Tom Homan applauds ‘big beautiful bill’, says legislation would ‘solidify the success’ at the border
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Trump border czar Tom Homan outlined the progress that has been made at the border, and detailed how the president’s “big beautiful bill” could solidify items that have improved border security. “All those accessories on the border, we can lock it in to make it permanent,” Homan explained. “So we’re going to put more border walls up. We’ll put more water buoys in. That’s going to save lives, right, because people see the water buoys, you can’t get over them, which many people won’t attempt to go into that river, which means we save lives.” According to data from the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), apprehensions at the border are down 93% from April 2024 to April 2025 under the Trump administration. Fulfilling the president’s campaign promise to reign in the heightened flow of illegal immigrants has been one of the administration’s top priorities, and Homan told Fox the “big beautiful bill” will “solidify the success” the numbers are already illustrating. BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN SAYS DEMOCRAT LAMONICA MCIVER ‘BROKE THE LAW,’ SHOULD BE CHARGED FOR ICE CLASH “[The bill] is going to save lives,” Homan said. “It’s going to add technology to the existing new border wall that the Biden administration didn’t put into the wall. So, it’s a smart wall, but Biden stopped the tech equipment from getting embedded in the wall to let us know when someone approaches that wall, climbs the wall, digs under that wall.” Trump’s border czar also pointed out an important element of the legislation, which provides funding for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to purchase beds for illegal migrants who are detained. “Right now we’ve got 50,000 people in custody. We’re only funded for $34,000. ICE is already in a hole at $500 million. We need 100,000 beds. This bill does that.” INSIDE TRUMP’S URGENT MEETING WITH HOUSE GOP TO PASS THE ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ The president’s “big beautiful bill” contains many components of Trump’s agenda, including border security, tax policy, debt limit, and defense spending. It has had issues making it through the legislative process as some House Republicans have advocated for provisions such as state and local tax (SALT) deduction caps and spending cuts. President Trump spoke out strongly against any cuts to Medicaid or SALT deduction caps during his visit to Capitol Hill to rally support for the bill on Tuesday. As for the border, GOP members whose districts line the southern border spoke out in support of the legislation. “It may be a big and beautiful bill, but it has the muscle and backbone of historic border security and the ability to deport the millions of criminal illegals Joe Biden let walk into our country,” Congressman Darrell Issa, R-California, told Fox News Digital. ACTING ICE DIRECTOR DEMANDS TIM WALZ APOLOGIZE FOR CALLING AGENTS ‘MODERN-DAY GESTAPO’ Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonalzes, who represents the largest border district in Congress, also highlighted border elements of the legislation. “These are exactly the priorities I have fought tooth and nail for during the last four years, and I’m proud to see we’re finally getting it done,” Gonzales told Fox News Digital. “My communities along the border will be much better off, and I’m proud to have played a key part in making that happen.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Despite some GOP enthusiasm, sources on Capitol Hill say there is still a long way to go before the piece of legislation reaches the president’s desk.
GOP outperformed Dems on voter registration in key battleground states, new analysis reveals
FIRST ON FOX: Republicans outperformed Democrats on voter registration in four key battleground states between the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections, according to research by the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC). The bipartisan political consultant non-profit teamed up with analysts from Data Trust, a conservative organization, and Target Smart, which has aligned with Democrats in past election cycles. Compiling data from the 2020 and 2024 elections in Arizona, North Carolina, Nevada and Pennsylvania, the research suggests a national shift in voter registration toward the Republican Party. “We wanted a bipartisan analysis because there are so many conventional wisdoms this election challenged,” Larry Huynh of Trilogy Interactive and Democrat AAPC Board President said. “The data was pretty clear that the Democrats were caught off guard with voter registration and turnout efforts and failed to mount a sufficiently compelling counter-effort to compete. We should all learn from this and take a deeper dive into our voter registration and turnout operations.” AAPC unveiled the research this week during the 2025 Pollie Awards, a political communications awards program, in Colorado Springs, Colo. FOX NEWS VOTER ANALYSIS: HOW TRUMP REGAINED THE WHITE HOUSE “The Trump campaign and the Republican Party deserve considerable recognition for their voter registration success and turnout efforts and the party should try to build on these successes,” Kyle Roberts of AdImpact and the incoming Republican AAPC Board President told Fox News Digital. BIDEN AIDE INTIMIDATED REPORTER INVESTIGATING FORMER PRESIDENT’S MENTAL DECLINE WITH ‘TACIT THREAT:’ BOOK From 2020 to 2024, the bipartisan political analysis found the share of registered Democrat voters dropped in all four battleground states. Meanwhile, the share of registered unaffiliated and Republican voters increased in Arizona, North Carolina, Nevada and Pennsylvania, according to the data compiled by Data Trust and Target Smart. In three out of four of the states analyzed, unaffiliated voters accounted for the largest electoral increase. Democrats saw the largest electoral drop between 2020 and 2024 across the four battleground states, following the same trend as voter registration. Voter turnout across party lines dropped in three out of the four battleground states analyzed, the data revealed. And while Democrat turnout dropped more than Republican turnout in those three states, the difference was less than a percentage point in every state but Arizona. Data Trust and Target Smart also analyzed trends across demographic groups, including Black, Hispanic and rural voters. The overall increase in Republican registration, turnout and electoral growth was consistent across the demographic groups analyzed. President Donald Trump won all seven battleground states in 2024 – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Republicans maintained control of the House of Representatives and won back the Senate. 