President Donald Trump said he was not informed in advance about Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s plan to leave office on January 5, 2026, and indicated he does not intend to speak with her following the announcement.
“Nah, it doesn’t matter, you know? But I think it’s great,” Trump said.
“I think she should be happy.”
Greene, a Republican from Georgia and once one of Trump’s most vocal supporters, had recently clashed with the president over documents related to Jeffrey Epstein and disagreed with him on several policy positions.
BEDMINSTER, JULY 31, 2022: Tucker Carlson (C) jokes with former President Trump (R) at the 16th Throne during the latest LIV golf tournament held at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
The disagreements led to escalating tensions between the two.
Last week, Trump withdrew his endorsement of Greene and called for her to face a primary challenge ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
He signaled that he would support her opponent in that race.
In her resignation letter, Greene wrote, “I have too much self respect and dignity, love my family way too much, and do not want my sweet district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the President we all fought for, only to fight and win my election while Republicans will likely lose the midterms.”
She added, “It’s all so absurd and completely unserious. I refuse to be a ‘battered wife’ hoping it all goes away and gets better.”
War Secretary Kristi Noem announced that federal grant funding to nongovernmental organizations accused of assisting illegal immigration has been halted, telling Fox News host Will Cain that the move follows a review of how taxpayer dollars were being used by agencies distributing grants.
Noem said the action was taken to stop federal money from supporting operations she described as contributing to illegal border crossings.
“Today, we are announcing that we have stopped all grant funding that’s being abused by NGOs to facilitate illegal immigration into this country,” Noem said.
She stated that “hundreds of millions of dollars” had been directed to organizations involved in what she called an “invasion of our country.”
Noem said she ordered a reevaluation of those grants to “make sure that we’re actually using the taxpayer dollars in a way that strengthens this country, that keeps us safe.”
She said the review includes examining how grants are awarded and ensuring those funds are no longer used in ways that could contribute to illegal entry.
“That evaluation needs to be done. We’re not spending another dime to help the destruction of this country,” she said.
Noem added that the decision aligns with President Donald Trump’s directives on border security.
“We’re going to make sure that we follow through on what President Trump has promised, and that’s to make sure that we’re securing our border, departing those who are here illegally and committing criminal actions, and that our taxpayer dollars aren’t spending, aren’t spent to help it.”
During the segment, Cain said many Americans may not be aware of the extent to which NGOs are involved in operations linked to illegal immigration.
“And Madam Secretary, I don’t think people fully understand the role that NGOs play. Many NGOs play in facilitating illegal immigration,” Cain said. He pointed to federal spending figures, noting that “over $380 million did in 2024 for sheltering and service programs for illegal immigrants,” and said that a “vast network of NGOs” operates along routes through Central and South America.
Cain said these groups assist individuals moving through Panama and Mexico before reaching the United States.
“So what you’re telling us today is that now stops, at least the federal funding of that stops,” he said.
Noem confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security has ceased the use of federal dollars for these organizations.
“Yes. Through the Department of Homeland Security, we have stopped spending those dollars to fund those NGOs,” she said.
Noem added that officials learned many of the groups receiving funding have active operations on the Mexico side of the border.
She said some organizations are “telling those illegal immigrants to come to them and they will get them across the border,” describing activities outside the United States that assist individuals seeking to cross illegally.
Noem also discussed how she previously viewed NGOs and how her understanding changed as she observed their development.
“I was one of those Americans that years ago when somebody said NGO to me, I thought, Oh, that’s amazing. That’s a nonprofit that’s out there telling somebody about Jesus or spreading faith and salvation or doing good work and charitable work helping people that are less fortunate,” she said.
She said she later concluded that some NGOs had shifted away from those roles.
“Then I realized over the years, it’s been perverted into this shadow government. An NGO is sometimes an operation that does things that the government cannot do, can’t legally do. So they create an entity to use government dollars, taxpayer dollars, to do something that the federal government isn’t allowed to do, to do a shadow government operation that really has been used recently to undermine our country’s national security.”
