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Trump White House Bristles as MAGA Voices Attack AOC’s Path to Motherhood

By
Madeleine Jackson
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The Trump White House is reportedly losing patience with conservative influencers attacking Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over her decision to freeze her eggs, viewing the backlash as both politically damaging and at odds with the administration’s push to help more Americans start families.

Axios reported Tuesday that the online attacks have made some Republicans — including figures inside the White House — nervous with the midterm elections less than three months away.

“We most certainly want to encourage more women and families to have children, period,” a senior White House official told Axios. The official added that Matt Walsh’s criticism was “not helpful.” An unnamed Trump adviser separately warned that the issue was not a political winner for Republicans.

The tension began after Ocasio-Cortez, 36, posted videos over the weekend documenting the start of the egg-freezing process, including an injection she administered before appearing on ABC’s “This Week.”

“Don’t be weird about this, even though I know all of you will be,” the New York Democrat told followers.

Ocasio-Cortez said she had been considering the procedure for years and wanted to make the experience less mysterious for other working women. She described the decision as a way to feel more in control of her life.

During her ABC interview, however, she also used the deeply personal announcement to criticize the Trump administration. Ocasio-Cortez accused the administration of denying reproductive care and said political leaders should normalize conversations about women’s fertility and health.

The disclosure quickly became a target for several prominent voices on the right.

Walsh questioned why Ocasio-Cortez would delay motherhood, calling the decision “completely baffling.” Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet argued that egg freezing was being promoted as an alternative to forming a family earlier in life and called Ocasio-Cortez’s situation a “cautionary tale.”

Laura Loomer went further, suggesting that the announcement was a “political stunt” designed to help Ocasio-Cortez connect with women if she runs for president in 2028.

But the criticism also triggered pushback from inside the conservative movement.

Katie Miller, a conservative podcaster and the wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, said Ocasio-Cortez’s effort to preserve the possibility of motherhood should be celebrated.

“If one woman wants to preserve her right to have children … we should celebrate that,” Miller wrote on X. While she argued that more women should marry and have children younger, she added that every woman’s journey to motherhood is different.

Alexa Henning, a Republican consultant and former State Department official, also warned that conservative men attacking Ocasio-Cortez over the decision would not play well with women voters. She noted that many conservative women have frozen their eggs and later started families.

That divide helps explain why the White House appears eager to shut down the fight. Whatever Republicans think of Ocasio-Cortez’s politics — or her possible ambitions in 2028 — attacking a woman for taking steps that could help her have children clashes with the message Trump has spent much of his second term promoting.

Trump signed an executive order in February 2025 directing his administration to recommend ways to expand access to in-vitro fertilization and reduce its cost. Later that year, the White House announced discounted fertility medications and a new pathway for employers to offer stand-alone fertility benefits, including IVF coverage.

When TrumpRx.gov launched in February, the administration said patients paying out of pocket could save more than $2,000 per fertility-treatment cycle on commonly used medications. In May, the White House unveiled additional initiatives intended to expand fertility benefits, lower childcare costs and support new and expectant mothers.

The connection is not merely rhetorical. Frozen eggs must generally be fertilized through IVF if a patient later decides to use them. Ocasio-Cortez has said she saved for years to afford the procedure, which she estimated would cost between $8,000 and $9,000 and was not covered by her insurance.

There are legitimate debates about the limits and success rates of egg freezing, particularly as a woman gets older. The procedure preserves an option; it does not guarantee a future pregnancy. But that is a different argument from ridiculing a woman for trying to keep motherhood possible.

Republican pollster Adam Geller told Axios that Ocasio-Cortez knows how to command attention and advised Republicans not to take the bait. The political math is straightforward: Her announcement gave Democrats an opening to accuse conservatives of hostility toward women while dividing Republicans over a goal the Trump administration says it shares — helping more Americans have children.

For the White House, that makes the attacks more than an online distraction. They risk turning a pro-family agenda into an argument over whether one of Trump’s most prominent political opponents deserves the chance to become a mother.

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Russia Releases American Marine After Four Years in Prison

By
Madeleine Jackson
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1
The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

WASHINGTON — Russia released American citizen and former U.S. Marine Robert Gilman on Tuesday after more than four years of imprisonment on disputed charges.

