Winery belonging to Ilhan Omar’s husband shut down amid financial spotlight
A California winery partially owned by the husband of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., abruptly shut down in early April as House Republicans scrutinized Omar’s net worth. Omar’s financial disclosures show Tim Mynett owns a stake in eStCru Wines, a California wine business that shut down as of April 4, according to California business records obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. “Ilhan Omar has spent her entire career covering up Democrat-enabled fraud that cost taxpayers billions, so it’s no surprise that she would do the same for her husband,” Republican National Committee spokeswoman Delanie Bomar told Fox News Digital. ILHAN OMAR VINEGAR ATTACKER CHANGES PLEA AFTER CHAOTIC ONSTAGE RUSH “Voters see right through the corrupt lies of Ilhan Omar and her Democrat colleagues, and they’ll pay the consequences of their crimes at the ballot box this November.” The shutdown comes amid a House Oversight Committee probe into Omar’s finances, with her husband’s assets a major area of focus. “Financial disclosure forms, filed by your wife Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, show eStCru LLC and Rose Lake Capital LLC, which you hold ownership stakes in, went from being worth as much as $51,000 in 2023 to as much as $30 million in 2024,” House Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., wrote to Mynett in a February letter. “Given that these companies do not publicly list their investors or where their money comes from, this sudden jump in value raises concerns that unknown individuals may be investing to gain influence with your wife.” JAMES COMER RAISES FELONY QUESTIONS OVER ILHAN OMAR’S FINANCES AFTER DISCLOSURE DISCREPANCY Comer requested documents and communications related to eStCru and Rose Lake Capital LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based venture capital firm Mynett co-founded in 2022. Mynett, a political consultant, started eStCru Wines in 2021. Omar’s 2025 financial disclosures listed her husband’s stake in eStCru as worth between $1 million and $5 million, a significant jump from the $15,001 to $50,000 her 2023 disclosures listed. Comer pointed to the discrepancy in the disclosure forms in his letter, but Omar brushed it aside as an accounting error. “The original filing was based on incomplete information from Mr. Mynett’s businesses’ accountants in good faith and deference to professional judgment. It listed assets without liabilities, and it significantly overstated her husband’s net worth. The accounting error created a misleading picture of far greater wealth,” a spokesperson for Omar told the Minnesota Star Tribune. After amending her disclosures, Omar claims that the value of her and her husband’s assets is between $18,004 and $95,000 and not, as originally reported, between $6 million and $30 million. “The amended disclosure confirms what we’ve said all along: The congresswoman is not a millionaire,” Omar’s communications director, Jacklyn Rogers, told The Wall Street Journal. Fox News Digital contacted Omar and the House Oversight Committee for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Trump cancels Witkoff, Kushner’s Pakistan trip for Iran talks, says regime is suffering from ‘infighting’
President Donald Trump revealed to Fox News Saturday he unilaterally canceled U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner’s planned trip to Pakistan for talks with Iran. The president said in an exclusive interview with Fox News’ White House correspondent Aishah Hasnie it’s not worth the U.S. delegation making the 18-hour flight to Pakistan when the U.S. holds all the cards in the conflict with Iran. “I’ve told my people a little while ago they were getting ready to leave, and I said, ‘Nope, you’re not making an 18-hour flight to go there. We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you’re not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing,’” Trump said. “And I canceled the trip, and I said, ‘Anytime they want to phone us, we’re ready, willing and able, but we’re not going to waste a lot of time,’” Trump told Fox News. LIVE UPDATES: TRUMP CANCELS US TRIP TO PAKISTAN FOR IRAN NEGOTIATIONS Then, in a post on Truth Social, Trump said Iran is suffering from “tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership.’” “Nobody knows who is in charge, including them,” Trump wrote. U.S. special envoy Witkoff and Kushner, who is Trump’s son-in-law, were supposed to travel to Pakistan this weekend for the second round of U.S.-Iran negotiations during Operation Epic Fury. US TURNS TO DRONES AFTER RETIRING MINESWEEPERS TO REOPEN STRAIT OF HORMUZ Prior to the cancellation, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday, “We’ve certainly seen some progress from the Iranian side in the last couple of days” regarding a potential deal to end the conflict. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday to meet with Pakistan’s prime minister. “Very fruitful visit to Pakistan, whose good offices and brotherly efforts to bring back peace to our region we very much value,” he said on X after the trip. “Shared Iran’s position concerning workable framework to permanently end the war on Iran. Have yet to see if the U.S. is truly serious about diplomacy.” Vice President JD Vance was supposed to travel to Pakistan earlier this week for a second round of talks, but he was called back to the White House for meetings, and the trip was postponed indefinitely. Vance, Witkoff and Kushner were in Pakistan earlier this month for the first round of talks with the Iranians, but no deal was reached after their in-person meeting.
