NationalWatch

Reactions poured Thursday after First Lady Melania Trump issued a rare on-camera statement forcefully rebuking allegations linking her to disgraced financier and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Speaking earlier in the day, Melania Trump said she was never friends with Epstein or his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, and stressed that neither played any role in her introduction to her husband, President Donald Trump.

“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” she said. “The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility, and respect.  I do not object to their ignorance, but rather, I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.” 

As she emphasized that her name never appeared in court documents related to Epstein, several political figures quickly took to social media to publicly rally in support of the first lady.

MELANIA TRUMP DENOUNCES ‘LIES’ CONNECTING HER WITH DISGRACED FINANCIER JEFFREY EPSTEIN IN WHITE HOUSE EVENT

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., a leading congressional voice calling for the release of the Epstein files, praised Melania on X with a photo saying. “Melania Trump stands with Epstein victims.” 

She also applauded Melania for championing legislation that criminalizes the sharing of fake intimate images of women.

“Thank you to our First Lady for being a voice for victims across the country. From her work on the Take It Down Act to publicly standing for the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and calling for action and the truth,” she said. 

“The truth will prevail. America is strong when strong women stand up for what is right.”

VOGUE’S ANNA WINTOUR TAKES SWIPE AT MELANIA TRUMP’S STYLE WHILE PRAISING LIBERAL FAVORITES

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. — who has pushed for the release of documents through the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which he co-authored with Rep. Ro Khanna —- addressed Melania’s effort to bring survivors in for congressional testimony and said leadership should face consequences over their handling of the files, including recently ousted Attorney General Pam Bondi.  

“First Lady asks Congress to bring Epstein survivors in for testimony. With all due respect, that’s @DAGToddBlanche’s job!,” he said. 

“@RepRoKhanna & I already gave brave survivors a chance to tell their horrific stories on Capitol Hill. @PamBondi wouldn’t even acknowledge them. PROSECUTE!”

DAILY BEAST APOLOGIZES TO MELANIA TRUMP OVER RETRACTED EPSTEIN ALLEGATIONS ARTICLE

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who was once a fierce Trump supporter before a public fallout with the president, also posted on X aligning with Melania’s remarks.

“I am grateful to the First Lady for her brave statement today about Epstein and his victims,” she said. “I agree with her that the victims should be heard. I also agree with Thomas Massie. The DOJ needs to PROSECUTE!!! And the role of Congress is to legislate, not prosecute.”

DAILY BEAST PULLS STORY ALLEGING MELANIA-EPSTEIN CONNECTION AFTER LAWYERS DISPUTE FRAMING

Democrats also took to social media following her fiery remarks.

Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif, called on House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., to schedule a public hearing “immediately.”

“We agree with First Lady Melania Trump’s call for a public hearing with the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein. We encourage Chairman Comer to respond to the First Lady’s request and schedule a public hearing immediately,” he said in a post on X.

He also characterized the first lady’s speech as a significant moment, saying her remarks drew renewed attention to an investigation some critics argue has not progressed far enough.

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“The First Lady said two things,” he said. “1) She pushed back on Acting AG Todd Blanche & her husband’s efforts to kill this investigation. 2) She joined our efforts to call for a public hearing where survivors who choose to do so have an opportunity to testify.” 

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, is getting raked over the coals for comments she made several years ago, suggesting criminals housed in a notorious California prison, which was known for housing violent criminals and death row prisoners, got there by “accident.”

Siebel Newsom’s comments came as she was discussing a tragedy in her younger life at an event in 2016. A few days before her seventh birthday, Siebel Newsom was involved in a fatal golf cart accident that ultimately killed her sister.  

“I had to be very raw when we interviewed the young men who were juvenile offenders at San Quentin. I told them about my own loss, where I lost my older sister a few days before my seventh birthday and I blame myself for her death and I share that because they ultimately were accused of committing these violent crimes and sentenced for life, and I think it shocked them that this blonde lady, who was interviewing them, had a similar story – was perhaps in the wrong place at the wrong time – but wasn’t punished the way they were because clearly it was an accident, but theirs was probably an accident too,” Siebel Newsom said when discussing ways to connect with others. 

NEWSOM’S WIFE SLAMS TRUMP FIRINGS OF BONDI, NOEM, SPARKING PANEL DEBATE 

“Anyways, I share that – I guess – I quite enjoy spending time with people and being real and unmasking and showing them that it’s safe to unmask themselves.”

A spokesperson for Governor Newsom’s wife clarified that the remarks in the 2016 interview with the first partner, were referring to incarcerated individuals for her 2015 documentary “The Mask You Live In.” 

The spokesperson did not provide an on-the-record statement but did point Fox News Digital to a social media post from Gov. Newsom’s press office calling out the media for being “focused on running nonstop hit pieces on California’s First Partner,” while the president is “threatening to obliterate a civilization tonight.” 

On Tuesday, the same day the clip began going viral on social media, President Donald Trump issued an ominous message on his social media platform Truth Social, indicating “a whole civilization will die tonight,” amid his threat of a looming U.S. attack against Iranian bridges and power plants.

“This is the MAGA distraction machine — in full force,” concluded the social media post, which included news segments criticizing Siebel Newsom on Tuesday.

GAVIN NEWSOM’S WIFE SAYS SHE GAVE HER BOYS DOLLS TO PLAY WITH IN RESURFACED CLIP

However, Siebel Newsom’s resurfaced comments still garnered attention on Tuesday from conservative critics who called the California governor’s spouse out for virtue signaling.

In direct response to Siebel Newsom’s claims that San Quentin inmates got in their position by “accident,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., shot back sarcastically: “Yeah, like the time that guy accidentally stabbed that dude 27 times.”

“What the…” commented Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, Harmeet Dhillon, in a social media post responding to the 2016 remarks.

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“She represents everything that is wrong with California,” comedian Adam Carolla added. 

“Newsom’s wife’s latest virtue signal is telling San Quentin lifers that she faced zero consequences when her sister was killed because it was an accident, then telling them their life sentences are probably for ‘accidents’ too,” wrote conservative women’s sports activist Riley Gaines. “Peak elite tone-deafness.”

Another Senate Democrat has called on President Donald Trump to be removed from office over the Iran war.

“I certainly think the president should be removed,” Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said. “I mean, he’s unfit for office. I think, the 25th Amendment, and if not, then impeachment.”

Congressional Democrats, particularly in the House, recently have escalated their position against Trump’s war in Iran, shifting from pushing for Congress to reassert its authority in declaring war to demanding that the president be ousted from office.

ROGUE DEM BUCKS PARTY ON TRUMP WAR POWERS, CALLS IRAN ‘47-YEAR-OLD WAR CRIME’

Trump’s comments in the past few days, particularly his threat against Iran that a “whole civilization will die” unless the Strait of Hormuz was reopened, sparked the latest growing push to see him removed from office.

While there is growing sentiment among House Democrats to jettison Trump from office, it’s not as widespread in the Senate. Still, Kim on Thursday joined a small group of Senate Democrats echoing the desires of their counterparts in the House.

So far, Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., all either have demanded that Trump be impeached or removed through the 25th Amendment.

SCHUMER BLASTS TRUMP’S IRAN WAR AS FAILURE, MOVES TO REIN IN HIS WAR POWERS AMID CEASEFIRE

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has stopped short of calling for impeachment, but instead is teeing up another war powers resolution — the fourth since the war began in February — to rein in Trump’s war authorities in the region as a fragile two-week ceasefire continues.

But their calls for removal likely aren’t going to go anywhere now, given the political reality in Washington, D.C. Republicans control both chambers of Congress, meaning impeachment is all but a moot point.

And invoking the 25th Amendment, which has never been used to remove a sitting president, is even more unlikely, given that it would require Vice President JD Vance, a majority of Trump’s Cabinet, and then a two-thirds majority vote in Congress to remove him.

