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EXCLUSIVE: Bombshell developments continue to emerge about former President Joe Biden’s declining health along with allegations of a White House cover-up. In response, a top Republican is urging the Justice Department to investigate whether any laws were broken in how Biden’s condition was presented to the public.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas is expected to write Wednesday afternoon to Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding that the DOJ open a probe into “any potential violations of federal law surrounding the representations made to the American people about the health and wellbeing (sic) of then-President Biden.”

In the letter obtained by Fox News Digital, Cornyn cited the May 18 report from Biden’s camp that he is battling late-stage aggressive prostate cancer that had metastasized to his bones.

“This announcement follows the publication of news reports calling into question the former president’s capacity and awareness during his time in office,” Cornyn said as other Biden critics questioned what then-White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor knew while treating the president.

TEXAS LAWMAKERS SEEK TO GET FEDERAL REIMBURSEMENT FOR BIDEN ERA BORDER CONTROL EXPENSES

In the letter, Cornyn expressed concern that Biden’s “associates,” including O’Connor, misrepresented or made “material omissions” to the public about his mental and physical fitness.

Conservatives beat the drum of Biden’s alleged senility for years but were often lambasted by the mainstream media for questioning the White House’s line on the matter.

“I fear the American people were deliberately misled about President Biden’s health. Instead of providing full transparency, which is the obligation of the commander-in-chief, important information was kept secret,” Cornyn wrote.

“I do not have confidence in the former president’s aides and staff, including medical staff, or their ability to be honest and straightforward about President Biden’s cancer diagnosis.”

ARIZONA KAMALA HARRIS RALLY SPEAKERS COURT ‘JOHN MCCAIN REPUBLICANS’

He noted how President Donald Trump assented to calls that he take a cognitive test to demonstrate fitness for office while contrasting that with Biden’s refusal, which famously resulted in a tense exchange with a CBS News correspondent when the then-president asked, “Why the hell should I take a test?” and asked if the Black news anchor was “a junkie” who might want to undergo a test for cocaine in his system.

Cornyn contrasted White House claims that Biden was “fit for duty” with revelations, including those in a CNN anchor’s new book, that he was only capable of working “four to six good hours” per day.

“These positions are in direct conflict,” Cornyn will tell Bondi, adding that despite having the world’s best medical care at his fingertips, Americans have been asked to “accept coincidence after coincidence” involving his health.

He also cited the 25th Amendment, which he noted provides Americans an insurance policy that their government can continue to function if the infirmity or death of a president should occur.

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“These actions potentially impacted the trust the American people have in their government and weakened us on the world stage.”

He cited a report from earlier this week that White House staff had secretly discussed the possibility that Biden would be confined to a wheelchair while still putting on a brave face to the public.

Former President Franklin Roosevelt, stricken by polio, conducted the nation’s business from a wheelchair.

“I encourage the Department to conduct a full investigation and ensure that no federal laws were violated during the previous administration,” Cornyn concluded.

Fox News Digital reached out to a Biden representative for comment.

Before President Donald Trump’s dramatic reveal of the “Golden Dome” missile defense project on Tuesday, the proposal wasn’t even on the radar of many lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Several senators told Fox News Digital they had received no briefing on the initiative’s costs – and some hadn’t heard of it at all.

“I don’t support blank checks. I haven’t seen the cost figures,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Fox News Digital. 

Two senior members of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, one Republican and one Democrat, asked, “what’s Golden Dome?” in response to questions about the project Trump commissioned in January. 

CHINA ACCUSES US OF ‘TURNING SPACE INTO A WARZONE’ WITH TRUMP’S GOLDEN DOME MISSILE DEFENSE PROJECT

Trump’s sweeping plan – pitched as an American version of Israel’s Iron Dome – carries an ambitious price tag and timeline. He’s floated a $125 billion estimated cost and says it could be built in three years, by the end of his term. A government funding package moving through Congress, dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, includes $25 billion to jumpstart the project.

But defense experts and even some Republican allies anticipate the cost to be much higher. 

“This is not going to be a $25 billion or $35 billion project. It will likely cost in the trillions if and when Golden Dome is completed,” said Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., who announced plans to form a Golden Dome Caucus during a recent Washington Times defense industry event earlier this month. 

Sheehy warned that simply scaling up Israel’s Iron Dome to protect the U.S. is “a fundamentally different technological proposition.”

“The challenges don’t scale linearly with the size of Israel, which is the size of New Jersey,” he added.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated the project could cost around $500 billion – though some believe even that figure is likely too low.

CBO estimated that the space-based interceptors portion of the dome could cost at least $161 billion but up to $542 billion. But it didn’t account for any ground-based interceptors in that cost. 

“I’ve been 34 years in this business, and I’ve never seen an early estimate that was too high,” said Space Force chief of space operations Gen. Chance Saltzman. “We don’t always understand the full level of complexity until you’re actually in execution, doing the detailed planning.”

LASERS, SPACE RADARS, MISSILE INTERCEPTORS: DEFENSE LEADERS LAY OUT VISION FOR TRUMP’S ‘GOLDEN DOME’ PROJECT

Some Republican lawmakers suggest the potential benefits outweigh the massive spending required.

