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White House chief of staff Susie Wiles’ attorney in 2023 is disputing claims that he agreed to let the Biden-era FBI record a call with his client without her knowledge, according to a report.”If I ever pulled a stunt like that I wouldn’t – and shouldn’t – have a license to practice law,”  the unidentified attorney said, according to Axios. “I’m as shocked as Susie.” The denial comes as scrutiny intensifies around the FBI’s use of subpoenas and investigative tools during Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Trump-related probes ahead of President Donald Trump’s 2024 re-election.Reuters first disclosed the subpoenas Wednesday, reporting that the Biden FBI subpoenaed Wiles’ and now-FBI Director Kash Patel’s phone records in 2022 and 2023, when both were private citizens. Smith was investigating claims Trump worked to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, resort. JONATHAN TURLEY: JACK SMITH’S SECRET SURVEILLANCE OF PATEL AND WILES SHOULD ALARM US ALLAt least 10 FBI employees were fired Wednesday over the matter, Fox News Digital previously learned. Amid the revelations, two FBI officials said that FBI agents recorded a phone call between Wiles and her attorney in 2023. Wiles’ attorney was aware the call was being recorded and consented, but Wiles was not informed, the officials claimed. The lawyer, whose name has not been publicly released, pushed back that he “categorically denies he allowed his client to be recorded by the FBI,” according to Axios reporter Marc Caputo. Wiles reportedly “believes him & that the Biden-era FBI may have lied about it,” Caputo wrote on X. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Wiles for comment, but did not immediately receive replies. Fox News Digital also reached out to the FBI for comment Friday morning. FBI SUBPOENA OF PHONE RECORDS LEAVES TRUMP CHIEF OF STAFF ‘IN SHOCK’: REPORTThe report sparked conservatives and Trump allies to back the unidentified lawyer and balk at the case overall. “I know the long time lawyer ….and I believe him – This is a violation of basic constitutional rights every American by right – has. We need accountability and we need action,” Trump 2024 co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita posted to X. “So the lawyer Biden’s FBI eavesdropped on during a call with Susie Wiles said he had no idea it happened,” OutKick founder Clay Travis posted to X. “This is a huge story. Biden’s FBI spied on Trump’s campaign manager in the 2024 campaign.” GRASSLEY: BIDEN DOJ BYPASSED CONSTITUTIONAL SAFEGUARDS BY SUBPOENAING SENATOR PHONE RECORDSWiles was reportedly stunned by the news of the subpoenas, with Axios reporting that she told associates Thursday, “I am in shock.”Patel issued a similar statement on Wednesday.”It is outrageous and deeply alarming that the previous FBI leadership secretly subpoenaed my own phone records — along with those of now White House chief of staff Susie Wiles — using flimsy pretexts and burying the entire process in prohibited case files designed to evade all oversight,” he said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. 

Kaitlin Bucaro and Robbie Morris couldn’t wait to get married in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Friday. But their vision took a shocking turn this week as Mexico was ravaged by violence after the killing of cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho.”The Chicago couple abruptly canceled their long-planned destination wedding amid safety concerns and government warnings, as Fox32 Chicago reported. Even so, the couple — who met in college and dated for four years — was determined to get married Friday. With less than a week to find a venue and vendors, the bride and groom scrambled to see if a reception hall or restaurant was available at very short notice.MEXICO CRUISE STOPS ARE SUDDENLY SCRAPPED AS SAFETY CONCERNS CONTINUE IN REGIONEnter a local restaurant. “I said, you know, I’m going to see what I can do to help,” Nicholas Cuda, managing partner of The Alston restaurant in Chicago, told Fox32 in an interview.”Marriage is [a] unique thing, and for her and her fiancé to be going through this at this point in time, not being able to continue to the destination wedding [that] they’d planned — for me, it was heartbreaking.”Before finding a local venue, Bucaro and Morris had to alert 150 guests that their wedding in Mexico had been canceled. It felt like grieving, the couple said.AMERICAN TRAPPED AT LUXURY RESORT IN MEXICO TOLD ‘NO ONE’S LEAVING’ BY HOTEL STAFF”[We were] dealing with the shock and sadness, and kind of like grieving that our dream kind of died,” Marcus told Fox32.”We then very quickly realized we want to get married on Friday — and whether it’s Guadalajara or not, it’s still, I think, something we were determined to pull off.”Earlier this week, the couple still did not have a venue, photographer, DJ or florist lined up. Bucaro started to see the government warnings online as of last Sunday.TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ”We had to make so many quick decisions,” Bucaro said. “But also grieving the fact that the wedding we’d been trying to put on for a year and the vision we have in this beautiful location [is] no longer available to us,” she told NBC Chicago. Morris said they took turns crying. “We decided that we were going to press on, and we’re going to find a way,” he recalled.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTERBucaro agreed. “We’re going to be surrounded by people who love us so much, and that’s what really matters.”Ultimately, the couple found The Alston restaurant in Chicago — which embraced the wild challenge the couple was facing. Savannah Jimenez of The Alston in Chicago spoke about how her venue took on the happy occasion within mere days. “Pulling off a seamless event on such short notice is exactly what we want to do best,” she said. “We’re just happy to be part of this.”CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIESBucaro and Morris’ wedding is far from the only event in Mexico that was canceled this week.Four professional soccer matches in Mexico were postponed Sunday after violence flared near Guadalajara — one of the country’s host cities for the 2026 World Cup — in the wake of a military operation that left the cartel leader dead.Concerts and music events in several parts of Mexico were also scrapped or rescheduled. Colombian artist Kali Uchis was slated to perform in the Mexican state of Jalisco on Sunday, but her show was reportedly canceled. A Feb. 24 security alert indicated that shelter-in-place orders have now been lifted in cities including Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, Tulum, Tijuana and Puerto Vallarta, as Fox News Digital previously reported. As of Thursday afternoon, Mexico was still at a level 2 travel advisory, according to the State Department — whose guidance is that Americans use increased caution.Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed reporting.