The State Department said Gilman, 32, was released on humanitarian grounds and had recently been designated as wrongfully detained. His release “was not part of an exchange, and no other concessions were provided,” the department said.

U.S. officials told reporters that Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a humanitarian pardon following negotiations between the two governments.

Gilman departed Russia aboard a State Department aircraft accompanied by his mother. Four doctors were evaluating him during the flight, according to Reuters, and an official who spoke with him said he was walking and talking. He is expected to receive medical and psychological treatment at a military facility in Texas.

Russian authorities arrested Gilman in Voronezh in January 2022 after accusing him of kicking a police officer while being removed from a train. His family disputes Russia’s account, saying Gilman was ill and made accidental contact with the officer.

Russian courts later convicted him of additional alleged assaults on prison and law-enforcement officials, eventually extending his sentence to 10 years.

Gilman’s family and advocates said his health deteriorated sharply during his imprisonment. They reported that he spent approximately 47 days in a “dissociative stupor,” suffered severe pneumonia and required a feeding tube while handcuffed to a hospital bed.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) welcomed Gilman’s release but said it was long overdue, alleging that he had endured physical torture, forced medication and deliberate provocations in Russian custody.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

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Trump Smuggled Off Air Force One Amid Reported Iranian Missile Plot

By
Madeleine Jackson
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2
President Donald Trump answers questions from members of the media aboard Air Force One en route to Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, for a rally on the economy, Tuesday, December 9, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)

President Donald Trump appeared to board Air Force One in Ankara and prepare for an ordinary flight home.

Then he vanished.

Shortly before the presidential jet departed Turkey on July 8, Trump was secretly moved from the aircraft with the help of an airport catering truck and taken to a smaller military plane, according to explosive new reporting.

The covert switch followed intelligence about a reported Iranian plot to target the president’s aircraft as it left the Turkish capital.

CBS News reported that U.S. intelligence had detected a credible plan involving Iran and its allied proxies to fire a missile at the plane carrying Trump.

Trump had already acknowledged the danger during the NATO summit, describing himself as Iran’s “number one target.”

A Presidential-Scale Decoy

Television cameras captured Trump climbing the stairs of the older, blue-and-white Air Force One at Ankara Esenboğa Airport. A catering truck could be seen parked against the opposite side of the aircraft.

Minutes later, the truck pulled away and drove toward another U.S. government plane—an Air Force C-32A, according to The Washington Post, which first revealed the deception operation.

Trump flew to a refueling stop in the United Kingdom aboard the smaller plane. Meanwhile, reporters and some members of the president’s staff traveled the same route on the older presidential aircraft, apparently believing Trump was with them.

They had unknowingly become part of the decoy.

Reporters aboard the plane were instructed to keep the window shades in the press cabin closed. When later asked about that order, Trump said they were “probably on a dangerous flight” because of the adversaries the United States was confronting.

The operation was so tightly controlled that the administration never publicly disclosed that the president had traveled separately.

The Iran Threat Behind the Ruse

The unusual security measures unfolded during a dangerous moment in the conflict with Iran. The United States had launched fresh strikes against Iranian targets shortly before Trump’s departure, further raising fears that Tehran or one of its proxies could retaliate against the president.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel had warned Washington about a possible Iranian plot to kill Trump. Some U.S. officials reportedly questioned how fully credible that intelligence was, but the warning was serious enough to help trigger extraordinary precautions.

CBS later reported that U.S. intelligence had identified a specific missile threat against Trump’s aircraft.

The differing assessments underline the uncertainty security officials faced: They could not know whether an attack was imminent, but they could not afford to assume it was a bluff.

The Disappearing Act Continued

The deception apparently did not end when Trump landed in Britain.

According to reporting cited by The Guardian, Trump was driven from the C-32A back to the older presidential aircraft at RAF Mildenhall. He boarded through a separate entrance before emerging from the familiar upper door, creating the appearance that he had traveled aboard the jet alongside the press.

Trump then boarded the newer, Qatari-donated presidential plane for the flight across the Atlantic. He spoke with reporters during that leg of the trip without revealing that they had spent the first flight aboard a decoy.