ALERT: This won’t sit quietly.
Homeland Security Secretary @Sec_Noem just sounded the alarm — and it’s HUGE.
She’s accusing Democrats of running a shadow government through a maze of NGOs… a coordinated machine designed to weaken, bypass, and eventually overthrow the… pic.twitter.com/LARqGkayH1
The review of federal grants and the halt in funding remain in effect as DHS and other agencies continue assessing programs connected to nonprofit organizations operating along the border and outside the United States.
The COP30 United Nations climate talks in Belém, Brazil, were evacuated Thursday night after a fire broke out inside the main venue.
The incident forced thousands of attendees to leave the area as emergency crews moved in to contain the flames.
According to organizers, smoke and flames spread through the pavilion area as temperatures rose and security personnel directed delegates toward exits.
Fire crews entered the affected zone while security staff formed a human barrier across the hallway to keep the evacuation route clear.
In a statement released Thursday evening, organizers said, “Earlier today, a fire broke out in the Blue Zone of the COP30 venue in Belem. The fire department and UN security officers responded swiftly, and the fire was controlled in approximately six minutes. People were evacuated safely.”
They added, “Thirteen individuals were treated on site for smoke inhalation. Their condition is being monitored, and appropriate medical support has been provided.”
A follow-up statement said, “Following a safety assessment, we inform you that the site has been inspected and deemed safe by the Fire Department.”
Roughly 50,000 delegates traveled to Brazil to register for COP30.
They bulldozed 100,000 trees in the Amazon rainforest for a highway to shuttle 50,000 delegates to COP30—and private jets are falling from the skies in a carbon confetti parade. The Avenida Liberdade (Liberty Avenue) slices 13 km through the protected Belém Environmental… pic.twitter.com/HqA30sIkhs
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pushed back sharply during a CNBC appearance Friday after host Rebecca Quick questioned whether he was leveraging the expiration of Affordable Care Act tax credits for political advantage.
Jeffries is seeking a three-year extension of the subsidies, originally enacted during the Biden-Harris administration, while Republicans have rejected anything beyond a shorter renewal.
During the interview on “Squawk Box,” Quick suggested that Jeffries preferred allowing the subsidies to lapse rather than accepting a shorter extension that could gain bipartisan support.
“It’s important context to make me realize that I don’t think you want to get a deal done. I think this is something where you’d like to see the rates go higher and allow the Republicans to hang themselves with that. Is that the answer? Is this politics?” Quick said.
Jeffries responded forcefully. “That’s absolutely a ridiculous assertion,” he said.
“Three years is not going to get passed, so what do you do? Shame on you for saying that. It’s not a partisan issue for us. In fact, the states that are most impacted as it relates to an Affordable Care Act tax credit expiration are all Republican states.”
The dispute comes weeks after Democrats voted for what became the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The shutdown began October 1 after Democrats opposed the Republican-led funding bill, which did not include extensions of the ACA subsidies.
The government reopened after 43 days without an agreement on the credits, leading to frustration within the Democratic caucus, including from Jeffries.
Quick argued that a shorter deal could still be reached if both parties returned to negotiations.
She noted that House Republicans might accept a one- or two-year extension rather than the three-year plan Jeffries is seeking.
Jeffries insisted that Democrats want to negotiate.
“Listen, this is not a partisan fight for us. It’s a patriotic fight,” he said.
“We’re fighting for every constituent, even if Republicans aren’t necessarily fighting for their own constituents. We want to find a bipartisan path forward, and that is what we’ve repeatedly indicated we want to do. Like, we want to sit down and have a reasonable discussion, find common ground to address this issue. Now, Republicans said in the House they were willing to deal with the Affordable Care Act tax credit issue after the government funding agreement was reached.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson has not committed to bringing an extension up for a vote.
