NationalWatch

Former President Bill Clinton suggested he could not recall President Donald Trump ever implicating himself in Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, one of the Republicans deposing him said Friday.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., briefly updated reporters during Clinton’s deposition in the panel’s Epstein probe. The deposition began a little after 11 a.m. and is expected to continue into early Friday evening.

“I know there’s a lot of obsession about President Trump from the media, a lot of curiosity about President Trump from media. I want to make a statement because they’ll probably not mention this when they come out here,” Comer said, referring to Democrats on the committee.

He said the panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., asked Clinton if Trump should be called before the committee like he was.

“That’s for you to decide,” Clinton said, according to Comer.

“The president went on to say that the president, Trump, ‘has never said anything to me to make me think he was involved,’ and he meant with Epstein,” Comer said. “I thought that was an interesting thing that President Clinton said.”

His deposition, and that of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before him, are taking place in the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center in Westchester County, N.Y.

The Clintons have claimed the New York City suburb as their permanent residence since leaving the White House in early 2000.

Democrats who emerged from the performing arts center minutes later to update reporters signaled they did not agree with Comer’s account but would not go into details on their own.

Garcia suggested there was an agreement between all parties not to discuss details of the deposition as it was happening.

NANCY MACE SAYS ‘UNHINGED’ HILLARY CLINTON ERUPTED DURING CLOSED-DOOR EPSTEIN DEPOSITION

“I think the best response with that is for you to view the complete record what actually he said, which, look, we’re not going to disclose what was said because that’s not in the rules. But Republicans keep breaking the rules,” the California Democrat told reporters.

“President Clinton did bring up some additional information about discussions with President Trump. I think that the way Chairman Comer described it, I don’t think it’s a complete, accurate description of what actually was said. 

“So, let’s release the full transcript, and you can all get a full record of what actually was said, which brings up some very important new questions about comments that President Trump has actually said in the past.”

Trump has been a main topic in the increasingly partisan divide in the House Oversight Committee’s probe.

Democrats have accused the GOP side of covering up for Trump at the expense of Epstein’s victims, while Republicans have accused Democrats of using the pedophile and his heinous crimes as a tool for attacking the commander in chief.

Trump told reporters Friday when asked about Clinton, “I don’t like seeing him deposed.”

The deposition is ongoing behind closed doors, but the committee is expected to release a video and transcript of the entire sit-down within days of its conclusion. The same is true for Hillary Clinton’s deposition, the video for which could be released as early as this weekend.

The only portion of Clinton’s testimony that is public so far is his opening statement in which he denied knowing anything about Epstein’s crimes.

“Now, let me say what you’re going to hear from me. First, I had no idea of the crimes Epstein was committing. No matter how many photos you show me, I have two things that, at the end of the day, matter more than your interpretation of those 20-year-old photos,” Clinton said, according to his prepared opening remarks.

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“I know what I saw and, more importantly, what I didn’t see. I know what I did and, more importantly, what I didn’t do. I saw nothing and I did nothing wrong.”

Neither Trump nor Clinton have been implicated in any wrongdoing associated with Epstein or his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.

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The Virginia State Senate and its Democratic majority may have voted to nearly triple their pay if a provision inserted into their final budget survives the House reconciliation process and reaches Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk.

The development comes as Spanberger has centered her campaign on “affordability,” with Richmond Democrats echoing that they are working to improve their constituents’ personal finances.

Virginia’s legislature itself was founded as a part-time, gentleman’s chamber, where lawmakers would return to their day jobs when Richmond wasn’t holding session.

Proponents of raising the current 1988-established salary of $18,000 for senators and $17,640 for delegates say the structure restricts who can afford to serve as a lawmaker today. Lawmakers also qualify for a $237 per diem, mileage reimbursements, and coverage of office, meeting and other expenses.

Senators’ new salary would be $50,000.

Republicans were quick to criticize the final budget, with the Virginia Senate Minority Caucus saying in a statement that “teachers got a 3% raise, but Democrats give themselves 300%.” The actual increase would be closer to 178%, though one could say the new salary would be 300% of the original. 

“The affordability hoax just gets worse and worse,” the caucus said, adding that the chamber’s majority killed a repeal of the car tax — something GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Sears ran on — while increasing the state budget by $1 billion overall.

Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, told WVTF it is the “wrong time” to address lawmaker pay.

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

 “It’s supposed to be affordability for working families across Virginia, not members of the General Assembly,” he said.

Virginia’s legislature — the oldest continuous legislative body in the New World — has been making laws since its inception as the House of Burgesses in Colonial Williamsburg, where Spanberger gave the Democratic Party’s State of the Union response.

In her speech, she claimed President Donald Trump is the one “enriching himself, his family and his friends” and said Republicans are the ones “making your life more expensive.”

“I traveled to every corner of Virginia, and I heard the same pressing concern everywhere: costs are too high. In housing, healthcare, energy, and childcare,” she said.

“Americans deserve to know that their leaders are focused on addressing the problems that keep them up at night.”

“Democrats across the country are laser-focused on affordability — in our nation’s capital and in state capitals and communities across America,” Spanberger said Tuesday.

The pay raise could be moot if the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates does not amend its own budget proposal to include the provision.

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The House’s budget includes $137 million for expanded childcare access, a minimum wage increase to $13.75 in 2027 and $15 in 2029, and a $20 million appropriation for state employees’ and home health care workers’ collective bargaining, according to Washington’s ABC affiliate.

Fox News Digital reached out to the governor, as well as the House and Senate minority leaders, for further comment.

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At least a dozen FBI employees were fired amid revelations the bureau under the Biden administration allegedly subpoenaed Kash Patel and Susie Wiles’ phone records in 2022 and 2023 as part of a federal probe into then-former President Donald Trump.

More than 10 FBI employees were fired Wednesday, and at least two  more FBI employees were terminated Friday, Fox News has learned.

The FBI allegedly subpoenaed Patel’s and Wiles’ records in 2022 and 2023 while they were private citizens.

Patel now serves as the director of the FBI, and Wiles serves as the White House chief of staff.

The names of the fired bureau employees were not shared due to privacy reasons, and the FBI Agents Association (FBIAA) criticized the firings earlier in the week. 

“The FBIAA condemns today’s unlawful termination of FBI special agents, which — like other firings by Director Patel — violates the due process rights of those who risk their lives to protect our country,” the organization said in a statement.

JACK SMITH TRACKED PRIVATE COMMUNICATIONS, CALLS OF NEARLY A DOZEN GOP SENATORS DURING J6 PROBE, FBI SAYS

“These actions weaken the bureau by stripping away critical expertise and destabilizing the workforce, undermining trust in leadership and jeopardizing the Bureau’s ability to meet its recruitment goals, ultimately putting the nation at greater risk.”

Reuters first disclosed the subpoenas, which were issued during the Biden administration while special counsel Jack Smith was investigating Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, Florida. 

Smith ended up charging Trump in 2023 with multiple felony offenses related to alleged efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election and Trump’s handling of the documents after he left office.

TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM JACK SMITH’S TESTIMONY ON CAPITOL HILL

A federal judge later dismissed the election interference case after Smith moved to drop it following Trump’s re-election, citing a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president. 

Smith also dropped the Justice Department’s appeal of a separate ruling that dismissed the classified documents case. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in both matters.

In a statement to Fox News Wednesday, Patel called the move to seize the phone records “outrageous and deeply alarming.” 

“It is outrageous and deeply alarming that the previous FBI leadership secretly subpoenaed my own phone records — along with those of now White House chief of staff Susie Wiles — using flimsy pretexts and burying the entire process in prohibited case files designed to evade all oversight,” he said.

The FBI said it discovered the information in the bureau’s newly discovered “prohibited case file.”

FBI FIRES AGENTS, DISMANTLES CORRUPTION SQUAD AFTER PROBE UNVEILS MONITORING OF GOP SENATORS, PATEL SAYS

Patel also said he recently ended the FBI’s ability to categorize files as “prohibited.”

Fox News also learned from two FBI officials that, in 2023, FBI agents allegedly recorded a phone call between Wiles and her attorney.

According to those officials, Wiles’ attorney was aware the call was being recorded and consented, but Wiles was not informed.

Wiles’ 2023 attorney disputes those claims. 

“If I ever pulled a stunt like that I wouldn’t — and shouldn’t — have a license to practice law,” the unidentified attorney said, according to Axios. “I’m as shocked as Susie.” 

Smith testified in 2025 that records of members’ calls helped investigators verify the timeline of events surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

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He said prosecutors “followed all legal requirements in getting those records” and told a House panel the records obtained from lawmakers did not include the content of conversations. 

Fox News’ Emma Bussey and Emma Colton contributed to this report.

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Frigid negotiations between the White House and Senate Democrats appear to be thawing, with the Trump administration submitting what it calls a “serious” offer to reopen the government.

“Yesterday, the White House made another serious counteroffer,” a White House official told Fox News Digital. “Democrats need to make a move to end the shutdown before more Americans are harmed by a lack of funding for critical services like disaster relief.”

It’s the second offer from the White House in an ongoing back-and-forth that has left the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without funding for two weeks. 

With lawmakers away from Washington, D.C., for the weekend, the shutdown will stretch into a third week.

The latest development comes after a week of stalled negotiations between Senate Democrats and the administration, along with concerns that an off-ramp from the shutdown remained out of reach.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., both acknowledged receiving the offer in a joint statement Friday.

“We have received the White House’s counteroffer and are reviewing it closely. Democrats remain committed to keep fighting for real reforms to rein in ICE and stop the violence,” they said. 

SCHUMER, DEMS AGAIN BLOCK DHS FUNDING, FORCE STATE OF THE UNION SHOWDOWN

Congressional Democrats have spent much of the week accusing the White House of not taking the negotiations seriously, while Republicans contend their counterparts are asking for too much.

Schumer and Senate Democrats earlier this week blocked another attempt by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Republicans to fund DHS using the original compromise funding bill.

DEMOCRATS DEMANDING ICE REFORMS LOSE AIRPORT ESCORTS IN SHUTDOWN THEY TRIGGERED

“It seems like the Democrats concluded this is maybe good politics for them. It’s not for the people whose lives are affected on a daily basis,” Thune said earlier this week. “So, we’ll keep pressing to try and get folks to the table. But I think the White House — you know — they continue to exchange paper and trade paper and all that, and hopefully they’ll find a sweet spot.”

Democrats want stringent reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including requiring agents to obtain judicial warrants and identify themselves during enforcement actions, changes Republicans and the administration say are red lines.

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Democrats argue the White House has not shown the urgency they would have expected, given that an agency central to President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda has been shuttered for nearly three weeks.

“They haven’t indicated that they’re concerned about the closure of DHS,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told Fox News Digital. “They’ve been slow to come back on the proposals that the Democrats have made.

“And no one has ever explained why there should be only one police force in the entire country that should not have to follow the same kind of rules as everyone else.”

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Former President Joe Biden on Friday accused President Donald Trump of attempting to “erase the truth” and squandering the United States’ role as the leader of the world.

“It’s not just my record Trump’s trying to erase,” Biden told South Carolina Democrats, while talking about the president’s efforts to get rid of the Affordable Care Act.

“He’s trying to erase fairness, equity, history, the truth,” he continued, citing incidents in which information about slavery has been removed or altered from museums and national parks since Trump took office.  

“Great nations don’t bury the truth, Biden balked. “They face it. This is a great nation.”

Last summer, Trump wrote that “The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future.”

He also ordered a review of the Smithsonian to make sure its exhibits align with celebrating “American exceptionalism.”

Biden — the guest of honor at Friday’s “thank you” event organized by state Dems who helped resuscitate his presidential campaign six years ago — claimed the U.S. is currently living in “dark days.”

LIZ PEEK: AMERICA EXPECTED ONE THING FROM TRUMP’S STATE OF THE UNION. IT GOT ANOTHER

“Our future is literally on the line,” he said. “We have to be unapologetic about fighting for our country.”

Biden also issued a warning about the upcoming midterms, claiming that Trump is “trying to steal the election because he knows he can’t win your vote, so he’s going to do everything he can to prevent you from wanting to vote. … Mark my words. I hope I’m wrong.”

He said the more that voters see of Trump, the “less they like him.”

SPEECHWRITERS SPLIT AFTER TRUMP’S RECORD-BREAKING SOTU: ‘LIVING IN HIS OWN REALITY’ VS. ‘RESOUNDING SPEECH’

“They don’t like that he’s raising health care costs, fighting against the Affordable Care Act, and they sure as hell don’t like what they saw in Minnesota: Mass ICE agents pulling people out of their homes and literally murdering two people in the street,” he swiped.

 Biden, 83, added, “They don’t believe the president should be king or dictator.”

He said because of this, Democrats are winning in places “you’d never expect.”

BIDEN TO HEADLINE NATIONAL BAR ASSN GALA DESPITE SON HUNTER’S DISBARMENT, ALONG WITH CROCKETT, TISH JAMES

“So, we have reason to be hopeful, because time and again throughout history, in the moments of great crisis, Americans have summoned the better angels of our nature and brought our country back from the abyss.”

Biden also predicted that Democrats would take back both the Senate and House of Representatives in November.

Biden boasted that he knew more heads of state than any other president in history, adding, “Americans knew they had a president who believed in, respected and followed the Constitution.”

Citing a Pew Research Poll that he said showed a “dramatic drop in our reputation around the world,” he claimed, “We’re no longer the way we were.”

He added if the U.S. doesn’t lead the world, it could be Russia or China that does.

Biden also blasted Trump’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday for what he left out.

“The guy talks for almost two hours but never mentioned the anniversary of Putin invading Ukraine,” Biden admonished. “Never once.”

He also noted that the president didn’t mention Renee Good or Alex Pretti, the Americans who were killed by ICE agents earlier this year in Minneapolis, “or offer even a word of solace to their families.”

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“He doesn’t offer a word of support, even recognition to Epstein’s victims sitting in front of him during the entire time,” Biden said, mentioning the Jeffrey Epstein survivors who were in the audience for the speech. “He never acknowledged them.”