The maneuver was extraordinary, but not unprecedented. President Bill Clinton used a similar operation during a 2000 trip to Pakistan, flying aboard an unmarked executive jet while the official presidential aircraft served as a decoy.

The C-32A used in Trump’s operation is a specially configured Boeing 757 normally employed to transport the vice president, Cabinet officials and other senior government leaders. The Air Force describes it as a secure, long-range aircraft equipped with advanced communications and avionics.

Questions Surround Trump’s New Jet

Hours before leaving Ankara, Trump announced that he would use the older Air Force One “for old time’s sake” instead of the newly retrofitted Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar.

He said the move would also allow American service members at the British refueling stop to tour the new plane.

Behind the scenes, however, CBS reported that the Secret Service had recommended using the older aircraft for security reasons. At the time, questions were already being raised about whether the Qatari-donated jet possessed the same visible missile-detection and countermeasure equipment found on the legacy presidential planes.

The Air Force has maintained that the newer aircraft is safe and properly equipped for presidential travel. The White House has similarly insisted that it contains high-level security systems.

Yet for the most dangerous leg of Trump’s journey, neither of the large presidential jets carried him. One served as a decoy while the other flew separately.

Officials Furious Over Security Leak

Several Trump administration officials reportedly expressed anger after details of the operation became public, warning that exposing classified protective procedures could make similar tactics harder to use in the future.

White House communications director Steven Cheung did not directly confirm the plane switch when questioned about it. He said the administration uses “every tool at our disposal” to protect the president from America’s enemies.

In Ankara, that meant hiding Trump’s movements from the press, much of his own staff and anyone who might have been watching the presidential aircraft.

For several tense hours, the plane presented to the world as Air Force One carried nearly everyone—except the one man the entire operation was designed to protect.

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Trump’s Visa Crackdown Tops 175,000 as State Department Targets Crime, Fraud and Security Threats

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admin
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By United States Government - https://x.com/PressSec/status/1882759560613527770, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=159931598

WASHINGTON — The State Department has revoked more than 175,000 U.S. visas since President Donald Trump returned to office, according to a new government tally that underscores the rapid expansion of his administration’s immigration-enforcement campaign.

The department said Monday that the visas belonged to foreign nationals who violated visa terms, committed crimes, called for violence against Americans, engaged in fraud, abused the immigration system or posed national-security concerns.

“A U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right,” the department said in its Aug. 10 fact sheet, adding that officials would continue to identify and investigate foreign nationals believed to threaten public safety.

According to the State Department, most of the revocations followed encounters with law enforcement. The leading categories involved assault, driving under the influence, theft and drug offenses. Officials also cited reckless driving, sexual assault, child abuse, fraud and embezzlement among the reasons visas were canceled.

The department highlighted several serious cases, including one foreign national charged with felony rape and sexual battery involving a mentally disabled victim, and another charged with felony kidnapping, human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of a minor. The government did not identify the individuals or say how those criminal cases were ultimately resolved.

The new tally also includes more than 100 visas revoked by a U.S. embassy in North Africa from parents accused of using so-called birth tourism to obtain American citizenship for children born in the United States, according to the department.

Fox News, which first reported the new figure, said the effort is being carried out under Secretary of State Marco Rubio as part of the administration’s broader “America First” approach to immigration and public safety.

Revocations climbed by at least 75,000 in seven months

The latest number marks a sharp increase from the more than 100,000 revocations the department reported in January. At that point, the total included roughly 8,000 student visas and 2,500 specialized visas involving people who had encounters with U.S. law enforcement, according to Reuters reporting published by Al-Monitor.

That means the administration says it revoked at least 75,000 additional visas in roughly seven months.

In January, State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the first 100,000 revocations represented a 150% increase over 2024. He attributed the leading causes at that stage to visa overstays, DUI offenses, assault and theft. Pigott also said the department had created a Continuous Vetting Center to flag visa holders who may no longer qualify to remain in good standing.

Monday’s announcement did not provide a new breakdown by visa category or nationality. It also did not specify how many cases involved arrests or charges rather than convictions—a distinction that earlier reporting raised when the administration disclosed thousands of canceled student visas.

