No Labels, the centrist group that’s moving toward potentially launching a third-party unity presidential ticket, is asking the Justice Department to investigate possible criminal charges against some Democratic-leaning groups and activists who are opposed to their ballot access efforts.

The organization says that ‘there is a group of activists and operatives and party officials who have participated in an alleged illegal conspiracy to use intimidation, harassment and fear against representatives of No Labels, its donors, and its potential candidates.’ 

Dan Webb, a No Labels volunteer and lawyer, told reporters at a news conference on Thursday, ‘No Labels has filed a formal complaint with the United States Department of Justice regarding an alleged unlawful conspiracy to subvert American’s voting rights and shut down the organization’s effort to secure ballot access in the 2024 presidential election.’

‘There is a group of activists and operatives and party officials who have participated in alleged illegal conspiracy to use intimidation, harassment and fear against representatives of No Labels, its donors and its potential candidates,’ Webb charged.

‘We decided it was time to fight back,’ he emphasized. ‘Their tactics are becoming increasingly brazen.’

As it works toward launching a potential presidential ticket to give Americans a third option in what may likely end up being a rematch this year between President Biden and former President Donald Trump, No Labels has been working to get on the ballot across the country.

No Labels says they are already on the ballot in 14 states – and currently working in 13 others. The group says it intends to have access in 32 states by later this year.

‘We will decide in the coming months whether to offer our ballot line to a unity presidential ticket,’ No Labels executive director Margaret White said. ‘If we do so, that ticket’s presidential campaign will be responsible for securing access in the final 18 states plus the District of Columbia.’

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, a Democrat turned independent and co-founder of No Labels, stressed that ‘the American people want another choice for president this year.’

‘No one in our country has a right to prevent that choice from being offered to the voters,’ he added, as he pointed to the group’s complaint to the Justice Department. 

No Labels, in their complaint to the Justice Department, wrote that ‘it’s one thing to oppose candidates who are running; it’s another to use intimidation tactics to prevent them from even getting in front of the voters.’

Opponents of No Labels – which includes outside Democratic groups and operatives – have repeatedly argued that if a unity ticket is launched, it would only boost Trump’s chances of retaking the White House. And No Labels opponents have publicly stated that they would put pressure on the organization and its staff as well as with donors and potential candidates.

EXCLUSIVE: A prominent conservative group is coming out against the just-passed short-term spending bill aimed at averting a government shutdown at the end of this week, arguing Americans are ‘exasperated’ with the level of federal spending.

‘Congress has backed itself into a corner — unable to pass responsible spending bills or secure our border, and opting again for a short-term CR that fails to solve any of the problems facing our country. As usual, taxpayers will foot the bill for Washington’s recklessness,’ Ryan Walker, vice president of Heritage Action, said in a statement.

‘Congress has 40 more days to fight for separate funding bills that will roll back inflation-fueling spending and force the Biden administration to reverse the flow of illegal immigration. They cannot waste this time.’

In the statement, which was sent to Republican members, Walker noted that the bill passed on Thursday is the third government funding extension this Congress has passed, as a deal on fiscal year 2024 spending continues to elude negotiators.

‘The American people are exasperated with the Swamp’s dysfunction that puts them last,’ he said. ‘[O]ur government has wasted opportunity after opportunity, and moved the goal posts with a third short-term CR that accomplishes very little for the people.’

The group called for government funding to adhere to ‘statutory caps.’ It comes after the conservative House Freedom Caucus pushed for the next fiscal year’s spending levels to stay at $1.59 trillion, the cap set by ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and President Biden during debt limit negotiations last spring. 

But a side deal made at the time and that is being honored now by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., would include an additional $69 billion side deal for non-defense discretionary spending — something GOP hardliners have rebelled against.

‘Conservatives have been consistent and resolute in our calls for meaningful spending cuts and serious efforts to end the lawless catastrophe at our country’s borders,’ Walker said.

‘The government can and should be funded at levels that adhere to statutory caps — without the backroom side deals that will lead to an increase in spending over Pelosi-era levels. And handing billions to Biden’s border agencies without forcing changes to their policies would be unconscionable.’

