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Former FBI Director Comey subpoenaed by federal prosecutors, US media reports

2026-03-19T22:04:22.859Z / Reuters

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) – Former FBI Director James Comey has been subpoenaed by federal prosecutors in Miami as part of the ​U.S. Justice Department’s investigation into former officials who ‌have previously probed and prosecuted President Donald Trump, CBS News and Axios reported on Thursday, citing sources.

The investigation has produced more than 130 ​subpoenas since cranking up last year, and targets ​top officials who worked under former presidents Barack Obama ⁠and Joe Biden, Axios reported.

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The Justice Department did not ​immediately respond to a request for comment. A representative of ​Comey could not be reached. Comey’s attorneys declined to comment to CBS News.

Reuters reported late last year federal prosecutors were preparing grand jury subpoenas ​to investigate Obama-era intelligence officials who produced an assessment ​that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election that Trump won.

Comey oversaw ‌an ⁠investigation into whether Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with Russia. Trump’s firing of Comey prompted then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to appoint Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

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Mueller’s investigation dogged ​much of ​Trump’s first term. ⁠He ultimately concluded there was no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Trump’s campaign ​and Russia.

The Trump Justice Department has also faced ​some ⁠legal and judicial roadblocks as it pursues investigations into critics and antagonists of the president during his second term.

A judge ⁠in ​November dismissed indictments against Comey and ​New York state Attorney General Letitia James, who each previously led investigations into ​Trump.

Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Rod Nickel

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Massachusetts man charged with threatening girlfriend of FBI Director Patel

March 19, 2026 9:35 PM UTC / Reuters / By Nate Raymond

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Political Commentator and Country Music Artist Alexis Wilkins sings the National Anthem at the 2026 International Christian Media Convention held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Seth Herald/File Photo

BOSTON, March 19 (Reuters) – A Massachusetts man was arrested last week after authorities said he sent FBI Director Kash Patel’s girlfriend an email ​saying he would be “happy” when her face is “canoed by an assault ‌rifle,” court records unsealed on Thursday showed.

Alden Welch Ruml, 26, was arrested on Friday and charged by federal prosecutors in Boston with making threats in interstate commerce. Authorities ​said he sent the threatening email upon becoming upset about a ​news article concerning Alexis Wilkins, Patel’s girlfriend.

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That February 28 article ⁠described the use of FBI resources to provide security to Wilkins, a ​country music singer, as well as conservative political views of Patel and ​Wilkins and their association with the Make America Great Again political movement, a newly unsealed search warrant application said.

“Watch your back,” the profane email said, according to the affidavit.

Ruml ​pleaded not guilty during a court hearing on Friday following his arrest. ​He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison if convicted.

William Fick, a ‌defense ⁠lawyer, declined to comment. The FBI did not respond to a request for comment.

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Wilkins was not initially identified as the alleged victim in the case. The indictment against Ruml instead described her only as an unnamed individual ​who had a ​personal relationship with ⁠a “high-ranking employee in the United States government.”

According to court papers, she had been in Arizona when she received ​the email. She indicated being “frightened by the threatening email ​and changing ⁠their upcoming travel arrangements as a result,” an FBI agent said in the affidavit.

Law enforcement determined it was sent by Ruml, who told agents who ⁠interviewed him ​at his place of work in Cambridge, ​Massachusetts that he had been “upset” by the news article, the affidavit said. He denied any ​intent to harm anyone.

Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Bill Berkrot

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

HHS ​chief counselor says encouraged by candidates vying to lead CDC

By Reuters

March 19, 2026 10:21 PM UTC Updated 1 hour ago

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Director of Medicare and Deputy Administrator of CMS Chris Klomp speaks after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a deal with Pfizer to sell drugs at lower prices, in the Oval office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno [Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab]

March 19 (Reuters) – HHS chief counselor Chris Klomp said on Thursday he was encouraged by the slate of candidates under consideration to ​lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has ‌faced significant instability under President Donald Trump’s administration.

