Maduro and wife were taken to USS Iwo Jima by helicopter, will appear in NY to face charges

US launches ‘large-scale strike’ in Venezuela, flies leader and wife out of country

The U.S. military carried out a “large-scale strike” in Venezuela early Saturday morning and took Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife into custody, President Donald Trump confirmed.

The president wrote on Truth Social that the operation was successful and Maduro and his wife were “captured and flown out of the country.” Trump said the operation was conducted with U.S. law enforcement and added that a news conference will take place at Mar-a-Lago at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

At least seven explosions could be heard in Venezuela’s capital city of Caracas early Saturday morning, according to The Associated Press, and low-flying aircraft were seen flying over Caracas at about 2 a.m. local time.

The helicopters seen flying over Caracas were part of the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the “Night Stalkers.”

NATIONAL SECURITY EXPERT PREDICTS VENEZUELAN LEADER MADURO IS ‘GOING TO BE GONE’ UNDER TRUMP PRESSURE

The Venezuelan government said in a statement that “the civilian and military localities of the city of Caracas, capital of the Republic, and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira” were impacted by the attack.

The statement also accused the U.S. of committing a “very serious military aggression” against Venezuela and carrying out “imperialist aggression.”

“The objective of this attack is none other than to seize Venezuela’s strategic resources, particularly its oil and minerals, attempting to break the Nation’s political independence by force,” the Government of Venezuela said in a statement. “They will not succeed. After more than two hundred years of independence, the people and their legitimate Government remain steadfast in defense of sovereignty and the inalienable right to decide their own destiny.”

The statement also said the “attempt to impose a colonial war to destroy the republican form of government and force a ‘regime change,’ in alliance with the fascist oligarchy, will fail just like all previous attempts.”

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau reacted to Trump’s announcement, describing it as a “new dawn for Venezuela.”

“The tyrant is gone,” Landau posted on X. “He will now — finally —face justice for his crimes.”

MADURO SAYS VENEZUELA IS ‘READY’ TO MAKE DEAL WITH US ON DRUGS AND OIL AFTER MILITARY STRIKES

The attack comes amid the U.S. military’s targeting of alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, questioned the justification for the strike in a post on X early Saturday, writing, “I look forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force.”

Maduro said Thursday that his government was open to negotiating an agreement with the United States after months of American military pressure targeting drug trafficking networks tied to his government.

In a pre-taped interview with Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet that aired on state television, Maduro said Venezuela is “ready” to discuss a drug-trafficking deal with the U.S. He called on the countries to “start talking seriously, with data in hand.”

“The U.S. government knows, because we’ve told many of their spokespeople, that if they want to seriously discuss an agreement to combat drug trafficking, we’re ready,” he said. “If they want oil, Venezuela is ready for U.S. investment, like with Chevron, whenever they want it, wherever they want it and however they want it.”

The U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia, warned U.S. citizens on Saturday not to travel to Venezuela and advised those in the country to shelter in place.

A Travel Advisory from Dec. 3 states that all U.S. citizens in Venezuela are strongly advised to depart immediately. The Department of State withdrew all diplomatic personnel from U.S. Embassy Caracas and suspended operations in March 2019.

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The Federal Aviation Administration issued a Notice to Airmen at 1 a.m. EST on Saturday prohibiting all U.S. aircraft from operating “at all altitudes within Venezuelan airspace.”

TURLEY: Dems blast Trump admin’s capture of Maduro, but precedent backs the move

In an extraordinary military operation, the United States launched a large-scale military operation in Caracas, Venezuela, early Saturday, with special forces seizing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. There is a pending 2020 indictment of Maduro in the Southern District of New York where he is expected to be taken to face prosecution.

The operation comes not long after the 37th anniversary of the capture of Manuel Antonio Noriega on Dec. 20, 1989. Noriega was convicted of drug and money laundering offenses and sentenced to 40 years in prison. He was tried in Miami.

Maduro was indicted in a four-count superseding indictment with Diosdado Cabello Rondón, 56, head of Venezuela’s National Constituent Assembly; Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios aka “El Pollo,” 59, former director of military intelligence; Clíver Antonio Alcalá Cordones, 58, former General in the Venezuelan armed forces; Luciano Marín Arango aka “Ivan Marquez,” 64, a member of the FARC’s Secretariat, which is the FARC’s highest leadership body; and Seuxis Paucis Hernández Solarte aka “Jesús Santrich,” 53, a member of the FARC’s Central High Command, which is the FARC’s second-highest leadership body.

