Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) said Thursday he was informed by the Department of Justice that his phone calls with a Virginia state legislator in the spring were wiretapped. Why it matters: The Democratic congressman is casting the tap as part of a pattern of the DOJ targeting President Trump's political enemies , calling the incident "deeply concerning." - "They have politically investigated multiple states' Attorneys General and the former FBI director. Now they admit they have surveilled conversations by a sitting Democratic Congressman," Subramanyam said in a statement. - The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Driving the news: Subramanyam released what he said was a notice from the DOJ and…
President Trump's historic Venezuelan oil deal revolves around a colorful and controversial man from Caracas with a long history of supporting U.S. interests — including the operation to remove former strongman Nicolas Maduro. Why it matters: Alejandro Betancourt, 46, runs the oil company that's entering into an unprecedented partnership with the Pentagon. It gives America access to some of Venezuela's vast oil fields at a time when U.S. reserves are low. - "No Betancourt, no energy-security deal," a U.S. official told Axios. "And Maduro might still be in power if it wasn't for him." - Betancourt's life story has an oil-like boom-and-bust aura, replete with billion-dollar deals, international intrigue, a longstanding money-laundering…
Will Rosenzwieg was an Assistant US Attorney in Florida working on a significant Medicare fraud case when he was summarily fired by then AG Pam Bondi, citing Article Two. He’s now suing AG Todd Blanche and the Justice Department. His attorney, Margaret Donovan, joins this episode to share how a years-old blog Rosenzwieg had written criticizing Trump—before he was ever a federal employee—led to his dismissal, hours after it surfaced on social media via a right-wing influencer. “It's remarkable that the government wouldn't recognize what is so flagrantly a First Amendment violation,” Donovan says. After detailing the complaint, Mary and Andrew move to Todd Blanche’s confirmation, before examining a ruling by an Alabama judge…
A Republican and a Democrat in the House have joined forces to federally penalize anyone who disrupts a religious service, a rare bipartisan move prompted by a church occupation in St. Paul that left a parishioner with a broken arm and children in tears. Reps. Brad Knott of North Carolina and Tom Suozzi of New […] The post Bipartisan bill targets church protest disruptions with escalating fines appeared first on American Almanac .
A Republican and a Democrat in the House have joined forces to federally penalize anyone who disrupts a religious service, a rare bipartisan move prompted by a church occupation in St. Paul that left a parishioner with a broken arm and children in tears. Reps. Brad Knott of North Carolina and Tom Suozzi of New York are introducing legislation this week that would impose civil fines on anyone who knowingly disrupts or impedes people from attending worship. The bill sets a $2,500 penalty for a first offense, $5,000 for a second, and $10,000 for a third, Fox News Digital reported after obtaining the bill's text. The proposed law would create a 100-foot buffer zone around any pedestrian or vehicular entrance to a house of worship. That zone…Open
The full text of the first ransom note sent to the family of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie after her abduction from her Tucson home has been publicly disclosed for the first time, and the FBI has since concluded none of the ransom demands were genuine. Arizona journalist Briana Whitney, reporting for the Crime Junkie podcast, read […] The post First ransom note in Nancy Guthrie abduction revealed in full, exposing chilling demands and investigative dead ends appeared first on American Almanac .
The full text of the first ransom note sent to the family of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie after her abduction from her Tucson home has been publicly disclosed for the first time, and the FBI has since concluded none of the ransom demands were genuine. Arizona journalist Briana Whitney, reporting for the Crime Junkie podcast, read the note word for word during a special episode marking six months since Guthrie, the mother of NBC "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie, vanished from her $1 million Tucson, Arizona, home in the early hours of February 1, 2026. The note, sent to the family days after the abduction, opened with a line addressed directly to Savannah Guthrie and closed with a death threat tied to a hard deadline. The case has drawn…Open
Vice President JD Vance went on "The Joe Rogan Experience" Wednesday and did something unusual for a sitting administration official: he admitted his own side botched a high-profile promise. The Trump White House, Vance said, fumbled the public release of documents tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and former Attorney General Pam Bondi bore […] The post Vance concedes Trump team 'screwed up' Epstein file rollout, levels unverified claims at Israeli intelligence appeared first on American Almanac .
Vice President JD Vance went on "The Joe Rogan Experience" Wednesday and did something unusual for a sitting administration official: he admitted his own side botched a high-profile promise. The Trump White House, Vance said, fumbled the public release of documents tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and former Attorney General Pam Bondi bore a share of the blame. "I say this with all candor, like we absolutely screwed up the comms of the Epstein files," Vance told Rogan during the nearly three-hour interview. "Like, we just did." The admission matters because the Epstein files became a flashpoint for public trust. Millions of Americans, left, right, and unaffiliated, wanted to know who enabled a wealthy financier's…Open
Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration "mishandled" last year's release of the Epstein files during an appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience." Why it matters: Vance's comments are among the clearest public acknowledgments yet from the Trump administration that the Epstein files release became a major political liability . - Many noted at the time that the Epstein files release was done alongside clumsy messaging and puzzling redactions — fueling sustained political pressure on President Trump and his administration. Driving the news: "If people want to say we mishandled the Epstein release, guilty. We did mishandle it — especially the communications of it," Vance told Rogan on the episode that premiered…