In the Senate, Majority Leader John Thune agreed to hold a vote on the credits as part of the negotiations that secured Democratic support for reopening the government.
Jeffries said Republicans have had a full year to reach a deal and have not produced a proposal that could pass.
Quick pressed the point that a one-year extension could buy time for both parties to develop a longer-term plan, but Jeffries maintained that Democrats have been willing to negotiate throughout the process while Republicans have not agreed to terms that would avoid lapses in coverage.
The Affordable Care Act tax credits remain unresolved as both chambers return to budget discussions.
Jeffries continues to call for a multi-year extension while insisting that Democrats are ready to work on a bipartisan agreement once Republicans present a framework they are willing to support.
Five defendants have pleaded guilty in federal court to providing material support to terrorists for their roles in a coordinated shooting on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Alvarado, Texas.
The incident occurred on the night of July 4, 2025, at the Prairieland facility.
The plea agreements mark the first known case in which individuals have formally admitted to being part of an organized Antifa cell in the United States.
On November 19, Seth Sikes, Joy Abigail Gibson, Lynette Read Sharp, Nathan Baumann, and John Phillip Thomas each pleaded guilty to one count of providing material support to terrorists.
The charges stem from the shooting attack that left a police officer shot in the neck and led to additional officers coming under fire.
As part of their plea deals, the defendants agreed to federal sentences capped at 15 years, avoiding the possibility of decades in prison.
The plea agreements included stipulated facts. Baumann, Gibson, and Sikes acknowledged, “Beginning on or about July 3, 2025, and continuing until on or about July 4, 2025, in the Northern District of Texas, [defendant name] planned with others to provide resources and personnel, including [himself/herself], knowing and intending that they would be used to carry out acts of terrorism.” They admitted the acts were “calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion, or to retaliate against government conduct.”
Baumann further admitted, “Baumann found that others who participated in the acts against Prairieland adhered to an Antifa, revolutionary anarchist or autonomous Marxist ideology that is anti-law enforcement, anti-immigration enforcement, and calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and the system of law. Antifa is a militant enterprise that advocates insurrection and violence to affect the policy and conduct of the U.S. government by intimidation and coercion.”
He also admitted participating in planning the “direct action” attack on July 3 and July 4.
All five defendants acknowledged that the Antifa cell “conducted an act of terrorism.”
Sikes provided additional detail in his agreed facts: “Sikes and his coconspirators adhered to an Antifa, anarchist ideology and organized cells or ‘affinity groups’ around their beliefs.”
According to the filing, the group formed decentralized cells modeled on Antifa’s organizational practices.
Gibson admitted using an encrypted messaging app to send reconnaissance photos of Prairieland’s surveillance cameras to others involved in the attack.
She stated that some participants conducted in-person reconnaissance at the facility earlier in the day on July 4.
Baumann, Gibson, and Sikes also admitted they wore black bloc clothing to conceal their identities from law enforcement.
Court filings stated that “co-conspirator-1,” who prosecutors say stood about 200 meters from the main group with an AR-15 rifle, fired on the facility to help Baumann escape.
Baumann admitted this during his plea.
Evidence in separate documents identifies the individual as Benjamin Hanil Song.
Sharp and Thomas, who were not present during the shooting, admitted to helping Song evade arrest.
Sharp acknowledged learning on July 5 that Song was hiding in the woods near the facility.
Sharp and Thomas admitted to providing property, lodging, communications equipment, personnel, or transportation while Song was an FBI and Texas Most Wanted fugitive for 11 days.
Sharp admitted using an encrypted messaging app to arrange housing for Song and stated, “Then on July 6, Sharp provided Coconspirator-1 with clothing, a whig [sic], a face covering, and other items so Coconspirator-1 could disguise his appearance from law enforcement.”
Sharp also arranged a transfer point in a parking lot so another individual could move Song to a second apartment.
The plea deals follow the indictment of additional suspects.