Trump: Foreign visitors who cause trouble are not welcome

Trump has consistently cast tougher visa screening as a public-safety and national-security measure.

“We want to have great students here. We just don’t want students that are causing trouble,” Trump said in 2025 remarks later included in a White House fact sheet on foreign student visas.

In a December 2025 proclamation, Trump wrote that the United States must use “extreme vigilance” during visa and immigration screening to stop foreign nationals who intend to harm Americans or threaten the country’s interests.

The push traces back to a Jan. 20, 2025 executive order directing federal agencies to strengthen screening for people seeking admission to the United States and to continue vetting certain foreign nationals already in the country.

The State Department’s own guidance notes that a visa allows a foreign citizen to travel to a U.S. port of entry and request admission; it does not guarantee entry. Revoking one therefore removes the person’s ability to use that visa for future travel, although any separate question involving immigration status or removal from the country can require additional government action.

With the administration now claiming more than 175,000 revocations, Monday’s announcement makes clear that Trump and Rubio intend to keep visa enforcement at the center of the president’s second-term immigration agenda.

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MTG Slams Door On Tucker 2028 Buzz After Fueling It Herself

By
Madeleine Jackson
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1
Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Marjorie Taylor Greene is pulling the plug on the Tucker 2028 hype — just months after helping light the fuse.

The former Georgia congresswoman says Tucker Carlson is not plotting a third-party White House run, despite a viral summit of Trump-world defectors and a manifesto-style speech that sent speculation into overdrive.

“Tucker, he’s not running for president,” Greene told POLITICO Playbook over the weekend, according to The Hill. “He said that publicly. He said that privately.”

Greene also ruled herself out of the 2028 sweepstakes, insisting the group’s fight is bigger than landing one of its members in the Oval Office.

“Our argument is the two-party system is a complete and total failure,” she said. “I am 100 percent totally completely disgusted with both parties.”

That is a striking change in tone from March, when Greene loudly floated Carlson as Trump’s successor — and even suggested the former Fox News star could beat the president if Trump tried to seek an unconstitutional third term. (RELATED: Marjorie Taylor Greene Floats New ‘America-First’ Party, Says Tucker Carlson Could Upend 2028)

“I SUPPORT TUCKER,” Greene wrote at the time, adding that Carlson “would beat Trump” in that hypothetical showdown, Axios reported.

Now she is slamming the brakes.

The fresh frenzy began with a photo from Carlson’s cabin in Maine showing Greene, Carlson, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and former Trump counterterrorism chief Joe Kent gathered around a wooden table.

Greene accused Trump of betraying voters who backed his promise to avoid new foreign wars and declared: “The movement has begun.” Carlson later shared her post and called for “a new path forward,” according to WIRED.

Kent then poured gasoline on the 2028 chatter, revealing that members of the group had urged Carlson to run. But he also acknowledged that Carlson had repeatedly told them no.

That resistance is not new. Carlson has pushed back on presidential speculation for years, and he drew an explicit line between building a political alternative and becoming its candidate in a July interview with the Columbia Journalism Review.

Carlson predicted that “there’s going to be a third party” and said he intended to help build it. Asked whether he would run on its ticket, he answered: “I don’t want to be a candidate.” CJR reported.

The distinction matters.

Greene is denying a Tucker Carlson campaign. She is not denying the push to create a new political force outside the Republican and Democratic parties.

As GAND previously reported, Carlson gave that effort an ideological spine last week when he unveiled a 10-point vision of what America “should be.” The former Fox host stopped short of announcing a campaign or launching a party, presenting the plan instead as the foundation for “whatever comes next,” Axios reported. (RELATED: Tucker Carlson Unveils 10-Point Blueprint As Revolt Against Trump Deepens)

His agenda called for equal treatment under the law, a revival of American manufacturing and farming, tougher restrictions on immigration, greater government transparency and an end to foreign entanglements. It also placed the Jeffrey Epstein saga at the center of Carlson’s case that powerful elites operate by a different set of rules.

Carlson’s transformation from Trump ally to MAGA dissident has been driven largely by two explosive disputes: the war in Iran and the administration’s handling of the Epstein files.