This operation will be justified as executing the criminal warrant and responding to an international drug cartel, a very similar legal framework to the one used against Noriega. There is precedent supporting that earlier operation, which will now be used to defend the actions in Venezuela.

MADURO SAYS VENEZUELA IS ‘READY’ TO MAKE DEAL WITH US ON DRUGS AND OIL AFTER MILITARY STRIKES

Here is part of the earlier description from the Justice Department of the indicted conduct:

narco-terrorism conspiracy

Democratic members quickly denounced the operation as unlawful. They may want to review past cases, particularly the decision related to the Noriega prosecution after his capture by the administration of President George H.W. Bush.

ON MADURO’S ‘TERROR ISLAND,’ HEZBOLLAH OPERATIVES MOVE IN AS TOURISTS DRIFT OUT

“Without authorization from Congress, and with the vast majority of Americans opposed to military action, Trump just launched an unjustified, illegal strike on Venezuela. He says we don’t have enough money for healthcare for Americans—but somehow we have unlimited funds for war?” wrote Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.

Trump does not need congressional approval for this type of operation. Presidents, including Democratic presidents, have launched lethal attacks regularly against individuals. President Barack Obama killed an American citizen under this “kill list” policy. If Obama can vaporize an American citizen without even a criminal charge, Trump can capture a foreign citizen with a pending criminal indictment without prior congressional approval.

Ordinarily, the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and other international agreements require the United States to notify the embassy of a foreign national arrested and held in the United States. Notice seems a tad superfluous in this case.

TRUMP CASTS MADURO’S OUSTER AS ‘SMART’ MOVE AS RUSSIA, CHINA ENTER THE FRAY

In his appeal, Noriega argued that his arrest violated international law under the head-of-state immunity doctrine.  The district court rejected Noriega’s head-of-state immunity claim because the United States government never recognized Noriega as Panama’s legitimate ruler — an argument that will be made in the Maduro prosecution.

The United States for the Eleventh Circuit also rejected the immunity claim.

Noriega also argued that his capture violated the Treaty Providing for the Extradition of Criminals, May 25, 1904, United States of America-Republic of Panama, 34 Stat. 2851 (“U.S.-Panama Extradition Treaty“).  The Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Alvarez-Machain, 504 U.S. 655 (1992), however, was found to bar this argument. The issue was whether he was abducted to the United States with a superseding extradition treaty. The Eleventh Circuit held:

TRUMP DECLARES ‘VENEZUELAN REGIME’ A FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION, ORDERS OIL TANKER BLOCKADE

extradition treaty claim

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The Noriega case offers ample support for the Trump administration, which has had an outstanding arrest warrant for over five years. He is not viewed as the duly elected leader of Venezuela and has been tied to a criminal drug cartel.

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The action will also have a major impact on foreign policy. The Monroe Doctrine just became the Trump Doctrine. This action not only confronted Venezuela but also Cuba, which was supplying the security around Maduro. Presumably, Cuban security may have been involved in the firefight. While cutting off vital oil to Cuba, the Trump Administration just delivered a blow against the Cuban regime — arguably one of the most stinging defeats since crushing the Cuban forces in Grenada in 1983.

Legally, Trump has the upper hand in this case. Maduro will replay the arguments from the Noriega case. However, he presents an even weaker case on the merits under the controlling precedent than did Noriega.

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Catholic bishop warns of ‘disastrous’ results after viral Mamdani line’

Bishop Robert Barron, a prominent Catholic leader, slammed socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration line promoting the “warmth of collectivism,” saying, “For God’s sake, spare me.”

During his inaugural address, the newly minted socialist mayor and New York’s first Muslim mayor, declared, “We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.”

The line prompted immediate backlash from many conservatives who expressed alarm at such a phrase being used by the leader of America’s biggest city.

Barron, a popular podcaster and founder of “Word on Fire,” took to X to say Mamdani’s declaration “took my breath away.”

MAMDANI SWORN IN BY AG JAMES IN PRIVATE MIDNIGHT CEREMONY

“He said he intended to replace ‘the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.’ Collectivism in its various forms is responsible for the deaths of at least 100 million people in the last century,” Barron wrote.

