A former FBI official is being investigated over his alleged threats against President Trump.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem accused former FBI Director James Comey of calling for President Trump’s “assassination,” saying federal law enforcement authorities are now investigating the “threat.”
“Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey just called for the assassination of @POTUS Trump,” Noem wrote on the social platform X on Thursday evening.
“DHS and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately,” she added.
Comey, a longtime critic of Trump’s, posted a photo earlier Thursday on Instagram of seashells on a beach arranged to form the numbers “8647.” The post garnered significant blowback from much of Trump’s base, with many understanding the numbers to be a call for violence against the 47th president, Trump. Others suggested the “86” could be calling for the president to be impeached or removed from office.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
Comey removed the photo Thursday evening and clarified in a new post that he did not intend to call for violence and didn’t realize his message would be interpreted that way.
“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,” Comey wrote on Instagram.
“I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence,” he continued. “It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
James Comey just issued a call to action to murder the President of the United States.
As a former FBI Director and someone who spent most of his career prosecuting mobsters and gangsters, he knew exactly what he was doing and must be held accountable under the full force of the… pic.twitter.com/zvbu5Vf0zg
In a statement to The Hill, a spokesperson for the Secret Service said the agency “vigorously investigates anything that can be taken as a potential threat against our protectees.”
“We take this responsibility very seriously and we are aware of the social media posts in question,” the spokesperson continued. “Beyond that, we do not comment on protective intelligence matters.”
FBI Director Kash Patel also weighed in on the matter in a post Thursday.
“We are aware of the recent social media post by former FBI Director James Comey, directed at President Trump,” Patel wrote on X.
“We are in communication with the Secret Service and Director Curran. Primary jurisdiction is with SS on these matters and we, the FBI, will provide all necessary support,” he continued.
We are aware of the recent social media post by former FBI Director James Comey, directed at President Trump. We are in communication with the Secret Service and Director Curran. Primary jurisdiction is with SS on these matters and we, the FBI, will provide all necessary support.
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) May 15, 2025
Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are facing an internal divide over a sensitive and politically risky question: whether Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of Jeffrey Epstein, should be considered for a presidential pardon in exchange for cooperation with investigators.
The discussion has largely taken place behind closed doors, but it reflects a broader tension between uncovering new information and maintaining public confidence in the justice system.
Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) acknowledged the split, noting that some Republicans believe Maxwell could provide valuable testimony about Epstein’s network if offered clemency. Still, Comer made clear he is not among them.
He warned that a pardon “looks bad” politically and ethically
He emphasized Maxwell’s central role in the underlying crimes
He argued that granting leniency could undermine trust in the investigation
Comer summed up his position bluntly, describing Maxwell as one of the most culpable figures in the case.
Democrats Firmly Opposed
Democrats on the committee are unified in rejecting any potential deal.
Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) strongly criticized the idea, arguing that offering clemency to Maxwell would be offensive to victims and damaging to the integrity of the investigation.
Key concerns raised by Democrats include:
The impact on survivors of Epstein’s abuse
The credibility of any testimony obtained through a pardon
The risk of public perception shifting toward a “cover-up”
Garcia warned that even considering such an arrangement could erode confidence in the process and send the wrong signal about accountability.
Maxwell’s Leverage and Conditions
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for her role in Epstein’s trafficking operation. So far, she has declined to cooperate with congressional investigators under existing conditions.
Her legal team, however, has signaled a willingness to engage if circumstances change.
According to her attorney:
Maxwell would be willing to testify “fully and honestly”
Any cooperation would be contingent on clemency
She is positioned as a key source of information about Epstein’s network
Her attorney has also claimed that Maxwell could shed light on the involvement, or lack thereof, of high-profile figures, including former presidents. Those assertions have not eased skepticism among lawmakers.
The Political and Legal Stakes
President Donald Trump has not ruled out the possibility of granting clemency, leaving the issue open and politically charged.
The debate highlights a difficult tradeoff:
Potential benefit: New details about Epstein’s network and associates
Potential cost: Perceived erosion of justice and accountability
For many lawmakers, the question is not just what Maxwell might reveal, but whether the price of that information is too high.
Why This Matters
At its core, the disagreement reflects a broader challenge facing investigators and policymakers:
How far should the government go to obtain critical information?