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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President Donald Trump on Friday floated the idea of putting Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on the Supreme Court, joking he is the only nominee who would receive “100% of the Democrat vote, 100% of the Republican vote” because lawmakers would want to “get him out” of Congress.

Trump made the comments after Cruz and other lawmakers traveled with the president to make remarks on energy in Corpus Christi, Texas.

“We have a senator who’s really an amazing guy,” Trump said during the outdoor engagement at the Port of Corpus Christi. “I’m thinking about putting him in the Supreme Court. … Getting these nominations through is very tough, and he’s the only guy I know who’ll get 100% of the Democrat vote, 100% of the Republican vote. They want to get him out of there.

“He is such a pain in the a–, but he’s so good and so talented,” the president continued. “If we ever had a problem, I just pick Ted. That would solve that problem. … He’s a great guy, and he’s a very talented guy too — smart.”

Cruz, who earned his law degree from Harvard Law School, argued eight cases before the Supreme Court as solicitor general of Texas before returning to private practice, where he argued his ninth before the highest court.

At the time of Cruz’s 2012 Senate run, he had tried the most Supreme Court cases of any practicing lawyer in Texas or any member of Congress, according to The Texas Tribune.

He was sworn into the Senate in 2013, where he has advocated for limited government, economic growth and national security.

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Cruz ran for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 election cycle but failed to match Trump’s popularity. He suspended his campaign May 3, 2016, after losing the Indiana primary.

During Trump’s remarks in Corpus Christi, he also briefly addressed ongoing talks with Iran, saying the U.S. faces a “very big decision” on whether to strike the country, an option the president said he ran by Cruz and other lawmakers who joined him Friday.

“We’ve got a lot of things going on now. We have a big decision to make. … Not easy,” Trump said. “We have a country that’s been, for 47 years, blowing people’s legs off, arms off … killing people, lots of people. Not only Americans. … They want to make a deal, but we’ve got to make a deal that’s meaningful. I spoke with Ted Cruz, John, all of them on the way here.

“We hit them real hard, as you know, with those beautiful B-2 bombers — recently knocked out their nuclear capability,” he continued. “I’d rather do it the peaceful way, but they’re very difficult people. I want to tell you that they’re very dangerous people, very difficult people.”

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Trump told reporters earlier Friday he had not yet decided if he would launch military strikes on Iran, but he voiced his unhappiness with recent negotiations.

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Friday said he was ordering the “complete and immediate cancellation” of all Department of War attendants at universities like Princeton, Columbia, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Brown and Yale, starting with the 2026-27 academic year.

Hegseth added that the ban would also include “many others,” claiming the higher education system has been “poisoned from within from a class of so-called elite universities who’ve abused their privilege and access to this department and utterly betrayed their purpose.”

Hegseth’s announcement comes after he similarly banned active-duty service members earlier this month from attending Harvard starting next year.

He accused the universities of gorging themselves for decades on a “trust fund of American taxpayer dollars only to become factories of anti-American resentment and military disdain.”

He claimed the universities had replaced “the study of victory and pragmatic realism with the promotion of wokeness and weakness.”

“This is not education, this is indoctrination,” he added.

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“The Department of War is finished subsidizing the corruption of our own in uniform class,” he said. “We’re done paying for the privilege of our enemies’ wicked ideologies to be taught to our future leaders. We’ve had enough.

“We cannot and will not send our most capable officers, senior officers, into graduate programs that undermine the very values they have sworn to uphold.”

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Hegseth added that the department would also hold itself accountable, starting with a top-to-bottom review of “our own internal war colleges, ensuring they are once again bastions of strategic thought, wholly dedicated to the singular mission of developing the most lethal and effective leaders and war fighters the world has ever known.”

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The Texas Senate primary for Republicans is a bloodbath, and President Donald Trump isn’t wading in.

Trump, who appeared in Corpus Christi, Texas, to tout his energy agenda Friday, had the opportunity to stake his claim in the contentious race and endorse a candidate. 

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is the longtime incumbent fending off seven challengers.

But the real race is between Cornyn, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas.

All three were in attendance at Trump’s rally, reminiscent of the made-for-TV spectacles that dominated his successful 2024 election campaign. Yet Trump didn’t endorse any of them as Election Day in the primary fast approaches.

Trump acknowledged all three — he paired Cornyn and Paxton and mentioned Hunt later in his remarks. He noted that they were all engaged in an “interesting election.”

“They’re in a little race together,” Trump said of Cornyn and Paxton. “You know that, right? A little bit of a race. It’s going to be an interesting one, right? They’re both great people, too.”

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Cornyn is running for a fifth term in the Senate and fighting for his political life in a nasty primary election that Trump has time and again refused to weigh in on. He’s got the full weight of Senate Republican leadership behind him, too.

Paxton, who has faced headwinds with scandals over the years, has strongly aligned himself with the president and built a coalition of conservative backers in the House, including Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, who brought him to Trump’s State of the Union earlier this week.

And while the trio duke it out, money is being burned at a record pace. So far, a whopping $110 million has been spent on the Senate primaries, and $88 million of that has been dumped into the GOP contest, according to data from AdImpact.

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Given the crowded field, it’s likely the race will head to a runoff, which will turn into a brutal sprint until late May. Paxton believes he could come out on top with at least 50% of the vote come March 3, while Cornyn is eying the long game.

The coveted Trump endorsement could put either over the top in ruby red Texas. And he may be close to picking his favorite.

Ahead of the event, Trump was asked if he had decided who to endorse.

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“Pretty much,” he told reporters.

But when asked if he would say who, he said, “No.”

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EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is calling on Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger to ensure local law enforcement cooperates with federal immigration officials by handing over an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal record who allegedly killed a woman earlier this week at a Virginia bus stop.

Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, arrested an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone earlier this week on charges of second-degree murder after he fatally stabbed a woman, Stephanie Minter, 41, who was found dead at a local bus stop with several wounds to the upper body. The alleged suspect, Abdul Jalloh, 32, also has a criminal history of more than 30 arrests, according to DHS, including for rape, malicious wounding, assault, identity theft, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, assault, pick-pocketing and more.   

The request from the Trump administration comes after the newly elected Democratic governor of Virginia signed an executive order to end cooperation between federal immigration officials and state and local law enforcement, a move several Democratic Party governors have taken recently amid President Donald Trump’s move to increase deportation operations around the country. 

The DHS request asking Virginia officials to cooperate with ICE also comes after an illegal immigrant murdered someone just days after being released from jail for a separate crime in December.

“We are calling on Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger and Virginia’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this murderer and violent career criminal from their jail without notifying ICE,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “This illegal alien’s murder of an innocent, beautiful American woman came less than 24 hours before Governor Spanberger’s demonization of ICE law enforcement. This heinous criminal is a perfect example of why we need cooperation from sanctuary jurisdictions and the importance of third country removals for the safety of the American people.”

Spanberger’s representatives did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Jalloh entered the United States illegally in 2012, according to DHS, and immigration officials lodged an immigration detainer against him in 2020, whereupon he was granted a final order of removal by a judge who said he could be removed to any country other than Sierra Leone. 