FLASHBACK: Obama tried to make Trump a punchline at 2011 dinner before rise stunned Washington
President Donald Trump will attend the White House Correspondents‘ Dinner Saturday, marking his first appearance at the annual event as commander in chief after skipping it throughout his first term. The decision puts Trump back at a Washington ritual long tied to his fraught relationship with the press and political establishment. His return also revives memories of the 2011 dinner, when President Barack Obama and comedian Seth Meyers mocked Trump from the dais in a moment that later became a widely discussed part of Trump’s political story. “Donald Trump is here tonight,” Obama said at the 2011 dinner. “Now, I know he’s taken some flak lately, but no one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than The Donald. HOLLYWOOD TAKES SHOTS AT TRUMP WHILE CELEBRATING CONAN O’BRIEN AMID KENNEDY CENTER SHAKE-UP “And that’s because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter — like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?” he continued. Trump had publicly called for the release of Obama’s birth certificate, which the State of Hawaii did release that year. The exchange underscored longstanding tensions between Trump and the Washington establishment that predated his entry into politics. Speculation mounted that the jabs helped fuel Trump’s eventual decision to launch a presidential run, culminating in a stunning upset victory in 2016. Trump denied that Obama’s 2011 jokes prompted his candidacy, telling The Washington Post in 2016 that “there are many reasons I’m running, but that’s not one of them.” PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP RECEIVES THE ‘PATRIOT OF THE YEAR’ AWARD AT FOX NATION’S PATRIOT AWARDS “Donald Trump has been saying that he will run for president as a Republican, which is surprising since I just assumed he’d be running as a joke,” comedian Seth Meyers added when he took the podium that night. Trump told Fox News’ “The Five” earlier this year he was treated “rudely and crudely” during the dinner, which he said influenced his decision not to attend while he was first in office. “The press was so nasty, I just – so I didn’t do it,” said Trump. TRUMP SAYS TRANSGENDER BATHROOM DEBATE LESS IMPORTANT THAN OTHER ISSUES He once again denied it was the 2011 dinner that sparked his interest in running for office. “There is this theory: I was there while Barack Hussein Obama was speaking, and he was hitting me a little bit. Actually, it was very nice, and I was actually – I loved it. I really loved it,” said Trump. WHCA PRESIDENT OPENS DINNER HIGHLIGHTING TRUMP’S ABSENCE AND ‘EXTREMELY DIFFICULT’ YEAR FOR THE PRESS Trump announced he would attend this year’s dinner as part of America’s 250th birthday celebration. The first lady will join him. “The White House Correspondents Association very nicely asked the President to join them at their annual dinner this year as the honoree, which he gladly accepted,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle previously told Fox News Digital. Trump did not attend during his first term due to a contentious relationship with the media at the height of coverage of the Russia investigation. The banquet was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic and revived in 2022 during President Biden’s administration. Trump also did not attend last year.
Trump to headline 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner for the first time as president
President Trump is attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday for the first time as commander-in-chief — after boycotting the annual event last year and each year during his first term. The dinner will take place on Saturday, April 25, at the Washington Hilton. “The White House Correspondents Association has asked me, very nicely, to be the Honoree at this year’s Dinner, a long and storied tradition since it began in 1924, under then President Calvin Coolidge,” Trump posted on his Truth Social last month, adding that it would be his “Honor to accept their invitation.” TRUMP’S RETURN TO THE WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER MARKS A POLITICAL JOURNEY COMING FULL CIRCLE The White House Correspondents’ Association’s president, Weijia Jiang said that they were “happy” with the president’s decision to attend. “For more than 100 years, the journalists of the White House Correspondents’ Association have enjoyed an evening with the president,” Jiang said in a statement last month. “We’re happy the president has accepted our invitation and look forward to hosting him.” DAN RATHER AMONG 200 JOURNALISTS DEMANDING TRUMP BE CALLED OUT AT WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER The president had skipped the event in years past, saying that decision was due to the press being “extraordinarily bad” to him. Despite the annual invitation and Trump’s acceptance, hundreds of journalists are going after the president, having signed an open letter urging the White House Correspondents’ Association to call out the president and “forcefully demonstrate opposition” to his “efforts to trample freedom of the press.” “The dinner has long served as a symbol of the vital and irreplaceable role of a free press in American democracy and a celebration of the First Amendment and the journalists who uphold it. President Trump’s systematic, sustained, and unprecedented attacks on the free press… render his presence at such an event a profound contradiction of its purpose,” the open letter reads. “The collective weight of the administration’s actions — retaliatory access bans, coercive regulatory investigations, frivolous lawsuits against the press, defunding of public broadcasting, dismantling of international broadcasting, physical restrictions on journalists, personal verbal attacks on reporters, assaults on the media in official White House press releases and social media posts, the arrest of journalists, and the pardoning of those who committed violence against the press — represent the most systematic and comprehensive assault on freedom of the press by a sitting American president.” TRUMP ACCEPTS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ ASSOCIATION DINNER INVITATION FOR THE FIRST TIME AS PRESIDENT Notable signatories on the letter are former CBS News anchor Dan Rather, former ABC News White House correspondent Sam Donaldson, former NBC News anchor Ann Curry and PBS NewsHour correspondent Stephanie Sy. A spokesperson for the White House simply pointed to Trump’s Truth Social post announcing he was attending the dinner when previously asked about the open letter. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST MEDIA AND CULTURE NEWS Trump did attend the event as a private citizen in 2011 during the Obama administration. Then-President Barack Obama made a joke about Trump during that event saying: “Say what you will about Mr. Trump, he certainly would bring some change to the White House. Let’s see what we’ve got up there.” Obama then featured an image of the White House with a neon sign that said “Trump White House Hotel Casino Golf Course” with gold columns and a chandelier. But during his second term, Trump has actually taken to remodeling the White House— with a new ballroom under construction and his addition of gold molding to the Oval Office. Fox News’ Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
Parents in Bronx neighborhood plead for NYPD guard as Mamdani cuts cops, halts hires: ‘Horrible situation’
FIRST ON FOX: NEW YORK — As New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani moves to cut the NYPD’s budget and resists calls to hire more police officers, parents in the Bronx are asking for more police, not less, saying their kids face an increase in danger. The push highlights growing tension between the mayor’s policing agenda and safety concerns from local families. Over 1,000 people have signed a Change.org petition supporting the families of Zeta Bronx Tremont Park Lower Elementary school, who are requesting an NYPD crossing guard to be assigned to a treacherous corner, where they say a tragic accident is waiting to happen. Fox News Digital went to the busy intersection at Arthur Avenue and Tremont Avenue and spoke to parents about the dangers their children face every day as cars zoom by on their way to Interstate 95. “The situation is very horrible for the kids and the parents too,” Aimee, a parent at the school, said. “There have always been small accidents on the street because the intersection crosses to go right to the highway, and it’s something that worries us a lot. They don’t take us into consideration and I feel that we should raise our voice for the entire community of the school.” MAMDANI MOVES TO SIDELINE NYC POLICE WITH NEW SAFETY OFFICE UNDER SWEEPING OVERHAUL A parent named Christine explained that the school has been trying to get a crossing guard or police officer “for a long time” but were told “they didn’t have anyone.” Several NYPD vehicles could be seen parked near the intersection but were unoccupied, and parents told Fox News Digital they belonged to a nearby station and were not monitoring the street crossing. “[There have] almost been accidents so many times, and we really need help,” Christine said. Fox News Digital reached out to Mayor Mamdani’s office for comment but did not receive a response. Mamdani has faced criticism over his relationship with police dating back to his mayoral campaign, which was dogged by questions about his past support of defunding the police. After his election, Mamdani was in the hot seat from critics again when his budget included cutting police funding and canceling 5,000 new NYPD hires. Some parents near the Bronx school, including some who previously supported Mamdani, aren’t sold on the idea of less police. MAMDANI’S ‘GUN VIOLENCE’ COMMENTS AFTER KILLING OF 7-MONTH OLD BABY SPARK OUTRAGE: ‘ABSOLUTE DISGRACE’ “Removing or preventing us from having those resources is a step in the wrong direction when our schools and children clearly need more support,” Paola, a Zeta parent, said in a press release. “We need more preventive officers and programs to keep our neighborhoods in the Bronx safe.” “I am one of those who initially had a lot of faith in Mayor Mamdani, but I’m starting to get scared because he doesn’t seem aware of the actual needs of my community. The safety of my child and my own students is non-negotiable, and we must find the funding to keep our little ones safe.” Aimee told Fox News Digital “we need more police” to “help us” and urged the mayor to “consider us.” The Change.org petition requests a “dedicated traffic officer” during arrival and dismissal hours at the school and argues that “traffic officers are assigned at busy school crossings across New York City” and the children at the charter school “deserve the same protection” as those public schools. A parent named Lou described the situation as “very dangerous” and that many vehicles simply “don’t abide by the law.” Fox News Digital witnessed several close calls at the intersection with cars making illegal or dangerous turns, honking horns, and coming to an abrupt stop as children were being ushered to school nearby. “I don’t get why he’s saying less cops or less funding,” Paola told Fox News Digital, adding that the neighborhood is also suffering from crime issues related to drugs. “There has to be money somewhere.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, an NYPD spokesperson said, “The Commanding Officer of the 48 precinct is working with community leaders and elected officials to get more School Crossing Guards.” “Additionally, personnel from the 48 precinct are working with Department of Transportation to work on additional signage and redesign of the intersection. Year-to-date, there have been no collisions at the intersection Arthur Avenue and East Tremont Avenue. Year-to-date, the NYPD has issued 67 summonses to vehicles in the vicinity of Arthur Avenue and East Tremont Street. Traffic safety is a shared responsibility and the NYPD, along with personnel from the 48 precinct, are committed to supporting local schools in achieving that goal.” Mamdani won the Bronx in November’s mayoral election with 51% of the vote, compared to 40% for former Governor Andrew Cuomo and 7% for Republican Curtis Sliwa.