The media personality said he personally urged Trump not to enter a regime-change conflict with Tehran and visited the White House three times before the war. Once fighting began, Carlson said he stopped speaking to the president and accused him of abandoning the anti-war promise at the heart of “America First.”

Trump fired back in March, saying Carlson had “lost his way” and was no longer MAGA. Carlson later told CJR that Trump was “not a man in charge of his own life” — a brutal assessment from a commentator who was once among the most influential voices in the president’s political orbit.

The feud widened over Epstein. Carlson has accused the administration of withholding key information and protecting a powerful class from scrutiny. Greene and Massie also became prominent critics of the government’s handling of the files.

That shared anger — over war, foreign influence and elite impunity — is now binding together a loose coalition of former Trump loyalists looking beyond the GOP.

Greene’s latest comments settle one question, at least for now: Tucker Carlson is not running for president.

But the political rebellion gathering around him does not seem to be going away.

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DOJ Says Byron Donalds Is Not Under Federal Investigation, Rejecting Rival’s Claim

By
Seijah Drake
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1
Byron Donalds via Gage Skidmore Flickr

The Department of Justice publicly denied that Rep. Byron Donalds is under federal investigation, directly contradicting explosive allegations made by one of his Republican rivals in the Florida governor’s race.

The announcement came after gubernatorial candidate James Fishback claimed Donalds was being investigated for “federal sex trafficking” in connection with scandal-plagued Rep. Cory Mills.

“Falsely accusing someone of being under investigation is a dangerous form of weaponization,” the DOJ’s Rapid Response account wrote on X. “This claim is not true. Congressman Byron Donalds is not under investigation.”

Fishback Claimed Whistleblower Came Forward

Fishback said last week that a whistleblower had approached his campaign with information he alleged implicated Donalds in criminal wrongdoing.

He publicly tied those claims to Mills and alleged that Donalds was the subject of a federal sex-trafficking investigation.

Donalds’ campaign immediately rejected the accusations as “completely false,” according to Florida Politics.

Fishback has not shared evidence establishing that Donalds is under federal investigation.

Rare DOJ Intervention

The DOJ’s decision to address the accusation publicly is notable because federal law enforcement agencies often decline to confirm or deny the existence of investigations.

That raises the stakes for Fishback, whose campaign is now facing questions over why it promoted such a serious allegation seemingly without publicly verifiable evidence.

Donalds Remains Clear Frontrunner

Donalds, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, remains the dominant candidate in the Republican gubernatorial primary.

Recent polling reported by Florida Politics has shown him ahead by roughly 30 points, reinforcing his status as the race’s clear frontrunner.

Donalds has also benefited from strong name recognition after serving in Congress and becoming one of Trump’s more prominent allies on Capitol Hill.

Stakes Rise in Florida GOP Primary

Fishback has attempted to break through Donalds’ substantial polling advantage with increasingly sensational attacks, while Donalds’ campaign has portrayed his rival as reckless and dishonest.

The Justice Department’s categorical denial could become a major issue in the primary if Fishback is unable to substantiate his claims.

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Trump-Backed Incumbent Ousted In GOP Primary

By
Seijah Drake
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0
Missvain, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) lost his Republican primary to former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher, dealing a rare defeat to an incumbent backed by President Donald Trump and making Ogles the latest House member to fall in a bruising 2026 primary season.

The Associated Press projected Hatcher the winner in Tennessee’s newly redrawn 5th Congressional District after he built a roughly six-point lead over Ogles.

Hatcher Overcomes Trump Endorsement

Ogles entered the race with Trump’s endorsement and a reputation as one of the more combative members of the House Freedom Caucus.

Hatcher, however, assembled his own roster of prominent Republican supporters, including Gov. Bill Lee and former Gov. Bill Haslam. He campaigned as broadly supportive of Trump while arguing that the heavily agricultural district needed a more effective and locally focused representative.

“The message resonated, and the message was: Work like a farmer, get things done and serve others,” Hatcher told the AP after his victory.

The redrawn district also presented Ogles with an unusual challenge: according to the AP, roughly 82% of voters in the new 5th District were new to him after Tennessee lawmakers reshaped the congressional map earlier this year.