“For God’s sake, spare me the ‘warmth of collectivism.’

“Socialist and communist forms of government around the world today — Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, etc. — are disastrous,” explained Barron. “Catholic social teaching has consistently condemned socialism and has embraced the market economy, which people like Mamdani caricature as ‘rugged individualism.’

“In fact, it is the economic system that is based upon the rights, freedom and dignity of the human person.”

HOURS AFTER TAKING OFFICE, NYC MAYOR MAMDANI TARGETS LANDLORDS, MOVES TO INTERVENE IN PRIVATE BANKRUPTCY CASE

Barron was not the only critic who voiced alarm about Mamdani’s declaration.

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote on X that the “warmth” of collectivism “always requires coercion and force.”

“How many dead over the past 100 years due to collectivist ideologies?” DeSantis added.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, chimed in, “When communists rule, individual rights — invariably — are taken away.” 

Since being sworn in at midnight on New Year’s Day, Mamdani has already taken several controversial actions, including targeting city landlords and housing development through new executive orders.

Mamdani announced three housing-related executive orders, starting with the revival of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, which he said will focus on resolving complaints and holding landlords accountable for hazardous conditions.

According to Mamdani, the second executive order creates a LIFT task force, or a land-inventory effort designed to leverage city-owned land and accelerate housing development. He said the task force will review city-owned properties and identify sites suitable for housing development no later than July 1.

SOCIALIST NYC MAYOR MAMDANI INAUGURATED ALONGSIDE BERNIE SANDERS AND AOC ON NEW YEAR’S DAY

The third executive order created a SPEED task force, which Mamdani said stands for Streamlining Procedures to Expedite Equitable Development. He said the task force will work to remove permitting barriers that slow housing construction.

Both task forces will be overseen by Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Lila Joseph, he said.

Mamdani has also been criticized for revoking all orders issued by his predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams, following his indictment on federal bribery charges, including one that barred city agencies from boycotting or divesting from Israel.

Another rescinded order had directed the NYPD to bolster enforcement near religious sites by establishing protest-free buffer zones near churches, synagogues and mosques.

NYC MAYOR-ELECT MAMDANI DOUBLES DOWN ON NETANYAHU ARREST PLEDGE

These revocations were criticized by the city’s right-leaning Jewish leaders.

Mamdani has been accused by critics, such as Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., of being a terrorist sympathizer.

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He has repeatedly described Israel as an apartheid state, accused it of committing genocide in Gaza, and said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested. Mamdani has also said he will not tolerate antisemitism in New York and vowed to increase funding to combat hate crimes.

Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

ALEX BERENSON: Minnesota learned the hard way that tribes don’t vanish at the border

I am in Kenya to research my seventh John Wells novel, “The Night Ranger.” Wells is chasing American missionaries taken into the bush by Somali mercenaries. It is a change of pace for him, lower stakes than his usual work. It will turn out to be one of my favorite novels.

I have visited a vast Somali refugee camp in northern Kenya and the Indian Ocean coast, where Somali kidnappers have recently captured and killed several Europeans.

Now I am back in Nairobi, talking about the problem of Somalia, which Kenyans face up close. Kenya is mostly Christian. Somalis are Muslim — and poor even by African standards. Kenya needs Western safari tourism for jobs and cash. The kidnappings have not helped. Kenyans would rather keep their neighbors out. But the United Nations and international aid groups have given them little choice (oh, the irony; poor countries hate open borders even more than rich ones).

DHS REVIEWS CITIZENSHIP CASES FROM SOMALIA, OTHER HIGH RISK COUNTRIES FOR POSSIBLE FRAUD

Anyway, I am having drinks at a hotel talking about Somalia with (white) non-governmental aid workers — they live well, these NGO types. And one says:

“Here’s what you need to know about Somalia. It’s on the ocean, right? [Somalia has the longest coastline in Africa, almost 2,000 miles.] But most Somalis, they can’t swim, can’t fish, they have no interest in the water. That’s how inward-facing they are, how tribal.”

The words stuck with me. And 14 years later, they help explain the multi-billion dollar Somali corruption scandal in Minnesota, which exploded into one of the biggest stories of 2025.