Can justice and transparency be balanced in a case with this level of public scrutiny?
There is no clear consensus, and the path forward remains uncertain.
What are your thoughts? Should a pardon be considered if it leads to new information about Epstein’s network? Share your perspective in the comments below.
President Donald J. Trump hosts a Rose Garden Club dinner in honor of Police Week in the White House Rose Garden, Monday, May 11, 2026. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)
The Trump administration is launching a new crackdown on naturalized citizens accused of gaming America’s immigration system, moving to strip citizenship from 17 foreign-born criminals ranging from child sex offenders to multimillion-dollar fraudsters.
The Justice Department is expected to announce Monday that it has filed denaturalization actions against a group of naturalized citizens who allegedly lied, concealed serious crimes, or committed fraud while obtaining U.S. citizenship.
“U.S. citizenship is a privilege, not a right for people who obtained it through deception,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said as the administration unveiled its latest effort to purge what officials describe as bad actors who abused the naturalization process.
Among the most shocking cases is Haitian-born Jean Claude Alfred, 68, who federal officials say was sexually abusing his minor daughter while applying to become an American citizen.
According to the Justice Department, Alfred denied committing any crimes during his citizenship application process despite allegedly abusing his daughter during that same period. He was later convicted by a Florida jury on charges including attempted sexual battery of a child in a familial relationship and lewd assault on a minor.
The Daily Wire reported that another target is Colombian-born Fernando Cristancho, a Roman Catholic priest sentenced to 22 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually grooming and abusing a young parishioner between the ages of 11 and 13. Federal officials allege Cristancho concealed his criminal conduct from immigration authorities while seeking naturalization.
The administration is also seeking to denaturalize Delmas Garcia, a Cuban-born woman convicted in a massive healthcare fraud scheme that prosecutors say generated more than $36 million in false insurance claims.
Garcia admitted operating dozens of physical therapy clinics in Florida that billed insurers for treatments that were either medically unnecessary or never provided at all.
Also on the list is Andrea Marroquin, the daughter of a notorious Colombian drug trafficker. Prosecutors allege Marroquin concealed a fraudulent marriage and used drug money inherited from her father to carry out a series of illicit real estate transactions in Miami before becoming a U.S. citizen.
The latest actions are part of a broader Trump administration push to dramatically expand denaturalization efforts nationwide.
Last year, the Justice Department directed federal prosecutors to prioritize cases involving individuals who obtained citizenship through fraud, misrepresentation, or concealment of serious criminal activity. The New York Times reported that USCIS was subsequently instructed to increase referrals of potential denaturalization cases, with reports indicating the agency was expected to identify between 100 and 200 new cases each month.
The administration argues the initiative is aimed at restoring integrity to the naturalization system and ensuring citizenship is reserved for immigrants who follow the law.
“The Trump administration is taking action to correct these egregious violations of our immigration system,” Blanche said in a previous announcement unveiling a separate round of denaturalization cases involving terrorism suspects, war criminals, sex offenders, and fraudsters.
Critics have accused the administration of vastly expanding a legal tool that historically was used only sparingly. For decades, denaturalization cases averaged roughly a dozen filings annually, but federal officials now say hundreds of potential cases are under review.
Under federal law, citizenship can be revoked if prosecutors prove it was obtained illegally or through willful misrepresentation of material facts during the naturalization process. The government carries a high burden of proof and must convince a federal court that citizenship was fraudulently secured.
For the Trump administration, however, the message is straightforward: if someone lied their way into American citizenship, the government intends to take a second look.
And for some of the nation’s worst criminals, that second look could mean losing the very citizenship they worked to obtain.
On Wednesday, Ryan Routh was sentenced to life in prison plus seven years over his attempt to assassinate Donald Trump on a Florida golf course.
Prosecutors argued that Routh, 60, should get a life sentence after a jury last year convicted him on five counts for allegedly plotting “painstakingly to kill President Trump, and [taking] significant steps toward making that happen.”
“Routh’s crimes undeniably warrant a life sentence — he took steps over the course of months to assassinate a major presidential candidate, demonstrated the will to kill anybody in the way, and has since expressed neither regret nor remorse to his victims,” prosecutors argued in a court filing.