With Trump Republicans forcing a former president to testify, the current president and his family will face years of similar scrutiny.

The two Boston Bruins players who represented the United States at the 2026 Olympics have succumbed to media pressure.Seemingly every player from Team USA’s gold medal-winning men’s hockey team is facing a struggle session from local reporters who are asking them why they laughed at a joke made by President Trump.’Certainly not reflective of how we feel and look at them and their accomplishments.’When the president called the men’s locker room after they defeated Canada 2-1 on Sunday, he invited the team to the State of the Union as well as to the White House before making a wisecrack about also inviting the women’s gold medal team.”We’re going to have to bring the women’s team,” the president joked, adding that he “probably would be impeached” if he didn’t.Since then, the league-wide hunt for unauthorized laughter has commenced, and some players are starting to show cracks in their armor.Bruins players were seemingly the first to show significant regret for laughing with the president, starting with goalie Jeremy Swayman. The Team USA backup goalie called it an “incredible honor” to attend the State of the Union but then told reporters that the team should have had a different reaction to the phone call.”We should have reacted differently,” Swayman said from the locker room on Wednesday. “We know that we are so excited for the women’s team. We have so much respect for the women’s team, and to share that gold medal with them is something that we’re forever grateful for.”The Alaskan added, “Now that we’re home, we get to share that together forever and see the incredible support that we have from the USA and sharing this incredible gold medal.”RELATED: Team USA captain goes full feminist over Trump’s ‘distasteful’ invitation: ‘It’s a great teaching point’ On Thursday, it was more of the same from Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy, a 28-year-old New Yorker who also suited up for the United States.McAvoy said he was “certainly sorry for how we responded to it in that moment,” before qualifying that there were “things that just happened really quick there.”The longtime Bruin told reporters that the relationship between the men’s and women’s teams is incredibly strong, and their reaction to the president’s joke was “certainly not reflective of how we feel and look at them and their accomplishments.”On the subject of his visit to the White House, McAvoy revealed he had always told himself that such an opportunity was one he would never miss.”Just the history of that building, the history of this country. You know, if I get a chance to go to … I was certainly going to go.”RELATED: NJ governor crushed with boos at Devils game before honoring Team USA hero Jack Hughes Trump’s remarks have caused a meltdown among sports reporters, who have incessantly sought comment from the male and female athletes in question. In response, Team USA women’s captain Hilary Knight lectured her countrymen during interviews this week, describing the backlash as being a “teaching point.”Knight also called the joke “distasteful and unfortunate,” before saying the male players had a “lapse” in judgment by laughing at Trump’s remarks.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A highly compensated New York City elementary school assistant principal is accused of operating a cross-country prostitution scheme, according to multiple reports.Bond Ng, 47, was arrested Sunday and charged with enticing a person to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution, according to the New York Post.’It’s arguable that the defendant groomed her.’Ng was released on a $150,000 bond. As part of his release conditions, Ng must stay away from the public school where he works and wear a GPS monitor, and he’s restricted from leaving New York City.Ng is an assistant principal at P.S. 16 in the Corona neighborhood of Queens. Ng earns $173,029 a year, according to public payroll records.Ng is the supervisor in charge of “testing, school safety, technology, transportation and trips, school aides,” according to the school’s handbook for students and families for the current academic year.The New York Daily News reported that Ng touched down at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City last Friday after a trip to Cartagena, Colombia. Ng was flagged for a second inspection.Homeland Security officers recovered two of his cell phones containing what the Daily News described as “damning text messages” between him, a porn star, and the “porn star’s clients.”Citing a federal criminal complaint, the New York Times reported that Ng told investigators he was the “manager” of a woman who appeared in pornographic online videos.The Times noted that Ng informed authorities that he arranged meetings between the Los Angeles-based porn star and her “fans” in New York, including at his luxury apartment in the neighborhood of Long Island City.RELATED: ‘Worst of the worst’: Cops bust 24-hour immigrant-run brothel in NYC’s notorious ‘Market of Sweethearts’ The complaint filed in Brooklyn Federal Court stated that