Whistleblower testimony adds to years of claims Schiff leaked classified intel

Longtime Trump political foe Democrat Sen. Adam Schiff for years has been accused of leaking classified documents — long before the release of a “bombshell” whistleblower testimony claiming the California lawmaker approved leaking classified information in order to discredit the president during the Russiagate probe, Fox News Digital found. 

Schiff, who served in the U.S. House for more than two decades before securing his spot in the U.S. Senate in 2024, is facing heightened scrutiny following FBI Director Kash Patel declassifying claims from a Democrat whistleblower that Schiff approved the release of classified information on Trump that allegedly “would be used to indict President TRUMP,” according to the report. 

The whistleblower, who reportedly had worked for Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee for more than 10 years, made the claims to the FBI in 2017. Schiff had access to classified information while serving on the House Intelligence Committee during his tenure in the lower chamber, including serving as its chair from 2019 to 2023. 

“In this meeting, SCHIFF stated the group would leak classified information which was derogatory to President of the United States DONALD J. TRUMP. SCHIFF stated the information would be used to indict President TRUMP,” according to the whistleblower documents.

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The whistleblower “stated this would be illegal and, upon hearing his concerns, unnamed members of the meeting reassured that they would not be caught leaking classified information,” the report added.

Schiff has denied the allegations, with his office telling Fox News Digital Aug. 12 that the allegations were “absolutely and categorically false.”

But this isn’t the first time Schiff has been accused of leaking classified information to the public, with accusations following him since at least the first Trump administration. Fox News Digital took a look back at Schiff’s political history in recent years and gathered the times he previously had been accused of leaking classified materials. 

The August declassified whistleblower accusations are “just the latest in a series of defamatory attacks from the President and his allies meant to distract from their plummeting poll numbers and the Epstein files scandal,” a Schiff spokesperson told Fox Digital when approached for comment on the allegations, after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the whistleblower’s account a “bombshell.” 

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“These baseless smears are based on allegations that were found to be not reliable, not credible, and unsubstantiated from a disgruntled former staffer who was fired by the House Intelligence Committee for cause in early 2017, including for harassment and potentially compromising activity on official travel for the Committee,” the spokesperson continued. “Even Trump’s own Justice Department and an independent inspector general found this individual to not be credible, have ‘little support for their contentions’ and was of ‘unknown reliability,’ and concluded that his accusations against Members of Congress and congressional staff ‘were not ultimately substantiated.’” 

‘Leaked classified information that had been provided to him’ 

Just days after former President Joe Biden was sworn in as president in January 2021, Trump’s former acting director of national intelligence and U.S. ambassador from his first administration, Ric Grenell, took to X to list out “facts” regarding Schiff. 

“Facts,” a Jan. 22, 2021, post on X that is no longer available on the social media site read. The X post received media attention and was preserved in reports at the time, such as the Washington Examiner. 

He listed off: “Schiff wouldn’t return my call to coordinate on DNI reforms.– the reforms were asked for by career officials for years. – Schiff complained when I appointed the 1st female head of counterterrorism (a career person). – Schiff & team regularly leaked classified information.”

Grenell’s message was in response to Schiff claiming in an interview with The Hill that Grennell and former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe under the first Trump administration “bent intelligence work products to the president’s will.”

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“The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, probably the most devastated of all of the agencies by terrible leadership of people like Rick Grenell and John Ratcliffe,” Schiff said during a video interview at the time. 

Fast-forward to 2023, former Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who served under the first Trump administration, also accused Schiff of leaking classified docs. 

“Adam Schiff lied to the American people, and during my time as CIA director and secretary of State, I know that he leaked classified information that had been provided to him,” Pompeo said in January 2023 during a Fox News interview.

Pompeo continued that he “held back” sharing information with the House Intelligence Committee due to not feeling “comfortable” when Schiff led the panel. 

A representative for Pompeo told Fox Digital in August that the former Trump official stands by his 2023 comments on Schiff. 

Schiff’s office slammed Pompeo’s remarks at the time as “another patently false and defamatory statement.” 

Trump had also accused Schiff of leaking classified documents under his first administration, claiming in 2018, he was the “one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington.”