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WITH PRIOR DEPORTATION SHOOTS DEPUTY IN CHEST, DIES AFTER EXCHANGE: DHS

DHS indicated that ICE cooperation to ensure Jalloh’s deportation is evident following a case Fox News covered in December when a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador, Marvin Morales-Ortez, 23, killed a man just a day after Fairfax County jail officials let him go. 

The immigrant from El Salvador had been in custody on malicious wounding and brandishing a firearm charges, but police released him after the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, run by George Soros-backed prosecutor Steve Descano, dropped the charges. Fox News Digital reached out to the Fairfax County Sheriff’s office to inquire about why the man had not been handed over to ICE, to which the Sheriff’s office indicated: “ICE was aware of Morales Ortez’s incarceration and elected not to seek a judicial warrant to ensure he remained in custody.”

“The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office follows all local, state, and federal laws when determining whether a person is subject to release from the ADC,” the sherriff’s office told Fox News Digital at the time. “Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is automatically notified any time a person is booked into the ADC.”

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The same sheriff’s office did not get back to Fox News Digital’s media inquiry for this story on DHS urging officials to cooperate with federal officials. 

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President Donald Trump on Friday said he was ordering every federal government agency to stop using Athropic AI immediately.

“THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL NEVER ALLOW A RADICAL LEFT, WOKE COMPANY TO DICTATE HOW OUR GREAT MILITARY FIGHTS AND WINS WARS! That decision belongs to YOUR COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, and the tremendous leaders I appoint to run our Military,” Trump began in a lengthy Truth Social post Friday afternoon.

He added, “The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution. Their selfishness is putting AMERICAN LIVES at risk, our Troops in danger, and our National Security in JEOPARDY.”

The president said he would immediately direct every federal agency to stop using Anthropic technology.

“We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again!” he continued.

There will be a six-month phase out period for agencies such as the Department of War, he added.

“Anthropic better get their act together, and be helpful during this phase out period, or I will use the Full Power of the Presidency to make them comply, with major civil and criminal consequences to follow,” he wrote.

He continued, “WE will decide the fate of our Country — NOT some out-of-control, Radical Left AI company run by people who have no idea what the real World is all about.”

Earlier this week, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei refused demands from the Department of War to use its artificial intelligence for “all lawful purposes,” but Amodei said no, concerned over the possibility it could be used for “mass domestic surveillance” or “fully autonomous weapons.”

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“The Department of War has stated they will only contract with AI companies who accede to ‘any lawful use’ and remove safeguards in the cases mentioned above. They have threatened to remove us from their systems if we maintain these safeguards; they have also threatened to designate us a ‘supply chain risk’ — a label reserved for US adversaries, never before applied to an American company — and to invoke the Defense Production Act to force the safeguards’ removal,” Amodei said in a Thursday statement.

He declared that the “threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request.”

Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs Sean Parnell declared in a post on X that the department does not want to engage in either of those activities but is asking to use Anthropic’s AI for all legal purposes.

“The Department of War 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,” Parnell said in the post. “Here’s what we’re asking: Allow the Pentagon to use Anthropic’s model for all lawful purposes.”

“This is a simple, common-sense request that will prevent Anthropic from jeopardizing critical military operations and potentially putting our warfighters at risk. We will not let ANY company dictate the terms regarding how we make operational decisions. They have until 5:01 PM ET on Friday to decide. Otherwise, we will terminate our partnership with Anthropic and deem them a supply chain risk for DOW,” he noted.

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Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael accused Anthropic and Amodei of lying.

In a post on X, Michael called Amodei “a liar” who “has a God-complex.” 

“He wants nothing more than to try to personally control the US Military and is ok putting our nation’s safety at risk. The @DeptofWar will ALWAYS adhere to the law but not bend to whims of any one for-profit tech company,” he asserted.

In another post he asserted, “Anthropic is lying. The @DeptofWar doesn’t do mass surveillance as that is already illegal. What we are talking about is allowing our warfighters to use AI without having to call @DarioAmodei for permission to shoot down an enemy drone swarms that would kill Americans.”

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“It is the Department’s prerogative to select contractors most aligned with their vision. But given the substantial value that Anthropic’s technology provides to our armed forces, we hope they reconsider,” Amodei said in a statement sent on Thursday to Fox News Digital. “Our strong preference is to continue to serve the Department and our warfighters — with our two requested safeguards in place. Should the Department choose to offboard Anthropic, we will work to enable a smooth transition to another provider, avoiding any disruption to ongoing military planning, operations, or other critical missions. Our models will be available on the expansive terms we have proposed for as long as required.”

“We remain ready to continue our work to support the national security of the United States,” he added.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday designated Iran as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention, calling for Americans currently in Iran to “leave immediately.”

“When the Iranian regime seized power 47 years ago, Ayatollah Khomeini consolidated his control of power by endorsing the hostage taking of U.S. embassy staff,” Rubio wrote in a news statement. “For decades, Iran has continued to cruelly detain innocent Americans, as well as citizens of other nations, to use as political leverage against other states. This abhorrent practice must end.

“President Trump issued an Executive Order to Protect U.S. Nationals from Wrongful Detention Abroad last fall and Congress subsequently enacted the Countering Wrongful Detention Act of 2025, authorizing the Department to designate Iran as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention,” he added.

Rubio said if Iran does not stop, the U.S. will be forced to consider “additional measures,” including a potential geographic travel restriction on the use of U.S. passports to, through, or from Iran.

“The Iranian regime must stop taking hostages and release all Americans unjustly detained in Iran, steps that could end this designation and associated actions. We encourage it to do so,” he continued. “No American should travel to Iran for any reason. We reiterate our call for Americans who are currently in Iran to leave immediately.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

A Bill Clinton-appointed federal judge is among several drawing criticism for continuing to order the release of some of the 650 illegal immigrants arrested by ICE in “Operation Country Roads.”

In one case that drew public attention, Judge Joseph Goodwin of the Southern District of West Virginia granted the release of Salvadoran national Anderson Jesus Urquilla-Ramos, a decision the man’s attorney told Bloomberg Law “reinforces that immigration enforcement must operate within constitutional limits.”

In his order, Goodwin lashed out at ICE agents’ masks and warrant-free arrests, saying “antiseptic judicial rhetoric cannot do justice to what is happening.”

Goodwin characterized DHS’ behavior as an “assault on the constitutional order [and] what the Fourth Amendment was written to prevent,” according to WVMetroNews, and permitted habeas corpus — or a detained defendant’s ability to challenge his confinement.

In Goodwin’s order releasing Yuri Aroca and Arley Valenzuela, he lambasted their detention following a traffic stop along the West Virginia Turnpike near Pax, W.V.

“I am not blind to the practical demands of immigration enforcement, including cooperation between state and federal authorities, but the Constitution presupposed restraint as the default of lawful authority,” he wrote in his ruling.

Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.V., who represents the southern half of the state, did not hold back in her response to the situation:

“If Judge Goodwin experienced even 1% of the threats and harassment that ICE officers receive, he might have had the courage to make a ruling based on the law and not his personal political agenda,” Miller said.