70% of voters believed the country was on the wrong track and wanted change in the 2024 presidential election, according to Fox News Voter Analysis. The economy and immigration were top issues as Trump tied inflation to President Joe Biden’s administration and vowed to secure the border on his first day in office. As AAPC seeks to analyze Republicans’ inroads with swing state voters in 2024, Democrats are facing their own reckoning this week as a new book reveals the alleged “cover-up” of Biden’s cognitive decline. CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios political correspondent Alex Thompson’s book, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” released on Tuesday, paints an unflattering picture of Democrats’ losses in 2024. While political commentators focus on what Democrats did wrong in 2024, AAPC’s new data reveals what Republicans did right on voter registration and turnout. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Republican National Committee (RNC) opened “Black Americans for Trump” and “Latino Americans for Trump” offices across the battleground states in 2024, seeking to expand their reach among traditionally Democrat voting blocs. Over 160,000 volunteers joined the RNC’s “Protect the Vote” efforts on election integrity in 2024, which included more than 100 lawsuits and recruiting poll watchers across the country. Seizing on Republicans’ election distrust following Trump’s loss in 2020, the RNC built a coalition of supporters across the country that propelled voters to the polls and landed Trump a win in 2024.
Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ faces crucial hours as Johnson courts Freedom Caucus
The marquee event in the run-up to potentially passing the so-called “big, beautiful bill” began at 3 p.m. ET as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and members of the Freedom Caucus headed to the White House to meet with President Donald Trump. The White House is really amping up the pressure now on the Freedom Caucus. A White House statement says “The Administration strongly supports passage of H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” It adds that “President Trump is committed to keeping his promises, and failure to pass this bill would be the ultimate betrayal. If H.R. 1 were presented to the President, he would sign it into law.” Fox is told that the House GOP brass would like to pass the bill “today.” There is an increasing scenario that “today” means very late tonight, overnight, or the early hours of tomorrow morning. They are banking on the idea that pressure from the president will force the Freedom Caucus to vote “yes.” They also need to provide a fig leaf for the Freedom Caucus so they can exit these negotiations with a “win.” HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS HEADING TO WHITE HOUSE AFTER DELAY PLAY ON TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ The Freedom Caucus is upset that the SALT Caucus achieved a victory with an increase in the deduction for state and local taxes. So the Freedom Caucus is asking, “where is our deal?” We expect House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to parachute a “manager’s amendment” or two into the bill at the end. This would be introduced before the House Rules Committee and made a part of the bill. The manager’s amendment is essentially the final change to the bill. The key is to make sure that it sweetens the measure in a way that it drags the final outstanding votes across the finish line. Here’s the dynamic: House GOP leaders are worried about losing members from an attendance perspective tomorrow. So they feel it’s best to move sooner rather than later. Also, there’s the potential of losing votes the longer this sits open. So Republican leaders want to lock this down as soon as possible. That’s why an overnight/early morning scenario is very much in play right now. DEMS WARN HOUSE REPUBLICANS WILL PAY PRICE AT BALLOT BOX FOR PASSING TRUMP’S ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ Here are the concrete steps which must happen to pass the bill: – Johnson introduces his manager’s amendment to tweak the bill and court reluctant Republicans to vote yes. – The Rules Committee incorporates that amendment into the bill. – The Rules Committee votes on the overall “rule” which sends the “new” version of the bill – with the changes via the manager’s amendment to the floor. – The House debates the “rule” to set the table for the actual debate. – The House must adopt the “rule” in order to put the bill on the floor. If the Rules Committee fails to send the rule to the floor or if the GOP stumbles in its effort to get it out of the Rules Committee, they’re stuck. So these two procedural steps are crucial. – The House then debates the bill on the floor, based on the ground rules approved earlier by the rule. – Then the House goes to final passage. Those are a lot of steps. But things can move very fast when they get these things in place in the House. That’s why Republican leaders want the pressure of the president to force the issue in the next 12 to 24 hours. That said, there is a distinct possibility of this unfolding overnight or in the wee hours of the morning on Thursday. There is also a possibility that this stalls, and we are staring at a Thursday night/wee hours of Friday scenario, too.