Ng would pretend to be the adult entertainer when communicating with potential clients.In one text message, Ng gave a prospective client a price quote of $2,000 per hour with the porn star, along with additional fees for specific sex acts or a filmed encounter, according to court records.”My rate is 2K lover,” Ng wrote in a text message to a potential client, according to the complaint.Prosecutors said Ng asked the porn star to fly from Los Angeles to New York to have sex with a prospective client in December 2025, but the woman was hesitant to travel because of the cold weather.However, Ng told the adult film star that the client wanted to meet her for more than seven hours and had already paid him $10,000 for the sexual experience, according to the criminal complaint.Prosecutors revealed that Ng texted the porn star a list of the clients and meetings that he had arranged for her, including the type of sex and the amount of money to be paid for the illicit encounters, which totaled over $20,000.The complaint noted that the porn star arrived in New York on Dec. 28, then flew back to Los Angeles on Dec. 30, but not before texting Ng: “Thank you for letting me use your apartment.”The Times said Ng communicated with potential johns as far back as 2021.Sources told the Daily News that the porn star is not a minor.Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Amzallag said in court Tuesday that there was an investigation into whether Ng is part of a broader human trafficking operation because he took multiple short trips to Colombia, according to amNY.Amzallag also hinted that Ng may have been “more coercive than we originally thought,” and added, “It’s arguable that the defendant groomed her.”Ng’s defense attorney Michael Schneider declared, “The crime he’s charged with, I have to say in my 28 years as a federal defender, I have never seen prosecuted.”New York state Sen. Jessica Ramos (D), who represents District 13 in Queens, said she was “deeply disturbed by the serious allegations outlined in the federal complaint involving an assistant principal in our community.”A parent of an 8-year-old student at P.S. 16 told the New York Post, “This is very dangerous for the kids. I’m angry about it. He should never be around kids, and he should never come back here.”The Post obtained a letter sent by the school to parents that said Ng had been “reassigned” and banned from the school premises pending the outcome of the investigation.A spokesperson for the New York City Department of Education declined to offer a comment and referred questions to federal authorities, the Post said.The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York did not immediately respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The U.S. embassy in Jerusalem authorized the voluntary departure of non-emergency personnel and their families on Friday, telling staff that anyone who wishes to leave Israel should do so “TODAY” as President Donald Trump weighs military action against Iran.
“There is no need to panic,” U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee wrote in an email to staff Friday according to a New York Times report. “But for those desiring to leave, it’s important to make plans to depart sooner rather than later.”
“Those wishing to leave should do so TODAY,” he said, adding that the priority should be finding a flight out of Israel “from which you can then continue travel to D.C.”
The State Department also updated its travel advisory, urging Americans to “reconsider travel” to Israel and the West Bank because of terrorism and civil unrest. The department also warned against all travel to Gaza and areas near the Lebanese and Syrian borders. The United States issued a similar travel advisory before last summer’s Operation Midnight Hammer, telling diplomats to remain in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, or Beersheba.
The move comes as Iranian officials on Thursday rejected U.S. demands for zero uranium enrichment, dismantling of nuclear facilities, and permanent transfer of enriched stockpiles.
“Our proposal affirms that uranium enrichment is a sovereign right and proposes a temporary freeze on enrichment for a limited period,” an Iranian official told Al Jazeera. “The principle of zero uranium enrichment forever, dismantling of nuclear facilities and the transfer of uranium stockpiles is completely rejected.”
Tehran’s position flatly contradicts the Trump administration’s proposal, which calls for Iran to shutter its nuclear infrastructure, transfer enriched uranium out of the country, and halt enrichment permanently. Trump has also said that an acceptable deal would include “no nuclear weapons, no missiles.”
The negotiations continue amid the buildup of a massive U.S. “armada” in the Middle East. American F-35 fighter jets will soon join two aircraft carriers in the largest regional presence since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Trump said during Tuesday night’s State of the Union address that he “will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon.”
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Justice Department Sues 5 More States For Refusing To Provide Voter Rolls

