AOC broke house rules to attend ritzy Met Gala in ‘tax the rich’ dress, ordered to pay up
New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has found herself in the red, owing thousands of dollars to a Black-owned, female-led accessories brand after breaching the House “Gift Rule.” The violation stems from not paying the full market value for items she donned at the 2021 MET Gala, where she famously wore the “Tax the Rich” dress, and accepting free admission to the event for her fiancé, Riley Roberts. Tickets to the Met Gala cost at least $30,000, the Associated Press reported. It is unclear whether Ocasio-Cortez purchased her own ticket. The House Ethics Committee released its report on Friday, finding that although Ocasio-Cortez “proactively took steps” to comply with the Gift Rule in relation to her Met Gala appearance, she failed to fully comply. AOC SLAMS PROGRESSIVE CRITICS FOR ‘LYING’ ABOUT HER IRON DOME STANCE IN DEFENSE BILL FIGHT The committee found evidence suggesting that the designer, Brother Vellies, may have lowered costs in response to statements from Ocasio-Cortez’s staff, and that payments to vendors were significantly delayed, according to the report. In several cases, payment did not occur until after the investigation was initiated, the committee noted. The report also concluded that members of AOC’s staff were “overly reliant” on the vendors themselves to ensure her compliance with the Gift Rule, despite the vendors’ countervailing incentives to ensure she would be able to promote their goods and services. AOC’S CONSTITUENTS WEIGH IN ON PRESIDENTIAL RUN, RECALL HER STUNNING 2018 POLITICAL UPSET However, the committee said it did not conclude that the alleged underpayments had been “intentional,” instead placing the blame on a campaign staffer who handled payment discussions. AOC herself blamed her staff while speaking with investigators in March 2023, saying she did not know of any unpaid expenses related to the dress she had worn and stylists who prepared her for the gala, Fox News Digital previously reported. “I just never, ever, ever would have allowed that to happen, knowing what I have learned,” Ocasio-Cortez said at the time. “But I wasn’t privy to the invoices, wasn’t privy to the ones that had been sent.” Based on its findings, the committee determined it would be appropriate for the Democrat to make additional payments from personal funds to compensate for the fair market value of certain expenses. MAXINE WATERS CAMPAIGN TO PAY $68K FOR VIOLATING CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS No sanctions will be imposed, so long as she donates the $250 value of Roberts’ Met Gala meal to the Costume Institute and pays Brother Vellies an additional $2,733.28 for the fair market value of the accessories she received in connection with the gala. After the committee receives confirmation that the payments were completed, it said it will consider the matter closed. Ocasio-Cortez, the Costume Institute and Brother Vellies did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.
Pentagon freezes out DC think tanks in new move, citing ‘America last’ concerns
The Pentagon has suspended participation in all think tank events until further notice, departing from a history of dialogue with Washington’s civilian national security realm. The move is an attempt “to ensure the Department of Defense is not lending its name and credibility to organizations, forums and events that run counter to the values of this administration.” “Going forward, no DOD official will attend events by America Last organizations that promote globalism and hate (President Donald Trump),” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson wrote on X. In the future, the Defense Department (DOD)’s Office of Public Affairs will conduct a “thorough vetting” every time an official is invited to a conference to decide whether the event advances Trump’s agenda. HEGSETH ORDERS SWEEPING ARMY OVERHAUL AND CONSOLIDATION AIMED AT COUNTERING CHINA AND GOLDEN DOME CAPABILITIES Such security events often are funded by foreign governments or defense contractors and serve as a space for such players to push a message or a product they sell to key officials and for defense officials to put out a message of their own from the U.S. government. The move comes after the Pentagon yanked its officials from participation in the Aspen Security Forum — a gathering of defense-minded industry leaders and researchers. Wilson had said the secretary’s office believed that event “promotes the evil of globalism, disdain for our great country, and hatred for the President of the United States.” Several top military officials had been scheduled to speak at the event. HEGSETH ABRUPTLY PULLS PENTAGON OFFICIALS FROM ‘GLOBALIST’ ASPEN CONFERENCE Historically, defense secretaries have participated in defense conferences and think tank events like the Munich Security Conference or the Reagan Defense Forum. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Hegseth skipped out on the Munich Security Conference but attended the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in May. Aspen previously told Fox News Digital, “For more than a decade, the Aspen Security Forum has welcomed senior officials – Republican and Democrat, civilian and military – as well as senior foreign officials and experts, who bring experience and diverse perspectives on matters of national security. We will miss the participation of the Pentagon, but our invitations remain open.”