“It might very well prevent a war,” Sen. Mike Rounds, R-N.D., said. “When we talk about spending billions on defense, that is small compared to one single major war – not only in trillions of dollars, but in bloodshed.”

Once a missile is launched toward the U.S. homeland, the Golden Dome system aims to detect it, and orbital systems would aim to hit the missile during its “boost” phase, either with a laser or a kinetic interceptor. Otherwise, ground-based systems could deploy to knock it off its path.  

Others noted competing defense priorities.

“That’s gonna be a long, drawn-out process, and it’s gonna cost a lot of money,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. “Right now, we’re redoing our missile silos… we’re transitioning to different types of warfare. If we’re gonna do [Golden Dome], we do it the right way.”

Supporters of the plan argue that technological advances have dramatically lowered the cost of missile defense, enough to potentially flip decades-old strategic assumptions.

Chuck DeVore, a defense expert at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and former Reagan administration official, said the old logic – that it’s always cheaper to build offensive missiles than defenses – may no longer apply.

“That calculation is changing now,” DeVore said. “With low-cost orbit launches and inexpensive electronics, it may actually be less expensive to defend against nuclear missiles than to build them. If that’s the case, we’re at a truly revolutionary inflection point.”

DeVore also warned that traditionalists in the defense establishment may push back.

“You’re going to see people defending the status quo,” he said. “They’ll say we need that money for more conventional defense – more divisions, more jet fighters, maybe another aircraft carrier.”

Still, DeVore argued that a homeland missile defense system is overdue.

“The ability to truly defend the homeland and save American lives is better than mutual assured destruction – especially in an age of nuclear proliferation where we can’t always be sure where the threat is coming from.”

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., agreed on the project’s importance, even as he said he hadn’t been briefed on the cost and needs of the project. 

“I think it’s the most important thing we could do to keep our homeland safe.”

Donald Trump Jr. is not ruling out the possibility of a political future, but asserts that he has no interest in making a run “anytime soon.”

At the Qatar Economic Forum, he fielded a question about the possibility of running for office after his father steps down. 

During his response he did not close the door on the prospect, saying, “I don’t know. Maybe one day … that calling is there.”

LESS THAN 4 MONTHS INTO TRUMP’S 2ND TERM, DEMS ARE ALREADY EYEING THE 2028 RACE

But he asserted in a post on X that he is not at all interested in pursuing office in 2028.

“And FWIW, I’ve always said, while I’ll never 100% rule it out down the line, I have ZERO interest in running for office in 28 or anytime soon,” he said in a portion of that post.

TRUMP STORE SPARKS BUZZ AND DEBATE WITH NEW TRUMP 2028 MERCHANDISE

Donald Trump Jr. is President Donald Trump’s eldest child.

The president just began his second term about four months ago.

JD VANCE ASKED ABOUT POTENTIAL 2028 PRESIDENTIAL RUN IN ‘FOX & FRIENDS’ EXCLUSIVE

There have been two father-son pairs in U.S. history who both served as president: George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and John Adams and John Quincy Adams.

President Donald Trump evoked Elon Musk during his Oval Office meeting with South Africa’s president on Wednesday, during talks about the ongoing attacks white farmers in the country are facing.

Trump went back and forth with President Cyril Ramaphosa over whether what is occurring in South Africa is indeed a “genocide” against white farmers. At one point, during the conversation, a reporter asked Trump how the United States and South Africa might be able to improve their relations. 

The president said that relations with South Africa are an important matter to him, noting he has several personal friends who are from there, including professional golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, who were present at Tuesday’s meeting, and Elon Musk.

DEMS SLAM ELON MUSK, MELANIA TRUMP WITH XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS: ‘GO BACK TO SOUTH AFRICA!’

Unprompted, Trump added that while Musk may be a South African native, he doesn’t want to “get [him] involved” in the ongoing foreign diplomacy matters that played out during Tuesday’s meeting. 

“I don’t want to get Elon involved. That’s all I have to do, get him into another thing,” Trump said to light laughter. “But Elon happens to be from South Africa. This is what Elon wanted. He actually came here on a different subject — sending rockets to Mars — OK? He likes that better. He likes that subject better. But Elon’s from South Africa, and I don’t want to talk to him about that. I don’t think it’s fair to him.”

Musk, who was present at the Oval Office meeting Tuesday, has been an open critic of his native-born country’s government and has described the ongoing conflict there as a “genocide.”

HOUSE DEM BLASTED FOR ‘UNHINGED’ ELON MUSK RANT TELLING HIM TO ‘GO BACK TO SOUTH AFRICA’

Ahead of the meeting with Ramaphosa earlier this month, Musk-owned X garnered backlash over its AI chatbot, Grok, providing unsolicited responses about attacks against white farmers in South Africa. 

Musk’s artificial intelligence company, which makes the technology for Grok, said following complaints that an “unauthorized modification” to Grok’s algorithm is the reason why it kept talking about race and politics in South Africa, according to the Associated Press.

It’s the first time in nearly a decade that a special counsel is not investigating something related to a sitting or former president, but the remnants and revelations of past special counsel probes continue to break through the news cycle.

Every attorney general-appointed special counsel since 2017 has now released their reports, issued their indictments, received their verdicts, shuttered their offices, disassembled their teams and returned to their government or private sector roles.