On November 14, seven more individuals — Benjamin Song, Savanna Batten, Bradford Morris, Maricela Rueda, Elizabeth Soto, Ines Soto, and Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada — were indicted on federal charges including providing material support to terrorists, rioting, using weapons and explosives, obstruction, and attempted murder.
Cameron Arnold and Zachary Evetts were indicted on October 15 on similar terrorism counts, becoming the first individuals in the United States accused at the federal level of Antifa-related terrorism offenses.
Prosecutors expect more plea deals.
Rebecca Morgan and another defendant are scheduled to plead guilty next week.
Eighteen total individuals have been identified as suspects in the Prairieland attack, facing a combination of state and federal charges.
The five defendants who entered federal guilty pleas also face state charges in Johnson County.
A new children’s book aimed at readers as young as 5 years old is drawing widespread attention after describing abortion as a “uniquely human superpower.”
The book, titled Abortion Is Everything, was created by activist Amelia Bonow, founder of the “Shout Your Abortion” campaign.
The book was promoted on the group’s social media platforms.
A post highlighted the project as a resource for adults discussing abortion with children.
“Parents, caregivers, and educators who work with children have long been searching for a tool to talk with kids about abortion, especially given the volume of political noise currently surrounding the issue,” the post on Instagram stated.
According to the promotional material, the book attempts to describe what an abortion feels like and why people have them.
The Instagram post added, “With accessible, inclusive language, ‘Abortion Is Everything’ frames abortion as the actualization of a uniquely human superpower: our capacity to imagine the future and make choices that lead us towards the life we envision. Abortion is a tool that allows human beings to shape our destinies, and which has shaped the entire world around us.”
The pro-life organization Live Action condemned the book in a statement on social media.
“The founder of ‘Shout Your Abortion’ is now targeting kids. With a children’s book. Promoting abortion,” the group wrote.
“The book is marketed to children from 5 to 8, with the goal of explaining abortion in kid-friendly language. This isn’t just propaganda. It’s grooming.”
The founder of “Shout Your Abortion” is now targeting kids.
With a children’s book.
Promoting abortion.
The book is marketed to children from 5 to 8, with the goal of explaining abortion in kid-friendly language.
In a separate statement on its website, Live Action said, “The abortion industry has long tried to indoctrinate children into their pro-abortion agenda. This book, presenting abortion as human empowerment, is just the latest example.”
The release of the book comes as abortion policy continues to be decided state by state following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, which overturned federal abortion protections.
The shift has led to ongoing public debate, legislative activity, and ballot measures across the country.
The book’s promotion drew national attention due to its intended age range and its framing of abortion.
Nearly 200 firefighters responded to a large fire aboard a cargo ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles on Friday night, after officials declared a major emergency.
All 23 crew members on board were evacuated without injury.
According to the Daily Breeze, the fire was first reported at approximately 6:38 p.m. local time.
Authorities said the blaze began as an electrical fire below deck while the ship was carrying hazardous cargo. By around 7 p.m., the fire had spread across several levels of the 1,102-foot vessel.
BREAKING: New exclusive video shows a large fire burning aboard the One Henry Hudson container ship at the Port of Los Angeles.
The vessel recently arrived from Tokyo. More than 100 LAFD firefighters — along with LA City and Long Beach fire boats — are attacking the blaze. Port… pic.twitter.com/h18SU75iiq
The Port of Los Angeles is recognized as the busiest port in North America.
The vessel involved in the incident, the One Henry Hudson, is operated by One Ocean Express, a Singapore-based shipping company.
Before arriving in Los Angeles, the ship had recently traveled through Japan, with stops in Kobe, Nagoya, and Tokyo.
A spokeswoman for Ocean Network Express confirmed the incident in a statement to the Daily Mail.
“Ocean Network Express (ONE) has been alerted to a fire onboard the 2008-built Panama-flagged container vessel, M/V ONE HENRY HUDSON,” she said.
