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Judge orders Trump administration to restore Voice of America and bring back hundreds of staff

March 17, 2026 / 6:43 PM EDT / CBS/AP

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to restore the Voice of America’s operations after large parts of the government-run broadcaster had effectively been shut down a year ago, putting hundreds of employees who have been on administrative leave back to work.

U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth gave the U.S. Agency for Global Media a week to put together a plan for putting Voice of America on the air. It has been operating with a skeleton staff since President Trump issued an executive order to shut it down.

A week ago, Lamberth said Kari Lake, who had been Mr. Trump’s choice to lead the agency, did not have the legal authority to do what she had done at VOA because she lacked Senate confirmation. In Tuesday’s decision, Lamberth ruled on the actions she had taken to respond to Mr. Trump’s order.

The judge reversed the administration’s decision to essentially sideline 1,042 of VOA’s 1,147 employees and shrink its operations to the “statutory minimum” required by Congress — moves that forced VOA to severely curtail its programming.

Lamberth called the moves “arbitrary and capricious,” and said the government didn’t take into account federal laws that lay out what languages and regions VOA must serve.

“Defendants have provided nothing approaching a principled basis for their decision,” Lamberth wrote.

CBS News has reached out to USAGM and VOA for comment.

Lake had denounced Lamberth’s March 7 ruling, saying it would be appealed. Since then, Mr. Trump nominated Sarah Rogers, the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, to run USAGM. That requires Senate approval, a step that was not taken with Lake.

Patsy Widakuswara, Voice of America’s White House bureau chief and a plaintiff in the lawsuit to restore it, said she is deeply grateful for the decision.

“We are eager to begin repairing the damage Kari Lake has inflicted on our agency and our colleagues, to return to our congressional mandate, and to rebuild the trust of the global audience we have been unable to serve for the past year,” she told The Associated Press.

“We know the road to restoring VOA’s operations and reputation will be long and difficult,” she said. “We hope the American people will continue to support our mission to produce journalism, not propaganda.”

Voice of America has transmitted news coverage to countries around the world since its formation in World War II, often in countries with no tradition of a free press. Before Mr. Trump’s executive order, VOA had operated in 49 different languages, broadcasting to 362 million people.

特朗普怒斥北约盟国“愚蠢” 称美国不需要任何帮助

发布时间：2026年3月18日 07:43 / 来源：联合早报

![Image 14: 特朗普会见爱尔兰总理马丁（左）时，声称美国多年来在北约投入“数万亿美元”，这是美国出现财政赤字的原因之一。 （法新社）]

特朗普会见爱尔兰总理马丁（左）时，声称美国多年来在北约投入“数万亿美元”，这是美国出现财政赤字的原因之一。 （法新社）

美国总统特朗普星期二（3月17日）在白宫会见到访的爱尔兰总理马丁时，猛烈抨击北约盟国在伊朗问题上的“愚蠢”立场，称对北约“感到失望”，并表示美国不需要任何帮助。

综合彭博社和新华社报道，特朗普在椭圆形办公室对媒体记者说：“北约正在犯一个非常愚蠢的错误”。“我想知道北约是否会支持我们。所以这是一次很好的考验，因为我们不需要他们，但他们本该在那里。”他说：“美国必须记住这一点，因为我们认为这非常令人震惊。”

特朗普说，他提议护送船只通过霍尔木兹海峡，大多数美国盟友却予以拒绝。他声称美国多年来在北约投入“数万亿美元”，这是美国出现财政赤字的原因之一。不过，在回答是否重新考虑美国与北约关系的提问时，他说：“目前没有任何打算。”

