Gabbard launches ‘ODNI 2.0,’ with plan to cut workforce by 40%
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced a transformation of the agency Wednesday that will cut the “bloated” ODNI by more than 40% by the end of the year and save taxpayers more than $700 million annually, all while executing its core national security and intelligence mission “in the most agile, effective, and efficient way.” Gabbard, on Wednesday, announced what she described as a “long-overdue” transformation, that will refocus ODNI and eliminate offices that were involved in the politicization of intelligence. GABBARD ESTABLISHES NEW INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY TASK FORCE TO RESTORE TRANSPARENCY “Over the last 20 years, ODNI has become bloated and inefficient, and the intelligence community is rife with abuse of power, unauthorized leaks of classified intelligence, and politicized weaponization of intelligence,” Gabbard said. “ODNI and the IC must make serious changes to fulfill its responsibility to the American people and the U.S. Constitution by focusing on our core mission: find the truth and provide objective, unbiased, timely intelligence to the President and policymakers. Ending the weaponization of intelligence and holding bad actors accountable are essential to begin to earn the American people’s trust which has long been eroded.” Gabbard said that “under President Trump’s leadership, ODNI 2.0 is the start of a new era focused on serving our country, fulfilling our core national security mission with excellence, always grounded in the U.S. Constitution, and ensuring the safety, security, and freedom of the American people.” ODNI was first created after the 9/11 terror attacks and exposed systemic failures across the intelligence community. ODNI’s purpose was to integrate intelligence from and provide oversight over all intelligence community elements in order to ensure the intelligence provided to the president and policymakers was “timely, accurate, and apolitical.” “Unfortunately, two decades later, ODNI has fallen short in fulfilling its mandate,” an ODNI spokesperson said. ODNI 2.0 is set to eliminate “redundant missions, functions and personnel,” and is set to make “critical investments” in areas that support Trump’s national intelligence priorities. GABBARD ESTABLISHES NEW INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY TASK FORCE TO RESTORE TRANSPARENCY ODNI officials said that ODNI 2.0 will focus on rebuilding trust, exposing politicization and weaponization of intelligence, holding bad actors accountable, saving American tax dollars, and focusing on their “core mission,” which is to protect “the safety, security, and freedom of the American people.” As part of the effort, Gabbard is closing ODNI’s Reston Campus and moving the National Intelligence Council to the main ODNI campus, which will ensure the all essential intelligence functions are kept “under one roof,” which officials say will “enable savings,” and will ensure “greater efficiency and oversight, and integration across the ODNI and IC.” Gabbard is also leading intelligence community-wide reforms for “efficient and effective operations.” Gabbard is expected to issue guidance to create a streamlined contracting authority for companies that pursue emerging technologies, and that are already approved for business with the IC to provide services quickly. Gabbard is also leading an IC-wide effort to “rebalance and optimize” its civilian and contractor workforce to “reduce bloat, increase analytic capability, remove stovepipes, eradicate politicization and analytic bias, accelerate information sharing, and increase efficiency to ensure mission success,” officials said. Meanwhile, Gabbard has also ended non-merit-based recruitment of intelligence community professionals. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP As for ODNI components, the National Counterterrorism Center is building capability to increase two-way information sharing between federal, state, and local law enforcement to secure borders and communities. As for the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, Gabbard is calling for a renewed focus on security clearance reform, deterring counterintelligence threats, and oversight of investigations and probes of unauthorized leaks of classified information.