BESSENT TURNS UP HEAT ON SPRAWLING MINNESOTA FRAUD SCHEMES AS TREASURY PERSONNEL DEPLOY ON THE GROUND

The Somalis are tribal, but they are not alone.

It is impossible to understand the massive chunk of the world that runs from Morocco 4,000 miles east to Pakistan and south across Africa without realizing the importance of tribes. This area covers nearly two billion people, mostly Muslim — but includes hundreds of millions of Christians too. It is mostly poor, but it also has the wealthy Gulf Arab nations.

What it shares more than anything is a commitment to tribe as the center of identity. In Arab and Muslim countries, cousin marriage helps sustain tribal identity; marriages between cousins account for about two-thirds of all marriages in Pakistan and nearly as many in some Arab countries.

LOEFFLER: VAST NETWORK OF SOMALI NONPROFITS RIPPED OFF MINNESOTA’S WELFARE STATE

Rates are somewhat lower in Somalia, because marriages help bind “clans” — not just already closely-related families — to each other.

Still, as a book on marriage in Arab and African countries explains:

“Overall, in the course of the marriage process in Somalia and Djibouti, collective interests are put before the interests of the two individuals getting married.”

SOMALI MINNESOTANS BEING ‘SCAPEGOATED’ IN FRAUD INVESTIGATION, NYT WRITER CLAIMS

I do not think most Americans can easily wrap their heads around how foreign these cultures really are to our way of thinking.

A society that does not even allow its members to choose their husbands or wives has a very different structure than Western societies that focus on individual rights — and the rule of law.

Yes, in both the West and tribal societies, the family is the core unit, which may be why Westerners have not seen this difference as clearly as they should.

ALEX BERENSON: MINNESOTA WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING: NEW YORK’S MEDICAID GRIFT IS FAR WORSE

But in the West, each family is effectively independent. More powerful groupings are political, not familial, organized by population size and geography — cities, counties, states, nations.

In tribal societies, families stack together to gain power, which is why cousin marriage matters so much. Me against my cousin; me and my cousin against our second-cousin neighbors; our extended family against yours — all under the leadership of a clan leader. The clans may share territory, but not political leadership.

In the West, nation-states gather legitimacy from — at least in theory — providing all citizens equal justice under the law.

MASSIVE MEDICAID FRAUD SCHEME PUTS MINNESOTA’S FEDERAL FUNDING AT RISK — AND FALLOUT COULD WIDEN

Tribal societies do not have a similar overarching philosophical foundation. They work in practice as tribes compete and cooperate, sometimes in relatively calm equilibrium, sometimes under the autocratic leadership of the strongest tribe and its chiefs.

And sometimes in open conflict, up to and including civil war — as in the wars that wracked Somalia for decades.

When individual families from tribal societies come to Western countries, they have little choice but to adopt Western stacking mechanisms — to accept the rule of law and the authority of independent political jurisdictions. Plenty of individual Somalis have done just that.

LIZ PEEK: MINNESOTA’S FRAUD SCANDAL EXPOSES DEMOCRATS’ INDIFFERENCE TO THE NEEDY

But when they come en masse, as the Somali immigrants of Minnesota did, they may try to keep their tribal structures at least partly intact.

In November, the independent newspaper County Highway ran an extraordinary piece about the Somali fraud in Minnesota explaining how easily the community had reestablished itself along clan lines:

“The community is the result not of a voluntary movement of ambitious people seeking a new life in America, but of the US-government’s mass resettlement of entire families at once…

“The Somalis brought the language, culture, and complex clan system of their shattered homeland to Minnesota… the cultural forces that allowed Somalis to resume a version of their prior lives also had the effect of walling them off from other Minnesotans.”

IT’S NOT JUST MINNESOTA. DEMOCRATS HAVE CREATED WELFARE FRAUD EVERYWHERE

“The historic Somali society is a kind of Janus-faced society,” explained Ahmed Samatar, a political scientist at Macalester College in Saint Paul and the founding editor-in-chief of Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies, speaking from his skylit campus office.

“On one side there is the intimacy of the local community, the family subgroup and kin group. Here there is mutuality and responsibility and respect… But the civic culture was not part of that tradition.”

MEDIA ‘COMPLICITY’ BLAMED AS FEDS SAY MINNESOTA FRAUD CRISIS COULD REACH $9B: ‘SHOWN THEIR TRUE COLORS’

In other words, many Somalis believe they owe their tribes hard work, integrity, and honesty.