特朗普还试图强调他发动这场战争的既定理由，提及解除严重核威胁的必要性，并在没有提供证据的情况下声称伊朗当时只差两周时间就能获得他们会“非常乐意”使用的武器。

特朗普也就美国何时会结束伊朗战争发出更多模棱两可的信号，称距离霍尔木兹海峡能够安全通行“不会太久”，又说“我们还没准备好撤离，但我们会在不久的将来撤离”。

美国和以色列2月28日对伊朗发起大规模军事行动，伊朗对以色列以及美国在中东地区的军事基地等目标发起还击。受战事影响，霍尔木兹海峡航运几乎完全中断。

近日，特朗普连续催促欧洲国家及其他盟友参与霍尔木兹海峡护航，并抱怨一些盟友对协助美国“不热衷”。17日早些时候，特朗普在社交媒体发文称，大多数北约“盟友”已通知美国不愿参与美以对伊朗的军事行动，美国已“不再需要也不再期望”北约国家帮助。

欧盟外交与安全政策高级代表卡拉斯16日说，这“不是欧洲的战争”，“没人希望主动卷入这场战争”，欧盟成员国无意将目前在红海和波斯湾地区的“盾牌”护航行动扩展至霍尔木兹海峡。

Trump said he wanted one of the Texas Senate candidates to drop out. Now he’s missed the deadline

By Alayna Treene
1 hr 51 min ago
PUBLISHED Mar 17, 2026, 6:08 PM ET

Sen. John Cornyn, left, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

AP

President Donald Trump promised his endorsement was forthcoming in the GOP Texas Senate runoff and said he wanted whoever he didn’t pick to drop out. But now — preoccupied with the Iran war and a doomed voting bill — he’s missed a critical deadline.

The decision hasn’t been on the president’s mind for days, White House officials told CNN Tuesday afternoon, noting that he was preoccupied by the war with Iran. Now, the deadline for either candidate to withdraw their name from the ballot has passed.

That means that the names of both incumbent Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton will be listed on the ballot in the May 26 runoff, something many Senate Republican leaders — and even Trump himself — acknowledged they did not want.

White House officials say Trump may still choose to endorse in the race. Either candidate could still unofficially withdraw from the runoff, despite the deadline, but his name would still appear on the ballot.

Republicans see Texas as key to maintaining their Senate majority and had hoped they wouldn’t have to spend significantly more resources on a runoff after the already expensive primary. Senate GOP leaders had been intensely pressuring Trump to back Cornyn, who they saw as much more likely to win in a general election.

Trump vowed to endorse in the bitter runoff earlier this month, writing on social media that he would be asking whichever candidate he did not support to “immediately drop out of the race.”

The ultimatum thrilled Senate GOP leaders, because the president had been gravitating toward endorsing Cornyn. But Trump and some top advisers grew frustrated after his intentions leaked to the press, CNN previously reported.

The decision was further complicated by Trump’s desire to directly tie his prized endorsement to his fixation with his “SAVE America Act” — which, among other things, would impose stricter voter ID requirements.

In early March, Paxton announced that if the Senate passed the president’s voting restrictions bill — even if it took changing the chamber’s filibuster rules — he would consider dropping out of the runoff race. White House officials viewed the ploy as a “genius move,” as one Trump official described it, and it kept Paxton in the mix.

Adding to potential confusion over the endorsement and the deadline, Texas’ final withdrawal date is not a set day. Under state law, candidates have until three days after the results are finalized, or “canvassed,” to withdraw from the runoff. If the Texas GOP had canvassed their results on the last possible date, the withdrawal deadline would’ve been Wednesday, but since they canvassed a day earlier, the deadline slid to Tuesday at 5 p.m. CST.

Ethan Cohen contributed to this report.

Iran regime hides in bunkers as civilians left exposed without adequate bomb shelters or sirens

‘These clerics have spent our money for years on missiles and drones and on funding Hamas and Hezbollah. They have not even built a single shelter for us,’ Tehran resident says

By Benjamin Weinthal
Fox News

Published March 17, 2026 3:03pm EDT

FIRST ON FOX: While officials of the U.S.-designated terrorist movement of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) cower in underground bunkers amid joint U.S.-Israeli military strikes, ordinary Iranians are lambasting the clerical regime for failing to build enough bomb shelters and provide early warning siren systems.