Essentially, they’ve all moved on. 

BIDEN INTERVIEW AUDIO REVEALS WHO BROUGHT UP BEAU’S DEATH – AND IT WASN’T HUR

First, in 2017, there was Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who was investigating whether members of the first Trump campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election.

Then, in 2019, there was Special Counsel John Durham, who was investigating the origins of the Mueller investigation and the original FBI probe into then-candidate Donald Trump and his campaign. 

Soon, it was 2022, and Special Counsel Jack Smith began investigating then-former President Trump for his alleged improper retention of classified records held at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida after his presidency. Smith also began investigating events surrounding the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Next up, in 2023, Special Counsel Robert Hur was appointed and began investigating now-former President Joe Biden’s alleged improper retention of classified records, which occurred during his vice presidency as part of the Obama administration.

DURHAM FINDS DOJ, FBI ‘FAILED TO UPHOLD’ MISSION OF ‘STRICT FIDELITY TO THE LAW’ IN TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE

Later in 2023, David Weiss, who had served as U.S. attorney in Delaware and had been investigating Hunter Biden since 2018, was appointed special counsel to continue his yearslong investigation into the now-former first son.

At this point, those investigations have all come to their resolutions: Mueller, in 2019, found there was no collusion; Durham, in 2022, found that the FBI ignored “clear warning signs” of a Hillary Clinton-led plan to inaccurately tie her opponent to Russia using politically funded and uncorroborated opposition research; Smith, in 2022, charged Trump but had those charges tossed; Hur, in 2023, opted against charging Biden; Weiss, in 2023, charged Hunter Biden, who was convicted and later pardoned by his father.

But the curiosity surrounding those investigations that dominated headlines for the better part of a decade remains, largely because of so many loose ends and the prevalence of unanswered questions.

A trickle, sometimes more like a flood, of information and news related to those probes continues to seep into the news cycle.

On Friday night, audio of Biden’s interview with Hur was made public. Hur closed his investigation in 2024 without charging the then-president and infamously described him as a “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.”

Some congressional lawmakers had demanded the release of the audio of Biden’s interview amid questions about the former president’s memory lapses and mental acuity.

BIDEN STRUGGLES WITH WORDS, KEY MEMORIES IN LEAKED AUDIO FROM SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR INTERVIEW

The audio – as expected, based on the transcript of the interview released in 2024 – showed Biden struggling with key memories, including when his son, Beau, died; when he left the vice presidency; and why he had classified documents he shouldn’t have had.

In a throwback to another special counsel investigation, the United States Secret Service last week paid a visit to former FBI Director James Comey after he posted a now-deleted image on social media that many interpreted as a veiled call for an assassination of Trump.

Comey on Thursday posted to Instagram an image of seashells on the beach arranged to show “86 47” with the caption, “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”

Some interpreted it as a coded message, with “86” being slang for “get rid of” and “47” referring to Trump, who is the 47th president.

TRUMP SAYS COMEY KNEW ‘ASSASSINATION’ MEANING BEHIND DELETED SOCIAL MEDIA POST

Comey later deleted the post and wrote a message that said, “I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”

Comey was the FBI director who, in 2016, allowed the opening of the bureau’s original Trump-Russia investigation, known inside the FBI as “Crossfire Hurricane.” Trump fired Comey in May 2017. Days later, Mueller was appointed as special counsel to take over that investigation, thus beginning the string of special counsels.

Durham investigated the origins of the FBI probe and found that the FBI did not have any actual evidence to support the start of that investigation. Durham also found that the CIA, in 2016, received intelligence to show that Hillary Clinton had approved a plan to tie then-candidate Trump to Russia; intelligence that the FBI, led by Comey, ignored.

DECLASSIFIED TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE DOCS TO DATE: WHAT TO KNOW

On July 28, 2016, then-CIA Director John Brennan briefed then-President Barack Obama on a plan from one of Clinton’s campaign foreign policy advisers “to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service.” 

Biden, Comey, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper were in the Brennan-Obama briefing, according to the Durham report.

After that briefing, the CIA properly forwarded that information through a counterintelligence operational lead (CIOL) to Comey and then-Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok with the subject line “Crossfire Hurricane.”

Fox News first obtained and reported on the CIOL in October 2020, which stated, “The following information is provided for the exclusive use of your bureau for background investigative action or lead purposes as appropriate.”

DURHAM: FBI IGNORED ‘CLEAR WARNING SIGN’ OF CLINTON-LED EFFORT TO ‘MANIPULATE’ BUREAU FOR ‘POLITICAL PURPOSES’

“Per FBI verbal request, CIA provides the below examples of information the CROSSFIRE HURRICANE fusion cell has gleaned to date,” the memo continued. “An exchange (REDACTED) discussing US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s approval of a plan concerning US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering US elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server.”

By January 2017, Comey had notified Trump of a dossier, known as the Steele dossier, that contained salacious and unverified allegations about Trump’s purported coordination with the Russian government, a key document prompting the opening of the probe. 

The dossier was authored by Christopher Steele, an ex-British intelligence officer, and commissioned by Fusion GPS. Clinton’s presidential campaign hired Fusion GPS during the 2016 election cycle.