“ONE can confirm that the vessel is time-chartered and all crew have been safely accounted for.”
The company said it is closely following developments.
“ONE is deeply concerned by this incident and is closely monitoring the situation. We thank first responders onsite and remain fully committed to supporting incident management and subsequent investigations,” the spokeswoman added.
Fire crews continued operations Friday night as officials monitored conditions on and around the vessel.
Authorities have not released additional details on the cause of the electrical fire or the specific hazardous materials on board.
President Donald Trump said Friday that a video released by a group of Democratic lawmakers with military and intelligence backgrounds — urging service members to refuse undefined “illegal” orders — amounted to “treasonous” behavior.
He also said War Secretary Pete Hegseth is examining the matter, which he suggested could involve reviews by military courts.
The video, published earlier in the week, featured Senators Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan along with several House Democrats. In the recording, the lawmakers told military personnel they “can refuse illegal orders… you must refuse illegal orders” and warned that “the threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home.”
“We know you are under enormous stress and pressure right now, Americans trust their military, but that trust is at risk. This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens like us. You all swore an oath to protect and defend this constitution,” the lawmakers said.
“Right now, the threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home. Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders… you must refuse illegal orders. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our constitution.”
We want to speak directly to members of the Military and the Intelligence Community.
The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution.
The message drew immediate pushback from senior White House officials, including Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller.
President Trump labeled the video “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH” in a Truth Social post.
Speaking on the “Brian Kilmeade Show” on Friday, the president said he believed the remarks crossed a serious line.
“Well, if you look at sedition, if you look at, uh, you know, that type of, it’s a form of a very strong form of being a traitor. It’s a terrible thing to say. I must tell you, I heard it and I thought it was some kind of a comedy situation. I thought that would, you know, it was some kind of a skit and cause I couldn’t believe that they’d say it,” Trump said.
He added that some Democrats appeared reluctant to defend the video.
“And I watched Democrat congressmen and one Democrat Senator yesterday in one of the shows Didn’t even want to discuss it. They said, whoa, don’t get me into that one. They didn’t want to get into it. That is a really serious charge. I’ll tell you what, what they said is, and it was, I mean, I don’t know about the modern day things because, you know, modern day is a lot softer. But in the old days, if you said anything like that, that was punishable by death.”
Trump said the lawmakers involved are in “serious trouble,” adding, “I’m not threatening death, but I think they’re in serious trouble. In the old days, it was death.”
He also said Hegseth is reviewing the situation.
“I know they’re looking into it militarily. I don’t know for a fact, but I think the military is looking into it, the military courts,” Trump said.
Ohhhh boy… see where this is going?
#BREAKING – President Trump says the U.S. Military Courts are looking into the Democrats Seditious Behavior
Trump was asked if he worries there will be Military Personel who will disobey Direct Orders?
The Democrats featured in the video have defended their statements and accused the president of “threatening” them.
They have not explained what specific “illegal” orders they were referring to.
Their comments come as the War Department has carried out nearly two dozen strikes on drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche criticized the video during an interview with Fox News on Thursday, calling it “abhorrent” and comparing it to “a propaganda video by one of our enemies trying to recruit the military to become spies.”
Todd Blanche: I felt like I was watching a propaganda video by one of our enemies trying to recruit the military to become spies… And you ask if what they did is a crime? I mean, you tell me what it is. pic.twitter.com/aZu0aV27Gd
“What is the reason that they all went on a video and encouraged young men and women to defy court orders without even giving a hint of what’s illegal, without even giving any suggestion of what law or what order they’re being asked to violate. You cannot do that in this country, especially if you’re a leader,” Blanche said.
He also indicated the Justice Department is examining the matter.
“And so what does the investigation look like? I think they should be held to account. I think that those congressmen should be required to answer questions about why they did what they did, and the American people deserve that, and so does President Trump.”