Los Angeles Mayor Bass says ‘hell yeah’ she regrets Ghana trip after wildfires ravaged city
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass continued to express regret for her controversial Ghana trip ahead of the devastating fires earlier this year in a recent interview with Vice News. “I was asked, ‘Do I regret going?’ Hell yeah. I mean, let me just do a comparison. If you are out of town and your kid or a member of your family gets sick or hurt, it doesn’t matter where you were or why you were there. You feel horrible,” Bass said in an interview with Vice News earlier this month. “I’m really not trying to give excuses, but there was no way in the world I knew that the city was in danger when I left,” she later added. “Absolutely no way. And if you think about it through, if you take a step back, and because I did ask the chief when I came back, you know, like ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ and basically the response was ‘Because we have Santa Anas all the time and nobody expected hurricane-force winds.’” The mayor faced intense scrutiny for the presidential delegation’s visit to Africa even though there were warnings of the fire ahead of time. The Los Angeles Times reported that her team was aware of the fire risk before her trip. She ended up returning the day after the fires began ripping through Los Angeles neighborhoods, like the Pacific Palisades, where thousands of buildings were destroyed. LA MAYOR RIPPED FOR INTERFERING WITH ICE RAID AT CRIME-RIDDEN LOCAL PARK: ‘FULL OF S—‘ “Well, I mean to be with honest with you. Well, I didn’t get briefed. That’s true. But I think that, again, people did not anticipate the historic wind. And it wasn’t just LA. It was the county too.” “What typically happens is that if there’s going to be a big weather event, there are these briefings that happen and, uh, it’s either initiated by the fire department or the emergency department,” she said. “I was used to the fire chief calling me and telling me, you know, this is getting ready to happen. Come over. I need to brief you and all, you know, everything goes into motion. That didn’t happen in the county, meaning LA and LA County.” On her flight back, she said she was on the phone almost the entire 12-hour flight back to the U.S. from Ghana. SOCIAL MEDIA, TRUMP ADMIN ERUPTS OVER LA MAYOR’S REACTION TO ICE RAIDS: ‘YOU’RE A CRIMINAL TOO’ “Well, they’re telling me what’s happening in the fire. We were preparing the emergency declaration. They were talking to the mayor, the council president who serves as acting mayor while I’m gone. I don’t remember if I talked to him or not then, but because there were just a lot of phone calls. Sometimes a lot of people. I think I even did a news interview, but all of that was while I was on the way home,” she said, noting that she had phone access on the plane because it was a military plane, and she did not realize that the Sky News, who she went viral for not answering his questions, was even on the flight. Bass ousted Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley from her position in February, and Crowley unsuccessfully appealed her removal. “Our firefighters support Chief Crowley because she stood up for the men and women of our department,” United Firefighters of Los Angeles City posted to X at the time. In the interview, Bass claimed there were “lies told” about the budget and fire engines. LOS ANGELES MAYOR SLASHES FIRE DEPARTMENT DEI BUREAU IN PROPOSED BUDGET MONTHS AFTER WOKE BACKLASH “Yes, there were broken fire engines. We find out later that those fire engines were there broken because they’re used for spare parts. But there were 40 fire engines that were idle because they didn’t have the staff that [Crowley] sent home. And the budget cut and I don’t I don’t know the reasons for it, and then the budget cut that never happened,” she added. “Yes,” Crowley notably responded in an interview at the time of the fires when asked if city leadership “failed” her when it came to resources. “What we did when we did the budget was we put money aside for fire because we were in labor negotiations. If the budget was signed before then, but when the labor negotiations were done, we put it back in the budget. Which is a common thing. We’re doing that right now,” Bass said. When asked about the after-action report for the fire, Bass said she would ‘look and see, but they should be about finished now.” Fox News Digital reached out to Bass’ office and Crowley. Fox News Digital also reached out to the Los Angeles Fire Department, but they did not immediately comment.