“Adam leaves closed committee hearings to illegally leak confidential information. Must be stopped!” Trump wrote in one X thread at the time. 

Schiff shot back at the time that Trump’s X post was a “false smear.”

“Mr. President, I see you’ve had a busy morning of ‘Executive Time.’ Instead of tweeting false smears, the American people would appreciate it if you turned off the TV and helped solve the funding crisis, protected Dreamers or… really anything else,” Schiff responded to Trump in February 2018. 

As Trump railed against the alleged leaks during his first term, reports spread that the Department of Justice subpoenaed Apple for account data of House Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, including Schiff, between 2017 and 2018. The DOJ, which was led by Jeff Sessions at the time, was searching for individuals who leaked to the media about Trump’s alleged ties to Russia. 

The investigation dragged, including after Bill Barr was tapped as Trump’s attorney general in 2019 through the end of Trump’s first term, the New York Times reported in 2021, citing sources familiar with the investigation. 

The Justice Department’s internal watchdog, under the Biden administration, opened an investigation into the subpoenas and published a report in 2024 that found the Trump DOJ did not comply with established procedures when it sought the records.

“We are glad that the Department of Justice Inspector General conducted a thorough investigation, and that the Inspector General has recommended safeguards to further protect the media, and to safeguard the separation of powers,” a spokesperson for Schiff said following the release of the report, according to Reuters in 2024. 

As the 2020 campaign heated up, Trump continued accusing Schiff and other House Democrats of leaking, with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence at the time scaling back its security briefings with Congress that year as high-profile Democrats promoted concerns that Russia was interfering in that election. 

“Director Ratcliffe brought information into the committee, and the information leaked,” Trump said in August 2020. “Whether it was Shifty Schiff or somebody else, they leaked the information.… And what’s even worse, they leaked the wrong information. And he got tired of it. So he wants to do it in a different forum, because you have leakers on the committee.”

Schiff denied leaking any classified intelligence in 2020, but said he could not confirm the same for other House Democrats.  

“I haven’t. My staff hasn’t. I can’t speak for what all the members of the committee have done or not done, including a lot of the Republican members,” Schiff told CNN’s Dana Bash in 2020, following Trump claiming “Shifty Schiff” may have been behind another leak of intelligence given to the House Intelligence Committee at the time. 

The Trump administration continued its laser-focused hunt to identify and suss out internal federal government leakers during the second administration, with a White House official telling Axios in June, “We are declaring a war on leakers.” 

The comment came in response to a leak of an internal assessment of the Trump administration’s bombing of a trio of Iranian nuclear facilities that claimed the strikes were not as effective as the president said. 

Federal agencies such as the FBI, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security have leveraged using polygraph tests on staffers suspected of leaking information under the second Trump administration. 

Alleged mortgage fraud, ‘Russiagate’ 

Trump and Schiff have long been political foes. 

This was underscored during Trump’s first administration when Schiff served as the lead House manager during the first impeachment trial against Trump in 2020. It also was highlighted when Schiff repeatedly promoted claims that Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with Russia. 

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Schiff landed in hot water earlier this spring, when the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sent a letter to the Department of Justice in May sounding the alarm that in “multiple instances,” Schiff allegedly “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, impacting payments from 2003-2019 for a Potomac, Maryland-based property.”

He is currently under criminal investigation for mortgage fraud, Fox Digital previously reported. The California Democrat has denied any wrongdoing, claiming the matter is a “baseless attempt at political retribution.”

Days after Trump first posted about Schiff’s mortgages in Maryland and California in July, the president’s director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, declassified documents that reportedly show “overwhelming evidence” that then-President Barack Obama and his national security team allegedly laid the groundwork for what would be the yearslong Trump–Russia collusion probe after Trump’s election win against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016. 

“It lays out, these over 100 documents that you’re referencing, that I declassified and released, spells out in great detail exactly what happens when you have some of the most powerful people in our country directly leading at the helm, President Obama and his senior-most national security cabinet, James Comey, John Brennan, James Clapper and Susan Rice and others, essentially making a very intentional decision to create this manufactured, politicized piece of intelligence with the objective of subverting the will of the American people,” Gabbard told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in July following the release. 