Their tribes — and no one else.

So, when Minnesota’s Democrats decided to drop any guiderails and effectively open federally financed programs to mass looting — a decision both overtly cynical and weirdly naive — a stunning number of Somalis took advantage.

SENATE PRESSURE MOUNTS AS MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL CONTINUES TO UNFOLD

As County Highway explained:

“The fraud spread so widely and quickly that it appeared to have no real architect… gallop[ing] through the Somali community, which kept the secret from non-Somali Minnesota with ironclad discipline. The clan system acted as both pathway and protection for the fraud…”

Through every fraud case, the Somali community displayed what Professor Samatar described as “the solidarity of thieves.” Bad actors within the community would approach potential coconspirators without any fear of betrayal.

MINNESOTA’S FRAUD SCANDAL WAS ‘SHOCKINGLY EASY’ TO PULL OFF, IS LIKELY WORSE THAN REPORTED: EX PROSECUTOR

Honor among thieves!

No, not every Somali in Minnesota can or should be blamed for this fraud.

But that doesn’t mean that the decision to accept large numbers of immigrants en masse from a tribal society didn’t set the stage for it.

MINNESOTA’S SOMALI FRAUD SCANDAL EXPOSES THE HIDDEN COST OF IMMIGRATION

Europe has seen a similar crisis with Syrian and Afghan refugees in the last decade, though Europe has faced more violence because it has taken in so many young, single men.

In 2025 it became clear that the post-1965 wave of immigration to the United States has now ended.

President Donald Trump has proven the Democratic argument that the United States could not maintain its borders was a lie. He has proven that with reasonable and politically tolerable steps, new illegal immigration can be reduced nearly to zero.

WHISTLEBLOWER WARNS MASSIVE FRAUD IS HAPPENING IN OHIO SOMALI COMMUNITY, MINNESOTA ‘JUST TIP OF THE SPEAR’

For at least a couple of presidential cycles, I doubt any serious Democratic Party candidate will call for allowing mass waves of unskilled migrants (whether illegal or through dubious programs like the ones the Biden administration concocted).

At some point, though — maybe in a decade, maybe a generation — the pendulum will swing again, and the United States will be ready to accept large numbers of immigrants once more.

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When it does, I hope it remembers the lessons of the last decade — and does not let in large groups from tribal societies, encouraging them to recreate their clans en masse on American soil.

We cannot be certain all our new immigrants will accept the ideal of America.

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But we can do our best to be sure they do not arrive with fragmented allegiances.

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Smith claims ‘powerful evidence’ against Trump while lamenting agents’ firings

Former special counsel Jack Smith used a closed-door deposition with House Republicans last month to defend his investigations into Donald Trump’s alleged effort to subvert the 2020 presidential election and his alleged retention of certain classified documents, using the hours-long testimony to forcefully dispute the notion that his team had acted politically, and citing what he described as ample evidence to support the indictments that had been levied against Trump. 

“I made my decisions in the investigation without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election,” Smith told members of the House Judiciary Committee in the Dec. 17 interview.

The interview was Smith’s first time appearing before Congress since he left his role as special counsel in 2024. And while much of the information was not new, the exchange was punctuated by sharp exchanges with Republicans on the panel, both on the strength of the case and on his own actions taken during the course of the probe — most recently, on the tolling records his team sought from a handful of Republican lawmakers over the course of the investigation. Republicans have assailed the records as being at odds with the speech or debate clause of the Constitution.  

“I made my decisions in the investigation without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election,” Smith told the committee. “We took actions based on what the facts, and the law required — the very lesson I learned early in my career as a prosecutor.”

Republicans on the panel ultimately opted to publish the redacted transcript on New Year’s Eve, a decision that may have helped dull the impact of any news the 255-page document may have generated amid the broader hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

Here are some of the biggest moments and notable exchanges from the eight-hour hearing. 

 TRUMP STRIPS SECURITY CLEARANCES FROM LAW FIRM TIED TO JACK SMITH CASES

New political tensions 

Smith was tapped by former Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 to investigate the alleged effort by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, as well as Trump’s keeping of allegedly classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach after leaving office in 2020. Smith had brought charges against Trump in both cases.

