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What We Know with Max Foster
Dems Stand By VA AG Candidate Despite Text Scandal; Key Races To Watch As Election Day Nears; Pirro: Suspect Charged In Former DOGE Staffer Attack; New Charges In Former DOGE Staffer Attack In D.C.; Israel Accuses Hamas Of Violating Ceasefire Deal. Aired 3-4pm ET
Aired October 20, 2025 - 15:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SANDRA SMITH, FOX NEWS CHANNEL ANCHOR: Thanks for joining us. I'm Sandra Smith.
JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHANNEL ANCHOR: Go of course spelled G-E-A-U-X. I'm John Roberts. Be sure to follow our social media accounts for all things
America reports. "THE STORY" with Aisha in for Martha starts right now.
AISHAH HASNIE, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, John and Sandra. Good afternoon, everybody out there. I'm Aishah Hasnie in for Martha
MacCallum today and this is THE STORY.
Any moment now, U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro will be making a big announcement and we are told it involves the August assault on a former
DOGE staffer right here in Washington. As we await that news conference, the chair of the DNC is standing by one of the party's Senate hopefuls out
in Maine. Reports that Graham Platner does not deny, but now denounces, show that he disparaged cops on Reddit in 2021 and called white rural
Americans racist and stupid. DNC Chair Ken Martin says the comments are not right but not disqualifying.
Meantime, in Virginia, with just over two weeks until election day there, Democrats sticking with their attorney general pick, Jay Jones, despite
those past texts involving violence against a GOP lawmaker and his family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTEN WELKER, ANCHOR, NBC NEWS: Senator, should Jay Jones drop out of this race?
SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): No, he shouldn't, Kristen. Those texts, private texts with a colleague, cannot be defended. They cannot be defended. But
Jay Jones has apologized earnestly. The Republicans knew about these texts for years. They waited until the ballot was printed. And they waited until
hundreds of thousands of people had already voted beginning on September 19th.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HASNIE: Our Correspondent Alexandria Hoff is reporting live for us from Fairfax, Virginia. Hi, Alex.
ALEXANDRIA HOFF, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Aishah. Good to be with you. Now, current attorney general, Jason Miyares, he is running
against Jones and he says that these text messages have truly changed the dynamic of this race, especially for the position that Jones is vying for.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON MIYARES (R-VA), GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I can't imagine somebody in this job where your number one job as attorney general is to stop violence,
and then be somebody that advocates for violence against a political opponent or advocate for it for their children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOFF: So, no elected Democrat has called for Jones to drop out. That is nationwide. Here is more from Senator Kaine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAINE: I think this single text exchange that he had with a colleague was very out of character for him and that's why I continue to support him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOFF: Now, this has made waves. President Trump weighing in on Air Force One this weekend. Listen.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've never seen anybody say what he said, that he wanted to kill his opponent's children. He wanted to
kill his opponent. No, I can't imagine anybody voted for Jay Jones. Look, you would think he's totally discredited. I would think he wouldn't even be
allowed to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOFF: Well, the President in that also calling Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears an excellent candidate for the Commonwealth's top spot. He has
so far stopped short of a full-on endorsement. Now, Earel-Sears is running against former Democratic Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger for governor.
Spanberger has condemned Jones's text messages but has remained silent on calls for him to leave the race.
This as Earle-Sears is fighting off another attack viewed as racist on her after a man shouted at the Jamaica native at a football game this weekend
to "go back to Haiti." In May, a protester targeted Earle-Sears with a sign depicting Jim Crow era segregationist imagery to oppose her defending
female-only changing rooms. Earle-Sears writing yesterday, "I've been called names no one should ever hear, and I've watched people hold racist
signs meant to shame me. And because I have an R next to my name, few care, but I am no victim.
She goes on to say she is going to ring -- win this race. And James Madison University where that incident took place, they have said that that person,
that individual responsible is not allowed back. Aishah?
HASNIE: OK, Alex Hoff live for us. Thank you, Alex.
Let's bring in Jason Miller, former Trump campaign senior adviser, and Kevin Walling, former Biden 2020 campaign surrogate and partner at
HGCreative. Thank you both, gentlemen, for joining me. Don't you miss the campaign trail?
KEVIN WALLING, FORMER BIDEN 2020 CAMPAIGN SURROGATE: It's -- we're headed - - heading into it two weeks out I guess, right?