Schiff was an incredibly vocal lawmaker amid the Russian collusion claims, most notably when the House censured him in 2023 over his promotion that Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with Russia. Schiff served in the House representing California from 2001 to 2024, when he was sworn in as a senator after his successful 2024 campaign to serve in the nation’s upper chamber.

Schiff also served on the Jan. 6 select committee, which investigated the breach of the Capitol building in 2021 by Trump supporters following then-President Joe Biden’s election win. 

At the 11th hour of Biden’s tenure on Jan. 20, Schiff was among lawmakers who served on the committee who were granted preemptive pardons. The subcommittee concluded Trump’s actions played a key role in promoting the breach of the Capitol and recommended Trump be criminally prosecuted. 

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Biden specifically granted preemptive pardons to “Members of Congress and staff who served on the Select Committee, and the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the Select Committee.”

Schiff, however, had publicly railed against the prospect of Biden doling out preemptive pardons, saying it would set a poor precedent. 

“First, those of us on the committee are very proud of the work we did. We were doing vital quintessential oversight of a violent attack on the Capitol,” Schiff said during an interview on ABC News in December 2024. “So I think it’s unnecessary.”

“But second, the precedent of giving blanket pardons, preemptive blanket pardons on the way out of an administration, I think is a precedent we don’t want to set,” he added.

Charges stemming from the Jan. 6 case were dismissed following Trump’s decisive win in the 2024 presidential election against then-Vice President Kamala Harris. 

The White House responded to the whistleblower’s declassified testimony claiming Schiff approved the release of classified information to damage Trump, and doubled down on Trump’s stance that Schiff be “held accountable for the countless lies he told the American people in relation to the Russiagate scandal.”

“This is obviously a bombshell whistleblower report,” Leavitt said at a Tuesday White House press briefing. “Hopefully more people in this room will cover it as such.”

“I understand Kash Patel, last night, declassified a 302 FBI document showing that a whistleblower, who is a Democrat, a career intelligence officer who worked for Democrats on the House Intel Committee for more than a decade, repeatedly warned the FBI in 2017 that then-Rep. Adam Schiff had approved leaking classified information to smear then-President Donald Trump over the Russiagate scandal,” Leavitt said. 

In August, a representative for Schiff confirmed a legal defense fund was established for the senator in response to Trump and his allies. 

“It’s clear that Donald Trump and his MAGA allies will continue weaponizing the justice process to attack Sen. Schiff for holding this corrupt administration accountable,” Marisol Samayoa, a spokesperson for Schiff, told Fox News Digital Tuesday evening of the legal fund. “This fund will ensure he can fight back against these baseless smears while continuing to do his job.”

Titled “Senator Schiff Legal Defense Fund,” the fund was filed with the Internal Revenue Service Thursday, The New York Times first reported. 

White House spokesman Harrison Fields called Schiff a “fraud” and “corrupt politician” when approached for comment Tuesday regarding the legal fund.

“Adam Schiff is a sleazy and corrupt politician who betrayed his oath to the Constitution by prioritizing his selfish and personal animosity toward the president over the interests of the American people,” Fields told Fox News Digital. “No amount of money can shield Adam from the truth that he is a fraud.” 

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Fox News Digital reached out to Schiff for additional comment on the matter but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Feds cancel 49 projects with ‘terrorist ties’ after watchdog exposes funding

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reviewing federal security grants for Muslim groups with “alleged terrorist ties” after a new report linked past funding to “extremist” organizations.

According to a DHS document obtained by Fox News Digital, 49 projects “with alleged affiliations to terrorist activities” have already been canceled, a move the department estimates will save $8 million.

The review primarily targets funding distributed through FEMA’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP), which provides aid to churches, mosques, synagogues, and other faith-based institutions facing threats of hate-driven violence.

The probe follows a report by the Middle East Forum, a pro-Israel conservative think tank, which claimed that more than $25 million in DHS and FEMA grants went to “terror-linked groups” between 2013 and 2023.

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A DHS official said the department is conducting its own independent review of funding but added, “We take the results of the MEF report very seriously and are thankful for the work of conservative watchdog groups.”