The charges were dropped after Trump’s election, in keeping with a longstanding Justice Department policy that discourages investigating sitting presidents for federal criminal charges, and Smith resigned from his role shortly afterward.

If nothing else, Smith’s Dec. 17 testimony underscored just how much has changed since Trump’s reelection in 2024. 

Trump, for his part, has used his first year back in office to follow through on his promises to go after his perceived political “enemies,” including by revoking security clearances of many individuals, including employees of a D.C.-based law firm that represents Smith, and taking other punitive measures to punish or fire FBI agents involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, investigation.

During his testimony last month, Smith fiercely disputed the notion that Trump’s remarks about the 2020 election results would be protected by the First Amendment. 

“Absololutely not,” he said in response to a lawyer for Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee.

The lawyer then ticked through a “long list of disputed elections” in U.S. history and former presidents who have spoken out about “what they believed to be fraud,” or other issues regarding election integrity. “I think you would agree that those types of statements are sort of at the core of the First Amendment rights of a presidential candidate, right?”

“There is no historical analog for what President Trump did in this case,” Smith said immediately. 

JACK SMITH SUBPOENAED FOR DEPOSITION WITH HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

‘Powerful’ evidence

Smith told members that the special counsel ultimately gathered evidence against Trump that was, in his view, sufficient to secure a conviction.

“He made false statements to state legislatures, to his supporters in all sorts of contexts and was aware in the days leading up to Jan. 6th that his supporters were angry when he invited them, and then he directed them to the Capitol,” Smith said of Trump’ actions in the run-up to Jan. 6. 

“Now, once they were at the Capitol and once the attack on the Capitol happened, he refused to stop it. He instead issued a tweet that, without question in my mind, endangered the life of his own vice president,” Smith added. “And when the violence was going on, he had to be pushed repeatedly by his staff members to do anything to quell it.”

Other possible co-conspirators had not been charged, as Smith noted at one point during the interview. 

But Smith said in the testimony that his team had developed “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that Trump had “engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power.”

They’d also developed what he described as “powerful evidence” that Trump had willfully retained highly classified documents after leaving office in January 2021 at his private Mar-a-Lago residence, and had been obstructing the government’s efforts to recover the records.

Smith’s team had not determined how to proceed for possible ‘co-conspirators’

Smith said that, when the special counsel wound down in the wake of the 2024 elections, his team had not determined whether to charge the key Trump allies who may or may not have acted as co-conspirators, including Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and John Eastman.

“As we stated in the final report, we analyzed the evidence against different co-conspirators,” Smith said. Smith reiterated his allegation that Trump was “the most culpable” and “most responsible” person for the alleged attempts to subvert the 2020 election results. 

He said the special counsel had “determined that we did have evidence to charge people at a certain point in time.” 

But at the time the investigation was wound down, they had not made “final determinations about that at the time that President Trump won reelection, meaning that our office was going to be closed down.”

FBI OUSTS FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR, AGENT INVOLVED IN J6 PROSECUTIONS, WITH MORE EXPECTED

He lamented the ousting of DOJ, FBI officials 

Smith used his opening remarks to lament the ousting of FBI agents and Justice Department officials involved in the Jan. 6 investigations.

“I am both saddened and angered that President Trump has sought revenge against career prosecutors, FBI agents, and support staff simply for doing their jobs and for having worked on those cases,” Smith said.

His remarks came after the FBI in recent months ousted a handful of personnel involved in the Jan. 6 investigations, an effort individuals familiar with the action described to Fox News at the time as an act of “retaliation.”

Thousands of FBI personnel in February were forced to fill out a sprawling questionnaire asking employees detailed questions about any role they may have played in the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riots — ranging from whether they had testified in any criminal trials to when they last participated in investigation-related activity.

FBI AGENTS SUE TRUMP DOJ TO BLOCK ANY PUBLIC IDENTIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES WHO WORKED ON JAN. 6 INVESTIGATIONS

Smith’s team didn’t tell the courts that subpoenaed phone records belonged to lawmakers

Smith was grilled during the deposition about the highly scrutinized subpoenas his team issued to phone companies for data belonging to House and Senate lawmakers as part of his investigation, saying they aligned with the Justice Department’s policy at the time.

Smith said the Public Integrity Section had signed off on the subpoenas, a point corroborated by records previously released by Grassley’s office. 

