Massie, top Oversight Democrat call for Secretary Lutnick to resign for ‘lying’ about alleged Epstein ties
The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee piled onto calls from Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., on Monday for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to step down in light of alleged business ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Files released by the DOJ suggest that Lutnick and Epstein bought stakes together in a technology company called Adfin in 2012. Lutnick, who is listed among nine other investors, appears as a “signatory” alongside Epstein, who is named as a “preferred holder.” Notably, the purchase is dated four years after Epstein was convicted in 2008 for sexual abuse involving a 14-year-old girl. DOJ PUBLISHES TROVE OF EPSTEIN FILES, SAYS MORE TO COME AFTER FRIDAY DEADLINE Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said the documents clearly contradicted previous statements from Lutnick about his relationship with Epstein. “It’s now clear that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been lying about his relationship with Epstein. He said he had no interactions with Epstein after 2005, and we now know they were in business together,” Garcia said in a post to X. “Lutnick must resign or be fired. And he must answer our questions,” Garcia added. Garcia’s calls follow similar comments made by Massie on Sunday. When asked about Lutnick’s appearance in the files on CNN, Massie also said that Lutnick should step down. MASSIE, KHANNA TO VISIT DOJ TO REVIEW UNREDACTED EPSTEIN FILES “He should just resign. Prince [Andrew] lost his title for less than what we’ve seen Howard Lutnick lie about,” Massie said, referring to the member of the royal family who was stripped of his titles last year for his association with Epstein. “He was in business with Jeffrey Epstein — and this was many years after Epstein was convicted for sexual crimes. So, he’s got a lot to answer for.” LAWMAKERS ESCALATE EPSTEIN PROBE WITH POSSIBLE BILL GATES SUBPOENA Other documents in the Epstein files reveal communications between Lutnick and Epstein’s staff that suggest Lutnick may have met with Epstein in the Virgin Islands. “Jeffrey Epstein understands you will be down in St. Thomas some over the holidays. Jeffrey requested I please pass along some phone numbers to you so the two of you can possibly get together,” an assistant to Epstein wrote in an email dated November 2012. In response to an inquiry from Fox News Digital on the criticism from Garcia and Massie, a spokesperson for the Department of Commerce framed their demands as a distraction. “Mr. Lutnick met Jeffrey Epstein in 2005 and had very limited interactions with him over the next 14 years,” the spokesperson said. “This is nothing more than a failing attempt by the legacy media to distract from the administration’s accomplishments, including securing trillions of dollars in investment, delivering historic trade deals and fighting for the American worker.” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., did not respond to a request for comment on whether the committee would consider questioning Lutnick as a part of the committee’s ongoing probe of Epstein and his crimes.
Florida driver’s license tests now only given in English
English is now the only language in which people can take driver’s license tests in the Sunshine State. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles announced last month that the change to English as the only language for the tests would start Feb. 6. “Previously, knowledge exams for most non-commercial driver license classifications were offered in multiple languages, while Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP) and Commercial Driver License (CDL) knowledge exams were only available in English and Spanish,” the department explained in a Jan. 30 press release. “Under the updated policy, all driver license knowledge and skills testing will be conducted in English.” OVER 5,000 COLD-STUNNED IGUANAS REMOVED IN TWO DAYS DURING STATE’S RECORD FREEZE “To implement this change, FLHSMV has updated its driver license testing system statewide. Language translation services will no longer be permitted for knowledge or skills examinations, and any printed exams in languages other than English will be removed for use,” the department explained. Gov. Ron DeSantis hailed the move. DESANTIS CELEBRATES END OF ‘WITCH HUNT’ AFTER TRUMP DOJ REPORTEDLY DROPS HOPE FLORIDA FOUNDATION COMPLAINT “Good reform by @FLHSMV to require driver exams be conducted only in English. Need to be able to read the road signs!” the governor declared in a Jan. 31 post on X. Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, a Republican who launched a gubernatorial bid last month, also expressed support for the move. CONSERVATIVE FIREBRAND VOWS TO PURGE ‘RINOS’ IN BATTLE TO REPLACE RETIRING VERN BUCHANAN IN OPEN FLORIDA SEAT “Thank you to FLHSMV for taking a commonsense step to strengthen highway safety. Ensuring drivers can understand road signs, instructions, and safety commands in English helps keep everyone on our roads safer,” Collins wrote in a Jan. 30 post on X.