Outside Money Played Major Role

Hatcher benefited from a significant late infusion of outside spending.

The Invest in Tomorrow Coalition, a clean energy super PAC, poured roughly $2 million into the contest, including a $700,000 advertising push in the final week. The group targeted Ogles over his support for rolling back clean energy tax incentives.

The spending helped turn what once appeared to be a comfortable Ogles advantage into a genuine contest. By late July, betting markets and internal polling were showing the race tightening.

Ogles accused the group of improperly interfering in the Republican primary and portrayed the spending as an effort by outside liberal interests to punish him for his conservative record.

Controversies Followed Ogles

Ogles also entered the primary carrying political baggage from his four years in Congress.

He drew repeated criticism for inflammatory public statements and was the subject of a federal investigation into his campaign finance reporting. The FBI seized his cellphone in 2024 as part of that inquiry, although the Justice Department later moved to return the device, signaling that the investigation was being abandoned. He was never charged with a crime.

Ogles also faced scrutiny over discrepancies in descriptions of his educational background and made national headlines for some of his statements on immigration, Islam and political opponents.

Rare Defeat for a Trump-Endorsed Republican

Hatcher’s victory is especially notable because Trump personally backed Ogles and praised him as a “Conservative Warrior” on Election Day.

Trump’s endorsement remains highly influential in Republican primaries, making Ogles’ defeat an uncommon example of GOP voters rejecting an incumbent despite the president’s support.

The result also underscores that endorsements alone cannot always overcome a combination of redistricting, weak fundraising, well-funded opposition and local dissatisfaction.

Hatcher Heavily Favored in November

Hatcher will now face Democratic nominee and Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder in the Nov. 3 general election.

The district remains solidly Republican, making Hatcher the clear favorite heading into November.

His victory also adds to an unusually turbulent year for House incumbents. Ogles is among several sitting members of Congress who have lost primaries in 2026, highlighting growing voter willingness in both parties to replace incumbents rather than automatically return them to Washington.

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White House Releases Memos Detailing Secret FBI Investigation Into Trump

By
Madeleine Jackson
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1

The FBI’s Russia investigation did not stop at Trump campaign aides.

One week after President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in May 2017, bureau officials opened a counterintelligence investigation aimed directly at Trump, according to newly declassified memos released by the White House and reported by Fox News.

The closely guarded probe carried an unusual codename: “Oxferd Comma”—with “Oxford” apparently misspelled for reasons that remain unclear.

But the questions behind the name were anything but trivial.

In a May 16, 2017, opening memo, investigators said they sought to determine whether Trump was “directed by, controlled by, and/or coordinated activities with, the Russian Federation in a manner constituting a threat to the national security of the United States and/or a violation of federal criminal statutes,” according to Fox News.

The FBI also widened its focus to possible obstruction. The memo’s wording, as released, stated: “In addition, this investigation will also seek to determine whether President Trump and others yet to be named obstructed and/or conspiracy to obstruct any associated FBI investigation.”

In other words, Comey’s firing triggered an extraordinary inquiry into whether the sitting president was acting in concert with a hostile foreign power—and whether he or others had tried to derail the bureau’s work.

From Comey’s Firing to a Probe of the President

Comey, appointed by President Barack Obama, led the FBI from 2013 until Trump dismissed him in 2017.

During that tenure, Comey oversaw two investigations that became defining controversies of the 2016 election. The FBI examined Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, and Comey notified Congress shortly before Election Day that agents had found emails that “appear to be pertinent” to that case.

Comey also oversaw the launch of “Crossfire Hurricane,” the FBI investigation opened in July 2016 after the bureau received information that Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos had suggested Russia possessed damaging material about Clinton.

When Trump fired Comey, the administration initially pointed to the FBI director’s handling of the Clinton email investigation. The dismissal, however, rapidly intensified scrutiny of the president and the Russia inquiry.

On May 17, 2017, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as special counsel. Mueller took over the existing Russia investigation and expanded the federal inquiry.

Mueller’s final report, released in 2019, found that Russia sought to interfere in the 2016 election through a social media influence operation and the hacking and release of Democratic emails. The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government.