Trump’s DHS compares term ‘undocumented immigrant’ to ‘they/them’ pronouns, defends ‘alien’
The Department of Homeland Security tweeted on Wednesday that the term “undocumented immigrant” is the political equivalent of “they/them” pronouns. “DHS has no interest in the left’s open borders pronouns,” the department said in its statement. DHS said “alien” is the technical and legal term for what are also called illegal immigrants in the press. “Illegal” is the only way to correctly describe lawbreakers, the agency added. “Next thing you know you will be calling burglars ‘undocumented houseguests,’” said the statement. TRUMP ADMIN SLAMS ACLU FOR COMPARING ICE CENTER TO JAPANESE INTERNMENT CAMP: ‘DERANGED AND LAZY’ Federal law includes multiple references to the term “illegal alien” or “alien” in describing persons who incur into the U.S. illegally or without proper documentation. In 8 U.S.C (U.S. Code) 1182 and 1227 – provisions dealing with admission and removal of foreign nationals – the terms “inadmissible aliens” and “deportable aliens” are used. In federal statute delineating employment and public benefits, 8 U.S.C. 1324(a) and 8 U.S.C. 1611 describe the “unlawful employment of aliens” and “aliens ineligible for federal public benefits.” ILLEGAL TRUCKER ‘DEPORTED HIMSELF’ TO CALIFORNIA, LAWMAKER SAYS, REVEALING SYSTEMIC CRISIS IN TRANSPORTATION In criminal law, 8 U.S.C. 1324 describes the transgression of “bringing in and harboring certain aliens.” The statute was often referred to by right-wing commentators during the Biden administration to highlight the textual precedent for using the term “illegal aliens.” Another reference occurs in 8 U.S.C. 1325: regarding “improper entry by [an] alien.” UNION BOSS COMPARES ICE TO AL PACINO MOBSTER AS MORE DEMS PILE ON IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT “‘Alien’ is the technical legal term, and that is what DHS will use,” the department said in its statement. DHS cited three recent media stories using the term undocumented immigrant, including in Indiana, Texas and New Jersey press outlets. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In June, a high school student in Davidson County, North Carolina won a $20,000 payday and apology after he was suspended from class over use of the term “alien” to refer to wrongfully present foreign nationals. The 16-year-old had asked his English teacher if the term “alien” meant “space aliens or illegal aliens who need green cards.” Administrators ruled the comment racially insensitive and suspended the boy, whose family then sued, claiming mischaracterization of racial bias and First Amendment violations. Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
US announces more sanctions on ICC officials for targeting Americans, Israelis
Four additional International Criminal Court (ICC) officials are facing U.S. sanctions over actions targeting Americans and Israelis. The State Department cited President Donald Trump’s executive order titled “Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court,” as its reasoning for issuing the sanctions. Those named are ICC Judge Kimberly Prost (Canada), ICC Judge Nicolas Yann Guillou (France), and ICC Deputy Prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan (Fiji) and Mame Mandiaye Niang (Senegal). “These individuals are foreign persons who directly engaged in efforts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of either nation,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. US SANCTIONS PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY OFFICIALS AFTER REJECTING GLOBAL PUSH TO GIVE IT CONTROL OF GAZA While neither the U.S. nor Israel are members of the ICC, the individuals at the center of the sanctions have taken actions against both nations in their official capacities. According to the State Department, Prost ruled to authorize an investigation of U.S. personnel in Afghanistan, while Guillou ruled to authorize the ICC arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant. Meanwhile, Khan and Niang are subject to the sanctions “continuing to support illegitimate ICC actions against Israel,” including the arrest warrants, since assuming leadership of the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor in May. “The [ICC] continues to disregard national sovereignty and facilitate lawfare through efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, and prosecute American and Israeli nationals,” Rubio wrote on X announcing the sanctions. “In response, I am sanctioning four additional ICC officials. We will continue to hold accountable those responsible for the ICC’s morally bankrupt and legally baseless actions against Americans and Israelis.” TRUMP ADMIN SANCTIONS BRAZILIAN JUDGE OVERSEEING BOLSONARO COUP-PLOT PROBE In response to a request for comment, the ICC pointed Fox News Digital to a public statement. The ICC said it “deplores the announcement of new designations for sanctions by the U.S. administration.” “These sanctions are a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution which operates under the mandate from 125 States Parties from all regions. They constitute also an affront against the Court’s States Parties, the rules-based international order and, above all, millions of innocent victims across the world,” the ICC’s statement read. WATCHDOG BACKS RUBIO’S SANCTIONS ON UN OFFICIAL OVER ‘SHAMEFUL EFFORTS’ TARGETING US, ISRAEL The State Department said that the sanctions are meant to “impose tangible and significant consequences” against Prost, Guillou, Khan and Niang. Their U.S. assets have been frozen, and U.S. persons and businesses are prohibited from dealing with them. This also applies to companies in which they hold at least 50 percent ownership. Additionally, the sanctions cover workarounds, such as indirect transactions. In February, Trump signed an executive order in which he claimed that the ICC had “engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.” The order also stated that the U.S. rejects any ICC actions against it or its allies who have “not consented to ICC jurisdiction.” The order lists the types of sanctions that can be imposed, many of which are now being applied to Prost, Guillou, Khan and Niang.
