Author: NOVA Corp

FIRST ON FOX: Hillsdale College told War Secretary Pete Hegseth it would be “honored” to help educate senior U.S. military officers — aligning itself with the administration’s push to cut ties with Ivy League schools over concerns about ideological influence.

In a March 30 letter to Hegseth, Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn thanked the Department of War for including the school among institutions selected for the Senior Service College Fellowship Program, which sends senior military officers to civilian universities for advanced education as they prepare for top leadership roles.

“Thank you for including Hillsdale College among the institutions qualified to educate America’s military leaders,” Arnn wrote, adding that he supports Hegseth’s goal of equipping the military with “the lethality necessary to protect our national interest.”

The letter comes weeks after Hegseth announced the Department of War would end partnerships with several elite universities, including Harvard and Princeton, arguing that “woke” ideology had weakened military education. 

HEGSETH ENDING MILITARY EDUCATION TIES WITH HARVARD AMID TRUMP FEUD: ‘WE TRAIN WARRIORS, NOT WOKESTERS’

A February memorandum shows the Department of War canceled 93 fellowship positions across 22 institutions, including Harvard, MIT, Georgetown, Columbia and Princeton.

“We train warriors, not wokesters,” Hegseth said at the time.

Hegseth himself is a graduate of Princeton University and later earned a degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School.

In their place, the Pentagon is steering officers toward a new set of schools, including Hillsdale, Liberty University, George Mason University, Pepperdine University and Texas-based Baylor University, along with large public universities such as the University of Florida, Auburn University and the University of North Carolina.

The new list also includes senior military colleges such as The Citadel and Virginia Tech, as well as Pentagon-affiliated programs like the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies in Alaska. 

The institutions were selected based on criteria including “intellectual freedom,” limited ties to foreign adversaries and alignment with the department’s mission, according to the memo. 

WHY ELITE COLLEGES FEAR TRUMP AND MCMAHON’S NEW ACADEMIC COMPACT TYING FUNDING TO FREE SPEECH

In his letter, Arnn pointed to Hillsdale’s curriculum and mission, saying the school emphasizes the U.S. Constitution and the “political philosophy of the West.” He also echoed criticism of higher education, writing that “anti-American ideologies” have “infect(ed) so many of our colleges and universities.”

Arnn said Hillsdale “refuses all government money to preserve its independence” and that any role in the program would be funded through private sources.

The shift away from traditional academic partners marks a significant change in how senior military officers may receive advanced education, with the administration steering the program toward institutions that more closely align with its views on education and national identity.

Hillsdale has also worked with the White House on initiatives tied to America’s 250th anniversary, including contributing historical material for the administration’s “Freedom Trucks” campaign and collaborating on a video series featuring President Donald Trump.

It remains unclear when the Department of War will finalize new partnerships under the program or how many officers will ultimately be sent to schools like Hillsdale.

Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth drew parallels between the rescue mission of an Air Force officer shot down in Iran on Good Friday and Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.

Hegseth spoke Monday during President Donald Trump‘s press conference centered on the Easter weekend rescue mission. He described how the airman “evaded capture for more than a day, scaling rugged ridges while hunted by the enemy.”

“When he was finally able to activate his emergency transponder, his first message was simple and it was powerful. He sent a message: ‘God is good,’” Hegseth said. “In that moment of isolation and danger, his faith and fighting spirit shone through.”

Hegseth continued to describe the experience of the airman, suggesting that it was a spiritual experience for him.

TRUMP TOUTS AIRMAN RESCUE MISSION, BOASTS IRAN COULD BE ‘TAKEN OUT IN 1 NIGHT’

“You see, shot down on a Friday —Good Friday — hidden in a cave — a crevice — all of Saturday and rescued on Sunday,” Hegseth said. “Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday, a pilot reborn. All home and accounted for. A nation rejoicing. God is good.”

Throughout the press conference, Trump also gave thanks to God for the success of the rescue mission, claiming multiple times that “God was watching us.”

‘GOD IS GOOD’: INSIDE THE HIGH-RISK US MISSION TO SAVE A WOUNDED AIRMAN SHOT DOWN IN IRAN

On Friday, Iran shot down an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet. The pilot and weapons systems officer ejected. A rescue mission was immediately deployed, and the pilot was rescued later that day.

The Iranian government soon became aware of the U.S. military crash, posting photos online. Meanwhile, the weapons systems officer avoided capture by hiding in a mountain crevice. He climbed 7,000 feet to his hiding spot and remained missing for nearly 48 hours before being rescued in a coordinated effort involving 155 aircraft.

“No American lives were lost,” Hegseth said. “We leave no man behind. And that is not luck. It’s the result of unmatched training, superior technology and unbreakable warrior ethos and sheer American grit. Our special operators, pilots and support crews performed with near perfection under fire, and they were lethal.”

“Just ask any Iranian soldier who dared attempt to get anywhere near that pilot before or during that mission. Death from above. Our troops turned a potential tragedy into a resounding demonstration of American resolve and capability.”

Democratic leaders in Virginia’s most populous county are facing criticism over an ongoing “epidemic” of violence by illegal immigrants that has left 13 dead in a major American suburb near the nation’s capital.

