Anthony Weiner discusses sexting scandal while attempting political comeback, says ‘women are crazy about me’
Anthony Weiner, the disgraced ex-congressman seeking to return to politics as a member of New York’s City Council, quipped during an interview that “women are crazy about me” despite going to prison and being required to register as a sex offender. “Oh for sure, for sure, my god, they’re crazy about me. Women are crazy about me,” Weiner said when comedian and podcaster Adam Friedland asked if the power politicians wield makes them more attractive to the opposite sex. Weiner’s sexting saga began more than a decade ago after a lewd photo of the married congressman in his underwear was posted to one of Weiner’s public social media accounts. That initial photo set off a series of events, including his widely publicized departure from Congress in 2011, additional sexting scandals and an FBI investigation that resulted in Weiner serving 21 months in prison and registering as a sex offender for sending sexually explicit images to a minor. FORMER DEMOCRATIC REP. ANTHONY WEINER, CONVICTED OF ILLICIT CONTACT WITH MINOR, FILES TO RUN FOR NYC COUNCIL Weiner appeared Wednesday on a YouTube-based show hosted by Friedland, during which the podcaster suggested Weiner’s sexting scandal wouldn’t even break the “top 100” news stories of the year in 2025. Weiner agreed, adding “it was a relatively slow news period” at the time. He also said his name was part of the reason it gained so much publicity. “I’m a guy named Weiner who tweeted out a picture of his d—,” he said. Friedland pointed to what he suggested was a lack of coverage about accusations against former GOP Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, who was accused last year of engaging in sex with a minor. Gaetz has denied the accusations. ANTHONY WEINER SAYS VOTERS DON’T WANT WHAT ‘DEMOCRATS ARE SELLING,’ TALKS ABOUT COMEBACK AS FIERY CENTRIST “Right, and if his name was Matt Kidf—er then the story would have,” Weiner said, before Friedland interjected. “No, that’s not true,” Friedland said. “Think about it this way. If it was today, it would be a 48-hour news cycle, and it would be forgotten.” Weiner challenged Friedland’s theory, telling him it was not a novel idea to think technology played a role in making his sexting scandal so widely publicized. “Let’s move off of this one, not terribly novel idea that technology played a part,” Weiner said. Weiner and Friedland continued discussing the sexting scandal, including the potential domino effect it played in relation to James Comey’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server. During the FBI’s investigation of Weiner’s alleged sexual crimes against a minor, officials reportedly came across emails that prompted FBI Director Comey to reopen an investigation into Clinton’s use of the email server. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Other topics included how Weiner frequently gets mistaken for another sex scandal-plagued New York politician, Eliot Spitzer, how he stayed safe in prison, what it was like having to register as a sex offender and his relationships with other New York Democrats. Weiner is running in the Democratic primary to represent Manhattan’s East Side District 2.
Trump denounces court’s ‘political’ tariff decision, calls on Supreme Court to act quickly
President Donald Trump wrote a fiery, lengthy post on social media Thursday night in response to the intense legal battle surrounding his proposed tariffs. On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit allowed Trump’s tariffs to temporarily remain in effect, just one day before the US. Court of International Trade on Wednesday ruled that Trump overstepped his authority over tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). On Truth Social, Trump wrote that the U.S. Court of International Trade “incredibly” ruled against the “desperately needed” tariffs, but the order was stayed by the federal court. “Where do these initial three Judges come from? How is it possible for them to have potentially done such damage to the United States of America?” the Republican’s post read. “Is it purely a hatred of ‘TRUMP?’ What other reason could it be?” TWELVE STATES SUE TRUMP OVER TARIFFS, CLAIMING THEY’RE ‘ILLEGAL’ AND HARMFUL TO US ECONOMY Trump then took aim at Leonard Leo, a chairman on the Federalist Society’s board of directors. Trump said that he used the conservative legal organization to pick out judges when he was “new to Washington.” “It was suggested that I use The Federalist Society as a recommending source on Judges,” Trump wrote. “I did so, openly and freely, but then realized that they were under the thumb of a real ‘sleazebag’ named Leonard Leo, a bad person who, in his own way, probably hates America, and obviously has his own separate ambitions.” Trump added that he was “so disappointed” in the Federalist Society “because of the bad advice they gave me on numerous Judicial Nominations.” DISTRICT JUDGES’ ORDERS BLOCKING TRUMP AGENDA FACE HEARING IN TOP SENATE COMMITTEE “This is something that cannot be forgotten!” the Republican said. “With all of that being said, I am very proud of many of our picks, but very disappointed in others. They always must do what’s right for the Country!” The president then rounded out his lengthy post by calling attention back to his pending tariffs, which he claimed would lead to a “rich, prosperous, and successful United States of America.” “The ruling by the U.S. Court of International Trade is so wrong, and so political!” Trump said. “Hopefully, the Supreme Court will reverse this horrible, Country threatening decision, QUICKLY and DECISIVELY.” “The President of the United States must be allowed to protect America against those that are doing it Economic and Financial harm. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and Bill Mears contributed to this report.