U.S. National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya was named acting director for CDC last month as ​part of a broader shakeup within the health department ahead ​of midterm elections.

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The CDC has faced budget cuts, staff ⁠reductions, and controversies under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., ​a longtime anti-vaccine activist.

“I’m excited about (the) number of people that I’ve ​had the privilege to get to meet (and) interview and I’m very optimistic that we will select… an excellent leader for that agency,” Klomp said at a ​conference held by Stat News.

Bhattacharya took over from Health and ​Human Services Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill, who had been serving as acting CDC ‌director ⁠since August, following Trump’s decision to fire then-director Susan Monarez after she objected to Kennedy’s proposed vaccine policy changes.

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Her dismissal triggered the resignations of four senior CDC officials, who cited anti-vaccine policies and ​misinformation pushed by ​Kennedy.

Under O’Neill’s tenure, ⁠the CDC eliminated long-standing broad recommendations for four childhood vaccines in January and last year signed ​off on an advisory panel’s recommendation against early ​use ⁠of a combined measles-mumps-rubella-varicella vaccine.

A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked key parts of Kennedy’s effort to reshape U.S. vaccine policy, including a ⁠move to ​reduce the number of shots routinely ​recommended for children, and revamp the CDC advisory committee on inoculations.

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Reporting by Mariam Sunny in ​Bengaluru and Michael Erman in New York; Editing by Shailesh Kuber

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Oil prices could reach record highs, analysts warn. Here’s what it could mean for the U.S. economy.

2026-03-19T16:05:00-0400 / CBS News

Intensifying violence in the Middle East could send oil prices careening above their all-time high, raising the risk of higher inflation and slower economic growth, experts said.

“The biggest hit will be the consumer,” said Ryan Sweet, a chief global economist at Oxford Economics. “To kind of put it into context, every penny increase in gasoline prices reduces consumer spending by one and a half billion dollars over the course of a year.”

Brent crude briefly topped $119 a barrel on Thursday after fresh attacks on energy infrastructure, and analysts say prices could climb much higher if supply disruptions worsen — a shift that would push up gas prices, squeeze household budgets and ripple across the broader economy.

Consumers are already feeling the impact at the pump, where average gasoline prices are now almost $1 higher than they were before the war started. On Thursday, prices reached $3.88 per gallon, according to data from AAA. At the same time, the cost of jet fuel is rising, leading some carriers to hike their ticket prices.

Oil prices hit record highs in July 2008, when both Brent and West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, reached around $145 per barrel, or about $215 a barrel on an inflation-adjusted basis, according to data from FactSet.

To be sure, that inflation-adjusted figure remains well above current levels. Yet oil could eventually top $200 a barrel if the conflict drags on, TD Securities said in a research note last week.

U.S. insulated, but not immune

If oil prices approach 2008 levels, experts say Europe and Asia could experience a mild economic contraction, but the U.S. likely won’t dip into a recession. The U.S., they explain, is more insulated from global energy spikes, given that the country is a top oil producer and because less consumer spending goes toward energy production.

“I think the U.S. stands better than most,” Samuel Tombs, a chief U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, told CBS News.

Still, even if the U.S. dodges a recession, the economy is not immune to disruption.If Brent oil prices rise to $140 per barrel and remain there for two months, U.S. layoffs could rise as companies cope with higher costs, pushing up the jobless rate, according to a March 11 Oxford Economics research note.

“This is when you start getting concerned about that vicious cycle,” he said. “Businesses start to lay off workers, and then that also hits consumption.”

Sweet said the stock market could fall, leading higher-income households to pull back on spending. Lower-income households would bear the brunt of rising gas prices, forcing some to cut back on discretionary spending, he added.

“The concern is the knock-on effects, including what it means for the U.S. stock market, because consumer spending is concentrated [among] higher-income households,” he said.