Pelosi confident about Dems’ chances to win House, predicts Jeffries will be speaker
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., exuded confidence as she declared to Gen Z activists at the Voters of Tomorrow summit that the Democrats would take back the House in 2026. “We have no doubt that we will win the election with the House of Representatives,” Pelosi said, eliciting applause from the crowd. She then responded to the cheers by once again saying “No doubt.” The longtime California lawmaker also said she was confident that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., would be speaker of the House after the 2026 midterms. PELOSI’S STOCK TRADING LEGACY HAUNTS DEMOCRATS AS JEFFRIES SLAMS GOP FRESHMAN’S ‘THIEVERY’ While Pelosi was confident about the Democrats’ chances, she also emphasized the need for preparation. The former House speaker credited early preparation for the Democrats’ victories in 2006 and 2018 to early preparation, saying that 2026 could be the same. “It’s important to be strong in the year in advance, because that’s when the troops line up. We have our messaging, we have our mobilization, we need the money to do it, but they go only next to a school to hold up the most important part: the candidate,” she said. 21 DEMOCRATS WHO MAY TRY TO SUCCEED TRUMP IN THE 2028 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION However, Pelosi sees another element as being key to Democrats’ victory: bringing down President Donald Trump’s approval rating. The former House speaker called Trump’s current numbers “terrible.” “By October — certainly by November, but by October, we will have — with the help of so many people working — we’ll have taken what’s his name’s numbers down,” Pelosi said. A recent Fox News Poll found that 46% of voters approve of Trump’s performance, while 54% disapprove. That’s exactly where things stood last month, and better than at this point 8 years ago when 41% approved. The Voters of Tomorrow summit boasts a lineup of high-profile speakers alongside Pelosi, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and David Hogg. Both Harris and Raskin are set to address the group virtually. Fox News’ Dana Blanton and Victoria Balara contributed to this report.
House Freedom Caucus conservative to enter race for South Carolina governor
A House GOP lawmaker is entering the race to become South Carolina governor on Friday, his campaign confirmed to Fox News Digital. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, is expected to kick off his campaign with an event in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on Friday. As of Friday morning, his non-congressional X account had been changed to say, “Ralph Norman for Governor.” He’s a fiscal hawk on the House GOP’s rightmost flank, where he’s joined other like-minded colleagues in upending leaders’ legislative agenda at times in the name of pushing for more conservative policy wins. COMER DISMISSES BIDEN DOCTOR’S BID FOR PAUSE IN COVER-UP PROBE: ‘THROWING OUT EVERY EXCUSE’ Norman is joining a crowded Republican primary field with his new gubernatorial bid. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and state Sen. Josh Kimbrell are also in the race. Meanwhile, Norman’s House colleague, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is also said to be considering a campaign for governor. “We wish Congressman Ralph Norman the best of luck today as he announces his run for Governor,” Mace said in a statement on X. Norman previously ran the Warren Norman Company, a commercial real estate development business started by his father. Before being elected to Congress via special election in 2017, Norman served in the South Carolina state House from 2009 to 2017. A longtime ally of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Norman was the only House Republican to formally endorse her before Haley dropped out of the race, after which Norman emphatically backed President Donald Trump. He told Fox News Digital of his endorsement in January 2024, “When I supported Nikki Haley, I had the respect of Donald Trump to call him, and I told him what I was gonna do, and I decided I was going to do it.” Norman has been a vocal supporter of Trump since Haley’s exit. He was most recently at the White House earlier this week with other House Republicans for a reception celebrating their legislative successes. THOM TILLIS ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM SENATE AFTER CLASH WITH TRUMP Earlier this year, he was part of a group of conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus forcing last-minute changes to the president’s “big, beautiful bill” that they said fell more in line with what Trump actually wanted. Current South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, also a close Trump ally, is term-limited at the end of 2026. The president’s endorsement will likely play a decisive role in the Palmetto State’s GOP primary.