TOP GOP HAWK GRAHAM WARNS IRAN DEAL HAS ‘TROUBLING ASPECTS’ AS CEASEFIRE BEGINS

It’s also a desire that Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., contended was “not realistic right now, given his oddball Cabinet of sycophants and eccentrics,” earlier this week.

“We’re going to have to buckle down and win this the old-fashioned way,” Whitehouse said.

Democrats’ position does provide foreshadowing for what could happen if they win big in the midterm elections this fall, however.

Meanwhile, congressional Republicans are still backing Trump’s actions in Iran, despite some straying from the party line over his recent apocalyptic comments.

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Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said that “Iran has been at war with the United States for 47 years, and it’s time for Iran to choose peace.”

“They haven’t done it yet,” Barrasso said. “What we have seen is American peace through strength, and with this operation that is going on now, incredible success by the United States. We have done what we have talked about doing. Eliminate their missiles and eliminate their missile production and eliminate their missile firing capacity, undermine their ability to ever get a nuclear weapon, and sink the navy.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment and has not yet received a reply. 

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger broke her relative silence on multiple controversial issues during her first three-plus months in office, claiming the Old Dominion is not a sanctuary state and poking holes in the context surrounding a damning favorability poll.

Spanberger has been under fire for undoing predecessor Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s 287(g) cooperation agreement with the Department of Homeland Security. Multiple heinous crimes have been committed in Virginia, allegedly by illegal immigrants and often under the auspices of sanctuary prosecutors.

Spanberger also faces criticism over an April 21 redistricting effort she backed that would draw out all but one Republican congressman.

HOMAN WARNS SPANBERGER BLOCKING ACCESS TO VIRGINIA JAILS COULD FORCE MORE ICE STREET OPERATIONS: ‘DO THE JOB’

“Virginia is not a sanctuary state — full stop,” Spanberger said shortly after exiting the executive mansion in Richmond.

“There’s a lot of misinformation out there. Certainly, everything that you might read on Twitter is not real, but it’s actually pretty outrageous some of the things that have been reported along the way,” she said, pointing to her executive order on immigration enforcement cooperation.

She said her directive was simply for state agencies, including VSP, not to place their troopers under DHS supervision.

“And I feel very strongly about that because [VSP] is a top-notch law enforcement agency. And I don’t think it is responsible for us or me as governor or the Commonwealth of Virginia to put Virginia State Police under the supervision or direction of ICE.”

According to a policy in neighboring West Virginia, only participating law enforcement personnel who are nominated, trained, certified and authorized have the authority to conduct delegated immigration officer functions under a 287(g) agreement. Only then will immigration enforcement functions be carried out under the supervision or direction of ICE.

Spanberger also pushed back on reports that she has banned Virginia law enforcement from any ICE cooperation or localities from entering into their own 287(g) agreements with ICE.

“That is not correct. My predecessor said they had to. I simply said I was not forcing them to,” the governor said. 

While Spanberger’s statement is accurate, a bill that would enact such a ban arrived on her desk March 31 from Sen. Saddam Salim, D-Dunn Loring.

GOP OVERPERFORMS IN VIRGINIA SPECIAL ELECTION, FUELING EARLY MOMENTUM TALK IN BLUE-TRENDING STATE

Salim’s bill bans any law enforcement agency in Virginia from engaging in 287(g) agreements unless an officer is presented with a judicial warrant, subpoena or detainer for a suspected illegal immigrant that has been signed by a judge.

Spanberger said her Department of Corrections still provides a monthly list to DHS of noncitizens in its custody and that the press has incorrectly reported that Virginia can no longer coordinate with federal agencies at this juncture.

“It was only the 287(g) agreements that I said state agencies cannot enter into. … Task forces work together. All of that continues to be the case, [including] JTTF.”

Spanberger said that if ICE asks Richmond for help and has a warrant related to a suspect’s actions, Virginia will be glad to assist.

She also pushed back on concerns over a Washington Post poll showing her with the lowest net favorability rating of any governor dating back to the 1990s.

“I would say if everybody hated me, why is everybody putting my face on their mailers for the referendum would be question No. 1,” she quipped.

Spanberger has been criticized for opposing gerrymandering in support of a 2019 referendum currently in effect, but she again on Wednesday endorsed Virginia Senate President L. Louise Lucas’ controversial redraw.

She added that her election, a “seventeen-point swing,” is “the only poll that matters. And now I’m doing the work for Virginia.”

SPANBERGER REFUSES TO HONOR ICE DETAINER IN MURDER CASE, ESCALATING SHOWDOWN WITH TRUMP DHS

“What matters to me in the end is what I am delivering for people. I knew when I first was elected that I would have a big target on me,” she said.

The governor added that the critiques of her work are at odds with the fact that “everybody thinks I’m a convincing character” in festooning her likeness on innumerable redistricting mailers.

“I voted yes, and encourage others to do so,” she said, dismissing claims she should be “barnstorming” Virginia in favor of the redraw as Gov. Gavin Newsom did in California and saying she is a first-term governor closing out her inaugural legislative session versus a last-term governor with national aspirations.

On Thursday, ICE Director Todd Lyons was asked about Spanberger and told Fox News Spanberger should “read the headlines” about what’s going on in Fairfax and elsewhere before breaking with ICE.

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“I never I thought, in my whole career, someone would campaign on going against law enforcement, right. … Elected officials like the governor want to give me a call and work with us, that’s what we want.”

Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., is facing increased scrutiny over allegations that he engaged in sexual misconduct with female staffers and other women, as several rivals take swipes at him ahead of the state’s June gubernatorial primary election.

“I’m very disappointed in Eric Swalwell,” former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said on social media Wednesday. “As more and more women come forward with sexual harassment allegations, Swalwell skipped town to avoid facing tough questions about these allegations.”

“If Swalwell wants voters to trust him, he needs to show up, stop hiding behind his campaign staff and social media accounts, and answer every question from reporters and the public. Voters deserve nothing less,” he added. 

The Swalwell campaign fired back in a statement to Fox News Digital, calling Villaraigosa’s claims that the Democratic lawmaker is inaccessible “false” and “absurd.”

ADAM SCHIFF MAKES ENDORSEMENT IN CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL RACE

“Congressman Swalwell spoke to more than 1,000 town hall attendees for nearly 90 minutes Tuesday in Sacramento,” Micah Beasley, a spokesperson for the Swalwell campaign, said. “Afterward, he met with members of the media to answer their questions.”

Beasley added that Swalwell was unable to attend Wednesday’s candidate forum due to prior commitments, but had met with the group previously.

Villaraigosa’s social media post referenced a series of accusations circulated by former Democratic congressional staffer and attorney Cheyenne Hunt and other left-leaning politicos who have alleged, without evidence, that Swalwell made sexual advances toward women employed in his office.

The allegations threaten to shake up California’s gubernatorial primary, where Swalwell is vying to be among the top two vote-getters who will advance to the November general election. The crowded field also includes Trump-backed former Fox News host Steve Hilton, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and progressive billionaire Tom Steyer.

Former Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., another candidate in the race, has described the allegations as “troubling” and said she is committed to supporting the accusers, who have yet to go public.

“It is those women’s stories to tell when they are ready, and I hope that they feel safe and supported if they choose to do so,” Porter told CNN on Tuesday. “I believe women. I think that has to be the starting place here. So when those women speak up, I will be there, helping to amplify their truths.”

SWALWELL’S ‘I SHOULD BE WORKING’ GYM, POOL VIDEOS RESURFACE AS DEM RIVAL HAMMERS HIS MISSED HOUSE VOTES

Swalwell has denied any wrongdoing, and his campaign has characterized the sexual misconduct allegations as “outrageous” and implied that the accusers are tied to MAGA.