Labor Department orders lawyers to cut ties with ABA, slams group as ‘radical’ activist force
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Labor’s top lawyer ordered staff on Monday to stop engaging with the American Bar Association in their official capacities, saying the organization partakes in liberal activism and that any federal participation would only boost its influence. Trump-appointed Solicitor Jonathan Berry wrote in an email that the hundreds of attorneys at the Department of Labor are not to use taxpayer funds to participate in any ABA events or use their government job titles at them, according to a copy of the email reviewed by Fox News Digital. “The ABA is strategically equivocal about its ideological stance,” Berry wrote. “Equivocal in that the ABA holds itself out as non-ideological at certain times, but takes decidedly radical ideological positions at others.” JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TELLS AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION IT WILL NO LONGER COMPLY WITH RATINGS FOR JUDICIAL NOMINEES His email marks the latest step in the Trump administration’s effort to weaken the ABA, the nation’s largest association of lawyers and other legal personnel. The Department of Justice implemented a similar policy last year and terminated more than $3 million in federal grants to ABA programs before a judge found that ending the funds was unconstitutional. The Federal Trade Commission likewise severed its ties with the ABA’s antitrust arm, saying it “promotes the business interests of Big Tech.” Republicans have long argued the ABA promotes Democrat-aligned viewpoints and that its institutional presence in the legal world is a disadvantage to conservatives. The ABA’s website touts that it is the “national voice of the legal profession” and showcases work that includes support for “LGBTQ+” initiatives, abortion access, stricter gun control measures, and diversity, equity and inclusion. The ABA has also taken a stance against President Donald Trump, condemning what its president described as the administration’s “wide-scale affronts to the rule of law.” The ABA wields enormous power, weighing in on nominations of federal judges, engaging in litigation and involving itself in the hiring processes across the legal industry. One arm of the ABA also handles law school accreditation. In a reversal of a decades-long practice, Attorney General Pam Bondi told the ABA last year that the DOJ would not give the association a heads up on judicial nominees before they are announced, stripping the ABA of the ability to rate the nominees in advance. DOJ OUTLINES 10 ‘WINS’ UNDER TRUMP, SAYS AGENCY RESTORED AFTER BIDEN ERA Berry wrote in his email to staff that the Labor Department lawyers’ participation in the ABA would only serve to endorse what he viewed as an institutional problem. “There is genuine benefit to our attorneys engaging with the employer bar in ABA programs, but the benefit genuinely feeds the problem too: Our participation in ‘neutral’ ABA events contributes to institutional stature the ABA leverages to advance radical goals as if they were ‘neutral,’” Berry wrote. “No more.” Fox News Digital reached out to the ABA for comment.
Ghislaine Maxwell pleads Fifth Amendment, dodges questions in House Oversight Epstein probe
The House Oversight Committee’s deposition of Ghislaine Maxwell ended less than an hour after it began on Monday morning, when the convicted accomplice of the late Jeffrey Epstein pleaded the Fifth Amendment. Maxwell appeared before lawmakers virtually for a closed-door interview in the House bipartisan probe into the federal government’s handling of Epstein’s case. She is currently serving out a 20-year sentence at a Texas prison. “As expected, Ghislaine Maxwell took the fifth and refused to answer any questions. This is obviously very disappointing,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told reporters afterward. “We had many questions to ask about the crime she and Epstein committed, as well as questions about potential co-conspirators. We sincerely want to get to the truth for the American people and justice for the survivors.” NEW GHISLAINE MAXWELL MUGSHOT INCLUDED IN DOJ’S LATEST EPSTEIN FILES RELEASE Comer said Maxwell’s lawyer told the committee that she would only answer questions if she was granted clemency by President Donald Trump. Democrats on the panel, who spoke after Comer, accused Maxwell of trying to lobby for a pardon and demanded that Trump publicly rule out the possibility. “What we did get was another episode in her long-running campaign for clemency from President Trump, and President Trump could end that today,” said Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va. “He could rule out clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell, the monster. The question for all of us today is why hasn’t he done that?” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., another Republican committee member who attended the deposition, said Maxwell gave no indication that Trump nor former President Bill Clinton were implicated in any wrongdoing related to Epstein. DEMOCRATS SAY CLINTONS’ AGREEMENT TO TESTIFY UNDERCUTS SUBPOENA PUSH, WON’T BRING NEW EPSTEIN ANSWERS The former British socialite was found guilty in December 2021 of being an accomplice in Epstein’s scheme to sexually traffic and exploit female minors. The DOJ said at the time of her sentencing that Maxwell “enticed and groomed minor girls to be abused in multiple ways.” Comer announced lawmakers would hear from Maxwell late last month during a meeting on holding former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for refusing to appear for his Epstein probe. “We’ve been trying to get her in for a deposition. Our lawyers have been saying that she’s going to plead the Fifth, but we have nailed down a date, Feb. 9, where Ghislaine Maxwell will be deposed by this committee,” Comer said at the time. Contempt proceedings against the Clintons stalled, however, after they agreed via their attorneys to appear in person on Capitol Hill just days before the full House of Representatives was expected to vote on referring the pair to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for criminal charges. Comer’s team had been in a back-and-forth with Maxwell’s attorney for months trying to nail down a date for her to speak to committee lawyers. He agreed to delay her previous planned deposition in August after her lawyer asked him to wait until after the Supreme Court decided whether it would hear her appeal. The Supreme Court turned down Maxwell’s case in October. She and the Clintons’ depositions are part of the House Oversight Committee’s months-long probe into how the government handled Epstein’s case. Comer told reporters on Monday that five more depositions would happen in the coming weeks including former Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner on Feb. 18, Hillary Clinton on Feb. 26, Bill Clinton on Feb. 27, Epstein accountant Richard Khan on March 11, and Epstein attorney Darren Indyke on March 19.
GOP accelerates Trump judge confirmations as pressure builds to kill Senate blue slip
Senate Republicans confirmed half a dozen of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees last week, continuing a quick pace to green-light as many of his picks as possible. While the Senate GOP is moving fast to confirm Trump’s judicial nominees, the president and some of his allies want to eviscerate an over-century-old tradition in the Senate that provides bipartisan guardrails to the judicial nomination process. They contend that the blue slip tradition is slowing down Republicans from being able to confirm picks, and that Democrats are holding the process hostage. TRUMP DELETES ‘RACIST’ POST AFTER WAVE OF REPUBLICAN BACKLASH, WHITE HOUSE SAYS HE DIDN’T KNOW “Nuking the blue slip would be a huge mistake,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital. Tillis, like several other Republicans, has argued that the blue slips are a valuable tool of the minority, and that inevitably, the GOP would need to use the tradition to their advantage when Democrats regain control of the upper chamber. The Senate has confirmed 33 judges since the start of Trump’s second term, a figure that dwarfs the number of total judicial nominees, including U.S. attorneys, district and circuit court judges, moved through the upper chamber during his first go-round in the White House. TRUMP TAKES AIM AT SENATE ‘BLUE SLIP’ TRADITION AS GOP RESISTS CHANGE During the first year of his first term, the Senate confirmed 19 Article III nominees, including Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. Though Republicans are far ahead of Trump’s first time clip, Democrats under former President Joe Biden still outpaced them in this metric. Biden clocked 42 total judicial nominees confirmed during the first year of his term. Whether the Senate can outpace Trump’s final total of 234 judicial nominees from his first term remains to be seen, but for now the blue slip appears to be safe. Still, Trump sounded off on the practice late last year in the Oval Office, arguing that the GOP should “get rid of blue slips, because, as a Republican President, I am unable to put anybody in office having to do with U.S. attorneys or having to do with judges.” REPUBLICANS BLAST DEMOCRATS’ TRUMP ELECTION MEDDLING CLAIMS AS HYPOCRITICAL ‘CONSPIRACY THEORY’ Much of his frustration with the tradition, which has been around for over 100 years in the upper chamber, likely stemmed from the nominations of Alina Habba and Lindsey Halligan getting derailed by blue slips last year. He’s taken his frustrations out on Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a vocal proponent of the practice, and other Republicans that want to maintain the tradition. Notably, Grassley modified the tradition in 2017 to allow for circuit court judges to skirt the process, further boosting the number of judges Republicans were able to confirm under Trump despite Democratic objections. When asked if the Senate’s pace in confirming judicial nominees further affirmed that the blue slip was here to stay, Grassley told Fox News Digital, “It doesn’t need to be a present question.” “Because it’s a question of 110 years, and everybody in the Senate wants to maintain the blue slip,” Grassley said.
