President Donald Trump urged &#8220;the great, proud people of Iran&#8221; to overthrow the Iranian regime after the United States and Israel conducted joint strikes on Iran early Saturday morning.
In an eight-minute address to the nation, Trump announced the major military operation against Iran, named &#8220;Operation Epic Fury,&#8221; and suggested that it would clear the way for Iranians to finally strip power from their authoritarian government.
&#8220;To the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;Stay sheltered, don&#8217;t leave your home. It&#8217;s very dangerous outside; bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.&#8221;
Trump said his actions on Saturday show how the United States is committed to &#8220;backing&#8221; the Iranian people and their fight for freedom.
&#8220;For many years, you have asked for America&#8217;s help but never got it,&#8221; he said. &#8220;No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight. Now you have a president who has given you what you want, so let&#8217;s see how you respond. America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force.&#8221;
Trump offered members of Iran&#8217;s Islamic Revolutionary Guard, armed forces, and police &#8220;complete immunity&#8221; if they were to lay down their weapons.
&#8220;Or, in the alternative, face certain death,&#8221; he added.
Trump began his address by stating that the &#8220;major combat operation&#8221; is to &#8220;defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.&#8221; The strikes came after a long U.S. military buildup in the Middle East. The Trump administration sought to pressure Iranian leaders into agreeing to a deal to end their ambitions of obtaining a nuclear weapon.
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🚨BREAKING: Trump announces that the U.S. is conducting strikes against Iran.
&#8220;Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/ycFiiZ05Eb">pic.twitter.com/ycFiiZ05Eb</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/2027654818555117824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The joint U.S.-Israeli operation hit numerous targets throughout Iran, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei&#8217;s compound in Tehran. A satellite image obtained by The New York Times following the strike shows the compound, which is Khamenei&#8217;s primary residence, completely leveled in the bombings. It&#8217;s unclear if Iran&#8217;s supreme leader was at his compound when the United States and Israel launched their attack.
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We obtained the first known satellite image of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei&#8217;s compound in Tehran. There are several destroyed buildings. While the current whereabouts of Iran&#8217;s supreme leader are unknown, the compound is generally used as his official residence. 🛰️📸: <a href="https://twitter.com/Airbus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Airbus</a> <a href="https://t.co/48krjclMBL">pic.twitter.com/48krjclMBL</a>
— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) <a href="https://twitter.com/trbrtc/status/2027703248887427576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
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During his address, Trump warned that Iran would respond to the joint U.S. and Israeli strikes by targeting American troops in the region. The United States has multiple military bases in Arab countries surrounding Iran, and Trump has been building up a massive armada of U.S. ships and fighter jets around Iran in recent weeks.
&#8220;My administration has taken every possible step to minimize the risk to U.S. personnel in the region. Even so, and I do not make this statement lightly, the Iranian regime seeks to kill,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war, but we&#8217;re doing this not for now. We&#8217;re doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission.&#8221;
Iran already responded to the U.S. strikes by targeting a U.S. military base in Bahrain. A video obtained by Fox News shows a missile striking a U.S. naval base in Bahrain, obliterating an empty warehouse, according to a U.S. official. No Americans were wounded in the retaliatory attack, a U.S. official said.
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NEW: Video shows the moment Iranian missiles struck a U.S. Naval base in Bahrain in retaliation for coordinated strikes conducted by the U.S. and Israel.
A U.S. official tells Fox News that no Americans were injured in the attack. The strike reportedly hit an empty warehouse. <a href="https://t.co/LJMhcf3oB7">pic.twitter.com/LJMhcf3oB7</a>
— Fox News (@FoxNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/2027756653710319888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The Iranian regime has also fired missiles toward Israel. As of Saturday morning, there have been no reports of civilian casualties following Iran&#8217;s response.

Donald Trump/Iran Strikes

Trump Delivers Direct Message To Iranians After ‘Major Combat Operation’ Targets Ayatollah

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Donald Trump

Iran

Israel

U.S. Military

President Donald Trump said Senator Ted Cruz could be Supreme Court nominee in the near future, praising the Texas Republican during a speech in Corpus Christi on Friday evening.
Trump, who was once a fierce critic of Cruz, called the senator &#8220;an amazing guy&#8221; who is &#8220;so good and so talented.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m thinking about putting him in the Supreme Court,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;I&#8217;m thinking because it&#8217;s very hard, getting these nominations through is tough.&#8221;
The president added that Cruz would receive &#8220;100%&#8221; of the Democratic and Republican vote, arguing that Cruz&#8217;s foes would &#8220;want to get him out of [the Senate]. He is such a pain in the ass.&#8221;
Trump also floated the idea of a Cruz Supreme Court appointment during a speech last month, calling the senator a &#8220;brilliant legal mind.&#8221; Cruz, however, shot the proposal down in January.
&#8220;My answer&#8217;s not just no, it&#8217;s hell no,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.fox26houston.com/news/supreme-court-texas-ted-cruz-donald-trump">said</a>. &#8220;It is interesting in the first Trump term, the president talked to me about all three Supreme Court vacancies, and we had very serious conversations and I told him no all three times.&#8221;
Cruz added that he wants to be &#8220;right in the middle&#8221; of political battles, something the Republican said a &#8220;principled federal judge&#8221; would stay out of.
After completing law school, Cruz clerked for Chief Justice William Rehnquist at the Supreme Court from 1996 to 1997. Trump first discussed the idea of nominating Cruz to the Supreme Court with the senator privately after the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, according to Cruz.
&#8220;I wrestled with it because I knew Justice Scalia and revered him,&#8221; Cruz added. &#8220;And to have the opportunity to succeed him, I mean, talk about taking your breath away.&#8221;
While none of the Supreme Court justices have announced plans to retire anytime soon, there has been talk of either Samuel Alito or Clarence Thomas, the two oldest and most conservative justices, retiring within the next couple of years to give Trump a chance to replace either of them with another conservative. Thomas is 77-years-old and Alito is 75.
Alito is set to release a book in early October, which has sparked rumors that the conservative justice could be hanging up his robe before the beginning of the Supreme Court&#8217;s next term, which also begins in October. Alito has served on the court for 20 years, while Thomas is the longest-tenured justice, nearing his 35th year on the high court.
When asked about Thomas or Alito potentially retiring in the near future, Trump <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/09/donald-trump-full-interview-transcript-00681693?nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&amp;nname=playbook&amp;nrid=fe8db97b-d67e-4e92-8f3a-1577ce038e35">told</a> POLITICO in December that he wants both of them to stay on the court.
&#8220;Both of those men are fantastic,&#8221; he said.
After Republicans successfully prevented former President Barack Obama from tapping Merrick Garland as Scalia&#8217;s replacement — thanks to the efforts of then-Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch in 2017. Trump went on to nominate two more justices, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, during his first term. Conservatives now have a 6-3 majority, but Trump has recently been frustrated with conservative justices, including Gorsuch, Coney Barrett, and Chief Justice John Roberts.