“Thankfully, he, his family, and his home are free from the fear of doxxing and danger coming from the radical leftists — our ICE agents are not as fortunate.”

Miller said masking protects ICE agents from those who want to harm them and keeps their families out of the “crosshairs of the mobs that continue to terrorize our cities.”

FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN LARGE PARTS OF TRUMP MASS DETENTION POLICIES FOR MIGRANTS

Operation Country Roads netted hundreds of illegal immigrants from Charles Town in the north to Beckley in the south, and many of the cases fall within the Charleston-based Southern District of West Virginia.

Moore Capito, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, defended the state’s partnership with federal law enforcement in comments to Fox News Digital.

“We in the Southern District of West Virginia have the most committed and cooperative law enforcement partners that you will find,” Capito said.

“Day after day, they are on the front lines working to keep our communities safe. Our officers take precautions to protect themselves and their families from retaliation, the same way members of the judiciary rely on institutional protections every day.”

Capito said his office will continue to support law enforcement while responding to several petitions, adding that the cases involving the now-released individuals are ripe for appeal.

In one of his orders, Goodwin wrote that “no specific danger has been identified that required these agents to be masked for this arrest,” a statement the White House took particular exception to.

“ICE officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them because of dangerous, untrue smears from elected Democrats,” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital.

“ICE officers wear masks to protect themselves and their families from being doxxed. ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities with the utmost professionalism. Anyone pointing the finger at law enforcement officers instead of the criminals is simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens,” she said.

An Obama-appointed judge, Irene Berger, who also recently blunted a key tenet of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “MAHA” agenda, ordered the similarly reasoned release of a noncitizen big-rig driver detained at the Ghent Toll Plaza on the turnpike.

Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.V., who represents the northern half of the state, including Jefferson County, where local law enforcement collaborated with ICE to quickly remove suspects from the streets, agreed with Miller that judges should understand the dangers faced by agents.

“ICE agents are being doxxed and their families are being attacked by radical leftists just for doing their jobs,” Moore told Fox News Digital.

“We’ve seen time and again what violent leftists are capable of, and our ICE agents should never be subjected to this terrible treatment.”

FEDERAL JUDGE RELEASES FOUR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONVICTED OF MURDER, SEX CRIMES FROM ICE CUSTODY

Moore called Goodwin’s ruling “shameful” and said it puts ideology above protecting American families.

“I am grateful to the brave ICE agents who are doing their duty to defend America,” he said. Gov. Patrick Morrisey shared the sentiment.

“We stand with President Trump, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and we are confident that as these cases move through the justice system, the court will find that the protection and safety of federal agents is constitutional,” Morrisey told Fox News Digital.

“We also stand firmly with ICE. The safety of law enforcement officers is paramount.”

Morrisey said that threats of doxxing, targeted harassment and violence are “very real.”

“There is a clear need to protect those who serve,” he said, disagreeing with the tact from the bench.

“These men and women put themselves in harm’s way to enforce the law, and we will always stand alongside our fellow officers.”

Some released individuals named President Donald Trump as a defendant, signaling the federal government would be the party to appeal. Others listed West Virginia corrections official Christopher Mason, ICE Director Todd Lyons and Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Asked about the cases and what next steps might be, a Justice Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that concerns over agents’ tactics and masking have been “reaffirmed” through a recent California court case.

“Laws banning federal agents from wearing protective masks are unconstitutional,” the spokesperson said.

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“This Department of Justice is focused on law and order, public safety, and will not tolerate any violence directed toward law enforcement officials working tirelessly to keep Americans safe, despite the best efforts of activist judges who’d rather see violent illegal criminals walk free.”  

Fox News Digital reached out to the rest of West Virginia’s delegation — Sens. Jim Justice II and Shelley Moore Capito — for comment.

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President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he is “not happy” with the way Iran is negotiating.

“I’m not happy with the fact that they’re not willing to give us what we have to have. So I’m not thrilled with that. We’ll see what happens, we’re talking later. We’ll have some additional talks today. But, no, I’m not happy with the way they’re going,” Trump said.

The president also told reporters that he had yet to make a final decision on striking Iran, something that many have speculated could occur in the near future.

When answering a question from Fox News’ Peter Doocy, Trump acknowledged that if the U.S. strikes Iran, there is a possibility of a long-term conflict sparking in the Middle East.

“I guess you could say there’s always a risk. You know, when there’s war, there’s a risk in anything both good and bad,” Trump said. 

The president then spoke about operations against Iran under his first and second terms, such as the assassination of Gen. Qassim Soleimani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force, and last summer’s Operation Midnight Hammer. He said that “everything’s worked out” so far.

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This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

An appellate court found on Wednesday that Texas can enforce a law regulating drag shows in public places and in the presence of minors, scrapping a lower court order that had enjoined the state from doing so.

A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit reaffirmed its November ruling, saying Texas can enforce the 2023 law regulating “sexually oriented performances.” The two-judge panel said only one plaintiff in the case had standing and sent the lawsuit back to the lower court to reevaluate the plaintiff’s First Amendment claim.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is a candidate for Senate, framed the decision as a “major win” in a statement on social media.

“I successfully defended a law protecting children from being exposed to sexually illicit content at erotic drag shows,” Paxton said. “I will always work to shield our kids from exposure to erotic and inappropriate sexually oriented performances.”

The lawsuit, brought by numerous self-described LGBTQ organizations, centered on a state Senate bill that defined sexually oriented performances as visual performances that feature a nude person or sexual conduct and “[appeal] to the prurient interest in sex.” Under the law, a person could be prosecuted for causing a performance to occur in the presence of minors.

Judge Kurt Engelhardt, an appointee of President Donald Trump, authored the opinion and was joined by Judge Leslie Southwick, an appointee of former President George W. Bush.

The judges found that most of the plaintiffs, including a nonprofit called Woodlands Pride, did not have standing to bring First and Fourteenth Amendment challenges to the law because the groups’ performances were benign and therefore did not fall under the Texas law.

The judges said, however, that a group called 360 Queen Entertainment did engage in performances, sometimes in the presence of minors, and therefore had standing.

APPEALS COURT SAYS TEXAS CAN ENFORCE DRAG SHOW BAN, SUGGESTS NOT ALL DRAG SHOWS VIOLATE STATE LAW

“Based on the evidence introduced at trial, 360 Queen’s performances arguably include proscribed conduct,” Engelhardt wrote. “The owner described one performance where a drag queen, who was wearing a ‘very revealing’ breastplate, pulsed the breastplate in front of people and put the breastplate in people’s faces.”

Sometimes those performances were visible to children, Engelhardt noted.

The panel ordered the district court to evaluate whether 360 Queen was right to claim the Texas law violated its free speech rights under the First Amendment.

In a statement, Brian Klosterboer of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas said the 5th Circuit effectively deemed some drag performances “family-friendly” but that the law, which will go into effect in March, still had perceived constitutional problems.