House GOP pushes back on Senate’s ‘skinny’ plan to end record-breaking DHS shutdown
Senate Republicans are forging ahead with a two-step plan to end the record-breaking Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, but their House counterparts tell Fox News Digital they are not on board with the strategy. A swath of House Republicans have voiced growing frustration that a forthcoming GOP-only funding package does not include other policy priorities beyond funding immigration enforcement ahead of November’s midterm elections. “I think we’ve got one last opportunity for reconciliation,” Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital in an interview. “I know some people are talking about two, but I think we’ve got one guaranteed shot.” “I like the idea of making it bigger,” he added, mentioning defense funding and affordability concerns. “We’ve got a lot of important stuff to do and we need to get it done.” ICE SHUTDOWN FIGHT MIGHT RESTRICT FEMA, COAST GUARD TO ‘LIFE-THREATENING’ EMERGENCIES “I’m undecided,” Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., a member of the House Freedom Caucus, told Fox News Digital, referring to the Senate’s approach. “I’ve got issues with it. We believe it should be more expansive.” The Senate approved a budget resolution early Thursday largely along party lines that would fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for the rest of President Donald Trump’s term. Republicans are pursuing the partisan budget reconciliation process to bypass Democrats and fund immigration enforcement with GOP votes after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., refused to fund the department without sweeping reforms added to the proposal. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is racing to pass the Senate’s budget resolution as early as next week, at which point he can afford to lose only a handful of votes. President Donald Trump has set a June 1 deadline to fully fund immigration enforcement through a GOP-only bill, forcing Republicans to act quickly with little room for error. Before the DHS shutdown, House Republican leadership teased a budget reconciliation sequel to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that would incorporate a diverse set of priorities, such as a defense supplemental package, spending cuts targeting fraud and policies aimed at lowering the cost of living. Concerns among rank-and-file Republicans that a forthcoming budget bill will not include those provisions threaten to jeopardize that timeline. House conservatives have also fiercely objected to the Senate passing a bipartisan partial DHS bill carving out ICE and the Border Patrol from the normal appropriations process and keeping those two agencies unfunded. After Democrats in the upper chamber repeatedly filibustered DHS funding bills, the Senate approved legislation funding parts of the department that Democrats would support. The House has yet to take up that legislation. “The bill the Senate sent over is totally unacceptable to conservatives,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., said Thursday, referring to the upper chamber’s partial DHS bill. “We will never vote or support in any way a bill that puts in a zero” for immigration enforcement, he added. “The very premise of needing a reconciliation bill to pass funding for ICE and CBP is repulsive to me,” Higgins told Fox News Digital. “That sort of thing has never been done up here, to take an appropriations bill and sort of cherry pick what you don’t want in it and isolate whole agencies … I’m against that whole premise.” BEHIND THE SCENES OF CONGRESS’ ELEVENTH-HOUR RUSH TO FUND THE DHS Senate Republicans are largely unified on keeping the package as narrow as possible out of concern that adding more to the pot could stall lawmakers’ progress. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has sought to expedite the passage of a forthcoming budget bill by involving in the process just two panels — the Senate Judiciary and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committees. “The vast majority of Republicans stuck together to do something Democrats are refusing to do: Fully fund the Border Patrol and ICE for three and a half years through the Trump presidency,” Graham said Thursday after the upper chamber adopted the budget blueprint. “As Senate Budget Committee Chairman, I am very proud of my colleagues.” Still, some Senate Republicans agree with their House colleagues who want to supersize the forthcoming package out of fear that they may not get another shot before the midterms. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., argued that Republicans should try to beef up the package despite promises from leadership that there could be a third bite at the apple later in the year. “I’m not saying anybody’s lying, they’re not. People probably intend to do a third reconciliation bill,” Kennedy said on the Senate floor. “But you’re not looking at Bambi’s baby brother here. There won’t be a third reconciliation bill. You know it … and I know it. This is it. This is the last train leaving the station.” It is unclear whether the House will ultimately modify the Senate’s budget blueprint funding immigration enforcement. Any changes to the resolution would kick it back to the Senate for reconciliation and require another marathon vote series before Congress could officially unlock the reconciliation process. DHS, meanwhile, has warned this week it is short on funds to continue paying its employees through May. Earlier in April, Trump ordered the department to use existing funds to provide back pay to federal employees who had been furloughed or reported to work without their salary during the funding lapse, which began in mid-February.