Seven illegal immigrants have been arrested in Fairfax County, a suburb of Washington, D.C., in recent years for violent attacks ranging from infanticide to a machete killing and gang activity.

Despite these arrests, critics of Fairfax County leaders say they are prioritizing criminal illegal immigrants over Americans’ safety by maintaining sanctuary-type policies that limit cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Virginia’s new Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger is also facing criticism for a day-one executive order that reversed the state’s policy of cooperating with ICE.

One critic, Katie Gorka, chair of the Fairfax County GOP, referred to the spate of violence as an “epidemic” ravaging her community. She blamed local Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano and the Democratic-controlled Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

‘VIRGINIA FATHER’ CHARGED WITH MURDERING INFANT DAUGHTER IS ILLEGAL ALIEN, SAYS DHS

Meet the illegal immigrants behind the ongoing spate of violence in Fairfax County.

ICE has lodged a detainer, or request to hold, with the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office for Misael Lopez Gomez, 28, who is charged with murder and felony child abuse for allegedly killing his three-month-old daughter.

According to the Fairfax County Police Department, the three-month-old was in the care of Lopez Gomez at the time of the incident at a home in Bailey’s Crossroads, Virginia. The department said that during the investigation, detectives and hospital staff observed evidence consistent with abuse. Preliminary results from an autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma.

Lauren Bis, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, called Lopez Gomez a “cold blooded killer” and “monster.” DHS said that Lopez Gomez crossed the border into the country illegally in New Mexico in July 2023, under the Biden administration.

The same week, ICE lodged a detainer request asking Fairfax County not to release Anibal Armando Chavarria Muy, 38, following his arrest in connection with a fatal stabbing the prior weekend.

ICE PRESSURES SPANBERGER AS FAIRFAX MURDER SUSPECTS TRIGGER NEW DETAINERS IN ‘SANCTUARY’ CLASH

Chavarria Muy is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the stabbing, which also took place in a home in Bailey’s Crossroads. Local outlet WUSA9 reported that officers responding to the scene found a man with multiple stab wounds inside the home. The man was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

According to DHS, Chavarria Muy is in the U.S. illegally and entered the country at an unknown place and time.

A month before Chavarria Muy’s arrest, Fairfax County Police arrested and charged Abdul Jalloh, 32, with second-degree murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of a 41-year-old Virginia woman named Stephanie Minter.

Officers responding to the incident, which took place at a bus stop in the Hybla Valley neighborhood in Fairfax County, found her with multiple stab wounds in her upper body. She was pronounced dead at the scene on Feb. 23.

Surveillance footage captured Jalloh and Minter exiting a bus at the stop where she was killed, and Fairfax County detectives determined Jalloh was allegedly responsible for the stabbing. He is charged with second-degree murder. He is also charged with larceny that occurred the day after the fatal stabbing.

According to DHS, Jalloh is an illegal alien from Sierra Leone who entered the U.S. illegally under the Obama administration in 2012.

DHS said that before his arrest for murder, Jalloh had been arrested more than 30 times and faced charges including rape, malicious wounding, assault, drug possession, identity theft, trespassing, larceny, firing a weapon, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and pickpocketing.

On Dec. 19, DHS said that it “vehemently condemns Fairfax County’s sanctuary policies” after Salvadoran illegal immigrant Marvin Fernando Morales Ortez, 23, was charged with second-degree murder for a fatal shooting the day after the agency said local authorities released him after declining to honor a detainer request.

DHS said that ICE had lodged a detainer request for Morales Ortez after he was arrested for assault and brandishing a firearm on Sept. 14. Morales Ortez had prior arrests for aggravated assault of a police officer, larceny and disorderly conduct, according to DHS.

Morales Ortez was charged with second-degree murder in connection with a fatal shooting at a home in Reston, Virginia, which is in Fairfax County.

He illegally entered the U.S. in Sept. 2016 near Hidalgo, Texas. DHS said he was released into the country by the Obama administration and that in 2022, the Biden administration dismissed his immigration proceedings and marked him as a non-enforcement priority.

Maldin Anibal Guzman, 27, a Honduran illegal immigrant, was convicted of second-degree murder by mob in connection with a July 2024 killing in Oakton, within Fairfax County.

Local outlet ABC7 reported that Guzman was given a plea deal by Descano’s office, allowing him to serve only five years in prison. Local affiliate Fox 5 reported that Guzman entered the country illegally through the Texas border under the first Trump administration in 2018. The outlet said that ICE lodged multiple detainers for Guzman with the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office that were not honored, allowing Guzman back into the community before the mob murder.

Elmer De Jesus Alas Candray, 28–29, a Salvadoran illegal immigrant and member of the MS-13 gang, was convicted of six murders, including conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise; five counts each of conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering and murder in aid of racketeering; and three counts of using a firearm during a violent crime resulting in death.

Five of the murders took place in Fairfax County from 2018 to 2022. The killings were carried out by Candray and co-conspirators using pistols and machetes. One of the killings, which took place in Reston in 2020, involved Candray and co-conspirators luring a young woman under false pretenses and taking turns shooting her in the face.

