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Judge to Trump lawyers trying to move hush money appeal to federal court: ‘You sought two bites at the apple’

2 hr ago | PUBLISHED Feb 4, 2026, 4:00 PM ET | CNN Politics

By

[Kara Scannell]

President Donald Trump arrives for the world premiere of “MELANIA” at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026.

Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg/Getty Images

A federal judge was skeptical of President Donald Trump’s argument to try to move the appeal of his hush money conviction to federal court — after lawyers already took their shot in two other courts.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein suggested Trump’s attorneys missed their chance by first taking the US Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity to the state court judge who oversaw the criminal trial and not to a federal judge until almost two months later.

“You made a choice. You sought two bites at the apple,” Hellerstein told Trump’s lawyers Wednesday.

He also quizzed Trump’s lawyer over the argument that the case should move to federal court because Trump could claim as a defense that he has immunity. Calling the arguments “provocative,” he said he would issue a ruling later.

Trump’s attorneys are trying to get the appeal of his hush money conviction moved into federal court where the judges could interpret challenges involving federal preemption and presidential immunity. Removal would also plow a quicker path to have the appeal heard by the US Supreme Court.

Trump was convicted in 2024 of 34 state charges of falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

During oral arguments on Wednesday, Hellerstein said Trump’s attorneys appeared to make a strategic decision to bring the Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity first to Judge Juan Merchan, the state judge who oversaw the trial, before trying to move the case to federal court which it did 58 days after the decision came down.

Jeffrey Wall, an attorney for Trump, pushed back against Hellerstein’s comment that he was trying to get another bite at the apple.

“It would have been disrespectful in spades” to Judge Merchan if they bypassed him, Wall said. He said they had to move quickly before the state judge because Trump was set to be sentenced by him 10 days later.

Hellerstein said Trump’s attorneys missed the 30-day window allowed under the statute to move the case into federal court and their burden now was whether there was “good cause” to allow them to try again.

“All your doing is saying your good cause is you’re afraid to anger the state court and you want to give the state court the first chance” to rule on the Supreme Court decision before trying the argument in federal court, the judge said.

“You’ve made a strategic decision. You’re seeing where you can get a better decision and that is indicative of the intent,” the judge said.

“My thesis is that was fatal to you,” Hellerstein said.

[Related article U.S. President Donald Trump sits in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., on June 10, 2025. Nathan Howard/Reuters Federal appeals court wrestles with Trump effort to fight hush money conviction 4 min read]

Trump is simultaneously appealing his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records to influence the 2016 presidential election in state court. That appeal can ultimately be brought to the US Supreme Court but it has additional layers of review.

Hellerstein had previously rejected Trump’s effort to move the case into federal court, finding the argument that Trump had presidential immunity didn’t apply. Trump later tried again after the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity. He argued the use of evidence, including testimony from Trump’s former White House advisor Hope Hicks and his tweets while in office, were improperly used and his conviction should be overturned.

At the time Hellerstein denied that motion for removal, writing, “Private schemes with private actors, unconnected to any statutory or constitutional authority or function of the executive, are considered unofficial acts.”

Trump appealed and in November the Second Circuit Court of Appeals sent it back to Hellerstein to conduct further analysis considering the Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.

On Wednesday, Wall, the attorney for Trump, argued when the Manhattan district attorney’s office introduced evidence of what they argued were official acts — such as Trump’s tweets, trial testimony from his former White House aide Hope Hicks, and testimony about conversations Trump had with his attorney general — it changed the case and now it should be moved into federal court.

“The district attorney held those keys in his hand. He didn’t have to introduce that evidence at trial to prove up his case. Once he did this became a prosecution relating to those official acts,” Wall argued.

“Is that enough to make it a federal case? I think the answer to that is obviously yes,” Wall said.

The attorney added, “I don’t think you have to get to the bottom of this. It’s all for the Second Circuit.”

Wall said that the judge doesn’t have to decide the merits of the argument on immunity, only that they have what is called a “colorable defense” to move the case into federal court.

Steven Wu, an attorney for the district attorney’s office, argued that a fight over evidence is not a defense to criminal charges.

“The defendant seems to assume that because evidence of official acts is introduced that somehow transforms the nature of the criminal action. That’s just not true. The charges arise out of conduct that is wholly unofficial and private,” Wu said.

During Wednesday’s argument, while the judge was skeptical of many of Trump’s legal arguments, he acknowledged a technical maneuver that appealed to him.