Radical activist groups circle wagons around Southern Poverty Law Center amid federal charges
Left-wing nonprofits are rallying behind the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as the self-described “beacon of hope” for “fighting White supremacy” faces federal fraud charges. In a blog post written by National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Senior Policy Advisor Mel Wilson, Wilson said, “it is important that we stand with and support The Southern Poverty Law Center until the legal travails are complete — with full confidence that SPLC will be vindicated.” Below her commentary, Wilson listed a number of “coalition members” that are standing with SPLC and are a part of “The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.” The list included more than one hundred non-profit organizations. SPLC INDICTMENT BUILDS MOMENTUM FOR BESSENT’S TREASURY TO PROBE PARTISAN NONPROFITS Separately, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a press release defending SPLC, saying that it stands with the nonprofit, and accusing the Department of Justice of “targeting” the organization. “This reported federal targeting of SPLC appears to be a transparently political attack on the rule of law meant to undermine the vital role civil rights groups play in countering hate groups. This is unacceptable and must not stand,” CAIR’s statement read. “We encourage all Americans and elected officials to stand in solidarity with the SPLC and all other organizations dedicated to the protection of civil rights,” the statement continued. BLACK CHURCH GROUP RETRACTS ‘INAPPROPRIATE’ CALL FOR AL SHARPTON’S SUSPENSION OVER DONATIONS FROM HARRIS CAMP CAIR was named a co-conspirator during The Holy Land Foundation (HLF) trial from 2007-2008, where five members of the HLF were convicted of conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization, providing material support, money laundering and tax fraud after allegations that HLF funneled $12.4 million to Hamas in the early 2000s. While CAIR never faced charges and was only named by prosecutors during the trial, the FBI cut ties with the nonprofit following the case. SEC. NOEM SAYS HOMELAND SECURITY WILL FREEZE GRANTS TO NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS Fox News Digital reached out to NASW but did not receive a response. Federal authorities announced earlier this week that the Southern Poverty Law Center, known for civil rights litigation and racial justice, was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly funneling millions to members of violent extremist groups like the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations and the National Socialist Party of America (American Nazi Party). FAR-LEFT AGITATOR WHO ORGANIZED MN CHURCH STORMING RAKED IN OVER $1 MILLION FROM ANTI-POVERTY NONPROFIT According to the SPLC’s Form 990 filing with the IRS, the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization posted roughly $129 million in total revenue in fiscal year 2024 with nearly $800 million in total assets. The organization says that the money was for informants to report back to SPLC and provide information about the groups and their inner workings. The indictment said that one alleged informant, who was paid $270,000, shared “racist social media posts” under SPLC supervision, and that the nonprofit “helped organize transportation to events” during the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” event in Charlottesville, Virginia. EX-NONPROFIT BOSS ALLEGEDLY SWIPED $1.2M MEANT FOR HOMELESS PROGRAMS TO FUND LAVISH LIFESTYLE, DA SAYS “These individuals risked their lives to infiltrate and inform on the activities of our nation’s most radical and violent extremist groups,” SPLC Interim President and CEO Bryan Fair said in a video statement. “When we began working with informants, we were living in the shadow of the height of the civil rights movement, which had seen bombings at churches, state-sponsored violence against demonstrators, and the murders of activists that went unanswered by the justice system.” In 1994, an investigative series by the Montgomery Advertiser examined the financials of SPLC at the time, finding that the founder was heavily focused on fundraising for the nonprofit, running the organization like a business or corporation. It also found that the salaries of SPLC were high, and that the nonprofit raised significantly more money than it spent. The Montgomery Advertiser was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Journalism due to the series on SPLC. SPLC co-founder Joe Levin rejected the paper’s claims at the time. DOJ SAYS SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER FUNNELED $3M+ TO WHITE SUPREMACIST AND EXTREMIST GROUPS Margaret Huang, who served as the CEO of the nonprofit until her resignation last summer, made $522,000 a year as reported by Charity Watch, which gave SPLC an “F” rating in May 2025 “due to it having six years’ worth of available assets in reserve.” The indictments also raise questions about whether SPLC donors were misled about how their money was being spent, including payments made to members of the KKK and other extremist groups. “The SPLC indictment is legally valid, well-pleaded and built to survive motion practice,” former federal prosecutor and legal expert Andrew Cherkasky told Fox News Digital. “The wire fraud counts rest on specific, quoted solicitations telling donors their money would be used to ‘dismantle’ violent extremist groups, paired with the material omission that more than three million dollars flowed to the leaders, fundraisers, and organizers of those very same groups.” OVERSIGHT DEMANDS DOJ ANSWERS ON FOREIGN FUNDING OF AGITATOR GROUPS AS IRAN, ANTI-ICE PROTESTS CONTINUE Cherkasky noted that paying informants is not illegal, and that journalists, watchdog groups and the government regularly use them. But he noted “a nonprofit is criminally liable for the acts of its agents committed within the scope of their duties and for the organization’s benefit.” “A high-level SPLC employee coordinated payment for documents stolen by a paid source who twice burglarized an extremist group’s headquarters, and a different source was paid six thousand dollars to falsely confess to the theft,” Cherkasky explained. “If proven, that is sponsored criminal conduct directed from inside the organization, and it carries institutional exposure that extends beyond the criminal counts to potential loss of tax-exempt status, civil liability to victims, and fiduciary exposure for directors and officers.” FBI Director Kash Patel said Tuesday that SPLC was not honest or transparent with its donors. “They lied to their donors, vowing to