Trump Signs Order Seeking To Limit State-Level AI Regulation

Trump Floats Idea For His Next Supreme Court Appointment As Rumors Swirl About Possible Retirements

Clarence Thomas

Executive

Politics

Samuel Alito

Supreme Court

Ted Cruz

The Jeffrey Epstein-related deposition of former President Bill Clinton before the House Oversight Committee concluded around six hours after it began on Friday, with Clinton often getting &#8220;candid&#8221; with lawmakers.
The Republican lawmakers who attended the hearing said that Clinton was very cooperative as the former president attempted to answer each question from lawmakers and often spoke more candidly &#8220;than his attorneys were comfortable with.&#8221; House Committee Chairman James Comer, who oversaw the hearing, said the deposition was &#8220;historical.&#8221;
&#8220;I believe that in the history of Congress, the two highest ranking to ever be deposed by Congress would be President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,&#8221; Comer added. &#8220;This is a serious investigation, and we will continue to try to get the truth to the American people and justice for the victims.&#8221;
Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina thanked Clinton for cooperating during the hearing.
&#8220;He did attempt to respond to every single question asked, even when his attorneys told him to shut up, he kept going,&#8221; Mace said.
Neither Clinton nor the Democratic committee members addressed the media outside after the hearing like the Republicans did.
The Oversight Committee said it will release video of both Bill and Hillary Clinton&#8217;s depositions within 24 hours, adding that transcripts of the hearings will be released once the Clintons&#8217; lawyers approve them. Comer promised to subpoena more people who were connected to Epstein to testify before the committee, but he didn&#8217;t reveal who the committee&#8217;s next target would be.
Earlier on Friday, Comer said that Clinton discussed President Donald Trump during his deposition on Jeffrey Epstein on Friday. Comer said that when Democrats asked former President Clinton what he knew about Trump&#8217;s relationship with Epstein, Clinton said that Trump never told him anything that would make it seem like Trump &#8220;was involved&#8221; with Epstein.
&#8220;I know there&#8217;s a lot of obsession about President Trump from the media &#8230; I want to make a statement because [the Democrats] probably won&#8217;t mention this when they come out here,&#8221; Comer said. &#8220;Ranking member [Robert] Garcia asked, &#8216;Should President Trump be called to answer questions from this committee?&#8217; And President Clinton said, &#8216;That&#8217;s for you to decide.&#8217; And [Clinton] went on to say, &#8216;President Trump has never said anything to me to make it seem like he was involved.'&#8221;
Earlier on Friday, President Donald Trump, who was also close to Epstein in the late 1990s and early 2000s, told reporters that he doesn&#8217;t believe Bill Clinton should have been deposed over his relationship with Epstein.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t like seeing him deposed,&#8221; Trump said, adding, &#8220;I like him.&#8221;
Despite Comer suggesting that Bill Clinton&#8217;s deposition would go &#8220;even longer&#8221; than his wife Hillary Clinton&#8217;s testimony, which lasted over six hours on Thursday, the hearing was finished around the same time as the former first lady&#8217;s. Republicans said that Hillary Clinton answered most of their questions, but they were disappointed that the former secretary of state and first lady told them around a dozen times, &#8220;You&#8217;ll have to ask my husband,&#8221; Comer said.
&#8220;So, we have a lot of questions for her husband tomorrow,&#8221; the House Oversight chairman <a href="https://x.com/GOPoversight/status/2027207016964300899">told</a> reporters on Thursday evening. &#8220;And I&#8217;m confident that deposition will last even longer than this one.&#8221;
Former President Clinton posted his opening statement on social media shortly after his closed-door testimony kicked off. In his statement, which was much shorter than that of his wife&#8217;s, the former president claimed that he &#8220;saw nothing&#8221; and &#8220;did nothing wrong.&#8221; He also said that members of Congress will likely hear him say &#8220;I don&#8217;t recall&#8221; numerous times during the deposition.
&#8220;That might be unsatisfying. But I&#8217;m not going to say something I&#8217;m not sure of,&#8221; Clinton added. &#8220;This was a long time ago, and I am bound by my oath not to speculate, or to guess.&#8221;
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As someone who grew up in a home with domestic abuse, not only would I not have flown on his plane if I had any inkling of what he was doing—I would have turned him in myself and led the call for justice for his crimes, not sweetheart deals. <a href="https://t.co/0rX8cat5Pu">pic.twitter.com/0rX8cat5Pu</a>
— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillClinton/status/2027424128559452573?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The &#8220;I don’t recall&#8221; line became closely associated with Bill Clinton during prior legal proceedings — most notably his 1998 grand jury testimony during the Monica Lewinsky investigation, where variations of memory-related responses were widely discussed and scrutinized.
Just before 12:30 p.m. ET, Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida gave an update to reporters and said Bill Clinton was &#8220;cooperative and answering questions.&#8221;
&#8220;I don&#8217;t have reason to believe he&#8217;s hiding the ball on anything. He&#8217;s been pretty transparent,&#8221; Luna added.
Before heading inside to begin Bill Clinton&#8217;s deposition on Friday, Comer called it &#8220;a historical day for the United States Congress.&#8221;
&#8220;We already had a big portfolio of questions for him, but that increased yesterday,&#8221; Comer added.
Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace said on Friday morning that Hillary Clinton did not want to answer questions about the photos that show her husband hanging out with Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, along with  unknown women. Mace also accused Hillary Clinton of responding to some of her “pointed” questions by “screaming.”
“She was unhinged,” Mace added. “And I hope that President Clinton is less unhinged today than his wife was yesterday.”
Mace also called for the Oversight Committee to subpoena Trump&#8217;s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a move that California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna said would have the support of Democrats. Lutnick met with Epstein multiple times, including at least one time on Epstein&#8217;s infamous island. The Commerce secretary said that he did not engage in or witness any illegal activity, and Lutnick has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein&#8217;s crimes.
Asked about a potential Lutnick subpoena, Trump said the Commerce secretary is &#8220;innocent&#8221; and would &#8220;go in and say whatever he has to say.&#8221;
On Thursday evening, Hillary Clinton spoke to reporters outside the performing arts center where her deposition took place in Chappaqua, New York, and blasted Republicans for asking &#8220;very repetitive&#8221; questions after she stated that she never met Epstein. Hillary Clinton also suggested that her husband will focus on the &#8220;chronology&#8221; of his relationship with Epstein and argue that he only spent time with the financier before Epstein was charged and pleaded guilty to soliciting a child for prostitution.
&#8220;I think it is fair to say that the vast majority of people who had contact with [Epstein] before his criminal pleas in &#8217;08 were like most people, they did not know what he was doing,&#8221; Hillary Clinton said. &#8220;And I think that is exactly what my husband will testify to tomorrow.&#8221;
The former president will likely have much more to address during his deposition than his wife, as Bill Clinton traveled numerous times on Epstein&#8217;s private plane. He also appears in multiple instances in the Epstein files recently released by the Justice Department, including in photos that show the former president schmoozing with Epstein and Maxwell, as well as multiple photos that show Bill Clinton in a swimming pool with Maxwell and enjoying a hot tub with a woman whose face was redacted.
The former president was also seen in a picture getting a back massage from Chauntae Davies, one of Epstein’s accusers. Davies has not accused Clinton of acting inappropriately.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-1018041 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/ClintonMaxwellPool-777x576.jpeg" alt="" width="777" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/ClintonMaxwellPool-777x576.jpeg 777w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/ClintonMaxwellPool-300x222.jpeg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/ClintonMaxwellPool-768x569.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/ClintonMaxwellPool.jpeg 946w" sizes=" (max-width: 777px) 100vw, 777px" /></div>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-1018045 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/G8kCH3HXQAEQOZ--769x576.jpeg" alt="" width="769" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/G8kCH3HXQAEQOZ--769x576.jpeg 769w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/G8kCH3HXQAEQOZ--300x225.jpeg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/G8kCH3HXQAEQOZ--768x575.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/G8kCH3HXQAEQOZ-.jpeg 880w" sizes=" (max-width: 769px) 100vw, 769px" /></div>
Comer said on Friday before the deposition that House Republicans plan to ask Bill Clinton about the photos as well as his trips on Epstein’s private jet.
House Democrats also made a few comments before heading into the building for former President Clinton’s deposition. Rep. Robert Garcia of California said that Democrats want “serious answers” from Bill Clinton. Garcia then blasted his Republican colleagues, who Hillary Clinton accused of asking irrelevant questions, including inquiries about UFOs, during Thursday’s deposition.
“What we don’t want is a side show and questions about UFOs, or about conspiracy theories from decades ago, which is what unfortunately happened yesterday,” Garcia said. “A series of bizarre questions were asked of Secretary Clinton.”
The Democrats also repeated their demand from Thursday and urged Republicans to subpoena President Donald Trump. Garcia said that Republicans have “set a new precedent” by asking a former president to testify over his relationship with Epstein.
Neither Bill nor Hillary Clinton has been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein&#8217;s sex crimes, and the former president and first lady have stated that they never visited Epstein&#8217;s private island. After photos of Bill Clinton were released among the millions of Epstein-related documents and files by the Justice Department, the former president&#8217;s chief of staff, Angel Ureña, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bill-clinton-responds-to-shocking-photos-in-epstein-file-dump">accused</a> the Trump administration of scapegoating Bill Clinton.
“The White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton,” Ureña said. “This is about shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they’ll try and hide forever. So they can release as many grainy, 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton. Never has, never will be.”
Documents released by the Justice Department also show that Maxwell had a major role in the founding of the Clinton Global Initiative, a project of the Clinton Foundation to bring world leaders together to discuss future action. While coordinating with Epstein, Maxwell took part in budget discussions when the former president was first attempting to launch the initiative in 2004, just two years before Epstein was indicted, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/us/politics/epstein-clintons-maxwell.html">reported</a>.
Maxwell, a British former socialite, told the Justice Department during an interview last year that Bill Clinton was her friend, &#8220;not Epstein&#8217;s friend.&#8221;
This is a developing story; refresh the page for updates.