Trump faces another deportation setback with 4th Circuit appeals court
A U.S. appeals court ordered the Trump administration this week to comply with a lower court judge’s order to return a 20-year-old Venezuelan migrant deported from the U.S. to El Salvador in March, marking another setback in legal battles over its use of the Alien Enemies Act. The 2–1 decision from the 4th Circuit leaves in place U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher’s earlier ruling that Daniel Lozano-Camargo, previously identified in court documents as “Cristian,” must be allowed back into the country. Gallagher, a Trump appointee, ruled that Lozano-Camargo’s removal violated an agreement that the Department of Homeland Security struck with a group of other migrants who entered the U.S. illegally as children and later sought asylum. DHS agreed not to deport these individuals, who later sought asylum in the U.S. until their cases could be fully adjudicated in court. The decision paves the way for the Trump administration to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. In the interim, Gallagher has said she will amend her ruling to set a formal timeline for the government to return the 20-year-old migrant to the U.S. FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS RETURN OF DEPORTED MIGRANT TO US, REJECTING TRUMP REQUEST The Justice Department appealed the case to the 4th Circuit earlier this month. The majority opinion, published Monday night, rejected its request, stressing what judges said was their role in ensuring the courts have the ability to prevent any attempted “degradation of effective judicial review” by the executive branch. “As is becoming far too common, we are confronted again with the efforts of the Executive Branch to set aside the rule of law in pursuit of its goals,” Judge DeAndrea Gist Benjamin said, writing for the majority. “It is the duty of courts to stand as a bulwark against the political tides that seek to override constitutional protections and fundamental principles of law, even in the name of noble ends like public safety.” “The Government’s breach denied Cristian the benefit of the bargain and the process he was due,” Gregory added. JUDGE ON WARPATH PRESSES TRUMP DOJ ON ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION, ANSWERS LEAVE COURTROOM IN STUNNED SILENCE Gallagher ruled in April that the government violated a 2024 settlement between DHS and a group of young asylum seekers, including Lozano-Camargo. Under that deal, DHS agreed not to deport the migrants, all of whom entered the U.S. as unaccompanied children, until their cases were fully heard in court. Last month, Gallagher said Lozano-Camargo’s deportation was a “breach of contract” since his asylum case had not yet been heard and ordered the U.S. government to arrange for his release. Lawyers for the Trump administration argued Lozano-Camargo was eligible for removal under the Alien Enemies Act, citing his arrest and conviction on cocaine possession charges as recently as January. They also claimed, without evidence, he was a member of a “violent terrorist gang.” IDENTITY OF SECOND DEPORTED MAN WHO JUDGE WANTS RETURNED TO US REVEALED AS TRUMP ADMIN FIGHTS ORDER Gallagher reiterated her previous decision this month, emphasizing it has nothing to do with the strength of his asylum request in a nod to two apparent low-level drug offenses. Rather, she stressed, it was a matter of due process. The government is “measuring utility using the wrong yardstick” in this case, she told the administration, adding it is not a case of whether Lozano-Camargo will eventually receive asylum, but the process afforded to him in the interim. Process, she said, is important for various reasons, noting that even when outcomes in certain criminal cases or trials seem obvious, individuals are still entitled to a trial under U.S. law. “We don’t skip to the end and say, ‘We all know how this is going to end, so we’ll just skip that part,’” she said. This was also upheld by the judges of the appellate court. “The Government’s breach denied Cristian the benefit of the bargain and the process he was due,” Benjamin said, writing for the majority. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The job of the courts is to “say what the law is,” she said. “The task is delicate but cannot be shirked.” It is unclear whether the Trump administration will appeal the case to the Supreme Court.