“Stuff like this gets people killed. It creates stupid rules of engagement, some of which killed my friends personally, because they want to play political grandstand games with no intention of backing the soldier up when he does the bidding that they subtly encouraged.”… pic.twitter.com/5M4lk4hOS9
Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia’s 14th District announced Friday night that she will leave Congress, citing frustration with the national debt, the recent government shutdown, and what she described as a sidelined legislative branch.
In a letter released publicly Friday evening, Greene said, “I ran for Congress in 2020 and have fought every single day believing that Make America Great Again meant America First. I have one of the most conservative voting records in Congress defending the 1st amendment, 2nd amendment, unborn babies because I believe God creates life at conception, strong safe borders, I’ve fought against Covid tyrannical insanity and mandated mass vaccinations, and I’ve never voted to fund foreign wars.”
Greene wrote that the House majority has not operated as she expected.
“However with almost one year into our majority, the legislature has been mostly sidelined,” she said.
“We endured an 8 week shut down wrongly resulting in the House not working for the entire time, and we are entering campaign season which means all courage leaves and only safe campaign re-election mode is turned on.”
In recent weeks, Greene has focused heavily on the shutdown and Affordable Care Act subsidies.
She has criticized Republican leadership for how the shutdown unfolded and for keeping the House out of session for two months.
Her public disputes have also extended to President Donald Trump.
Trump referred to her as “Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Greene,” and reports indicate her disagreements with her party intensified after Republican officials urged her not to pursue a statewide race for senator or governor.
According to multiple accounts, GOP leaders worry about her polling numbers as Republicans look ahead to contests in Georgia, including the 2026 race for Sen. Jon Ossoff’s seat.
According to insiders, the president shared polling with Greene indicating she could not win a statewide campaign.
The exchanges contributed to rising tension between Greene and Republican leaders, including Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana’s 4th District.
In her letter, Greene accused “Establishment Republicans” of working against her and said Trump was involved in organizing a primary challenge.
“I have too much self-respect and dignity, love my family way too much, and do not want my sweet district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the President we all fought for, only to fight and win my election while Republicans will likely lose the midterms,” Greene wrote.
“And in turn, be expected to defend the President against impeachment after he hatefully dumped tens of millions of dollars against me and tried to destroy me. It’s all so absurd and completely unserious. I refuse to be a ‘battered wife’ hoping it all goes away and gets better.”
Greene also wrote that her situation reflects broader concerns among voters.
“If I am cast aside by MAGA Inc. and replaced by Neocons, Big Pharma, Big Tech, Military Industrial War Complex, foreign leaders, and the elite donor class that can’t even relate to real Americans, then many common Americans have been cast aside and replaced as well,” she said.
“There is no ‘plan to save the world’ or insane 4D chess game being played.”
Recently declassified documents and interviews with former Trump officials provide new detail on how members of President Donald Trump’s first-term cabinet and senior appointees did not disclose evidence that challenged the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) produced at the end of the Obama administration.
The ICA asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed efforts to help Trump win the 2016 election.
.@DNIGabbard: “There is irrefutable evidence that detail how President Barack Obama and his national security team directed the creation of an intelligence community assessment that they KNEW was false.” pic.twitter.com/qJ033F6Qwv
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 23, 2025
According to the newly released material, the assessment relied on minimal and unverified intelligence and incorporated political opposition research funded by Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Former Special Counsel John Durham, former National Security Adviser John Bolton, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and former CIA Director Gina Haspel either withheld or delayed evidence that raised questions about the ICA.
Durham, appointed by then-Attorney General William Barr, halted the release of exculpatory intelligence on the eve of the 2020 election.
TRAITORS: Trump’s disgraced former CIA Director Mike Pompeo kept the president in the dark while giving Rep Adam Schiff a private workspace inside the CIA to hunt for classified intel that could be used to oust him. John Brennan’s notes indicate Pompeo, Durham, Bolton, and Haspel… https://t.co/04uOCP8ulWpic.twitter.com/79znm9wHnA
The evidence included a 2018 review that found the ICA’s core claims were supported by “one scant, unclear and unverifiable fragment of a sentence” from a low-quality intelligence report and by portions of the Steele dossier.