In Herndon, a community in Fairfax County, Jose Iraheta Palacios, another Salvadoran illegal immigrant MS-13 member nicknamed “Little Crazy,” murdered his girlfriend, Claudia Menjivar, and two children, ages 9 and 10, before jumping to his own death in June 2021.

Palacios had previously pleaded guilty in Fairfax County Circuit Court in 2015 to human trafficking, gang recruitment of a juvenile and three counts of gang participation and was sentenced to nine years. That sentence would have kept him behind bars until 2024, but a judge suspended the sentence, allowing Iraheta Palacios to serve just two years in state prison. He was deported, though later made it back into the U.S.

ILLEGAL MIGRANT CHARGED IN DEADLY 124 MPH CHASE THAT KILLED PREGNANT TEEN, UNBORN CHILD

Officers next encountered Iraheta Palacios around 6 a.m. Saturday, sitting on top of a parking garage on Democracy Drive in Reston Town Center in Herndon, Va., and threatening to jump. An affidavit and police radio transmission revealed he told officers he killed his girlfriend, Claudia Menjivar, and her children after arguing over infidelity.

Officers attempted to talk Iraheta Palacios off the ledge for nearly an hour before he ultimately jumped and died from the fall.

Commenting on a post showing the mugshots of the illegal immigrant murderers, the Virginia GOP wrote, “These are the criminals that Virginia Democrats care about more than your family’s safety.”

Gorka, who leads the local Fairfax County Republican committee, asserted that the county is “experiencing an epidemic of crime because of Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s unwillingness to prosecute violent offenders.”

“Under Descano, felony convictions, trials, and guilty verdicts have dropped sharply, which means repeat offenders are out on our streets,” she said, adding, “This is compounded by the fact that Fairfax County’s ‘Public Trust and Confidentiality Policy,’ adopted by the Democratic-majority Board of Supervisors, functionally makes Fairfax a sanctuary county.”

According to Gorka, the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office under Democratic Sheriff Stacey Kincaid has declined more than 1,150 detainers in roughly two and a half years.

She said that former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, had “partially addressed” the problem through an executive order requiring law enforcement cooperation with ICE before Spanberger rescinded the order.

“Virginia Democrats prioritize criminals over victims, illegal aliens over citizens, and Fairfax County citizens have had enough,” Gorka told Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger, Descano, Kincaid, and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for comment.

In a scene that unfolded like a Hollywood script, hundreds of American troops descended into the rugged mountains of southwestern Iran on Saturday to rescue a wounded airman who had spent nearly two days hiding from Iranian forces. 

What followed was a high-stakes combat search-and-rescue mission deep inside Iran, with U.S. forces racing to locate and extract the wounded officer before Iranian troops could reach him, deploying a large contingent of special operations forces and aircraft into hostile territory.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe compared the mission to find the downed airmen to finding “a grain of sand in the desert” in a news briefing Monday.

In total, the U.S. sent in more than 150 aircraft, President Donald Trump Monday, which took on “very, very heavy enemy fire” during the rescue operation. Several different teams: Navy SEALs, Air Force Special Operations, Army Special Operations Aviation, search and rescue and combat medics, also took part.

US PILOT RESCUED FROM DOWNED F-15E FIGHTER JET IN IRAN, SEARCH FOR SECOND CREW MEMBER ONGOING

One of the two crew members was flown to Landstuhl regional medical center in Germany, typically the first stop for U.S. soldiers wounded in combat zones, and the other is being flown there Monday, a senior U.S. defense official told Fox News.

As the rescue unfolded Easter Sunday, the pilot radioed a brief message to help U.S. forces identify him: “God is good,” a senior U.S. defense official confirmed to Fox News.

Here’s a look at how the scene unfolded. 

A U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet was shot down over Iran Friday, according to U.S. officials. Both the pilot and the weapons systems officer ejected from the aircraft. 

The aircraft was operating as part of ongoing U.S. combat operations over Iran when it was shot down, though officials have not publicly detailed its specific mission.

While details of the incident were not immediately clear, Iranian state media released images of an ejection seat and debris that appeared consistent with an F-15E. Iran initially claimed it had downed a more advanced F-35 stealth fighter, but U.S. officials later confirmed the aircraft was an F-15 Strike Eagle. 

The F-15E Strike Eagle is a two-seat fighter jet flown by a pilot and a weapons systems officer, who manages targeting, sensors and weapons. The aircraft is designed for both air-to-air combat and deep strike missions against ground targets, allowing it to operate far inside enemy territory.

After the crew ejected and aircraft went down, U.S. forces quickly launched a combat search-and-rescue mission, deploying rescue helicopters into Iranian territory to recover the downed pilot.

The pilot was rescued later that day, within hours of the shoot down, in what Trump described as a daylight operation.

Rescue helicopters, including HH-60W Jolly Green II aircraft, came under Iranian small-arms fire as they moved in to extract the pilot, according to U.S. officials. Crew members aboard the helicopter carrying the pilot were injured, but the aircraft was able to fly safely out of Iranian territory.

An A-10 Thunderbolt II providing close air support for the rescue effort was also hit by enemy fire, according to U.S. officials. The aircraft was damaged, and the pilot later ejected over Kuwaiti airspace and was recovered.