Mace files resolution to expel House Democrat after her arrest at ICE detention facility protest
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced a House resolution Wednesday to expel Democratic New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver, who the day prior was served with federal charges for assaulting law enforcement officers earlier this month while protesting at a federal immigrant detention center. “On May 9th, McIver didn’t just break the law, she attacked the very people who defend it,” Mace said in a press release announcing the new House Resolution. “Attacking Homeland Security and ICE agents isn’t just disgraceful, it’s assault. If any other American did what she did, they’d be in handcuffs. McIver thinks being a Member of Congress puts her above the law. It doesn’t. She should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” The Department of Justice announced federal charges against McIver on Monday, accusing her of allegedly “assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement” earlier this month at a Newark-area immigrant detention facility known as Delaney Hall. McIver was there with two other members of Congress to conduct what they claimed were their congressionally mandated oversight duties, as well as the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, Ras Baraka, who was subsequently arrested following the incident but later had his charges dropped. According to the press release, Mace’s resolution notes that the House of Representatives already has precedent for expelling members of Congress who have been charged with serious criminal offenses.
Will Vance remark about US bailing on Ukraine encourage Putin to sink nascent peace talks?
Vice President JD Vance’s suggestion this week that the U.S. could walk away from supporting Ukraine if peace talks with Russia stagnate could serve as catnip for the Kremlin, according to experts who say Russian President Vladimir Putin might choose to smother progress in hopes of getting America to wash “its hands of the war.” While President Donald Trump has indicated that the U.S. may disengage from the negotiations as a last resort if they prove futile, Vance has taken the rhetoric a step further by saying the U.S. is definitely open to doing so. “We’re more than open to walking away,” Vance told reporters on board Air Force Two on Monday, just moments before a high-stakes phone call between Trump and Putin. “The United States is not going to spin its wheels here. We want to see outcomes.” But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cautioned that no one wins if the U.S. steps aside from the talks, except for Russia. “It is crucial for all of us that the United States does not distance itself from the talks and the pursuit of peace because the only one who benefits from that is Putin,” Zelenskyy wrote in a Monday post on X. Vance’s remark about abandoning mediation between the two countries would only embolden Russia, even though a lack of U.S. involvement still wouldn’t give Putin everything he wants, according to John Hardie, the deputy director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Russia program, a nonprofit research institute based in Washington. For the moment, Moscow still benefits from U.S. involvement in the talks because the Kremlin wants the U.S. to help advance a deal that benefits Russia and alleviates sanctions, Hardie said. “But, for the Kremlin, the United States washing its hands of the war would be the next best outcome if it means an end or reduction to U.S. support for Ukraine, especially since President Trump may well move to normalize relations with Russia anyhow,” Hardie told Fox News Digital. “So the administration’s threat to walk away risks perversely incentivizing Kremlin intransigence. A better approach would be to ramp up the economic and military pressure on Russia if Putin continues to reject compromise.” Russia still desires normalization with the U.S., which can only happen if the war ends swiftly and relatively amicably, said Peter Rough, a senior fellow and director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at the Hudson Institute think tank. “That reset in relations is a giant carrot the administration is dangling in front of the Kremlin,” Rough told Fox News Digital. “If the U.S. walks away because Russia will not make peace, however, then that carrot disappears as well.” Rough noted that other administration officials besides Vance, including Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have mentioned the possibility of walking away from a deal, so Vance’s comments don’t necessarily reflect a huge change in policy. And it’s unclear right now what exactly stepping aside would mean. “The purpose of those comments has been to impress on the Kremlin that U.S. patience is not limitless,” Rough said. Vance hasn’t shied away from issuing bold foreign policy statements since becoming vice president. From sparring with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in February to appearing to counter Trump when Vance remarked in May that the war in Ukraine was far from over after Trump indicated a deal might emerge soon, Vance has been outspoken in a way most vice presidents haven’t been. When asked for comment or if there were any concerns about Vance’s Monday statement, the White House referred Fox News Digital to Vance’s office. Vance’s office declined to provide comment when asked if his remarks would encourage Russia to sit the negotiations out and continue its attacks. WHY ZELENSKYY KEEPS PUSHING NATO MEMBERSHIP EVEN THOUGH TRUMP SAYS IT’S NOT HAPPENING Vance has adopted an outspoken approach as vice president, starting off with his fiery February statements at the Munich Security Council in which he