DOJ RECOMMENDED AGAINST TRUMP PROSECUTION ON OBSTRUCTION IN MUELLER PROBE: NEWLY RELEASED 2019 MEMO REVEALS

It was eventually determined that the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee funded the dossier through the law firm Perkins Coie.

Durham, in his report, said the FBI, led by Comey, “failed to act on what should have been – when combined with other incontrovertible facts – a clear warning sign that the FBI might then be the target of an effort to manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes during the 2016 presidential election.”

But that intelligence referral document is just one of many that tells the real story behind the investigation that clouded the first Trump administration. 

And Trump has taken steps to ensure the American public has full access to all the documents. 

Trump, in late March, signed an executive order directing the FBI to immediately declassify files concerning the Crossfire Hurricane investigation. 

The FBI is expected to release those documents in the coming weeks. 

As for the other special counsels, Smith recently had his own moment in the news cycle.

FLASHBACK: DURHAM TESTIFIES THAT THE FBI IGNORED HILLARY CLINTON PLAN TO LINK TRUMP TO RUSSIA

FBI Director Kash Patel on Thursday disbanded a public corruption squad in the bureau’s Washington field office. That was the same office that aided Smith’s investigation into Trump.

As for Weiss, after the release of the Biden audio tapes calling further into question the former president’s mental acuity, some, including Trump, are now calling for a review of the pardon of Hunter Biden.

Hunter Biden was found guilty of three felony firearm offenses stemming from Weiss’ investigation. The first son was also charged with federal tax crimes regarding the failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. Before his trial, Hunter Biden entered a surprise guilty plea. The charges carried up to 17 years behind bars. His sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 16, 2024, but his father, then-President Biden, pardoned him on all charges in December 2024.

HUNTER BIDEN: A LOOK AT HOW THE SAGA SPANNING OVER 6 YEARS UNFOLDED

Trump alleged in a Truth Social post in March that former President Biden’s pardons were “void” due to the “fact that they were done by Autopen.” 

“The ‘Pardons’ that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen,” Trump wrote.

“In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime,” Trump added.

Weiss, in his final report, blasted then-President Biden’s characterizations of the probe into Hunter Biden, which Weiss said were “wrong” and “unfairly” maligned Justice Department officials. He also said the presidential pardon made it “inappropriate” for him to discuss whether any additional charges against the first son were warranted.

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for allegedly lying to Congress about his decisions made during the COVID-19 pandemic while serving as governor, a source familiar with the probe confirmed to Fox News.

The New York Times first reported that the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington opened the inquiry into Cuomo about a month ago after senior officials in the DOJ demanded an indictment of New York City Mayor Eric Adams for corruption charges be dismissed.

The DOJ declined to comment to Fox News.

The Trump administration is now in an unusual spot of ending a criminal case against Adams while opening a new case into Adams’ main rival within months of each other.

Cuomo is running in the Democratic primary to serve as the next mayor of New York City, while Adams is seeking re-election as an independent candidate.

HOUSE REPUBLICAN ASKS TRUMP DOJ TO CRIMINALLY PROSECUTE EX-NEW YORK GOV ANDREW CUOMO

“We have never been informed of any such matter, so why would someone leak it now? The answer is obvious: This is lawfare and election interference plain and simple—something President Trump and his top Department of Justice officials say they are against,” Rich Azzopardi, Cuomo’s spokesperson told Fox News. “Governor Cuomo testified truthfully to the best of his recollection about events from four years earlier, and he offered to address any follow-up questions from the Subcommittee — but from the beginning this was all transparently political.”

The former governor was grilled by Republican lawmakers last year about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. House Republicans subsequently recommended the Justice Department pursue criminal charges against him. They accused him of intentionally lying to Congress during the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the excessive number of nursing home deaths.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., referred Cuomo to President Donald Trump’s Justice Department for criminal prosecution. 

BILL MAHER SUGGESTS ANDREW CUOMO’S NURSING HOME SCANDAL MAY COST HIS NYC MAYORAL CAMPAIGN

Cuomo – the Democratic scion now considered the current frontrunner in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary in June – was first referred to the Biden Justice Department for criminal prosecution in October 2024. 

Former Rep. Brad Wenstrup, then-chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, said Cuomo made “multiple criminally false statements” to Congress about his handling of the 2020 COVID-19 nursing home death scandal. 

Cuomo, who was governor at the time, issued a March 2020 directive that initially barred nursing homes from refusing to accept patients who had tested positive for COVID-19. The directive was aimed at freeing up beds for overwhelmed hospitals. 

More than 9,000 recovering coronavirus patients were released from hospitals into nursing homes under the directive, which was later rescinded amid speculation that it had accelerated outbreaks. 

SECOND COVID NURSING HOME DEATH’S CASE AGAINST CUOMO TOSSED

The eight plaintiffs in the case argued that their loved ones contracted COVID-19 in nursing homes and died as a result of the directive. They accused Cuomo and his administration of being civilly liable for their deaths as well as being liable for failing to accurately report the number of nursing home deaths in New York state that resulted from the virus. 

Cuomo has previously said that the directive was based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance at the time.