US turns to drones after retiring minesweepers to reopen Strait of Hormuz amid Iran crisis
The U.S. is racing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as Iran threatens one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes, testing a Navy that has recently retired most of its dedicated minesweepers and is now relying on a smaller fleet of unmanned systems to do the job. President Donald Trump has warned Tehran against further escalation and signaled the U.S. is prepared to act to keep the strait open, while Iranian forces have laid mines and threatened commercial traffic in the narrow waterway that carries a significant share of global oil. The confrontation is now testing a weakness in the Navy’s mine-warfare posture. As the U.S. moves to reopen the Strait of Hormuz after Iranian mining threats, it is doing so after retiring most of the ships once dedicated to that mission and while still relying on a limited mix of legacy vessels and newer unmanned systems to clear one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes. At the current moment, any mine-clearing effort is unfolding amid an active standoff in the strait. The U.S. has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, while Iran has responded with attacks on commercial vessels, seizures of ships and threats to close the waterway entirely. HEGSETH BLASTS BRITS, SAYS IRAN’S CHAOTIC RETALIATION HAS DRIVEN ITS OWN ALLIES ‘INTO THE AMERICAN ORBIT’ At least several commercial ships have come under fire in recent days, and both sides have intercepted vessels as they attempt to move through the choke point, underscoring the risks facing any operation to restore traffic. Iran has tied further negotiations to the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade, while Washington has insisted on security guarantees and reopening the strait, leaving little immediate path to a deal. The operation comes after a major shift in how the Navy handles mine warfare. The service retired its four Bahrain-based minesweepers last year, ending a decades-long presence of dedicated mine-hunting ships in the Middle East. At the start of the current crisis, the Navy’s remaining minesweepers were based in Japan, not the Persian Gulf, and newer littoral combat ships equipped for mine countermeasures were not all positioned in the region. Multiple news outlets have reported Iran has laid at least a dozen mines in the strait, citing intelligence assessments, though some estimates put the number higher. Now, as the U.S. moves to reopen the strait, some of those assets are being brought back in. Two Avenger-class mine countermeasure ships, USS Chief and USS Pioneer, were tracked sailing west from Southeast Asia toward the Middle East in recent days as preparations for mine-clearing operations ramp up. DESTROY THE REGIME’S POWER WITHOUT OCCUPYING IRAN: A SMARTER WAR PLAN The shift has left the Navy relying on a mix of legacy ships being surged into theater and newer unmanned systems designed to detect and neutralize mines. “To be honest, that the minesweepers retired was never a concern to me, because we had brought in newer technology,” retired Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan, who previously commanded the Navy’s 5th Fleet, told Fox News Digital. But analysts say the Navy is still working through a transition as it replaces its older minesweepers with newer systems. “We’re sort of at this nadir of the Navy’s mine sweeping capacity,” Bryan Clark, a defense analyst at the Hudson Institute, told Fox News Digital. Clark said the Navy has spent years developing unmanned systems to replace legacy ships, but currently has a limited number of those systems available for large-scale operations. U.S. forces are not sending ships blindly into minefields. Instead, the operation begins with a wave of unmanned systems scanning the seabed to identify potential threats. Underwater drones — some torpedo-shaped — are deployed in grid patterns to map the ocean floor and detect objects that could be mines, using high-resolution sonar to distinguish them from debris. “They kind of look like torpedoes and they map the bottom,” Donegan said. In parallel, surface drones tow sonar systems through narrow lanes, while helicopters equipped with sensors scan for mines closer to the surface, allowing the Navy to build a detailed picture of what is actually in the water. TRUMP VOICES FRUSTRATION WITH NATO, SAYS IRANIAN NAVY ‘DESTROYED’ AS US PREPS FOR BLOCKADE But identifying mines is only the first step. “The mine neutralization part is really the long leg of the process,” Clark said. Once a mine is located, operators deploy remotely controlled systems to disable it — either by detonating it in place or puncturing it so it sinks. Even then, the danger is not fully removed. “You’ve got to then retrieve this thing with EOD personnel,” Clark said, referring to explosive ordnance disposal teams tasked with clearing debris that can still pose a hazard to passing ships. Clearing mines remains a slow and methodical process that can stretch timelines depending on how many devices are in the water and how they are deployed. The Pentagon has told Congress the effort could take as long as six months, according to a Washington Post report. Clark said recent war-gaming suggests U.S. forces could identify and begin neutralizing mines within weeks, but fully removing them from key shipping lanes could take significantly longer. “The finding part, you could do within a couple of weeks,” he said, adding that neutralizing mines could take additional time and that removing debris and ensuring lanes are completely safe could extend operations into months. Donegan cautioned that timelines are difficult to predict, in part because U.S. forces must first confirm whether mines are actually present in the areas Iran has claimed. “When somebody says they mined it, you have to go validate if that’s even true, and that takes time,” he said.