While the Pentagon remained tight-lipped about the mission, Iranian state media blasted images from the crash and called on civilians to join in the search for the second crew member, an Air Force colonel, according to Trump.  

The Pentagon has not publicly released the names of the crew members, a standard practice while operations are ongoing. Both airmen have been recovered and are receiving medical care at a U.S. military facility, according to officials. 

Iranian state media urged civilians to help locate the missing crew member and offered a reward for his capture, while Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces launched a search in the region.

The weapons systems officer, a colonel with SERE training, was using his survival and evasion training to stay one step ahead of Iranian forces. He reportedly climbed 7,000 feet up a ridge and remained hidden there for nearly 48 hours, a senior defense official told Fox News. 

“He was injured quite badly,” Trump said during a news briefing Monday. “He scaled cliff faces, bleeding rather profusely, treated his own wounds.”

The colonel hid in a mountain crevice while the CIA launched a deception campaign to convince the Iranian regime they had already located him and were moving him to the ground for exfiltration. While the Iranians were confused and uncertain of what was happening, the agency used its specialized capabilities to locate the American airman, a senior administration official told Fox News.

AIRMAN RESCUE SHOWS U.S. CAN PENETRATE ENEMY TERRITORY ‘ANYWHERE’ IN IRAN, FORMER PENTAGON OFFICIAL WARNS

Trump said the American aviator was being “hunted down” by enemies who were “getting closer and closer by the hour.” 

The U.S. used MQ9 Reaper drones to protect the area around where the U.S. believed the airman was hiding and fired on anything that came close to that area and any area where U.S. forces were operating, an administration official told Fox News. 

“At the president’s direction, we deployed both human assets and exquisite technologies,” Ratcliffe said, calling it “a daunting challenge, comparable to hunting for a single grain of sand in the middle of a desert.”

At the same time, the U.S. launched strikes on nearby areas to keep Iranian forces away.

“We executed multiple large scale strikes in the surrounding area using every tactical jet in the U.S. inventory + B-1 Bombers to keep him safe,” a senior U.S. official said. 

In between the rescue of the pilot and the rescue of the weapons officer, U.S. forces flying B2 bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri dropped “bunker buster” massive ordnance pentetrator bombs on an IRGC headquarters, a senior defense official told Fox News.

At the right moment, Trump said, he directed the military to send dozens of heavily armed aircraft to rescue the crew member, who the president said is “seriously wounded” but will recover. 

When the colonel finally made radio contact to coordinate the pickup, he sent the message: “God is good.” 

U.S. officials were not sure it was him at first. Trump told Axios they feared it was a trap. But those who knew the colonel said he was a man of deep faith. 

Rescue helicopters, including HH-60 Pave Hawk aircraft, came under Iranian small-arms fire during the extraction, sources told Air and Space Forces magazine. 

U.S. forces established a remote airstrip inside Iran to support the rescue. 

“This was not much of a runway,” Trump said. “This was a farm, not a runway.” 

Problems with two other transport planes prompted U.S. forces to blow them up rather than leave them behind in Iran, according to The Associated Press.

“The fact that we were able to pull off both of these operations, without a SINGLE American killed, or even wounded, just proves once again, that we have achieved overwhelming Air Dominance and Superiority over the Iranian skies,” Trump said on social media.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for additional details on the mission.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump touted the “historic” rescue of the downed F-15E airmen behind enemy lines and issued a warning to Iran to make a deal before Tuesday night’s 8 p.m. ET deadline or face being “taken out.”

“This is a rescue that’s very historic,” Trump told the White House press corps in a Monday news conference. “It’ll go down to the books.”

“Late Thursday night, an American F-15 fighter jet went down deep inside enemy territory in Iran while participating in Operation Epic Fury, where we’re doing unbelievably well. Well, at a level that nobody’s ever seen before.”

Trump quickly paused his hailing of the rescue to add a warning for Iran to come to peace.

“The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump said.

This is a breaking news update. Check back for more on this story.

A custody hearing in Ada, Oklahoma, last month took a turn for the unexpected — and the incredibly loud — after an attorney who identified himself as transgender was arrested and dragged from the courtroom where he had appeared to represent his client just minutes before.

The exchange occurred during a custody hearing in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, some 90 minutes southeast of Oklahoma City. The attorney, Rob Hopkins, was jailed for contempt after sparring repeatedly with the judge, Lori Jackson, during an otherwise unremarkable proceeding.

Surveillance footage, audio, and body camera footage reviewed by Fox News Digital has shed new light on the extraordinary confrontation, in which Hopkins can be seen actively resisting arrest by bailiffs. At one point, Hopkins can be seen splaying his body across the judge’s bench, resulting in a pile of documents being swept off its finely polished wood surface. 

“You’re HURTING ME!” Hopkins bellowed, as bystanders looked on. “I can’t BREATHE!” he shrieked again, louder.

Attendees in the courtroom could be seen looking on quietly as Hopkins twisted, turned, and contorted his body to evade the handcuffs that officers used to restrain him.

“I felt very threatened by this person,” one individual could be heard telling the judge.