Those records also showed that the Public Integrity Section told prosecutors to be wary of concerns lawmakers could raise about the Constitution’s speech or debate clause, which gives Congress members added protections.

The subpoenas to the phone companies were accompanied by gag orders blocking the lawmakers from learning about the existence of the subpoenas for at least one year. Smith said the D.C. federal court, which authorized the gag orders, would not have been aware that they applied to Congress members.” I don’t think we identified that, because I don’t think that was Department policy at the time,” Smith said.

Asked during the deposition about who should be held accountable for lawmakers who felt that the seizure of a narrow set of their phone data was a constitutional violation, Smith said Trump should be held accountable.

“These records are people, in the case of the Senators, Donald Trump directed his co-conspirators to call these people to further delay the proceedings,” Smith said.

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“He chose to do that. If Donald Trump had chosen to call a number of Democratic senators, we would have gotten toll records for Democratic Senators. So responsibility for why these records, why we collected them, that’s — that lies with Donald Trump,” he said.

Country star’s health test results left doctors asking ‘how are you alive?’

Jelly Roll is opening up about the start of his weight-loss journey and the steps he took to be the healthiest version of himself.

In a recent interview with Men’s Health, the 41-year-old country star spoke about taking matters into his own hands and deciding to live a healthier lifestyle.

He first started working with podcast host and founder of the weight loss movement, “The Ultimate Human,” Gary Brecka, before finding Ways2Well, a wellness clinic which works to treat the underlying problems, rather than focus on just treating the symptoms.

“The first couple of blood panels were like, how are you alive?” he says.

JELLY ROLL AND WIFE REMAIN FAITHFUL DURING DIFFICULT JOURNEY TO GET PREGNANT: ‘WE PUT IT IN GOD’S HANDS’

Jelly Roll, whose birth name is Jason Bradley DeFord, shared that his insulin levels were “super high,” his testosterone was so low that is was similar to that “of a preteen boy,” his cholesterol was high and so were his A1C levels.

“When I went in there for the test, it was bad. Bad. The world opened up when I seen it on paper. I was like, ‘That’s my testosterone level?’ I mean, dude, we’re talking a 57,” he said. “You can’t get it up without T…I was married to a smoke show, and I was still struggling.”

The “Save Me” singer emphasized that his main goal wasn’t to lose weight but was “wanting to know what’s happening within me,” although he knew that weight loss would likely follow.

While he knew getting his physical health in check was an important step in his journey, he also understood that he needed to tackle his mental health, and admitted to seeking “therapy about my overeating.”

JELLY ROLL FELT HE WAS MONTHS AWAY FROM DEATH BEFORE BEGINNING DRAMATIC 300-POUND WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY

“I started treating my food addiction like what it was: an addiction. Why did I treat cocaine a certain way? I went to meetings for cocaine and found a sponsor and detoxed off of it and s— myself and went through real hard life-changing emotional choices to get off cocaine and codeine,” he explained. “I didn’t look at the food addiction different. Once I started treating food like an addiction, it started changing everything for me. When I started really looking at the source of why I was eating. What was I eating for?”

He explained that in the eighth grade he began going down the wrong path, adding he “thought I was something I wasn’t,” and that in his youth, “I’d let you kill me to prove to you, I was tough.”

This path eventually led him to go to prison for drug-related crimes and aggravated robbery. During his time in prison, Jelly Roll found religion, got his GED, began songwriting and began turning his life around.

“It took 12, 15 years of being in and out of the system and going through s— and dealing with drugs and drug addicts to realize, man, that was never actually who I was,” he said.

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“The way shame sometimes shows itself is not always the way we expect it to be,” he later added. “We think shame is somebody in the streets on their knees, with their head down. But shame sometimes is pride. Sometimes shame is just bravado. Behind real bravado, I can normally find shame. I can normally find guilt. I can normally find insecurity. I was the biggest, the loudest, the toughest, the meanest, the growliest, the fattest. There’s normally deep inside of that a really, really small, insecure human. I was that, for sure. Then a by-product of that was I got fat as f—.”

Jelly Roll has previously spoken about his progress, sharing on “The Joe Rogan Experience” in December 2025 that he has lost 300 pounds since starting his weight-loss journey in 2022 at over 500 pounds.