Russians made concessions ‘almost immediately,’ Trump envoy says of Putin summit
Russia gave in quickly to concessions during President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, Friday, according to U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff. The remarks come as the U.S. and European allies are sorting out various security guarantees to accompany a peace deal and after Witkoff said Sunday that Putin was on board with permitting the U.S. and its European allies to provide additional protection for Ukraine, akin to protections included in NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense clause. “I don’t want to delve into the specifics of what was discussed because we’re in a negotiation, mediating, and I think we’re going to be very successful because of the leadership of President Trump,” Witkoff told Fox News Tuesday night. JD VANCE STEPS INTO THE SPOTLIGHT DEFENDING TRUMP’S FOREIGN POLICY IN OVAL OFFICE DUSTUP WITH ZELENSKYY “But there were concessions almost immediately made on the part of the Russians in the first meeting in Alaska,” Witkoff said. “And, you know, part of getting those concessions was learning whether we were going to be able to see the Russians prepared to be more accommodating.” Historically, Russia has made demands that a peace deal include provisions to bar Ukraine from ever joining NATO, along with concessions on some of the borders that previously were Ukraine’s. TRUMP: EUROPE WILL ‘TAKE A LOT OF THE BURDEN’ IN PROVIDING SECURITY GUARANTEES FOR UKRAINE Although Trump said Sunday that Ukraine could end the war by agreeing to certain land concessions to Russia and eliminating the possibility of NATO membership for Ukraine under a potential peace deal, the next step Trump and other European allies are working toward is hashing out security provisions for Ukraine under such a deal. That was a huge focus Monday, when Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders at the White House to discuss various security measures to prevent Russian aggression against Ukraine in the future. After the meetings, Trump said Tuesday that sending U.S. troops to Ukraine to beef up security in the region was off the table. “The president has definitively stated U.S. boots will not be on the ground in Ukraine, but we can certainly help in the coordination and perhaps provide other means of security guarantees to our European allies,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday. “The president understands security guarantees are crucially important to ensure a lasting peace, and he has directed his national security team to coordinate with our friends in Europe and also to continue to cooperate and discuss these matters with Ukraine and Russia as well.” TRUMP CALLS WHITE HOUSE TALKS ‘VERY GOOD, EARLY STEP’ TOWARD RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE: HERE’S WHAT’S NEXT Zelenskyy said U.S. backing on security guarantees is critical to delivering stability to Ukraine. “Security in Ukraine depends on the United States and on you and on those leaders who are with us in our hearts,” Zelenskyy said Monday. “We spoke about it, and we will speak more about security guarantees,” Zelenskyy said. “This is very important that the United States gives such strong signal and is ready for security guarantees.”