Chinese nationals who infiltrated US universities
The Trump administration has intensified its scrutiny of Chinese nationals studying at U.S. universities after several instances in recent years of students from the communist country engaging in alleged surreptitious activity while in the United States. The incidents, which have involved allegations of espionage, conspiracy and accusations of misleading federal officials, occurred as a result of Chinese nationals or others with Chinese ties participating in joint education programs between the United States and China. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security plan to “aggressively revoke” student visas of Chinese nationals, “including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party.” A Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson blasted the new policy in a statement Thursday on X, saying the move was “fully unjustified” and damaging to the United States’ reputation. STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS IT WILL ‘AGGRESSIVELY REVOKE’ VISAS OF CHINESE STUDENTS “Citing ideology and national security as a pretext, the move seriously hurts the lawful rights and interests of international students from China and disrupts people-to-people exchanges between the two countries,” spokesperson Lin Jian said. Nearly 300,000 Chinese nationals have student visas in the United States. It is unclear if the State Department plans to target all of them or only some. Fox News Digital reached out to the department for clarity. Below is a look at some recent incidents involving Chinese nationals at universities. The DOJ brought charges against five University of Michigan students last year after a sergeant major encountered them at Camp Grayling in 2023. The students had cameras with them and were discovered as the U.S. National Guard was conducting a massive training operation at the site with Taiwanese military members, according to a complaint. They were all Chinese nationals attending the University of Michigan as part of the school’s joint program with a Shanghai-based university, an FBI official wrote in the complaint, noting some of them had taken photos of Camp Grayling’s military installations and operations. The FBI asked the court to issue arrest warrants for the students for making false statements and destroying records. Two Chinese nationals who were graduate students at the University of Michigan pleaded guilty in 2020 after they were caught illegally entering and photographing defense infrastructure at a naval air station in Key West, Florida. Fengyun Shi, a Chinese national studying at the University of Minnesota, was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia last year of unlawfully using a drone to take photos of naval bases in Norfolk, Virginia. Shi was sentenced to six months in prison and a year of supervised release, and the Biden administration revoked his visa in response to the charges. ICE announced in May that it deported him to China. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BEGINS NEW WAVE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENT VISA REVOCATIONS: ‘NO ONE HAS A RIGHT TO A VISA’ While not a Chinese national, Charles Lieber, former chair of Harvard’s chemistry department, was convicted in 2021 of making false statements to authorities and failing to report income from his work with China’s Wuhan University of Technology and a contract he had with China’s Thousand Talents Program. Ji Chaoqun, a Chinese national and one-time student at the Illinois Institute of Technology, was sentenced to eight years in prison after he was convicted by a jury in 2022 of attempting to commit espionage and theft of trade secrets. Ji was found to have gathered information on defense contractors, engineers and others as part of a broader effort by high-level Chinese intelligence officials to obtain inside access to U.S. technology advancements. Rubio’s announcement also comes after Harvard filed a lawsuit alleging the Trump administration improperly banned all foreign nationals from the Ivy League school by revoking its student visa certification. A judge temporarily blocked the administration from carrying out the ban as the case plays out in the courts. STATE DEPARTMENT NOW SCRUTINIZING ALL VISA HOLDERS ASSOCIATED WITH HARVARD ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons told Harvard in a letter made public through court filings that the revocation was a result of the alleged prevalence of antisemitism on campus but also a result of the administration’s “serious concerns” that the university has “coordinated with the Chinese Communist Party.” Lyons cited several examples, including Harvard accepting $151 million from foreign donors since 2020, working with “China-based academics” on projects funded by an “Iranian government agent,” partnering with Chinese universities and using public funds to do so and collaborating with people “linked to China’s defense-industrial base.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “This coordination is a valid and substantive reason for withdrawing Harvard University’s [Student Exchange Visitor Program] certification to enroll foreign students,” Lyons wrote. Harvard attorneys argued during a court hearing Thursday that the Trump administration did not give the university a chance to rebut the claims about antisemitism and CCP ties before the foreign student ban was enacted. The administration agreed to give Harvard one month to respond to those claims while the ban remains on hold.