“That’s a delicious thought because I then dump the whole problem on the Court of Appeals,” Hellerstein said.

Trump-signed shutdown bill sends $4M to children’s hospitals under federal probe for transgender care

Published February 4, 2026 3:15pm EST | Updated February 4, 2026 2:22pm EST

In passing the $1.2 trillion megabill to end the government shutdown Tuesday, lawmakers sent $4 million in funding to two children’s hospitals under investigation by President Donald Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for their track record of providing transgender healthcare to minors.

The allocations to Seattle Children’s Hospital in Washington state and the Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago can be found in the $1.2 trillion package that funds several agencies, including HHS, that Trump signed into law Tuesday, ending the latest partial government shutdown.

The hospitals are among several the administration has put under a spotlight with HHS probes in Trump’s bid to halt “chemical and surgical mutilation” against minors.

CHILDREN’S NATIONAL HOSPITAL IN DC TO END GENDER TRANSITION MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS

President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Dec. 15, 2025.(Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The $4 million in congressionally directed spending, Capitol Hill jargon for earmarks, was requested by Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured $3 million for Seattle Children’s Hospital, which did not respond to a request for comment on how the funding might be used.

Murray told Fox News Digital the funding was meant “to provide a safe and comfortable space for kids in crisis, kids who may seriously harm themselves or take their own life.”

“It has nothing to do with President Trump’s hateful crusade against transgender children,” Murray said. “It’s disgusting to see a witch hunt against funding for a project that enjoys broad support from across the community — all Americans, regardless of political affiliation, understand that we need more investments to tackle the mental health crisis in this country.”

The remaining $1 million is slated for Lurie Children’s Hospital, which paused its transgender care for minors amid the Trump administration’s ongoing investigation.

Durbin’s office told Fox News Digital, “Senator Durbin is proud to have secured $1 million for the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago to support the expansion of the new hospital-based violence recovery program, serving pediatric victims of violence with trauma-informed mental health and recovery services.

“We are fortunate to have the expertise of the professionals at Lurie Children’s applied to the complex challenges that too many children in Chicago are exposed to from community violence, child abuse, and mental health needs.”

When asked for Trump’s reaction to the $4 million in earmarks to the hospitals, White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital, “The American people gave President Trump a resounding mandate to restore common sense in America, and the Trump administration is exploring other tools to crack down on child mutilation procedures.”

President Donald Trump speaks during the launch of a program known as Trump Accounts at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium Jan. 28, 2026, in Washington.(Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)

Earmark spending — pork barrel spending as it’s often known — has long been a heated debate on Capitol Hill. The practice was banned for roughly a decade but reinstated a handful of years ago, with limits.

The earmarks for the hospitals are among several that fiscal hawks like Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, blasted from the Senate floor last week.

“They do a lot, including spending on woke, wasteful and unjustified spending: puberty blockers for kids,” Lee said as he listed his opposition to a number of earmarks in the bill.

“We don’t need this; we don’t want this. It’s unacceptable. It must end.”

Some Senate Republicans have for years railed against earmarks, going so far as to permanently ban them within their own conference in 2019. Still, that ban does not encompass the entire Senate, and, ultimately, is more of an honor system among individual members.

Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, who oversees the process of putting together spending bills before they hit the floor, argued that earmarks, known as congressionally directed spending (CDS), are mostly requests made by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle tailor-made for a lawmakers’ state.

“Members of Congress understand the needs of our constituents far better than any well-intentioned federal employee located here in Washington,” Collins said on the Senate floor. “The CDS projects provide funding for states, communities and nonprofit organizations. The process is completely open and transparent.”

Seattle Children’s Hospital and Lurie Children’s Hospital have both drawn scrutiny from health officials as the Trump administration has taken a more critical stance against sex-change procedures and their effects on children.

After announcing that HHS would bar hospitals from performing sex-reassignment procedures on children, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. targeted Seattle Children’s Hospital’s access to Medicare and Medicaid programs.

201 HOUSE DEMOCRATS VOTE AGAINST BLOCKING MEDICAID DOLLARS FOR KIDS’ TRANSGENDER SURGERIES

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Jan. 29, 2025.(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

“Under my leadership, and answering President Trump’s call to action, the federal government will do everything in its power to stop unsafe, irreversible practices that put our children at risk,” Kennedy said in a press release in December.