Iranians sent text messages to Fox News Digital about their efforts to secure knowledge about the progress of the joint U.S.-Israel aerial warfare campaign against Islamic Republic military sites and share the theocratic state’s contempt for the civilian population.

“In a country that has spent 47 years boasting about its military strength to the world, there are no warning sirens, let alone shelters. They themselves hear the sound of airplanes and drones realize the [enemy airplanes] have come into the sky. They do not even have radar,” Noori from the capital city of Tehran wrote.

[HEGSETH ANNOUNCES PENTAGON PROBE INTO DEADLY STRIKE ON IRANIAN SCHOOL]

People walk past a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a corridor of a subway station in Tehran Friday, March 13, 2026. The subways have been used as makeshift bomb shelters for Iranians.(Vahid Salemi/AP Photo)

To compensate for the lack of bomb shelters and safe rooms in residential housing, Noori said Iranian authorities designated 82 metro stations and 300 parking garages in Tehran as shelters for the people.

“This is what they call shelter. Bear in mind that first, there are no bathrooms in the Metro stations, and also, during the 12-day war, when people tried to go there, they were locked.”

Noori said, “The families who live in the residential compounds of the IRGC and the army are now living in the metro stations out of fear.”

Noori and the other Iranians who communicated with Fox News Digital are using their first names because of the risk of retaliation from the regime’s brutal security forces.

Faraz, who is from Tehran, said, “We are now in a situation where we have no shelters, and we fear for our lives. If we were at war with someone who would attack residential buildings, so many of the regular citizens would have died. We do not even have warning sirens.”

Lisa Daftari, an Iran expert, told Fox News Digital, “What we’re seeing on the ground in Tehran is a city operating without any formal civil defense infrastructure. Families with children or elderly relatives have largely evacuated to the countryside or the Caspian coast. Those who remain are sheltering in place — moving away from windows when they hear explosions, retreating to underground parking structures in apartment buildings.”

Daftari, the editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk, added, “There are no bomb shelters. There are no warning sirens. The Iranian people have been given no formal system to protect themselves. What you are seeing on your screens — crowds in the streets — are not spontaneous shows of support. Those are Basij militia on megaphones, ordering people out of their homes, so the regime can manufacture images of a loyal population.”

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s placement of military installations in highly packed civilian areas is endangering the country’s population, according to legal experts.

[WHY GULF STATES AREN’T JOINING THE WAR AGAINST IRAN — DESPITE ATTACKS ON THEIR SOIL]

This picture obtained from Iran’s ISNA news agency shows the site of a strike on a girls school in Minab, in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, Feb. 28, 2026.(Ali Najafi/ISNA/AFP via Getty Images)

The Pentagon is investigating a military air strike that reportedly hit an Iranian school for girls in the town of Minab Feb. 28, the start of the U.S. Operation Epic Fury against Iran’s regime. The air strike reportedly killed 175 people, most of whom were children, at the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school, according to Iran’s regime. The school was located on the same street as buildings used by the IRGC.

Avi Bell, a professor at the University of San Diego Law School and Bar Ilan University’s Faculty of Law, told Fox News Digital, “It’s highly unlikely that heavily populated civilian areas are used as drone attack sites or missile launch sites for any reason other than human shielding. On military grounds, it would make far more sense for the launch sites not to be near civilian areas.”

[TRANSACTIONAL PARTNERS: HOW 200-YEAR DISTRUST SHAPES RUSSIA’S RESPONSE TO THE IRAN CONFLICT]

Noori was critical of the regime: “They boast to the whole world, but they shut down water, electricity, air and the internet for their own people. Whatever money they received from Biden and Obama and from selling oil, they spent on missiles, drones, Hamas, Hezbollah and building weapons.”