SCOOP: White House touts guns and drug haul removed from DC streets as Trump’s crime blitz nets 550 arrests
FIRST ON FOX: More than 550 arrests have been made in the nation’s capital amid President Donald Trump’s crime crackdown that began earlier in August, including officials recovering illegal firearms and removing drugs from the streets, photos shared with Fox News Digital show. Local police and federal law enforcement officers in the city have made more than 550 arrests since Aug. 7, including the apprehensions of three known gangbangers, one of whom was an MS-13 member, according to White House data provided Wednesday to Fox News Digital. “Thanks to President Trump’s bold actions to Make DC Safe Again, more than 550 dangerous criminals have been removed from the streets of our nation’s capital,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital Wednesday of the arrests. “While the Fake News tried to sell a lie that D.C. was safe, these arrests reveal the truth,” she continued. “Hundreds of violent criminals have been arrested by federal law enforcement agents for carrying illegal weapons, distributing deadly drugs, committing armed robbery, and having ties to dangerous gangs like MS-13. President Trump is making DC safe again by enforcing the law and everyday Americans support his commonsense, tough-on-crime policies.” MS-13 GANG MEMBER ARRESTED IN DC AS BONDI TOUTS ADMIN’S ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ CRIME CRACKDOWN Tuesday evening’s sweep of the city included 91 arrests, Fox News Digital learned, including 25 arrests of illegal aliens. Many of the illegal aliens arrested had prior criminal histories, according to the White House, including multiple illegal reentries, and a threat to kidnap or injure a person, destruction of property, burglary, possession of drugs and driving while intoxicated. 68 DC SUSPECTS ARRESTED IN SINGLE NIGHT AS WHITE HOUSE TOUTS TRUMP’S PUSH TO ‘CLEAN UP’ CAPITAL CITY The White House exclusively shared photos of items recovered during the Tuesday arrests, which included a backpack teeming with baggies of confirmed illegal substances, handguns and a knife. The White House told Fox News Digital that law enforcement has removed substances stretching from marijuana, cocaine, meth and fentanyl from D.C. streets since the crime crackdown began Aug. 7. All in, law enforcement recovered eight illegal firearms Tuesday evening, and made arrests for crimes such as an assault on a police officer, armed robbery, carrying a pistol without license, assault with deadly weapon, driving under the influence and for outstanding arrest warrants related to “Child Abuse (Death)” and involuntary manslaughter charges. HUNDREDS ARRESTED AS TRUMP’S WASHINGTON, DC, CRIME CRACKDOWN HITS FULL STRIDE A total of 48 homeless encampments across the city have been removed as of Wednesday, Fox News Digital learned. Trump federalized the Washington, D.C. police department Aug. 11 amid a trend of high-profile attacks and killings in the city following the wild crime trends that erupted in the U.S.’ notoriously bloody year of 2020. The more than 550 arrests are part of Trump’s March executive order, which established the Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, ahead of the president federalizing the city in August. WHITE HOUSE LAUNCHES FEDERAL SECURITY BLITZ AS PRESIDENT VOWS TO END DC ‘CRIME PLAGUE’ Hundreds of National Guard members, as well as the Metropolitan Police Department and personnel from federal agencies, such as the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Capitol Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, have taken to the streets of D.C. to conduct sweeps and root out crime. The National Guard is not making arrests, but is assisting law enforcement with deterring crime and protecting the city. There were more than 1,950 law enforcement officials who took part in Tuesday night’s sweeps and arrests, Fox News Digital learned. The crackdown is anticipated to continue heating up, including the U.S. Marshals Service offering $500 rewards to individuals who are able to provide tips that lead to arrests. Democrats have slammed Trump over the federalization of the city’s police department, claiming crime data show violence is trending downward. The Metropolitan Police Department’s crime data is currently under Department of Justice investigation in response to claims the force manipulated the data to produce more favorable crime trends in recent months, Fox News reported Tuesday. SCOOP: TRUMP’S NEWEST DC CRIME CRACKDOWN YIELDS MORE THAN 100 ARRESTS Trump had threatened to federalize the D.C. police department in the weeks leading up to his final decision, citing a handful of high-profile crimes that have rocked the city, including the fatal shooting of 21-year-old congressional intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym in June; the fatal shooting of a pair of Israeli embassy staffers in May; and a brutal attack on a former Department of Government Efficiency staffer earlier in August. Trump championed the crime crackdown in a press conference Aug. 11, when he first announced he would federalize the local police department under section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which allows the president to assume emergency control of the capital’s police force for 30 days. “Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people,” Trump said Aug. 11. “And we’re not going to let it happen anymore. We’re not going to take it.”