The report flagged a $100,000 grant in 2019 to the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Virginia, which Customs and Border Protection once described as a “mosque operating as a front for Hamas operatives in the U.S.,” according to records obtained by the Investigative Project through the Freedom of Information Act.

In response to the MEF’s findings, DHS is reviewing all current and future contracts to ensure funds are not awarded to such organizations. Officials said the department is also examining ways to recover unspent funds.

Funding for fiscal year 2024 has already been allocated. That includes $94 million for 500 Jewish organizations and another $110 million shared among 600 Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jewish institutions.

For fiscal year 2025, DHS said applicants will face tougher requirements to ensure a “robust” vetting process.

“We don’t want to be empowering groups that could be causing a threat to our community here in the United States,” a DHS official said.

The Middle East Forum’s report also highlighted specific cases of funding that it claims went to groups with extremist ties. It said $10.3 million had gone to the Islamic Circle of North America, which the forum alleges is tied to the South Asian Islamist movement Jamaat-e-Islami.

The report further cited $250,000 awarded to the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), which DHS has accused of having “Hamas ties.” Another $750,000, according to the report, went to mosques in Michigan and Texas that DHS described as “outposts for Iran’s revolutionary brand of Shi’a Islamism,” including the Islamic Center of America and the Islamic House of Wisdom near Detroit, as well as the Islamic Ahlul Bayt Association in Austin.

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CAIR told Fox News Digital it has no active federal contracts with DHS.

“While our civil rights organization has no active federal grants that the Department could eliminate or cut, and while the government cannot ban American organizations from receiving federal grants based on their religious affiliation or their criticism of Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” a CAIR spokesperson said, “it’s important to note that Kristi Noem’s Department of Homeland Security is embarrassing President Trump by making decisions based on the ravings of the Middle East Forum, an Israel First hate website.”

FEMA has previously worked with CAIR, holding seminars to encourage participation in the NSGP program.

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But last week, CAIR urged organizations to withdraw from applying for DHS and FEMA grants — including the NSGP — unless DHS drops two new vetting rules. Those provisions require recipients to cooperate with immigration officials and prohibit them from running programs tied to diversity, equity, inclusion, or aid to undocumented immigrants, as well as from engaging in certain “discriminatory prohibited boycotts.”

‘It’s not safe’: Congressman shares security threat as military presence nets arrests

Congressman Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, blasted Democrats and the members of the media who have been critical of President Donald Trump sending the National Guard to the streets of Washington, D.C., in an effort to curb the rampant crime plaguing the city. 

Hunt also revealed that his own D.C. apartment complex in the Navy Yard area was broken into last year, leaving a front desk attendant robbed of her belongings just several floors away from the congressman’s own unit. 

“Downstairs in my apartment complex, there was a woman who was robbed,” Hunt told Fox News Digital. “She had her computer stolen, her phone stolen, and her iPad stolen right behind the desk, and we were all blocks away from the Capitol.”

“I was a three-minute drive away from the Capitol when this happened,” Hunt added. “Across the street from our complex was where Henry Cuellar was robbed at gunpoint. I don’t understand what these [critics] are talking about. It’s not safe.”

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Trump’s military intervention to combat crime in D.C. has been widely criticized by Democrats, with House Judiciary ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., introducing a resolution last week to prevent the president from keeping service members in the district.

Because Washington, D.C., is not a state, Trump was able to invoke Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, allowing him to declare a public emergency and deploy federal resources into the area. 

“Just like I took care of the Border, where you had ZERO Illegals coming across last month, from millions the year before, I will take care of our cherished Capital, and we will make it, truly, GREAT AGAIN,” Trump stated in an Aug. 11 White House fact sheet on the emergency declaration. “Before the tents, squalor, filth, and Crime, it was the most beautiful Capital in the World. It will soon be that again.”

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Hunt also noted the actions of several Democrat governors who used their respective state’s National Guard to combat various issues. 

“Tim Walz used the National Guard to implement COVID restrictions on people, not to take care of the murder capital of the United States,” Hunt told Fox. “Gavin Newsom is willing to clean up downtown LA in California for the president of China to come visit, but you won’t clean it up just for everyday citizens when all this crime is happening?”