In December 2024, he told his wife, Bunnie XO on her podcast, “Dumb Blonde,” that he is doing this publicly in order “to be honest about my struggles with it with people.” He then shared a very specific goal he has in mind.

“I wanna be on the cover of ‘Men’s Health’ by March of 2026,” he said. “That’s my new goal. So I wanna have one of the biggest transformations.”

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The singer described being at his heaviest as being a “never-ending sadness,” saying it felt like he “was a prisoner to my own body,” and that “every decision I made in life had to be based on my weight.”

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“When this journey started, I couldn’t get a full mile in in that 30 minutes,” he told Men’s Health. “Now I could put on a pair of tennis shoes, walk out that door, do a mile loop around Hollywood Boulevard, and be back in 12 minutes and 25 seconds.”

Children found alive after dentist, wife shot dead in quiet suburban home

Police are investigating after a dentist and his wife in Columbus, Ohio, were both found shot to death inside their home just a month before celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary.

Police responded to the house around 10 a.m. Tuesday for a wellness check, and found Spencer and Monique Tepe dead with apparent gunshot wounds. Two young children were found at the house unharmed.

The owner of Athens Dental Depot, Dr. Mark Valrose, where Spencer works, called 911 and asked dispatchers to send officers for a wellness check at the couple’s residence. Valrose said people at the business were becoming concerned after Spencer didn’t show up to work. 

Fox News Digital obtained the 911 records through a public records request. Police are seeking the public’s help as they search for a suspect. 

NEWLYWED COUPLE FOUND DEAD IN CAR FROM MURDER-SUICIDE DAYS BEFORE FIRST ANNIVERSARY, POLICE SAY

According to WSYX, police don’t believe their deaths were a murder-suicide. Officials added there wasn’t a firearm recovered at the scene and there were no signs of forced entry.

Valrose called 911 on Tuesday at 9:03 a.m. to raise the alarm about Spencer and Monica. An officer with the Columbus Police Department arrived at the Tepe household at 9:22 a.m., but didn’t get an answer after knocking.

“Spencer works with me and he did not show up to work this morning and we cannot get ahold of him or his family,” Valrose said. “He is always on time and he would contact us if there is any issues whatsoever…we’re very, very concerned because this is very out of character and we can’t get in touch with his wife, which is probably the more concerning thing.”

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In a separate 911 call from one of Spencer’s friends who went to their home, the caller said, “there’s a body.”

“We just came here and he appears dead. He’s laying next to his bed, off of his bed in his blood. I can’t get closer to see more than that,” the caller said. “I can tell he’s obviously not breathing or anything.”

In a statement on Facebook, Athens Dental Depot said Spencer will be “deeply missed.”

“It is with heavy hearts that we share the sudden passing of our dear colleague and friend, Dr. Spencer Tepe, as well as his wife Monique. He will be deeply missed by our team and the many patients he cared for over the years. Our thoughts and sincerest condolences are with their families and loved ones during this very difficult time,” the business said.

The family released a statement Friday night saying they are “heartbroken beyond words,” and described the loss of the couple as “tragic and senseless.”

“They were extraordinary people whose lives were filled with love, joy, and deep connection to others,” the statement said, in part.

Spencer, a graduate of The Ohio State University, was known as a “devoted and proud father, a loving partner, and a friend to everyone he met,” the family statement said, adding that he was “intelligent, warm, and endlessly welcoming.”

He was a member of the American Dental Association, fluent in Spanish, involved with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization and a fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Cincinnati Bengals.

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Monique was described as a “loving, patient and joyful mother whose warmth defined her.”

“With a background in childhood education, she brought care and intention into everything she did. She was an excellent baker, a thoughtful planner, and someone who found joy in bringing people together. Her kindness made people feel instantly at home,” the statement said.

Their relationship was “beautiful, strong and deeply happy” and they built a life “rooted in love,” the family said, adding that Spencer and Monique enjoyed taking care of their two children and their pet Goldendoodle.

“We are heartbroken beyond words. While no outcome can ever undo this loss, our family is committed to seeing this tragedy fully and fairly brought to justice, and to honoring Spencer and Monique by protecting the future of the children they loved so deeply,” the statement concluded.

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Rob Misleh, Spencer’s brother-in-law, told WSYX that the couple was going to celebrate their five-year anniversary next month after getting married in 2021.