Inflationary risks

Economists say rising oil prices could also inject inflationary pressure into the U.S. economy as shipping costs rise.

“Even though the U.S. imports very little through the Strait of Hormuz, it’s still causing some bottlenecks in the global supply chains that could also be inflationary,” Sweet said.

A recent analysis from Pantheon Macroeconomics found that if oil prices increase to $150 per barrel and stay at that level for three months, the Consumer Price Index could jump to an annual pace of 6%, up from 2.4% recorded in February.

Experts have warned consumers could start to see higher food prices, as the conflict drives up the price of diesel, the fuel used by trucks and barges that transport U.S. goods. Earlier this week, diesel surpassed $5 a gallon for the first time since 2022.

“Even if oil prices stabilize, the persistence of higher freight costs, longer shipping routes, and insurance costs can keep delivered prices elevated for fuel and intermediate goods,” Ramnivas Mundada, director of Economic Research and Companies at GlobalData, said in a research note on Thursday. “That combination increases the likelihood that inflation proves stickier than expected.”

Can consumers weather the shock?

Experts said larger tax refunds, which are up this year due to the “big, beautiful bill” act, will help consumers weather some of the cost increases related to the Iran war.

The nonpartisan Tax Foundation estimates the average tax refund will be $748 — roughly equal to the additional fuel costs the typical U.S. household will face this year due to higher gas prices.

“Households do still have a reasonable amount of savings to get through a temporary period of higher energy prices,” Tombs said.

The longer the conflict drags on, the more financial risk it poses to U.S. consumers.

“The U.S. consumer can weather a couple of weeks of high energy prices, but with each passing month the economic costs really begin to mount,” Sweet said.

High-speed combat drone production starts at new US Anduril plant in days

March 19, 2026 9:57 PM UTC / Reuters

By Mike Stone

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Item 1 of 2 A FURY drone inside the Arsenal-1 manufacturing facility, operated by Anduril, in Ashville, Ohio, U.S. March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Megan Jelinger

[1/2]A FURY drone inside the Arsenal-1 manufacturing facility, operated by Anduril, in Ashville, Ohio, U.S. March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Mike Stone

• Summary
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• Anduril’s $1 billion Ohio plant to employ 4,000 over next decade
• Anduril’s manufacturing approach differs from traditional defense contractors
• FURY drones part of Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program

COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 19 (Reuters) – Anduril Industries will begin building its new FURY, “loyal wingman,” high-speed combat drones ​​in the coming days at a new facility in Ohio, as the U.S. military’s interest in unmanned aircraft surges following battlefield successes in Ukraine and Iran.

Amid cornfields and horse farms 20 miles (32 km) south of Columbus, ​Ohio, the defense tech start-up is expecting its $1 billion Arsenal-1 autonomous systems manufacturing ​campus to employ more than 4,000 people over the next decade, starting with ​roughly 250 by the end of this year, officials said on Thursday.

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Anduril is one ​of a new but growing group of small defense firms hoping to win lucrative Pentagon contracts ​for next-generation weapons. The Trump administration hopes the newer firms will help upend weapons manufacturing by delivering cutting-edge technology more quickly and at a lower cost.

Matt Grimm, Anduril’s co-founder and chief operating officer, said its ​approach to manufacturing differs fundamentally from traditional defense contractors.

Rather than designing products first and worrying ​about production later, the company bakes manufacturability in from Day 1 — choosing commercial materials such as aluminum ​over titanium, ​using composite techniques borrowed from the recreational boat industry, and selecting a commercial business jet engine for the FURY program specifically because of its well-established supply chain and maintenance ecosystem.

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Production of the company’s FURY autonomous aircraft will be the first to launch at the facility. The FURY ​is Anduril’s entrant for ​the Collaborative Combat ​Aircraft program – part of an Air Force plan for a next-generation family of systems, an effort to equip crewed fighter jets and other ​planes with an uncrewed platform that would fly alongside the human ​pilots.

