Former FBI Director James Comey meets with Secret Service after controversial ’86 47′ post
Former FBI Director James Comey is expected to meet face to face with U.S. Secret Service officials in Washington, D.C. for an interview about his “86 47” post, two sources briefed on the meeting told Fox News. Comey is under investigation for an Instagram post showing seashells arranged on a beach to read “86 47.” “Cool shell formation on my beach walk,” he wrote in the since-deleted post. Some have interpreted the post to mean “86” – get rid of – “47” – Donald Trump, the 47th president. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The U.S. Secret Service is leading the investigation at this point, but the FBI and Department of Justice could take a larger role if necessary, Fox News is told.
Fox News Politics Newsletter: No Love Lost Between Trump and ‘The Boss’
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… -Trump wraps momentous Middle East trip with economic deals, Syria sanctions relief and warning to Iran -Handful of Republicans sink Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ in key House committee -Trump appointee Barrett challenges admin on nationwide injunctions, surprises and delights liberals President Donald Trump slammed Bruce Springsteen as being “highly overrated” on Friday after the rocker called his administration “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous.” “I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States. Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Springsteen tore into Trump on Wednesday during the first of a series of concerts in Manchester, England…READ MORE DEMOCRATS GRILLED: Democratic presidential hopefuls grapple with Biden’s legacy as 2028 race begins ‘IT’S TIME’: Trump wants to meet Putin ‘as soon as we can set it up’ to discuss Ukraine war ‘QAT’ A DEAL: Trump secures deals with 3 Middle Eastern nations in first major trip of second term AFGHANS ALIENATED: Afghans for Trump group feels abandoned after administration revokes refugee protections WORLD COURT SCANDAL: ICC prosecutor behind Netanyahu arrest warrants steps aside amid sexual misconduct probe LIFE OR DEATH: Zelenskyy speaks with Trump, allies after Russia peace talks broker no ceasefire ‘POLITICALLY MOTIVATED’: Israel turns tables on UN official claiming ‘genocide’ in Gaza with basic questions ‘SERIOUS QUESTIONS’: House GOP targets another Dem official accused of blocking ICE amid Delaney Hall fallout ‘TAIL WAGGING THE DOG’: Nationwide injunction opponents lament judges ‘rewriting the Constitution every other Thursday’ CHARGES DISMISSED: Federal magistrate judge dismisses trespassing charges against 98 arrested in new military zone ‘KING OF KINGS’: Kennedy Center expands family-focused religious programming, starts with free kick-off event Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Judge on warpath presses Trump DOJ on Abrego Garcia deportation, answers leave courtroom in stunned silence
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis excoriated Trump administration lawyers Friday in a remarkable status hearing centered on Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the Salvadorian migrant and alleged MS-13 member who was deported from Maryland to El Salvador in March in what administration officials have acknowledged was an administrative error. The heated back-and-forth was full of eye-popping exchanges between the judge and the Justice Department, as she took umbrage with their attempts to invoke the state secrets privilege to shield details concerning Abrego Garcia from the court. “What world are we living in,” Xinis asked in disbelief after more than two hours of proceedings. “What sort of legal world are we living in?” She sparred multiple times with DOJ lawyers over their assertion that Abrego Garcia was lawfully detained and deported. JUSTICE KAGAN SNAPS AT TRUMP LAWYER IN MAJOR CASE: ‘EVERY COURT HAS RULED AGAINST YOU’ “He was lawfully detained? No he wasn’t!” Judge Xinis objected. “There was no order of removal, there was no warrant for removal – there was nothing.” She cut off Justice Department attorney Jonathan Guynn again when he attempted to continue with a different argument. “You didn’t even respond to what I just said,” she told him. “A DHS attorney came in at the first hearing and confirmed that there was no lawful basis to arrest Abrego Garcia.” “Why are we skipping over that – as part of the misconduct at issue, in light of the pattern I’m currently faced with on this day?” she asked, in disbelief. For at least 30 seconds, the courtroom fell completely silent. The judge said she would issue an order later Friday outlining next steps, after the two sides huddled for a closed portion of the case. Xinis, who, despite her mounting frustrations, seemed likely to grant the government another deadline extension, described the hours-long hearing as beating a “frustrated and dead horse.” At one point, she rebuked the Justice Department for trying to invoke the state secrets privilege via a footnote referencing a filing in a separate case before a different court, noting that this would not pass muster in her