Michigan governor hopeful pressed on past SPLC work after DOJ indictment: ‘What did Jocelyn know?’
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s campaign hit back at Republican attacks Friday after the state GOP demanded answers from the Democratic gubernatorial front-runner on her past work with the federally-indicted Southern Poverty Law Center. Benson is a former volunteer and later board member of the SPLC, which was indicted Tuesday on 11 counts over accusations it fraudulently paid members of extremist groups like the KKK and those tied to the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the SPLC paid members of these extremist groups so it could create a “work product that reported on these activities.” “Jocelyn Benson regularly touted her experience as a leader of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a group that the Department of Justice says secretly funneled money to the KKK and other hate groups they were purportedly tracking,” the Michigan Republican Party posted on its official X account on Friday. “What did Jocelyn know, and when did she know it?” JAY JONES TARGETED AS AGS URGE NATIONAL GROUPS TO DENY MEMBERSHIP OVER SCANDALS: ‘STAIN ON OUR INSTITUTION’ After her 2004 graduation from college in Massachusetts, Benson moved to Alabama to work for the SPLC, where she aided investigations of hate groups and hate crimes, according to the Harvard Law Review. She also visited the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma where civil rights figures like the late Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., marched and were badly beaten by law enforcement. An official with the Benson campaign confirmed she served as a volunteer researcher for the SPLC after college and later served on the Montgomery-based group’s board from 2014–2018. But when pressed on what Benson knew about the allegations in the DOJ’s indictment, her campaign pushed back on the Republican Party’s attacks. “Jocelyn Benson has spent her career advancing the unfinished work of the civil rights movement and expanding economic opportunity, including helping dismantle white supremacist and neo-Nazi extremist networks responsible for hate crimes across the country,” the campaign told Fox News Digital on Friday. “And while Donald Trump is trying to use his Justice Department to distract from his reckless economic policies that are driving up costs for Michiganders, Jocelyn remains focused on lower costs, raising wages, and protecting the rights and freedoms of the people in this state.” Republicans continued to press Benson for answers. MIGOP Chairman Jim Runestad told Fox News Digital that Benson’s tenure on the SPLC board coincided with the timeframe in which the DOJ alleged the group began “paying the KKK and other extremist groups.” DEM GOV’S NEW CAMPAIGN MESSAGE MAN ONCE SAID ‘RELIGIOUS RIGHT’ UNITED BY ‘WHITE SUPREMACY’ “Benson owes an explanation to the public in what she knows about the SPLC’s alleged criminal behavior, considering the criminal activity started around the same time Benson was named to the Board,” Runestad said. Benson has previously described her early work at the SPLC as focused on investigating extremist groups. In a 2025 interview with “Keen on America,” Benson recounted researching groups “claiming to be the reincarnation of [Adolf] Hitler,” saying she once sat alone in a hotel room in Spartanburg and feared those people “were going to find out who I was and come and kill me and no one would ever know about it and all the rest.” “And that was an act of courage, small and no one saw it, but it helped me build a bravery muscle that and several other points throughout my life so that 20 years later, 25 years later, when I’m standing up to the president of the United States, it wasn’t the first time I’ve had to take on those harrowing fights,” Benson went on in the interview. In prior comments, an SPLC official named Penny Weaver described Benson as coming to Montgomery “straight out of college as an unpaid intern, then worked for us.” “Benson worked as a waitress to support herself so she could continue to volunteer at the center,” Weaver said, adding that Benson begged to be able to volunteer for the SPLC. BLACK LIVES MATTER OKC LEADER CHARGED WITH WIRE FRAUD, MONEY LAUNDERING IN ALLEGED $3.15M EMBEZZLEMENT SCHEME The SPLC is a longstanding left-wing nonprofit that claims to fight White supremacy and racial hatred by reporting on extremist groups and conducting research to inform law enforcement about them with the goal of dismantling the groups. SPLC’s CEO, Bryan Fair, addressed the probe in a video message posted online, arguing the Trump administration has “made no secret who they want to protect and who they want to destroy.” “We are reviewing the charges,” a subsequent statement from Fair sent to Fox News Digital added. “However, after today’s Department of Justice press conference, we are outraged by the false allegations levied against SPLC – an organization that for 55 years has stood as a beacon of hope fighting white supremacy and various forms of injustice to create a multi-racial democracy where we can all live and thrive. Taking on violent hate and extremist groups is among the most dangerous work there is, and we believe it is also among the most important work we do. To be clear, this program saved lives.” The complete list of these groups, according to a Justice Department press release, includes the Ku Klux Klan, United Klans of America, Unite the Right, National Alliance, the National Socialist Movement, Aryan Nations affiliated Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club, National Socialist Party of America (American Nazi Party), and the American Front. Blanche and FBI Director Patel also argued Tuesday that the SPLC tried to hide its payments to groups the SPLC told its donors it was trying to combat, leading to several of the charges in the indictment. Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch and Alec Schemmel and Fox News’ Jake Gibson and David Spunt contributed to this report.