“The law’s vague and sweeping provisions still create a harmful chilling effect for drag artists and those who support them, while also threatening many types of performing arts cherished here in Texas, from theater to ballet to professional wrestling,” Klosterboer said.

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In 2023, Judge David Hittner, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, found Texas’ law was unconstitutional. It is “not unreasonable” to think it could affect activities like live theater or dancing, Hittner found.

Last November, the 5th Circuit vacated that order. On Wednesday, it reaffirmed that decision and denied the plaintiffs’ request to rehear their appeal.

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White House chief of staff Susie Wiles’ attorney in 2023 is disputing claims that he agreed to let the Biden-era FBI record a call with his client without her knowledge, according to a report.

“If I ever pulled a stunt like that I wouldn’t – and shouldn’t – have a license to practice law,” the unidentified attorney said, according to Axios. “I’m as shocked as Susie.” 

The denial comes as scrutiny intensifies around the FBI’s use of subpoenas and investigative tools during special counsel Jack Smith’s Trump-related probes ahead of President Donald Trump‘s 2024 re-election.

Reuters first disclosed the subpoenas Wednesday, reporting that the Biden FBI subpoenaed Wiles’ and now-FBI Director Kash Patel‘s phone records in 2022 and 2023, when both were private citizens. Smith was investigating claims Trump worked to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, resort. 

At least 10 FBI employees were fired Wednesday over the matter, Fox News Digital previously learned. 

Amid the revelations, two FBI officials said that FBI agents recorded a phone call between Wiles and her attorney in 2023. Wiles’ attorney was aware the call was being recorded and consented, but Wiles was not informed, the officials claimed. 

The lawyer, whose name has not been publicly released, pushed back that he “categorically denies he allowed his client to be recorded by the FBI,” according to Axios reporter Marc Caputo. 

Wiles reportedly “believes him & that the Biden-era FBI may have lied about it,” Caputo wrote on X. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Wiles for comment, but did not immediately receive replies. Fox News Digital also reached out to the FBI for comment Friday morning. 

FBI SUBPOENA OF PHONE RECORDS LEAVES TRUMP CHIEF OF STAFF ‘IN SHOCK’: REPORT

The report sparked conservatives and Trump allies to back the unidentified lawyer and balk at the case overall. 

“I know the long time lawyer ….and I believe him – This is a violation of basic constitutional rights every American by right – has. We need accountability and we need action,” Trump 2024 co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita posted to X. 

“So the lawyer Biden’s FBI eavesdropped on during a call with Susie Wiles said he had no idea it happened,” OutKick founder Clay Travis posted to X. “This is a huge story. Biden’s FBI spied on Trump’s campaign manager in the 2024 campaign.” 

GRASSLEY: BIDEN DOJ BYPASSED CONSTITUTIONAL SAFEGUARDS BY SUBPOENAING SENATOR PHONE RECORDS

Wiles was reportedly stunned by the news of the subpoenas, with Axios reporting that she told associates Thursday, “I am in shock.”

Patel issued a similar statement on Wednesday.

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“It is outrageous and deeply alarming that the previous FBI leadership secretly subpoenaed my own phone records — along with those of now White House chief of staff Susie Wiles — using flimsy pretexts and burying the entire process in prohibited case files designed to evade all oversight,” he said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. 

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The ongoing standoff over Homeland Security funding is raising concerns about the potential impact on Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the agency that has helped bring cases against high-profile figures, including Sean “Diddy” Combs and Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

HSI is one of several agencies under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) threatened by the ongoing government shutdown.

That branch of DHS acts as the investigative arm for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — the agency that Democrats want to rein in and reform — and handles investigations into human and sex trafficking, drug trafficking, immigration-related crimes, child exploitation and several other areas.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who was anointed the lead negotiator for Senate Republicans in the ongoing DHS funding back-and-forth, told Fox News Digital the agency’s work is “critically important.”

“When you think about interior enforcement, I mean, HSI is a critical component of that,” Britt said. “You look at what they’ve done, you look at the bad actors they’ve been able to hunt down and hold accountable for human trafficking, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, child pornography, trafficking, all kinds of things.”

Other big names whom HSI has played a role in investigating or indicting include R. Kelly, Josh Duggar, Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, and Jared Fogle.

SCHUMER, DEMS AGAIN BLOCK DHS FUNDING, FORCE STATE OF THE UNION SHOWDOWN

While ICE and other immigration enforcement operations like HSI were funded in part through Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill,” the lapse in ongoing appropriations could threaten supplies in the field and travel, hampering investigations already underway.

A DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital that HSI was continuing to function during the shutdown, with arrests and investigations still happening. But as the current 14-day shutdown continues, delays in supply procurement and travel for “critical personnel to move around the country” could be impacted.

“Our national security and ability to get criminals, including pedophiles and other public safety threats, off the streets could be impacted the longer this Democratic shutdown continues,” they said.

DEMOCRATS DEMANDING ICE REFORMS LOSE AIRPORT ESCORTS IN SHUTDOWN THEY TRIGGERED

Senate Democrats and the White House have so far tried and failed to reach a deal to fund DHS after trading offers and counteroffers in a slow back-and-forth over the last two weeks.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., charged that ICE had been “unleashed without guardrails” throughout the country.  

“This is not border security, this is not law and order, this is chaos — created at the top and felt in so many of our neighborhoods,” Schumer said.

And with lawmakers gone from Washington, D.C., for the weekend, the shutdown is guaranteed to stretch into its third week. Senate Democrats want stringent reforms to ICE, including requiring agents to obtain judicial warrants, unmask and provide thorough identification — all demands that are red lines for the Republicans and the White House, who fear that doing so would increase the chances of ICE agents being doxxed.

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While Republicans and the administration raised concerns about HSI and other ICE functions, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., countered that from his understanding, “most everybody at HSI is gone.”

“They’ve all been deployed to the interior,” he told Fox News Digital. “Not many, if not most, redeployed to interior enforcement. So the administration has gutted HSI.”

“My impression is that HSI has been one of the agencies that has been essentially turned into ICE Junior,” Murphy said.

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Isaac “Izzy” Gardon, the communications director for Gov. Gavin Newsom who made headlines earlier this week for telling a national reporter to “f— off” after she pressed him on the California governor’s reported dyslexia diagnosis, is raking in a hefty six-figure salary, a Fox News Digital review found.

While Newsom’s dyslexia diagnosis has been public for decades, interest in the matter was amplified amid the California governor’s book tour he launched this month. During one of his first stops on the tour, in Atlanta, Newsom was asked about his dyslexia in conversation with Democratic Mayor of Atlanta Andre Dickens, who asked what he hoped readers would take away from the discussion about his diagnosis in the governor’s new book. 

“I’m like you. I’m no better than you. You know, I’m a 960 SAT guy,” Newsom said in response, garnering criticism online that he was pandering to the Black community.   

Amid the rebukes from MAGA world and Republicans, Real Clear Politics (RCP) national correspondent Susan Crabtree reached out to Gardon for verification on his childhood disability diagnosis. In response, Gardon told her to “respectfully, f— off.” 