A number of states, including Washington, have sued the Trump administration for its decision, arguing that HHS lacked the power to “substantively alter the standards of care and effectively ban, by fiat, an entire category of healthcare.”

Despite the ongoing litigation, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) opened a probe into Seattle Children’s activities in December.

The Lurie Children’s Hospital scaled back its transgender services in response to pressure from HHS earlier this year but has still come under recent scrutiny from the department.

HHS General Counsel Mike Stuart announced in a post on X last month that he had referred Lurie Children’s Hospital to OIG alongside four other hospitals for failing to protect “children from sex-rejecting procedures.”

In response, Lurie Children’s Hospital said it had paused its transgender care services for those under 18, according to statements made to local news outlets.

Health and Human Services Department Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Washington, Sept. 4, 2025.(Wi McNamee/Getty Images)

As listed on the earmarks, the $3 million in funding for Seattle Children’s Hospital would go toward “facilities and equipment to construct a behavioral health stabilization unit.”

The $1 million in funding for Lurie Children’s would go toward “health and trauma services for pediatric patients.”

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Neither hospital responded to a request for comment for more information on how that funding might be used or about their relationships with HHS.

Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.

Trump says the lesson from Minneapolis is to use a “softer touch” in federal immigration enforcement

February 4, 2026 / 4:19 PM EST / CBS News

Washington — After two Americans were fatally shot by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis last month, President Trump said the lesson he’s learned from the federal operation in Minnesota is to use a “little bit of a softer touch.”

“I learned that maybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch,” the president said in an interview with NBC News airing Wednesday. “But you still have to be tough.”

Investigations continue into the deaths of Renée Good on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24 amid a surge of immigration agents to the Twin Cities that began more than two months ago. Trump border czar Tom Homan on Wednesday announced he will cut the number of federal immigration and border patrol agents in Minneapolis by 700. Homan cited an “unprecedented” level of cooperation between counties and federal immigration enforcement officials, saying some counties have agreed to let Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents take custody of migrants directly from their jails.

Mr. Trump told NBC News he made the call to cut down the federal immigration enforcement presence.

“Yes, it did,” the president said when asked if that decision came from him. “But it didn’t come from me because I just wanted to do it. We have— we are waiting for them to release prisoners. Give us the murderers that they’re holding, and all of the bad people, drug dealers, all of the bad people.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have been critical of the administration’s immigration crackdown in the city. Last month, CBS News reported the Justice Department was investigating them both over an alleged conspiracy to impede federal immigration agents, multiple sources familiar with the matter said, a significant escalation in the clash.

“I’ve called the governor, I’ve called the mayor, spoke to him, had great conversations with him, and then I see them ranting and raving out there, literally as though a call wasn’t made,” Mr. Trump told NBC News on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Good’s brothers, Luke and Brent Ganger, testified on Capitol Hill in their first public comments after their sister was shot and killed by an ICE agent while driving her car.

“The deep distress our family feels because of Nay’s loss in such a violent and unnecessary way is complicated by feelings of disbelief, distress and desperation for change,” Luke Ganger said. “In the last few weeks, our family took some consolation thinking that perhaps Nay’s death would bring about change in our country. And it has not.”

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/details-on-homan-plan-to-withdraw-of-700-immigration-agents-from-minneapolis/

Supreme Court lets California use new Democrat-friendly congressional map

Published Feb 4, 2026, 2:24 PM ET / Source: CNN

By

[John Fritze]

3 hr ago

Supreme Court Congressional news Donald Trump Race & ethnicity

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A bird lifts off from the top of the US Supreme Court building on January 9.

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed California to use a new congressional map that will undermine President Donald Trump’s effort to keep control of the House of Representatives, marking a defeat for Republicans who claimed one of the new districts was redesigned based on race rather than politics.

There were no noted dissents, and the court did not explain its reasoning.

The emergency appeal from state Republicans was the latest to reach the high court tied to an ongoing arms-race-style mid-decade redistricting that Trump initiated to keep the House after the midterm elections.

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California redrew its map, which puts five GOP-held seats in play, as a response to a partisan redistricting in Texas that benefited Republicans.

Federal courts, including the Supreme Court, don’t get involved in cases dealing with partisan gerrymanders. But state Republicans had argued that racial considerations motivated the redrawing of one district that covers portions of the Central Valley between San Francisco and Fresno. Those allegations were based largely on comments by a mapmaking consultant, Paul Mitchell, who said publicly that he intended to “ensure that Latino districts” were “bolstered” in the 13th Congressional District.