“From the ​very first prototype, we’ve been working with our engineers on every single build, thinking, how do we design it for production?” Grimm said.

Anduril said its Roadrunner interceptor, Barracuda cruise missile family, and ​a classified ​program were all expected to be produced at the ​new factory by year-end.

The company said it is already operating production facilities in Mississippi, Australia, Rhode Island, Colorado, Atlanta, ​North Carolina, and Southern California.

Reporting by Mike Stone in Ohio; Editing by Chris Sanders, Rod Nickel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

How the Trump administration could be hurting Israel’s already damaged brand

Analysis by Aaron Blake
3 hr ago
PUBLISHED Mar 19, 2026, 4:00 PM ET

The Middle East Donald Trump Oil & gas Fighting disinformation

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President Donald Trump sits in the Oval Office on Thursday, during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

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President Donald Trump joined with Israel to launch the Iran war at an inauspicious time for the US-Israeli relationship.

Just a day before the first strikes, Gallup polling had shown Americans’ views of Israel hitting a 21st century low; most strikingly, Americans for the first time didn’t sympathize more with Israelis than Palestinians.

Making matters even more fraught, the right has in recent months become riven over how to deal with what many regard as a troubling rise in antisemitism in its base and influencer class. Some of the biggest names in conservative thought have increasingly — and often conspiratorially — linked Israel to all manner of American maladies.

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Given Americans seemed quite skeptical of this war from the jump, it didn’t take an active imagination to surmise that some people would blame Israel and even craft conspiracy theories about that.

And that’s certainly happened. But, in a twist, that’s thanks in large part to some of the Trump administration’s rhetoric about the war.

The president and those around him have done Israel no favors with some of their claims.

On two major occasions now, the administration has gestured at Israel being mostly responsible for major inflection points in the war — even though the evidence on both counts isn’t totally clear.

Rubio’s claim about an ‘imminent’ Iranian threat

First, it was Secretary of State Marco Rubio making a kind of bank-shot case for why Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States. Rubio said Israel was going to strike Iran no matter what, and Iran was going to retaliate by striking at US targets; ipso facto, the argument went, Iran was an imminent threat to the United States.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a meeting between President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

The political problem with this formulation, though, was that it sounded a lot like the United States government was having its hand forced by Israel.

So the Trump administration quickly abandoned that argument and moved on to another in its long line of justifications for the war.

Joe Kent’s resignation

But this week has showed how Israel’s PR problem is going nowhere.

On Tuesday, we learned that the first high-profile Trump administration official had resigned while citing the Iran war. But outgoing National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent didn’t just criticize the war; he heavily blamed “pressure from Israel and its powerful lobby” for coercing the United States into it.

Kent in his resignation letter went on to repeatedly cite Israel and blame it for other wars, too. And in an interview with Tucker Carlson on Wednesday, he played into conspiracy theories about Israel and the assassination of late conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The reaction on much of the establishment right has largely been to dismiss Kent as an antisemitic crank. But this is someone Trump put in a powerful position — and did so despite his known past associations with extremists, including White nationalists and a Nazi sympathizer. And Kent is now using the credibility the administration vested in him to target Israel.

Trump’s latest claim

And finally came Trump’s bizarre missive late Wednesday night.

In a social media post at about 10 p.m. ET, he disclaimed any US role in the major Israeli attacks on facilities linked to the South Pars gas field in Iran.

“The United States knew nothing about this particular attack,” Trump maintained.

The attack was a big deal because Iran responded by striking Qatar’s portion of the gas field, raising tensions between neighbors in the region. (Trump also threatened to “massively blow up” Iran’s portion of the gas field if it keeps attacking Qatar.) And the gas field is the world’s largest, meaning its destruction could have an outsized impact on the already struggling global energy markets and supplies.

Smoke and fire rise near the South Pars gas field following an attack in Bushehr Province, Iran, on Wednesday, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video.