Trump drops Epstein-linked names that media ‘ought to be speaking about’ amid files firestorm
President Donald Trump said that those asking about the late financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking case should direct their attention to former President Bill Clinton and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. Trump’s remarks come a day after U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell in Florida, amid heightened scrutiny about the case after the Trump administration announced it would not unseal investigation materials concerning Epstein. JEFFREY EPSTEIN ACCOMPLICE GHISLAINE MAXWELL HAD ‘VERY PRODUCTIVE DAY MEETING’ WITH DEPUTY AG: ATTORNEY “You ought to be speaking about Larry Summers. You ought to be speaking about some of his friends that are hedge fund guys,” Trump told reporters Friday while departing for Scotland. “They’re all over the place. You ought to be speaking about Bill Clinton.” Trump then accused Clinton of visiting Epstein’s private island the financier used as a home base for his sex-trafficking operations. Trump said he’d never visited the island before. Meanwhile, Clinton has also said he’d never visited the island either. In his new memoir “Citizen,” released in 2024, Clinton said he’d never gone to the island and that he wished he’d never even met Epstein in the first place. Spokespeople for Summers and Clinton did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Summers previously served as treasury secretary for Clinton, as well as the director of the National Economic Council for President Barack Obama. GHISLAINE MAXWELL SUBPOENAED BY HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE AMID EPSTEIN FILES PUSH Trump’s comments come amid outrage from some conservatives after the Department of Justice and the FBI announced in July the agencies will not release new documents from the Epstein sex trafficking case, and that their review into Epstein is closed. Additionally, the agencies said that they did not detect a list of sexual predators with ties to Epstein, and concluded there were no new people who could face charges. Trump has sought to quash curiosity into the Epstein case, and said that no credible information is left to share with the public. “He’s dead for a long time. He was never a big factor in terms of life. I don’t understand what the interest or what the fascination is. I really don’t, and the credible information’s been given,” Trump said July 14. FEDERAL JUDGE RULES ON TRUMP’S REQUEST TO UNSEAL EPSTEIN GRAND JURY TRANSCRIPTS
Medical staff face charges after allegedly interfering with California ICE arrest
EXCLUSIVE: Federal authorities arrested a staff member of a clinic in Ontario, California, for allegedly interfering with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest, while another remains at large. Earlier this month, Honduran national Denis Guillen-Solis, a landscaper, allegedly left on foot to evade law enforcement and went inside the Ontario Advanced Surgical Center, where he was not a patient. “This story is another example of a false narrative peddled by irresponsible members of the media in furtherance of a political agenda to delegitimize federal agents. The illegal alien arrested inside the medical center was not a patient and was not in any way affiliated with that location. He ran inside for cover and these medical workers attempted to block his apprehension by assaulting our agents,” U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli told Fox News in a statement. CALIFORNIA CLINIC STAFFERS SEEK TO SHIELD ICE AGENTS FROM DETAINING HONDURAN LANDSCAPER “To be very clear, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you work, if you assault our agents or otherwise interfere with our operations, you will be arrested and charged with a federal crime,” Essayli continued. The criminal warrants were signed off by U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym for two of the staffers, Jose De Jesus Ortega and Danielle Nadine Davila, for allegedly “forcibility assaulting, impeding, and interfering with a federal officer involving physical contact” and “conspiring to prevent, by force and intimidation, a federal officer from discharging his duties.” Ortega was arrested on Friday morning, and Davila remains at large and is currently being sought by law enforcement. On LinkedIn, Davilla is listed as a certified surgical technologist at the center, and is specifically said in the criminal complaint to have allegedly put her hands on the ICE officer and wedged herself between him and Guillen-Solis. “ICE officers conducted a targeted enforcement operation to arrest two illegal aliens. Officers in clearly marked ICE bulletproof vests approached the illegal alien targets as they exited a vehicle,” the Department of Homeland Security posted to X on July 9. ANTI-ICE ACTIVISTS HELP MIGRANT CHILD RAPIST ESCAPE ARREST IN COLORADO: OFFICIALS “One of the illegal aliens, Denis Guillen-Solis who is from Honduras, fled on foot to evade law enforcement. He ended up near the Ontario Advanced Surgical Center where hospital staff assaulted law enforcement and drug the officer and illegal alien into the facility. Then, the staff attempted to obstruct the arrest by locking the door, blocking law enforcement vehicles from moving, and even called the cops claiming there was a ‘kidnapping,’” the post added. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “This is a private property,” one staffer in a video of the incident said, asking the ICE agent to leave. “Get your hands off of him,” another staffer said. ICE RAMPS UP ARRESTS OF CONVICTED CRIMINALS AS RIOTS RAGE IN BLUE CITY: ‘YOU WILL NOT STOP US’ California Democratic Assemblymember Michelle Rodriguez, who represents Ontario, spoke out against ICE after the incident. “It is devastating to watch the impact of ICE on our communities. This past Tuesday, Immigration Enforcement officers kidnapped constituents from a surgical center as they were doing their jobs,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “While I support law enforcement officers who act with integrity and uphold the law, I will never condone these cruel and lawless actions. Without accountability, we are left with armed men in masks dragging people off the street – this is not safety, not justice, and this is not who we should be,” she continued.