Federal judge orders Fulton County election raid documents to be unsealed
A federal judge in Georgia has ordered the unsealing of documents tied to an FBI raid that seized 2020 election ballots from a Fulton County facility, potentially shedding new light on the bureau’s investigation. Judge J.P. Boulee, who was nominated by President Donald Trump in 2019, gave the government until Tuesday to file the documents, including the search warrant affidavit with redactions. “Although Petitioners originally filed this case under seal, both parties have now indicated to the Court that they do not oppose unsealing the docket or the motions filed by Petitioners,” Boulee wrote in the order. “Moreover, Respondent has stated that it does not oppose the unsealing of the search warrant affidavit and any other papers associated with the warrant subject to the redaction of the names of nongovernmental witnesses,” the order continued. GEORGIA’S FULTON COUNTY FILES MOTION SEEKING RETURN OF 2020 ELECTION MATERIALS SEIZED BY FBI The FBI raid took place Jan. 28 at Fulton County’s main election facility in Union City, near Atlanta, and focused on records connected to the 2020 general election. A warrant cover sheet provided to the county listed items agents sought, including ballots, tabulator tapes, electronic ballot images and voter rolls. Last week, Fulton County officials filed a motion seeking the return of around 656 boxes of original 2020 election materials that the FBI had seized. TRUMP DOJ DEMANDS MINNESOTA VOTING RECORDS OVER SAME-DAY REGISTRATION ‘VOUCHING’ CONCERNS The heavily Democratic Fulton County has come under scrutiny following President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss to former President Joe Biden. Biden carried Georgia, but Trump has insisted that widespread voter fraud contributed to him losing the state. Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
US forces hunt down and board tanker ship defying Trump admin quarantine
The War Department announced on Monday morning that the U.S. military boarded a vessel overnight “without incident.” The department’s post on X noted that the U.S. had “hunted” the ship, called the Aquila II, “from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean.” “When the @DeptofWar says quarantine, we mean it. Nothing will stop DoW from defending our Homeland — even in oceans halfway around the world. Overnight, U.S. military forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding on the Aquila II without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility,” the Monday post explained. US MILITARY SEIZES TWO SANCTIONED TANKERS IN ATLANTIC OCEAN “The Aquila II was operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean. It ran, and we followed. The Department of War tracked and hunted this vessel from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean,” the post continued. “No other nation on planet Earth has the capability to enforce its will through any domain. By land, air, or sea, our Armed Forces will find you and deliver justice. You will run out of fuel long before you will outrun us,” the department asserted. US FORCES SEIZE OIL TANKER IN THE CARIBBEAN SEA IN PRE-DAWN MISSION “The Department of War will deny illicit actors and their proxies the ability to defy American power in the global maritime domain,” the post concluded. War Secretary Pete Hegseth reposted the War Department’s post on X. US MILITARY SEIZES ANOTHER FUGITIVE OIL TANKER LINKED TO VENEZUELA The department’s post included footage of troops descending a rope to board the vessel from a hovering helicopter. “The successful interdiction of the Aquila II underscores the unmatched reach and resolve of the United States military under President Trump’s and Secretary Hegseth’s leadership. As we’ve publicly stated, our quarantine measures are ironclad, and no vessel defying them can evade justice, whether in the Caribbean or the far reaches of the Indian Ocean,” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The Department of War will continue to project power across every domain to safeguard our homeland and deter illicit actors worldwide,” Wilson added.
Hochul running mate voted to allow noncitizen voting in NYC elections
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s running mate, former New York City Council member Adrienne Adams, voted in favor of allowing some noncitizens to vote in Big Apple municipal elections. Adams voted for the measure passed by the city council in late 2021 that would have allowed lawful permanent residents and individuals authorized to work in the country to vote in the city’s municipal contests. The measure was ultimately struck down by the Empire State’s highest court, according to the New York Post. POLL FINDS CLEAR FAVORITE IN NEW YORK GOVERNOR’S RACE The outlet reported that GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis asserted, “Anyone trying to dilute the voices of American citizens and pushing for noncitizens to vote in our elections has no business statewide or any elected office.” Hochul announced Adams as her running mate last week. “I picked a New Yorker from Southeast Queens. Someone who grew up in a union household, just like I did. A fighter who knows how to deliver for New York,” the governor said in a post on X. HOCHUL PRIMARY CHALLENGER PICKS DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST, ONCE ARRESTED FOR HARASSMENT, AS RUNNING MATE Hochul, who previously served as lieutenant governor, became governor in 2021 after Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned. She won the 2022 gubernatorial election and is running for re-election this year. SOCIALIST MAYOR MAMDANI BACKS HOCHUL IN MOVE THAT COULD RESHAPE NEW YORK GOVERNOR RACE Her new running mate ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic New York City mayoral primary last year.