Reuters

The first thing to note is that Trump’s account has been contradicted. A US source has told CNN that the US was “aware” of the strike, and an Israeli source has said the two sides coordinated on the strike. (Other experts, including former US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, have noted it would be shocking if Israel didn’t loop the United States in on an attack of this scale and significance.)

But setting that aside, Trump’s comments — much like Rubio’s — imply that Israel is singularly responsible for this escalation, and they cast the United States in a role of responding to that Israeli-imposed escalation.

Disclaiming involvement might serve Trump’s domestic political purposes, but it doesn’t help Israel’s reputation in the United States. If anything, Trump’s position that the US knew nothing feeds those harboring theories like Kent’s.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said Israel had “acted alone” in a strike on a processing facility linked to the South Pars gas field, without directly addressing whether the United States was aware of the operation beforehand.

Netanyahu also rejected the idea that Israel coerced the United States into the war, casting doubt that anyone could do that to Trump.

“This canard that we dragged the United States into it – it’s not just a canard; it’s ridiculous. It’s just ridiculous,” Netanyahu said at his news conference.

Uncomfortable questions

Trump seemed to double down on his claim on Thursday, telling reporters that the US and Israel were “independent” but “get along great.”

He said of Netanyahu: “It’s coordinated. But on occasion he’ll do something, and if I don’t like it, and so we’re not doing that anymore.”

But the situation is again posing uncomfortable questions for the administration.

At Thursday’s Pentagon briefing, a reporter for the right-wing website Gateway Pundit asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about Trump’s Wednesday Truth Social post.

“Why are we helping Israel prosecute this war, if they’re going to pursue their own objectives?” the reporter asked.

Hegseth didn’t address the substance of Trump’s post, instead offering vague assurances that US objectives were being met.

“We hold the cards. We have objectives. Those objectives are clear,” he responded. “We have allies pursuing objectives as well, and the truth speaks for itself.”

Later that morning, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was asked at a House intelligence committee hearing why Israel would strike Iranian energy infrastructure (purportedly) against Trump’s wishes.

“I don’t have an answer for that,” she responded.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testifies before a US House Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday.

Kylie Cooper/Reuters

Gabbard was then asked if Israel’s objectives aligned with the United States’, and she again appeared stumped. After a long pause, she said she was “thinking carefully” about what she could say publicly.

(She eventually acknowledged that Israel was more focused on taking out Iran’s leadership, while the United States was more focused on disarming Iran — both on the nuclear front and with its conventional weapons.)

Also at the hearing, CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed that what Rubio said had a real basis in US intelligence.

Ratcliffe said there was a “body of evidence” available that said, “in the likely event of a conflict between Iran and Israel, that the US would be immediately attacked — regardless of whether the United States stayed out of that conflict.”

This war was always going to be a tough sell with the American people and a real test of the US-Israeli relationship.

But through its inability to craft a consistent message and Trump’s tendency to say whatever might be expedient at the moment, the administration has made the latter portion of that equation even more complicated than it had to be.

American society — and Israel’s reputation — could be feeling the effects of that for a long time.

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U.S. oil producers could get $63 billion boost from high crude prices, analysis shows

Updated on: March 19, 2026 / 5:41 PM EDT / CBS News

Soaring energy prices due to the Iran war could provide a massive windfall for U.S. oil companies.

Rystad Energy, a market research firm, estimates that shale oil producers in the U.S. could earn an additional $63 billion in sales as prices soar past $100 a barrel.

If oil prices averaged $70 a barrel — their approximate level before the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East last month — U.S. producers would generate generate $99 billion in free cash flow for the year. At an average of $100 a barrel, that figure would jump to $162 billion, according to the firm. Among the companies poised to benefit: BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Shell.

Brent crude, the international oil benchmark most directly linked to the price of gas in the U.S., topped $119 on Thursday after signs of escalating violence in the region, before ending the day at $108.65.