Scoop: Trump ally to launch key battleground state campaign in bid to flip Democrat-held Senate seat
FIRST ON FOX: Republican Rep. Mike Collins will announce a campaign for the U.S. senate in battleground Georgia early next week, sources with knowledge told Fox News on Friday. Collins is aiming to challenge Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is running for re-election in the key southeastern battleground state that President Donald Trump narrowly carried in last year’s election. The GOP views Ossoff as the most vulnerable Democrat seeking re-election in the Senate in next year’s midterm elections. Collins, a businessman who founded a trucking company, is in his second term representing Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, which includes a large swath of urban, suburban, and rural areas between Atlanta and Augusta. MIKE COLLINS TEASES SENATE RUN IN BATTLEGROUND GEORGIA The conservative lawmaker, who’s the son of the late Republican Rep. Mac Collins of Georgia, has been moving closer to launching a Senate campaign for weeks. “Tires kicked. Fueling up,” Collis wrote Monday in a social media post that was accompanied by a video where he showcased his ties to President Donald Trump. “Congressman Mike Collins, he loves this state,” Trump said in a clip in the video. Collins was an early backer of the president, supporting him as Trump first ran for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 cycle. POPULAR GOP GOVERNOR PASSES ON SENATE BID IN 2026 In the 2024 presidential campaign, when Trump won back the White House, Collins traveled on behalf of Trump to the crucial early-voting primary and caucus states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. He also appeared at multiple Trump rallies during the 2024 cycle and opened three Trump campaign offices in Georgia. And Collins, not facing a difficult re-election in his solidly red House seat, campaigned in ten congressional districts across the country to help elect Trump-aligned candidates as the GOP defended its razor-thin majority in the chamber. Collins at the beginning of this year reintroduced the Laken Riley Act, which mandates that undocumented immigrants charged with burglary or theft be detained. It’s named after a Georgia nursing student killed by a man who had illegally entered the U.S. The case grabbed national attention. The bill, which quickly passed the Republican-controlled House and Senate, became the first legislation signed into law by Trump as he started his second tour of duty in the White House. A Republican source said that Collins has a “great relationship” with the president and his political team. And a Georgia-based Republican consultant told Fox News that “the lane that Mike is going to run in is the America First fighter who’s been with President Trump.” OPINION: WHAT MIKE COLLINS TOLD FOX NEWS DIGITAL “Mike has the opportunity to run in that lane because it’s an authentic lane for him,” added the consultant, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely. Trump, who is the ultimate kingmaker in GOP politics and whose endorsements in Republican primaries are extremely powerful, has yet to weigh in on whom he may back in Georgia’s burgeoning Senate race. National Republicans were hoping to recruit popular two-term GOP Gov. Brian Kemp to take on Ossoff. But Kemp, who is term-limited, announced earlier this year that he would pass on a 2026 Senate run. Republican Rep. Buddy Carter, who for a decade has represented a district in coastal Georgia, launched a Senate campaign in the spring. Carter is also courting a Trump endorsement in the GOP primary. Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King was also running for the Republican nomination, but ended his bid on Thursday. Former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, who is the son of former longtime University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley, is also considering a Senate bid. The younger Dooley is close with Kemp, who’s a longtime friend. Recent polling indicates that Collins holds the edge over his GOP rivals for the party’s Senate nomination and that he would be competitive with Ossoff in next year’s general election. While Republicans consider Ossoff vulnerable, beating him won’t be easy. The first-term senator hauled in over $10 million in the April-June second quarter of 2024 fundraising, bringing his cash-on-hand to over $15 million. And Georgia Democrats are taking aim at Collins. “Immediately after voting to rip away health insurance from 750,000 Georgians, Rep. Mike Collins now wants Georgians to give him a promotion?” Georgia Democratic Party spokesperson Devon Cruz said in a recent statement to Fox News Digital, as he pointed to the Medicaid cuts in the GOP’s megabill that Trump signed into law earlier this month. Cruz argued that “Collins would join a crowded, messy primary that will leave the GOP nominee badly bruised, while Sen. Jon Ossoff is building massive momentum to take on whichever Donald Trump loyalist limps over the finish line.”