courtroom. Most of the public hearing was marked by similar sharp exchanges over whether the Trump administration had taken any steps to comply with court orders to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return – a point Xinis reiterated was already settled by both her court and the Supreme Court last month. At another contentious moment, she laughed in apparent disbelief at the lack of evidence and disclosures from the government. “I can’t count the number of ‘I don’t knows’ my wonderful clerks and I have heard,” she said of depositions from Trump administration officials. FEDERAL JUDGE JAMES BOASBERG FINDS PROBABLE CAUSE TO HOLD TRUMP IN CONTEMPT OVER DEPORTATION FLIGHTS Xinis told the government lawyers they had not presented her with a sufficient affidavit to invoke the state secrets privilege – which the Trump administration has asserted is necessary in this case to protect sensitive diplomatic and foreign policy matters from being made public in court. Pointing to a prior admission from the Trump administration, Xinis also said Abrego Garcia was removed from the U.S. “without lawful authority.” “You’ve conceded it. There’s witness testimony,” she said. Any attempt to revise this “would be exceptionally difficult.” “Respectfully, your honor, he was removed lawfully,” Guynn replied. “No,” an incredulous Xinis shot back. “He was removed unlawfully.” “His removal from the U.S. was lawful,” the Justice Department attorney insisted. “Well no – no it wasn’t,” Xinis said, visibly stunned. TRUMP’S REMARKS COULD COME BACK TO BITE HIM IN ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION BATTLE “Because there’s actually the [Immigration and Naturalization Act], which says that if the United States elects to remove someone to a third country, there’s a process. Congress has set out that process, the executive has to follow that process.,” she said. “So it is not determined yet whether removal to a third country would be appropriate, which is why the Supreme Court ruled the way it did.” Ultimately, she said, the government will likely have extra time to file additional declarations to allow it to seek the state secrets privilege. Still, she said she “has to point out” that the unlawful removal of Abrego Garcia from the U.S. “is a foregone conclusion.” “He was removed in error. He was sent to El Salvador when there was a notice of withholding of removal, and so that was not lawful.” Plaintiffs noted that the government had labeled 1,140 documents related to Abrego Garcia’s case as privileged – but in contrast, they were sent just 164 documents – 132 of which were photocopies of their own court filings and interrogatories sent back to them. “Your Honor, a life is in the balance,” Abrego Garcia’s lawyers said, urging the court to move faster. Xinis previously criticized the administration for failing to comply with her court’s requests for information in the case – accusing officials in a blistering eight-page order of submitting “vague, evasive and incomplete” responses that she said demonstrated “willful and bad faith refusal to comply with discovery obligations.”
Long-running lawsuit against Texas’ foster care system appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court
Lawyers representing foster children asked the high court to reinstate a contempt order against the state, and the judge who issued it.
Texas businesses feel the pinch from Trump’s tariffs, Fed survey finds
The higher taxes on imports will shrink Texas businesses’ profits and raise costs for consumers, business owners say.
Supreme Court blocks Trump effort to deport Venezuelan migrants under Alien Enemies Act
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of an appeal by a group of Venezuelan migrants who asked the high court to halt their deportation under the Alien Enemies Act. The ruling, similar to others it has made in the past on the matter, revolved around the alleged illegal immigrants not having enough time to reasonably file a challenge to their deportations. President Donald Trump has been using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to try and speed up the deportation processes of illegal immigrants, but the Supreme Court’s Friday ruling presents another blow to those attempts after the court ruled against the Trump administration in their attempts to remove men already in immigration custody in a northern region of Texas. “Under these circumstances, notice roughly 24 hours before removal, devoid of information about how to exercise due process rights to contest that removal, surely does not pass muster. But it is not optimal for this Court, far removed from the circumstances on the ground, to determine in the first instance the precise process necessary to satisfy the Constitution in this case. We remand the case to the Fifth Circuit for that purpose,” the opinion from the court reads. The court did not rule on whether the AEA was lawful but rather send the matter back to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. “To be clear, we decide today only that the detainees are entitled to more notice than was given on April 18,” the Supreme Court’s ruling said.
