Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of criminal conspiracy in a scheme to finance his 2007 presidential campaign with Libyan funds, The Associated Press reported Thursday.

The ruling marks the first time in modern French history that a former president will serve time behind bars. 

The court in Paris said Sarkozy, 70, would not be taken into custody immediately but will begin serving his sentence on a date to be determined later.

‘If they absolutely want me to sleep in prison, I will sleep in prison. But with my head held high. I am innocent. This injustice is a scandal,’ Sarkozy said outside the courthouse with his wife, singer and model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, according to the AP. 

‘What they humiliated today is France,’ he insisted. 

The panel of judges found Sarkozy guilty of criminal association between 2005 and 2007, when he served as interior minister. 

He was also found guilty of permitting close aides to seek campaign money from Libya in exchange for diplomatic favors during the rule of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He was however acquitted of three other charges, including passive corruption and illegal campaign financing.

In court, chief judge Nathalie Gavarino also said the conspiracy aimed ‘to prepare an act of corruption at the highest possible level in the event that you were elected President of the Republic,’ the AP reported. 

She also described the facts as ‘exceptionally serious’ and damaging to public trust in democratic institutions.

Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, had rejected the allegations during the three-month trial, calling them an ‘idea’ pushed by aides without his approval. 

‘I am being convicted for supposedly allowing my staff to pursue the idea — the idea of illegal financing,’ he said.

Two of Sarkozy’s longtime allies were also convicted Thursday. 

Former Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux received a two-year sentence to be served under electronic monitoring.

Claude Guéant, Sarkozy’s ex-chief of staff, was sentenced to six years in prison but spared immediate incarceration for health reasons. 

Judges said the men had secretly met with Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi, brother-in-law of Moammar Gadhafi, as part of a ‘corruption pact.’

The court also noted it could not prove Libyan funds directly reached Sarkozy’s campaign but said French law allows conviction if corrupt intent is established, even without a financial transfer.

Sarkozy has since vowed to appeal.

The case traces back to 2011, when Libyan officials claimed Tripoli funneled millions of euros to Sarkozy’s campaign. 

He has also faced multiple legal battles since leaving office, including separate convictions for corruption and illegal campaign financing. 

Federal prosecutors preparing to seek an indictment against former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly lying to Congress have just days left before the statute of limitations expires — one of several hurdles the Justice Department faces in pursuing its case against Comey.

The case against Comey, at least for now, centers on the remarks he made during his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee in a Sept. 30, 2020, hearing focused on the origins of the so-called ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ probe. 

This could be tricky for two reasons. First, prosecutors have little time to make their case for perjury, which appears to be the basis of the probe.

That charge carries a five-year statute of limitations — giving prosecutors until Tuesday to impanel a federal grand jury, present their case and secure an indictment from at least 12 jurors before the deadline expires.

The second is there could be internal resistance from career federal prosecutors, who may refuse to present the case. 

ABC News reported Wednesday that a group of prosecutors gave acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan — a former defense lawyer for President Donald Trump who was installed last week as acting head of the Eastern District of Virginia — a ‘detailed memo’ recommending she decline to bring perjury and obstruction charges against Comey.

They noted that a months-long investigation into Comey’s remarks, launched earlier this year, failed to establish probable cause for a crime.

They also reportedly reminded Halligan that DOJ guidelines generally bar prosecutors from filing charges unless they can show the individual is ‘more likely than not to be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by an unbiased trier of fact and that the conviction will be upheld on appeal.’

Halligan, however, is free to override their concerns — despite any internal pushback the decision might cause.

Beyond that, prosecutors must also establish probable cause for perjury charges.

Perjury is a ‘very difficult crime for DOJ to prove,’ John Fishwick, the former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia, told Fox News Digital.

That’s largely because prosecutors must not only prove the statement was false, but also that the defendant knew it was false at the time, Fishwick said. ‘Because of the difficulty of proof, it is not often pursued.’

The probe into Comey, for now, focuses on his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee during a Sept. 30, 2020, hearing on the FBI’s handling of the so-called ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ probe, which examined Trump-Russia allegations.