The White House has also touted the success of the military presence in the nation’s capital, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt telling reporters during a Tuesday press briefing that 465 arrests have been made since the start of the operation, including an MS-13 gang member illegally in the U.S. with convictions for drug possession and driving while intoxicated (DWI).

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“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and the outstanding work of both federal and local law enforcement, dangerous gang members like the one picked up last night will not be allowed on the streets of our nation’s capital,” Leavitt told the press.

As for the residents of D.C., James Laverty, a staffer on Capitol Hill, told Fox News that the military presence has made a “noticeable difference” in the nation’s capital. 

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“In certain areas, like Navy Yard and U Street, it feels much safer than it did just a week ago,” Laverty told Fox. “This past weekend, there was a noticeable difference in the vibe late at night, and I think it goes without saying that the impact of the National Guard on the streets is the clear reason for the newly found safe sentiment in DC.”

Country music icon suffers ‘excruciating pain’ in freak bedroom accident at 87

Country star Bill Anderson shared an update after he suddenly canceled his scheduled performance at the Grand Ole Opry last weekend. 

The 87-year-old singer-songwriter, who is the longest-serving member of the Grand Ole Opry, was originally part of a lineup that included T. Graham Brown, Jordan Davis, Kylie Morgan, Monte Warden, Don Schlitz, Wyatt Ellis and the Opry Square Dancers for a show at the famed music venue in Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday. 

On Monday, Anderson explained that he was forced to pull out of the concert as well as other commitments after being injured in a “freak accident.”

“Many of you have been reaching out to me and members of my team since the announcement was made that I wouldn’t be keeping my scheduled appearance on the Grand Ole Opry this past Saturday night,” the “Love Is A Sometimes Thing” hitmaker wrote in a post on his official website. 

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He continued, “I appreciate your concern, but I’m here to let you know I’m doing fine. It was a freak accident where I simply twisted or tore some ligaments or muscles or something in the back of my left leg trying to climb into bed, and I fell to the floor unable to walk.” 

“I was in excruciating pain and had to cancel a songwriting appointment with T. Graham Brown on Friday, the Opry on Saturday, and an appearance at the State Fair for WSM on Sunday,” Anderson added. “If you know me, you know how much it bothers me to go back on any commitment I may have made.”

However, Anderson assured his fans that he’s now on the mend. 

“Thanks to a bunch of ice packs and pain pills I’m feeling much better today, and hopefully this will all be behind me shortly. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers and most of all for caring,” he wrote. 

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Anderson celebrated his 64th year as a member of the Grand Ole Opry in July. In an Aug. 1 post on his website, Anderson revealed that he marked the occasion with a late-night party as well as two additional appearances at the venue. 

“I had been planning my Tuesday July 15th celebration for quite some time when the Opry reached out and asked if I could also appear the Sunday night before to help them celebrate Jamey Johnson’s 50th birthday,” he wrote. “Naturally, I couldn’t turn that down.” 

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“Then, if my week wasn’t already full enough, they asked if on Thursday night I would help them re-create the last Opry show presented at the Ryman Auditorium back in 1974 prior to the Opry’s move to the new Opry House at Opryland USA. I am the only active living Opry member who was there that night, so naturally I said yes. I would have thought nothing of appearing on three Opry shows in five days back in the day, but when it was over I realized we are not ‘back in the day’ anymore!”

“I’m not complaining…beIieve me, I enjoyed every minute of it. The audiences were great, our fan club gathering was terrific, and those of you who came and took part were special beyond belief. Thanks to everybody who made the occasion one that I will remember for a long, long time.”

In addition, Anderson shared that he would be performing on several dates at the venue in the next few months as the Grand Ole Opry continues its year-long celebration milestone 100th birthday. The centennial celebration, which is called the “Opry 100,” will culminate with a three-hour show and television special on Nov. 28, which is the 100th anniversary of its founding. 

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Feds nab dozens of illegal immigrants after blue state expands sanctuary policies

FIRST ON FOX: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Boston said it arrested 65 illegal aliens during a four-day operation in Connecticut dubbed “Operation Broken Trust,” part of the agency’s ongoing crackdown on states with sanctuary policies.