Hunt, executive director of Gen-Z for Change, said she is working with multiple women to go public with their allegations against Swalwell. Hunt has not provided verifiable evidence to support the allegations, and no woman has yet come forward.

“The Democratic candidate currently leading in the California governor’s race has a known history of being predatory towards women,” Hunt claimed in a post to social media in March.

She posted an image of a direct message sent to her privately containing an allegation against Swalwell. 

“You know, Eric Swalwell has slept with many of his interns and makes them all sign [non-disclosure agreements] so they don’t speak up, right? And when I was 19, he tried hitting on me and sliding into my DMs,” the quote read.

Bhavik Lathia, a Democratic operative, has also called on his party to take the allegations against Swalwell “seriously.”

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“Hey, I just got off the phone with a trusted friend. This is real. Take it seriously. Eric Swallwell cannot be our nominee. There is going to be a lot more coming out soon. I can’t say more right now, but stay tuned,” Lathia wrote on social media Monday.

Swalwell, 45, has served in the House of Representatives since 2013, where he has emerged as a frequent Trump critic. He launched a campaign in late 2025 to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., as the Golden State’s next governor.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday rejected Anthropic’s request to block the Department of War from blacklisting use of the AI company’s technology, a move that conflicts with an order a different federal court issued last month in a separate lawsuit regarding the same issues.

“In our view, the equitable balance here cuts in favor of the government. On one side is a relatively contained risk of financial harm to a single private company. On the other side is judicial management of how, and through whom, the Department of War secures vital AI technology during an active military conflict. For that reason, we deny Anthropic’s motion for a stay pending review on the merits,” the April 8 order states. “Nonetheless, because Anthropic raises substantial challenges to the determination and will likely suffer some irreparable harm during the pendency of this litigation, we agree with Anthropic that substantial expedition is warranted.”

In a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Thursday, an Anthropic spokesperson noted, “We’re grateful the court recognized these issues need to be resolved quickly and remain confident the courts will ultimately agree that these supply chain designations were unlawful. While this case was necessary to protect Anthropic, our customers, and our partners, our focus remains on working productively with the government to ensure all Americans benefit from safe, reliable AI.”

ANTHROPIC’S DEMOCRATIC TIES UNDER FIRE AS TRUMP ADMIN SEVERS PENTAGON CONTRACTS

The War Department referred Fox News Digital to a Wednesday social media post from Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche.

“Today’s D.C. Circuit stay allowing the government to designate Anthropic as a supply chain risk is a resounding victory for military readiness. Our position has been clear from the start — our military needs full access to Anthropic’s models if its technology is integrated into our sensitive systems. Military authority and operational control belong to the Commander-in-Chief and Department of War, not a tech company,” Blanche noted in the post on X.

The War Department in January requested “unrestricted use” of Anthropic for “all lawful purposes,” but the AI company drew two red lines, saying it would not be used for domestic surveillance or lethal autonomous weapons.

The administration framed the refusal as corporate insubordination, and Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in February that the War Department “has no interest in using AI to conduct mass surveillance of Americans (which is illegal) nor do we want to use AI to develop autonomous weapons that operate without human involvement.”

President Donald Trump said in February that the U.S. would never allow “the radical left, woke company to dictate how our great military fights and wins wars.”

In a February 27 Truth Social post, Trump said he was “directing EVERY Federal Agency in the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology.”

“There will be a Six Month phase out period for Agencies like the Department of War who are using Anthropic’s products, at various levels,” Trump indicated in the post.

DC COURT RULINGS STALL TRUMP AGENDA ACROSS IMMIGRATION, POLICING, FED — RAISING STAKES ON EXECUTIVE POWER

War Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed Anthropic in a post on X the same day, declaring that he was “directing the Department of War to designate Anthropic a Supply-Chain Risk to National Security.”

A letter in March notified Anthropic that the War Department had determined that use of the company’s products posed a “supply chain risk,” according to a copy of the letter attached to a court filing.

But then in a case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, a judge issued a preliminary injunction order last month blocking the government from implementing those moves against Anthropic.

TECH COMPANY REFUSES PENTAGON DEMANDS ON UNRESTRICTED USE OF ITS AI

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“This Order restores the status quo. It does not bar any Defendant from taking any lawful action that would have been available to it on February 27, 2026, prior to the issuances of the Presidential Directive and the Hegseth Directive and entry of the Supply Chain Designation. For example, this Order does not require the Department of War to use Anthropic’s products or services and does not prevent the Department of War from transitioning to other artificial intelligence providers, so long as those actions are consistent with applicable regulations, statutes, and constitutional provisions,” the March order from U.S. District Judge Rita Lin stated.

Talk of invoking the 25th Amendment is reemerging among House Democrats after more than a year of dismissing speculation they would seek to remove Trump from power for a third time.

Rather than quash the discussion, House Democratic leadership appears to be encouraging it.

On Wednesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., scheduled a Friday briefing on the 25th Amendment for his caucus to be hosted by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and House Judiciary Committee Democrats.

The announcement came after President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, with administration officials hailing the success of Operation Epic Fury. Jeffries torched Trump’s threats issued earlier this week to wipe out Iran’s “civilization” and unleash “hell” on Tehran.

DEMOCRATS THREATEN TO GRIND SENATE TO A HALT TO FORCE PUBLIC IRAN HEARINGS

“Shockingly, Donald Trump threatened to escalate his war of choice in a profane Easter Sunday rant and to eradicate an entire civilization,” Jeffries wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter Wednesday. “We will continue to unleash maximum pressure on Republicans to put patriotic duty over party loyalty and join Democrats in stopping the madness.”

Jeffries has notably stopped short of calling for Trump’s removal from power. Instead, he has pushed a resolution seeking to block the president’s war powers in Iran, which was blocked by House Republicans on Thursday.

However, his willingness to entertain the discussion comes after dozens of his members called for Trump’s impeachment or the invocation of the 25th Amendment following the president’s escalating warnings against Iran if its leadership did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his self-imposed deadline.

“It’s time to invoke the 25th Amendment,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., wrote on social media. “This maniac should be removed from office.”

“He’s out of control and his  Cabinet and those around him must be loyal to the Constitution and invoke the 25th Amendment,” Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said. “He must be removed.”

REP SETH MOULTON: AMERICA DESERVES BETTER THAN TRUMP’S VAGUE IRAN WAR PLANS

Taking that approach is a much higher bar than impeachment and has never been used to involuntarily remove a sitting president. To be successful, Democrats would have to obtain buy-in from Republicans and the advisors closest to the president.

Specifically, the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet would have to agree that Trump is unfit for office. In the event Trump were to contest their assessment, two-thirds of the House and Senate would have to vote in support of that judgment.

Some Democrats have publicly admitted the 25th Amendment is likely to be a futile option, even if they agree that Trump should step aside.

“I’m getting a lot of traffic about the 25th Amendment after Trump’s mad rants,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said on social media Tuesday. “The president is facing serious mental decline; I’m with you on that.”

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“But unfortunately, invoking the 25th is not realistic right now, given his oddball Cabinet of sycophants and eccentrics, and Republican ‘spines of foam,’” he continued. “We’re going to have to buckle down and win this the old-fashioned way.”

Democrats previously embraced the 25th Amendment to remove Trump in 2021 following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., steered a resolution calling for Congress to act through the lower chamber, but the Cabinet balked at the demand. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat who is seeking election to a third term, is again calling for the ouster of President Donald Trump via the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“President Trump threatened to wipe out an entire civilization. Let’s be honest: There is something genuinely wrong with this man, and the 25th Amendment must be invoked before it’s too late,” Pritzker declared in a video posted to X on Wednesday.

“For the sake of our national security, Donald Trump needs to go now,” he added.