That investigation found no coordination and has itself been reviewed twice by the Justice Department.

During the 2020 hearing, Comey was asked by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., if he could recall a September 2016 referral to the FBI about Hillary Clinton’s ‘approval of a plan’ involving ‘[Trump] and Russian hackers hampering U.S. elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server.’

Comey’s response — ‘that doesn’t ring any bells with me’ — was pilloried by Republicans, including Graham, who called the answer ‘stunning.’

Comey later said it was because the FBI, at the time, had already been looking into the matter for months (an assertion later backed by Special Counsel John Durham, who was tapped by then-U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr to investigate the origins of the Crossfire Hurricane probe).

News of the probe comes days after Erik Siebert was forced to resign from his role as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, prompting Trump to install Halligan in his place.

Trump also took to Truth Social to urge Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Comey. ‘JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED,’ he said. 

The looming indictment, which could come as early as Thursday, is the latest chapter in the years-long dispute between Trump and Comey, whom Trump fired in 2017, about five years into his 10-year term.

Comey, for his part, accused Trump shortly after leaving the FBI of demanding a ‘loyalty pledge’ from him, which he said he refused. 

He has remained an outspoken Trump critic and used a portion of his memoir, ‘A Higher Loyalty,’ to take aim at the former president.

Trump has continued to assail Comey and scrutinize his tenure at the FBI.

Fox News reported earlier this year that the FBI launched criminal investigations into Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan for allegedly making false statements to Congress.

A young Gazan boy dubbed ‘Amir’ who traveled to a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution site and was reported as having been killed by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in May, has been found alive hiding out with his mother. 

Both were safely extracted from the Gaza Strip earlier this month, though the location has not been disclosed for their security.

The boy, whose full name was later discovered to be Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hamden, nicknamed Abboud, and who is 8 years old but will turn 9 in October, appeared with his mother, Najlaa, at GHF Secure Distribution Site (SDS) 3 late last month in a heavy disguise to avoid detection, a GHF representative involved in the operation confirmed to Fox News Digital.

An extensive internal operation by the GHF was launched to uncover the identity of the boy in late July after a former GHF employee, Anthony Aguilar, a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Army and retired Green Beret Lt. Col. turned alleged ‘whistleblower,’ gave a series of explosive interviews in which he said a 10-year-old boy he called Amir, was killed by IDF forces after leaving a GHF aid site on May 28. 

In his account, Aguilar showed images taken using his cellphone of the boy approaching himself and another contractor clutching bags of food and barefoot. 

The former Green Beret turned GHF contractor for UG Solutions – a subcontractor of the GHF which received $30 million in U.S. government funding to support its ‘critical work’ – described to multiple outlets an emotional encounter he had with the Palestinian child, in which he claimed the boy kissed his hand, touched Aguilar’s face, and thanked him for the supplies of rice and lentils he had found. 

But the footage taken by Aguilar and handed over to GHF officials before it was obtained by Fox News Digital, did not show this interaction ever took place.

The GHF contested Aguilar’s account on several fronts and pointed out the hand the boy kissed was that of Aguilar’s colleague standing to his left, which the footage also showed. 

When asked by Fox News Digital why he said the boy engaged with him in this manner despite what the footage shows, he maintained his story and said, ‘Amir kissed my right hand. He kissed my forehead, too. He thanked us and told us he was very hungry and thankful.’ 

In multiple interviews with various outlets, Aguilar described how the boy then returned to the group where other Palestinians were gathered at the distribution site before they were then dispersed by GHF contractors through the use of pepper spray, tear gas, stun grenades and bullets fired into the air, forcing them to flee the compound.

However, Fox News Digital was told that the GHF did not yet have access to non-lethal arms in the early days of the operations, according to a GHF colleague who was aware of Aguilar’s position at SDS 3 on May 28. 

Additionally, Aguilar claimed that once the Palestinian civilians had been pushed out of the SDS center, IDF forces then opened fire on the crowd and killed ‘Amir,’ along with other Palestinians. He reiterated this claim in an interview late last month in which he told Dialogue Works that the boy had received a ‘shot to the torso, a shot to the leg – dead.’