The state’s “professed purpose was to pick up five seats in Congress for the Democratic Party to offset the five seats the Republican Party gained in Texas,” California Republicans told the Supreme Court in their emergency appeal. “But those officials harbored another purpose as well: maximizing Latino voting strength to shore up Latino support for the Democratic Party.”

The map was ultimately approved by state residents in a referendum in which 64% of voters backed the plan.

But the Republicans challenging the map faced a seemingly insurmountable hurdle. Just weeks ago, the Supreme Court rejected a strikingly similar argument made by civil rights and other groups challenging Texas’ map. In early December, the court sided with Texas in that challenge, permitting the state’s map to be used in this year’s election.

Justice Samuel Alito, a member of the court’s conservative wing, wrote in a concurrence that it was “indisputable” that the “impetus for the adoption of the Texas map (like the map subsequently adopted in California) was partisan advantage pure and simple.” His opinion was joined by two other conservatives, Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch.

[Related article California Gov. Gavin Newsom arrives at a rally alongside Democratic lawmakers in Houston, Texas, on November 8, just days after the passage of California’s Proposition 50 to counter Texas Republicans’ redistricting efforts. Brandon Bell/Getty Images/File How the Supreme Court emboldened Democrats in California and elsewhere redrawing US House maps 4 min read]

State GOP officials and the state Republican Party sued to block the map’s use and the Trump administration joined that litigation. But the administration declined to bring its own emergency appeal to the Supreme Court and instead filed a brief supporting the state officials’ appeal.

California Republicans had asked the Supreme Court for a decision by February 9 – the start of the state’s candidate filing period. But Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democratic opponents noted that the justices have long admonished courts not to change state voting rules close to an election. The state’s primary is set for June 2 and election officials told the court they would begin processing mail-in ballots in May.

States generally redraw their House districts once a decade to correspond with a new census. Trump has pushed GOP states to try to eke an advantage out of those maps now so that Democrats will have a harder time capturing control of the House during his final two years in the White House.

Under a 2019 Supreme Court precedent, federal courts no longer review cases alleging partisan gerrymanders. However, courts do still review claims of racial gerrymanders. And because race and politics are often so closely intertwined in mapmaking, several suits have required judges to decide whether disputed maps were drawn based on racial discrimination or partisan advantage.

In a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel in California concluded that the redrawing was a political effort and declined to block the new map’s use.

“We conclude that it was exactly as one would think: it was partisan,” the court wrote. “The record contains a mountain of statements reflecting the partisan goals of Proposition 50.”

The two judges in the majority were appointed by Democratic presidents. A third judge, who was appointed by Trump, dissented. That judge called attention to public statements from the mapmaker about efforts to ensure Latino districts are “bolstered.”

“We know race likely played a predominant role in drawing at least one district because the smoking gun is in the hands of Paul Mitchell, the mapmaker who drew the congressional redistricting map adopted by the California state legislature,” wrote US Circuit Judge Kenneth Lee.

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With latest Minnesota fraud case looming, the lead prosecutors have quit

February 4, 2026 / 4:25 PM EST / CBS News

The four prosecutors who spearheaded a $250 million Minnesota fraud case will not be in court at the next trial because they’ve all left the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota in recent days, along with more than a dozen others in a growing wave of resignations.

The departures have left the already-diminished office with as few as 17 assistant U.S. attorneys, according to sources inside the office — down from 70 during the Biden administration.

Former prosecutors Joe Thompson, Harry Jacobs, Daniel Bobier and Matthew Ebert — the four attorneys who had been leading the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud case, which was the first shoe to drop in the massive Minnesota fraud scandal — have handed off the prosecution to relative newcomers to the office.

Harry Jacobs, who was recently named head of the office’s criminal division, was also involved in the prosecution of Vance Boelter, the man accused of assassinating former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.

Sources close to the attorneys who left have cited a variety of factors for the staff shakeup, including caseload management, structural issues within the office, the Trump administration’s influence on the office, and concerns related to Operation Metro Surge — the ongoing immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities that has led to thousands of arrests as well as repeated clashes with protesters, two of whom were killed by federal agents.

“The mass exodus we’re seeing in Minnesota is alarming,” said Stacey Young, founder of Justice Connection, a Washington, D.C.-based organization of former Justice Department employees.