The operation was launched as Connecticut in May expanded its sanctuary state law known as the “Trust Act,” which bans local law enforcement from sharing information with ICE unless required by law or in cases involving serious crimes.

The agency said that the sting targeted transnational organized crime, gangs and egregious offenders. Among the 65 arrested, 29 had been convicted or charged in the U.S. with serious crimes, including kidnapping, assault, drug offenses, weapons violations and sex crimes. Others were identified as members of transnational gangs or had criminal histories in their home countries.

“Sanctuary legislation like Connecticut’s Trust Act only endangers the communities it claims to protect. Such laws only force law enforcement professionals to release criminal alien offenders back into the very communities they have already victimized,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde. “The state of Connecticut is a safer place thanks to the hard work and determination of the men and women of ICE and our federal partners. Working together, we were able to arrest 65 illegal aliens in just four days throughout Connecticut, many of whom had significant criminality in the United States.”

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Throughout the duration of Operation Broken Trust, ICE and its federal law enforcement partners targeted egregious criminal alien offenders, operating in the state of Connecticut. ICE said that under the state’s Trust Act, state and local law enforcement will refuse to “honor ICE detainers with a few rare exceptions.”

“Make no mistake: Every person that we arrested are criminals and breaking federal law, but many of these individuals also victimized innocent people and traumatized communities — rapists, drug traffickers, child sex predators and members of violent transnational criminal gangs,” Hyde said. “They all made the mistake of attempting to subvert justice by hiding out in Connecticut.”

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ICE noted that the sanctuary state’s refusal to honor immigration detainer requests to turn over criminal migrants forced officers and agents to make “at-large arrests in Connecticut communities.”  

Operation Broken Trust saw officers from ICE Boston’s Hartford field office collaborate with the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to apprehend illegal alien offenders.

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The worst of the worst arrested during Operation Broken Trust include:

Efren Mauricio Guallpa-Shurshanay, an illegal 43- year-old alien from Ecuador, in Danbury, Connecticut. Guallpa-Shurshanay’s criminal history includes a conviction for sex assault in 2008.

Ruben Antonio Fuentes, an illegal 35-year-old alien from El Salvador, in Danbury, Connecticut. Fuentes’ criminal history includes convictions for drugs and cocaine, harassment, carrying a prohibited weapon, cruelty toward a child and obscene communication.

Alexander Alberto Guerra-Avila, an illegal 24-year-old alien from Venezuela, in Danbury, Connecticut. Guerra-Avila’s criminal history includes arrests for stalking, assault, disorderly conduct, and injury to a child.

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Jaime Timoteo Gonzalez-Moran, an illegal 37-year-old alien from Guatemala in Norwalk, Connecticut. Gonzalez’ criminal history includes convictions for sexual assault, threatening and three counts of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Jeremiah Garrido-Morales, an illegal 35-year-old alien from El Salvador in Stamford, Connecticut. Garrido-Morales’ criminal history includes arrests for robbery, assault and breach of peace.

Edwin Andres Calva-Guaman, an illegal 27-year-old alien from Ecuador, in Danbury, Connecticut. Calva-Guaman’s criminal history includes a conviction for larceny and arrest for domestic violence, assault 3rd degree and breach of peace.

Nileshkumar Pravinbhai Patel, an illegal 38-year-old alien from India in Norwalk, Connecticut. Patel’s criminal history includes charges of the sale of 1KG or more of cannabis and possession with intent to distribute 1KG or more of cannabis.

Henry Morales-Cante, an illegal 21-year-old alien from Guatemala in Stamford, Connecticut. Morales-Cante’s criminal history includes charges of assault, illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle, carrying a dangerous weapon, reckless endangerment and illegal use of a facsimile firearm.

Marlon Morales-Cante, an illegal 19-year-old alien from Guatemala in Stamford, Connecticut. Morales-Cante’s criminal history includes charges of assault, carrying a dangerous weapon, reckless endangerment and conspiracy to commit assault.

Jonathan Alessandro Cordero-Morales, an illegal 21-year-old alien from Ecuador in Danbury, Connecticut. Cordero-Morales’ criminal history includes charges of assault, breach of peace, violation of protection order, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct.