Attempted Trump assassin Ryan Routh sentenced to life in prison + 84 months by Judge Aileen Cannon….. rot in hell POS pic.twitter.com/tPevPykrGs
During the September trial, a jury quickly found Routh guilty on five felony counts, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and assaulting a federal officer.
Routh allegedly hid in the bushes of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach and pointed a military-grade SKS rifle towards Trump and a Secret Service agent.
“Routh’s crimes of conviction reflect careful plotting, extensive premeditation, and a cowardly disregard for human life,” prosecutors wrote. “Routh’s motive for his crimes was unconscionable – preventing the American people from electing the candidate of their choice for President. Routh’s gloss on his crimes has always been that anything he may have done was justified by events in Ukraine or American domestic politics.”
Since his conviction, Routh was appointed an attorney and has requested a 27-year sentence that would allow him to “experience freedom again as opposed to dying in prison.” His lawyer argued that Routh could not have a fair trial because he represented himself, even though Routh made that decision after repeated warnings about the potential consequences.
Routh represented himself at trial and attempted to argue that he never intended to harm Trump or the Secret Service agent, claiming his actions were a form of protest
Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump-appointed judge, dismissed the criminal case against the president in 2024 related to his handling of classified documents. Routh unsuccessfully attempted to have Cannon removed from the case by arguing her appointment by Trump is a conflict of interest.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
President Joe Biden hugs his family during the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. (DOD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II)
Hunter Biden’s former business partner Devon Archer is reportedly set to receive a pardon from President Donald Trump.
Archer met with Trump over the weekend at the NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia, where he said he received some “very encouraging words.”
“I had gotten word from my attorney earlier that the president was discussing this, and he had acknowledged that he was going to do it,” Archer said of the possible pardon Monday in an interview on “Jesse Watters Primetime.”
Trump told the New York Post Sunday that he would give Archer a “full pardon” because he was “screwed by the Bidens.”
“They destroyed him like they tried to destroy a lot of people,” Trump said, according to the outlet.
Archer, who served on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma with Hunter, told the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door hearing in 2023 about the influence of the Biden family “brand.”
He told investigators Hunter put his father — then Vice President Joe Biden — on speakerphone at business meetings between 10 and 20 times, although he noted “nothing of material was discussed.”
“You didn’t think you’d ever need this [pardon] because Joe Biden said he’d take care of you. Isn’t that what he said?” Watters asked.
“Absolutely. Well, and so did Hunter. I mean, once a Biden, always a Biden.” Archer responded.
“I didn’t think — first of all, I didn’t think I’d need this because I never did anything. I was a victim of financial fraud in which I invested a lot of money and was taken down [by] a whistleblower [who] was blowing the whistle on Hunter.”
First Lady Melania Trump participates in the Senate Spouses Luncheon at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, May 21,2025. (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks)
Things are about to get ugly…
First Lady Melania Trump is threatening to sue former President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, for $1 billion over “defamatory” claims linking her to late financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Melania’s attorney Alejandro Brito demanded that Biden “immediately retract the false, defamatory, disparaging and inflammatory statements made about Mrs. Trump,” which were contained in a video interview with Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan and posted to Youtube in early August.
Read the full letter:
“Failure to comply will leave Mrs. Trump with no choice but to pursue any and all legal rights and remedies available to her to recover the overwhelming financial and reputational harm that you have caused her to suffer,” Brito wrote.
In the video interview, titled “Hunter Biden Returns” video earlier in August, the former first son claimed “Epstein introduced Melania to Trump. The connections are, like, so wide and deep.”
Biden also claimed that “Jeffrey Epstein introduced Melania, and that’s how Melania and the first lady and the President met.”
“If you do not comply with the above by August 7, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. EST, Mrs. Trump will be left with no alternative but to enforce her legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for over $1 Billion Dollars in damages,” Brito wrote. “You are on notice.”
A source close to the matter told Fox News that Biden did not comply with the requests by the set deadline.
After Fox News published the piece, however, Melania Trump got Biden’s reply addressing the attorney’s letter when Callaghan posted a further interview with him to YouTube on Thursday.
Callaghan, holding up a copy at the interview’s opening, declared: “The day of presidential litigation has arrived!”