House Democrat clashes with activists over Israel ‘genocide’ as pro-Palestinian protests derail town hall
A moderate House Democrat’s town hall devolved into chaos minutes after it began on Tuesday night, with pro-Palestinian activists clashing with both the congressman and fellow attendees in what became a near-constant torrent of interruptions and protests. Rep. Wesley Bell, D-Mo., who defeated far-left “Squad” member Cori Bush in the Democratic primary last year, repeatedly pleaded with protesters to allow him to speak while defending his position on Israel and Hamas. “Stop talking. This is not your town hall. You can leave,” Bell told protesters roughly 20 minutes after he began speaking. He said soon after, “While we’re sitting here being divided and fighting one another, we’ve got other folks out there who are taking our democracy from us.” At another point, his assertions that Hamas’ initial attack on Israel “was not just a terror attack, October 7 was an invasion” was met with boos and jeers from the crowd. FAR-LEFT FIREBRAND SAYS SHE ‘NEVER HAD A CONCERN’ ABOUT BIDEN’S MENTAL STATE AS HOUSE PROBE HEATS UP Even calls to “surge aid” to Gaza were drowned out by demonstrators, prompting Bell to respond, “You disagree with that?” Despite repeated pleas for calm from both Bell and his moderator, protesters continued to call him a “war criminal” and accuse him of supporting genocide. The event grew more heated as the hour went on, reaching a fever pitch toward the end when Bell disputed a questioner labeling Israel’s invasion of Gaza a “genocide.” “You don’t get to set the genocide definition,” an activist yelled. Bell responded, “No, I don’t… and here’s the thing, people can disagree, that’s what makes our country great.” “When it comes to the word genocide, I kind of disagree with you… because Israel was attacked by an openly genocidal terrorist group,” he said while protesters attempted to drown him out. “Hamas said openly that they want to destroy Israel… and so you’re accusing somebody of genocide, you’re standing with an organization that says they want to commit genocide. You don’t see that?” He continued over boos, “We need to see a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, we need to see an end to the war. We need to see every single hostage returned, and we need to see a viable future for Gaza without Hamas.” And while pro-Palestinian protesters took up a majority of the attention, there did appear to be a significant number of attendees who were supportive of Bell, particularly when he attempted to bring the conversation back to local issues. “The number one killer of kids in St. Louis between [ages] 1 and 17 is gun violence, and there’s people who want to talk about that too,” he said, earning applause. LONGTIME BIDEN AIDE SAYS HE STOOD TO EARN UP TO $8M HAD PRESIDENT WON RE-ELECTION At one point, a woman attempted to confront the demonstrators directly. “Shut up with your White privilege,” the woman could be heard yelling. “You’ve never been hungry, you’ve never had a child be hungry, and yet you want to stand here and diminish the work he’s doing?” It’s not clear how or if the activists responded. The town hall’s moderator tried to deescalate the situation early on, calling security to escort an unruly demonstrator out minutes after it began. “Let’s do this the Democratic way, the democracy way. You can’t hear anyone yelling. I hear you. As a mixed-race person, I hear you,” she told activists. “We can’t get through this if you are yelling and barking and acting like you want to get physical.” At the end of the night, however, Bell released a statement thanking all attendees for coming. “I want to thank everyone that came out to our town hall this evening – yes the conversations were passionate at times, but Democracy is messy and we have to passionately defend it,” Bell wrote on X. “At the end of the day we’re going to continue to fight for the ST. LOUIS region and for our country.” Fox News Digital reached out to Bell’s office for further comment.
New Schiff leak claim from whistleblower echoes years of similar accusations
Longtime Trump political foe Democrat Sen. Adam Schiff for years has been accused of leaking classified documents — long before the release of a “bombshell” whistleblower testimony claiming the California lawmaker approved leaking classified information in order to discredit the president during the Russiagate probe, Fox News Digital found. Schiff, who served in the U.S. House for more than two decades before securing his spot in the U.S. Senate in 2024, is facing heightened scrutiny following FBI Director Kash Patel declassifying claims from a Democrat whistleblower that Schiff approved the release of classified information on Trump that allegedly “would be used to indict President TRUMP,” according to the report. The whistleblower, who reportedly had worked for Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee for more than 10 years, made