PRITZKER CALLS ON TRUMP OFFICIALS TO TESTIFY OVER ICE CRACKDOWN, WHITE HOUSE BLASTS MOVE AS ‘POLITICAL STUNT’

Pritzker previously called for use of the 25th Amendment earlier this week after Trump issued a controversial Tuesday Truth Social post in which he threatened that an entire “civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”

“This is not foreign policy, it’s a deranged mad man threatening to wipe out an entire country. It’s past time. The 25th Amendment must be invoked,” the governor asserted in a post on X.

Later that day, Pritzker pointed out that he had also urged use of the 25th Amendment months ago.

TRUMP’S THREAT TO END IRANIAN ‘CIVILIZATION’ SPARKS UPROAR ON CAPITOL HILL

“I’ve been saying it for months: Donald Trump needs to go,” Pritzker wrote in a post on X that featured a video clip of him calling for the use of the 25th Amendment last year.

In part of that 2025 video clip, the governor said of Trump, “There is something genuinely wrong with this man, and the 25th Amendment ought to be invoked.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Thursday.

AOC DOUBLES DOWN ON CALL FOR TRUMP’S OUSTER EVEN AFTER CEASEFIRE ANNOUNCEMENT

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Trump ultimately announced a ceasefire on Tuesday evening, agreeing to stop any attacks for two weeks. But that has not stopped some Democrats, like Pritzker, from advocating for the president to be booted from office.

EXCLUSIVE: A top Republican moved Thursday to block asylum claims from foreigners who return to their home countries, introducing legislation after family members of deceased Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Gen. Qassem Soleimani were found to be living in Los Angeles.

Soleimani’s niece, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, and her daughter were arrested by ICE last weekend, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio highlighted Afshar’s “outspoken support [for] the Iranian regime” and DHS reporting that her 2019 asylum claim was fraudulent, due in part to several trips back to the country she purported to flee.

Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., who is also running for the GOP nomination for governor of the Badger State, echoed DHS’ characterization of Afshar’s asylum claim as fraudulent in introducing the SAFER Act, or the “Stopping Asylum Fraudsters Enforcement and Removal Act.”

Tiffany said the bill ensures the federal asylum system is reserved only for foreigners with legitimate claims of persecution.

GOP WHIP: ‘AMERICA-HATING TERRORISTS’ SHOULD LOSE CITIZENSHIP UNDER SCAM ACT

The secretary of Homeland Security and the attorney general would be prohibited from granting asylum to anyone who returns to their home country, while also being empowered to terminate asylum status and denaturalize asylees who voluntarily return while living in the U.S.

“If someone claims they are fleeing danger and seeking asylum in the U.S., they should not be turning around and vacationing in the very country they said they had to escape,” Tiffany told Fox News Digital.

“Those who are truly fleeing danger don’t book round-trip tickets back to it.”

Afshar was granted asylum in 2019 during the first Trump administration and was later given a Green Card by the Biden administration, despite returning to Iran at least four times in the interim.

Under the bill, an asylee could legally return to their home country without risk of federal consequences only if the State Department certifies that a legitimate transfer of power has occurred and the original threat prompting that person’s asylum claim has been resolved.

FAMILIES OF IRAN’S ELITE LIVE LAVISHLY ABROAD WHILE ORDINARY CITIZENS SUFFER AT HOME

In the case that a migrant or asylee has no nationality, their claim will be analyzed based on their most recent “habitual residence.”

“The SAFER Act stops asylum fraudsters from exploiting the system and ensures they are removed from the United States,” Tiffany said.

Earlier this month, the State Department terminated the legal status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, the daughter of a former senior Iranian official, and her husband.

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Both are no longer in the U.S. and are barred from reentry.

Fox News Digital’s Sophia Compton contributed to this report.

A Democratic rogue isn’t buying his party’s argument that President Donald Trump was on the cusp of committing war crimes in Iran and plans to again stop their attempts to handcuff his policing power in the region.

“If you want to talk about a war crime, you know, Iran is a 47-year-old war crime,” Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said on “Hannity” Wednesday night.

Fetterman, a staunch backer of Israel, has time and again broken with his party on the war, joining Republicans to block several attempts by Senate Democrats to reassert Congress’ authority in the ongoing conflict.

He is again fracturing from the party line, as several of his peers, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have declared that Trump’s Iran mission, Operation Epic Fury, was a failure.

SCHUMER BLASTS TRUMP’S IRAN WAR AS FAILURE, MOVES TO REIN IN HIS WAR POWERS AMID CEASEFIRE

Congressional Democrats have demanded that Trump be removed from office for his posts on Easter Sunday and in recent days, in which he laid out an apocalyptic ultimatum for Iran to either reopen the Strait of Hormuz or see their “civilization die tonight.”

“If you target civilian infrastructure for the purposes the president was talking about — in other words, what he’s saying is, if you don’t open the Strait of Hormuz, I’m going to blow up civilian infrastructure — that’s a war crime,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said ahead of the ceasefire deal struck Tuesday night.

TOP GOP HAWK GRAHAM WARNS IRAN DEAL HAS ‘TROUBLING ASPECTS’ AS CEASEFIRE BEGINS

Schumer, speaking at a press conference in New York City Wednesday, argued that Trump’s action in Iran was “one of the very worst military and foreign policy actions that the United States has ever taken.”

“This war has made us worse off today than before it started,” Schumer said.

Fetterman strayed from top Senate Democrats’ messaging against Trump’s campaign in the Middle East and countered that the president’s actions have been for the better, particularly as negotiations for a full end to the conflict are gearing up.

TRUMP’S IRAN THREAT RATTLES GOP AS SOME REPUBLICANS BREAK RANKS AMID 2-WEEK CEASEFIRE

“Everything that’s happened so far has made the world safer, and now we are in a position to finally finish it this way, with these kinds of important negotiation points,” Fetterman said on “Hannity.”

Senate Democrats plan to launch another attempt to handcuff Trump’s war powers when the upper chamber returns in the coming days. It would mark the fourth such attempt and will likely again be blocked by Republicans, despite some growing wary of the conflict.

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Like previous attempts, Fetterman plans to cross the aisle to block Democrats’ plan.

“We are the force of good in the world and … now, we’re not even 40 days into this,” Fetterman said on “Hannity.” “And now I’m reading that they’re going to force another war powers vote, and I will vote against that, because we have to stand by our military and allow them to accomplish the goals of Epic Fury.”

A House Democrat running for re-election in a battleground district previously said his home state was “stolen land” and claimed racism was “embedded” into nearly everything, according to a resurfaced video reviewed by Fox News Digital. 

“We are on stolen land,” Rep. Gabe Vasquez, N.M., said in 2020 before entering Congress during an interview with a New Mexico-based outlet. He added the land used to be Mexican territory and before that was inhabited by Native Americans.

“Just about every part of life that we experience has some racism embedded into it,” Vasquez continued. “I have become less optimistic about where this country stands in terms of being able to eradicate racism, because it is intergenerational. It is passed on. It is embedded into our system.”

Vasquez, who is seeking a third term in November, made the remarks while serving as a city councilmember of Las Cruces — the largest city in his southwestern New Mexico district. He entered Congress in January 2023 after defeating a Republican incumbent while positioning himself as a moderate.

TEXAS DEM SENATE PRIMARY FRACTURES OVER RACE RHETORIC AS ‘MEDIOCRE’ JAB, ‘OPPRESSOR’ REMARKS IGNITE BACKLASH

Vasquez also suggested that he was open to replacing some of the city’s police officers with licensed psychologists and clinicians to respond to certain events during the interview. 

“Those are the types of things that I’m committed to supporting, where if we do have to take budget away from a specific department, whether you know, it be police or otherwise,” Vasquez said, adding that he believed it was unnecessary with the current budget.