“We should all pay attention to why some of the state’s top federal prosecutors chose to leave — it had nothing to do with political disagreement; rather, this administration asked them to violate their legal and ethical responsibilities, and they believed the exit was their only option,” Young said. “The loss of institutional knowledge and expertise will destabilize the U.S. Attorney’s office, leaving Minnesotans’ safety and rights less protected.”

Prosecutor Joe Thompson speaks at a press conference in Minneapolis regarding Medicaid fraud in the state of Minnesota, on Dec. 18, 2025. Christopher Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images

The office’s ranks were depleted even before Operation Metro Surge. By the time Daniel Rosen was sworn in as U.S. attorney in October 2025, the number of prosecutors had already dropped to less than 40, former and current officials tell CBS News. They cited retirements and changes made by the Trump administration, including cuts related to the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE.

The Justice Department has sought to buttress Minnesota’s prosecutorial ranks with prosecutors from neighboring districts, including from Michigan, as well as the Department of Homeland Security and military attorneys. But that has not always worked out well. A DHS attorney working in Minnesota on Tuesday told a judge “this job sucks” and asked to be held in contempt “so that I can have a full 24 hours of sleep.” She was removed from the Minnesota assignment on Wednesday.

The Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit declined to comment when asked how many attorneys had been dispatched from the Eastern District of Michigan.

So far, federal prosecutors in Minnesota have convicted 62 people in connection to the scandal, which tops the list of the nation’s most costly COVID-era fraud sprees. Federal prosecutors estimate taxpayer losses exceed $1 billion.

Feeding Our Future was the initial scheme: a nonprofit organization that tricked state and federal officials into paying them to serve food to thousands of hungry children but never provided the meals. That group allegedly raked in $250 million.

The final trial of those charged in the scheme is scheduled for April. Ikram Yusuf Mohamed, Suleman Yusuf Mohamed, Aisha Hassan Hussein, Sahra Sharif Osman, Shakur Abdinur Abdisalam, Fadumo Mohamed Yusuf and Gandi Yusuf Mohamed face charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and bribery.

The two prosecutors now leading the case are Rebecca Kline and Matthew Murphy. Both prosecutors joined the office in January 2024, after working in private practice, according to their LinkedIn pages.

Additional fraud cases have since come into focus. In August, state officials shut down a housing program designed to help seniors and people with disabilities, citing “large-scale fraud.” In September, prosecutors charged eight people with defrauding the program by enrolling as providers and submitting millions in “fake and inflated bills.”

Joe Thompson, the former first Assistant U.S. Attorney who became the public face announcing the indictments, made news before his departure when he said in December that federal prosecutors were investigating roughly $18 billion spent on social programs in Minnesota since 2018. CBS News asked how much they believe was fraud, and they said they’ve “seen more red flags than legitimate providers.” Thompson suggested half of the $18 billion or more could be fraudulent.

Supreme Court clears way for California voting map that bolsters Democrats

February 4, 2026 at 2:38 p.m. EST / The Washington Post

The ruling is a major victory for the party as it seeks to offset a nationwide push by Republicans and Trump to redraw congressional maps to gain advantage in this year’s midterm elections.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs legislation for a special election on a redrawn congressional map on Aug. 21 in Sacramento. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP)

By Justin Jouvenal

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed for now a new California voting map that could help Democrats gain up to five seats in Congress, the latest twist in a national fight between liberals and conservatives seeking advantage in this year’s midterm elections.

US says it has returned to Venezuela all $500 million of initial oil sale

By Steve Holland

Item 1 of 2 A view of the installations at the Puerto La Cruz oil refinery of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, January 23, 2026. REUTERS/Samir Aponte/File Photo

[1/2]A view of the installations at the Puerto La Cruz oil refinery of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, January 23, 2026. REUTERS/Samir Aponte/File Photo

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – The United States has now returned to the Venezuelan government all $500 million from the initial sale of oil that was part of a deal reached between Caracas and Washington last month, a U.S. official said on Tuesday.

The last $200 million from the sale has been sent to Venezuela, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The deal came about after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was captured in a U.S. military operation on January 3.

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“Venezuela has officially received all $500 million from the first Venezuelan oil sale,” the official said.

The official added that the money is to be “disbursed for the benefit of the Venezuelan people at the discretion of the U.S. government.”

Last week during testimony on Capitol Hill, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said U.S. involvement in the sale of Venezuelan oil was a short-term effort aimed at stabilizing the country, keeping the government afloat and helping the people.