the claims to the FBI in 2017. Schiff had access to classified information while serving on the House Intelligence Committee during his tenure in the lower chamber, including serving as its chair from 2019 to 2023. “In this meeting, SCHIFF stated the group would leak classified information which was derogatory to President of the United States DONALD J. TRUMP. SCHIFF stated the information would be used to indict President TRUMP,” according to the whistleblower documents. WHITE HOUSE REACTS TO DEM WHISTLEBLOWER’S ‘BOMBSHELL’ CLAIM SCHIFF LEAKED TO HIT TRUMP The whistleblower “stated this would be illegal and, upon hearing his concerns, unnamed members of the meeting reassured that they would not be caught leaking classified information,” the report added. Schiff has denied the allegations, with his office telling Fox News Digital Aug. 12 that the allegations were “absolutely and categorically false.” But this isn’t the first time Schiff has been accused of leaking classified information to the public, with accusations following him since at least the first Trump administration. Fox News Digital took a look back at Schiff’s political history in recent years and gathered the times he previously had been accused of leaking classified materials. The August declassified whistleblower accusations are “just the latest in a series of defamatory attacks from the President and his allies meant to distract from their plummeting poll numbers and the Epstein files scandal,” a Schiff spokesperson told Fox Digital when approached for comment on the allegations, after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the whistleblower’s account a “bombshell.” TRUMP-FOE ADAM SCHIFF DISMISSES TULSI GABBARD’S DECLASSIFIED RUSSIA COLLUSION INTELLIGENCE AS ‘DISHONEST’ “These baseless smears are based on allegations that were found to be not reliable, not credible, and unsubstantiated from a disgruntled former staffer who was fired by the House Intelligence Committee for cause in early 2017, including for harassment and potentially compromising activity on official travel for the Committee,” the spokesperson continued. “Even Trump’s own Justice Department and an independent inspector general found this individual to not be credible, have ‘little support for their contentions’ and was of ‘unknown reliability,’ and concluded that his accusations against Members of Congress and congressional staff ‘were not ultimately substantiated.’” Just days after former President Joe Biden was sworn in as president in January 2021, Trump’s former acting director of national intelligence and U.S. ambassador from his first administration, Ric Grenell, took to X to list out “facts” regarding Schiff. “Facts,” a Jan. 22, 2021, post on X that is no longer available on the social media site read. The X post received media attention and was preserved in reports at the time, such as the Washington Examiner. He listed off: “Schiff wouldn’t return my call to coordinate on DNI reforms.– the reforms were asked for by career officials for years. – Schiff complained when I appointed the 1st female head of counterterrorism (a career person). – Schiff & team regularly leaked classified information.” Grenell’s message was in response to Schiff claiming in an interview with The Hill that Grennell and former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe under the first Trump administration “bent intelligence work products to the president’s will.” TRUMP INVOKES RUSSIA COLLUSION HOAX WHILE CALLING FOR LONGTIME FOE SCHIFF TO FACE JAIL TIME “The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, probably the most devastated of all of the agencies by terrible leadership of people like Rick Grenell and John Ratcliffe,” Schiff said during a video interview at the time. Fast-forward to 2023, former Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who served under the first Trump administration, also accused Schiff of leaking classified docs. “Adam Schiff lied to the American people, and during my time as CIA director and secretary of State, I know that he leaked classified information that had been provided to him,” Pompeo said in January 2023 during a Fox News interview. Pompeo continued that he “held back” sharing information with the House Intelligence Committee due to not feeling “comfortable” when Schiff led the panel. A representative for Pompeo told Fox Digital in August that the former Trump official stands by his 2023 comments on Schiff. Schiff’s office slammed Pompeo’s remarks at the time as “another patently false and defamatory statement.” Trump had also accused Schiff of leaking classified documents under his first administration, claiming in 2018, he was the “one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington.” “Adam leaves closed committee hearings to illegally leak confidential information. Must be stopped!” Trump wrote in one X thread at the time. Schiff shot back at the time that Trump’s X post was a “false smear.” “Mr. President, I see you’ve had a busy morning of ‘Executive Time.’ Instead of tweeting false smears, the American people would appreciate it if you turned off the TV and helped solve the funding crisis, protected Dreamers or… really anything else,” Schiff responded to Trump in February 2018. As Trump railed against the alleged leaks during his first term, reports spread that the Department of Justice subpoenaed Apple for account data of House Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, including Schiff, between 2017 and 2018. The DOJ, which was led by Jeff Sessions at the time, was searching for individuals who leaked to the media about