Former Trump national security adviser J.D. Gordon said the handling of the ICA allowed the narrative to persist publicly during Trump’s presidency. “The Russiagate betrayal continued in plain sight,” he said.
In mid-2018, Bolton’s chief of staff, Fred Fleitz, reviewed a draft House Intelligence Committee report in a secure Capitol facility.
The report stated that the ICA misrepresented the Steele dossier’s value and relied on intelligence later proven false or unsubstantiated.
Fleitz relayed the findings to Bolton, but Bolton did not brief Trump.
“He didn’t do anything with it. He never told Trump,” Fleitz said.
Pompeo, then Trump’s CIA director, was briefed on the House committee’s findings.
Derek Harvey, a former senior adviser to the committee, said Pompeo doubted the conclusions and the committee did not receive cooperation from the agency.
Haspel, Pompeo’s deputy and later CIA director, oversaw restrictions on the House committee’s review of classified ICA source documents from 2017 to 2020.
Investigators were required to work inside a CIA read room, leave all materials in the building each night, and use CIA-issued computers that committee staff later reported malfunctioned and lost text. The committee also said CIA technical changes made the machines “unstable and unreliable.” Access to the ICA’s five principal authors was delayed for nearly five months.
Haspel secured all drafts of the House report and investigators’ notes in a vault until she left office in January 2021. Before leaving, she urged Barr and Durham not to release the findings before the 2020 election. Fleitz described this as “insubordination to a U.S. president.”
Haspel had previously served in London during 2016, when FBI investigators, including Peter Strzok, pursued leads that later informed the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation. Attempts to reach her for comment were unsuccessful.
As Trump’s first term ended, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe sought to declassify a 44-page report refuting the ICA.
Durham objected, saying he needed the material for his investigation, and Ratcliffe agreed to delay release.
“Durham specifically asked for that report to not be declassified and released, because he wanted to use it as part of his investigation and prosecutions – or so we presumed,” the former senior ODNI intelligence official familiar with Ratcliffe’s declassification effort said.
The document remained withheld until Trump’s current National Intelligence Director, Tulsi Gabbard, declassified it in July.
A former senior intelligence official familiar with the process said the committee provided thousands of pages of supporting documents to Durham.
“After we gave Durham the report… he went ghost,” the official said.
“After we gave Durham the report, along with over a thousand pages of other classified documents, he went ghost,” said the former senior intelligence official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “We didn’t hear from him, and he didn’t appear to do anything with the report.”
Durham’s final 316-page report, released in 2023, made only a brief footnote reference to the ICA.
The ICA is now part of criminal inquiries involving former Obama-era officials, including Brennan and Clapper. Federal prosecutors in Florida have issued subpoenas for records related to the drafting of the 2016-2017 assessment.
Stephen Miller outlines the US government’s legal ground for the prosecution of the attempted coup d’état, insurrection and conspiracy.
Listen to every word.
“Comey, Clapper, Brennan, Obama, Monaco all conspired together, all worked together to try to sabotage, undermine,… pic.twitter.com/BznGuOogZM
Former officials who cooperated with the House review said the ICA became the foundation for numerous investigations of Trump and his advisers.
Harvey said, “The CIA engaged in a conspiracy to fabricate intelligence against Trump.”
He also said analysts were pressured to alter pre-election assessments to align with the ICA’s conclusions.
A whistleblower who worked under then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told investigators he believed raw intelligence was manipulated.
He contacted Durham but was never interviewed.
Fleitz said the declassified material shows that intelligence was “rigged and politicized.”
He said Trump-appointed officials allowed the ICA to stand unchallenged during the administration, despite evidence calling its claims into question.
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