Manouchehr, who is also from Tehran, wrote, “I am messaging you under very difficult conditions, with an extremely weak internet. I had to pay a very high price for a VPN just to send you this message. The security situation is not good at all. These clerics have spent our money for years on missiles and drones, and on funding Hamas and Hezbollah. They have not even built a single shelter for us, yet for 47 years, they have been threatening the world.”

The VPN allows a few Iranians to circumvent Iran’s near total communications shutdown. According to Netblocks on Monday, “The internet blackout in Iran is entering its 17th day after 384 hours. Over the last day, a decline has been tracked in reserved telecoms network infrastructure, further reducing VPN availability and sending some whitelisted users and NIN services offline.”

Policemen stand guard beside banners showing portraits of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at Enqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution Square, in downtown Tehran, Iran, March 14, 2026.(Vahid Salemi/AP)

Manouchehr added, “We are grateful to President Trump for not bombing residential areas. I ask you to please tell them [the U.S. Government] not to declare a ceasefire. Otherwise, these hyenas will not leave any of the Iranian people alive, and they will take revenge for Israel’s and America’s attacks by targeting the Iranian people.”

Iranians have noted that after the eight-year war between Iraq and Iran (1980–1988) when Iraqi missiles were launched into the civilian sector in Iran, the ayatollahs could have built a bomb shelter system.

Lawdan Bazargan, an Iranian-American activist and human rights expert on the situation in Iran, told Fox News Digital, “The Islamic regime of Iran shows no value for human life and treats the Iranian people not as citizens, but as a conquered population and slaves. It has spent decades building tunnels for missiles and drones, yet it has left 90 million people without sirens, shelters or any system to warn civilians of danger. At the same time, the internet is largely shut down, and phone lines are restricted, leaving people unable to receive news or even contact their families.

[US WARNS IRAQ MUST ACT AGAINST IRAN-BACKED MILITIA ATTACKS ON AMERICAN ASSETS]

Iranian women collecting money for the war effort outside an air raid shelter in Tehran during the Iran-Iraq War May 11, 1988.(Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images)

“What makes this even more shocking is that, during the Iran–Iraq war in the 1980s, when I lived in Iran, there were at least warning sirens. People had a few minutes to move away from windows or find some protection. Today, even that basic level of safety no longer exists.”

Iran’s regime imprisoned Bazargan in its infamous Evin prison in Tehran for her political dissident activities during the 1980s.

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced March 8 that it issued a “[safety warning to civilians in Iran … as Iran’s terrorist regime blatantly disregards the safety of innocent people.”

A group of men inspect the ruins of a police station struck amid the U.S.–Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, March 3, 2026.(Vahid Salemi/AP)

According to the CENTCOM statement, “The Iranian regime is using heavily populated civilian areas to conduct military operations, including launching one-way attack drones and ballistic missiles. This dangerous decision risks the lives of all civilians in Iran since locations used for military purposes lose protected status and could become legitimate military targets under international law. Iranian forces are using crowded areas surrounded by civilians in cities such as Dezful, Esfahan and Shiraz to launch attack drones and ballistic missiles.”

Hossein, who lives in Tehran, said, “Landline phones are also under very strict security control. There are absolutely no warning systems or alerts, and if any danger occurs, people have nowhere to take shelter because, overall, the lives of the Iranian people have no value for this government.”

[CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP]

Ahmadreza Radan, commander of Iran’s police, said over 80 people had been arrested for spreading “disturbing content” online, and officers are “ready to pull the trigger” if protests occur.

A spokesman for Iran’s U.N. mission refused to provide a comment for this article.

Benjamin Weinthal reports on Israel, Iran, Syria, Turkey and Europe. You can follow Benjamin on Twitter @BenWeinthal, and email him at benjamin.weinthal@fox.com

Jon Ossoff blames Republicans for DHS shutdown despite opposing funding bills | Fox News

By Adam Pack | Fox News
Published March 17, 2026 3:00pm EDT

Acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl discusses the severe impact of the partial government shutdown on TSA agents, who are working without pay.

