president-elect also announced that former Nevada Senate candidate Sam Brown would be taking a position at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Trump called Terrell a “highly respected civil rights attorney and political analyst” and said in a statement Thursday that he will be a “fantastic advocate for the American People.”

Fox News said Terrell’s contributor contract was terminated after the announcement was made.

Fox contributors set to join the new administration also include Tammy Bruce, Trump’s pick for State Department spokesperson, and Pete Hegseth, his choice to lead the Pentagon.

The president-elect also announced Thursday that he was tapping Brown to be undersecretary for memorial affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Brown, a Purple Heart recipient with a captivating personal story, narrowly lost the Nevada Senate race to incumbent Democrat Jacky Rosen in November.

“He fearlessly proved his love for our Country in the Army, while leading Troops in battle in Afghanistan and, after being honorably retired as a Captain, helping our Veterans get access to emergency medications,” Trump said in a statement. “Sam will now continue his service to our Great Nation at the VA, where he will work tirelessly to ensure we put America’s Veterans FIRST, and remember ALL who served.”

Lead Art: Trump said Terrell, a civil rights attorney and talk radio host in California, will work closely alongside Dhillon, a former vice chair of the California GOP who represented the state on the Republican National Committee. |

===

1 25

some talk by rw wackos Talk:Leo Terrell - Wikipedia

leo Terrell (born February 1, 1955) is an American civil rights attorney and talk radio host based in Los Angeles, California. He has frequently appeared on Fox News programs, such as Hannity and The O'Reilly Factor. Previously a Democrat, in a July 2020 interview, he declared his support for President Donald Trump—the first time he declared support for a Republican Party presidential candidate.^[1]

Referring to his new self as "Leo 2.0", Terrell says that he is a happier person as a Republican.^[2] On January 9, 2025, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to appoint Terrell as Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division in the United States Department of Justice.^[3]

Education

Terrell graduated from Gardena High School in Harbor Gateway, Los Angeles, in 1972^[4] and California State University, Dominguez Hills in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.^[5] He was the student body president while at Gardena High.^[4] Terrell taught high school history, geography and economics at Gage Middle School in Huntington Park, California. He holds a master's degree in education from Pepperdine University and earned a Juris Doctor from the UCLA School of Law.^[6]

Radio career

With former Los Angeles Superior Court judge Burton Katz, Terrell co-hosted the weekday talk show Terrell & Katz that debuted on June 3, 1996, on KMPC radio in Los Angeles. Terrell & Katz was a point-counterpoint program with Terrell as the liberal voice and Katz the conservative.^[7][8] Starting October 5, 1996, Terrell and Katz moved to weekends on KABC.^[9] Terrell continued to host a weekend legal show on KABC until August 15, 2010, and continues to be a recurring guest host for KABC's The Peter Tilden Show.^[10] As of July 2021, Leo has returned to KABC with a new daily afternoon drive show called Leo 2.0 Live @ 5.^[11]

As of June 3, 2023, Leo Terrell is no longer employed @ KABC AM 790 talk radio station per business website and Leo Terrell’s personal Twitter account (last day employed: 6/02/23).

Legal career

On December 4, 1990, Terrell became a member of the State Bar of California.^[12]

He was the Chairman of the Black-Korean Alliance, an Advisory Board Member for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and a member of the Statewide Commission Against Hate Crimes.^[6] Terrell wrote the book Your Rights at the Workplace--The Things Your Boss Won't Tell You in 1998.^[13]

Terrell became a member of the NAACP in 1990 and did pro bono legal work for the organization. After Terrell expressed support for Carolyn Kuhl, a Los Angeles County judge nominated by President George W. Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit whose nomination was filibustered in the U.S. Senate, he left the NAACP and accused the organization of "bullying" him out. NAACP Washington, D.C. office director Hilary O. Shelton responded: "He’s not an NAACP lawyer, not even a former NAACP lawyer. He’s done volunteer work for us, which we appreciate. But when he takes a position that is diametrically opposite from our position, he’s not speaking for us."^[14]