“So in essence, we allowed Venezuela to use their own oil to generate revenue to pay teachers and firefighters and police officers and keep the function of government operating so we didn’t have systemic collapse,” he said.

The funds had been held in Qatar and intended as a “temporary, short-term account to ensure Venezuela received the funds needed to operate,” the U.S. official said.

The official added that the long-term goal for future sales is to move the proceeds “into a fund located in the U.S. and to authorize expenditures for any obligation or expense of the government of Venezuela or its agencies and instrumentalities upon instructions that are consistent with agreed upon procedures.”

Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Tom Hogue and Edwina Gibbs

Former Prince Andrew moves out of Royal Lodge in Windsor as “threesome” letter emerges in Epstein files

2026-02-04 / CBS News

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Updated on: February 4, 2026 / 11:23 AM EST / CBS News

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London — Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles II who was previously known as Prince Andrew, has moved out of his sprawling Royal Lodge home in Windsor as further details emerge about his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Mountbatten-Windsor’s move to Sandringham, King Charles’ massive private estate in Norfolk, eastern England, was announced by Buckingham Palace in October and had been expected in early 2026.

No formal announcement was made by the royal family about the move, but CBS News understands that, as of Wednesday morning, Mountbatten-Windsor was living in Sandringham.

The quiet move came days after the U.S. Department of Justice released 3 million more documents and photos relating to Epstein, several of which reveal previously-unknown contacts between the former prince and the disgraced pedophile financier.

A general view of Marsh Farm, a home on King Charles II’s private Sandringham estate, where his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is believed to have taken up residence, is seen on Feb. 4, 2026, in Sandringham, Norfolk, England. Martin Pope/Getty

The documents published by the U.S. government include a 2011 letter from a lawyer claiming then-Prince Andrew and Epstein asked an unidentified “exotic dancer” to “engage in various sex acts” during a party with “other young women dressed provocatively,” some of whom “appeared to be as young as 14 years old.”

“Mr. Epstein and Prince Andrew then told my client they wanted to have a threesome,” the lawyer for the woman — who died in 2020 — writes in the letter.

“After the men had satisfied themselves,” the letter continues, “they invited my client to take a trip with them to the Virgin Islands. She declined their invitation. She was then chauffeured back to the strip club.”

The lawyer goes on to allege that the woman was not paid what she was promised, and that she later agreed to keep her “interactions” with Epstein and Mountbatten-Windsor private in return for $250,000.

The files also include an alleged exchange in 2010 between Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein in which the royal invites Epstein to have dinner at Buckingham Palace. In his reply, Epstein mentions that he is with several women, whose names are redacted, and he offers to “bring them all. So as to add some life.”

“Yes, plenty of space here for chat,” Mountbatten-Windsor replies in the apparent exchange. “Bring them.”

In another email from a month before, Mountbatten-Windsor allegedly wrote to Epstein: “God it’s cold and dank here! Wish I was still a pet in your family!”

The front pages of Britain’s The Sun and The Sunday Telegraph newspapers, with an image of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, are seen on Feb. 1, 2026 in London, England. Gareth Cattermole/Getty

There were also photos released by the Justice Department, including an image in which Mountbatten-Windsor appears to be on all fours over a woman, whose face is obscured, lying on the floor. In another, he is shown touching a woman of the same appearance on the waist, looking down at her, and in a third his hand is seen on her stomach.

The woman’s identity, along with the location and date of the image, are unknown, but the revelations have piled more pressure on the king’s brother to explain himself.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor under pressure to testify

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Saturday that Mountbatten-Windsor should cooperate with investigators.

“In terms of testifying, I’ve always said anybody who’s got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they’re asked to do that, because you can’t be victim-centered if you’re not prepared to do that,” Starmer said.

Speaking to CBS News’ partner network BBC News on Wednesday, Epstein survivor Lisa Phillips said Andrew testifying, “would be everything.”

Mountbatten-Windsor has not replied to a request from U.S. House Oversight Committee members to hold a “transcribed interview” about his “long-standing friendship” with Epstein.

CBS News has reached out to Mountbatten-Windsor’s representatives for comment. He has not responded so far, and in the past has always denied any wrongdoing.

King Charles stripped his brother of his royal titles last year, after intense scrutiny over his friendship with Epstein and accusations made by Virginia Giuffre that she was trafficked to engage in sex with Mountbatten-Windsor when she was underage.