But the GHF challenged Aguilar’s story – including the location of where he claimed the event occurred.

In one of his first accounts of the incident on July 29 to Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Aguilar claimed the killing happened first outside GHF aid site SDS 1 before telling MSNBC on Aug. 2 that the shooting happened near SDS 2, and then telling Dialogue Works last month the events occurred outside SDS 3. 

On Sept. 9, Chris Hayes gave an update on the report, telling viewers that the boy who was reported dead was, in fact, found to be alive. He said NBC producers had confirmed that the boy was now out of Gaza in an unnamed country. 

Multiple GHF sources confirmed that no such incident was reported at or outside SDS 1 or SDS 3, and SDS 2 was not yet even operational on May 28. 

Fox News Digital confirmed in speaking with multiple sources that Aguilar was on SDS 3 on May 28.

In comments to Fox News Digital, Aguilar said, ‘I sincerely, and with bated breath and joy, hope that Amir is alive. I’ve always said as much. I have been in contact with his family and others, and Amir’s family is not aware that he is alive, only that he is ‘gone’. 

‘I have always said that due to GHF and IDF restrictions from UG S[olutions] personnel moving beyond the concentration camp style corals extending from the North entrance, that I was NOT, say again, NOT able to verify Amir’s death,’ he said. ‘But I did in fact see Palestinians gunned down by IDF machine gun fire at the intersection of the SDS 3 exit and the military corridor, north of SDS 3, where an IDF Merkava tank was located.’

Abboud’s stepmother also later told the GHF that the boy didn’t go missing until July 28, two months after Aguilar said he had been killed.

Abboud ran away to be with his birth mother on July 28 amid a rift with his stepmother’s family, whose custody he was put in following the death of his father, per Palestinian law. 

A GHF representative involved in the operation explained the search to find Abboud became not only a matter necessary to uncover what allegedly happened on May 28, but because there was increasing concern regarding threats posed by Hamas as traction picked up around the story.

The official explained that Hamas had a vested interest in making sure this child was not found, as it would discredit Aguilar’s story that a Palestinian boy had been gunned down by Israeli forces outside a GHF site.

Ultimately, the GHF were able to locate the boy and his birth mother by speaking with local Palestinians and later, a family member who agreed to speak with the team before connecting them with Najlaa. 

She then brought Abboud to the GHF site so that she, her son, and four other male family members whose identities Fox News Digital has agreed to conceal, could be extracted from the Gaza Strip, after at least one of the male family members received direct threats from the Hamas terrorist network.

In an interview shared with Fox News Digital, Najlaa is seen sitting with Abboud and another young male, who was also set to be extracted with them, speaking with GHF officials. 

In the video, which Fox News Digital did not post to protect multiple identities, Abboud refers to Najlaa as his ‘mama’ and, according to a translation of the comments, he says he is happy to be with her while smiling and sitting next to her. 

The identities of Abboud, his mother and his relatives were verified by GHF using facial recognition software that compared the images of the boy with those captured by Aguilar. 

Facial recognition software, biometric data and the death certificate of Abboud’s father, were used by GHF to verify the family members’ identities and relationships, and were also shared with Fox News Digital.

Abboud also brought the shirt he was wearing in the footage taken by Aguilar, which is what the former GHF contractor said the boy was wearing when he was allegedly gunned down.

Aguilar did not respond to Fox News Digital regarding the intact shirt, and said, ‘the new pictures are not Amir.’

When pressed on where specifically he thought there were discrepancies in the images of the boy, he said, ‘Amir in my photos had a scar on his left clavicle. The boy featured by GHF does not. The Amir in my photos from SDS 3, does not have a scar on the right side of his forehead as the GHF’s photos show.’

The GHF representative confirmed that the boy’s scars were in fact used to verify his identity.

‘I believe that is a boy of similar appearance,’ Aguilar said, noting he believes the outcome of the investigation ‘is a lie.’