“If we don’t need those positions anymore, if we don’t need those budget line items anymore, then we need to get rid of them,” he continued. “And that’s a decision I’m happy to try to champion at the city council.”

Vasquez in 2020 appeared to justify rioting following the death of George Floyd, CNN’s KFile first reported. He also voiced support for the defund the police movement while using a pseudonym during an interview with a local outlet at a Black Lives Matter protest that year.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) said Vasquez has been an unequivocal supporter of law enforcement during his House tenure in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

“Rep. Vasquez has supported increased funding for law enforcement for his entire political career, including over $4 billion for state and local police as Congressman just this year,” DCCC spokesperson Anna Elsasser said.

The New Mexico Democrat has joined the majority of House Democrats in refusing to fund federal immigration enforcement absent reforms, including the tightening of warrant requirements and prohibiting officers from wearing masks.

NEW DEM STAR’S QUICK HARD-LEFT TURN AFTER ‘MODERATE’ CAMPAIGN WON HER COVETED RESPONSE TO TRUMP: LAWMAKER

The Republican National Committee sharply criticized Vasquez’s prior comments in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

“Gabe Vasquez is a truly sick individual who may have a terminal case of the woke mind virus,” RNC spokesman Zach Kraft said in a statement. “He should get the help he needs to realize how insane it is to call every single American racist, and he should be nowhere near Congress.” 

Vasquez is a top target of national Republicans, who are mounting a second attempt to unseat him after he improved his performance in 2024 despite Trump carrying the district.

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The nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted the race from “toss-up” to “lean Democrat” in January, citing President Donald Trump’s declining job approval and Democrats’ strong electoral performance in 2025. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Vasquez’s campaign for comment.

A federal judge has postponed the Trump administration’s termination of temporary protected status (TPS) for Ethiopia.

“Plaintiffs brought suit to challenge the lawfulness of the termination, arguing that Defendants had violated the TPS statute, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Equal Protection Clause. Before the Court is Plaintiffs’ motion to postpone the effective date of the termination pending resolution of the merits. Because Defendants terminated Ethiopia’s TPS designation without regard for the process delineated by Congress, the Court will grant Plaintiffs’ motion,” Judge Brian Murphy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts wrote.

The judge was nominated by then-President Joe Biden in 2024, according to the court’s website.

BIDEN-APPOINTED JUDGE TWICE SHUT DOWN BY SCOTUS FACES ‘ACTIVIST’ FIRE AFTER LATEST TRUMP POLICY BLOCK

Last year, then-Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem issued a notice indicating that the TPS designation for Ethiopia would be terminated as of Feb. 13 at 11:59 p.m. But that move did not take effect, as it was stymied amid legal wranglings.

“Fundamental to this case — and indeed to our constitutional system — is the principle that the will of the President does not supersede that of Congress. Presidential whims do not and cannot supplant agencies’ statutory obligations,” Murphy wrote in the April 8 memorandum and order.

TRUMP ADMIN UNLAWFULLY TERMINATED LEGAL STATUS OF MIGRANTS WHO USED BIDEN-ERA APP, JUDGE RULES

“The Constitution requires that the President ‘take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,’ a directive which includes enforcing the laws in accordance with congressional commands. And administrative agencies granted executive authority by Congress may operate only within the bounds Congress has set. Yet, in this case, Defendants have disregarded both that foundational principle and the statutory scheme enacted by Congress,” he asserted.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and DHS for comment on Thursday.

BIDEN-APPOINTED JUDGE WHO SLAPPED DOWN TRUMP DEPORTATION POLICY PREVIOUSLY REBUKED BY SCOTUS

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“This stay by radical, Biden-appointed Judge Brian Murphy is just the latest example of judicial activists trying to prevent President Trump from restoring integrity to America’s legal immigration system,” DHS asserted in a statement provided to CBS News. “Temporary means temporary. Country conditions — including armed conflicts —in Ethiopia have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law’s requirement for Temporary Protected Status. The Trump administration is putting Americans first.”

Virginia’s Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger took credit for billions in economic achievements secured under her GOP predecessor, earning her backlash from Republican leaders and their representatives running the state before she got there. 

Spanberger touted signing legislation that authorized four separate investments from the aerospace, energy and pharmaceutical industries earlier this week. The investments, according to a press release from Spanberger’s office, would welcome 3,250 new jobs and $7.1 billion in business investment to the state. 

“From my very first day in office, I have been working to create a stable business environment so companies can hire, expand, and continue to invest in our Commonwealth,” Spanberger said in her press release. “I am signing these bills into law so we can continue to grow Virginia’s economy and create opportunities for Virginians.”

However, Spanberger’s signature was effectively just a formality, as the deals she touted were part of previous Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s broader push to spur economic development as governor of Virginia, which included a record of $156 billion in total CEO commitments during his term. As he was exiting office, the former GOP governor garnered more than the previous six gubernatorial administrations combined, according to a press release from Youngkin’s team.

BIDEN ALLY TELLS SPANBERGER TO EXIT ‘BUNKER’ AS EX-GOV RENEWS DEBATE PUSH

“She’s trying to take credit for somebody else’s work,” former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares told Fox News Digital. “In grade school we call that cheating.”

“The last three months have been nothing but horrible news for Virginians as Abigail Spanberger broke every single promise she made on the campaign trail and now has the lowest approval rating of any Virginia governor this century,” added Youngkin spokesperson Justin Discigil. “Governor Youngkin is happy that Virginians are being reminded of some good news, even if it means Gov. Spanberger taking credit for the economic deals he secured for the Commonwealth.”

Spanberger did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment on the matter. 

WHO IS ABIGAIL SPANBERGER, AND WHY DID DEMOCRATS CHOOSE HER FOR TO THEIR STATE OF THE UNION RESPONSE?

The four bills she signed, which with her signature authorized the awards, were announced during Youngkin’s term as governor. 

The first, HB 1531, allocates $537 million to aerospace company Avio USA and is expected to create over 1,500 jobs. The award, according to public reports at the time, was announced in December 2025. The next bill, HB 799, will allocate $457 million and is expected to create over 825 jobs. This award was announced by Youngkin in September 2025. HB 800, allocating over $2 billion to pharmacuetical manufacturer Eli Lilly and expected to create more than 450 jobs to manufacture the active ingredient in major cancer, autoimmune and other advanced drugs, was announced in September 2025 as well. Meanwhile, rounding out the handful of investments touted by Spanberger this week was HB 1076, which invested $4 billion into pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and is expected to create around 500 jobs. That commitment was announced in October 2025.

“Attracting new businesses and jobs to Virginia is a core focus of my administration — and I’m proud of the hundreds of millions of dollars in investment we have already announced this year,” Spanberger continued in her press release this week announcing the Virginia investments. “I look forward to continuing to work with legislators, local communities, and business leaders as we make clear that Virginia is the top state in the nation to grow or start a business.”

In a background section of the press release, the announcement continues touting Spanberger’s commitment to growing Virginia’s economy.

FORMER VIRGINIA GOV GLENN YOUNGKIN HINTS AT POLITICAL FUTURE, SAYS HE’S ‘CHOMPING AT THE BIT’ AFTER EXIT

“My simple message for Abigail Spanberger is, to quote Elizabeth Warren, ‘You didn’t build that!’” Sean Kennedy, president of Virginians for Safe Communities, said. “Spanberger has to take credit for her Republican predecessor’s accomplishments bringing jobs to Virginia because her policies are actually raising taxes, killing jobs, and hiking energy costs. Spanberger has to play make believe that she is delivering on her affordability agenda to impress the 2028 Democratic Party kingmakers. I expect that Spanberger will nevertheless persist in her false claims.”