Mountbatten-Windsor denied those allegations, but reached a settlement with Giuffre in 2022, paying her around $16 million, according to British media reports. Giuffre died by suicide last year.

A sexual encounter at a royal residence?

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On Tuesday, Thames Valley Police, which covers several counties in the south of England, said it was assessing allegations reported by the BBC that Epstein had sent a second woman to the U.K. for a sexual encounter with Mountbatten-Windsor.

The alleged encounter occurred at Royal Lodge in Windsor, Andrew’s former home, in 2010, according to the BBC.

“We’re talking about at least one woman” apart from Giuffre, “who was sent by Jeffrey Epstein over to Prince Andrew,” the unidentified second woman’s lawyer, Brad Edwards, told the British public broadcaster.

The woman, in her 20s at the time, was given tea and a tour of Buckingham Palace after spending the night at the Royal Lodge, according to Edwards. According to the BBC, it is the first time an alleged Epstein survivor has claimed to have had a sexual encounter at a royal residence.

Mountbatten-Windsor moved to Sandringham — a 31-square mile estate with a number of separate houses — Monday night, but sources familiar with the matter said he could revisit Windsor over the coming weeks as he completes his move.

A moving truck leaves the gates of Royal Lodge, in Windsor Great Park, the former home of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, following his move to the Sandringham Estate, Feb. 4, 2026, in Windsor, England. Peter Nicholls/Getty

The former prince was last seen in Windsor on Monday, riding a horse near his former home.

Justifying the decision last October to remove his royal titles and end his lease of the Royal Lodge in Windsor, Buckingham Palace said in a statement that the measures were “deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that [Mountbatten-Windsor] continues to deny the allegations against him.”

The palace statement added that King Charles and Queen Camilla “wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”

Ramy Inocencio contributed to this report.

In:

• British Royal Family
• Rape
• Sexual Abuse
• King Charles
• Britain
• Andrew Mountbatten Windsor
• Prince Andrew
• United Kingdom
• Jeffrey Epstein

Rep. Maxine Waters asks ‘Can you shut him up?’ during Treasury’s Scott Bessent testimony | Fox News

By Amanda Macias | Fox News
Published February 4, 2026 1:22pm EST

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent clashed on Wednesday over President Donald Trump’s economic agenda, with the irate congresswoman asking at one point if someone could “shut him up.”

The fiery exchange occurred during Bessent’s testimony before the House Financial Services Committee. Waters, the committee ranking member, posed a series of questions about the inflationary impact of Trump’s tariffs on American consumers — and demanded a yes-or-no answer.

TRUMP’S ECONOMIC WINS ARE REAL — NOW HE NEEDS TO CONVINCE THE COUNTRY

Waters: So I ask you, Secretary Bessent, will you be the voice of reason in this administration and urge President Trump to stop waging a war on American consumers, harming housing affordability, and putting the economy at risk? Yes or no. You don’t have to explain.

Bessent: Representative—

Waters: Will you be the voice of reason? Will you be the voice of reason?

Rep. Maxine Waters asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent a series of questions before the two clashed over tariff policy on Feb. 4, 2026.(Alex Wroblewski/AFP/Getty Images)

Bessent: A study from Wharton University has shown—

Waters: Reclaiming my time. Reclaiming my time. Mr. Chair, will you let him know when I ask to reclaim my time—

Rep. French Hill, R-Ariz., House Financial Services Committee chairman: The time does belong to the gentlewoman from California.

A COMPLETE TIMELINE OF TRUMP’S TARIFF IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY ACROSS THE GLOBE

Bessent: Ten to twenty million immigrants—

Waters: Can you shut him up?

Bessent: What about the housing stock for working Americans? And can you maintain some level of dignity?

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified before the House Financial Services Committee on President Donald Trump’s economic policies on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026.(Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Hill: The gentlewoman’s time has expired.

Waters: No, my time has not expired.

Hill: Your time has expired. The gentleman—

Waters: The gentleman took up my time. I think you should recognize that, Mr. Chair.

Hill: The gentlewoman’s time has expired.

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The Supreme Court is expected to rule on whether the Trump administration’s trade duties exceeded presidential authority. Pictured: A U.S. flag flies over shipping cranes and containers in Long Beach, California, on March 4, 2019.(Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)

Bessent’s testimony comes as the Trump administration awaits a Supreme Court ruling on whether some of the trade duties imposed in 2025 exceeded presidential authority, a decision that could have broad implications for current tariff actions.

