Bondi says Epstein client list ‘sitting on my desk right now,’ and is reviewing JFK, MLK files
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday said the Jeffrey Epstein client list is “sitting on my desk right now” and she is reviewing the JFK and MLK files as well after President Donald Trump’s earlier directives. “It’s sitting on my desk right now to review,” Bondi told ‘America Reports’ host John Roberts on Friday. “That’s been a directive by President Trump.” Bondi also stated she is “reviewing” the JFK and MLK files, which the president signed an executive order to declassify at the start of his second term. JEFFREY EPSTEIN FILES: TRUMP’S ELECTION COULD EXPOSE NAMES ON ‘BLACK BOOK’ LIST “That’s all in the process of being reviewed, because that was done at the directive of the president from all of these agencies,” Bondi said. When asked if she had “seen anything,” Bondi responded, “Not yet.” Trump’s return to the Oval Office came with the prospect of the public finally being able to see Epstein’s long-awaited “black book” amid inquiries into the deceased financier and sex trafficker. Epstein, a 66-year-old millionaire financier with a private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands and mansions around the country, died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. FBI UNCOVERS THOUSANDS OF UNDISCLOSED RECORDS CONNECTED TO JFK’S ASSASSINATION Bondi herself advocated for the release of the Epstein list in 2024, telling Sean Hannity at the time, “It should have come out a long time ago.” Shortly after kicking off his second term, Trump signed an executive order to declassify files on the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. “Everything will be revealed,” Trump told reporters as he signed the order in the Oval Office. Trump had previously promised on the campaign trail to declassify the documents upon entering his second term, saying at the time, “When I return to the White House, I will declassify and unseal all JFK assassination-related documents. It’s been 60 years, time for the American people to know the TRUTH!” TRUMP SIGNS ORDER TO DECLASSIFY FILES ON JFK, RFK AND MLK ASSASSINATIONS Earlier this month, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the attorney general reached their deadline to release their proposed plan for the declassification of the JFK files. The FBI announced shortly thereafter that it had uncovered thousands of records connected to the JFK assassination. Axios initially reported that the agency had released 2,400 records tied to the Nov. 22, 1963, assassination of Kennedy, which were not provided to the board that reviewed and disclosed the files. It was upon DNI’s plan submission to release the files that it reportedly disclosed the records’ existence. Fox News confirmed at the time with a person familiar with the records that the files were uncovered during the review. Fox News’ Greg Wehner and Patrick Ward contributed to this report.
Kash Patel takes reins at scandal-ridden FBI with ‘America always’ mindset: ‘Let good cops be cops’
After being confirmed by the U.S. Senate, President Donald Trump’s new FBI Director Kash Patel is not wasting any time in taking the reins at the country’s top investigative agency, which has been marred by recent scandals and a breakdown in public trust. Even before being sworn in to begin his 10-year term later this afternoon, Patel will be spending the day meeting with his new staff at the FBI’s J. Edgar Hoover Building. Patel has previously said that he would shut down the FBI building on day one. Though there is no indication that Patel plans to do that today, he is expected to make some changes. These include moving agents and other employees into the field and working to instill transparency between the agency and the public. In his first statement to Fox News post-confirmation, Patel said that his mission is clear: “Let good cops be cops—and rebuild trust in the FBI.” SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS AFTER ‘TERRIFIED’ DEM SENATOR LASHES OUT AT KASH PATEL AHEAD OF CONFIRMATION VOTE Patel was confirmed Thursday afternoon in a narrow 51-49 vote in the Senate. He faced staunch opposition from Democrats who accused him of wanting to reform the FBI for the sake of political interests. Rank-and-file agents, however, have expressed to Fox that they agree change is needed, but many are waiting to see how far Patel will go. The FBI under the Biden administration’s leadership has faced repeated scandals over the last four years. Among those was when former FBI Director Christopher Wray faced backlash amid the attempted assassination against Trump when he appeared before the House Judiciary Committee and cast doubt on whether the president was struck by a bullet or just shrapnel. THE 6 BIGGEST FBI SCANDALS