Ghislaine Maxwell to appear before House Oversight Committee lawmakers for Epstein probe deposition
Lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee are expected to be face-to-face Monday with Ghislaine Maxwell, the notorious accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring with the late billionaire pedophile. Maxwell is due to appear virtually before the congressional panel at 10 a.m. ET while currently serving out her sentence at a Texas prison. Her deposition will be behind closed doors, meaning it will not be viewed publicly unless the committee chooses to release video footage after the fact. It’s likely to be a brief engagement, with Maxwell expected to plead the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering questions. DEMOCRATS SAY CLINTONS’ AGREEMENT TO TESTIFY UNDERCUTS SUBPOENA PUSH, WON’T BRING NEW EPSTEIN ANSWERS House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., announced lawmakers would hear from Maxwell during a meeting on holding former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for refusing to appear for his Epstein probe. “We’ve been trying to get her in for a deposition. Our lawyers have been saying that she’s going to plead the Fifth, but we have nailed down a date, Feb. 9, where Ghislaine Maxwell will be deposed by this committee,” Comer said last month. Contempt proceedings against the Clintons stalled, however, after they agreed via their attorneys to appear in person on Capitol Hill just days before the full House of Representatives was expected to vote on referring the pair to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for criminal charges. Comer’s team had been in a back-and-forth with Maxwell’s attorney for months trying to nail down a date for her to speak to committee lawyers. He agreed to delay her previous planned deposition in August after her lawyer asked him to wait until after the Supreme Court decided whether it would hear her appeal. The Supreme Court turned down Maxwell’s case in October. NEW GHISLAINE MAXWELL MUGSHOT INCLUDED IN DOJ’S LATEST EPSTEIN FILES RELEASE The former British socialite was found guilty in December 2021 of being an accomplice in Epstein’s scheme to sexually traffic and exploit female minors. The DOJ said at the time of her sentencing that Maxwell “enticed and groomed minor girls to be abused in multiple ways.” Epstein had been awaiting trial when he killed himself in a New York City jail in 2019. Her deposition is part of the House Oversight Committee’s months-long probe into how the government handled Epstein’s case.
Massie, Khanna to visit DOJ to review unredacted Epstein files
GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California have each said that they will visit the Department of Justice on Monday to view unredacted documents from the Epstein files. The bipartisan duo spearheaded the push to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act last year. “The survivors standing in front of the Capitol twice is why @RepThomasMassie & I were able to pass the Epstein Transparency Act. Tomorrow, Massie and I will go together to DOJ to see the unredacted files. We will not rest until the Epstein class is brought to justice,” Khanna declared in a Sunday post on X. REP THOMAS MASSIE RESPONDS AFTER TRUMP CALLS HIM A ‘MORON’ IN NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST SPEECH Massie crowdsourced suggestions for which documents he should read. “Tomorrow I will go to DOJ to view the unredacted Epstein files. Which docs should I view?” the congressman asked in a Sunday post on X. South Carolina gubernatorial hopeful GOP Rep. Nancy Mace indicated that she was perusing the responses to Massie’s post rather than watching the Super Bowl on Sunday. KEIR STARMER’S CHIEF OF STAFF RESIGNS AFTER RECOMMENDING EPSTEIN-CONNECTED AMBASSADOR “Headed to the DOJ this week as well. Thank you @RepThomasMassie for the post below; very helpful suggestions from all those who chimed in. I am sifting through the comments now in preparation for my visit, rather than watch the Super Bowl,” Mace noted in a post. Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who departed from office early last month, responded to Massie’s post. “Any docs talking about ‘jerky’ and ‘pizza,’” she wrote. “And FBI docs with Presidents, Sec of State, any and all government officials, and people profiting from government contracts. Foreign countries Epstein was working for. Names unredacted. No exceptions.” BILL CLINTON COMES OUT SWINGING AGAINST COMER FOR REJECTING PUBLIC EPSTEIN HEARING: ‘STOP THE GAMES’ Massie, Greene, Mace and GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado were the only four House Republicans who signed onto a discharge petition last year in a bid to push the Epstein Files Transparency Act. President Donald Trump, who is backing a GOP primary challenger running against Massie in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, called Massie a “moron” while speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast last week.