asserted that Europe needed to “step up in a big way to provide for its own defense.” That boldness has carried over into the Russia-Ukraine negotiations, where Vance has taken a proactive approach, at times appearing to be forging his own path. Vance and Rubio engaged in discussions to end the conflict in Ukraine with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Rome on Sunday, among other issues. Vance and Rubio also discussed the Trump administration’s efforts to end the war with Vatican prelate Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher on Monday. Aboard Air Force Two on Monday, Vance said the negotiations had reached “a bit of [an] impasse” between the two countries and that the conflict is not the Trump administration’s war to wage but rather belongs to former President Joe Biden and Putin. “There is fundamental mistrust between Russia and the West. It’s one of the things the president thinks is, frankly, stupid, that we should be able to move beyond,” Vance told reporters. “The mistakes that have been made in the past, but … that takes two to tango.” “I know the president’s willing to do that, but if Russia’s not willing to do that, then we’re eventually just going to have to say … this is not our war,” Vance said. “It’s Joe Biden’s war, it’s Vladimir Putin’s war. It’s not our war. We’re going to try to end it, but if we can’t end it, we’re eventually going to say, ‘You know what? That was worth a try, but we’re not doing it anymore.’” TRUMP INSISTS UKRAINE-RUSSIA PEACE DEAL IS CLOSE, BUT MISTRUST IN PUTIN LEAVES EXPERTS SKEPTICAL Vance’s Monday statement came just before Trump was scheduled to speak with Putin, seemingly undercutting the high-leverage telephone call and also underscoring Vance’s influence over foreign policy matters in the White House. Specifically on Ukraine negotiations, Vance has remained outspoken, engaging in confrontation when Zelenskyy visited the White House in February. In that exchange, Vance accused Zelenskyy of being “disrespectful” after Zelenskyy
White House urges immediate vote on GOP’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’
The White House threw its weight behind House Republicans’ version of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” Wednesday, pressing lawmakers to vote on the measure “immediately.” “The Administration strongly supports passage of H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” the White House said in a statement of Trump administration policy obtained by Fox News Digital. “This bill implements critical aspects of President Trump’s budgetary agenda by delivering bigger paychecks for Americans, driving massive economic growth, unleashing American energy, strengthening border security and national defense, (and) preserving key safety net programs for Americans who need them, while ending waste, fraud, and abuse in Federal spending, and much more.” It comes hours after the conservative House Freedom Caucus called for a delayed vote after continued disagreements over rollbacks to Medicaid coverage. TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ PASSES KEY HOUSE HURDLE AFTER GOP REBEL MUTINY “I’m not sure this can be done this week. I’m pretty confident it could be done in 10 days. But that’s up to leadership to decide,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told reporters. Republicans are working to enact Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process, which allows the party in power to pass sweeping legislation without the minority party’s input by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51. Their current multitrillion-dollar bill would advance Trump’s priorities on immigration, taxes, energy, defense and the debt limit. Meanwhile, the national debt continues to climb, surpassing $36 trillion earlier this year. NATIONAL DEBT TRACKER: AMERICAN TAXPAYERS (YOU) ARE NOW ON THE HOOK FOR $36,213,570,763,720.98 AS OF 5/20/25 The Freedom Caucus is meeting with Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., at the White House Wednesday afternoon in a bid to resolve differences. Meanwhile, a White House official told Fox News Digital the administration wants the House to vote on the bill at some point Wednesday. “The One Big Beautiful Bill Act reflects the shared priorities of both Congress and the Administration. Therefore, the House of Representatives should immediately pass this bill to show the American people that they are serious about ‘promises made, promises kept,’” the new White House statement said. “President Trump is committed to keeping his promises, and failure to pass this bill would be the ultimate betrayal.” HOUSE GOP TARGETS ANOTHER DEM OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF BLOCKING ICE AMID DELANEY HALL FALLOUT The statement ended by affirming that Trump would sign the legislation into law if it got to his desk, a significant endorsement of House GOP leaders’ plans. The bill itself is not yet finished, however. Republican leaders have signaled they are including additional provisions via a “manager’s amendment” that are expected to cover Medicaid work requirements and an amended state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap. House conservatives have been pushing for the bill to include more aggressive cuts to Medicaid — specifically the expanded population who became eligible under the Affordable Care Act — and a full repeal of former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and its green energy subsidies. Trump paid a rare visit to Capitol Hill Tuesday, where he personally told House Republicans he wanted the bill passed as soon as possible. The Freedom Caucus, meanwhile, has insisted that it is pushing to enact Trump’s campaign promises to the fullest possible extent.