UNDER THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION In January 2023, conservative lawmakers slammed an internal FBI memo from the Richmond field office titled “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities.” The memo identified “radical-traditionalist Catholic[s]” as potential “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists” and said that “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists (RMVEs) in radical-traditionalist Catholic (RTC) ideology almost certainly presents opportunities for threat mitigation through the exploration of new avenues for tripwire and source development.” The DOJ and FBI were also heavily criticized by parents nationwide in 2021 when Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo directing the FBI to use counterterrorism tools related to parents speaking out at school board meetings against transgender-related issues and critical race theory curricula. 5 FBI CONTROVERSIES OF 2023 THAT SHOOK FAITH IN AGENCY Speaking at CPAC on Thursday night, Elon Musk said that he is hopeful Patel will get to the bottom of the assassination attempt, earning cheers from the crowd. After being confirmed, Patel said that the “politicization of our justice system has eroded public trust—but that ends today.” “American people deserve an FBI that is transparent, accountable, and committed to justice,” Patel said. “Working alongside the dedicated men and women of the Bureau and our partners, we will rebuild an FBI the American people can be proud of. And to those who seek to harm Americans—consider this your warning. We will hunt you down in every corner of this planet. Mission First. America Always. Let’s get to work.” Patel will be sworn in as the ninth director of the FBI outside the Hoover Building at 4 p.m. on Friday. Vice President JD Vance is expected to be present for the swearing-in ceremony. Fox News Digital politics reporter Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass sacks fire chief who said city failed residents in wildfires
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Friday announced that LAFD Fire Chief Kristin Crowley had been fired. Crowley had criticized Bass and other Democratic leadership with the city, claiming it had failed its 100,000 residents displaced during January’s wildfires. Crowley said that pressing staffing shortages impacted the department’s response time when the blaze began tearing across Los Angeles. LA FIRE SOUNDED ALARM ON BUDGET CUTS IMPACTING WILDFIRE RESPONSE: MEMO “Any budget cut is going to impact our ability to provide service,” Crowley said in January. “That is a ground truth in regard to our ability. If there’s a budget cut, we had to pull from somewhere else. What does that mean? That doesn’t get done or that there are delays.” Crowley said that staffing shortages and lack of resources have been a pressing issue facing the LAFD for years. She pointed to a series of memos she sent to the city identifying in detail the needs of the department. In a statement Friday, Bass said: “Acting in the best interests of Los Angeles’ public safety, and for the operations of the Los Angeles Fire Department, I have removed Kristin Crowley as Fire Chief. We know that 1,000 firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke out were instead sent home on Chief Crowley’s watch. Furthermore, a necessary step to an investigation was the President of the Fire Commission telling Chief Crowley to do an after action report on the fires. The Chief refused. These require her removal. The heroism of our firefighters – during the Palisades fire and every single day – is without question. Bringing new leadership to the fire department is what our city needs.” LA MAYOR BASS CONCEDES AFRICA TRIP WAS ‘ABSOLUTELY’ A MISTAKE AMID BOTCHED WILDFIRE RESPONSE She added, “While the Department is in the experienced and expert hands of Chief Villanueva, my office will lead a national search and I will speak directly with firefighters and Angelenos about what they want to see in their next permanent chief.” Republican Rick Caruso, who ran against Bass in the last mayoral election, criticized Crowley’s firing. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “It is very disappointing that Mayor Bass has decided to fire Chief Kristin Crowley,” he wrote on X. “Chief Crowley served Los Angeles well and spoke honestly about the severe and profoundly ill-conceived budget cuts the Bass administration made to the LAFD. That courage to speak the truth was brave, and I admire her. Honesty in a high city official should not be a firing offense. The Mayor’s decision to ignore the warnings and leave the city was hers alone. This is a time for city leaders to take responsibility for their actions and their decisions. We need real leadership, not more blame passing.”