SHELTERS, JESUS, AND MISS PAC-MAN: US JUDGE GRILLS DOJ OVER TRANS POLICY IN DIZZYING LINE OF QUESTIONING

The meltdown in question, and the arrest, occurred during a custody hearing punctuated by repeated interruptions from Hopkins and warnings from Jackson that he would be held in contempt. 

Hopkins then suggested she was discriminating against him for his transgender status, escalating tensions inside the courtroom. 

“It’s because I’m a transgender attorney practicing all over the state,” Hopkins leveled sharply, to which Jackson shot back: “I don’t know what you are.” 

“I don’t know you from Adam,” Jackson said later, describing his conduct as “entirely inappropriate.”

Shortly after, bailiffs entered the courtroom, prompting the hearing to descend into complete chaos.

 “Do NOT HURT ME!” Hopkins yelled at the officers. 

“I’m being thrown down!” he bellowed, as he threw himself on the bench before the officers eventually forced him onto the floor.

‘BLANKIES,’ ICE TACTICS AND LUXURY JETS: TOP MOMENTS FROM NOEM’S HOUSE TESTIMONY

More officers streamed in to help restrain Hopkins, whose uproarious exclamations had, at that point, drawn a crowd — not only in the courtroom, but also in the hallways surrounding it, as the body camera footage shows. 

“Get a female officer, now!” Hopkins demanded. “Call 911!” he shrieked, as the officers attempted to place him in handcuffs. 

“I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” he declared.

From the floor of the court, Hopkins accused the officers of “throwing his glasses” onto the floor — a claim that surveillance footage reviewed by Fox News Digital appears to refute — and ordered the officers to place them back on his face. 

“Put them on my face,” Hopkins demanded repeatedly, as the officers attempted to place Hopkins into a seated position and escort him from the court. “PUT THEM ON MY FACE!” Hopkins screamed once more, the volume and urgency unchanged from his request for emergency services just seconds before.

 ‘YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!’: PROTESTER DRAGGED FROM KRISTI NOEM’S SENATE HEARING

Hopkins said he has since shuttered his law firm following the contempt charge and fallout from the hearing.

He did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment regarding either the proceedings in question or the reason for his firm’s closure.

Attorney General Pam Bondi’s departure last week was the latest in a series of high-profile firings or resignations of America’s top law enforcement officer, from a key Watergate figure to a well-respected attorney whose differences with the president became irreconcilable.

Former President George Washington appointed Founding Father and former Virginia Gov. Edmund Randolph the nation’s first attorney general in 1789, and in the years since, there have been dozens of successors, some lost to history and others more memorable.

Eliot Richardson, the secretary of defense at the time of the Watergate burglary, was named to succeed Attorney General Richard Kleindienst, who resigned amid the scandal after reportedly being pressured by a member of the Watergate “plumbers” to assuage the situation.

“Plumbers” was the moniker for the group accused in the burglary at the DNC headquarters, then located at the Watergate Hotel in Foggy Bottom, D.C. They were organized by CIA officer E. Howard Hunt and FBI agent-turned-future conservative talk radio star G. Gordon Liddy. The name purportedly came from the dual meaning of “leaks” — political versus pipes.

TOP DOJ OFFICIALS TO BRIEF HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE FOR JEFFREY EPSTEIN PROBE

Kleindienst was playing golf at Burning Tree in Bethesda, Md., in June 1972 when Liddy reportedly approached him to say that the Committee to Re-elect the President (Nixon’s committee) was involved in the burglary, according to an account from the UK Guardian.

Kleindienst reportedly told the G-man to get lost, and the federal investigation ensued as normal.

As the scandal raged on April 30, 1973, Nixon announced he had accepted the resignations of Kleindienst, and presidential assistants John Ehrlichman and H.R. Haldeman — and fired White House Counsel John Dean — who has often called President Donald Trump’s tenure worse than that of his old boss.

“Mr. Kleindienst asked to be relieved as Attorney General because he felt that he could not appropriately continue as head of the Justice Department now that it appears its investigation of the Watergate and related cases may implicate individuals with whom he has had a close personal and professional association,” Nixon said in a public letter that day.

Richardson’s tenure began thereafter and ended with one of the most significant executive branch departures in history: the “Saturday Night Massacre.”

On October 20, 1973, Nixon ordered Richardson to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox shortly after Cox subpoenaed the Oval Office recordings. Richardson, who appointed Cox and reportedly pledged not to fire him without cause, refused and resigned.

TRUMP FIRES JUDGE-PICKED US ATTORNEY AS TOP DOJ OFFICIAL WARNS COURTS TO STAY IN THEIR LANE

Nixon then asked Richardson’s deputy, William Ruckelshaus, to fire Cox, and he also resigned instead of carrying out the order.

Nixon then ordered Ruckelshaus’ deputy, Solicitor General Robert Bork, who is better known for his unsuccessful nomination to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan, to fire Cox. Bork did so and reportedly considered resigning but stayed on at the urging of his predecessors to ensure stability at the DOJ.

That November, an LBJ-appointed federal judge found that Cox’s firing had been unlawful.

Nixon himself ultimately resigned almost one year later on August 9, 1974.

Richardson’s legacy became that of a cabinet official who, in times of crisis, sacrificed professional status for personal integrity, as described by the Constitution Center and others.