Carlos Ernesto Silvestre-Sanchez, an illegal 50-year-old alien from Guatemala in Danbury, Connecticut. Silvestre-Sanchez’s criminal history includes charges of sexual assault and breach of peace.

Jonatan Cruz-Najera, an illegal 27-year-old alien from Guatemala in Stamford, Connecticut. Cruz-Najera’s criminal history includes arrests for assault and disorderly conduct.

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Miguel Coello-Farfan, an illegal 51-year-old alien from Peru in Stamford, Connecticut. Coello-Farfan’s criminal history includes a charge of sex assault of a minor that was overturned on appeal and he pleaded to lesser charges of a similar nature. Charges were then pardoned by the State of Connecticut.

All the migrants detained during Operation Broken Trust are expected to remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of their removal proceedings or their deportation from the United States.

Elon Musk reportedly scraps political project to concentrate on business

Less than three months after its launch, Elon Musk’s “America Party” appears to have been shelved.

Musk allegedly told associates that he wants to focus on his companies and avoid starting a party that could siphon voters from the GOP, the The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with his plans.

Musk has also allegedly worked to maintain ties with Vice President JD Vance, considered the heir apparent to the MAGA movement, according to WSJ. The outlet added that the tech billionaire reportedly told associates he was concerned that forming a new political party would damage his relationship with the vice president.

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While the plan is paused at the moment, Musk’s allies told WSJ that he has not formally ruled out launching the America Party and could revisit the idea as the 2026 midterms approach.

After spending months working with the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk’s time at the Trump White House came to an end on May 30. Though they appeared on good terms, President Donald Trump and the tech billionaire began trading barbs almost immediately.

A few days after leaving the administration, Musk posted on X — the social media platform he owns — criticizing legislation the Trump White House was promoting.

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,” Musk wrote.

His criticism continued, including memes and jabs aimed at the administration. Musk stayed firm in his opposition to the bill, citing the amount of spending as his reason for objecting to it.

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On June 5, Musk posed a question — and a poll — to his followers: Should there be a new political party? The next day, he announced that “the people have spoken. A new political party is needed in America to represent the 80% in the middle!”

Musk asked a similar question nearly a month later, on July 4, the day Trump signed the “big, beautiful bill.”

“Independence Day is the perfect time to ask if you want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system! Should we create the America Party?” Musk included another poll with his post. In the end, 65.4% of respondents voted “yes,” while 34.6% voted “no,” showing a drastic change from his June poll in which 80.4% voted “yes.”

Musk announced the next day that “the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”

“I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on July 6. “He even wants to start a third political party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States – The system seems not designed for them.”

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However, the feud between the two appears to have cooled. The social media spats have stopped, and in late July Trump appeared to wish Musk well, writing on Truth Social that he wanted to see the tech billionaire’s businesses “thrive like never before.”

“Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon’s companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large-scale subsidies he receives from the U.S. government. This is not so! I want Elon, and all businesses within our country, to THRIVE, in fact, THRIVE like never before! The better they do, the better the USA does, and that’s good for all of us,” Trump wrote.

A spokesperson for Musk did not respond to a request for comment.

Cowboys legend reveals wife’s response after drug bust that nearly cost prison time

Dallas Cowboys legendary wide receiver Michael Irvin opened up about an incident where he was arrested for cocaine possession in the prime years of the team’s 1990s dynasty. 

During the seventh episode of the Netflix docuseries “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys,” Irvin spoke about the March 1996 incident that saw him arrested and eventually tried for cocaine possession. 

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It came just one month after the team won its third Super Bowl in a four-year span, as Irvin had cemented himself as a league superstar and future Hall of Famer. 

“I had a routine, after you win the Super Bowl, before the next season starts, you get about a month, and that month you cut loose and have a good time,” Irvin said of the incident that occurred just before his March 5 birthday.

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The documentary showed that, on March 4, 1996, police found Irvin, his former Cowboys teammate Alfredo Roberts and two females in a Texas hotel room with drug paraphernalia, sex toys, marijuana and cocaine. A hidden camera video showed Irvin discussing doing cocaine while in the passenger seat of a car.