HASNIE: Also, not a boring midcycle election whatsoever. It feels like, Kevin, every single day there is some new Democrat that has a problem. It's
a problem for the party. It becomes a national news story. And now we got this guy in Maine running for Senate who said some pretty nasty things
about cops, about white people in America. So, what's going on here?
WALLING: Certainly not helpful. My advice to anyone running, Republican or Democrat, is check what you've tweeted out in the past, even -- especially
if it's just been in the last couple of years. Listen, we know threats of political violence have more than doubled in the last five years directed
towards elected officials. Anyone running should set that example for the American people. We know how dangerous rhetoric in the hands of someone who
is unstable can do real harm to real Americans.
I wrote an op-ed after Charlie Kirk was assassinated calling to tone down that rhetoric. That be a lesson for all of us. And we need to call it out
on our side. I joined, you know, Bret Baier the day of those Jay Jones text messages and called for him to come out of that race, to drop out.
Democrats have a responsibility to call it out on our side. We can't just say --
HASNIE: But did not.
WALLING: This Democrat is --
HASNIE: I mean, Tim Kaine is the one (INAUDIBLE)
WALLING: This Democrat certainly is.
HASNIE: Jason, I want to ask you about this because it's not just the politicians. It's trickling down to people. You had this dad at a football
game, was supposed to be there watching his son at the -- at the SMU game, was supposed to be watching his son play on the field. Instead, he's
yelling at the gubernatorial candidate for the Republican Party in Virginia. He says, "Go back to Haiti." This is at Winsome Earle-Sears.
She's not from Haiti, by the way.
Isn't that -- wasn't this supposed to be the party of good vibes and positivity and inclusion and all of that? What -- what's going on here?
JASON MILER, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISOR: Well, I think the reality is that Democrats have lost their way as a party and they don't
know who they are, what they actually stand for. And the problem is that it's not just the rhetoric. The problem is it's manifesting itself with the
way people act. We've seen these horrific acts of violence, whether it be what happened with Charlie Kirk's assassination or the attempted
assassinations, both of them, against President Trump. It's got to stop.
It's got -- and the fact that Democrat leaders have not called out the Jay Jones or even the Zohran Mamdani posing with a radical cleric who is the
unindicted co-conspirator of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. I mean, these are some really outliers that I think the Democratic Party has to
stand up and say something about because if they don't, then people go out and take it to that next level. And it's really becoming a problem.
HASNIE: By the way, that was at JMU here in Virginia, not SMU. I want to read this memo that the DNC Chair sent out to Democrats. It was very
optimistic considering what's going -- what we're watching here at some of these races. He said, "Democrats are overperforming in key elections in
warning sign for the GOP. Republicans know they're in trouble. That's why they're releasing faulty polls in contradiction with independent polling,
lying about their opponents, and not campaigning with Donald Trump. Democrats, on the other hand, are in a strong position. Generic balloting
for the 2026 midterms consistently shows Democrats ahead of their Republican counterparts."
However, if you look at what's happening in Jersey, if we can pull this poll up, Mikie Sherrelli, I mean, is in a very -- Mikie Sherrill is in a
very tight race with Jack Ciattarelli right now. And it's interesting what's happening here because you can tell that Ken Martin is worried about
this particular race.
WALLING: Well, certainly, Democrats worry all the time until those ballots are counted. But I will point out, and what Ken says, the chairman, Martin,
says in that piece, is in the last 40 special elections, Democrats have either won or overperformed in 39 of those elections. So, we are incredibly
hopeful both in Virginia, we're going to flip the governor's mansion from Glenn Youngkin to Abigail Spanberger, and of course hold on to that
governor's mansion in Trent, New Jersey with Mikie Sherrill. Our own Fox polling had her up even higher at eight points. And again, let's also
remember --
HASNIE: These are supposed to be landslide victories for them.
WALLING: Not necessarily landslides. You know, her predecessor, you know, the current Governor of New Jersey, only won over Jack Ciattarelli by three
points last cycle. So, let's keep everything in perspective. It's gotten tighter. Certainly, Donald Trump is cutting in the margins of New Jersey. I
grew up in New Jersey. It's almost kind of going to become more of a bellwether state. But I'm confident that Mikie Sherrill will win on
election day and so will Abigail Spanberger.
HASNIE: Jason, I got to ask you about that because you were on the trail with the President. I was there too in New Jersey as he was bringing out
voters that had never voted for a Republican before, made a lot of inroads with the Hispanic vote there in Democratic districts. Is that going to play
for Ciattarelli?