Alberto Gonzales was one of President George W. Bush’s closest advisers, going back to his time as Texas governor. He was also the first Hispanic attorney general and the highest-ranking Hispanic cabinet official until Trump named Marco Rubio to secretary of state in 2025.

Gonzales ultimately resigned the top cop post in 2007 amid mounting bipartisan criticism of the DOJ’s firing of several U.S. attorneys and allegations that he was not forthright during congressional inquiries about whether politics played a role in the firings.

Bush lamented his friend’s resignation, saying “it is sad that we live in a time when a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeded from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons.”

Gonzales faced mounting pressure and criticism amid the firings and regarding comments defending enhanced interrogation techniques against suspected terrorists.

He stated “I do not recall” or similar framings of the statement dozens of times during a contentious Senate hearing where he battled Republicans like Pennsylvania’s Arlen Specter and Democrats including California’s Dianne Feinstein.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., later confronted Gonzales over his responses.

KARL ROVE: TRUMP DROPPED BONDI, BUT THE REAL POLITICAL FIGHT IS JUST BEGINNING

“You’ve answered ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I can’t recall’ to close to a hundred questions. You’re not familiar with much of the workings of your own department. And we still don’t have convincing explanations of the who, when and why, in regard to the firing of the majority of the eight U.S. attorneys,” Schumer fumed, according to a transcript posted to the left-wing outlet DemocracyNow.

In his testimony, Gonzales said U.S. Attorneys indeed serve at the pleasure of the president, and that the Justice Department makes “decisions based on the evidence, not whether the target is a Republican or a Democrat.”

“I know that I did not, and would not, ask for a resignation of any individual in order to interfere with or influence a particular prosecution for partisan political gain,” Gonzales said. “I also have no basis to believe that anyone involved in this process sought the removal of a U.S. Attorney for an improper reason.”

Bush nonetheless remained behind his pick, rebuking a “no confidence” resolution drafted by Schumer, Feinstein and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. as the controversy continued.

Ultimately, Gonzales announced on August 27, 2007, that he would be stepping down on September 17.

“Yesterday I met with President Bush and informed him of my decision to conclude my government service as attorney general… let me say that it’s been one of my greatest privileges to lead the Department of Justice,” Gonzales said in his resignation announcement.

“I have great admiration and respect for the men and women who work here. I have made a point as attorney general to personally meet as many of them as possible, and today I want to again thank them for their service to our nation.”

Former Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions was the first in the upper chamber to endorse then-developer Donald Trump in his 2016 presidential bid.

The immigration enforcement hardliner and Trump loyalist, however, saw his relationship with the new president fray early in their term.

Sessions recused himself from the Trump-Russia investigation, citing his own campaigning for Trump amid reports he also met personally with Russian envoy Sergey Kislyak.

The recusal incensed Trump and led him to regularly bash Sessions in the press, and also to blame Sessions for the appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller III as special counsel in the Russia case.

Trump also faulted Sessions for declining to criminally pursue Hillary Clinton.

Sessions’ tenure ended the day after Republicans lost the House in the 2018 midterm elections, but left the Alabamian with a successful professional record in reversing Obama-era policies and cracking down on sanctuary city policies.

US INTERIM ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE CALLS SPECULATION SURROUNDING BONDI’S FIRING ‘SIMPLY NOT TRUE’

But Trump’s firing of Sessions only further invigorated his Democratic critics, as New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker called it an “alarming development that brings us one step closer to a constitutional crisis.”

Booker claimed Trump fired Sessions because he was scared Mueller would “implicat[e]” him in the Russia investigation.

Former Attorney General William Barr resigned from his second tenure as the nation’s top cop in December 2020, amid disputes over whether the prior month’s election had been subject to widespread fraud.

Barr, who previously served under President George H.W. Bush, appeared to irritate Trump when he told the Associated Press he had not seen “fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.”

In announcing the departure, Trump tweeted that he had a “nice meeting” with Barr and that his relationship “has been a very good one; he has done an outstanding job.”

Barr also touted Trump’s first-term record amid what he called a “partisan onslaught” and “relentless, implacable resistance.”

In comments to NBC News in 2022 ahead of the release of his book “One Damn Thing After Another,” Barr said he told Trump at the White House that he understood the president was frustrated with him, and that he was willing to submit his resignation.

“Accepted,” Trump supposedly said, but the president himself reportedly claimed he asked for Barr’s resignation, not that the AG quit.

PAM BONDI IS OUT AS AG — HERE ARE THE CONTENDERS WHO COULD REPLACE HER

“The absurd lengths to which he took his stolen election claim led to the rioting on Capitol Hill,” Barr said, while adding that Trump’s actions still wouldn’t reach the legal level of “incitement” as claimed by Democrats.

In his resignation letter, Barr applauded Trump’s ability to “weather” the Russia investigation and Democrats’ attempts to “cripple if not oust [the] administration,” and said the president restored the U.S. military and curbed illegal immigration.

The first attorney general of the modern era to be ousted was Harry Daugherty, a member of President Warren Harding’s administration.

Daugherty was part of the so-called “Ohio Gang” of longtime Harding confidants from his home state.