clinton_epstein_montage

Clinton Got ‘Candid’ In Epstein Deposition And It Made His Lawyers Uncomfortable

Bill Clinton

Epstein Files

Ghislaine Maxwell

Hillary Clinton

House Oversight Committee

The Manhattan District Attorney&#8217;s Office, led by leftist Alvin Bragg, said it would not pursue an assault charge for a 27-year-old man who is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nypd-nabs-27-year-old-after-mamdani-dismissed-mob-targeting-police-as-kids-at-a-snowball-fight?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=NYPD+Nabs+27-Year-Old+After+Mamdani+Dismissed+Mob+Targeting+Police+As+%E2%80%98Kids+At+A+Snowball+Fight%E2%80%99">accused</a> of hurling chunks of snow and ice at New York&#8217;s Finest earlier this week.
Gusmane Coulibaly, who NYPD officers arrested on Thursday, was initially charged with assaulting a police officer after a mob of people surrounded officers at Washington Square Park on Monday and launched snowballs at them. His other charges of obstruction of governmental administration and disorderly conduct were also downgraded. The only charges prosecutors are willing to pursue are harassment and a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of governmental administration, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/02/26/us-news/manhattan-da-ditches-cop-assault-charge-in-case-against-washington-square-park-snowball-fight-miscreant/">reported</a>.
The New York City Police Benevolent Association, a union representing over 50,000 active and retired NYPD officers, blasted the district attorney&#8217;s office over its decision to drop the assault charge for Coulibaly. Patrick Hendry, the president of the union, accused Coulibaly and three other suspects who are still wanted of placing rocks in the snowballs before launching them at police officers.
“So why wasn’t assault charged? Why was harassment charged? Why do they feel that that didn’t cause an injury to a police officer, which he clearly, clearly has an injury below his eye?” Hendry asked.
Two NYPD officers were treated at the hospital for lacerations to their faces after they were hit with the snowballs.
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Victoria Notaro told the court that prosecutors would have a difficult time proving that Coulibaly was responsible for the minor injuries to the officers, according to the Post.
Thursday&#8217;s arrest over the snowball ambush was Coulibaly&#8217;s second run-in with law enforcement this month. The NYPD said that the 27-year-old man was arrested &#8220;less than three weeks ago for attempted robbery in the transit system.&#8221;
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This morning, the NYPD arrested Gusmane Coulibaly, 27 years old, for assaulting our officers earlier this week in Washington Square Park.
Mr. Coulibaly was previously arrested less than three weeks ago for an attempted robbery in the transit system. <a href="https://t.co/IHO2zTC4tr">pic.twitter.com/IHO2zTC4tr</a>
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYPDnews/status/2027010078302462147?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The decision from the district attorney&#8217;s office to drop the assault charge comes after New York City democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/it-was-a-snowball-fight-mamdani-downplays-unruly-mob-that-injured-nypd-officers">downplayed</a> the mob&#8217;s actions, saying earlier this week, “I can just tell you from the video I saw it looked like kids at a snowball fight.”
Mamdani&#8217;s office told The Daily Wire on Thursday that the mayor does not believe any action during Monday&#8217;s snowball ambush of police officers &#8220;rises to the level of criminal charges.&#8221;
&#8220;As the mayor has said, police officers deserve to be treated with respect. The videos he saw showed a snowball fight that got out of hand,&#8221; Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekec said.
The mayor&#8217;s stance on the incident is at odds with other New York officials, including the city&#8217;s Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul. Tisch called the mob&#8217;s actions &#8220;criminal,&#8221; while Hochul said it is “never acceptable to throw anything at a police officer.”

Gusmane Coulibaly/NYPD

Dem DA Hands Slap On Wrist To Man Accused Of Pelting NYPD With Ice Packed Snowballs

Manhattan DA Won't Pursue Assault Charge For 27-Year-Old Accused Of Pelting Police With Snowballs