Trump envoy for Russia and Ukraine calls Zelenskyy a ‘courageous leader’ after Trump lambasts foreign figure
Assistant to the President and Special Presidential Envoy for Russia and Ukraine Keith Kellogg called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “courageous leader” in a tweet after President Donald Trump assailed the foreign figure as “A Dictator without Elections” earlier this week. Kellogg met with Zelenskyy this week. “A long and intense day with the senior leadership of Ukraine. Extensive and positive discussions with @ZelenskyyUa, the embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war and his talented national security team,” Kellogg tweeted. TRUMP CALLS UKRAINE’S ZELENSKYY A ‘DICTATOR WITHOUT ELECTIONS’ AS RIFT WIDENS Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Friday but did not receive a response in time for publication. Kellogg’s positive characterization of Zelenskyy came after Trump targeted the Ukrainian president on Truth Social this week. TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY WAR OF WORDS HEATS UP EVEN AS US LOOKS TO WIND DOWN WAR IN UKRAINE “A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” Trump declared in the post. America has provided billions worth of aid to assist Ukraine as the embattled Eastern European nation fights Russia. But Trump is seeking an end to the deadly, years-long Russia-Ukraine war. TRUMP’S FRUSTRATIONS WITH ZELENSKYY ESCALATE AS US TURNS UP PRESSURE ON UKRAINE TO REACH PEACE DEAL CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only “TRUMP,” and the Trump Administration, can do. Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the ‘gravy train’ going. I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died,” he asserted in the Truth Social post.
Trump, Maine’s governor clash at White House over executive order compliance: ‘We’ll see you in court’
President Donald Trump sparred with Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills over transgender women in sports, telling her at the White House that she must follow his executive order or “you’re not going to get any federal funding,” to which she replied, “we’ll see you in court.” The blue state is one of several defying Trump’s Feb. 5 executive order preventing trans athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. Trump threatened Thursday to cut off federal funding to Maine before clashing with Mills at a bipartisan meeting of governors. “Are you not going to comply with that?” Trump asked Mills. “I’m complying with state and federal laws,” she responded, before Trump said “Well, we are the federal law” and “you better do it, you better do it because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t. TRUMP VOWS TO CUT OFF FEDERAL FUNDING TO MAINE OVER REFUSAL TO COMPLY WITH ‘NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS’ ORDER “And by the way, your population, even though it’s somewhat liberal, although I did very well there, your population doesn’t want men playing in women’s sports, so you better comply because otherwise you’re not getting any federal funding,” Trump continued. “We’ll see you in court,” Mills responded. “Good, I’ll see you in court. I look forward to that. That should be a real easy one. And enjoy your life after governor because I don’t think you’ll be an elected official afterwards,” Trump concluded. Mills released a statement on Friday, saying that “The State of Maine will not be intimidated by the President’s threats.” “If the President attempts to unilaterally deprive Maine school children of the benefit of Federal funding, my Administration and the Attorney General will take all appropriate and necessary legal action to restore that funding and the academic opportunity it provides,” she added. WISCONSIN BANS TRANS ATHLETES FROM GIRLS’ SPORTS, FOLLOWING TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER Trump told a gathering of Republican governors in Washington, D.C., on Thursday that “I heard men are still playing in Maine.” “I hate to tell you this, but we’re not going to give them any federal money, they are still saying ‘we want men to play in women’s sports’ and I cannot believe that they’re doing that… So we’re not going to give them any federal funding, none whatsoever, until they clean that up,” he added. Trump’s executive order, which was signed on Feb. 5, instructed all federal agencies to review grants, programs and policies that fail to comply with the administration’s efforts to end “male competitive participation in women’s sports… as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.” The order also instructed strict Title IX enforcement against any educational institutions or athletic associations that do not comply and demands federal assistance be taken away in such cases. Shortly after the order was signed, multiple states, including Maine, California, Minnesota and others run primarily by Democrats, indicated that they would not comply with Trump. The executive director of the primary governing body for high school sports in the state of Maine said athletic teams will continue to determine eligibility based on a student’s stated gender identity, despite the president’s executive order seeking to keep “men out of women’s sports.” Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
Ukraine war ‘will end soon’ under Trump’s leadership, US national security advisor vows