Daugherty’s fall began amid the Teapot Dome Scandal — the most infamous incident prior to Watergate — which led to the imprisonment of Interior Secretary Albert Fall.

Fall was implicated in low- or no-bid oil leases at Teapot Dome, Wyoming, in 1923, and jailed for accepting bribes from energy companies.

Daugherty was later investigated for allegedly failing to prosecute people involved in Teapot Dome, and was allegedly implicated in a handful of other scandals including being charged with conspiracy amid the sale of illegal liquor permits during prohibition.

He was also accused of influence peddling and members of the “Ohio Gang” were accused of selling government appointments.

Daugherty’s brother Mal was president of a bank, which was later closed by the state of Ohio after the Senate was unable to “pry” during its investigation into Attorney General Daugherty, according to a 1930 TIME report.

The sibling’s bank recorded “heavy withdrawals” during that time, which caught the attention of regulators in Columbus.

Harry Daugherty ultimately met his ouster after Harding died in office in August 1923.

New President Calvin Coolidge booted him from the DOJ over loss of public trust and refusal to turn over departmental records regarding alleged corruption.

Daugherty was never convicted.

Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, said he doesn’t think mobilizing ground troops in Iran will be “necessary” to open up the Strait of Hormuz, a critical trade waterway that has been blocked by the Iranian military for more than a month.

Turner, a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, appeared on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” on Sunday, just hours after President Donald Trump threatened Iran to “open the F—–‘ Strait” or else “you’ll be living in Hell.”

Stephanopoulos asked Turner if he thinks the Strait of Hormuz could be opened without military intervention.

At first, Turner didn’t directly answer the question. Instead, he spoke broadly about the conflict, saying that Iran’s efforts to become a nuclear state are being “eliminated” thanks to President Donald Trump’s military interventions. He also blamed the Obama administration for failing to “undertake the conflict.”

TRUMP SAYS IRAN ‘NO LONGER A THREAT’ AFTER 32 DAYS — OUTLINES NEXT PHASE OF US WAR

“If you just step back and watch, as the Obama administration was going to do while Iran became a nuclear power and they became North Korea, we wouldn’t be looking at the Strait of Hormuz,” Turner said.

Stephanopoulos then asked Turner again if he thought mobilizing ground troops to open up the important waterway would be necessary.

“Well, I think, you’re certainly seeing that even as this conflict evolves, that that is being put in place, and I don‘t think U.S. ground troops are going to be necessary in any direct conflict,” Turner said.

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“In this instance, we‘re seeing that the conflict is continuing with the president beginning to, in conjunction with Israel, significantly diminish Iran‘s military capabilities, both their navy, their missile capabilities, overall are continuing, and certainly, their nuclear capabilities are being continually diminished. And that was the goal, and that is an incredibly important goal for the safety of the United States,” Turner continued.

In a follow-up post on Truth Social, Trump gave Iran a deadline of “Tuesday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump also urged European countries to assist with reopening the waterway in a Wednesday address to the nation.

TRUMP ORDERS WAR DEPT TO POSTPONE STRIKES ON IRANIAN ENERGY SITES, CITING ‘PRODUCTIVE’ TALKS TO END WAR

“The United States imports almost no oil through the Hormuz Strait and won’t be taking any in the future. We don’t need it. We haven’t needed it and we don’t need it,” Trump said.

“We will be helpful, but they should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on,” he continued.

Even though the United States imports very little oil through the Persian Gulf, a disruption to the supply chain will send shocks throughout the global supply. Since the start of the war, the average price for gas in the United States has jumped to more than $4 a gallon.

Fox News Digital reached out to Turner for further comment.

President Donald Trump said Iran negotiators made “a significant proposal, a significant step,” following the ultimatum he issued on Easter Sunday, but it is not “good enough.”

“They made a proposal, and it’s a significant proposal, a significant step,” Trump told reporters at the Easter Egg Roll on Monday, a White House tradition that comes amid the backdrop of war.

“It’s not good enough, but it’s a very significant step,” Trump continued. “They are negotiating now. And they have made a very significant step. We’ll see what happens.”

Trump’s media gaggle offered previews of Monday’s 1 p.m. news conference detailing the rescue of the downed airmen behind Iran’s enemies lines, saying the airmen “are both recovering very well” and Iran “got lucky” in downing their F-15e jet.

TRUMP PAUSES IRAN ENERGY PLANT STRIKES FOR 10 DAYS AS TALKS ‘GOING VERY WELL’

“You know what? When you do thousands and thousands of flights, and you have one plane shot down and not mortally, the two pilots got out – they got a little bit lucky,” Trump said. “And you know what? In a way you need a little bit of luck. Also, they got a little bit lucky. That’s all they got.”

Trump is warning some unspecificied consequences for refusing to “cry uncle” and come to heel and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to global oil trade.

“We are obliterating that country, and I hate to do it, but we’re obliterating, and they just don’t want to say uncle – they don’t want to cry, as the expression goes, uncle, but they will,” Trump said. “And if they don’t, they’ll have no bridges, they’ll have no power plants. They’ll have no anything.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN ‘NO LONGER A THREAT’ AFTER 32 DAYS — OUTLINES NEXT PHASE OF US WAR

“I won’t go further, because there are other things that are worse than those two.”