The U.S. is the world’s largest crude producer, with an output of 13 million barrels per day, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). It exports roughly 11 million barrels of oil daily, and imports 8 million, making the U.S. a net oil exporter.

Oil prices have soared as Iran effectively blocks the Strait of Hormuz following the February 28 attack by the U.S. and Israel. Normally, roughly 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas supplies pass through the key waterway.

“Demand destruction” risk

In a social media post on X last week, President Trump touted the benefits to the U.S. of higher oil prices. “The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money,” he said in the post.

But while U.S. oil producers could benefit in the short-term, financial gains from sustained higher oil prices could be short-lived as higher energy costs wash over consumers, Rystad Energy analyst Thomas Liles told CBS News.

“It’s good for U.S. producers, but in the short-term primarily,” he said. “Once prices increase to very high levels, the question from a producer perspective is how long the good times can last, because once you get to a certain price, you see demand destruction.”

If oil prices jumped to $150 per barrel, consumers would likely cut their spending, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, to offset higher gasoline and other energy-related costs. A reduction in energy consumption, in turn, could lead to an economic slowdown depending on how long the conflict lasts and how oil prices react, Liles said.

“The bigger question is what happens next, and if the disruption continues and prices continue to rise, all this sends the economy into a tailspin,” he said.

For now, oil prices remain well below their all-time highs. That came in July 2008, as the housing crash was denting the economy, when both Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, reached around $145 per barrel, or about $215 on an inflation-adjusted basis, according to data from FactSet.

Will U.S. oil producers boost production?

The risks of runaway oil costs are not lost on industry executives. In a meeting with White House officials earlier this week, energy company leaders expressed concern about the Iran war’s impact on the broader economy, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Meanwhile, U.S. energy companies are hesitant to boost oil production despite the incentive of higher prices, Rystad analysts note.

“U.S. shale producers are not poised to quickly ramp up production for two major reasons — strategic caution and a lack of drilled, uncompleted wells to quickly bring online,” Rystad Energy analyst Matthew Bernstein wrote in a report. Domestic oil players are unlikely to increase production so long as the duration of the Iran conflict remains hard to predict, he noted.

That’s in part because sustained oil prices above $100 a barrel are far from guaranteed, while ramping up production would take time, Bernstein told CBS News.

Bernstein added that U.S. oil companies have recently grappled with volatile prices and might not have “the willingness” to increase production in an uncertain environment.

“It’s the moment to take a breather and be able to realize some added cash benefits from selling your oil at $100 a barrel,” he said.

Edited by Alain Sherter

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Epstein’s lawyer ‘not aware’ of any relationship Trump had with late convicted sex offender, Comer says

Epstein’s personal lawyer, Darren Indyke, is the latest individual to testify in House Oversight Committee’s probe

By Adam Pack
Fox News

Published March 19, 2026 5:10pm EDT

Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime personal lawyer and co-executive of his estate said he had no knowledge of a relationship the late convicted sex offender had with President Donald Trump, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said Thursday.

Darren Indyke made the claim in a closed-door session before the House Oversight Committee. He is the latest Epstein affiliate to testify in the panel’s sprawling probe.

Comer said Democrats immediately pressed Indyke with questions about ties between the president and Epstein.

“Republicans asked very substantive questions that any curious media outlet would ask, that any American who’s kept up with this story would ask,” Comer told reporters. “Then the Democrats get their hour, and they ask about Donald Trump.”

BILL CLINTON SAYS HE DIDN’T KNOW WOMAN IN INFAMOUS JACUZZI PHOTO DURING CLOSED-DOOR EPSTEIN TESTIMONY

“Mr. Indyke said that he was not aware of any relationship that Mr. Epstein had with Mr. Trump,” Comer added.

Comer also said that Indyke told the committee that he had no knowledge of Epstein’s sexual crimes. Indyke has denied any wrongdoing and did not invoke his Fifth Amendment right when questioned by the panel.