Trump DHS issues warning after anti-ICE protesters attempt to disrupt arrest
The Department of Homeland Security is warning would-be disrupters to avoid interfering with federal immigration enforcement operations after it said a demonstrator attempted to disrupt a federal immigration arrest in New York City on Wednesday. Nearly two dozen anti-ICE protesters were also detained in another part of the city later that day. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that ICE agents contacted Federal Protective Service (FPS) on Wednesday morning and “requested assistance as their officers were conducting arrests” in the lobby of a federal immigration court building. McLaughlin said FPS officers responded and saw several protesters filming and taking pictures of law enforcement personnel in the lobby. She said that at approximately 11:45 a.m. a person attempted to forcibly interfere with ICE agents attempting to place someone in custody. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SETS NEW GOAL OF 3,000 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARRESTS DAILY McLaughlin said ICE reported the incident to FPS as “an assault on one of their officers.” The person was briefly taken into custody, issued a U.S. district court violation notice and released, according to McLaughlin. In response to the incident, McLaughlin said, “Anyone who actively obstructs law enforcement in the performance of their sworn duties will of course face consequences which could include arrest.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE Later that day, nearly two dozen anti-ICE protesters were detained by the New York Police Department outside a federal building in Manhattan on Wednesday night after a chaotic protest led to police struggling with demonstrators. An NYPD spokesperson told Fox News Digital that officers responded to a 911 call for a “disorderly group” in front of a DHS building at approximately 6:35 p.m. NYPD HUNTS FOR MAN ACCUSED OF BEATING OFF-DUTY COP AND STEALING HIS GUN, ALLEGED ACCOMPLICE ARRESTED The spokesperson said that “upon arrival, officers observed approximately 20-30 demonstrators sitting in the roadway, blocking vehicular traffic” and that “the demonstrators were instructed verbally numerous times to vacate the roadway and did not comply.” As a result, the spokesperson said 23 individuals were taken into custody, 18 individuals were issued criminal court summons and five individuals were arrested and charged, according to the NYPD spokesperson. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said in a statement this month that assaults against ICE officers rose by more than 400% from the same time last year. He placed part of the blame on politicians who “are careless with their politically motivated rhetoric.”