FLASHBACK: Comey had another anti-Trump seashell photo moment during 2024 election
Ex-FBI Director James Comey had another anti-Trump seashell moment prior to his Thursday Instagram post that showed seashells arranged to show the numbers “86 47,” a message that White House officials swiftly condemned as an attempt to incite a “hit” against the 47th president. Comey posted a photo of a single larger seashell that was painted blue with the words “Vote Harris” on it in October 2024. “Saw this at the beach,” the ex-FBI chief captioned the post. “Ariel understands the assignment,” he added, apparently a reference to the main character of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.” Comey’s propensity to post images of political messages on the beach has gotten him into some hot water after the Secret Service said it was sending agents to investigate and interview Comey. THE ‘DANGER’ OF COMEY’S TRUMP POST CANNOT BE UNDERESTIMATED,’ TULSI GABBARD WARNS Shortly after posting the image, Comey took it down and subsequently put up a separate post acknowledging the matter. “I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,” Comey said in his subsequent post. “I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.” The FBI, where Comey used to work before he was fired by Trump during his first term, had no comment on the matter, but it was also apparent that people at the top levels of the agency were aware of the post. Trump’s new FBI director, Kash Patel, acknowledged on X that agency personnel were “aware” of Comey’s post, in his own statement shared on X. TRUMP ADDRESSES COMEY’S ‘8647’ MESSAGE: ‘HE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT IT MEANT’ “We are in communication with the Secret Service and Director Curran,” Patel said. “Primary jurisdiction is with SS on these matters and we, the FBI, will provide all necessary support.” Comey’s Thursday Instagram post was roundly criticized, including by the president, for working to stoke political violence. “There is no doubt that James Comey hated Donald Trump,” Ted Cruz said. “There is also no doubt that the extreme rhetoric from the left contributes to an atmosphere of violence.” “If a right-winger posted this against a leftist, all hell would break loose. But because it’s James Comey—the man who weaponized the FBI against President Trump—the left is silent,” Tennessee Republican Rep. Andy Ogles said. “That’s unacceptable. The Left invented the term ‘stochastic terrorism’ to go after conservatives anytime they voiced a strong opinion.” The ex-FBI chief appears to have a propensity to post his political leanings on social media. An Instagram post, as recently as March 31, included an animated image stating, “TRANS PEOPLE BELONG,” while in February Comey posted “a message from my former colleagues” that could be considered to be aimed at Republicans and President Trump. “Know that these people – some evil, most just followers too weak to stand up – will fade, but the need for your work will remain,” the post said in part. “Don’t let the darkness of bad people steal the joy of public service,” it added.
Malcolm X at 100: Ibram X Kendi looks to the future
Author Ibram X Kendi on what still needs to be learned about Malcolm X’s legacy and race in the United States. A hundred years after the birth of Malcolm X, and in the shadow of a second Donald Trump presidency, Ibram X Kendi – author of the international bestseller How to Be an Antiracist – returns to the meaning of Malcolm’s legacy in his newest book. What does it reveal about where the US is now, and what still needs to be said about race in America? Adblock test (Why?)