“As with all the other witnesses, they all claim they never had any knowledge before it became public that Mr. Epstein was … doing anything inappropriately with young women,” the Kentucky Republican said.

After Epstein’s first conviction in 2008, Comer said that Indyke told the committee that Epstein “convinced him he would never do it again and that he had remorse.”

“We’re asking all those questions, and like just about every other witness, they either didn’t know or couldn’t recall,” Comer said, referring to individuals in Epstein’s orbit having knowledge of or participating in sex trafficking schemes. “But we’ll keep pressing.”

BONDI, TOP DOJ OFFICIALS BRIEF CONGRESS ON JEFFREY EPSTEIN PROBE

Democrats on the oversight panel immediately dismissed the idea that Indyke had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.

“I’m very surprised that he did not take the Fifth Amendment,” Rep. Dave Min, D-Calif., told reporters. ” I think it’s very likely he perjured himself over and over again.”

“He claimed … that he had no knowledge of any women or girls. And yet that doesn’t account for the fact that numerous women have described how he helped them fix their problems,” Min added.

Richard Kahn, the second co-executor of Epstein’s estate, testified to the committee earlier in March. The one-time accountant to Epstein told the panel he was not aware of any transactions between Trump and Epstein.

Former President Bill Clinton also told the committee in February that Trump had never indicated to him that he knew about Epstein’s crimes.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“They have created a narrative, a false narrative, that there’s a cover-up,” Comer said of Democrats on the committee. “And they’ve created a false narrative that Donald Trump has some type of liability in this. Both narratives are getting exploded by every witness we bring in.”

Trump has repeatedly stated that he cut off ties with Epstein in the early 2000s after the two maintained a relationship for over a decade.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6390107494112

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发布/2026年3月20日 07:17

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Mortgage rates rise as Iran war fans inflation fears and lifts Treasury yields

March 19, 2026 / 5:35 PM EDT / CBS News

Mortgage rates in the U.S. jumped this week to the highest level in three months, as the Iran war fans inflation fears and puts pressure on the U.S. housing market.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.22% in the week ending March 19, up from 6.11% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac.

Economists note that current borrowing costs remain well below the 6.67% rate on a conventional 30-year loan a year ago. Still, the latest uptick is a discouraging sign for house hunters as the spring buying season kicks off. In late February, mortgage rates fell below 6% for the first time since September 2022.

“Elevated uncertainty could once again sideline both buyers and sellers, echoing the hesitant market conditions seen last year,” Anthony Smith, senior economist at Realtor.com, told the Associated Press.

Mortgage applications fell nearly 11% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. New Census Bureau data also show that sales of new single-family homes dropped nearly 18% in January from the previous month and are down 11.3% from January 2025.

Iran war impact

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate has climbed since the conflict in the Middle East began in late February. The war has tightened global energy supplies, raising oil prices and injecting uncertainty into financial markets.

The 10-year Treasury yield, which influences the direction of mortgage rates, was at 4.26% on Thursday afternoon, up from 3.96% before the war started. As long-term bond yields rise, that pushes up mortgage rates.

“Rising energy prices and renewed trade uncertainty have lifted inflation expectations, putting upward pressure on longer-term interest rates and, in turn, mortgage rates,” Realtor.com senior economist Anthony Smith said in a blog post.

Mortgage rates are also indirectly influenced by the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions, which impact the broader lending environment. The central bank doesn’t set mortgage rates, but its decisions to raise or lower its short-term rate are watched closely by bond investors and can affect the yield on 10-year Treasury.

The Fed decided this week to hold rates steady as it assesses the impact of the Iran war, while also signaling that it could move to lower rates at least once this year.

However, some Wall Street analysts have cast doubt on that. EY-Parthenon chief economist Gregory Daco said in a report that it’s “entirely plausible that the Fed won’t deliver any rate cuts this year.”

Edited by Alain Sherter

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/impact-of-rising-fuel-costs-on-feds-interest-rate-decision/