Manhattan

New York City

NYPD

Police

Zohran Mamdani

Former Secretary of State and first lady Hillary Clinton was grilled over her and her husband&#8217;s connection to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein for around six hours by members of the House Oversight Committee on Thursday. The hearing was a whirlwind of tough questions, heated debates, and a photo scandal.
Clinton&#8217;s deposition finally wrapped up around 5:30 p.m. ET, and Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said that Clinton &#8220;answered most of our questions,&#8221; but he added that there were many answers from Clinton that did not satisfy members of the committee. Comer said that Clinton frequently replied to questions by saying that her husband, former President Bill Clinton, would be a better person to ask.
Comer hinted at &#8220;very interesting&#8221; answers Clinton gave at the end of the deposition and promised that the committee would do its best to release the video of the deposition within the next 24 hours. The transcript of the hearing will also be released after Clinton&#8217;s lawyers review and approve it.
&#8220;We have a lot of questions for her husband tomorrow, and I&#8217;m confident that deposition will last even longer than this one,&#8221; Comer said.
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) added, &#8220;I would just say one of the things I learned today is that if you really have specific questions about the Clinton Global Initiative or the relationship between the Clintons and Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, you have to ask Bill Clinton.&#8221;
Hillary Clinton spoke to reporters after the hearing and accused Republicans of using the deposition as a political stunt. She also said she wishes the Oversight Committee had held the hearing in public. Clinton described many of the questions she faced as &#8220;very repetitive&#8221; and claimed that she was grilled about UFOs and the sex-trafficking conspiracy theory known as &#8220;pizzagate.&#8221;
During the press conference, Clinton also addressed why Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell was in attendance at her daughter Chelsea&#8217;s wedding in 2010 after Maxwell had already been named in a civil lawsuit by Epstein victim Virginia Guiffre. Clinton said that Maxwell was at the wedding as a &#8220;plus-one&#8221; of another guest who was invited, but she did not say who the invited guest was.
Bill Clinton is set to testify under oath on Friday.
Democrats sitting in on the Jeffrey Epstein-related deposition of former Secretary of State and first lady Hillary Clinton took a brief recess at the two-hour mark on Thursday and blasted Republicans while calling for President Donald Trump to face questions under oath.
Democrats provided an update on the ongoing deposition, with Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the ranking Democratic member on the House Oversight Committee, saying that Clinton was &#8220;completely cooperating with the deposition and the committee.&#8221; He added that Clinton made it clear that she never met Epstein, was never on the pedophile&#8217;s infamous island, and had &#8220;zero knowledge&#8221; his heinous crimes.
During the press conference, the Democratic lawmakers said they will push Republicans to release the full, unedited transcript of the deposition within 24 hours. Clinton previously stated that she wanted the hearing to be public.
Garcia said that the Oversight Committee has &#8220;set a new precedent&#8221; for deposing presidents and former presidents, arguing that President Donald Trump should also answer questions on Epstein under oath.
Arizona Democratic Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari said she was &#8220;extremely appalled&#8221; by Republicans, saying they are &#8220;unserious about this investigation.&#8221;
&#8220;Today, we are sitting through an incredibly unserious clown show of a deposition, where members of Congress and the Republican Party are more concerned about getting their photo op of Secretary Clinton than actually getting to the truth and holding anyone accountable,&#8221; Ansari added.
Garcia ripped Republicans for &#8220;breaking their own committee rules that they established,&#8221; referring to Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) sharing a photo of Clinton from the closed-door hearing. Conservative commentator Benny Johnson posted a photo of Clinton at the hearing, crediting Boebert for sending him the image. A Clinton adviser then told reporters outside the building that they were attempting to &#8220;figure out where the photo came from and why possibly members of Congress are violating House rules,&#8221; POLITICO <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/02/26/congress/hillary-clinton-deposition-briefly-derailed-00801395">reported</a>.
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🚨BREAKING: The first image of Hillary Clinton testifying under oath about Jeffery Epstein to the Republican Oversight Committee.
This is the first time Hillary has had to answer real questions about Epstein. Clinton does not look happy.
Photo provided by Rep. Lauren Boebert. <a href="https://t.co/mPtUyA4u5i">pic.twitter.com/mPtUyA4u5i</a>
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/2027067846417690630?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The photo scandal caused the hearing to briefly go off the record. Boebert responded after the hearing was briefly derailed and said the deposition was again &#8220;proceeding.&#8221;
&#8220;Benny did nothing wrong,&#8221; Boebert <a href="https://x.com/laurenboebert/status/2027082360513040519">wrote</a> on X.
Later, Boebert said she really admired Hillary Clinton’s blue suit, which is why she wanted to capture it. When asked why she shared the photo, Boebert responded, “Why not?”
Clinton, along with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, fought for months to avoid their depositions after the Oversight Committee subpoenaed them last August, arguing that they could share their limited knowledge of Epstein through written statements to the committee. The Clintons&#8217; lawyers engaged in a long back-and-forth battle with Comer, and the couple skipped their scheduled deposition in January, which sparked contempt-of-Congress proceedings.
But after Republicans and some Democrats <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/clintons-in-the-hot-seat-as-oversight-committee-recommends-contempt-charges-over-epstein-scandal">voted</a> to recommend contempt charges, the Clintons finally agreed earlier this month to answer questions on Epstein under oath.
&#8220;Finally, they&#8217;re going to have to sit and answer questions under oath to Congress about their knowledge and involvement with the Epstein criminal activity as well as with Ghislaine Maxwell, who was the primary co-conspirator, the one who was responsible more than anyone for luring the girls into Jeffrey Epstein&#8217;s world,&#8221; Comer <a href="https://x.com/RepJamesComer/status/2026983080762945543">said</a> Thursday morning.
Comer also hinted at an important question Clinton will face during her deposition.
&#8220;One of the questions that we all have in both parties is: how was Jeffrey Epstein able to surround himself with the most powerful people in the world?&#8221; he said. &#8220;If you saw Hillary Clinton&#8217;s interview a few days ago, she acted like they barely knew Epstein and Maxwell. Well, that&#8217;s funny because Epstein was in the White House 16 times while Bill Clinton was president, and then Bill Clinton flew on his plane 27 times post-presidency, as well as Ghislaine Maxwell had a front-row seat at Chelsea Clinton&#8217;s wedding.&#8221;
Clinton posted her opening statement to the committee on social media at 11:08 a.m. ET. In the statement, Clinton accused the Republican-led Oversight Committee of conducting an investigation defined by &#8220;partisan political theater.&#8221; She also blasted Republicans for focusing on her deposition while no GOP members showed up for the testimony of former Victoria&#8217;s Secret CEO and Epstein business partner Les Wexner last week.
&#8220;This institutional failure is designed to protect one political party and one public official, rather than to seek truth and justice for the victims and survivors, as well as the public who also want to get to the bottom of this matter,&#8221; Clinton added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Here is my opening statement to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today. <a href="https://t.co/NZSF2epcI5">pic.twitter.com/NZSF2epcI5</a>
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) <a href="https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/2027053057100693779?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee said last week that she doesn&#8217;t &#8220;recall ever meeting&#8221; Epstein, adding that she spoke with Maxwell &#8220;on a few occasions.&#8221; Clinton said the Oversight Committee&#8217;s decision to subpoena her and her husband takes away from what should be the &#8220;focus&#8221; of the Epstein investigation.
&#8220;The Republican member of Congress who is running this hearing, or this investigation, is trying to protect the president,&#8221; Clinton <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CBSNews/videos/hillary-clinton-says-her-family-has-no-links-to-jeffrey-epstein-and-ghislaine-ma/1585833139356305/">said</a>.
President Donald Trump, like former President Clinton, used to be a friend of Epstein&#8217;s and was pictured multiple times with Epstein at events before the financier pleaded guilty to procuring a child for prostitution in 2008. Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein&#8217;s sex crimes.
Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told reporters that Democrats &#8220;from day one &#8230; have said we want to talk to anyone, any person with information about Jeffrey Epstein, about his crimes, about how he was able to get so much wealth. We will talk to any single person, whether that is a Democrat or Republican.&#8221;
Before he walked into the building for Clinton&#8217;s deposition, Garcia added that it is &#8220;important to note&#8221; that there is &#8220;no evidence&#8221; of the former secretary of state having any interactions with Epstein. He then blasted the Republicans and the Trump administration, accusing the White House of covering up information related to the Epstein investigation.
Trump and his administration have faced criticism over their handling of the Epstein case and the release of the Epstein files. After Congress passed legislation, which was signed by Trump, forcing the release of Epstein-related documents, the Justice Department began releasing a tranche of documents, emails, and photos, which shed more light on Epstein&#8217;s numerous relationships with powerful people.
Included in the DOJ Epstein files dump were multiple pictures of former President Clinton, one of which shows him in a pool with Maxwell and a woman whose face was redacted. Another photo in the files shows the former president in a hot tub with a woman whose face was redacted. The Justice Department has stated that it redacted faces of minors, alleged victims, and some government officials, but the Trump administration was <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/government-says-its-fixing-thousands-of-documents-in-epstein-related-files-that-may-have-had-victim-information">criticized</a> after some photos released to the public showed the faces of potential victims. Other materials that were not properly redacted contained nude photos, names, and addresses. The Justice Department quickly removed thousands of documents following what it called a &#8220;technical or human error.&#8221;
Neither of the Clintons has been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein&#8217;s sex crimes, but Republicans and some Democrats say they want answers about the former president and first lady&#8217;s relationship with the late convicted sex offender. Former President Clinton was a friend of Epstein’s in the early 2000s, traveling with the financier numerous times on Epstein’s plane, which was used for sex trafficking. The former president was also seen in a picture getting a back massage from Chauntae Davies, one of Epstein’s accusers. Davies has not accused Clinton of acting inappropriately.