President Donald Trump’s leadership will soon bring an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz vowed, assuring that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would sign the deal. “Under Trump, this war will end. And it will end soon,” Waltz said at the Conservative Political Action Conference near the nation’s capital on Friday. “He is the president of peace.” Waltz defended the Trump administration’s decision to come to the negotiating table with Russia during meetings in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, echoing Thursday’s sentiments from Vice President JD Vance. “You can’t end a war unless you talk to both sides, and that’s what we’re doing,” Waltz said. TRUMP’S FRUSTRATIONS WITH ZELENKSYY ESCALATE AS US TURNS UP PRESSURE ON UKRAINE TO REACH PEACE DEAL Waltz also said that the U.S. was coordinating with Ukraine, Russia and other European allies to determine everyone’s needs in order to secure a peace deal. On Thursday, Waltz told reporters at the White House that Trump’s frustration with Zelenskyy was increasing, and that Wednesday’s discussions between U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg and Ukrainian officials were focused on helping Ukraine to “understand” the war must end. “It certainly isn’t in Russia’s interest or in the American people’s interest for this war to grind on forever and ever and ever,” Waltz said on Thursday. “So a key part of his conversation was helping President Zelenskyy understand this war needs to come to an end.” The increased pressure on Ukraine to agree to a deal comes on the heels of several tense days between Trump and Zelenskyy, as each hurled insults back and forth toward one another after meetings between U.S. and Russian officials. Ukraine was absent from the meetings, and Zelenskyy told reporters in Turkey that “nobody decides anything behind our back,” after stressing in recent days that Kyiv would not agree to a peace negotiation without Ukraine’s input. TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY WAR OF WORDS HEATS UP EVEN AS US LOOKS TO WIND DOWN WAR IN UKRAINE While Zelenskyy accused Trump of perpetuating Russian “disinformation” on Wednesday, Trump took a jab back and labeled Zelenskyy a “dictator” who has failed his country and suggested Ukraine initiated the war. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Waltz met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs advisor, Yuri Ushakov, to hash out ways to end the conflict. U.S. officials also have met with Ukrainian officials about a peace deal, and Kellogg said Wednesday in a post on X that the U.S. remains committed to ending the war and finding ways to establish “sustainable peace.”
House GOP elections chair makes explosive prediction despite Dems’ heavier cashflow
EXCLUSIVE: The chairman of House Republicans’ campaign arm is dismissing potential “headwinds” against the GOP in its fight to keep control of the chamber for President Donald Trump’s entire second term. National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chair Richard Hudson, R-N.C., expressed confidence Republicans would keep the House in 2026 after the group’s Democratic counterpart out-raised the NRCC in the first month of 2025. “Despite the national narrative and headwinds, House Republicans once again delivered and earned the votes of the American people,” Hudson told Fox News Digital of the prior election cycle. He pledged Republicans would “raise the funds necessary to retain and grow this majority.” SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN “Last cycle, the NRCC used every dollar to maximize turnout, support our candidates, and secure 74.5 million votes cast for a Republican for Congress,” Hudson said. “I’m confident in our plan to win again in 2026.” The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) announced earlier this week that it raised over $9 million in the month of January, its best ever total for that month in a non-election year. “Only one month into the Republican trifecta and it’s clear House Republicans have no plans to lower costs or address issues that matter to everyday Americans, instead choosing to cater to their billionaire benefactors,” DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., said in a press release. “House Democrats will hold House Republicans accountable for their failure to deliver on their campaign promise.” The NRCC raised just under $6 million in the same period, according to financial data viewed by Fox News Digital. NONCITIZEN VOTER CRACKDOWN LED BY HOUSE GOP AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS It is not uncommon for the minority party in the House or Senate to outraise the party in power, particularly in the months immediately after an election. The national Democratic Party also notably outraised the GOP in the election period from Jan. 2023 through Sept. 2024, according to federal election data. The DCCC outraised the NRCC by roughly $78 million in that period. Despite that, Republicans kept the House and flipped control of the White House and Senate. Political history dictates that the trifecta will not hold for long – the first midterm after the White House changes hands traditionally sees a political backlash against the president’s party, particularly if they held Congress for their first two years. However, Hudson told Fox News Digital that he sees Republicans breaking that trend in an interview during the annual House GOP retreat in Miami late last month. Trump is in his second term, and Hudson argued that the 2024 presidential race was a referendum between two clear White House records. “He has a mandate that I think is unique in history. And so this isn’t a first-term president going into his first midterm. I mean, this is someone the American people know, and they’ve chosen,” Hudson said. He also pointed out that Democrats will be defending 13 lawmakers whose districts Trump won, while Republicans only had to hold onto three seats that voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. “The battlefield out there for us going into 2026 favors Republicans,” Hudson said. An internal GOP memo shared with Fox News Digital shows the NRCC nearly doubled its grassroots fundraising from $1.7 million in January 2023 to $3.2 million in January 2025. “Comparing January 2025 to previous cycles, the NRCC is in the top half for fundraising and the bottom half for spending,” the memo said.