“We’re here, maybe, to give you the platform to apologize to the first lady for your statements that you made about her possible connection to Jeffrey Epstein,” the host said to Biden.
“F*ck that! That’s not going to happen,” Biden laughed.
Defending his comments as citation, Biden continued:
First of all is that, what I said was what I have heard and seen reported and written, primarily from Michael Wolff but also dating back all the way to 2019 when the New York Times – I think Annie Carney and and Maggie Haberman – reported that sources said that Jeffrey Epstein claimed to be the person to introduce Donald Trump to Melania at that time.
Biden added that he would not bow down to pressure or lawsuit threats: “I also think they’re bullies and they think that a billion dollars is going to scare me.”
I have this to say to them: If they want to sit down for a deposition and clarify the the nature of the relationship between Jeffrey Epstein, if the president and the First Lady want to do that and all of the known associates around them at the time of whatever time that they met, I’m more than happy to provide them the platform to be able to do it.
The letter comes after the Daily Beast pulled the article detailing allegations by journalist Wolff that Melania Trump was introduced to her husband Donald Trump via a modeling agent connected to Epstein, after a challenge from the first lady’s lawyers.
“Editor’s Note. After this story was published, The Beast received a letter from First Lady Melania Trump’s attorney challenging the headline and framing of the article. After reviewing the matter, the Beast has taken down the article and apologizes for any confusion or misunderstanding,” The Daily Beast posted in place of the article. The url for the article appears to have been amended to remove the original headline and now reads: thedailybeast.com/epstein-this-story-has-been-removed.
It also comes after famed Democrat strategist James Carville apologized to the first lady after repeating the same claim.
“In last week’s podcast episode, we spoke with Judd Legum,” he said. “After the episode, we received a letter from Melania Trump’s lawyer. He took issue with our title of one of those YouTube videos from that episode and a couple of comments I made about the first lady. We took a look at what they complained about, and we took down the video and edited out those comments from the episode. I also take back these statements and apologize.”
An aide to the first lady, Nick Clemens, told Fox News in a statement, “First Lady Melania Trump’s attorneys are actively ensuring immediate retractions and apologies by those who spread malicious, defamatory falsehoods. The true account of how the First Lady met President Trump is in her best-selling book, ‘Melania.’”
A 27-year-old former graduate teaching assistant at Illinois State University, Derek Lopez, has been arrested by a joint operation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Secret Service (USSS) after allegedly making threats against President Donald Trump. According to official materials, the investigation followed online postings and in-person activities that triggered federal criminal charges.
What Happened: Federal officials say a month-long probe, aided by local law enforcement and the university police, uncovered threats directed at the sitting president. An FBI memo obtained by Fox News Digital states that Lopez “recently made threats against a sitting President, which prompted the current federal charges.”
“The arrest follows a month-long investigation coordinated with the above agencies, which also included the Illinois State University Police Department, regarding Lopez’s online and in-person activities,” according to an FBI memo obtained by Fox News Digital. “Lopez is alleged to have recently made threats against a sitting President, which prompted the current federal charges.”
The FBI described the threats as “heinous” and issued a public message that threatening violence against public officials—or any American—is unacceptable.
Lopez appeared in federal court on Wednesday afternoon and is now in custody pending further proceedings.
What Preceded The Arrest: Before the federal case emerged, Lopez — then a graduate student and TA at ISU — had already drawn attention for disrupting conservative student activity on campus.
On October 17 he was arrested by ISU police on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property after confronting a tabling event by the conservative student group Turning Point USA and flipping their table.
In the viral video, he is seen telling a student, “Well, you know, Jesus did it, so you know I gotta do it, right?” before overturning the table. He then walked away, saying, “Thanks guys, have a great day.”
The university later confirmed that Lopez had been relieved of his duties as a graduate teaching assistant “pending further investigation.”
A man was arrested Tuesday night after driving his vehicle into a security gate at the White House complex, the United States Secret Service (USSS) announced. According to the agency, at approximately 10:37 p.m. on October 21, the individual drove his vehicle into the Secret Service vehicle gate located at 17th and E Streets NW in Washington.