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

The federal government has filed lawsuits against five states—Utah, Oklahoma, Kentucky, West Virginia, and New Jersey—accusing local officials of failing to provide full voter registration lists as requested, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a Feb. 26 statement.

“The Attorney General is uniquely charged by Congress with broad authority to request election records under the Civil Rights Act of 1960,” the DOJ said. “This Act allows her to demand the production, inspection, and analysis of statewide voter registration lists that can be cross-checked effectively for improper registrations.”

However, the states have failed to produce voter rolls requested by the attorney general, according to the complaints.

 

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has now filed complaints against 29 states and the District of Columbia over the issue.

 

The lawsuit against Utah argued that the attorney general sent a letter seeking the state’s computerized statewide voter registration list on July 15. The state did provide the information on July 31, but this was the publicly available redacted version of the list.

On Aug. 14, the attorney general sent another letter, demanding that Utah provide a current, unredacted, electronic copy, the lawsuit said.

The state subsequently raised privacy concerns related to the demand for federal election records, and has yet to provide the full list as requested.

Multiple laws require state officials and election officers to maintain and preserve records relating to voter registrations and related actions. The lawsuit accused Utah’s chief election officer of violating the Civil Rights Act, the complaint said.

Similar allegations were made in lawsuits against officials from Oklahoma, Kentucky, West Virginia, and New Jersey.

“Accurate, well-maintained voter rolls are a requisite for the election integrity that the American people deserve,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. “This latest series of litigation underscores that this Department of Justice is fulfilling its duty to ensure transparency, voter roll maintenance, and secure elections across the country.”

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division said that many state election officials are fighting them in court “rather than show their work.”

“We will not be deterred, regardless of party affiliation, from carrying out critical election integrity legal duties,” Dhillon said.

The Epoch Times reached out to officials from the five states for comments and did not receive a response by publication time.

On Sept. 16, the DOJ sued Oregon and Maine, accusing them of failing to provide voter registration rolls. The same month, similar complaints were filed against California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.

In December, the DOJ filed lawsuits against Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Georgia, Illinois, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. Last month, Arizona and Connecticut were sued by the department.

Following Bondi’s letter requesting Minnesota provide access to the state’s voter rolls, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said in response on Jan. 25: “The answer to Attorney General Bondi’s request is no. Her letter is an outrageous attempt to coerce Minnesota into giving the federal government private data on millions of U.S. Citizens in violation of state and federal law. This comes after repeated and failed attempts by the DOJ to pressure my office into providing the same data.”

Simon said that Minnesota’s elections were “fair, accurate, honest, and secure,” and that “the law does not give the federal government the authority to obtain this private data,” such as Social Security and driver’s license information.

Election Integrity

The Justice Department’s attempt to secure full voter rolls from states follows President Donald Trump’s March 2025 executive order “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” which required the attorney general to prioritize the enforcement of laws restricting voter registration and voting by noncitizens.

Republicans are also pushing forward the SAVE America Act, which requires Americans to prove their citizenship when registering to vote. It also mandates that citizens show photo identification when casting ballots, or include a photocopy of their identification when voting by mail.

The bill passed the House of Representatives on Feb. 11 but faces an uncertain future in the Senate.

Democrats have opposed the measure, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) saying that the bill was “dead on arrival” in the chamber.

“The goal of the SAVE Act is the same: disenfranchising American citizens and making it harder for eligible people to vote, particularly low-income Americans and people of color,” Schumer said on the Senate floor on Feb. 9.

Earlier this month, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) criticized the SAVE Act, saying that it would do more harm than good, according to a Feb. 2 statement from the lawmaker’s office.

“Voting by noncitizens in federal elections is already a felony and it is extremely, extremely rare. This bill does nothing to secure our elections while seeking to disenfranchise millions of married women, military members and spouses, and rural, low-income, and minority voters,” Padilla said.