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Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., is seeking to pin the blame on Republicans as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown begins to snarl air travel in his state despite repeatedly voting against funding bills.

Ossoff, who is widely viewed as the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent running for re-election, has appeared to embrace Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s, D-N.Y., hardball tactics during the 32-day partial shutdown. The Georgia lawmaker has joined nearly all Democrats in repeatedly voting against full-year DHS funding bills as the party demands reforms to immigration enforcement in exchange for their support for funding the agency.

With the shutdown beginning to wreak havoc on Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — the world’s largest — Ossoff is showing few signs of breaking ranks with his party to end the funding lapse. Rather, he has chosen to blame Republicans for the current impasse.

“Senate Republicans have blocked multiple attempts to pass legislation to fund TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and key agencies,” an Ossoff spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Republicans should stop objecting to this common-sense proposal.”

SHUTDOWN SPARKS FLIGHT CHAOS AS TSA LINES SPILL INTO PARKING LOTS WITH 3-HOUR WAITS OR LONGER

Republicans have consistently shot down Democrats’ attempts to withhold appropriations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) while funding the non-immigration functions of DHS. However, Senate Republicans insist that all DHS employees must be paid and report to work as the nation faces a rise in terror threats.

Georgia Republicans have sought to tie Ossoff to the travel disruptions at the Hartsfield-Jackson airport.

“It’s because of this temper tantrum being thrown by Jon Ossoff, who is refusing to pay TSA workers to do their jobs,” Georgia Republican Party chairman Josh McKoon told Fox News Digital. “This guy pretends to be for the average working person while he deprives them of the ability to take care of their families.”

The Hartsfield-Jackson airport reported security checkpoint wait times averaging two hours Tuesday morning as a shortage of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees has slowed operations. TSA employees, many of whom cannot afford to miss a paycheck, did not receive their salary on Friday and will not be paid for the remainder of the shutdown.

SEAN DUFFY URGES DEMOCRATS TO ‘COME TO THEIR SENSES’ AS TSA SQUEEZE CRIPPLES AIRPORT OPERATIONS

The Hartsfield-Jackson airport also experienced more than 500 cancellations Monday as severe weather exacerbated staffing constraints. At least 300 TSA employees have quit their posts since the shutdown began in mid-February, the White House announced last week.

McKoon told Fox News Digital that Ossoff’s posture during the DHS shutdown could be a drag on his campaign heading into November.

“I just don’t think that’s something that’s going to wash for people at election time,” McKoon said. “For him to say, ‘Well, I wanted you to have to wait in lines and miss your flight and potentially … lose your employment, because I wanted to make a political point standing firmly with my good friend: the illegal alien criminal.”

McKoon also argued that Ossoff’s position on the DHS shutdown is in line with the incumbent senator’s decision to toe the party line on major pieces of legislation over the past year. Ossoff aligned himself with Democrats’ shutdown strategy over expiring Obamacare premium subsidies in late 2025 — in addition to voting against Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act and legislation prohibiting biological males from participating in women’s sports.

Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter, R-Ga., and former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley are vying in a three-way primary contest in May to advance to the general election and face Ossoff. President Donald Trump has yet to make an endorsement.

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Several vulnerable House Democrats facing competitive re-election challenges are also holding Republicans responsible for the current DHS funding lapse, despite voting against bipartisan legislation to fund the agency. Just four House Democrats crossed party lines in an attempt to end the standoff earlier in March.

“Why are Trump and congressional Republicans so determined to protect the dangerous and chaotic status quo of ICE that they’re willing to screw over TSA, the Secret Service, FEMA, and the Coast Guard?” Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, told Fox News Digital.

“We could end this shutdown today, and we should,” Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, said. “All it takes is for congressional Republicans to stop blocking Democrats’ efforts to individually fund DHS functions and work with us to rein in reckless immigration policies.”