Inside The Epstein Deposition — Hillary Clinton Reveals What She Was Asked

Congress

Jeffrey Epstein

A 27-year-old man accused of a separate crime was arrested Thursday in relation to the mob that surrounded NYPD police officers and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/it-was-a-snowball-fight-mamdani-downplays-unruly-mob-that-injured-nypd-officers">pelted them with snowballs</a> earlier this week.
Gusmane Coulibaly was detained by NYPD officers after the department released images of four people, including Coulibaly, wanted after two officers were injured when a mob of people hurled snowballs at them at Washington Square Park on Monday. The NYPD said that Coulibaly was arrested earlier this month for &#8220;attempted robbery in the transit system.&#8221;
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This morning, the NYPD arrested Gusmane Coulibaly, 27 years old, for assaulting our officers earlier this week in Washington Square Park.
Mr. Coulibaly was previously arrested less than three weeks ago for an attempted robbery in the transit system. <a href="https://t.co/IHO2zTC4tr">pic.twitter.com/IHO2zTC4tr</a>
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYPDnews/status/2027010078302462147?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The three other suspects wanted by New York police remain at large, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/02/26/us-news/punk-with-rap-sheet-arrested-in-nypd-snowball-attack-and-he-is-not-a-kid-as-mayor-mamdani-insisted/">reported</a>. It remains unclear what charges Coulibaly faces.
New York City&#8217;s democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani put himself at odds with other city and state officials, including Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, when he told reporters he disagreed with calls for arrests following the snowball attack.
The mayor urged people to treat the city’s law enforcement with respect, but added that the videos he saw of the incident only showed a snowball fight that &#8220;got out of hand.&#8221;
“Look, I’ve seen the videos of this snowball fight. I think that it was a snowball fight,&#8221; he said, later adding, “I can just tell you from the video I saw it looked like kids at a snowball fight.”
Mamdani&#8217;s office doubled down on the mayor&#8217;s stance on Thursday, with Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekec telling The Daily Wire, “As the mayor has said, police officers deserve to be treated with respect. The videos he saw showed a snowball fight that got out of hand. He does not believe this situation rises to the level of criminal charges.”
The incident took place after a massive storm dumped around two feet of snow on New York City and brought much of the Big Apple to a standstill on Monday.
One video of the incident shows officers attempting to walk through the crowd as people slung snowballs at them and ran up behind them to dump large chunks of snow and ice on their heads. Some people in the crowd stood in front of the officers as they tried to walk through the park, and the officers threw at least two people to the ground. Another video showed a group of police officers fleeing the scene as the crowd continued to hurl snowballs at them. Two officers were treated at the hospital for lacerations on their faces.
Tisch called the mob’s actions “disgraceful” and “criminal,&#8221; while Hochul said it is &#8220;never acceptable to throw anything at a police officer.&#8221;
The NYPD Police Benevolent Association celebrated the arrest of Coulibaly on Thursday and blasted Mayor Mamdani, <a href="https://x.com/NYCPBA/status/2027018775321559211">writing</a> on social media, &#8220;A 27-year-old is not a &#8216;kid,&#8217; @NYCMayor.&#8221;
&#8220;This individual is an adult with a recent attempted robbery arrest, and your message was that it’s OK for him to assault police officers for doing their job,&#8221; the police union added. &#8220;This arrest sends a different message. We’re grateful to all who have worked so hard on this case. There is more work to be done…&#8221;

NYPD Nabs 27-Year-Old After Mamdani Dismissed Mob Targeting Police As ‘Kids At A Snowball Fight’

NYPD Nabs 27-Year-Old After Mamdani Dismissed Mob Targeting Police As 'Kids At A Snowball Fight'

New York

Vice President JD Vance announced on Wednesday that the Trump administration would withhold nearly $260 million in Medicaid funding for the Democrat-controlled Minnesota state government following the state&#8217;s massive fraud scandal.
Vance, who was tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the administration&#8217;s anti-fraud crackdown during the State of the Union address on Tuesday night, said that Minnesota must prove that it &#8220;takes its obligation seriously to be good stewards of the American people&#8217;s tax money.&#8221; According to Vance, the Trump administration is withholding reimbursements for Medicaid services that Minnesota already paid for out of the state budget.
&#8220;What this means is that first of all, the providers on the ground in Minnesota have actually already been paid,&#8221; Vance said at a press conference alongside Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services. &#8220;What we&#8217;re doing is we&#8217;re stopping the federal payments that will go to the state government until the state government takes its obligations seriously to stop the fraud that&#8217;s being perpetrated against the American taxpayer.&#8221;
Minnesota state leaders, including Democratic Governor Tim Walz, were informed of the Trump administration&#8217;s move, according to Oz, who said the federal government will hold the Medicaid payments until Minnesota properly addresses the fraud.
&#8220;If Minnesota fails to clean up the systems, the state will rack up $1 billion of deferred payments this year,&#8221; Oz <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2026781835179565155">said</a>.
Oz assured reporters that the Medicaid funding freeze would not &#8220;hurt&#8221; Minnesota residents, since the state&#8217;s budget has a &#8220;rainy-day fund&#8221; to cover the lapse in funding.
&#8220;If providers and beneficiaries are worried about getting their money and services, please call your governor. These are services the governor has already paid for. We are just not reimbursing the state,&#8221; Oz said, adding, &#8220;This is not a problem with the people of Minnesota, it&#8217;s a problem with the leadership of Minnesota and other states who do not take Medicaid preservation seriously.&#8221;
Vance has zeroed in on 14 state programs in Minnesota, which include autism service providers and medical service transports that the administration believes are rife with fraud. The Trump administration is giving Walz 60 days to respond to its letter informing the state government of its freeze on Medicaid funding.
The vice president called out so-called services in Minnesota that have received millions in taxpayer dollars, only to make fraudsters rich. Federal prosecutors recently uncovered a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/federal-jury-finds-feeding-our-future-mastermind-and-co-defendant-guilty-250-million">massive fraud scheme</a> in Minnesota, resulting in dozens of convictions so far.
Minnesota&#8217;s “Feeding Our Future” program received federal funds and claimed to distribute meals to hungry children during the COVID pandemic, but allegedly never did so. The vast majority of those charged in the fraud scheme were of Somali descent.
Vance <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2026778961930268688">said</a> on Wednesday that the administration also found that a Minnesota program that was supposed to help kids with autism &#8220;has made a number of people rich, not by providing services to needy children, but by allowing fraudsters to take money that ought by right go to American citizens and to American families.&#8221;
Dr. Oz said at the White House press conference that the new Trump administration effort would be the &#8220;largest anti-fraud effort of its kind&#8221; in the history of the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services. Oz said that a fraud scheme in Minnesota pays mothers around $1,000 to falsely enroll their children as autistic and then Medicaid is billed for millions of dollars in &#8220;services that were never rendered.&#8221;
&#8220;These schemes disproportionately involve immigrant communities,&#8221; Oz <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2026781360266830026">added</a>. &#8220;They&#8217;re able to organize efforts, and sometimes they don&#8217;t understand what&#8217;s going on. And ultimately, it diverts resources away from kids who truly have autism.&#8221;
Daycare and learning centers linked to Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis area have also come under <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/minneapolis-daycare-fraud-has-been-going-on-at-least-a-decade-and-theres-video-to-prove-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scrutiny</a> for suspected fraud after independent journalist Nick Shirley posted a 42-minute video in December that showed him visiting numerous daycares that have received state funding, but don’t appear to be serving any children.