A report released in March 2022 by the New York state comptroller found Cuomo’s Health Department “was not transparent in its reporting of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes” and it “understated the number of deaths at nursing homes by as much as 50%” during some points of the pandemic. 

In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi last month, Comer said “to our knowledge, the Biden Administration ignored this referral despite clear facts and evidence.” He requested that Bondi review the referral and “take appropriate action.” 

“Andrew Cuomo is a man with a history of corruption and deceit, now caught red-handed lying to Congress during the Select Subcommittee’s investigation into the COVID-19 nursing home tragedy in New York,” Comer said in a statement Monday. “This wasn’t a slip-up – it was a calculated cover-up by a man seeking to shield himself from responsibility for the devastating loss of life in New York’s nursing homes. Let’s be clear: lying to Congress is a federal crime. Mr. Cuomo must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The House Oversight Committee is prepared to fully cooperate with the Justice Department’s investigation into Andrew Cuomo’s actions and ensure he’s held to account.” 

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump appeared to distance the U.S. from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine — just two days after speaking over the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Trump, who called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday after speaking to Putin, told reporters Wednesday that the conflict didn’t involve the U.S., despite the fact that the U.S. has adopted the role of mediator between the two countries since Trump came into the White House in January. 

“It’s not our people, it’s not our soldiers … it’s Ukraine and it’s Russia,” Trump said in the Oval Office Wednesday while hosting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. 

Trump also mentioned speaking with Zelenskyy while the Ukrainian president was traveling to South Africa. Zelenskyy visited Ramaphosa in April, but cut his trip short amid attacks from Russia against Kyiv. 

“I called Zelensky and they said, he’s in South Africa. I said, what the hell is he doing in South Africa?” Trump said. 

Ramaphosa responded that Zelenskyy was talking with South Africa speaking with him about securing peace. 

“He’s trying to make peace,” he said. 

Trump also said Wednesday he believed he “made a lot of progress” with Putin in his Monday call, during which both countries ultimately agreed to a ceasefire and to advance peace talks. However, Trump also indicated that both Moscow and Kyiv would need to take the lead on future talks. 

“The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know the details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of,” Trump said in a Monday post on Truth Social. 

Trump and other members of his administration have signaled in recent weeks that the U.S. is willing to step aside from peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv. For example, Vice President JD Vance said Monday that the discussions between the two had reached a bit of an “impasse” and that the U.S. was “more than willing” to step aside from the talks. 

“There is fundamental mistrust between Russia and the West. It’s one of the things the president thinks is, frankly, stupid,” Vance told reporters Monday. “That we should be able to move beyond. The mistakes that have been made in the past, but … That takes two to tango.” 

“I know the president’s willing to do that, but if Russia’s not willing to that then we’re eventually just going to have to say… This is not our war,” Vance said. “It’s Joe Biden’s war, it’s Vladimir Putin’s war. It’s not our war. We’re going to try to end it, but if we can’t end it we’re eventually going to say, you know what? That was worth a try, but we’re not doing it anymore.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

President Donald Trump has officially accepted Qatar’s Boeing 747 jet gift to be refitted as Air Force One, the Pentagon revealed. 

“The Secretary of Defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations,” chief spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed to Fox News. “The Department of Defense will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the President of the United States. For additional information, we refer you to the United States Air Force.”

News of the deal prompted concerns from lawmakers, both over how to retrofit a foreign nation’s plane to serve as a mobile Oval Office with the highest levels of security and over what Qatar might want from Trump in return for the gift. 

TRUMP CLARIFIES OWNERSHIP OF AIRCRAFT IN DEFENSE OF QATAR’S GIFT

Trump ally Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has said the plane poses “significant espionage and surveillance problems” while liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., declared, “Trump cannot accept a $400 million flying palace from the royal family of Qatar. Not only is this farcically corrupt, it is blatantly unconstitutional.”

“Qatar is not, in my opinion, a great ally. I mean, they support Hamas. So what I’m worried about is the safety of the president,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told reporters last week. 

When asked about the latest news, Trump told a reporter at the White House, “They’re giving the United States Air Force a jet, okay, and it’s a great thing.” 

“You’re a terrible reporter. You don’t have what it takes to be a reporter,” he said.  

TRUMP VISITS QATAR AS COUNTRY’S JET OFFER PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON NATION’S GROWING INFLUENCE IN WASHINGTON

He boasted that he secured $5.1 trillion in investments during his trip to the Middle East last week. 

Earlier, Trump had said of the criticisms, “So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane,” Trump wrote. “Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!! MAGA.”

Trump in 2018 awarded Boeing a $3.9 billion fixed-price agreement to manufacture two new jets, after months of haggling over the price. The jets were supposed to be delivered in 2024, but the project is around five years behind schedule and already $2.5 billion over budget. 

Fox News’ Liz Friden contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump ripped an NBC reporter for questioning over the Department of Defense accepting a jumbo jet from Qatar to serve as Air Force One. 

“The Pentagon announced that it would be accepting a Qatari jet to be used as Air Force One,” an NBC reporter asked Trump during a press event during the South African president’s Wednesday visit to the White House. 

“What are you talking about? You know, you ought to get out of here,” Trump responded. 