Tariffs are taxes levied on imported goods. Although they are paid by companies at the border, the costs are often passed along through higher prices, leaving consumers to bear much of the burden.

Amanda covers the intersection of business and politics for Fox News Digital.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6388764897112

GOP must race for new ‘big, beautiful bill’ to slash costs before midterms, top House Republicans warn

The Republican Study Committee chairman said ‘good movement’ needs to happen in February

By Elizabeth Elkind
Fox News

Published February 4, 2026 10:00am EST

FIRST ON FOX:House Republicans who are spearheading the charge of another “big, beautiful bill” say they only have a short window of time to pass a massive piece of legislation aimed at lowering costs for Americans across the board.

“We need to see good movement within the month of February that puts us on a path to achieve this by late spring, early summer,” Republican Study Committee (RSC) Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital.

President Donald Trump led Republicans through passing the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act last year, sprawling legislation that made good on versions of several Trump campaign promises like reducing taxes on tipped and overtime wages, extending his 2017 tax cuts, and surging more money toward his immigration crackdown.

The budget reconciliation process makes such a feat possible by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage to line up with the House’s own simple majority line, empowering the party holding the levers of power in Congress to pass sweeping fiscal changes to U.S. law.

GOP UNVEILS PLAN TO CUT DEFICIT BY $1 TRILLION WITH SECOND ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger speaks during a press conference in Washington, D.C., Oct. 28, 2025.(Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

A large contingent of Republican lawmakers, including Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have said they want to use that process again sometime this year. Pfluger’s RSC, the largest caucus in the House GOP, released a framework last month with recommendations on a bill that would lower costs in areas like housing, healthcare and energy.

Pfluger told Fox News Digital that affordability would likely be a “major driver” of another such GOP bill, but said he was still working on getting input from other areas of the House Republican Conference.

“I’m sure that there will be refinement as we hear feedback from the different groups. But we do believe that it’s a solid framework. We believe that it’s a winning issue based on good policy,” Pfluger said.

‘ONE MORE’: SENATE REPUBLICANS EYE TACKLING ANOTHER RECONCILIATION BILL

But both he and House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, have acknowledged they will need to work fast — particularly with the 2026 midterm elections coming in November.

“I would be embarrassed as a leader and as a conservative if our conference and Republicans in Washington won’t rally in these 10 or 11 months we have before November, where we still have this window of opportunity to strike,” Arrington said in a forthcoming episode of the RSC’s “Right to the Point” podcast, which Fox News Digital got an exclusive first look at.

Rep. Jodey Arrington speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on May 22, 2025, in Washington, D.C.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

He said elsewhere in the podcast that Republicans “probably have a three-month window” to take meaningful action, lining up with Pfluger’s own prediction that action should happen by springtime.

KENNEDY URGES GOP TO RESTART SPENDING BATTLE AMID SOARING COST OF LIVING, WARNS AGAINST WASTING MAJORITY

Pfluger said he hoped to get the first key step done this month after sending instructions on what kind of cuts to enact to various House committees.

But Republicans are currently dealing with a one-seat majority in the House until a special election to replace former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., takes place in March.

That could get reduced back down in April after a special election for a blue-leaning seat to replace New Jersey’s new Gov. Mikie Sherrill. Republicans won’t get more breathing room until early August, when California holds a special election for the GOP-leaning seat that was held by the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif.

Their first reconciliation bill notably passed with all but two House Republicans on board.

“We have a path. We’ve dug that path, and we should just do it for the things that we can all agree on,” Arrington argued.

President Donald Trump holds a gavel presented to him by House Speaker Mike Johnson after he signed his signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts at the White House, July 4, 2025.(Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

He said a second bill “doesn’t have to be as big and comprehensive, it needs to be targeted on the things that were either left undone, things that fell out, that we should put back in… like not allowing tax dollars to go to transgender procedures and not allowing the fungible federal dollars to support states that use their state Medicaid dollars to fund illegals.”

But it’s not yet clear that such policies could make it in or gain the support of moderate Republicans who are wary of an election cycle that’s expected to be an uphill climb for the GOP.

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Pfluger, however, told Fox News Digital that he hoped they could even get some Democratic support if the bill stayed focused on affordability measures.

“I believe that we are going to produce something that is going to make it very difficult for Democrats to vote against,” he said. “I would hope that we would have something on the board that would get Democrat support in some cases.”

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6386158353112