JD Vance

Vance Takes First Major Action As Fraud Czar With Sights Set On Minnesota

Fraud

Medicaid

Mehmet Oz

Minnesota

Tim Walz

Trump Administration

Larry Summers, a former president at Harvard University who served in the Clinton and Obama administrations, resigned from his academic appointments at the Ivy League school on Wednesday. The resignation comes after the recent release of Epstein-related documents revealed Summers&#8217; extensive correspondence with the convicted sex offender, which lasted from 2013 until just four months before Epstein&#8217;s arrest on federal charges.
Summers also relinquished his Harvard University Professorship, which is the highest faculty honor at the school, the Harvard Crimson <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/2/25/summers-retire-harvard-epstein/">reported</a>. The former U.S. Treasury secretary and National Economic Council director said the decision to step down from his role at Harvard was &#8220;difficult,&#8221; but added that it would give him more time to focus on &#8220;research, analysis, and commentary on a range of global economic issues.&#8221;
Summers has faced increasing criticism over his close relationship with Epstein, the extent of which was revealed when the Justice Department began releasing millions of documents from Epstein&#8217;s estate. As the backlash grew, Summers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ex-harvard-president-retreats-from-public-life-after-epstein-correspondence-revealed?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Ex-Harvard+President+Retreats+From+Public+Life+After+Epstein+Correspondence+Revealed">announced</a> last November that he would take a step back from his regular public appearances. Summers has not been accused of any criminal conduct related to Epstein&#8217;s sex-trafficking of girls.
The former Clinton and Obama official <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/-deeply-ashamed-larry-summers-jeffrey-epstein-emails-rcna244526">said</a> in November, “I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused. I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein.”
Summers conversed regularly with Epstein in the years after Epstein pled guilty to procuring a child for prostitution in 2008. Among the numerous emails and text messages exchanged between the married Summers and Epstein, Summers asked Epstein for advice on pursuing a relationship with a woman described as his mentee.
&#8220;We talked on phone. Then &#8216;I can&#8217;t talk later.&#8217; [Don&#8217;t] think I can talk tomorrow,'&#8221; Summers <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02637441.pdf">wrote</a> to Epstein on March 16, 2019. 
&#8220;I said what are you up to. She said &#8216;I&#8217;m busy&#8217;= I said awfully coy u are. And then I said. Did u really rearrange the weekend we were going to [be] together because guy number 3 was coming. She said no his schedule changed after we changed our plans. I said ok I got to go call me when u feel like it. Tone was not of goo= feeling. I [don&#8217;t] want to be in a gift giving competition while being the friend [w]ithout benefits. Think time to just stay away for a while. If there is potential here s=e II [sic] find way back.&#8221;
Epstein replied 11 minutes later, writing, &#8220;shes smart. making you pay for past errors &#8230; ignore [the] daddy im going to 
go out with the motorcycle guy &#8230; you reacted well &#8230; annoyed shows caring &#8230; no whining showed strentgh [sic throughout].&#8221;
Those messages were among the final conversations Summers had with Epstein before Epstein was arrested by the feds and placed in jail in New York. Epstein was found dead in his jail cell on August 10, 2019, in what federal authorities have ruled a suicide.
Other messages Summers sent to Epstein included discussions on politics and projects at Harvard. In one <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01741541.pdf">message</a> that was sent less than a month before the 2016 election, Summers asked Epstein, &#8220;How plausible is idea that trump [sic] is real cocaine user?&#8221; In another October 2016 email, Epstein asked Summers if a friend he referred to as “Rothschild” could be given a tour of Harvard.
Amid the backlash over his close ties to Epstein, Summers was dropped by The New York Times, where he was a contributing opinion writer. He also resigned from the board of directors of OpenAI.
Summers&#8217; resignation from his Harvard professorship comes just one day after Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates apologized to his staff at the Gates Foundation over his relationship with Epstein, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bill-gates-admits-to-affairs-with-russian-women-but-washes-hands-of-epsteins-crimes?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Bill+Gates+Admits+To+Affairs+With+Russian+Women+%E2%80%94+But+Washes+Hands+Of+Epstein%E2%80%99s+Crimes">admitted to affairs</a> he had with two Russian women. Gates assured his foundation that the women were not victims of Epstein’s sex-trafficking scheme, adding, “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit. To be clear I never spent any time with victims, the women around [Epstein].”
Gates, like Summers, has been a major supporter of the Democratic Party and donated $50 million to a dark money group that backed Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.