Controversial office vacant for first time in nearly a decade, but emerging secrets haunt those involved
It’s the first time in nearly a decade that a special counsel is not investigating something related to a sitting or former president, but the remnants and revelations of past special counsel probes continue to break through the news cycle. Every attorney general-appointed special counsel since 2017 has now released their reports, issued their indictments, received their verdicts, shuttered their offices, disassembled their teams and returned to their government or private sector roles. Essentially, they’ve all moved on. BIDEN INTERVIEW AUDIO REVEALS WHO BROUGHT UP BEAU’S DEATH – AND IT WASN’T HUR First, in 2017, there was Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who was investigating whether members of the first Trump campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election. Then, in 2019, there was Special Counsel John Durham, who was investigating the origins of the Mueller investigation and the original FBI probe into then-candidate Donald Trump and his campaign. Soon, it was 2022, and Special Counsel Jack Smith began investigating then-former President Trump for his alleged improper retention of classified records held at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida after his presidency. Smith also began investigating events surrounding the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Next up, in 2023, Special Counsel Robert Hur was appointed and began investigating now-former President Joe Biden’s alleged improper retention of classified records, which occurred during his vice presidency as part of the Obama administration. DURHAM FINDS DOJ, FBI ‘FAILED TO UPHOLD’ MISSION OF ‘STRICT FIDELITY TO THE LAW’ IN TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE Later in 2023, David Weiss, who had served as U.S. attorney in Delaware and had been investigating Hunter Biden since 2018, was appointed special counsel to continue his yearslong investigation into the now-former first son. At this point, those investigations have all come to their resolutions: Mueller, in 2019, found there was no collusion; Durham, in 2022, found that the FBI ignored “clear warning signs” of a Hillary Clinton-led plan to inaccurately tie her opponent to Russia using politically funded and uncorroborated opposition research; Smith, in 2022, charged Trump but had those charges tossed; Hur, in 2023, opted against charging Biden; Weiss, in 2023, charged Hunter Biden, who was convicted and later pardoned by his father. But the curiosity surrounding those investigations that dominated headlines for the better part of a decade remains, largely because of so many loose ends and the prevalence of unanswered questions. A trickle, sometimes more like a flood, of information and news related to those probes continues to seep into the news cycle. On Friday night, audio of Biden’s interview with Hur was made public. Hur closed his investigation in 2024 without charging the then-president and infamously described him as a “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.” Some congressional lawmakers had demanded the release of the audio of Biden’s interview amid questions about the former president’s memory lapses and mental acuity. BIDEN STRUGGLES WITH WORDS, KEY MEMORIES IN LEAKED AUDIO FROM SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR INTERVIEW The audio – as expected, based on the transcript of the interview released in 2024 – showed Biden struggling with key memories, including when his son, Beau, died; when he left the vice presidency; and why he had classified documents he shouldn’t have had. In a throwback to another special counsel investigation, the United States Secret Service last week paid a visit to former FBI Director James Comey after he posted a now-deleted image on social media that many interpreted as a veiled call for an assassination of Trump. Comey on Thursday posted to Instagram an image of seashells on the beach arranged to show “86 47” with the caption, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.” Some interpreted it as a coded message, with “86” being slang for “get rid of” and “47” referring to Trump, who is the 47th president. TRUMP SAYS COMEY KNEW ‘ASSASSINATION’ MEANING BEHIND DELETED SOCIAL MEDIA POST Comey later deleted the post and wrote a message that 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.” Comey was the FBI director who, in 2016, allowed the opening of the bureau’s original Trump-Russia investigation, known inside the FBI as “Crossfire Hurricane.” Trump fired Comey in May 2017. Days later, Mueller was appointed as special counsel to take over that investigation, thus beginning the string of special counsels. Durham investigated the origins of the FBI probe and found that the FBI did not have any actual evidence to support the start of that investigation. Durham also found that the CIA, in 2016, received intelligence to show that Hillary Clinton had approved a plan to tie then-candidate Trump to Russia; intelligence that