Critics of Spanberger have questioned the moderate campaign message she campaigned on, as well as her economic strategy, which has included ushering in new taxes in the state despite campaigning on a message of affordability.

“Abigail Spanberger’s first 100 days in office have been a disaster when it comes to economic development,” argued Miyares, who lost to current Democratic Attorney General Jay Jones in November. Jones infamously called for the murder of his GOP rival, something that ultimately did not matter enough for voters as he and Spanberger came out victorious in November. 

“Three pillars of a good business environment is a good tax environment, a good regulatory environment and an environment that – from a litigation perspective – is not anti-business. Spanberger has already indicated and done a rash of bills that will make Virginia less competitive. Virginia does not compete by itself, we compete with 49 other states, and Spanberger seems hellbent to hurt us with her tax, regulatory and litigation.” 

Miyares added that he was aware of multiple Virginia businesses that former Governor Youngkin had recruited and were thinking about expanding in Virginia, but will no longer do so as a result of Spanberger’s policies. 

He also pointed out that Spanberger “does not believe in energy abundance” despite touting energy infrastructure investments this week. “I find it in some ways laughable and pathetic what she is attempting to do,” Miyares said.

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“Abigail Spanberger inherited a $2.7 billion surplus and benefitted from hundreds of thousands of new jobs created under Republican leadership,” the Virginia GOP added in February, in response to headlines about rising Virginia unemployment numbers. “Her and her Democrat allies are squandering it all in a matter of weeks while breaking every promise they made on ‘affordability.’”

FIRST ON FOX: A conservative watchdog urged a federal appeals court Wednesday to toss Washington, D.C.’s National Guard lawsuit, arguing the city cannot sue itself because it is part of the federal government.

“To start, one cannot sue oneself,” Oversight Project lawyers wrote in a brief in the case. “And that is what this case ultimately is—the United States suing itself. Moreover, it is a foundational principle of the law that a municipal corporation cannot sue its sovereign creator.”

The appeal sits at the intersection of Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops in Washington last year and D.C.’s long-running fight over self-government. What began as a lawsuit over the president’s deployment of forces into the capital has now evolved into a threshold legal battle over whether the district has the right to challenge that move in federal court at all.

Oversight Project lawyers told Fox News Digital in an interview that if the appellate court judges in Washington were to agree with them, the decision would reach far beyond the National Guard lawsuit, which arose last year when the Trump administration began deploying military forces to blue cities in several jurisdictions to support immigration officials and, in D.C.’s case, to make the city “safe and beautiful.”

NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS WILL LIKELY REMAIN IN DC THROUGH 2026, OFFICIAL SAYS

“If the judges find our argument valid, it’s going to kind of restore the normal system, which is D.C. is entirely subordinate to the federal government and these disputes are resolved politically,” Oversight Project lawyer Sam Dewey said.

The proper recourse for D.C. against the federal government on any issue would be for the D.C. Council to turn to the president and Congress, not the courts, Dewey said.

The case stemmed from D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb suing last September, arguing Trump encroached on the city’s perceived independence by disregarding “Congress’s decision, half a century ago, to afford the residents of the District ‘the powers of local self-government.’”

A three-judge panel temporarily paused a lower court’s injunction against the administration while the appeals court continues to examine the merits of the case. Two of the judges on the panel, both Trump appointees, wrote in a concurring opinion that the pause was necessary because D.C. did not, in fact, have standing to sue, echoing what the Oversight Project detailed in its new amicus brief in the case.

“We have never recognized that the District possesses an independent sovereignty that can give rise to an Article III injury from actions of the federal government,” the two Trump-appointed judges wrote.

PIRRO TOUTS DC CRIME IS BEING PROSECUTED ‘LIKE NEVER BEFORE’ IN ANNOUNCING YEAR-END STATS

President Donald Trump began deploying National Guard forces to cities across the country last year as part of an effort to support immigration authorities, who faced waves of protests and riots over their deportation efforts. The Supreme Court stepped in, however, saying the deployment was likely unlawful under the law Trump invoked. The order applied to cities including Portland, Oregon; and Chicago, but not D.C., because of the district’s unique status.

In D.C., Trump extended roughly 2,600 National Guard soldiers’ presence through the end of 2026, and the president has signaled he hopes to further extend that timeline, despite continued opposition from D.C.’s Democratic leadership.

“This is actually training. I never want to take them out of D.C. I mean, maybe somebody later on will do it,” Trump said in a Cabinet meeting last month.

ALITO RIPS SUPREME COURT MAJORITY AS ‘UNWISE’ FOR BLOCKING TRUMP’S NATIONAL GUARD PLAN

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Briefing in the lawsuit is set to stretch through May and the appeals court could schedule oral arguments after that before making a decision on the legality of the National Guard’s presence and activities.

Fox News Digital reached out to Schwalb’s office for comment.

President Donald Trump blasted former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Wednesday after Republican Clay Fuller won the special election runoff on Tuesday to fill Greene’s old seat in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District.

“Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Brown’s (GREEN TURNS TO BROWN UNDER STRESS!) seat in Congress has been taken over by a wonderful and talented man, Clay Fuller, who won convincingly, and right from the beginning, despite many people running for that ‘TRUMP’ +37 seat, and despite the stench left by Greene,” Trump declared in a Wednesday Truth Social post.

“Congratulations to Clay Fuller, a very large improvement over his deranged predecessor!” the president added.

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE SAYS TRUMP, GOP ‘GOVERNED AMERICA LAST,’ PREDICTS MIDTERM LOSSES

While Greene won re-election to the district by more than 28% in 2024, unofficial results for the April 7 contest indicate that Fuller won by more than 11%.

It also appears that far fewer people voted in the recent contest compared to the 2024 race, which occurred during a presidential election cycle.

Greene declared in a post on X that the district “was never in danger of flipping blue, but the results speak for themselves. Trump flipping MAGA from America First to America Last, covering up for the Epstein files, and betraying key campaign promises of no more foreign wars has been the best help for the Democrats. Sad!”

Greene, who was previously an ardent Trump supporter, had a falling out with the president last year and left office early this year in the middle of her two-year term.

EX-TRUMP ALLY MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE JOINS LEFT-WING CALLS FOR THE 25TH AMENDMENT AS IRAN DEADLINE NEARS

On Easter Sunday after Trump’s controversial Truth Social post threatening Iranian power plants and bridges, Greene blasted the president in a post on X, saying he had “gone insane.”

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F[—]in’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah,” Trump said in the post on Sunday.

In part of a lengthy post on X, Greene asserted, “Everyone in his administration that claims to be a Christian needs to fall on their knees and beg forgiveness from God and stop worshipping the President and intervene in Trump’s madness. I know all of you and him and he has gone insane, and all of you are complicit.”

Then on Tuesday, after Trump threatened that an entire “civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Greene called for removing the president from office via the 25th Amendment.

REPUBLICANS WIN BUT DEMOCRATS ALSO CLAIM VICTORY WITH BALLOT BOX SURGE IN TRUMP TERRITORY

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“25TH AMENDMENT!!! Not a single bomb has dropped on America. We cannot kill an entire civilization. This is evil and madness,” she wrote in a post on X.

A U.S. Air Force crew had only seconds to react after their F-15E Strike Eagle was hit by enemy fire over Iran Friday. Both airmen ejected.

The escape from the aircraft — triggered in an instant — set off a high-risk rescue mission deep inside hostile territory, as U.S. forces raced to recover the crew before Iranian forces could reach them.

In those few seconds, the ejection seat transforms from a last-resort safety system into an explosive escape mechanism — launching the crew out of the aircraft and into open air before a parachute deploys.