Larry Summers/Jeffrey Epstein/Bill Clinton/Barack Obama

Epstein Dominoes Continue To Fall As Clinton-Obama Power Player Quits

Harvard

Larry Summers

Scandals

World

Billionaire Microsoft co-founder and jet-setting philanthropist Bill Gates apologized to staffers at his foundation for his connection to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and admitted to affairs with two Russian women, whom he assured were not victims of Epstein&#8217;s sex-trafficking scheme.
Gates fessed up to the affairs during a Gates Foundation town hall on Tuesday, and said that Epstein — whom he developed a relationship with beginning in 2011 — found out about the sexual encounters. Gates claimed, however, that his trysts with a Russian bridge player and a Russian nuclear physicist were not connected to Epstein&#8217;s trafficking scheme, The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/bill-gates-apologizes-to-foundation-staff-over-epstein-ties-67f39ef5?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqek1UOzXZu5KCDZ0mERHQSw6s9RBN3NcXzfpVds_SV5t0soStlD94LDanyajXI%3D&amp;gaa_ts=699e71fb&amp;gaa_sig=zguMEzSFfJW9zNlBErbyjEXXX-W6sN50DIaUq7Qv_c6u2p2RGor5qZCedkMLbQaMde-3UyR_95uRW8ddmeH2pQ%3D%3D">reported</a>.
“I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” Gates told his staff, adding, “To be clear I never spent any time with victims, the women around [Epstein].&#8221;
“I did have affairs, one with a Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist who I met through business activities,” he acknowledged.
In 2010, Gates met a Russian bridge player who was in her 20s. The young Russian woman was introduced to Epstein in 2013, according to The Wall Street Journal. Epstein reportedly paid for the woman to attend school for a software coding course, and in a 2017 email, the financier asked Gates to reimburse him.
The nuclear physicist with whom Gates admitted to having an affair previously worked at one of Gates&#8217; companies, but Gates did not say if the sexual relationship began while the physicist was under his employment, the Journal reported.
Gates told his staff during the town hall meeting that he traveled with Epstein multiple times, but &#8220;never stayed overnight&#8221; with the convicted pedophile and never visited Epstein&#8217;s infamous island.
Gates&#8217; apology comes after Epstein-related emails from 2013 released by the Justice Department hinted at Gates&#8217; affairs with the Russian women and suggested the trysts were illegally facilitated. One of the emails released by the Justice Department was a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01965732.pdf">message</a> Epstein sent to himself that appears to be a draft of a resignation letter from Gates&#8217; former science adviser, Boris Nikolic. In the message, the writer admits to &#8220;facilitating &#8230; illegal trysts, with married women&#8221; and helping Gates &#8220;get drugs, in order to deal with the consequences of sex with russian [sic] girls.&#8221;
&#8220;In my role as his right hand I have been asked and wrongly acquiesced into participating in things that have ranged from the morally inappropriate, to the ethically unsound and have been repeatedly asked to do thing[s] that get near and potentially over the line into the illegal,&#8221; the message continues.
Last month, a representative for Gates said the claims made in the 2013 email &#8220;are absolutely absurd and completely false&#8221; and come from a &#8220;proven, disgruntled liar.&#8221;
&#8220;The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame,” the Gates representative added.
According to Gates, Epstein only found out about the affairs because Nikolic told him. Nikolic told the Journal that the emails found on Epstein&#8217;s server “were not written on my behalf or at my request.”
Gates has not been accused of committing any crimes connected to Epstein or in relation to his sexual encounters with the Russian women.
The 2013 email also references a &#8220;severe marital dispute&#8221; between Gates and his then-wife, Melinda French Gates. The couple divorced in 2021, a process that began shortly after reports of Bill&#8217;s close relationship with Epstein began circulating in 2019.
Bill told his staff on Tuesday that he first met Epstein in 2011, three years after Epstein pled guilty to procuring a child for prostitution in 2008. Melinda first expressed concerns about his relationship with Epstein in 2013, but he continued to meet with the disgraced financier.
&#8220;To give her credit, she was always kind of skeptical about the Epstein thing,&#8221; Gates said of his ex-wife.
Gates claimed he was aware of an issue that limited Epstein&#8217;s ability to travel, but said that he didn&#8217;t bother to look into Epstein&#8217;s background.
&#8220;It was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein,&#8221; the Microsoft co-founder added. “I apologize to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made.”

Bill Gates

Bill Gates Admits To Affairs With Russian Women — But Washes Hands Of Epstein’s Crimes

Department of Justice

Melinda Gates

Russia

Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib lashed out multiple times during President Donald Trump&#8217;s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, including in a moment when she appeared to shout &#8220;KKK&#8221; while most of the chamber was chanting &#8220;USA.&#8221; The camera caught the Michigan congresswoman on screen during the exchange.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Is Rashida Tlaib chanting “KKK” while everyone else chants “USA”? Sure looks like it <a href="https://t.co/5nnp0or3Xn">pic.twitter.com/5nnp0or3Xn</a>
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) <a href="https://twitter.com/MatthewFoldi/status/2026497799055872466?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Republicans blasted Tlaib over the clip, with the National Republican Congressional Committee <a href="https://x.com/NRCC/status/2026505894771519709">stating</a>, &#8220;Everything you need to know about today&#8217;s Democrats. They cannot stand this country, they cannot stand its comeback, &amp; they cannot hide their contempt anymore.&#8221;
The Daily Wire reached out to Tlaib&#8217;s office for comment.
Tlaib, a Muslim whose district includes the highly-populated Muslim city of Dearborn, Michigan, wore a pin to the State of the Union that read &#8220;F*CK ICE.&#8221; She also wore a pair of watermelon earrings that apparently signify her solidarity with the &#8220;Palestinian cause&#8221; and another pin that read &#8220;Stand with survivors, release the Epstein Files.&#8221;
The Michigan congresswoman stood up alongside Minnesota leftist Rep. Ilhan Omar on other occasions during the speech to shout and wave fingers at Trump. Neither Omar nor Tlaib, however, stood when Trump asked members of Congress to get on their feet if they supported prioritizing Americans over illegal immigrants. They also did not stand when Trump highlighted the dozens of Israeli hostages who were rescued from Hamas captivity.
Tlaib mostly ignored the instructions from Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who urged Democrats to remain quiet or skip the State of the Union altogether.
“The two options that are in front of us in our House [are] to either attend with silent defiance or to not attend and send a message to Donald Trump in that fashion, which will include participation in a variety of different alternate programming that is going to take place in and around the Capitol complex,” Jeffries <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5748563-democrats-state-of-the-union-protests/">said</a> last week.
Dozens of Democrats boycotted the State of the Union and attended the &#8220;alternate programming&#8221; events, which were similar to political rallies where Democrats largely focused on bashing Trump&#8217;s immigration policies and tariffs. Tlaib and Omar opted to attend Trump&#8217;s speech and make a scene.
Texas Democrat Al Green made a similar decision and was booted from the chamber after holding up a large sign that read, &#8220;Black people aren&#8217;t apes,&#8221; a reference to a video that was shared by President Trump on Truth Social that briefly depicted former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as gorillas. It was the second year in a row that Green was escorted out of the chamber during Trump&#8217;s speech to Congress.
During his address, Trump ripped Democrats multiple times, including calling them &#8220;crazy&#8221; for refusing to stand in support of protecting children from life-altering gender procedures.
“Who can believe that we&#8217;re even speaking about things like this?” Trump asked. “But surely we can all agree no state can be allowed to rip children from their parents&#8217; arms and transition them to a new gender against the parents, well, who would believe that were even talking about? We must ban it, and we must ban it immediately.”