The GHF spokesperson for the organization, Chapin Fay, called Aguilar’s story regarding the boy and his alleged murder by the IDF ‘false’ during a press conference earlier this month.

Aguilar told Fox News Digital that the GHF statements made against him during a July 29 press conference were ‘libel and slanderous.’

Fay described him as a ‘disgruntled former employee’ who was ‘terminated for cause’ after he engaged in ‘volatile conflicts with staff and erratic behavior.’ 

According to text messages shared with Fox News Digital, Aguilar also did not handle being removed from his role well, and threatened in a text exchange with a GHF official that he ‘could be your best friend, or your worst nightmare’ if they didn’t ‘put [him] back to work.’

David Panzer, counsel for UG Solutions, echoed this belief in a statement he gave on July 29 in which he said, ‘Mr. Aguilar was terminated from his contract with UG Solutions on June 13, 2025, due to poor performance, volatile conflicts with staff, and erratic behavior. 

‘Since termination, Mr. Aguilar has spread a false narrative to media outlets around the world, all at the same time begging UG Solutions to hire him back,’ Panzer added. ‘Mr. Aguilar’s activities in the last several weeks make clear that he’s making good on his threats to, in his own words…be UG Solutions’s ‘worst nightmare’ if they didn’t hire him back.’

Panzer said Aguilar’s comments ‘raise[d] substantial questions of motive.’

Aguilar told Fox News Digital that the GHF statements made against him in the July 29 press conference were ‘libel and slanderous.’

A Senate Democrat ripped President Donald Trump for a recently released memo that detailed mass firings in the event of a shutdown, and accused the president of engaging in ‘mafia-style blackmail.’

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., railed against the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) memo sent to federal agencies this week that outlined a plan to reduce employees across the government beyond those that are typically furloughed.

While the House passed a short-term funding extension last week, Senate Republicans and Democrats are at odds over the bill. The deadline to fund the government is Sept. 30, and so far, no progress has been made to reach an agreement to keep the lights on.

Van Hollen charged that Trump ‘is engaged in mafia-style blackmail, with his threats ultimately harming the American people,’ and likened the OMB’s memo to actions taken by tech billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year that led to tens of thousands of federal employees being either fired or incentivized to retire or take a buyout.

‘He is threatening to double down on the failed actions of Elon Musk and his chainsaw — going after patriotic civil servants that provide Americans with critical services — despite having to rehire many of these workers after Americans experienced the negative impact of those cuts,’ he said.

‘These dedicated workers have nothing to do with the ongoing political and policy disputes that have brought us to the brink of a shutdown,’ Van Hollen continued. ‘These threats are not only an attack on Americans’ services and benefits, they’re also likely illegal. We’ll be fighting back with every tool we have.’

Van Hollen’s ire comes as the Trump administration is gearing up for mass firings beyond the standard furloughs in a government shutdown.

The OMB’s memo, obtained by Fox News Digital, directed that in the event lawmakers cannot pass a funding extension, or continuing resolution (CR) by the deadline, agencies should ‘use this opportunity to consider Reduction in Force (RIF) notices for all employees’ in programs that have no other available funding source and that don’t comport with Trump’s priorities.

‘RIF notices will be in addition to any furlough notices provided due to the lapse in appropriation,’ the memo read, and would be issued ‘regardless of whether the employee is excepted or furloughed during the lapse in appropriations.’

Lawmakers are set to return to Washington on Monday, just a day before the deadline to fund the government. Senate Democrats blocked the GOP’s CR last week, and demanded a seat at the table to negotiate with congressional Republican leaders and Trump.

However, Republicans have pushed back against Democrats’ counter-proposal as unserious, and are unwilling to budge on a laundry list of items tossed into their CR, which included permanently extending expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, repealing the healthcare section of Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill,’ and clawing back canceled funding for NPR and PBS. 

A meeting between Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Trump was set for Thursday, but the president canceled, and accused Democrats of ‘ridiculous’ demands in their counteroffer to the GOP’s plan. 