MILLER: Absolutely. And Ciattarelli is a good candidate. I think he's closing very strong with this race. So, New Jersey it will come down to the
wire. I think in Virginia, I know who's definitely not going to win. That would be Jay Jones, a Democrat candidate for attorney general, who by the
way has completely disqualified himself. He wouldn't even pass a background check to have that position if he was going into law enforcement. Whether
or not that will ultimately help Republicans win at the very top of the ticket for the gubernatorial side, we'll see how that comes together.
But the one thing I will say is keep in mind around the corner into the midterms, voters still trust President Trump on the economy and to secure
the border. As that starts to move back around, I feel good about the Republicans next year.
HASNIE: It's so interesting. I'm also so wildly fascinated by this New York mayoral race because it is getting close now and people are saying that
even if Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate, even if he drops out, it's still going to be a very, very tight race. If we can play this montage from
the candidates today.
Actually, we're going to go to some breaking news. We've got U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro. She's giving us an update right now on the assault
of a former DOGE staffer. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANINE PIRRO, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR D.C.: -- attempted carjacking in a highly publicized case where two young men were brutally assaulted and stomped,
highlighting the need for accountability among young offenders in the district. This case underscores the escalating challenges that we face in
confronting crime in Washington, D.C.
On August 3rd of 2025 at about 2:53 a.m. Sunday morning at the U Street corridor and 14th Street, which is a very popular hangout -- nightlife area
essentially. Ethan Levine, a 22-year-old, and several of his friends were standing outside a Sunoco gas station. They were approached by a large
group of teens, individuals who confronted them and began to assault them.
Today, we are announcing that Lawrence Cotton-Powell who is 19 years of age along with Anthony Taylor who is 18 years of age are now charged with
assaulting Levine. Cotton-Powell was stomping on Levine's head as you can see in this poster to my left. Levine was able to get up momentarily but
the crowd chased him and got him down again. They continued to attack Levine while he was on the ground, and then proceeded to rob him of his
sneakers and his watch.
The group then after the robbery and assault of Ethan Levine, they walked in the direction of where another crime occurred within minutes. You have
heard of this crime. Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old DOGE person who was working in the administration, was walking a young woman to her car when he
was approached in the 1400 block of Swan Street Northwest. Approximately 10 suspects approached him and as they did, he pushed the young woman into the
car that -- and he was protecting her from the group before he was then attacked by multiple suspects who then punched him repeatedly causing
significant injuries to him.
They got him on the ground. And as they were doing so, they demanded the car from the woman who was inside the car and had already locked the car.
They were banging on the car. They were pulling the car door trying to get the car open and were telling the woman in the car to hand over the keys.
And the woman was, as I said, able to lock the car door so they were unable to gain entry.
And it was fortuitous that someone from the Metropolitan Police Department was on patrol. He happened to pull onto the block, and he witnessed the
suspects actually assaulting Coristine who was on the ground lying next to the car. The juveniles fled, but within a short period of time, two 15-
year-olds were arrested and they were taken into the family court by the attorney general's office. That is the local attorney general's office.
Now, I think what's significant about this case is the history of Lawrence Cotton-Powell. I want you to -- I want you to follow me on this. Lawrence
Cotton-Powell is 19 years of age. He's now charged with robbery, first- degree robbery, for which he faces 15 years in prison. He also faces a charge of assault with intent to commit robbery, another 15 years, and
robbery for Edward Coristine, 15 years, assault with intent to commit robbery, another 15 years, and attempted carjacking, five years.
Now let me tell you his background. On April 3rd of this year, Lawrence Cotton-Powell was sentenced for a felony attempted robbery. My office asked
for jail time. Judge McLean, a judge sitting in the criminal part in superior court, with no criminal background, made a decision to give
Cotton-Powell probation in spite of his conviction on a felony attempted robbery. Within 31 days, by May 4th, Powell reoffends. He's rearrested
while he's on probation from the felony, and he's charged with simple assault and possession of a prohibited weapon B. On May 4th, my office
asked that probation be revoked. But on May 16th, that same Judge McLean comes back and releases Cotton-Powell and tells him basically, be a good
boy.
On July 24th, he is sentenced to one of the two misdemeanors that he's charged with. Again, my office asked for jail time after he victimized yet
another person, and on July 25th, another judge that suspends his sentence and decides that he should be on probation.
So, after a felony of attempted robbery conviction, after a violation of probation, after a second crime, after a second conviction, after no
compliance with CSOSA, the judges say, do better, and they let him go. And guess what? Within 10 days, he is at it again with Ethan Levine and Edward
Coristine.