The House of Representatives on Thursday voted to advance a short-term government funding extension known as a continuing resolution (CR). The bill now goes to President Biden’s desk, where he will have to sign it before the end of the day on Friday to avert a partial government shutdown.

It passed 314 to 108 and nearly split the House GOP in half — 107 Republicans voted for its passage, while 106 opposed.

Hours before the vote, House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good, R-Va., met with Johnson to persuade him to add a border security amendment to the CR. 

Good told reporters Johnson was ‘considering it,’ arguing, ‘The Senate will be forced to consider, are they willing to fund the government and secure the border, or they refuse to fund the government because they don’t want to secure the border.’

But Johnson immediately put the rumors to rest. His spokesman, Raj Shah, posted on X minutes after Good spoke to reporters, ‘The plan has not changed. The House is voting on the stop gap measure tonight to keep the government open.’

Adding such an amendment would have almost certainly led to a showdown with congressional Democrats — and subsequently a government shutdown.

Former President Donald Trump will sit down exclusively with Fox News’ Sean Hannity in the Granite State Thursday night, just days before New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary.

The interview will air Thursday on Fox News Channel at 9 p.m. ET.

Trump, who solidified his standing as the frontrunner in the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race after winning the Iowa caucuses Monday night, now has his sights set on New Hampshire.

Trump traveled to the Granite State this week after he dominated his GOP opponents in Iowa by winning 98 of 99 counties. He collected 20 delegates in the state. 

Based on polling, Trump could see similar results after Tuesday’s primary. He leads opponents by double digits.

A daily tracking poll released Thursday morning by Suffolk University, the Boston Globe and NBC10 Boston shows Trump with 50% support among those likely to vote in the New Hampshire primary Jan. 23.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, stands at 36%, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at just 6%.

In that same poll, 4% of respondents said they were undecided, with 1% saying they would back a different candidate altogether.

Another poll released hours earlier from Saint Anselm College also had Trump with a 14-point lead over Haley, with DeSantis in single digits.

While Trump is ahead by double digits in most New Hampshire polls, one recent poll shows Trump and Haley neck and neck.

A poll from American Research Group Inc. released Tuesday shows Trump and Haley tied at 40% among the state’s likely Republican primary voters.

Independents can vote in the Republican primary in the state, which could be beneficial to Haley, who some have cast as a more moderate Republican option. 

Moderate voters in the Granite State are highly influential, and the state’s independents — who can vote in either major party primary — have long played a crucial role in New Hampshire’s storied presidential contest.

Nevertheless, according to the RealClearPolitics Average between Jan. 3 and Jan. 10, Trump holds a double-digit lead over Haley and DeSantis.

And beyond New Hampshire, Trump holds an even stronger lead.

In Nevada, which holds its primary contests in early February, Trump sits at 69%, which is 58.5 points ahead of DeSantis, who has 10.5% of the vote, according to the RealClearPolitics Average from Sept. 29 through Jan. 8.

And in Haley’s home state of South Carolina, which votes Feb. 24, Trump is up 30.2 points at 52%, with Haley in second place at 21.8% and DeSantis polling at 11%, according to that RealClearPolitics Average from Oct. 18 through Jan. 3.

EXCLUSIVE: Federal investigators suggested banks search private financial transactions using terms beyond ‘Trump’ and ‘MAGA’ after Jan. 6, 2021. Additional suggested terms included ‘Biden,’ ‘Kamala,’ ‘Antifa,’ and more, sources familiar told Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital on Wednesday reported that the Treasury Department’s Office of Stakeholder Integration and Engagement in the Strategic Operations of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, distributed materials to financial institutions that outlined ‘typologies’ of ‘various persons of interest’ and provided the banks with ‘suggested search terms and Merchant Category Codes for identifying transactions on behalf of federal law enforcement.’ 

Sources familiar told Fox News Digital on Thursday that the search terms, like ‘MAGA’ and ‘Trump’ were generated by a bank and used to help them identify suspicious transactions when reviewing customer transactional information. It is unclear which bank generated the search terms. 

The sources said FinCEN then shared those terms with other banks to help those financial institutions to comply with their own suspicious activity reports.