DeSantis under pressure as Florida redraw could tip House balance in GOP map fight
All eyes are on Florida next week, as it is likely the final battleground in the high-stakes fight between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats over congressional redistricting. A special session of the Florida legislature, called earlier this year by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to redraw the right-leaning state’s U.S. House districts, kicks off on Tuesday. At stake is which party will control the House of Representatives during the final two years of Trump’s second term in the White House. Republicans and Democrats over the past nine months have been redrawing the House district maps in states they control to gain partisan advantages heading into this year’s midterm elections, when the GOP will be defending its razor-thin congressional majority. DESANTIS AND JEFFRIES TRADE SHOTS OVER FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING Lawmakers in the GOP-dominated Florida legislature are meeting one week after voters in Virginia narrowly passed a referendum that, if it clears legal hurdles, will give the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature — rather than the current nonpartisan commission — temporary redistricting power through the 2030 election. It could result in a 10-1 advantage for Democrats in Virginia’s congressional delegation, up from their current 6-5 edge. The vote in Virginia put more pressure on DeSantis to deliver a new map in Florida that could create between three and five more right-leaning congressional districts. “Florida has the right and the intention to do it. And my view is that they should,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Wednesday when asked if Florida’s maps should be redrawn in time for the midterms. A Florida-based Republican in the governor’s wider political circle who asked for anonymity to speak more freely told Fox News Digital, “Gov. DeSantis is under tremendous pressure to deliver an answer to Virginia for Trump and Speaker Johnson.” But that source added that despite pressure from the president’s political team, the map DeSantis may unveil on Monday on the eve of the special legislative session will likely aim for three rather than five additional right-leaning districts. The road ahead for DeSantis is not easy: the governor already pushed through a new House map four years ago, which helped secure the GOP’s current 20-8 majority in Florida’s U.S. House delegation. Redrawing the map again just four years later is harder. VIRGINIA VOTE GIVES DEMOCRATS MIDTERM MAP EDGE – SPARKS GOP BLAME GAME There are also legal hurdles DeSantis faces: It is illegal under Florida’s constitution to redraw maps for partisan gain, known as gerrymandering. Democrats have vowed lawsuits against any new map that may come out of Tallahassee. U.S. House Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries last week took aim at what some are dubbing “dummymander,” a play on words for “gerrymander,” and argued that redrawing the maps in Florida — where the GOP suffered setbacks earlier this spring in special legislative elections — would harm Republican members of Congress. “Our message to Florida Republicans is, ‘F around and find out,’” Jeffries told reporters as he referenced next week’s redistricting legislative session. Jeffries said the redistricting move would lead Democrats to increase their target list of vulnerable Florida House Republicans. He warned DeSantis and Republicans that “the electoral tide is turning in Florida.” DEMOCRATS NARROWLY WIN CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING SHOWDOWN IN VIRGINIA Pushing back, DeSantis said, “Please. Be my guest. I will pay for you to come down to Florida to campaign.” “I’ll put you up in the Florida governor’s mansion. We will take you fishing,” the governor added. DeSantis has argued that the last U.S. Census was full of flaws and claimed that it robbed Florida of an extra congressional seat. And the governor has also pointed to the major influx of new residents this decade who moved to Florida from other states in the wake of the COVID pandemic. Not all Florida Republicans are on board with the effort, due to concerns it may backfire. A Florida-based GOP strategist told Fox News Digital some Florida members of Congress “don’t want this.” And pointing to the legislature, where there are some grumblings, the strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak clearly, said “some don’t want to do it, but their hands will be forced.” Florida has already moved the filing deadline for congressional candidates back from April to June, but for candidates already running for Congress, the late-in-the-game map redraw brings plenty of complications. “Changing the map changes the race. Candidates have been interviewed for a job description that just got a requirement change,” veteran Florida-based GOP donor and bundler Dan Eberhart told Fox News Digital. Eberhart noted that “these candidates are going to have to call an audible really soon – changing districts and probably new competitors.” Florida may be the final battlefield in a political war that started a year ago. Aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterms, Trump last spring first floated the idea of rare, but not unheard of, mid-decade congressional redistricting. The mission was simple: redraw congressional district maps in red states to pad the GOP’s fragile House majority to keep control of the chamber in the midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. When asked by reporters last summer about his plan to add Republican-leaning House seats across the country, the president said, “Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five.” Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called a special session of the GOP-dominated state legislature to pass the new map. But Democratic state lawmakers, who broke quorum for two weeks as they fled Texas in a bid to delay the passage of the redistricting bill, energized Democrats across the country. Among those leading the fight against Trump’s redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB California voters in November overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative that temporarily sidetracked the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and returned the power