Terrell has provided legal and political commentary on TV and radio programs such as Nightline, Larry King Live, Hannity & Colmes, The O'Reilly Factor, Today, Good Morning America, and various radio programs.^[6] A family friend of O. J. Simpson, Terrell provided expert legal commentary about Simpson's civil trial.^[15][16]

In 2003, Terrell ran for the seat of District 10 on the Los Angeles City Council and came in fifth place among seven candidates.^[17]

Notable cases

In 1995, Terrell represented Kumasi Simmons, a former football player from Centennial High School in Compton expelled for hitting a referee. Simmons accused the referee of using racial epithets.^[18][19] Terrell accused the Beverly Hills Police Department of intimidating witnesses who could back up Simmons's claim.^[20]

In 1999, Terrell called on the Los Angeles police commission to hear witnesses who claimed that a homeless woman, Margaret Laverne Mitchell, was running when police officers shot her.^[21]

In 2012, Terrell called for an investigation of misconduct by trainees of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.^[22]

References

^ "Leo Terrell: The Democratic Party left me". Fox News. 17 July 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
^ "KABC host Leo Terrell takes on new role with Fox News Media – Daily News". Los Angeles Daily News. 16 February 2021.
^ "Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)". Truth Social. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
^ Jump up to:^a ^b(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Terrell#cite_ref-:0_4-1) "BOYS' LEAGUE PRESENTS 6TH ANNUAL CAR SHOW - BOY POWER ... 400 STRONG". 72GHS.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
^ "Distinguished Alumni". CSU Dominguez Hills. Archived from the original on August 23, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
^ Jump up to:^a ^b(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Terrell#cite_ref-kabc_6-1) ^c(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Terrell#cite_ref-kabc_6-2) "Leo James Terrell - Bio". TalkRadio 790 KABC-AM. Archived from the original on 2009-06-21. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
^ "TV/radio". The Los Angeles Times. June 3, 1996. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
^ Jones, Robert A. (September 25, 1996). "The CIA, Drugs and the Divide" (PDF). Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
^ "Television/radio". Los Angeles Times. October 1, 1996. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
^ "Leo Terrell podcast". KABC-AM. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
^ "On-Air". KABC-AM. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
^ "State Bar of California Attorney Profile: Leo James Terrell". State Bar of California. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
^ "Working rights". Black Enterprise. December 1, 1998. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
^ Hurt, Charles (August 7, 2003). "Civil rights lawyer quits NAACP in rift over judge pick". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on December 19, 2005.
^ "Can O.J. Simpson win again?", Jet, vol. 89, no. 15, Johnson Publishing Company, p. 55, February 26, 1996
^ Price, Richard; Holland, Gale (February 11, 1997). "Among O.J.'s options: Evasion". USA Today. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
^ "City of Los Angeles, Party Nominating & Consolidated Election, Official election results, March 4, 2003" (PDF). City of Los Angeles. March 17, 2003. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
^ Hodges, Jim (November 1, 1995). "Simmons 'Terminated' From School District". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
^ Shepard, Eric (December 7, 1995). "'Whitewash' Charge in CIF Probe". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
^ "Lawyer Claims Police Tried To Bully High-School Player". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. November 4, 1995. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
^ Browne, Phillip W. (December 8, 1999). "Doubt cast on report of shooting suspect". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
^ Moore, Corey (January 10, 2012). "Civil rights attorney calls on LA County authorities to investigate officer misconduct". KPCC. Retrieved August 8, 2012.

Bibliography

Terrell, Leo James (1998). Your Rights at the Workplace: The Things Your Boss Won't Tell You. Los Angeles, California: Leo Terrell Enterprises. ISBN 0966582802.

External links

Leo Terrell at IMDb

Categories:

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ggl 1 25

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LeoTerrell (@TheLeoTerrell) / X

X · TheLeoTerrell

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Fair Minded @foxnews Contributor, Podcast Host, Civil Rights Attorney, Author, Fmr School Teacher. https://t.co/OCMYXgXIzA.

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2:48

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