But beyond the terms identified by the House Judiciary Committee, the unnamed bank generated other terms, which FinCEN shared with other banks, the sources told Fox News Digital. 

The source said the additional search terms included: ‘White Power,’ ‘Camp Auschwitz,’ ‘Antifa,’ ‘Proud B,’ ‘Storm the,’ ‘Capitol,’ ‘Groyper Army,’ ‘Threepers,’ ‘boogaloo,’ ‘civil war,’ ‘last sons,’ ‘kill,’ ‘shoot,’ ‘gun,’ ‘death,’ ‘murder,’ ‘Biden,’ ‘Kamala,’ ‘Pelosi,’ ‘Schumer,’ and ‘Pence.’ 

The sources said the distribution of the search terms, including ‘MAGA’ and ‘Trump’ was done during the Trump administration.

The initial terms ‘MAGA’ and ‘Trump’ were revealed in a letter sent by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan to a former director of FinCEN. Fox News Digital first reported on that letter. 

The committee’s investigation also revealed that FinCEN distributed slides, prepared by Key Bank, to other banks to explain how they could use merchant category codes (MCC) to detect customers whose transactions may reflect ‘potential active shooters, and who may include dangerous International Terrorists/ Domestic Terrorists/ Homegrown Violence Extremists (‘Lone Wolves’).’

Jordan said the slide instructs financial institutions to query for transactions using certain MCC codes like ‘3484: Small Arms,’ ‘5091: Sporting and Recreational Goods and Supplies,’ and the keywords ‘Cabela’s,’ ‘Dick’s Sporting Goods’ and ‘Bass Pro Shops,’ among others.

Key Bank declined to comment.

Dick’s Sporting Goods, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

A source familiar with the documents held by the House Judiciary Committee told Fox News Digital that while Jan. 6, 2021, was the ‘impetus’ for the queries and searches, none of the documents the committee has obtained reveal any specific time frames or limitations for banks searching customer transactions with the terms. The source said the federal government used the information for investigations beyond Jan. 6.

It is unclear if the terms are still being used by banks to search private transactions. 

‘Despite these transactions having no apparent criminal nexus — and, in fact, relate to Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights — FinCEN seems to have adopted a characterization of these Americans as potential threat actors,’ Jordan wrote. ‘This kind of pervasive financial surveillance, carried out in coordination with and at the request of federal law enforcement, into Americans’ private transactions is alarming and raises serious doubts about FinCEN’s respect for fundamental liberties.’

Meanwhile, in a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday and obtained by Fox News Digital, Jordan requested a transcribed interview with the senior private sector partner for outreach in the Strategic Partner Engagement Section at the FBI.

Jordan said the committee has received testimony indicating that Bank of America provided the FBI ‘voluntarily and without any legal process’ with a list of individuals who made transactions in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area using a Bank of America credit or debit card between Jan. 5 and Jan. 7, 2021.

Fox News Digital first reported on that portion of the committee’s investigation last year. Bank of America, in November, said the bank ‘followed all applicable laws’ in its interactions with the government. The bank noted that the Treasury Department on Jan. 15, 2021, ‘shared information regarding potential criminal activity that could disrupt the upcoming inauguration.’ 

‘We have cooperated with the committee as they evaluate whether the laws we complied with should be changed,’ Bank of America said on Wednesday. 

But in the Wednesday letter, Jordan stated that when that list was later brought to the attention of the FBI, the former section chief of the Domestic Terrorism Operations Section, Steve Jensen, acted to ‘pull’ that Bank of America information from FBI systems because ‘the leads lacked allegations of federal criminal conduct.’

Jordan said the committees obtained documents that show FBI personnel ‘made contact with and provided Bank of America with specific search query terms, indicating that it was ‘interested in all financial relationships’ of BoA customers transacting in Washington, D.C., and customers who had made ‘ANY historical purchase’ of a firearm, or who had purchased a hotel, Airbnb, or airline travel within a given date range.’

Jordan is requesting that the former FinCEN official and an FBI official appear before his committee and the Weaponization Subcommittee for transcribed interviews to aid in the panels’ oversight investigation.