RESCUE EXPERT SAYS MOST DANGEROUS MOMENT COMES AFTER ‘JACKPOT’ CALL IN RECOVERY BEHIND ENEMY LINES

That is the sequence the pilot and weapon systems officer aboard the F-15E over Iran would have experienced after their aircraft was struck Friday, forcing them to eject and triggering a high-risk rescue operation over the weekend. The incident — and the successful recovery of both airmen in recent days — offers a rare look at what happens in the split second a pilot ejects, and the extreme forces they endure to survive. 

“It’s a violent event,” Pete “Gunz” Gersten, a former F-16 pilot who flew special operations missions, told Fox News Digital. 

The moment a pilot pulls the ejection handle, the sequence begins almost instantly.

The canopy disappears in a fraction of a second. The seat rockets upward, forcing the body through intense acceleration.

When a pilot pulls the ejection handle, they are subjected to forces ranging from 14G to 20G (14 times to 20 times the force of gravity), according to military experts. For a 200-pound airman, this means their body feels as if it suddenly weighs 4,000 pounds.

“You’re no longer a decision-maker,” Gersten said, describing what happens to pilots who eject. “You’re a participant, and you’re on the ride.”

Within moments, the aircraft falls away behind them, while the crew is suspended in open air, waiting for the parachute to deploy.

That is the moment the two airmen over Iran would have faced after their aircraft was struck Friday, forcing them to eject and triggering a high-risk rescue operation over the weekend as U.S. forces worked to locate and recover them in hostile territory.

The successful recovery of both the pilot and the weapon systems officer in the F-15E in recent days underscored both the risks of operating in contested airspace and the importance of rapid rescue capabilities.

FORMER A-10 PILOT STRUCK BY MISSILE OVER BAGHDAD DETAILS TRAINING TO BE A ‘GOOD SURVIVOR’

Pilots never actually practice a real ejection.

Instead, they train for an emergency they hope never happens, relying on repetition, simulation and memorized procedures to prepare for a moment that unfolds in seconds.

“You’re relying on muscle memory for something you’ve never actually done,” Gersten said.

That training begins before pilots ever take their first flight.

“When they start flying, before they even get in the cockpit, they’ve been trained on how to get out of the aircraft in case something goes wrong,” Gersten said.

It starts in the classroom, where pilots learn how the ejection system works. From there, they move into simulators designed to replicate parts of the experience — without exposing them to the full force of a real escape.

HIGH-RISK EFFORT TO SAVE ‘DUDE 44’ CREW IS MOST INCREDIBLE COMBAT RESCUE IN US HISTORY

In one system, the ejection seat is mounted on a rail and launched upward, giving pilots a partial sense of the acceleration they would feel in an actual emergency.

But the training doesn’t stop once the seat “fires.”

Pilots are then strapped into harness systems that simulate a parachute descent, often using virtual reality to recreate the sensation of floating above the ground. There, they rehearse a strict sequence of actions — clearing their visor, checking their canopy, preparing their gear and steering toward a safe landing zone.

“There’s no checklist you can reference when you’re hanging in a parachute,” Gersten said. “You actually have to memorize them.”

At the end of the simulation, trainees are dropped to the ground to practice the final —and often the most dangerous — phase: landing.

“You have to be prepared, you have to be trained, otherwise you can hurt yourself,” Gersten said.

Before pulling the handle, pilots are trained to press their bodies straight back against the seat, keeping their spine rigid and aligned to reduce the risk of serious injury.

In two-seat aircraft like the F-15E, either the pilot or weapon systems officer can initiate an ejection. Once triggered, the system automatically ejects both airmen in rapid succession, separated by fractions of a second to prevent midair collision.

Even after the parachute deploys, the danger isn’t over.

“The biggest concern … is where am I going to land?” Gersten said.

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Pilots are trained to prepare for a wide range of scenarios — from water landings to mountainous terrain — each carrying its own risks. Landing injuries are common, particularly if a pilot is not properly positioned or prepared for impact.

For the two airmen who ejected over Iran, that training helped make a violent, unpredictable escape survivable deep inside hostile territory.

The pilot of the F-15E was picked up by U.S. forces later Friday. But the weapon system officer had to hide out in enemy territory until he was spotted by the U.S. and rescued Sunday. 

“The second crew member — a heroic weapon system officer — was in tough shape after ejecting,” Trump said in a press conference. “He scaled cliff faces bleeding rather profusely, treated his own wounds, and contacted American forces. He was besieged by Iranian militia, but he managed to evade capture by scaling treacherous mountain terrain … he is a brave warrior.”

Modern systems have a survival rate of roughly 90% to 95%, according to military and medical studies, but injuries are common. Research shows that up to 30% of pilots suffer spinal fractures during ejection, while broader reviews have found major injuries in roughly one-third of cases. 

If a pilot’s arms or legs are out of position, the extreme wind blast can cause what are known as “flail injuries,” leading to fractures or dislocations.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt rebuked media outlets for running with an Iranian narrative that President Donald Trump had agreed to a wildly slanted 10-point peace plan from Tehran on Wednesday.

Leavitt made the comments while speaking to reporters at a press conference, saying the version of the 10-point plan Iran had released publicly was very different from the one Trump and the U.S. had agreed to.

“So let me be clear and correct the record,” Leavitt said. “The Iranians originally put forward a 10-point plan that was fundamentally unserious, unacceptable and completely discarded. It was literally thrown in the garbage by President Trump and his negotiating team,” Leavitt said.

“Many outlets in this room have falsely reported on that plan as being acceptable to the United States. And that is false,” she added.

WHITE HOUSE ERUPTS OVER CNN REPORT CLAIMING TRUMP TEAM UNDERESTIMATED IRAN RESPONSE ON HORMUZ

Leavitt said negotiations with Iran are taking place behind closed doors, and she did not offer details about the version of the agreement that Trump described as “workable” prior to the Tuesday night truce.

The plan Iran released publicly makes several eyebrow-raising demands, including that the U.S. end all primary and secondary sanctions against Tehran. The plan also demands that Iran gain full control over the Strait of Hormuz, something it did not enjoy even before the war began.

The plan also demands compensation for damage sustained by Iran during the war and a full withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Middle East.

TRUMP’S APOCALYPTIC IRAN WARNING RAISES STAKES FOR SWEEPING US STRIKE THREAT

Trump publicly blasted that version of the plan in a statement on Wednesday.

“Numerous Agreements, Lists, and Letters are being sent out by people that have absolutely nothing to do with the U.S.A. / Iran Negotiation, in many cases, they are total Fraudsters, Charlatans, and WORSE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

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“There is only one group of meaningful “POINTS” that are acceptable to the United States, and we will be discussing them behind closed doors during these Negotiations. These are the POINTS that are the basis on which we agreed to a CEASEFIRE,” Trump wrote.

In a rapid turn Tuesday night, President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran just hours after warning the regime would face devastating consequences. 

But within hours of the agreement, Gulf states were reporting drone attacks and officials signaled the agreement may already be under strain.

The two-week ceasefire, brokered with help from Pakistan, was framed by the White House as a step toward broader negotiations, and defense officials said U.S. strikes on Iran had halted following Trump’s announcement Tuesday night.

But within hours, Israel launched its largest strike yet on Hezbollah in Lebanon — which is not covered by the ceasefire — and Iranian state media signaled Tehran could again restrict access to the Strait of Hormuz as fighting in Lebanon continues.

GEN JACK KEANE ‘SKEPTICAL’ THAT IRAN CEASEFIRE WILL HOLD, WARNS TEHRAN WILL ‘DELAY AND OBFUSCATE’

“The Iran–U.S. Ceasefire terms are clear and explicit: the U.S. must choose—ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement posted to X. “The world sees the massacres in Lebanon. The ball is in the U.S. court, and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments.” 

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed nine drones in recent hours, while the United Arab Emirates reported intercepting 17 ballistic missiles and 35 drones. Kuwait’s military said it intercepted 42 drones and four ballistic missiles launched since early Wednesday, some targeting oil facilities, power stations and other critical infrastructure. 