Can Trump end birthright citizenship? The US Supreme Court could decide
Gaining citizenship by simply being born in a country is not the global norm, but it has been a long-standing practice in the United States. President Donald Trump, however, wants to change that. Al Jazeera’s Joseph Stepansky explains how the Supreme Court could be the deciding factor. Published On 16 May 202516 May 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Five key takeaways from US President Donald Trump’s Middle East trip
Washington, DC – Three days, three countries, hundreds of billions of dollars in investments and a geopolitical shift in the United States’s approach to the region: Donald Trump’s trip to the Middle East has been eventful. This week, the United States president visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in the first planned trip of his second presidency, after attending Pope Francis’s funeral last month. Trump was visibly gleeful throughout the trip as he secured investments, criticised domestic political rivals and heaped praise on Gulf leaders. The word “historic” was used more than a few times by US officials to describe the visits. With Trump returning to the White House, here are five key takeaways from his trip: A rebuke of interventionism Addressing an investment summit in Riyadh, Trump promoted a realist approach to the Middle East — one in which the US does not intervene in the affairs of other countries. He took a swipe at neoconservatives who oversaw the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as he lauded Gulf leaders for developing the region. Advertisement “This great transformation has not come from Western intervention or flying people in beautiful planes, giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs,” he said. “The gleaming marbles of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called nation-builders, neo-cons or liberal nonprofits like those who spent trillions and trillions of dollars failing to develop Kabul, Baghdad, so many other cities.” Trump built his political brand with his “America First” slogan, calling for the US to focus on its own issues instead of helping — or bombing — foreign countries. But his words at the investment summit marked a stern rebuke of the neo-cons who dominated Trump’s Republican Party a decade ago. “In the end, the so-called nation-builders wrecked far more nations than they built, and the interventionists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves,” Trump said. Israel sidelined, but no Gaza solution It is rare for US presidents to travel to the Middle East and not visit Israel, but Trump omitted the US ally from his itinerary as he toured the region. Skipping Israel was seen as a reflection of the deteriorating ties between the US administration and the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This week’s trip also came in the context of several moves perceived as evidence of the US marginalising Israel. The US has continued to hold talks with Israel’s rival Iran, announced a ceasefire with the Houthis in Yemen, and conducted unilateral negotiations to release Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, a US citizen, from Hamas captivity. Advertisement Moreover, while touring the Gulf, Trump did not use his remarks to prioritise the establishment of formal diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, which had been a top goal during his first term. It remains unclear how Trump’s decisions will affect the “special relationship” between the two allies, but experts say it is becoming increasingly apparent that the US no longer views the Middle East solely through the lens of Israel. “Is it a tactical problem for Netanyahu and the entire pro-Israel lobby? I think it is,” Khaled Elgindy, a visiting scholar at Georgetown University, said of Trump’s shift. “It does throw a wrench in the machinery because it is a president who is showing openly daylight with Israeli decision-making, and not just in rhetoric, but acting on it — leaving Israel out of the process.” With that chasm emerging, some Palestinian rights advocates had hoped that the US president’s trip to the region would see Washington pursue a deal to end Israel’s war on Gaza. But as Trump marvelled at the luxurious buildings in the Gulf, Israel intensified its bombardment to destroy what’s left of the Palestinian territory. No ceasefire was announced, despite reports of continuing talks in Doha. And Israel appears to be pushing forward with its plan to expand its assault on Gaza as it continues to block aid for the nearly two million people in the enclave, leading to fears of famine. United Nations experts and rights groups have described the situation as a genocide. Advertisement But despite preaching “peace and prosperity” for both Israelis and Palestinians, Trump made no strong push to end the war during this week’s trip. On Thursday, Trump suggested that he has not given up on the idea of depopulating Gaza and turning it over to the US — a proposal that legal experts say amounts to ethnic cleansing. “I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good. Make it a freedom zone,” he said. “Let the United States get involved, and make it just a freedom zone.” Lifting Syria sanctions In a move that surprised many observers, Trump announced from Riyadh that he will offer sanction relief to Syria, as the country emerges from a decade-plus civil war. Trump also met with interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and described him as a “young, attractive guy”. A wholesale lifting of sanctions was not expected, in part because of Israel’s hostility to the new authorities in Syria. Israeli officials often describe al-Sharaa, who led al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria before severing ties with the group, as a “terrorist”. But Trump said he made the decision to lift the economic penalties against Syria at the request of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” the US president said. The White House said on Wednesday that Trump had a list of requests for al-Sharaa, including establishing diplomatic relations with Israel and deporting “Palestinian terrorists”. Advertisement Removing US sanctions, which had been imposed on the government of former President Bashar al-Assad, is likely to be a boost for the new Syrian authorities, who are grappling with an ailing economy after years of conflict. “Lifting sanctions on Syria represents a fundamental turning point,” Ibrahim Nafi