The testy response led to further criticism targeting Newsom’s office and Gardon, including from RCP’s Carl Cannon, who questioned why people who are offended so deeply by Trump “consistently imitate his worst behavior.” Newsom’s press office has been known to meet the White House’s pointed and often hostile social media posts targeting Democrats, which frequently include AI generated images, with similarly hostile social media posts targeting Trump and Republicans. 

When reached for comment on this story, Gardon told Fox News Digital that “Susan is not a journalist.”  

“She’s a MAGA blogger who writes about conspiracy theories,” Gardon added. 

Transparent California, a statewide public pay and pension database, revealed that Gardon is being paid quite handsomely to be one of Newsom’s most ardent defenders online. Gardon has risen in stature from an administrative assistant making around $30,000 per year in 2019, to earning $212,154.02 in 2024 as a senior assistant and communications director in Newsom’s office.

NEWSOM BLASTED BY CA GOP CHAIR OVER VIRAL CLIP LABELED ‘RACIST’ BY CRITICS: ‘HE SHOULD BE EMBARRASSED’

Gardon’s “regular pay” in 2024 was $152,091.05. That was also supplemented by nearly $57,000 in benefits and another $3,141.16 in “other pay,” according to the database, leading to a combined annual payment of $212,154.02. However, his current pay, which does not appear to be publicly available online, is likely to be higher.

Following news of Gardon’s response to Crabtree’s follow-up, a senior reporter for the California Post also shared an email from Gardon in response to one of his media inquiries. 

In Gardon’s response, he referred to the New York Post as the “New York Comic Book.” Then, when Koehn followed up, indicating the San Francisco Chronicle was covering the same story, Gardon replied, “I’d put that outlet in the same bucket,” according to Koehn, who posted screenshots of the pair’s back-and-forth on X.

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While some top Newsom staffers have praised Gardon’s style, including his boss and senior advisor of communications, Bob Salladay, who told Politico that “Izzy’s creativity and imagination is part of what the governor is doing.” Some Democratic operatives have vocally been critical about his communication style, including Garry Tan, a prolific Democratic donor and CEO of Y Combinator

“Most unprofessional person to ever work in politics,” Tan posted on X. “Izzy Gardon brings shame to the Newsom campaign.”

In addition to the email, Gardon came under fire earlier this month when he referred to rapper and MAGA activist Nicki Minaj as a “stupid hoe” on X. He defended his social media post by pointing to her 2012 song called, “Stupid Hoe.”

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FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Eric Swalwell’s, D-Calif., gubernatorial campaign continues to be bankrolled by Keliang “Clay” Zhu despite concerns over his ties to China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 

Zhu donated another $25,000 to Swalwell’s campaign earlier this month after he had already donated $5,000 to Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign in November and previously donated over $10,000 to his House campaigns. 

Zhu is a partner at DeHeng Law Offices PC, a top Beijing law firm that has deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party, and has also donated thousands to Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign. The law firm’s website shows their lone “Silicon Valley Office,” located in Pleasanton, Calif., appears to only have a single lawyer who works there – Zhu, who has a history of fighting for Chinese interests in the U.S.  

“Once again, Congressman Swalwell got caught with his hand in the CCP cookie jar,” lamented Michael Lucci, a top China expert and the founder and CEO of State Armor Action. “It’s simply outrageous that Congressman Swallwell would take even more money from Keliang Zhu after Zhu’s connections to the CCP were made public.”

SWALWELL GOVERNOR BID HIT WITH RESIDENCY QUESTIONS AFTER COURT FILING ALLEGES HE DOESN’T LIVE IN CALIFORNIA 

A Fox News Digital review in January revealed that the law firm Zhu is a partner in was founded as the China Law Office, which was a subsidiary firm established by the CCP’s Ministry of Justice in the early 1990s before being renamed the DeHeng Law Offices in 1995. 

While the firm, which has over two dozen offices in China, portrays itself as independent, the firm and its lawyers continue to have longstanding cooperation with the Chinese government’s departments and major state-owned enterprises. Many of the firm’s China-based attorneys also have a history of working in Chinese politics.

Zhu, who is originally from China, touts several examples of how he has helped Chinese state-owned enterprises and other Chinese companies get a foothold in the United States, according to his bio on the law firm’s website. 

For example, he touts representing an “investment fund of a major state-owned enterprise in acquiring majority shares in one data analytics software company in the Silicon Valley,” which he valued at $100 million. Another bio for Zhu touts how he “has assisted Chinese companies and funds to complete more than $9 billion investments in the fields of chips, unmanned vehicles, new energy, artificial intelligence, industrial automation, and biopharmaceuticals in the United States.”

“On behalf of Chinese enterprises, he has negotiated with the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Treasury and other organizations for many times and achieved compliance plans, which greatly reduced the compliance risks for Chinese clients in the United States,” the bio continued.

ERIC SWALWELL’S SECRET POETRY EXPOSED

The bios also indicate Zhu helped advise “a governmental investment fund from Shenzhen for its compliance with CFIUS regulations in the U.S.” and represented “WeChat users in a historic lawsuit that sued President Trump and successfully stopped his WeChat ban in 2020.” 

At the time, Trump’s first administration sounded the alarm over WeChat and said the “data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information” and was concerned that the CCP would use data to stalk dissenters or control messaging inside the United States, such as launching disinformation campaigns. Similar efforts to restrict WeChat have occurred in countries like Australia and India, according to the White House.

Meanwhile, after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit intended to stop a Texas law banning Chinese nationals from owning or leasing land in the state, Zhu described the legislation as “unfair, unconstitutional and un-American,” according to AsAmNews, a daily news site focused on Asian-American and Pacific-Islander communities. Zhu similarly expressed disfavor with a Florida law meant to prevent individuals from countries that are foreign adversaries to the United States, such as China, from buying up land.

DeHeng Law Office’s other China-based attorneys have a history of working in Chinese politics as well. This has largely been through the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which is a “key mechanism for multi-party cooperation and political consultation” under the leadership of the CCP, according to the CPPCC website, and is a crucial tool of the United Front strategy to influence U.S. policy.

For example, Zhixu Wu, who is a “Director and Senior Partner” of the Kunming, China-based office of DeHeng Law Offices, is a member of the “Standing Committee of the 13th Kunming Committee of the CPPCC” and a member “of the 12th Yunnan Committee of the CPPCC.” His bio also says he was previously awarded in 2017 with “the title of ‘Excellent League Member’ for the second assistance event of the National Lawyers Service Group,” which was approved by the “Eight Bureau of United Front Work Department of CPC Central Committee, Guidance Department of Lawyer’s Notarization Work of the Ministry of Justice.”

HUNTER BIDEN’S FORMER ‘SUGAR BROTHER’ LAWYER DROPS BIG MONEY ON SWALWELL’S CAMPAIGN: ‘BIGGEST CHEERLEADER’

Swalwell’s ties to China have come under scrutiny before, particularly after Chinese national, Christine Fang, also known as “Fang Fang,” gained special access to him and his campaign. She was deemed by U.S. officials to be part of a counterintelligence effort linked to China meant to influence and get close to U.S. political figures.