the FBI, led by Comey, ignored. DECLASSIFIED TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE DOCS TO DATE: WHAT TO KNOW On July 28, 2016, then-CIA Director John Brennan briefed then-President Barack Obama on a plan from one of Clinton’s campaign foreign policy advisers “to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service.” Biden, Comey, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper were in the Brennan-Obama briefing, according to the Durham report. After that briefing, the CIA properly forwarded that information through a counterintelligence operational lead (CIOL) to Comey and then-Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok with the subject line “Crossfire Hurricane.” Fox News first obtained and reported on the CIOL in October 2020, which stated, “The following information is provided for the exclusive use of your bureau for background investigative action or lead purposes as appropriate.” DURHAM: FBI IGNORED ‘CLEAR WARNING SIGN’ OF CLINTON-LED EFFORT TO ‘MANIPULATE’ BUREAU FOR ‘POLITICAL PURPOSES’ “Per FBI verbal request, CIA provides the below examples of information the CROSSFIRE HURRICANE fusion cell has gleaned to date,” the memo continued. “An exchange (REDACTED) discussing US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s approval of a plan concerning US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering US elections as a means of distracting the
South African-born Musk evoked by Trump during meeting with nation’s leader: ‘Don’t want to get Elon involved’
President Donald Trump evoked Elon Musk during his Oval Office meeting with South Africa’s president on Wednesday, during talks about the ongoing attacks white farmers in the country are facing. Trump went back and forth with President Cyril Ramaphosa over whether what is occurring in South Africa is indeed a “genocide” against white farmers. At one point, during the conversation, a reporter asked Trump how the United States and South Africa might be able to improve their relations. The president said that relations with South Africa are an important matter to him, noting he has several personal friends who are from there, including professional golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, who were present at Tuesday’s meeting, and Elon Musk. DEMS SLAM ELON MUSK, MELANIA TRUMP WITH XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS: ‘GO BACK TO SOUTH AFRICA!’ Unprompted, Trump added that while Musk may be a South African native, he doesn’t want to “get [him] involved” in the ongoing foreign diplomacy matters that played out during Tuesday’s meeting. “I don’t want to get Elon involved. That’s all I have to do, get him into another thing,” Trump said to light laughter. “But Elon happens to be from South Africa. This is what Elon wanted. He actually came here on a different subject — sending rockets to Mars — OK? He likes that better. He likes that subject better. But Elon’s from South Africa, and I don’t want to talk to him about that. I don’t think it’s fair to him.” Musk, who was present at the Oval Office meeting Tuesday, has been an open critic of his native-born country’s government and has described the ongoing conflict there as a “genocide.” HOUSE DEM BLASTED FOR ‘UNHINGED’ ELON MUSK RANT TELLING HIM TO ‘GO BACK TO SOUTH AFRICA’ Ahead of the meeting with Ramaphosa earlier this month, Musk-owned X garnered backlash over its AI chatbot, Grok, providing unsolicited responses about attacks against white farmers in South Africa. Musk’s artificial intelligence company, which makes the technology for Grok, said following complaints that an “unauthorized modification” to Grok’s algorithm is the reason why it kept talking about race and politics in South Africa, according to the Associated Press.
Donald Trump Jr. has ‘ZERO interest’ in a 2028 run, but isn’t ruling out possibility of a political future
Donald Trump Jr. is not ruling out the possibility of a political future, but asserts that he has no interest in making a run “anytime soon.” At the Qatar Economic Forum, he fielded a question about the possibility of running for office after his father steps down. During his response he did not close the door on the prospect, saying, “I don’t know. Maybe one day … that calling is there.” LESS THAN 4 MONTHS INTO TRUMP’S 2ND TERM, DEMS ARE ALREADY EYEING THE 2028 RACE But he asserted in a post on X that he is not at all interested in pursuing office in 2028. “And FWIW, I’ve always said, while I’ll never 100% rule it out down the line, I have ZERO interest in running for office in 28 or anytime soon,” he said in a portion of that post. TRUMP STORE SPARKS BUZZ AND DEBATE WITH NEW TRUMP 2028 MERCHANDISE Donald Trump Jr. is President Donald Trump’s eldest child. The president just began his second term about four months ago. JD VANCE ASKED ABOUT POTENTIAL 2028 PRESIDENTIAL RUN IN ‘FOX & FRIENDS’ EXCLUSIVE There have been two father-son pairs in U.S. history who both served as president: George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and John Adams and John Quincy Adams.