Giving Putin the Donbas would hand Moscow powerful leverage over Kyiv’s financial survival
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has firmly rejected proposals to concede land to Russian President Vladimir Putin, particularly the hotly-contested Donbas region. The Donbas, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, is Ukraine’s industrial heartland where coal mining and steel production are the main drivers of economic growth. Ultimately, control of the region’s mines and factories would hand Moscow powerful leverage over Kyiv’s post-war economic survival. ‘OUR POSITION IS CLEAR:’ ZELENSKYY AND EU DISMISS CEDING UKRAINIAN LAND TO RUSSIA “Donbas offers both a military advantage and significant economic resources, making it a high-value target for the Kremlin,” explained Elina Beketova, a fellow with the Democratic Resilience Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis. “The Donbas alone holds vast reserves of coal – especially anthracite, crucial for energy and metallurgy,” Beketova said. “Of 114 mines in Donetsk region, only 15 remain functional,” she pointed out, as many have been flooded, destroyed, or left inoperable by the war. Coal tells only half the story. Perhaps the crown jewel is salt: the Soledar salt mines, with an estimated 4.5 billion tons of rock salt – making it the largest reserve in Europe. These mines and the Artyomsol plant, Europe’s largest salt producer, fell to Russian forces in 2022. Beketova underscored that, in the long term, natural gas could be the most strategically important resource in the region. “The region includes the Yuzivka gas field in Donetsk and Kharkiv oblasts, with potential reserves of up to 4 trillion cubic meters – a direct challenge to Russian energy dominance, and likely another reason why Moscow wants full control of the area.” RUSSIA MAY GAIN UKRAINE’S FERTILE, RESOURCE-RICH TERRITORY AS TRUMP PROPOSES LAND SWAP “Beyond coal, salt, and gas, the occupied territories of Donbas – as well as neighboring Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – are also rich in gypsum, chalk, marble, granite, sand and clay,” Beketova said. Russian forces currently occupy approximately one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory, primarily in the eastern and southeastern regions, including large swaths of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. These areas have been under partial or full Russian control at various points over the course of the Kremlin’s war. For Kyiv, the Donbas is more than contested ground – it is an economic lifeline, whose coal, salt and gas reserves could help bankroll recovery in a country already burdened with enormous post-war debts. The most recent joint assessment by the United Nations, World Bank, European Commission, and Ukrainian government estimates that Kyiv faces $524 billion in postwar reconstruction over the next decade. Of the total long-term reconstruction and recovery needs, housing accounts for the largest share at nearly $84 billion, followed by $78 billion needed for the transportation industry and $68 billion for the energy sector. Zelenskyy told reporters at the European Commission on Sunday that Putin has repeatedly tried and failed to seize the entirety of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine for a period of 12 years. Grace Mappes, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, noted that conceding the region would also mean relinquishing Ukraine’s “fortress belt,” the fortified defensive line in Donetsk Oblast since 2014. “After trying and failing to occupy this strategically vital terrain for over a decade, Putin is now demanding that Ukraine concede this critical defensive position, which Russian forces currently have no means of rapidly enveloping or penetrating, apparently in exchange for nothing and with no guarantee that fighting will not resume.” Mappes added that Ukraine’s substantial investment in reinforcing its “fortress belt” with defensive structures, logistics hubs, and defense industrial facilities, underscores its central role in the country’s military resilience. “Putin’s proposal is not a compromise, rather a ploy to avoid the years-long, bloody campaign that would be necessary to seize the fortress belt and the rest of Donetsk militarily,” she added.