The question regarding the Qatari jet was asked immediately following Trump directing his staff to lower the lights and show video footage of the treatment of white farmers in South Africa during his meeting with the African nation’s president. 

The Trump administration began welcoming white Afrikaners from South Africa to the U.S. in the past week as they face “unjust racial discrimination” in their home country, according to the administration. 

“What does this have to do with the Qatari jet?” Trump shot back at the reporter, believed to be NBC News’ Peter Alexander, before slamming NBC News for trying to divert the meeting’s topic from genocide in South Africa. 

ESPIONAGE, CONSTITUTIONAL CONCERNS ABOUND FROM TRUMP DETRACTORS, ALLIES OVER QATARI JET OFFER

“They’re giving the United States Air Force a jet. Okay? And it’s a great thing. We’re talking about a lot of other things. It’s NBC trying to get off the subject of what you just saw,” Trump said. “You are a real … you know, you’re a terrible reporter. Number one, you don’t have what it takes to be a reporter. You’re not smart enough. But for you to go into a subject about a jet that was given to the United States Air Force, which is a very nice thing.”

“They also gave $5.1 trillion worth of investment in addition to the jet. Go back, you ought to go back to your studio at NBC because, Brian Roberts and the people that run that place, they ought to be investigated. They are so terrible the way you run that network. And you are a disgrace. No more questions from you,” Trump continued. 

“His name is Peter something. He’s a terrible reporter,” Trump added as he began calling on other reporters for questions. 

FLASHBACK: DEM CRITICAL OF TRUMP’S QATARI JET GIFT RODE CAMEL IN EXPENSES-PAID 2021 TRIP TO GULF EMIRATE

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

Fox News confirmed earlier Wednesday that the Department of Defense had formally accepted a 747 jetliner from Qatar.

Both Democrats and Republicans have criticized Trump after he announced the Department of Defense planned to accept a jumbo jet from the government of Qatar earlier in May, arguing the gift is riddled with both espionage concerns and constitutional questions. 

HOUSE DEMOCRAT CALLS FOR ‘IMMEDIATE’ ETHICS PROBE OF QATARI PLANE GIFT TO TRUMP

At the heart of Democrats’ concern over the matter is the emoluments clause in the Constitution, which states: “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”

It’s questionable if the emoluments clause even applies to the president, however, as the Constitution typically stipulates when a clause specifically affects a president and cites the title, such as in the impeachment clause, Hans von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, previously told Fox News Digital. 

TRUMP CLARIFIES OWNERSHIP OF AIRCRAFT IN DEFENSE OF QATAR’S GIFT

“The clause was specifically inserted because of concerns by the Founders at the Constitutional Convention over corruption of our foreign diplomats, especially by the French government,” von Spakovsky explained. “It is questionable whether the emoluments clause even applies to the president since he is not named and the Constitution usually names the president when a provision applies to him. That is why the impeachment clause specifically provides that it applies to the ‘president, vice president and all civil officers of the United States.’ If ‘officers’ of the U.S. included the president, there would be no need for him to be separately listed.” 

Von Spakovsky said that if the plane is a government-to-government gift — meaning if Qatar gifted the plane to the Department of Defense and not as a personal gift to the president — the Trump administration is likely in the legal clear to accept the gift. 

“If this gift is being considered as a gift to the government of the U.S., there is no legal issue to consider, since there is no constitutional or legal problem with such a gift. If this is a personal gift to the president, the Justice Department would be weighing the constitutional issue I have raised — whether the emoluments clause even applies to the president,” he said. 

TRUMP DEFENDS QATAR JUMBO JET OFFER AS TROUBLED BOEING FAILS TO DELIVER NEW AIR FORCE ONE FLEET

Trump and his administration had previously and repeatedly defended that the jet would be gifted to the Department of Defense, and used as a temporary Air Force One as Boeing has not yet delivered a new fleet of Air Force ones. 

“We’re very disappointed that it’s taking Boeing so long to build a new Air Force One,” Trump said during a press conference on drug prices Monday morning. “You know, we have an Air Force One that’s 40 years old. And if you take a look at that, compared to the new plane of the equivalent, you know, stature at the time, it’s not even the same ballgame.” 

“When I first came in, I signed an order to get (the new Air Force One fleet) built,” he continued. “I took it over from the Obama administration, they had originally agreed. I got the price down much lower. And then, when the election didn’t exactly work out the way that it should have, a lot of work was not done on the plane because a lot of people didn’t know they made change orders. That was so stupid, so ridiculous. And it ended up being a total mess, a real mess.” 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio clashed with Rep. Brad Sherman during a House hearing on Wednesday, telling the California Democrat that “this is not a game show” when Sherman demanded that he only answer questions with a “yes” or a “no.”

Rubio testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C., fielding questions on foreign aid, nuclear proliferation in Saudi Arabia and Iran, the war in Ukraine and more. Sparks began to fly early on when Sherman questioned Rubio on a potential nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia.

“First, I will tell you that there has been no conversation about entering into one. For example, during the recent trip,” Rubio began before Sherman cut him off.

“I’ve got limited time,” the congressman interjected. “Either give me a yes or a no.”

RUBIO FIRES BACK AFTER DEM SENATOR SAYS HE REGRETS VOTING FOR HIM, SPARKING TENSE EXCHANGE

“Well, I’m going to give you my answer if you want my answer,” Rubio replied.