Trump is down but not out in court battle over Harvard’s foreign student visas
A federal judge upheld a court order blocking President Donald Trump from stripping Harvard University of its ability to sponsor international student visas. U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs on Thursday extended her earlier restraining order, which blocks the Trump administration from revoking Harvard’s certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, or SEVP. That certification allows colleges to sponsor international students for U.S. visas during their enrollment. Burroughs, an Obama appointee, said she would preserve the status quo while both sides confer and submit either a joint proposed preliminary injunction order or individual proposed orders. But the update from the court is not a loss for the Trump administration — at least not yet. TRUMP NOMINATES FORMER DEFENSE ATTORNEY EMIL BOVE FOR FEDERAL APPEALS COURT VACANCY At issue is whether the Trump administration has grounds to revoke Harvard’s SEVP certification. Trump officials have accused Harvard University of “fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” according to a statement from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Legal experts told Fox News Digital that foreign students have far fewer protections than U.S. citizens, which puts Harvard at the government’s mercy as long as the Trump administration satisfies certain procedural requirements. Experts noted that the SEVP program falls squarely under the authority of DHS and ICE, giving the Trump administration broad discretion to certify, extend or revoke a university’s participation based on the conduct of its foreign student visa holders. STATE DEPARTMENT NOW SCRUTINIZING ALL VISA HOLDERS ASSOCIATED WITH HARVARD While U.S. citizens have First Amendment protected free speech rights, the same is not true for foreign students studying in the U.S., whose status is sponsored by their university. The intersection “of First Amendment [issues] with immigration law, at least to this extent, has really become a new thing under this administration,” Robert Shibley, the special counsel for campus advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, told Fox News Digital. “Part of the complication here is that the government does have so much more leeway on foreign policy issues,” Shibley said. “However, I think in this case, there’s a pretty clear process laid out in the regulations for stripping a school of its ability to get foreign students to attend on visas — and simply demanding a certain amount of information from the school and stripping them immediately, which is what they originally said, not the process.” Shortly after court adjourned Thursday, the Trump administration gave Harvard 30 days to submit evidence and argue why its SEVP certification should not be revoked. It’s unclear whether that alone satisfies procedural requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act. The court must also consider what type of conduct foreign student visa holders are engaged in and whether these student visa holders are “systemically” engaged in serial violations of immigration law or are acting in support of foreign terrorist organizations, alleged foreign terrorist organizations or foreign totalitarian governments. “That gives DHS stake to investigate and reevaluate on an off-cycle basis, the SEVP certification and eligibility,” said Aram Gavoor, an associate dean at George Washington University Law School and a former Justice Department attorney. In this case, he said, DHS would have “significant authorities to authorize, regulate, certify and, if necessary, decertify, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.” TRUMP ADMIN WORKING TO FLY BACK GUATEMALAN MIGRANT ERRONEOUSLY DEPORTED FROM US “And, in a number of circumstances, the ability of a university to operate its own educational institution with what it teaches and how it teaches that can — in certain circumstances — come into tension with the authority of the U.S. government to regulate immigration in the context of student exchange visitors,” Gavoor added. Lawyers for Harvard told the court that, if enacted, the revocation of its SEVP program would affect roughly 7,000 international students at the school at the undergraduate and post-graduate level, causing irreparable harm. They also claimed the action was a breach of administrative procedure, which requires the administration to grant a certain period of notice before revoking their SEVP credentials. “The revocation continues a series of government actions to retaliate against Harvard for our refusal to surrender our academic independence,” Harvard University President Alan Garber said Friday in a letter to the Harvard community. In the short term, the uncertainty could lead foreign students in the visa program to flee Harvard, seeking transfers to other universities that are not targeted by the Trump administration, experts told Fox News. Student visa holders are given roughly 180 days after their status is revoked to leave the country or risk violating the law, making the case of utmost importance for thousands of students. Legal experts noted the court is wading into largely uncharted territory. Asked how it might play out, many scholars pointed to a lack of precedent and offered no clear