Trump did not rule out taking over Iran’s oil.

“If I had my choice, what would I like to do? Take the oil, because it’s there for the taking; there’s not a thing they can do about it,” Trump continued. “Unfortunately, the American people would like to see us come home. If it were up to me, I’d take the oil. I’d keep the oil.

WHY TRUMP FACES AN AGONIZING DECISION ON OBLITERATING IRAN’S OIL SUPPLY IF HE CAN’T GET A DEAL

“I would make plenty of money, and I’d also take care of the people of Iran much better than they’ve been taken care of. It’s been horrible.”

Trump pointed to the arrangement with Venezuela as a potential model for the next phase once Iran comes to heel, including the “lunatics” needing to give up their nuclear weapons aspirations.

“Hopefully it could be over with quickly,” Trump concluded before returning to the traditional White House Easter Egg Roll. “Again, there are lots of different alternatives. We have many alternatives.

“We could leave right now, and it would take them 15 years to rebuild what they have. We could leave right now, but I want to finish it up.”

California’s delayed, over-budget high-speed train from Los Angeles to San Francisco is running fast only in one direction: Rising costs to even get rolling, which are now estimated to be $126 billion.

“Today, we estimate with the right optimization just over $125 billion,” California High Speed Rail Authority board member Anthony Williams told CBS’s “60 Minutes” on Sunday. “I think $126 billion is the current estimate for that.”

That is nearly four times the $33 billion price tag presented to voters in 2008, making the long-delayed project a black eye for Democrat-run California, derided as the latest political example of “waste” in deep-blue America and a “train to nowhere.”

“We’re now in 2026: There are no trains; there’s no track laid; it was a complete bait and switch,” Rep. Vince Fong, R-Calif., told “60 Minutes,” saying the project “needs to stop.”

NEWSOM TOUTS CALIFORNIA’S NUMEROUS LEGAL FIGHTS WITH TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IN FINAL STATE OF THE STATE

“The California High-Speed Rail nightmare is the probably quintessential example of government waste and mismanagement.”

California’s long-troubled high-speed rail project is facing renewed scrutiny after state Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin acknowledged that many of its critics have a point.

“There were mistakes made,” Omishakin told CBS. “Some of the criticism on this project I think are very fair.”

TRUMP ADMIN UNCOVERS ‘STAGGERING’ $8.6 BILLION IN SUSPECTED CALIFORNIA SMALL BUSINESS FRAUD

“I don’t think the voters fully understood and neither did we in the public sector what it was going to take to actually get this project delivered,” Omishakin added.

Taking aim at California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, President Donald Trump called California’s project “the worst cost overrun, I’ve ever seen,” a statement he he has in the past reserved for Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell’s Federal Reserve Building in Washington, D.C.

“This administration is working to usher in a Golden Age of Transportation,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CBS in a statement. “That vision includes high speed rail and we’re exploring opportunities to efficiently build that infrastructure in America.

NEWSOM’S FAILED LEADERSHIP HAS LET CALIFORNIA BECOME A LAND OF FRAUD AND SCAMS

“What this administration won’t stand for is boondoggle projects like Newsom’s Train to Nowhere that wasted billions in taxpayer dollars yet delivered nothing to the American people,” Duffy said. “Under President Trump, America is building again. We defunded Newsom’s disaster and created the first Trump Infrastructure Dividend. Those dollars will now actually fund critical projects that enhance safety on rail networks across America.”

Newsom himself cast doubt on the full San Francisco-to-Los Angeles plan in 2019, and the project now faces a funding gap of roughly $90 billion.

“For $10 billion, Elon Musk put 300 rockets in orbit; for $11 billion, the state of California has built 1,600 feet of elevated rail with no rail,” Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar said in 2024.

State officials say they remain confident more money can be found to dump into the project, but for now California’s high-speed rail stands as a costly symbol of ambition, delay, and deep public skepticism.

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“The ultimate 494 miles of building this out without the federal government’s help will be challenging: There’s no doubt about that,” Omishakin said.

Nearly two decades since the start of the project, no track has been laid, and the only major visible progress is on a Central Valley segment between Bakersfield and Merced, according to the report.

The project’s earliest projected opening is now 2033, far later than originally promised. Critics, including Bakersfield’s Fong, a member of the House Transportation Committee.

CALIFORNIA IS BROKE, BUT IT’S NOT TOO LATE FOR THE REST OF US

“The business plan that was put out in 2008 was very theoretical,” Fong said. “You know, ‘This is what we think is gonna happen.’

“And it became very clear that they didn’t have the specifics worked out.”

Fong has sought oversight and accountability on the waste, including 597 change orders that have cost more than $2.3 billion alone as of November 2025, which is nearly 7% of the initial $33 billion project estimate.

“Taxpayers deserve full transparency and accountability,” Fong wrote in a statement in February. “The high-speed rail nightmare is a glaring example of structural mismanagement.

“Reckless, repeated contract amendments have squandered resources and precious tax dollars. Hardworking California taxpayers cannot afford to let this continue. This project should be canceled before even more money and time are wasted.”