The report also examined potential obstruction but did not make a traditional prosecutorial judgment on whether Trump committed a crime.

According to the newly released memos, the “Oxferd Comma” investigation was closed on April 9, 2019, as Mueller’s work neared completion.

Durham’s Review Reignited Questions About the FBI

The bureau’s handling of the Trump-Russia investigation later came under examination by special counsel John Durham, whom Attorney General William Barr appointed to review the origins of Crossfire Hurricane.

Durham’s 2023 report concluded that the FBI lacked sufficient factual grounds to open the full investigation and departed from its usual standards. His findings fueled renewed allegations that political bias shaped the bureau’s decisions.

Separately declassified material from an annex to Durham’s report also showed officials scrutinized intelligence alleging that Clinton allies planned to link Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to shift attention from Clinton’s email controversy.

“Raising the theme of ‘Putin’s support for Trump’ to the level of the Olympics scandal would divert the constituents’ attention from the investigation of Clinton’s compromised electronic correspondence,” the annex reads, according to Fox News.

The annex also included a 2016 message attributed to Leonard Benardo, an official with the Open Society Foundations network who had done business in Moscow in the 1980s.

“Julie says it will be a long-term affair to demonize Putin and Trump. Now it is good for a post-convention bounce. Later the FBI will put more oil into the fire,” Benardo wrote.

The appendix said “Julie” appeared to refer to Clinton foreign policy adviser Julianne Smith.

The newly disclosed “Oxferd Comma” memos add another striking chapter to the fight over the Russia investigation. They show that, after Comey’s firing, the FBI was not merely asking whether people around Trump had improper Russian ties. It was formally investigating whether the president himself was under Moscow’s direction and posed a threat to the United States.

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Trump Leaves Pirro Hanging As DOJ Chief Opens Door to Firing

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    By Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America - Jeanine Pirro, CC BY-SA 2.0,

    President Donald Trump is refusing to guarantee Jeanine Pirro’s future — and the nation’s top law enforcement official just made her position even more precarious.

    Asked Tuesday whether Pirro would remain U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Trump offered a blunt response: “I haven’t made a determination.”

    The warning came after Pirro broke sharply with the president by dropping the government’s case against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who had been accused of damaging the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

    One day later, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was given an opportunity to defend Pirro. Instead, he opened the door to her firing.

    “Hypothetically, if the president chose to fire a United States attorney, it turns out he’s allowed to do that because he’s the president,” Blanche said at a Wednesday Justice Department press conference, according to Mediaite.

    Blanche added that Trump understands he can fire anyone in his administration and that any decision regarding Pirro is ultimately “his call.”

    That was hardly a ringing vote of confidence.

    Blanche did praise Pirro’s office for doing a “phenomenal job” combating crime in Washington, but he conspicuously declined to endorse her handling of the case that landed her in Trump’s crosshairs.

    Pirro’s office initially secured a felony indictment against Hearn, a 67-year-old three-time Olympian. Prosecutors accused him of “forcefully and violently” pulling up part of the pool’s newly installed liner during a June 19 visit. He faced as many as 10 years in prison.

    But the prosecution collapsed after Pirro’s office received additional records from the Interior Department.

    In a 20-page court filing, prosecutors said the new information showed that the widespread damage was caused by faulty work from contractor Atlantic Industrial Coatings and a rush to complete the project before America’s 250th anniversary celebrations.

    The documents included National Park Service communications raising concerns about the peeling liner on June 11 — more than a week before Hearn was arrested. A later inspection found overspray and delamination across the pool, including in areas that would have been difficult for a vandal to reach.

    “Had DOI been forthcoming,” Pirro’s office wrote, prosecutors would not have sought the indictment.

    Pirro subsequently moved to dismiss Hearn’s case without prejudice and dropped misdemeanor charges against three other people accused of damaging the pool.

    The reversal infuriated Trump, who has continued to insist that vandals — not contractors — were primarily responsible.

    “I was disappointed in Jeanine Pirro,” Trump told reporters Monday, accusing her of choking under pressure from the judge and folding “like an umbrella.”