President Trump Delivers The State Of The Union Address

WATCH: Rashida Tlaib Appears To Chant ‘KKK’ During Trump’s SOTU

Democrats

House Democrats

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

Michigan

Rashida Tlaib

New York City Democratic Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he does not believe anyone should be charged after a mob of people surrounded NYPD officers and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disgraceful-nypd-officers-pelted-with-snowballs-chased-out-of-park">flung snowballs</a> at them Monday afternoon, sending multiple officers to the hospital with minor injuries.
Mamdani told reporters on Tuesday that he disagrees with calls for those responsible for the attack on police officers to be charged. The leftist mayor said the videos of the incident he has watched show nothing more than &#8220;a snowball fight.&#8221;
&#8220;I think there were two officers who were facing lacerations on their face,&#8221; Mamdani said. He was then asked if he would call for the prosecution of the people who pelted the officers with snowballs. Mamdani replied, &#8220;Look, I&#8217;ve seen the videos of this snowball fight. I think that it was a snowball fight.&#8221;
The mayor&#8217;s comments are at odds with other New York officials, including Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who called the mob&#8217;s actions “disgraceful” and “criminal.”
“The NYPD is aware of certain videos taken earlier today in Washington Square Park showing individuals attacking cops. I want to be very clear: The behavior depicted is disgraceful, and it is criminal,” Tisch said. “Our detectives are investigating this matter.”
One <a href="https://x.com/BGOnTheScene/status/2026065265201475765">video</a> of the incident showed two of the police officers attempting to walk through the crowd as people slung snowballs at them and ran up behind them to dump large pieces of snow on their heads. Some people in the crowd stood in front of the officers as they tried to walk through the park, and the officers threw at least two people to the ground. Another <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qCsdPs1OWI">video</a> showed a group of police officers fleeing the scene as the crowd continued to hurl snowballs at them. No arrests have been made.
New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul condemned the mob that targeted police officers in New York City&#8217;s Washington Square Park.
&#8220;Our NYPD officers put themselves on the line to protect us every day. It is never acceptable to throw anything at a police officer, full stop,&#8221; Hochul said.
Meanwhile, Mamdani&#8217;s 2024 rivals, former Mayor Eric Adams and former Governor Andrew Cuomo, called on the mayor to condemn the attack on police officers and ripped his past anti-police rhetoric.
“Words have consequences. We are seeing that in the growing disrespect for law enforcement — just as we’ve seen it in the rise in antisemitism. Real leaders understand that. This mayor does not,&#8221; Cuomo said.
Mamdani referred to those who pelted NYPD officers with snowballs as &#8220;kids&#8221; and was asked by a reporter if he knew that &#8220;for a fact or is it possible these were adults?&#8221;
&#8220;I can just tell you from the video I saw it looked like kids at a snowball fight,&#8221; the mayor said.
Mamdani also urged people to treat the city&#8217;s law enforcement with respect: &#8220;Officers have been on the front line of helping us respond to this blizzard. They have been keeping New Yorkers safe &#8230; they and our entire city workforce, of course, deserve to be treated with respect.&#8221;
&#8220;The only person in our city&#8217;s workforce who deserves to be treated with a snowball is me,&#8221; he added. On Monday, Mamdani said that students who were upset that he made the decision to have remote classes after the massive snowstorm could throw snowballs at him.

NYC Mayor Mamdani Holds News Conference Briefing On Massive Incoming Snow Storm

‘It Was A Snowball Fight’: Mamdani Downplays Unruly Mob That Injured NYPD Officers

General

Law Enforcement

U.S.

Winter storm

Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas is facing mounting pressure to resign after he was accused of having an extramarital affair with a staffer before she committed suicide last year.
Reps. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky have all made public calls for Gonzales to immediately step down. Texas Republican Reps. Chip Roy and Brandon Gill, meanwhile, have urged Gonzales to end his re-election bid.
Gonzales, a 45-year-old husband and father of six children, has denied allegations of an affair with Regina Santos-Aviles, his former staffer, who committed suicide last September by dousing herself in accelerant and setting herself on fire at her Uvalde, Texas, home. Santos-Aviles, who was 35 at the time of her death, left behind a young son.
The latest revelations in the scandal came last week when the <a href="https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/tony-gonzales-santos-aviles-affair-husband-21360950.php">San Antonio Express-News</a> published messages that Santos-Aviles&#8217; husband said were sent between Gonzales and his former staffer. Screenshots of the messages show Gonzales allegedly making sexual requests of Santos-Aviles, including asking her to send him a &#8220;sexy&#8221; photo of herself and asking what her &#8220;favorite position&#8221; is.
One message shows the congressman allegedly telling Santos-Aviles about his sexual fantasy before the staffer replies, &#8220;This is too far, Tony.&#8221; In another message, she wrote, &#8220;This is going too far boss. So how long have you thought I was this hot?&#8221;
Santos-Aviles&#8217; husband, Adrian Aviles, told the Express-News, “I said the truth would come to light when it’s time, and the time is now. Tony abused his power. He should have held himself to a higher standard as a congressional leader.”
Gonzales remained defiant on Tuesday, <a href="https://x.com/i/status/2026369580382163169">telling</a> CNN, &#8220;I am not going to resign. I work every day for the people of Texas &#8230; and there will be an opportunity for all the details and all the facts to come out. What you&#8217;ve seen is not all the facts.&#8221;
Gonzales did not answer when asked by CNN whether the text messages reported by the Express-News were real. Last week, the Republican congressman said he would &#8220;NOT BE BLACKMAILED&#8221; and added that it was &#8220;disgusting to see people profit politically and financially off a tragic death.&#8221;
Adrian Aviles said he wanted to release the text messages to push back on Gonzales&#8217; claim that he is being &#8220;blackmailed.&#8221;
“I’m releasing them now because I don’t want to be called a liar and don’t want her to be called a liar,” Aviles added. “I also want to show proof to everybody the type of person that he is. He’s a predator. He took advantage of a very vulnerable woman.”
The Daily Wire reached out to Gonzales&#8217; office for comment.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Monday that Republicans should &#8220;wait for more of the facts to come out&#8221; before calling for Gonzales&#8217; resignation. A Gonzales resignation would further endanger the House Republicans&#8217; majority as the party holds on tightly to a four-seat lead over the Democrats. Some Republicans have seen enough, and are voicing their disgust with Gonzales over the allegations.
&#8220;The entire Texas delegation, as well as every single other Member of Congress, should be condemning a sitting Member of Congress asking for explicit photos of their staff,&#8221; Luna <a href="https://x.com/RepLuna/status/2026010250382610570">said</a> on Monday. &#8220;As a woman, this is really disgusting to see. Not to mention, it brings dishonor on the House of Representatives. I am so sick of people not calling this crap out. Again, like I’ve said before, this is not the only case of this crap up here. @RepTonyGonzales, shame on you.&#8221;
Congressman Roy, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, <a href="https://x.com/emilybrooksnews/status/2026312050637517217">said</a> that Gonzales should end his re-election campaign &#8220;for the good of the country&#8221; and the &#8220;good of the party.&#8221; Roy previously endorsed Gonzales&#8217; Republican primary challenger, Brandon Herrera.
Herrera called Gonzales a &#8220;sexual predator&#8221; who &#8220;wrecked a family.&#8221;
&#8220;I have now seen some of the text messages between Tony Gonzales and his late aide, Regina Santos-Aviles. It is now clear to me Tony Gonzales is a sexual predator, who abused his position of power and wrecked a family,&#8221; Herrera said on Sunday. &#8220;I also now know this is not the only case. He must resign.&#8221;
A recent <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/02/23/us-news/most-voters-have-unfavorable-view-of-rep-tony-gonzales-internal-poll/">poll</a> from Political Intelligence shows Gonzales trailing Herrera by over 20 points ahead of the Republican primary. Gonzales was also underwater by 30 percentage points in approval rating, with 54% of those surveyed holding an unfavorable opinion of the third-term representative.

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Zach Jewell