Both Landsman and Gonzalez are expected to support a Democratic effort to force a vote on a DHS appropriations measure minus funding for immigration enforcement in the coming weeks.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro blistered Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s command of the Iran War as if he’s “playing with toy soldiers” and condemned the way the Pentagon and White House are describing the military operation to the public.

Shapiro, who is running for reelection but is also seen as a 2028 Democratic presidential possibility, made the remarks on former Obama aide Jon Lovett’s podcast where he also said China is monitoring the Trump administration’s “weakness” as they carry out the Iran operation alongside Israel.

The Democrat said he is troubled with Hegseth’s management of the Department of War’s effort, noting that Pennsylvanians are part of the contingent involved in the Iran offensive.

“I also have a problem with the fact that the guy who is supposed to be in charge of this, Pete Hegseth, is wildly incompetent,” Shapiro said.

“He’s like an eight-year-old playing with toy soldiers every day. His language is so f—ing offensive.”

Shapiro said the administration talks about the operation in a way that is disrespectful of the “humanity in the region” and of the American soldiers involved, which he added includes Pennsylvanians.

He said Congress had its chance to check Trump and Hegseth’s power but instead decided to be “wildly weak and pathetic souls” who gave away authority.

“You absolutely cannot trust Donald Trump to wage this war,” Shapiro said, adding that the administration’s messaging did not settle on a singular reason for attacking Iran.

“First he told us it was to go after their nuclear arsenal … then he said we went to war because if we didn’t, Israel was going to strike first [and] Israel forced our hand … then it was regime change, and now we’re left with the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who seemingly could be more dangerous than the father.”

Shapiro said the Iranian regime is, however, everything that critics say it is, and that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is a “bad guy” who oversaw the largest export of terrorism worldwide while chanting “Death To America” for decades.

“These are bad people — it shouldn’t be hard to say that.”

But Shapiro said Trump “never once looked the American people in the eye, sitting in the Oval Office — where he should’ve been, not his swim club in Florida — and said to the American people ‘This is why we have to do this, this is the imminent threat’ — of which we’ve learned there is no imminent threat.”

Shapiro said America’s enemies are watching the war and seeing weakness instead of strength.

“President Xi in China, who is calculating every day about when he is going to make his move on Taiwan, saw the president of the United States not only not be able to rally the world around this cause … but couldn’t even rally his own people.”

He noted that while he has criticisms of former President George W. Bush’s War on Terror, the Texas Republican properly rallied the public to the cause.

Shapiro, who is Jewish, has also often broken with his own party over antisemitic displays from the far left amid the unrest in the Middle East — including condemnation of harassment of Jewish students at the University of Pennsylvania in West Philadelphia.

When asked about Shapiro’s comments, White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said that for 50 years, presidents of both parties have talked about eliminating the Iranian threat to the American people, but that Trump is the only one with the “courage to confront it.”

“President Trump has been clear about the goals of this operation: destroy the Iranian regime’s ballistic missile and production capacity, annihilate the Iranian regime’s Navy, end their ability to arm proxies, and guarantee that Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon,” she said as Shapiro questioned the administration’s goals.

“Democrats will flip-flop on anything – even carrying water for a nation that chants ‘Death to America’ – in order to attack President Trump, but the President and his administration will always protect our Nation and put the American people first,” Wales added.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Pentagon for comment.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

House Oversight subpoenas AG Bondi in probe of Epstein case ‘mismanagement’

Bondi is ordered to appear for a deposition April 14

By Eric Mack
Fox News

Published March 17, 2026 1:42pm EDT | Updated March 17, 2026 2:26pm EDT

The House Oversight Committee has formally issued a subpoena compelling Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify in a deposition as part of its investigation into the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Separately, Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche have offered to provide committee members with a private briefing Wednesday.

Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., issued the subpoena for Bondi to testify on “possible mismanagement of the federal government’s investigation of Mr. Jeffrey Epstein and Ms. Ghislaine Maxwell,” the cover letter for the subpoena released Tuesday read.

The committee voted earlier this month authorizing the move. Bondi is ordered to appear for a deposition April 14.