Bahrain also reported injuries and damage after debris from an intercepted Iranian drone fell in a residential area.

The regional attacks came after Iran launched missile barrages toward Israel in the hours surrounding the ceasefire announcement Tuesday night, triggering sirens across major cities including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson told Fox News Digital that there were launches toward Israel from Iran after the ceasefire took effect. 

“This is a fragile truce,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday when asked about reported violations at a White House press briefing. “Ceasefires are fragile by nature. We’ve seen this with respect to the 12-day war with Iran in Israel last year. It takes time sometimes for these ceasefires to be fully effectuated.” 

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who helped mediate the ceasefire, said Wednesday “violations of ceasefire have been reported at few places,” urging all sides to exercise restraint and preserve the agreement.

“It takes time sometimes for ceasefires to take hold,” War Secretary Pete Hegseth cautioned in a news conference Wednesday morning. “We’re prepared if necessary, but we hope and believe it will hold.”

He said the Pentagon was monitoring attacks that happened Tuesday night “in real time.” 

“Iran would be wise to find a way to get the carrier pigeon to their troops out in remote locations, not to shoot any longer, one-way attacks or missiles,” he said. 

U.S. Central Command declined to say whether any Iranian activity has continued since the ceasefire took effect, offering no additional details beyond remarks from War Department leadership earlier Wednesday.

IRAN CONFLICT TESTS PAKISTAN AMID OWN BORDER CLASHES AS ISLAMABAD TOUTED AS VENUE FOR US-TEHRAN TALKS

Trump said he agreed to pause strikes on Iran on the condition of “complete, immediate, and safe” reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, citing progress in longer-term negotiations. 

But the Iranian navy told ships anchored near the key global shipping route Wednesday they still need Iran’s permission to pass, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“The president was made aware of those reports before I came to the podium,” Leavitt told reporters Wednesday. “That is completely unacceptable. And again, this is a case of what they’re saying publicly is different. Privately, we have seen an uptick of traffic in the strait today. And I will reiterate the president’s expectation and demand that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened immediately.” 

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Trump suggested Wednesday to ABC that both Iran and the U.S. may collect tolls from the strait in a “joint venture,” though details remain unclear. 

Vice President JD Vance and White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will head to Pakistan for the first round of peace talks with Iran on Saturday, the White House said. Any discussions could be complicated by reports of continued attacks across the region.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not sit for a planned deposition before the House Oversight Committee as part of its probe into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the panel’s Republican majority said Wednesday. 

“The Department of Justice has stated Pam Bondi will not appear on April 14 for a deposition since she is no longer Attorney General and was subpoenaed in her capacity as Attorney General,” a House Oversight Committee spokeswoman told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The Committee will contact Pam Bondi’s personal counsel to discuss next steps regarding scheduling her deposition.”

The committee has not withdrawn the subpoena, meaning Bondi could still be required to sit for a deposition.

Democrats on the committee pushed back on the Justice Department’s explanation in a statement to Fox News Digital.

EPSTEIN’S ACCOUNTANT AND LAWYER REVEAL DOJ NEVER QUESTIONED THEM ABOUT DISGRACED FINANCIER’S CRIMES

“Now that Pam Bondi has been fired, she’s trying to get out of her legal obligation to testify before the Oversight Committee about the Epstein files and the White House cover-up,” Oversight ranking member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., fired back Wednesday. “Our bipartisan subpoena is to Pam Bondi, whether she is the Attorney General or not.”

President Donald Trump ousted Bondi from the Justice Department last week after she faced bipartisan scrutiny of her handling of the Epstein files. 

Garcia added that he would move to hold Bondi in contempt of Congress if she does not comply with the subpoena to appear before the panel. 

The House Oversight Committee could recommend criminal charges against Bondi for defying a subpoena, but the measure would be subject to a chamber-wide vote and would ultimately be up to the DOJ whether to file charges.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche declined to weigh in on whether Bondi should comply with the subpoena during a news conference Tuesday.

“What happens now that she’s the former attorney general and there’s the subpoena out there is, I think I’ll leave to Chairman Comer and others to figure out. I don’t have an answer to that,” the nation’s new top prosecutor said.

The brewing legal battle comes after five Republicans voted with Democrats to subpoena Bondi as part of the committee’s Epstein probe over Comer’s objections in March. The lawmakers were Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., Scott Perry, R-Pa., and Michael Cloud, R-Texas.

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Mace and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., another member of the powerful committee, sent Comer a letter Wednesday asking him to “publicly reaffirm” Bondi’s “legal obligation” to testify before the committee in the April 14 deposition.

“Bondi’s removal as Attorney General doesn’t erase her obligation to testify,” the bipartisan duo wrote. “If anything, it makes her sworn testimony even more critical. Congress’s oversight doesn’t stop when an official leaves office.”

“Pam Bondi was subpoenaed by name, not by title,” Mace added in a separate statement.

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Former Attorney General Bill Barr and former Health and Human Services Secretary Alexander Acosta, who served in Trump’s Cabinet during his first term, have testified before the Oversight Committee as part of its Epstein probe.

Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ for comment. 

Disgraced Democratic lawyer Michael Avenatti has been moved from federal prison to a halfway house in California, according to Bureau of Prisons records, but remains in federal custody with a projected release date of September 2028.

Avenatti is best known for representing porn star Stormy Daniels in her failed 2018 defamation lawsuit against President Donald Trump. Once a media darling with presidential ambitions, he was later convicted in multiple fraud cases and sentenced to years in federal prison.

An official with the Bureau of Prisons confirmed to Fox News Digital that Avenatti was transferred from the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) Los Angeles to community confinement overseen by the BOP Long Beach Residential Reentry Management (RRM) Office. He has a projected release date of September 8, 2028.

In 2022, Avenatti was convicted and sentenced to 48 months in prison for stealing close to $300,000 in proceeds from Daniels. At the time of his sentencing, Avenatti was already serving a 30-month sentence for threatening to extort $25 million from Nike. Avenatti was also sentenced in December 2022 to 14 years in prison for stealing from four of his clients. One of those clients was a paraplegic.

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A copy of the probation order signed by U.S. District Judge James Selna stated that Avenatti must pay $5,937,725.58 in restitution to his victims, and he is ordered to participate in a mental health treatment program. Following his release from federal custody in 2028, Avenatti will be under supervised release for three years.

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Avenatti’s early release comes after a federal judge in June 2025 reduced his collective prison sentence to eight years, allowing credit for some of the sentences running concurrently. Avenatti’s resentencing came after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated his 14-year sentence in October 2024. He was disbarred in California in February 2025.

As Daniels’ defamation lawyer, Avenatti became a household name after regularly appearing on network TV shows. Fox News Digital previously reported that between 2018 and 2019, before his legal troubles began, he appeared on CNN 121 times and MSNBC 108 times.

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Avenatti was a staunch critic of Trump, saying in an interview with NPR’s All Things Considered in 2018 that Trump is “either going to resign… be removed from office by impeachment, or I’m going to beat him in 2020.”

“But one way or the other, he’s not going to serve a second term,” Avenatti said.

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However, the disgraced lawyer has since changed his tone, claiming in an April 2024 New York Post that he is “bothered that the Justice Department has been “weaponized” against Trump.

“There’s no question [the trial] is politically motivated because they’re concerned that he may be reelected,” Avenatti told the Post. “If the defendant was anyone other than Donald Trump, this case would not have been brought at this time, and for the government to attempt to bring this case and convict him in an effort to prevent tens of millions of people from voting for him, I think it’s just flat out wrong, and atrocious.”

A lawyer for Avenatti declined to comment.

Fox News’ Lee Ross contributed to this report.