Several progressive and left-wing groups have opposed the voter ID requirements, including the League of Women Voters, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Brennan Center for Justice.

Meanwhile, Trump said in a Truth Social post on Feb. 13 that he plans to sign an executive order mandating voter ID for the midterm elections if the SAVE Act is not passed by the Senate.

“We cannot let the Democrats get away with NO VOTER I.D. any longer,” the president wrote.

“This is an issue that must be fought, and must be fought, NOW! If we can’t get it through Congress, there are Legal reasons why this SCAM is not permitted,” he said. “I will be presenting them shortly, in the form of an Executive Order.”

Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/27/2026 – 11:05

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said Hillary Clinton became “unhinged” when she asked her about racy photos of Bill Clinton that were revealed in the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to visit Israel early next week for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the State Department confirmed Friday.

The city of Philadelphia is facing a lawsuit from five police officers who claim they were denied promotions because of their race and sex. The plaintiffs include Lieutenants Christopher Bloom, Kollin Berg and Joseph Musumeci, as well as Sergeants Marc Monachello and LeRoy Ziegler Jr., all of whom are White males. The class-action lawsuit alleges that in November 2025, the five officers were denied promotions because of their race and sex due to the city’s “Rule of Five” policy.”The City of Philadelphia has adopted a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) promotion policy that it calls the ‘Rule of Five,’ which was instituted for the express purpose of increasing the representation of minority and female candidates in supervisory positions within the City of Philadelphia at the expense of white men,” the lawsuit reads.For decades, Philadelphia had used the “Rule of Two,” which mandated appointing authorities to choose between the top two candidates on the civil-service eligibility list for promotions. The practice ended in 2021 when the city adopted its “Varying Rule” policy, commonly known as the “Rule of Five,” which gives the appointing authorities the ability to choose from a larger pool of candidates.49ERS FACE CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT FOR SEX AND RACE-BASED HIRING PRACTICESWhen introducing the 2021 policy, then-City Council Member Cherelle Parker, who is now the mayor of Philadelphia, said that “the Rule of Two has held back Black and Brown employees, either from obtaining that entry-level job or from getting that promotion.”America First Legal, which filed the lawsuit, alleges that the city of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) and “senior law enforcement” implemented the policy to manipulate “the racial and gender makeup” of the police force so it mirrors that of the city itself, “regardless of individual merit.””Federal law forbids employers from discriminating against Americans based on their race or sex. There is no exception for white Americans. No discrimination means no discrimination, and we will vindicate the rights of our clients,” Gene Hamilton, President of America First Legal, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.America First Legal said that Wally Zimolong of Zimolong LLC and Jonathan F. Mitchell of Mitchell Law PLLC would serve as co-counsel in the lawsuit.”We are not targeting the City of Philadelphia. The City just so happens to habitually enact policies that violate the United States Constitution,” Zimolong told Fox News Digital.CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT ACCUSED OF OPERATING RACE-BASED HIRING SYSTEM IN CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINTThis is not the first time that Philadelphia Police Department’s promotional policies have been challenged. In November 2025, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #5 (FOP) asked the Justice Department to investigate.In a statement following the November 2025 promotion announcements, the FOP said that despite being assured that there would be “no widespread use of the ‘Rule of Five,'” the promotions “clearly show otherwise,” according to the lawsuit.”The FOP has filed grievances on behalf of all impacted members and is actively exploring additional remedies, including potential relief under recent guidance provided by the Federal Department of Justice and Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission concerning unfair DEl practices in law enforcement,” the union’s said in a statement cited in the class-action lawsuit.”Frankly, we need more support for our officers at a critical time when morale is low and retention of our officers is vital to the department’s long-term growth and success,” it added.FOP President Rosevelt Poplar said at the time that there were an increasing number of complaints from members who “believe they have been unlawfully passed over for promotion under the city’s current promotional practices,” according to WTXF-TV. The outlet noted that the union said that many of the complaints came from officers who thought they were passed over for promotions in favor of less qualified candidates because of protected characteristics, such as race and gender.The lawsuit makes several requests for relief, including a permanent end to the “Rule of Five” and a ban on considering race and sex for hiring or promotions. Additionally, the lawsuit asks that the plaintiffs be promoted to their respective ranks. It also asks that the plaintiffs be given retroactive seniority, benefits and back pay for what they lost by not being promoted in November 2025.The Philadelphia Police Department declined to comment. Mitchell and the FOP did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.Fox News Digital also reached out to the Philadelphia mayor’s office for comment but did not immediately hear back.