FORMER PRINCE ANDREW CAUGHT BAREFOOT IN BATHROBE WITH JEFFREY EPSTEIN IN SURFACED MARTHA’S VINEYARD PHOTO

The Department of Justice began releasing a trove of Epstein documents on Dec. 19 following President Trump’s signature on the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025.(Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

“The Committee has questions regarding the Department of Justice’s handling of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and his associates and its compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act,” Comer wrote, adding that Bondi is “directly responsible” for overseeing the review and release of related records.

A Justice Department spokesperson called the subpoena “completely unnecessary.”

“Lawmakers have been invited to view the unredacted files for themselves at the Department of Justice, and the Attorney General has always made herself available to speak directly with members of Congress,” the DOJ spokesperson said. “She continues to have calls and meetings with members of Congress on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which is why the Department offered to brief the committee tomorrow. As always, we look forward to continuing to provide policymakers with the facts.”

The committee indicated the probe could lead to legislative changes aimed at strengthening federal anti-trafficking efforts and reforming the use of non-prosecution and plea agreements in sex-crime cases.

Comer also underscored the panel’s authority to compel testimony, noting it has broad jurisdiction to investigate “any matter” and can require witness participation and document production as necessary.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche meets with reporters as the Justice Department says it’s releasing 3 million pages of documents in the latest Jeffrey Epstein disclosure, along with 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, in Washington, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.(J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

KING CHARLES, KATE MIDDLETON, PRINCE WILLIAM HECKLED BY PROTESTERS DEMANDING ANSWERS ON ANDREW’S EPSTEIN TIES

Notably, the investigations of Epstein have spanned decades since former President George W. Bush’s administration, through the two terms of President Barack Obama and the first President Donald Trump term. Trump has long noted to critics, he was the president that brought Epstein to justice.

READ THE SUBPOENA COVER LETTER – APP USERS, CLICK HERE

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The prosecution of Maxwell came during former President Joe Biden’s administration, but Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act last November that has led to a bevy of scrutiny on the DOJ’s handling. Critics have rebuked Bondi and Blanche’s slow drip of the documents, which they have publicly contended has been necessary due to concerns over victim protections and the massive volume of the Epstein files.

Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report.

Eric Mack is a writer for Fox News Digital covering breaking news.

Senator wants White House to answer if TikTok investors will pay $10 billion to US Treasury

March 17, 2026 6:35 PM UTC / Reuters

节点运行失败

U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) speaks during the 2026 Infrastructure Summit of government officials, corporate executives, and labor leaders, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper/File Photo [Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab]

March 17 (Reuters) – The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence ​Committee on Tuesday asked ‌the White House to answer if investors are paying $10 ​billion to the ​Treasury as part of the ⁠Trump administration-brokered sale ​of TikTok’s U.S. operations.

Senator ​Mark Warner cited a Wall Street Journal report that investors ​in the new TikTok ​joint venture – including Oracle, Silver ‌Lake, ⁠Abu Dhabi’s MGX, and other investors – have already paid $2.5 billion to the ​Treasury and ​will ⁠pay the remaining $7.5 billion in installments. ​ByteDance said in ​January ⁠TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will secure U.S. ⁠user ​data, apps and ​algorithms through data privacy and ​cybersecurity measures.

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Reporting by David Shepardson

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Trump says most NATO allies ‘don’t want to get involved’ in Iran operation, but US ‘NEVER’ needed their help

Published March 17, 2026 11:44am EDT | Updated March 17, 2026 1:09pm EDT

President Donald Trump declared in a Tuesday Truth Social post that most NATO countries have noted that they do not want to involve themselves in the U.S. attack against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO ‘Allies’ that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the president declared in the Truth Social post.

“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one way street —We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” he added.

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U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a roundtable discussion on college sports in the East Room of the White House on March 06, 2026 in Washington, DC.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Trump continued, “Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military — Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again! Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer “need,” or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea. In fact, speaking as President of the United States of America, by far the Most Powerful Country Anywhere in the World, WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

The U.S. has been waging war against Iran in conjunction with Israel, a close American ally.