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa made history at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, delivering a speech that marked the first time in nearly six decades a Syrian leader has addressed the world body. His appearance in New York drew thousands of Syrian supporters who gathered outside UN headquarters, celebrating what they described as a new chapter for their war-torn country and urging U.S. President Donald Trump to back Syria’s reintegration into the international community.

The moment carried special weight for Syrians abroad, many of whom fled during the country’s 14-year civil war. They waved flags, carried banners, and chanted calls for peace and reconstruction. For them, the sight of a Syrian president welcomed at the U.N. was both symbolic and deeply personal.

Hamza Mustafa, Syria’s information minister, joined the demonstration and told Fox News Digital it was an emotional day. ‘It’s a historical moment for all the Syrian people — after 14 years of conflict, after revolution, after a lot of sacrifice, now we are here representing the Syrian people,’ he said. ‘We are gathering with the Syrian people to say that we are all serious in our struggle for a united and sovereign Syria.’

Mustafa also thanked the Trump administration for steps to ease sanctions, saying, ‘As a government, we say thank you to Mr. Trump for his courage in lifting sanctions on Syria.’

In his U.N. address, President al-Sharaa called for lifting sanctions, pledging to pursue ‘a new Syria built on unity, sovereignty, and peace with its neighbors.’ He said the conflict had brought ‘untold suffering’ and emphasized that ‘Syrians deserve the right to rebuild their lives, their homes, and their country.’

Syria’s Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management, Raad Saleh, addressed reports of a U.S.-brokered security agreement with Israel, telling Fox News Digital: ‘It’s a political decision, and we are leaving it to our president to take that decision. But Syrians are not looking for any conflict anymore — Syrians are only looking for reconstruction and rebuilding.’

The stakes are high: Israel has carried out dozens of strikes across Syria in recent months, targeting what officials say are Iranian-backed forces, weapons depots and positions near the Israeli border. Israeli officials have framed the operations as both a warning to Syria’s new leadership and a move to protect vulnerable minorities such as the Druze, who have faced attacks and massacres under al-Sharaa’s government.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will speak at UNGA on Friday, said in a statement that any deal ‘is contingent on securing Israel’s interests,’ including the ‘demilitarization of southwestern Syria and safeguarding the Druze.’

The rally outside the UN was organized by Dr. Hicham Alnachawati, who emphasized that the new Syrian leadership wants peace — including with Israel.

‘This is a historic moment for us as Syrians. We haven’t seen a president give such a speech at the UN in over 57 years,’ Alnachawati said. ‘We are hoping that this message of peace and prosperity will encourage other world leaders, and especially President Trump, to support lifting the remaining sanctions so we can rebuild a new Syria.’

Alnachawati went further, directly linking Syria’s future to regional reconciliation. ‘We sent a message of peace to establish relations with our neighbors, especially Israel,’ he said. ‘Let’s extend the Abraham Accords here — this is an opportunity for the Trump administration to lead a peace process. Israelis are looking for the same thing, and Syrians are ready for peace, reconstruction, and development.’

Al-Sharaa’s past as a wanted terrorist has drawn sharp criticism from Western officials. When asked about it, Alnachawati responded that people can change, citing U.S. General David Petraeus, who has previously suggested Sharaa had the capacity to evolve into a statesman. 

‘I listened to Petraeus, and he said he saw this man as having hope to change,’ Alnachawati said. ‘He wants to unite Syria, achieve peace in the region, and reflect that peace on the whole world. Syrians are ready to reestablish themselves, to live a normal life like any other citizen, and to extend their hands for peace.’

For many Syrians who resettled in the United States, the day was especially poignant. Shadi Martini, CEO of the Multifaith Alliance and a Syrian who fled at the start of the war and personally met President al-Sharaa in Syria a few months ago, told Fox News Digital, ‘It’s probably been 50 or 60 years since a Syrian president came to the U.N., so it’s very historic and emotional for a lot of Syrian Americans to see. President Sharaa was greeted by so many presidents and foreign dignitaries, and hopefully there will also be a meeting with President Trump.’