Judge adjourns case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, stops short of dismissing the charges
A U.S. judge has decided to adjourn the trial of New York City Mayor Eric Adams until further notice, stopping short of either dismissing the corruption charges or declining to dismiss them. The decision comes just days after U.S. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove asked prosecutors to drop all corruption charges against the mayor. In the motion to dismiss, Bove said the legal proceedings against Adams were detracting from other Justice Department priorities, such as illegal immigration and violent crime. SHELTERS, JESUS, AND MISS PAC-MAN: US JUDGE GRILLS DOJ OVER TRANS POLICY IN DIZZYING LINE OF QUESTIONING The “pending prosecution has unduly restricted Mayor Adams’ ability to devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime that escalated under the policies of the prior administration,” Bove said in the filing. The charges against Adams will remain intact until the presiding judge, U.S. District Judge Dale Ho, agrees to dismiss them. Ho has appointed attorney Paul Clement to argue against the motion to dismiss and to help in the courtroom in its decision making. He has instructed legal briefs to be filed on March 7 and, if necessary, said there would be a hearing on March 14. Adams is not required to appear at future hearings. In a somewhat unusual move, Ho on Wednesday declined to immediately rule from the bench on the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss, citing the need to further consider the facts surrounding the case and what he characterized as an “unusual situation.” “This is a very complicated situation, at least from where I sit,” Ho said after the roughly 90-minute hearing. “I’m not going to shoot from the hip right here on the bench,” he said at the end of the hearing. LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS Not dropping the charges against Adams is highly unusual, and no U.S. appellate court has ever sided with a federal judge who declined to grant an unopposed motion to dismiss. Adams was indicted in September on five federal corruption and bribery charges, related to the alleged solicitation of illegal campaign contributions and the alleged receiving of luxury travel perks on behalf of Turkish foreign nationals, according to the Justice Department. Adams pleaded not guilty to all charges last fall and has strenuously denied any wrongdoing. “I want to be crystal clear with New Yorkers: I never offered — nor did anyone offer on my behalf — any trade of my authority as your mayor for an end to my case. Never,” Adams said in a statement Friday. Even without court action, the allegations themselves could threaten Adams’ 2025 re-election bid. Already, Adams is facing calls to resign as mayor, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul told reporters this week that she is weighing the possibility of using her position to remove Adams as mayor. Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
Obama fired top military officers to align Pentagon with his policy vision, now Trump set to do the same
Rumors swirled this week that Secretary Pete Hegseth is prepping a list of top Pentagon brass for the chopping block, but it’s not the first time an administration has cleaned out top military commanders to align with new political goals. Five months into office in 2009, President Barack Obama relieved Army Gen. David McKiernan as the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan – making McKiernan the first wartime commander to be dismissed since Gen. Douglas MacArthur in 1951. He was replaced by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who had led special operations forces in Iraq, on the advice of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who wanted “fresh eyes” in the drawn-out Afghanistan conflict. “We have a new strategy, a new mission and a new ambassador. I believe that new military leadership is also needed,” Gates said at a news conference. OFFICIALS PUSH BACK ON CLAIMS OF ‘LIST’ OF GENERALS HEGSETH PLANS TO FIRE AT PENTAGON Days before he was summoned to meet with Obama about the job, McChrystal had given a speech in London on the need for a military buildup in Afghanistan. Shortly afterward, Obama authorized the deployment of 33,000 troops to Afghanistan. Only a year into his command, McChrystal resigned, pushed out by Obama after reportedly badmouthing White House officials, and was replaced by Gen. David Petraeus. Obama also fired Gen. James Mattis as head of U.S. Central Command – and Trump once quipped that the “only thing” he and Obama had in common was “the honor of firing Jim Mattis.” Obama and Mattis fell out over the withdrawal from Iraq. “Central Command, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and the new Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta, who had replaced Bob Gates, continued to recommend to the White House retaining a residual force, as did Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,” Mattis wrote in his book ‘Call Sign Chaos.’ $1,300 COFFEE CUPS, 8,000% OVERPAY FOR SOAP DISPENSERS SHOW WASTE AS DOGE LOCKS IN ON PENTAGON Obama, who promised to “finish the job” in Afghanistan after he withdrew troops from Iraq in 2011, surged as many as 100,000 troops into Afghanistan, then drew them out at a rapid-fire pace that many in the military advised against, finishing his term in 2017 with 8,400 American troops on the ground. Ending the war also evaded the subsequent Trump administration, which set a removal deadline that fell under the following Biden administration and resulted in the messy withdrawal in August 2021 and the deaths of 13 U.S. troops. But the Obama presidency was marred by reports of a schism between the White House and the military. One general, upon returning from Afghanistan, reportedly said he felt that the Obama White House wanted the military to be “seen and not heard.” In his memoir, “Duty,” Gates blamed then-Vice President Joe Biden, who had pushed against the initial surge in Afghanistan, for Obama’s poor relationship with the military. “I thought Biden was subjecting Obama to Chinese water torture, every day saying ‘the military can’t be trusted,’ ” he wrote. In 2012, the Navy removed and replaced Rear Adm. Charles M. Gaouette as commander of an aircraft carrier strike group deployed in the Middle East over allegations of inappropriate leadership judgment. The Navy Inspector General later found that Gaouette had made racially insensitive remarks in emails. The Navy denied assertions that Gaouette had been dismissed for providing assistance during the Benghazi attack without orders. In October 2013, the Air Force fired the two-star general in charge of 450 nuclear missiles, Michael Carey, due to “loss of trust and confidence in his leadership and judgment.” That same week, Obama fired the number-two nuclear commander, Vice Adm. Tim Giardina, from U.S. Strategic Command after he was involved in a criminal investigation into using counterfeit gambling chips in a poker game at a western Iowa casino. Obama fired Army Gen. Michael Flynn as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014 over “insubordination,” which Flynn claimed had stemmed from criticisms he had made about Obama not being tough enough on Islamic extremism. Obama’s moves to slim down the armed forces and reinvent social policies to protect minority groups proved contentious among military brass. Critics claimed that his abrupt troop drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan had allowed for ISIS to gain ground, while supporters painted him as a Nobel Peace Prize winner who had kicked off a reorientation of the U.S. from the Middle East theater to the Indo-Pacific. Wildfire-like rumors swirled around Washington on Thursday of a “list” of names Hegseth has reportedly circulated among congressional leaders of generals and admirals he planned to fire. But members and staff of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees had seen no such list.
Rep. Cory Mills denies wrongdoing as police investigate alleged ‘assault’
Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., has denied any wrongdoing in connection with an alleged assault in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Fox News has learned. The Washington Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said it was called to the 1300 block of Maryland Avenue, Southwest, at around 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday for the report of an assault. The incident is understood to have taken place inside his residence. The MPD said it is conducting an active criminal investigation and did not provide any further details about the incident. A spokesperson for Mills, a former Army combat veteran and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Intelligence, released a statement to Fox News Digital stating that the Congressman denies any wrongdoing. “This week, law enforcement was asked to resolve a private matter at Congressman Mills’ residence,” the spokesperson said. “Congressman Mills vehemently denies any wrongdoing whatsoever, and is confident any investigation will clear this matter quickly.” MPD said that once its leadership became aware of the matter, there was an immediate review of its initial response to ensure all procedures were followed. MPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau is currently investigating this matter, the department said. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was asked about the incident at a press briefing on Friday and said she is aware of the report. “I can confirm that there is an internal investigation on making sure that all of our members did what they were supposed to do, according to MPD policy, so I can confirm that,” Bowser said. “But I can’t speak to anything about the police report.” This is a developing story and will be updated.