Elon Musk halts plans for new political party, prioritizing business instead: report
Less than three months after its launch, Elon Musk’s “America Party” appears to have been shelved. Musk allegedly told associates that he wants to focus on his companies and avoid starting a party that could siphon voters from the GOP, the The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with his plans. Musk has also allegedly worked to maintain ties with Vice President JD Vance, considered the heir apparent to the MAGA movement, according to WSJ. The outlet added that the tech billionaire reportedly told associates he was concerned that forming a new political party would damage his relationship with the vice president. WHAT MUSK’S FRACTURE WITH TRUMP MEANS FOR GOP’S FUTURE: ‘BEATING HEART OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY’ While the plan is paused at the moment, Musk’s allies told WSJ that he has not formally ruled out launching the America Party and could revisit the idea as the 2026 midterms approach. After spending months working with the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk’s time at the Trump White House came to an end on May 30. Though they appeared on good terms, President Donald Trump and the tech billionaire began trading barbs almost immediately. A few days after leaving the administration, Musk posted on X — the social media platform he owns — criticizing legislation the Trump White House was promoting. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,” Musk wrote. His criticism continued, including memes and jabs aimed at the administration. Musk stayed firm in his opposition to the bill, citing the amount of spending as his reason for objecting to it. TRUMP DISMISSES MUSK’S POLITICAL AMBITIONS AS ‘RIDICULOUS’ IN SHARP REBUKE On June 5, Musk posed a question — and a poll — to his followers: Should there be a new political party? The next day, he announced that “the people have spoken. A new political party is needed in America to represent the 80% in the middle!” Musk asked a similar question nearly a month later, on July 4, the day Trump signed the “big, beautiful bill.” “Independence Day is the perfect time to ask if you want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system! Should we create the America Party?” Musk included another poll with his post. In the end, 65.4% of respondents voted “yes,” while 34.6% voted “no,” showing a drastic change from his June poll in which 80.4% voted “yes.” Musk announced the next day that “the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.” “I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on July 6. “He even wants to start a third political party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States – The system seems not designed for them.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP However, the feud between the two appears to have cooled. The social media spats have stopped, and in late July Trump appeared to wish Musk well, writing on Truth Social that he wanted to see the tech billionaire’s businesses “thrive like never before.” “Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon’s companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large-scale subsidies he receives from the U.S. government. This is not so! I want Elon, and all businesses within our country, to THRIVE, in fact, THRIVE like never before! The better they do, the better the USA does, and that’s good for all of us,” Trump wrote. A spokesperson for Musk did not respond to a request for comment.
Top law enforcement agency offers cash awards for tips leading to DC arrests amid Trump’s crime crackdown
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that there will be $500 awards doled out for tips that lead to an arrest in Washington, D.C. “We have now made over 550 arrests in Washington, DC and have taken 76 illegal firearms off the streets—saving lives. You can help— [US Marshals Service] is offering a reward for any information leading to an arrest. Together, we will make DC safe again!” Bondi posted to X on Wednesday morning with a QR code. The crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital continues in coordination with local and federal agencies after President Donald Trump announced a takeover of the city’s police force earlier this month. MS-13 GANG MEMBER ARRESTED IN DC AS BONDI TOUTS ADMIN’S ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ CRIME CRACKDOWN With Immigration and Customs Enforcement out, many of the arrests have been immigration-related, but roughly half of the over 200 non-immigration arrests have been in the high-crime Wards 7 and 8, a White House analysis explained, according to Axios. “In other news, on the home front, President Trump’s efforts to make DC safe again are working. There have been a total of 465 arrests since the start of this operation. On Thursday, August 7th. Last night, there were a total of 52 arrests, including the arrest of an illegal alien MS-13 gang member with convictions for DWI and drug possession,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and the outstanding work of both federal and local law enforcement, dangerous gang members like the one picked up last night will not be allowed on the streets of our nation’s capital,” she continued. On immigration, Bondi issued an order last week giving local police the ability to comply with federal immigration authorities, despite the city having its own sanctuary laws. The DC Police Union, who’s backing the move from the Trump administration, said on Monday that there’s been a 46% decrease in robberies, an 83% decrease in carjackings, a 21% decrease in car theft, and a 22% decrease in violent crime. HUNDREDS ARRESTED AS TRUMP’S WASHINGTON, DC, CRIME CRACKDOWN HITS FULL STRIDE “While federal assistance gives us a boost, we must repeal the misguided Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Act in order to make these changes permanent,” the union posted on Monday. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE There’s been opposition from Democrats on the takeover, with some criticizing the level of law enforcement presence, including the National Guard, on city streets. “American soldiers and airmen policing American citizens on American soil is #UnAmerican,” Mayor Muriel Bowser tweeted from her personal account last week. BONDI ANNOUNCES NEARLY 200 ARRESTS ‘AND COUNTING’ AS FEDERAL AGENTS SWARM NATION’S CAPITAL D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has also maintained a sharp tone against the takeover. “Let us be clear: armed soldiers should not be policing American citizens on American soil. Instead of making DC more secure, it undermines public safety and endangers our democracy. It’s DC today, but the same dangerous strategy can be deployed to occupy any American community,” he tweeted on Tuesday.