Irvin faced potentially 20 years in prison. But he ultimately pleaded no contest to felony cocaine possession in exchange for four years of deferred probation, a $10,000 fine and dismissal of misdemeanor marijuana possession charges. He was also suspended the first five games of the 1996 season.

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Still, the incident resulted in a difficult conversation with his wife, Sandy Harrell. 

“My wife, she looked at me and she said, ‘Don’t say a word, God has already told me I am your wife and I am not going anywhere. But you have to make your peace with God,'” Irvin said in the documentary. “I don’t think I ever felt worse in my life.”

 

Tuberville blasts Vikings over male cheerleaders: ‘What the hell are you doing?’

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., weighed in on the conversation around the Minnesota Vikings male cheerleaders.

The Vikings’ squad was the topic of conversation since the start of the preseason. Blaize Shiek and Louie Conn drew the ire of NFL fans on social media.

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Tuberville appeared on OutKick’s “Hot Mic” on Tuesday and put the NFL on notice.

“I would like to ask the ownership of the NFL and the commissioner, what the hell are you doing?” he said. “You’ve got the No. 1 sport on planet Earth in terms of people watching it. Your business is growing, it’s getting better and better. There’s some ways you’ve tried to attack it over the last 10-15 years but you’ve been able to withstand that. 

“But if you’re going to be woke and you’re gonna try to take the men out of men’s sports, which is what you’re doing. They’re trying to take gender and say, ‘OK, we’re going to make it more about gender than we are about masculinity.’ Then, you’re going to have a huge problem. It’s coming.”

Tuberville warned that fans may stop buying tickets to games if male cheerleaders become more prevalent.

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“You can see Minnesota doing it. They’re one of the blue states. We’ve lost them. They’re more about socialism and all the things that go on with that and it’s about 150 genders. At the end of the day, I hope to God it doesn’t come south to Atlanta or to Texas or to Dallas or to some of our NFL teams because you’ll lose it,” he said. 

“People will actually quit buying tickets because this is the narrative they’re trying to push. This is not just about a couple of people being men cheerleaders. It is about pushing a narrative that you want to put gender into sports and let everyone know we’re trying to show, ‘Hey, we’re going to take the masculinity out of it a little bit.’ And that’s not going to happen in the south.”

The Vikings put out a statement in defense of Shiek and Conn last week.

“Male cheerleaders have been part of previous Vikings teams and have long been associated with collegiate and professional cheerleading,” the team told NBC News. “We support all our cheerleaders and are proud of the role they play as ambassadors of the organization.”

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Shiek and Conn are both in their first season as Vikings cheerleaders.

Costco makes big food court change — and some shoppers aren’t happy about it

Costco’s decision to switch from Pepsi to Coca-Cola became a viral conversation when the membership warehouse club announced it was making the swap from one carbonated soft drink to the other. 

Members were mixed on social media as the swap was finalized by Tuesday, with some saying on a Reddit thread that “Pepsi tastes like flat Coca Cola” and “Hot dogs don’t taste the same anymore without Pepsi.”

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“If this isn’t a sign of the apocalypse then I don’t know what is,” another person posted on X. 

Others, however, welcomed the change, which began rolling out across Costco warehouses in early July, posting on X that “Coke is so much better.” 

The company previously noted that all of its food courts will offer Coca-Cola products by the fall.

Costco CEO Ron Vachris said in January the company would be “converting our food court fountain business back over to Coca-Cola” this summer. The company has offered Pepsi products since 2013. 

Food courts are one of the company’s many ancillary businesses, which are credited for encouraging members to make trips to the warehouse retailer more often. 

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Manhattan-based psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert told FOX Business that this struck a nerve with so many because they saw it as more than a simple soda swap. 

“Coke vs. Pepsi has always been a cultural dividing line, like Yankees vs. Red Sox or Apple vs. PC,” he said. “People attach memories, family traditions, and even a sense of who they are to a brand. So when Costco suddenly took sides, it triggered a reaction far bigger than soda itself.”

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Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
COST	COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP.	990.35	+9.50	+0.97%
PEP	PEPSICO INC.	152.10	-0.06	-0.04%
KO	THE COCA-COLA CO.	70.76	+0.61	+0.87%