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US President Donald Trump (R) speaks with NATO’s Secretary-General Mark Rutte during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 21, 2026.(Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images)

Joe Kent resigned from his position as director of the National Counterterrorism Center on Tuesday because he does not support the war.

“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” Kent said in his resignation letter, which he posted on X.

TOP IRANIAN OFFICIAL, COMMANDER KILLED IN STRIKE, ISRAEL DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, is sworn in to the House Homeland Security Committee hearing titled “Worldwide Threats to the Homeland,” in Cannon building on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2025.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Trump pushed back on Tuesday, saying that “it’s a good thing that he’s out because he said that Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat. Every country realized what a threat Iran was. The question is whether or not they wanted to do something about it.”

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

Dan Caldwell hired by Tulsi Gabbard at DNI despite leak allegations | Fox News

Dan Caldwell was fired from Pentagon in 2025 in a high-profile investigation that never produced charges

By Morgan Phillips | Fox News

Published March 17, 2026 3:15pm EDT

A former top advisor to War Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was ousted amid a high-profile leak investigation, has been hired to work under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, according to a source familiar with the move.

Dan Caldwell’s return to a sensitive intelligence role comes less than a year after he was publicly accused of leaking classified information — allegations that have never been publicly substantiated — and as the Trump administration navigates an escalating war with Iran.

The hiring also places a prominent advocate of a more restrained U.S. foreign policy inside the intelligence apparatus at a moment of growing internal tension.

Earlier Tuesday, National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent resigned, citing opposition to the Iran war and arguing Tehran, Iran, did not pose an imminent threat to the United States — a rare public break from within the administration.

A source familiar with the move described Caldwell’s new position as an “administrative role,” focused on internal management and coordination rather than directly shaping intelligence assessments or national security policy. However, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) plays a central role in coordinating intelligence across 18 agencies and shaping the president’s daily intelligence briefing.

The source said Caldwell has completed a polygraph test, and passed a series of background and security checks and is currently in the onboarding process.

Gabbard’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.

A recent Quinnipiac poll found the war is dividing Americans just as it is those within the administration: 53% of those surveyed opposed the military intervention while 40% supported it.

Caldwell’s hiring signals the apparent end of a leak investigation that began in April 2025, when Caldwell and two other senior Pentagon officials, Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, were abruptly fired and escorted out of the Pentagon. All three aides have denied any involvement in leaks, and no public evidence has been produced to support the allegations.

Hegseth said at the time the three aides would be investigated for leaking and suggested there was evidence of wrongdoing, but none of the men were ever charged, and Caldwell retains his security clearance.

The Pentagon has not disclosed whether the investigation remains active or has concluded.

Fox News Digital previously reported that the three aides had clashed with then-chief of staff Joe Kasper, who was also later removed from his role.

Hegseth continued to accuse the aides of leaking even after their departure, saying at the time: “Those folks who are leaking, who have been pushed out of the building, are now attempting to leak and sabotage the president’s agenda and what we’re doing. And that’s unfortunate.”

Caldwell, a Marine Corps veteran and prominent voice in the restraint-minded foreign policy sphere, advised Hegseth primarily on European issues and has been outspoken against prolonged U.S. military involvement overseas. His views align with a faction inside the administration that has long warned against entering another major Middle East conflict.

That debate has taken on new urgency as the U.S. enters its third week of war with Iran, and as Gabbard — who built much of her political identity opposing regime-change wars — has remained largely quiet publicly about the conflict despite overseeing the nation’s intelligence apparatus.

After his firing, Caldwell suggested the trio’s removal may have been tied to internal power struggles. “We threatened a lot of established interests inside the building and outside the building,” he said.

The Pentagon declined to comment on Caldwell’s hiring and the status of the investigation. The Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations did not respond to a request for comment.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6390868799112