answer. “As with many things that Trump does, the answer is unclear, because it hasn’t been done before,” Josh Blackman, a law professor at South Texas College of Law, said. “No president has tried to do this before, so I don’t think there’s a clear precedent on the answer. “What I’ll say is this: Trump has basically accused Harvard of being a front for terrorism and emboldening terrorism,” he added. “And I think what they’re trying to do is determine if this institution can basically exist.” This was echoed by Gavoor, who said things need to play out between the Trump administration and Harvard before the court can properly decide if the government followed the law. “I think Harvard does need to comply with the off-cycle review of DHS’s SEVP certification,” Gavoor said. At the same time, he said, even if the Trump administration loses on the merits of this case, “there’s a point to be argued that it may have won as a function of policy,” he said. “That’s because it simply creates a chilling effect for students who would otherwise be attending or apply to Harvard University to be less inclined to do so or [causes
State Dept says DOGE’s changes will be permanent amid Musk’s departure
Elon Musk may no longer be the top dog at DOGE, but his reforms at the State Department will remain permanently in place, a senior agency official told Fox News Digital Thursday. As Musk’s 130-day mandate as a “special government employee” comes to an end, the billionaire entrepreneur announced his departure from DOGE in a post on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Wednesday night. During Musk’s time as the head of DOGE, he helped usher in big reforms at the State Department, which included an effective dismantlement of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), staff reductions, and the cancellation of various foreign aid programs due to lack of oversight, inefficiency, and other reasons. WHAT’S NEXT FOR DOGE AFTER ELON MUSK’S DEPARTURE? ‘ONLY JUST BEGUN’ The indication that Musk’s DOGE-related work at the State Department will continue was reinforced by a new reorganization effort at the Department of State announced by Secretary Marco Rubio on Thursday. The new reorganization plans are expected to cut or consolidate more than 300 of the State Department’s offices and bureaus as part of a massive overhaul aimed at streamlining the department, according to agency officials. The agency currently has about 700 offices, meaning the reorganization effort will slash, or join, more than 40% of its offices. “We have too many godd— offices,” a senior State Department official told Fox News Digital. “We’re trying to shrink offices rather than create them.” WHITE HOUSE DISCLOSES WHO WILL LEAD DOGE EFFORTS AFTER MUSK’S DEPARTURE The State Department submitted a notice to Congress Thursday disclosing plans for the reorganization overhaul, which senior State Department officials said will be the largest restructuring for the agency since the Cold War. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt added Thursday that many DOGE employees will remain part of the Trump administration, despite Musk winding down his work. “Surely the mission of Doge will continue,” Leavitt told reporters Thursday. “Many Doge employees are now political employees.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP One of Musk’s DOGE associates, Jeremy Lewin, has recently been tapped for a top role within the State Department. In April, he was placed at State for a different role. For his part, Lewin, however, disputes that he ever did any direct work for Musk’s DOGE.
Conservative legal experts slam latest Mahmoud Khalil ruling
A federal district judge on Wednesday said that the Trump administration’s effort to deport Mahmoud Khalil may be unconstitutional, but some conservative legal experts are not buying it. Khalil is a pro-Palestine, anti-Israel activist who led protests at Columbia University. An immigration judge recently said he could be deported, but U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz for the District of New Jersey said that the order is likely to be dismissed as “unconstitutionally vague.” Still, Khalil will remain in custody. “The district court held what we already knew: Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio’s weaponization of immigration law to punish Mahmoud and others like him is likely unconstitutional,” lawyers for Khalil said after the judge’s ruling. FEDERAL JUDGE SAYS ATTEMPTED DEPORTATION OF ANTI-ISRAEL RINGLEADER MAHMOUD KHALIL MAY BE UNCONSTITUTIONAL However, various conservative legal experts disagree with the judge. “A judge just handed Hamas a win on American soil. Mahmoud Khalil lied his way into our country, concealed ties to a foreign regime, and then led a pro-Hamas takeover at Columbia University. Now, a judicial activist wants to block his deportation? That’s not justice — it’s national suicide. President Trump has both the constitutional authority and the moral obligation to remove threats like Khalil,” Republican attorney Mehek Cooke told Fox News Digital in a statement. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “The Supreme Court has made this power crystal clear. In Kleindienst v. Mandel (1972), the Court upheld the executive’s broad discretion in immigration matters. That authority was reaffirmed in Trump v. Hawaii (2018), where the Court ruled that the President has sweeping power to exclude noncitizens deemed detrimental to U.S. interests,” she continued. ANTI-ISRAEL RINGLEADER MAHMOUD KHALIL’S FREE SPEECH LAWSUIT AGAINST US GOVERNMENT MUST BE HEARD: JUDGE “By declaring the Immigration and Nationality Act ‘unconstitutionally vague,’ Judge Farbiarz isn’t interpreting the law — he’s rewriting it. That violates the separation of powers and dangerously ties the hands of our Commander in Chief. Citizenship is a privilege — not a sanctuary for liars and Hamas sympathizers. I am confident this will be overturned on appeal,” Cooke added. Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said it is a “ridiculous, meritless claim by a rogue federal judge,” and said that even though Kahlil is a legal resident of the U.S., he can still face consequences. “Aliens have no constitutional right to be in the U.S. Moreover, under federal immigration law, 8 U.S.C. 1227, aliens like Khalil, including permanent resident aliens, can be removed if the alien ‘endorses or espouses terrorist activity’ or support ‘a terrorist organization.’ Khalil’s blatant support for Hamas, a designated terrorist organization, makes him immediately deportable. This is another biased, partisan judge refusing to abide by federal immigration law and interfering in the president’s constitutional and statutory authority,” he told Fox News Digital in a statement. LAWYERS FOR COLUMBIA ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST MAHMOUD KHALIL BLAST RUBIO EVIDENCE LETTER: ‘TWO PAGES, THAT’S IT’ The White House also condemned the ruling, continuing its frequent clashes with federal judges over immigration policy. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Mahmoud Khalil was given the privilege of coming to America to study, but he squandered that opportunity by siding with Hamas terrorists and organizing protests that disrupted college classes and harassed Jewish-American students. Secretary of State Rubio has the right to revoke green cards or visas for any individuals who are adversarial to United States foreign policy and national security interests,” Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement. Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
FBI Director Patel says he’s had to divert resources to investigate ‘copycats’ of Comey ’86 47′ post
FBI Director Kash Patel said he has been forced to divert agents to investigate “copycats” of potential threats to President Donald Trump as a result of former FBI Director James Comey’s “86 47” social media post. Bureau officials told Fox News Digital it needs to be focused on “public safety, not cleaning up after political stunts.” Patel sat down for an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier and revealed that the FBI has had to investigate “copycats” because of Comey’s “beachside venture.” FORMER FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY MEETS WITH SECRET SERVICE AFTER CONTROVERSIAL ’86 47′ POST “Do you know how many agents I’ve had to take offline from chasing down child sex predators, fentanyl traffickers, terrorists because everywhere across this country, people are popping up on social media and think that a threat to the life of the president of the United States is a joke and they can do it because he did it?” Patel said. “That’s what I’m having to deal with every single day, and that’s what I’m having to pull my agents and analysts off because he thought it was funny to go out there and make a political statement,” he continued. An FBI official told Fox News Digital that they cannot disclose the number of “copycat” incidents due to ongoing investigations but described the number to Fox News Digital as “significant.” Comey met with Secret Service officials in Washington this month for an interview about his “86 47” Instagram post, two sources briefed on the meeting told Fox News. Comey is under investigation for the now-deleted Instagram post that showed seashells arranged on a beach to read “86 47.” “Cool shell formation on my beach walk,” he wrote along with the post. Some have interpreted the post to mean “86” – get rid of – “47,” or Donald Trump, the 47th president. TRUMP ADDRESSES COMEY’S ‘8647’ MESSAGE: ‘HE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT IT MEANT’ “What people need to understand is that every copycat threat forces the FBI to divert time, agents and resources; resources that should be spent saving lives and taking criminals and deadly drugs off our streets,” an FBI official told Fox News Digital. “This kind of chaos was normalized by someone who knows better, and the director reminds lawmakers, especially in places like California and New York that have defended Comey, that we should be focused on public safety, not cleaning up after political stunts.” Comey offered an explanation for the post after he received backlash on social media. “I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,” the subsequent post from Comey said. “I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The president, in a separate May interview with Baier, didn’t accept Comey’s explanation. “He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant,” Trump told Baier. “If you’re the FBI director, and you don’t know what that meant, that meant ‘assassination,’ and it says it loud and clear.”