Swalwell has repeatedly claimed he cut off ties as soon as U.S. intelligence officials warned him of the threat and a congressional ethics investigation into the matter eventually found no wrongdoing on Swalwell’s behalf. However, he was ultimately removed by Republicans from his post on the House Intelligence Committee, with then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy citing Swalwell’s past run-in with a suspected Chinese spy.

Fox News Digital uncovered a previously unreported 2013 Facebook post by China’s San Francisco consulate last month showing Swalwell touting “great potential” for U.S.-China cooperation during a meeting with a senior CCP diplomat early in his career, which came during the same time period when Swalwell was allegedly targeted by Chinese espionage efforts.

The Facebook post was also “liked” by Fang Fang, Fox News Digital’s review found.

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“First, Swalwell had a fiery romance with Fang Fang, a CCP honeypot. Then he was caught taking campaign money from China’s favorite big law firm. Congressman Swalwell is either totally oblivious to the dangers of flirting with CCP operatives, or he doesn’t care and would take a check from Xi Jinping himself,” Lucci told Fox News Digital. “Congress should pass a law to prohibit campaign cash from Communist China before Swalwell’s sweet tooth has him hunting for another CCP honey pot or cookie jar.”

Neither the Swalwell campaign, DeHeng Law Offices nor Zhu responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

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President Donald Trump warned that Iran is working to build missiles that could “soon reach the United States of America,” elevating concerns about a weapons program that already places U.S. forces across the Middle East within range.

Iran does not currently possess a missile capable of striking the U.S. homeland, officials say. But its existing ballistic missile arsenal can target major American military installations in the Gulf, and U.S. officials say the issue has emerged as a key sticking point in ongoing nuclear negotiations.

Here’s what Iran can hit now — and how close it is to reaching the U.S.

What Iran can hit right now

Iran is widely assessed by Western defense analysts to operate the largest ballistic missile force in the Middle East. Its arsenal consists primarily of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles with ranges of up to roughly 2,000 kilometers — about 1,200 miles.

That range places a broad network of U.S. military infrastructure across the Gulf within reach.

Among the installations inside that envelope:

IRAN SIGNALS NUCLEAR PROGRESS IN GENEVA AS TRUMP CALLS FOR FULL DISMANTLEMENT

• Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, forward headquarters for U.S. Central Command.
• Naval Support Activity Bahrain, home to the U.S. 5th Fleet.
• Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, a major Army logistics and command hub.
• Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, used by U.S. Air Force units.
• Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
• Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.
• Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, which hosts U.S. aircraft.

U.S. forces have drawn down from some regional positions in recent months, including the transfer of Al Asad Air Base in Iraq back to Iraqi control earlier in 2026. But major Gulf installations remain within the range envelope of Iran’s current missile inventory.

Multiple U.S. officials told Fox News that staffing at the Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain has been reduced to “mission critical” levels amid heightened tensions. A separate U.S. official disputed that characterization, saying no ordered departure of personnel or dependents has been issued.

At the same time, the U.S. has surged significant naval and air assets into and around the region in recent days. 

The USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is operating in the Arabian Sea alongside multiple destroyers, while additional destroyers are positioned in the eastern Mediterranean, Red Sea and Persian Gulf. 

The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is also headed toward the region. U.S. Air Force fighter aircraft — including F-15s, F-16s, F-35s and A-10s — are based across Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, supported by aerial refueling tankers, early warning aircraft and surveillance platforms, according to a recent Fox News military briefing.

Iran has demonstrated its willingness to use ballistic missiles against U.S. targets before.

In January 2020, following the U.S. strike that killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at U.S. positions in Iraq. Dozens of American service members were later diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries.

That episode underscored the vulnerability of forward-deployed forces within reach of Iran’s missile arsenal.

 Can Iran reach Europe?

Most publicly known Iranian missile systems are assessed to have maximum ranges of around 2,000 kilometers. 

Depending on launch location, that could place parts of southeastern Europe — including Greece, Bulgaria and Romania — within potential reach. The U.S. has some 80,000 troops stationed across Europe, including in all three of these countries.

Reaching deeper into Europe would require longer-range systems than Iran has publicly demonstrated as operational.

Can Iran hit the US?

IRAN NEARS CHINA ANTI-SHIP SUPERSONIC MISSILE DEAL AS US CARRIERS MASS IN REGION: REPORT

Iran does not currently field an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of striking the U.S. homeland.

To reach the U.S. East Coast, a missile would need a range of roughly 10,000 kilometers — far beyond Iran’s known operational capability.

However, U.S. intelligence agencies have warned that Iran’s space launch vehicle program could provide the technological foundation for a future long-range missile.

In a recent threat overview, the Defense Intelligence Agency stated that Iran “has space launch vehicles it could use to develop a militarily-viable ICBM by 2035 should Tehran decide to pursue the capability.”

That assessment places any potential Iranian intercontinental missile capability roughly a decade away — and contingent on a political decision by Tehran.

U.S. officials and defense analysts have pointed in particular to Iran’s recent space launches, including rockets such as the Zuljanah, which use solid-fuel propulsion. Solid-fuel motors can be stored and launched more quickly than liquid-fueled rockets — a feature that is also important for military ballistic missiles.

Space launch vehicles and long-range ballistic missiles rely on similar multi-stage rocket technology. Analysts say advances in Iran’s space program could shorten the pathway to an intercontinental-range missile if Tehran chose to adapt that technology for military use.

For now, however, Iran has not deployed an operational ICBM, and the U.S. homeland remains outside the reach of its current ballistic missile arsenal.

US missile defenses — capable but finite

The U.S. relies on layered missile defense systems — including Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), Patriot and ship-based interceptors — to protect forces and allies from ballistic missile threats across the Middle East.

These systems are technically capable, but interceptor inventories are finite.

During the June 2025 Iran-Israel missile exchange, U.S. forces reportedly fired more than 150 THAAD interceptors — roughly a quarter of the total the Pentagon had funded to date, according to defense analysts.

The economics also highlight the imbalance: open-source estimates suggest Iranian short-range ballistic missiles can cost in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece, while advanced U.S. interceptors such as THAAD run roughly $12 million or more per missile.

Precise inventory levels are classified. But experts who track Pentagon procurement data warn that replenishing advanced interceptors can take years, meaning a prolonged, high-intensity missile exchange could strain stockpiles even if U.S. defenses remain effective.

Missile program complicates negotiations

The ballistic missile issue has also emerged as a key fault line in ongoing diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Iran’s refusal to negotiate limits on its ballistic missile program is “a big problem,” signaling that the administration views the arsenal as central to long-term regional security.

While current negotiations are focused primarily on Iran’s nuclear program and uranium enrichment activities, U.S. officials have argued that delivery systems — including ballistic missiles — cannot be separated from concerns about a potential nuclear weapon.

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Iranian officials, however, have insisted their missile program is defensive in nature and not subject to negotiation as part of nuclear-focused talks.

As diplomacy continues, the strategic reality remains clear: Iran cannot currently strike the U.S. homeland with a ballistic missile. But U.S. forces across the Middle East remain within range of Tehran’s existing arsenal — and future capabilities remain a subject of intelligence concern.

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