But Sherman cut Rubio off, stating that he was reclaiming his time.

“Well, reclaim your time. But it’s not a game show,” Rubio said. “I get to answer. These are complex questions.”

“Mr. Secretary, I’m reclaiming my time,” Sherman said. “The filibustering takes place in the Senate. Not here.”

“I’m not filibustering. I’m trying to answer your question,” Rubio replied.

Sherman then moved on to his next question, asking whether Rubio could assure Congress that the Trump administration would continue sanctions on Iran until they verifiably agree to abandon all nuclear enrichment.

“That’s a yes or no question,” Sherman told Rubio.

Rubio replied: “No, it’s not.”

RUBIO, KAINE CLASH ON SOUTH AFRICAN REFUGEES: ‘YOU DON’T LIKE THAT THEY’RE WHITE’

“Well, can you give me a yes or no? Should I go on to go on to the next?” Sherman asked.

“We believe that Iran should not be allowed to enrich uranium, correct,” Rubio answered. 

“You believe that?” Sherman asked.

“We believe that an acceptable deal with Iran is one in which they cannot enrich, because if they can enrich, they can weaponize,” Rubio said.

“I know why we don’t want – I asked you will we agree, will we continue the sanctions until they verifiably agree to get rid of enrichments.”

“Oh, you have nothing to worry about,” Rubio said. “The worry was the previous administration. This administration–” 

“Your refusal to give me an answer is loud and clear,” Sherman interjected before shouting over Rubio that he was reclaiming his time.

The House hearing brought Rubio to testify on the State Department’s posture on protecting American interests. Throughout the hearing, Rubio asserted that any actions taken by the government must have measurable outcomes for the American people, specifically making the country safer, stronger or more prosperous.

The Trump administration sanctioned two high-ranking members of the Cartel del Noreste Wednesday — one of the most violent drug-trafficking organizations in Mexico and a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, Fox News Digital has learned. 

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the two leaders of the organizations, formerly known as Los Zetas. Officials said the gang exerts “significant influence over the border region,” especially near the Laredo, Texas point of entry. 

DOJ INDICTS ALLEGED HIGH-RANKING TREN DE ARAGUA MEMBER ON TERRORISM CHARGES FOR THE FIRST TIME

The first individual sanctioned was Miguel Angel de Anda Ledzema, a high-ranking member of Cartel del Noreste who oversees the procurement of guns and ammunition for the group. According to the Treasury Department, he has overseen payments to facilitators and straw purchasers in the United States and organized the delivery of firearms to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico — straw purchasers who made false representations to secure firearms from American businesses, who officials say “fell victim to the cartel’s lies.” 

The Treasury Department said that one of the weapons purchased in this arms trafficking conspiracy was recovered after Cartel del Noreste attacked Mexico’s army during a patrol in March 2024. 

The second individual sanctioned was Ricardo Gonzalez Sauceda, who was known as the second-in-command of Cartel del Noreste before his February arrest by Mexican authorities. 

The Treasury Department said he led an armed enforcement wing of the organization. He had been arrested in connection with attacks on the Mexican military and Mexican police. 

At the time of his arrest, he was in possession of a rifle, a handgun, 300 grams of methamphetamine and a package of 1,500 fentanyl pills. 

Officials said the new sanctions underscore the Trump administration’s commitment to targeting Cartel del Noreste and other violent cartels involved in drug trafficking, human trafficking, arms trafficking and other heinous crimes endangering the American people. 

VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT USES TREN DE ARAGUA AS PROXIES TO UNDERMINE US PUBLIC SAFETY, FBI ASSESSMENT FINDS

“In working toward the total elimination of cartels to Make America Safe Again, the Trump Administration will hold these terrorists accountable for their criminal activities and abhorrent acts of violence,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday. Cartel del Noreste “and its leaders have carried out a violent campaign of intimidation, kidnapping, and terrorism, threatening communities on both sides of our southern border.” 

Bessent added, “We will continue to cut off the cartels’ ability to obtain the drugs, money, and guns that enable their violent activities.” 

The new sanctions were imposed in coordination with Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration. 

Officials said the action was also closely coordinated with Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit. 

President of the National Border Patrol Council Paul Perez told Fox News Digital that President Donald Trump’s actions against cartels “fulfills the promise that he made when he stated time and time again that he would not allow the cartels to operate with impunity on our borders or within the interior of the United States.” 

“These actions deal a significant blow and serves to send the message to all cartels, as well as to those who wish to do harm to Americans, that President Trump will not just talk about it, he will follow through,” Perez said. “The amount of drugs, weapons and other contraband, to include the smuggling and trafficking of persons into and throughout the United States, created chaos and terror that the actions of the Trump administration is bringing to an end.” 

“We fully and without hesitation support the actions taken by President Trump and his administration to take on the cartels,” Perez added. 

The actions come after Trump directed cartels to be designated as foreign terrorist organizations. 

In April, the Justice Department hit a high-ranking member of Tren de Aragua on terrorism and international drug distribution charges — the first time the U.S. government has used terrorism charges to prosecute a member of the violent gang. 

It’s time to branch out from protein bars. 