Jill Biden should have to answer for ‘cover up’ of former president’s decline, White House says
Former first lady Jill Biden should have to answer for her role in the “cover up” of her husband and former President Joe Biden’s mental decline, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Multiple books published in 2025 have detailed the deterioration of Biden’s mental faculties while in the White House, including in the book “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again” released May 20. “The former first lady should certainly speak up about what she saw in regard to her husband and when she saw it and what she knew, because I think anybody looking again at the videos and photo evidence of Joe Biden with your own eyes and a little bit of common sense can see this was a clear cover up,” Leavitt said. “And Joe, by, Jill Biden was certainly complicit in that cover up.” ‘THE KAMALA EXCUSE’: TENSIONS BETWEEN BIDEN AND HARRIS PLAGUED THEIR CAMPAIGNS, NEW BOOK REVEALS “There’s documentation, video evidence of her clearly shielding her husband away from the cameras that were just on ‘The View’ last week,” Leavitt told reporters Thursday. “She was saying, ‘Everything is fine.’ She’s still lying to the American people. She still thinks the American public are so stupid that they’re going to believe her lies. And frankly, it’s insulting and she needs to answer for it.” A spokesperson for Jill Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. “Original Sin,” authored by journalists Jake Tapper of CNN and Alex Thompson of Axios, includes stories about how former President Joe Biden struggled to handle fairly routine aspects of a campaign. For example, the book says his team attempted to film a campaign video for ads on television in a high school gym, and have people ask questions akin to a town hall meeting. BIDEN STRUGGLED TO FILM 2024 CAMPAIGN VIDEOS AMID DECLINING HEALTH, NEW BOOK CLAIMS: ‘THE MAN COULD NOT SPEAK’ “The campaign was trying to make it look like the president was out there taking off-the-cuff questions from voters in public,” the book said. “But the event was closed to reporters, and the campaign had the full list of questions that people would ask.” Even so, former President Joe Biden encountered so much “trouble” answering questions that his team decided to cut the footage. Some blamed the poor lighting in the gym, but the book said that others said the real problem remained with the former president. NEW BOOK REVEALS BIDEN’S INNER CIRCLE WORRIED ABOUT HIS AGE YEARS BEFORE BOTCHED DEBATE PERFORMANCE Meanwhile, Joe Biden’s team has pushed back on the material in “Original Sin,” which chronicles the 2024 election cycle and how his team allegedly plotted a cover-up to hide just how severely his mental faculties had declined. “There is nothing in this book that shows Joe Biden failed to do his job, as the authors have alleged, nor did they prove their allegation that there was a cover-up or conspiracy,” a Biden spokesperson previously said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Nowhere do they show that our national security was threatened or where the President wasn’t otherwise engaged in the important matters of the Presidency. In fact, Joe Biden was an effective President who led our country with empathy and skill.”
DOGE staffing shakeup as Elon Musk hangs up his hat, White House confirms
A White House official confirmed to Fox News on Thursday that in addition to billionaire Elon Musk, multiple other staffers and special government employees from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are departing. Musk has been heading DOGE since President Donald Trump took office in January. The department was tasked with cutting $2 trillion from the federal government’s budget through efforts to slash spending, government programs and federal workforce. Musk announced his departure from DOGE late Wednesday. “As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” Musk said on X. “The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.” LESS THAN HALF OF DOGE-TERMINATED CONTRACTS CAN BE PUBLICLY TRACKED, ONLY ABOUT A QUARTER OF GRANTS: WATCHDOG Along with Musk, advisor Steve Davis, advisor and spokesperson Katie Miller, and attorney James Burnham are leaving their posts within DOGE, a White House spokesperson confirmed to Fox News. With Musk’s departure, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a briefing Thursday that Trump and members of his Cabinet will now spearhead DOGE’s efforts. WHITE HOUSE DISCLOSES WHO WILL LEAD DOGE EFFORTS AFTER MUSK’S DEPARTURE “The DOGE leaders are each and every member of the president’s cabinet and the president himself, who is wholeheartedly committed to cutting waste, fraud and abuse from our government,” Leavitt said. “The entire Cabinet understands the need to cut government waste, fraud and abuse,” she continued. “And each Cabinet secretary at their respective agencies is committed to that. That’s why they were working hand in hand with Elon Musk. And they’ll continue to work with their respective DOGE employees who have onboarded as political appointees at all of these agencies. “So surely the mission of DOGE will continue, and many DOGE employees are now political appointees and employees of our government.” WHAT’S NEXT FOR DOGE AFTER ELON MUSK’S DEPARTURE? ‘ONLY JUST BEGUN’ While DOGE was tasked with cutting $2 trillion from the budget, its efforts led to roughly $175 billion in savings due to asset sales, contract cancellations, fraud payment cuts and other ways to eliminate costs, according to an update on DOGE’s website. The savings translate to about $1,087 in savings per taxpayer, the website notes. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP A senior White House official told Fox News Digital previously that DOGE is now part of the “DNA” of the federal government, and it will continue to operate as it had under Musk. Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Murray and Diana Stancy contributed to this report.