Arrest image via Pixabay
Uniformed Division officers of the Secret Service immediately arrested the driver. The vehicle was assessed in coordination with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and was “deemed safe.”
The agency said the investigation into the cause of the collision is ongoing, and no motive has yet been publicly identified.
While officials noted there was no known breach of the core residence or threat to the President’s safety at the time, the incident raises fresh questions about security.
Since President Trump returned to office for his second term, the nation has witnessed a number of alarming incidents—some narrowly averted, some still under investigation. Two recent events in particular stand out:
1. The hunting-stand incident near Air Force One Over the weekend, the Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launched a federal probe after agents discovered a “hunting stand” positioned in a tree with a direct line of sight toward where Air Force One touches down at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, ahead of President Trump’s arrival at his estate in Mar-a-Lago.
While officials stressed that no individuals, ammunition or explosives were found at the site, the discovery of an elevated platform within view of the presidential aircraft sparked serious concern. It comes on the heels of past assassination attempts targeting the Republican President.
2. The July-and-September 2024 assassination attempts On July 13, 2024, while President Trump was speaking at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania, a gunman climbed onto a rooftop and fired multiple shots; one grazed Trump’s ear and a spectator was killed.
Then on September 15, 2024, at the Trump International Golf Club, West Palm Beach in Florida, 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh was spotted hiding in shrubbery with a rifle aimed at Trump. Secret Service agents intervened and arrested him later that day.
By The White House - https://www.flickr.com/photos/202101414@N05/54581054338/, Public Domain,
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday released a new batch of emails connected to Jeffrey Epstein that reference President Donald Trump.
The correspondence, which includes messages between Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and author Michael Wolff, was reportedly obtained from Epstein’s estate as part of an ongoing congressional review of more than 23,000 documents.
By Ralph Alswang, White House photographer – https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/clinton-epstein-maxwell/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=143417695
In a 2011 email to Maxwell, Epstein wrote that Mr. Trump “spent hours at my house” with one of Epstein’s alleged victims, whose name was redacted. “I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump. [Victim 1] spent hours at my house with him, he has never once been mentioned,” Epstein wrote. Maxwell responded, “I have been thinking about that…”
Another message, dated January 31, 2019, appears to show Epstein corresponding with Wolff about Mr. Trump and Mar-a-Lago. “Trump said he asked me to resign, never a member ever. of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop,” Epstein wrote.
A third exchange between Epstein and Wolff, dated December 15, 2015, discusses how then-candidate Trump might respond to media questions about his connection to Epstein. Wolff wrote, “I hear CNN planning to ask Trump tonight about his relationship with you—either on air or in scrum afterwards.” Epstein replied, “if we were able to craft an answer for him, what do you think it should be?” Wolff responded, “I think you should let him hang himself. If he says he hasn’t been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency… Of course, it is possible that, when asked, he’ll say Jeffrey is a great guy and has gotten a raw deal and is a victim of political correctness, which is to be outlawed in a Trump regime.”
Mr. Trump announced his first presidential campaign in June 2015. Wolff later wrote Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, published in 2018.
Epstein and Mr. Trump were social acquaintances in New York and Florida from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. The President has said he cut ties with Epstein in 2004, long before Epstein’s 2019 arrest on federal sex trafficking charges. Mr. Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan federal jail in 2019 while awaiting trial. Maxwell was later convicted of conspiring in Epstein’s sex trafficking operation and is serving a 20-year sentence.
Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said in a statement that the Justice Department should release its full Epstein files “immediately.”
He added, “The more Donald Trump tries to cover up the Epstein files, the more we uncover. These latest emails and correspondence raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding and the nature of the relationship between Epstein and the President.”
The email release coincides with a broader congressional push for transparency in the Epstein case. Lawmakers are reviewing materials from Epstein’s estate and have sought information from former officials, including past attorneys general and FBI directors. The committee has also questioned Alex Acosta, the former U.S. attorney who oversaw Epstein’s controversial plea deal in Florida and later served as Labor Secretary under Mr. Trump. Acosta resigned in 2019 amid scrutiny over his handling of the Epstein case.
The House returned to session Wednesday for the first time since mid-September, with Democrats expected to advance a discharge petition to compel the Justice Department to make public its Epstein investigation files. A vote on the measure is not expected until next month.