DeSantis-appointed US senator scores major endorsement ahead of 2026 special election: ‘Tremendous job’
President Donald Trump endorsed U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody for election. Earlier this year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis installed Moody in the seat vacated by Marco Rubio, who departed the Senate to serve as President Donald Trump’s Secretary of State. In a Thursday post on Truth Social, the president declared that Moody has his “Complete and Total Endorsement,” asserting, “SHE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!” WHO IS ASHLEY MOODY? MEET THE SENATE’S NEWEST MEMBER FROM FLORIDA Moody thanked Trump for his support. “Thank you, President @realDonaldTrump! I’m incredibly honored by your support and look forward to our continued work together to make this a SAFER and STRONGER nation,” Moody said in a post on X. Moody, like the vast majority of her Senate and House GOP colleagues, voted to pass the Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act earlier this month. DESANTIS’ CHOSEN RUBIO REPLACEMENT MOODY WANTS TO TACKLE INFLATION, SPENDING, BORDER: ‘AUDIT THE FED!’ Rubio, who won re-election to the Senate in 2022, departed office well before his term was slated to conclude in early 2029. A special election will be held next year to allow Floridians to decide who will represent them for the remainder of the term. DHS HAS BEGUN FLYING MIGRANTS OUT OF FLORIDA’S ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ,’ DESANTIS ANNOUNCES Prior to joining the U.S. Senate, Moody served as the Sunshine State’s attorney general.
Trump says SCOTUS immunity ruling likely helps Obama in light of Gabbard, DNI findings
President Donald Trump said Friday that former President Barack Obama “owes me big” following the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling. Trump on Tuesday claimed that Obama was the “ringleader” of Russiagate, calling for him to be criminally investigated amid new claims that members of his administration allegedly “manufactured” intelligence that prompted the Trump–Russia collusion narrative. Obama has denied the allegations, with a spokesperson for him describing them as “bizarre.” “It probably helps him a lot. Probably helps a lot. The immunity ruling, but it doesn’t help the people around him at all. But it probably helps him a lot,” Trump said Friday. “He’s done criminal acts, there’s no question about it. But he has immunity, and it probably helps him a lot… he owes me big, Obama owes me big.” The intelligence community did not have any direct information that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to help elect Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, but, at the “unusual” direction of then-President Barack Obama, published “potentially biased” or “implausible” intelligence suggesting otherwise, the House Intelligence Committee found, according to a Fox News report earlier this week. OBAMA DENIES TRUMP’S ‘BIZARRE ALLEGATIONS’ THAT HE WAS RUSSIAGATE ‘RINGLEADER’ IN RARE STATEMENT Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had declassified a report prepared by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence back in 2020. The report, which was based on an investigation launched by former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., was dated Sept. 18, 2020. At the time of the publication of the report, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., was the chairman of the committee. The committee focused on the creation of the Intelligence Community Assessment of 2017, in which then-CIA Director John Brennan pushed for the inclusion of the now-discredited anti-Trump dossier, despite knowing it was based largely on “internet rumor,” as Fox News Digital previously reported. According to the report, the ICA was a “high-profile product ordered by the President, directed by senior IC agency heads, and created by just five CIA analysts, using one principal drafter.” “Production of the ICA was subject to unusual directives from the President and senior political appointees, and particularly DCIA,” the report states. “The draft was not properly coordinated within CIA or the IC, ensuring it would be published without significant challenges to its conclusions.” DNI GABBARD CLAIMS ‘DEEP STATE ACTORS’ DIDN’T WANT TRUMP-RUSSIA INFORMATION TO ‘SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY’ The committee found that the five CIA analysts and drafter “rushed” the ICA’s production “in order to publish two weeks before President-elect Trump was sworn-in.” In a statement Tuesday, Obama denied Trump’s “bizarre allegations” that he was the Russiagate “ringleader.” “Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,” Obama spokesman Patrick Rodenbush said in a statement. “But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one.” “These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,” Obama’s spokesman continued. “Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes.” Gabbard later told “Jesse Watters Primetime” on Wednesday that there were “deep state obstacles” to releasing her information about the Trump-Russia collusion investigation and that some people within the intelligence community (IC) didn’t want it to “see the light of day.” “There are a lot of deep state actors still here within Washington. President Trump wants us to find the truth. I want to find that truth. The American people deserve the truth, and they deserve accountability,” she said. Fox News’ Brooke Singman and Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.