A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's administration from paying any claims through a new $1.776 billion settlement fund for Trump allies who believe they were victims of a weaponized government. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, also barred the government from moving forward with the fund's creation while litigation is pending to challenge it.
Meanwhile, former Attorney General Pam Bondi is testifying before House lawmakers investigating Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse cases, a long-awaited appearance that brings fresh scrutiny of the administration's botched release of the Epstein case files.
Here's the latest:
Rubio meets with Pakistani foreign minister as tentative Iran deal hangs in the balance
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has met with his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, as a tentative deal to extend a fragile ceasefire with Iran hangs in the balance.
Neither Rubio nor Dar — whose country has emerged as a main player and mediator in talks to end the conflict — spoke or responded to questions from reporters as they posed for photographs at the State Department on Friday. Dar has been in the United States since earlier this week to attend meetings at the United Nations in New York.
The meeting came just a day after U.S. officials said an agreement in principle on a memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and return to talks on Iran’s nuclear program had been reached. That agreement, though, must still be approved by President Trump and Iran’s top leadership and there was no indication when that might happen.
Judge temporarily blocks payouts from Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ settlement fund
A federal judge has temporarily blocked Trump's administration from paying any claims through a new $1.776 billion settlement fund for Trump allies who believe they were victims of a weaponized government.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, on Friday also barred the government from moving forward with the fund’s creation while litigation is pending to challenge it.
The judge scheduled a June 12 hearing for arguments on whether to extend the order blocking payouts from an “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” which the government created to resolve Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns.
The fund has created a fierce backlash since it was announced last week, with even Republicans pressing acting Attorney General Todd Blanche over the eligibility considerations and the possibility that even violent rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, would be free to seek compensation.
Pam Bondi interview gets underway on Capitol Hill
The former attorney general is appearing before House lawmakers as they investigate how the government has handled the investigations into Jeffrey Epstein.
Bondi was ousted as attorney general last month, but her in her previous testimony to Congress she has been defiant in the face of lawmakers’ questions about how the Department of Justice handled the release of case files on Epstein. She is also accompanied today by Department of Justice officials — an arrangement Democrats have criticized.
Several survivors of Epstein’s abuse also appeared outside the House office room where the interview is happening behind closed doors. They pressed the committee chair, Republican Rep. James Comer, to closely question Bondi.
“We want justice for the survivors, we do,” Comer told them.
South Carolina Democrats expected to celebrate after failure of Trump-backed redistricting push
Democrats may be in a more celebratory mood than usual as they gather Friday in South Carolina, a state led almost entirely by Republicans.
The party is holding events days after the GOP-led state Senate shot down an effort backed by President Donald Trump to redraw House district lines to help Republicans this fall. That move was aimed at ousting longtime Rep. Jim Clyburn, the state's lone congressional Democrat and a party powerbroker who's been in office since 1993.
Friday's gatherings kick off with the Blue Palmetto Dinner, an annual party fundraiser that typically showcases potential presidential contenders and the party's national figures. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear will be the headliner.
Pam Bondi to face closed-door questioning from House lawmakers over Epstein files
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi is testifying before House lawmakers investigating Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse cases, a long-awaited appearance that brings fresh scrutiny of the administration's botched release of the Epstein case files.
Bondi was defiant in previous public testimony when she was confronted by lawmakers about the Epstein investigation. It's unclear whether she'll bring the same approach Friday, now that she is no longer in charge of the Justice Department. The session will be held behind closed doors.
The transcribed interview will give lawmakers a chance to dig for information on the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files and other related matters, including the prison sentence of his former girlfriend and confidant, Ghislaine Maxwell. The Justice Department moved Maxwell to a prison camp in Texas last August.
“I think she absolutely could clear up many missing pieces if she wanted to,” said Rep. Yassamin Ansari, an Arizona Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. “Now it’s a question of whether or not she is willing to be transparent.”
Judge refuses to block Trump order to limit mail voting. There’s no immediate effect on the midterms
A federal judge has declined to halt Trump's executive order creating a federal voter list and limiting mail voting, clearing the way for potential sweeping changes in how American elections are run shortly before this year's midterm elections.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee in Washington, late Wednesday rejected the request by Democrats and civil rights groups that had argued Trump's order would likely be found unconstitutional because the states and Congress, not the president, have the power to set election rules. Nichols agreed with the Republican Trump administration's contention that it was too early to block the order because it has yet to be implemented.
Nichols’ ruling leaves the door open for further challenges when the Trump administration moves to implement the president’s directive. A separate lawsuit seeking to block the executive order is underway in Boston. No matter how rapidly the administration acts, no voting changes are expected during primary elections, which continue into next month.
Treasury Secretary Bessent confirms limited steps toward a $250 bill featuring Donald Trump
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that his department has prepared the design for a $250 bill featuring Trump, anticipating the passage of stalled legislation in Congress to put the president on a new denomination of legal tender.
Bessent said at the White House that authorizing the new currency will be up to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, but that “we’ve created the bill” because “we have to be prepared.”
The secretary downplayed the idea that the administration is pushing the matter, despite Trump’s penchant for infusing his name and likeness across the nation’s capital and into the observances of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Yet he also insisted there is nothing inappropriate about Trump’s visage being part of the seminal national celebration.
Top federal prosecutor in Chicago denies investigation into E. Jean Carroll, disputing media reports
The top federal prosecutor in Chicago denied Thursday evening that his office had opened an investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the longtime advice columnist who has said Trump sexually assaulted her 30 years ago, hours after multiple news organizations reported that the Justice Department was investigating whether she had lied during the course of civil litigation against Trump.
The Associated Press and other news organizations, citing anonymous sources, reported that the federal prosecutors’ office in Chicago had opened an investigation into Carroll.
But Andrew Boutros, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, issued a statement roughly 24 hours after the first report was published saying that his office “has not opened — and has never opened — a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll.”
A person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, initially told the AP on Thursday morning that investigators were focused on Carroll but later clarified that the actual focus was on a nonprofit that had helped fund her case.
US and Iranian negotiators reach tentative deal to extend ceasefire and start new nuclear talks
U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative agreement Thursday to extend the ceasefire in the 3-month-old war by 60 days and start a new round of talks on Iran's nuclear program, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.
Iran did not immediately confirm any deal. Vice President JD Vance on Thursday evening confirmed there was a tentative agreement, but said it was unclear if Trump would approve it.
“It’s hard to say exactly when or if the president’s going to sign,” Vance told reporters.
He added: “We’re going back and forth on a couple of language points.”
The emerging memorandum of understanding came as the fragile ceasefire in the war between the U.S. and Iran appeared to be wavering. The latest flare-up in fighting happened less than a day earlier, when Kuwait intercepted missiles fired from Iran, according to U.S. Central Command.
— Aamer Madhani, Jon Gambrell, Michelle L. Price and Sam Metz
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