Now, the co-defendant in this case is an individual by the name of Anthony Taylor. He charged also with the same arrest. He is from -- with the same
crimes. He is from Maryland. He is 18 years old. We are unaware of any history as it relates to him.
I want to thank the Metropolitan Police Department. I want to thank the fact that this department went above and beyond and worked incredibly hard
with the little evidence that we had to identify two of the perpetrators that we're going to be able to prosecute in criminal court.
And I want to mention and thank the chief, and I also want to thank Mayor Bowser for her assistance in helping us. This is a coordinated effort by
all of us.
I also want to thank the marshals who are here, and they will be speaking to you in a minute, but I again urge the D.C. council to reconsider those
trilogy of laws that allow Washington, D.C., to allow these young people to go out and victimize, re-victimize and keep re-victimizing, and putting the
safety of the citizens who live, work, and visit here at risk.
And I asked them to stand up finally and send a clear message, because the people of this district deserve no less than safety.
So, I want to call upon the police chief, Pamela Smith, to say a few words.
PAMELA SMITH, CHIEF OF POLICE, METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT: All right. Thank you, Judge Pirro.
Good afternoon. I'm Pamela A. Smith, chief of police for the Metropolitan Police Department. I'm joined today by Commander Kevin Kentish of our
Criminal Investigations Division and Detective Thomas O'Donnell of the carjacking Task Force.
The Metropolitan Police Department is proud to stand alongside our partners at the United States Attorney's Office and the United States Marshals
Service in announcing two additional arrests in the attempted carjacking of Mr. Edward Coristine.
This is the latest example of the continuous partnerships between our agencies and our collective community -- commitment to removing individuals
who harm our communities out of our community.
It is because of the swift response of our officers two suspects were immediately arrested after the offense occurred. Since the morning of
August 3rd, detectives assigned to the Metropolitan Police Department carjacking task force have worked tirelessly with all of our partners to
identify and apprehend the two outstanding suspects. Just minutes before the attempted carjacking on Swan Street, both of these suspects were
involved in a robbery just a few blocks away from U Street.
This behavior is indicative of what we see time and time again a small group of suspects committed a series of violent crime offenses in a very
short period of time. These arrests send a very strong message to our community, if you commit violent acts in our community, you will be found,
you will be held accountable, and you will face justice.
Together, we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure our neighbors and our communities that you remain safe and that those who threaten the safety
will be held accountable. I'd also like to thank Judge Pirro and her team for working alongside the Metropolitan Police Department for getting this
case to where it is today.
I'd also like to thank Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has also been very, very supportive of public safety in this city. And since I've been in this space
as the chief, she has certainly been a strong supporter and an advocate for what we need to do in this city to drive down crime.
And lastly, the members of the Metropolitan Police Department, the carjacking task force and our detectives who every single day go out there
and investigate those crimes to ensure that our citizens and our communities feel safe.
Thank you so much, and I'll turn it back over to Judge Pirro.
PIRRO: All right. And now, I'd like to call Don Snider up from the U.S. Marshals.
DON SNIDER, COMMANDER, CAPITAL AREA REGIONAL FUGITIVE TASK FORCE, UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERVICE: Thank you.
Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Chief Inspector Don Snider. I am the commander of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force with the United
States Marshals Service. I also have superior court United States Marshal Tony Dixon with me. The mission of the Cardiff is to reduce violent crime
and enhance public safety through the investigation and apprehension of violent fugitives.
So, future of investigations can be complex and are often inherently dangerous. Deputy U.S. Marshals and law enforcement officers across the
country place the communities they serve before themselves when investigating apprehending violent fugitives, ensuring the service of
justice for citizen victims can be extremely costly.
We work closely at the Cardiff in D.C., with the Metropolitan Police Department, our partnership is strong. It is the case in this -- in this
investigation.
So, in the fugitive business, we regularly ask ourselves two very important questions: how do we manage risk to the community, to law enforcement and
to the offender when attempting to conduct a safe arrest operation? And how does law enforcement, with limited resources and personnel best mitigate
the risk of violent crime in our communities?
So, through high-quality constitutional law enforcement, strong investigations and prosecutions, righteous convictions and sentences of
consequence. Holistic mitigation of violence also requires organizations the community to provide opportunities for growth and positive engagement
with families and our youth.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HASNIE: OK. So, U.S. attorney for D.C., Jeanine Pirro, just announcing a pretty major development in the case of the former DOGE staffer who was
beat down by a number of kids. Two of those young men, 19-year-old and 18- year-old, have now been charged with assault, and it's a pretty big deal because they had long rap sheets of crimes, and yet the judges here
continue to just slap them on the wrist and continue to let them basically run free, run amok in the city.