​It’s time to branch out from protein bars. 

On this episode of Dinner SOS, Chris and Kendra help listeners plan the dinner party menu of their dreams! 

​On this episode of Dinner SOS, Chris and Kendra help listeners plan the dinner party menu of their dreams! 

U.S. health officials knew about the risks of myocarditis from COVID-19 vaccines but downplayed the concern and delayed informing the public about the risks of taking the jab — that is according to a new Senate report released by Sen. Ron Johnson Wednesday.  

Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has been investigating the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines. Earlier this year, he subpoenaed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for records relating to COVID-19 vaccine safety data and communications about the pandemic. 

SEN. RON JOHNSON: THE COVID COVER-UPS HAVE TO END

The interim report, spanning 55 pages, obtained and reviewed by Fox News Digital, revealed that Biden administration officials “withheld crucial health information from the Subcommittee and the public.” 

Since 2021, Johnson has sent more than 70 oversight letters, which he says were “either completely ignored or inadequately addressed.” 

The report highlights the records Johnson has obtained pursuant to the subpoena from the new, Trump administration-led health agency. Specifically, the report focuses on HHS’ awareness of and response to cases of myocarditis—a type of heart inflammation—following COVID-19 vaccination.

SCIENTISTS FIND CLUES ON WHY COVID VACCINE CAUSES CHRONIC HEALTH PROBLEMS IN SOME

Johnson’s report says the 2,473 pages of records he obtained “contain evidence of the Biden administration’s efforts to downplay and delay warning the public about the risks of myocarditis associated with the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.” 

The report points to records from May 2021, in which health officials at HHS discussed whether to issue a formal warning about myocarditis.

According to the report, the formal warning about myocarditis was initially going to be distributed nationwide as a Health Alert Network message, which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is CDC’s “primary method of sharing cleared information about urgent public health incidents with public information officers; federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local public health practitioners; clinicians; and public health laboratories.” 

However, Johnson’s report said that health officials at CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “ultimately decided against issuing a formal HAN and, instead, posted ‘clinical considerations’ on CDC’s website about myocarditis.” 

“Based on the subpoenaed records the Subcommittee has received to date, as well as public FOIA documents, this interim report will highlight records and present a timeline showing U.S. health officials knew about the risk of myocarditis; those officials downplayed the health concern; and U.S. health agencies delayed informing the public about the risk of the adverse event.” 

FLASHBACK: GOP SENATORS INVOKE STATUTE TO FORCE HHS ANSWERS ON COVID ORIGINS: ‘FULL-FLEDGED COVER-UP’

The report also highlights the Israeli Ministry of Health notifying officials at the CDC in February 2021 of “large reports of myocarditis, particularly in young people, following the administration of the Pfizer vaccine.” 

The report also highlights documents showing CDC officials discussing “safety signals” for myocarditis with mRNA vaccines in April 2021 based on Defense Department and Israeli data, but “still not taking immediate steps to warn the public.” 

Documents obtained by Johnson also show CDC officials communicating with Moderna and Pfizer representatives about the risks. 

Johnson also obtained “draft meeting notes from late May 2021 exchanged between U.S. public health officials which included the question: ‘Is VAERS signaling for myopericarditis now?,’ and the answer: ‘For the age groups 16-17 years and 18-24 years, yes.’” 

“VAERS” is an acronym for the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. 

FLASHBACK: SEN. RON JOHNSON CONFRONTS HHS SECRETARY ABOUT REDACTED FAUCI EMAILS ON COVID-19 ORIGINS

“Rather than provide the public and health care providers with immediate and transparent information regarding the risk of myocarditis following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination, the Biden administration waited until late June 2021 to announce changes to the labels for the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines based on the ‘suggested increased risks’ of myocarditis and pericarditis,” the report states. “Even though CDC and FDA officials were well aware of the risk of myocarditis following COVID-19 vaccination, the Biden administration opted to withhold issuing a formal warning to the public for months about the safety concerns, jeopardizing the health of young Americans.” 

The report added that the Biden administration’s decision “to downplay the COVID-19 vaccine health risks and delay warning the public about cardiac-related adverse events associated with the mRNA vaccines jeopardized the public’s health.” 

According to the report, as of April 25, 2025, VAERS reported 38,607 deaths and more than 1.6 million “adverse events worldwide associated with the administration of COVID-19 injections.” 

Of the more than 38,000 deaths, the report said 25% occurred on Day 0, 1, or 2 following injection, compared to “2,663 deaths reported to VAERS associated with the flu vaccine over a period of 35 years.” 

“No other reports of adverse events associated with any other drug or vaccine even come close to these statistics,” the report states. “And yet, those who oversaw the development and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines continue to insist it is safe and effective, without providing the data to prove their claims.” 

Johnson’s report demands that the “full extent” of the Biden administration’s “failure to immediately warn the public about all COVID-19 vaccine adverse events must be completely exposed.” 

“The American people fund the federal health departments and agencies with their hardearned tax dollars,” the report states. “The information developed by these departments and agencies belong to the American people, and should be made fully and transparently available.” 

The report states that as “the roadblocks are removed and more documents that have been hidden and withheld for years become available, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will provide transparency and let the American public see what is their right to see.”