    Trump reportedly met privately with Pirro later that day. According to CBS News, Pirro arrived with a box of evidence and attempted to convince the president during a sometimes-heated Oval Office meeting that the pool’s damage resulted from shoddy construction.

    She left the White House with her job — but apparently without a promise that she would keep it.

    Trump has privately discussed removing Pirro and was reportedly blindsided by her office’s decision to abandon the case, according to ABC News.

    The growing feud represents a stunning rupture between Trump and one of his most recognizable longtime defenders.

    Before Trump selected her to become Washington’s top federal prosecutor, Pirro spent years using her Fox News platform to defend him. Now she finds herself publicly attacked by the president, undercut by Blanche and forced to defend a decision her office says was required by the evidence.

    The embarrassment is compounded by the cost of the project itself.

    The repainting contract grew to more than $14.65 million, while a separate algae-control system brought the total cost of the renovation effort above $16 million, according to ABC News. Both projects were accelerated ahead of the Fourth of July festivities.

    Hearn’s attorneys are now seeking to have the indictment dismissed with prejudice, which would prevent prosecutors from reviving the case. They have also said they are considering civil litigation, reimbursement of legal fees and requests for government investigations.

    Pirro survived her White House showdown Monday. But Trump’s public refusal to secure her job — followed by Blanche’s reminder that the president can fire her whenever he chooses — leaves the former Fox News star twisting in the wind.

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    Mike Lindell Resigns As MyPillow CEO

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    Mike Lindell via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Mike Lindell is stepping away from the company that made him a household name and putting his full attention on becoming Minnesota’s next governor.

    The MyPillow founder announced Tuesday that he had resigned as the company’s chief executive after 22 years, calling it “one of the biggest decisions of my life.”

    “I’m stepping down as CEO of MyPillow so I can devote 100% of my time and energy to my campaign for Governor of Minnesota,” Lindell said in a social media post. “Minnesota deserves my full attention, and that’s exactly what I’m giving it. I’m all in, and I can’t wait to earn your vote.”

    The transition goes beyond a change in title. According to a company announcement, Lindell has reduced his ownership to a minority stake. He will remain a shareholder and member of MyPillow’s board of directors but will no longer oversee day-to-day operations.

    James “Jim” Furlong, who served as MyPillow’s president from 2004 to 2019 and helped grow the Minnesota startup into a national brand, is returning as CEO. The company said its products, guarantees, Minnesota manufacturing and jobs will continue without interruption.

    “After 22 years of leading MyPillow, I know the company is ready for its next chapter and I know Minnesota cannot wait,” Lindell said in the company statement. “This decision is not about walking away. It is about stepping forward to serve.”

    The move comes at a pivotal moment in the Republican contest. Minnesota’s primary is set for August 11, with early voting already underway. Lindell’s leading rivals include Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth and businessman and Army veteran Kendall Qualls, who secured the state Republican Party’s endorsement.

    Lindell, however, carries the endorsement of President Donald Trump. In a July 15 Truth Social post, Trump called the entrepreneur “one of America’s greatest and most hard working Patriots” and gave him his “complete and total” endorsement.

    The latest KSTP/SurveyUSA poll placed Lindell ahead of the principal GOP field with 35% support, followed by Demuth at 26% and Qualls at 11%. The poll still left more than a quarter of voters supporting another candidate or undecided, leaving room for movement in the closing days.

    The eventual Republican nominee will compete for an open seat. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz ended his bid for a third term in January amid mounting scrutiny of fraud involving state-administered programs. Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is widely viewed as the favorite for her party’s nomination.

    Lindell’s rise as a national political figure has also brought years of courtroom fights tied to his claims about the 2020 election. In September 2025, a federal judge ruled that statements Lindell made about voting technology company Smartmatic were false and defamatory, while leaving the questions of actual malice and damages for later proceedings. Lindell has also appealed a separate $2.3 million defamation verdict involving former Dominion Voting Systems employee Eric Coomer.

    For Lindell, resigning from MyPillow turns his campaign’s central argument into a personal wager: The businessman who built his public identity around his company is now betting that Minnesota voters want him in the governor’s office instead.

    With less than a week before the primary, Lindell says there is no divided focus left.

    “I’m all in.”

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