Let's bring in Jim Trustee now to get his point of view. Prosecutor -- former federal prosecutor, Jim.
First, give me your top-line takeaway from what we just heard, Jeanine Pirro announced here. Pretty big deal.
JIM TRUSTY, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Yes. I mean, the judge is right, though, not just to talk about this case being important and bringing, you
know, another six people under arrest, because there is still probably at least six people out there that haven't been charged.
But she is right to rant about the culture in the D.C. courthouse.
You know, D.C. Superior Court is uniformly kind of soft when it comes to punishment. In the juvenile context, it's on steroids, and so, you have
this horrific moment of giving people second, third, fourth, fifth chances, one chance on violent crime makes sense for a juvenile. Do what you can to
keep them from ending up in adult prison.
But when you teach them, there is no consequences for re-offending, and reoffending with violent crimes, you create monsters. You create these guys
are going to rove through the neighborhoods, and carjack and beat 10 on one on a good Samaritan trying to stop a car jack.
So, I think she is sending the right message. Whether it gets traction with the D.C. Council, whether it changes the hearts in the D.C. Superior Court,
I don't know. But she is striking a chord that makes sense to me.
HASNIE: Well, Metro Police is playing ball, which is incredible, but this is, like you said, something that the D.C. Council has to address. Maybe
Congress has to address. It just living in this town. This is the problem. I mean, when people ask me, you know, how bad is violence in DC? Is it that
bad that the National Guard has to be sent in?
It's the young people. It's the youth crime, and it's the revolving door, where they go in, they get picked up, and they are right back out on the
streets because they know they can get away with it. So, hopefully, things start to change here now with this new announcement.
Jim, thanks for joining us on this breaking news. Good to see you.
TRUSTY: Sure. Good to see you.
HASNIE: Well, right now, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are in Israel, as the fragile Mideast ceasefire holds, at least for now. And President Trump
is issuing a new warning for Hamas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They did things that they shouldn't be doing. And if they keep doing it, then, we are going to go in
and straighten it out, and it will happen very quickly and pretty violently, unfortunately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We have peace in the Middle East for the first time ever. We made a deal with Hamas that, you know, they're going to be very good, they are
going to behave, they are going to be nice, and if they are not, we're going to go and we're going to eradicate them, if we have to. They will be
eradicated, and they know that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HASNIE: President Trump with that stark warning for Hamas, after Israel accused the terror group of killing two IDF soldiers over the weekend,
violating the ceasefire deal.
Our chief foreign correspondent, Trey Yingst, is reporting live from Tel Aviv.
Hi, Trey.
TREY YINGST, FOX NEWS CHANNEL FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: Aishah, good afternoon.
I do want to start with some breaking news here. The Israelis say the body of one additional hostage was just released by the Red Cross from inside
Gaza. It was transferred to Israeli forces tonight within the enclave, and it will soon be identified.
So many families still waiting for answers in the aftermath of this ceasefire that was broken by Hamas over the weekend when they killed two
Israeli soldiers. According to the IDF, Hamas militants popped out of a tunnel in southern Gaza before firing RPGs at an excavator working near the
city of Rafah.
In another incident nearby, Israeli soldiers were wounded by Hamas sniper fire. The event prompted Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip that killed
dozens of Palestinians.
Israeli officials say they are resuming the American-led ceasefire, and Hamas leadership said they are committed to the agreement.
For now, things appear to be back on track ahead of what Israeli media says will be a visit by Vice President J.D. Vance to Israel tomorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our allies don't have the security infrastructure in place yet to confirm the Hamas is disarmed,
until you actually go a little bit down the path of this peace mission, of this 20-point peace plan. We're not going to be able to say with confidence
that everybody is doing everything that we want them to do.
YINGST (voice over): President Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, arrived in Israel today to meet with their
Israeli counterparts and keep the ceasefire moving forward. As part of phase one in this agreement, Hamas still must release the bodies of 15
other hostages that remain inside Gaza.
Regional negotiators are already starting to work on the implementation of phase two in this deal that ultimately should see Hamas disarming.
TRUMP: We want to make sure that it's going to be peaceful with Hamas. And as you know, they have been quite rambunctious.
END
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